#that and I honestly am just fond of their dynamics and back and forth

[mjbarrosart]

My Dragon Prince Boards season 7, episode 705, part 1

It's time to talk about my boards for episode 705 of the last season of The Dragon Prince. I did a lot of stuff in this episode, so instead of going in order, I'll divide my work differently for this one, we will talk by group of sequences and not in order of appearance.

Let's start with the sunfire elf side of the plot. As a lot of you know, most of my work in this show was related to the Sunfire elves, and to be honest Janai and Amaya are two of my favorite characters of the show, so every chance to work with them is always a bless.

I did all the scenes of Karim talking with Amaya in this episode. It is hard to explain how I feel about Karim, he is such an idiot, but I am also kinda fond of him because I spent so many hours working on him thinking about his mannerism and motivations. I am fond of him, but I also hate him, hahahaha.

There is not a lot to say about this sequences, they are pretty straight forward. While I can understand why Karim hates humans so much, that doesn't mean he is right about it, and this hate is starting to feel like pettiness, and well fits him, he is a really petty man.

Let! Green! Say! Ass! hahahaha. Its always funny to board this kind of little jokes. I love Green and Amaya dynamics, they are such good friends, and I love how Green is always making sure that Amaya's bluntness is not coming out as "rude". But sometimes I feel he should just translate directly what Amaya is saying, because I don't think Karim deserves special considerations, haha.

That little speech Karim does about how he and Amaya are not the same was interesting to board for me. I wanted him to feel aggressive and menacing, even if his hands were tied. Like he was trying to intimidate Amaya, but she will not bend, she can see thru his BS. I wanted him to trespass into Amaya's personal space, portrait him as the bully he is. He says that his faith comes from knowledge, while the truth is that he leads using fear. Such a pathetic little man.

Another instance where is wish the rigs where able to translate between the expressions from the boards. I wanted him to spit his words trough his teeth when he says "humans are vermin, a plague", like his mouth is full of poison and hate.

But the Amaya, who is mostly motivated by making sure that Janai doesn't regrets the decision of killing her brother, does the right thing and reminds him of the fact that Miyana is pregnant, that there is a future worth to live for. Karim shows some doubts, so Amaya leaves and Miyana enters the stage.

I feel kinda bad for Miyana. I mean she deserves the punishment she got, at the end of the day she betrayed her people. But I feel bad for her, because I think that she honestly loves Karim. Imagine loving such a foolish man. And Karim can not learn a lesson, he keeps being an idiot. He is offered a second chance to be with his family, but the only thing he can see in Miyana is that she is carrying "his heir", and Miyana is right of being offended by that. But she wants to believe that he will made the right choice. And maybe for a minute Karim ponders it. I wanted him to loot vulnerable and maybe open in the final shot, so I made him kneel close to Miyana, laying his head on her belly, close to his child. We know how this will end for him, but for a moment there is maybe hope that he will change... no?

My next scene in this episode is one I am really fond of. Is the one when Terry says that the only person who can stop Claudia is her mom, and Soren is really against that idea.

First, is always fun to have a moment with Terry. I have really small ones during my work in the show, so this one was a blast. Second, I got to have another emotional Soren moment, and that is always nice, because Sores in my boy.

The back and forth of this conversation is pretty straight forward too. What was important for me was what will be the moment that will make Soren change his mind, and support the idea. So I decided to use Corvus for this.

Soren is struggling with the idea of bringing her mother back, even if that means they will have a real shot making Claudia stop. Corvus see his pain, and touch his shoulder. We talked before on how touching is a love language between this two, they don't need tons of words. Corvus is saying "I know that it's hard, but I am here with you". On my boards I had him giving Soren a little nod, they removed that for the final shot, and I think is ok. The nod is not necessary, Soren understand what Corvus means. With his support Soren can do it.

So he gathers strength and gives the drawing to Ezran. I like that in the animation stage they kept Corvus hand all the time on his shoulder. For Soren the idea of facing his mom is one full of pain and conflicted feelings, but he doesn't need to face it alone, he has Corvus at his side (as a partner, friend, soulmate, brother, whatever you see them being).

I love them so much...

The second part of this post is about the last sequence I did for this episode, it is a small one, but one that you could say... brings a "surprise"!

I will posted right away, so stay tuned!

[syndrossi]

resonant ch25 dvd commentary

Inspired by @cloud-harasser's ask, some dvd commentary of the latest chapter. No idea how I'm gonna be structuring these, so we'll just meander aimlessly until I settle on a format!

Favorite line: "The crown he had so coveted, she mused, had come to wear him." (Rhaenys)

Mostly because there's so much behind it. Obviously there's Rhaenys's own bitterness over the Great Council and her belief that Viserys's rule has weakened their family. But also how it has, in many ways, weakened Viserys himself. His health, his happiness, his relationship with his family. The crown consumes, if you are not strong enough--and perhaps even if you are.

In general Viserys + the weight of his crown is a subtle (or perhaps not!) theme in the chapter:

"He gladly forgot his crown when it did not suit him, only to brandish it like a sword when it did..."

"Viserys looked from Daemon to her, and then back, closing both hands around his cane, as though it were a scepter."

"His hand found his hair, as though to push back the weight of his crown, his sigh loud in the sudden quiet of the room."

"If Viserys decided to take his supper with only his crown for company, that was his own choice."

The crown constantly isolates and wearies Viserys, which is why he's constantly trying to put it down, and be just Viserys: a brother, a cousin, an uncle, a father. But to Rhaenys's point, he only puts it down and picks it back up when it suits him.

(I always worry that people think I dislike Viserys or am going out of my way to make him unlikeable, but honestly I find his struggle to be a very compelling one.)

Favorite moment: A toss-up between Rhaenys reaching for the wine to deal with this bullshit and Daemon comforting Jon by the hearth.

Favorite dynamic: Rhaenys and her cousins. Rhaenys's viewpoint of them is somewhat frozen in time (moreso Daemon than Viserys), but it's still pretty accurate. Since this story is very Daemon+Jon+Rhaegar-focused, we usually see Daemon in a very positive light, OR we see him as the ultimate villain from Alicent and Otto's POVs. Rhaenys is a fun middle ground. She is able to call attention to / muse upon his faults while still remaining fond of him.

"Quick" hitters:

This was one of the more frustrating/difficult chapters for me to write, because it took me a while to settle into Rhaenys's voice. Her POV is one of the most heavily edited scenes I've done.

I went back and forth between two versions of the boys' disappearance. There's a natural pause in the Viserys-Rhaenys-Daemon conversation (when they're talking about the Princesguard and also the Stepstones) where you could slip a scene break in. I wrote it originally from Rhaenys's POV, which is what we ultimately got, but I also partially wrote it from Jon's before deciding it was stronger to have Rhaenys's perspective. We'll save the secret passage spelunking for another time!

I originally had Jon bestow the name of his hatchling in this chapter when he introduced him to Rhaenys, but this wasn't really the appropriate place for Daemon + Rhaegar to react to it, so it got moved to 26, which is all about dragons! (The chapter is literally called "Dragonkeeping"!)

It's subtle, but Rhaegar latches on to Rhaenys hard as the first Targaryen woman he's encountered. Hugging her almost choked him up, and he was upset when she announced she'd be leaving soon.

Cut partial Jon POV scene in the secret passages (standard disclaimer that this is raw/unedited lol:

“Are we lost?” What Rhaegar had assured him was a five minute walk through tunnels beneath the holdfast to emerge in a small crypt on the edge of the garden—one of many for Queen Rhaenys, whose body had never been returned to her homeland—had become fifteen minutes of navigating tunnels that ended abruptly or in doors locked behind chains, or switches that did not work. “Much has changed,” Rhaegar said, fixing the latest dead end with a betrayed glare. “Or changed after, I suppose. Some of the tunnels must have been extended later, and chains removed.” He frowned in thought. “During the Dance, perhaps? It is not known how Aegon escaped the Red Keep.” Their plan to sneak to the king’s chamber in support of their father, exchanged in hushed whispers in Princess Rhaenyra’s chambers, was beginning to look doomed to failure. Jon followed Rhaegar back to their current tunnel, where his brother exhaled in frustration. Their hatchlings, who were entertaining themselves by zipping along the dark corridors, did not seem to mind. In fact, they seemed to rather enjoy the cave-like interior of the rougher-hewn spaces. Rhaegar held his torch up, their only source of light, turning to peer down each side of the tunnel. “There is a small passage near the tunnel to Flea Bottom that leads to the Queen’s Ballroom within Maegor’s Holdfast. I did not want to use it, because we will have to cross most of the holdfast to reach the king’s chamber. We will be spotted before we reach it.” “How far?” Jon asked. “Another ten minutes. We are on the opposite side of the Red Keep right now, nearer to the Tower of the Hand.” Jon grimaced. By the time they reached it, Laenor would almost certainly have raised an alarm, but the same was true of returning to the passage leading to Rhaenyra’s chamber. Then he remembered Rhaegar’s story from before. “Aren’t we near where the dragonglass mosaic is? Beneath the Tower of the Hand?” Rhaegar turned to him in surprise. “You wish to see it now?”

[mr-t-stark]

~ 𝓉𝑜𝓃𝓎 & 𝒶𝓋𝒶 ~

"You know I only agreed to this because I am friends with Natasha," Ava says as the elevator door closes infront of her and Nick Fury. Ava didn´t like new people, so she did need someone she knew if she was going to join. He looks at Ava with an annoyed expression, Ava smiling sweetly back at him, because he didn´t know about her anxiety issues. "I don't care if you're the president. I'm not changing just because I'm going to be saving people," She points out making Fury roll his eyes and look straight ahead. Ava liked being all sassy and flirty and tough around people. Then she could break down alone in peace. "Just try to be nice? I know Natasha puts up with your shit, but not everyone will," He says, making Ava nod slowly. Truly? Fury intimidated her, however probably most people did. But Ava was intimidated by most when she didn´t know them, that why she used her sass and brattiness and flirting to get ahead without issues. And the fact that she had ADHD probably didn´t help with the fact that she just simply didn´t like doing things wrong. So if she got the impression she wasn´t liked or something like that, she pulled away instantly.

"I can't wait for you to meet her. She's the life of the party," Natasha says and sips her water, pacing a bit as she waited for her friend to arrive, but then she did and Natasha smiled and walked over. "Ava! I´m so glad you finally agreed to join! I can´t stand all the testosterone," she spoke making Ava snort. "Yeah, I can see that," she spoke before going around the room greeting everyone, however when she came to Tony she smirks and looked at him. "Anthony Stark. The playboy himself," she spoke and hummed. "You´re more handsome than I thought you would be," she spoke honestly and held her hand out for him to shake. "I´m Ava."

When Natasha had told the team about Fury recruiting a new member that happened to be a friend of hers, Tony had at first been skeptical. It's taken some time for him to get to know the team, build their dynamic, all that shit. And though he'd never admit it, he's becoming quite fond of them. They're growing on him. Sure, some people can act like dicks at times, but, well, he is one, too. Sometimes. Perhaps most of the time, if you asked Pepper. Arguably all of the time, if you asked his exes.

So the thought of a new member joining was... How does he put this? Unexpected, one could say. A new member entailed a lot of things.

But since Fury's decision was solid, he knew he had no say in it. Doesn't mean he didn't try to complain, though. Futilely.

Ava Thompson was her name, Natasha had told him. She didn't say anything else. Their history, how they met, who she actually is; only a brief description of her abilities, a 'you'll see', and a wink.

So, as any person would do, he looked into her records, her history, everything he could find with JARVIS' assistance. People call it 'a breach of privacy', he calls it 'using his abilities to ease his trust issues against new people'. Not the same thing.

She seemed pretty ordinary. Natasha said something about her being in some sort of magic cult or whatever. What was it? Karma touch? Something that sounded funny. He finds no trace of that.

But if anything, he finds nothing else that seemed suspicious. No ties with bad parties, no crime records, nothing to hint she may be some Nazi undercover or something.

So though he may be a little wary of whoever she may be, the information he's got of her so far does ease some of his nerves. Natasha seemed to have a positive impression of her, anyway.

When the day comes for them to meet this Ava Thompson, Tony is, and hopefully not visibly, a little uneasy. They're at the team's meeting room--aka The Doomed Room Of Inevitable Boredom, if Cap's endless rants about fire safety and stop, drop, and rolls is anything to go by--Tony sat where he usually is, fiddling idly with a pen.

He watches Natasha pace back and forth, muttering one thing or another. It's only a moment before he sees Fury, and a certain someone trailing at his side, enter through the door.

Natasha greets her, and she introduces herself to the team. Tony stays a bit behind, observing. His research seems to be accurate, visually. She looks like how he had expected her to look.

When she approaches him, however...

