#there are so many layers of passive aggressiveness in this ask

[spicybylerpolls]

i'm curious as to why you think it's a good idea to keep posting these polls/asks in the regular byler tag... might be smart for you to not do that. "oh just block our tag" not everyone is gonna know who you are right away and 99% of the time gimmick blogs like this stick to their personal tags and don't use the main ones. i know the byler tag is just sort of a dumping ground for everything (annoying. everyone stop tagging your personal posts as byler) but imo it would be best for everyone if you Stopped doing that

Well, I'm tagging posts as Byler because the polls/asks are... for the Byler community? And they typically directly relate to Byler? I do try to space things out/give breathing room so it doesn't clutter the tag too much, but this is such a wild ask.

"I'm curious as to why you think it's a good idea" is such a passive aggressive thing to say. I didn't know a public tag had rules for what was allowed to be posted? This isn't a subreddit lol.

And wdym "gimmick" blog? You don't have to like this blog, but I don't understand how it's a "gimmick" blog? It almost seems like you see sex as this superfluous and excessive/pointless/unserious category and not a very meaningful, deeply human part of life.

Also, what you're saying isn't even true. Byler confessions, Byler polls, that one account that ran those controversial opinion polls?

They've all posted in the main tag lol. You just don't like convos about sex (which this blog isn't even exclusively about- there have been other anons). And that's fine. But just filter the tag or block the account and move on. You can't police what other Bylers do.

[pianapplez]

Hello there 👋👀,

So I just found your blog and had a lot of fun scrolling through all the pjo show crit😂 I couldn't help but notice that one tag you left on a post where you said you had some beef with Annabeth's portrayal in the books 👀 Would you mind elaborating on that if you're comfortable with it🙈? Because I absolutely share that sentiment, but it's sooo veeeery rare that I see other people express anything like it... I've found that trying to be a part of the fandom can be pretty alienating most of the time, if you're not exactly the biggest most devoted Percabeth shipper...😅 And often any criticism leveled at Annabeth just gets you a smack with the "internalized-misogyny" hammer... it's even worse in the tv show now due to... obvious reasons...

Again just if you're comfortable with answering of course🙈 There is a reason I stayed on anon after all...😅😂

Really glad you asked because i finally get to ramble about this heheheh (going forward, know that i skimmed over The Last Olympian to have a clearer sense of what I meant because that's the book where Rick fumbles her character more than the others)

i'm gonna try to make as much sense as possible but short answer would be, she's underdeveloped. Long answer:

She really got on my nerves in the last two books, with the whole Rachel debacle and then the Battle of New York. I can't really remember a single moment in those books where she and Percy aren't bickering or having heated discussions, which really made me question their friendship status. Of course, it's not like friends can't fight and it obviously builds up the (romantic) tension between them, but it got unbearable at one point.

I understand she's a teenager in an incredibly stressful situation that didn't even get to have a normal upbringing- she grew up way too fast (run away at 7, head counselor at 12) while also not really maturing, which is not a problem for a character, if it is handled properly. Given the fact that I am writing this, Riordan did not.

On the surface, my biggest beef is that Annabeth is not exactly held accountable for her actions (ie. treating Rachel a bit like shit and going off on Percy for a bunch of stuff.) I know Percy is to blame a bit here: as far as we know, in TLO he basically cuts the greek world out of his life as much as he can as a coping mechanism. And while yes, he never apologizes either, he doesn't give her nearly half the hard time she gives him: always either giving him the cold shoulder (there must be at least one example of this in the entire series but i cant be bothered to look it up sorry) or starting an argument only to then storm off (see the "you're a coward, Percy Jackson!" scene, which is not the fairest example since she was confronting Percy about ignoring camp but also was a bit too harsh about it) (especially after finally reading the prophecy and being under the impression that he was absolutely going to die when he turned 16 lmao) or just straight up storming off (see, Annabeth reacting when Rachel shows up for the first time during the battle of new york). While most of these feel, at least to some degree, fairly justified given how the entire situation does an absolute number on her emotions, she comes off a bit brattish and like she's trying to rile Percy up, especially when it comes to Rachel, which in the context of a battle that could mean the destruction of the world.... Well, it reads as a bit childish to me, and i wouldn't exactly have that much of a problem with it if it was dealt with in some way (a two-way apology would be nice).

After that first impression, i realized that Annabeth is barely ever anything else other than a plot device (when relating to Luke) or a love interest (when relating to Percy). This might be because the books are on Percy's POV. Hell, on the third book he's even conflicted when Annabeth is considering joining the Hunters of Artemis, aka, when making a choice for herself would mean he loses her (which is fine and dandy but it feels like Percy is more upset about her choosing her own path rather than being sad about not seeing her as often); we really only get a few glimpses of her, as in, actually her when she's on her own.

Obviously it's impossible to talk about Annabeth without touching on percabeth, which also is, in my opinion, what hinders Annabeth's character the most. On paper they sound great. The guy whose fatal flaw is loyalty falls in love with a girl whose been let down by people over and over, and she decides to never give up on the boy whose always had people give up on him (can't find one of the million posts that talks about this right now but it always goes something like that) And yeah, the bickering is really well written! But that's literally as far as it ever goes: they don't ever seem to have fun together, because 8 times out of 10 the bickering ends up being passive aggressive, and mostly done by Annabeth. My biggest gripe about percabeth is that their friendship seems to be based off... shared trauma. Literally. Other than going on quests together we are given no examples of them hanging out, nor a reason why they would want to spend time together in the first place, not even a shared hobby. Yes, in the fourth book they had a movie "date" planned but of course they didn't even get to it, and surprise surprise, they had a minor discussion, and surprise surprise, Annabeth was passive aggressive again. It's hard to picture them having fun together when even the author doesn't write in any scenes in which they get along smoothly (and before you say anything, a scene in which they get along where neither of them is about to die, and they're not talking about previous adventures. Gets a bit hard then, doesn't it?) It's even harder to picture them as a couple when the moment she gets upset about something, she starts coming off as emotionally manipulative (see, again, literally any conversation with Rachel or about Rachel)

To be fair, the books are relatively short and don't allow many "filler" chapters, if you will; there's always something happening to keep the main plot or a minor plot point moving forward, but it's not like there is no room to develop the characters' relationships, especially when we're talking about the main char and what is essentially his endgame. As an example we have Percy and Clarisse, or Percy and Beckendorf. Their interactions are brief but still hold so much weight.

Worst of all, Annabeth could be one hell of a character; what's most interesting of all is how being a daughter of Athena she is still incredibly emotionally driven, which is displayed very clearly with her fatal flaw being pride: her telling the Sphynx that her questions were too easy was not smart nor strategic: it was completely impulsive. I seriously think she wasn't far from being the best character in the series had she been given more time.

I guess i have as much beef with Annabeth as i have with Rick for doing her dirty. I really could sum this up with: while her emotions are justified, she acts upon them quite poorly. And this is what i mean when i say she's underdeveloped, because it would've been nice to see her come to her senses a bit.

Would love to read anyone's opinions on her character though, feel free to comment, even (or especially) if you don't agree with me!

[tadc-harlequin-au]

Heyyyy I need to know what Swap!Harlequin Pomni's living situation is, and how her Caine fits into it... No reason in particular..

(Totally not for a fic I'm cooking, not at alllll)

;3

Her living situation is the fact that I was thinking: she's living in a large underground hideout (one of those war bunkers) hidden inside a broken down shed that sat abandoned for years until roleswap!Pomni and Abel found it and repurposed it for themselves. Since they're on the run, they can't exactly risk on staying on a big mansion like Harlequin!Caine does in the canon story.

On the surface, it looks like a very dilapidated bunker entrance and opening the surface entrance door would lead to an "unstable" walkway down that had seemingly collapsed in on itself, but if you were able to put in the effort of moving the "debris" out of the way, You'd realize that it's actually just a coverup to make sure the place never gets explored beyond the "collapsed" walkway. How is this coverup possible? One of Pomni's many magic tricks.

Opening the inner door and hopping onto the open elevator with barely any protective railings on it, it's layers upon layers of rooms, and there's a small open space in the middle of it all, with a tall high beam support connecting the layers to ensure that the place doesn't collapse in on itself. Caine likes to use these beams as like an obstacle course of sorts for getting up and down.

This is a rough layout on how I think it'd be, not the final look obvs but it is a start that I can improve on later down the line

There's a number of 'broken-but-still-kicking' Puppets living in this space, all being taken care of and attempted to be fixed back into their prime to give them a shot at living a life that was robbed from them. Not exactly in tip top shape, but hey. At the very least, they have a safe space away from their abusive masters, and the duo never claimed they were good at this kind of thing anyways.

Pomni does have an office, but it's significantly smaller, very homely and she doesn't spend as much time in there unless it's wanting a small enclosed space to simply smoke in, thinking of a gameplan for their current situation or figuring out what to do for the day, and the day after that. Even more surprising is the fact that Caine likes this area the most and stays in there for extended periods of time, whether Pomni is in or not. He's in a calmer state when that happens, so Pomni lets him be.

