#they also know that a lot of people are stupid and would rather remain ignorant than learn about the history of Palestinians and what

[tariah23]

:/

[apas-95]

I have a question that’s probably pretty stupid, but I thought I’d ask someone knowledgeable. I know china is nothing like how it’s painted by imperialism, but the “social credit” system that affects people’s lives and privileges is real right? A lot of people online default to it for the argument towards china being terrible in one way or another, and from what I know it seems like a legitimately bad thing used to punish or censor people. Do I have this wrong? I’m sure there’s more to the story

In brief, while the 'social credit system' exists, it's both fairly regional (as lots of things are in China, everywhere is constantly experimenting and trialling different paths), and generally applies only to corporations, and the rich. Western reporting likes to act as though they're talking to fellow rich people, which obfuscates things - when they say 'your social credit score can stop you from getting plane tickets' they mean 'if you've committed acts of embezzlement or corruption you can't get first-class tickets and have to fly economy with everyone else'.

In the vast majority of cases the system is aimed solely at corporations and regards things like not paying social security benefits and the like. China doesn't have a FICO-like credit system as the US does, because most Chinese people aren't debtors. People in China generally don't go into debt to buy things, they save up (because the Chinese economy is based on the sale of production, rather than the sale of debts, like the US economy). Before this system was established there lacked a unified system of punishments for non-criminal corporate violations.

That's why the western businesses, which own the western news outlets, were very upset about this, and painted it as they did. They complain about stricter regulations anywhere, but for China they get to piggyback off of existing sentiment to get people who otherwise would support these types of regulations to oppose them. The 'environmental pollution regulations are tyrannical government overreach' line goes down a lot smoother when people have already bought into a story of 'authoritarianism'.

Here's some reporting from western sources backing this up:

Contrary to common belief, the cities mainly target companies, not individuals. Nonetheless, legal representatives of a violating company are also included in the blacklists to prevent reoffending elsewhere or under a different company. Nationally, about 75 percent of entities targeted by the system end up on blacklists because of court orders they have ignored—the so-called judgment defaulters. The remaining companies are typically collared for severe marketplace violations—for instance, for food safety infringements, environmental damage, or wage arrears.

[venusbyline]

I dropped your hand: Boyfriend!Nate Jacobs x Female!Reader

-> SUMMARY: ❝ Nate knew he was a fucking coward who didn't know how treating you the way you deserve. ❞

-> heyyy i wrote this while i watched the All Too Well: Short Film (by Taylor Swift), so i did it based on that AMAZING dialogue between Sadie Sink and Dylan O'brien. it's definitely my favorite mv since the release.

⚠️: Angst and Fluff, Open Ending, arguing, cursing, gaslighting mentioned, established relationship, Nate's typical sexist thoughts, unhealthy relationship, Nate's a bad boyfriend (as usual), Based on a scene from All Too Well: Short Film, no use of y/n.

"Fuck... are you kidding me? Stop looking at me like that, that's so fucked up." Nate grumbled hoarsely the moment he watched your pretty eyes fill with tears.

You pretended being tough and you snorted then, turning your body to look at yourself in the bathroom mirror, starting to wash the makeup that still remained on your face. But Nate knew you better than anyone. He knew your mask of indifference just didn't match those reactions a little while ago. After all the yelling, you had no reason to lie and pretend like you didn't even want or need an apology.

Nate knew he fucked up everything at that party. He shouldn't left you alone surrounded by other drunk stupid guys, the ones you didn't even know. He also shouldn't ignored you when you sat next to him and his friends. But the worst moment was when he dropped your hand and mocked you as a fucking clingy girlfriend when you tried holding his fingers again.

Damn, he shouldn't have done a lot of things. He knew he had been an asshole to you. He was an asshole to a lot of people, but at least he used to try his best not to disappoint and hurt you. Something he failed most of the time... like that night.

"Hey, hey, hey! C'mon, baby... You know I don't wanna fight with you, princess." He tried hard to hide his trembling voice, his throat burning from drinking hours before and then yelling aggressively at you, also gaslighting when you tried to explain your feelings.

"Nate..." You warned as he hugged you from behind, his strong big body practically covering yours, putting his arms around your collarbone in an soft way so he could kiss the top of your head and look at you two in the mirror at the same time.

"I'm sorry, baby... I dropped your hand." He left a kiss on your hair, enjoying your shampoo's good smell and kissing there again. "Hey... I'm serious, okay? I'm really sorry, princess."

He gently took you by the shoulders to turn you around and face him, so he could dry your crystal tears with his long fingers, seeing you give him a slight embarrassed smile. Nate felt his chest ached with fault at not being able to let off steam.

He would always rather you crying because you thought you weren't good enough for his womanizer but rigorous bad boy reputation, than admit that he was only afraid of looking like a vulnerable and weak man around the other people... a hopeless romantic, madly in love with you. Nate Jacobs was a fucking coward and he knew that.

[daistea]

Can i request general relationship headcanons with lycion? (I hope you aren't overwhelmed with requests, I love your writings)

Thank you love! !

This was fun, I haven't gotten to explore Lycion much but I really enjoyed coming up with these!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Lycion would be a great partner because he’d be your best friend. He isn’t really romantic in the traditional sense, honestly he couldn’t care less about that stuff. A relationship with Lycion is based on comfort and vibes and mutual acts of service.

He’s generally pretty laid-back and playful, but there are definitely moments when he gets worked up— those moments usually concern him being offended at someone critiquing his decisions. He’s pretty defensive over his decision to get into ancient magic and change his body, he would prefer you affirm him rather than try and change his ways. 

Which means that when he runs off to join an illegal fighting tournament, please don’t freak out. He knows what he’s doing and it’s genuinely just for his own ego and pleasure. 

I get the feeling that he doesn’t like being worried over. 

I also get the feeling that his near-obsession with his appearance results in him only expecting praise for that. And he loves praise for his appearance and his beastman body and his hair. However, when you actually dig deeper and praise his personality and show a desire to love every single part of him, he kind of tenses up and doesn’t really know what to do with that. He’s not opposed to it, but it’s very new to him. 

If you’re in an established relationship where he’s assured that you love him, he’ll accept your concern. Still, if you try to stop him from doing what he wants, he’ll just ignore you– unless it’s super serious, of course. He does not consider being mauled by another beastman a serious situation. 

Despite his tendency to be reckless, Lycion is also a natural caretaker for those he cares about. (Him watching over Fleki while she trips, etc.)

He’s not a worrier, he’s pretty practical and looks for solutions rather than freaking out over the details or lecturing anybody on their decisions. 

He’s rather independent. I feel like a relationship with Lycion would have a lot of understanding and equality— that remains unspoken, though, because it’s just how he naturally is and he doesn’t need to make a big speech about how he respects your autonomy to do stupid crap if that’s what you wanna do. As long as you survive the stupid crap and come back to him, he’s fine. 

I feel like Lycion would have insight into the lesser known parts of Elven culture. The illegal markets and the underground fighting scene and the tribes that live deep in the forest– the ELF CANNIBALS I can’t believe Kui just mentions that elf cannibals exist and then never talks about it again. 

Lycion is pretty worldly and experienced, overall. Imagine him having a sheltered partner, he would constantly tease and push your boundaries. In public, he’d wrap his arms around you and bite at your neck right in front of everyone, then laugh lightly when you get flustered. 

Lycion would whisper a lot. You’re with a group of people and he just casually lays an arm over your shoulder and whispers what he’s thinking about the people, their outfits, something they’ve said, gossip, etc. Or he’d whisper about how much he wants to whisk you away and go somewhere private. 

If you ever want to curl up next to his beastman form and take a nap in his fur, he would gladly oblige. He isn’t stinky like a dog and he keeps himself well groomed. 

I’m not sure how he’d react to being brushed… It might feel like he’s literally a dog, then. But hey maybe he’d like it. Don’t know. 

I do believe that if he trusted you enough, he’d let you mess with his hair. Brush it, braid it, put it up in fun styles— It’s very intimate for him, a vulnerable moment and a gesture of love. 