"The one and only," he replies with a boyish grin when she immediately recognises her. When she then starts to flirt, Tony sees it as a challenge. She accepts her hand with a firm shake. He lowers his voice and lays that Stark charm thick, taking a moment to look her up and down. "Honey, I'm more than what you see from those cameras."

He lets go of her hand, shoving his own in his pockets, and says, "Welcome to the team. Have you gotten a tour of this place?"

He's always one for some fun.

[officialgleamstar]

For the character hcs I ask for your Normal again bc I like the name

NORMAL MY NORMAL .... thank you arthur <3 i like his name too hehe

character headcanons!

Sexuality Headcanon: That boy is bisexual but he spends like 50% of his teens going back and forth between gay and bi. He's not sure. He's working on it. (He's bi)

Gender Headcanon: Stealth trans Normal is so real to me that I forget it isn't canon. I'm also fond of masc enby Norm though, I think that fits :]

A ship I have with said character: As with my Scary answers. Obligatory mention of Normal/Scary because I am the only person shipping it LMAO but of course. Oakworthy endgame REAL TO ME !!!!!!

A BROTP I have with said character: Normal and Lincoln are so fucking besties to me I LOVE their dynamic so so much

A NOTP I have with said character: Cannot think of any, honestly :P I probably? Wouldn't engage with something of him dating Taylor or Linc? But like, if a mutual said it, I would still be on board LMAO

A random headcanon: Norm did gymnastics as a kid and is still really into it! It's how he got into cheerleading and then his mascot stuff from there :D

General Opinion over said character: My girlfail son's cringe boyfriend who I'm absolutely delighted with. Boy of all time. I've said this before, but I literally got into Dungeons and Daddies just because I heard about Normal and was so captivated by his everything, so I have a huuuge soft spot for Normal <3 even though he is deeply deranged. It's just his teen boy brain

[coldflasher]

for the wip ask game. 7 and 11 and 17 x

7. do you outline before writing? if so, what’s your outlining process like?

i have honestly got out of the habit of outlining which is very bad, this is why i keep struggling and getting stuck because i am someone who NEEDS an outline, but instead i've been just coming up with random scenes on the fly which works fine until i run out and then i end up sitting there like the fish in bags from finding nemo like 'now what, genius'

but my outlining process is basically just 'sit down and brainstorm, stare at various different beat sheets and story methods and try not to go insane'

also i have to outline by hand, that is very important. don't know why but it all has to be hand written.

11. are there some wips that you just don’t think you’ll ever finish? 

much as i hate to admit it, and prefer to live in denial land where i'm convinced that every wip will one day get the ending it deserves, there are plenty of them that will more than likely never see the light of day 😭 the most notable one that comes to mind is that at one point i was planning to do another sequel to aftermath, that giant 500k s1 rewrite i did where barry and len were dating from before barry even became the flash. i have maybe 20-30k of a direct sequel to that that's basically a mashup of s5 and s6, where barry vanishes in crisis and then in a moment of desperation and poor decision making, len sends their adopted son back to try and prevent crisis from ever happening, only for them to discover that him travelling back is what causes crisis in the first place.

i genuinely LOVE that fic and what i wrote for it, but i feel like i've kind of moved on from those versions of the characters and grown so much as a writer and there are just so many things i don't like about the original fic that spawned it that i just. don't see myself ever finishing it, unfortunately. i feel like aftermath is a very stark contrast in my writing journey bc it was basically the last thing i wrote before doing my writing degree so there's such a huge difference in how i wrote and the whole vibe of it. i'll always be fond of aftermath but also im moderately embarrassed by it as well, so yeah. but maybe i will post snippets one day or something, because i genuinely LOVED the dynamic i wrote between michael and len, it was so fucking fun.

also i once wrote a fic where coldflash get whammied by a meta and, under the effects of what is essentially a metahuman love spell, decide to literally run off to vegas and get married and team flash have to hunt them down and try to stop it. this one feels like a crime because i have like 90% of it written so i would just have to finish and then edit it BUT i wrote it so long ago (we're talking like 2017) that to get it to a state i'd be happy with, i'd probably have to rewrite it in its entirety, so. never say never though cos now i'm thinking about it...

17. what do you do to motivate yourself to write? 

i honestly have been struggling with this forever BUT im doing camp nanowrimo right now and it's actually been so motivating. i'm fighting for my life here bc i lost the last three nano events i did, capping out at like 35k each, after a previously unbroken streak of almost a decade, but this time i was like COME HELL OR HIGH WATER I REFUSE TO FAIL THIS TIME. i'm like 3k behind, but it's fine, probably... rocks back and forth in a dark room

thank youu!

[arcxnumvitae]

“You ever stop to think about how fucked we are?” Beside him, he felt Alexa shift slightly.

“In general or...?” 

“You know, I don’t think I care for your newfound sense of humor.” Still Val chuckled, but it wasn’t long before he was sighing. “I mean with Alexander.” He didn’t have to glance over to sense the way that the other stilled at the name. At this point, Alexander Moore was beginning to become something of a boogeyman to them, something they didn’t want to talk about but who hung over them like a dark cloud nevertheless. “We know how much of a stubborn bastard him and Luther are and we know they won’t stop looking for us, if at least to make us regret running off.”

“Master--”

“Don’t.” The harshness of his hiss caused Alexa to flinch in surprise. He always hated how she called Luther that. Val knew it was because of how they’d beaten it into her since she was little, another small way of taking away her freedom and making her even more theirs, but he never could deny the bitter taste that always rose up in his mouth whenever she said it. “You don’t have to call him that anymore. They’re not in charge of us now. We’re free. Gone from them.”

“...Are we really?” Val glanced over to find Alexa staring off into the distance, her dark eyes unreadable even to him. “We made it easier for them.”

Val sighed, “You’re talking about Bijou and the group.” If there was one thing the two of them knew it was that Alexander loved using hostages and bonds as a way to push others to do his bidding. Alexa...Alexa found that out the hard way before she even met him. And since he had come into her life they’d been used as leverage for each other. And now...now the two of them had surrounded themselves with a buffet of options for the Moores by way of the Winged Marauders. If it came down to it, his and Alexa’s freedom and safety over the lives of any one of the Marauders...Val didn’t want to dwell on what choice he’d make. He was a bastard through and through, he didn’t see that changing any time soon. But Alexa, Alexa who somehow always managed to keep a spark of decency lit within her, he knew what her choice would be.

She gave a terse nod and a slight downward tug at the corners of her lips announced her next words, “And the French man too.” 

Val frowned, he hadn’t thought of it before but--but yeah, Zale would be seen as leverage too by Alexander. Fucking great. A heavy sigh left his lips. “The irony of it isn’t lost on me by the way.”

“Arata Delacroix?”

“Being hounded by one French bastard then another, I’m starting to get sick of that damn country.”

“Sure you are. Are you bothered?”

“...No, I did what I had to do. Either I shot the kid and his mom or I would have died. Or worse, Alexander would get pissed.” And that was as good as death. “Nah, I’d do it again if given the choice.”

“You’re still bothered.”

He bit back another sigh, she was right. “The guy made a new life for himself, found a family, a girlfriend, everything. Years go by. And then without warning, Alexander Moore shows up and undoes it all in just a few hours.” The meaning behind his words were clear, the same could happen to them at any point. Just when they were starting to think they were safe, that damn family could show up and drag them back into their own personal hell again. After all, could they really keep running forever?

“You’re scared.” The words were said simply.

A flash of anger lit in Val’s eyes and they cut towards the other, though this time she held steady under the fire in his gaze, cool eyes meeting heated. “Like hell I’d be scared of those fuckers. We already lived through the worst damned nightmare, what more can those assholes do to us that they already haven’t?” With an aggravated sigh, Val rose to his feet, no longer meeting Alexa’s eyes as he grumbled, “I’m gonna go see if Bijou needs help with anything.”

As he stalked away, three quiet words from her followed behind him in lieu of a goodbye. “You are scared.”

He didn’t have a response.

[pale-silver-comb]

So I know absolutely nothing about Leverage except what I've been seeing you post lately and I have to admit you're making it look tempting to watch! Can I ask what are some of your favorite things about the show/reasons you would suggest people watch it? And is there really a poly relationship that is canon?

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I am going to do my best not to just “asdfghkjl” at you and answer coherently.

In a nutshell, Leverage is about 5 people. 4 are criminals (Parker, Hardison, Eliot and Sophie) with different and unique skill-sets and 1 is an ex-insurance investigator (Nate) who, at one point or another in his career, has tracked down (or at least attempted to) the other 4. The whole show is essentially: man reluctantly reforms 4 criminals to use their criminal powers for good and 4 criminals move into man’s life and stubbornly refuse to leave because, goddammit, now they have morals. 

I’ve got a lot of favourite things about the show but the main ones are as follows:

1. Found family. And I’m not talking about loners who come together to fight crime and happen to co-exist to the point where they realise they happen to have found themselves a family. I mean, Nate and Sophie are the Drunk Uncle and Wine Aunt who somehow become Mom and Dad to 3 beautiful criminal children. Mom and Dad love their criminal babies and the kids love them (as well as each other, but we’ll come to that in a moment). You get amazing family moments such as: Mom and Dad packing the kids lunch before sending them out to kick corporate greed’s ass; Mom and Dad giving the kids ridiculously expensive and personal Christmas presents causing their most Grumpy Kid to go very very quiet and soft as he runs off to gleefully play with his new murder toy; the kids interrupting Mom and Dad’s big Movie Style Kiss to ask if they can please keep their new underground layer and huffing and puffing when Dad tells them no.

2. Found family: the OT3 edition. To answer your question, the OT3 is indeed canon, confirmed by the creator. Now, usually, “confirmed by the creator” infuriates me because most of the time it’s a way for a creator to be seen as “progressive” without doing anything to actually be progressive. That isn’t the case here. The OT3 are built up carefully and while it is obvious the creators didn’t originally intend for all 3 of them to become a relationship in the romantic sense, by mid-season 5 we are given a very clear picture of where Parker, Hardison and Eliot are heading in their relationship. There aren’t any kisses at the end to signal this but there are solid marriage vows in not only one but two episodes. (And by marriage vows I mean literal equivalents of marriage vows: “for better or worse” and “’til death do us part”. I’m not even exaggerating). The OT3 also doesn’t need explicit romantic narratives to convey how much they love each other. Their love is laced through the whole show, from the way they teach each other things to the way they respond to each other and work as a unit. The way they fiercely protect and admire each other. Like someone once said, if you need characters to kiss or say I love you to let the audience know they love each other, you are writing them wrong. 

Aside from that, each of the parings in the OT3 are just. Gah. They are so well done, with friendship being the solid basis for them all. The creators never expect the audience to assume anything about them or fill in the gaps. They give us their relationships on screen and reference many things off-screen to show us how these relationships continue to build in between episodes.

Hardison and Parker are a canon couple and date in the show: it’s approached slowly and they are so goddamned sweet. They are basically every fluffy slow-burn trope with a healthy dash of mutual pining in the mix. They are basically that quote “love is patient, love is kind”. (I would like to add their romance never becomes the focus of the show or overrides the importance of any other relationship they have with the other characters, especially Eliot.)

Hardison and Eliot are the Old Married Couple and from day one are already bickering and looking at each other/making comments that are found in every UST fic ever (not to mention Hardison has a very good knack for making Eliot grin like a little kid, when usually he’s basically an Angry Little Chef Man). They argue, they play, and love each other plain as day. 

Parker and Eliot are more subtle but every bit as wonderful. They have an unspoken connection and understand each other on a level no-one else can. Parker and Eliot are not good with giving themselves over to affection for different reasons (and Hardison plays a central role in helping them realise it’s okay to want it and have it- that boy has endless patience) but there is something so beautiful in the way the two of them come together on their own and develop their own special bond that works for them. Parker and Eliot are that trope where the characters don’t need to speak to understand each other perfectly. They just do. Their love language is a lot of the time non-verbal but speaks volumes. (Parker also likes to annoy the hell out of Eliot and Eliot....just.....lets...her. Because he’s soft. The softest, grumpiest boy.) 

I could go into so much depth for each pairing and their dynamics as a 3 but that's for another post.