Speaking of Caine, how does he fit into all this? He just does. He's actually not as energetic as Harlequin!Pomni, being an Assassin Harlequin instead of an active fighter; he's much more toned down and surprisingly well-behaved in the grand scheme, if at all irritated at the entire situation and how he had let his guard down enough to be roped into her mess. Passive-aggressive and speaks in a low tone like he's constantly judging, which he is lmfao.

... But that doesn't mean he doesn't ask for a target Puppet to locate, capture and bring back (if he can't kill them lol) to be inaugurated to Pomni's cause. He's still acting on directives like a normal Puppet would.

He does find out one day that he has a knack for making/fixing mechanical things, after finding Abel's pathetic attempt to reverse engineer an old mechanical wonder. This newfound passion of his could occupy him for hours (or days usually) on end, and frankly? it's nice to have peace and quiet instead of him going off on her ear about how the whole place is a damn OSHA violation completely.

Even goes to the extent that he knows the ins and outs of a Puppet body like an expert surgeon would with the body of their patient, which... Pomni finds quite interesting because as far as she knows, there's only one person in her eyes who could be a natural at something like that.

[ghostwnby]

Crashing Tides

Authors note: So remember about 3 or 4 ish months ago I said I was working on a surfer shop worker!Daniel + moody rich 19 year old!Max age gap romance fic? Well, surprise! After a billion years the first part of it is finally here. I'm not 100% happy with it but I decided to finally just say fuck it and bite the bullet with it. I am hoping to write more in the future about this au but in the meantime if you have any suggestions or ideas about this au please feel free to share them with me :) my asks are always open <3 otherwise, I hope you enjoy!!

Warnings: language

Word count: 2,029 (2k)

----

The warmth of the Australian sun beats down harshly on Daniel’s skin as he tries his best to dodge and weave through the crowded boardwalk, not wanting to run anyone over with his bike. He wipes the layer of sweat that had gathered on his forehead off on the back of his hand, cringing slightly at the sheer amount of it. 

He silently regrets not taking a shower before leaving the house, but at this rate, with the amount of people blocking his way, he was going to be late.

Damn tourists. 

He can hear his boss, Mark, now: "Look, who finally decided to show up! I’m glad you think this company runs on your schedule.” He rolls his eyes at the mental image of the older Australian man passive-aggressively scolding him. You would think a person who owns a beachside surf shop would be more laid-back, but no. Ever since his wife left him last summer, his boss has been nothing but a crotchety old man. And trust me, Daniel has tried many times to invite him out to bars to be his wingman for the night, but every time he offers, he gets immediately shut down and scolded for even offering. 

Sorry, he was just trying to be a good co-worker and get his boss some stress relief in the form of a one-night stand with a beautiful lady. 

Pulling up to the shop, Daniel rushes off his bike, hastily reaching into his bag to grab his bike lock and securing it to the pole near the side of the building. Once secure, he practically bolts into the front entrance of the shop, accidentally slamming the door open a bit too hard for his liking, causing a few customers and his coworker, Lando, to perk their heads up and look in his direction. 

“I know. I know. But technically, I’m early. I still have a minute until I’m supposed to be here.” Daniel says matter-of-factly, shining a bright smile at the younger man as he walks up to the front counter that his co-worker is lounging lazily against. 

“You're cutting it close, mate.” Lando comments as he glances up at the shark-themed clock on the wall. (What? His boss might be an ass, but at least he’s an ass with good taste.) 

10:59 am

Lando shakes his head. “I don’t know if you want to push your luck too much. Mark is in a pissy mood today.” He explains.

Daniel rolls his eyes. “When is he not?”

Lando glances over his shoulder, making sure the door to the manager’s office is shut before whispering, “I don't know, mate; he seems grouchier than normal. Like something’s really ticked him off.” 

Daniel raises an eyebrow at the younger man. He opens his mouth to respond, but before he can, the door of the manager’s office slams open, revealing his boss on the other side.

“Speak of the devil.” Lando whispers as both of the men straighten back up as their boss steps out of his office. 

"Daniel, I'm so glad you finally decided to join us for your shift that you were scheduled for.” Mark greets, scowling at him.

“Good morning to you too, Mark.” Daniel says, not bothering to hide the sarcasm that coats his words. The older man scoffs at him, rolling his eyes in a way Daniel can only describe as Oscar-worthy with how dramatic it was. 

“Whatever. It’s not like I have been waiting for you all morning to get your lazy ass here.” Mark hisses, motioning his hand to the shark clock on the wall. 11:00 am. Daniel has to repress the urge to roll his eyes. He’s been there for less than 2 minutes, and he’s already having to deal with Mark’s bullshit. That has to be a new record. 

"Sorry, I wasn’t here earlier. Emily decided to have a breakdown this morning about having to stay with my parents for the day.” Daniel explains half-heartedly, knowing no matter what explanation or excuse he gives the older man, he’s not going to be pleased either way.

“Well, maybe you should invest in some parenting classes then since you aren’t doing a great job at controlling your kid.” Mark sneers, “You know what? Never mind, I don’t care at this point.” 

Daniel can feel his frustration growing by the second. Honestly can’t he just back off? He’s here, isn’t he? It’s not like he’s one of the only workers there, besides Lando, who does his job. If it wasn’t for the fact that the pay was nice, Daniel would have been out of there the second Mark started acting this way last summer. Plus he’s been working at the surf shop for almost 5 years now and what has he gotten for it? Nothing except for the temporary title of shift lead whenever Mark isn’t there. 

As if he can sense the tension in the air between the two older men, Lando decides to speak up. 

“Oh uh..by the way, Mark, this dude called earlier. I think he said his name was Jos? He said his son would be here around 11:30.” 

Lando and Daniel both watch as Mark inhales deeply as if Lando’s words were the most aggravating thing he has ever heard. 

“That brings me to my next point. A friend of my old man asked me to hire his son for the summer while they are vacationing here.” Mark explains. Daniel and Lando share a confused look. Mark continues, “The reason why? I have no clue. Something about how he wants his son to learn what the real world is like even though his pocket money is more than what we all make in a year combined.” 

Daniel raises an eyebrow at him, “And you just agreed? Just like that? Who’s going to train him?”

Mark smirks devilishly, “Well that’s where you come in Daniel.” 

“What do you mean ‘that’s where I come in’?”

“Well, you are always complaining that you’ve been here the longest and still haven’t gotten any type of raise or promotion. Well here you go, I’m promoting you to training associate. You are in charge of training the kid and also keeping an eye on him and making sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.” 

Daniel can’t help but feel the heat of anger from earlier rise beneath his skin. “So you expect me to not only train this kid I’ve never even met but also babysit the little brat as well? What the hell do you think I am? A damn babysitter?!” He snaps, crossing his arms and scowling at the older man. 

“I’m nineteen. I don’t need a babysitter.”

All three of the men snap their heads back towards the front door, only to see, who Daniel presumes is the kid Mark was mentioning, standing in the entryway. Daniel blinks as he tries to take in the teen’s appearance. He doesn’t look like any nineteen-year-old Daniel has ever seen. Sure, he has semi-smooth skin, with a blemish here and there, and an overall youthful glow about him but for some reason, something’s off about him. Maybe it’s the way his shoulders are a bit broader than his own or how his jaw is a bit too sharp for Daniel’s liking. Either way, he doesn’t like it.

“Max! I didn’t expect you to be here so soon! Is it 11:30 already?” 

Daniel glances at the clock on the wall. 11:09 am.

The teen trudges over to the front counter where the others are standing and crosses his arms. “My dad said I should show up early just in case you guys were busy or something. But, by the looks of it, you aren’t and are instead talking bad about me behind my back.” Max explains, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. 

Daniel looks over at the teen, studying his face more intently now that he is standing next to him instead of a few feet away at the door. His brow is furrowed. His pale skin is tinted with a shade of pink from the harsh Australian sun. There is a collection of freckles that are scattered across his jawline and up to the middle of his cheek, with a single one lying on his upper lip. He notices now that the teen is just a bit taller than him. Not by much but enough to make Daniel even more wary than he was before. 

Mark shakes his head, “Please forgive my employee, Daniel, here Max. He has had a bit of a rough morning so his mood isn’t the best right now.” 

‘The only reason why I have had a rough morning is because of you jackass.’ Daniel thinks to himself as he shoots a glare at his boss. 

Max rolls his eyes, “Whatever.”

Daniel and Lando exchange glances once again, as if to telepathically ask each other if this is what they are really going to have to deal with for the next two and half months. 

The sound of Mark clearing his throat makes the two of them look up towards their boss. 

“Anyway, as I was saying. My employee, Daniel here, will be in charge of training you and just overall making sure you're settling in here nicely.” Mark explains, clearly trying to skip over the part where Daniel called Max a brat that he has to babysit. 

