#so actually thinking about it both of them kind of establish and bring details about dazai into light in a slow way

[agentmarvel]

Hiii! I was wondering if I could request f!reader x the cod boys reaction to her taking a sick day after having an IUD placed, either platonic or an established relationship with one of them, up to you. I can only imagine mixed reactions, especially after learning what all goes into the procedure. This is totally self indulgent so I was hoping for it to be on the fluffier side, BUT no worries if you’re not interested!!

Thank you!!🤍💐

i love this🖤 thank you for requesting, kat! hope you enjoy!

mdni - 18+; minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

141 x afab!reader (individual pairings - head canon format)

☆

john is worried.

“not like you to take a sick day, dove. you sure you’ll be alright ‘til i get back?”

tbh, he’s so pressed about it. he knew in advance what the procedure would look like - educated himself after the birth control discussion came up - but your body isn’t reacting the way either of you had hoped. it’s far worse.

scared the hell out of him when you called yesterday afternoon and asked that he pick you up. obstinate, headstrong thing that you are, you declined his offer to accompany you to the appointment in the first place. you were in no condition to drive.

the thought of leaving you now, even for morning pt with the team, sets his teeth on edge. you’re strong, he knows. you can handle yourself just fine. but what kind of man would he be to leave his girl when she feels this fucking awful? - spoiler alert: he’s not going anywhere.

with your reassurance (and telling him he’s being a bigger baby than you about it), he tucks you into your nest of pillows and blankets, leaves ibuprofen and a cup of water on your side table, and makes sure your heating pad is plugged in and within reach.

simon is supportive.

“i’ve seen you shot, stabbed, blown up, burnt, broken bones; you’re a tough bird, you can handle it.”

you’ve been through worse. you both know that. doesn’t mean that he isn’t sympathetic to the pain you’re feeling, though. he watches you like a hawk, monitoring every scrunch of your nose or pained grimace or you squeezing your eyes shut just a little too tight. you’ll take the meds he picked up for you like clockwork with the fresh cuppa he brings you every four hours. he’ll take the day off with you, let you squeeze his hand when a cramp or muscle spasm is particularly gnarly.

he’ll hold you while you nap, too - playing with your hair, keeping you centered on top of him with one bulky arm slung across your hips, wishing the whole time that he could trade bodies with you until the aches are gone.

johnny is pissed.

“an’ they donnae give ye fuckin’ anesthetic? och! tha’s fuckin’ cruel s’what tha’ is!”

this man is L I V I D. he didn’t know the details of iud placement until you made him watch a video, and he’s been going off the rails since. it infuriates him to no end that you’re expected to just tough it out with nothing more than basic fucking pain relievers. don’t even get him started on that medieval torture device you called a ‘tenaculum’ that they stabbed you with!

he’s planning a murder while he orders a delivery of supplies. angrily, his thumbs punch at his screen as he selects all the things he even thinks you might need to get through the week - even though you keep telling him you’re sure you’ll be fine tomorrow. 

“not gonna stab my hen and get away with it.”

(when you ask what he’s muttering about over there, he tosses his phone aside, rolls you into his arms, kisses the top of your head, and tells you lunch is on the way.)

kyle is sympathetic.

“poor thing,” he murmurs, kissing your temple. “what can i do to help?”

like price, kyle took the liberty of doing his research. 

cramps and muscle aches/spasms are common after placement, and some women will actually pass out in the minutes following the procedure. he texted a medic friend to get ahold of some muscle relaxers for you, picked up standard issue pain meds, bananas for potassium to combat the cramps, a second heating pad (one for each side), chocolates, tea, and a new plushy for you to squeeze on. your boyfriend was adamant that he take you to and from your appointment, even if you didn’t want him in the room while it was happening. every single base is covered in advance to mitigate the worst case scenario.

when you curl into the fetal position, gritting out an abrupt “all good”, he wraps himself around you like a shield.

[hyperfixatedbastard]

Hi i hope you doing well. I have a resquest... more like a headcanon. What if Adam was a dad ? What his behaviour will be ? Does he be a good or a bad father ?

I understand if you don't do it. I don't want to force you for something you don't want to.

Dadam (Dad!Adam) Headcanons

we bringing out the daddy issues on this one boys

WARNINGS: none

A/N: I haven't done a headcanon type of post yet, but they're easier to write than regular one shots and I'm too tired for that shit. The request didn't specify what kind of Reader (spouse or child), so I just went with general headcanons that don't specify the Reader at all. Insert yourself as you wish!

Also, thank you all for your patience! It's been very busy for me lately and I've been too exhausted to write much, so expect a lot more of these kinds of posts (the formatting is easier and I don't have to write a bunch of dialogue lol).

Dividers

As the father of humanity, Adam had...a lot of kids. The guy lived for 800+ years just populating the earth. That's a LOT of kids. We all know how the first two turned out. That is, not fuckin' well. To be honest, I don't think Adam valued his children. It was just kinda... a thing he had to do. (When Abel died and Cain got exiled, he fr just went and had another kid to replace them.) But I am in deep, deep denial and this is for my enjoyment as someone with severe daddy issues. So fuck all that.

At first, Adam is 100% the guy that freaks the fuck out when he finds out he knocked someone up. That man is SWEATING. He's actually pretty chill if it's someone he's in an established long-term relationship with, though. He still freaks the fuck out, but to a significantly lesser degree and with a much smaller chance of up and leaving. Once he's over the initial shock, he's shocked to find that he's kind of excited. Back when he was alive, having kids was just normal because it was such a common occurrence.

This man knows every little detail about pregnancy and infants. With the amount of kids he's had? He has seen it ALL. Sure, all his information is thousands of years old, but knowledge learned through experience is super valuable when it comes to this shit! He doesn't know what the fuck a uterus is, but he knows exactly how to make his partner the most comfortable, how to deal with cravings, etc. If his partner has a problem, he's got a solution. It might be a fuckin' weird one, but it works! He'll probably grumble and complain, but he doesn't actually mean it. Bitching is just his thing, y'know? But... pregnancy hormones + Adam's douchebag-ness = feelings getting hurt. If his partner starts crying because of some shit joke or complaint he made? He's scrambling so fast. "Shit, babe, fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, fuckfuckfuck, don't cry—"

Once the baby is born, he definitely surprises literally everyone but his partner by actually doing helpful shit. Changing diapers? Easy fuckin' peasy (he does watch a tutorial online because he doesn't know how tf modern diapers work but he's a fast learner) Feeding? No problemo. Getting up in the middle of the night to do both of those things? His sleep schedule's already fucked, this shit ain't new.

When it comes to parenting and raising the kid, though... that's definitely where Adam struggles. He'd struggle with bonding. A lot. Adam mostly talks about things that you really shouldn't say around children, much less bond over. I think he'd be better at just letting the kid ramble while he's just sitting there, fully engrossed in whatever bullshit his child is saying. He's not just passively listening with little 'uh-huh's and nods, this man is active in the discussion. Have you ever heard a small child speak? They say the most random shit ever, and Adam would love it. It's peak entertainment to him. Even if it's just incoherent babbling, he'll have full-on conversations with this baby.

He'd definitely have some shared interests as the kid gets older. I think Adam's favorite shows/movies are a mix of action movies and shit like Power Rangers. He's not ashamed of it either—'fuck you, the Power Rangers are fuckin' cool.' This also goes for video games. I know that man is a toxic COD gamer boy and you can't prove me wrong. Basically, the only thing that keeps him from becoming one of those husbands that locks himself away in a man cave to play video games is the fact that he can game with his kid.

And once they get into school, he just gets really invested in the drama. Elementary school drama is such bullshit, and it'd be the best reality TV he's ever seen. "Oh, don't tell me—it's that bitch Cindy. The fuck did that little shit do this time?" He'd be gasping like it's a damn soap opera. 'Oh no she didn't!' kinda vibe.

He'd talk so much shit around his kid about the parents of their classmates, the teachers, anyone. Then the kid would repeat it and Adam would get sat down in the office with his kid like: "Your child said, and I quote, 'My dad says your mom's a bitch.'" "What? She fuckin' is." And yeah, he's not wrong - some of those parents are fucking nightmares.

If his kid got in trouble for fighting, his reaction would depend on the situation. If it was unprovoked and/or a part of bullying, he'd originally laugh it off but would be freaking the fuck out internally. He's probably a little traumatized by what happened with Cain and Abel. But if the fighting was an act of defense (whether of themselves or someone else) he would be the proudest dad ever. Fist-bumps his kid in the office in full view of the principal.

You cannot trust this man to give his kid the sex talk. It just will not go well. Like, if his kid needs advice when they're older (basically anything beyond 'where do babies come from') then he's your guy, but it's still gonna be awkward and uncomfortable. He'd probably have Lute handle most of those issues just so he doesn't have to know about his kid's sex life but can still trust that they have a responsible(?) adult if they have questions.

In terms of where Adam is lacking as a parent, there's a few areas in particular to focus on.

Emotional availability? Not his strong suit. At all. He can't deal with his own feelings, let alone his kid's. Most of the emotional support will be coming from his partner. That doesn't mean he doesn't try. But he can't show it with words all that well. He'll show emotional support in other ways—quality time, gifts, and acts of service for the most part. Like going out for ice cream, watching a movie, etc.

He's not good with discipline. To him, everything's no big deal. If his kid hasn't killed their sibling, that's good enough for him! Generally, his partner will choose when/how to discipline (with Adam's input ofc), but Adam's job is to just enforce it/not overrule it. He's 100% the type to be sneaky about it tho. If his kid is grounded, he'll go out with them to give them a break from being stuck in the house, y'know, stuff like that. Because of this, his kid forms a closer, different kind of bond than with Adam's partner. It's more friendly, I guess is the word? Like, his kid won't go to him for actual helpful advice, but if they fuck up somehow or are in a bad situation that they kinda got themselves into (drinking, car accident, etc.), then Adam is the parent they call.

I think Adam's peak parenting era would be when his kid is a late teen/young adult. 'Cause then he can actually be himself, for the most part. His personality is not very kid-friendly, so once his kid isn't really much of a kid anymore—he is so fucking excited. His relationship with his kid would be a lot more unconventional as they grow older. Like, he's really close with his kid once they're an adult. (totally not basing this off my relationship with my mom) His advice would be shit, but he'd give it if his kid needed it!

Definitely the type to text his kid more often than most parents. Mostly because he texts more like them and has the same sense of humor. Lots of shitty memes.

Also!! I think Adam would definitely make time for his partner. Date nights are a must. His kid better get comfortable with sleepovers at friends' houses or getting babysat by Emily 'cause he ain't letting parenthood fuck up his sex life.

I think that's all I got. Not sure how to end this so uh... shoutout to all you bitches with daddy issues lmao

Taglist: @little-miss-chaoss @fakeguysarehot @3sire-777

[salty-croissants]

If its okay to request, could you do some relationship headcanons for Rayman (and later Ramon?) with a s/o who's been working with him for a really long time? Like a PA? If that's too specific though I totally get it.

Thank you for the request ! 