3. Subverting stereotypes. There is the occasional hiccup in the show regarding stereotypes but ultimately, Leverage gets an A+ when it comes to writing characters and making them 3 dimensional people who are not defined by certain characteristics or events. Nate could so easily fall into the White Man Pain trope where he uses the trauma of losing his kid as a reason as to why he is entitled to act like a dick. Nate is a dick but he doesn’t use his pain to excuse it and I appreciate that. Hardison is a black man who is soft and nurturing. Easily the most empathetic and patient of the group. He’s nerdy, an actual genius, and has the biggest heart of all the characters. Nate is maybe the glue but Hardison is definitely the heart. Media’s usual aggressive, amongst other, racist stereotypes can fuck right off. Parker is canonically autistic (I am sure this was confirmed by one of the creators) and she is not defined by it. It’s not written as some kind of singular personality trait. It’s part of what makes up Parker but it’s only one facet of who she is and not once is her actions, thoughts or feelings treated like a joke. Sometimes people don’t understand why she does and says the things she does but it’s met with patience and fondness over the course of the show. Equally, it’s not met with over-caution. Parker is just Parker. No-one tries to change her. The other nice thing is Hardison, who always makes sure Parker knows she’s amazing because of who she is and not in spite of it. Finally, Sophie is in her 40s. She’s not treated like she’s past her prime. Ever. She’s sexy, smart and never is she pitted against or compared to Parker (who is younger) for anything. Sophie is amazing and there’s never even a conversation of “I may be older but I am still *insert adjective typically associated with younger women here*”. Sophie is possibly the first female character I’ve ever seen who isn’t just unapologetic about her age but has never had to apologise for her age. It’s a non-issue and that’s that. The women on the show are written so well, right down to secondary characters and it’s beyond refreshing.  

4.) It’s just fun. The show has a “monster of the week” type format. Except instead of a ghoul or a ghost, the monster is some corrupt wealthy and powerful individual or organisation. The show draws on real-life individuals to do this and therefore closely parallels real-life people and events. It addresses important political, economical, social and environmental issues while at the same time remaining fun and light-hearted. The characters constantly get the chance to play dress up and by GOD do they have fun with it. You get to watch Eliot beat up bad guys in the most delightful of ways, usually after a witty non-sequitur and with a weapon you’d never think could be a weapon. The dialogue and back and forth between the characters is everything. And finally - my favourite thing- the team can never resist striking a dramatic pose after they’ve taken down the bad guy, making sure the bad guy sees them. I mean, they COULD just walk away, satisfied they’ve taken the person down, but nope. They gotta be dramatic bitches 24/7 and pose like they are models for every single month of this year’s Criminal Calendar.  

5.) Competence Porn. So. Much. Competence Porn.  

Honestly, I could list a thousand reasons for why Leverage is amazing but to list them would to be spoiling so many amazing moments you’d get to discover for the first time on your own if you do choose to watch it. It’s the kind of show you can watch with an eagle-eye and sink your teeth into. But it’s also the kind of show if, you would prefer, put on in the background for something entertaining while you do something else. Each episode is about the job at hand but it’s made up of so many moments between the characters that show how much the creators and writers care about them. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll do whatever it is you do when something Soft and Wonderful happens that makes your heart melt. I am so beyond grateful for Leverage. It’s everything I always wanted in a show. Nearly every show I’ve watched in the past 10 years has disappointed me in some way, usually either because the writers run out of steam or characters who I love are treated poorly or given some kind of unnecessary “shock value” arc. Leverage doesn’t do that. Leverage is what it says on the bottle. Fandom isn’t something I joined because I needed canon fix-its. Fandom only enhances and celebrates an already excellent canon. 

[sinsbymanka]

Writing Tag Game

Okay listen I’m on vacation XD hence why I’m ignoring everyone’s tags/taking forever to respond. But I’ve been tagged in this A LOT and I really liked it/wanted to do it so thank you to everyone who tagged me (oh my god I’m so sorry if I missed one of you there were SO MANY): @noire-pandora, @in-arlathan, @thevikingwoman, @morganlefaye79, @elveny, @kunstpause, @pikapeppa

I’m not tagging anyone because I’m tagging everyone since I’m too lazy to find my tag list (I’m on VACATION). If you’ve not gotten tagged and wanted to do this, say I tagged you. 

How many works do you have on Ao3?

147 - I have 145 linked to my profile and two in the anonymous collection. 

What's your total Ao3 wordcount?

1,468,248. Almost 1.5 million!! 

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Of Miracles and Heroes (FenHawke, Cadash/Varric, Varania/Blackwall): 269

Interspecies Relationships Have Their Ups and Downs (Shakarian): 145

Don’t Make it Hawkeward (Varric/Hawke): 135

The Ambassador’s Vices (Josephine/Adaar): 111

The Girl with the Arrow Tattoo (Cadash/Varric): 101

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do (but - to be honest - it takes me FOREVER). I love comments. It’s so much easier to not leave comments than leave comments, so every time someone leaves one I’m blown away. I feel like - for leaving me a comment - you’re definitely owed an answer! I do apologize that it takes me awhile though - I am very bad at answering because they mean a lot to me and I get easily overwhelmed by the AO3 inbox I don’t know why. Blame anxiety. 

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I’ll be honest, I don’t like angsty endings so I don’t have many of them. By far the angstiest ending I have is Flowers, Lies, and Forgiveness. This is a Bianca Davri/Varric Tethras fic set during the final act of DA2. I wrote it from Bianca’s POV - showing Varric unraveling under the pressure of Kirkwall and Bianca’s complicated feelings about infidelity to her husband who clearly cares about her as well. I wrote it for @hollyand-writes who always lets me lean into the tragic “fucked upness” of the pairing when I’m feeling like making Varric suffer.  

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending

I prefer happy endings so almost EVERYTHING has a happy ending. My favorite endings, so far, are for Cheating the Dread Wolf, which is my Varric/Cadash/Solas polycule (or as I like to refer to it - Solas has a dwarf kink) and The Viscount’s Mistress which is my Hurt/Comfort Cadash/Varric Trespasser bullshit. 

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

I have not written crossovers - but I am very into AUs in another setting that belongs to a different fictional universe. Most recently I got back into my Downton Abbey bullshit and wrote Flappers for Fen’harel which is basically a Downton Abbey AU Solas/Cadash and I’m not taking comments about the outrageousness of it. 

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yep. Honestly though? Over the two years I’ve been active in Fandom, the shitty comments can be counted on one hand and usually came from the same people over and over again, who are easily blocked, and should stop seeking out clearly labeled content they don’t like. Me and my work are not for everyone - that’s REALLY okay. I’ve blocked people for no other reason than making things I don’t like - that doesn’t mean they’re bad people. 

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

GOD DO I.

I am extremely sex and kink positive. Because of this - a lot of my work involves sex in some way or another. I think sex is a beautiful part of many (although not all) relationships, and that it’s frequently glossed over in mainstream media (particularly queer, kinky, and polyam sex). 

This ranges from sort of vanilla slow burns (My Cole/Bea fic, Compassion for an Assassin, has smut which hasn’t been posted yet. It’s Cole’s first time and is fairly vanilla and romantic, and occurs approximately 40k into the fic) to some pretty dubious consent near 24/7 dom/sub dynamics with BDSM kinks (I’ve written JUST as much of the Sereda/Gorim problematic smut as @jarakrisafis has in our series Forced Moves). 

There’s very few kinks I’m not willing to touch at least to try out - even if I end up not liking them. And the ones that aren’t for me are 100% allowed to exist and I will fight for them to the bloody end. My only recommendation is CLEARLY labeling your shit and not being afraid to add a tag if someone asks you to. 

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of? I’ve seen ideas I’ve tried on picked up by other people - but I don’t consider that stealing and it’s hard to trace “who has been inspired by who” because we ALL have been inspired by thousands of other people and frankly more stuff for me when I pull you over to my weird AUs and rarepairs. 

I also think that’s a huge part of not getting stolen - I’ve got so much weird niche shit that only a couple people read that stealing from me is going to most likely be caught IMMEDIATELY the audience is so small. 

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t believe so!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! I’ve got some co-written secret smut with @blarfkey which almost nobody has seen, I’ve borrowed @tightassets Hawke, Lavellan, and Shepard for fics that she has illustrated, borrowed @tuffypelly‘s Adaars for some great fics, and my most ambitious project - the Forced Moves series with @jarakrisafis. It started out as us just exchanging gifts back and forth but we’ve wrangled it into Gambits and Countergambits, an Aeducan-origin prequel, that I’m VERY proud of. 

I love co-writing very much, but it’s very important to find the right partner and for it to be someone you trust completely. 

What's your all time favourite ship?

This is a stupidly hard question because I am, at heart, a multi-shipper. 

I love Varric/Hawke and Varric/Cadash. I’m also a sucker for Solas/Cadash. My fandom pool noodle is Varric/Cadash/Solas which I adore, and I’m very fond of Cole/Cadash. 

Most recently I’ve been DEEP in Aeducan/Gorim Saelac, Bhelen/Rica/Vartag, and Aeducan/Brosca feels. Dwarf origins are the best origins in my opinion and those characters are PERFECT. 

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I fully plan on finishing everything. My writing style changed a lot, for the better, in a short period of time. I need to integrate my old style/new style and had to get a pep talk about how to do that. Now I’m ready to try as soon as I finish Compassion for an Assassin. 

What are your writing strengths? 

I write very sexy, hot smut. I also really like playing with character voice and making sure I get them “right” so I do a lot of experimenting before publishing a new character for the first time. 

I struggle to write action scenes - it’s like pulling fucking teeth - but people really LOVE my action scenes and they read well. So that’s something I’m proud of even if it feels like doing fucking pull ups. 

What are your writing weaknesses?

I never learned anything. My experiences with English and writing teachers were overwhelmingly negative. I’m unsure if I’m just not cut out for classes or if they were that bad, but I always left feeling like there was one “right” way to do it, and everything I liked was “bad”, so what was the point of “learning” anything? 

It turns out there’s this very pompous, pretentious thought process in writing where people “assume” things must be done, but GOOD writing teachers teach you the rules and then how to break them. I either never had a good writing teacher or got too intimidated to give them a chance before bouncing. 

So I’m exceedingly self-taught. I lack the vocabulary to discuss plot structure, characterization, grammar, etc. I instinctively know most of these things based on trial and error and reading, but I didn’t learn them and I miss a lot of nuance in the rules, but until recently I was still too intimidated and unsure of myself to admit that or take it seriously. 

So - my defense mechanism is NOT taking ANYTHING seriously. If my writing is a joke to me, it’s gotta be a joke to everyone else, but that’s been a shield to hide behind instead of being thoughtful about things. I’m here to have fun, yes, but there’s nothing wrong with learning a technique to the art. 

I’ve learned - mostly thanks to @blarfkey who is an amazing person and a wonderful teacher - that I am a good writer based on my self-teaching. And being intimidated of people who throw around impressive sounding words is a weakness that I am working on. 

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? 

Use sparingly and with good reason. It should be short and explained later or clear from context. 

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter on message boards back in the fucking day. Thankfully none of it exists anywhere anymore. 

What's your favourite fic you've written?

This is such a sappy answer and I’m so sorry. My favorite things have been written for and because of people I love and care about. When I read them, I’m not just reading the story, but remembering the relationships I’ve made and how important they are. 

So, my top three fics for THAT reason: 

1. Cheating the Dread Wolf - written for @blarfkey who inspired the idea and ruthlessly encouraged me to make it happen. This fic was so healing for me because it heavily features Fatherhood within it - and I lost my father in June 2020. I don’t know if I’d have been able to do it without her and it was so important for me to do. 

2. Gambits and Countergambits - written with @jarakrisafis and the culmination of a years worth of gifting shit back and forth and crafting a shared universe. The worldbuilding, smut, relationships, EVERYTHING about this fic is so deeply and passionately cared about by both of us and to our knowledge it is completely, totally unique.  

3. Relentless, Ridiculous, and Rakish - one of my only primarily gen-fics focusing on a forming brother/sister relationship between Maria Cadash and @tuffypelly‘s Otsar Adaar. I very much enjoyed writing it for her <3 

And then my overall favorite fic: 

The Viscount’s Mistress: I have a lot of opinions about how fanfiction treats the anchor’s meltdown and the aftermath. It’s one of the things in DAI that resonated with me SO much as someone who lives with chronic pain and a disability. I loved the fact my OC was in the same shoes and STILL saving the world. This is very much a fic that explores all the dark sides of trauma, pain, and the mental health effects of it. But it ends on a happy and hopeful note.  

[incorrecttamendegushiquotes]

Okay, another imagine since I'm obsessed with those raskals....imagine tattletale having a sudden rebellious phase. Not sure what exactly triggers it, but one day he just...,,gets a wholeass makeover and arrives late for class. Everyone turns around and is like who tf is this.

Cut to awkwardness and cringe because the whole act comes very unattural to him, it's not who he is and he is obviously forcing it so he is literally acting like a caricature of how older people view teenagers.

That last sentence had me thinking about that one Steve Buscemi meme (hold please, while I go superimpose tattletale’s face onto a screencap of that scene real quick lmao). 

[Image of Steve Buscemi dressed as a teenager in a backwards cap and carrying a skateboard saying “How do you do, fellow kids?”]

But honestly that would be a very convincing gag with the groundwork Tan Jiu’s done establishing him as a character who is irritated by Qi Fang’s accomplishments and popularity. 