Daniel shifts his eyes over to the teen next to him. Max doesn’t look impressed. He still has his arms crossed and his lips have formed a tight line of annoyance. Honestly, Daniel can’t blame him. If he was in his shoes, aka if he was a rich kid who probably hasn’t worked a day in his life and his parents suddenly made him get a job at a dingy old surf shop while they were on a  summer vacation, he would be pissed too. 

There is a beat of awkward silence that fills the air between the four. 

“I’m guessing this is the part where I introduce myself?” Lando chuckles awkwardly, drawing the other’s attention to himself. Max stares at him silently, as if he is waiting for the other to say something else that will ultimately aggravate him even more. 

“I’m Lando. I started working here about a year and a half ago. I go to the university just up the street. I usually work in the mornings because I have night classes.” He explains. Max doesn’t say anything, instead, he sighs, uninterested. 

Lando scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, “Uh..When I’m not working or in class you can usually find me in my dorm playing video games.” The mention of video games makes the teen’s ears perk up with interest.

“You play video games?” Max asks in a slightly less annoyed voice than before.

“Yeah! I play all sorts of games like GTA, God of War, and F123. I actually stream my gameplay on Twitch with my friends from time to time. You should join sometime. I bet it would be really fun.” 

Daniel doesn’t know if it’s the heat getting to him or what but he swears he sees the faintest hint of a smile on Max’s face when Lando mentions him joining him in a gaming session. 

“I’ll think about it.” 

Seemingly pleased with the exchange, Mark claps his hands together like a coach trying to round up his team for a debriefing after a game. “Alright, now that introductions are out of the way, Max, how would you like to follow Daniel around for today to get a feel of the environment and how things work around here?” 

Daniel can feel the teen’s eyes on him before he even turns his head. His stare is as cold as ice and Daniel worries that if the teen doesn’t look away, he might burn a hole through his head. 

The universe must have been on his side because just as Daniel thought he would never look away, Max shifts his eyes toward Mark. The stare he gives Mark is just as cold. 

“Whatever.” 

“Perfect. Now let’s get started.”

[fumifooms]

Don't really reblog or leave comments all that often, but I've been reading your Delicious in Dungeon deep analysis posts for a few days now and honestly I can't wait for that Kabru (& Mickbell) party rundown. They're a fine set of adventurers, if in dire need of people more capable of handling monsters.

Speaking of Mickbell's relationship with Kuro in particular – I think it does generally tend to be perceived from Mickbell's side, whether positively or negatively (which makes sense to some degree, since Kuro's perspective wasn't presented in full until the World Guide), as if Kuro isn't himself a maladjusted adult who spent an unspecified amount of time starving in a cage, his family situation unclear beyond "permanently out of contact", and is yet as overprotective of Mick as Mick is of him. I do recall a panel where he furrows his brows at the sight of Mick sitting on Inutade's shoulders, but other than that he is less aggressively isolating and self-insistent and more... coddling, I'd say, or overtly abiding. Kabru should have found Mickbell some books on kobold language tbh.

This is not intended as a criticism of the earlier webweaving post so I apologize if it does have shades of passive-aggressiveness – it's an incredibly on-point assessment of Mickbell's relationship with Kuro and his reasoning. Thank goodness Mickbell isn't a master magician, or else he'd make for a rather tasty dungeon lord (and Kuro would probably end up in a cage again, if not worse).

[context: ask sent on april 14th, soon after I posted my Canines web weaving]

Don’t worry, I loved getting your ask and didn’t read in any hostility! I didn’t want to reply before finishing my party masterpost-analysis (🤡 man it’s been too many months) but Kuro fans are begging for scraps and clamoring for Kuro meta and content everywhere I look including my askbox and man. Man yeah I should throw a bone you guys’ way at least in the meantime. The thing though you see is, one does not simply talk about Kuro without trying to cover every ground and every single piece of info we get. I’ll end up repeating myself a lot on this in my longer upcoming post but that’s just how analysis tends to be, so flash Kuro segment focusing on the Mickbell-Kuro dynamic

In a way I talk less about Kuro because compared to Mickbell his situation feels more straightforward to me somehow, the abused is usually the one who gets empathized with and liked more over the abuser so I don’t feel the same need to explore and explain. But… Kuro is not only generally hard to read but has so many layers. Kuro is both a self-effacing follower who’s communicative but polite & behaved and somewhat stoic, making it hard to gauge how much he’s voicing himself or even repressing, and functionally devoid of the ability to speak most of the time. He emotes in doglike ways but mostly because, lacking words universal body langue and cues like growling are the only way he can emote and communicate, not unlike how tone of voice is what’s important when talking to say, a pet dog. Kuro’s extra where he talks with Kabru is truly the Kuro bible, without it we’d have a much kess clear vision of how he lives his situation with Mickbell. And… It’s whiplash inducing and disconcerting when we see then that Kuro has everything rationalized, that Mickbell is still an angel in his mind and this is normal, just a guy who’s a little insecure that he must bend every which way for if needed.

Mickbell & Kuro’s relationship is fascinating because they each have a totally different view of the relationship. Mickbell thinks he holds the reigns, he’s the employer, the master, he’s manipulating Kuro consciously to some degree and withholds things like salary or permission to talk with others from him, and he thinks this is how he gets Kuro to not leave him. Kuro has seen through the matrix and pinpointed Mickbell’s insecurities and has decided he must do everything in his power to never make him anxious or upset and be his emotional support, EXCEPT that hilariously he seems to genuinely think Mickbell is a kid. He’s 22. Like, tallman equivalent of 27. Kuro is 18. Kuro has chosen to stay consciously and keeps choosing to stay because he wants to, because he’s chosen to devote himself to Mickbell’s wellbeing. In Kuro’s eyes, before being employer and employee, Kuro is the guardian and protector of this sensitive kid that he must follow and protect at all costs. What everyone is seeing as wage slavery doesn’t even register to Kuro because he’s never really thinking about the money, he dgaf. Kuro could choose to snap Mickbell in half with his jaw at any second and is more emotionally mature than Mickbell, but otherwise the power imbalance both financially and manipulation wise and using whatever he can to keep Kuro where he wants him is 100% tipping the scale towards Mickbell.

The amount of miscommunication they have for being each other’s most important person + person they spend most time with is insane, but tbh I think part of it is that Mickbell is terrified of what would happen when Kuro becomes fluent in common. Not only because Kuro would have the whole world of opportunities open up to him then (and in Mickbell’s mind, who would pick him over the world?), but because then the relationship would inevitably shift, Mickbell would lose some of that power imbalance, he would have to do more listening and both of them would have to learn to know each other better, and rectify wrong assumptions. It’d remind Mickbell that Kuro is truly his own person with a lot of thoughts and it’d make him feel less safe in being able to keep the relationship secure…

This all is why I’m less into mickuro in general, because unless Kuro puts his foot down one day for both their sakes, the status quo would just… Keep going, on and on. Canon supports this too, since Kuro’s profile in the complete adventurer’s bible in the post-canon blurb mentions very pointedly he’s still being worked for peanuts by Mickbell. Kuro being able to speak fully would make it a bit healthier I think like I talked, but Kuro would still be complacent to Mickbell’s unhealthy obsessive needs and man… Man……. Mickbell feels safe only when taking and Kuro wants nothing more than to give, if that makes sense, and that might be a shaky decent enough way to live for them but it also is far from healthy the way it is. I also don’t think getting that house he wants would fix Mickbell. Could even be a huge breakoff point if Kuro mentions his dreams is travelling around.

So yes I definitely agree with your assessment of Kuro being coddling and overly abiding. Both of them are very protective of each other like you said, the difference being that Kuro is selfless and even self-sacrificing with it meanwhile Mickbell is more selfish and possessive. (Although his overcontrolling nature does to some degree come from a protective place. Which would especially if he sees Kuro as helpless because of his language barrier or the way they met. But moments that go towards this is him being worried for Kuro after the chimera fight, after being stung by an aquatic monster in a monster tidbit, Mickbell often mentioning being worried the union or Kabru will steal Kuro away in a borderline trafficking undertone. Beyond just the care he shows him on the regular like washing and brushing him for hours ofc. Mickbell is not uncaring, his worrying and insecurities just bring his worst instincts out of him. Ehem Mickbell tangent over, my apologies.)

I know Kuro also being possessive is a common reading, but I don’t think I really agree 🤔 The support for this is the way he frowns at Mickbell being on Inutade’s shoulders, but I think that and the other hostile over Mickbell behavior he shows fall more in live with being protective. From Kuro’s perspective, Mickbell (the kid who must be protected who might fall and break his neck at any moment or something) is now on the shoulders of this very tall stranger he just witnessed pull off a sneak attack Laios’ party with ease, not something considered particularly honorable or trustworthy, and now she’s handling Kuro’s most precious thing in the world? Yeah better watch them like a hawk. Also remember, this is on top of his language barrier meaning he hasn’t had the same opportunity as others to converse with them and understand what they’ve been saying and thus form bonds outside of "my party trusts you for now so I’ll follow their lead." He also explicitely distrusts Izutsumi. I’ll also say though, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say Kuro doesn’t know what to do with himself when he’s not looking after Mickbell, there’s the secret studies sure, but his whole life is always centered on him otherwise, so I can definitely imagine this being out of a restless feeling as well, though if that qualifies as possessiveness depends on the behavior it causes imo.