It’s canon that beastmen do adopt the traits of the monster soul they’ve taken on. (It’s mentioned that weretigers take on feline traits and become quite antisocial). I believe he’d have a better sense of smell and hearing. He’s generally quite carnivorous. His ears twitch when he hears things, which all elves do to an extent, but his ear twitching reminds you of a puppy. He tilts his head. Sometimes you can imagine a tail wagging when he’s happy. 

Actually, when he’s in his beastform and he sees you, his tail does wag. He can’t help it. 

Other traits include fierce loyalty, practicality, playfulness, self-confidence, and defensiveness. Despite his laid-back personality, he does have the tendency to be combative at times and will not hesitate to tell someone what he thinks of them. 

Sorry but Lycion is a bit of an exhibitionist. Not in a perverted way, he just likes to show off. He wants you to watch him fight. He wants you to notice him. He’s a little obsessive about it, actually. Think about it, his dysmorphia made him so distraught that he would get beat up almost as a way to punish himself, like self-harm. He didn't care about his body or his health to the extent of heavy drinking. Now that he has the body he wants, he isn’t punishing himself anymore, he’s proud. And it’s important to him that you’re proud too. Look at him go look at him rip someone’s limbs off look at the form the muscles the teeth just look! 

One comic mentions that he got pissed when he was taken out with one punch by a werebear. Pouty angry Lycion laying face down in your shared bed as he complains. He requires your attention, please. Also he might just track down the werebear and challenge them again— then get knocked out again. Enjoy finding your boyfriend lying unconscious in the street! What fun. 

I love the comic of him picking Fleki up while they’re running away and then letting her ride on his back as he transforms. Imagine him doing that with you. He would be comfortable manhandling you while in his beastform, picking you up like a rag doll or even biting the back of your shirt with his teeth and carrying you around like a puppy lol 

What if he’s a biter… What if he bites during intimate moments. He might even just bite for fun. Lightly, of course. Just a wee nibble on your arm in an attempt to get your attention. 

Sometimes he just hangs out in beastform. You’ll find him like

Credit for the pic

This elf thinks he is a god of seduction. In some ways, he’s right. He is. But sometimes he doesn’t realize he’s being cheesy by giving you a certain bedroom look and then he gets irritated when you laugh at him. 

He’s rather sociable! And casual as well, he would just hang out around other people with his arm over your shoulder or around your waist. 

He likes your scent… He likes you surrounded by his scent. 

Overall, Lycion is a good partner who makes an effort to understand, respect, and take care of you. He desires the same. He’s a show off and very self confident. I don’t think he’d be the jealous type but there are occasions where he’ll be a little territorial. He shows intimacy in a very casual way and doesn’t do traditionally romantic things. He’s your best friend and your partner and also the guy who sometimes bites you when he wants attention. 

[anneapocalypse]

On Cullen's Earnestness

In my current playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition, this one early war table quest caught my eye that I think offers a good bit of insight into Cullen’s character.

In “Truth or Dare: The Imperial Court,” Vivienne alerts Josephine to a letter she’s received from an acquaintance, purporting to “warn” Vivienne of the suspect company she has taken up in joining the Inquisition. The letter reads thus:

My dearest Vivienne,

You cannot have heard the shocking allegations against the Inquisition, or surely you would never have been seen with them. Allow me, as a friend, to open your eyes. People are saying that Divine Justinia is, indeed, alive, but that the Inquisition—her closest advisors and most trusted servants—have orchestrated all this chaos on her orders. That it was Seeker Pentaghast and Sister Nightingale who sabotaged the Conclave in order to eliminate the opposition within the Chantry, and cut off the heads of the mage rebellion and templars in a single stroke. To save your own reputation, you must escape this acquaintance immediately.

With deepest concern, Vicomtesse Elodie de Morreau

In the context of the Game, we may understand that this Vicomtesse, while she may call Vivienne a friend, likely has no great concern for her reputation.

The Inquisition is the horse on which Vivienne is betting in order to better her own position (which is considerably shakier than she lets on, but that’s another post); Vicomtesse Elodie is simply making a different bet. If Vivienne heeds her warnings, and the Inquisition never achieves public favor, then Elodie’s advice was correct and Vivienne is indebted to her. If Vivienne heeds her warnings and the Inquisition does gain public acclaim, then Elodie has disrupted Vivienne’s opportunity for advancement, and she also wins. And if Vivienne does not heed her advice and the Inquisition remains a pariah, Elodie gets to watch Vivienne go down with it, smugly saying “I told you so.” Only if the Inquisition thrives and Vivienne with it does Elodie lose this bet—and Vivienne is clearly interested in seeing that outcome, and helping it come about.

The important thing is that the specifics of the accusations against the Inquisition are absolutely irrelevant here. This conspiracy theory about Justinia being secretly alive and the Left and Right Hand doing a sabotage to secure Chantry power—it’s all nonsense, and I doubt the Vicomtesse truly believes it. More critically, she likely does not care whether it is true. Repeating this rumor is just a means to a desired outcome.

If you’ve ever argued with a conspiracy theorist who seemed to simply change their position every time you backed them into a rhetorical corner, you may have realized that facts are largely ineffective at combating this sort of thing.

And of the three advisors, Cullen is the only one to get hung up on the content of the rumor, rather than its source and its purpose. Josephine and Leliana, seasoned players of the Game, both recognize this stupid rumor for what it is. Both of them ignore the substance of it and instead focus on its purpose: turning public opinion against the Inquisition. Josephine proposes to combat it by seeking noble favor elsewhere and leaving it to those allies to do the work of actually arguing against the rumors. Leliana is more interested in finding out with whom the rumor originated.

Leliana also makes the particularly savvy observation that if they were to combat the rumor by attempting to prove Justinia’s death, they would simply be providing their opponents more ammunition to use against them later. Leliana recognizes that “The Divine is alive, and you’re hiding her!” isn’t an earnest accusation, it’s bait. And if you take the bait, if you say, “Actually the Divine did die; here’s her remains to prove it,” then your enemies can say, “Aha! And how do you know she’s dead? It’s because you people killed her!” Or, best case scenario is they just bait you into wasting a lot of your time proving the accusation false, which is exactly what happens if you let Cullen take the bait.

Again, you might have had a similar experience if you’ve ever tried to “debate” a person whose strategy is making outrageous claims, letting you waste a lot of time earnestly debunking them, and then ignoring all your arguments and simply making another, equally outrageous claim.

In Cullen’s case, what happens is poor Knight-Captain Rylen is tasked with leading a field trip of Orlesian nobles through the grisly ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes, while asking them to please not touch the red lyrium, and no, you cannot take a charred corpse home as a souvenir, please milord I must ask you not to touch the red lyrium. I’m sure that was an excellent use of everyone’s time and resources.

But it’s easy to understand why Cullen responds this way! It’s a very instinctual and human response! “Well, you’ve just said a thing that is very obviously untrue. I’ll prove to you that it’s untrue! And this will solve the problem of you being wrong, and then we can all move forward together. Right?”

It’s an eminently reasonable response, so long as you assume that the other party is being reasonable and engaging with you in good faith.

Cullen assumes they are. Josephine and Leliana know they’re not. (Vivienne also knew this; hence her handing the letter over to Josephine to deal with instead of bothering to reply herself.)

And you can probably see how Cullen’s earnestness, his desire to believe that other people are also operating earnestly and in good faith, could lead him down some dangerous paths.

Knight-Commander Meredith was also a conspiracy theorist. The difference is that her conspiracy theories were about people she had near-absolute power over, with terrible consequences. And working under the authority of someone he wanted to believe in, someone he absolutely would have taken as entirely earnest (because in many ways she was earnest, at least in her belief that magic was dangerous and must be controlled), it would have been easy for Cullen to assume she must be acting in good faith, even when his misgivings arose. “She needs a spine of iron to survive her position,” he says to Hawke. And like anyone arguing in bad faith, Meredith could move the goalposts when it suited her. No signs of blood magic discovered? That only proves how well they’re hiding it. The tower must be searched top to bottom. The First Enchanter objects? He must be one of them. Dissent among her own templar ranks? Must be the blood magic controlling their minds. As Dan Olson puts it in his video In Search of a Flat Earth, conspiracy theories make facts subservient to outcomes, which is why the "facts" can easily be rearranged and discarded at will—all that matters is the actions those facts justify.

