#so like in THEORY i love planning and i fully embrace it and think its so so so so important.

[doubletroubletag]

i got almost all the next month's updates sketched! i'm not doing the last one simply because i am feeling the burn out of composing these pages. (each have at least 6 pages, a good amount have the max 12!)

that said, these are all just sketched. i want to do it in this order: backgrounds -> lineart -> transcript. i got other projects i need to work on (winning hat and NightFell) so I can't really guarantee when Tag will start to update again.

[leynaeithnea]

Oh yeah good call doing this song by song becase our essays are getting so long it's illegal at this point haha

Before we get into it, one of the chorus is "kill for love"? DAMN , that's totally not gonna ruin me at all, nu-uh I'll be super fine for sure

Okay let's go

This song is literally my fave of the saga, stuck in my head on repeat because of the melody and the beautiful vocals but also the story?? She is actually a siren trying to trick him but he pulls out a uno reverse card and tricks her even harder ??? Once again LYING CUNNING CHARACTERS FOR THE WIN AJSKSNBSB

Also I'm so jealousy of you bc I did not have it in me to wake up in the middle of the night for the stream but I wanted to see it so baaad, I would have been even more confused than you at 5am don't worry your wild theories are valid

Their little banter is impeccable "answer some questions for me please ?🥺" " Of course babe 🤭🙃" let's say I was on the run from Poseidon that big meanie 😔" " Oh nOo pookie poor you 🥺" They are so unserious !!! And then the vocals in her reply keep me up at night " sailing where he's scared to roam" is done so majestically akdmndns

Can't fight you on this , Ody saying he's shy and terrified is so fuckin funny and random hahahah

Oh good gods don't let me think about it because I know ,I KNOW HE'S PRETENDING A LITTLE BIT THIS IS REALLY HIS PENELOPE AND IT HURTS SO BAD the way he says he'd die for her and he misses her so much , "more than you know "because the siren actually doesn't know , she has no idea how much he misses his wife asakkksnns free my boy he deserves some smooches from his wifeee

( I love how you keep slipping Neil in the conversation and I do not fault you for it bc liars= Neil-Josten-hiding-his-whole-ass-murderer-father-with-ties-to-the-japanese-mafia-like-it's-nothing )

ALRIGHT I have a bit energy again

I agree with everything u said moving to the next song now!

22. Different Beast

the arrow followed by this ear piercing screaming (good think they all had beeswax in their ears fr)

ODY IS SO MAD "lets cut the charade you are no wife of mine" I almost feel like he hates the Siren even more for DARING to pretend to be Penelope, and making him yearn for her even more

the music in that one is also soooo sinister and creepy

and how his voice changes with "i know underwater theres packs of you hiding, yeah i know exactly what you are, a siren" its so vicious and cunning iTS soo good

Then the siren hiss seigsegj

AND THEN THE DRUMs when he starts singing "my real wife knows im not scared of the water, and my real wife knows i dont have a daughter" like the drums rise when he speaks and between the lines and when the strings or whatever they are come up again, the drum gets quieter again for a moment only to rise up again when he speaks...its so cool, i love this drum beat, which continues while he tells his whole big-brain plan (love how we see Odys hubris in this one, he gets so smug about his plans with the sirens that he spends a whole song explaining it to us, on one hand its exposition and him just recalling what happened for story purposes but also it fits the character for his pride - which in the myth is also his fatal flaw - takes over)

also "we are a different beast now" chorus: basically is just "we are the monsters rawr rawr rawr"

"we've been away from home for ABOUT 12 YeARS OR SO" JORGE; JORGE WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID HERE

I've also been wondering, i kind of feel like the ryhtm of the music doesnt fully-align with the lyrics bc theyre shifting between singing and sing-talking, and ive been wondering if thats maybe like a suble sign that acutally Ody and the crew dont hear a thing rn? kinda? idk, i dont have enoguh knowledge about music theory to actually explain the sort of dissonance i feel is happening, it could also just be done like this to showcase how theyre the different beasts now

Sirens singing "spare us" is eery and pretty

Odys embracing the lesson people have been trying to teach him throughout act 1 finially "why, so you can kill the next group of sailirs in this part of the sea, nah you wouldve spared me"

"cut of their tails we're ending this now, throw their bodies back int he water let them drown" HE IS THE MONSTER RAWR RAWR RAWR

AND THen the CHOIR LYRIcs shift to "HE is a different beast now, he is the one to feast now" (i lowkey imagine him just snacking on some Siren tail in that line ngl, the only way the lyrics "the ones to feast now" makes sense is if they literally feasted on these tails, it would also explain why Ody specifically wanted to cut of their tails)

also Ody plss "Kill them all"...ow, but fair i suppose, but you couldve just slit their throats

ADN THEN The last lyrics being "Odysseus" omg gsiejgisejg love it

Also i dont know when this shifted from "my favorite lines in the musical" to "my reaction and analysis to every song" but by now im just vibing with it

[genshingarbage]

Could I request any boys of your choice where they’ve had an exhausting day and their s/o says they should take a nap on their lap? Thank you!

Cute boi hours again? Yes <3 Sleepy time awe! I am gonna pick a very select few that i think this works well with, so i hope you're okay with the hand picked few ;) - Mod Diluc

Rest My Love.

|| Head Cannons ||

Kazuha/Diluc/Xiao/Kaeya

Kazuha

He was beat, exhausted and aching, every muscle in his body ached like something fierce. But, who ever said the life of a lone wandering samurai was gonna be a breeze? Yea, that's right- no one. Because it sure as hell wasn't. He was use to feeling this way yet somehow it still made him just as grouchy as the first time.

He walked into the small building that was titled as your homestead and yawned; stretching his arms out he heard a few odd bones pop from the pressure, it relieved some of his tension but not nearly enough for it to be actually satisfying. With a huff he removed some of his more heavy going clothing, including his shoes, till he was more loose and relaxed.

He shuffled slowly into the house, trying not to wake you. You were his lover and so him coming to your home was somewhat normal now, but he often was away for large periods of time, and he never liked to disturb you. Specially when you're busy. Which you were, you had your nose deep between the pages of a gripping story written so entrancing like from a book. So much for his first theory that you'd be asleep at this time, huh?

He tried to creep past you as you read, but you wasn't born yesterday. So with a roll of your eyes and a soft exhale from your nose you spoke out. "Kazuha. Welcome home hun." You didn't even bother to turn your head around to him, you knew fully well he was frozen in his steps now, eyes wide like a doe caught in headlights. He blinked a few times before sorting himself back to his normal standing position and chuckling awkwardly, a breif rub to the back of his neck ensued.

"Ah, yea, I'm uh- yea. I'm home, thanks Y/N. I really didn't wanna disturb you there." He spoke softly and with great regret; like he'd just committed an awful crime. You simply closed the book after having bent the tip of the page you were on, as to know where to start off when you return to it, and placed the item down on the small table infront of your sofa. "Kazuha, it's fine... I was only reading a book." You chuckled gently.

"I know, but... it felt wrong to interupt you so abruptly specially when you seemed so into it-" you'd twisted your torso ever so slightly so your eyes could lay on his now, your heart almost broke, he looked absolutely shattered- like all life was drained from him. Just what had this crazy man gotten up to in his absence? "Kazuha- oh my goodness. Look at you! You're about to pass out."

He smiled politely and waved his hand side to side as if dusting your worry back into the wind. "Nah, I'm a lil tired that's all. I'm gonna have a lie down, I'll be right as rain after." He went to go back to making his way to the exit of your living room, that is until you called out ever so gently. "Or well, I wouldn't mind if you rested your head on my lap." A faint blush flushed your cheeks. He turned to face you yet again. Blinking several times over again.

"Really?" He tilted his head almost like a curious puppy, he has no idea how cute he is sometimes. "I mean, sure why not? You've not been home for over a month. I do get lonely ya know, the company would feel nice, and your presence is always warm and welcoming." You smiled sweetly at him and he returned the expression with full earnest. Nodding softly he made his way to the sofa, where you rested, and now reshuffled and organised yourself to get into a more comfy position.

It wasn't long before he was laying on his side with his head nestled into your lap, breathing softly as your hand gently rested adorn his head of hair. "Mmh. You're right, this beats sleeping alone any day." He hummed sleepily to you, by the way his voice was giving out you could tell he was close to succumbing to his slumber already. With a gentle smile still planted across your lips you hushed him softly.

"Shh, rest now. My Kazuha." You began to hum a quaint little lullaby that had him snoring in under three minutes. This man, he works himself so hard, but still, it's one of the reasons you love him so much, the fact he's hard working and never gives in. And you have the comfort in your mind of knowing whenever he gets this tired again, he'll have you here to be by his peaceful sleeping side everytime. Now and forever.

Diluc

The sky was a beautiful orange and red tone, the colours mixed so beautifully, with the white fluffy clouds scattered around too, it looked like a stunning evening. You were sat alone at the dinner table again, your chin resting on your opened palm, your eyelids half shut to block the rays of the last bit of presence from the sun.

The candles had long since burned out and the beautiful sweet honeyed roast you'd prepare with such delicacy and tender care was going cold. Diluc was suppose to be home over thirty-five minutes ago, he promised he'd make it in time for whatever dinner the maids threw together tonight, he wasn't aware you'd taken it upon yourself to lovingly prepare tonight's meal for him.

You couldn't be mad at the man; or hold a grudge for that matter, you knew what type of person he was, you knew he wasn't one for sticking to plans and promises, he simply couldn't be with the work he has, not to mention his little sun down hobby that you became privy too after several years with the crimson haired gentleman. If there was one thing you were grateful for, it was the fact you knew without doubt he truly did love you. And in a way that was enough for you.

It was sundown now and your dinner had long been since tidied up by the maids, with a somewhat solemn look to your face you'd decided to go to bed early that night. Knowing Diluc, he wouldn't be home for hours to come anyway. Your eyes were just starting ache and your eyelids were starting to feel heavy for you now. Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth softly you let your body sink further into the warm embracing sheets.

Click.

Your eyes slowly opened back up when you heard the all too familiar noise of your bedroom door opening, narrowing your eyes slightly to help adjust to the dim glow of the room, the small aid of illumination being provided solely by your nightstand candle. It wasn't hard to make out who it was however, since his deep red hair practically danced from the slight glow of the flicking flame.

"Diluc." It came out more like a whisper which you never intended for it too, but you were so gripped by tiredness now it was hard to sound more awake at the given circumstances. "Sorry for waking you my dear, wasn't my intention." You hummed softly in response and then watched as best as you could as he removed his attire and shoes, stripping down to just his boxers.

Gripping the band that kept his hair up was the last part, with a tug his hair flew down and waved apart, you kept a watchful eye on him. As it was when his hair was down that he was always at his most tired and vulnerable mental state now. "The maids told me Y/N." He still sounded strict, or at least he was trying his best too. But his voice wavered in every sense of the word.

The bed dipped beside you as his weight was added to the mattress now, a small groan escaping his lips. You knew what he meant, it wasn't a surprise the maids told him you'd prepared the dinner today, you'd just wish they'd not sometimes, to avoid adding more stress to the man's poor ordeals. "It's fine, it was just a small attempt. I'm not exactly the best cook to begin wit-"

The poorly sounding wince from him cut you off, the failed attempt to stifle it and keep it under wraps didn't go unnoticed. You narrowed your eyes at the man beside you in bed now, and then you saw. He was littered with cuts and bruises, they surely must hurt, why didn't he say anything? Scratch that. He never tells you anyway, thinking its better that way. Silly man.

With a gentle huff you shook your head, shuffling your weight and sitting up ever so slightly, your back pressing against the several puffed pillows under you. "Enough of that. Come here darling." It was your turn to sound strict however, and for once he didn't fight back. Your heart tugged at you slightly as you felt the weight shifting around beside you and then were suddenly graced with the feeling of his head nuzzling into your lap.

You took it upon yourself to softly begin to caress his head, letting your hand stroke and massage the man's hair and scalp. The groans and sighs that left him were evidence enough he was in a blissful state right now, your sweet Diluc. Always putting his life on the line to protect those less fortunate than him, when will he learn? That his life matters just as much. Sigh.

You heard a soft mutter from him, something along the lines of 'sorry' and 'dinner'. But he was already taken by the nights calming embrace to be formulating anything coherent now, so you closed your eyes with another soft shake of your head and continued to massage his head. Till both you and your hand laid still, silent, asleep. Whatever he'd done tonight, whatever reason he'd missed dinner, it didn't matter. As long as he loved you it was enough. It always has been, it always will be.

Xiao

The stars twinkled softly an slowly, looking so entrancing from down below, the dark blue sky washing above you with the dazzling twinkles looking like small fire flies dancing around. You stood there, your knee bent slightly as your weight was supported by the banister of the top balcony to Wangshu Inn. Any minute now, you thought to yourself calmly.

And is if on que a sudden and harsh breeze blew past you, followed up with a loud thud. You turned your head ever so slightly, seeing the young looking yaksha lifting back up from his crouch landing position. "Welcome home honey." you said somewhat stone like, to which you got a simple sounding 'Tsk' as response, as he chucked his spear lazily behind him, to which it dissolved away instantly.

You rolled your eyes to the quiet scoff that greeted you back, shaking your head slowly, your eyes went back to focus on the landscape below you from the viewpoint of the balcony. It was so peaceful and beautiful. "How has your day been?" You decided to question him further, all while remaining your focus elsewhere.

"Fine." he responded in short. This type of reply was normal to you now, he wasn't the talkative type, despite having been the first to say to you he loved you. "Well, that's good then." you said back in your normal sweet tone now. You could tell from that tone in his voice he was exhausted, he didn't have to say or do anything, you could just tell.

Thinking it was best to leave now and give him his privacy you turned away from the balcony and began to walk to the exit. "I will let you rest my love, see you soo-"

"Wait."

His voice was louder than its ever been round you, the faint flush on his cheeks was evidence enough he never intended for it to come out so loudly from his own mouth. "Xiao?" you turned back round, seeing him stood there looking like a somewhat lost lamb, it was damn cute.

"S...stay with me, ... please."

His voice, so soft, so sweet, so gentle. You felt your heart crack slightly, your poor adeptus, he must've been rushed off his feet tonight. The dark bags forming under his eyes said all you needed to hear.

Chewing your bottom lip softly you breathed in and then walked over to him slowly. "Xiao..." you whispered his name lovingly, his eyes met with yours and for a brief moment the air left your lungs, the sight of his exhausted face so close to you, actively seeking comfort within you, it was enough to melt the coldest of icebergs.

Letting your hand slip into his with a gentle squeeze, a small smile on your lips you led him down the stairs of the Inn, into your bedroom, a tidy and quaint little sleeping quarter. He needed to rest, he is pushing himself too much, and if you do not take action, he never will.

Climbing onto the bed once you'd abandoned your shoes on the carpet you looked up at him, laying in a relaxing position. The red on his cheeks only flushed deeper and darker, and you couldn't help but laugh softly. Such a lewd mind, oh my, you never expected him to get the wrong idea over a situation like this.

"Xiao- no... not that." you chuckled at his confused expression, he was so alien to the concept of just touch in general now, that to him he sees it so black and white, being close means being intimate, otherwise why get close? So it was up to you to show him the ways of being human again.

You let your hand softly pet and stroke your lap and he raised his brow, but seeing the sudden light in his eyes spark showed you he caught on to what you really were aiming for. So he hesitantly dipped onto the bed next to you, he was tense and his movements were awkward, but he eventually shuffled his head and body to lay down with his head nestled softly into your lap.

"Is this... okay?" he muttered it nervously, like he was scared the slightest movement would shatter everything around him. You looked down at him and gently kissed your fingers, pressing them against his lips in response. "Shh, rest my love, you need it." Just to further add to what you were saying you let your hand gently rub the outer ridge of his ear.

The blush eventually left his cheeks, the tensed muscles finally went lax and his breathing grew heavier and more unguarded, with a pleased hum from your lips you closed your eyes too and began to succumb to the sweet calling of slumber too.

As long as he has you, you will always be there to help[ him, he may be an adeptus, a yaksha, but you? He is just as human as you or anyone else. Wrath filled or not. He is and always will be your sweet little adeptus. Your perfect lover. Your Xiao.

