#seeing as they are pretty much the only characters that were described SEVERAL TIMES as being super handsome by the narration

[neon-ufo]

Pridak 🦈

[cool-island-songs]

Analysis of ALNST Character Relationship Metrics

My art book won't be here for a minute, but I ran some screenshots I saw on twt through an image translator and have a lot of thoughts:

TILL: Despite claiming to hate everyone in the world, Till ranks Ivan at 70% intimacy even as he identifies perturbing behaviors of Ivan's going back years and refers to him as "a bother". He also ranks Sua at 10% in spite of having little to say about her and finding it uncomfortable to be around her.

Though he postures at being misanthropic and has all the manners you'd expect of a boy who was half off at the human child pound, he's actually quite gentle and sensitive. This is reflected in one of the graduation messages he's left by a classmate as well:

The person he feels closest to is an unattainable crush, and someone who doesn't feel that close with him in return, likely because he's too shy to really approach her or carry on a conversation.

MIZI: That's Mizi, of course, who's rather childlike and naive initially. She likes everyone, but since Till chokes when he tries to speak to her and often keeps his distance, she wonders if he's avoiding her because he dislikes her.

Mizi gravitates towards people who she sees as "perfect", which is how she describes Ivan and Sua in her graduation message to Ivan:

She doesn't see the darker side of Ivan's personality (which has been described on several occasions, even by himself, as "twisted") because he's attractive, successful, and helpful to her.

Though she likes everyone, Sua is her "God", and the only thing that can keep them apart is the tragedy of their situation, which forces Mizi to grow up in a brutally painful way.

SUA: Sua is far less idealistic and naive than Mizi, and has clearly thought about sacrificing herself to save Mizi, since Ivan picks on her for thinking of doing so in an official comic. Accordingly, her feelings about Mizi are far more tinged by the knowledge that they will one day be torn apart by external circumstances. She laments that reciprocating her feelings will one day cause Mizi great pain.

She's always been more somber, and despite her surface similarities to Ivan (which he notes in a follow-up comic wherein he realizes he was wrong about Sua's feelings for Mizi being unrequited), she's quite different on the inside. Sua's more sensitive and thus her colder exterior serves to protect her, whereas Ivan's outward persona creates an illusion of normalcy that doesn't reflect his reality.

Sua views Ivan and Till as a threat and a nuisance, respectively. Like Till, she senses something strange about Ivan, and when it comes to Till, it's just one person too many around for her. This is fascinating to me, because I thought she might pity Till! Her feelings about Ivan were already pretty clear from this panel of the 'piggyback' comic, and she seems deeply hurt in the first comic linked by his prodding.

IVAN: For his part, Ivan is fascinated by Till even though he's content to sit back and observe, pestering him to get a reaction or his attention for a brief time. He doesn't expect anything in return but wants more than anything to be on Till's mind (hence behaviors like stealing Till's belongings and returning them to him, pretending he had found them).

He prefers Sua to Mizi despite his awareness that Sua doesn't particularly like him, seeing her as a sister and even telling her she's "twisted" like he is. He likes Mizi well enough, especially her sincerity, but seems to find her optimism a bit much at times.

The fact that Mizi and the others would likely consider Ivan and Mizi quite close while Ivan does not reflects how much he postures even in his closest relationships. He struggles to connect with those he's most compelled by and it's not clear if he really wants to.

Some Ivantill thoughts before I go:

There seems to be a common sentiment that it's tragic Till was unable to see how much Ivan loved him, and I think we'll likely get more of Till's perspective on Ivan and their relationship in round 7. But it may not be the case that Ivan even wanted his true feelings to be seen, or would have known what to do if Till had reciprocated them.

There's something almost voyeuristic and self-negating in his feelings for Till (see: "I can’t reach you, so I imagine alone/You who shines, I stand next to you" from 'Black Sorrow'). He has far more self-awareness and willingness to accept things as they are than Till, who doesn't see that Mizi only has eyes for Sua and who would likely struggle to accept that reality.

Ivan, on the other hand, is well aware that his feelings for Till are "shallow", a bright fantasy to get him through his dark reality, and he seems to sincerely believe that his death won't scar Till because he's never really broken through to him. He's a schemer, and comments he makes in his graduation message to Till and the interview he gives in advance of round 6 suggest that he may have been planning to sacrifice himself for some time.

Part of me wonders if he hoped it would leave a mark on Till. Choking, kissing, and violently sacrificing oneself are all aggressive, forward acts, especially from someone who used to toy with people to get his kicks but was otherwise quite passive and unfeeling.

There are a lot of parallels in the one-sided loves, like Till acting out of his usual character for Mizi, and Ivan doing the same because of Till, putting all hopes of being saved in something just out of reach, staying in chains for that one special person. But Ivan's psychology is quite different from Till's, and in fact closest to Luka's re: low or no empathy. Both Ivan and Till are significantly traumatized by their upbringings but Ivan's difficult early life in the slums and his experience being dangled off that rooftop seem to have damaged his ability to connect to others or feel much of anything.

Till is the first person for whom he feels anything while for Till, Mizi is an early crush he puts on a pedestal in a much more commonplace way. I think the shared trauma of competing on that stage makes it much more difficult for either of them to imagine moving on, but Ivan is not wrong in identifying that he won't find that feeling again.

The thing that intrigues me most about this series is the way the contestants' differences play out, particularly with regard to how they view love and how they respond to their individual and shared challenges. I'd love to get into it further another time but this is quite long already so thanks for sticking with it if any have (haha)

[bhaalest]

god this is so overdue. im finally making a bg3 side blog

for a first post i wanted to list some of the artists i've been (mostly) refraining from reblogging to main for many months at this point. i meant to only do my favorite few but then i couldn't decide who my favorite few were so... here you go

@meanbossart draws absolutely beautiful art of his absolutely beautiful du drow, and also has an amazingly well-written and well-characterized story about what he, astarion, and shadowheart get up to post-game

@kawareo goes deep how his durge strike suffers from both the urge and orin's attack, and into strike before orin's attack. i love the standalone art and comics, so when i say his writing is my favorite thing he's done that's high praise

@velnna's tav staeve is another very pretty man and i don't know how to describe what i like most about his art other than "very pleasantly textured", it catches the eye in a very pleasing way

@lucklessrat has incredible dramatic and comedic timing in their comics of lethean, and i love what they do with leth being old. you don’t see that often

i have a soft spot for half-orcs and paladins so naturally i think about @everchased's finch constantly. they have several of my favorite bg3 comics ever but the SMITE one is... just gonna say i agree with astarion there

there is so much to say about @jeeaark's tav greygold, from the jokes to the relentless optimism to the visceral (in a very good way) art style, but my new favorite thing is the dark urge (godsdammit) companion series, it's really fun to see DUG and greygold interact and i can't wait for more. also, another half-orc!

@ejoym's durge devlin is wonderfully deranged, i love the dark humor in the comics, the art is really crisp, and the artist makes really great use of colors. i love how pointy everyone is also

@ohpsshaw's durge typhus is going through it at the moment. love his expressive face (and the expressiveness of the whole art style) and puppydog vibe, i can't wait to see how much he... enjoys... the rest of the game as daddy's chosen. also check out the artist's entertaining commentary on her main(?) blog

@taygra5shaon's big scary durge jacq somehow can do adorable and terrifying equally well, sometimes at the same time. this is another artist who has great timing in her comics. i especially like the young jacq ones.

@angiemaniac's tavella and durge companion au presents durge from a different and very interesting perspective. and she does a great job including every companion into the story, while tavella is still a compelling character on her own!

cae is the most beautiful durge you've ever seen and @hellothisisangle's art does such a good job of making him feel dangerous. it's incredibly beautifully rendered, the poses and fashion are always amazing, and on top of it all cae's lore is fascinating too

@wellen-katze's comics are really in a league of their own. their comics vary but my favorites are the ones that hurt to read. my favorite series is this one with ascended astarion and a nameless durge dealing with the tragic aftermath of the story. their comics hurt in an incredible way that i can't get enough of.

ghost, aka niro, by @oathbreakerapologist is wonderfully fucked up. he has a really upsetting presence (/positive) and i can't look away from his relationship with orin. this is probably the least sfw blog i'm linking, which i hope comes off as a complement

with @mistercrowbar's aldiirn it's hard to pinpoint specific things i like because the art and comics are so well-rounded, but if pressed i would point to aldiirn's visual design and the skill with which the artist makes his desire for approval and will to break the rules mesh together. i'm not sure if i want to be his friend or study him like a bug

i love @crocodiller's pining dumbass (affectionate) rowan so much. there's a lot to like about the comics but my favorite is rowan's supportive friendship with karlach. they're also very well-paced and some of the crispest art i've ever seen

i found @ryvenarts and sullen literally yesterday but i'm already very interested and excited to see if there will be more

another recent (to me) discovery, thirkuir by @jayfitzmaurice. i really like his design and the expressiveness of all the characters

@quess-art has an adorable baby durge who still has a compelling backstory i'm excited to see more of. plus the wagging tail is just perfect

@3eefstud's durge Einar is really nice to look at, with amazing colors and gradients. i'm surprised i didn't find them until very recently

i thought @panksage's Ebony Darkness D'urge was just a joke at first but no, the comics are sincere (and also funny) and just beautiful, especially the colors!

i do not know if @arianiziolek's durge has a name. catty little murder lizard (affectionate). has some of the funniest comics but more importantly the best durge facial expressions

@bajablast666 is double dipping with durges kaethan and kelrath. both their art and writing have an intensity that i love (the red outlines they use often are so good) and their writing in particular conveys emotion and visceral feeling so well

karl by @beltart is another on the surprisingly long list of people i initially found from their art, then read their writing and was blown away. i don't think i've seen anyone else depict the weight of the urge as intensely as this and i love it

and finally, a palate cleanser from all the durges, @wirywyrm's tav arthur who's in a sitcom as opposed to a horror story. i really like the texture and detail of their art and also how much of a dork arthur is. least smooth bard(adin) in the realms

incredibly i did leave out a few people, mostly people who draw companions rather than their tav/durge because i sort of locked myself into this format, so i may come back and update this later!

[augustjoy]

Without You

Sneak Peek: Aaron and you have been dating for over a year now…the thing is, the BAU team has no idea. When Aaron does something reckless that could cost him his life, will you expose the relationship you have worked so hard to keep under wraps?

Aaron Hotchner x BAU Fem Reader

Angst/Fluff

Word count: 2371

Warnings: One use of y/n, age gap, mentions of anxiety/anxiety attack, some language, canon typical violence, mentions of death, explosion, BAU case details (similar to those of s7e23), severe emotional pain, mentions of Haley’s death, mention of Jack, secret relationship, JJ is still the media liaison (it just fit better for the plot) if I missed any – let me know!

Not edited - please be kind.

I do not consent to having my work translated or reposted to any other site. That being said I do not own the characters portrayed in this story.

Aaron Hotchner had very quickly become your best friend. Your friendship had come so naturally, despite a pretty significant age gap. After two years of what could only be described as painfully obvious yearning from both parties, Aaron finally gained the courage to ask you to dinner. Even though it took two weeks before you could actually act on that invitation, the date had gone better than expected. Aaron had been a perfect gentleman; bringing you flowers, opening your door, holding your hand, paying for your meal, actually listening when you spoke.