Of course Meredith’s beliefs were, again, quite different—more dangerous, and far more earnestly held than this silly Orlesian rumor about the Inquisition. She was also under the influence of red lyrium at the height of her paranoia. But conspiracy theories often feed on paranoia, and Meredith’s beliefs were still ultimately beliefs that could be bent to justify the outcome she (and her superior, Grand Cleric Elthina) desired: mages must be controlled, whatever the cost.

Cullen has managed to extricate himself from Meredith’s mindset. But he hasn’t yet learned, I think, that conspiracy theories and irrational beliefs can’t be overcome simply by reason. That’s also very understandable for someone in his position. When you’re in the process of overcoming some very wrong beliefs yourself, things you earnestly believed, it’s very natural to want to believe that everyone else is just as earnest and can be persuaded; in fact, you have a personal stake in believing that, because if other people can be redeemed, that means there’s hope for you.

Do I think this justifies the things Cullen was complicit in during his time as a templar, or any misguided opinions he may voice during his time with the Inquisition? No, that’s not why I’m saying all this. But I think it’s an interesting aspect of his character and one worth exploring. Cullen is often characterized as the blunt instrument advisor, his answer to most war table questions being “send troops”; in Josie’s words “the hammer for whom every problem looks like a nail.” But I think some of his offered solutions do offer compelling insights into his character, and this one certainly does—as well as an interesting example of how this approach to the world and other people can go wrong.

[selenacosmic]

Since Halloween is close, I was thinking how do you think the warlords would react to an MC/reader who is really into spooky stuff? Like ghosts, cryptids, legends, haunted houses, likes graveyards, likes exploring abandoned buildings, etc

Since it’s almost Halloween, this is a great idea! Thank you for the request.

MC is into spooky things.

Oda forces.

Nobunaga Oda.

He wouldn’t be scared of your stories, things that are supernatural aren’t more scary than the living, but he is curious and entertained by the tales you know. Nobunaga finds it interesting that you are so fearless over the unknown, which gives him more reason to take you to battle with him.

Sometimes he just likes listening to you ramble about legends and unsolved mysteries just because of how you tell them.

Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

He is partially concerned with your interest, believing some of your likings are too dangerous, like wanting to explore abandoned buildings. He isn’t one to believe that ghosts are actually real, but hideyoshi does feel uneasy about supernatural things.

He won’t admit it, but when you try telling scary stories, he does feel a bit scared of them.

Mitsuhide Akechi.

How brave of you, liking things like that and remaining fearless. Though, mitsuhide would love to tease you by spooking you, he also likes how engaged you are with these things. He is a mystery enjoyer, partially, himself, so he shares your excitement over them, though not in the same way.

He still tries spooking you by making up a scary story or legend, but always gets you excited about it instead. He finds it cute though.

Mitsunari Ishida.

Mitsunari takes enjoyment in solving mysteries, but mostly the more logical ones, he is still very happy to listen to you talking about the more scary and unsolved ones (though he can’t understand how someone can enjoy mysteries that haven’t been solved or are unable to be solved). He isn’t really that adventurous to explore abandoned buildings or haunted places, but he would tag along to ensure you would be safe.

Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Ieyasu doesn’t like the fact that he can be a bit scared of some things, like haunted places, but he would rather fight it than cower in fear, he believes it’s what makes him stronger. Of course, you babble about a lot of things that are unfamiliar to him, so he just lets you talk rather than pay attention.

He still tells you that it’s stupid to try and explore abandoned places by yourself, as a form of scolding, since an animal or dangerous person could be hiding there. But you always go there anyways, so he might as well tag along to keep you safe.

Masamune Date.

Masamune likes that adventurous side of yours, and how curious you can be, he gets even more excited when it involves scary things. He isn’t one to like legends that much, but he feels entertained whenever you tell him the ones you know, and scary stories that keeps people alerted. Rather than scared, he gets really excited about it.

Just for the fun of it, he would take you to haunted places that most people avoid like abandoned castles just to explore it.

Ranmaru Mori.

Ranmaru always feels scared of stuff like that, so he pouts and complains to you that you shouldn’t scare him like that with your stories and unsolved mysteries, he sometimes runs away if you chose to tease him about it.

In other situations, he might grab your arm for comfort whenever you tell spooky stories. He isn’t THAT scared, actually, but it is an opportunity to act cute to you.

Keiji.

Hah. He doesn’t get scared of your stories, and Keiji doesn’t fear abandoned places at all. But he does find entertainment when you tell spooky stories. Keiji believes that you are brave to the point of ignorance, since you have no sense of danger when exploring abandoned places or graveyards.

Uesugi-Takeda alliance.

Kenshin Uesugi.

Kenshin isn’t someone who gets scared, at least not by being spooked. He only feels fear when he feels like he might loose someone important to him. He doesn’t care much about mysteries, but will listen to you talking about it for hours on end as if he is listening to war tales.

He also doesn’t care much about exploring potential haunted houses, but the idea of being able to fight a ghost makes him excited enough to tag along.

Shingen Takeda.

Shingen enjoys seeing you getting excited about unsolved mysteries, solving cryptics and talking about scary legends. He can’t help but find it all endearing, a sweet thing like you enjoying such scary things? He is fascinated.

But he doesn’t like your habit of going to explore places that could be dangerous, as he does believe in the supernatural to some extent, he would rather you stay close to him.

Yukimura Sanada.

Yukimura does get scared, and he is terrible at hiding it, which makes it even more fun to tease him about it. The fact that you like all that creepy stuff only makes him think that you are a witch even more. He still tries to act tough so that he doesn’t let his weakness show.

He would agree to go with you explore a haunted castle, all of it to prove that he doesn’t get scared easily.

Yoshimoto Imagawa.

He isn’t a fan, mostly because he gets annoyed that scary stories do have an effect on him. He doesn’t do well with creepy things since he finds it unpleasant and that it ruins his mood. So he usually prefers to stay out when you want to tell another scary story of yours.

He doesn’t mind, however, when you talk about mysteries, mostly because it intrigues him.

Sasuke.

Being from the future, he shares your enjoyment for spooky things, Halloween and unsolved mysteries. He might be the best person to talk about those things since he will know exactly what you are talking about, and you can talk freely about stories that involve the future.

Exploring abandoned buildings is fascinating to him as well, since he enjoys learning about its history.

Kanetsugu.

Kanetsugu, scared? That is impossible. He is always cool headed, stoic and more prone to scare others with his fierce gaze than to get scared. He tends to scold you if you plan on exploring abandoned places or haunted buildings as it could be dangerous and that you shouldn’t be reckless.

He isn’t one to be affected by scary stories, nor does he take true interest in mysteries, but he does listen to you talking about them, even if he doesn’t really believe it.

[bimbocoreblonde]

hi!!! i saw ur fall guy ficlet post, and i got so excited because THESE ARE SO CUTE

this is a lot to ask lmao im so sorry but what if

F (friendship) but then its a friends to lovers story with G (gentle) + H (hugs) + J (jealousy)?

THIS IS SO MUCH TO ASK BUT I JUST KNOW YOU'D ROCK THIS

thank youuu and hope ur having a great day!! <33

Hi, thank you for being my first ask!!! And hell yeah you can ask for a mix of prompts, although I wrote more of a very short fic than distinct prompts. I hope that's okay!

Being an intimacy coordinator was a job that constantly kept you on your toes - never more so when the intimate scene you were coordinating involved multiple people.

In this case, the director of this film had this ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’-esque scene in mind where the two protagonists went from fighting to making out back to fighting and then into a sex scene – and since the fight scenes were very intense, that meant you were not only working with the actors, but also their stunt doubles.

Not that you were complaining.

As ‘not actors’, you had been hanging out with a few of the stunt actors while on set – particularly the stunt double for the lead male role in this film, Colt. And Colt was an absolute sweetheart.

He’d looked after you since it was your first international shoot: riding with you to set in the mornings, going exploring around the city with you, making sure you got home safely before heading to his own hotel. He was also a bit of a gentle giant: guiding you around with a big hand on the small of your back, slinging an arm around your shoulder to support you on public transport so you didn’t fall over, holding your hand to help you out of the truck he drove to and around set.

Despite him having muscles that were ridiculous impressive, and a rough and tumble nature that meant he was constantly bruised and scraped before he started work, you always felt safe around Colt.