Kaeya

Another late night and you sat cuddled up on the sofa scanning through several paintings, more specifically paintings that you had done over the course of several months. It was a hobby of yours, but with the aid of Albedo giving you tips and throwing you pointers here and there you'd become surprisingly good at it; who would've guessed you'd secretly be an artist in hiding? Not you that's for sure.

It was fun enough to help tide over the unsettling impatience that always started to bubble under your skin at least, specially on nights like this, where Kaeya, your boyfriend, who also happened to be the Calvary Captain for the Knights of Favonius was out at an ungodly late time, dealing with a suspicion of criminal activities, within the borders of Mondstadt.

He never broke his promises to you thus far, of which were he will always return safely home to you, but it never did fully destroy the raging thunder of worry that often seized your mind on a daily, who could blame you? The man was always in such dangerous predicaments. Who knew if this morning, or any morning for that matter, where you kissed him goodbye, would be the last time you ever would see his face when you waved him off?

It isn't his fault you know this, but you do wish that sometimes he would be cut slack, just a little, so you could for once not have to distract yourself with idle glances of your paintings while waiting for his return. If only every now and then Jean, The Acting Grand Master would just let him have a day off-

Click.

You jumped slightly upon hearing the noise of your front door not open, but actually close. Turning your head you saw Kaeya stood there, arms covering his chest in a crossed way, a raised brow prominent as he glared down at you. "How long have you been worrying?" His voice sounded so flat and monotone, almost a hint of exhaustion. Was he growing tired of your over worried nature?

"I... uh. uhm..." You were at a loss for words, how long had you been worrying exactly? Two, three hours now? You were unsure of the answer yourself. He shook his head and sighed out slowly, it was long and drawn out; he must be so tired from his work today, seeing you up at this hour acting like a child probably doesn't help his situation in the least.

You looked down sadly, feeling ashamed and guilty of yourself because you do this oh so often to him, he always prays your in bed, safely tucked up and lost in your own dreams before he gets home, but you never are, you're always awake and worried, your face far from the peaceful look he often daydreams you having.

"It doesn't matter anymore my little petal." He hums softly as he walks around the sofa to get within arms reach, crouching onto his own weight to scoop you up, your mind in shock you let the paintings slip from your grip and pool around the seat you were just in and the floor underneath you. "Whe- Kaeya?"

"Shh, it is time to head to the bedroom." He spoke so matter factually, which left you eyes wide and beet red, to which he glanced down and a smug chuckle slipped from him. "For sleep Y/N." You relaxed instantly, a sigh escaping you. "Unless of course, you want the other thing?" You squirmed, embarrassed beyond belief, he loved to teased you. "Quit it Kaeya!" You pouted at him, to which he just chuckled at lightly, planting a soft kiss on your head.

Once in the bedroom he drops you so you fall and sink into the softness of your mattress and covers, to which he joins you quickly after. Now both in bed he simply huffs as he turns and crawls around before you feel his head find its preferred resting place; your lap. You smile and gently chuckle. "May i?" He asks just a tad bit too late for permission.

"You're already laying there Kaeya, bit late for the formalities now." You roll your eyes and turn to blow the candle out, leaving you both in darkness and silence, just your soft and gentle breathing in unison as you stroke and massage his head, to which he groans gently in delight too. He is so sweet when he sleeps on your lap like this, you feel closer to him now than you ever normally do, unless you involve the factor of intimacy sexually.

Its calming and sweet, and it helps you remember that he will always keep his promise to you,

He will always come home safely.

[vyeoh]

this is your chance: wax poetic about an Empires or DSMP character of your choice to a fan who is new to both. Explain why I should love them. I need guidance in this new and meme-populated land.

okok this is a lot of pressure haha. Spoilers for EmpiresSMP and DreamSMP below, obviously. I wrote a lot so prepare yourself, anon

I watch a lot of empires POVs but the ones I most anticipate every week are Scott and Sausage.

c!Scott (I'll call him Smajor for the sake of simplicity) starts off the series chilling, not really getting involved with the rest of the server, and staying aggressively neutral. After all, he's an elf. He has lived far longer than most of the other rulers already, and will most likely outlive them for many years. So, the best thing is to stick to his mountains and not get invested in the dealings of mortal affairs, maybe sometimes causing problems on purpose and dipping because what's life without a little spice right.

But then, this demon comes to the server, Xornoth. He's going around causing havoc and wants to send the world into an eternal winter, but he doesn't bother the kingdom of Rivendell much so Smajor stays tentatively cautious but ultimately unbothered. But then, the puzzle pieces start falling together. The first thing that the audience noticed was was Xornoth sounded like Smajor, but we mostly thought that this was just due to cc!Scott voicing both of them and there was nothing more to it. However, then, the people the demon starts possessing start chanting in elvish. The demon hates mortals, and the elves are conveniently one of the two confirmed not fully mortal races in Empires.

This culminates when Smajor stumbles across a cave that contains the backstory of the patron god of Rivendell, Aeor. Basically, there's two opposing forces, Aeor and Exor, and both have a champion. In a previous life, those champions were two brothers, where Aeor eventually prevailed and banished Exor. In this life though, the champions are - you guessed it - Smajor, and the demon Xornoth.

So now Smajor is like. Well fuck. It's my literal god-given destiny to be responsible for defeating this demon who is technically my brother, and if I fail the server gets plunged into an eternal winter. And I have no fucking clue what is happening because I've just been here on this mountain actively trying to stay out of the issues outside my kingdom. We watch him panic and teeter on the verge of spiraling for an entire episode, and when the followers of Xornoth go to the End to kill the dragon, releasing Xornoth's full powers, he fails to stop him. Smajor is a character who was used to being the smart one, the prepared one, the one who has the least deaths on the server. But he's also a character who runs away from his problems and ignores them. Before and during the dragon fight, we hear the desperation in his voice, as he's thrown into a situation he is wholly unprepared for, and it's bigger than him going to the Cod Empire to kill their king, or assisting in other people's plans to kill the codfather. He can't run from this. cc!Scott plays this scene so well as well, as I've said before, one of the best parts of Scott's acting is how he's never super dramatic, but he's so effective in the little things like inflection to make you feel, viscerally, the panic and dread.

So after the dragon fight, Smajor realizes, I can't do this on my own. I've tried and failed. So he gets allies. We watch him, someone who has so strongly been an isolationist, learn the benefits of allies and watch him learn to trust others and watch him learn how to get that trust in return.

My favorite thing about Smajor's characterization is that he's an incompetent protagonist, but not in the way of the "plucky young adventurer". He's capable skill-wise, and fairly jaded and very pessimistic. However, his issue is that up until recently, he did not care about the rest of the server at all, and by the time he learned to, it was way too late.

Also, in 3rd Life, cc!Scott and cc!Jimmy were canonically married and they reference it sometimes in Empires. Like, Scott goes over to the Cod Empire every so often both in and out of character to kill and/or flirt with Jimmy, the ruler of the Cod Empire, which may develop as a secondary plot into the future who knows. So ty Scott for giving the gays what they want o7

Now onto Sausage: his is a story of Icarus, his hubris and ambition being his downfall. He's one of the two followers of Xornoth, who promised him endless power in exchange for his servitude. He started the series being eccentric, but not outright unhinged, but slowly gets more and more extreme as the series progresses, as he gets brought more and more to Xornoth's side.

One of the best parts of Sausage's character, in my opinion, is how his gradual corruption affects the people around him. Initially, he got into a conflict with the Cod Empire and was allied with two other people in the Witherrose alliance. They were allies, but also close friends. The fandom liked to joke that the three had sibling energy, and I'm pretty sure the ccs played to that even more lol.

It was painful to watch the other two members, Gem and fWhip, watch Sausage get corrupted right in front of them, and see them desperately clinging on to this old idea of Sausage in their head because if they faced the truth, it would mean that their friend was gone. Eventually, they do finally cut him out of the alliance, leading him to fully commit to the side of the demon. Sausage felt very clearly betrayed by this, and declared the remaining two Witherrose alliance members to be enemies.

He gets more and more possessed, and we even see the other Empires, his enemies even, slowly realize that something is very wrong with the ruler of Mythland. He starts doing more and more evil things, like killing people more, making sacrifices to the demon, and eventually helping to kill the dragon to free Xornoth. So things are good for Sausage, for a bit. He won, and is more powerful than ever. Then he finds out: he's going to die. Xornoth's possession is slowly killing his soul, and eventually, his body going to be fully taken over and he himself is going to be trapped in the spirit realm. So how do you react to this? Over the next few episodes, we watch Sausage struggle between "the demon is literally killing me" and "the demon has given me so much, and I love it", all while Xornoth takes over more and more of him. We hear him exclaim that "don't worry!! I'm still about 15% there!" while trying to downplay every time Xornoth completely takes over his body. We watch him willingly oppose anyone who is trying to end the thing that is killing him.

My favorite thing about Sausage is that he is undoubtedly evil and proud of it, but he's also undoubtedly human. If you like to watch evil characters go absolutely feral, he's the guy for you. He makes the deal with Xornoth in the beginning, knowing and fully embracing the evilness of the demon, but at the same time he knows what he's doing is detrimental to both himself and everyone around him, but he's gotten in way too deep at this point, and to be fair the demon has held up its end fo the bargain, right?

Also, I would be damned if I don't talk about cc!Sausage's editing. Every one of his videos is like a movie. The way he does camera angles and uses music is so skillful- every lore scene feels like something out of a high fantasy action saga (think: LotR). Every big lore event I always wait in anticipation for Sausage's ep because his editing truly takes lore to another level.

I'm just generally very excited to see where this series goes. Empires is such a good mix of talented builders and good lore. Part of the reason why the series is so immersive for me, beyond any other lore smp, is that they have the settings to back it up. There is a certain charm to the DreamSMP's objectively terrible builds (with a few exceptions) but in Empires, the settings help sell the plot so much.

Another part of why I love EmpiresSMP is how much the ccs are involved with the fan community. I'm sure you've seen the memes about Scott being on tumblr, and Sausage regularly goes through the EmpiresSMP fanart tag on Twitter and likes art, even ones not related to Mythland. Most of the ccs, in fact, have brought up tumblr content on stream at some point or another. Like, several ccs have said that they read tumblr lore theories and hcs and stuff and sometimes take inspiration from them. Fun fact: Rivendell's church was inspired by my pinned drawing; confirmed by Scott Smajor himself. It's just such a good cycle of ccs and fans being excited about each other.

As for DreamSMP, I'm gonna be honest here, the only person I really am invested in in Technoblade. I started watching when he joined the server, and he's the only person whose lore I keep up to date with.

Techno's fun to watch because he's like the Deadpool of DreamSMP. Virtually unkillable, very skilled and scary, but consistently cracks jokes and breaks the 4th wall during plot. His POV is just fun. Like, he does wild plans and gives speeches and some of the stuff that happens to him should be called deus ex machine if it wasn't for the fact that Technoblade is the one who's doing it, and all the stuff is grounded in the fact that cc!Techno is just that good at the game.

However, the fact that he rarely takes anything seriously makes the few times Techno is 100% serious so much more impactful. His whole character has a basis in being perceived as inhuman and being treated as such, and therefore in return trying to hide his humanity. So, when he shows that humanity, whether that's fear, anger, or genuine love for his friends, it really makes you go "oh shit."

Techno's often said not to have character development, but I'd argue that while he remains steadfast in his moral code, he develops leaps and bounds as a person. Like, at the beginning, he's brought onto the server to help Wilbur and Tommy overthrow a government; them knowing he's 1) an anarchist and 2) very very powerful. His character was more of a plot device at that point and was treated as such in the canon. Wilbur and Tommy straight-up lie to him about their plans to establish another government after they overthrow the current one, while he was led on to believe that they were abolishing all governments in the area. But he isn't a plot device. He's a person, as much as he only shows the terrifying, blood god side of himself.

After the establishment of New Lmanburg (the new government its a long story), his friend Phil joins. And for the first time, we see him be fully human with someone and we see someone treat him like a human. Like, we saw glimpses before, with Wilbur and Tommy in Pogtopia, but Phil is the first person we noticeably see he trusts 100%. Then Doomsday happens, and Techno essentially retires to the tundra. During this time, we see Techno learn to be more human, first with Ranboo, then Niki when he establishes the Syndicate. In fact, the two of them, along with Phil, canonically throw him a birthday party, which is a far cry from his treatment in Pogtopia.

Techno's development is one of a god learning to be human, and I just think he <3

[feliix]

Positions ↠ Bang Chan (18+)

↠ Chan x Reader

↠ genre: smut, PWP

↠ rating: m ↠ word count: 1.9k

↠ warnings: explicit sexual content, chan wearing one of those tiktok maid costumes lmao, switch!chan, switch!reader, dirty talk, praise kink, oral (m receiving), face fucking, deep throating, cum swallowing, teasing, a little bit of aftercare

↠ written for the dreamyhan drabble game♡  requested by @parkshwa

You’ve barely stepped foot in the door before you hear him calling your name. The sound of his voice leads you to the bedroom – carrying an enticing tone, dragging out the last syllable of your name in a teasing manner. A blush heats your cheeks while you slip off your shoes before making your way to your bedroom where Chan awaits you.

The door is slightly cracked, allowing you to see the purple LED lights that are illuminating the room. Mood lighting, you quickly assume, smirking in response before pushing the door open.

“What is this?”

Amazement settles on your features as you assess the scene; your white bedding is perfectly made and the room is spotless, even smelling subtly of vanilla and rose. The room is mostly dark, but the purple hue of the lights gives off a more sensual feeling than what you’re used to. Or maybe that’s all in your head – because relaxing back onto the mountain of throw pillows is Chan wearing a maid outfit.

Your eyes widen as they trace over his figure. The lace trim lining the shiny black fabric falls onto his upper thigh; if he moved an inch in the wrong direction you’re sure you’d see what lays underneath. Though you’re sure it won't be long until you do…

“Do you like it?” He beams, sitting up slightly to move towards you. The low cut of the dress beautifully exposes the top of his chest, his smooth skin glowing in the sultry lighting.

“I love it,” you choke out, still just as in shock from the moment you laid eyes on him. You’ve seen the viral tik tok videos of boys wearing a maid costume, dancing to a song or seductively looking into the camera, but you never expected to come home to your own significant other wearing one.

The clamminess of your palms is wiped off onto your jeans as you approach the bed, extending your hand to reach for Chan’s as you grow closer to him. He accepts it (woefully), a subtle blush rising to his cheeks as he watches your eyes wander all over his body.

The outfit fits him just right. The elastic on the end of the sleeves hug his biceps in just the right spot showing off his toned arms. White satin gloves cover his hands and a black velvet choker wraps around his neck. The accessories tie everything together, even the small cat ears that sit comfortably in his dark hair.

With every detail you notice your desire for him grows stronger. There’s a devilish look in his eyes as he watches you carefully devour each aspect of him – and he enjoys it.

Swallowing thickly, you gulp back the saliva that’s gathered in your mouth. You hadn’t noticed that you’ve been practically drooling over Chan until your mouth opened to say something, just to clamp it back shut in astonishment.

“Everything okay?” Chan hums, eyes wide in amusement as a smirk slips onto his lips.

“I’m still just in shock.” Stepping forward to trap his legs between yours, you rake your fingers through his dark hair. Chan noticeably gulps at your closeness, his eyes large and bright as he stares up at you.

Your hands meet his shoulders with eagerness, pushing him back into a lying position before crawling over top of him. It's as if time moves in slow motion with each shuffle of your knees. Every small movement you take feels like a lifetime with Chan watching you intently settle over him. With your legs straddling his torso, your lean so your face is just inches from his.

Without a word spoken you bring yourself forwards just until your nose brushes against his. Chan’s eyes stare deeply into yours as his chest heaves in anticipation, patiently awaiting what's next.