That’s why it had been so easy to fall in love with him. Things with Aaron truly had been effortless, falling into a comfortable routine in which you would drive to his place after work, relieve the babysitter, get Jack started on homework while you got dinner going. Since meeting Jack, back before you’d even begun dating Aaron, you were one of his favorite people. You had spoiled Jack since you’d met the boy, he was just so sweet, and he’d reminded you of your nephews…it was easy to spend time with him. Aaron would come home to Jack helping set the table and you plating up the food. He’d wrap you up in an embrace and the three of you would sit and enjoy your meal while discussing how your days went (mostly Jack talking about school).

The one thing in your relationship that had not been effortless was keeping it a secret from your team. There had already been much speculation as to whether or not Aaron and you had feelings for one another amongst the agents. Dave was the one who pestered Aaron the most, constantly encouraging him to take a chance on love, that it wouldn’t always end like it had with Haley. In your case it had been Penelope, she and you had grown close over your time at the BAU, and she could see the tell-tale signs of a blossoming crush for your superior.

The two of you hadn’t initially planned to hide your relationship, but after many late-night conversations about it and a lengthy pros and cons list, you had determined, for the time being, keeping things quiet was the best option. That was nearly eleven months ago. You and Aaron had been together for about a year and a half, living together for four months…things had not been easy. You guys had to work hard to keep your feelings at bay on tough missions. There had been an instance of you getting stabbed by an unsub, thankfully the wound was superficial, and you were fine, but it had taken everything in Aaron not to run to you and take you into his arms. That was one of many hardships you had faced, but none of those would have prepared you for today.

A call had come in to the BAU at 9:53 am. The call rang to Aaron’s direct line, which meant it was a time sensitive case, usually a child abduction or in this case, a hostage situation. Aaron came out of his office swiftly, calling everyone’s attention without even speaking.

“There is a hostage situation at First Union bank. We’ve been called in by Virgina PD, who is already on the scene and SWAT is currently on their way as well. Everyone needs to gather their things and head to the garage” Aaron gave his orders, and everyone sprang into action.

As you all made your way to the government issued SUVs, Aaron continued briefing everyone and he gave out assignments.

“Alright Garcia and Reid, I want you two in the mobile command unit digging into our unsubs, we need to identify them. JJ, I need you to control the media with this, I don’t want any details getting out without my approval. Morgan and Prentiss go check in with SWAT and go over our plan. Y/N and Dave you will take point on the negotiations. Understood?” Aaron looked to everyone for confirmation.

There were collective nods, and everyone went to their separate posts to get started. You and Dave made your way over to one of the command center tents, discussing with the officers there that you would be in charge of the negotiations. They filled you in on what had happened thus far, and you worked to devise your initial approach. Dave and you had made contact with the unsubs, they were demanding a helicopter and one million dollars (a truly ridiculous request on their part). Approximately fifteen minutes later, Garcia and Reid rushed to where you, Dave and Aaron were standing.

“We have identified the unsubs! The two men are brothers, Michael and James Snyder. They are connected to at least eight other bank robberies around the northeastern United Staes. The woman, her name is Katiya Kuznetsov she is not connected to the robberies, but she is flagged under the FBI’s most wanted. She’s thought to be the mastermind behind dozens of explosions in North America from the last nine months.” Garcia explained. Aaron radioed to request the bomb squad.

“Why would she be working with these two? Robbing banks isn’t quite the same M.O. as blowing up buildings.” You questioned.

“We looked into it, and it seems that she may have connections to someone who owns a safety deposit box at this bank. We don’t know what is in it, but we were able to narrow down the list of potentials.” Reid answered.

“This changes things, we need to get in there and apprehend them. We need to get the civilians out. I think our best option would be for us to breach with SWAT and local PD.” Aaron explained.

“Hotch, that seems a little drastic don’t you think? If we just barge in there, who’s to say they don’t just start shooting the hostages. Dave and I were making progress and now that we know who they are, perhaps we can get them to break.” You could feel your anxiety eating away at you, the thought of Aaron barging in there terrified you.

“Sorry kid, but I’m with Aaron on this one. We were making some progress, but not enough and given this new information, I think it is safe to assume that there is probably a bomb in the bank somewhere, the sooner we get the hostages out, the better.” Rossi shut your idea down.

You could feel the bile rising up your throat. Your palms were starting to sweat and your pulse quickening. You knew what was about to happen, Aaron was going to give out assignments which meant he was diving headfirst into danger while he ensured your safety.

“Alright here’s what we will do, Morgan and I will go in the front, try to talk the unsubs down. Prentiss and Reid you will go through the back, with SWAT and the bomb squad try to locate the explosive and disable it. Garcia, I want you to keep eyes inside the bank the whole time, keep us posted of everything you see through comms. Dave and you can stay out here and monitor the phones, I want you to call in to distract them while we enter, I think it might buy us some leeway.” Aaron gave the assignments.

You gave Aaron a pointed look, one that expressed all of your nerves and anxiety. He looked back at you, it was stern as far as any onlooker could tell, but you could see the softness flash across his features. He was silently telling you that everything would be okay, and for a moment, you believed that it would be.

Time seemed to slow then. Everyone was moving, following orders hastily. But you, you were glued to your spot…Dave’s hand on your shoulder is what finally snapped you out of your thoughts.

“He’ll be okay kid.” Dave tried to soothe your nerves.

You called into the bank to try and steal the attention of the unsubs as Aaron had requested, all the while agents were moving through the bank. Suddenly Garcia’s voice rang over the comms.

“One of the unsubs slipped away. I’m assuming to get to the explosive. I am working to get the blueprints of the bank so we can figure out where it is set up.” Garcia rushed.

Gunshots echoed through the air, the comms were buzzing with shouts from Aaron, Morgan, Prentiss, Dave and some other voices you couldn’t pin down.

The fact that you could hear Aaron’s voice helped to calm your nerves as he clearly hadn’t been shot. His next words soothed your mind even more so.

“We have Michael and James in custody, Morgan is walking the hostages out now. I am going to go and assist the others in finding Katiya and the explosive.” Aaron called over the comms.

Dave could see you tense at Aaron’s words; he once again laid his hand on your shoulder in hopes to ease your mind. Morgan walked over to you and Dave after placing the unsubs in the police cars that were standing by.

What happened next brought your world crashing down.

The silence over the comms had been eerie. Everything paused and then it happened. The bank had exploded, right before your eyes. You had been far enough away that the blast hadn’t knocked you over, but it still left your ears ringing.

Had Morgan and Dave’s ears not already been ringing they definitely would have been after the scream that ripped through your body.

“NOO!!!!!” You screamed.

You couldn’t form a coherent thought; you sobbed and lurched your body forward in hopes of going to find Aaron. Before you could make it three steps, Morgan had his arms around your waist holding you back. He turned you around and held you while you pounded your fists against his chest.

“Sweetheart you can’t go in there. I know we have people in there and waiting for them to get out is going to feel like an eternity. But until we get any sort of confirmation, we need to try and stay positive.” Morgan explained.

Garcia and JJ joined you, Dave and Morgan, tears streaming down their faces, all of them silently hoping your team family would make it out unscathed.

You could feel it coming on, the more time had passed. Your breaths were shallow, body clammy, your vision was going blurry, you were having a hard time keeping yourself upright. Dave was the one to notice and lead you away from the group, he held your hands and was saying something about you needing to match his breathing.

“Dave I…I c-can’t. W-what if he doesn’t make it out? I w-would d-die without him Dave!” You hiccupped.

“He’s going to make it out. But remember that you are strong and no matter what happens you will make it through this.” Dave reminds you.

“No! Dave, you don’t understand without Aaron, sure, the rain would fall, the children would play, the tides would change but I-I would die.” You looked away from Dave momentarily “I die without you.” You whispered.

You saw heads start turning in the direction of the alleyway that was adjacent to what was once the bank, as you followed suit, the bile returned – easing its way up your throat.  A body bag, with no other signs of Aaron. Your mind jumped to the worst-case scenario and your legs finally gave out. Dave tried to catch you as you fell to the ground, another gut-wrenching sob ripping its way through you.

You didn’t register the loss of Dave’s arms around your shoulders, not until he moved to pull you up off the ground and turn you in the direction of the group of agents making their way towards you. You tried to protest, telling Dave that nothing mattered anymore, until he physically turned your chin towards them.

“Aaron?” It came out as an exhale, below a whisper.

“Aaron?” This time was a bit louder, gaining your voice back.

“Aaron!” A shout this time as you could see his eyes scanning the crowd for you.

His gaze snapped to you as you ran towards him, looking him over to ensure that he is unharmed before you launch yourself into his arms. He lifted you fully and allowed you to wrap your legs around his waist, he could feel your tears soaking the collar of his shirt. He gently shushed you assuring you that he was okay and that everyone was safe.

“T-the b-body bag, I-I thought it. I thought it was you, Aaron.”

“It was Katiya, she was trying to detonate it when we found her, we had just enough time to get to some sort of vault, but when it went off, the debris trapped us in. Honey, I am so sorry I scared you. I’m alright though, not even a scratch.” Aaron brushed his hand over the back of your head as you brought your feet back to the ground.

He looked into your eyes, he could tell that your brain was trying to process everything, all the emotions you had just been feeling, along with the relief you must be feeling now. He couldn’t help himself when he leaned in and kissed you. It was a kiss that said I was terrified of losing you but we’re safe and here together now. As he pulled away, you rested your foreheads against one another’s.

You knew that there would be tons of questions from the team but honestly in this moment you couldn’t care less because Aaron was safe and back in your arms. This moment that you were sharing allowed a few things to become clear for you and Aaron. You knew that he was the one for you, nobody else, and you were sure you wouldn’t survive losing him. He came to realize that it was time for him to pull that ring from the back of his sock drawer and finally ask you for forever, he thought that maybe it was time for him to step back and take that promotion Strauss had continuously offered. All he knew was that he couldn’t risk what you two had. Without you…he couldn’t even finish the thought because that wasn’t even an option.

[sgiandubh]

Tomato, tomahto

Following the last posts on the matter, the Instagram account @Caittony felt the urge to write a looooonggg (🙄😅) disclaimer, denying she was the same person as this X account, from where the conversations with the undercover shipper were taken:

Then several other similar accounts were added, across the street, in a strange defensive post by Totally Not Caittony. Such as this account (on Instagram), and a couple of other, perfectly absurd matches...

...but this sock account, on Tumblr, was bizarrely forgotten:

Common trait of these four accounts? They are all Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) and most probably based in Brazil. If curiosity killed the cat, laziness gave away the sloth.

But let's unpack.

Instagram's Caittony's disclaimer-cum-rebuttal is a masterpiece in accurately describing that very peculiar moment when a panic attack makes an exposed liar very violent. In the hope that shouting like a banshee will be enough:

I won't translate this garbage. She is just defending herself in the usual fashion, saying shippers 'do not have a brain', calling them 'idiots', 'donkeys' (means pretty much the same and worse in Brazilian slang) and a particular Brazilian fan - a 'worm'. Shippers are also 'alone, unloved, frustrated and depressive' people, 'whose brain is the size of a desiccated coconut'.

@Caittony joined Instagram in July 2018 and is based in Brazil:

She has 6.086 followers and follows 71 other accounts:

Her bio reads like a strong reaction to SIS Brazil's in-house paid content policy: 'here you don't have to pay'.

