#saving each others lives all the time LMAO that’s all they do this whole damn fic

[clegfly]

OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD LOOK AT THIS NOW

'Please, get up.. I don’t want to die a bad person…'

She’s a little chilly [FANART FOR BEYOND BEYOND BY @clegfly GO CHECK IT OUT]

Okay no but seriously how did she not get frostbite

Like I drew her in this picture with frostbite cause yeah (I don’t know how to and it shows) but like

Is Mari Elsa in disguise or something?

What woman WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS?!?! WITCH! WITCH! WITCH!

Also Tumblr fucked the detail and res in the ass

[n3ptoonz]

Okay but like the whole save a horse ride a cowboy thing… for Arthur?

'Snake on a Train'

THANKS FOR 300+!!🖤🖤❤️❤️

Pairing: Arthur Morgan/F!Reader

Fandom: Red Dead Redemption II

Warnings/tags: Smut; Explicit, i'm writing this like i'm from the old west bear with me it's really fun, post chapter 6 MEANING he's alive and DOES NOT have TB. never caught it. we live in delusion round these parts. dialogue driven y'all know me i love me some interaction, implied breeding knk, cowgirl, barely proofread writers block is fucking me up

fr tho read this in a southern accent shit is kinda funny i had way too much fun LMAO

i got so many arthur requests then realized i used THIS theme so i'm using this ask i hope those who sent in will find this!!

Word count: 2300

Never trust a "runaway" O'Driscoll ever again. You was on the run now, away from those freaks and needed a proper escape at least for the time being. Why you chose to not accept Arthur's offer of joining the gang was beyond you. You knew each other well in Blackwater before they had to leave, he suggested you join since you'd be a great addition and trustworthy, but you declined. Later on you were picked up by a "runaway", he sold you out and now you're high tailing it to the nearest escape.

You stumbled across a particularly high end looking train that looked like it was headed west--aka opposite way from this shit. Your initial intent wasn't to rob it, yet. You just needed a quick getaway from this madness. Quick and sneaky you were getting into the back past a few guards. You found an abandoned ticket under a seat and stuffed it in your pocket, walking around until you found an empty cart that looked quite fancy.

You kept your head on a swivel and constantly looked out the window for any suspicious activities when somebody barged in. You quickly stood up and drew your revolver when you realized who you laid your eyes on.

"...Arthur?" you said. His eyes adjusted from the sun reflecting off the window when he heard his name escape from your lips, recognizing your voice almost immediately.

"What are you doin' here?" you both inquired in unison.

"Put your damn gun down I ain't here to rob you." he said sitting down on one of the two seat chairs covered in leather. You slid it back into the holster with curious eyes still on him. Just how long had it been? Why was he here?

"You normally waltz into carts that aren't yours?"

"Ain't that what you did?"

...he had a point.

"Maybe, but I had a reason."

"You sayin' I'd hop onto a nearby train for no reason?"

"I ain't seen or heard from you in almost a decade, Arthur. I don't know what I know anymore. Where's the rest of Blackwater's finest?"

Arthur just leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. There was a deadpan look in his eyes as he recalled everything that went down in the last two weeks. All the betrayals and chaos started to montage in his mind all over again; how he was this close to death, but managed to escape somehow.

"Dead, on their own, or all the above. Remember John? I helped him and his folks get out. The others...well I don't rightly know where they are. And quite frankly I don't care."

You sat in front of him as you processed his words. What's understood don't need to be said, and you knew this well.

"Is that why you're here?" you asked. It felt like a question with an obvious answer but you honestly just wanted a confirmation. It wasn't like him to just run off, at least from when you last seen him.

"In so many words, I guess. Although I didn't expect to see a woman of your caliber running away from your bullshit either. I'd like to know too, if you don't mind."

"Oh hush that up." you waved his comment off dismissively, "I was sold out."

"Well I'll be. You know I always wondered what you were doing or who you decided to hang with if not us. Who in their right mind would sell out one of Blackwater's most wanted?"

In your time together you always had a playful relationship, but you could tell in his tone there was slight bitterness or sarcasm. Truth be told he started to feel some type of way when he realized you declined him just to end up with some other gang that clearly didn't give a damn about you.

"Watch yourself." you warned, your tone half serious half playful.

"What? You didn't want to be around folk who had your best interest that's fine. I won't say I told you so."

"When the hell did you tell me so?"

"The day before we left." he answered without hesitation. "The night we spent together? Ring any bells?"

Damn. You tried to forget that night since the day he had to leave and you too shortly after. You didn't want to remember all the fun you had. You didn't want to remember his hearty laugh at your stupid jokes. Hell...you didn't even want to remember just how good he treated you. He treated you like a lady, unlike most of the men you came across. All it took was one heated kiss, and you both were hooked. But also knew it couldn't be given both your circumstances.

When he offered for you to join you wanted to jump at the opportunity. So why didn't you? Because, well, you loved the man. You thought your own feelings would hinder the morale of the group somehow and break it apart, and you wouldn't dare that be on you. Plus you couldn't really tell where he stood. He's a guy who treated most people with respect despite how he grew up.

Back then he mentioned how people like them were hard to come by and that most gangs were either just downright pieces of shit or cultish. So he in fact did tell you so, and you tried to forget that as soon as possible. Didn't want any sort of thoughts of him clouding your mind or else you'd go crazy.

The only reason you two didn't get intimate that night is because he respected you and your boundaries. He still does. He didn't want it to feel like he was grasping on to the nearest thing to fuck with and then dip. That's not the kind of man he was nor will he ever be.

"What does that night have to do with why I'm here now?" you tried so hard to seem like it didn't completely take over your thoughts, but this is Arthur Morgan for christ sake. He's damn good at reading people.

"It can mean just about anything, sweetheart, but I know it meant something to you just as much as it did to me." he said. The tone of his voice sounded a bit like he was trying to convince himself that was the case. If it wasn't, he wouldn't know what to do.

You sat back in your seat but that didn't take away the feeling of his gaze pouring into your soul. "It did." you said looking down at your hands

"Then why decline? Was it me? I know it's not my lifestyle because we lived the same way."

"I didn't want to get in the way, alright? I knew you'd be gone often and would be out for days at a time while I worried if you'd come back in one piece. I've been there and done that. Wasn't doing that again."

Arthur leaned back up in his seat and ran his hand over his face, sighing. He didn't want to come off so strong, but he felt real feelings for you and didn't know how to process it properly. The woman who's been on his mind since the day the gang left Blackwater sat in front of him and he felt like a lost puppy all over again.

"Okay." he said softly, "Was I on your mind at all?" he continued looking down, mumbling under his breath but you still heard him.

"Everyday since." you said standing up. He slowly looked up at you with those pearly blues that never failed to capture you. He was just so relieved that it wasn't just him. That it wasn't one-sided. Grabbing his hand you pulled him up to meet your eyes--like he wasn't visibly looking down at you.

"I thought about you so damn much I guess I had to distract myself by running with some undercover O'Driscolls. I figured out who they was too late and voila, lawmen breaking down my door."

Arthur shortly chuckled upon hearing you explain more of your situation. To him it was unbelievable, and he never thought he'd hear that name ever again especially after seeing Colm swing.

"This evening is full of surprises. How do I know this isn't some big scheme to take me down once and for all?" he said while wrapping his arms snug around your waist and his voice grew more rugged and deep. Oh how he missed this. What this is, who knows, and who cares?

"I don't need some big scheme to take you down." you said placing your hands on his biceps, squeezing just a little bit. He smirked at this action and pulled you closer.

"That so?"

You hummed in agreement, and it didn't take long for you two to finally lock lips together after a bit of playful murmuring here and there. And just like that, you both were taken back to that night. That heated kiss you shared was the absolute highlight of your lives, and you intended to relive that again and more.

It's like you never left but kissed like it's been forever. He ran his cold palm up your back to hold you while the other unbuttoned your pants. Even after almost ten years, he didn't miss a beat. He still got it. Are we surprised? You followed his lead and kept one arm around his neck while the other attempted to pull him free.

His hands were quick and nimble like yours, so next thing you know your pants are on the ground and you're sitting comfortably in his lap. You was now clad in a loose collar shirt and underwear and his shirt remained unbuttoned at the collar. Your mouths never stopped dancing throughout this whole process too.

Arthur just kept groaning into your mouth at every subtle grind on his thigh. This was only the second time of you two getting together like this, yet it feels way more than that. That same drunk feeling from the night made its return and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

You pulled back so you both could catch your breath, holding his face and running your thumbs over his stubble that was soon to becoming a full beard.

"I missed you...so damn much." you said in a tone just above a whisper.

"I can't imagine more than I have..." he replied while toying with the hem of your underwear. "Would you give this old outlaw the honor of... having you? All to myself?" he asked, looking deep into your eyes. You could feel him fully hard and his hands trembling a bit, but he still wants to hear it from you. One part is confirmation, but the other? He would easily gain satisfaction from knowing you want to give yourself to him.

"Well...I've saved a horse...and I plan on riding a cowboy," you whispered and smiled against his lips before leaning back in. Arthur chuckled into the kiss, wasting zero time pulling them panties to the side and slide right on in.

Your breath hitched as you eased on down his thick shaft. "That's my girl." he whispered, right next to your ear so he could physically feel you clench against him from his praises. You gripped his shoulders as your eyes closed shut, expelling light whimpers here and there as you set a place. He placed his hand on your back once again to encourage you, feeling a little smug at your struggle to keep up.

Best believe you weren't no bitch though; you swallowed thickly and kept on riding him. The ambience of the train was quickly fading as you two became lost in your own desire.

Were you expecting your orgasm to approach so quickly? Honestly, it made sense. Arthur knew all the right things to say and touched all the right places that churn your butter.

He was also nearing the end, and yet he had such a genuine smile on his face. He grunted with every time you sank back down into his lap and this meant he simply could not be happier. He's been dreaming of this moment forever, and finally. Finally, the woman of his dreams is having the time of her life because of him.

To keep yourself grounded you pulled his head up to rest your forehead on his, "Please, cum inside me," you begged. Your climax was seconds away from hitting you and you wanted to reach bliss at the same time.

You ain't have to tell him even once with how quickly he followed suit. Your hips slammed right back down into his lap as you both tried to stifle your cries of pleasure, still mindful of other passengers.

After you both calmed down in each other's arms, you cleaned yourselves up and plopped back down onto the two person couch you had just gotten intimate on. You held his bicep and laid your head on his shoulder with a content smile on your face. His the very same.

"You sure know how to get down for someone I ain't seen in a long time." he said playfully, looking down at you.

"Who said I ain't got none in a long time?" you replied a little too fast for his liking, looking up and seeing his expression comedically fall to a straight one. "I'm just messing, I wouldn't dare risk having anybody else's kids but yours." you continued casually before shutting your eyes. You had to stop yourself from laughing at the sound of his heart rate getting faster through his chest.

He chuckled, looking out the window at the scenery become painted with the pinks and yellows of the sunset passing by.

"You are something else."