Other times where he growls or such is also defensive in nature. If anything, Kuro unlike Mickbell with him seems very alright with Mickbell making friends with the party and forming relationships outside of him. This does go in line with his "Mickbell is just a sensitive young lad I must do my best to protect until he feels safer and better, I want him to be happy and healthy" mentality. Near the end, we even see Kuro encouraging Mickbell to go towards other half-foots and implicitly join the half-foot union, the very same that Mickbell has told him would take Kuro away from Mickbell. So if it’s for Mickbell’s sake, even if Kuro might feel afraid of change or losing him to some degree (I don’t think he feels threatened bc he doesn’t think Mick would leave him), Kuro is even willing to endanger his situation/relationship/status quo with Mickbell.

Kuro is peak guardian angel……… 🥺😭

You’re also right Kuro is very maladjusted, with his past it feels very unsurprising Kuro would end up like this. Having a language barrier alone is extremely isolating: not being able to really communicate with others is his default with or without Mickbell, so it isn’t innately alarming or anormal to him, even when someone actively tries to make it harder for him. This is of course without mentioning the experience of being taken away from your homeland suddenly, and brougth against your will to a country you know nothing of and have no resources or knowledge to live in. Who knows how long he’s been in a cage— and as we see the living conditions were awful, similar to Izutsumi’s when she was part of a freak show. He was visibly starved and food was all the payment he could have wished for and that + following this guy who got him out of his chains were all the motivations he needed. And this makes sense for the overprotectiveness on both ends, Mickbell is all too aware of how particularly vulnerable kobolds are as targets and Kuro’s second interaction was mauling a guy who was trying to hurt Mickbell. Mickbell did "hire" Kuro as a bodyguard first and foremost, after all. Mickbell was scared of Kuro at first, echoing how he reminds Kuro during canon that his snarling is scary and not to do it. Even at first, the professional aspect to their relationship is a very shaky facade, it’s always been more like mutual aid that evolved into life partnership. Kuro was used to being alone, Kuro was used to having nothing and being starved and beaten, Kuro was used to having everyone dismiss him as a beast that’s not worth even trying to talk to, so of course Mickbell seems heavensent.

Man. The fandom has been so scary esp with the anime wave, Mickbell discourse is something I never expected would be so divisive 😭 Sometimes I hear things about Kuro like "he’s too smart to be abused" which is not only as a broad statement untrue but also harmful and vile. Abuse is complicated!!! You are bending over backwards to justify literal Mother Gothel behavior!!! No one is telling you you can’t sob over Mickbell and want mickbell & kuro fluff oh my god let’s just not normalize well known abuse tactics such as isolating them and controlling their finances and social circle.

Ok fun last ending note, it’s also interesting to note their dreams for the future and directly contridactory. When they have some money saved up, Mickbell wants to settle down with a house with Kuro, and Kuro wants to travel the world with Mickbell. Ohh to be a guy who’s been denied ressources all your life and has lived in constant danger who now wants nothing more than to have the ideal of a stable peaceful life, vs being a guy who’s been kidnapped and traded around and denied your freedom for so long who wants to see the world you’ve always been kept away from…. They’re each other’s world but they’re not a place they can live in, not sustainably not while thriving…….

Ahh, mickuro, mickuro, the ouroboros of codependence…

[obeythebutler]

Hey! Could I ask for some Lucifer x Reader comfort. The MC and him are at a ball, and the demons all around are so freaking beautiful. And the brothers too!! It doesn't help that MC feels that they pale in comparison.

just want some comfort for myself.

Again, thank you.

In hindsight, you should have known better.

Devildom parties and events are alarmingly similar to human ones, with the same old arrogant nobles and passive-aggressive interactions. With champagne and wealth flowing freely, and beautiful faces.

You sip on some super spicy mango juice, having mixed it with some normal one, safe for human consumption. It gives a nice kick, enough to not make you sputter and spit out the drink, or it having burned your tongue.

Today is one hell of an event.

Call it a get-together, per se, for aristocratic demons from the seven layers.

And it is imperative that the exchange students attend, if harmony is to be attained.

You only wish you had it in you to say no earlier.

Gather yourself together, you admonish, gripping the fabric of your outfit with such tenacity that your knuckles turn white. There are so many important demons here to interact with the Student Council and the exchange students, and you certainly can't afford to be seen sulking in a corner.

Not when everything is perfect.

You observe the chandelier dangling from the ceiling, brilliant white coating the room in a warm glow, supplemented by magic. There is a group of demons in a corner, whom you assume to be close friends, given the distance, or lack of, and with the way their lips curve upwards in a smile to reveal canines and when one buries their face into someone's shoulder when they laugh; a joke has just been made.

It's a picture of perfect harmony, with Barbatos flitting around the giant hall every now-and-then, always moving, ever so graceful. You will never be able to comprehend as to how he moves so elegantly.

And then there is Diavolo, dragging around a crimson-eyed demon who is sighing at his brothers antics. Lucifer, who downs a whole glass of Demonus in one go and storms off to grab Mammon by the ear. You giggle, the sight making you feel lighter.

You bite your cheek.

Then there's your snek, who is utterly focused on his mobile screen, and judging by the rapid taps to his screen, he's clearly gaming.

Oh well, at least he's attending the event, according to Lucifer.

In another corner, Satan stands, conversing with some demons whom you recognise from the Royal Library. The blonde demon has many connections. Admirable social skills, and a brain to match. Knowledge is power, after all. A fact that Solomon knows too, given how easily he is able to stand his ground and maintain conversation with some fancy-looking nobles. Seventy-two pacts is no joke.

Look at you.

Someone jabs their elbow into your side, and you stumble, but manage to retain balance. With furrowed brows, you turn around, a curse already on the tip of your tongue for the offender.

Your eyes widen.

It's a whole damn crowd.

Although their attention is focused on someone else, judging by the direction in which the audience faces. When you catch a glimpse of strawberry blonde hair, you realise that it is Asmodeus.

Oh well, his followers crowding around him to admire the beauty of the Jewel of the Heavens is sacrosanct, after all.

Something in your heart sinks, witnessing this spectacle.

You swallow thickly, turning around to get to a less crowded...more quiet place. Not before placing your glass back on the table, which a little D quickly swipes.

Your gaze is downcast, and you head straight for the guest rooms, thankful for the crowd and the way you seemingly leave unnoticed.

It jabs at your conscience further, though.

In another corner, a certain demon watches, expression revealing nothing.

"Are you alright?"

A voice calls, and you nearly throw the vase on the floor in surprise.

"Please be more careful, you almost gave me a heart attack!" You admonish, hand placed over your wildly beating heart.

Lucifer stands at the door, the notes of the piano a distant noise.

"You left the ball suddenly." He says, a hand behind his back. '"May I ask why?"

"Oh," You mumble, forcing a smile on your face. "It's nothing Lucifer, I was just tired." The man does not seem convinced, and so you add, "I ate a lot of snacks with Beel, plus Asmo made me dance with him earlier, heh, that was quite the dramatic waltz...so—"

He silences you, placing a gloved hand on your shoulder.

"I know you're lying." Lucifer speaks, and you feel embarrassed, being caught in the middle of it all. You refuse to meet his eyes, fearing that the moment you do your conscience will end up getting the better of you, and then you will voice all those thoughts that have giving you sleepless nights and then the demon in front of you will feel repulsed because look at you, so pathetic, so weak.

Your eyes sting suddenly, and you blink.

In front of you, Lucifer's brows crease with worry.

He take a step towards you, a thumb wiping away the tear that fell from your eye, his gaze not seeming domineering or contemptuous, as you had imagined it to be.

"MC, hey, look at me," He whispers, and you can't help but hold back more tears. You force yourself to meet his gaze, biting your cheek. "Did any of my brothers say or do anything to hurt you? Was it the demons out there?"

"No." You mutter, finding solace in the soothing motion of his hand on your back, comforting you. "Wasn't them, wasn't anyone..."

"Then who?"

"It's just," You swallow, voice cracking. "It's that—look at you, Lucifer."

"What about me?" He asks gently, not wanting to come off as harsh.

"You and your brothers, everyone out there, they're so talented and beautiful, they can do so many things effortlessly, so many damned talents and—and l-look at me!" You sob, breath hitching, the lump in your throat making it harder and harder to not outright bawl. "I'm barely able to do shit, and on top of that I can't—I'm not what you all think me to be! I can't even do one task properly, a-always messing things up, and I can't even bring damned harmony to the three fucking realms, Lucifer."