Don’t worry , it’s not too specific , it’s actually a very interesting concept :D

Hope this turned out okay ! 

Details : use of gender neutral reader ;

established relationships ; 

no warnings needed 

Rayman 🧡

You have been working for Rayman for quite a few years , handling various business matters for him in the position of the voice of Eden’s personal assistant , and over time his charming presence and confidence completely won you over …

… and you weren’t the only one who felt that way .

The more time he spent with you , the more Rayman started to notice little things about you that him smile : the way you were always so kind to the other staff members working behind his shows , the way you laughed , the way you seemed to know what to say to him whenever he was having a bad day , even bringing him coffee when he ended up working overnight …

It wasn’t long before your relationship grew beyond more than just a professional one , and when eventually Rayman revealed his true feelings to you you were overjoyed …

Now it’s been a while since you two started dating , and you both really couldn’t be happier about your decisions .

I think Rayman is someone who overworks himself quite a bit , with the Board of Directors constantly monitoring what he’s doing and giving him more and more things to handle , so you definitely have to take care of him whenever he ends up not doing it himself …

< Ray , it’s 1:00 am … you need to get some sleep . > 

< Ah , don’t worry about me y/n … I need to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting , it’s really important , and - > 

< Well , I assure you that you will barely be able to stay awake at tomorrow’s meeting if you don’t get some rest , and having you fall asleep live in front of everyone doesn’t sound like the best way for it to go . > 

< I - 

… 

Heh … touché . > 

Since you’re always working together but can’t really display too much affection in public , Rayman likes to surprise you with little kisses when no one is looking , smiling in front of your adorable reactions to them …

Before he heads out to one of his shows , you make sure to wish him luck with a kiss of your own , adjusting his bow tie while feeling his loving gaze on you .

< You got this sweetie , you’re gonna do amazing tonight . > 

< Thanks love … I’ll meet you back here as soon as this ends , don’t think I forgot about our date ~ > 

You actually got to see up close the catastrophic interview with Red that lead Rayman to lose his beloved job  , and you were the only one who remained by his side to comfort him when he was in shambles , desperately trying to bury his sorrows in alcohol rivers …

< That’s … that’s it … m-my life is … it’s all over … I have no goddamn purpose left , how am I even going to … > 

< Ray , you do have purpose … we are going to figure this out together , I promise . > 

Your words mean more to him than you’ll ever know , and as he lets you hold him in your arms Rayman can’t help but be thankful for having met you , the person that was able to fill the emptiness in his heart created by a life of loneliness and fear …

With you by his side , Eden’s now ex star doesn’t need to be afraid anymore . 

Ramon 🖤

Now that he is fully aware of the atrocities Eden committed , atrocities that he unknowingly allowed to happen , Ramon’s only wish is to find you and explain everything to you .

He knows you would never blame him , he knows you will understand , and yet he can’t help but feel incredibly nervous as soon as he take a few steps into his lounge where he knows you were waiting for him to come back …

< Oh Ray , there you are ! I was worried something happened to … you … > 

Your relieved expression immediately turns worried when you see just how troubled your boyfriend looks … he looks … different , for the lack of a better word . 

< Oh god … sweetie , are you okay ? Are you hurt ? >

< Oh … don’t worry , that’s not mine . > 

Ramon briefly points at the blood on his face before walking towards you , holding your hands in his . 

< y/n , there is something I need to tell you …

It’s … probably gonna be hard to accept , but I need you to listen to me .

Can you do that for me ? > 

You nod in response , staring back into his tired eyes and giving him your full attention .

< I’m listening . > 

When he finishes speaking , Ramon’s worries about you blaming him for being so blind to all the terrible things the Board of Directors had been doing behind his back immediately vanish as soon as you wordlessly lock him in a tight embrace …

< Is … is it really okay … ? > 

< Of course ! The Board of Directors was really good at keeping all of this hidden all these years … there was no way for you to know . 

Besides , I … did indirectly work for them too , so we’re in the same boat right now . 

I could never be mad at you over this . > 

He is so relieved to hearing you say that … 

< Thank you , y/n … I … I love you so much … > 

< I love you too , Ram … nothing that happens from now on will ever be able to change that . > 

Even now that the two of you have basically started your own little resistance , some things haven’t changed that much between you … like you constantly taking care of him whenever he gets hurt during a fight .

< y/n , I’m okay , really , you don’t have to - > 

< Yes I have to . 

Now please stay still honey … I need to finish patching you up . > 

Ramon is always , always going to be watching over you , no matter the circumstances : 

you’re heading out alone ? He will come with you , and if he can’t he’ll still end up following you from afar , his guns always ready to shoot any possible threat to your safety .

You’re sleeping ? He’s ready to immediately wake up if a sudden , suspicious noise reaches his ears … you sometimes wonder how he can fall asleep comfortably with a big gun under his pillow .

< Are you sure that’s comfortable for you , love ? You might get neck pains , sleeping on a hard surface every night … even if your neck is invisible , I think it could count , and - > 

< Pfft … you’re so cute darling … thanks for caring so much about me , but it’s fine , really . I just wanna be ready for anything at all times : I won’t allow anyone to hurt you . >

Even tough you often tell him not to worry too much about you , Ramon just can’t help himself : you know him better than anyone , you mean everything to him , and if he were to lose you … 

Let’s say he does all he can to avoid thinking about that horrible scenario .

[felassan]

Just poring over some of the new images. ◕‿◕

Docktown, Minrathous (in the daytime, in contrast with the gameplay reveal video), reminding us that Minrathous is built on an island. maybe the magic-monorail-looking bridge here is actually the single bridge that goes to Minrathous, like in the lore?

Docktown is the home of Neve. the distinctive floating building is in the distance again. compared to Ferelden, the buildings in Minrathous are like another planet entirely! Tevene architecture/design is so hostile - spikes on chairs, spikes on the sides of buildings.. I wonder if the doorway here is the entrance to the tavern/bar here [second image]. if you look in the window to the left of the door, the figure on the right could be the 'bouncer' at the top of the steps in the bar image. also, outside of here are tables and barrels, like you might expect outside a tavern establishment.

I'm curious about the heraldry of the boat in the harbor with the blue unfurled flags. it reminds me a bit of this Fereldan heraldry, but the animals are the wrong way round and it isn't quite right. either way, the heraldic animal is also present as the prow of that boat and one other.

Elf Rook (either City or Dalish but without vallaslin applied in CC), Emmrich and Harding. Rook is a sword-and-shield warrior here, Veilguard symbol on their chest plate, Warden symbol on their shield. Maybe this Rook has the Grey Warden background? anyways, looking closely at Rook's chest plate here, with the gray metal armor, the purple Veilguard symbol on the left, the 'bandolier' of three brown leather pouches across their chest, and the diagonal lines on the plate going the other way, it looks like maybe this Rook is wearing the same 'iconic[?] Rook outfit' as in the key art, or at least the torso piece. They both also have the metal shoulder plates, purple fabric over the elbow area, brown leather gauntlet etc. It's just that in this screenshot Rook isn't wearing a helmet/hood (or has them toggled off in the Options menu? ^^). anyways, I love that purple seems to be the 'iconic[?]' color for Rook, and also look at how this long-haired Rook's hair flows and sits around their neck and shoulders! and again the detailing is cool, like scratches on the shield and stuff.

Harding's arrow is glowing. Is her bow or arrow enchanted or have some kind of stat buff, or could this be an example of her magical powers in action, like her tarot card art might suggest? also, we can see from the tall skeleton/undead statues in the background and the skull-lid vases in the foreground that this shot is from the Necropolis.

The groupshot at HQ is so [cat crying screaming].. 🥺🥺 I love it so much, with the round table it has like Knights of the Round Table vibes or something and it's so nice to see everyone together and in their casual outfits too. I hope there are lots of moments like this in the game. ^^ Davrin is whittling wood, something that reminds me of Halsin and my Inquisitor (who is Dalish, and also had that hobby). Did some people.. bring their chair of choice to the meeting room hh? Davrin's looks like it was carved from a tree stump. Harding and Neve have a comfy sofa. Emmrich's looks kind of gothic and Nevarran. Taash's stool [?] is gold and practical-looking.

Taash looks so bored hhh. here we can see Bellara without her magical gauntlet. Do you think Manfred and Assan come to the team meetings..? :D Lucanis has impeccable tailoring, with lil bird-skull looking buttons at his collar. he's buttoned right up and professional looking even in his casual downtime, even when some of the others are the opposite. unsurprisingly his casual clothes have that blue-black corvid feather sheen. surely he has coffee in his mug. ^^ I wonder what Neve's drink of choice is though? from the way Lucanis leans here, do you think Lucanis and Emmrich is one of the companion-companion relationships that might develop like Taash and Harding?

Harding looks so cute and cozy on the couch with the cushion and her slippers, I can't take it. and I really love Neve's casual look with her scarf and hair like that!!

I think this scene is probably from the Lighthouse. Game Informer mentioned that it had a library, which is the central area of the The Lighthouse, and that it's there the party will often regroup and prepare for what’s next. Could this be one of those moments in there? ^^ in the background are stacks of books, and books on shelves, like a library would have. on the table is an assortment of scrolls, maps, papers. you can see a feather quill pen and red wax seals. having the maps in front of Davrin, a Warden and monster-hunter who has probably travelled far and quite a lot, is a nice touch. some of the books look quite ornate and arcane-ish, and are there a few of the 'Bellara'-style triangles on the table as well? and what do you suppose is the blue diamond-looking thing with white veins on the table?

(I'm also curious what the golden thing in the top right is.)

we can tell from the way it looks but we also know from a file name that this is the Rivain Coast. it's beautiful, it looks so bright and hot, the water is so blue. we first saw this locale in the Thedas Calls trailer from Dragon Age Day 2023. again, in the distance, we can see that statue.

From a file name, this is Arlathan Forest. everything is suffused in soft golden light, almost whimsical and Fable-like the Game Informer piece said. this shot is framed with those familiar trees with orange foliage e.g one, two, three. this place reminds me of some of the elvhen ruins we got to see in Trespasser. in the top right is green Veil/Fade shenanigans. a place where the Veil is weak, or the edge of this particular Veil bubble? past the wall of green it looks like some of the buildings are broken thanks to the warping, and there are floating rocks.

and look closely at some of the assets -

there's an owl, which are associated with Falon'Din and Andruil. lots of those howling Fen'Harel wolf statues. they look just like they do in DA:I (I don't mean that they look bad graphically or old or anything, just that the details are the same!!) which is awesome for consistency (also cool to see these return, so many of the art assets in DA:I were rly cool), and might even be the same assets being re-used (which is sensible and sensical for game design, something Mark Darrah talked about before). nb, just in case, I'm not saying this as a comment against asset re-use, it makes sense to do and I was excited to see these DA:I or DA:I-style ones in these caps!