[amiizuki]

it will be forever funny to me how the flashback portraits of Wittebrothers made Caleb seem like he's had packing peanuts for a brain

(this post ended up becoming quite lengthy, and so did the tags somehow, because I kinda devolved into a rant closer to the end of writing this whole thing, so bear with me here)

so we know that Philip and Caleb became orphans when both of them were still kids. after that, they ended up in Gravesfield and, to fit in with everyone else who lived there, picked up witch hunting and started thinking that witches are pure evil. Caleb knew perfectly well that he's the only family Philip's had left and that he even may be his his only friend, since, judging by the portraits, they've only ever hung out with each other and we don't know if those two ever made any other actual friends.

until one day, during a witch hunt he and Philip were both a part in (something Caleb seemed happy to do, judging by his smirk there), he met a witch – Evelyn – someone he's been taught to hate and want dead by the townsfolk. someone who, again, in his mind, should be evil.

but he just suddenly does a 180 and goes "damn, you can make fire with your hands, you're actually pretty cool"

and then a few days (?) of talking to her later, he's running off to live with her in the Demon Realm, while simultaneously not giving a single fuck about the brother he's abandoning.

(he even runs off with a smile, with a literal :D face, I fucking can't lmao)

Philip ends up seeing Caleb get dragged off through a weird portal and later follows along, thinking something like "no, my brother wouldn't just up and abandon me without saying anything. he probably got captured by that witch we saw together that one time! she probably used some demon magic to bewitch Caleb and took him through that portal to kill him or worse! I gotta go save him!". and, after spending god knows how long in that realm, searching endlessly for his missing older brother, he eventually finds him. but he also finds that Caleb is not only perfectly okay and not hurt in the slightest, he's also peacefully walking together with the same witch who "captured" him, even holding hands with her.

and when enraged Philip tries to attack Evelyn, to protect Caleb from the witch who took him from his home, from his brother, still thinking that Caleb's under her control, Caleb just... gives him a hug and goes on to introduce the witch as his new wife to him (I'm assuming that portrait is the same day as the other three, if not the same scene), also adding on top of that that they're having a child. all as if nothing happened. treating the whole thing like everything's perfectly okay and just another normal day, fully ignoring the fact that he threw his brother away with no care or thought, leaving him completely alone, a full orphan, now with zero actual family left (in TTT, during their backstory, it's said that "Caleb did his best to take care of his younger brother", meaning that either they never got adopted in Gravesfield, or whoever adopted them didn't give a shit about the two, so they still mostly had to fend for themselves), all to go smash some random 5 out of 10 witchussy he talked to, like, 3 times. no fucking wonder Philip killed him!

(btw, jokes aside, it didn't seem like he intended to kill Caleb, because in that portrait where he's ready to kill with a knife in his hand, he's facing forward, while Caleb is actually to his left. so it just looks to me like Philip was gonna try to kill Evelyn again, and Caleb either jumped in front of her to protect her and got accidentally stabbed or he attacked Philip back, to, again, protect Evelyn, and Philip ended up winning that fight. but that's just my theory)

my brother in literal christ and literal titan – why in the FUCK are you just hugging it out with a smile on your face??? you ran off while giving absolutely no warning to anyone, especially your younger brother! why do you think he's here and actively trying to attack you and your new wife? you're not even trying to address the fact that you left him! at least when Luz ran off to a different realm without warning, she had a "I'm still at the camp" cover, so Camila wouldn't worry that much about where her daughter is, and even then she still felt bad for leaving her mother and planned to go back home once summer was over. this chucklefuck, on the other hand, just permanently portaled away to the Boiling Isles, knocked up a witch and fully settled down there, walking around with a big ol' smile and no care in the world. "Philip who? never heard of him"

the only thing that would sorta make this situation seem better (as in, not make Caleb seem like an overly naive ignorant brick), in my opinion, is if they added one more portrait – after the one where he meets the witch, but before the one where he leaves. in that portrait, Caleb would look like he's trying his best to convince Philip that witches aren't actually evil, and perhaps even try to get him to go live with them in the Demon Realm, all the while Philip's looking at him with either disagreement/disappointment/disgust or just rolling his eyes and full on ignoring him, while sharpening his witch hunt tools or something. then it would look like Caleb at least tried to make his brother change his mind, like he tried to offer him a chance to go with them. but no. with the way the portraits look in the final version it just seems like Caleb was fully on-board with killing witches since he was young, even pulling his younger brother along to think the same way, Philip also thought that Caleb was perfectly fine with killing witches, but once he actually meets a real witch (assuming they've never met one before) he instantly pulls an uno reverse card and just runs off with her, without so much as telling his brother beforehand.

I'm not trying to say that "Belos should've been redeemed, because he's the victim here and Caleb is bad and it's all his fault". he still murdered his brother and went on to manipulate everyone on Boiling Isles for centuries, with his end goal being the death of all witches, while simultaneously being stuck in the loop of "denial" and "bargaining" stages of grief – repeatedly trying and failing to recreate a perfect copy of Caleb, but also killing each one that came out wrong or went against him. Belos not being redeemed in the end was the right choice (ignoring the "Belos was always le bad" from King's dad), I agree with that. frankly, if he actually got redeemed in the end, I'd probably be seething for the next 3 to 5 years, like how I did after the Diamonds' "redemptions" in SU (yes I'm still pissed about that lol). I'm just saying that, from what was shown to us, Caleb didn't seem like that good of a person either, not as bad as Belos ended up being, but still not that great. and, once again, seemingly had a raisin for a brain.

(off topic, but during Masha's retelling of Wittebane's backstory, their "sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset" line was so fucking cringe, it gave me a fever for 3 days the first time I watched the episode)

k, rant over, I dunno what else to add

TL;DR: I think Caleb was dumb as a brick, because, from what was shown to us in their backstory, he seemed to have run off to Demon Realm and abandon Philip without telling him anything beforehand. when Philip came to BI to look for his brother, who he assumed was under control of the witch who "took" him, since he thought his last living family member wouldn't just abandon him, and when he eventually found him, and it turned out he wasn't in any danger at all, Caleb just brushed the whole "I left you for witchussy" thing under the rug and pretended everything was and is perfectly fine, even though it clearly isn't. rip bozo

[it-was-funeral-grey]

Celestia-sent (Al Haitham x F!Reader)

Prequel Part 1 Part 2

Summary: There's a weird guy lying outside your house.

Warnings: Vulgarities, food (stew) , mentions of injuries , crying, reader mistakes al haitham as a old guy lmao, reader lives in vimara village, spoliers for al haitham's lore,

Word count: <1.7k words

Inspired by: -

Author's note: it was kinda therapeutic to write al haitham's part- the first half. not sure why. it just felt so easy. i miss my grandma. i should visit her once i feel better.

Please give criticism! Also, if i missed any warnings, do tell me so i can add them!

He's just lying there, faced down. His grey hair sticks out painfully against the brown dirt path, and you fight the urge to squat down to take a closer look. It's a shade of grey you have never seen before. It kinda looks like the moon.

Another old drunkard, you think. There's been many of them recently in Vimara village. Ever since the scandal in the Akademiya three months ago, Port Ormos had crashed. The whole port is a mess- what once was Sumeru's most efficient had become disorganised and stagnant overnight. Now, it's akin to a ghost town- especially after the mass layoff of port employees.

Trading has halted completely, the Wikala Funduq citing 'awaiting instructions from Akademiya higher ups'. But so far, no one from the Akademiya has come down to remedy the situation and help revitalise Port Ormos.

As a result, private traders can't do business, and trading companies can't do business, so no one is making money anymore. Traders from Inazuma and Snezhnaya had stopped docking in Sumeru. In a couple more months, Port Ormos would lose its position as the central trading hub of Teyvat. Sumeru will lose a terrifying portion of its national income. It will only get worse from there.

Vimara village was outraged at the mass layoff. Most port employees lived there, after all. In an instant, families lost all sources of income. The village community had tried to help each other, sharing food and whatever they could with each other. But this was only a temporary solution. The stress of unemployment is beginning to weigh heavy on many, which is why many have taken to drinking recently.

Which is why you aren't surprised that a guy's passed out on the ground. What was surprising is that you had never seen this dude before.

He's wearing expensive clothes, you note. He's definitely not from the village. Clad in green, he'd almost look like a plant if not for his grey hair. There's a cape hanging off his back, and on a shoulder is what you think is a vision.

Damn, you wonder. What kind of guy is this?

Curiosity gets the better of you. Squatting down next to the old guy's side, you lay your groceries down. Strangely, you don't smell any alcohol on him. So, not a drunkard?

"Hey, uh… sir?" you shake his shoulder, brushing your fingers over his vision. It's cool to the touch, the green orb emitting a gentle glow amidst the fading daylight. "Wakey wakey, mister?"

The man doesn't wake. You sigh. What are you going to do? It's almost nighttime. You can't just leave him here. I mean, you could, but still…

There's a pleasant aroma in the air, accompanied by the sound of sizzling oil. Onions, Harra spice… stir-fried with snapdragon leaves?

It reminds Al Haitham of his grandmother's cooking. Maybe she's making dinner now. He's pretty hungry.

Huh. Now that he thinks of it, it has been a long time since he's had dinner with her. When was the last time he even spoke to her? Or visited her?

He has so much to tell her.

He has to tell her about his job as a Scribe. Well, for now, he's the ACTING Grand Sage. Not for long, though. He'll make sure of that.

He's got to tell her about the stunt he pulled to save Lesser Lord Kusanali. She'd enjoy that tale. Probably scold him for being so reckless as well, though.

Yeah, he'll do that. Maybe he'll ask for a second serving of rice too. He's really, really hungry.

Then, he'll ask for advice on how to handle the whole shitshow that he has been assigned to run. She'll know what to do. She always does. She'll teach him how to manage the infinite number of impossible tasks thrown his way.

She'll comfort him. She'll tell him that in no time, he'll be back to his usual job: stress-free and not responsible for saving the nation from a crisis that may result in future generations growing up in poverty and political instability.

She'll hear him out as he rants about the mess Azar and those fuckers ("Language, Al Haitham!") had left him. And how everyone was so reliant on the Akasha terminals and the sages' leadership that when all that disappeared, they were clueless. They can't function anymore. Systems fall apart. People stop working. And because of that, he has to do everything on his own, and he's so tired and-

The sizzling sound has stopped. Is it dinner time already?

But he doesn't want to get up. Not now. Just ten more minutes, please?

There's a faint scraping sound. A spatula against a wok. If he tries hard enough, he can hear a plopping sound. So, it's a stew. He hopes it's Sabz Meat stew. That's his favourite.

How long has it been since he had a homemade meal?

Footsteps. Ok, no ten minutes, then. He'll get up.

Wincing, he sits up. His whole body aches. His knees feel sore. That's weird. He hadn't fallen or hit anything, but he feels bruises forming all over his arms and legs.

Trying to adjust to the bright light, Al Haitham slowly opens his eyes. He's in a small living room. Huh, he doesn't remember his grandmother moving. She never had this couch he was resting on either. Or the wooden coffee table in front. Or that many Liyue magazines.

"Ah, you're awake!"

That's not his grandmother's voice. Wait, what did her voice sound like again?

Al Haitham whips his head towards the voice so fast he pulls a neck muscle. Groaning, he reaches for his neck, massaging it before attempting to turn around, slowly this time.

"Hey, relax!"

There's a soft click from behind, and then frantic footsteps. Someone runs around the couch.

It's a woman. Not his grandmother.

Oh.

Oh yeah. Of course, it isn't her.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Hah, what was he doing, dreaming? Someone like him? Dreaming?

"Uh…sir?"

Of course, it isn't her. The dead can't come back to life. He's alone now. He has been for the past decade.