The @caitony Instagram account joined Instagram in April 2019 and stopped posting in July 2019. It is followed by 163 people only and follows 43 other accounts:

The user doesn't say where they are based, perhaps with a clear intent to deceive. But their follow list gives them away, anyways:

All these accounts which do not belong to cast or cast's collaterals (including vulnerable relatives!) are based in...

Yup:

Brazil. Coisa mais estranha, ta?

And so does the X account @CaitrionaTony, which was opened in January 2022, has 792 followers and follows only 10 other X accounts:

Among which the same Brazilian all things Balfe portal as the dormant @caitony Instagram account:

Same X @caitrionatony account that, according to the @caittony Instagram account never mentions shippers. I mean, I had to laugh at that one:

She even mentions/quotes @odessa-2, same as @caittony in her pathetic rebuttal:

This I will translate with pleasure: the X account, according to @caittony, 'never mentions #crazyodessa (the craziest of them all'. So you see, it's not her, mmmkay?

Except she does, as I just showed you. A shipper Tumblr account who is not even from Brazil, but who apparently bothers them to death. Factual description, nothing more, here.

There is no perfect crime. Ask any Brazilian Outlander fan active on X and Instagram: chances are everyone knows @CaitrionaTony on X and @Caittony on Instagram are the same person. And it's logical, come to think of it: hitting both platforms, for more audience, but with slightly different personas. A vile one on Insta, which is at any rate a bit trashier by default. And a less talkative one on X, where she is limited anyways by the predefined length of posts, currently set at 280 characters only.

This person did not deserve my time, nor my attention. But taking into account what just happened, from now on, I am not going to interact with any new account. Not anymore. New or empty accounts will be systematically blocked, unless they introduce themselves in DMs, in which case they will be simply tolerated, but not answered to.

Thank this lost soul for this new policy.

PS: To date, the @CaitrionaTony X account has not commented on this bullshit which directly involves her. She probably feels her twin, Instagram's @caittony did the job and fitted the bill.

[hello-nichya-here]

Happy women day !

I saw that you are Sansan fans. Some time ago I was thinking about the scene where Sandor and Sansa talk for the first time, the time when she fears Payne and he places his hands on her shoulders. What do you think about it? She really didn't need any help at all, the best swordman of the kingdom (Barristan) and the royal prince himself (Renly Baratheon) where already there and (if i am not wrong) they already said her that they would protect her in any danger.

Yet Sandor was already there watching over her when it wasnt needed and way before they knew each other. I sincerely think that he said her all the truth about his past in their first real conversation, and then he regrets it, because he was "infatuated" with her since day 1. Am i wrong? What do you think?

I would say that Sandor already found Sansa beautiful at that point, but was not yet in love or even infactuated with her because the turning point that makes him see her as more than just another pretty noble lady is the unexpected kindness she showed him when he told her about his brother disfiguring him and then not only getting away with it, but being made a knight.

It doesn't really strike me as being some kind of personal decision on his part to be acting as Sansa's bodyguard at that moment - she IS betrothed to the prince and is the daughter of the Hand of the King, no protection is too much protection, especially 'cause any guard that WASN'T going above and beyond for her sake would likely get severely punished if something were to happen to her. Sandor being around during that scene was probably just a pragmatic matter.

HOWEVER, George R.R. Martin loooooves making Sandor stand out to Sansa, even in scenes that involve multiple characters.

Joffrey is having all his guards torment Sansa? Sandor is the one that refuses to hit her, refers to her as a child, covers her up when she's being exposed, gives her advice on how to survive the king's wrath. THAT is him going above and beyond for her, which she notices.

Sansa is praying for all the people that are about to be involved in the Battle of Blackwater? The prayer for Sandor's safety, and for his soul in general, is the only one that is described in detail.

For God's sake, Sandor manages to stand out in Sansa's mind even in scenes where he isn't even present - hence her wishing he were the one standing guard on the room where she and all the noble ladies are, and her even assuming Sandor HAD to have been the man who saved her from being assaulted, even though at this point he had disappeared for months and was presumed dead by many people, because it's ALWAYS Sandor that protects her from harm.

This first scene might not have been something that either character expected to be important - to them it was just Sandor doing his job and Sansa being a polite little lady - but it is Martin stablishing a very clear pattern in the narrative: Sandor is Sansa's flawed, scary protector whose presence was so reassuring at first that she mistook him for her father (and again, later on she'll come to mistake any man that comes to her rescue as being Sandor, showing how much their relationship evolved from this first moment).

It's pure foreshadowing.

[melrosing]

sorry if this comes off as a shallow question but i wanted to know if you think arya is intended to be pretty. bc from my interpretation of the reading she’s absolutely not but she’s still one of my favourite characters in the series and i always get into arguments with other arya fans bc of this. i always read her story as sort of similar to brienne’s, who’s my absolute favourite character, and brienne fans will never (from my experience) accuse someone of hating her because they think she’s ugly. is this a phenomenon you also see? what’s your opinion?

not the prettycourse 😭 ok so I understand that some people might find more meaning in Arya’s story if she weren’t beautiful, bc I agree that ugliness is a powerful part, crucial even, of Brienne’s story. Brienne isn’t an ‘ugly duckling’, she never gets the catharsis of becoming a swan: she is truly society’s definition of ugly, and she is an incredible person too, worthy of respect and admiration. it’s rare that you get a story about an ugly woman that manages to be so much else besides, and doesn’t ultimately subvert that ugliness by reassuring readers that she was secretly attractive all along.

so I do understand the ambivalence towards Arya’s story as one that does just that; presents an ugly duckling narrative without subversion. there’s no powerful message in that. Arya doesn’t have to overcome anything to be attractive, she just is.

which is to say, Arya is canonically pretty. this is said several times over by multiple people, including Ned, Jon, Lady Smallwood, the Kindly Man, etc etc. it’s made very clear that Arya is the spit of Lyanna, who was considered a beauty. maybe not in such a conventional sense as Cersei, but still more or less conventionally so. it’s implicit that Arya’s beauty is merely hidden behind the messy hair and the dirty face etc etc like it’s whatever, she’s canonically pretty.

I think it’d be more interesting if Arya were just a normal looking kid lol, she doesn’t need Brienne’s story but we certainly have way more female POVs described as beauties than we do otherwise. Catelyn, Daenerys, Sansa, Arya, Asha, Cersei, Arianne, Melisandre - they’re literally all described as beauties in some sense. Brienne is the sole exception. Compare to the men, amongst whom only Jaime is described as a stunner lol, then Theon is considered fairly hot, and Jon…. might be?? and then that’s kind of it.

so I do think that it would be more interesting if a character who was once teased for her appearance didn’t have the author quickly assure us that actually she’s a beauty, because that’s not often how it works in life. some people can clean themselves up a bit and suddenly get compliments, but for the people who have really suffered appearance-based bullying, they don’t suddenly turn out to have been beautiful all along. they look how they look, and it’s up to society to celebrate them as they are, not for them to meet societal standards. this is what I think Brienne’s story does so effectively, but at the superlative end of the spectrum. unfortunately, there is no middle ground between Brienne and a host of beautiful female POVs and that’s on GRRM.

as for the Arya stans, to some extent I understand them getting annoyed at a broad insistence that Arya looks otherwise to how she is canonically described. there will be certain fans with an agenda in saying this. but given that you can’t really go a day without seeing some variation of this discourse in fandom, I’m going to say that this argument over the hotness of a ten year old girl has officially had way too much air time and can we please all just accept that yes she is canonically pretty and who the fuck cares

[bad-holmes-impression]

TELL ME EVERY TTS/VAT7K HEADCANON YOU HAVE

PLEASE NO I HAVE A FAMILY

why did i subject myself to this. i’m still gonna do it, though. (these aren’t fully dedicated to any one character, so y’all can still ask about them! just thinking of the overall shows)

-varian got down on one knee to propose to hugo. hugo laughed and said “ha, you’re even shorter now.” there was a moment of absolute silence before hugo realized what was going on. varian started to stand up. hugo frantically begged him to wait and start over.

-cassandra and eugene occasionally called off their rivalry for cass to teach eugene to play chess. cass had realized he didn’t know how (orphan, poor, thief) and said that a future king obviously had to learn. cue surprisingly cute, very gruff training.

-varian is terrified of maximus. maximus can smell the criminal on him. varian has had to hide in a tree from that horse several times.

-there was a point in hugo’s life, after vat7k, where it finally dawned on him that he was safe and happy. varian held him as he cried with too many emotions he couldn’t describe.

-hugo absolutely despises frederic and arianna. he performs elaborate, heist-like pranks on them for varian’s sake. they don’t know it’s him. they’re losing their minds.

-for a long time after his redemption, varian didn’t see anything wrong in his relationship with andrew. he just thought “well, he’s standing in for my dad.” and then he did consciously realize “he’s evil”, but he didn’t actually unpack everything that went on. i don’t think andrew did anything to him, but i think he was extremely creepy, and there’s still something so horrible about a man in a confined space with a boy who was 13 only a year ago.

-upon the separatists of saporia breaking out, andrew made sure to keep varian busy in the castle so he didn’t realize that the citizens of corona were enslaved.

-varian’s truth cookies made pete and stan confess their love.

-nuru is afraid of ruddiger at first (not a lot of wildlife in a meteor-ravaged kingdom). she finally gets over that fear just in time for varian to have to turn ruddiger into beast-ruddiger for some reason. nuru is even more emotionally scarred.

-“plus est en vous” goes differently in my mind. in my ideal reality. in my headcanon. i don’t know exactly what happened, but i do know varian, lance, and eugene play MUCH bigger roles.

-hugo is an emotional drunk. varian is a stupid drunk (while inebriated, he once invented a ship, which had already been invented at the time. ((by “ship”, i mean boat.))) rapunzel is also an emotional drunk. cass is the death-wish kind of drunk that would deliberately try to get run over by a carriage. eugene can keep an objective in mind when he drinks, like getting information out of somebody, but he will also get distracted by a really pretty swirl of wood on the table. lance is a philosophical drunk.

-the whole team, from both shows, hums their big songs to themselves when they’re bored. those things may spring out of their innermost psyches and display themselves in fits of passion, but damn if they aren’t catchy.

-angry once won an arm-wrestling match against lance. no one knows how it happened. lance swears she hypnotized him.

-eugene lets rapunzel paint on him, and she comes to him for fashion advice.

THAT’S ALL I CAN THINK OF RIGHT NOW AND THEY AREN’T EVEN CHARACTER-SPECIFIC SO OH BOY I GUESS I HAVE MORE

[dunmeshistash]

What do you think about Shuro? And more specifically his relationship with Laios, and idk if you talk about ships but what are your thoughts on laishuro

I have this headcannon that Laios has some sort of unrequited crush on Shuro just because it's sorta funny

I ship pretty much everything. Like, as default I think everyone should kiss everyone 👍

If I'm honest I'm not much of a Shuro fan, he's a little boring to me and reactions to the chimera episode made me dislike him a bit lmao.

Ignoring the fandom I like him as a character and I LOVE his fight with Laios. Shuro's relationship to Laios is my favorite part of that character so laishuro pretty much saves him for me.