The fact he was easy to look at didn’t hurt, either.

You never voiced that thought aloud; as an intimacy coordinator, especially one who was assisting with scenes involving Colt himself, telling him you found him attractive would be crossing a major line. You didn’t want anyone calling into either of your professionalisms, especially when a lot of this work came about through word of mouth…but that didn’t mean you were blind.

Or adverse to asking him out after filming had wrapped up.

Some people on set, though, were not as firm on professional boundaries as you were.

The male lead for this film, some hot new star named Johnny, had been flirting with you since the first day he’d seen you on set. It wasn’t subtle, but you tried to ignore it as much as you could, striving to remain professional but polite.

Unfortunately, Johnny seemed to interpret ‘polite’ as ‘playing hard to get (but obviously into it)’. He really wasn’t doing anything to dispel the stereotype that good-looking people were stupid, but that wasn’t your problem.

Another week, and filming as set to wrap up – so for now, you continued to ignore Johnny’s thinly-veiled innuendos, and barely-veiled-at-all propositions, and headed over to where Colt was waiting by his truck to see if he wanted to grab dinner at a jungle-themed restaurant you’d seen on Instagram.

“You sure you wouldn’t rather go with Johnny?” he muttered, frowning over your shoulder (presumably at the mouth actor).

You, however, were frowning at him: “God, no. Why would I want to go anywhere with him?”

“You two seem to be friendly, is all.” Colt shrugged, finally looking at you…although he wouldn’t meet your eyes.

“I wouldn’t use the word friendly.” you responded tartly: “Maybe long-suffering on my part, and really annoying when it came to him.”

Colt looked confused: “You’re not into him?”

“No!” you exclaimed, probably too loudly but you needed to make it clear you were not ‘into’ Johnny: “I’m just trying to stay professional while he…does his best to be as gross as possible before I can call it harassment.”

Colt’s shoulders slumped, and after a moment of confusion you realised he looked relieved.

You didn’t get it – surely people didn’t actually think you were reciprocating Johnny’s horndog behaviour. You might not be able to publicly tell him to wind his neck in…but you felt like it was definite subject to your non-responses!

Suddenly concerned people might think you were into Johnny, you turned to storm off and do…literally anything to make it clear to God and everyone that you thought the man was a jerkoff, when a big hand wrapped around your wrist, and yanked you back towards a solid chest.

“Colt, what on earth - !”

You were cut off by Colt spinning you round and pulling you into a bone-crushing hug.

It should have been uncomfortable, but you actually found it…really nice. Colt’s arms were strong around your waist, pressing you close to his warm chest, even lifting you off of your feet a little. It was so easy to melt into his embrace, that familiar feeling of safety leeching the tension out of you, until you almost forgot why you had been about to storm off.

“I thought you were just waiting for filming to wrap up before accepting one of his offers.” Colt murmured into your hair.

“His many, many annoying offers.” you muttered bitterly, before Colt’s words actually sunk in: “But, wait, why would it matter if I was into Johnny?”

You felt Colt swallow, his voice nervous when he answered: “Because if you were into him, then you weren’t going to settle for me.”

“Settle?” you replied indignantly: “Colt Seavers, any woman would be lucky to have you! You’re an amazing guy, and don’t you ever settle for someone you think think that they’re settling for you.”

Colt was uncharacteristically serious when he spoke, his face solemn when he pulled back to look at you: “Even you?”

“Me?” you squeaked.

“Yeah. I was gonna wait until filming was finished, I know you want everyone to see how professional you are, but…I really don’t want to miss my chance. Do you want to go out for dinner tonight? As…as more than friends?”

You didn’t even need to think about it – you grinned up at Colt, happiness bursting through you: “I know the perfect place.”

[isa-ghost]

happy early borth use me as a vessel to infodump about your qphil headcanons immediately that’s an order >:D

This too-broad I Just Wanna Hear You Be Abnormal About Your Guy prompting thing is gonna become an inside joke between us I s2g

I think rather than hcs I'm gonna go on a rant about this sTUPID MOTHERFUCKERS WACK ASS BRAIN. YOU ARE YOUR OWN BIGGEST EMOTIONAL DETRIMENT, YKNOW THAT qPHILLIP MINECRAFT? GOD.

This entire thing applies to AMFMN Phil btw

That son of a bitch is such a MESS. He's so deep in his own bullshit he doesn't even see the times he contradicts himself or acts like a hypocrite.

He has to care for everyone (he feels obligated to as the Usually Oldest And Wisest + being constantly put into the paternal/caretaker role) but god forbid anyone takes care of him, even when he needs it most. When people take care of him he feels like he's failed somehow and he gets this not-quite ashamed or embarrassed feeling, but still Distinctly Uncomfortable And Awkward nonetheless.

He's like thousands of years old and has had more life experience to handle stress 100x heavier than "just a scratch" or "feeling a bit sad." He's spent decades just fucking around risking his life in hardcore mode, which puts near-constant strain on a person. Which has definitely warped his perception of what's too much for himself. He has a HUGE problem with being too critical of when something is or isn't Enough to be "worth" letting himself be upset or down for the count for a while. (In AMFMN he's going to be told straight up he Should Have Literally Died with how bad of shape he'll be in and that's the only reason besides his body being in literal physical shambles that he's going to remain bedridden during the recovery arc).

It's so foreign to him between his habitual isolation (hc life), rarely actually being taken down long-term by any threat, and his own evasion of being the one depending on someone that he just. He doesn't know what to do here. It's like putting socks on a dog and watching them try to walk all weird, he's like What The FUCK Is This?? How Do I Navigate This Situation?? He hates it.

Also survivalist brain hates feeling vulnerable in any way in general obviously, so that's another factor. But FUCK MAN sometimes you NEED to, it's HEALTHY even!! You dumb ass motherfucker!! Like yeah he'll cry, but not in like a Go To His Room And Let Himself Break A Little way, in a "these extremely stressful circumstances are actively happening/ongoing and it's overwhelming me so badly that I couldn't hold this back if I tried" way. Case in point: Ender King's initial arrival and how the kids couldn't see anything, or his actual possession and telling Tallulah to flee.

Alternatively if something involves not him but his loved ones, THEN he'll cry. Assuming it's not something he can do anything about (bc then his default reaction is Pissed The Fuck Off and preparing to throw infinite hands). Case in point: the goodbye letters pre-Purgatory.

But generally speaking this idiot is SO BAD at emotional self-care and letting himself be the one looked after for a change, it feeds into a lot of his other flaws (ie: being strong all the time & how he pushes that on Chay). But like. It's not just done out of refusal due to stubbornness.

It's fucking tragic, honestly. He's spent So Long being this way, he just straight up genuinely doesn't know How to be in the reversed role. Like even if he Wanted to be, it's so beyond his comprehension now that he doesn't think he Can. And a shred of why he continues not to just Start is bc he knows deep down that there is SO MUCH shit he's bottled up and buried or ignored over time, esp ever since The Nightmare, that if he let himself stop being a brick wall he'd crumble for so long he doesn't know what he'd be like once he recovered, or if he would even bounce back properly. And he does NOT like the idea of being irreversibly fucked up by properly digesting the trauma and grief and stress he's been through over the last year.

He'd rather truck on and "keep it together for the kids." :)

[alicelufenia]

So yeah had the chance to sleep on it and gonna give my full thoughts on the (unannounced) new dialogue for Minthara when Durge makes the decision to reject [SPOILER]. Gonna keep it under the cut but also read @shoddynomenclature's flashfic about it, it echos a lot of my feelings on the subject.

I think this had the potential to be something that makes her character even more nuanced and interesting by showing an uglier side of herself. Yes she has been abandoned by gods before, and the pain of that can't be understated. So seeing Durge reject Bhaal, to walk away from an inheritance when she was taken from Lolth against her will? Must feel frustrating. Seeing a character work through those emotions and fucking it up could be really good. COULD be.

This one conversation, where she throws everything about her relationship with Durge aside and turns her back on them with just a single non-critical response and no follow up? This ain't it.

I hate to say it, but this addition has all but killed my interest in playing Durge, if this is what it does to her character.