"…sir?"

He'll always be alone. Now, and for the foreseeable future. If he can even ensure that Sumeru still has one.

There's a hot sensation on his face, snapping him out of his thoughts. It's the woman again. This time with a bowl in her hand, holding it right in front of him.

He'd recognise that aroma anywhere. It's Sabz Meat stew.

"Um, I'm not sure what's going on," she says, placing the bowl into his hands. "But why don't you eat first?"

She pulls the coffee table closer towards him and walks back behind the couch to retrieve cutlery from the kitchen and a plate of rice. Laying them on the coffee table, she then sits on the floor, watching him.

"I didn't add lemons, but I can get you some if you want?" she asks when he doesn't move.

A minute passes. Al Haitham can't move. He can't, and he honestly doesn't want to.

What's the point of moving? Everything moves too fast. He'll never catch up. There's too much. There will always be proposals he can't clear in time. A question he can't answers right now. A policy he needs time to understand. Time that he doesn't have. Time that Sumeru can't afford to lose. He'll always be behind. And because of that, Sumeru will fall behind. Because of him.

It's almost funny. Before all this, he had never worried about being behind. He barely worried about anything.

"Come on," she prompts, taking a spoonful of rice and handing it to him when he still doesn't move. "Eat. You'll feel better after you eat."

Al Haitham doesn't have the energy to resist or deny her. Taking the spoon, he dips it into the bowl, letting the rice soak up some of the stew before lifting it to his mouth.

And suddenly, he's 19 again. He's in the dining room, having dinner with his grandmother again. She's lecturing him about spending too much time alone at home. Again.

"You may not understand now, Al Haitham. But there are people out there- good people. People willing to listen, be patient with you, and shoulder burdens with you. Comfort you."

Al Haitham reaches over to scoop another spoonful of rice. His eyes feel funny. So does his nose.

"You are never alone, child. I just want you to know that. "

Am I really?

Then just send one person, please. I'm waiting.

I've been waiting for a long time now.

"And one day, you may find someone that you can bare your soul to-you do have a soul, child. Everyone has one- no, yours isn't as dark as that 'black coffee'."

His vision is blurry now. With hydro. How strange. He chomps down another spoonful of stew. It's delicious. He hasn't had comfort food like this in a long, long time.

Just one sign. Please. I can't do this anymore.

"But until then, grandma is here to stick by you, hm? Until you stop being stubborn and go make friends!" 

The woman shifts in her seat on the floor. In his peripheral, he sees her reach over to a box, pulling out tissues.

She moves closer to him, a little bit hesitantly. But when she realises that he isn't moving away, she gently dabs his eyes with the tissue.

"There, there?" she comforts awkwardly. She then reaches over to pat his back. "It's gonna be ok. Just let it out."

And that's all it takes. It's so weird. Hydro Tears begin to flow freely. He chokes back a sniffle.

She doesn't stop patting his back. The weight of her palm is comforting- almost grounding.

He cries. In the presence of an absolute stranger, he cries ten years worth of tears in a night.

Later on, as he drifts off back into the realm of sleep to the rhythmic pats on his back, Al Haitham wonders if this is what his grandmother meant.

Maybe there really are people that are willing to stand by someone like him.

Join the Taglist!

[its-short-for-jackalope]

THE SEARCHER IN THE SHADOWS

☆ Thoughts On Part 2 ☆

Time for the unhinged companion to my part 1 post, lol. I love how much these musicals surprise me, I always have such a fun time and oh boy do I have thoughts and feelings about part 2.

Once again I am not going to be able to capture every thought I have about everything because there is... so much. But I can try to express a portion of it, so on with the rambling!

Meanwhile / Sia's Vision

I love part 1 & the new characters we met, but I was definitely missing the rest of the quartet so I was so excited to get to hear them again today. That being said, I was totally unprepared for how I would react to their arrival (heh). I was damn near kicking my feet and I was close to either giggling or crying basically the entire time, but I guess they balanced each other out so I basically just vibrated in my chair instead, lmao.

I'm so happy that Margaret has been to Lincoln Island before? I was a little worried that she didn't even have a chance to see that any of her people had survived before she was sent away and she lost her memories. (However the hell that happened.)

I love how John and Samuel are both like "I can accept this mysterious magical woman saving our lives once, but TWICE? That is a little suspicious. 🤨😑"

SIA'S VISION. It happened years ago, and now we know we're not alone that Sia went straight from 1835 to 1874 just like the quartet, so she must have gotten the vision sometime between 1829 and 1835, proooobably a lot closer to 1829, since she said 'years.' She sees the Antikythera being claimed by the Ellen Austin, and evidence of Margaret's transformation magic as well as her radiance. She also saw John (the scientist) screaming for Rose as she drowns while the Antikythera takes on water, perhaps sinking entirely.

SIA'S PLAN. (MAYBE.) Okay so I very well could be wrong, lol, I'll get that out of the way right now, but I think Margaret had already been sent away when Sia had her vision. Part of this reasoning is simply because it would feel more satisfying to me if the quartet didn't come together entirely because it was forseen, and also because Sia says 'our Margaret returned.' Idk, just the delivery of that makes me feel like she must already be gone at that point. Sia wouldn't have left Margaret somewhere unsafe, so she probably looked around New York to scout it out, and/or maybe she was watching from time to time, to make sure she was okay. So maybe she saw the Stratfords at some point—Samuel says he read about Margaret in The Sun, so maybe she was interviewed in the building and they occupied the same corner of the city at just the right time for Margaret's guardian traveler to see the twins?—and then when Sia has that vision, she recognizes them and that's when she knows they have to keep these people safe. (And maybe she uses a bit of magic to send a certain scientist a certain paper about certain discoveries to ensure he joins the party...?) So in the years before the quartet gathers together, Sia makes plans with her friends. I don't know exactly what these plans are and won't really try to guess, but clearly part of it involved scheming with Addison to make me SO WORRIED about her and the crew leave her ship (and an orrery for Rose) drifting on the Sargasso at the right time and place, AND they must have had enough foresight to be prepared for Sia's 39 years away; we didn't hear her poof back to let her friends know when she was going, and they knew when to expect her return, so it must have been pre-arranged to some extent. So Sia skips ahead, dropping off the quartet in 1874 and returning to Lincoln Island where Rose has already been learning and testing for 9 days, until it's time to meet Margaret again on the Antikythera. And now we're caught up. (Was this whole ramble necessary? Eh, maybe not, but I needed to think about it and it took long enough to type that I'm not deleting all that, are you kidding?)

Arrival, part 2

aw, yay! I'm glad Margaret and the boys all got a similar welcome to Rose! I wasn't sure if there would be any fanfare for Samuel and John, lol.

The twins are reunited! 😭❤ (And Margaret and John get to say hi to Rose too, yes, yes, I was very happy, but this isn't about them right now. TWINS.)

Dakkar and his scanner, lmao. (Going to try and fail to not think about him taking out his trusty tech as a distraction when he witnesses the siblings' reunion. I'm totally fine and normal about this, guys. Trust me.)

Yes, filling everybody in about Kal! I suppose he was the specific threat they were worried about when they were trying to verify Rose's identity in part 1, which would probably make sense if he's Itzal's attack virologist or something. But I have concerns about how the scan went. Addison tells us Kal has a way of tracking people he encounters and the scanner they use to check has a database that doesn't recognize anything on Samuel and the others, but, uh. AFAIK that scanner has been here on Lincoln Island for 45 years, nice and protected. How many updates have they gotten? And what was that Kal said back in TGOA? "Non-lethal fog, my latest brew." ...YEAH. I HAVE CONCERNS.

Not Rose's somber "We must keep looking for the key" after the chorus 😭😭😭 We know Sia's been reassuring her and Ahlaam has been insistent that there's no pressure on her, but uh. There is pressure. And Rose probably feels some degree of guilt for not accomplishing everything these literally magical people hoped she would after they saved her life.

Margaret almost recognizing the people around her, Dakkar echoing/answering the calls we've heard from Margaret since the beginning of the story..... AUGHHHHH 😭

I am very interested in Samuel and Addison's dynamic (to put it lightly) and I want to know what the captain is so curious about bears for.

Magic Ways

I love this song so much. We get to receive lore in an easily digestible way AND the music is amazing???? Move over, Schoolhouse Rock, I only want to learn things from the Travelers and Searchers from now on. (This joke isn't even good but I've wanted to make one about Schoolhouse Rock since the premiere so this is what we get. sorry, lmao.)

SEVEN, SEVEN MAGIC WAYS! Radiance, Perception, Protection, Illusion, Healing, Movement, and Transformation. If I'm understanding correctly, everyone from the Blazing World has the Radiance. (And I assume every descendant born on Lincoln Island does, too? although if they didn't have any magic because they lost their connection to their world that could be interesting... 👀) It seems to be the root/core of it all, if it's the one everyone shares. All the magic connects them, but I think the Radiance is the deepest and strongest connection. I am not going to rattle off about all of the magic ways here because, well, reading my ramblings (delightful as they are) doesn't hold a candle to listening to the actual song, lmao, but I am going to share my ideas for what kinds of magic the different BW characters might have.

SIA — radiance, movement, perception, transformation, possibly more; if she was helping Margaret train her protection magic, then I think it could be reasonable to suspect Sia may also possess it? But that's a maybe for now—Sia could simply know both Margaret & how protection magic functions well enough to be able to coach her.

AHLAAM — radiance, movement, illusion (I believe she was going to cast an illusion spell on Rose during Two Weeks as one of the tests, and she also tells us about illusion magic in the song), possibly more; Ahlaam doesn't specifically say that she only had three magic ways, unlike...

DAKKAR — radiance, healing, protection. He says that "three is more than enough for me" so I think we can safely assume that's it for him, unless he has more magic that he just doesn't use for whatever reason, which could be an interesting idea. No evidence for it tho, I'm just saying words. <3

ADDISON — from what we know so far, she might have only one magic way, the radiance, but I keep thinking about her journal. Margaret had to use transformation magic on it to be able to read it, so does that mean Addison also has that power, or did somebody else (Sia?) transform the journal specifically so Margaret would have to transform it back and use her magic? Or, as some friends have joked, is Addison nerdy enough that she just writes in invisible ink?

MARGARET — in TGMH, we saw her use the radiance for the first time. in TBS, movement. TGOA, transformation. in this episode, she has started using protection magic. Matt has told us that there will be 7 pulps and there are 7 magic ways, so I'm wondering if we'll see her unlock or regain all the magic ways, with one new power returning in each episode. We still have one more part to go for this episode, so we'll see if this theory is disproven real quick or not, lol.

Thank Gravity

hi, what if I exploded?

the only m/f pairings I care about are written by Matt Dahan and this is only a slight exaggeration

JOHN WANTED TO TALK!! HE'S THE ONE WHO INITIATED A FEELINGS CONVERSATION!!! HE FINALLY GOT SOME SENSE!!! I'M SO FUCKIN PROUD???? 🎉

THEY! KISSED!

what if I just, like, perished. would y'all be cool with that.

I am so not normal about how we've gone from them both yearning for 'a place with no laws of gravity' to them both thanking gravity—

have we considered the option of me just walking into the ocean? I think that might be the best course of action here.

oh my god. I love them.