“Are you gonna kiss me or what?” You smile, eyelashes brushing against your cheeks as your eyes gently come to a close. And with a sly smile, Chan’s lifting his head off the mattress before you’re able to stall any further. His lips meet yours with greed, not willing to waste another moment before he’s brushing his tongue against your bottom lip to gain entry. You quickly relax into the kiss, letting his tongue slip past for a moment before you realize the position that you’re in.

You’re on top tonight – you’re calling the shots.

“Did you have something special planned tonight? ” You ask, slightly leaning back to get a better view of him. Chan’s eyes are drawn out with lust, pupils blown out and black like the night sky. The way his chest heaves is enough to indicate he’s already worked up – but you’re still willing to test the theory.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His words are sing-songy, carrying a sarcastic bite, and ending with a small smile. Chan knows exactly what he’s doing, but that’s just fine.

Gently you sit backward onto Chan’s lap, fully making sure to grind into him as you settle in place. A steep groan leaves his lips as you seat yourself over his covered member, quickly becoming worked up. For good measure, you lift off, and then once more meet his lap with a subtle roll of your hips. A muffled moan quickly turns into a cough in an attempt to hide his aching desperation.

Settling into his lap once again you lean forward to whisper into his ear, “Are you sure?”

“Mmhm.”

A small hum is the only sound that he can manage right now. The thought of you weighs heavy on his mind – imagining you putting that smart mouth to good use is the only thing he can think about.

Gently, your hand traces over the smooth fabric covering his torso, slowly leading down to his member. You aren’t surprised when you find it already erect. You smirk in accomplishment as you gaze down at the firmness casting through the silhouette of his dress when.

In reaction Chan flinches from the pressure, his mouth falling agape and a whiny moan spilling out. It feeds your ego even more, making you want to trace your fingers over the brunt outline again and again, but you have other plans tonight.

Your hand trails to the hem of the dress, gently tracing over the white lace lining before pushing the fabric upwards to expose what's underneath.

“Classy,” you tease, quirking your brow in response to the lack of underwear he’s sporting.

“Wasn’t sure what to wear under this type of thing.”

Shaking your head in amusement, you bring your gaze back down to his hardened member, now springing from the loose confines of the black silky fabric that rested over it.  His tip is red, slightly leaking with precum, and begging to be touched. Your mouth waters at the thought of his taste – he was always so sweet.

Before moving any further you snap out of your thoughts, breaking the strong gaze you have with his member to meet Chan's eyes. With a small nod, your delicate fingers wrap around his length. A short gasp leaves Chan’s mouth as you rub your thumb gently up and down the side of his shaft. You don’t waste a moment to collect the bead of pre-cum beginning to leak off of his tip; swiping it up with one digit and quickly popping it into your mouth to savor the taste.

"Fuck," Chan muffles out, his breath now becoming labored as his head falls back onto the pillows behind him.

The build-up is the best part for him – though he always claims that he hates your teasing, somehow it always sends him gripping for more. After being together for as long as you have, you know just the things that wind him up enough to explode.

Bending at the waist, you bring your mouth down to his erect member, licking a thick stripe up his shaft before closing your mouth around the tip. Chan's hands tangle themselves into your hair, being careful not to push you down onto him too forcefully just yet. You bob your head up and down his length, using your tongue for extra stimulation each time you make your way up his shaft. By the sound of Chan's deep groans, you can tell that he’s enjoying himself. The feeling of his grip on your hair tightens each time you reach the tip.

Hollowing out your cheeks, you close your lips around the head of his cock before sliding down. Chan let out a stream of curse words as your mouth narrowed around him, his dick beginning to twitch.

Your hand follows the movements of your mouth, spreading the mixture of your salvia with his precum all down his shaft. He keens at the extra contact, bucking his hips off the bed to reach deeper down your throat. You gag at the sudden movement, the constriction around Chan's dick causing him even more pleasure.

His soft head prods the back of your throat with every bob of your head and small thrust of his hips; each time making you clench your throat around his length. It isn't long until Chan’s hands are finding the back of your neck, gripping it harshly. All the while his face is morphing in bliss – his eyes squeezed shut and jaw clenched as his arousal builds.

“Y/N,” his breath hitches, “gonna cum.”

You close your mouth around the head of his length, beginning to suction your lips while your hand pumps up and down his length. Just in your line of vision you see Chan’s abs clench, and once his cock begins to stutter you know he’s ready. Breathing through your nose, you prepare yourself for the hot streams of cum about to meet your tongue.

Chan’s cock twitches eagerly as he finishes, desperate grunts leaving his throat with each spurt of cum that hits your tongue. Swallowing everything as he finishes, you lift your head up, lips swollen and glistening. He reaches his hand out, swiping his thumb across your bottom lip to wipe off anything that's left behind. The dark lust that casts over his eyes begins to fade as his gaze locks on you. Adoration soon takes its place while a short grin finds itself on his lips.

“C’mere,” his arms extend towards you as he shifts backward a bit to make more room for you. You fall into his arms in a warm embrace, resting your head on his chest as you snuggle closer into him in bed. A soft kiss is soon placed to the top of your head, a satisfied sigh leaving his lips just following. 

“What’s next?” You muse – it’s more of a teasing question but you figure that you’ll try your luck. After all, you did come home to Chan in a maid costume.

“Whatever you want, my love.”

Your heart swells at the pet name, heat quickly rising to your cheeks while you try to bury your expression in his chest. Chan says it every day, but it always sounds like heaven coming from him. Yet it’s unbeknownst to him how you’ve become shy all of a sudden – your lips were just wrapped around his dick just minutes ago. 

Before you’re able to muster up the courage to give him a response though, Chan clears his throat, “But I do have a few things in mind…”

‘Positions’ is copyright 2020 @chaangbin, all rights reserved. Please do not repost on any platform or translate without permission.

↠ masterlist

[2am-theswifthour]

The 8 Theory-Folklore’s Commentary on Youth

Yesterday, I took note of @taylorswift​ and her careful attention to the number 8.

“Not a lot going on at the moment” had 8 words. The 8th track is “august,” which is also the 8th month in the year. She has 8 deluxe editions of her album. Many attributed this to Folklore being Taylor’s 8th album. I thought it meant either a.) we needed to pay very close attention to track #8 or b.) that 8 references infinity, a.k.a “forever and ever.”

To my surprise, I was actually selling Taylor Swift short.

When listening to the album, there’s a lot of back and forth in emotion and circumstance. I was confused about the order, especially when the strikingly sobering “hoax” followed the self-aware almost-tranquility of “peace.” Then it hit me. There are two schools of thought going on.

There are 16 tracks on Folklore (excluding the bonus track none of us have heard). 16/2=8. This means there are 2 equal emotional song threads on the album. In other words, you can get two drastically different lessons listening to each group of 8.

When you separate the even numbered tracks from the odd numbered tracks you get the following:

Odd

the 1

the last great american dynasty

my tears ricochet

seven

this is me trying

invisible string

epiphany

peace

Even

cardigan

exile

mirrorball

august

illicit affairs

mad woman

betty

hoax

Odd Interpretation:

Starting with “the 1” and “the last great american dynasty,” the lyrics are very upfront in showing that the protagonists are making fully intentioned mistakes. “the 1” says, “in my defense, I have none for never leaving well enough alone” (I see you “ME!” reference). In “the last great American dynasty” it says, “she had a marvelous time ruining everything.” These characters’ folly is their youth-induced selfishness. They’re casual in the harm they cause because they distance themselves from it. They’re fine with what they don’t look at closely. When you’re young, you make a mess of things in service of YOUR need. Your need for companionship. Your need for the thrill of danger. Your need to make your mark, to be somebody, to leave something behind. The marvel of the excitement and the chase and the very vitality of teens to 20-somethings’ shenanigans blinds us to the scale of our destruction…

…until you have no choice but to face the consequences of your recklessness.

The next track, “my tears ricochet” is not your average track 5. It functions as a pivoting point. Now our narrator is the hurt party, the one baring the brunt of callous treatment. Fickle mistreatment is no longer so casual. Now it’s a torment, and the tormentor learns the scale of their damage. So much so, that they get burned too. They learned their lesson at a terrible price, but what’s most important is that they learned.

“seven” is a long-overlooked memory revisited. In this picture of naïve innocence, the narrator tells of their childish belief in the impossible. Through magic and play pretend and fantasy they are invincible. They have all the control in the world to control the world they live in. Obviously, this is a flawed perspective that everyone eventually grows out of. Fairy tales don’t solve real problems. The point is that their sense of self-importance is in service of a stronger moral compass than the first two songs. If we accept our responsibility to others, to do what we can to ensure their welfare, are we not better and more satisfied people for it?

“this is me trying” hears that lesson and attempts to walk the walk. Part of being responsible to your fellow human is taking accountability when you fumble. The narrator doesn’t know what to say or how to make it right. What they do know is that they’re here, they’ve put the bottle down, and that they’re willing to try what’s necessary to heal what they’ve hurt.

“invisible string” gives us the reward we’ve been waiting for. The narrator says, “cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart, now I send their babies presents.” This is someone who has gone from lashing out in anger at a partner from a burned relationship to genuinely wishing them well in their next stage in life. It’s a powerful testament when you can recognize that youth drives us all to make hurtful decisions and that no one is immune to change if they truly want to change. When you let the anger and lies go, the strings that tied you to them fade away. All that’s left is the string you want to hold onto. The string tied to the one who matters, because you’ve made the conscious decision to deduce that their worth as a person should equal yours. It’s a painful path to traverse through, but when you do it’s all worthwhile. That’s why the narrator can say with confidence “hell was the journey but it brought me to heaven.”

In any other album, a song like “invisible string” would be the quintessential emotional payoff for this story arc. However, because this album is a masterpiece, we have a different payoff point in “epiphany.” “epiphany” takes us out of the world of a romantic relationship. We hear descriptions of war and nurses dealing with the despair of this international pandemic. This point in this emotional thread is that it powerfully declares it’s not enough to do no harm nor is it enough to just empathize with your romantic partner. You MUST show your responsibility to your fellow man. Stand beside them. Empathize with them. See them as whole human beings. Do good by them. In other words, it is our duty to do right by everyone, for everyone bleeds, loves, and dies.

The 8-song selection ends with “peace.” The song begins by saying that their, “coming-of-age” has come and gone.” I believe this (along with “invisible string”) to be the most overtly “Taylor Swift” track in perspective. This is her speaking as herself. She lets us know that she’s grown through taking her mistakes, and the mistakes she learned through folklore, into account. She is overly aware of her flaws and feels she pales in comparison to her partner. Rather than allow those insecurities to manifest in unchecked rage or resentment, she takes it as a challenge for herself to do better. She knows she can never give him complete peace (due to inside and outside factors), but she can make the choice to give him unselfish promises and embrace the entirety of her partner’s life. This is a person who has learned the value of selflessness in love and life, which makes this whole thread worth everything.

Even Interpretation:

“cardigan” foreshadows the eventual failure of the even path. The odd interpretation I just described culminated in the narrator finding their place with “the one” because they’ve left everything petty and casually cruel behind. In “cardigan” it says “chase two girls, lose the one.” On top of this directly referencing the first track, it also implies the partner’s self-destruction. By toying with two girls, James is losing “the one.” I don’t think losing “the one” means that you keep one of the two of them. I think it means that engaging in that kind of behavior makes you into a person that isn’t ready, or worthy, of “the one” that they are meant to be with forever. Meeting and keeping “the one” has to require each partner to love themselves and their partner wholly, truly, and selflessly. They can’t be a cardigan you pick up and only wear on the weekends. They must be a wholehearted commitment.

“exile” shows the blowout from “cardigan.” The two couldn’t stay together, and Bon Iver’s (character’s) toxicity comes out full force. He thinks her new man is lesser than him. He’s prepared to throw punches despite being at fault over a hundred times. He’s seen the film before, and he didn’t like the ending because it didn��t work out for him. He wants her under his thumb, not having learned from his prior relationships that that just can’t work. They leave out the side doors, neither fully ready to confront the problems head on.

“mirrorball” is daring in its shift of focus. While all of the tracks I’ve mentioned thus far have dealt, in some way, with the problems that result from a young person’s selfishness, this song doesn’t do that. This song illustrates an extreme that young people participate in at the opposite end of the spectrum; radical selflessness. To be selfless means that you should never allow something that harms someone else to happen just because it benefits you. Young people, girls in particular, are often groomed to interpret selflessness differently. Their definition is synonymous with accommodation. Change your looks, change your personality, don’t object, and embody what your partner wants so that they’re happy. That’s why the symbol is the mirrorball in the song. It reflects everything in the room but itself. By explicitly not factoring in their own sense of self-respect in a relationship, they are unknowingly and tragically enabling their partner’s mistreatment. To be clear, that doesn’t mean abuse is their fault if they have low self-esteem. It’s not, even remotely. But not having the capacity to defend your self-worth is what keeps so many drawn into toxic relationships there for so long. This radical selflessness manifests itself in the other woman too. In “august” it explicitly says that she was living on the, “hope of it all” and that she would cancel plans in the name of a potential hookup with someone who was never hers. The idea of radical selflessness culminates in “illicit affairs” when one of the women deals with their addictive compulsion toward someone who treats them like a cheap lay. Their relationship is a secret that leaves her feeling used in parking lots and as though any trace of her is gone. These three songs have taken the desperate hopelessness of “Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind” to the extreme.

Many have speculated that “mad woman” is a commentary on the Taylor/Scooter conflict and I’m inclined to agree. However, if I were to assign an interpretation that goes with my theory, I would say that “mad woman” details the unforeseen consequences of a tormentor’s abuse. When a toxic partner performs bad behavior, their expectation is that they will always be found in the right. After all, Taylor noted on her previous album that for men, “everyone believes [them].” So in the face of lies about her character that everyone believes, she gets rightfully angry. Her anger is their affirmation. For many, a woman being angry on her own behalf is “crazy” and “irrational.” What kind of a society have we set up? A society that promotes women to lack self-worth and, should they find it, they’ll meet a whole other exile.

“betty” is our complete look into James’ perspective. On its own, it sounds like a big romantic gesture to get behind. However, this path is very clear to put “cardigan” first. “cardigan” says, “I knew you’d miss me once the thrill expired and you’d be standin’ in my front porch light.” Lo and behold, in “betty” he shows up to her party when she doesn’t want to see him and asks if she would, “kiss [him] on the porch in front of all [her] stupid friends.” It’s an absolute punch in the gut. Betty knows in “cardigan” that he would come back after he had his fun with another girl, but that she would take him back when he saw momentary value in her again. James in “betty” claims he didn’t know anything, but that’s just an excuse. He knew what he was doing, he knew that he would be able to pick up her broken pieces with ease, he knew he could isolate her from her friends, and he knew that he could capture the imperfect “comfort” of that cardigan again.

This path ends in the final even-numbered song, “hoax.” In the odd numbers, “peace” shows a lesson learned. This even path shows what happens when we don’t learn. The seeds of youth-driven mistakes have led us here. The narrator wants nothing outside the pain of this faithless love. Without learning what it means to be selfless, the traumas of these young relationships create a never-ending cycle. The narrator knows that the “love” is a “hoax” but doesn’t care because that’s all they have. There’s no point to wanting anything else. Without the perspective of age, of truly going beyond that, they’re stuck in a truly dark place.

Final Thoughts:

Taylor Swift is an exceptional artist for a lot of reasons. No one makes albums this good this far into their career. Most artists teeter off after two or three because they retread. Their audience inevitably gets bored of them e same thing time and again. Repeating themselves is something that a lot of artists do because they want to go with the formula of what works. With Folklore, Taylor has done what few artists have dared to do. She’s allowed her discography as a place to uncompromisingly expand her worldview and challenge her listeners. She’s not reiterating previous lessons to make another quick sale. Instead, every album prior has been a steppingstone. As she said at the Time 100 Gala, she has truly turned her lessons into her legacy. From a variety of narrators, she has brought what I decree to be her best album to date. This wouldn’t happen for anyone else 8 albums into their career, but she’s done it by devoutly embracing age’s wisdom.

Learn from the highs and lows presented in these paths. As all good folklore does, it teaches us how to live better. It is our duty to live selflessly and with self-assured dignity. These writings, I have no doubt, will become integral to the legend that is Taylor Alison Swift.