[ghoulsbounty]

Okay! Boyd Crowder request pretty please. How about some short headcanons/ thoughts about reader wearing one of his shirts. You know those ones from S2 and 3? Like it’s a warm day and reader shows up to Johnny’s bar in some denim shorts, a crop top and one of Boyd’s shirts open with the sleeves rolled up. I think he’d loose his goddamn mind. Preferably no smut, but I know the request kinda leans into it so maybe something at the end. idk! you do you! Thank you!

Wearing His Shirt

Boyd Crowder x Fem!Reader

Warnings: slight spoilers for season 2/3, alludes to smut but no actual mention, a little angst, comfort, fluff and a happy ending.

Word Count: 1.3K

A/N: Anon, this turned more into a little fic/scenario moment rather than a headcanon, I hope that's okay and you enjoy it still! I’d love to know what you all think to this, and feel free to send me more requests 💌

Boyd likes to think of himself as a considerate partner. Although your relationship is still relatively new, he takes pride in picking up on the small details that bring you joy or cause you distress, often understanding your needs before you articulate them. However, with the recent acquisition of his cousin's bar and the complexities of the Black Pike deal, his focus on you has diminished more than he'd like to acknowledge. His once regular check-ins and sweet messages have become sporadic and hurried, often cut short by pressing business matters. The late nights and brief phone calls have led to him being less present both physically and emotionally, and you're reaching your breaking point.

Johnny's bar buzzes with activity, the low murmur of conversations and the clinking of glasses creating a lively symphony in the dimly lit space. The familiar scent of beer and faint traces of smoke hang in the air. As you push open the door and step inside, the room's energy seems to shift, heads turning to acknowledge your presence with a mixture of curiosity and intrigue. Their gazes, like predators sizing up their prey, linger on you, but your focus is singular.

Boyd stands behind the bar, a rag casually draped over his shoulder, the dim light casting a warm glow on his features. He engages in a conversation with a patron who is leaning heavily on the counter, gesticulating animatedly. Boyd nods along, listening intently, but the moment he spots you approaching, a noticeable change comes over him. His eyes lock onto you with an intensity that makes the bustling room seem to fall away.

As you saunter towards him, his gaze follows your every step, his attention entirely consumed by your presence. The customer’s words fade into the background, reduced to a dull hum as Boyd's focus shifts solely to you. His eyes drift down your body, taking in every detail of your appearance, from the way your eyes shine as you look at him to the confident way you carry yourself. It's as if he's seeing you for the first time all over again, his expression a mix of admiration and longing.

You feel a spark of satisfaction knowing that you can still capture his attention so completely, even amidst the chaos of his busy bar. As you reach the counter, Boyd's lips curl into a slow smile, the kind that speaks volumes without uttering a single word. You watch as he gestures with a hand to the customer he was previously talking with and you smile at the older gentleman as he rises from his seat, disappearing behind you.

Boyd leans slightly closer, his eyes never leaving yours, making you feel like the most important person in the room. In that moment, surrounded by the lively chatter and clinking glasses, it’s clear that no one else matters to him but you.

Seeing you in his shirt stirs something deep within him, a quiet sense of possessiveness that isn’t about control or dominance, but rather a satisfying feeling of connection. He appreciates the way you fill out the shirt, how the navy and grey fabric drapes over your frame, hinting at the contours beneath.

To the other men in the establishment, the glimpse of your bare thighs in those fitted cut-offs or the swell of your breasts in the thin crop underneath his shirt would undoubtedly set their hearts racing. Boyd, too, couldn’t help but appreciate that enticing sight. However, what truly struck a chord with him was witnessing your subtle proclamation of his ownership over you amidst a room bustling with other men. You belong to him, and he certainly belongs to you. 

You approach him with slow, deliberate strides until just the counter is between you, his eyes fixed on you with a mixture of admiration and desire. A mischievous spark dances in his eyes as he leans casually against the bar, his fingertips tingling with the desire to caress the fabric, to revel in the warmth of your skin beneath. Yet, just before his hand extends, he halts, a silent gesture of restraint, his gaze locking onto yours with an intensity that sends a thrilling shiver down your spine. With a deliberate movement, he clasps his hands firmly on the counter, his touch reserved yet charged with an unspoken promise of what could be.

His voice, usually smooth and confident, carries a subtle huskiness as he speaks. "Well now, ain't that a sight," he remarks, his drawl laced with amusement. "Looks like my shirt found itself in the finest of company today."

"Been feeling mighty lonely lately. Ain't been getting much attention, you know," you confide in him, a playful lilt in your voice as you tilt your head. "Thought maybe borrowing your shirt might do the trick, you reckon?"

Straightening up, Boyd casts a deliberate gaze around the room, a silent command for everyone present to divert their attention away from the captivating vixen who's currently pouting at him. Once he's ensured that all eyes have shifted elsewhere, he snaps his focus back to you with a confident smirk.

"Well, darlin'," he drawls, his voice low and rough, "seems like you've succeeded in getting everyone's attention, mine included."

"Hard work, nowadays," you sigh dramatically, and he chuckles softly as he leans across the bar, his lips brushing against yours in a tantalizingly soft kiss, leaving you breathless and yearning for more. "Do I get to keep it for long?" you whisper, your voice barely audible amidst the buzz of the bar.

"Have I been neglecting you, baby?" He grins as he leans back slightly, his hand reaching out to casually adjust the rolled sleeves of his shirt that adorns your figure. "Is that why you've decided to grace my fine establishment with your beauty, nearly causing every man in this joint to suffer a near fatal heart attack, hm?"

His tone is playful, but beneath the jest, there's a hint of genuine concern. He watches you closely, searching your eyes for any sign of discontent or longing, his fingers tracing the fabric of his shirt on your skin with a tender familiarity.

You giggle, running your thumb along his forearm as he continues to absentmindedly toy with the fabric. "Maybe that was the plan all along. Finally, some quality time for me with no customers or associates around, huh? I can be your number one priority," you tease, the playful tone in your voice ringing through the air. But your laughter falters as you notice a brief flicker of something in his expression, a momentary hardening before it softens again.

His gaze meets yours, and you can see the conflict playing out in his eyes, the struggle to balance his personal and professional life. There's a vulnerability there that he rarely shows, a glimpse behind the confident façade he wears for the world. You reach out, your hand gently squeezing his arm, silently offering reassurance and understanding.

As he pulls back from you, a fleeting worry crosses your mind. Have you said too much? Pushed him too far? Though Boyd has never so much as raised his voice at you, his sudden movement sparks a flicker of concern. You watch in silence as he takes the rag from his shoulder, tossing it down onto the bar with a resolute thud, and steps out from behind the counter, closing the distance between you at last.

In that moment of uncertainty, his words wash over you like a soothing balm. "You are always my first priority," he murmurs, his voice soft and intimate, filled with a sincerity that melts away your apprehension. His arms slide under the shirt you wear, encircling your waist as he draws you close to his chest.

As you nestle against him, his gaze meets yours, and you see the earnestness in his eyes. "I'm sorry I haven't been present," he admits, his voice tinged with remorse. "But I'm going to fix that."

"I know," you assure him with a smile, your hands tenderly resting on his chest as you lean in to place a soft kiss on his cheek.

He returns your smile, his lips brushing against your ear as he speaks in a hushed tone, meant only for you to hear. "Let's go in the back," he murmurs softly, the warmth of his breath sending a shiver down your spine. "I've got a feeling I need to remind you just how much you mean to me."

[cynicalmusings]

had some thoughts about empath!reader (and ‘empaths’ in general—though spoilers for boothill’s backstory, mentions of dead bodies, some angst, and the post is quite long)…

there’s a kind of poetry i realised in hindsight, in that boothill is one of the only people the reader can truly be ‘themselves’ around; he’s one of the only still-somewhat-humans (as opposed to, say, an intellitron) who won’t trigger their emotional transmission.

the idea i have for how an empath’s abilities work, in a crude and not very detailed way which i’d like to expand on in the future, is that they need skin-to-skin contact for the transmission of emotions across two organisms. this can be done through some degree of physical barrier, e.g. the reader’s gloves, but they still have to be touching living tissue (whether that be directly or not). the reason for this is that it’s cells which tell the stories of a person’s life: cells which live, and die, and heal, and contain imprints of the events in every living creature’s life: healed injuries, the neurotransmitters stimulating emotion which diffuse across synapses, all that stuff. through establishing contact with the cells, these ‘stories’ held within an organism can be transmitted through to the empath, which are interpreted as emotions (and occasionally memories).

furthermore, an empath doesn’t have control over ‘blocking’ this transmission. every time there’s contact, there’s a chance for that emotional spark to fire, meaning they’ll receive the emotions of the one they’re in contact with and transmit some of their own. an empath can train themselves to be less receptive to what they receive and more guarded to prevent their own emotions being read, but that doesn’t mean they can ever stifle either side completely.

that’s why the reader surrounds themselves with machines (in both their hobbies and their companions): it’s only with inorganic material, which has no ‘story’ to transmit, that they won’t be subconsciously influenced by foreign emotions. if a metal component scratches, it doesn’t heal. you replace it or it stays scratched: that’s it. there are no cells at work fighting to heal it. ergo, in the presence of machines, the reader is most like themselves. but of course, machinery is no real replacement for actual human company,

and boothill, who has the emotional capacity and experiences of a human but a body (mostly) of metal, marries the two concepts perfectly. the reader doesn’t have to worry about receiving or revealing their own feelings because of an accidental touch, but they can also interact with somebody who still has emotions in the same way they do. if they need some emotional transmission for whatever reason, they can touch his face. if they don’t, or don’t want to, the rest of him won’t trigger any of those effects.

around boothill, the reader can be themselves, too, but still maintain a human connection with somebody which won’t potentially backfire.

anyway, now onto the other, general empath lore…

after i came up with that ‘cells carry a story’ concept, i started to wonder: can an empath interpret the last emotions of a person shortly after death? the cells in the deceased’s body don’t immediately die; they’re still around for a while. macabre as it is, there’s a reason why bodies can twitch. so, hypothetically, what if there was an empath who runs a service for the loved ones of the recently deceased: somebody brings the body of their loved one, likely people lost suddenly to injury or disease, and the empath reads and shares with them the last feelings which the deceased never had the time to say.

often, the primary emotion they would receive from the body (if this whole concept is possible, which i think it could be) is fear. makes sense for somebody having a sudden death. but under that fear, maybe there’s an inkling of other feelings: confessions they couldn’t make (imagine finding out for sure that your loved one loved you back but never had the chance to tell you—or, for a more painful approach, that they never did love you back at all), secrets they were hiding, any lingering regrets or apologies or words left unsaid which they wanted but couldn’t share. it’s a service which would bring closure to those close to people taken too soon.