Masterpiece Containing Masterpieces

Jackie's absolutely gorgeous art shows a bit of bright blue sky visible from the bridge of the Nautilus, so I'm guessing everyone got some much needed rest and continued the tours the next day, lol.

godddddd the callback to Margaret's Apartment. Maps of the Earth and sky lavishly hanging from golden frames—I need to bite something. (/pos)

John, if you're asking questions you should at least give people time to finish answering them, lmao

Someone is going to push one of those damn purple buttons and everyone is going to have a bad day, calling it now. If it doesn't happen this episode, it will happen in one of the later ones. And I am going to be glaring at them all mistrustfully until it finally happens. 😑👉🚫🟣‼️

Samuel and his imagination going crazy over the orrery's potential... and the way Addison talked about the Firestone getting burnt out, I wonder if that means it isn't repairable. Maybe Firestones are extremely rare, idk. curious how this orrery is still able to help them with the Gate somehow. WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THESE GATES, BY THE WAY. JUST SAYING. /lh

EDIT: oops, the orrery on the Nautilus is not the same as the Antiythera's, I don't think. but it still seems like this one can't go back in time, going by the conversation!

Before the Island

yessssssss new solo John song for me to lose my mind about. also a casual reminder that Curt Mega is so gender it's unfair. <3

John, I love this for you. so much. go crazy, run wild, be silly and push buttons—NOT THE PURPLE ONES, FFS 🙏—and be happy with Rose.

John thinking his dad would understand what he's feeling instead of feeling smothered by his father's legacy and afraid of disappointing him......... 🥺😭❤

Ipomoea, part 1

the cover art!!!!!

This song is so goddamn pretty. Natalie and Kim's voices are heavenly together.

the imagery Margaret describes is so gorgeous, I want to draw it.

Margaret is closer than she's ever been to getting her answers!!!

JUST LIKE HOME 😭😭😭😭😭😭

and here we learn another time travel rule, which simultaneously makes me go "oh cool, that will probably make the timeline a little less messy" and "oh poor Sia, you lost 39 years with your besties" and "HEY SIA SO YOU BASICALLY LIED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO HELP ANNA GET OFF THE SATELLITE, HUH? CARE TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF??" (This isn't really even about Travelovers, this is about Anna being LEFT UP THERE and someone needs to give Sia a talking to for this, on mine and Anna's behalf. 😭 John, you've smooched your girl, now go be mad for your bestie, plz.)

hi Dakkar, ilu, please never die

Ipomoea, part 2

JESSE BHAMRAH I ADORE YOUR VOICE

I was a tiny bit worried about where this was going. I expected him to start using magic against Margaret to force her to defend herself, so the way he's like 'yo we should totally have Sia try to attack/kill us both' instead so they could combine their protection power was a really cool and delightful twist

I also love how Sia absolutely knows where this is going

IPOMOEA, SHOW ME YOUR WORTH! STAND WITH ME NOW, OR GET PLUCKED FROM THE EARTH!!!!!!!

Dakkar and Margaret are both so committed to this, & the way they sing together!!!!!!!

THIS SONG, YOU GUYS, I CAN'T. 😭❤

THEY'RE SIBLINGS! I don't currently have the brainpower (or time, tbh) to truly & accurately express how I feel about the reveal. Feel free to read my very smart friend's cool post about Dakkar and Margaret instead, it's very good.

I know I had a little "et cetera" sort of section at the end of my last post with some other thoughts, but honestly I am tapped right now, lol. Matt Dahan packs so much cool stuff in these episodes that there is undoubtedly a bunch of really cool theories and connections I haven't even touched upon in this post, but that's okay, it's long enough as it is. 😂

basically,

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I love pulp so much and I am VERY AFRAID and VERY EXCITED for part 3.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to rewatch part 2 until Mr. Dahan himself pries the video out of my greedy little hands.

[namisweatheria]

I'm sure people have talked about this before BUT I AM thinking about an au where Rouge had a terrifying Devil Fruit power and ridiculously strong Haki (like Boa but... you know. not like that at all thank you.) and managed to have HER OWN ISLAND that The Navy refuses to touch. (Like Boa! Without the Warlord part.)

What if Ace got his good navigational instincts from her, and the island was somewhere basically impossible to get to. (Unless you're a navigational genius.) Which immediately connects it in my mind to a Bell-mere lives au.

Things I'm imagining happening:

-Rouge raising Ace herself on that island

-Garp finding her as he promised he would, and seeing a good opportunity, promptly dropping Luffy off forever

-Sabo sneaking on Garp's ship to get away from his parents, and managing to make it there as it happens to be where Garp is heading next for another quick visit to try to indoctrinate Luffy (and Ace) into The Marines

-ASL brothers again<3

-kid Ace being fucking crazy in an entirely DIFFERENT way. He didn't suffer from living under Roger's shadow (Rouge never even mentions that deadbeat) but he and his mom are very much alone on this island so he goes Insane

-Luffy and Sabo are still the best things to happen to him and slowly make him calm down a lot

-Rouge DOES want to bring more people to the island because obviously she does not want her son to be deranged but it's difficult to trust people when The World Government wants her son dead so badly. Also a nearly-impossible-to-reach incredibly dangerous jungle island is a hard sell. lol

-She is going insane in her own way but she throws herself into raising them well and training them and herself to be as strong as possible, so they can protect each other if the government comes for them

-She definitely knows about Dragon being Luffy's dad, tricking that out of Garp was Not Hard. lmao

-Sabo opens up about his backstory to her eventually too. Someone protect these kids from the damn government!!!!!!!

-In this au, Bell-mere is strong enough to get Nami, Nojiko, and herself out of Coco Village when Arlong takes over, but not strong enough to defeat them and free the village

-She tries to get Navy assistance but is met with bald-faced corruption. Extreme disillusionment follows

-They travel for a few years, Bell-mere always trying to get stronger so they can return and save the village one day.

-Nami studies hard and has plenty of opportunities on the sea to polish her skills as a navigator.

-Nojiko remains deeply hurt and outraged by The Navy's betrayal. Since she was older she had been told many more stories from her mom's time with them, and thus had a much stronger attachment to the idea of them. Being left by The Marines, with her whole community, to suffer and die, shook her entire world. She seeks out people who don't look kindly on The World Government everywhere they go, collecting stories. She has hopes of joining The Revolutionary Army one day

-This is also a Sora lives au. (@ Oda Stop killing all the moms! Let them unionize!) One day on their travels they come across a sickly woman and her two kids, Reiju and Sanji, who are on the run from a mysterious (in the East Blue) Mercenary Army.

-It goes like this: the two groups are in the same diner. Soldiers of Germa 66 bust in and try to grab Sora and her kids. They scream and cry for help. Nearby Marines intervene. This obviously doesn't look good for the Germa soldiers, attempting to kidnap a sickly woman and two young kids in broad daylight. They try to pay off the highest ranking Marine there to look the other way, with an absolutely outrageous sum. It works.

-Nojiko charges. Bell-mere didn't expect her usually cool-headed daughter to do something so reckless, and doesn't realize she'd gotten up until she heard the crash of Nojiko kicking the top Marine in the head. Nami had been paying more attention, and is already primed to hit the same Marine in the back with a diner chair before he can retaliate on Nojiko.

-Despite their training, they're kids, and these are Marines. If Bell-mere wasn't there, it would've been a world of hurt. But Bell-mere of course is right there, and takes down all three Marines before they know what hit them. In the chaos, Reiju takes down both Germa Soldiers with her superior strength.

-Now they're a group, standing in a public place, with a pile of Marines (and Mercenaries) at their feet. Yikes.

-They run together.

-Reiju and Nojiko, both being oldest girls about the same age, recognize each other and bond instantly. They convince their mothers' they'll be stronger together.

-Bell-mere was easy to convince, suffering from survivor's guilt from the occupation of Coco Village, she's very quick to take on other's burdens. Sora, despite feeling an instinctual trust for and deep attraction to this tough butch who saved her life, is much more hesitant. Putting her life and resources in the hands of one very powerful person was what got her into this mess.

-But it's not easy to make Reiju happy, a girl who takes responsibility for both her mother and younger brother, who orchestrated their escape, who defends them physically, who has a childhood of training to repress herself to unlearn. Sora saw Reiju actually laugh with someone other than herself and Sanji, and she can't take this new comrade away from her. Not to mention having another protector in Bell-mere could ease Reiju's burdens. She has to say yes.

-And it's a good thing she does, because the top Marine they knocked out kicks up an absolutely ginormous fuss. Suddenly Bell-mere, Sora, and the kids are wanted criminals with posters strewn everywhere. It takes all their wits and strength combined to survive.

-They're on the run together for years before they make it to Rouge's Island.

-Nami is younger than Sanji, but at this age she's bigger than him, and he's a huge crybaby while she keeps a very brave face. She's utterly delighted to treat him like a little brother, much to his annoyance. "I'm not the youngest anymore!" "Yes you are! Stop it!" "You can't be bigger than me when you're such a baby." "I'm a baby?! I saw you get scared too!" "No you didn't! Shut up!" They get very competitive.

-Reiju and Nojiko have the kind of weird little girl best friendship that has the intensity and power to destroy worlds. They are on levels of telepathic connection previously unheard of. And they are so serious about it and so fucking goofy. The SCHEMES they get up to.... And of course constantly being made to drag their little siblings along for the ride

-Picture this. They've been docked at the same island for a couple weeks. They're having an easy time, they've just gotten comfortable with a good doctor for Sora and a nice place to stay for a bit. The kids see a Marine Ship out sailing nearby while they're playing on the beach. If they tell their moms, they're sure to pack up and leave immediately. Of course the answer is to scare off the Navy ship themselves with a fake sea monster.

-Yes it's the end of the world if this mission fails. They'll have failed their families, and the concepts of bravery and justice, and they'll all die and get killed and never join the resistance or anything ever. Yes this fake sea monster needs to have extra whiskers.

-So serious. SO GOOFY.

-Meanwhile their moms are having the most repressed intense butch-femme erotic slow-burn romance of all time in the background.

-Bell-mere, in her head: How much of this is coming from my fucked-up desire to save people? Am I fetishizing her weakness? What's wrong with me? If I have to see the glow of her soft skin, shiny with the sweat of illness, peeking out from beneath her long dress one more time I am going to faint and die.

-Sora, in her head: How much of this is coming from my fucked-up desire to be saved? Am I fetishizing her strength? Do I just want to give up responsibility so badly? Am I appreciating her as a person or do I just want what she can give me? If I hear her loud laugh of victory after buying food for what barely counts as a bargain one more time I'm simply going to explode with love and desire.

None of the kids notice this at all even a little bit.

-Of course with Nojiko's story-gathering and Nami's navigational genius, and the Marines still hot on their tail, and Sora and Bell-mere's desire to find a place to finally stop for the sake of their kids, they do eventually make their way to Rouge's island.

-Rouge, at this point deeply deranged with isolation, fear for her sons, and suspicion, does not greet them well.

-Bell-mere does not take no for an answer.

-Their fight leaves a giant crater in the side of the island. It lasts for days, and only ends because while they were distracted all their kids did an enemies-to-best friends speedrun.

-Lead of course by Luffy, who despite loyalty to Rouge and natural suspicion of her apparent enemies, has little willpower against the smell of Sanji's cooking. His completely earnest undignified begging by the campfire endears him to the others, as well as his heartfelt thanks, and their kind and patient treatment of him endears them to his older brothers.