[liddolwhynot2000]

Chains: Part 3

____________________________________

Summary:

Levi didn't need to tell to him how much of a fool he was. Because Erwin already knew it.

Only a fool would let go of a chance with a woman like you.

____________________________________

Pairings: Erwin/Reader, Levi/Reader

Genre: Angst, one sided love, regrets

____________________________________

ChainsPt1. ChainsPt2. ChainsPt4

Drabble#1

____________________________________

'You're pretty shitty at noticing what's right infront of you.'

Erwin wanted to scoff at that statement. One of the reasons he made such a good commander was because he had a very keen eye for details. He could take one look at a document and pin point all the errors in it within a moments notice. His sharp observation skills had been what had significantly reduced the Survey Corps death rate.

He prided himself on his ability to notice things--alas none of that extended to his personal life.

And Levi was the one to point it out to him.

Not to say that he didn't know it already, it was just that he often prefered to pretend he didn't. The rational part of him often insisted how dwelling on his own shortcomings was pointless. After all, he was doing just fine as the commander wasn't he?

Reminding himself of that, he turned his attention back to Levi. His response was cool and crisp, not giving away his internal struggle.

'Is there a problem with the mission plan?'

'Tch- don't beat around the bush commander. We both know what I'm talking about.'

Ah typical, straightforward Levi. Even though he was mostly used to it, even he got thrown off at times by how the man refused to sneak around a topic.

'Apologies-but I really don't know--'

Erwin turned back to the map on his desk, dismissing Levi

'-And frankly, I don't have the time for this. If its not related to the mission, please leave.'

There was moment of silence, before Levi turned to leave. Just as he was about to shut the door, he spoke up again.

'You're a fool Erwin. And I have no intention of following in your footsteps.'

With that, he shut the door.

Erwin let out a dry, humourless chuckle

Levi didn't need to tell to him how much of a fool he was. Because Erwin already knew it.

Only a fool would let go of a chance with a woman like you.

____________________________________

When Erwin had been young, back in his cadet days, he and his friends had often frequented a bar nearby. It was a good time for them, drinking, laughing, talking about girls. They enjoyed a nice, hot meal, with no sergeant screaming at them. It was one of the few times they could relax.

It was also when he had met Marie.

Beautiful, sassy Marie, who had captivated him at first sight. Her pretty smile and snark had easily wormed their way into his heart--and like any other hot blooded man, he had immediately tried to court her.

He had been very well aware of his own charms back then, knowing most women considered him attractive. He could be smooth when needed and for Marie, he had gone out of his way to win her over with everything he had.

Even going as far to chat up the other barmaids, so that they would harbour good opinions of him. You, in specific, had been a target. He had been able to tell that you and Marie were good enough friends that your word would matter.

Erwin doubted you had realized it at the time, that he had been playing you. He hadn't been blind to your feelings for him, he recalled your slight blush and the way you wouldn't fully make eye contact with him. He had even thought of you as attractive--but that was just about it.

You were attractive, sure, but to him, especially back then, Marie had been absolutely breathtaking. So he had strung you along a little, knowing that the higher opinion you had of him, the more you would tell Marie positive things about him. His courting efforts had paid off and before long, he was finally turning his entire attention to a very receptive Marie. You clearly hadn't noticed how he had used you, but you had kept your head down and taken the hint.

To this day, he was still ashamed of himself for that.

Even back then, he had felt a little awful about his behaviour. But that feeling had been easily overwhelmed by the blossoming of his new relationship-- first kisses, first dates. All his time outside of the training corps had been devoted to Marie. He had fallen hard for her, and had envisioned their future together.

He would meet her parents after he graduated and get her father's blessing. The two of them would get married in a modest ceremony, and move into a decent house. He would climb the ranks and the two of you would start a family soon enough. He would be welcomed home by her, and their children causing a ruckus and running around. It was the picture perfect family.

Until it wasn't.

In his vision of a life with Marie, Erwin had lost himself. Those soft, fleeting touches left him intoxicated, dreaming of a life that he wasn't sure he could ever want. And as graduation loomed closer, he had begun to sober up.

He had convinced himself that Marie's dreams for life were his own, but had forgotten about his own dreams.

The reason he had joined the Cadet Corps was so he could join the Survey Corps and explore the outside world. He wanted to figure out the titans, their history and most importantly, prove his father's theory.

It wasn't about sating his own curiosity-- no, it was about proving his father had been right. That his idiotic son hadn't gotten him killed over nothing.

Once he had snapped out of the honeymoon phase of their relationship, he had begun to recall his priorities. As much as he had loved Marie back then, he knew he wouldn't have been able to turn his back on his father. Otherwise, he would have spent the rest of his life drowning in unresolved guilt.

Erwin's choice had been clear, but by then he and Marie had been so deep into their relationship, that he had to contemplate what to do. He wasn't dumb- he knew it would be a choice. There was no way he could join the Survey Corps and still be with Marie. She had always made it clear that she wanted a husband who she could see everyday. Who would be safe in the walls with her, and could give her a comfortable life.

It had been a choice. And as much as it had pained him to do so, he had let Marie go.

____________________________________

Erwin sat at the bar later that night, downing his second beer bottle. He had ordered another one to the go, with the bartender eyeing him with something akin to pity.

'Ya got your heart broken or something?'

Erwin chuckled bitterly

'No. I was just a little blind.'

The bartender nodded in understanding, giving him his beer and a sympathetic smile.

Erwin paid his dues, took his drink, and left the bar. He lazily walked along the side walk, heading back the barracks. The air was chilly, but he was too lost in thought to care.

____________________________________

Meeting you again had been weird to say the least. For one, it brought back a ton of shame he had been holding back all these years.

He remembered how insensitive he had been, using you and your feelings to get the girl he had wanted. Fate had dealt him quite the hand, probably as punishment for treating you like that, and had made sure hadn't ended up with Marie.

You had gotten significantly more attractive, Erwin had admitted to himself. You had certainly blossomed into a much more sure version of yourself, holding your head high, evenly making eye contact with everyone. You still retained some quietness, which he had to admit wasn't off putting at all.

He found himself approaching you, at first wanting to make up for how he had behaved. He had planned to tell you the truth, and get the slap he deserved. But somehow, one enjoyable conversation had turned into two, two into six and before he had been able to stop it, he had become good friends with you.

The two of you would meet up and chat about books, or sometimes share a meal together. It had become a routine of some sort--a safe haven from all his troubles.

A moral man would tell you the truth, and take his punishment. But he had grown too fond of you. Your laughter, and soothing presence had grown on him. He couldn't let go. So he hid his misdeeds and shoved it into the back of his mind, selfishly wanting to keep being with you.

Erwin wasn't dumb, he knew himself better then anyone. It hadn't taken him long to understand his reasons being around you went beyond friendship.

It wasn't friendship that had him imagining what it would be like to slip his hands around your waist and rest his head on your shoulder as you cooked.

It wasn't friendship that made him sorely miss you at military balls--made him wish it was you he was slow dancing with.

It wasn't friendship that made him look at the empty side of his bed and long for another person to be there. For you to be there.

He wasn't hopelessly in love with you- or at least he didn't think so. But he had certainly felt strongly about you. Looking back on it, if he had played his cards right, he would have gotten you.

He had thought that he would confess to you, and be met with a positive response. He would throw the secret he was keeping from you to the darkest pits of his mind, and embrace a new life with you, even with his suicidal profession.

It hadn't worked out that way.

Just a day before the expedition, Erwin had suffered through a bad day. He had recieved news of Marie and her husband Nile welcoming their first child. And it had hurt.

As much as he had fallen for you, Marie had held a significant part of his heart. Letting her go had been extremely difficult for him, but he had thought that he would have made peace with it by now. While he wouldn't say he was heart broken, he certainly hadn't been able to stop himself from feeling bitter.

His first love had moved on from him so easily.

His mood had only gotten worse after the expedition, another senseless loss of life had been incurred--and it could have been prevented if the Commander had bothered hearing out Erwin's plan.

He had been so frustrated, so done with it all. His only outlet had been drinking, and he had ended up going to you.

In hindsight, it had been a bad decision from the start. Going to the woman he hoped to make his one day, while feeling bitter over the woman he had loved in the past and being drunk at the same time was a bad combination.

And it had ended up becoming a night he would regret.

'M.. Marie?'

____________________________________

Erwin let himself into his room, glad that captain's got their own room. It had taken him some effort to open the door, feeling a little hazy from his drinking.

Kicking off his shoes, he sunk into his chair, head pounding from the alcohol he had consumed and heart hurting from his own failures.

It had been so stupid of him, going to you at that time. It had messed up any chance he had with you.

You're demeanour towards him had changed after that, no longer giving flashes of anything beyond friendship. You had built up a wall against him, unwilling to let him in like before. It had left him feeling unsure of what to do, of how to talk to you.

You never once brought up that night, or Marie, simply carrying on as though nothing had happened. A part of him had wanted to talk to you immediately, to tell you it wasn't what you thought it was, but he had held himself back.

He figured if he gave you some time, you would be more receptive to hearing him out. At that point, you might not have taken his confession well. So he allowed the distance you were putting between them to grow, convincing himself that when the time was right, he would confess to you.

Too bad he had made the mistake of introducing you to Levi.

____________________________________

Erwin clearly recalled the first time you had met Levi, for he had been the one who had brought him to the resteraunt you worked at.

He had noticed the short man's attraction to you immediately, watching from the corner of his eye as the man eyed you with interest. His expert self-control had been the only thing keeping the ugly, seething jealousy he had felt at that moment from showing on his face.

It had taken everything in him to leave at that moment.

And there wasn't a moment after that he stopped regretting leaving.

Before, he had been watching you pull away from him. And now? He was watching you go into someone else's arms.

It had started out small, accidentally overhearing Levi's friends teasing him about you. Telling him to ask you out. He had ignored it back then.

After his friends had died, Levi had begun to dissappear in his his free time. Erwin had been suspicious about it, and had tracked him down one day, only to find the man sharing tea with you. The sight of you giggling as Levi looked at you so softly had made him want to throw up.

He hadn't confronted the two of you and just walked away, each step away from you feeling heavier then the last.

The two of you begun to talk less and less, and Erwin could tell it wasn't affecting you as much as it was affecting him. His one fuck up had made you give up on him and move on-for good.

Now, he was forced to watch you and Levi go in circles around each other. You would bring him meals to headquarters, he would buy you little trinkets from the village. Erwin would see it all unfold- Levi eating his own home cooked meals that smelled so familiar. You wearing jewellery he had seen Levi looking at.

It was the start of a picture perfect romance. Any other person would be ignored by humanity's strongest solider if they tripped to the ground, but Levi would always firmly grab you before you even fell halfway.

Levi smiled at you when he thought no one was looking, he looked at you as though you were the single most important person in his life--and honestly? Erwin couldn't blame him.

You were perfect really. Especially for someone who was in the Survey Corps. So understanding, always near by becuase of your job, a great listener, funny, smart.. And not meant to be his.

Had he not been blind to you all those years ago, had seen the traits you had, the ones that Marie didn't, he could have been happy right now. Without a doubt, he could tell, you would have supported his dreams to join the Survey Corps. Had he not been so star struck by Marie back then, he wouldn't have spent the past years stowing in heartbreak. Now, he had lost you, and the only way to get you back would never let him sleep at night again.

He had, yet again, made a choice. If he wanted to, with little effort, he could send Levi back to the underground and away from you. In his lowest moments, he envisioned being petty enough to actually go through with it. You would get over it, and he could comfort you in that time of heartbreak. But he couldn't. Because he needed Levi's strength.

Levi had begun to carry expeditions on his back, to the point that he had single handedly lowered their death rate by 8%. Without him, the corps would be doomed and disbanded.

And Erwin had already sent too many soldiers to their death for that to happen.

So, with a heavy heart, he chose the military over the person he wanted to be with. Again. He resolved himself to watching you and Levi get together. To have the relationship his heart screamed at him to have with you.

What he hadn't expected was that he would walk in on the moment the two of you would be confessing to each other.

____________________________________

Erwin sat in his office, working on filling his tax forms. He had woken up hungover, and forced himself to freshen up so that he could work with a clear mind.

His hand worked on auto pilot, with his mind distracted. A part of him, a bitter, cruel part of him, wanted it to not work out for you and Levi. But his head was much more sensible.

He had seen the way the two of you looked at each other--people who looked so lovingly at each other could only be seperated by the tragedy of death. And considering Levi's inhumane strength and battle expertise, he doubted it would happen anytime soon.

Frustrated, he shook his head and counselled himself. He had mourned losing you last night-but no more. He would focus on his work and self assigned mission. That's all. Like everything else in his life, he would make peace with this situation.

With that thought, he shifted his entire attention to his work.

Maybe Erwin would have mourned a little more back then, had he known that, a year from now, he would have to watch you and Levi makes vows to each other.

Till Death do us apart~

____________________________________

A/N: Heyooo. So this was highly requested and I hope it served y'all well! Do tell if you enjoyed it. My asks are open, so ask away people. I feel tempted to branch out and write about the Levi and Reader in this fic some more. I already wrote about how they met and fell for each other in Chains Part 2. But maybe I could write of their life together? I dunno if y'all would even want that.

I have a big exam result in 15 hours and I'm honestly terrified. I wrote this completely hyper and ready to be distracted.

Also we're about to hit 100 followers omg fhfjfjf y'all make me smile in times of stress.

[littlemixnet]