Tattletale truly is such an enjoyable character and I truly would love to see more of him. He’s certainly my favorite side character (which is saying something considering my great love of Qin Xiong and his upperclassman). This is rapidly becoming a giant character analysis on Tattletale so I’m going to tack on a ‘keep reading tab’ and continue.

If you’re reading this then for whatever reason you’ve decided to indulge my ramblings and have henceforth won my affections forever, whatever that’s worth lmao. 

The trope involving the strait-laced, studious character who’s annoyed by a classmate who naturally has all of the assets they lack (e.g. social clout, charisma) in addition to academic excellence (read: the one thing they prided themselves in) is one that has been done to death but is also one I am a complete sucker for.

 I reckon most of us (with the obvious exception of, say, Beyoncé) have encountered someone who is better at us at something we are good at and know how devastating that can be, especially if you pin a large part of your identity around it. 

That sort of reality check is as true-to-life as it is entertaining to read about. Add that to the fact that, in DnD terms, Tattletale is the lawful good (student officer, moral exemplar) to Sun Jing and Qi Fang’s chaotic good (class clowns, troublemakers) and *shenanigans ensue*. 

No[t only that, Tattletale is a genuine, good-hearted person who always strives to do the right thing even if the results are often comical.

[Image of the last two panels of chapter 33 of Tamen de Gushi featuring Tattletale]

 Ironically his earnestness is probably a large part of why he doesn’t have the same appeal (at least on the surface level) to his foil in Qi Fang, who has thus far been portrayed as fairly aloof and disinterested in gaining good grades and popularity, but gets them anyway because he’s just that cool. This dynamic is also quite common in rom-coms as the competition, perceived or otherwise, often serves as an impetus for romantic tension build-up (Last Game, Special A, Kaguya-sama, Kaichou Wa Maid-sama, etc.) which I suspect is what fuels the fire for a lot of shipping of Tattletale and Qi Fang in the TDG fandom. Add on the fact that the two have great chemistry from what little we’ve seen of them interacting in TDG and, oh look --- the ship has left the harbor!

Whether you perceive Qi Fang and Tattletale’s relationship as romantic or not you’ve got to admit they have amazing back-and-forth dialogue and, like it or not, there is undeniably some queer subtext there too. I mean, come ON--- 

But I digress. The point I was trying to make before I quickly got sidetracked in my need to gush about Tattletale, is this: I love this imagine and think it would be very on-brand for Tattletale to try to pull off a more ‘cool’ persona and dress up in, for example, streetwear fashion in an attempt to rebel and separate himself from his reputation as the serious student officer:

But of course this wouldn’t work as his classmates are already acquainted with who he is and would see through him. While they’re undoubtedly fond of him and would probably be amused by his attempt to be rebellious it would of course not have the desired reaction because as you said it would be clear this would not be natural for him. Gosh I love imagining these scenarios, anon please feel free to submit them whenever you’d like because they are SO GREAT. 

☆ Mod Sasha

[oumakokichi]

fave dr ships and why?? :0

Hmm, that’s a pretty fun question! There are so many fun character interactions in each game that there’s a lot of ships I really like, so I’ll try to briefly just touch on some of my favorites in each game!

There aren’t really any spoilers in my reply, but I’m going to include a read-more anyway because even trying to keep it brief, there were a lot of ships to cover, so it still got pretty long.

In dr1, I honestly really love naegiri. Naegi gets a lot of flack for “not being interesting enough” or “not bringing anything to the table,” but I think he worked really well as the protagonist for the first installment of the series, and I absolutely think he and Kirigiri have a lot of great chemistry. Kirigiri and Naegi’s relationship is all about finding a balance between doubt and belief, and both of them really help each other grow as people. I think their dynamic is at its best in the first game, since Kirigiri gets so much time to shine and really feels more like the deuteragonist of the series than anyone else. Plus watching Naegi try to learn how to read her stoic façade when she’s really quite emotional under the  surface is so much fun.

I’m also a huge fan of aoisakura. I love everything about their interaction, and chapter 4 of dr1 is still one of the best in the whole series in my opinion. Both of them care so much about each other even from early on, and Aoi’s anger at how the others treat Sakura or talk about her like she’s hardly even a person comes across as so legitimate. It’s such a great and largely underrated ship, so I always love to see it.

I also have to say that I like kirizono quite a lot! They don’t have much in the way of interaction in canon, considering how early Maizono dies, but it’s one of those ships where I’m much more interested in the overall potential. Kirigiri seems to have a very good grasp of what Maizono was actually like as a person and what she might have been thinking in her final moments. While she uncovers the truth of the events of chapter 1, she doesn’t see Maizono as irredeemable for tricking Naegi, but merely as someone who was scared and who ultimately couldn’t go through with her own plan. She knew that Maizono was trying to help Naegi in her own way by leaving him a dying message, and I would have loved to see a detective-and-assistant duo with Kirigiri and Maizono in some alternate universe.

Other ships from dr1 that I enjoy even if I’m not super invested in them from an analysis standpoint are celesgiri (how could I not ship the original liar and detective), naekusaba (DR IF really sold me on this one), ishimondo (all around a solid, great ship), and naegami (honestly I just think the idea of Kirigiri and Togami both dating Naegi but barely tolerating each other as friends is really funny).

Sdr2 is probably the game where I wound up the least invested in shipping, but there are still a few that I like!

Hinanami isn’t quite as appealing to me as naegiri, mostly due to Nanami being used twice for Hinata’s character development, but they have some really cute moments that I do enjoy a lot, and I really love any interaction between the two of them as gamer friends. Nanami is so much more mischievous than most people give her credit for; I still can’t help remembering when I replayed sdr2 a year or two ago and got to the part with her threatening to poke Hinata’s eyes out during an investigation, and I nearly lost my shit because I didn’t remember it at all from previous playthroughs.

I’m not quite as invested in komahina as I thought I would be when I first got into DR, but I definitely don’t mind it either! I think Komaeda’s feelings for Hinata are pretty textual and undeniable; lines like “I’m in love with the hope that’s sleeping inside you” are impossible, in my opinion, to handwave as “just a friend thing,” and Megumi Ogata has all but stated outright that her character song for Komaeda is specifically about Hinata.

Of course, I definitely think Komaeda would need to work on a lot of his internalized ideas about talent and self-worth, and that he and Hinata would have to start as friends first before carrying their relationship into anything romantic, but if their really cute interation in ndrv3’s talent development plan is anything to go off of, I think Hinata definitely does want to help Komaeda value himself more and wants to be friends with him.

As for other ships that I enjoy more casually, I like twobuki (if that’s even what people are still calling Twogami/Impostor and Ibuki as a ship), sondam (all of Sonia’s nerding out about Gundam’s chuunibyou interests is honestly super adorable), nanamiki (I feel like Nanami and Mikan could honestly have a cute dynamic if Mikan weren’t under Junko’s influence), and… I actually have no idea for this ship name, but Impostor/Hinata is really sweet. This is more related to dr3, but one of the few things I did come out feeling positively about was Impostor/Mitarai, despite everything else about how the story turned out.

Finally, there’s ndrv3! There’s quite a lot of ships I really love here, so it’s actually a little hard to narrow it down.

I hardly think I need to mention saiouma at this point, since it’s the ship I talk about the most on this blog, but it’s still my favorite ship from pretty much anything ever. I love their dynamic so much: the way they both embody the themes of “truth” and “lies” within the game respectively, the way they constantly want to know more about each other while being afraid to open up or trust each other completely, and the fact that they so perfectly manage to capture the chase of the “phantom thief vs. detective” trope to the point that it was even lampshaded in Ouma’s love hotel... all of these things just make it so much fun.

It’s another ship where I just love thinking about the potential, whether in an AU where Ouma might have lived or else where the killing game never took place at all. I honestly really love ships that deal with a lot of slow-burn and both characters thinking their affections are unrequited when it turns out they’re actually both just idiots with a bad case of pining. I also really love the fact that, in my opinion, it’s a ship where Saihara would have to really take the initiative in the end—otherwise, Ouma is just going to keep trying to run away every time he drops an “I love you,” or “you’re my favorite.”

I also really, really love himiten. It’s a ship that gets a lot more flack than it deserves, in my opinion, and it’s sad to see that it’s a little underappreciated these days. There are flaws and problems within the ship, of course, but these are things that are actually addressed within the game itself. Himiko’s apathy and disregard towards Tenko’s feelings is called out pretty bluntly in the later parts of chapter 3, and she winds up mourning Tenko’s death and taking her last advice to heart more than anyone else.

Meanwhile, while Tenko certainly meant well and always had Himiko’s best interests at heart, it’s true that she came across as somewhat condescending sometimes (albeit unintentionally) by treating Himiko like a cute animal instead of a person.  I think that she understood Himiko’s feelings a lot better by chapter 3, which is why she prioritized trying to let Himiko talk to Angie one more time despite her own misgivings about Angie. Tenko grew a lot more as a character than a lot of people give her credit for, and I would have loved to see any post-game scenario where Himiko and Tenko could’ve finally started a relationship on equal footing outside of the game.

I actually have two entire ships for Miu that I am equally fond of. Both kiiruma and irumatsu are really great in my opinion, in totally different ways. The sheer chaotic potential of kiiruma gets overlooked a lot of times, I think, but both of them are complete disasters. They have so much fun together and it really shows, both in canon and in the talent development plan as well. Kiibo is so wonderful and I love him so much, because you’d think he’d be the voice of reason as a “cold, logical robot”—but honestly, he’s just as messed-up and over the top as Miu. I mean, he did photograph her poop on what turned out to be a live audience national broadcast and he didn’t see anything wrong with this.

Kiibo is one of the few characters who vocally talks about missing Miu after her death in chapter 4, and he repeatedly tells her how much he appreciates her maintenance work on him both in canon and in one of their talent development scenes. In one such scene, he even mentions wanting to continue their ongoing relationship after they graduate, which I think is surprisingly sweet and adorable for the two of them. Honestly, Miu is about as wild as a DR character ever gets, and I love the idea of her and Kiibo just having fun with each other.

Meanwhile, Kaede and Miu’s dynamic is a lot more back-and-forth. Kaede spends a good part of her FTEs absolutely frustrated and fed up with Miu, but also decidedly worried for her well-being and wondering how she might get her to be more of a team player. She’s not afraid to put her foot down when Miu crosses the line, but she’s also one of the few people who’s ever been willing to stand by Miu and encourage her or actually be her friend in spite of how awful Miu is at interacting with others.

Even in the talent development plan, Kaede’s often seen together with Miu a lot, which I think is super cute and confirms that even at Hope’s Peak, she’d still be trying to make sure Miu had a friend around. And she was able to tell that, despite what a disaster Miu’s idea with the Christmas lights was, it was Miu’s own way of trying to add to the festivities and do something nice for other people. All in all, it’s one of my favorite wlw DR ships, and I really love when fanworks capture just how shy or flustered Miu got around Kaede sometimes.

Of course, I like momoharu a lot as well! It’s one of the ships that has grown on me quite a bit in my absence, mostly just because despite all of Momota’s flaws, he really does want Maki to love herself first and foremost. Maki’s own feelings for Momota are so important to her character growth and really represent her feeling as though she’s finally made a choice for the first time in her life, and it’s really heartwarming to see. Also, any ship where the girl could lift a guy up with one arm without breaking a sweat is a pretty good ship in my opinion.

As for other ndrv3 ships that I enjoy a lot, there’s saihoshi (Hoshi is extremely underrated as a character, and I adore how sweet his FTEs and salmon mode with Saihara were; it’s also another ship where I feel Saihara would have to really take the initiative to make Hoshi fully open up, which I like), amamatsu (Kaede and Amami had a lot of really funny, great interaction in chapter 1 and some fun banter in their FTEs, so I would’ve loved to see more of it), and harumatsu/kaemaki (again, they have a lot of potential and it would have been extremely interesting to see them interact more).

I also like saiibo, not so much in the way that most people ship it (their love hotel is cute, don’t get me wrong!), but mostly because Kiibo’s FTEs are the funniest set of FTEs in the whole game in my opinion, and the twist where they were both looking down on each other without the other one knowing just made my jaw drop before I started laughing my ass off. They’re almost as much of a disaster together as Kiibo and Miu are, and I think the humor in their dynamic sometimes gets overlooked.

There are even more ships that I like, and I could keep going on and on, but I should probably leave things off here. Character interactions are so much fun in DR, both because of the genuine growth and character development from a lot of the cast, but also because so many of them are so whacky and borderline cartoonish that it’s just really fun imagining further interactions between them. Thank you for the fun ask, anon!