-Also they're all lonely as hell so it truly does not take much. They're running around the jungle, being given a tour of the best spots on the island by the ASL brothers FOR LITERALLY HOURS before at the same exact moment Reiju, Nojiko, and Sabo all go Oh Shit We Should Probably Stop Our Moms From Killing Each Other.

-Lol.

-I have other ideas involving Robin, and I want to save Banchina (Usopp's mom) as well. I think what this au needs is a doctor character. Someone Rouge trusts to help her give birth, who is also an enemy of the world government, who can stay on the island with them. Who can treat Sora when they arrive. (Treat not heal, her being chronically ill and disabled is important to me.) But I can't think of anyone who isn't needed elsewhere.... I guess I have to make them up....

[astriddestelle]

The way I was obsessed with enemies to lovers/rivals to lovers as a kid 😭😭😭 my top pairings growing up ranked. Canon/Fanon included.

Can you tell I’ve been on a nostalgic rewatch.

1. Logan/Quinn from Zoey 101. The OG teenbop enemies to lovers omg I stan. When they pronounced their love for each other at the season finale at the prom, screaming crying throwing up. The way they get together is so random lmao he calls her hot and they kiss then Michael rides by on a horse like what? But the pay off and ending was so *chefs kiss*

2. Courtney/Duncan from TDI. They were everything to me and Cartoon Network ruined it. First season the bantering, the flirting. When I tell you I was hooked. The scream I scrumpt when they finally kissed (also me didn’t she just throw up but whatever I guess) then she left and it was all downhill from there.

3. Rose/Jake from ADJL. The Romeo and Juliet of this paring needs to be studied. They were so down bad for each other. When Jake found out she was huntsgirl then when she found out. Their first kiss being right before she had to ‘kill’ him for sport in an arena. Her giving up her life to keep him and his family safe, him giving up her to keep her safe. 😭😭😭 they don’t make em like they used too

4. Draco/Harry from HP. The ship that started it all. Before this I’d never read a slash fic before is it even still called that. Anyways this right here is my longest going ship I’m still into only reason it’s not higher is that I love the other ones more. You get so many variations of this, from the super toxic fic, to the I’ve always secretly loved you, to the meet up after the war is over and so on and so forth. Ugh I love it. There’s like 50,000 fics of them on a03 and I know I’ve read like half at least 🤣

5. Zuko/Katara from Avatar. My second non canon ship on here. When I tell you I was obsessed with them. Sigh then I discovered other fandoms and by the time I came back to them I was just done. Which I think comes fromm just not being as much of a Zuko fan anymore. This ship was gold, tho, I mean come on I’ll save you from the pirates how can I not. The way he jumped in front of her (obviously he’d do the same for everyone but like listen it ate down bad) the whole crystal caverns episode was fuel to the fire, the writers/creators knew what they were doing

6. Jake/Miley from Hannah Montana. Another OG omg she hated him so much. The flirty the snark then they had to kiss and both of em were like oh hot damn. They were so cute together and I will forever hate Disney for making her choose Jake just for him to cheat on her like what was the reason. What was the reason 😭😭

7. Alejandro/Heather from TDI. Woo child buckle up. This is one of those slowburns cause it’s not until like a quarter in to the season you’re like hold up. Are they going where I think they’re going and then they did. I don’t like the ending cause seriously wtf was the point. But the lead up and bruh the stuck in a hole song I still sing that on a daily. They were literally made for each other.

8. Chad/Sonny from Sonny with a Chance: one thing about Disney they ate down when it comes to enemies to lovers, or annoyance to like, whatever you wanna call it. Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny omg the drama was beautiful, they hated each other so much and when they started dating I bout passed out. Lol they were so hilarious together I miss it.

9. Raven/Beastboy from TT. This and next two aren’t super enemies to lovers, more live annoyances or belligerent sexual tension. But I really was obsessed with this, like I was the girl reading Terra bashing fics 😭😭 they were so cute, the Beast Within was ship gold, Nevermore, the fact that she holds onto to the penny he gives her when she ‘dies’ and oh he only turns into the Beast again to protect her from Slade and never again. Beautiful

10. Jimmy/Cindy from JN. They may have only been nine but sheesh the rivalry to lovers or in this case crushes was intense. Cindy was down bad since day one but she hid that shit so well. The Valentine’s Day episode still makes me giggle like a kid. And the last episode where they’re legit just straight up flirting with each other I can not. When she almost confesses when he’s the orange hulk. So cute.

Honarary mentions:

Jinx/Kid Flash from TT. They were cute but I hated it solely for the fact that it shoulda been me 😭😭🤧🤧

Sam/Freddie from icarly. Ok so I used to love this one and as I got older, Sam was just so fucking mean that I couldn’t ship like damn. At some point it’s not cute anymore, it’s just down right abusive, early seasons yes, later seasons where they’re actually together no.

Bakugo/Deku simply cause some days I think it’s cute other days I hate it

Mindy and Josh from Drake and Josh. Cute and amusing but didn’t care for em much.

Bailey and Code from Suite Life on Deck see above.

[swords-and-starlight]

ok i think this is my first time ever watching a show while it’s coming out so i’m gonna write out my reactions as i watch the episode for the first time, even though i’m watching it from streaming (i don’t have cable rip) and i already got a bunch of spoilers.

obviously spoilers ahead

CARLOS!! first time we’re seeing him with his friends this season! and he looks so good!

Natacha looks so good in green, man. they seriously need to have her wear it more.

TK Marjan and Mateo look so good in that shot even if the person they’re being mean to is Paul :((

i really want to see them actually play a whole game of catan it would be so fun

i fs know those two boys are from paul’s past. i thought they might be people he lost but i feel like people who bullied him would make more sense in the context of the nightmare?

i know this is gonna turn out badly but i feel like this dinner is going surprising civilly for now

“LT” aww

why is the chore chart so big i don’t think we’ve ever seen it before

this is kinda making me miss clipboard Marj

paul is gonna crash and burn poor baby

wyatt is so cute omg but i miss gracie

i missed judd soooo much he’s the ultimate cutie pie

paullll why you doing this to yourself

PAUL CALL FOR HELP JESUS

tommy is so nice actually i would never facetime someone i didn’t like just to check in on them

love tk and nancy giving each other looks lmao they’re so siblings coded

gina torres is literally the cutest woman on this show (with the exception of sierra) i love her so much

tk and nancy “it’s convenient” “a little too convenient” omg this feels like one of those disney movies where the kids are trying to solve their parents kidnapping or something

why does tk know that??

nancy loml keep being a dramatic suspicious bitch please

“the enemy is behind the gate” so dramatic for no reason omggg what’s cassandra gonna do?

love paul and owen bonding time, i feel like we barely saw owen interact with the house on a personal level so far this season

genuinely how does judd afford that house by himself especially when grace was out, he didn’t have a job, and he was taking care of wyatt

TOMMY UP TO SHENANIGANS AGAIN oh i’ve missed you devious bitch tommy

i love that tommy has just fully embraced her work kids’s delusional ideas and judds the one trying to talk sense into her now

aww i know judd and tommy have been best friends forever but i know if sierra was here she would be going to grace :(

PAUL BABY WHAT ARE YOU DOING

rich people are so strange

i already love jenna hope nothing happens to her

nancy and tk sending each other looks again lmaooo

ofc the elevator broke down

damn poor augie

aww ok they’re better now

WHAT THE SHIT why is she bleeding from her eyes!?!

it’s really cute that wyatt takes all of 126 medic teams calls it feels like he’s trying to look out for them after they saved his life

paul’s gonna get hurt and mess up on this call isn’t he

oh nooo paul it’s so hard to see him cry

i feel like we need more people to die yk like how does tnt consistently bring people back from the dead? like the kid that was trapped underwater in a frozen lake for at least ten minutes and was expected to make a full recovery but tk who was in there for ten seconds was in a coma? but it was for the drama so whatever

tommy’s hair is my favorite part of every episode. is she even allowed to be whipping that horse tail around?

weed pen lmao

judd is such a nice probie

ok so i was kinda right about the kids in paul’s dream

aww paul he must have been so lonely growing up

i’m sorry i can’t take the weed pens

girl miss melody how did you think poisoning your mom and getting ur sister suspended would be better than just asking to live with your mom

episodes almost over :((( i don’t wanna wait till next week

tkmarjan friendship i’ve missed you!

im glad joe and marjan are still together! they were so cute

PAUL!! i love this entire scene with my whole heart

controversial but i really love it when people choose logic and their personal values over love. this show does that so well. like with marjan and salim, they were both in love but marjan couldn’t see herself building a life with someone so flaky and that’s a valid reason to break it off! with tommy and trevor, i think it makes sense that tommy can’t love someone who might contribute to a family breaking apart.

i know that tk and nancy are gossiping about all of tommy’s drama right now

TOMMY CALLING HER MOM!!!

idk if this is obvious yet but tommy is in fact my favorite 9-1-1 character

anyway that’s a wrap i loved this episode

[acourtofthought]

god THANK YOU for pointing the whole Bryce and Azriel situation. Even tho you needn't to go this hard lol its basic logic!! Bryce lives in another whole universe is desperate to save her mate and brother. She's worried sick for them do you think she will forget about them to what? catch feelings for Azriel? I'm pretty sure the time she's in Velaris she'll try to save her mate and find some answers! LIKE BE SERIOUS FOR A SECOND!!!

Why sjm fandoms have an obsession about fated mates not being mates lmao idk how many times sjm wrote "MATE" in Bryce and Hunts pov the word that everyone keep saying is overused! well honey if she doesn't do that ppl won't believe they're mates! Like now, ppl are reaching with their theories that they're not mates. Same goes about Elain and Lucien so you see... SHE HAS NO OTHER CHOICE bc ppl have tendency to go all blind over that word lmao

And what is really amusing is that the arguments are so contradictory.

Bryce and Hunt have chosen one another and as a result, they ended up sharing a mating bond that is similar to what the Fae experience with their mates (scents merging, Hunt going crazy to protect his mate, SJM actually calling them mates/ true mates and all that jazz) yet some in the fandom insist they are not endgame because they believe they are not actual mates as their bond reads somewhat different than the Prythian bonds (which to me makes sense considering they are farther from magic than the ACOTAR characters and neither is 100% fae).

BUT......with Elucien, they'll say that they won't end up together because even though they are actual mates in canon with a bond that snapped and everything, they didn't CHOOSE to be together.

....................................................................................🧐🤦‍♀️

We're damned if we do, damned if we don't.

Somehow Feysands love is valid even though Rhys knew she was his mate almost immediately. No one claims his love for her is lessened because he suspected they were mates from the start.

But Elucien can't fall for one another because then, it's "just because of the bond".

But Bryce and Hunt can't end up staying together because even though they chose one another, their bond came about differently, and that means there's someone else out there she's meant to be with just because she shares a true bond with them.

This fandom is enough to give you a headache some days.

Maybe people need to realize that SJM is simply giving us a little variety in how these bonds all come about.

One is where the female was first enemies with, then friends with, then knew before the male because he thought he had already lost his mate so he was closed off from seeing who was in front of him the whole time.

One is where the male knew first and he hid it from the female until she fell in love with him.

One is where both the male and female suspected something from the get go but it was never confirmed until they chose to be together.

One is where both the male and female had it immediately snap as strangers and SJM created a storyline where neither was ready to deal with their bond so she's temporarily driven them apart.