In universe Shuro is said to be quite the introvert even for people from his country. He's not the standard for someone from the eastern archipelago and it bothered me a bit when people used that to justify how he wasn't honest to Laios. I understand the idea that he comes from somewhere where reading social cues is not only expected but required but he's also someone who avoids confrontation and is quiet/shy in general.

Here's a bit from Maizuru's description from the adventurer's bible

"People tend to describe Shuro as "drab" and "shy" (...)" so specifically HE IS the exact type of person who would cause the biggest misunderstanding with Laios, just compare him to how his retainers or even his father and brothers act.

It took them saying they used ancient magic on Falin/seeing chimera Falin for him to finally snap, everything else he decided to just take it cause he thought it was better to take it than to confront Laios directly.

So besides the cultural differences you have to take into consideration this was pretty much the perfect storm brewing for that confrontation, and it's as much who Shuro is as a person and who Laios is as person that caused it.

I also disagree that the fight was a "they're both in the wrong" situation. Don't get me wrong, Laios was VERY culturally insensitive to Shuro and even more insensitive to his feelings, but there was nothing he could have done differently with the information that was available to him.

Specifically I see this comic being used to justify how Laios was to blame too, making Shuro into the victim

Like that's a major white guy move but he DIDN'T HEAR Shuro's name and Shuro never corrected him. I'd understand it if his reaction was "Your name is too complicated so I'll call you Shuro instead" that would be a major dick move, but Laios did not hear his name because Toshiro mumbled it, and for someone that forgot Kabru's name several times I imagine he made an effort to remember Shuro's.

Laios never met someone from the eastern archipelago before this, nobody ever explained to him he wasn't acting in an appropriate manner and most of all he thought they were friends. He trusted Shuro to set boundaries for him, he always respects boundaries that are set even when he doesn't fully understand them (Recalling the "I forgot about feelings.." when Chilchuck says it feels wrong to eat merman)

Instead of explaining ANYTHING to Laios, Shuro instead held it all in until it exploded all at once, he blamed Laios for not knowing something he couldn't know, and accused him of not being serious about saving his own sister.

Just imagine how this must have felt for Laios, everyone is always underestimating how serious he is, everyone accuses him of being stupid, clueless, and now this guy is telling him he isn't serious about saving the person he loves the most in the world and wants to protect always. To me this wasn't a "they're both in the wrong" situation, Shuro is far more in the wrong than Laios. But that's just how I see it.

That all being said, they understood each other finally and made peace after that fight.

And several times after this we see that Shuro really cares for Laios, and Laios still wants to be his friend. He even offered to save Laios if he fails (and he's sure he's gonna fail). So their relationship is dear to me, especially cause after this they finally have the foundation for a true mutual friendship <3

I think my dislike of Shuro comes from relating to him to be honest, it happens often that I see my own failures on a character and get angry at them for being angry at myself lmao. I also got a little annoyed cause I only saw people defending him, apparently those were made as a response to hate he had gotten? But since I never actually seen the hate it just felt annoying to see Shuro being white knighted.

Anyway I love the two of them together and I'm really happy they finally understood each other better. laishuro might be my favorite Laios ship, one sided crushes are great.

[rottenlightart]

I've often heard the opinion, that Catra was a terrible friend to Scorpia, and that she didn't care about her. To be honest, I don't agree with that, Catra wasn't the worst friend for Scorpia within her capabilities, and really disagree that Catra didn't care about what will happen to Scorpia. I think their relationship is a little more complex than it seems.

(I'm not claiming that their relationship is “healthy and non-toxic,” and etc, I don't want to put any moral judgment on them because I'm not interested in it)

(I'd write many posts about my thoughts on some of the details of the series, but language barrier is eating me alive. Yes, it's a longread with bad English. I hope my attempts to translate this text are successful, but if it's an unreadable mess, let me know 🥲)

Yep, Catra in s1-s4 screws up with communication. The reasons, as I see it, are pretty obvious— she didn't get proper socialization, and on top of that, she was live in constant danger from birth, which had a big impact on her perception of people and contact with them in general. She never had examples of normal relationships in front of her, but she had plenty of things that would convince her to avoid people. Society around her was built on force and violence, she received a clear message that if only she will be strong people would not be able to harm her. (But Catra had Adora, yes. But their friendship, as perceived by Catra, was clearly antagonistic towards the world. Catra wanted to conquer the world with Adora, not be part of it with her)

Plus in s1 Catra has just lived a situation where the one person who promised her safety left her and started fighting against her. This fact, overlaid with the fact that every person she has ever known in her live, be hostile at her or straight threatened her life , explains to me her inability and unwillingness to have friendships. Perhaps she just doesn't see the point of them, because she never thought she could trust anyone but Adora, and after Adora run away from her life, that option was closed in Catra's perception.

(About "every person she known" - I'm not sure how close it is to headcanon, but I suspect that the other cadets could be bullying Catra behind Adora's back. In her perfect version of reality she interacts with other cadets much more often than in real life, this also convinces me of this)

Why then do I say her relationship to Scorpia is not clearly indifferent when I just say she didn't want friendship? Because I think she did care about Scorpia, but in ways that were possible to Catra. 3 facts speak to me about this. 1 - despite her outbursts of anger, as boss Catra is actually patient with Scorpia

Their relationship until the end of Season 4 would be easier to describe as a partnership; it was like a classic villain-sidekick duo. Scorpia acted like Catra's subordinate (she even call Catra as "our leader"), despite the fact that they were of the same rank, Catra repeatedly gave orders to Scorpia

Catra is bad as a friend who doesn't want to share standard friendship signals, but as a boss she is very patient with Scorpia. The only time she snapped at her, I'll describe below. This may sound rude, but as much as I love her, Scorpia… was a terrible employee. She often fails at tasks that are delegated to her.

She's losing the outposts she's guarding, she's failing with paperwork, she's failing to protect an important artifact... Scorpia screws up almost every order.

(Just in case, I say this without any negativity towards the character, she's not bad, she just wasn't suited for her position.)

And Catra is very patient with this. None of her commanders have ever demonstrated tolerance for failures. Her superiors strangled Catra just for self-affirmation of them, tortured her with magic for her insolent phrases and wanted to execute her for failures, while Catra was rude to Scorpia at worst. Catra showed uncharacteristic restraint with her.

2 - Catra defended Scorpia

There are several episodes where this may be shown The most controversial moment is the prison scene. I'm not sure if Catra's refusal to be rescued was a desire to protect Scorpia from the consequences, rather than emotional vulnerability after being stabbed in the back

Perhaps something in between is true, it's a complex scene. After all, she had nowhere to run, and she knew it.

But next scene is much more indicative. Their relationship changed after Catra's emotional outburst in s4. It was rude and unpleasant, but immediately after that moment Catra takes blame for failure on herself.

She didn't say that important data was lost because of Scorpia (as Catra thought it that moment).

Catra knew that Hordak could kill her for failing, which had almost happened in the past, and Catra was clearly scared in that moment. If Scorpia wasn't important to Catra at all, there wouldn't be any point in protecting her. In fact, there is no rational reason, other than affection, to risk her own life for it.

(In addition, Catra was a victim many times, and standing up to the aggressor from your childhood is an action that requires enormous willpower (trust me I know lol))

3 - Catra was worried about Scorpia when she didn't answer on her call

(It doesn’t look that obvious in the screenshots, but her voice at that moments is very expressive) I think no comments are needed here. Scorpia's departure affected Catra so much that she started looking for her through the security camera. Their breakup was one of the reasons that led to Catra's meltdown.

I could probably take more points, but I think my point of view is already clear.

As I said, their relationship does not seem to me univocal. Their relationships are complex and greatly influenced by the context of their life. This is why I love this series.

Perhaps, if they had more time, then even within the Horde their relationship could have come to balance. In any case, it's pretty bittersweet stuff.

[callmelittlesunshinefics]

Hello, Little Girl (Part One)

Logan Howlett (Wolverine) x Reader

Summary: You have been living at Xavier's school for a few years now, feeling slightly out of place as a Nephilim from another universe but welcome nonetheless. When something pops up that has no business being in this universe you're sent gearing up for a mission that you would rather leave the X-Men out of, but an anxious endless and overprotective step-uncle-devil insist on this being worked as a team.

A/N: The title is an Into the Woods reference for no good reason other than that I couldn't help myself. We're also loosely using X2 Logan purely because of the kitchen scene, but in reality it's an AU.

Some quick background, the reader (Y/N in fic, described with she/her pronouns) is based off of an OC I tend to pull out pretty frequently. Half human, half angel, displaced from their home universe and dropped into this one, with characters from Lucifer (show/comics) and The Sandman (show/comics) making appearances despite not existing in the Marvel Universe. *shrug* TW: Alcohol use, swearing, mature/explicit themes down the line in subsequent chapters so MDNI

Feedback/questions/comments HUGELY appreciated as it took me a long ass time to say f it and post this <3

Pairing: Logan Howlett x Reader

Word Count: 3,437

It was late when you arrived, but that was part of your plan. You didn’t want too much of a fuss and had plenty of groceries to put away, everyone made a big fuss out of missing your cooking when you announced your departure, so you were sure to come back with all the essentials you knew you’d be asked to make in the coming days. It was late to start cooking, even by your standards, but the silence in the house was so deep that you were certain starting some baked goods wouldn’t be the cause of any commotion. You got to work with plenty of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs on hand. All of the basics you would need to make as many things as possible. 

You got started on big batches of basics; chocolate chip cookies, brownies, dough for cinnamon rolls to serve tomorrow morning. You had several bowls in various stages of prep when you fell silent, realizing you were no longer alone. 

“If I had known you were here I swear I wouldn’t have started,” you turned, explaining yourself to the only person it could be, “You’re the only one who could’ve heard any of this from three floors away.” 

Logan shook his head in the negative and unlocked the fridge that stored alcohol for the adults of the mansion, grabbing two beers. He held one out to you that you accepted, and he took a large sip of his before explaining. 

“I was up as soon as you landed in the kitchen,” he referenced your unique method of travel, shrugging, “You might be flying too fast to see, but I heard you.” 

You smirked, “Yet you waited until the cookie dough was just about ready…” 

He shrugged, “Figured you’d be so happy to see your favorite in the house you’d be more likely to sneak me some extra.” 

“Were you even asleep?” You cut through the bullshit, and Logan chuckled, “And so confident you’re my favorite?” You teased, “What if it’s Scott?” 

He actually growled and wasn’t ashamed of it, “Don’t say things just to wound me, darlin’.” 

You chuckled to yourself but relented, sharing the cookie dough with the wolverine with an extra spoon you pulled from the drawer as soon as you realized who was snooping. You took a long sip of the beer and hummed, relenting without much of a fight. 

“How many are still here?” He knew what you meant without clarification. 

“Not many, but they’re all older so no one complains about these,” He gestured to the beers between the two of you, “But all of this will be gone by tomorrow.” He meant all of your baked goods and you shrugged. 

“That’s what they’re for, Old Man.” He glared at you, shoveling more cookie dough out of the bowl.

“How long are we going to do this little dance?” He asked looking you dead in the eye. It took a lot to throw you off balance, but Logan was better at doing it than most. 

“Is it your hip? Need a seat, grandpa?” They were coming out half-hearted even to you, and he leveled you with a look to tell you as much as he continued to wait, “Alright look, I’ll admit those weren’t my best, but if you don’t want to keep up the dance how about you just ask me whatever it is you want to know?” 