[angeltrapz]

saw ur post 4 saw asks n im here to deliver!! (also fully gonna answer the one u sent me i just had a busy night 💚) — hmmm would personally love to hear more abt the Matthews-Faulkner-Stanheight-Blank family dynamic? esp maybe Daniel + Art, but rlly just anything u wanna talk abt there! maybe if they have any sorta family traditions, what holidays look like for them, that sorta deal

shfajs tysm!!!! (also tht's totally okay, take yr time!!!)

also oooo I love this question okay. so like u mentioned this when I asked abt what Eric n Daniel's relationship would b like post-trap, but I think it's very very good fr Daniel 2 like. see tht Eric has ppl who love him n who don't mind helping him when he needs it n who are THERE fr him bc again, like you've mentioned, seeing a parent so utterly shattered th way Eric was after his trap is incredibly difficult, esp for a kid (though Daniel is like. at least seventeen? still). knowing tht his dad has a good support system n is surrounded by ppl tht care abt him helps put him at ease bc he knows he can trust Adam n Art. he knows they'll keep Eric safe n tht they'll help him to heal, tht they love him n want 2 see him do well n get better. plus, Daniel knows tht if he needs to talk 2 some1 abt how difficult seeing his dad like tht is, he knows both Adam n Art r there fr him and tht helps a lot. of course, he also has Rigg + maybe Hoffman (until th whole. u know.), but they don't live w Eric. they don't see him every day th way Art n Adam do. that's not 2 say they don't know Eric is struggling, but there is a difference btwn them n Eric's boyfriends. basically, Daniel is very much grateful fr Art + Adam.

I feel like Art wld be VERY good at lending an ear fr when Daniel needs 2 talk. whether that be abt their trap + tht whole experience, Eric's trap n the consequences/rough aftermath, just plain venting, etc.; Art is there 2 listen to them + offer a solution if they want one. most times I think Daniel just wants to b listened to, esp when it comes to what they went thru in the Nerve Gas House - tht's smth they don't feel comfortable discussing w Eric right away fr obvious reasons, but therapy can only do so much. I think th two of them have more in common than they might realize at first, bc hey, Art Killed A Man Because Trevor Was Going To Kill Him If He Didn't, and Daniel Killed A Man Because Xavier Would Have Killed Both Them And Amanda If They Didn't. I feel like Art is like. very reserved abt th details of his first trap + how they affected him (and th second one tbh; it's not smth he vocalizes often at all), but fr Daniel he wld gladly talk abt it if it meant Daniel didn't feel alone. if it meant it could help them, reassure them that hey, it wasn't yr fault, u did what u had to, n I know tht can be hard 2 believe right now n that's okay. u need to process things at yr own pace.

and so Art tells them abt the Mausoleum, bares a part of himself he keeps locked away where he doesn't often give it much thought/actively ignores it. n I think tht's healing fr him too, maybe. there's solace in tht shared experience, as horrible as it was in th moment. 2 know there's someone out there who has even th faintest inkling of what u went thru + what u had to do to survive. of course Daniel relates 2 Adam fr this reason too, but like. Art will use his Lawyer Voice n make sure Daniel understands tht what they did doesn't make them a bad person or confirm tht Jigsaw Was Right And They Deserved It. n tht's rly important fr Daniel 2 hear, esp early on. it's honestly one of th first times Art is truly honest abt his feelings on th matter + the Mausoleum, n it's just. a step tht much closer to healing for both of them.

family traditions!!! they do have a few! in the summer, every sunday they have Daniel w them, Eric Art n Adam go out fr ice cream, even if they get it at the drive thru n eat it in th car bc none of them want 2 be around all th people/sit outside in th muggy weather. it's a good way to get them all out of th house fr a little while, something enjoyable tht doesn't require too much energy or even interaction. it's just smth nice they can do where they're all together n chilling n just enjoying each other's company!

this is mostly a Daniel one but every year around April Fools he just. puts fucking googly eyes on everything. n every time some1 discovers some, it doesn't matter where in th house he is, u can hear him cackle abt it. Adam thinks it's an absolute delight n has assisted on multiple occasions. tht's abt as far as pranks go fr them, bc none of them like surprises like that, but god is it ever hilarious 2 hear Eric frm the kitchen while Art Adam n Daniel r in the living room when he says "I found another one!" while he's looking fr smth in the fridge kjdkfsf.

holidays!! every Christmas they all sit down in th living room n watch a couple of movies w the blankets spread out on th floor w snacks n hot chocolate. the first Christmas following his trap, Eric was sat on th couch between Adam n Art while Daniel chose to sprawl out on th floor, n he just looked around at his boyfriends n his son n the fake pine tree they had all decorated together n he like. needs to take a moment bc this is it. this is all he cld ever want out of life right here. this is a level of peace Eric never knew he wld ever be able to reach after what he went thru fr those six months. n he just sort of presses his face into Art's shoulder n breathes thru it. he doesn't even have to say anything fr Adam n Art to know what he's thinking bc Adam's hand is on his arm n Art's resting his cheek against th top of his head, n he might cry a little, but he's happy. surrounded by th ppl he loves n who love him, love him enough to keep the lights down low n the volume on th television soft, to use subtitles so he doesn't get overwhelmed, Eric realizes he has a home n it's just. oof.

fr Valentine's Day, this one was actually Adam's idea initially: wht they do is take sticky notes n write little affirmations on thm fr each other, n stick thm in places where they'll see it. sometimes Daniel joins in on this one, but usually it's an Art Eric Adam thing. so like it'll be little things, like a note frm Adam telling Eric how proud he is of him, or one from Art letting Adam know he couldn't have had a better best friend, or th one from Eric that thanks th both of thm fr helping him w his rashes + helping him 2 accept tht part of him n start to see it as nothing to be ashamed of. it starts on th first day of February and ends on Valentine's Day itself, n sometimes they get those packs of cards u get fr kids just to write goofy shit on thm to pass back n forth n make each other laugh. they also get th discounted candy!! (Adam steals all th twix bars tho. tht's okay bc Eric likes snickers anyway n Art is fond of reese's peanut butter cups. they share th sweet tarts + conversation hearts!)

Halloween is when they get a big bowl of candy 2 leave on th porch fr the kids who're trick-or-treating while th three of them stay inside (+Daniel sometimes!) n watch some classics, like their Christmas tradition. they Also add in some bad movies 2 mix it up a lil bit bc sometimes u just need a laugh. I am like in Lov w the idea u had abt Eric n Adam sometimes building cozy pillow forts, so they do tht n the three of them just vibe in there n lay together n look n talk. n like it's So Much Fun 2 have ppl to like. discuss movies w while yr watching them! esp when they're ppl who won't be annoyed w u when u wanna share a thought! like Eric n Adam will get into this deep discussion abt horror movie decisions n Art will just lay there n listen bc he loves them so much n loves hearing them get amped up abt things. he'll offer his own two cents if asked too! mostly he listens, but he can definitely contribute.

inevitably at some point, someone's hand ends up in Eric's hair n he's just. asleep not too long after that. usually on someone's shoulder or against their chest, n depending on who's still awake, they either try 2 move to th bedroom or they just sleep in th living room (i.e.: Art will try to convince Eric n Adam to come to bed properly, whereas Adam will just b like "fuck it" n pass out right there. has this led 2 them waking up sore b4? absolutely. but it's like. "we r adults who live w our decisions n this one happened 2 be sleeping on th floor" so.

n then a minor one is on their birthdays, some1 (usually Art, to be completely honest w u) will cook tht person their favourite comfort food fr dinner n they all help make cake/cupcakes/cookies/something dessert-related of their choice. so like Art rly likes brownies, Adam is fond of strawberry jello poke cake, n Eric can make some RLY good carrot cake cupcakes w homemade frosting too. it's just smth fr them to do together + like! it's celebrating! they've all been thru so much hell but they're still here! n that's rly th focus for the three of them. sometimes they have ppl over too - like Rigg, Gibson, Brit, Mallick, Lawrence, William (all of them best-case, obv); it's nice 2 have a lil party sometimes! after what they've endured they've kind of earned it I think!

thank u sm!!! this was so fun 2 think abt fjdkjsk

(lil random hc: when Daniel was little, Eric used 2 write letters to him frm Santa. eventually Daniel got "too old for that," but honestly? they cherish tht memory. I wanted 2 include it bc it makes me kjehfje!!!)

[nrth-wind-a]

Aaaand that’s the last of these kiss prompts! One last one that I had @flamekeeperbellroc pick a kiss type for me because I need at least one where Skrael was givin Bells a kiss! Here is [Forehead] + some fluff to make up for the angst just now <3 --

“Bells? Are you alright?” Skrael gave a gentle knock on their door.

He didn’t mean to hover; he really didn’t. It was just… 

“You’ve been listening to… ‘Mr. Brightside,’ on repeat for the last hour? It’s not-- a problem, per se, just--”

The sounds of The Killers turned less audible through the walls, and Skrael could hear shuffling inside their bedroom. As he was about to turn back to his own room, feeling horribly awkward, Bellroc’s door opened a fraction. 

He whirled back to face them, quickly. As of now was his first actual sighting of them since the morning, when they’d grabbed their favorite 21 ounce mug, filled it near to the brim with barely-lighter-than-black coffee, and stalked back to their room without a word. 

Standing in front of them now, he gave them a once-over, worry growing. He knew what they were working on-- it was the project all three of them had to turn in by the end of the semester-- and while it wasn’t quite that Skrael was unbothered by the assignment where they were, it was just… Bellroc had been having a bit of inspirational trouble. 

The assignment had all three of them out of their comfort zones, to be entirely fair-- randomly assigning them a classic style prompt. 

But Nari had been the luckiest of all three of them, getting “historical vintage - mid-60’s”; it was different from her modern designs, but it still fell rather squarely in her skill range. She adored making flowing silhouettes and using lighter colors than either Bellroc or Skrael favored, to bring out a more natural look on her models. The hippie movement of the era would support her concepts perfectly.

Skrael, on the other hand, who had managed to end up with “black tie,” wasn’t particularly struggling either, but he did have to consult the professor on more than one occasion about toning down the hints of alternative fashion that had slipped into more than one of his drafts. 

Bellroc, however, had ended up with “sportswear.” 

And it wasn’t that they despised sportswear clothes. They understood that the style served a function that was in high demand. They even held a certain respect for designers that could make their entire careers in sports fashion. 

But it was also nearly the polar opposite of the formal, campy, vaguely punk designs that they wanted to make into their brand.

 So it had been difficult. 

Bellroc raised an eyebrow at Skrael’s sudden silence, and before he could try to remedy that, they turned to walk back into their room. They left the door open, though, so Skrael knew he was being invited in. 

This was furthered when they mumbled, “shut the door behind you, please,” as they sat back down at their desk.

He complied, grateful for the excuse to do something, as he gathered his thoughts.

Skrael started with something easy, to breach the subject’s surface, but only just. “So... How’s the project going?”

They shot him an unappreciative look. 

He winced. “That bad, huh?”

Bellroc exhaled through their nose. “Yes.” It sounded nearly physically painful for them to admit that.

Skrael softened, walking over to place one hand on the back of their chair, and the other on their desk, as he leaned over to get a look at what they’d been doing. 

His brow furrowed. “Wait. I thought you said it wasn’t going well. These look great!”

They gave a frustrated groan. “They’re fine, I guess, but they feel… typical. Boring. There’s nothing about them that would stand out in a Nike store.”

Skrael hummed. “Well, I suppose that’s true. But do they have to stand out? Don’t you want them to look like they belong there?”

“Maybe if it wasn’t Overton. But you know how he is. He’ll dock points immediately for unoriginality.” 

Skrael gave a quiet sigh. They were right. 

“Hm. Okay. Well. Let’s brainstorm. Wanna bounce some ideas off me?” He asked.

Bellroc considered the idea, and Skrael gave them one more nudge, “I don’t mind.”

They looked at him skeptically. “You’re not busy, too?”

He shrugged. “Nah. Overton and I have another draft meeting tomorrow, so I’m at a good stopping point.”

“...If you’re sure.” They hummed.

“I am. Now. What do you have so far?” He asked, glancing down at the various pages scattered around their desk. “I see these, which I still think look great,” he gestured to the top page, “But how are the others?”

Bellroc gathered the pages into a stack and passed them off, “Here. Feel free to rifle. I’ve stared at these for way too long today, anyway.”

Skrael accepted the stack with a reassuring smile, before he flipped through them slowly, taking it all in. 

“Hm… Okay. I like pages one, three, four, five, and seven; I think those are your strongest pairs so far. Have you considered trying shoe designs?”

Bellroc nodded, “Yeah, but I’m saving those for another day. I wanted to get the clothes done first.”

“Right. Well, the jacket on page three is really nice. I highly recommend making that one of the main statement pieces. The pants on page one are good, too, and… I mean, honestly, everything on pages four, five, and seven seems nice to me, too. And none of these have been colored yet, so I’m sure you could do something with that. Maybe experiment with some various palettes? Add prints or patterns to some of these?”