One is where the male and female never suspected any bond, chose to be with one another after getting to know each other as friends even though they shared a mutual attraction early on, then had their mating bond begin to solidify after committing.

I don't understand why people think SJM is tossing around the word mate for her characters like it's an interchangeable accessory. If SJM wanted multiple mating bonds then why did Jesminda NOT turn out to be Lucien's mate? Why not have his first mate murdered then give him a second mate? Instead, she made it so he was waiting for the bond to snap into place but it never did because she was never actually his mate, Elain was. Why did Rowan only have a fake mating bond with Lyria? Why not allow Lyria to be his first mate, have Maeve coordinate her death only to trap him so that when his second mate came around, she'd still have control over him?

Instead, SJM has written it so these characters only have one actual mate.

No, not every bond looks the same or snaps the same but in the end, if they have an actual bond where the FMC / MMC character as a couple confirms it's a bond on page, that's the game. Bryce loves Hunt so much she feels that he is her mate and even though it came about differently it is still a bond others can scent and that causes a physical reaction in Hunt, shouldn't that be enough? Where another character confirms they are True Mates in the way fae are? Lucien and Elain confirm they feel a thread /bond between them (terminology used by both Nessian and Feysand) and where it is confirmed they both know what the other is to them. Anyone trying to denying those things as fact is someone who is being driven by disappointment because they were hoping for a different outcome rather than using logic. And yeah, it's never fun when the outcome isn't what we wanted but that still doesn't change anything. Team Jacob fans get it.

[loopspoop]

Figured I would give some general headcanons for the AU besides just physical appearances because I’m bored and also feel like I need to contribute more lmao

Lupin

* has some phantom pains from having his organic limbs removed

* autism and adhd! Our boy is sensory seeking and has a fair few thievery and history based hyperfixations. Ask him about the Jean de la Motte!

* Did have top surgery but he’s Genderfluid! Usually presents as male but we love and respect Miss Marie in this household damnit! (He/She) pronouns but isn’t picky about it

*bisexual and polyamorous! She’s dating everyone in the gang and pops!

*panics over power tools, needles, and loud sounds post cybernetics. It gets a bit better with time but trying to do repairs initially was hell

* started working with the stuff he uses for disguises to cover her cybernetics so she can seem like she’s fully human

*got super depressed once he realized he had cybernetics and had a whole crisis over not being entirely Lupin III anymore

*had a lot of issues with his cybernetics early on with malfunctions and small parts breaking off because the parts were just early installments placed there to hold space before upgrades could be made

* had the sensitivity turned up pretty damn high early on so Mad could keep him captive since it’s hard to move when everything hurts and you’re trying to recover from surgeries

* had pretty severe panic attacks early on that the gang had to learn to help her through

Goemon

* had top surgery but is non-binary! (He/they) respect pronouns or he will slice you in half!

* did everyone’s top surgeries actually (except Fujiko, she did hers medically)

*asexual and panromatic! (In a queer platonic relationship with Pops and Fuji, dating Lup and Jigen)

*will chop bigots in half

*autistic! This is basically canon anyways though. They literally always wear the same outfit and eat specific foods or won’t eat at all I mean come on!

* they take every chance to pick everyone up

* when having a hard time he seeks physical comfort by laying with Jigen and Lup (usually has them act as weighted blankets for him)

* is definitely a mother hen but less of one than Jigen. They usually tag team mother Lup and then get on to each other when they aren’t doing enough self care

* guess what…they know how to drive and use a phone in this AU! They just don’t rely on these things as much as the others so it makes him seem like he can’t

* knows the most medically out of everyone which is good because the others are always getting hurt somehow

* very good at deep breathing as a way of self regulation which helps when things are stressful! They all take some time to do group breathing together

* they know sign language! They try their best to teach the others too

* collected a lot of books on robotics and swiped a lot of Mad’s notes and parts to keep up with Lup

*also emotional support for repairs and checkups. He had to hold Lup down the first few times (they all do not regard these memories fondly at all but it had to be done)

*has a sweet tooth and actually eats properly in this AU!

* has visual snow syndrome (look it up I also have it)

Jigen

* he has anxiety! He just usually forces himself to not panic about stuff until the danger has passed. He shoves it deep down inside (not healthy at all sir)

* mother hen along with Goe. He’s a tightass about self care except for with himself which is when Goemon gets involved

* resident weighted blanket for the others (he’s very warm)

* gives the others ice to keep them calm in stressful situations (saves sour candies for Lup too)

* he puts his hair up a lot and usually puts up Goe and Fuji’s too

* when he gets stressed he closes himself off from everyone so he doesn’t blow up

* doesn’t like wide open spaces from his days in service because he feels too exposed

* wears his hat because his eyes are sensitive

* he’s secretly a good poet (he will never let the others know this)

* he turns on the live cam wildlife videos for everyone to watch to relax

* autistic? Who knows. Not Jigen

* he is gay. He is demisexual and he is trans 😌 (he/him) pronouns. Goemon did his top surgery! (He’s dating Lupin and Goemon, queer platonic with Pops, situationship with Fuji)

* he has OCD (wow he’s just like me!)

* had a hard time being overly protective of everyone after what happened to Lupin but had to learn to reign it in when everyone got too tired of him being that way

* does repairs on Lupin’s cybernetics because his hands are so steady

* knits and sews for everyone and because the repetitive motion calms him down

* when they first got out of Mad’s lab and Lup was not doing so great in recovery, Jigen would sing to him when the others weren’t around. Goemon would catch him and listen from time to time and take up the same practice when they forced Jigen to take breaks

Fujiko

* does everyone’s nails (she’s spectacular at getting their colors perfect)

* helps Lup with his cosmetics to cover his cybernetics to make them more realistic

* gets everyone comfort clothing (they’re stylish and comfortable obviously)

* takes care of the boys hair because they deserve soft clean hair

* helps Goemon get Japanese food wherever they are in the world

* Aromantic! Queer platonic polyamorous with everyone (idk what to label her and Lup, she loves him just not in the conventional way yknow? They have s3x and love each other just.. not conventionally!)

* gives great advice honestly

* gives a lot of her comfort through gift giving and general acts of kindness

* does the heists when Lup is in recovery so that they have money to fall back on

*doesn’t double cross everyone like in canon because they love each other damnit

* steals parts from leading robotics scientists for Lupin to use

Zenigata

* bisexual! He’s dating Lupin and queer platonic with everyone else

* insomniac central get this man some weed or something so he can sleep

* knows sign language as well!

* bites stuff when he’s frustrated (a lot)

* did a LOT of research and safeguarding for Lupin (and for future chases obviously but let’s not get ahead of ourselves)

* surprisingly good at getting Lupin and the others through panic attacks and the like

* gives Lupin chocolate coins when he’s down (idk why it’s just cute and I like it)

* helps Jigen with doing Lupin’s repairs

* he’s actually staying with them once he figures out Lup is down for the count for a while because he feels guilty. He’ll act like he’s keeping tabs for ICPO but he’s actually just doing gay shit

[tsukidrama]

hi!

i came across your blog the other day and i wanted to tell you that you have a really incredible writing gift. your cottagecore has me hooked and i can't wait to find out what comes next.

would you be ok sharing any ideas you might have?

- 🪻

oh? interest in TRNT and a new anon? yes please! 🥺 i would be happy to share some ideas

y'know, i actually have almost the entire fic planned out. i haven't intentionally abandoned the story... about once or twice a month the document gets opened and i'll write a few paragraphs, though i know that's not much. i feel like i've been going through something weird for the past year or so. i don't really know how to explain it properly. i haven't written a damn thing in so long.

between low engagement, me being sick all the time, and life being stressful (mostly this), this fic just hasn't come together the way i hoped it would. The Road Not Taken is still massively important to me and somewhat of a personal magnum opus so, i'll finish it... but i do not know when.

ideas below. i wrote more than i thought, and it's gotten me really excited about the fic again! please let me know if there's anything specific you'd like me to go into detail about

alright firstly:

the next big thing is what i've been calling the intervention arc. obviously we have to address some of the heavier emotional issues that both Annie and the reader have. nothing can move forward until our main characters are communicating again! both with each other and with their support system.

vacation arc! i want to write more about what's left of the world post-Rumbling on a global scale. i also need a reason to get them away from the cottage for a decent chunk of time so i thought i'd have them explore a bit.

there will be a subplot about the cats who live around the cottage, just for funsies. i have a chapter title planned for it and everything lmao

there will be a pretty major division amongst the eldians later on about some of them wanting to go back and live on Paradis. to be completely honest, i haven't decided how i want that to resolve and who, if anyone, is going to leave. but we have definitely not heard the last about Paradis. some assorted thoughts elaborating on that, and how the ending could potentially play out either way:

i don't know i should give EVERYONE a happy ending or not. my initial plan was to write what i think the characters would actually do in this post-Rumbling scenario i've imagined (let's call this Ending 1), but over time i've started to change my mind and be like: i'm not the mangaka and that ain't my job, so i should write my story the way i want. aka FUCK isayama, everybody gets a steven universe-esque happy ending (we'll call this one Ending 2) even though it might not be totally consistent with the way characters are written in aot.

i'd love to hear people's opinions about either ending btw

the largest difference that giving everyone a happy ending would have, is whether or not i decide to include Historia. i really adore her and in theory i want to give her a better ending considering how tragic she is, but where she's left in the end of the manga puts her in direct opposition with the narrative and the "not my monkeys, not my circus" attitude that the narrator feels so strongly about 😖 it would make me too sad to include Hisu at all if she's on the wrong side of things.

I want everyone to move away from all the politicking. they really don't have any business doing all o' that in my opinion... they're all early 20s AND child soldiers so like. please rest guys, you can be done with the whole saving the world thing...

after all, the idea of stepping away from the alliance and NOT continuing to involve themselves in global affairs IS the metaphorical road not taken

i do know how i want the fic to end in terms of Annie and reader, and it will be good. i don't wanna oversell it or hype it too much and then have it be underwhelming... but i'm hoping that their love story plays out in a way that people will call beautiful.

if i decide to go with Ending 1 then it will very much be a bittersweet narrative about how people naturally grow apart over time but everywhere you look there will be new sources of happiness and fulfillment etc.

Ending 2 would be much more idealistic. probably a bit unrealistic but it will give the characters ending that would make them happy and make us happy. true fix it fic style.

i think either would be cathartic for me to write in different ways so i really don't know where i want this to go yet. probably gonna wing it and see what feels right chapter by chapter.

I JUST HAVE TO ACTUALLY FUCKING WRITE IT

anyway like i said above the cut, i wrote a lot more than i thought i would. i got really into it pls send me more asks 🥺 it will light a fire under my ass and i'll finally finish chapter 10

[lokittystuckinatree]

Ok so I did a rewatch thread for ATLA a few years ago, and I’m doing it again for the LCU: Loki Cinematic Universe

Thor:

Forgot Thor dropped out of the Sky in New Mexico of all places lmao. Darcy my beloved.

This movie is making me emotional like a minute in. They haven’t even introduced Lokes yet don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry

really gives Star Wars x Lord of the rings energy huh

YEA THOR AND LOKI. Loki’s child casting is ridiculously impeccable though…same nose, facial expressions, we sure this kid ain’t Tom’s?