Harmony.

So ironic.

Ha.

You wipe at the tears that fall down your cheeks, gasping wildly after nearly having screamed at the demon in front of you.

"I disagree." He merely says, tone clear and confident, as you've just told him that Belphegor did not plant a stink bomb in his room a fortnight ago, that pigs fly and that Cerberus is not a good boy.

"I don't believe you," He states, ruffling your hair affectionately. "Do not undermine yourself, MC. I will not tolerate it."

You stare at him through vision blurred by tears, still not having it in you to speak. But your brain is stunned to silence at his words, all the negative thoughts that had been haunting your mind halting, albeit briefly.

He grabs your left hand, which is curled in a fist (and the way your nails dig into the skin leaves crescent indentations) and gently coaxes your fingers to unfurl, and you stare at his shoes all the while. You imagine his reaction, imagining pity and cold contempt in his gaze, which only results in plummeting you further into the hole you've created for yourself.

And when he places his own hand in yours, the last thing you'd expect would be his skin. You glance at his hand now where it rests in your palm, and you find that the demon has removed his glove which almost clings to him like second skin.

"Please do not think so lowly of yourself." You think the man almost pleads, with the way his fingers curl into your own, a thumb drawing soft circles. "MC, you are the most captivating being I have ever met."'

Your breath hitches. "But there are so many others out there," You mutter, gaze almost resigned if Lucifer stares too deep. "More better. More beautiful. More smarter. And better magic."

"My affection for you is not a fleeting one," He affirms, squeezing your hand gently. "I will never leave you. You are no less smarter or lesser than other beings. You are MC, and they are them. That's all to it."

The demon says as if its a simple thing.

Lucifer gets on one knee in front of you, till your hand is on his cheek, and he looks at you with a gaze so found it makes you smile.

"So please don't compare yourself to others. I love you for who you are. Know that your efforts are not ignored, and that I am proud of you, for what you have done and what you have achieved."

I love you, he says through his actions.

And you can't help but kneel too, and hug the demon who holds you so closely in his heart.

[ae-azile]

3. 8. and 22.

(for ask game)

3. Screenshot or description of the worst take you have seen on Tumblr: 

There have been many bad takes on Tumblr (and on social media in general). But I suppose when it comes to this show, it's any time I see someone express their views on a character in a manner that obviously puts other fans’ analyses down. Like, it isn’t the fact they view a character differently. It's the fact that they feel the need to belittle a different interpretation to make their point. If you need that, is it a great take? 

I won't get into specifics, because the few I have seen this from do actually have interesting takes. It's just the way they feel the need to write them passive aggressively. This seems to mainly happen with Kim meta, but I occasionally see it with Vegas meta too. 

8. Common fandom opinion everyone is wrong about: 

Bahaha, I wrote myself into a corner with the response to question 3! 😂 I guess I am going to go with Korn and Gun. Both are viewed with a lot of hate, and rightfully so. But I also think they are products of their environment and have a lot of layers to them. And overall - at least from what we have witnessed solely in the show - I feel like Gun is more redeemable than Korn, despite Korn being a better father. Can't forgive him for what he did to Namphueng, Pat, Porsche, and Chay. He literally destroyed a family. I think Gun being under the impression they were all dead, losing the mother of his children, and likely being abused himself was what made him abusive. While I have no doubts Korn also carries a lot of trauma that plays into who he became, I also feel like his worst actions can't be viewed with any compassion like Gun's potentially could. Don't get me wrong, perpetuating the abuse cycle is NOT okay or excusable. But unfortunately, it can potentially be a reality that abuse victims who don't have help, resources, or healthy outlets end up re-enacting. There is an explanation for his worst crimes. There is no explanation for Korn's, nor will he ever offer a truthful one.

22. My favorite part of canon everyone else ignores: 

I don't know if everyone ignores it, but I love that Arm is working multiple guard positions? Boy does surveillance, builds and distributes weapons, designs high tech spy gear, and goes on missions with Kinn (which is sort of dumb in hindsight because he is one of the main people holding that compound together). On top of that, he was the first one to tend to Big when he was shot, implying he has some medic or strong first aid knowledge, led the clean up crew after Tawan set off the bomb, and then built bombs of his own for the attack on the compound later on. 

He does all of this, and still manages to be a guard to Tankhun, who is likely the safest yet most emotionally demanding family member. And he seems committed to that position. I am sure Arm could easily be removed from Tankhun's team. He has plenty of other work demands, and he better be the highest paid guard other than Chan. Yet he chooses to stay with Khun along with all of those duties. Hm. Love that for him though. 

[minophus]

Have you any thoughts and headcanons on minos/sisyphus/gabe?

I wrote more than i thought i would

i love ponderinf their dynamic all togehter. gabriel is here to make sure everything is in order and minos is continuing to carry out punishments, sisyphus is visitng not just for possible political advantages and seeing if he can get any resources for his people, but also bc with the many times hes seen minos before theyve gotten quite close despite their differed ways of thinking and rule. Gabe uses this for an opportunjty as well to study sisyphus.

minos and gabe - also get along, but minos has a tendwncy to push gabriel to getmore comfortable..Cease donning thine armor, perhaps a toga instead? it will do better keeping you comfortable rather than that armor. they have discussions about his citizens and as the lust renaissamce began to rear its head minos would gush about how his city is flourishing and his citizens seem so Happy in their expression and it would make gabriel so uncomfortable because 1 the council wouldnt like this 2 hearing about free self expression and free will to do what people want to do with their bodies and with others. It cuts a little too deep into his masculinity. Minos' open expressions of femininity make him uncomfortable too as the two of them get closer and minos opens up bc hes shaking gabriels image of a man thats been forced upon him for milennia. Its very interesting.

minos and sisyphus - again, their relationship(not explicitly romantic, they couldnt uphold that) came about through political affairs. sisyphus trying to get resources to his people which he couldnt quite abundantly so do .. Until the renaissance:). they get along quite well time going on esp with Minos defying god as he does fpr the sake of his people Bejng a thing sisyphus seriously admires.. it helps that he has a city and not a wide open desert. minos is verrry physically affectionate w sisyphus not just out of bodily admiration(who wouldnt be. this guy works the hell out hes got good form) but also to combo w his verbal appreciation and admiration of how hands-on sisyphus is with helping his subjects as much as he can in his fleeting moments of grace. minos also has a Terrific libido and sisyphus is kind of the complete opposite of him. He likes to tease minos every now and then about it(can be taken two ways).

minos for the both of them LOVES offering food and fruits and sweets. gabriel always turns it down until that fated apple. Sisyphus absoluyrly tears up any meal minos has prepared for him. He fucks it up. He tears it the hell up. He asks for more and more until he cannot take it anymore(HA) and he will promptly fall asleep less than an hour afterward. After such hard work and such a good meal you can only imagine how sleepy he gets. minos joins him in the bed for cuddles before sisyphus conks out. If gabriel happens to visit at the same time(and if sisyphus let his guard down enough TO indulge and fall asleep)hed. very deep down. be very jealous. he wants to join in.

gabriel and sisyphus - very tense. Always a tension in the air when theyre in the same room. sisyphus isnt outwardly rude but hes very passive aggressive and kind of verbally rips into him and Reads him like an open book all on account of gabriel being an angel. Used by oppressors to further continue enforcing punishments, and he blindly follows them in the name of faith. another tjing sisyphus would call out.

Gabby @ sisyphus hmm, hes very polite w him upon first meeting. if sisyphus wasnt a lowly sinner he'd almost be intimidated. they wouldnt talk much outside of sisyphus prodding about this and that to have any chance to learn gabriels weaknesses, and gabriel does the same albeit not with tactical purposes in mind. i dont think he anticipated a rebellion. Sisyphus upon seeing a Pattern with how subtly flustered gabriel would use that against him(very silly way to passively take out anger on gabriel. he has hardly any control in his layer despite being king. he has so much passionate hatred for the angels. This is how he feels powerful)

..realistically all 3 would never willingly physically get super close solely on account of gabriel and sisyphus. yes gabsisyphus fall asleep w Minos a few times legs intertwined. but the two of them would never happen. But heres the thing im playing with my touys

[luvly-writer]

"But Oh..Cara Mia"

Ch. 8: Are we making progress?

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Dick Grayson x Latina! Reader

Warnings: None

Status: Ongoing

Author's note: I AM BACK! So my absence has an explanation. First, uni is tough and I bearly had time, but we made it! YAY! Second isss that I know what I wanted to write but didn't know how to put it into words. Which was tough AF. Like I know the next plot point that is coming but didn't know how to like get to it LMAO. In my mind, I connected it like "DUH IT GOES AFTER THIS" but when it came to actually writing it I was like "HELP" BUT IT HAPPENED AND SINCE WE DID IT HERE YOU GO! CH. 8 AND 9. HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY AND REMEMBER FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS LOVED AND ACCEPTED DOVES!