I'd LIKE it if there will be future additions, conversations you can have back at camp after the stress of the day has passed, to ask her what's really going on here. Yeah it WOULD be nice if there were some follow up where we can talk to her about our reasons for rejecting Bhaal, with the option to reconcile. Which could even lead neatly into her post-Orin speech, y'know some of her best writing in the game where she realize that Bhaal is no different than Lolth, or the Absolute.

Or, the chance to refuse to get back together with her after that. The only other way to break up with Minthara currently is cheating, which sucks, whereas having a big ugly argument and deciding "We've both said our peace, and understand each other better now, but we can't be together. Not after all this." THAT'S Really Good.

But unlike others, I have no confidence that any such addition is coming.

Because (if I understand it right) this dialogue was datamined from release, but was always inaccessible until the recent hotfix. So it was easy to ignore, treat it as cut content like the pregnancy plot (which I still don't get and frankly at this point I don't wanna know).

By deciding to make it accessible, Larian has made it clear that they want this to be a part of her character. But unlike this dialogue, there isn't any follow up sitting in datamine waiting to be turned on.

As far as we know, this is it. It's useless to speculate on what they could add (why add to her writing so piecemeal like this anyway?) because they didn't wait until they HAD more, to make this a part of her writing. Hell, it wasn't even worth mentioning in the hotfix notes!

Loving her partner to the degree she's willing to put aside her thirst for power is such a key part of Minthara's character that this dialogue completely abandons. What Larian is saying here is that her love for Durge was just a ruse to entice someone she could control into acquiring power, even at their expense. And if that's Larian's vision for Minthara's character, then why stop with Durge?

Why does she break up with Durge for rejecting Bhaal, but not with Shadowheart for rejecting Shar?

Or Astarion if he remains a spawn?

Why shed all those real tears for Karlach if she'd rather die than return to Avernus?

Why continue to share Tav's bed if they refuse the Astral Tadpole? Why offer no real objection if they destroy the brain, though she's rooting for them to take control of it right up until the moment? Why can she find power enough in the two of them with the Absolute gone to continue their plans for conquest, but Durge refusing to become just like Orin, her tormentor she swore to kill, is a dealbreaker?

If she tells my Tav the bond they share is called alurlssrin, can I even believe her, when she said the same to Durge only to call them stupid for believing in love right after?

Do you see the problem here?

Do you see why people would rather this dialogue not exist, if this is what it does to her character?

[thedo0zyslider]

I Love You (I'm Not Supposed Too) - Chapter Seven: Unjust Treatmnet - 10k Words

The Ocean Queen shows her true colors, which leads to a lot of talking between Jimmy and Fwhip.

(TW for Transphobia, thoughts of self harm, mention of deceased parent. A lot off heavy stuff in the sections marked by ~~ if you want to kip them. I cam/will provide a summary <33)

A03 Link

After the.…. reveal , as Fwhip had devided to call it, the trip to the Codlands didn't change much. Their schedule remains rather similar; wake up, eat breakfast (which quickly becomes awkward and painful if the Ocean Queen decides she's in a chatty mood that morning. Yes, Fwhip glares at her every time she speaks, getting him looks in return from the merfolk. No he does not  care. All these stuck up rich people could fuck off, for all he cared.) and then go do whatever they were needed for in the Codlands, Which was usually a lot, considering they were basically making a new empire from scratch. 

Before the last little bit, the Cod Empire, as it was now being called, had just been a small village. It couldn’t hold all the codfolk, so most of them were forced to live in the Ocean. Though from what Fwhip heard, they and the merfolk would like the cod in their own biome, in their own cities, and away from everyone else. So now, once more construction had been ordered, they had to make a sizable empire. And also plan all the buildings out, so the empire didn’t have a bunch of random houses placed randomly. Most of that had been done before Fwhip arrived though, so he was mainly saddled with getting materials and helping with a bit of infrastructure; as much as he could help with anyways, since he was still underage. 

His main job was to help Jimmy with most of the new ruler stuff he was having to do, occasionally accompanied by Pix whenever he came around. Which is a good thing with hindsight, because establishing a whole nation from scratch is hard and Jimmy had no idea what he was doing (to no fault of his own, of course.) The worst part was picking anyone who would work in the government, which the cod had in the form of a Council, because most of them decidedly did not like Jimmy. It came down to tensions between the Cod and Oceanfolk, as even though the Prince was literally a cod, he was Ocean born or whatever so people didn’t like him. Same thing had happened with his father, back in the day, according to Lizzie and Pix. Fwhip found the whole issue dumb and stupid, because at the end of the day they were all weird fish people, and ignored it best he could.

He figures, about halfway through all this and when the expanding village is a lot more stable, that his visit was a little early. The trip was probably planned a few weeks down the line, when there wasn’t as much work to do. Because, for all Fwhip tries to help, he’s a little in over his head helping Jimmy run things, on top of all the cultural differences between their empires he always forgets to account for.  But alas, shit had gone down at home, and he’d been sent off early. Not that the half dragon minded, because drowning himself in work or someone else’s problem was a great way to distract his own.

So minus a few surprise Pix visits, (because the man knows that he can pop up in any empire whenever he damn well pleases and fully takes advantage of that,) nothing much about their schedule changes. The one thing that does change however, is that Fwhip notices how Jimmy is treated in his own home. And frankly, it's disgusting. He knows very well how his mother treats him, and can easily fill in the gaps when he doesn’t see stuff. The castle staff aren't much better either, which earns them no kindness from the future Count, and Fwhip thinks the overall opinion of him in the palace is very, very low. Not that he cares much for these people’s opioids, but everyone can feel the way the mood shifts when he walks into the room, and he’s perfectly fine with that. Mood shifts are frequent at the Manor anyways, so he has some..…prior experience of being where he’s not wanted, if you could phrase it like that.

Lizzie is the biggest frustration, really. Fwhip doesn't get to see her very often, the princess always whisked away on some task her mother ordered, because learning to be queen is apparently a very busy job. So busy that she can't even spend a day with her own damn brother, much like it used to be when Gem still lived at the Manor. But, when the two of them do cross paths, it's often around the Ocean Queen herself. And Lizzie acts very differently around her mother, very different indeed. Enough to piss the half dragon off, too.

She seems to act like Jimmy isn't real, never sparing her brother a glance around the Queen. And when she does, the princess dances around gendering him. Like she doesn't want to misgender him, but also doesn't want her mother's ire turned on her. And Fwhip can get that fear, he truly can, but really? There has to a point, where supporting your sibling is more important than whatever scolding or harsh words that Lizzie might receive, and he feels like this situation fucking crossed that line. 

Fwhip can't even imagine, if Gem were in the same position, doing nothing as their parents treated her like that. Of just sitting there and dancing around the subject like Lizzie does. The thought of it makes him feel disgusted. The ginger knows he couldn't even live with himself if he let her be treated that way, especially if he could do something to stop it. Their parents already mistreat the both of them in different ways, and it's half the reason he fights with his mother so much. Because he knows and he hears the things she says, and isn't going to stand for it. Not when it comes to Gem. 

They might’ve just had the worst fight they've ever had ever , but she's still his baby sister. Even if they're both fucked up and disagreeing with each other, Gem’s still his twin. She's always been there for him, for his whole life she's been there. The young wizard was the one person who'd been there for everything, and had seen the parts of him that even Sausage hadn't seen. (The worst ones, the ones that were ugly and broken and angry at everything and everyone, regardless if they'd ever wronged him.) She's the sole reason he didn't just run away during the divorce, because he couldn't leave her to shoulder all that alone, even when it hurt him so much to stay. Fwhip had known leaving Gem would hurt a lot more than anything at home ever did.

That's why he's so upset with Lizzie. It takes a fair bit of reflection to figure out, but all of that is the reason. Because despite everything, despite every horrible thing they'd ever said or done to each other, his sister was still his sister at the end of the day. And he couldn't imagine just leaving her to suffer like that, especially if he saw how much it hurt. Because every time Lizzie or the Ocean Queen leaves them, he catches a glimpse of how Jimmy’s expression twits in pain. Or in frustration or anger or just pure sadness . (Which usually comes after a rather stiff interaction with his older sister, and is usually masked by a very familiar frustration.) Or how his fist clench and his tail lashes and how much it clearly hurts to live with a sibling who won't even try to protect him. 