POOR SWEET SUMMER CHILD LOKI YOU HAVE NO IDEA

When I saw Sif I made this face. 😏 Wow the way they delayed Adult! Loki reveal for dramatic effect. And when I saw him I made this face 😩 and giggled like a schoolgirl. Hnnng I can’t handle Sifki in the same frame they’re too fine. Ok shut up simp.

ZOOM IN ON FRIGGA AT “FIRSTBORN” Obviously they just wanted to show his mom, and they may not have known Hela would be Odin’s daughter when making Thor, but fuck it is funny in hindsight.

ZOOM IN ON LOKI AT SELFISH AMBITION been there Lokes I get ya. They look….so damn good in silver, can we have Loki in Silver again?

Young Thor has anger issues, I forgot how hotheaded he was. wow he’s come a long way…or is that the inconsistent writing…

Loki: judges you in bisexual. Also Loki: don’t be suspicious don’t be suspicious

I forgot about Hogun I feel bad

Don’t go to Jotunheim that will start Loki’s villain arc and spiral into the entire infinity saga

Heimdall told Loki he wasn’t dressed warm enough the foreshadowing. WHEN BIFROST ACTIVATED TO GO TO JOTUNHEIM LOKI GOT ZAPPED FIRST. Where are the frost giants? *camera pans to Loki* there is SO much foreshadowing in this scene, also to Loki being a backstabbing little bitchsicle

Loki’s personality and character voice has been the same for 12 years stop complaining antis. Also thank Tom for that!

Loki should have played off “run back home, little princess” as Laufey referring to them, not Thor. Maybe chaos wouldn’t ensue. Thor you are a rambunctious irresponsible nightmare. You make Loki look cool and calculated, which they are, unless they’re having a psychotic break. Loki really would be and was a better ruler.

FIRST LOKI KNIFE THROW

While that scene is heartbreaking, Loki and the frost giant looking at each other in confusion will never not be funny

Loki saved Fandral awwww I ship it

I like this Thor better. He got too goofy and himbo later. He’s a golden retriever, but a jumpy, bitey golden retriever that tries to pick up sticks that are too big and get it into danger.

Loki was so scared this whole movie. His face is just…filled with dread half the time poor kitten

The love of Thor’s life during Thor: doing fancy science experiments, hanging with her friends, living her best nerd life. The love of Loki’s life during Thor: watches people die gruesome deaths, chokes on ash from supervolcano, narrowly avoids getting sucked into black hole, nearly drowns in mega tsunami, almost gets incinerated by nuke.

Until Sylvie, only Darcy could match Loki’s sheer level of chaos gremlin

Stop punching for 3 seconds Thor or I swear to god I’m gonna punch my television

“Thor is reckless and dangerous” you’re one to talk, Loki

The way Sif says Loki’s name, the way she reaches out to him first, as if she knows her sway on him…hmmm. Fandral jumping to defend Loki as if he himself has been offended….hmmmm.

“Am I cursed” thank you I will be crying though the whole scene. The way he tries to stay collected and just loses his shit…(I actually did cry and had to cut myself a slice of cake)

“Why do you twist my words” he has BPD Odin, that’s your fault

Thor: ANOTHER. Jane: no smashing, unless you’re smashing me

There is such a marked difference in how Loki acts after finding out he’s Jotun, down to the shaky way Tom delivers his lines. Loki is trying to put on this mask of grandeur and poise, when he’s so clearly…broken. How do I reach through the screen and tell him I love him? Loki is king, what he’s wanted forever, and he can’t even enjoy it. He is absolutely devastated. FuCK. But also, he’s having cynical fun with it. He’s had a terrible day, he’s done with everyone’s bullshit, and he’s decided to do whatever he fucking wants

He’s decided to become what everyone wanted from him…He found out he’s Jotun, and he wants to purge that from history and become someone he could never be…

He and Sif soooooo obviously have history, like how did I miss this? There also may be a bit of subtext with Fandral… Loki my Bi king

Also they are so androgynously beautiful this movie, Loki my genderfluid queen

Loki on earth: I will intentionally attract attention by being sexy. Thor on earth: I will unintentionally attract attention by acting like an alien, which I am

Loki’s only real friend is his mother. Unfortunately, I relate.

Jane and Thor are a better fit than I remember. They’re both impulsive, adventurous, but she mellows him out and is his voice of reason. He brings her out of her shell, keeps her life exciting.

Sup Clint

Thor is kinda cute, but too manly for me. My type is tomboys and femboys and everything in between.

I feel like Loki, yelling at Thor through the tv to calm the fuck down and stop hitting people and just sit his ass down and make a fucking plan. Thor and his hammer I swear to god. Maybe if you calmed tf down, you’d be worthy again, you hotheaded arrogant fool

Cinematography popping offfff

Loki: Father is dead. Me: YOU LYING SACK OF ✨beauty✨ *tries to be angry at Loki, literally drools instead* Loki: you are still banished. Me: you little shit! (affectionate). I hate you so much (sexually frustrated)

Loki and Mjolnir. The way he was frustrated, then angry, then heartbroken, but never hopeful. He knew he was never gonna pick that hammer up, but he still tried and failed. He looked like he was gonna yell, then looked like he was gonna cry…baby baby nooo

I’m really just Loki lite. Or Loki is me on a really bad day. Like when it’s 4:am and I’m considering murdering my grandmother. I’ll be like…jeez, am I really that much like Loki? He does some really fucked up stuff. Then I realize that if I was in the same situation, I would do the exact same thing. Psychologically, we are nearly identical. I also have the same gender, sexuality, skin, hair and eye color. I may be a variant, send help.

Marry me Lady Sif

Not Loki showing empathy…no one tell that corner of the fandom that idolizes his worst self and thinks he’s nothing but a cold hearted self obsessed psychopath. Did anyone really think that Robot punch was gonna kill Thor? The hulk hits harder than that. Loki was going easy on him. He does care, somewhere deep in his whole…mess. He never truly wanted to kill Thor, he just thought he did. I don’t think he could have gone through with it either. If he did, killing Thor might have killed him too. Look up splitting in bpd, and you’ll get it.

The plot of this movie is just: Loki has a breakdown

Ok I’m tearing up again at 4:40 am in the morning because sad popsicle just wants to feel loved…but he’s already loved…they just can’t believe anyone would love them for who they are… so he self sabotages bc deep down…they don’t feel worthy of the love they desperately crave *has a breakdown myself*

Loki is just me when I have a borderline personality disorder rage episode, provoke people by saying hurtful shit, and wanna jump off a bridge afterwards ngl

If you destroy the bridge you’ll never see her again…Loki trying to manipulate Thor, or Loki being a hopeless romantic and caring…a bit of both.

Loki’s su!c!de attempt genuinely made me cry, especially because I know he survives actual physical and psychological torture afterwards, and does things that likely haunt him forever. I wish I could tell him that a few years down the line, he will know his family and everyone in Asgard pitied him, loved him, mourned him, and in another timeline he will meet someone who will make him feel understood and validated and seen the way he thought impossible. It’s also making me worry about Sylvie attempting the same next season because…Loki and Sylvie are cut from the same cloth and as they said, they truly have been where she is now and felt what she feels.

End credit scene…I see you Lokes

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

I just realized that in less than a month it will be a year since the official announcement that BTS members are starting military service. Honestly, at that time I thought that within a year each of them would be in the army. it's good to still see them around, but unfortunately sooner or later each of them will have to go.

At the time I don't think I thought about that. But I am a bit surprised that RM hasn't enlisted yet since he's been talking about it for a while, and he told Hobi he would join him soon. It'll be a real surprise when he enlists. He might even go after Jimin? Honestly, sometimes it feels like we're all waiting for the other shoe to drop. I live in fear of Jungkook enlisting. Almost two years without him? I'm sorry, but I'll die. I already know when that damned Big Hit notice drops I won't be functional for the rest of the day. I already plan to take the day off when he enlists because I'll be a crying mess. Every time a member enlists now (counting Suga here), I think of when it'll be Jungkook's turn. No offense to the other members, who I miss/will miss, but Jungkook's absence is going to hit so hard, especially when it feels like he's really getting into the groove of things now. He can still climb so high on his own. I don't want to sound like those Armys who say BTS should disband because they are stunting Jungkook's growth, but it's been unexpectedly fun seeing how far he can go as a soloist. I love BTS as a whole more than as soloists, and I never cared for JK's solo career, but, as a Jungkook fan, despite my many complains about Seven, it's been fun seeing him break all these records and do his own thing, and I'm looking forward to more Jungkook content. I always want more Jungkook content, and hearing just his voice in songs (I'm a bit scared I won't like his album but I'll be happy to hear him anyway).

But, it is what it is. That's the cruelty of compulsory military service. Everyone has a life and goals they have to put on hold for no fucking reason. Those Government assholes...

I got very off track here, but thanks for the ask! The Busan concert was almost a year ago, and, in a few months, it'll be a year since Jin enlisted! Crazy! I'm really looking forward to his return. I feel a bit bad because the pressure was all on him before he enlisted, and it will be on him again to fill up the space left behind by the other members when he returns. We'll only have him for a few months before Hobi returns too. They'll be our saving grace lmao.

[neverchecking]

That's the word I was looking for! Efficient! Sweetpea is more efficient since while he did have backup, he was/is left on his own a lot and Tia basically pounded it into his head when he first woke up to end fights as quickly as possible. So Sweetpea is more efficient while Sage is more flexible in the way that they fight. Sweetpea prefers to use the same kind of sword and bow while Sage is happily using farming hoe to gut a hinox.

(I like to think this leads to fun little squabbles over what weapon is better. A royal broadsword fused with a dragon's horn or a Moblin club. Aaliyah thinks they're both idiots and proclaims bombs to be the superior weapon. Sage agrees but Sweetpea )

Sweetpea did get the vows and his arm was mostly saved rather than being written off entirely. Instead, Sweetpea got all those bands around the arm that act like magical braces and tourniquet for the gloom. Still hurt and drained him of a lot of his strength (which he got pissed about even with Tia's warning. His appreciation for Tia goes up again when he sees what could've happened.) So he gets to join in on the little sages' secret clubroom.

Tia's Hyrule is absolutely bullying their 'new neighbours' into this community thing because 'we didn't survive the Calamity by being little bitches. Play Nice or Shut the Fuck up :)'

Natura is having her whole world turned upside down and she's blinding herself to it. She tries to order the knights and soldiers around but they all just ignore her because she's not the one who saved them. Some of her original people do listen but they are so out numbered by people who either recognise Tia as the ruler or are so tired of the conflict they follow Tia because she explains and listens.

Not to mention the house in Hateno is now definitely not hers. It's Link's and his sister Ariel's home and several villagers get very protective over their hero's little sister who's only like 14. (I went with the concept art where she looks about 8ish). (Weirdly, Link's twin and sister-in-law live in Tarrey Town. Nice place.) Natura is brought back to the castle until they can get Urbosa.

Tia feels kind bad for dumping her on the former chief but, Urbosa is the only one who'd be able to get through to Natura and is probably the only one who'd have enough patience and understanding to separate Tia's personality from Natura's and vis versa.

Sweetpea probably has more traditional training while Sage's goes as far as 'Fuck around and find out'. Which makes for an...interesting dynamic when it comes to battle fronts. Like when it comes to those pirate ships, Tia's trying to figure out a plan and Sage is going in, flame sword flying with little remorse for the WOODEN SHIPS.