Little Mix on what it takes to survive being the most bullied band in pop

Still teenagers when they were catapulted to fame, superstardom came at a price for Little Mix. They open up to Francesca Babb about the soaring highs and crashing lows of the past nine years. It is the end of our YOU cover shoot, and I am facing the lesser-spotted sight of a barefaced Little Mix. Wet wipes swipe back and forth across their faces and, as the foundation departs in a deluge of coffee-coloured tissues, Jesy Nelson and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, both 29, and Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards, both 27, visibly relax into their tracksuits and boyfriend jeans, shoulders dropping as they settle into themselves. I’m so used to seeing them contoured and camera ready that I assumed full glamour was their happy place. But perhaps the real Little Mix are not the war-paint-and-leotard-clad pop stars we’ve spent almost ten years watching grow up, but rather the four women they have become behind the glare of the spotlight. It’s those four women that I’m intrigued to meet. Since winning The X Factor nine years ago, there have been highs – selling over 50 million records globally, a significant percentage of which were self-penned, and creating enough accompanying make-up lines and merchandise to keep them and their families comfortable for the foreseeable future (recent reports suggest they have earned a combined £28.5 million to date). But there have also been lows – perpetual picking apart by both the public and the press, bullying and vitriol from online trolls. The most extreme cases of which led Jesy to attempt suicide during Little Mix’s early days in 2013 (she regards a tweet from the controversial Katie Hopkins – ‘Packet Mix have still got a chubber in their ranks. Less Little Mix. More Pick n Mix’ – as the ‘pinnacle point’ for her depression) and pushed Perrie into an ongoing struggle with anxiety. Fame has changed them. In some ways they are still youthful and silly – dropping phrases into conversation that wouldn’t be out of place in a playground – yet, in others, they are wise beyond their years, diving headfirst into battles on feminism, race and mental health. They’re fun enough to be light relief, smart enough to inspire a generation struggling with the pressures of youth and social media even before a pandemic was thrown at them, and ballsy enough to leave Simon Cowell’s record label because they didn’t feel he had their best interests at heart. ‘It’s never really been a cruise, has it?’ Jade ponders, a copy of social activist Bell Hooks’ 2002 feminist theory Communion: The Female Search For Love in her hand (not for show, I might add; when I ask her about it, she is well versed in its content). ‘It’s either been a really big high, or a really big low.’ Jesy, who has found herself the target of some of the cruelest contempt from the world outside Little Mix, agrees: ‘Some of the best times, some of the worst times.’ Comments on her weight, her looks, her place in the band, comments that she should take her own life, all led her into a deep depression and the aforementioned suicide attempt. Her documentary last year, Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, revealed her journey through it all and, while harrowing, it is essential viewing on the realities of growing up in a world dominated by social media. ‘Before we got in the group, I never looked at myself and thought, “I don’t like that” – I don’t think any of us did. I never thought, “Oh god, I’m fat”, and then we got in the industry, and we all started wanting to change things about ourselves. It’s so sad. There are things [in the past] I definitely wish I hadn’t done,’ she says, referring to the suicide attempt, in which she took an overdose after a two-year battle with depression and an eating disorder. ‘But would I be the person I am today if I hadn’t gone through all of that?’ ‘There was a time when it was worse than it is now,’ adds Leigh-Anne, who has increasingly used her own Instagram channel to vocalise her experience of racism, both overt and underlying, throughout her time in the band. ‘I guess we’re taking steps forward, but I fear for my [future] daughters…’ ‘It makes me not want to have a kid,’ agrees Jesy. ‘Those insecurities that we all have now because of social media, imagine having that embedded in you as a child?’ Before you write them off as four very lucky girls ungratefully complaining about a lifestyle so many dream of, I should point out that they are fully aware of the paradox of their privilege. I suppose the point is, it’s not too much to ask to not be bullied to the point of hospitalisation as a by-product, is it? ‘Little Mix has changed our lives for the better, and our families’ lives, and we have achieved so much,’ says Perrie. ‘Don’t get me wrong,’ agrees Jesy (a warning I will hear repeatedly throughout our hour together, perhaps thanks to almost a decade of their quotes being blasted out of context for click-bait). ‘I’m not going to sit here and say we’ve got a terrible life, because we haven’t, but I do think our innocence was taken from us.’ It’s a while since the girls last did any press. Lockdown saw a halt to any activity they had planned, including the launch of their new talent show, BBC1’s Little Mix: The Search (in which they, well, search for a new band to mentor and join them on tour). But the time apart has not diminished their ability to finish each other’s sentences and jump to each other’s aid. It has, it seems, been really rather good for them and allowed them to come back fired up for the release of their sixth album, Confetti, which came out this week. ‘It was needed,’ agrees Jesy. ‘We’re never not with each other and we’re always busy. Our mornings start early, we finish really late.’ Being at home has meant more time spent with their families, with Jade even starting her own show on MTV with her mum Norma. Called Served!, the self-filmed series saw the pair interview celebrity drag queens and challenge each other to cooking competitions. ‘I love drag culture,’ she says, ‘and me mam was by herself in lockdown, so I thought it’d be something nice to keep her entertained.’ ‘Your mum could be on Loose Women,’ Leigh-Anne muses. ‘Imagine our mams on a show!’ shrieks Jade. ‘Nobody else would get a word in edgeways with my mam,’ laughs Perrie. ‘Ooh, when Debbie goes off on Twitter,’ says Jade, of Perrie’s mum’s habit of weighing in on comments from haters. ‘My mam will text me, have you seen Debbie’s been going off on someone!’ It is interesting that all four talk frequently about their mums throughout our chat, and yet there is no mention of fathers. While their mums often appear on Instagram, a sighting of Perrie’s dad on her 23rd birthday was extremely rare. Perhaps the Little Mix dads’ absence in the narrative is because the four girls were predominantly raised by their mothers (all of their parents separated when they were younger), and another reason the group’s bond is so tight. Little Mix are each other’s wall of arms, their own personal bodyguards. Jesy, they unanimously agree, is Scary Mix (although I find her a delight), which is interesting given her own inability to bat off other people’s words. ‘When it’s you on your own dealing with something personally,’ Jesy says, ‘It’s completely different. You feel so vulnerable alone, but we are a force when we’re together.’ It’s not hard to see, in today’s social-media obsessed society where there is little retribution for cruelty, why four attractive, successful young women, with attractive, successful young boyfriends (two footballers – Perrie dates Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Leigh-Anne is engaged to Watford’s Andre Gray – while Jade is with Rizzle Kicks singer Jordan Stephens and Jesy is going out with Our Girl actor Sean Sagar), who seem to be living a dream life have found themselves at the heart of a whirlwind of vitriol. There was the infamous spat with Piers Morgan, in which he mocked them for posing naked but for the insults that have been hurled at them painted on their bodies. He accused them of using sex to sell records and called them ‘foul-mouthed, talentless, clothes-allergic little dimwits’, which is not how I find them to be. ‘I take Piers with a pinch of salt,’ Jesy says, rolling her eyes. ‘He does it to cause drama, so I take no notice. When we won The X Factor, we didn’t look like a generic girl band: we’re all different shapes and sizes, we didn’t dress sexy, so immediately everyone was, “What’s this?”’ ‘Usually, when you see a girl band, they’re perfection, they have six-packs – and we didn’t,’ continues Jesy. ‘People saw us as kids, so even though we’re now women, people still think of us that way, so when we come out on stage in leotards, they think, “That’s disgusting!”’ ‘One Direction didn’t get the s**t we get, because they’re men,’ states Leigh-Anne. ‘It’s like, “They’re four girls, let’s come at them”. As soon as it’s girls, they think, “Oh you slag.”’ ‘When it’s men, it’s celebrated, but the minute women sexualise themselves and feel powerful doing it, we’re told to rein it in,’ adds Jade. ‘We’re conditioned to think that women are there to be these innocent and pure beings and the minute you step out of that, it’s carnage.’ Little Mix, however, are not scared of embracing that carnage and of sparking a debate. For their show The Search, Jade describes how it was important for them to set the tone on respect when each new person auditioned. ‘Because we are small women, it’s important to show people that they need to respect us, that we know what we’re talking about and we need to be listened to,’ she says. ‘There’s no nastiness,’ continues Jesy about the show, which has been praised for modernising and freshening up the age-old TV format. ‘There’s no making anyone feel uncomfortable for entertainment.’ They also insisted a large part of their budget be dedicated to looking after the contestants’ mental health, understanding, first hand, the pitfalls of talent shows. The Search is not their first attempt at diversifying their talent. As a group, they have LMX make-up line and also a perfume, Style By Little Mix. Subsequently, they have become expert businesswomen, refusing to make the mistakes of pop groups past, so often left completely penniless at the end of their careers. ‘I remember walking into an early label meeting and saying, “This is who we want to be, this is the campaign we want, this is the imagery we want,”’ says Jade. ‘We knew our brand from the get go and we very much steered that ship.’ It’s a long way from their (as Jesy puts it) ‘working-class backgrounds’. Since joining the band, each one has bought their mum a house and, while their tale is not entirely rags to riches, the jump from Primark to Prada in recent years has certainly been significant. When it comes to business, Perrie describes herself and Leigh-Anne as the ones who will often seek a compromise in difficult situations, while they send Jesy and Jade in when deals need to be made. ‘Jesy’s the badass,’ Perrie laughs. ‘Whenever I’m scared, I’ll stand behind her. She’s the one who puts her foot down in a boardroom full of men and says, “It’s going to be this way.” But we pick our battles. We don’t just argue about every decision – it’s when we feel we have to.’ ‘Nobody could say that we are difficult, and if they do, they’re lying,’ says Leigh-Anne adamantly. Adds Jesy: ‘We know what we want, and we know what kids want.’ Little Mix have lived over a third of their lives in the spotlight. They’ve seen how things work, how things don’t, and they’ve learnt how to cope with it all. The lows may have been spectacularly low, but the highs have surpassed any of their expectations. Their story is not your classic fairytale, but it’s one they have learnt they can write their own ending for. If the Little Mix I meet today is anything to go by, I wouldn’t expect that ending to come any time soon. Little Mix’s new album Confetti is out now. Their movie LM5: The Tour Film will be in cinemas nationwide on 21 and 22 November.

[lizacstuff]

Bölüm 45 asks

Plus a few asks from 44, and one about the fragman for 46

Read more under the cut

Anonymous asked: I cannot believe that Ayse revived the "Kemal is Serkan's real father" theory but I think I'm down for it? At least now Kiraz has one decent grandparent and he seems like genuinely nice man. I've been wishing for him to have some scenes with Serkan because the way they set up this S2 plot, they could relate to one another and I was sad to see that he spent 5 years hiding instead

I'm down for this plot! See, now that I know they're doing the long-lost-father plot, it makes all the sense in the world why Serkan doesn't like Kemal and they didn't forge a relationship in the last five years. If they had, then finding out he's his dad would have been a lot less jarring and dramatic. Finding out now and then forging the relationship I think will be a bit more meaty story so it works for me.

To me this story works on a lot of levels, and makes sense with who Serkan is and his very strained relationship with Alptekin. It's like Alptekin sensed it, and resented Serkan his whole life. For those worried that Serkan will no longer have the last name Bolat, I'm not sure where that's coming from. Maybe I'm just not familiar with other cultures, but that is his name, Alptekin raised him, adults don't just up and change their name because of genetics. If you're adopted and you meet your bio dad as an adult, you don't change your name to your bio dad's.

Serkan's name is very much a part of his identity. Which is why this story has so much potential, because it could shake Serkan to his very core to find out who he thought he was, was wrong. He thought he was unlovable, most importantly maybe he'll finally realize there was more at play there and it wasn't at fault.

Anonymous asked: There were a couple things in the last episode that didn't sit well with me. 1. I can't believe Eda made Serkan sleep outside at night and didn't feel bad in the morning when she realized he got sick! 2. The way Seyfi announced Aydan and Kemal's secret relationship. It wasn't his secret to tell, though Aydan did deserve the way everyone reacted. So I got over that pretty quick. 3. Burak!!! He's not the one for Melo. She deserves better and if they end up together in the end, I'm gonna protest.

1. Unless you're going to put the same energy into not believing that Serkan had the gal to remove his bed on the floor as a way to maneuver himself into Eda's bed before she was ready, I really can't relate. It was done for comedy, my advice is to unclench and just giggle along.

2. Or you could look at it as being unfair of Aydan to burden Seyfi with that secret and require he lie to his other employer for five years. I mean I don't disagree that it wasn't his secret to tell, but Aydan had plenty of chances, and it was time for it to come out.

3. This one we are in 100% agreement about. MELO DESERVES BETTER. I will die on this hill.

Anonymous asked: Hi! Do you think Serkan actually believes in Kerem's abilities (he trusts Eda's faith in Kerem) or is this part of his plan to win Eda back? Either way I'm okay, just wondering what you think.

No, I do not think he gained a sudden belief in Kerem's abilities, but I do think he believes in Eda. And if Eda believes in Kerem then when push comes to shove that is enough for Serkan. Of course, he did it as part of his plan to win Eda back. Serkan is taking every opportunity to let Eda know that he respects her and believes in her and I think this was another example of that. There was also an aspect of him trying to win over another person in Eda's circle who was suspicious of him. The fewer people he has working against him, the better! He knows he has no shot with Burak or Ayfer, so this episode he worked on Melo and Kerem. But mostly it was him trying to make Eda's life easier, by smoothing over a personnel problem she was having, thus making working out of Art Life a more attractive option for her. All of those things in one!

Anonymous asked: What do you think about Eda and Piril's friendship? This episode really highlighted how close they've gotten.

Yes, they have gotten close, and I'm happy Eda has a friend, but at the same time I don't trust Piril. This is a woman who discarded Eda and embraced Selin when she was manipulating and abusing a brain-damaged Serkan.

Eda might be able to forget, but I can't. Also as a character she's just boring, rigid and humorless. One of my least favorites on screen.

That being said I do like the triad dynamic of Kiraz/Can, Serkan/Engin, and Eda/Piril, it was fun when they were calling each other at the same time.

Anonymous asked: Idk if they reached out to Maya just because she looked like Hande considering she had no acting experience, but this little girl is like the best casting I've seen. The chemistry with Hande and Kerem is amazing. She's so expressive. I am a Kiraz stan.

She's doing a fantastic job, precious thing! I have no idea how they found her, I know she was an instagram model, but the SCK casting director strikes again. This season doesn't work if we don't fall in love with Kiraz. Thankfully, we did!

Anonymous asked: Hi! Since it seems that we will have 13 episodes, do you think that Edser reconciliation/wedding will be left for the finale, 12-13 ep? Cause Ayse loves to drag and keep them apart.

I think the wedding might be closer to the end, but I think reconciliation will be a bit sooner than that.

However, I have to say that it's really not like they're apart.. is it? I mean this episode we had them living together, sort of casually planning their future together. Next episode we have them pretending to be married and ramping up the sexual tension to white-hot-sun levels, these are all good things. With episodes like this, I don't personally consider the show dragging it out.

In fandom I see a lot of peeps upset because Eda isn't getting immediately back with Serkan and I am feeling inpatient as well, do you think the writers are making a mistake keeping them apart?

Again, I guess my response to you is, by what definition was this episode "keeping them apart?"

Yes, they aren't having sex, but they are living together, working together, raising their daughter together, and I'm a-okay with having a couple of delicious episodes of that while they are still not fully back together romantically. Let's be real, they're still waking up in bed together, flirting, and having a romantic dinner together, so it's not like things aren't moving forward, they are. I'd advise putting aside your impatience, and just sit back, relax, and let the story take its course. There is no need to be anxious with this one. They are going to end up with their happily ever after together, but what we're seeing right now is delightful. It's them in family and domestic situations, them with their child. Most shippers only dream of getting to see this.

This sort of goes back to my stance on episodes 16-24, I know that was a frustrating time for a lot of fans because they were "broken up" but I've always said they may have been officially broken up, but they were in a committed relationship that entire time. And I enjoyed those episodes from that perspective, that tension of them being "apart" but still functioning as a unit and still being emotionally tied together underneath it all. There's kind of a similar situation here, they aren't officially back together, Eda is resisting him, but they are in a committed relationship and I don't understand what the need is to rush through this part? Enjoy the sexual tension of them living together, but not sleeping together. Enjoy the rom com romp of Serkan trying to get in her bed, and Eda taking steps to keep him out. Enjoy their daughter putting them in situations that force them into close proximity, and enjoy them falling into easy compatibility without even trying. Enjoy Serkan planning romantic dinners, and Eda enjoying it despite her every effort to protect her heart.

To me this is very good stuff, and spending this time being impatient and wanting what didn't happen yet, instead of enjoying what did happen is pretty much the recipe for unhappiness not just with this show, but life.

Anonymous asked: i feel like i've seen the exact same frustrations ppl have had with eda right now back around the 20s too after serkan told her about her parents' secret. it was like, now that he's told her the truth, she should automatically forgive him and get back together. same thing happening here, with him accepting his role as kiraz's father. it feels like the same impatience that's put on eda to just forgive him already bc everyone wants happy edser and she's in the way lol.. like girl needs time!

Agreed, and it makes me wonder if these folks have ever watched television before, lmao. Patience! There's a story unfolding and from the first 6 episodes it's clear they have a season long arc planned. All in due time.

Eda spent five years thinking that Serkan stopped loving her, and discarded her for work. The second time he used that excuse to break her heart. My goodness, it's more than okay if she needs a little time to adjust and learn how to trust him again. PLUS that means we get to watch him work on her, try to make inroads, romance her, forge a relationship with his daughter and earn Eda's trust back. What's bad in that?

What did you think of the fragman? It's kind of dumb and unrealistic that they have to dance for a school admission interview.

LMAO. Yes, yes it is, but my question to you is, sana ne?

I mean why do you care if the set up is dumb or not? Or if it's realistic? It's a device to get Serkan and Eda to pretend to be married before they're fully back together and an excuse for us to see Edser smash themselves together in a sensual tangle of limbs while they pretend to be unaffected, while both are being engulfed in USTy flames.

I'm not complaining, why are you?

Come on, this show is silly, it has been from day one, enjoy the fact that we are getting silly plots that force our couple into hilarious and hot situations, because Hande and Kerem are going to give us gold, I guarantee it and I'm going to smile through every second watching it.

xxxxxxxxxx

These asks are from episode 44, they came in and I didn't have time to answer before 45 aired:

Anonymous asked: Do you think there is a point when there are too many “parallels” and it becomes more like scenes are being recycled? Because I kinda felt that way in the last episode. Like she’s just tossing in as many things as she can from those first 11 episodes but I’ve already watched those and Id rather we focus more character progression. I feel like they regressed from those honest conversations last week and were back to being petty this week.