Logan looked genuinely surprised and you snorted, getting back to work you started to roll out dough that had finished resting for the cinnamon rolls. Logan sat down to watch, sipping his beer and enjoying your company while he worked out how to ask you everything he was thinking without scaring you off. 

He sighed, “When you left you said you couldn’t tell us much, and I understand needing to leave the past in the past better than most.” 

You waited for him to continue as you spread the filling across the dough. There were long silences sometimes between the two of you, but they never felt awkward. Logan didn’t have the gift of gab, but you weren’t in any rush. You learned early on that it was best to give him his time, but you also realized equally early that sometimes Logan sitting down and trying to talk about his feelings was like trying to recite a poem he’s never heard in a language he doesn’t speak.

“If I’m being totally honest, and I will be since it seems like that’s what you’re getting at, I don’t really know if I fixed anything or if I just…” You trailed off and Logan nodded, scooping up more cookie dough. This was the point you realized Logan really wasn’t leaving without more answers from you, any other day and that cookie dough would be a fond memory by now. 

“If they’re sending you for intel it must be pretty bad, huh?”

You finally got a genuine laugh out of him, “No one sent me, bub. The reason I waited for this to be ready first,” he gestured to his snack, “Is because I could smell the stress on you miles away. Whatever sent you runnin off hasn’t let you alone since, matter of time before you accept the fact you need help.” 

You squinted, “Can you actually smell stress or is that an exaggeration?” It may have sounded like a joke but you were genuinely curious and he knew, deciding to humor you. 

“More complicated than I made it sound, but bottom line is yes, bub. Is it my turn to ask a question?” He threw you a signature smirk as you both nursed your drinks, cinnamon rolls temporarily abandoned. You took a deep breath. 

“You’re no stranger to the fact that there are other worlds out there, some like the ones I came from, some much closer than that within this universe.” Logan sobered up quickly, sitting up straighter. He thought it would take more prodding, he didn’t expect you to casually toss him into the deep end. “Does the name Morepheus mean anything to you?” 

Logan shook his head in the negative and you nodded, but he interrupted before you could continue, “Do you want me to wake the professor?” 

You smiled sadly, “I’m going to tell him everything too. But is it alright if I just tell you first, we’ll consider it a first draft. I really have no clue how I’m going to explain this to-” 

“I’m gonna get us some proper drinks, don’t get too ahead of yourself kiddo.” You rolled your eyes and took the break as an opportunity to finish spreading the filling and roll up the cinnamon rolls to rest ahead of slicing and baking. 

Opening up to Logan first thing upon your arrival wasn’t on your bingo card for how your return was going to go, but it wasn’t unwelcome either. Your friendship with Logan was an easy one, but you couldn’t pretend it didn’t get strained in your absence. He knew you weren’t a mutant and that some part of you felt you didn’t belong at the school, didn’t deserve it, but he would be the first to remind you that didn’t matter. Of course, you weren’t fully human either, so what that made you to the team was always a question mark in your own mind. 

Logan returned and began covering your many bowls before you had a chance to tell him what went where, “I take it you’re forcing me into a break?” 

“And some sleep if I’m lucky.” He meant it as a joke but regretted it as soon as he saw your face fall, “But for now moving us into the study with the whiskey.” 

You got the kitchen mostly in a state of order before heading down the hallway to meet Logan by the fire, plate of brownies in hand. If you weren’t painfully aware of the bad news you were about to deliver, it might even feel romantic, huddled near the fire with chocolate and alcohol. You kicked your shoes off and collapsed onto the small couch beside Logan, enough space between the two of you to feel intimate without being crowded. You closed your eyes and leaned backwards into the plush cushions of the couch, taking a deep breath as you tried to pinpoint the start. 

“Now hon the first thing you need to understand is that nothing sent me off running. It may have seemed abrupt to everyone here, except the professor that is, but I was gone the second my head hit the pillow that night. I shut my eyes here and opened them in another world.” You took a deep breath as Logan stared back at you looking like he wasn’t entirely certain if you had completely lost it or were telling him something of dire importance. Once the shock wore off and he remembered who he was speaking to, a nephilim from another universe, he decided if you told him you were pulled into another world, he had no reason to doubt it as fact.

“Do you know where you were?” 

You nodded and pointed to your empty glasses, “It’s not like you to be stingey with the liquor, ever plan on helping a girl out?” 

He rolled his eyes but eagerly poured you both what looked to be maker’s mark. Not your favorite but for the conversation ahead anything would do. You weren’t a lightweight, but you couldn’t be called a drinker either, so you surprised yourself and Logan when you downed the double shot he poured before refilling your own glass and topping off his. You expected a snarky joke or more disapproval of your behavior, but instead the Wolverine just continued to watch you as if he were studying for a test he wasn’t entirely prepared for. 

You didn’t need his heightened senses to see that your behavior was putting him on edge, and you quietly admired this as one of his most underrated abilities. He might not know what you were about to tell him, but his instincts knew before you said the words that you were gearing up for a fight. 

“Have you ever heard of the Endless?” You asked Logan and he slowly shook his head no, “I didn’t think so, at this point most people think of them as myths. Stories that got lost to time and all that. But my Uncle Lu had a few run ins with the family, not all of them good, but you know how he could be…” You wandered off for a bit and Logan felt a chill, as much as he would try to deny it. You mentioned him so casually, your “Uncle Lu”, Lucifer Morningstar, the devil himself. 

“Dream of the Endless dropped in at Lux to see if Lucifer was behind a hex bag found in the dreaming.” You pulled a leather pouch from your pocket and Logan felt all the hair on his arms stand at edge, “It’s unusual here though, this type of magic. Even some of the most powerful magic users in this world haven’t seen anything like it, but to be fair it’s some creative work.” You pulled the drawstrings slightly to open it just enough for Logan to see inside. 

“Bones? And..” He squinted at the bag and you nodded as he finished, “Sand.” 

“It belongs to Dream. Also known as the Sandman, never seen without a raven,” you gestured to the bones in the palm of your hand, “and his sand. They contain fragments of his power, even in this state.” You stared at the item in your hand that weighed on you more heavily than the literal weight of its contents. You felt yourself veering towards tipsy but reached for your glass anyway. 

“The irony of who I’m saying this to isn’t lost on me, but you seem pretty quiet, even for you.” You threw a playful elbow nudge in Logan’s direction and completely missed, he caught your shoulder before you could fall over him onto the couch. His hand stayed on your arm as he shook his head as if to clear his head. 

“Have you seen anything like it?” Logan asked cautiously. If he was being completely honest the direction of this conversation was unsettling him for reasons he couldn’t place, it was a new feeling entirely. 

“That’s the million dollar question,” You smiled sadly, “I’m gonna need a favor, Lo.” You stood up and began  throwing all your strength into sliding the small couch you and Logan had just occupied out of the way, lifting the edge of the rug it had been resting on. You gestured to a particular floorboard, “Can you lift that one?” 

You expected another question or any hesitation really, but Logan stood and did as you asked. You reached into the opening as soon as the board was cleared and pulled out a small bag that looked nearly identical to the one you had shown Logan. 

“I have a feeling I’m not gonna like where this is goin’.” Logan huffed as you returned the floorboard and started to climb back into your seat. 

“Everyone told me the kind of things in the world I came from didn’t exist here, but even when I was with Lucifer and then came here, I couldn’t just…let my guard down?” It sounded like you were asking him a question but you just kept going, “I had been on the run for years, Logan, and everyone was telling me I was safe here, but-” 

“You were stuck in survival mode.” He said it as matter of fact, and you closed your eyes and nodded, “So you hid these here for…protection?” Logan was giving you a break, filling in the gaps he came to understand from what you were telling him and what he already knew about you. 

“Some are for protection,” You nodded, “Some of them actually act as little safeguards too so that if someone or something comes waltzing in here that shouldn’t be, it can bind them to the spot.” 

Logan chuckled, the way you delighted in your clever tricks not lost on him, “Can’t say we couldn’t have used a few of those before you got here,” 

“To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if they would work here. Still not totally sure, can only tell you that this one,” you pointed to the one fallen open with sand and bones, “Managed to work in the dreaming without Morpheus detecting anything.” 

You didn’t need to tell Logan you were scared, your heart rate was erratic enough for him to start to wonder if he should change the subject, shit on Scott for a while or something else guaranteed to get a chuckle out of you. This time a few years ago he might’ve done that, when you were both still new and he didn’t know how quickly you would become pivotal to his life, to everything he knew about who he was, not that he ever said as much. When it came to you Logan wasn’t prepared to take the easy outs, he needed you to tell him everything.  

“How does it work?” It was a careful question asked quietly, vague enough to keep you talking, but not specific enough to spook you. 

“It was basically hijacking some of Dream’s power. Whoever made this used it to create a little pocket dimension for themself deep in the dreaming, the only reason Morpheus found out at all was an increasing number of dreams and nightmares stumbling upon it only to be transported back to Morpheus’s castle with no memory of their hours before.” Your voice was just above a whisper, and you startled a bit when Logan snorted. 

“This guy has a castle?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“You know, some would call this a castle, Logan.” You getured to the mansion you were seated in, tucked away in the cozy study that screamed wealth, intentional or not, “But yes, Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares. No one has that many names and doesn’t have a castle.” 

Logan caught the mocking tone and was grateful to hear it, “So are you telling me you ditched us to go hang out in a castle, Princess?” 

He smirked at you and your heart stuttered for a different reason entirely. Logan being insanely, ridiculously attractive was by no means new to you, but huddled next to the fireplace and calling you ‘Princess’, even jokingly….well, you took a deep breath and tried to laugh off just how flustered his comment made you. 

He knew, of course he knew. Any other night Logan may have finally taken the plunge, grabbed you by the chin to look him in the eye and ask if the two of you were ready to stop dancing around your feelings. But then again he had been telling himself that for months already, and the night of your return showing up being chased by ghosts from your past was probably not the best night to add more to your plate. 

“Something like that. I actually haven’t gone to the dreaming yet, Lu didn’t think…well, he thought-”

Logan stiffened and his mind started racing a thousand miles a minute while screaming at himself that he’s a fucking idiot, that he should have caught on to what this all meant sooner. 

“He thinks they’re coming for you?” It was growled through his teeth, but he needed to ask it. 

“He thinks…” you chose your next words carefully, not wanting to put Logan any more on edge than he already was, “That we don’t know enough yet to rule it out, and me prancing right into the dreaming, even with him and Morpheus-” 

“You need backup.” Logan finished for you as you nodded. 

“As much as I don’t want to involve any of you in this, I’m afraid I don’t have much of a choice. Logan, I,” you struggled with this next part, trying to figure out how to explain it. 

“Just say it, kid, don’t worry about how it sounds on my account.” 

“Logan, the best case scenario would actually be that they’re coming for me.” You whispered as Logan began to snarl, you continued talking faster, “The alternative is that someone with a lot of knowledge they shouldn’t have is trying to destabilize the dreaming. If that’s what’s happening, I’m not the only person in danger. Human and mutant alike, we’re all tied to the dreaming. If the dreaming dies…” 

“Alright kid, look,” Logan sat up in his chair and took your hands, that you hadn’t realized you were wringing anxiously, in his, “I’ve lived a long time, alright? Until I met you I didn’t know about all of this celestial bullshit, hell I still don’t understand half of what you’ve told me tonight.” You chuckled, acknowledging it was quite a lot to handle in general let alone around 3 am, “But you know what, bub? I’ve been in more wars than I’d care to count, we’ve been in battles with imperial space birds, and I’ve had to time travel enough that Chuck sometimes has to fill me in on what’s changed when my consciousness returns to the present.”