They nodded, gesturing for him to hand back the sheets. He did so, and they scribbled out the notes he’d given on the back of page one, adding them to a long list of crossed out brainstorm ideas that were already there.

Skrael couldn’t help a small, fond smile, before they glanced back up, and he schooled his features into something more neutral. 

“I was thinking about some prints on the shirt; they might add something dynamic to them, make them less flat. It’s just, there’s only so much you can add to workout gear before it gets in the way of actual physical activity.” They grumbled.

“Can you not do athleisure wear?” Skrael asked.

“Overton said not to put that many of those pieces in it. He’s looking for functionality.”

Skrael frowned. “Oh. Well, okay, so, not too many distracting prints, but a few would be alright, right?”

They nodded. “Yeah; a few. I’ll probably rely on patterned fabrics, though. Lots of geometrics.”

“Ah, yeah! Geometrics are nice for workout gear.”

“Mhm. Thing is, there’s only so many hexagons you can apply to something before it gets repetitive.” Their voice was wry.

Skrael snorted. “True.” 

Silence fell in the room, then, as they both tried to brainstorm further ways to combat the unoriginality problem.

After a few moments, Bellroc finally chucked out an idea, and Skrael picked it up and ran with it, leading them to a new idea, which again allowed Skrael to follow it to another one, giving Bellroc even more creative inspiration. They carried on this way for a while, Skrael eventually ending up in a pulled up chair next to Bellroc at their desk, as they traded concepts back and forth, occasionally throwing out ridiculous ones, just to get the other laughing. 

Finally, Skrael suggested, “Maybe you could mess with texture? Or some different-looking fabrics?” He perked up. “Oh! How about--”

Their eyes went wide. “Reflective metallics?” They finished for him, also sitting up straighter, and he flushed.

“Have you already considered that one?”

“No, but I…”

“--like those kinds of flashes when you need to spice up a piece. Right. That’s exactly why I was gonna suggest it.” he caught on, smiling.

“Exactly.” They grinned back. “Well. This has been a very successful session. It seems I should have started the Mr. Brightside loop, earlier, hm?”

Skrael laughed softly, “Maybe so. Do you think you’ve got enough concepts now?”

Bellroc beamed. “Yeah. Thanks to you.”

Skrael shook his head. “Thanks to your brilliance.”

Bellroc got a funny look on their face that Skrael couldn’t quite identify, but to avoid an awkward silence after his… disarmingly honest compliment, he said, “So. Can I steal you for a break, now?”

Bellroc looked a touch relieved at the subject change, before a sly grin crossed their face. “Mmm… if I was convinced…” They shot back.

“Well…” Skrael’s eyes turned mischievous. “We haven’t had a bad horror movie night in a while.”

“Oh, that might just do it.” They smirked.

Skrael resisted the laugh that threatened to break his demeanor, as he playfully said, “I know what you like.” He winked.

Not one to be outdone, they matched his tone. “You sure do, darling.”

“Only the best for you, my dear.” Skrael stood back up, but before Bellroc could stand, too, he moved one hand to their shoulder, looking them in the eyes. 

“But, first. On a serious note, are you sure you’re feeling up to it? I won’t force you; I just think a break will be good for you.”

Bellroc stared into Skrael’s eyes, searching for something, before their face eased into a softer expression. “...Yeah. I’m sure. I feel a lot better, now. Which is also thanks to you.” 

Skrael was no stranger to their hugs, so feeling their arms loop around him, he adjusted quickly, reaching to wrap his arms around their shoulders, placing one hand on the back of their head.

“I’ve got your back, Bells. Always.” 

Neither of them acknowledged the soft brush of his lips against their forehead, for fear of breaking whatever had just passed in the air between them, but as Skrael’s chest warmed, and Bellroc’s face heated, they both allowed themselves a hidden, indulgent grin.

[effable-ineffability]

Prompt: unfallen Crowley (idc if Raphael headcanon or not) has a higher ranking than aziraphale in heaven. Slowly falls in love with aziraphale through the ages, but weird dynamic because of rank. Aziraphale much worse at lying to Gabriel with no demon to learn from. Gabriel has little “punishments” for Aziraphale if he messes up a miracle. Crowley doesn’t know until he finds Aziraphale delirious with exhaustion after trying to do enough miracles to make up for fudging one. Please angst.

i gotchu anon i am here for the angst but also i am a sucker for happy endings let these boys be happy ok

honestly, i waver back and forth on raphael hc, because i absolutely love the idea, but at the same time, it’s nice to think that crowley was a no-one in heaven and is a no-one in hell and still manages to fuck up all their plans; so anyway, i left it up to interpretation and just refer to him as “crowley” because i can because maybe it’s just the name he chose to blend in with humans because his angel name is a bit too obvious?  reader’s choice 👍

long boi here because i found myself thinking that i could write an entire novel-length fanfic about this.  perhaps one day… 

--

Aziraphale stumbled into his bookshop, only remembering to lock the door behind him at the very last moment before very nearly tripping into the armchair across the shop.  He put a hand on his head and tried to get his eyes to focus on something, but was a little surprised to find that he seemed to have two - no, three - desks, and rather more bookshelves than he seemed to remember having installed.  The word exhausted came to mind, but he wasn’t really sure what to do with it.

“Aziraphale, is that you?” came a voice descending the stairs.  “Thought I heard you come in, expected you’d be back some time ago, been waiting--- Aziraphale?”

“Oh, yes, hello,” Aziraphale said in a cheery but slightly slurred voice.  “Yes, I’m back.”

Crowley dropped the cups of tea he was holding; they forgot to shatter, and simply landed upright on the floor.  He rushed over to the other angel and took Aziraphale’s face in his hands.  “What happened?” he asked urgently, his thumb rubbing against Aziraphale’s cheek.

“S’nothing,” Aziraphale slurred.

“You’re bleeding,” Crowley said, his voice a little sharper than he’d meant it.

“M’not.”

Crowley took his hand back and showed it to Aziraphale; there was gold staining his thumb and palm.  “You’re bleeding from your eyes, what happened?”

“S--- s’nothing,” he mumbled, swatting Crowley’s three hands away.  That didn't seem like the right number of hands.

Crowley didn’t relent, wiping up more of the shining blood-tears with a frown.  In a low, almost dangerous tone, he asked, “Did someone hurt you?”

It had been just over three thousand years that Crowley had been stationed on Earth with Aziraphale.  At first, he had thought it was a punishment for something he’d done, or maybe someone had heard him asking too many questions.  He was assured that no, he’d done nothing wrong, and that the angel Aziraphale simply required extra assistance and/or oversight from someone of higher rank, and that Crowley would be quite good for the job.

At first, he’d found Aziraphale to be a bit too by-the-book and uptight.  But over the centuries, Crowley found himself becoming rather fond of the other angel; still by-the-book and uptight, but instead of annoying, these characteristics became endearing.  They would argue regularly; at first, Crowley’s exasperation could get overwhelming, but these days, he found himself smiling, even while shooting down another of Aziraphale’s ridiculous ideas.

And lately, he had found himself not even arguing.

“No,” Aziraphale said as firmly as he could manage (which was with all the firmness of yogurt).

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I-it wasn’t--- it was-was me, I-I had to---”

“You had to what?”

Aziraphale frowned, dropping his eyes; he had been a little confused as to why Crowley had decided to have two heads this evening, anyway.  “M-make up for a mistake,” he mumbled.

Crowley sighed, and wiped away the last few streaks of gold down Aziraphale’s cheeks; he didn’t much like the sound of that, but wasn’t willing to push too hard while the other angel was nearly delirious.  “Okay, here, it’s all right, you’re home now.  You should lie down, can you get upstairs?”

Aziraphale shifted and tried to stand, but collapsed right back into the chair.  He chuckled weakly and closed his eyes.  “M’fraid not.”

“Okay,” Crowley said, taking a deep breath.  “That’s all right, just stay here, I’ll make you some--- tea, some tea,” he muttered distractedly, looking around.  “Ah, yes.”  He picked up the two mugs from where they were waiting, and pressed one into Aziraphale’s hands, refusing to let him not take it.  Crowley sat down on the floor, resting his arms on Aziraphale’s legs to keep an eye on the other.  “It’s chamomile,” he said when Aziraphale just sat in silence with his eyes closed.

“Your chamomile?”  Aziraphale’s voice was soft, and a little cracked, as if it was coming from somewhere deep in his chest and had to climb out of a fresh grave.

“Mmhm,” Crowley confirmed, nudging Aziraphale’s hand a bit with his own.  “Your favorite.”

Aziraphale’s lips twitched, and he hummed a little, but still didn’t lift the mug.

Crowley could remember the day he realized the difference between his usual feelings of angelic love and the warmth of the encompassing love he felt for Aziraphale.  It had been a few centuries ago, when Crowley had first taken up gardening.  He had purchased a tea plant, and spent an afternoon researching how to care for, harvest, dry, and brew it all properly - only to realize that he had done all of this simply because he wanted to make a proper cup of tea for Aziraphale.

Their ranks made it all rather difficult, though; consorting with subordinates was generally frowned upon.  So Crowley kept his realizations to himself; rule-following Aziraphale certainly wouldn’t be interested, anyway.

“Try it,” Crowley said gently, nudging Aziraphale’s hand again.  “It’ll help.”

Aziraphale swallowed, and shakily lifted the mug to his lips.  “Smells lovely,” he managed, taking the smallest of sips.  “Mm.”  But it really did seem to help, because he took a second sip before lowering his arm again.  His hand bumped against Crowley’s.  Neither of them shifted to change that.  He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes.  Concern was etched in every corner of Crowley’s face.  “Hello, my dear,” Aziraphale said, touching his cheek with a little smile.

Crowley relaxed, if only a little.  “Told you it would help.  Keep drinking.  Can you tell me what happened?  I can’t heal you if I don’t know what happened.  Please.”

“Oh, no, none of that is necessary,” Aziraphale assured him, taking another sip.  “Mm, it really is quite good.”

“Aziraphale.”

“There’s nothing to heal,” Azirphale said gently, “because it’s just exhaustion.  No injuries.”

“What in God’s name---”

“Really now---”

“---have you done to get yourself so bloody exhausted?”  Crowley ignored the interruption; he’d blaspheme if he felt like it.  It wasn’t the first time, and he hadn’t Fallen yet.  “You must have had to do a thousand bloody miracles in an hour to bleed from your eyes.”

“Well,” Aziraphale said, avoiding his gaze, “it was closer to four hundred, I think, but---”

“Four hundred in an hour?” Crowley interjected.  “What the--- why?”

But it seemed like Aziraphale couldn’t answer.  He looked into his tea for a moment, then took a few more sips.  “I’ll be quite all right,” he said with his best attempt at assurance.  “So really, the tea was lovely, but---”

“Aziraphale.”  Crowley set his mug down and rose up to his knees to hold the other’s face again.  “Why won’t you tell me what happened?”

Bright blue eyes looked at him, and Crowley waited.  He waited as the seconds stretched into minutes.  He was quite prepared to wait if the minutes wanted to stretch right on into hours as well.  But then Aziraphale’s face fell, and tears - real tears - began welling in his eyes; he couldn’t keep this up any longer.  “I messed up a blessing,” he whispered.  “A-and Gabriel--- well, he said I’d have to fix it, so-so I tried, I tried to fix it all, a-and---”  He took a great, shuddering breath, and Crowley stood without thinking in order to hold him as he broke down.  Aziraphale clutched onto him, sobbing into his chest.

“Sh,” Crowley murmured, stroking his hair.  “It’s all right, you’re all right.  S’just us here, and I’ll take care of you.  You’ll be all right.”

While his hands and voice were as gentle as ever, anger was boiling inside of him.  Vitriolic, unadulterated anger.  He knew Aziraphale might not always be the best with the blessings and big miracles, but to punish him like this?  To push him to the point of near-discorporation?  If his desire to nurse Aziraphale back to health hadn’t been so strong, he would have teleported straight to heaven in that instant and had a word with Gabriel.  Several words.  And probably a few punches, as well.

“I’m sorry,” Aziraphale managed a few minutes later, hiccuping slightly.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--- and it’s such a nice shirt---”

Crowley didn’t let him go.  “It’s fine,” he assured him.  “It’s just a shirt.”

“I-I think there was--- just a bit more blood---”

“Just a shirt,” Crowley said again firmly.  Then he sighed.  He had hugged Aziraphale before, had held him while he cried.  And every time, it brought about these terribly conflicting emotions.  Oh, he’d do anything for Aziraphale; but just once, he wanted to hold him when he wasn’t crying.  “Are you feeling all right?”

Aziraphale hummed confirmation.  His hands were still gripping the back of Crowley’s shirt, and he hadn’t fully lifted his head.  “Much better.  Think I just… needed to get that out.  Thank you,” he mumbled.  “I-I know it’s just tea, and… and watching me cry, but.  But you always take care of me.  Always.  And you do it so well.  Thank you.”