Taglist: @lorosette @nanas-teatime @prettyacademia00 @mxtokko @sarahkaliii @w31rdg1rl @eurydicegrimes @writing-for-the-hell-of-it

Series Materlist:

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If we could use a person to describe the words relentless and determined, Damian Wayne would come to mind. This boy was focused, and all of his family noticed. First, was Tim. He had been down at the cave the entire day and noticed that Damian would only obligate bring Dick to the cave and ask him to spar whenever Yn was in her lab. He would go a little rougher, making sure Dick would have to speak to her in order to get his sore muscles checked out. Then it was Duke. Seeing as most of his suit was getting fixed by Yn to get used to his powers better, he would see how Damian would rip small parts of Dick's suit to obligate him to go and ask Yn to get it fixed. Then it was the girls. They had noticed that Yn began to receive random flowers every once in a while going by the name of a secret admirer. They had seen Damian pay the man that brought them when they were coming back from lunch. This resulted in Dick being truly observant of Yn's reactions to them and trying to indirectly know more of this "secret admirer" of hers. Finally, it was Jason and Bruce. They would see some of their shirts and hoodies missing and later find them in Yn's room or her wearing them with the smell of an unknown perfume. After further investigation, Bruce found Damian had bought a men's perfume and only used it to spray those items. Damian was setting Dick up by using his flirtations and his jealousy against him. His plan was that if he could layer that up enough, Dick would understand that something was different and would realize his sentiments for Yn. And yet...it didn't work.

"He is setting him up for failure my GOD JAJAJA!" Laughed out Stephanie. Yn had gone out to get some food for everyone and Dick had gone away to attend a call. The rest were lounging at the Batcave. They had decided that they would try to investigate Riddler's next move together and the best place for that was the cave. The conversation had shifted from the case to Damian's mission when Jason brought it up. They were dying of laughter at his plan and asked about how it was going. "Terrible. Grayson remains oblivious to the world inside him and Yn is more confused than ever whenever he mixes his flirtations with passive-aggressive accusations and inquiries. It only makes them bicker even more." Damian huffs out as he cleans his knives and swords. He was bitter that it wasn't working out. The rest laughed in amusement. "Damian, this is a war that has been going on for YEARS. Jealousy is a feeling that they have grown so accustomed to when it comes to the other that it's almost second nature. You aren't changing anything." Barbara laughed making the rest snicker, even Bruce was sending amused looks their way. As a result, Damian did something they NEVER thought he would do. "Well then, would any of you care to help me out?" He asked. Damian Wayne asked for help and everyone was stunned. They all exchanged glances and dwelled on the question. Too many years have passed. "Why the fuck not! Im in" said Jason, wanting to see where this went. And so everyone was on board. Alfred and Bruce exchanged worried glances. Yn and Dick were not easy to trifle with. There were never two people more destined to be with one another, that was true, but heavens they were NOT easy to work with. When Yn had come back, she looked around and sensed something was different with them, almost suspicious, yet she didn't pay mind. They are a bunch of weirdos so she shouldn't be surprised at this point.

The following weeks were rather strange, she noticed. Dick was a little bit squirmish and when asked, he would avoid the topic. You had decided to ignore him, thinking he was just in one of his Dick moments. Instead, you had focused on the rest, but even they were weird. Whenever Dick would come near you, any of the girls would throw comments such as, "Oh shit, you guys would make a good couple, guess social media’s right" or "my word, both of you act like a married couple" or even, "you knoooooow, seeing you guys now, if you two ever had kids, they would be good looking as hell with your combined genes" and even go to the point of, "both of you emit such high sexual tension! get a room!" These would leave you both blushing and unable to look each other in the eye. They would be said with teasing smiles and curious looks, observing both of you precisely. Barbara would give you a knowing look whenever they came from her. The boys had taken to flirting with Yn jokingly whenever Dick was around. Jason's compliments normally came with a fondness for his older sister, ranging from how she looked today to saying that ANY man would be lucky (stares at Dick who is side-eyeing him real hard). Tim would compliment her intelligence and state how important she was to the team. Normally, he would say them after one of Dick's quips was a little too harsh. Duke normally was the worst. Not because they were bad, but because they were absurd and Yn LOVED them. They could go from "You know the other day I saw one single leaf and thought it was pretty and it made me think of you" or "your left shoe looks great on you, big sis" and finally to, "you know, that one eyelash is super pretty". She would laugh so hard cause they would catch her so off-guard and it would cause Dick to look at her directly, adoring her smile and laugh, softly smiling at her.

They had thought that if they could showcase how well they'd be together or make all of Yn's attributes even more OBVIOUS, it would do something. BUT! IT! DIDN'T! Even Bruce had gone and said they would make great partners if they pushed their differences aside and Alfred had commented on how she would make a great choice for his date at the next ball, for the public image and to keep everyone in check of course, and still nothing. They were all baffled at how oblivious the two of them were. Finally, it all came down to Damian, fed up and tired, who decided to take a moreeeee direct approach.

"You are staring again." He drily stated to Dick who looked at him panicked. "Am not!" Defended Dick and Damian deadpanned at him. "Yes you are, it's distracting you" he responded and Dick huffed out a response. "I was just looking at her." Damian smirked up at him, knowing he caught him, "I did not state if it was a she or a he" Dick just rolls his eyes and ruffles his hair, and laugh "Shut up" and Damian smiles softly at him. Grayson didn't comment on that making Damian see it as a small victory. He would continue to call him out on the small things, careful to make sure that Dick didn't catch on. He would ask him why he was angry when Yn received flowers (yn had found out they were from him and his excuse was that she should decorate her lab cause it looked ugly. The real reason was that Damian liked that it brought a smile to her face and he had already grown so fond of her. She never made him feel as if he was a bother or any less worthy than the rest, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He did make her promise she wouldn't tell anyone.) or when she wore something of Jason's and he would scoff at Dick every time he would make excuses. Damian truly was a handful during those weeks, but he thought that when he started to do that, there was real progress. With his somewhat hostile attempts and everyone's comments, they had noticed little things that began to happen.

Dick would bring Yn coffee, and sometimes would tell her he appreciated her work. Yn would finally return some of Dick's quips with a more flirtatious tone (normally, the flirtatious tone came from Dick seeing as he is flirty by nature) and initiate physical contact. She would bump her hip to his whenever he passed by her and both would exchange teasing glances and brush his hair out of his face whenever she was helping him with his injuries. They would see how sometimes his hands would stay on her waist whenever she was fixing a particularly deep gash on his forehead and she would allow herself to laugh a little louder at his jokes. The rest would high-five and congratulate each other since they were making progress, VERY SLOW, but progress nonetheless.

It was all chill until one day, Damian was on his way to get Titus to take him for a walk when he heard Dick and Bruce discussing some matters regarding the Teen Titans. "I know, I know we are in the middle of an investigation that needs all hands on deck, but they need me there for some time. Kory has been calling me none stop asking me to pass by and help with some training and missions. It will be quick B. No more than a few weeks." Dick was leaving? Damian thought to himself, but he couldn't! Not after his mission was making progress. Sensing someone was getting closer to the door, Damian carried on walking quickly.

That afternoon, Dick announced that he would be leaving for Jump City and wouldn't be back for three weeks. Damian had a bad feeling about this trip and he voiced it to Barbara. She had reassured him that distance only made the heart grow fonder but he still wasn't convinced. Knowing Grayson's long history of an on-and-off relationship with Starfire, Damian kept being suspicious.

[daybreakrising]

𝘒𝘕𝘖𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘕𝘌𝘙 𝘞𝘌𝘓𝘓 𝘊𝘈𝘕 𝘗𝘖𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘐𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘠 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘞𝘙𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘛𝘖𝘎𝘌𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘈 𝘓𝘖𝘛 𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘐𝘌𝘙.

REPOST DO NOT REBLOG !!

NAME: lauri

PRONOUNS : he / him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : discord absolutely over anything else, IMs next. people i write with are always allowed to ask for my discord, and i recommend that you do bc it's easier for me than IMs as the notifs are 1000x more reliable. and i find it easier to share stuff / ramble about our muses/dynamics there

NAME OF MUSE(s) : i... have many. main ones at the moment are wrio, vautrin, baizhu & blade, bc they're the loudest at rattling their cages rn.

BEST EXPERIENCE : honestly? joining this rpc. it's the first one that (so far, please don't change-) i haven't had any issues with regarding shitty behaviour or shittier people.

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS :

- vague-posting. i cannot tell you how fucking irritating i find this. it's a shitty & unnecessary thing to do and i will call you out on it if we're friendly and i see you doing it. being vague about something is just inviting drama, and given that so many of us have anxieties, you have no idea who you're subsequently stressing out with your passive aggression.