You looked at him quizzically, not having been aware of that last one and he shrugged, “You can be nosey about it later, my point is everyone under this roof has stopped the end of the world a few times by now, don’t go losing sleep before we even know what we’re up against. Give us some credit.” He winked at you and squeezed your hands before returning them to your lap and finishing his drink. 

You released a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding and smiled sweetly at him, a little too sweetly in fact, “That was quite the pep talk Lo, gotta be careful, some might say you’re starting to sound like Scott.” 

You expected a glare, maybe even an actual growl as you compared Logan to the ever present thorn in his side but instead he shrugged, “You tell anyone I said this and I’ll deny it, but one thing Summers and I agree on is tackling the big bads as a team. From this universe or whoever the hell else is stupid enough to come knocking.”

There were a few beats of silence as what Logan said soaked in, and even though your instincts were still screaming at you to run, when Logan told you you would face it and beat it as a team, god help you, you believed him.

[bcacstuff]

The clock may be ticking for Outlander on TV, but the story is everlasting for bestselling author Diana Gabaldon, who writes the historical fantasy books (nine and counting!) upon which the show is based. Debuting in 1991, the first Outlander novel has spawned several sequels, spinoff novellas, and ultimately the intense Starz drama that viewers have come to love. With the final episodes on the horizon and new prequel series Blood of My Blood forthcoming, Gabaldon reflects on the show’s end and offers a peek inside her notebook.

What have you been happy to see so far in Season 7?

Diana Gabaldon: One of the things the Outlander production as a whole does really well is battle scenes. We’ve had a certain amount of the [American Revolution’s] Battle of Ticonderoga, the first Battle of Saratoga, and a lot of the second Battle of Saratoga. And I absolutely loved the actor playing Benedict Arnold, Rod Hallett. The casting this season has been spectacular. Every character is just right.

Would you say that Benedict Arnold was the character you were most excited for fans to meet this season?

He is historically fascinating, and I did a lot of research work on him because he plays a large part in more than one of the books. And we’ll see him again in Book 10. His story is very interesting. Everybody knows how his story ends, or at least they think they do. But yes, I was just impressed that, between the script and the actor, they pretty much nailed him and captured his sense of reckless adventure and his charm. Luckily, they used a lot of the book dialogue for it, some of which was taken from things that Benedict Arnold himself said.

With the show set to conclude with Season 8, do you have an ending in mind for Claire and Jamie’s story on the page?

Yes, I have shared the ending scenes with [the creative team]. But as to the actual way the story comes to a conclusion? No, they don’t know that. [Laughs] But we’ll get there. I don’t write in a straight line, and I don’t work with an outline. This is why it takes me several years to write one book — not only the way that I write, which I describe as like playing Tetris in my head, but also just the sheer size and the fact that they are books of a continuing nature.

You’ve shared a few excerpts from your 10th novel in the series. Is there anything else you can tease about it?

Well, I’m still writing it. And I have a title, but I’m not revealing that until we’re a bit closer to publication. I don’t want to rub all the “new” off it. I can tell you that it’s got whales.

You’ve also written Season 2’s “Vengeance Is Mine,” “Journeycake” in Season 5, and the upcoming 14th installment in Season 7. Can we anticipate more scripts from you?

Yeah, it’s so much easier than writing novels. [Laughs] It takes me three weeks tops to write a scene. I will be writing a script for the prequel [Blood of My Blood] and one for Season 8 [of Outlander].

Though only one season has been given the green light, how long do you envision the prequel’s story to be onscreen?

Well, the television version isn’t up to me, but for what it’s worth, I have material for three —  relatively short, as compared to the main Outlander novels — prequel books concerning Jamie’s parents. Blood of My Blood is based on the synopsis of the first of those books.

Apart from the ones you’ve written, are there any episodes you love so much that you wish you had?

Oh, yeah. There’s always at least one per season where I’m thinking, “Oh, this is fabulous.” It would be [Episode 8, “Turning Points”] for Season 7.

Do you have a favorite memory from your times visiting the set?

It would probably be the first season where they invited me to do a cameo [as Iona MacTavish] in Episode 4. It was fascinating being part of the set rather than visiting it. I was a cast member for three days. It was just interesting to see how it all worked.

Were you able to make it to set for Season 8?

God willing, I will be on set for a week or so next month [September 2024]. They’ll be filming the final block, for which I wrote one of the scripts, so I’d like to see a bit of it live. The last time I was on set for a prolonged period — as opposed to drop-in visits — was for Season 2’s “Vengeance Is Mine.” The food from craft services was always excellent, so I’m hoping to have a toastie, and I’m looking forward to seeing good friends.

How have the main cast’s performances surpassed what you envisioned on the page?

Sam Heughan does a fantastic job with Jamie, and Caitríona [Balfe], while she doesn’t look like the Claire of the books, certainly acts like her and is totally immersive in her character. I’ve [never] seen a bad performance by anyone at any level.

What will you miss most about the show?

I’ll miss the entertainment value of seeing dailies five nights a week, but otherwise, I’m not troubled. The end of a great adventure is always a bit traumatic and nostalgic — but it does leave you with a feeling of specialness, accomplishment, of having been part of a great endeavor. And they do live in my head, you know…

Are there more stories in this universe that you still wish to explore?

There’s always more I could write. Making the optimistic assumption that I’m going to live long enough, I have notes for [time traveler] Master Ray-Mond’s book (no title on that one yet) and for another [about Claire’s first husband, Frank], titled What Frank Knew.

Will you feel sad saying goodbye to Jamie and Claire?

I really don’t think I will — the main books are written with a lot of lacunae — spaces where we move from one block of story to another, leaving a hiatus of months (or sometimes years) in someone’s life. I can, should I want to, always go back to one of those places and write what happened while everyone was looking somewhere else.

Outlander, Season 7B, Fridays, 8/7c, Starz (Midnight on the Starz App and On Demand)

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s Outlander: Claire & Jamie’s Love Story For The Ages issue. For a deep-dive into the historical romance, scoop on the second half of Season 7, and details on the upcoming prequel, pick up a copy of the issue available on newsstands and for order online at Outlander2024.com.

Article posted 29 November 2024

[sylviestarlightwrites]

Never was there ever a girl so pretty

anonymous requested… “Hi! I normally don't request anything so I apologize if I'm missing anything, but can I request a gambit x reader where like...the reader always hides her face behind a mask and tortures herself to be more beautiful because she believes that she can never be loved if she isn't beautiful but she doesn't believe she's beautiful yet. Like she doesn't believe she's pretty and constantly strives to be more pretty than she is and she's lost in a haze of self doubt and a loss of self if that makes sense. Maybe angst but ends with some good comfort and fluff (because my heart can't take hurt/no comfort) sorry if this topic hurts you, if it does please don't force yourself to write anything. But also don't feel pressured to write this in general if you don't want to. That's it, bye”

warnings: self harm, body dysmorphia, afab reader, female gendered terms

a/n: full disclosure I read this request and immediately thought of the scene from the Substance where Demi Moore's character is reapplying and removing makeup repeatedly. I hope no one notices.

word count: (652)

You were always the type to get self-conscious but it usually wasn’t ever this bad. 

You hid your face behind a mask and sunglasses usually, it concealed your face and that was how you preferred it. The only person who had seen your face in full was Remy. If he ever slept in your room he didn’t want you going through the discomfort of sleeping with sunglasses on. But you did. You didn’t mind being uncomfortable if it meant no one was seeing your face. But Remy always wanted to see your face, which was baffling to you. Why would he voluntarily want to look at it? It just didn’t make sense.

It had been a long day, the sun was hanging low in the sky and had already dipped below the bathroom window. You’re standing in front of the mirror above your sink, pulling off your mask then setting your sunglasses on top of it. You’re staring at your face in the mirror. It makes you want to throw up, looking at someone and not being entirely sure what’s looking back. So you do what you do best.

You cover up.

You open one of the drawers below the sink, pulling out the bag where you keep all your makeup. You do your eyes, eyeshadow, liner, and mascara. But you still don’t feel pretty. You line your lips then gloss them in red, and you still don’t feel pretty. So you take it all off and now you’re just staring at yourself in the reflection and it’s so much worse. So you put it all on again and take it off again. Again and again and again and again until your face is sore.

“Chér?” a soft voice said from the door. When you turn, Remy is standing in the doorway with something in his eyes that you just can’t quite read. There’s no disappointment, no upset, just a pure concern mixed with a few other things. He sees you, eyes wet with tears, several paper towels stained with wasted makeup. He could see how red your lips and your eyes are from reapplying and removing makeup, the cuts running up and down your arm from separate situations and he just feels sick in a way he can’t describe. “What happened?”

“I-I just…” you whisper, looking at your hands like you killed a man, not as if all you’d done was put makeup on. “I just wanted to look pretty.” Remy sighs, taking you up in his arms in a comforting hug.

“You already are,” he muttered into your hair, pressing his face into the top of your head. He says it but you don’t believe it. “Don’t try to argue with me, you know you are.”

“Do I?” You say in reply, voice incredibly quiet.

“You should,” he assures you, pulling away a little to look at you, your face raw from how many times you rubbed over it with makeup remover on a rough paper towel. He sighed. “Chér, you do realize that you are one of the prettiest dames I know? Apart from all the other stuff, it’s one of the many many reasons I love you.” He says the whole thing in a slightly unserious tone, which doesn’t fail to make you giggle. Just his accent alone is enough to make you smile. “There we go, there’s the girl I fell in love with.” You can’t help but smile. He’s so sweet to you, you can’t help but be affected by that cajun charm.

This is how it was, you felt yourself falling into a spiral and Remy was right there to catch you. To remind you that to him you were beautiful. And his opinion was the only one that truly mattered in the long run. Because he loved you, and you loved him. And when you love someone, what they say is like God's word.

[balkanradfem]

I know I just made a serious post and I'm about to post something silly but stay with me here. I've had an experience that was deeply unsettling and horrifying to me and my mental health, and now you have to hear about it.

So I was reading fanfiction, and you can judge me, it's fine, I don't feel guilty for my little thought crimes, but it was a m/m fanfiction of two fictional blorbos I will not name in this instance. And this fanfiction was absolutely beautifully written, the prose had me in the first sentence; it was sophisticated, detailed, words so unusual and interesting I had to consult a dictionary. It started off wonderfully too, my characters were bantering, they were having issues, then had to work together and be civil to each other, it's what puts a smile on my face.

However, one of these characters had been changed in the fanfiction, in a way that felt unsettling to me. First the author changed his hair to long – and it happens sometimes, I'm okay with it, why not, make him look like an elf. Then his outfits were color-coordinated, and described in detail (it was like reading my immortal). Then he started wearing his hair in a long braid, which is normal, but, then he changed it to two braids, which I felt, was taking it too far, like this would happen only if he lost a bet and was being made fun of. Then he lost all of his desire for banter and started acting very dainty and vulnerable. I was having a bad feeling about it, but I still hoped it would get better. Maybe they would still fight.