And in the two or so weeks Fwhip’s at the castle he sees and hears a lot. He hears the arguments they try to keep quiet, because their guest is always somewhere nearby one of them. He sees how Lizzie goes to Joel’s a few times, but Jimmy has to stay and how much the cod clearly wants to go, but can't because the two of them have been tethered together against their wills. He sees how Jimmy leaves him to go comfort Lizzie on bad days, when their mother gets too much for her, or the both of them, and hears bits of the quiet comfort he attempts to give his older sister. Even if it doesn’t always work, he's still trying , a lot more than she is for him. 

(Because despite the horrible hand he's been dealt, Jimmy is still stupidly kind and caring, and the half dragon doesn't think that's going to change, not ever, not for anything. The Ocean Prince is too stubborn to change like that. He thinks it makes the cod a better man than him too. He almost ran away for suffering what he believed was less, and almost left Gem because of it. If he was in Jimmy’s position, he would've disappeared into the ocean never to return, or started a goddamn villain arc by now.

He has to wonder why Jimmy even stays anymore, and figures that's a question for another day.) 

And Fwhip likes Lizzie. He really does. The princess isn't as annoying as her brother, isn't so dead set on throwing insults at him. She's funny, she's talented, she's kind and has all sorts of charming little quirks, and she's been a good friend. Even if she is a fish. Which is why this sucks so much. Because he likes being Lizzie's friend, but can't force himself to be okay with her behavior. 

Fwhip knows she has her own problems, because all of them do, and he doesn't want to downplay them. The ginger just really wishes she would do better. Not even for him, or herself, just for Jimmy. Just for her brother, nothing else.

He just wishes she would be a better sister. It would make life a whole lot easier for both of the siblings, that’s for certain. And make this trip a lot less painful for him as well.

Fwhip spends the whole trip wishing that, after the reveal, and feels frustration twist in his gut whenever she dances around Jimmy. He gets it now, why that sour look is on the cod’s face half the time. The half dragon thinks he even mirrors it, sometimes, when his anger gets too much and he has to bite his tongue before he lashes out, and gets sent home early. He thinks he understands why Jimmy would rather go be stressed about the whole empire he now has to run, rather than spend twenty minutes alone with his mother. And he’s not even the one living here twenty four seven.

And that’s how a lot of the days on this home away from home are. Wake up, glare daggers at half the castle, leave, snap at Jimmy, run around the disgusting and mud-filled swamp for hours, then they return back to the Prisma Palace for even more suffering and even more moments where Fwhip has to reel in his temper. Because, as much as he wants to punch someone, he doesn’t want to go home and face his parents, or Gem. Not just yet. And also it would probably backfire on Jimmy, if nothing else. He’d feel too horrible, if something bad happened and it was his temper’s fault again; if he broke anymore bridges with his stupid outbursts and stupid problems.

A lot of times now, the half dragon can’t help but simply feel bad for the guy. The feeling overriding all his dislike of the cod on most days. And maybe, if they can find some common ground like this again, their arrangement can be…tolerable, at best. Maybe…

_____________________________

One day, on one of the rare days they have nothing to do, Jimmy decides to show him the castle gardens. The cod says they’re going there because he’s bored, and likes how pretty the gardens are. Jimmy says it’s his favorite part in the house, because no one will bother him there, not even Lizzie. And yeah, Fwhip can’t disagree with that. The Manor’s gardens were a pretty quiet place back home, where he always went after a bad day or if he just needed some alone time. So the gardens in the Prisma Palace can’t be that bad, especially if they’re an escape from Jimmy’s hellish household.

And the gardens were nice, Fwhip found when they got there. They actually exceeded his expectations, the water flora being quite pretty. Some of the gardens were above the water, along with lily pads and other sea grasses. The rest of it, like the other half of the palace, was below water, and contained fish swimming through the plants. It was nothing like anything he’d seen back home, and the ginger found himself staring at the garden the whole time in wonder.

He and Jimmy don’t talk much, content to do their own thing for the handful of hours they stay in the garden. Fwhip, like the nerd he is, pulls out a small notebook from one of his coats' various pockets. He always keeps this one on him, and the pages are worn and full of old notes and sketches he did whenever he had an idea, but was away from his normal workspace at home. The ginger flips to an empty page, one randomly placed in the notebook, before fishing a pencil out of his other pocket to begin sketching.

He occupied himself with something he’d been wanting to do for a while, which was taking sketches and notes of the plants and animals in the Ocean Empire. He was sure he would return to it eventually, maybe in a few years, but the future Count wanted a head start on his project. He always liked seeing how his personal notes updated and changed overtime anyways, and he was very curious how that would go this time around. Fwhip had never really studied aquatic organisms before, or paid them much mind, so there was a lot he had to learn.

His passion for this hobby had come in his younger years, when the half dragon first became interested in farming, around the age of nine or so. He’d always wanted to help around the farms, and still found the work rewarding to this day. But at the start, it had been very hard for him to remember everything the farmers were teaching him, or what breed of animal was what, the information easily getting jumbled up in his brain. His mother had come up with a solution, after he’d gotten particularly upset one day, buying him his first notebook, and telling him to write things down. She said it always helped her with remembering spells, and to give it a try. If that didn’t work, then she said they would find another method. Nowadays, Fwhip considered it one of the few good things the woman had ever done for him, and longed for his younger years when she’d been kind and caring towards both her children.

This particular notebook, the first he’d gotten on his own, was one he had for years now, and it’s nearly filled up. He bought or made all his notebooks with the intent of them lasting years, resulting in them being two times chunkier when he finished them. Not that Fwhip minded in the slightest. The very first pages of this one were filled with old sketches, some maybe four years old, from when he had first been allowed to work on the farms. All of the crops of his homeland (which were mainly different types of potatoes, with a bit of wheat and carrots thrown in) were sketched, each with a page dedicated to facts and little notes about how they grew under certain conditions. He’d also gone out of his way to sketch various livestock, most of them being cows or chickens. Though there was the occasional blood sheep drawing thrown in here and there, from whenever Mythland gifted them one. Or when a herd wandered too far from home, as the creepy little things tended to do.

Fwhip gave all his old sketches a fond but brief glance as he idly flipped through the pages, waiting for a fish or something to be visible. He’d already drawn all the plants he could see, and mourned the loss of the strictly underwater life. Now it was a matter of watching the beautiful scenery, and hoping he could get a good enough look at a fish, or other stray sea life,  to note some stuff down. The little guys did swim pretty damn fast.

(He made a mental note to ask Jimmy some questions later, during one of those times they weren’t scowling at each other. He needed the cod to see his plant drawings so he could properly name them, and would have to avoid him catching a glance of anything salmon related in the notebook. And, because he knew the blonde would ask, Fwhip would rather stab himself than add a cod to his scared pages, thank you very much.)

Jimmy sat a few feet away the whole time, much closer to the water than the half dragon was. His feet were dipped in the water, brown pants legs rolled up to keep them dry, kicking at the sea every so often. Fwhip would sometimes hear him muttering in codlish, or oceanic, and made a whole separate page in the notebook, for whenever he picked up a sound or a letter. The cod would be communicating to whatever fish came over, something Fwhip honestly forgot he could do, and would switch the language accordingly. Sometimes it even sounded like he was mixing the two. The ginger really should’ve tried to learn oceanic, at least, considering he hadn’t been able to understand a lot of conversation for the whole trip. But that was something he could ask Lizzie about later, when she doesn’t feel so upset at her anymore.

They spend at least two hours in the gardens, maybe more. Just….sitting there, alone together. It’s the most peaceful time he’s ever had in Jimmy’s presence in the two or so years that they’ve known each other. It’s nice, to not argue, or to not be actively annoyed by something. It’s nice to finally have a day to relax, and let his brain slow down for once. His thoughts are always going a hundred miles an hour, so Fwhip savers any moment where they stop, no matter how long or short it is.

Eventually, though, they do have to leave. Jimmy walks over, and gives the half dragon a light tap on his shoulder, startling him out of his skin. Fwhip shuts his notebook with a snap , giving the other a small glare. Jimmy just rolls his eyes, and promptly turns to the garden's entrance. The ginger decides he’s going to ignore that disrespect, wanting to keep his peaceful mood for as long as possible, and reluctantly starts to follow the Cod Prince back into the castle.