(These are probably more than little squabbles. Like they're trying to scale a mountain and they're throwing rocks at each other to prove a point while the girls are so over their shit. Aaliyah is right, bombs are superior, but Sage will be damned before admitting she's right. He loves her, would kill for her, probably has, but he would be damned by the big three themselves before ever admitting that. That's one line he won't ever cross.)

Sage is glaring at the arm the first time he sees it bc like?? HOW COME HIS ISN'T LIKE THAT?! Aaliyah is just 🙄 the whole time, like 'Suck it up'. And Sweetpea is praising Tia for everything under ythe sun.

THE SAGES SECRET CLUBROOM- I LOVE THAT.

Tia's hyrule is beating the others in submission with kindness. They learned from their princess. They're just :))) 'you don't wanna do that lmao'. And they're just 'Here's a gift basket full of all the nice things you can make if you GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS'

Natura is having a bad time. Or she would be if she chose to look at her problems in an effort to fix them. She strikes me as the type to like, throw a fit when things don't go her way. Stomp her foot and yell louder to try and force them to listen. Some of the original soldiers, like you said, do listen, but the other are just 😒'are you done? I have a patrol to get back to.' I like the idea that she almost gets a rebellion going before they see the harmony that comes from Tia ruling. They see the different races finally coexisting, forming relationships beyond just what they can do for the other and are just like 'this is kinda nice'.

And now that house is returned to its rightful owner, it doesn't have as many bad memories! Which is good! Sage and Aaliyah probably visit Hateno a lot more to see Ariel and Sweetpea-- which is good because they like to help out at the farm and bring mushrooms to Cece. And with Natura no longer there, the hostilities between the older generation and the newer one definitely simmer down as well. which works even better.

Urbosa is the best chance to get through to Natura and Riju can report back using her Sage to talk to either Link or even Aaliyah (I think with the Sage of Spirits, she can probably talk to the other Sages through their secret clubroom). So while Tia probably feels bad, she has no reason to. Which Aaliyah and Sage are quick to remind her. Natura is still their Zelda, so while she should be their responsibility, they're not nearly patient enough to deal with her shit.

I also like the idea that the longer and more time Sage and Aaliyah spend with both Tia and Sweetpea, and their Hyrule and their people, the more the kind of mellow out. Like, they won't ever be the prim and proper type, but they don't immediately bite people in a form of defense.

[flareondotcom]

im making tags for my active dungeons and dragons characters!!! just for blorbo posting, for funsies. but ive never posted them before, so this is a lil introductory 🫶 yknow, put faces to the names youre about to be seeing a lot more of lol

forgotten realms babes under the cut!!!

really sorry ahead of time for the low quality pictures, s'all i got boss!

THIS v

is Heller Highwater!

race: kenku

class: barbarian

background: sailor

pronouns: he/they

they have fucked up zygodactyl parrot hands and feet. no reason, just some flavor lmao. hes a jokester, a goober if you will, always keeping their spirits high. a scrappy lil fella. optimistic, confident, could befriend anyone in any tavern, and drink them under the table while he's at it. so loyal that its a flaw, not a trait.

as an egg, he was plundered by pirates from a small island apart of the moonshae isles. (the pirates are good guys, its a whole situation) he was raised by the crew on the open seas. they operated more like a nautical merry band of robin hoods than pirates. the captain was a retired harper, and had a strict code of conduct.

the story of how they became a barbarian though, is quite the tale. this is already going to be so long tho, so maybe some other time lol. after all is said and done, he left the sea behind for a life of adventuring on land, and comes out the other end with the same amount of jolly zest for life, but now with a deadly temper when the conditions are right.

their war hammer, Feather Fall, is enchanted to be completely weightless, and still hits with all the deadly weight of any war hammer. he picked it up while escaping captivity. he had been held captive for so long that he was in poor health by the time of his escape. he was so atrophied, feather fall was the only thing in the armory (that was burning down) (again, its a whole situation) that he could lift to take with him as he fled.

during one of the many "missions" heller went on with their crew, the tip of their beak was blown off after a risky maneuver to save their ship mates from certain death. the ship mates and involved crew felt so guilty for making heller risk his life that they pooled together enough silver to commission him an ornate prosthetic with a polished red jewel for his beak. its fashioned to the keratin of his beak by screws, and he can take it off when it suits him. their beak gets sore whenever a stormfront comes through.

THIS v

is Masha Chokecherry!

race: forest gnome

class: archfey warlock

background: hermit

pronouns: they/them

masha is soft-spoken, monotone, and willing to go with damn near any flow that comes their way. absolutely nothing frightens them, but nothing seems to particularly excite them either. has a sick sense of humor. twisted fucking cyclepath. ultimately just wants a simple, quiet life but fate denies them that life at every possibel opportunity, and they are resigned to this. they're slow to trust, but once someone's earned it they'll have it always.

they grew up in a remote village deep in the wilderness. this village was ruled over and governed by three prominent, ancient families of gnomes: the chokecherrys, who are rangers, the brambleboots, who are druids, and the fiddleheads, who are clerics. if you hadn't guessed by now, the village worships all aspects of nature, and live and die by its balance. on the surface, it was all very peaceful, serene even. picturesque. but underneath its surface, behind closed doors, the politics of the three families are cutthroat, high stakes, and taken deadly seriously. each of the families collectively vie for the most divine clout from their respective pantheons of nature gods, and will do Anything to put themselves ahead of the other families. piously, of course.

(hit me up if you ever wanna know about the insane machinations of the three families, it gets crazy. fucked up gnome discourse the likes of which youve never seen. generations of soap opera gnome drama you would not even care about)

^ here they are making pixar face

through a series of bullshit events, masha is violently exiled from their village for entirely petty familial dispute related reasons. (another quite-the-tale situation). it was during their years of isolation in the wilds that they had a chance encounter with an archfey in need of a warlock servant. and well! the rest is history. they have a positive, but ultimately complicated relationship with their patron. honestly i could go on and on about that, but this already feels like a lot of information lol.

ok now do a silly one.

anyways! these are some of the most fleshed out characters in my entire arsenal, so theres a lot of stuff i left out! for the sake of brevity! thanks for looking at my silly lil sketches of my silly lil guys!!! this is going to be the first post in each of their respective tags, and i'll mostly be putting memes and aesthetic stuff in here, but i'll probably post more sketches and blurbs about them in the future!!!

and of course... feel free to ask about em if you ever feel like it, its so fun to talk about them <3

[pesterloglog]

Dave Strider, Roxy Lalonde, Karkat Vantas

Page 387-391

DAVE: now you know i like to deflect as much as the next person

DAVE: but ive had mad substantial character development in the last few minutes

DAVE: so maybe im willing to entertain the notion that i may be in the wrong here

ROXY: o damn fr?

DAVE: no ive never been wrong in my entire life

DAVE: but if its important to you i can rein it in

DAVE: practically a saint

DAVE: even though the only religions that really existed on the new earth we made was fucked up clown catholicism and sixty-nine troll jesus

DAVE: cant really call the pope and ask to be sainted like back on real earth

ROXY: could u rly

DAVE: yeah thats how it worked

ROXY: i dont believe u but i dont know enough about religion to argue

DAVE: its ok im making most of it up

DAVE: the only god i know is the god of rhymes

DAVE: incase that wasnt clear im the god of rhymes

DAVE: its me

ROXY: i thought u were a god of times

DAVE: amateur mistake

DAVE: the letters are right next to each other

DAVE: even then its not like im using the time stuff much anymore

DAVE: not since...

DAVE: ...

ROXY: i saw u use ur time powers earlier today to make a banana less brown

DAVE: i have explained this over and over

DAVE: you need to eat the banana before it goes bad

ROXY: its not bad just ripe

DAVE: this is fucking outrageous

ROXY: maybe if u stopped slicing fruit with ur sword all the time u might understand

ROXY: the subtle intricacies

ROXY: of fruit science

DAVE: is fruit science just going apeshit on a practically moldy banana

ROXY: lmao

DAVE: dont "luhmayo" me

ROXY: lol

DAVE: like i got time to be lectured by somebody who says "lole"

DAVE: barbaric

DAVE: i come from a more civilized era

DAVE: i drink my scotch as i sit before the mantle

DAVE: having just returned from the hunt

DAVE: a fire in the hearth dwindling down just so

DAVE: ah yes roxy old bean jolly good

DAVE: i hold my pinky out as i take a sip from my chalice because im not a fucking animal

DAVE: you make some sort of unbelievable jest and i say ell oh ell like a real person

ROXY: ok jake english

DAVE: this is the most heinous thing youve ever said to me

ROXY: theres somethin i gotta ask

ROXY: bout u kno who

DAVE: voldemort

ROXY: no

DAVE: is it voldemort

ROXY: its not voldemort

DAVE: you havent mentioned wizards once this conversation so im gonna have to assume its voldemort

ROXY: its about

ROXY: you know

ROXY: dirk

DAVE: ok shoot

ROXY: what do we do

DAVE: what do you mean

ROXY: u know when we catch up

ROXY: what r we gonna do

DAVE: maybe

DAVE: this whole thing is kinda bullshit and we are adults capable of being the people we need to be at the time it is appropriate to be that person

ROXY: what do u mean

DAVE: ok so theres this flower

ROXY: omg not u too with the flower

ROXY: i heard this story like five times

DAVE: oh ok

DAVE: but you get it right

DAVE: the story is what you make it

DAVE: and in that case maybe we are assigning this cosmic importance to things that dont need metatextual meaning

ROXY: i rly dont think thats the point of the story tbh

DAVE: then what do you think it means

ROXY: broson im sayin this with the utmost respect for u

ROXY: its not that deep

ROXY: its just a story

DAVE: then what about this

DAVE: do you think dirks right

DAVE: are we just a story that needs a villain

DAVE: are we heroes rescuing a damsel in distress

DAVE: or are we just people doing things that feel right at the time

ROXY: ya maybe this is just our arc

DAVE: i dont think life is just a series of arcs

ROXY: well to be fair

ROXY: our lives have just been a series of arcs

ROXY: and we r basically rushin off to save a damsel

ROXY: tho dont tell her i said that lmao

ROXY: ofc i want everyone to sort it out

ROXY: hunky dory

DAVE: but thats not what youre asking

ROXY: but thats not what im askin

ROXY: what i wanna know is

ROXY: do u think u can kill him

ROXY: if it comes to it

DAVE: i-

KARKAT: AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ROXY: wtf was that

DAVE: he probably found one of callies little gifts

DAVE: been seein a lot more of them lately which debunks his leading theory that theyve been livin in the vents

ROXY: what

DAVE: i cant believe he never told you

DAVE: its all he talks about

DAVE: i told him it was kinda nuts but

DAVE: you know how he can get

ROXY: well i think since jades regular now

ROXY: callies felt more comfortable being up and around

ROXY: before they were just in the room nesting snug as a bug in a rug

DAVE: nesting

ROXY: ya like a bug in a rug what is there to not get lmao

DAVE: well they keep leaving karkat little piles of meat

DAVE: like a cat

ROXY: damb thats adorbs

DAVE: in his shoes

DAVE: at the foot of the bed

DAVE: hes convinced its to dunk on him in some way

DAVE: but thats just karkat being karkat

ROXY: but in the vents tho

DAVE: yeah i dont know man

DAVE: hes obsessed with it

DAVE: for once in his life he doesnt want to talk about it

DAVE: guess well never know