“Mmn yeah, well.”  Crowley felt himself frowning, and was glad Aziraphale couldn’t see it.  “What else are friends for?”

“Hmm.”  Aziraphale shifted slightly, and put the side of his head against Crowley’s chest.  “Mm yes, friends.”

“What’s that tone for?”

“What tone?”

“Doubt, there was doubt in your voice.  You don’t think you’re my friend?”

“I don’t think I’m just a friend, my dear.”

Crowley’s heart skipped an unnecessary beat, and he tried to pull back; but Aziraphale kept him held tight.  “What are you talking about?” Crowley muttered, feeling heat creep up his neck.

“I can hear it, you know,” Aziraphale said, tilting his head slightly to indicate the ear pressed over Crowley’s heart.  “I always can when you hold me.  And it’s so very comforting.”

“You’re--- you’re feverish, don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?”  Aziraphale pulled back and smiled up at Crowley.  “I am feeling a bit warm, I think, but I also know what love sounds like.”

“Course you do, we’re angels.”

“All kinds of love, my dear.”  He tapped Crowley’s chest.  “And that is not the same love you have for the world around us.”

Crowley was flustered.  “Look, you’re clearly feeling better, so let’s get you up to your bed so you can lie down, all right?  Maybe even sleep off the rest of this--- this--- whatever this is.”

Aziraphale giggled a little and let Crowley pull him to his feet.  They didn’t speak as they made their way upstairs and to the bedroom, where Aziraphale shed his shoes, jacket, and waistcoat before collapsing into the pillows.  He lay still for a moment - Crowley collected the discarded clothes and laid them out for whenever Aziraphale awoke - but finally turned to look at the redhead.  “Can I hear it again?” he asked.

“Hear what?”

Aziraphale made a grabbing motion with his hands, and Crowley found himself drifting over to him as if magnetized.  “I know you can’t say it out loud, so let me hear it from your heart,” Aziraphale murmured, taking Crowley’s wrist when he got close enough and tugging him down onto the bed.

“Aziraphale, I-I don’t---”  But his protests died in his throat as Aziraphale pushed him down against the pillows and shifted to lay down with his head on Crowley’s chest.  To his credit, Crowley showed an admirable effort in keeping himself composed.

“It’s really quite lovely,” Aziraphale said, then yawned.  “I wish you’d let me hear it more often.”

Hesitantly, Crowley wrapped an arm around Aziraphale; the sleepy angel smiled, so Crowley added his other arm.  “How long have you known?” he whispered.

“Long enough.”  Aziraphale’s eyes fluttered closed.  “Did you think you were hiding it?”

“I’d hoped I was.”

“No such luck, I’m afraid.”  His voice was starting to drift.  “Don’t worry.  It’ll be our secret.”

“Our,” Crowley repeated, and couldn’t help but smile just a little.  “No more secrets from me, though, understand?  Next time Gabriel gets on your case, you tell me, agreed?  Otherwise, I’ll not let you hear this again.”

“Bit unfair.”

“Agreed?”

“Mmmnh yes, all right.  Agreed.”

Crowley ran his fingers through Aziraphale’s hair and stroked his back until he fell properly asleep to the steady rhythm of I love you beating between them.

[it-will-not-last-the-night]

PQ2 - End

As I did expect; making sure I was able to comfortably beat the Velvet Rangers first did mean Enlil, though visually impressive, wasn’t a difficult fight. I simply equipped Ryuji with the Omnipotent Orb and had him All Guard every turn and this left Enlil unable to do anything whilst the Joker, Mitsuru, Chie and Ann wailed on them.

The ending was honestly good though, very emotional, heart-tugging, I honestly haven’t had this much fun finishing a game since J.J. Macfield and the Island of the Missing. 

PQ2 is honestly a gem I feel. Beyond fun mechanics that I found easy to get back into even after long gaps, it balances the character development of an enormous cast very successfully, with only some issues.

Even though I knew nothing of P3 or P4 the game conveys their characters in a way I found enjoyable and easy to sink into, and that is really no small feat considering that the cast is, honestly, just insanely large by the end. 

I enjoyed Enlil as an antagonist for the most part, though they could definitely have used a little more substance in the plot, but this game, overall, was less focused on it’s villain and more on it’s protagonist, and that’s fine.

To that end Hikari: the game is honestly the story of her character development and I loved her. It’s a pity we don’t see much of her in the fandom, because I honestly adore Hikari and find her enchanting and relatable in a number of ways.

Her farewell to the friends she made at the finale of the game was genuinely touching.

In general the farewells at the end are emotional, and I enjoyed them all, event he little nod to Akechi’s own mixed feelings, clearly dealing with something, as he is the most hesitant of the Phantom Thieves to finally exit the theatre after they have learned they will forget everything once they are outside. A nice touch!

Of course, because it is me, I do wish to gush briefly about Ryuji: OH MY GOSH I love his dynamic with Hikari? But, also, I just love him in this game? He comes across in PQ2 as if he has matured from his incarnation in the vanilla game. Not only is he the character, along with Futaba, who spends the most time supporting and speaking with Hikari, but even in the ending when most of the Thieves all express varying degrees of excitement or forced enthusiasm about returning home, Ryuji is the one who most noticeably feels sad about the whole affair, expressing how he suddenly misses everything they’d gone through.

On the note of Ryuji and Hikari’s bond: I had thought it mostly just an accidental outgrowth of Ryuji’s common role as an externalization of Joker’s words, but when I watch the ending perhaps it is more intentional than I thought. Noticeably Futaba and Ryuji deliver the closing lines to Hikari, Ryuji is the one who, as she tears up, tells her to remember to keep her promise to invite them to see her movies and in the post-credits scene Ryuji is the character who feels they NEED to see her movie when they find a flyer for it, going so far as to clutch at his head because he, without knowing why, just knows he HAS to go do this. Furthermore, the cutscene as Hikari says her final goodbye and leaves, is framed around a small group of characters: Ryuji, Futaba, P3FemPC, Yukari, Mitsuru and Morgana. Among those Ryuji, Futaba and P3FemPC are the characters with the largest interaction with Hikari throughout the game, and I honestly have adored those four together.

I honestly have no idea why I am typing this, the game is dated and I believe interest in it limited, but I’d recommend any fan of Persona who hasn’t given it a try to do so, if only because the story and characters are honestly well executed, better in many ways than Vanilla.

To be frank; whilst Vanilla has moments that legitimately make me depressed, the scene in Shinjuku and the scene after Shido’s Ship, even at it’s worst PQ2 never has it’s characters be that mean to each other. Even when they jibe or insult they never cross a line to abusing or accosting, and they never all single out one character to relentlessly, constantly, deride.

A breath of fresh air really!

Anyway; I loved the game, I had fun, now I guess I wait for Scramble to become available, and I hope we get to see more of the P5 cast still in future (ALSO ATLUS JUST LET ME HOOK THE PT’S UP WITH EACH OTHER OR DATE THE BOYS PLEASE I WANT TO GIVE THEM LOVE TOO THEY DESERVE IT).

For fun below the divide I’m just gonna mention the relationships, romantic or platonic I’m not going to bother much with a distinction, I really have come to like following this game even though, I am sure, they are all crack.

Enjoy:

Chie/Yukiko: Whether best friends or girlfriends no pair of characters in the P4 cast seemed to, from the outset, come across as obviously as if they are close. The two seem to complement each other well, know each other well and play off each other well and are always delightful and entertaining to watch.

Mitsuru/Junpei: I talked about this one before; I just honestly loved their Ticket and found it endearing how both, in their interactions with each other, were almost Tsundere-ish in admitting to private desires to get along, and take care of each other dearly, but struggling to break through the shell of the other to confess this. 

Ryuji/Hikari: Talked about this one at massive length already; suffice to say I honestly loved their interactions so much and, along with Ryuji’s interactions with Sophia I have seen now in Scramble, Ryuji radiates enormous, powerful, Big Brother/Father energy. Which I think is great? What better arc for Ryuji than, a person who’s life is overshadowed by his awful father, to turn out to be a wonderful father himself.

Yusuke/Yukiko: These two just get each other. Honestly they just click. They tune in to the same cosmic wavelength and leave everyone confused as they naturally just synch up. It is a pity as the game enters its later stages we see less of them, in the early game they are a treat.

Ken/Akechi: Ken and Akechi just are perfect, wonderful, foils to each other and it’s almost a pity the game can’t actually go the full way with it because Akechi’s secret can’t come out. This leaves it as a tease, the suggestion, of what could be, but that’s still plenty good. I also find it always interesting to see Ryuji and Akechi, two boys heavily formed by an abusive father, both in their own explicit words state outright they relate themselves to Ken in some way. With Akechi, because he is so good at wearing masks, I wonder how true it is when he relates himself to Ken, it’d be interesting to know if this is one of his lies to maintain his façade, or a bit of his true self creeping out as it often does. 

Joker/Junpei: I don’t know why I like these two? But Joker comes across as really fond and supportive of him with his consistent chances to shout out “Junpei! Master Detective!”

Yukari/Junpei: As I said in my head I go back-and-forth whether this would be endearing or a toxic hate-love relationship. There’s no denying, though, that these two interact more with each other than anyone else in the P3 cast, they’re the Yukiko/Chie in that sense, if Yukiko/Chie consisted of a lot of barbs and harsh words. We actually get a glimpse of what, I feel, is a healthier dynamic for the two in P3FemPC’s world in the epilogue, where Yukari is still barbed but rather than deflating Junpei ripostes back, this automatically makes it seem less mean-spirited heckling and more two people, comfortable with each other, bantering.

Futaba/Hikari: This one is the obvious choice since the game is obviously going out of it’s way to make this an important relationship. Futaba sees herself in Hikari and appoints herself like an older sister to help her. It is adorable and amazing character development as the socially reclusive and shy Futaba clearly forces herself out of her comfort zone to prove to Hikari that she can change and that she is not a lost cause. Along with Hikari it is, perhaps, Futaba who is the true MVP of this entire game. 

Futaba/P3FemPC: Futaba gets some lovely Sister-like sequences with the incredibly fun and social P3FemPC, who Futaba is clearly in awe of. It is a pity that these really only happen in the early game, I’d love for them to continue, but P3FemPC as the big, fun, sister figure of Futaba is fun.

Ryuji/Yukiko: This one is just because the ending of Haru and Yukiko’s ticket has one of the funniest bit ever when Haru and Yukiko decide they want to ‘play’ with Ryuji and Yosuke. Yukiko’s ‘Will you devote all of your being to the name of the Amagi Family?’ is wonderful and I can just imagine Ryuji’s reaction to such a frank proposition. 

Mitsuru/P3FemPC: This one was actually surprising to me but Mitsuru really has something of an almost maternal instinct for P3FemPC. She seeks to console her and let her know she is valued, even if Mitsuru is poor at expressions of affection, as seen in Junpei’s case as well. In many ways it strikes me as a more sympathetic Sae/Makoto. Mitsuru clearly cares for the P3FemPC and is aware of her disconsolate feelings, but struggles to find the words to comfort her, but doesn’t let that stop her trying. 

[bleak-nomads]

Twin Human Highway Flares - The Mountain Goats

Snake Song - Isobell Campbell and Mark Lanegan

Devil Don’t You Fool Me - Josh Farrow

All Rooms Cable A/C Free Coffee - The Extra Glenns

Rain in Soho - The Mountain Goats

Don’t Really Know What to Say - Desert Noises

In a Sweater Poorly Knit - mewithoutYou

Estate Sale Sign - The Mountain Goats

NW5 - Madness

Call them Brothers - Regina Spektor ft. Only Son

Dominant Tones: Acoustic with a country/road trip edge at the start, transforming to something unsettled, yet beautiful and new with piano and harp, and ending with chaos and a lingering sense of melancholy harmonies. 

Spotify * YouTube * Link to Fic

A ridiculous amount of notes under the cut!

*

Wow, I’ve had this playlist for...a long time? I suppose I could make it five times the length, say a little for every chapter, but when all is said and done I’m awfully fond of the 10-song format, and it’s very manageable to listen to. So here goes.

1. Twin Human Highway Flares actually is more of a scene-setting piece than the actual beginning of bleeding. You can guess that the human highway flares in question are the dynamic disaster duo Blonco. There’s a lot that’s perfect about this, the trashy motel vibe, the slow movement, the ‘benediction’ remarks evoking the history that brought them together. My favourite fitting lyric is this:

Wind in your hair, alright Sunset spilling through the rear window Your white t-shirt hugging your shoulders Beaded with sweat

There’s just something very much ‘Tuco watching Blondie with wonder as they drive’ about the whole thing. The endline is very poignant to me too, considering the way the whole thing goes. 