(and hell, maybe the reader does this at some point, if they ever get any recently-deceaseds in their clinic, or a patient passes during surgery and they pass any lingering sentiments onto loved ones. god… imagine if, hypothetically (because this would be impossible), the reader found boothill’s adopted daughter’s body shortly after her death and managed to tell boothill that she was thinking of him and loving him right up until the end… ouch.)

so yeah. there’s my brain splurge of empath worldbuilding which came to me in the shower, as all best thoughts do. i really want to work out more intricacies of what it means to be an empath and how they function in the future; it’s a really interesting concept to carry further forwards.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

I really think that this is where, this is like where the episode should have, this should be like scene three of the episode. Do you know, like, 'cause there's actual, there's something, there's something cool here about Cory being the pilot and forcing me to, into his version of Wooing and Angela. But, but like, instead, like I'm, I'm just not quite clear, like the conflict is like kind of class-based, like that we're too fancy of a restaurant, but we haven't established that like the things that we like are really like, like I, I just, I wanted it to be more about like if we knew that Angela liked a certain type of food and that Shawnn liked another type of food and then they were both trying to be something for the other. That's not quite established enough here. So I I I it it's a funny scene, but I'm just don't know why it's happening. Yeah. And then I, the resolution feels like, let's get burgers. I'm like, oh, okay. So the problem was that we were forced into eating fancy food. I I just, it's a little like mudelled for me. -Rider

No, I think it's exactly what you were saying before. The it's not a problem. It's that you realize that there are different kinds of love and cory and topanga are their own thing and everybody, it's like you want what they have, but you are not them. Nobody's them. -Will

We want our version of what they have. -Rider 

Your version is burgers and Vivaldi and hanging out at a different place. But, so it's like you, you can't be them because they're in, you know, even Topanga doesn't want this, the them at this point. So I think it's, if this is what happens when you let Cory in, the driver's seat is, well this is what love is. It's being married right away. -Will

That should have been the whole episode instead, instead of one scene. If that had been a story where we watched that play out in hijinks and funny scenes with cory whispering in my ear and, and maybe even Topanga whispering in Angela's ear. It could have been like a lot of miscommunication. And then the two of us finally being like, no, we're gonna do our own.... We keep alluding to the fact that we're not ready for this relationship. We're broken people, but we don't talk about what that means and we're not engaging with each other about that. We're just like, Vivaldi, I like it. You like it.  I don't know. It's underdeveloped. I feel like taking this scene as the model and expanding it in both directions would've been a better way to like confront this episode. -Rider 

Meanwhile, Angela asks, Sean, you said you knew me. If you really knew me, why would you bring me here? Sean admits, I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know how to be myself around you. I really want you to like me. Angela assures him. I do like you. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here. Sean asks, why it's so hard. Angela tells him she's never had a serious relationship either. Every time she got close to someone, she figured it was best to get away before they hurt each other. Is someone going to get hurt here? Sean? He earnestly tells her, no, not if we are ourselves. He calls out for Eduardo asking him to clear their table and just bring them a couple of burgers and -Danielle

See like all of that dialogue is exposition good? I think we're, I don't dunno what we're talking about. Like we're just saying. -Rider

They never established my character to say what I would like or not like. -Trina

And so, and we're not being specific. We're just hope and love and we and want and, and it's like, it's like song lyrics as opposed to like very like sharp. Like the thing you're doing right now, you can take you, I don't know, it just feels like, I dunno. It felt so like...Yeah. I just think the actual, like we, we have not covered details between our characters. So we have not said like Right. What we do imagine our lives would be like, 'cause we, we have the Vivaldi and Shakespeare, but we haven't seen the like, what do you like to wear? What do you like to eat? And, and then to see that in conflict with this.  So we're just expressing this makes me uncomfortable in abstract terms. And so it stays abstract. And that's what to me is the definition of like, acquisitional dialogue. -Rider

 I think it's more, I think it ends the same way where you guys are now figuring out what it's going to be. The same way you figured out this restaurant isn't for us. You figured out you didn't want to eat this food. It's like, we'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. We You don know it's you don't know yet. And it's, it's, this is just the start of we know we don't want that. We know we're not them and we don't, we don't want this restaurant, but we'll figure out whatever comes next. As long as we're ourselves, we'll figure it out, I think is what they're saying. -Will

It's a nice sentiment. -Rider 

[that-ari-blogger]

Wicked's Existential Crisis

Deception is a big theme in Wicked. I don't think this is news to many people. The wizard is a wizard, truth is truth, happy is what happens when all your dreams come true.

Galinda embodies this pretty heavily, but so does Fiyero, although they do so in similar ways. They both lie to others, and realise that they have been lying to themselves later on.

But, you need a baseline before you get to character development. You need a benchmark for everyone to either move up or down from, depending on the genre.

In my opinion, Dancing Through Life establishes that benchmark, while asking a few more philosophical questions as it does.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

"Dancing through life, Down at the Oz Dust If only because dust Is what we come to. Nothing matters, But knowing nothing matters, It's just life So keep dancing through"

Fiyero, buddy, friend, pal... are you ok?

Dancing Through Life is the introduction of Fiyero, and there is a enormous difference between what he is saying and how he is saying it.

That dust line is actually a biblical allusion, with various Judeo-Christian books and prayers claiming that G-d created humans from dust, and that when someone dies, they return to that dust. Hence the "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" saying (source). So, Fiyero is nihilistic.

"Nothing matters, so why bother trying" is such a morbid idea, and its usually associated with emo music, either lots of drums and raw emotions, or quiet and sad. So, when Fiyero sings it as a musical theatre, bombastic full orchestra song, his message flies under the radar because it is so dissonant with the style.

That's the key here. Most of the time, people are nuanced, and stereotypes do not encompass the human experience at all. The emotionally confused or depressed or spiraling person isn't the one who sits in the moonlight writing sappy poetry, it's the person who manages to hide it the most easily because they've been doing it for the longest.

Fiyero is putting up a mask to hide his insecurities, and he is doing it by... not wearing a mask?

Lampshading is the practice of softening elements in a piece of media, letting the audience know that something is out of order or farcical, and turning it into a joke. Overly Sarcastic Productions (@comicaurora) has a video explaining the trope in detail.

In a weird way, this is what Fiyero is doing. He is turning his own crisis into a joke. He doesn't have to hide it if he can poke fun at it. He becomes self-referential, and tells people to move on past the words he is saying and focus on the fun dancing and music.

I see where Fiyero is coming from, here. Purpose is difficult to find in this world, and it definitely seems like neither good or bad are rewarded, and luck will do what it will. But I would like to present a counter point.

Everything Everywhere All At Once was easily the most emotionally powerful film of 2022, and it also discussed nihilism in detail. I don't want to get into plot spoilers, but this movie asks the question: If nothing matters, then what?

And the answer to this is clear: Everything. In a Cinema Therapy video on the film, Johnothan Decker states this:

"If nothing we do matters, then the only thing that matters is what we do."

Actions have whatever meaning we ascribe to them, and if we ascribe no meaning to anything, then everything has meaning on the same level. If nothing matters, then everything matters.

This segways into another core question of the musical and especially this song. Do intentions matter?

Galinda and Elphaba have a comedy of errors with the gift giving, specifically when Galinda sets up Nessa with Boq, and Elphaba arranges for her to receive a wand in return, contrasted with the infamous hat.

Galinda does things for personal gain, and accidentally makes someone's life slightly better for a moment, and Boq kind of does the same. Neither of the two cares about Nessarose, but they bring her happiness in the short term.

"We deserve each other, and Galinda helped it come true."

I mentioned in my post about The Wizard And I that this theme comes up there first, in association with meeting the wizard, and I think there is something else to it than just deception. Don't get me wrong, this is deception at work, Elphaba with the Wizard and Nessa with everyone around her. But that lie has a positive result here, for the moment.

It also separates the consequences from the intention. Elphaba sees the wizard and wants to improve the world, her hopes are on rocky foundations, but her actions are strong, and I have already mentioned what Galinda's actions do.

However, I would argue that intentions do matter, and that this musical agrees with me, and that is with Boq, a person whom I despise.

As a character, Boq is fascinating. He is a direct satire of the hopeless romantic of stereotypical fairy tales, think Ariel from The Little Mermaid, or Lancelot from the 1963 movie, Lancelot and Guenevere. Boq is trying desperately to court someone who does not care about him and has someone who does care fall from the sky in front of him, but he can't see past himself.

Now, pining is all well and good, you are allowed to pine, and if someone is attracted to you, there is no law that says you must be attracted back. But Boq goes a step further.

"It's because I'm in this chair and you felt sorry for me. Isn't that right?" "No! No! It's because you are so beautiful."

Boq had an opportunity to back out of the romance handed to him on a silver platter. He could have said it was just a dance, or even confessed that Galinda put him up to it, if he so desired. But Boq made a choice to keep stringing Nessarose along. He may have his reasons, but I think his actions are not excusable, and the gut punch at the end of the musical when he tells her that he never cared is a betrayal that could have been so easily avoided.

Boq and Fiyero go on to become key players in the "death" of the Wicked Witch of the West, and they do so for alternative reasons, and it reframes Dorothy's journey.

For a more nuanced explanation of what I mean, consider this: In 2019, youtuber Hbomberguy (Harry Brewis) raised $347000 for a Brittish charity organisation called Mermaids in a livestream of Donkey Kong 64, and he gave a speech in October of that year about why he did such a thing.

"I think secretly, we're always making one of two decisions, and we make that decision even if we don't know we're making it. You're either choosing to make life worse for someone you don't like, or better for people you care about. There is an actual difference, and I didn't realise I made the wrong choice until a lot of people came over and helped change the choice retrospectively."

What you are trying to do matters, because if you keep trying to do good, even if you hit roadblocks, if you are truly committed, you will eventually do some good in the world.

I actually like Brewis' definition of right and wrong here, because it isn't overly philosophical, it pertains to individual actions. You either make someone else's life better or worse.

I have been rambling around my point for a while, so let me make it concise. Dancing Through Life asks philosophical questions about life. What matters? Is it you? Is it your actions? Is it your intentions?

Final Thoughts

There are two other things I need to mention before I finish. First up, the extras are some of the best parts of this musical, and in this song, that is driven home. Everything comes across as so superficial, and not in a "that's bad acting" way, but in a "that's an actor playing a character who is acting" way. This carries over to Galinda's entire style of talking, but the extras knock it out of the park here. It means that the only sincere moments in the song hit with the relevant weight. Those being Elphaba and Nessa's conversation, and the Elphaba dance (something remarkably difficult to find images of).

That dance is the moment I see Glinda x Elphaba (I still refuse to use the Gelphie ship name) actually taking off, rather than in What Is This Feeling, because it's the first moment that the two see eye to eye, and Galinda finally understands Elphaba. She earns her friendship and trust by trying to make up for her mistakes. Galinda talks a lot, but actions speak louder than words, and that dance kicks off a love story.

Next week, I will be diving into Popular, a number that really takes apart the theming to an overt level only matched by one other song, and we will get to that one soon.

Previous - Next

[broadwaybalogna]

I, a Zutara shipper, would have way more fun self inserting on Mai

So why don’t I?

A short essay on self inserting, what it means, my experience, and why it shouldn’t be a problem.

So the ‘problem’ of me self inserting recently arose again with discourse surrounding a post of mine. I’ll spare you the details, but someone, in an attempt to make me look like a bad person (I assume) said that I was a “self insert”. At first, I was confused because I don’t understand why something like that would be used as an insult. Then I remembered the horrible stigmatization that self inserting has had on the atla fandom.