~~ When they’re walking back inside Is when it happens, when the Ocean Queen catches them, and when everything goes more than a little downhill that day. Neither of them even know what she wants them for, other than to possibly them dodging the family breakfast this morning. Jimmy said he didn’t have the energy, emotionally, to deal with that today, and Fwhip had agreed. He didn’t have the patience for Lizzie and whatever looks he’d inevitably receive, so agreeing to just hide out for a little while was a no brainer. And then they had ended up in the gardens, an hour before noon, and now they were here. Caught right in the act of slacking.

Jimmy’s dead name echoes off the wall, loud and deafening, along with his mother's distinct voice, a few seconds after the ginger first hears her footsteps approaching. The first thing Fwhip thinks upon hearing it is that he never wants to hear it again, not ever again in relation to the boy beside him. It feels so wrong just to hear it said every time he hears a whisper of it, like a sin of some kind, because that is not his fucking name.

Beside him, Jimmy stiffens instantly, but says nothing. He even looks like he's going to respond to his mother, after she just called him that. Which, no , absolutely not . He’s sick of just having to sit here and watch them disrespect Jimmy like this, and it's made him ballsy. The half dragon turns around to the Queen before the cod can, before Fwhip himself even realizes what he's doing, tail lashing. He'll stand for a lot of things he probably shouldn't, a lot of things Jimmy himself would disapprove of, and he knows that, but this isn't fucking one of them. 

"His name's Jimmy! " Fwhip snaps, glaring daggers at the Ocean Queen, at least a week's worth of frustration very evident in his tone. Beside him, the cod prince goes completely stiff, and his face falls in what has to be horror.

"Young Count," The Queen narrows her eyes in response, her voice low and her words picked carefully. Deliberately . "Glad to see you're starting to get along with your…" She trails off to clear her throat, right before saying the worst words Fwhip has heard in recent memory. And he hears some shit from his parents' mouths.  "..future wife." 

The half dragon thinks he sees red for a minute, glaring daggers at the Queen. It's not often you do that to other royalty. It’s not often that he does that to anyone, even his other family members; and they really know how to piss him off. “Future husband .” He spits out the retort, feeling his tail lash with anger again.

“Fwhip…please.” Jimmy begs him, going to tug at his hand. The blonde’s broken out of his horror, and it is very clear that he wants to leave, to run away, now . The half dragon just stands his ground, only managing to keep his tail under control. He is not as successful with his temper, because he never is and probably never will be.

"You should listen to her, young Count." The Queen continues, giving a glance at her son. Fwhip really wants to know what she’s conveying with it, because it makes Jimmy get even more upset beside him. "Before I report this to one of your parents."

"You mean him. " Fwhip corrects again, holding back an angry huff. He doesn't give a shit if the Queen tells his parents, he doesn’t care what anyone tells them about his behavior. If anything, this specifically will just make them think less of her. They can't punish him anyways, not in a way he hasn’t worked around before.

"Fwhip, let's go. There was that thing I wanted to show you." Jimmy says again, now pleading. He tugs on the ginger’s arm, hard enough to start pulling him the opposite direction. Fwhip holds back a growl, not enjoying being tugged around. The half dragon has to stop himself from turning around and snapping at the cod; instead taking a few deep breaths before his impulses can get the better of him. He’s not mad at Jimmy , he shouldn’t get mad at him right now. It’s his mom who’s the problem, who’s making him so upset. 

“I-” He starts to protest again, the growl being squashed before it can leave his throat. He is not going to get unfairly mad at Jimmy and snap at him. He’s not , it’s not his fault-

" Fwhip. " Jimmy hissed, low and panicked. It's the fear in his voice that gets through to the half dragon, that pushes through his anger. He knows how fighting back can make things worse, and he doesn't want to make things worse for Jimmy. He really, really doesn't want to make things worse for him. So Fwhip stops trying to argue his point, and backs down. 

"Fine, Jimmy. Fine. " He says, letting himself be tugged away. But not without one last glare at the Ocean Queen. The royal says nothing, just watches them disappear around the corner of the hallway. The ginger feels her piercing, near angry, gaze on his backside until it’s gone, and has to press down the shiver that it causes. Jimmy doesn’t say anything, doesn't even look over his shoulder like he normally might. He just pulls them into a nearest room, one of the unused guest bedrooms, to hide away for a little bit. They’re doing a lot of hiding today, and Fwhip, whose limbs are shaking with leftover rage, can’t say he really minds.

Once the two of them are in private again, Jimmy hugs him. Well, sort of. It's more of an awkward side hug, the cod having to lean down slightly to even do so. Fwhip doesn't protest as Jimmy buries his face in his shoulder, the blonde's whole body going completely slack as the tension leaves him. Fwhip holds him there, and resists the protective older sibling urge to move him closer, hold him tighter. Like he always did to Gem when she was upset… (Even if he only is older by a few seconds, bit still, older sibling urges regardless.)

"You good?" He asks, resting a hesitant hand on the taller boy's backside. He hopes it's as soothing as he thinks it is, and maybe he's right. The cod does lean into the touch just a little, going even more slack against him. Once again, Fwhip can’t help but just….feel bad for this idiot, as weird as it would’ve felt too not even a month ago. 

Jimmy’s next words are very muffled, as he presses his face harder into the half dragon’s shoulder. As if to stop himself from crying. "Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"No. You're shaking." Fwhip huffed, drawing Jimmy closer. He was giving into those protective urges, that might be a mix of dragon and older sibling being in him. It’s the wobbly tone and slight voice crack that makes him fold, in all honesty. He was never very good at resisting anyone balling their eyes out, or getting simply teary eyed.

Jimmy mutters again, even more muffled. "Heh. Figured." He isn’t saying much, not yet, and the half dragon decides to give him a few minutes. The eventual Feelings Talk can wait, just for a little bit. But it has to happen before they leave the room because holy fuck he’d just yelled at Jimmy’s abusive mom in her own kingdom.

"I hate your mom. I hate her so much." He says, letting himself give in. Fwhip lets himself fully hug Jimmy, surprised when the other holds him back, and buries his face into messy blonde hair. His limbs have stopped shaking with anger, thankfully, and causes his hold to be a lot more steady than he thought it would.

"Tell me about it." Jimmy snorts, sounding amused. And also snotty. The ginger will be politely ignoring the slight dampness on his coat for the next few seconds, even if it really bugs him. It’s not about him right now, it’s about Jimmy and his dumb mom and his dumb house and how he can’t catch a fucking break half he time-

"Let's get one thing straight, yeah?" Fwhip says, interrupting his own thoughts and nudging the cod a little. Jimmy looks up slowly, curious despite his better judgment, and meets a harsher gaze than he expected. His gaze is all sad and wobbly, like a sad little dogs’, while the half dragon’s eyes hold a ferocity and determination for what he’s about to say next. Truly a great reflection of everything about this situation, really.

"I still do not want to marry you," He growls gently, rage at the Ocean Queen still lingering as he stops hugging the other, and takes the cod’s face in his hands. His hold isn't too harsh, but it's just enough to pinch a little; to really hammer in what he's saying here. "But if I have to, you're gonna be my husband . Not my wife. Never my wife. You understand?" 

"Yeah….." Jimmy almost hiccups out the words, his eyes instantly going all watery again. But he doesn’t spill over, not yet, just sniffles a few times and tries to keep his composure for a little bit longer. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me for common courtesy." Fwhip snorts, and Jimmy really looks like he’s about to cry after hearing that. The future Count goes to shush him, still acting on those older sibling instincts. Jimmy just shakes his head, sniffles once more, and tries his best to wipe away the tears now pricking at his eyes.

"Sorry I just…no one really stands up for me like that. Other than Joel…" The cod mumbles, not being able to do much as his cheeks are dampened. He’s very clearly trying not to sob, and it’s failing pretty miserably. He also sounds ashamed of himself, of crying and being treated nicely. Fwhip wants to punch whatever adult made him feel bad about crying like this, even knowing that’s probably his mom again, realistically. 