2. Snake Song I had on the list early, but had to warm up to even though in my heart of hearts I knew it was right. I go back and forth on whether this is Tuco singing about Angel or Angel singing about himself, but part of me leans a little for the latter. There’s something airy and seductive about it, definitely dangerous. You can see how Tuco is getting drawn in, but there’s still Blondie between them and so much at stake here. Favourite lyric:

Future, he don't Try to find me Skin I been through Dies behind me Solid hollow Wrapped in hatred Not a drop of Venom wasted

Honestly, I think what I like most about it is that it has a bit of slippage between all of the trio, as they both have skins they slip in and out of that are tainted with various forms of hatred. ~Themes~

3. Devil You Don’t Fool Me was the last song I added, thanks to some Spotify recs -- it was the circling start that drew me in, as well as the title, but the FLAIR of the chorus really was what got me. It’s flashy and a little tacky, which is absolutely perfect for the awkward courtship Tuco and Angel have while Blondie is away. My favourite part is actually a one-liner “Or you'll end up like the devil down on Baker's Street” , which made me laugh out loud knowing what a pickle poor Blondie is in wrangling Baker. 

4. All Rooms Cable A/C Free Coffee I have been sure about from the start. It’s actually in spirit another Mountain Goats song, if the singer sounds familiar. But it suits their road trip so damn well, all the easy movement tinged with lust and recklessness. You get the sense that something in this is waiting to fall apart, but for now, there’s a soup buffet and rope kink, and maybe a threesome…. I’ll give you the opening lyrics as my faves:

Wine and honey, lipstick and spit

You coming through the door with a cigarette lit

And I'm not supposed to think your death wish is cool

But then I see you knocking back tequilas by the pool

And I am the yellow rose

Growing near the ground waiting to climb something.

I think there’s something awfully Tuco to Blondie, and heck, even Angel to Blondie on some days about the line “I’m not supposed to think your death wish is cool // but then I see you knocking back tequilas by the pool”. The chorus lines with “waiting to climb something” -- just perfect cause they’re all horny bastards all over the interstate at this point XD

5. Rain in Soho is the inevitable crash down of all of this -- and I think the piano sets it firmly in Angel’s perspective, though there is something about the fleeing, and the reminiscing of night clubs past that brings Tuco back into the picture. Evidently given Angel Eyes, I have to pick this part to highlight:

No promise sweeter than a blood pact Nothing harder to go through than a vanishing act No morning colder than the first frost No friends closer than the ones we've lost

I mean “nothing harder to go through with than a vanishing act” fucking killer line for someone having to fake his own death. And then the following lines from Tuco’s perspective, thinking about Angel, about leaving him behind. Siiiigh.

6. Don’t Really Know What to Say I believe was a rec from @marmaleted, and has murdered me every time I put it on. I eventually decided its raw honesty was best suited to this period of letter-writing from Tuco to Angel, as Angel trails them at a distance, trying to decide if it’s safe to reveal himself (ie. has his ruse succeeded), and more to the point, wondering what the hell he will say when he does see them again. Lucky for him Tuco provides a convenient reason to enter. I will share this:

Heard the sound of your voice when you said that you missed me Dripping from the ink of your pen Left your heart in the note hoping that it would hit me Howling like a dog at the door to let you in to my heart Show you everything

Just, like, wow. How can I not scream and think of them, of how carefully they opened up to each other, of all that’s missing that they’re still wondering. 

7. In a Sweater Poorly Knit killed me even harder, if that’s possible. It’s a song with a deeply religious true meaning that I have relentlessly re-interpreted into about the chaos of the trio’s love. The religious overtones do help the priory mood tho! I actually have a lyric-by-lyric envisioning of the story set to this song, beginning from when Angel arrives at the priory, covering Tuco and Angel reuniting from Tuco’s perspective in verse 1, covering Tuco trying to figure out why Blondie is so angry and distant in verse 2, and covering Angel and Blondie’s bitterness at each other eventually melting to the rose chapel reconciliation. I will quote nothing, please listen to the song <3

8. Estate Sale Sign documents Blondie’s descent into worrying territory -- I always loved that this song has a lot of religious overtones also, and they come off quite well here. There’s something very Tuco to Blondie in this, but also Blondie to Tuco -- that bitter feeling that ‘the best is past’. Favourite lyrics:

Worked hard to build this altar we made it earn its keep The cracks across its surface spiderweb while we're asleep The sacrificial stains all spread out and soaking through But I remember when we kept it pretty, me and you And high above the water the eagle spots the fish Every martyr in this jungle is gonna get his wish

Mmmm just like -- the feeling of being off-page, of one person trying desperately to keep a narrative alive that just doesn’t work anymore. And the chorus “every martyr in this jungle is gonna get his wish”! Just ouch, but ouch so good.

9. NW5 haunted me -- I believe @believerindaydreams​ recommended it to me early on, and it just resonates with me after the ending. That feeling of having been so deeply betrayed by someone you’ve known forever, by someone you’ve loved and trusted forever. I won’t share a verse, but just share the haunting line “I will love you all my life // but without you in my life”. Which feels very much where Tuco is at right now, about both of them.

10. Call them Brothers is a bit like the start song in that it feels like it wanders off into just past the story. Call it a credits song, if you will, a playout for the shattered trust between the partners the story began with. In some sense it feels like the last scene playing out in each of the trio’s memory in turn. So a line for each of them: Tuco, on a bus shaking and alone, “Can't we find something else to pretend? // Like nobody's won and we're safe at the end”. Blondie, in the aftershock of the horror he’s reaped, “In the darkness the film machine's spinning // So let's leave it on” . Angel, wondering how he could have misread this so utterly, “Everyone's chasing a shot// A shot rings out, nobody wants it // Nobody wants it to stop”. 

Anyways if you read all this to the end, wow, thank you so much <3 Feel free to jump in, I always appreciate thoughts on my playlists. Thank you!

[spyoikawa]

Hihi! I'm alive! Battling this history competition, but I'll make it!

So let's jump back into these requests starting with, @wakatoshiswife

(sorry I lost the request so I'll copy/paste below the line break!)

(and I am once again on a different electronic, so sorry if this looks different, I will format it to look correct later)

Request: Hello! I saw that you’re doing matchups for valentines! I’d like to request for one too if that is okay :) I’d like to matched up with a guy please...I’m a 160cm girl, ISTJ/ESTJ (I’m an ambivert), my enneagram is type 8. My zodiac sign is cancer. I have black curly hair (type 3B hair) and my eye colour is brown. At first glance, people often think I’m mean bcs I have really think eyebrows and I have a resting b face. However once you get to know me, I’m pretty fun. My hobbies are gaming, baking and editing. The characters I kin are Sakurajima Mai, Light Yagami & Osamu Miya. I enjoy working out as well! Especially jogging on a cold morning/evening. I love watching formula 1 and I would watch football if it means getting to bond with my partner/friends. I play any sports but I like volleyball and badminton the most. I also enjoy cooking Asian cuisine as I am asian, I’m a mixed Persian-Indian. My favourite weather is Autumn as it matches my aesthetic and overall aura and vibe. My favourite colour is red as if I were to be a colour based off my personality, I’d be red. Although I look best in nudes, black, white and purple...I also have the best music taste ever. I’m the chill friend in the whole group. I am very very laidback, in fact I can be a little too laidback at times but it’s nothing bad, I know when too loosen up and when to get serious, hence this is why I’m often (almost every time) a leader. I’m quite the procrastinator and the last minute person but I always know what I’m doing so its all good. I’m confident in what I do and I stand strong for what I believe in. Words, will not hurt me unless it’s said by directed to an insecurity of mine. I hate losing. I’m that one competitive friend that hates losing but I never go too much yk. I’m pretty chill when it comes to competition, that meaning, I don’t show how competitive I am. I have a blank face as I’m competing with others. I always strive to win even if it means winning in a ridiculous way, however I won’t drag it too much as I hate when a small problem gets really really big bcs people keep making it big although it’s just a minor problem (I’m so sorry if you don’t understand T^T). I’m kind, polite and pretty mature but not too mature as I don’t want my adolescent to go to waste. Therefore I try my best to loosen and up and relax! If I were to go on an outing with my friends and they’re being noisy and loud in public, instead of telling them to quiet down, I’ll leave them there so I don’t get embarrassed 🗿. I hate creating a scene in public. I’m not a fan of popularity unless it’s for a good cause. Therefore, I’m a private person with around 15 people in my circle and I enjoy it this way :) I’m also very passionate in what I do. I’m very ambitious and my hogwarts house is syltherin. I know what I’m doing as for now and I love to plan ahead so it won’t be chaotic. I’m 100% a leader and my personality is very dominant. However when it comes to relationships, I’m 100% the submissive (or switch? I’m not sure) one bcs I am very shy to actually initiate anything. My preference in a partner is someone who’s dominant and he wouldn’t mind losing for me. If I were to be an animal, I’d be a wolf or a tiger but as for my partner, I’d like him to be a wolf or a lion but deep down he’s just a bear 🥰. I also prefer guys who aren’t loud, like quiet guys but not too quiet. Ones who talk when they need to, as I’m not rly fond of people who talk a lot a lot. It can be quite annoying and I’ll probably end up accidentally hurting them. I’m so sorry if this is too long bcs I think I went overboard. Thank you so much and have a nice day :D

Alright, thank you so much for this request, and thank you for being patient with me! I'm glad I got a nice long request to get back into the jist of things! And I never like to assume, but I feel like I've been bugging you, so I'm gonna assume you were requesting tulips-

anyhoo, without further ado (lol that rhymes)

Rion's Flower Shop! Today we have Tulips! I match you up with

Kuroo Tetsuro

relationship dynamic

- its actually quite nice! A perfect balance of similarities and opposites!

- and those said opposites are harmonious!

- you guys are both admirable leaders in your own way, and can often cooperate together, and despite different approaches, reach the same goal

- both of you are really confident in your talents and areas and you use that a lot to your advantages

- he's lowkey scared of your poker face but will never admit it

- despite this, the little perks and habits the two of you have are quite amusing

- he still struggles to see how tf you get work done when you procrastinate so much, but is honestly amazed by it

- and the competitiveness you share drive the 2 of you to keep moving forward

- it's always nice to have someone supportive of you (and you 2 are, don't get me wrong) but it's also nice to have some friendly banter and competition, whether it be over music, which teams are better, opinions, which food type is best, etc.

- it keeps you two on your toes

- and (as I mentioned earlier), although the two of you can keep going back and forth, you can also lean on each other, and trust one another for support.

- he can count on you to show up to some of his games and you can count on him to have your back you want to try something new or show him your hobbies

- you guys are also there emotionally, he will always be there watching your back, and cheering you up or proving people wrong after particularly harsh, uncalled for comments, because he knows how you really are and that those people are talking bs :)

- and you do the same for him, to cheer him up, let him know he's a good captain and friend. And although he doesn't show it as much when he's older, he still gets nervous in social situations and he can count on you to be a constant in new areas

What you guys do together/ What's it like with them

- this can either be the most fun relationship or the most comforting, laid back one ever!

- and honestly both are good choices

- neither of you really want to lose your childhood, cause you only get it once

- so it's not uncommon to try out new hobbies or experience new things together to make the most of this time you have

- there are a lot of firsts with him because of that

- he doesn't mind having fun out in public, like that's the point of going out to him, but he also agrees with not wanting to cause trouble, one) that shit's embarrassing 2) he knows it'll make you, himself, and others uncomfortable, so there's really no need to do something uncalled for

- however, despite all the fun of childhood, it's also good to have calm, quiet moments in certain relationships, such as this one

- he doesn't mind, and actually quite enjoys indoor dates, like studying together or watching your favorite movies/shows

- that gives him a chance to be and focus on you only, and maybe get to know you better

- no matter what you do, you two have a silent understanding of what you enjoy, don't enjoy, and what each others needs and wants are

- and he also understands how you might not like to initiate things, he can understand to a degree

- for a while it's a matter of who will make the first move, but once he gets comfortable, he won't mind initiating it for you :D

What they like about you

- he likes your overall personality tbh

- how you can be so laid back yet confident at the same time

- yet also sweet and nice to others

- it's a nice mixture where he doesn't need to force his personality out and express everything that comes his way, but he also doesn't need to shrink to avoid overwhelming you

- and although he likes to take the charge, he likes that you can be dominant at times too, sometimes he'd rather just leave things to you, because he knows he'll like what you like

- it also feels easy for him to talk to you

- he doesn't know why but he finds himself expressing his opinions and sharing things he'd usually keep guarded with you, because he trusts you enough to understand and not share with others

- overall, its the understanding for him :)

- and he's taking this to the grave, but he's also a firm believer that slytherins should stick together

alrighty, to be completely honest, idk how I did on this one, so please, if you did not like the style of writing or the character I matched you up with, please let me know! I will gladly rewrite it for you!