I guess my answer is... no, I don't think there have been too many parallels. Episode 44 was partly about truth bubbling to the surface, with the biggest truth being that Serkan has been in love with Eda every minute of every day since they parted. That is a very important thing for Eda to understand and know and they really can't move forward until she does, because she felt unloved and forgotten all those years. Most of the parallels were illustrating that by showing that he held on to their history, he remembered their history and he honored it. Okay by me.

Anonymous asked: There were some amazing dialogues in the episode. I have two that tie for top. One was when Kiraz said that Serkan was her wish (when blowing her birthday candles), and the other was when Serkan said Apollo was never going to give up on the woman he loves nor on the cherries! Oh my heart had feels both times. What were your favourite dialogues in the episode?

Oh man my head is in 45 now, but both of those examples of yours were great. I loved both of them.

The other than springs to mind is while fishing, Eda telling Serkan that he didn't need to be perfect for Kiraz to love him, he just had to be himself.

Swoon.

That's so important for Serkan to hear, because he doesn't think he's worthy of love as himself, so hearing that from Eda is impactful.

Anonymous asked: reading your ep review, i think a big reason some people are hanging on to hate the s2 plot no matter what are just bc they hate the writer. of course not everyone, but a lot of people will just hate on anything she writes out of spite, even if objectively the episode is very good. idk why that is or when ppl decided they hated her but it's not warranted at all imo. i can understand not liking the premise of this season, but after watching it so far there has been SUCH an improvement edser-wise.

People can like, dislike, love, hate anything they want. Consuming entertainment doesn't have to be a team sport. That being said, from what I've seen I'd agree with your assessment. Teams have formed (Anti-Ayse, Pro-Ayse, etc) and the former are too invested in hating everything she does, the former possibly too forgiving at times. That's their choice, but I have to say I feel bad for the anti brigade, this is a show they loved, and most of them are still watching, but they've completely sabotaged themselves from finding any joy in any of it and I think they're going to regret it once it's over.

Also season 2 is so much better than I thought it could be. I honestly thought there was no way to get back to the early quality, but it's here. The show is really watchable and fun this season, and it's a shame for those who've let their attitudes get so negative that they can't enjoy it.

Anonymous asked: Ok so I'm aware this would be highly uncharacteristic of a dizi - but if they know there's only 6 eps left, my dream would be no more big bad events and just spend it rebuilding EdSer as a couple and a family. Would that be too much to ask lol. They've jumped from one disaster to another. Since we're at the end & they have the luxury of knowing it, I just want to see them working through things as a real unit. They've dated for like 7 eps out of 45? Can we get that above 10 at least????

Congratulations! Because that's exactly what we've gotten so far in season 2. Once we got past the trauma of the 5 year time jump, all the drama has been internal to Eda and Serkan and their relationship. The whole season so far has been about rebuilding Edser as a couple and a family. And if you're watching without the tauntruming twitter teens in your ear, you'd realize we ARE watching them work through things as a real unit.

I'll say this until I'm blue in the face (apparently) just because they are not currently sexing each other up, does not mean they aren't emotionally doing all the things necessary to reach their full potential as a couple.

They are. It's happening. Enjoy it.

[stevesharrlngtons]

The lake + the kid

12. the lake

the kid slept the entire way. his long limbs coiled up on your passengers seat in a way that looked incredibly uncomfortable. but he didn’t complain as his cheek rested precariously on his knee. 

when you arrived, you roused him with quiet, calm pleas and gentle strokes through his hair. after a few moments of your soft words and ministrations, he revealed two jewel colored eyes under his sleepy lids, and you smiled. 

“we’re here, henry.” 

he perked up at this, glancing out the windshield to the sparkling lake that stretched out before him. he looked enraptured with it and the scenery around; large weeping trees neighbored by strong pines; expansive stretches of grass muddled with wildflowers; a lazy cloud filled sky that held muted colors of cream and blues. you hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet and you were already so happy you decided to make this drive for him. 

fall, winter and a relatively cool spring had come and gone without incident with the kid around. he didn’t necessarily like being cold, but he seemed more at home in the frigid temperatures and blankets of snow than you had found he felt in the sweltering heat. in the winter, he would huddle by the windows and watch the elements fall from the sky, excited at the notion of snow and loving the relaxation the rain offered him. he would take walks with you, bundled up in heaps of clothing so he was protected from the weather and the world's prying eyes. he liked to sit close to you in front of the fire, draping himself all over you in the name of warmth, but you both knew the real reason he did so. 

but now, as late june had skyrocketed the temperatures in castle rock, henry barely left his room. he was glued to the fan you had set up for him, swaying his body along with its oscillation. he refused to go upstairs where the heat was higher, and even more fervently refused to go outside. he could no longer hide beneath layers of soft fabrics and thick ski coats. now, if he did that, he would no doubt get heatstroke. now, he was expected along with the rest of the population, to strip down to shorts and sleeveless shirts that offered him no protection. he felt bare, tender and raw with his skin on display. he felt exposed. he had just gotten to the point where he was comfortable with you seeing him shed from his clothes at least most of them. he really wasn’t ready for anyone else to really see him. 

so, you had hatched a lovely plan. 

as a child, your older sister had found a secret section of the nearby lake that was unknown by most locals. she and her friends would frequent it as teenagers, and when you were old enough, she let you tag along. through the years, you continued to make the drive to the secret little hideaway, it being the perfect place to think and reminisce of simpler times.

of all the times you had been to the lake, you had never seen more than two other people there. commonly, they were older men trying their luck in a new spot to fish in. they usually got the memo that there was nothing more than water bugs and frogs hopping about, and left soon after. 

you had proposed the idea to the kid a few days before, telling him that he could get out of the house, be nature, but away from prying eyes; that you both could go somewhere you loved that was completely isolated and quite. telling him that it would just be the two of you for as long as he wanted to stay. he had giddily accepted. 

now, you watched with a full heart as henry’s wide eyes took in the little spot you had loved for over a decade. 

“come on, let’s set up,” you said, popping the trunk and getting out of the car. 

you had brought a small picnic for the two of you to enjoy by the water, and a book for each of you if you decided to stay into the afternoon. the kid got out of the car soon after and swooped in front of you before you could pick up the picnic basket. you shot him a reprimanding look that had more love behind it than ire, and opted to take the two large beach towels instead. 

henry followed you as you made your way down a familiar path to a grass clearing by the lake. that was where you decided to set up, laying down the two thick towels, followed by tupperware and sandwich baggies. 

the kid ate his pb & j and drank his ginger ale (which he had just recently decided he enjoyed) while you snaked on a chicken salad sandwich and crackers. 

it was nice, your little picnic. it was small and nothing fancy like you would often see your friends or coworkers go on. there were no elaborate dishes or decorations and you both had to shift your bodies and food often for the lumps of the earth underneath, but it felt perfect. it felt overwhelmingly right to show henry your secret hideaway. you had an urge to share everything with him, to have him know you deeper than any other living soul ever had. you wanted no secrets or confidentiality with him. you just wanted to be with him, wholly and completely, hoping that he would feel the same. 

you wanted him in every part of you, and you yearned to be in every part of him. 

you both finished up your sandwiches, and you reclined back on the towel, your elbows there to prop you upright as you enjoyed the beaming rays from above. similar to how he sat in the car, henry had pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his shins as he seemed to do the same. you could often sense when he was feeling anxious or tense, and now all you felt was calm. he felt utterly still. 

with your eyes shut and your nose poised to the sky, you felt a gentle tickle against your finger. you opened your eyes and glanced over your shoulder to see that the kid had moved one of his hands from his shins to rest near your own, his pinky finger draped over your own in a small embrace.

after a while, henry had taken his book from your bag and begun to read though his finger never moved from where it rested over your own. with his attention captured within the pages of his novel, you decided it was a perfect time for you to take a dip in the lake. it wasn’t the hottest day that maine had experienced, but it was still quite warm and you had been dying to go for a swim. 

“do you mind in i hop in for a while?” you asked, gesturing to the lake.

the kid fleetingly glanced at you over the top of his book before he shook his head gently and smiled, which you returned. 

“ok,” you stood, unfortunately breaking the tether between you, “you can come sit on the dock if you’d like?” 

there was a short, slightly dilapidated wood dock that gave best access to the lake, so you didn’t have to wade through a bunch of muck to get there.

the kid looked up a you fully this time, his large, bulging eyes clearly deep in consideration of your question. though soon, he nodded once more and pushed himself to stand next to you. the beaming grin you offered him at his acceptance made his cheeks tinge pink. as you striped from your t-shirt and shorts to the bathing suit you had underneath, his blush deepend profusely.

the cool water was a relief from the heat, and you let yourself fully enjoy the welcomed tempature as you ducked your head under the surface. when you did so, the kid watched with a close intensity, worry tying in his heart until you buoyed back up with a deep inhale. he would look up to watch you intermittently, swimming around and floating on your back, to make sure you were ok.

he continued to thumb through the pages of the theory of everything like he had on the towels, when he heard you call his name. the kid looked up from the book on his lap to see you swimming toward him, though one of your hands was cupped in a fist. when you reached him, your eyes sparked with excitement as you told him to open his hand and present his palm. he did so, though rather hesitantly after he set his dog eared book to the side. 

“look at that,” you whispered with quite wonder as you opened your hand to reveal your treasure for him. 

there, was a small, speckled frog, that hopped and squirmed from your palm to henry’s. 

his lips formed a perfect o, and you swore you heard him hold his breath as the little creature sat and puffed out it’s throat rhythmically in his hand. he slowly took a finger and lightly stroked down the little amphibian’s back. at his touch, the frog quickly launched from his hand, onto the dock, then into the water. the kid’s eyes shone bright with intrigue and fascination. 

“did you like ‘im? i thought he was pretty cute,” you said, hands clutching the lip of the dock as you looked up at him, in search of his approval. 

“yes,” he said with a breathless smile, “thank you.” 

“of course,” you replied, your heart fluttering. 

you moved your cold nose to dust light strokes over the expanse of henry’s thigh, giving him sweet nose kisses that he keened happily about in his chest. when you were about to pull away to return to your frolicking, you felt him fold his body over you, pressing his forehead to your crown. his moved his hands to rest snuggly next to your own that still held the dock, and you heard him exhale pleasurably. like he was ridding all his anxieties and fears with one breath in favor of melting over you. 

you said nothing and made no move to leave, just simply nuzzled your nose back his his thigh and enjoyed the sweet affection he showed you.

[isthemicon]

hey, I have a few questions for you: why did Blair dedicate 'Stand by Your Man' to Chuck?

If Elisabeth was a decent mother, what kind of relationship would she have with Blair?

in this lockdown period how are c,h and b?you think they have other children? sorry and thank you.

•Stand by your man is certainly not something you would expect Blair, the Queen B to sing. And I feel like that was Blair’s point, I believe Blair is way more traditional than she lets others believe, not in terms of gender roles or anything like that but in terms of devotion and love. She doesn’t show it publicly because she doesn’t want people to view her like that but it is a well known fact that with Chuck she allowed herself to let go of the fears and limitations and showed her true self. Blair with this song wanted to show Chuck her love, devotion and support she had for him. She wanted to show him she will be with him, stand by him because she simply loves him more than anybody else and with this performance she wanted to proof him that, say with it what he perhaps didn’t believe in just words.

It’s sort of my theory that just before her performance they perhaps had a conversation about maybe shitty things Chuck had done in the past and he perhaps was doubting if she could really love him or fearing that she would leave him at some point and even though she told him she loves him he still was afraid (once again the years of Bart’s abuse and manipulation playing part). And as they were on the party Blair (who was after few drinks) knowing that he is probably still thinking about it decided to proof him that her words are not just words so she chose the song the perfectly showcased the devotion and highlighted it by doing it publicly.

•I might be in minority but I feel like the character of Elizabeth Fisher was underused or maybe I should say misused especially since we later learn that Bart keeping baby Chuck had nothing to do with love. I strongly believe that if Elizabeth had been a loving parent and was willing to be there for Chuck she and Blair would have a wonderful relationship. If Elizabeth gave Chuck what he always secretly wanted which is unconditional love of a parent Blair would love her as she would be grateful that someone is there for Chuck, is helping him feel better about himself, making him feel loved and making him feel he deserves the love. One of my favorite scenes is Chuck, Blair and Elizabeth shopping together as it was such a nice little glimpse at what the future could look like, I could just imagine Chuck and Blair being this domestic couple on a walk in the park with a baby being pushed in a pram by its grandma, talking and smiling, simply enjoying life. (At least I still can imagine that with Eleanor)

•Chuck and Blair are very fortunate in terms that they don’t have to worry about their financially situation or having a roof above their head. They were probably a bit stressed about the their companies as they both work in the fields that had been affected by the pandemic. I feel like Chuck probably had moments when he was worrying too much as hotels and clubs are a big part of BI incomes but I don’t think they personally have been affected that much, more like he hated the fact they had to probably slowed down with their plans for growth. But fortunately Blair was there for him, ready to drag him away from the desk, relax him and make him stop worrying.

As for what they were doing I feel like they spent some portion of lockdown in Hamptons to give Henry (children?) ability to be out in a huge garden and have more space and fresh air that living in the city doesn’t allow you.

Furthermore I feel like the pandemic gave them ability to slow down and be more with their family as they were now working from home, weren’t going on any business trips so in all its horribleness the ability to stay at home for more time was for sure a silver lining for them.

They probably made sure to give their family the stability and some sort of routine to help deal with the affect it may have on their mental health. So they carried on with having meals together, playing together, Blair probably fully embraced the homeschooling and completely transformed one of the rooms into a classroom.

In general I feel like they simply used it as an opportunity to do what their normal schedule didn’t allow them do.

•I 100% believe and want them to have more children. I don’t know why as I am not really a person that likes children or cares about my ships having children. But there’s something about the loneliness in which both Blair and Chuck grew up in and in their desire for that family warmth that makes me believe they would want not only children but some version of a bigger family. I feel like they would want to give their children what they didn’t have and what they were looking for in their friends, that love and closeness that having a sibling gives you. It’s my personal headcanon that they had at least 3 kids which all grew up to be very close to each other and had relatively normal, drama free lives as they had loving parents and didn’t have to do all those terrible things to gain their parents attention.

Edit: One more thing about them having more kids it is also one of my headcanons that they had their last kid when their other kids are older (like teen years) and they themselves are in their like early 40s and the older ones are super embarrassed about it but at the same time really happy for their parents, and the baby girl as it’s a girl in my mind is super spoiled princess but also super sweet.

[not-poignant]

Hello, I love your writing and I love how you manage to write complex characters and antagonists I can totally sympathize with (Augus, my precious), so I was wondering if you have any advice on that? Also, how do you decide on a love interest for your MC? Sorry if this is too broad of a question, but your writing advice is always super helpful.

Hiya

I‘m glad you’re enjoying the writing! Honestly I don’t know if I’m going to do a good job of explaining these things, but I hope whatever I say helps!

Writing a sympathetic antagonist

Firstly, most importantly, they have to be sympathetic! I know I know, that sounds stupid, and obvious, but it’s true. Don’t expect every reader to still like your antagonist, they won’t. Not everyone likes villain, antagonist or even antihero fiction.

Re: garnering sympathy:

Show the character as genuinely vulnerable. (Consider Augus being hurt by Gwyn in the dungeon, even if most of it slid off of him, that gag certainly didn’t). (Consider that even though Eran is Mosk’s captor and actually not a very nice person, we understand his motivations for being mean - he has lost his entire family, and he believes Mosk is the reason. He’s shown experiencing constant culture shock, totally alone, and he doesn’t understand the new world he finds himself in). (Consider that Efnisien is living an extremely bleak life, post violent injury, and that he is shown to be vulnerable to his own patterns of thinking).

Show the shift in their attitude that makes them more relatable, or that gives the readers hope that they’re not about to revert back to who they used to be. (Augus clearly being far more even-minded and less destructive for the sake of it). (Eran constantly questioning how Mosk could be capable of his evil, and double-checking on himself, and it obviously being insecurity when he decides that Mosk is evil after all). (Efnisien is forcing himself to attend very personally challenging therapy sessions, and we can see that not only has he not hurt anyone in 3 years, we can see evidence of a life lived that tries to avoid opportunities to hurt people ever again).