The fanfiction had some very detailed and unusual descriptions of food, and it was food I've never heard about, red onion marmelade? I had to stop reading to consider if that was real. The food was a big issue and every meal had several courses and multiple fancy deserts and we were getting information about ingredients and freshness level. Then the characters started a discussion about the food, and the character I'm describing understood in detail how food is made, from what ingredients, in what manner, and I've felt suspicious about that, how would he know about cooking. Unreasonable.

I've still been hanging onto hope until finally, I got to the part where this character was in the hospital, and here I found out that the author erased all of the scars on his body. Not only that, but the character was obsessed with having skin free of blemishes and flaws and from what I was seeing, probably had a skin care routine. This was deeply unsettling because the scars have been vital to the plot, a proof of what had happened to him, and to just erase all this to make him blemish free? There was no hope. I knew it then for sure. I understood what was happening. They had turned him into a tradwife.

The outfits, the braids, the blemish-free skin, the extensive cooking knowledge, the lack of banter, the dainty behaviour... they did that to a fanfiction character. A male character. Nobody is freaking safe. The trend is so strong it bled into my emotional-support fanfiction. I am stripped of one thing that usually comforts me, two fictional males having a female-written relationship.

And the other character, who was supposed to be pursuing him, was written like a sexual predator. Consistently turned on by all of the tradwife elements and pretty much only by that. I generally love this character but in this fanfic I hoped someone would kill him. It was disgusting and disturbing. By the time the characters got to intimacy I was grossed out and skipped it entirely because I was about to throw up.

This is a common issue for me, a big bulk of fanfiction has already been ruined by rape fantasies, by bdsm, ddlg, fetishes, pedophilia, power imbalances, and all other influences of patriarchal society but I can usually FILTER THOSE OUT. Nobody will tag a fic 'tradwife' after they do this to a character. I've never seen a fic ruined in this particular way before.

This is mormon church's fault. They did this to me. They need to be taken down for this bs. This is taking it too far. Give me my adorable fanfictions back.

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

I just wanna ask something before I hit the hay. I would love to see Leo and his g/f decided to have sex for their first time together. 2003 please, over the ages of 18 and they are both virgins. That would make my day!

Soft Love (Fluff) (18+)

2003!Leonardo x reader

A/N: Sorry it took some time. My inbox has exploded recently😂 But! *Clapping hands together* I got it done, and here it is. Hope you enjoy💙

--------

All characters are aged up.

Warnings: Spelling, first time, fingering, handjob, turtley anatomy, unprotected sex.

--------

You and Leonardo had talked about it for a while, both whispering about it in each other’s arms late at night. You talked it through, both of you wanting to take the extra step further in your relationship. But there was one thing holding both of you back, making you nervous, fidgeting slightly whenever you started talking about you. Neither you or Leo had been intimate with someone before. Sure, you had had your few run-ins with fellow humans in the past, but none of it had ever gone any further than a few kisses, your reasoning being that you just haven’t felt ready. But for Leo this meant much more than just being ready. You were his first girlfriend, after a lifetime of thinking that he would never find anybody to love him. But then you entered his life, turning this belief upside down, shining new light on Leo’s life and the way he viewed it. You were the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he was determined to show you just that, being the main reason he ever mentioned sex in the first place.

And finally, after several months of talking, it was happening. And you couldn’t have asked for a better evening. You and Leo pretty much had the whole lair to yourselves. Raphael was out with Casey, doing whatever those two usually did. Michelangelo was out fighting crime with Silver Sentry, while Donatello had gone to April’s place, so they could work on their new project in peace. And Master Splinter? Well, neither you or Leo were sure. But you wouldn’t be too surprised if he has gone to the Battle Nexus, in order to have some tea with the Daimyo. But that did not matter. All that mattered in that moment was you and Leo.

Kissing had never been uncommon for the two of you. Sure, Leo was the biggest on PDA, but even with his family around, he would sneak in a few kisses. Making out however, had always been strictly reserved to the comfort of you or his bedroom. Just like now, where you laid tangled up together on Leo’s futon mattress, with his blanket covering the two of you, your lips dancing together, and your hands slowly but hesitantly feeling around on each other. Leo’s hands had so far only been reserved for your torso, his hands slowly moving from your waist under your shirt, up and down your back, before softly running down your side. Your hands ran up and down his arms, feeling his muscles flex under your fingers as they moved. But once your hand rested flatly against Leo’s plastron, it was as if something clicked in his head, as he slowly pushed you from your side onto your back, following you down every step of the way.

You hummed against Leo’s lips as you snuck your arms around his neck, holding him close as he hovered above you, his soft touches on your waist making your head spin ever so slightly. Leo smiled against you, hid other hand playing with the stands of your hair. You felt your heartbeat rising in a way that Leo only could make it do, but this time it was slightly different. The best way you could describe it was it made you feel excited. Your fingers having a hard time staying still, just having to touch the skin around Leo’s neck and shoulders.

Leo hummed as his tongue slightly licked your lower lip though the kiss, asking for entrance, which you gladly gave, causing him to hum against you, as your tongues slowly started their slow dance. You shivered slightly. Every action you and Leo made, caused your body to heat up, creating a pulling feeling between your legs.

Leo moaned lightly against your lips, his strong senses having picked up on the scent of your arousal in the air. He broke from the kiss to place small kisses around your face, leaving you panting ever so slightly in your search for his lips on yours once more.

“I can smell you, (Y/N)”, he whispered, his kisses moving from your cheek, down your jaw and down your neck, his hand subcutaneously lifting your shirt up as his hand moved up your side. “You smell really good”.

“Leo”, you whispered, holding onto the edge of his shell, as you felt all of his words go straight to your core. As if it was instinct that drove you, you bend your knees opening your legs just a little more for him. This action made the scent of your arousal stronger. Leo had to stop his soft kisses on your neck for a moment, just so he could fight the need for dropping right on the spot. This was yours and his first time. It had to be special. He couldn’t just rush in there. He had to take it slow.

Leo pulled back so he could take a look at your face. You had only been kissing, and you already looked like one that was in heaven. Your cheeks red with a blush, your eyelids heavy, your pupils wide and your lips red from all that kissing, and your teeth that was now biting your lower lip as you watched him. Fuck, you were so beautiful. How did he ever get so lucky that he could have you?

Leo leaned his forehead against yours and let out a sigh of happy content. “I love you, (Y/N)”, he murmured, his deep breath fanning cover your face, his face so close you could easily just lean in and kiss him one more time.

“I love you too, Leo”, you said, your hand letting go from his shoulder, in order to find the hand that was still playing with your hair. With your fingers entwined, you brought his hand to your mouth, giving all three of his knuckles a kiss. “More than you’ll ever know”.

It took everything in Leo not to let his animalistic instincts take over. How dared you be so perfect that he almost lost his famous self control. Churring erupted from his chest as he connected his lips to yours once more, letting the kiss become more hungry this time. He almost lost it when you moaned against him.

Leo’s hands started subconsciously to push at your shirt once more, causing you to part from the kiss with mischievous yet nervous eyes.

“Do you want me to take it off, Leo?”, you asked, the blush on your cheeks deepening.

Leo had to remind himself how to breathe for a second. He had never seen you fully naked. Sure, he had seen you walk around his room and your apartment in nothing but underwear and a bra, but he had never seen what was hiding under them. So right now, as one of your hands went for your shirt, waiting for Leo’s answer, he could not help but tremble a bit out of excitement.

“Yes”, was all Leo could mutter out, his throat almost failing him as he did, anticipation so high that his tongue started to feel numb. He watched as you sat up, before slowly lifting the oversized shirt over your head, shaking slightly out of nervousness. Once the shirt Leo couldn’t help but stare at your breast, marveling at their shape and beauty. You, starting to feel a bit self conscious under Leo’s silent gaze, moved your arms to cover yourself.

“No”, Leo said, softly grabbing onto your arm. “Please don’t. You’re beautiful”.

A smile spread on your face, as you slowly moved your hands away, letting Leo stare at you. His hand moved from your arm to your chest, hovering over your breast, waiting for you to consent. You giggled and nodded, letting him know that it was okay. Leo’s hand was warm when it felt your breasts, his hand slowly cupping around one of them. You sighed in content, watching his hands as they touched you. His thumb slided over your nipple, causing you to let all a small moan, the wetness between your legs increasing once more.

As Leo slowly got to know your chest, and what movements caused a reaction from you, he slowly pushed you to lay down again, before he brought you in for a tender kiss. This tender kiss slowly evolved, until Leo started kissing down your neck once more, this time continuing down your collarbone and down over the top of your chest. You hitched a breath, your hands finding the top of Leo’s head, closing your eyes as you enjoyed the feeling of his lips against your skin. Leo hummed against your skin, as he made his way over your left breast, until he reached your nipple. You let out a moan as his tongue darted out over your nipple, arching your back slightly.

“Leo”, you whimpered almost involuntarily, reaching for his right hand, as his left hand started palming your other breast. Leo hummed as you entwined your fingers once more, churring with your nipple in his mouth, your hand tightening your grip around his.

“How does it feel, sweetheart?”, he asked before returning to you nipple once more, letting his tongue continue its slow work.

“It feels good”, you sighed, arching your back at his slow licks.

Leo let go of your left nipple, in order to focus his attention on your left, making you moan out once more. He already loved that sound. It did things to his head, and he liked it. He liked it a lot. Especially when you moaned and arched against him. It was enough to make a man go crazy for you.

Then something happened that neither of you had expected. You didn’t seem to notice it at first, but Leo did, growling against your chest, as he felt your lower half grind up against him. You gasped at the vibration that went through your chest, causing the scent of your arousal to grow so strong that Leo could no longer ignore it. Continuing his mouth’s work on your chest, he started grinding his own hips against you, once again feeling the urge to drop, when he heard you moan for him. Leo cursed under his breath, closing his eyes momentarily. You were a dream come true in every shape and form.

Slowly, Leo let his hand move down your body, until his hand reached your underwear, this thumb stroking your hip, just above your waistline.

“Can I?”, he asked, his lips making their way back up your chest, with your face as his goal.

“Yes”, you choked out, raising your hips, making it easier for Leo to slide your panties off, all while his lips found yours once more. Leo had to pull from the kiss, in order to get your panties off, before throwing them to wherever your shirt was. It was here that he suddenly came to realize that you were all bare for him. Your naked glory shining at him, like the sun on a blue sky. Once again he had to stare at you, his senses being assaulted with your sweet scent.

Leo leaned over you once more, letting you pull him down for another kiss. It was hungry but sweet, a passionate cluster of all the emotions you tried to show one another, even if your nervousness poked its head out every once in a while.

The hand that had taken your underwear off, made its way up your leg, Leo’s palm smooth against your thigh, as he made his way closer and closer to your core. You whimpered in anticipation, excited yet nervous for what his next move was goin to be.

“Can I look at you?”, Leo asked, hinting to the dripping rose between your legs. You nodded, biting your lip. Leo leaned back, resting his weight onto his knees and his toes, giving him a full view of your most intimate area. Like said before, you were absolutely beautiful. The sight of you, laying all naked before him, leaving all of you on full display for him. Leo had to put his hand on your knees, in order to keep himself grounded. He was almost so dizzy by his racing heart, that he felt like he was flying away.