So I’d like to bring light to what it truly means to self insert.

For this short essay, I’ll be using the term “self insertion” as defined by Wikipedia:

“Self-insertion is a literary device in which the author writes themselves into the story under the guise of, or from the perspective of, a fictional character. The character, overtly or otherwise, behaves like, has the personality of, and may even be described as physically resembling the author of the work.”

First, I would like to go over why I would personally prefer self inserting on Mai, since it’s technically the clickbait for this post.

I had a very large emo/goth phase a few years back. I loved wearing black, chokers, being depressed, etc. while I don’t necessarily identify with that version of myself anymore, I still hold high praise to any and all people who are emo/grunge/goth/fall under that kind of category. Now, I’m not saying that Mai is emo, she’s actually the exact opposite as she doesn’t display much of any emotion, but she is a badass female character who has space buns, a fiery personality, and really cool weapons. I actually like the idea of her a bit more than Katara, and it would certainly be easy to self insert onto her since her character was never really fleshed out.

(Look at her… she’s so cool. I can’t decide if I wanna be her or be with her…) this would probably also be a great time to say that I don’t feel here nor there about Mai in fandom spaces. There are many anti Mai people out there, but I honestly don’t care much for her at this point other than what I’ve already established.

I can relate to a good portion of her problems (being the face of her family, holding their reputation, not having many friends etc.) so self inserting on to her would honestly be no problem for me. So why don’t I do it?

Because my characterization as a shipper doesn’t revolve around myself. If it did, I’d totally okay into that sarcastic brooding gf because I think it’s kinda badass.

I ship Zutara not because I personally wanna be with Zuko, but because I want Katara to be with Zuko. Does that mean that I don’t self insert onto Katara? Hell to the no.

Self inserting helps me understand a character to the best of my ability. In order to figure out how a character might act, react, or approach a situation, I have to put myself into their shoes, that’s just how I work. I don’t think this is a mindset that is personal to just me either, there are plenty of other people who self insert onto Katara and Zuko in order to best convey the realism of their stories.

Now, I’ve self inserted onto BOTH Katara and Zuko, (which probably won’t stop the haters any more than before since I am attracted to both men and women) and in each of those times, I am sure to always stay true to the original characters. I am always considering how the characters were brought up, what they have experienced that has shaped their personality and how they have behaved before.

But I can’t just rely on that to help me tell a story. I have to feel the characters. I have to know what they’re feeling and how it affects them.

This may seem weird, but when writing, I’ll often close my eyes and imagine myself in a scenario much like what the people I’m writing about are experiencing.

This is how I became well known for some of my writing.

I’ve written monologues for characters to say that reflect my own experiences to help give myself and others peace of mind.

I’ve written relationships based on flaws I’ve had with people in my life.

And I’ve written hate. Because I feel hate, and I know that Katara and Zuko do too.

Self inserting shouldn’t be viewed as something that’s horrible for authors to do, it should be embraced. There shouldn’t be a world where people can’t share their experiences through people they relate to.

If you can’t see yourself agreeing with me, I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ll ever see eye to eye. This is something that I am passionate about, and I will not be thrown off my stance because of a small insult.

In conclusion, I could very easily self insert onto Mai, you could even say it would be lemon squeezy, but self insertion isn’t the only thing that drives me to ship characters, and it never will be. I am a complex person with complex emotions that have led me to look at Katara and Zuko and envy their relationship. Yeah, I want it, and there shouldn’t be anything wrong with that.

[wazzappp]

You write fanfics, right? Would you mind giving a newbie a few tips for writing their very first fanfiction ??? 🥺

FIRST OF ALL WOAH. IM HONORED YOU WOULD ASK ME FOR ADVICE AND SECOND OF ALL AKAKKFJGKHKHSKSGG I uhhhhh. Kind of????? Write?? I make plans and then I draw comics I'm actually trying to WRITE write something right now (key word being 'trying') but INEXPERIENCE ASIDE I guess I can try to tell you about some stuff I like to think about when planning a comic?

I like to start by knowing both where everyone is starting out and where everyone is going to end up. It's also helpful to know what everyone WANTS. I make sure to separate those two because they aren't necessarily the same thing. It's good to know both before you get to the details. If you don't know where you're going, you cant have fun getting there!

When I'm planning something out I like to start with the big parts as bullet points and then fill in the gaps. That way, if you realize one point doesn't flow into the other the right way, you can rearrange things before you're 5 hours deep and realize 3 hours worth of it doesn't work.

Try to think up multiple different ways a scene/situation could go! I replay something in my head a dozen times in a dozen different ways until I land on one I like. If you have something solid its totally cool to stick with it, but it's also fun to explore possibilities in your head before committing. That way you can pick out what the most impactful version is and go with that.

TALK!!! TO YOURSELF!!! FOR DIALOGUE!!! Find somewhere private where you wont be judged or interrupted and just go for it (my personal favorite is in the car on my drive to work but don't do that if you think it will get you into an accident lol). Try and get into each characters headspace and think about how it feels to say the things you're saying. Does it make you feel sick? Choked up? Tense? Notice it and think about how it will change their body language and how other people perceive them.

Know what your characters flaws are! Perfect people are BORING. Not to mention unrealistic. Also its really important for how people interact with each other! If someone is distrustful, judgemental, naive, defensive, blunt LITERALLY ANY CHARACTER FLAW it will play a role in how they deal with both people and problems.

Working on biographies + character designs (if you draw) for characters to make sure you understand them as well as possible is really helpful. I do it for almost all of my AU's that I make. But also I'm incredibly detail oriented so yk. Take that bit of advice with a grain of salt. I like picking my favorite little guys apart with a scalpel but if you find that demotivating don't worry about it too much.

If you're following along with a game or a movie, it's good to know ahead of time how closely you are sticking to the established story and universe. Keep track of any new rules you make. Working within a set of constraints helps to get both you and the character to think more creatively, and keeping those rules consistent makes the world feel more real. In a way, setting limits makes your world bigger!

Its also worth mentioning that I like to pay attention to what I enjoy reading when I'm figuring out a story. What pacing do you like? What level of description? Do you like things phrased more straightforwards or more poetic? I'm not suggesting you copy people of course. Just know what you like and try to apply it to yourself!

Damn that was way more than I thought I had to say lol. I'm going to also tag @moosemonstrous @rokhal @kermit-coded @cannibal-wings sin case they might have some tips to add because they are all absolutely exemplary in their craft (bring out the FANCY words today just for you) and I HIGHLY suggest looking at their works.

<3 Thanks for your ask!! I cant wait to see what you make!

[tadpolesonalgae]

did bas want an eventual romance with reader? i think it's implied that reader never saw bas that way, and i remember there was even a scene where bas acknowledges reader's crush on az, so i don't think they were even in like a "we could maybe date" type of relationship? the dynamic felt more like two best friends that just fool around together occassionally because they were both craving intimacy??

but then in the chapter after reader comes back from the autumn court, when bas is talking about how he felt betrayed, that she was his treasure, how he start to change and get better after meeting her, etc etc i can't help but feel maybe he was subconsciously hoping they would grow into a romantic relationship at some point 🤔🤔 and that maybe it added on to the hurt he felt during the whole "reader went missing" fiasco

(side note: does azriel Know that reader and bas were fucking each other??????????? i know he caught them making out on the street early on the series but . i just think it would be fun to see his ego get knocked down a peg or two if he finds out that bas was literally rocking her world meanwhile he was denied access to make her come durinf the library scene 🤭)

So I think the first time we actually meet Bas is when he's got reader pressed up against a wall and Azriel comes across them (queue a very awkward walk back home in time for a family dinner) and Bas makes a comment about 'oh, it's this guy?', as in, the one reader's told him she thinks she's in love with, so we know Bas knows.

It's a little difficult to articulate Bas and reader's relationship since it changes and shifts as the story progresses but roughly, reader used to follow Nesta out when she was going on her drunken bar crawls, ('Nesta's the bad influence' I think is mentioned in chapter 1?) and that's when she first met Bas, subsequently going home with him. I won't go into details because they aren't really that relevant, but their story is along the lines of reader being very much unaccustomed to one-night-stand etiquette, which is something Bas instantly picks up on. From Bas' side of the story I'd argue meeting reader is where things start changing for him since to him, reader's how he used to be before grief dragged him into alcoholism and late nights. When he sees reader coming into 'his' lifestyle for the first time he has a moment of realising he doesn't want to drag her into it, and it's kind of a moment of realisation that he needs to get better, and how far he's spiralled.

Anyway, they keep seeing one another, gently inclining towards one another over the span of probably a year or so? By the time cbmthy starts they have an established friendship and both understand that. It's a mutually beneficial relationship, with both getting to enjoy the pleasure of physical comforts as well as the emotional reassurance of friendship. Bas knows reader has her eye on someone, even if it's not going anywhere/unrequited, and reader's too preoccupied with Azriel to see potential in anyone else.

Throughout the story though I think Bas starts to change more, taking steps like getting himself to stop drinking as much, bringing himself away from one-night stands that only work for temporary oblivion for his grief and settling into the reassurance of reader's friendship, also talking with his mother again after their relationship became strained from losing Bas' dad. There's a point in the story where Bas is on edge, though I can't remember which part it's in, and when a male touches reader right in front of him he ends up falling back into the urge to fight and brawl and relieve the edge through gratuitous violence that (I imagine) is Bas' way of temporarily giving all the negative emotions inside of himself a vessel that he can harm in return for how it's harmed him.

However, Azriel intervenes that night, taking reader back to the House of Wind, leaving Bas to walk himself home on his own without her company, and without her being there for him this time. So things are a little off between them at that point, and I imagine Bas has a moment of wondering where she is, because up until now he's had her to trust. I also imagine it's a moment of worry for Bas, who realises he shouldn't be feeling the emotions he's experiencing, since there's no room for them in their current relationship. But then later on we have the scene that I think was a pivotal point in their relationship where reader deliberately takes advantage of Bas' trust (granted, reader felt that she needed to escape and then later tries to kill herself when she returns - we'll never know if things would have been better if she just had a mental breakdown in Velaris before leaving for Autumn) and I think that plays a large part in Bas' perception of reader shifting, and realising that maybe they were good together for a while, but it's reached the point where things have become too different for them to try and keep things the same. Either he acknowledges the changes and reacts accordingly (leaving Velaris with his ma and heading to Winter), or uncertainly pursuing reader (which to him is off the table. She obviously only has eyes for Azriel, and Bas isn't in a place where he could compete with that.)

I don't think Bas loves reader exactly, but I do think Bas treasures their time together and attributes a large portion of his recovery to reader's presence and company.

I also think that things might have been different if reader hadn't been in love with Azriel, and they'd had a little longer together.

As for your side note: I'm honestly undecided, and I think that means Azriel must therefore be too.

He's seen her and Bas together, and probably could scent enough to put some pieces together, and we also know that he was surprised during the library scene at how she behaved, wondering where she learned how to kiss and move in the way she did since she's like Elain, in terms of modesty.