- plotting, even loosely, with someone & then taking that plot to another version of the same muse. thankfully i don't see too much of this happening these days but, man, it infuriates me.

- hating on someone's headcanons simply bc they don't align with yours. everyone writes a muse differently - that's the beauty of rp. you are allowed to disagree with a headcanon, sure, but if you think your opinion is the only correct one... get out. take your insecurities elsewhere thank u.

MUSE PREFERENCES: morally grey characters, characters who have several layers to wade through and delve into, characters that provide a good challenge for me to write, dogboys.

PLOTS OR MEMES : both. i love plots but i can & will create plots from memes too - and memes are a great way to get things going, to prompt dynamic development & can also just... be fun.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : listen. LISTEN. if you've followed me for any length of time you know i love long replies. LIVE FOR THEM. being able to freely write several paragraphs without feeling guilty for dumping essays on my writing partner is delicious. but i'm not opposed to short replies either - they're good for when muse is low, or my energy levels are limited.

BEST TIME TO WRITE : literally the middle of the night. my most productive hours are between 10pm and 4am.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : i have enough muses to be able to say: probably. i do tend to pick muses that resonate with me in some way, whether that's something in their personality or their background that i identify with, or some other aspect of the character that is familiar. that doesn't apply to all of them, necessarily, but certainly the majority.

tagged by: @ruinare (thank u!)

tagging: idk who hasn't already been tagged so feel free to yoink this from me & say i tagged you !

[spynorth]

🔥🔥🔥 ( about the rpc, about the treatment of morally ambiguous characters, your topic of choice )

unpopular opinion time.

I absolutely HATE when people post constant guilt tripping/negativity on the dash. Like, shut the fuck uppppppp !!! You're ostracizing anyone and everyone who has reached out to you/who writes with you/who is trying to interact with you. Do you want pitty follows? Do you want pity interactions? Are you hoping that people will abandon writing with others to just spend every moment of their fucking day telling you how great you are? GO TOUCH GRASS. GET OUT OF YOUR PAJAMAS. GET THE CRUMBS OUT OF YOUR HAIR. SEE THE SUNSHINE. it is not tumblr's responsibility to brighten your day. In fact, tumblr is the worst place to expect something like that. It's a blackhole. and spouting negativity on the dash constantly is just going to chase people away so you're getting the opposite result of whatever it is you think you're after.

tumblr acts like morally ambiguous characters don't exist. The amount of times you go to a blog and it's 100% black or 100% white is fucking astounding to me. It's like people forget you're writing a human being (fantasy characters aside, excuse the description) who has complexities. they have layers. they are an onion !! Even when they claim to 'respect that [character] is not a great person', how many times is the blog full of nothing but excuses and uwu my baby is just so misunderstood someone please cuddle them posts?? there's a lot of that rampant in the tag for lucas but i think my biggest issue in the rpc itself was always with jaime and hook. literally had someone try to plot with me on killian once where they were like "she can sneak aboard his ship and he can show her how to stargaze. she can change him." and i was sitting there like "mate, this is a captain hook blog." so my overall unpopular opinion i guess, is that people on tumblr take morally ambiguous characters and either label them as 100% problematic or they focus on these little pieces of the characterization to make sure they have reasons/excuses for said character's actions. I don't get it. So the person sucks sometimes...who cares?? I suck sometimes. We all suck sometimes. That's what makes us interesting.

i believe that people who post constant hate anons, especially if said ask is a vague reference to a duplicate, are sending them to themselves. replies like "i know." and "yeah..." and "guess i'll delete..." - I don't have people like that on my dash anymore (i refuse. I'm not in charge of bolstering feelings) but it used to make me want to throw my laptop/pull my hair out. And I don't think people expect me to know when I'm like passive aggressively mentioned on any of my blogs (hook used to be especially bad but i think killian jones as captain hook is just universally accepted as my oc at this point), but I have a lot of friends and know a lot of people and I always know. And the same goes for when people do it about friends. We all know. We're not stupid. I shitpost on the dash like an idiot, but I swear my IQ is higher than that makes it seem. but yeah, when people constantly post hate anons and they aren't using them to educate said anon on a valid point .. I immediately am just like "yeah, that's you." please be smarter about it. make it believable. i beg of you. and if it's not you ... turn off anon, wtf.

[dujour13]

Oooh thank you for the WOTR asks! Can I get 3, 10, and 16 please? :)

3. Companions: your OC’s platonic best friend? Hesitating between Seelah and Daeran. It takes a while for Siavash to see through Daeran’s many layers of defenses, but he does grow to appreciate him and truly enjoy his company, especially after the resolution of Daeran’s final quest. Siavash agonized about making a decision that would restrict Daeran’s freedom, not being the kind of person who does things for others’ own good generally, but he felt he had little choice. He basically sacrificed his principles to save Daeran from the Other, but also from himself. Luckily, Daeran forgave him for it. But not without some passive aggressive drama. Seelah’s just good fun. She often talks down her own intelligence, but she’s so sensible, open-minded and kind that I think they would get along wonderfully. He’s pretty sure he can get her to go skinny dipping. Siavash loves Lann, but wishes he weren’t so uptight. If I were a better writer I’d do more with that, but I don’t have the hang of writing Lann. Also unwritten—on the Azata path I think things could get intense with Arueshalae, although they would always stay at arms’ length for good reason.

10. Thoughts on Queen Galfrey? As an Andoren patriot, Siavash is highly suspicious of monarchs, even those with a stellar reputation. He’s got his radar up for abuses of power the minute he sets foot in Mendev, and quickly gets a few blips: Hulrun vs. Ramien, Daeran’s party house, not to mention what Ember and Woljif have been through. He’s a bit standoffish with Galfrey at first, but warms to her when she shows she’s not above going incognito to join the Crusade on the ground. Not to mention drinking a round with them at the Defender’s Heart. But that actually leads him to underestimate her, and think of her as a friend rather than a monarch, so that when she strips him of his title and sends him to the Abyss it’s a slap in the face he didn’t see coming. He’s actually uncharacteristically bitter about that. He’s such a softie he totally forgives her in the end, though. Her unsent letter of apology made him cry, especially realizing at last what an incredible burden she’s been bearing for so long. For somebody with high emotional intelligence, I think that's a failing on his part--too busy caught up in disapproving of her status as Queen to think about how hard it's been for her.

16. Your OC’s favorite ability / spell? Azata spells are all just an absolute joy. I’m not kidding, there’s one that’s actually called Believe in Yourself. They might not be the ones he uses most often, but the way I picture Siavash in my fic it’s Optimistic Smile and Friendly Hug. In game besides his bard songs, he shoots bolts of Instrument of Freedom a lot, but there are other great offensive spells like Rainbow Starfall and Rainbow Arrows that are just really on theme for him. Here are a couple more Azata spells just because they’re hilarious: Ode to Miraculous Magic, Moral Support, Joy of Life, and Revolt. Actually it would be good fun to write these into the fic more. Thinking of Rejuvenating Poem for example—a poem that cancels fatigue effects? But here’s my eternal question: are bards really supposed to sing during combat? I never could picture that honestly. Siavash only jokes about it in my fic.

[neverquothraven]

i had surgery earlier and am still out of it but i really REALLY get pissed about everyone on this planet misunderstanding op’s thread. op who is autistic and regularly gets harassed on twitter btw

the concept they were bringing up (at least how i understood) was more about the fact that when you’re disabled and people try to do things for you, they often dont do it out of truly wanting to help you or even care to ask if what they’re doing is useful. people keep suggesting “well just say thanks if you cant eat the food and be done with it”

EXCEPT I CANT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES THAT HASNT WORKED because 1. people are convinced i dont actually have an intolerance/allergy 2. they want to see me eat food during a meal and i dont want to get into the I Have Serious Health Problems convo with them (bc again, they dont believe me) 3. even if i explain, they take it as an insult 4. theres communication issues (language barrier/i wasnt able to tell them clearly what the issue is and they just see uneaten food/etc) and i end up just looking mean bc i didnt accept a gift

like if you havent picked up on it, its usually about folks not truly believing me and they’re insulted that im turning down their charity work, like why am i just not grateful?

and i know people are hung up on the “consent” thing but like its not an incorrect word to use, especially when talking about how disabled people are so infantilized and people want to get brownie points a lot of the time for doing things for us (like people grabbing someone’s wheelchair *without consent*)—if you havent ever experienced this from either side im glad for you, and i obviously dont go into a situation expecting someone to be ableist but like… i feel like i’m begging people to listen about how situations have the possibility to unfold and how difficult it is and how literally no one cares

and i wish this wasnt such a common occurrence, i wish it didnt sound so batshit, but im neurodivergent and passive and already am so scared of offending people and never want to ruffle feathers but i literally cant just suck it up when it comes to foods—in a perfect world everyone would just communicate these things, but i truly think some able bodied people are not facing their privilege in this convo

and also in the example in the qrt, i would feel SO BAD because i wouldnt be able to eat something that i didnt know the ingredients of and if there was a language barrier i would be worried something wasnt translated correctly and im getting really anxious just thinking about it and OBVIOUSLY in a perfect world, the other people would understand that i have food issues and then someone else in my house could eat it! but i really just want to make the point that that does not always happen and i have had people close to me genuinely mad, several times over because they had to deal with my diet and couldnt just cook whatever

and i’m not saying people shouldnt gift folks food or be kind to their neighbors or whatever, i just REALLY wish people would believe me when i say dozens and dozens of people have been straight up aggressive when trying to get me to eat things i quite literally would be sick if i did, and i wish that wasnt a real thing but theres a lot of layers to ableism just like, please listen. please?