Make them human, create common ground. Show them eating food, getting dressed, responding to a major (or minor) injury. Show them loving another character even if they only ever love one other character (Augus saying ‘careful’ to Ash in Shadows and Light was actually the moment that some readers fell in love with him or became intensely curious about him - and so while most readers came around to him in Game Theory, just having Augus genuinely love and feel protective towards his brother was enough to create sympathy and empathy). (Consider Efnisien and his love for Gwyn). (Consider Eran’s love for his family). Make it so that people literally can go ‘oh, I eat food that way’ or ‘oh, I’ve tried to hide an injury before’ or ‘that’s how I get dressed’ or ‘I hate summer too.’ Give them details that can stack up over time and create common ground.

In the case of characters who have done absolutely egregious things, whump the everloving fuck out of them. Like, this was legit a thing I did in Game Theory *deliberately* in order to create increased sympathy for Augus. Even people who have the most intense revenge fantasies re: a character burn out on them after a while. A person who is like ‘yeah I can’t wait to see them tortured and suffering and going through awful pain’ will, very often, get that and realise they didn’t want that much of it. And they will turn to sympathy instead. It’s worked an absolute fucking treat with Augus and Efnisien in particular.

Have someone who is worse opposite your antagonist. (Augus had the Nightingale. Eran has Olphix and Davix and, well, Mosk’s entire family. Efnisien has Crielle and Lludd). Give your villain a villain.

*

That’s it. You don’t have to make them ‘good.’ You don’t have to rationalise what they did. You don’t have to make excuses for what they’ve done or what they’ll do in the future. Your readers can make up their own minds on that, and they will, with or without your guidance. Augus can still be a waterhorse that eats people and sometimes uses compulsions because he’s impatient. Gwyn can still just straight up murder people without giving them much (or any) warning first.

When you don’t encourage sympathy based on a ‘good/bad’ binary, you can still have your antagonists and villains kind of stay where they are. They might do heroic things, they might do villainous things, the point of empathy is that they’re often doing and thinking relatable things, even if the subsequent actions aren’t themselves relatable.

I don’t do these things for villains that I don’t want to be sympathetic. But I must admit, I am enjoying showing different facets of Davix in The Ice Plague, even though I don’t really intend for him to be a transformed villain or anything.

Deciding on a love interest

This one is harder. Mostly because in some ways, it’s ‘simpler’ on the surface. All you’re doing is looking for a character who has qualities that strengthen your other character, and balance out the imbalances in your primary character and vice versa. They will need to have some things in common too. They also need to get along, and have a reason to get along (especially if it’s rivals to lovers).

Like, it’s hard to describe how I do this because I don’t spend a lot of time on this part. I tend to just...idk, ‘know’ what another character needs and build off that. And that’s fucking useless to break down for other people. BUT, it does mean I can at least use my doofuses as examples:

Augus and Gwyn: They are both people who favour diplomacy over war, but can be extraordinarily bloodthirsty when a situation calls for it, and they’re both actually pretty snarky and bitchy people (things in common). Augus is proud of his sexuality and does not see the point in not fully embracing who you are as a monster, Gwyn rejects his monstrous self and is not proud of his sexuality or his role as a sub (Augus strengthens Gwyn in this, and complements what Gwyn lacks). Gwyn is extremely bold and secure in his ability to manage a Kingdom and also protect his loved ones, he is very able to step forwards into his future decisively, fully confident in his ability to do what is best for the people around him and the nation (Gwyn strengthens Augus in this, and complements Augus’ insecurities in this area).

You can find lots of other examples of complementary traits in Augus and Gwyn in particular (Augus had a happier family, Gwyn didn’t. Gwyn has military and physical training, Augus mostly hasn’t. Augus understands fashion and courtiers, Gwyn doesn’t. Gwyn understands tracking and large-scale military operations, Augus doesn’t. Augus understands finer interpersonal relationships, Gwyn doesn’t. Gwyn understands politicking that’s specifically malicious or manipulative (like the Raven Prince, Augus doesn’t).

Mosk and Eran: They are both people who are extremely determined and share a common goal (Mosk took a little while to get online with that goal, but okay). They are both actually very earnest at their hearts and want people to be happy with them, and they both need guidance from people in positions of authority. They’re both hot-headed (in different ways, but they both absolutely fly off the handle all the fucking time). Ultimately, they want to feel warm and supported (things in common).

Mosk is extremely aesthetic and cares for beautiful things and scenery, at all times, he tends to tune into an environment based on its beauty, Eran on the other hand tends to be a bit stuck in the past, and isn’t always quick to see the beauty in the present. (Mosk enriches Eran’s life in the present, but helping him to focus on what might be beautiful in the present). Eran likes to feel as though he’s helping people and he needs to feel needed, Mosk needs someone to take care of him (Eran enriching Mosk).

Tbh you could come up with a lot of examples. Places where they ‘complement’ each other are also places of potential conflict. Eran being hopeful and optimistic is definitely a point of contention between Mosk and Eran when it clashes against Mosk’s pessimism, even though it’s good for Mosk to be around more hopeful attitudes, and it’s good for Eran to be more realistic sometimes.

ANYWAY. Basically, yeah, I... this second part I’m a lot worse at, sorry. The process of coming up with love interests is very organic, and I don’t actually like, sit down and plan these things. Which means I don’t have a formula to share. (I am very much just making shit up as I go).

Idk if any of that is helpful, but I hope it is. <333

Please don’t listen to my writing advice lol.

[aion-rsa]

How WandaVision’s Doctor Strange 2 Connection Evolved

https://ift.tt/2PXAD5F

This article contains WANDAVISION spoilers.

WandaVision withdrawal is widespread as we reach the first Friday without a new episode of the acclaimed Disney+ series to ravenously consume and pick apart. True to any broadly celebrated television event, the series complemented an action-packed climax with an array of unanswered questions, especially regarding where it left Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff—now uber-powerful and fully-realized as the Scarlet Witch—for her imminent big screen return in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Interestingly, while it did tout teased connections, they came about quite late into the show’s production.

The expectation that WandaVision would provide a point of transition for Wanda’s return alongside Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme in star Benedict Cumberbatch’s upcoming Doctor Strange sequel was prevalent due to reports—later confirmed—of Olsen’s casting for Multiverse of Madness and a subsequent TCA comment from Marvel Studios chief creative officer Kevin Feige stating that the series “goes into a feature.” However, the indicatively titled March 5 closer, “The Series Finale,” didn’t exactly deliver a direct Doctor Strange sequel tease—like, say, a cameo by Cumberbatch. While it did provide an intriguing setup for the sequel (more on that later), Olsen and head writer/executive producer Jac Schaeffer reveal in a Variety postmortem interview that the Doctor Strange aspect wasn’t a factor in the show’s initial conception.

“Truthfully, the connection between WandaVision and where we leave Wanda and Doctor Strange 2, it was sort of fluid for a time, because we were very much under way before they were entirely underway,” explains Schaeffer. “So, it was a conversation. From where I’m sitting, it’s been very organic.” Indeed, the series spawned myriad theories that led many analysts (this writer being no exception,) down a canard cul-de-sac about it being the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s gateway to a Strange-pertinent multiverse angle to codify the company’s usage of the returned X-Men and Fantastic Four film rights. This notably centered on the almost-cruel tease of using Fox X-Men movie speedster Pietro Maximoff, Evan Peters, to play an ersatz “recast” of Wanda’s deceased MCU sibling; a character who turned out to be just a bewitched local denizen named Ralph Bohner.

Read more

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Of course, the non-multiverse plot development, which disappointed segments of the fandom, wasn’t intended as an elaborate prank perpetrated by Schaeffer on the show’s eagle-eyed community of Zapruder-film-treating theory-spouters. Rather, it was simply the story she had set out to tell; one that would happen to undergo an evolution due to external factors connected to the studio’s plans for Phase Four of the MCU, which WandaVision ended up launching after the pandemic delayed the big screen plans of Black Widow. Moreover, it turns out that Doctor Strange wasn’t even on Olsen’s radar during the vast majority of the show’s production. “I didn’t know my part in Doctor Strange until right before we got back to filming during the pandemic,” says the actress. “We had two months left, and we’d filmed the majority of our show already. Really, I knew nothing until that moment when they pitched [Doctor Strange 2] to me verbally.”

Thusly, by the time Olsen became privy to Wanda’s imminent return in Multiverse of Madness—and likely with a general idea about how that will play out—she had to exercise discipline in retaining focus on the task at hand. “I tried, as much as I could, almost less so to have [Doctor Strange 2] affect WandaVision as have WandaVision affect it. I think that’s really been where the connection is. It’s almost like we’re trying to make sure that everything is honoring what we did [on the show].” Having navigated that challenge, the Strange-pertinent additions to WandaVision eventually manifested late into the production—during the pandemic—with Wanda in a post-credits scene from the finale, which added literal and figurative dimensions to her eventual return. The scene in question shows a once-reluctant Wanda dressed casually in sweats, sipping a hot drink while sitting on the front porch of a small, remote, mountain wilderness-set cabin that clearly resembles the cursed cabin from The Evil Dead film series, serving as a meta-minded reference to director Sam Raimi, who’s directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It doesn’t stop there, though.

Marvel Studios

The scene then delivers a double dose of Strange-evocative sorcery when Wanda walks into the cabin’s spartan kitchen to refill her cup, leaving the camera to pan away into a back room, in which we see another Wanda—presumably the real one, who projected the relaxed doppelganger—in full Scarlet Witch garb, eerily floating and using her abilities to unlock powerful tome the Darkhold (liberated from the now-neutralized Agatha Harkness), as we hear the voices of her Westview-created twin sons, Billy and Tommy, calling for her help. Thus, we not only see that Wanda has mastered a version of Doctor Strange’s astral projection, but she’s diving deep down the dimensional rabbit hole to somehow materialize her sons; a potentially dangerous endeavor that seems destined to ping the radar of Doctor Strange, not to mention magic-minded villains like Mordo, Dark Dimension overlord Dormammu and, yes, maybe even the clear heavyweight champion of widely-nursed red herring WandaVision theories, classic Marvel devil figure Mephisto.

Regardless, Schaeffer seems satisfied that WandaVision managed to stay true to the substance of her vision (both the concept and the character), and it does seem that the phenomenon of stifling studio meddling was minimal, despite its connection to grandiose franchise designs. “The acceptance arc [Wanda’s coming to terms with grief and latent magical powers] was the point of WandaVision, but the falling action evolved,” emphasizes Schaeffer. However, she embraces what the show managed to do for Multiverse of Madness, which is currently in production. “It’s a lovely way to do a handoff,” she lauds. “I’ve been over here wishing them well in Los Angeles, as they’re in the U.K.”

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While WandaVision has signed off the proverbial airwaves, the MCU will be back with another highly-anticipated television offering, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which premieres on Disney+ on Friday, March 19. Wanda’s return in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2022.

The post How WandaVision’s Doctor Strange 2 Connection Evolved appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[phoebehalliwell]

okay! so for a slightly. less? devastating topic (i mean that in a good way, but my HEART, MY BABY CHRIS) like tangentially related to dark future, do you have any thoughts about bianca in the changed future? idk if you've planned or put anything in your fic or not, but i am curious bc i love all your things.

so i have definitely planned bianca out in my fic as well as laid out a couple (read: so many) of my headcanons about the phoenix & bianca in the altered timeline right here and i don’t want to give to much away because i really want her introduction to be this big entrance but i will tell u that i’ve been thinking a lot about chris and bianca’s relationship because i want them well hmm how to i phrase this i don’t want to tell you they’re in love. i want it to be obvious. that being said, it has to be enemies to lovers. i can’t see chris and bianca any other way. we only got 1 (one) of them in canon and yet i’m rock solid on this y’know i don’t want them to start out on the same side. that being said, i’m insanely picky about my enemies to lovers. i honestly don’t like the trope that much bc if it’s not done the way i like it’s not like i’m neutral to it it’s like i hate it. imo, enemies to lovers has to be the slowest of burns and it has to create strong foundations in mutual trust. i don’t believe in “i trust them because i love them”, it has to be “i trust them and through that i grew to love them”, y’know? and i’m looking forward to the challenge of writing this but i also feel like its like so easy to fuck up because bianca is a character that is constantly shrouded in secrets. bianca never reveals her true self to anyone, that’s like her cornerstone personality trait. in the mortal world she wears different personalities on the daily, warping herself into who other want her most to be. in theory she should be able to be herself in the phoenix but she’s alienated herself from her sisters and bc of that keeps up a facade around them too. and since she is so soul crushingly lonely rather than embrace that she lies to herself about who she is. revealing bianca’s true self, which is the most important step into building trust, is a grueling process because she doesn’t even know who she is, so that whole relationship is going to be the most gradual of processes. i’ll tell u what is after her introduction will be a episode just fully dedicated to her backstory and i’m really excited to write her as a character bc i think she’s like really complex and a bit easy to hate because she’s like more talented than you and she knows it but I Am All About defending the bitchy characters i think bitchy characters are always so one note like they’re mean bc like they have mommy issues or whatever so to real peel back the layers and understand her as a whole and complete person im just im very excited to do all that

[akaspiderman]

My everything

pairing: newt scamander x female!reader

word count: 1.7k

warnings: angst idk

request: Newts bond with Tina keeps growing, and (y/n) has doubts about her and Newts relationship

A/N: this will probably be my last request because i suck at requests :/

It was an innocent idea. Newt suggested that (y/n), Queenie, Jacob and Tina should all get together. In theory, that was a wonderful idea, everyone Newt loves all together, it seemed perfect. The downside of this idea was that (y/n) was going to drive herself insane. She couldn’t stand seeing Newt and Tina together, though she knows Newt wouldn’t hurt her like that. At least she thinks so.

These ideas would enter her mind, each time she tried to turn them off. She knew Newt would never do it, but the what-ifs were eating at her. He was always around Tina now, maybe spending more time with her than (y/n). His eyes always light up when he talks about Tina’s and his adventures that day. (y/n) always nods along enthusiastically, but her heart was aching. Maybe she was selfish, but that should be her. Hanging out with Newt, making his day. Instead she’s this background character in his life, not a leading role. (y/n) is almost a hundred percent positive that she spends more time with his creatures than him in the past few weeks. These were the things that arise in her mind every time she heard Newt and Tina were hanging out, but she never had the heart to put her foot down.

So when the gang all meets up in the Goldstein’s house, her heart was beating far too fast. She was petrified at the idea of witnessing the two together. At least when Newt tells her about it, she doesn’t know all the full details. She won’t know if Newt was smiling at everything Tina does, she won’t know if there was something more. But witnessing the two in real is something else, she can see all the small mannerisms that Newt is unaware of, how he laughs differently if he finds something super funny or how he messes with his hair if he’s nervous. She can see how they interact, she can feel it all.

(y/n) hasn’t seen them in a while, she couldn’t bare to see Tina and Newt interact without wanting to scream. So she simply took herself out of the situation by not attending any get togethers. Newt eventually stops asking if she wants to tag along, though she expects it, she can’t help but feel betrayed. But when she walks in, it was like she’s seen them everyday of her life. Queenie was taking off her coat, offering food. She was so welcoming to her even if she hasn’t them in weeks. Despite the warm welcome, her eyes were glued on Newt. How he dropped her hand the second he saw Tina to hug her. She stands by Newt, waiting for him but he just moves towards the back talking to Tina. He only realizes that he left her alone when Jacob calls out to her.

When they sit down to eat dinner that Queenie made, Newt sits next to her but across from Tina. Queenie was being her bubbly self, and Jacob was enchanted by her. She feels quiet lonely, not having a partner to talk to, but she disregards that as she eats the deliciousness Queenie presented them.

“So, (y/n) how are you? Haven’t seen you in ages,” Jacob days through chewing food. This was the first time anyone attempted to include her into a conversation.

“Oh I’m okay. Worried sick,” (y/n) blurts out, getting a look from Newt, “About the-the, nifflers.”

“Why? What’s wrong then? They’re adorable aren’t they,” Queenie smiles.