Personally, I like to imagine that if it ever does cross his mind, it sends him into a state of denial since he just can't reconcile those two perceptions of reader, which I find mildly amusing :)

Ultimately, he can guess they've been physically intimate with one another - he just doesn't know to what extent :)

[salty-croissants]

Rayman/Ramon x anxious fem reader

Thank you @cutegamertv for the request ! I couldn’t seem to find it in my inbox , so I had to use the screenshot I took … sorry for the inconvenience , I don’t know why this happens :,I

Anyway I’ve actually been feeling a bit down these days , so writing this type of comfort scenario really helped a lot :,)👍

Hope it turned out okay ! 

Details : use of female reader ;

established relationships ; 

no warnings needed 

Rayman 🧡

Let’s make one thing clear : Rayman would do anything to make sure that you’re comfortable and happy at all times , and if you ever get the feeling that you’re bothering him by being anxious ? 

Well , he definitely won’t just stand by and watch his beloved even think about such things . 

< y/n , my love , look at me … 

You are , without exaggeration , the most important person in my life : you could never , ever be a burden to me . > 

< But … I know you’re busy , you have so many things to keep track of and I’m … I’m making you waste time over something so … dumb … > 

< Darling , you are much more important to me than anything else .

You’re what helps me keep going every day … the least I could do is be there for you when you need it . > 

If you’re one who gets especially anxious in public spaces , you can bet that Rayman will be coming with you , holding your hand if it helps you feel more at ease or simply staying by your side until you both get back home . 

And if someone says something mean spirited about you , they will quickly be confronted by your very protective boyfriend . 

< How about you leave my y/n alone , pal ? 

Back off ! > 

If you ever were to tell him that you don’t feel worthy of being with someone like him , Rayman is going to be shocked …

He is the lucky one to have someone as amazing as you ! 

Still , you can count on him to have just the right words to comfort you . 

< You are more than enough for me , I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else .

If only I could show you just how beautiful in every way you are to me … > 

Then Rayman always makes sure to shower you with sweet , loving kisses all over your face , as a way to showcase just how much you mean to him : 

you really are his everything ❤️

Ramon 🖤

While he definitely became way more bitter after the events he had to go through , Ramon is still definitely very soft with you , and much like he did in the past he is always looking out for you , making sure you’re okay … 

Also he immediately shuts down any worries you might have about bothering him .

< y/n . There’s literally no way you could ever bother me . 

Don’t even think about that , not for a second . >

< But - > 

< No “buts” . >

Given your fragility , Ramon is going to become even more protective than before over you now , and he won’t hesitate to straight up murder anyone who makes you even a little uncomfortable : 

he won’t accept any compromises , not when your safety is on the line . 

< Everything alright , honey ? I saw that guy approaching you and … > 

< I’m okay Ram , thank you … he was just a bit insistent about getting a drink together , but I’m not hurt or anything , it just … scared me a little . > 

< Tch … well , you can be sure that he won’t think about trying shit like that ever again . > 

< Heh , well you kinda put a bullet through his skull , sweetie … 

That makes it pretty hard for anyone to think . > 

If you bring up the fact that you don’t feel like you’re good enough for him , Ramon will barely even know what to say … 

He feels awful for everything that he allowed Eden to do back when he worked for them , he feels like he doesn’t deserve anything good at all , and certainly not someone like you . The fact that you think that makes him both confused and determined to prove you wrong . 

< y/n , do you have any idea where I would be if I didn’t have you ? 

You literally saved my life : you stuck with me when you knew what I did , you’ve shown me kindness even though I didn’t deserve it … 

If anything , I’m the one who isn’t good enough for you . > 

< Ram don’t say that … you’re amazing and I love you so much … > 

< I love you too sweetheart , I really do … so please , don’t be so hard on yourself , okay ? 

You’re my reason to be alive , I couldn’t go on without you … > 

After all that , you can be sure that Ramon will be cuddling you for hours , demonstrating his seriousness on the matter :

there is no way he will just stand there and watch his beautiful y/n feel like she doesn’t deserve him . 

[jackfrombaskinrobbins]

matt murdock as your legal guardian headcanons :)

type of writing: headcanons / scenario

word count: 1.15k

request: yes / no

dynamic: matt murdock x teen!reader

characters: reader, matt murdock, foggy nelson, karen page

a/n: ik this isn't a request, but it's something i think about a lot!! i had to get it out lol. i was originally gonna use a more aesthetic picture but then i found this & it was too cute not to include lol <3 also requests are still open! just send in an ask :)

taglist: @nutellani (fill out this form if you'd like to be included!)

-----------------------✰----------------------

first i’m gonna explain how matt murdock actually became your legal guardian.

because i just want to establish that lol

so your parents were involved with wilson fisk.

you had no idea about this of course, since you were very young when they were still involved in his business.

and btw when i say business i mean like his shady dealings

you were kind of left on your own a lot as a kid. you didn’t really mind it, and figured out how to entertain yourself.

however, when you were five years old, you returned home to find a truly awful crime scene.

you would learn much later in life that your parents had decided to report fisk, but before they were able to do so, he had them killed.

the perp was still there, and almost got you. however, a man with a black mask over his eyes was able to stop him for a second, yelling at you to run.

so you did. 

you ended up at an orphanage, but one day, a blind man came in looking to adopt.

you felt an immediate connection, and he adopted you when you were six. 

you’ve been inseparable ever since!!!

he told you all about your parents when you were older btw

anyways so now onto the fun stuff!!

one perk of living with matt is that your room is bomb.

bc his apartment is lowkey the coolest

if you like to visualise like i do, i imagine that your room is like next to the closet where he keeps the daredevil stuff

RANDOM LITTLE DETAIL LOL

anyways it’s super cosy

and you also can basically see in the dark because even though it doesn’t matter if the lights are on, matt tells you to keep them off because then the electric bill will stay low 

you called him a cheapskate but he said that was rude :(

you still did it though #rebel 🥶🥶🥶

you guys bully each other all the time

it’s the way you bond :)

you go to the nelson & murdock offices after school or during the summers.

you have your own little desk there!

one time you said it was too distracting and so foggy bought a privacy folder for you LMAO

needless to say it didn’t help at all

most of the clients are really nice and they’ll ask you about school and life and stuff

you kind of put them at ease

you tried to talk to matt about him being kind of intimidating but he didn’t want to hear it.

and then foggy kept asking why you didn’t think HE was intimidating.

“i mean come on y/n! have you SEEN this face? matt has a little baby face compared to mine!!”

you laughed so hard omg

matt calls you if he needs anything or if you need to tell him something, but you mostly just text foggy to keep them both updated

in my mind, foggy texts like five texts for one sentence

he uses every emoji twice

and every time he uses an abbreviation he always capitalizes it and puts the real meaning in parentheses next to it

here is an example

“hi y/n. hope your day is going well 😃😃 matt and i just won our case 😎😎 so we are going to go to josie’s tonight to celebrate!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🥳🥳 let me know if you need anything from the store 🏬🏬 ok TTYL (TALK TO YOU LATER) OMG (OH MY GOSH) matt just fell LOL (LAUGH OUT LOUD) 😱😱 gotta go ☹️☹️”

he’s so silly i love him

also matt collects records and cds.

he used to go with you to buy them and let you choose whatever you thought looked good

which is why you have everything from no doubt to frank sinatra to obscure french music

you always have music on at the apartment

like all the time

which brings me to my next point

matt never wanted you to have to see him as daredevil

but it wasn’t like the topic could be avoided.

so when he comes home with awful wounds and stuff, you help clean him up, just like he used to do for his father

and you’re damn good at it too. you have a very steady hand and no squeamish attitude at all. 

but similar to how the scotch used to help matt steady himself when he helped his father, music helps you steady yourself.

you’ll listen to soft & acoustic songs, and it helps ease you AND him.

usually you don’t talk about the things he does. but if he mentions something, you will

but usually it goes without any mention

in my mind, you and matt have a tradition of listening to baseball games on the radio together

you don’t really have a team you alaays root for, it changes year to year

but the two of you get really invested.

like you left the office early every time there’s a game so you can listen together.

or one time he and foggy were prepping a case and there was a game on so he wasn’t even focused HAH

i also think that even though josie’s is a bar, you’re allowed in

not only that, josie will let you behind the bar to make yourself a drink.

ok not like an alcoholic one but still

you have this one mixture of cranberry juice and ginger ale with a lime that you call the “y/n special” and foggy tried it and spit it out :(

josie and some of the regulars almost kicked him out LMAO it was so funny

ok also i have this very clear vision of something foggy does

so to preface this

it’s a rainy day

or just a generally gloomy day

and you and matt are home.

karen is over too.

maybe you’re reading a book and matt and karen are prepping a case or something

and then the door suddenly bursts open

matt isn’t surprised because he heard it coming obvi 

but it caught you off guard

you look over to the kitchen, where the perpetrator is completely covered by the GIGANTIC grocery bags he’s holding.

“oh no.” 

you say, and matt shakes his head. karen is already laughing

foggy drops the bags and exhales, a huge grin overtaking his face.

“WHO’S READY FOR FOGGY’S FAMOUS CHICKEN SOUP????!!!”

“we are” you and karen and matt say in unison, trying to hold back laughter

basically every time the littlest bit of winter rolls around, foggy will bring every ingredient known to man over to your and matt’s apartment and make chicken soup

you make fun of this tradition but it’s been going on since foggy and matt were in law school

and the soup is actually so good

you four always eat it together and it makes you so happy

your family, all together at one table :)

-----------------------✰----------------------

[eldritch-spouse]

The Princes

After a deal is established between Krulu and Miara, the idea of creating offspring becomes slightly less abhorrent to Krulu, for a multitude of reasons, some of which he's not keen to admit.

Miara will tell him a lot of truths he needs to hear, a couple of these being particularly pleasing, such as:

Siadar have vastly stopped watching Earth. This means the banished is not in as much danger as he believes himself to be. There's no need to be as subtle as he currently is being, because ever since Earth became the equivalent of a "no-go" zone, he's in little to no danger of being found. He's in an isolated, abandoned instance, inside a system vastly abandoned by siadar. Mother is only there because she's a deviant looking for her fragment;

He has her protection. In the very unlikely scenario that something did go wrong and both of them would be found, Miara volunteers herself to not only protect, but also sacrifice herself for the offspring and possibly buy all of them enough time to escape. This is not being done for Krulu specifically, but rather for Admin, the shard. Miara wants to proportion nothing but the best for you and is driven with all her being to ensure that you live the most fulfilled life. Does Krulu like that having Mother's protection soothes him? No, fuck no. But he can't deny that it makes the idea of heirs more feasible, tangible, less stressful.

Why is Miara so keen on kids?

Simple, she's a fertility goddess. As a former matemaker, and a creator, she can't help but encourage procreation amongst those she cares for. You (Admin) yourself are extremely family-oriented (if you weren't before, you sure are now) as one of your longest lasting wishes to be impregnated by Krulu and bring his heirs into the world. This desire is in direct correlation with your soul's link to Miara.