thought this was neat

[wellnesscard]

apparently mine and my across the hall neighbors heating is linked for our apartments its a 4 unit building and were the two downstairs ones. but she keeps calling our landlord to have him check up or remind us this because she is complaining how hot her apartment is, she and the landlord are apparently convinced we keep our windows open and this is making it drafty so the heat works overtime so her apartment overheats or something? anyways we appeased them again last night and went around making extra sure our windows are closed (it has been -4 all week -20 with windchill theyre not fucking have been opened bro). i like it cold so keep the thermostat at 69 or 70 and some of our windows are only single paned glass so like it is drafty its an old building and we didnt plastic wrap them this winter BUT consider regulating the temperature of your own unit by opening a window instead of going a middle man way to tell us to close ours which never opened?? she also called to tattle on us over the summer (while we were staying at the jobsite an hour away) about a piece of dog poop in the yard that wasnt even from our dog. every house on this block has at least one dog and they really dgaf about picking up after them so like it gets nasty yes however youre in your 30s just knock on our door if u think somethings up we live 3ft away from each other why do i keep getting texts from the landlord about this trivial shitttt. we picked the poopy up anyways btw bc apparently were more mature as perma-wasted 20something dickheads than live laugh love doormat lady. idk im siiick of people acting like that like unwilling to just have normal confrontations as people living in the same building. our upstairs neighbors used to always move our laundry out of the dryer if it was there and done when they wanted to do laundry which weirded me out so i asked them the next time i saw them if they could just knock on my door n ill deal with it and they were like yeah sure. simple as! never happened again! i may be socially retarded but at least im direct and recognize pointless bureaucracy and bullshit. idk im mad now im thinking abt other instances where people make things so many more layers deep than they have to like. this is why we have fucking issues wtfyd if ur living close quarters to people n cant even communicate to them. bruh like freshman year of college in the dorms apparently i kept this girl up all night bc i was having a vodka and chappie and candy night w my friend in my room so she was really pissed at me in the morning. i thought we were quiet enough that she was fine cos she did knock on my door at like midnight but apparently not so i was like shit man im sorry if id known u were still awake i wouldve quieted down more or gone to the basement or something i had no idea u were still kept up. so i wrote all my contact info on a note and slid it under her door so she could contact me in the future w/o having to like get up and knock on my door then she was just going around telling people how "passive aggressive" i was for that???? what the hell

[pigdemonart]

May we hear your many thoughts about Skyla and the twins? 👀

I was traveling so i got to ramble a little in my notes app : )c here are my ramblings

I love this tiny idiot so much. 

SO some of these things I have plans to illustrate because I’ve been wanting to scratch the itch to draw the four of them together some more! We’ll see though.

Been thinking about the friendship dynamics with the trio, and I think Skyla adds an interesting layer to the bunch!

I think what we know about Skyla personality-wise is pretty telling. She’s spirited, she’s fun, she deeply cares about others, she loves elesa. In the anime she’s portrayed as being very confident (maybe even a little arrogant) and pretty headstrong. She’s also very honest and speaks her mind -- we see that with how she talks to Elesa in the flashback scene of the game. She’s a person that can be a little impulsive. As a personal touch, (and because of the joke) I like writing her a little clueless in a “head in the clouds” kind of way.

I can definitely see some of these traits clashing with the twins’ personalities. Not in overt ways, but subtly enough where they’ll end up having passive aggressive little arguments. Even the most subtle things…if you read Skyla’s quotes she values having fun more than winning. I can see her capable of irking the twins in how she chooses to battle. Like it feels like theres not a lot but -grabs shovel- THERE’S GOLD HERE I SWEAR. (Equally though, theres a lot in favor of them being buds, but…i can dig that hole later.)

In the fanon side, we can make some stretches and say the twins would know Skyla for her fame as a gym leader, but also because she’s Elesa’s friend (and in my HC her romantic interest.) They respect her …even if she sometimes makes that a little challenging. Meanwhile to Skyla, the twins are Elesa’s …dudes. Her malethings. Her “you’ve been angrily typing at your phone all lunch!” “Oh sorry, Emmet is asking me my top 5 theme parks and Ingo is arguing that I’m wrong somehow.” Her either special friends who happen to be guys or like confidants shes sometimes has sleep overs with. Skyla doesn’t have to like them. She can fuck with them a little as a treat…she can launch them in her cannons a little higher than others just to see if those coats make decent parachutes.

Also final point. Her partner pokemon is Swanna. You know how fucking vicious Swans can be? Im just sayin.

Skyla. Total sweetheart. Absolutely menace with no concern for self preservation WHICH might as well include trying to get into verbal arguments with two very tall guys who LITERALLY OWN an underground fight club. Hellooooooooooo.

[sparring-spirals]

Okay, so I recieved an ask discussing Marisha and Taliesin's interactions last ep, and while I'm not going to publish the ask because it has a level of speculation wrt cast relationships/interactions I'm not personally comfortable with, I think the question was genuine, so I'm going to say a few things.

Firstly, to answer the base question: I don't think Laudna's actions were out of character, actually. I've already got some speculations on why this behaviour can be considered new to what we've seen so far, but that's not the same as "out of character". I can think of some reasons that are interesting and add layers of complexity, and honestly: we're still pretty new to Laudna? I'm much more inclined to adjust my understanding of Laudna than feel that it was "out of character".

Secondly- and this is more broad. I think if you find yourself speculating or worrying in-depth about the casts interpersonal feelings, relationships, possible tension or bad blood, etc, its very important, and helpful, to remember a few things:

1- The cast are adults

2- The cast are professionals

3- The cast are friends.

4- The cast are full humans that we don't know personally

5- The cast are not their characters

And I mean this kindly! With Critical Role you devote many hours of your time to watching these people talk, they all roleplay VERY intensely, you might spend a ton of time picking apart and analysing the minutiae of character expressions, speech, interactions. And with the way the cast poke fun at each other both in and out of character, it makes sense the lines get blurred. But, quite frankly, that only makes it more important that you can separate the two, and conduct yourself responsibly with these kinds of things.

(more in depth thoughts below the cut. Sorry, this got LONG)

The cast are adults, the cast are friends, the cast are professionals. This is my main "take" whenever I see speculation about "is ____ mad at ___?" "does ______ resent ________?" "do you think ______ is feeling upset/sidelined/offended by _____?"

They are probably not genuinely unhappy with each other, they've been broadcasting this game live for 7 years and friends- actual, IRL friends, for longer. They presumably like each other, and are used to working things out with one another, personal and professional. They are adults, they probably know how to hash things out, instead of passive aggressively vibrating with tension at a table. They can talk to each other, they know how to talk to each other, they have to talk to each other because this is also a professional venture.

Momentary disagreements, friction, tense conversations, are going to happen in this kind of format, when they all rely heavily on improv, roleplay, and willingly engage with flawed characters and realistic interactions. If they put you on edge, or you feel unsure about them- that's fine! That's okay! But attributing them to cast interpersonal relationships, trying to anticipate tension or secret simmering tensions- is, in my personal opinion, deeply unhelpful, and only going to cause you grief. We see these people interacting, uncut, for 4 hour chunks. If you convince yourself of something- its going to be very easy to find more evidence, and then, you can't really do anything about it other than worry about the personal relationships of people you dont know.

So, for me, this is my thinking:

1- Tension is largely in character, and intentional, and the cast loves committing to it and know how to separate the two.

2- If it isn't, sometimes heat of the moment or roleplaying Vibes can factor in, and that makes sense, and again, the cast know how to separate the two.

3- Even if its something that extends out, or sticks, the cast know how to interface, check in, etc, with each other to address concerns and communicate, and will probably work it out.

4- It is their job, and their responsibility to do that, if something came up. Me doing rampant speculation and catastrophizing on the side does nothing but ruin my own experience.

5- Furthermore, they're actual people, and extending the analysis and speculation I do on their characters is... uncomfortable, and I personally don't want to do that.

6- They seem like reasonable enough people. They've got a good track record. It'll probably be okay.

So- I don't think you've got anything to worry about. But more importantly, for your own sanity, and enjoyment, remember that the cast are people- generally nice, reasonable, fully fleshed people we do not know, not their characters, or props or figureheads. And proceed accordingly.