“Acting strange that’s all.”

“Did you ever tell me? I don’t recall any weird behavior,” Newt questions her, which she responds with a shrug.

She pokes at the food, losing her appetite. She was talking to Queenie and Jacob about the outrageous new fashion and how Jacob should bake cakes. Though she was participating in that conversation, her mind couldn’t help but wander off into Newt and Tina’s conversation.

“How’s your arm?” Tina says to Newt.

“Oh, um, it’s healing alright. I didn’t think that I would hurt it,” Newt replies. (y/n) didn’t even know his arm was hurting. “Anyways Tina, I saw this poster advertising this vintage artifacts. I was thinking that you would enjoy it and how it would be fun to visit.”

(y/n) felt a piece of her heart chip, she would love to go. She wasn’t even asked. Tina replies, “I saw that and I was thinking about asking you about it!”

Newt let’s out a nervous laugh, “Well, great minds think alike. We can go on Saturday after your work.”

“I want to pick up some plants on the way back if that’s alright with you. Queenie really wants to get some new ones.”

“That’s fine, I can help you carry them. Then we can finish reading the Great Gatsby!”

She was most definitely ignoring the conversation with Queenie and Jacob now. She couldn’t even force a smile and nod with them, she was too focused on Tina and Newt’s. Her heartbeat was going off the charts. She hasn’t even had a whole day with Newt in so long, he’s always working or with Tina. But Newt hasn’t even noticed by the looks of it, he was mostly interested with Tina.

“Its a date,” Tina says with a smile.

Maybe it was just a saying, but it knocks the air out of her. This was it, he was going to leave her. He hasn’t even given her an ounce of attention the whole dinner. He was intrigued by Tina, (y/n) didn’t stand a chance, but she wanted too. (y/n)’s whole heart belonged to Newt, he was the only one. But he was smiling and making plans with someone else. Her head was spinning, she saw Queenie frown at her and she already knew what Queenie read. (y/n) is fumbling out of the chair, pushing it back before heading out in the cold. She hears Newt call out to her, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the whole time he ignored her. If Queenie was going to do the right thing, she would cover for her.

The freezing air filled her lungs. Her tears were quick to come. She was standing in the middle of the street, sobbing. Maybe she should just leave, apparte away and deal with heartbreak in solitude. She lost Newt, she doesn’t even know how. Maybe she wasn’t what he wanted anymore, maybe she was worse then Tina and he realized that he deserved better. Just like that, she flicks her arm, letting it take her home.

When she arrives into the comfort of their apartment, she lets herself fully go. Letting all that built up worry out for once. It was to the point where she was gasping for air. She was a mess. She was far too gone for Newt, but Newt didn’t seem to feel the same way.

Moments later, she hears footsteps coming around the corner. She already knows who it is. She turns the opposite direction, trying to contain her tears. Her hiccups were too obvious, letting him know. She hears him drop something off on the couch, most likely her coat she hopes.

She feels warmth from the arms that wrap around her back. His face nuzzling into her hair. It was all so familiar, but she hasn’t felt it in weeks.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers into her head. (y/n) doesn’t turn around to face him. She’s staring straight ahead, even though every bone in her body wants to met eye to eye. “Queenie told me,” he whispers softly, still hugging her from behind.

“You, you should h-have noticed with, without Queenie having to tell you,” she retorts back. The anger she was trying to convey seemed weak as her constant gasping ruined the mood. She pulls out of his grip, turning to face him.

Newt winces at the fact (y/n) wouldn’t let him touch her. He felt so stupid, he didn’t know he was making her feel that way. He thought (y/n) was okay with Tina, she never complained that he spent to much time with her. But seeing her crying, he sees all the little things (y/n) has done to hint at the idea that maybe she wasn’t fine. The way she would always say “again?” when he told her he was going to hang out with Tina, they way she never laughed at his funny stories with Tina. This was his one and only, and he pushed her away. Now she’s standing in front of him crying tears about how she doesn’t think he loves her anymore. How wrong was she?

“I love you so much (y/n),” he says gently, “I’m sorry for not giving you enough attention, I can cancel my plans.”

“W-well, you’re just saying that because I made you feel bad.”

“It’s my fault. I should have gave you more attention and I-“ His voice cracks, he’s losing himself too. Tears were swelling up, he didn’t want to lose her. “I love you, you’re my world. You’re the stars and sun. You’re the ocean and the sky. You’re every single creature on this world. That didn’t come out right. You’re not a creature at all, but-“

(y/n) couldn’t help but laugh, her tears were slowing down but she’s still hurt. “It’s alright, I know what you mean. I just wi-“

Newt cuts her off, “I would be the most stupid person to let you go. You’re everything to me, and whatever you think is happening between me Tina is nothing. You can ask Queenie, I’ll let her read my mind just so you know that you’re the only one that I want. I’m so stupid for taking you for granted, my heart broke when you thought I didn’t love you. You’re the only person I would want to be with for my whole entire life. This is nearly not a long enough apology, but I just want you to stop crying. I don’t want to hurt you like this ever. I hope you can forgive me. You’re my everything.”

She wipes away tears,“You’re so lucky that I love you.” She goes towards him, letting him hold her close.

“I’m so lucky to have you forgive a big idiot like me,” Newt whispers, embracing her.

[wispyatomica]

They Were College Lab Partners (Full Modern Day AU Story)

A Modern day AU of Entrapdak where our two scientists are young adult college students in Astrophysics who are required to go and view a very popular and scientifically sound science-fiction film for a required class. Hordak is sure that this younger classmate is not dedicated to the course, but his opinion changes as the two lab partners view their film.  This is the finished product and I hope you all enjoy! I might write more Entrapdak stuff and shorter drabbles in the future!!

“Ooooh this is going to be so much FUN!” 

Fun. 

Hardly the word that Hordak would use to describe the situation that he had been dealt. He simply could not stand the fact that he, a second year classman, was going to have to babysit one of the new students. Granted, the other second year students also had to take partners, but why did he have to get this one? 

Entrapta was bouncing, actually bouncing, as the two students left the large auditorium hall. Her long purple tinted hair pulled into brilliantly flowing ponytails was bouncing behind her as she eagerly followed Hordak down the hall. 

“My name’s Entrapta! Wait, didn’t I already say that? Yes, yes I did!” She proclaimed, having stopped in her contemplation, she had to jog to catch up to Hordak who remained silent to her inquiries and particularly obnoxious tone. He simply shook his head, 

“Hordak.” His response was fairly flat, as his mind had drifted. Here was yet another example of someone who was simply taking a filler course for their Astrophysicist graduate program. There was simply no way this girl would ever survive the year. 

“Hey do you know where this movie is playing at? I mean it’s a requirement for the lecture tomorrow to view it!” She inquired, pulling out a small notebook she kept in one of the many pockets she had on her purple tinted cargo pants. 

“At the local cinema, since it’s required we get in for free.” 

“Oh that is fan-TASTIC!” She exclaimed, jumping in the air behind him. If Hordak didn’t have any self control, his entire head would have rolled with his eyes to her ridiculous amount of sheer enthusiasm. 

“I’ve heard a lot about this Interstellar. It’s supposed to be centralized around Einstein’s theory of relativity!”  This caused Hordak to raise his brow in curiosity, though Entrapta would hardly have known that as she continued to follow behind his seven foot tall visage. So she did a bit of research before the showing. His thoughts blocking out any words that Entrapta was speaking, until she spoke his name did he actually respond. 

“What about you Hordak? Have you seen the movie before? What did you think of it?!” She asked eagerly, pulling a small tape recorder from one of the pockets on her other leg, offering the device up to Hordak’s shoulders as he turned his head over his shoulders. “I saw it the first day of its release,” He could practically hear her entire body expand as she gasped in excitement. “Interstellar is definitely themed around relativity, I certainly hope you can keep up.” 

“Oh I know I can keep up, trust me! I’ve done plenty of research reading the online reviews, though I was careful to avoid spoilers! I hate having films spoiled for me!” 

------------------------------------------

Entrapta and Hordak spent a few minutes outside of the cinema, the former buying a few snacks for the movie. Her indulgences into the film’s theorized meaning had reared the knowledge that Interstellar was approximately almost three hours long. The need for fuel for the sake of science was a must! She was simply shocked that Hordak had not decided to purchase anything outside of a simple drink. The later waved his hand, mentioning he was going to go and find a place to sit in the theater before the film started. Entrapta would excitedly respond back that she’d be right there, but she needed to get one more thing. 

Hordak had partially decided to go and choose seats to see who else was in the theater with them. To his bemusement, aside from a few couples and the few older people, the cinema was practically empty. He sighed, resolving to pick a seat in the center of the theater for optimal immersion. He waited patiently, that was until he heard the rustling of candy bags and boots against the carpeted floor. His attention turned to Entrapta, as her brightly colored hair was even more brightly illuminated by the massive screen. 

Hordak sighed, hoping that perhaps she would have actually lost interest, but waved a hand slightly to catch her attention. She bounced (again) when she saw his wave, eagerly moving to the seat beside him and settling in as the previews began. Entrapta opened her tiny candy bags as quietly as she could before she turned her attention to Hordak. 

“Oh yeah, I saw this at the counter out there.” Her voice was significantly quieter, at least she could tone herself down a bit, that was a relief. Though Hordak’s thoughts quickly vanished from his mind as Entrapta casually handed him a handful of a tiny crunchy bars she had seen him snacking on in one of the first days of class. He looked back at her blankly, before taking the candy and offering a soft smile, nodding his head and turning to watch the film. 

--------------------------------------

Entrapta was quite engulfed in the film, but not so engulfed that she couldn’t take notes! This was hardly ever unnoticed by Hordak, as every so often he could see his pigtailed companion hunched over and writing something in the dim light of the theater. He had to admit, the longer that the film went on and the scenes progressed, all of which he knew, his respect began to rise. She wasn’t just faking a passion for science.  

This became even more prominent in the initial scenes of the film, in which the protagonists left the safety of Earth’s embrace for the cold and unforgiving reality of space. Having seen the film before, he remembered the tension of the scene vividly and he found himself glancing over at Entrapta more than the characters. Watching her reactions, he could see that wide eyed curiosity and strive for adventure, for the unknown.  

Entrapta’s eyes hardly ever diverted from the entire docking procedure on screen. She had to absorb all of this information! The accurate display of zero-gravity, the concept of safely and securely latching onto the Endurance without causing a massive explosion from immediate decompression! There was simply so much that was entering her mind and the smile on her face showed just how much she truly enjoyed this movie. 

--------------------------------------

“Those aren’t mountains. They’re waves.” 

“Oh of course!” Entrapta muttered to herself, though quietly enough that none of the neighboring patrons could hear her, aside from Hordak. “Of course a planet orbiting a black hole would have a massive gravitational pull, and without a moon to regulate a tide, it makes total sense for the planet to be a massive moving ball of condensed water!”  

Hordak felt a genuine smile crawl across his face, having watched her reactions on and off for the entire first hour of the film, he had to admit, she seemed to be legitimate in her fascination with science and her enrollment in the program. Unlike the others who dared to think outside of the box, Entrapta seemed to hardly be able to think inside the box. Her mind flowing like her brilliantly long purple hair; Hordak’s respect for her grew and his stoic position in the cinema changed to a more relaxed one, snacking on the candy bars Entrapta had brought for him. 

-----------------

“I am drawn across the universe to someone who I haven’t seen in a decade, who I know is probably dead. Love is the one thing that we are capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can’t fully understand it yet.” 

“...Well that’s not very scientific.” Entrapta remarked flatly, the comment definitely loud enough for some of the other patrons to hear. 

There was a sudden chortle as she peered off to her side, where Hordak’s hunched over form sat. His hand raised to his mouth to stifle a laugh that she managed to stir from the normally unbreakable man. She laughed slightly, only to be shushed by someone sitting behind her. 

The two lab partners quickly righted themselves in their chairs, taking a drink from their respective beverages to act as nonchalant as possible. 

The movie continued on, tracking to a frozen wasteland of a planet where the plot took a turn, as the crew member stranded on that planet revealed that there was never a plan to save the people back on Earth, and that starting a new colony amongst the stars was humanity’s only hope of survival. The betrayal that followed soon after elicited a scowl from Entrapta as she watched the stranded astronaut turn from genius scientist, to crazed man driven to do the unthinkable by loneliness. 

The plotline was seen from a mile away by Entrapta, and obviously by Hordak but what Entrapta didn’t see coming was the pursuit that the protagonists made after the now rouge astronaut. He was attempting to maroon the protagonists on a lifeless planet in order to save humanity, but a particularly clever robot on board had disabled the airlock override feature of the Endurance. She felt her entire body shift forward as the scene played out, the rogue astronaut ignoring the warnings and opening the hull. What happened next was exactly what Entrapta’s scientific mind predicted. 

Decompression. 

Her eyes closed slightly, relaxing in her seat as she nodded her head, confirming to herself that she saw that coming a mile away. Hordak had seen how her posture had changed and he smirked, turning his head back to the screen as an unexpected line caught Entrapta’s attention.

“Analyze the Endurance’s spin.” 

“Cooper what are you doing?” 

“Docking.” 

Entrapta sat straight up in her seat, her hair bouncing as she pulled her feet up into the chair with her. Her eyes glued to the screen as the intense docking sequence passed. Her eyes never leaving the screen, and her heart pounding in her chest as the characters were analyzing their situation and how to do it. 

“Of course! Synchronizing with the Endurance’s rotation is the only way to safely dock, but gravitational forces would knock both of them unconscious, how is it possible?” Entrapta was of course talking to herself, mumbling so incoherently that even Hordak couldn’t understand what she was saying, but he could almost swear that he could see the gears turning inside her head as the scene unfolded. 

He could tell by how intensely she focused on the screen, her eyes jumping from place to place in the frames as they passed. Hordak knew exactly how the scene played out, and watching the live reaction of someone this enthusiastic about science and exploration of the unknown made the scene that much more satisfying. 

As the crew successfully docked with the Endurance and set into motion their final plan, Entrapta’s mind was racing. She finally pulled her knees down, taking the notepad and paper back into her hands and eagerly made notes on what she had just witnessed, as well as listening to the plot of the film as it carried on. Though after the crew in the film performed a sling-shot maneuver around the black hole, she lost a bit of interest. 

Oh well! It enabled her to make better notes! The rest of the film wasn’t as set into scientific reality, as everyone that Entrapta was aware of knew that going into a black hole would mean a very very uncomfortable and sudden death. 

As the film ended, the emotional core having only a small effect on Entrapta, she carefully collected the multitude of candy wrappers she had scattered on the floor in the excitement of the film’s climax. As the lights returned, Hordak was able to truly see how many notes Entrapta had taken during the course of the film. It was an impressive, two and a half notebook page fulls. 

After Entrapta had collected all of her things, stuffing various items into her multitude of pockets, Hordak offered out his hand. “Here, I’ll take some of the wrappers.”  

“Oh thank you so much, I really need to try and jot down a few more notes before I forget them!” 

Entrapta practically threw the items at Hordak, who had no problem catching them and taking them to the recycling bin. He watched as Entrapta was able to miraculously navigate herself down the stairs and towards the exit door. His eyes did a double take, diverting from the section that the two were formerly sitting in, to her current location. There was, stairs and turns and she managed to navigate down to the exit without crashing into something. His brow twitching slightly, this girl was almost scarily impressive.  

He caught up to her with ease, matching her stride as she finished taking her notes. A heavy sigh left her chest as she held the notebook tightly to her chest, a smile brighter than that of the sun beaming from her face. Hordak looked down at her, a small smile forming on the corner of his lips as Entrapta raised her eyes to meet his. 

“Thank you for being my partner. Nobody else seemed to want to.” Her words were soft, much softer than her otherwise normally bubbly personality. 

Hordak lifted his head, nodding in response. “The pleasure is mine Entrapta.” He paused, raising a hand 

in a soft gesture. “Now let’s discuss how the film can be translated to our studies.” 

Entrapta giggled, bouncing in her walk and eagerly began to jot off ideas as the pair discussed their way into their own little world of science and discovery.