Other than that, she's also very excited to see a possible new generation of monsters be created, as she's come to adore the "heretical" diversity of this planet.

Why is Krulu so against kids?

Tl;dr: Trauma.

The last thing he wants is to be found again, to have the few things he's relearned to love be ripped from his grasp, decimated anew. He wouldn't survive that, he'd enter such a nauseating level of hysteria, of mania, that his mental faculties would never recover and he'd scorch everything alive. This planet, his kind, himself. Just thinking about actually going through with it causes him grief and panic deep enough to make his chest ache. Naturally, as his vessel, this saddens you to no end.

Putting that major mental block aside, Krulu is also saddened by the possibility of passing on his wounds and "blemishes" onto the offspring, which is likely, since the extended period of time inside The Null altered his core, his genetics.

The "test run"

Belo is the first who gets to put a baby in you.

For several reasons, mainly that Krulu isn't ready to do it until much later, but this test run with Belo only serves to sway him in that direction. The idea is implanted in your head first by none other than Miara, who is very good at coming up with mildly creative, kinda bullshit solutions to a lot of problems. If Krulu won't grant you offspring just yet, why not coax him with the image of you swollen by Belo's child?

This is beneficial for a lot of reasons, mostly that there's little to no danger involved for Krulu or you. Plus, it's something the higher finds himself very aroused by. The pregnancy will be smoother, and everyone gets a chance to orient themselves towards a more familial dynamic. Belo himself is extremely honored to have this chance, and exists in shock for a great deal of its duration.

After the angel hybrid child is born, your recovery is given priority, as soon enough, you'll be welcoming Krulu's heir. This pregnancy is already vastly different, and a touch more risky. (I've detailed the basic gist of it before.)

The offspring

Put simply, the siblings are as follows:

Adelo (Prince of Eden) -> Belo and Admin's child. An angel hybrid with some odd shapes here and there. Little about them is humanoid, mostly because angels are some of the most untampered types of creations genetically speaking, it would take a lot of successive breeding with lessers to make extremely humanoid angels. A very playful person, masculine-presenting, hermaphroditic. This little bozo originally simply wanted to goof off and was content only having to perform small errands for his parents, the clergymen and so forth. Upon teenhood, he's told about some plans for Eden, and how Krulu wishes Adelo would become its ruler within time. Ever since then, he has strived to make his parents' vision become reality, no matter what.

Adrul (Prince of Perdition) -> Krulu and Admin's child. Retains a lot of his father's visage, though with the odd feature of a centipede-like lower body. Has been somewhat quiet and serious since childhood, in great contrast to his brother, though he's not incapable of humor. The hybrid didn't like to feel useless and would take on any role necessary, no matter how foreign it felt. He takes his mission to heart and swears to convert every demon, or kill them where they stand shall they refuse to honor Krulu. Although he may outwardly come off as intimidating and heartless, Adrul has a lot more empathy than his brother.

As princes, it's safe to assume both monsters suffer from some degree of loneliness and stress, imposed on them by the missions they have been encumbered with. If only there was someone who caught their eye, made life more bearable...

[kigiom]

Hi hello, I’m very much enjoying your endeavour posting with no context whatsoever! But what’s it about?

(I know I could google but personally I love explaining things I love, so I thought I’d ask😊)

hi! so! well! thank you that's very kind of you <3 very long post incoming.

endeavour is a crime drama that stands on its own, but it's also a prequel to a pretty well known earlier show called inspector morse (that I haven't actually seen) and features the titular character of endeavour morse as a much younger man (played by shaun evans), first as a constable and then a sergeant under the mentorship of one inspector thursday (roger allam). it's set in the 1960s and then early 1970s, which is executed very well! it's nine seasons long of about 3/4 episodes a season, each of them an hour and a half, which I find serves the show well in allowing more freedom for plot development and character dynamics.

I have enjoyed it very much and am currently mildly (extremely) obsessed with it, because it has a stellar combination of a) exemplary acting b) fantastic cinematography and atmosphere setting and c) adherence to the narrative.

in more detail:

morse himself is very much a character who cannot escape his own tragic fate because he brings it about himself, which is of course like catnip to me (love a character who brings his own doom!).

that, and the mildly codependent "we can't seem to part" relationship he has with thursday? delicious. initially of course the relationship is settled in a more mentor-mentee dynamic, though they instantly take a shine to each other (they just genuinely seem to like each other as people, despite their rank difference! they're two of a kind!) with morse as the mouthy, headstrong young man committed to justice and thursday as the experienced world war two veteran who tries to bring him in line while also fighting for that same cause: justice.

I'd argue they lose that dynamic pretty quickly (certainly by about S3), (though it was never particularly strong, given morse's sheer bloody-mindedness) establishing a much more equal footing with each other that's evident in the push and pull between them that starts becoming evident in S4 (ft. bickering) as morse comes into his own. I'll save any spoilers just in case you do decide to watch it, but! they aren't master and pupil — they're equals, and that adds so much more to the dynamic, I find, than a simple reading of them as teacher and student. there's the element of loyalty — thursday in his willingness to defend morse to superiors and morse in his...well, everything. he acknowledges thursday's faults and sticks to him despite his own iron morality. I'll add receipts to posts I made about this that sum it up better than I can manage typing this out sitting in a heatwave.

(here's the post concerning their devotion)

(and this textpost was also about them but it broke containment and now everyone thinks it's about hannibal)

further concerning the exploration of their morality intersecting with their loyalty:

anyway! it's a very good show! allam and evans have a spectacular dynamic as their respective characters, and both of them are incredible actors (evans in particular is of the precise facial expression journeys school, and manages to convey incredible depth and range of emotion, conflicting or not, in two seconds by the look on his face and body language. allam has a somewhat stage trained spin to playing thursday but he's equally brilliant at bringing depth and enormous complexity to a character that could so easily have become flat).

so, if you like to see:

- a miserable uppity twink growing up and becoming a middle aged man in spirit if not body

- said miserable little bastard being doomed from the start (he also gets progressively more miserable as the show goes on) (this will hurt) (it'll hurt a lot.)

- a deuteragonist straight out of a noir film; a family man who's seen the war and who comes to embody the violence he experienced against what he perceives as wrong

- protagonist and deuteragonist are basically textually the most important people in each other's lives and have the power to hurt each other like no one else (👍)

- the enormous ironies of the 1950s "family man"

- great atmosphere setting, wildly varying plots (for better and for worse, but it largely stays in the IMDB 8+ mark), brilliant supporting characters and cast

- acknowledgement of police corruption and brutality (the latter a complex issue, the former the main overarching plot of the show)

- constant parallel drawing and running threads of the narrative that you go "oh my GOD" at during the rewatch

...then this show is for you!

(...and thank you for reading all that)

[mrcformoso]

Parallels and Details (part 2) for Paper Flowers for the God of Gods

This focuses mostly on Chapters 4-7. For Chapters 1-3, you can find it in Part 1

If you haven’t read the fic yet, this is in reference to my HuaLian fic Paper Flowers for the God of Gods! It’s a FlowerGod!XL AU in canonverse with Rapunzel vibes and Persephone & Hades vibes and an ungodly amount of flower language.

Again, OMG the response to this fic is UNREAL. Like I had to refresh it over and over because I couldn’t believe how much love it was receiving. This fic was both an emotional and mental ride hahaha because I really wanted to channel MXTX as much as possible.

If I was going to revamp the universe, I wanted to make sure that it was as detailed as possible, and so here’s another roundup of the details in this fic because The Brain Hurts But We Are Doing Our Best.

THIS IS ASSUMING YOU HAVE READ UNTIL CHAPTER 7. Please don’t accidentally spoil yourselves. It will be worth it, I promise hahaha this is mostly for me to show off point out details because these chapters got a bit emotional and just to show how much work I put in this hahaha

SMALL DETAILS - I’m a big fan of inputting tiny little details in this fic, whether it be a repeating phrase or calling out certain things that are for foreshadowing or for mood purposes

“He looked up, and up, and – oh”

The first instance of this line was in Chapter 3, during HC’s flashback: 

Hong-er, raising his arms in defense against the intruder as he looked up – and up – and – oh.

This was then repeated in Chapter 4, when Xie Lian rolled the dice and was waiting for San Lang.

Before he could even see the result, he heard the soft landing of footsteps beside him.

He looked up, and up, and – oh.

And finally, repeated one more time in Chapter 7, after HC’s confession, right before seeing the flowers on Xie Lian’s hair

1.He looked up, and up, and – oh.

Basically, it’s all instances when they were feeling extremely anxious and they look up and it’s like saying oh, there you are.

Foreshadowing phrases from flashbacks

So the first instance for example is Chapter 4 during XL’s flashback where it talks a bit about his eventual punishment and HC’s death. Those are direct quotes lifted from the actual flashback on Chapter 7. There’s also repeating ones in Chapter 6.

Capitalization and how important Xie Lian is to Hua Cheng using the power of Capital Letters.

Another thing people don’t really notice, but in Hua Cheng’s POV, he always refers to Xie Lian as his God with a capital G, but all other gods are with a small letter g, indicating the difference in how he regards them.

CALLBACKS AND REFERENCES - I love cyclical poetry and calling back events within the fic. Also, when I write canonverse AUs I love calling back to the canon, or referencing the canon in a way that makes sense in the new universe I made. I also try sometimes to add little references to other things I love.

The two deputy gods - and how important this scene actually was

In the Prologue, there was a super, super short scene where two deputy gods were walking around and one explained Xie Lian’s Gardens to the other, before they’re interrupted by HC. More than just a “haha, HC is gonna kill them” kind of thing, in this chapter it was used as a mode of world building, to establish what Heaven thinks of XL and of minor gods in general, as well as establish that HC made his way to heaven.

However, this is referenced again in Chapter 4. Because HC takes out those two gods, and it causes trouble for Qi Rong, SQX was given the opening to talk to XL about HC. This reveals to XL that San Lang’s real identity was HC (he knew there was a ghost king, and he knew the ghost king was San lang, but he didn’t know his real name)

This leads to Chapter 5 where, because he knows HC is SL, XL brings him to his territory to hide him when he couldn’t teleport out of the festival, which led to the morning reveal of Puqi temple.

Basically, the two deputies were the reason for The Confession in Chapter 7. Thank you, random characters.

Butterfly Weeds - I also think I may have traumatized all my readers from this flower.

Xie Lian’s hair has two indicators of his mood. The first is what flowers grow on his hair, and the second is the state of the flowers (the droop when he’s sad for instance).

So the Butterfly Weed Reveal™ was foreshadowed as early as the prologue. I deliberately didn’t explain what Butterfly Weeds meant because it was a setup for Chapter 6. But if you recall the prologue, XL was waiting on the bridge while looking at his reflection and this was the description I used:

He tucked his hair back behind his ear. It was Butterfly Weeds today, their small, orange buds littered the top of his head, down the length of his hair. He plucked a dead leaf from his hair, letting it fall on the river water, distorting his own reflection.