“Wow”, Leo whispered, his eyes gliding along every curve of your body, his eyes lingering on your dripping core, glistering in the dim lighting of his room. “You’re fucking beautiful”. All you could do was giggle, flustered by his words, closing your legs just a little. To hear Leo curse was a rarity, making your heart jump in your chest at his words. But Leo pushed your legs apart once more, before leaning down to your face yet again, sweet seriousness written all over his face, one of his hands coming up to cup the side of your face. “I mean it. You’re beautiful, (Y/N)”.

You did not know what to say, your mind slowly becoming mush under his sweet words. The only way you knew how to react, was by connecting your lips once more, this time being your tongue that asked his mouth for entrance. The hand on your knee started running up your thigh once more, getting closer and closer to your core. You gasped in excited enjoyment against Leo’s lips, your mind focused on his sweet touch, his fingers mere centimeters from your delicate flower.

Leo broke from the heated kiss, his eyes staring deep into yours, his breathing heavy and his eyes hooded. He was like a sight sent straight from the gods, and you were mesmerized by his beauty.

“Do you trust me?”, he asked, his snout just gracing your nose.

“Yes”, you whispered back, your hand slowly guiding his fingers closer to where you needed him the most. “I trust you with my life, Leo”.

Your words caused Leo to moan out loud, as he dove back down for your lips, his fingers gliding over your slick covered folds. Both of you moaned at the connection, your wetness surprising both of you. Leo’s thumb found your clit, where he tried out a few different techniques before he finally found the movement that made you moan, louder than he had ever heard you moan before. It was at that moment he was glad, that the two of you had waited til you had the lair on your own.

Leo watched your face as he played with your clit, seeing your face contorted in pleasure. He felt the pressure against his cloaca grow once more. He was about to drop.

Leo’s finger found your entrance. He looked at you for permission, needing to know what he was doing to you was okay. You nodded to him, letting out a needy moan. Leo gave you a peck on your lips, before he slowly pushed his finger into your small hole. You gasped, looking down to where his finger was disappearing from your view, and in between your warm walls, stretching you out just a little. His fingers were bigger than yours, one of his almost feeling like two of yours.

Leo cursed under his breath, watching in pleasure and amazement as his finger disappeared into you, feeling your tight warm walls around him. He slowly pulled his finger out before pushing it back in, looking for your soft spot, making you tensen for a small second, moaning once more.

“Do that again”, you whimpered, watching his actions with hooded eyes.

“Anything for you, (Y/N)”, he said, kissing your cheek before repeating his action over and over. It didn’t take long before you started to continuously moan and whimper under him, your hands holding onto his shoulders. Leo couldn’t hold it any longer, feeling himself slowly slip through his slit, his length resting against your thigh, pre-cum leaking onto your skin, slowly dripping down to the underside of your thigh. Your curiosity peaked at the feeling of Leo’s penis resting against you, your hand finding its way down to him, before grabbing a soft hold of him. He was bigger than you had expected, feeling yourself getting slightly scared just by his size. But all that fear fated away, as you started your own work on him. Leo moaned as your thumb rubbed his head, before your hands started stroking his shaft, in the same speed as his fingers that worked on your insides.

“That feels good”, he breathed out, his eyes getting distant with pleasure, his fingers speeding up, with his thumb once again finding your clit, causing you to moan loudly.

“Fuck, Leo”, you moaned, feeling a slow pull in your lower region. Leo felt it too, your walls closing around his fingers ever so slightly, making you look him in the eyes once more.

“Do you feel ready, (Y/N)?”, he asked, his eyes full of love, lust, concern, and curiosity. Everything he could feel, he felt for you at the moment, his very thoughts and skin tingling in delight.

“Yes, Leo”, you said, giving his shaft a few more strokes, making him close his eyes in pleasure. “I’m ready”.

You removed your hand from his, as he positioned himself between your legs, placing one arm by your head, leaning his weight onto his forearm, his other lining himself up with your entrance. You held onto his shoulders, watching in anticipation as he moved his head against your folds, before he finally found your opening.

“Are you nervous?”, he asked, looking at you with sincerity.

“A little”, you answered. “But with you I know it’ll be good”.

Leo smiled warmly at you, his heart skipping a beat at your words, placing a sweet peck on your lips. “Just tell me if you want me to stop, and I will. I’ll never do anything to hurt you”.

“I know”, you nodded, a bright yet nervous smile on your face. “I trust you, Leo. Always have and always will”.

Leo nodded, watching you as he slowly pushed himself into your opening. Both of you moaned at the new feeling. You closed your eyes at the pleasurable yet painful stretch his size provided, biting your lip. Leo rested his hand on your waist, letting himself slide in further.

“Are you okay?”, he asked, placing small kisses all over your face.

“Yes”, you whimpered, leaning into his kisses, not fully sure how to explain it to him. “Just… full”.

“Is it a good thing?”, he asked, a boyish smile on his face.

“It is”, you said, humming as you felt the pain go away, getting used to his size inside of you. “Just getting used to it”.

Leo chuckled, showering your face with more kisses, even as you asked him to move. He did as you asked, slowly pulling out of you before softly pushing back in, letting both of you get used to the movements. Your hands help tightly on to him, as he slowly picked up his speed, your legs hiking up over his hip, letting your feet rest against his shell. Leo’s churrs got louder, resting his face against the crock of your neck, the hand on your waist holding onto you tightly as he thrusted into you.

Leo felt as if he was on cloud nine, feeling your soft walls hugging him tightly, pulling him further and further into a new world of pleasure. The sounds of you moaning his name, telling him not to stop made him shiver. The hand on your waist moved to your hand on his shoulder, placing it down on the bed, entwining your fingers as he continued to speed up the movements of his hips. He groaned, kissing your neck and shoulder, listening to how his actions continued to bring you pleasure, over and over again.

“Don’t stop”, you whimpered, your hand holding onto him for dear life, your knuckles turning wait. “Please, Leo, don’t stop”.

Leo hummed against you, whispering sweet nothings with every kiss, feeling your walls hug further and further around him with each and every thrust.

“I think…”, you whimpered, your nails on Leo’s shoulder digging lightly into his skin. “I feel something. I- it’s getting stronger”.

“I feel it too”, Leo groaned, both talking about the growing pressure in his lower region, and the tightening of your walls. “Let it happen. Let it come”.

Your legs grew more and more uneasy, no longer being able to rest against him. Leo had to let go of your hand and hold onto your leg, keeping you still as he drove into you, your back arching against his plastron.

“It’s coming, Leo!”, you moaned, so loud that if anybody else had been in the lair, they would be able to hear everything. “Fuck! It’s coming!”

“Let it go, (Y/N)”, he groaned, the rhythm of his hips becoming unsteady. “Let it go for me”.

You whimpered, making a sound that almost sounded like you were about to cry, none of your limbs being able to lay still. Leo leaned back, watching you with his mouth agape, feeling his own high getting closer and closer. And then it happened. Your bubble burst and you cried out against him, your hips moving against him as you came, your walls pulsating around him. That was the last thing before Leo came, his hips shuttering against you, moaning with you as he felt himself shoot into you, almost collapsing on top of you. Both of you, too shocked by this sudden burst of pleasure that caused both of your worlds to shake, stayed still for a moment, processing all of the feelings you had been through.

Once both of you had calmed down, Leo slowly pulled himself out of you, both of you groaning and moaning because of the friction in your now sensitive areas, before the sudden loss of feeling.

Leo laid himself down next to you, pulling the blanket up around you, as he pulled your sweating bodies close, letting you rest your head against his plastron.

“That was amazing”, you said, almost laughing from the strong feelings that still lingered around you.

“You’re amazing”, Leo retorted, making you giggle. He dipped down to your lips, kissing you one more time. “You’re amazing, and I love you”.

“I love you too, Leo”, you hummed, letting your lips linger against his for a moment.

“What do you say about we take a nap, and then we go take a shower afterwards?”, your considerate boyfriend asked, his lips still against yours, his fingers running up and down your arm.

“That sounds like a genius idea”, you said with a small laugh, letting your head rest against Leo’s first chest, feeling your eyelids get heavy as sleep started to creep up on you, lulling both you and Leo into a peaceful nap in each other’s arms. But little did you know, that when the two of you woke up an hour later, neither of you would go for that talked about shower, but instead squish in a quick round two, before Leo’s family would be making their way down to the lair.

[thehollowwriter]

Do you have any criticisms in regards to the official English translation of TWST?

I have many. So many.

Firstly is the unnecessary changes, mostly with Trey's UM and the name of magical shift.

See, the main thing is, a lot of people say "Paint the Roses" sounds way better than "Doodle Suit", which is goofy, and also works as an Alice in Wondeland reference The thing is, though, I'm pretty sure Doodle Suit is supposed to be a goofy name. It's a teenager naming his UM at about 16 or younger (before canon time), of course it'll be goofy. And on top of that, it is a reference! "Suit" is likely a reference to card suits!

The reason I find this change unnecessary is because you can't even say it was a translation complication, not only are the UM names and certain other words written in English in the JP game iirc, but after getting twst myself I CHECKED and they didn't even bother to RERECORD THE LINES. I can still hear Trey say, "Doodle Suit." I'm English when talking about his UM, but the text box says, "Paint the Roses"

The same applies to magical shift, which was changed to "spelldrive." Characters still say "magishift. " It's just such a useless bunch or changes to way too many names and stuff cause it was already right there in English.

Another issue I have with character names or event names that aren't said in English being different than the names fans have translated is that they often sound a lot worse or a bit weird than original. Like Baul and Baur. I think Baul sounds way better, but this overall could just be some fans not having a completely accurate translation? But tbh we have a lot of bilingual speakers who also talk about the strange differences.

My MAIN NUMBER 1 ISSUE IS THE CENSORSHIP

I'm still so mad that they removed that scene of Cater saying he would absolutely date Vil and that they altered lines from one character to another that could be interpreted as romantic or flirty (only to then, in some cases, ramp up the flirt vibes, ironically).

It's just so disingenuous and was definitely not a mistake.

And of course, iirc, replacing describing Vil as "beautiful" with "handsome" instead because we don't want to give the character whose whole thing is defying gender roles a feminine description, no, that's ridiculous/s

Then there's Azul's backstory. As someone who's only access to twst's story was through translations, both because Eng hadn't released and I'm in the wrong country, it was really icky to see how they watered down the things Azul's bullies said to him.

I just... they were calling him a fat, slow, ugly, and stupid octopus, among other terrible things, and then we got to twst Eng where it's just "silly octotwerp" ?????

Like they were either trying to make it kid friendly (even though this is NOT a kids' game) or they didn't want to put emphasis on the fact that Azul was bullied for his weight. If you ask me, in the official Eng translations, it's actually a bit harder to pick up on the fact that that's part of why Azul was bullied and hates his old self so much.

It's something that really frustrates me, because it makes Azul come across more as a bit of a spoiled kid who got lightly teased and held a ridiculous grudge over it (even if octotwerp is still a bit mean) rather than a deeply traumatised teen who's body image and mental state was badly effected by the severity of the bullying he received. He's constantly bringing up calories, Floyd mentioned he barely eats, etc.

I'm sure this can apply to a lot of other chapters, especially Book 4 with Jamil and Kalim, but I'd like to rewatch YouTube translations and then go through twst Eng before I talk about them

Anyway, rant over now fjffj