You learn in Chapter 3 from HC’s POV that Xie Lian’s hair flowers die when he’s really sad, so if you go back, it’s the first indication that XL in the prologue was Not Okay. The river distorting his own reflection was also a metaphor for his mental state and how he was not showing his Real Self.

The Blue Hydrangea

Sooo it was super quickly mentioned but the bookmark in Chapter 6:

He lifted up an old book, one with a bookmark made of a pressed blue hydrangea. 

This is the blue hydrangea that XL grew in his hair and gifted to Hua Cheng in Chapter 2:

…and in an act that surprised Xie Lian, [San Lang] tucked the Hydrangea behind his ear with a cute little “now we match, Gege!”

Which means the book came from Hua Cheng’s collection and not heaven. He literally gave the book to He Xuan to deliver to XL, and also kept the flower that XL gave him hahaha

The Page™ 

Chapter 6, the section of XL’s thoughts as he descends into the Bad Place in his mind was deliberately written in those short lines to sort of emulate the It Hurts page of the novel. I couldn’t really do that in fanfiction because this is not a physical book but I hoped it gave the same vibes.

Chapter 190™ 

There was really no reason for the human face disease and the stabby stabby but I kept the spirit of the torture XL experienced but through the shackles attached to him.

I also kept the spirit of Ghost Flame Hua Cheng unable to do anything until he burned everyone in teenager Hong-er unable to help until he started starving himself in XL’s temple while praying.

The formation of XL’s Habits

After the reveal of how Hong-er dies to save XL in Chapter 7, we see that XL starts showing the habits that we see him have in Chapter 2. That includes pacing around the perimeter, around and around until the sun sets, him looking at his own reflection in the river to see the flowers in his hair, and of course, the next point:

“It was a nice day. All days are nice.”

THE MOST PAINFUL ONE. IT HURT ME TO DO THIS.

This was actually first implied in the Prologue, but it was a more obvious repetition in Chapter 2 where each section started with “It was a nice day. All days are nice.” Initially, the implication is that it’s what he’s trying to convince himself is true (that all days are nice in heaven, therefore he is okay) But in Chapter 7 it is revealed that he started saying this after Hong-er dies. This shows that he started waiting since back then, and continued waiting the same way until he meets HC.

IT IS ALSO A REFERENCE TO THE NOVEL. It is supposed to emulate the year where XL was waiting for Hua Cheng to return. Because in this fic, XL is waiting for his devotee from his final request, and that’s why it’s the same vibe.

Princess Bride reference!

A cheeky little one. “Your wish is my command” which was first uttered by Hua Cheng in Chapter 5, brought back with more significance in Chapter 7 after XL asks him to be saved. In reference of course to the famous “As you wish” quote from the movie.

HUALIAN’S BACKSTORY - symbolisms, parallels, and running towards one another. I AM SO PROUD OF THIS. This was literally the first thing I had to flesh out of when I made this AU because the rest of the story had to be written around this and WHEN I TELL YOU the amount of time I spent making this omg –

Hua Cheng’s red string

In Chapter 3, we see that Xie Lian wrapped a vine with a lotus flower around Hong-er’s finger and he declared Hong-er as one of his flowers. Hua Cheng wears a red string now on the same spot.

Hua Cheng’s umbrella

The umbrella will make an appearance again soon! But yes, the red umbrella that Hua Cheng closes at the Prologue was the same umbrella Xie Lian hovers over Hua Cheng in chapter 3.

Hua Cheng’s name + Crimson Rain Sought Flower

THE INSPO FOR THIS FIC! Hua Cheng, literally meaning ‘Flower City’. After he dies, he changes his name to this to honor his Flower God, and tbh it holds a lot more significance in this fic.

Also, it changed the meaning of Hua Cheng’s title. Instead of Hua Cheng protecting the flower from the bloody rain, I made it so that HC deliberately protects any flower since they are considered his ‘siblings’.

“I want to be one of your flowers”

In Chapter 3, in HC’s flashback we see that Hong-er wanted to be XL’s flower when reincarnated because he wants to always be with XL. XL acknowledges this.

And although XL doesn’t put it together that Hong-er and “the teenage boy” were the same person, XL subconsciously considers him as his flower because of how loyal he was, and so XL took care of him like how he takes care of all his flowers.

And remember in Chapter 5, how XL reacted to seeing his flowers die?

Yeah. He felt that way, and mayhaps even worse, when HC died. The flowers in his hair rotted in just the same way.

“Wu Ming”

Not really done by name. But. If you notice, Hong-er never introduces himself, and Xie Lian never knew the name of his favorite devotee. I couldn’t do the “Wu Ming” thing because that was XL being deliberately cruel in the canon, and in this they have a much softer relationship.

But technically HC still becomes Wu Ming in a sense that he is endlessly devoted to XL and he sacrifices himself to save XL, so the spirit of Wu Ming is still in this fic.

San Lang (or, the three lives)

So the whole “San Lang” name in canon was a) a cheeky affectionate name (Lang is usually a term of endearment), and b) the “San” or 3 or third references the 3 lives San Lang lived (Hong-er, Wu Ming, Hua Cheng)

Now, in this fic, it means the same thing but in different contexts:

Hong-er is “reborn” as one of XL’s flowers in Chapter 3 - remember right before this, Hong-er mentions he wants to die and be reincarnated, to which XL asks “what would you like to reincarnate as” and gives him a lotus petal which means Renew, or Rebirth. This was the “end” of his first life.

Hong-er (or “the boy”) physically dies praying to XL for seven days straight without eating or sleeping. This is the end of his second life.

Hua Cheng is his third life, thus, San Lang.

Roses, Tulips, Gardenias, Daisies, Chrysanthemums

These were first mentioned actually in Chapter 3, but not by name because Hong-er didn’t recognize these flowers, but these were the flowers Xie Lian grew for him that ‘look like his red eye’. 

In Chapter 4, they were revealed to be the red flowers in Hua Cheng’s garden. Xie Lian comments that, if red, they all mean Love. And Hua Cheng says he grew it for a wonderful memory (his first meeting with XL)

Also in Chapter 3, He Xuan mentions that Hua Cheng’s communication array password is “five flowers, but he can’t remember the order”. In Chapter 4, it is revealed that these five flowers are his communication array password (BECAUSE HC IS A SAP AND WE LOVE HIM)

Chapter 6, He Xuan mentions these five flowers to basically tell Xie Lian that he’s working for Hua Cheng and to trust him when he gave The Book.

And of course, Chapter 7, where Xie Lian grew these flowers in his hair as his declaration of love to Hua Cheng. These are Their Flowers.

Paper Flowers

Of course, ½ of the title of this fic. Paper Flowers.

So this one doesn’t need much explanation. They are XL’s favorite offering because it’s not picked flowers, but it is mentioned explicitly in Chapter 3 that XL tells Hong-er not to pick flowers because they will die. So Hong-er dedicated himself to learn how to fold paper flowers.

This is also mentioned again in the end of chapter 3 that Hua Cheng STILL folds paper flowers every day and offers it to XL’s temple in Ghost City (at the end of the chapter). 

And during The Confession in chapter 7, Hua Cheng makes XL hold onto E-ming to free his hand as he sits and folds a paper flower to 1) show XL that he was the devotee, 2) fold a paper rose to confess his love and show his feelings and 3) you can say this is him praying to XL. The setting was with XL sitting on the bed and HC sitting in front of him. It’s kind of like he’s praying at an altar while making his offering.

E-ming - and the healthier relationship with Hua Cheng

So because Xie Lian saw HC’s red eye and declared it as beautiful, I made it so that HC and E-ming had a healthier relationship, and it’s shown in how HC takes better care of E-ming and treats him like a puppy.

In Chapter 5 he summarized his relationship that it started off as a curse (before XL), then it became his source of strength (After XL), and then his weapon. Chapter 7 shows that E-ming became his weapon because he wanted to forge something to protect XL in line with what he promised. His “wait for me, and I’ll come back to protect you” promise.

Role reversal

A theme I absolutely love with this universe! It’s very subtle, but it makes me soft.

In the flashbacks, it’s shown that XL is the one who took care of HC, from giving him a reason to live until he took care of him in his teens and made sure he was fed and sheltered and loved.

In the present time, HC becomes that person for XL, where XL is so sad and tired, HC became that person who brought him food, and validated him, and took care of him through their interactions.

“Tell me what you want”

Another theme I really wanted to incorporate in this universe. Related to the role reversal is the theme of asking for something that you want, and being able to give it to that person.

In Chapter 2, we have many instances of San Lang telling Xie Lian to just ask for what he wants, and we also have many instances of San Lang acknowledging any sort of request XL asks of him, even going away if XL says so (“You should go”)

Chapter 3, in HC’s flashback, we see that this came from XL doing the same for HC. Asking him what he wants. If you notice, XL didn’t tell HC to not kill himself when HC says he wants to die and reincarnate, but rather asked what he wanted to reincarnate as and then provide it.

Chapter 4, we see how XL’s wants are mostly ignored by other people (except SQX), until San Lang comes along, where he reassures XL that his wants are valid. Also, we see how XL 

Chapter 7, the big reveal that the entire time XL was doing what HC wanted before he died (“what do you want, I’ll do anything” “Wait for me”), and so HC goes back and asks XL again what he wants.

References to their canon themes

“Just one person is enough” - except here, it was one devotee praying for Xie Lian to overcome the shackles

“They’ve been running towards each other for 800 years” - in the sense that they’ve been doing things for each other and waiting and looking for each other for 800 years.

HuaLian back and forth - living for one another and meeting in the middle

MY DREAM with this fic was that I wanted to do in this fic was the constant back and forth between HuaLian. I revealed little by little their backstory over the course of several chapters in their POVs to showcase how important they were to each other, even when they didn’t really get to know each other that well.

Xie Lian gave Hong-er a reason to live by being ‘reborn’ as one of his flowers.

Hong-er becomes Xie Lian’s most dedicated believer, praying everyday and . Note, for a minor god this is a Big Deal because he has so few believers and temples to begin with.

Xie Lian takes care of Hong-er by feeding him, giving him company through flowers, and leading him to shelter, which was a Big Deal to homeless, abandoned Hong-er.

Xie Lian chose isolation over exile so that he could still take care of Hong-er.

Hong-er sacrificed himself by starving and not sleeping to pray non-stop to save Xie Lian from the shackles.

Hong-er asked Xie Lian to wait for him, because he was already dead set on becoming a ghost/not resting in peace in order to protect Xie Lian due to his own disappointment in himself.

Xie Lian, despite his grief, continued to live and wait in acknowledgement of Hong-er’s wish. He endured 800 years of imprisonment and mental torture in honor of Hong-er’s last wish.

Hong-er becomes HC and spends 800 years becoming a Ghost King and looking for XL so that he could fulfill his end of the wish.

And finally, they meet in the middle.

WAAAAAAA it’s so much but I super enjoyed writing this fic! Did you guys catch all of this in your read through? Are there other things you noticed? I have more, but they’ll be more fleshed out in the last 3 chapters!