"Then they need to do better." He says, thumbing tears away without even thinking and pushing away old memories of a younger, smaller Gem, crying much like the blonde is now. Those are thoughts for much, much later, when he’s not holding the saddest boy he thinks he’s ever met in his hands.

"I know…" Is the last thing Jimmy says, before the dam breaks and he just sobs . Fwhip doesn’t saying anything, only gently moves them both down to the floor, and holds the cod as he hiccups. They’re not chest to chest like they probably should be, Fwhip’s not comforting him like he probably should be, but he thinks it's enough. He mutters kind nothings into the silence and wipes Jimmy’s tears the best he can, the other hiccupping and letting out wet sobs with every breath. It takes ten very long minutes for the tears to finally stop, for the blonde’s breathing to finally even out, his tears abating for now. The half dragon thumbs away the wetness on Jimmy’s face one last time before pulling his hands away, and has to wonder how many years’ worth of tears that was.

“Thank you for doing it, though.” Jimmy says when he’s a bit more composed, leaning his head against the wall. He looks up at the ceiling, not sniffling anymore, but looking a little despondent. Fwhip can't help but worry for his enemy, more than a little bit too. Jimmy’s normally very good at not showing how horrible he feels, much to his own detriment most likely. 

He starts to repeat his earlier sentiment, and is quickly and surprisingly cut off. Which is weird, Jimmy normally lets him speak, unless he’s really snappy or something. “Don't-”

“No, thank you.” The cod repeats, sounding a little firmer. An indication he's not just saying thank you for getting basic respect. That this is different. That this is so much bigger than Fwhip ever could’ve thought. “I wasn't….I wouldn't be doing good without you or Joel.”

The cod takes a deep breath, like he has to keep himself from crying again. He also just….. stares at his wrists for a few seconds, and the half dragon feels a horrible little lightbulb going off in his head before Jimmy even speaks; because he fucking gets it so much it hurts . “I don't know what I would've done if ..”

He doesn't say what he would've done, but Fwhip gets a pretty good idea. A pretty good idea that without Joel, Jimmy wouldn’t fucking be here . He latches himself onto Jimmy as he speaks, hugging the other boy tight. The cod makes a strangled sound, and buries his face into messy ginger hair. The half dragon never thought he'd be hugging this guy twice in one day, but fuck their stupid rivalry. This was a lot more important, so, so much more important.

“God you are such a mess .” Fwhip muttered, his face buried against Jimmy’s neck. He tightens his grip, a million horrible scenarios racing though his stupid brain. That’s all he says on the matter, partly because he doesn’t know what to say, and partly because his gut is twisting itself into knots of horror and fear as they speak.

“I know.” Jimmy mumbles, with what sounds like a weak laugh. His own grip on the other tightens in response as well. “Thought I should mention it, so you know what you're dealing with. All of it, I mean.” He explains, and Fwhip gives the best nod he can. The future Count is going to help Jimmy the best he can, he couldn't just not after these last few days; after today especially.

“Does Lizzie know?” He asks. They should probably talk properly, face to face, but Fwhip doesn't want to let go. Not yet. Not until all of him is convinced that Jimmy is okay, that he is still here and breathing underneath him. 

“Only you and Joel.” The cod hums. It feels like he's calmed down, as he isn't trying to hide tears anymore. That or he can just suddenly cry without his whole chest heaving. And for all Fwhip knows, that’s some weird fish ability he;s never heard of before. “I don't know if I can tell her, or if she would do anything about it.”

“Of fucking course.” The half dragons says, still not ready to let go. Of course Jimmy can’t trust his older sister with anything. And why would he? After all the behavior Fwhip’s seen her display, he knows he wouldn’t trust her either. He wouldn’t trust anything with anyone in the castle, if he was in Jimmy’s shoes, and doesn’t blame the other for feeling that way in the goddamn slightest.

Jimmy makes an amused sound, one that’s probably not fitting the current mood. “Yeah. Yeah.” He hums, now resting his cheek on top of Fwhip’s head. Just for a few minutes, until they untangle themselves. Just until no one needs comfort anymore and the two of them can go back to never touching ever again. And after a few more minutes of just holding each other, Fwhip feels like he can let go. Like the cod won’t vanish as soon as he stops holding him. So slowly, the two boys separate, and the half dragon rushes to fill the silence as soon as they do. ~~

"Why'd you pick Jimmy?" Fwhip sits next to the cod now, cross-legged and his tail flicking behind him. It’s a question he’s been wondering for a few days now, and there hasn’t been a better time to ask it than now, and there probably won’t be one again; knowing the two of them. "I mean, it suits you, but I'm just wondering."

Jimmy hums out an explanation, going to idly fiddle with the pendant he always wears. It’s from his father, if Fwhip remembers correctly. "Well, I actually picked James, but Jimmy is a common nickname for it. Lizzie started calling me that one day."

Fwhip nods, and resists the urge to glance down, at where the cod’s wrists lay. That’s exactly what he’s trying not to think about, so he won’t. He won’t, he’ll keep talking so he can keep his mind away from all the things he would never want to consider becoming real. “I get it, you know, the name thing.”

“Oh?” Jimmy says, curious. There’s also a little undertone of caution, of worry in his voice, and Fwhip can’t help but appreciate it.

“It's not the same as you but…..they did name me FailWhip.” He says, like it’s an easy fact of his life. Like his birth name didn’t horrible fuck with his mindset as a child, like he didn’t have to fight tooth and nail to shorten it to what his name currently is. Like his parents ever understood why he hated it. Like the knowledge that it even happened, that it was there, still dones’t fuck with his head to this day.

But he says it easily, for Jimmy’s sake, because it is not his turn to talk about his baggage. And also, he doesn’t really want to get into all of that, not right now. That’s for a different terrible day, sometime a little while in the future.

Jimmy’s voice is very quiet when he next speaks, and he sounds horrified. “That's….horrible.” He sounds so sorry for Fwhip. Part of him appreciates it, the other part doesn’t want pity over this. He decides to let it go in the end, after a few minutes of quiet deliberation.

“And legally changed, after a lot of fights about it.” Fwhip huffs, and moves the concentration on again. He’s glad he and Jimmy can relate a bit about names, really he is. But this brings up some unpleasant memories, ones that started and showed the cracks even before his family had split, when he was younger. And he doesn’t like remembering them, plus the extra questions he had about Jimmy’s transition, so he just moves on like it never happened; and ignores how a comforting hand was put on top of one of his. “Can I ask something else? About your transition?”

“Sure.” The cod sounds appreciative at the question, though Fwhip is sure his sudden topic changes aren’t going unnoticed. He doesn’t like them either, and would rather not do it, but his emotions have been everywhere since just a bit ago. The half dragon doesn’t imagine JImmy’s doing better either, so it’s fine . That’s what he tells himself, anyways.

 “Are you on testerone or anything..? I'm just curious, that's all.” Fwhip asks, genuinely curious about all this. They haven’t had the chance to discuss this topic much, and he wants to learn more. Plus, by the way the blonde’s face lights up, he doesn’t get these questions much, and is way more than happy to answer them.

“Nope, but I tried to get some. Mom wouldn't approve of it.” Jimmy said, his tail flicking behind him, kinda cat like. The conversation was far too easy, far too normal of a thing for them to be having. It’s certainly not something that would’ve happened before. Neither of the boys really noticed at the moment, too wrapped up in what the other was talking about for the first time in….while. (Fwhip will think back on it one day, admit the feeling was nice, and then shove it away to the deepest depths of his mind once again.) “She used the dumb excuse of it messing with my other health issues.” Jimmy rolls his eyes a bit on the last part, his voice souring as well at the memory.

Fwhip gets concerned for a minute, and wonders if there’s more stuff he’ll need to watch over in the future. He finds himself totally unburdened by the thought of making sure Jimmy is okay, mentally and physically, especially if no one else in his life (sans Joel) would even make an attempt too. “Health issues?”

“Forgot you didn't know about that.” Jimmy says, smiling a little sheepishly as he explains. “I've had health issues since I was a baby, because my egg was small and damaged. They're not that bad anymore though. She still wouldn't give parental permission for any hormones anyways…” Fwhip nods, after considering all of that and decides he shouldn’t have to worry. Not too much anyways, if Jimmy’s been managing all these months with little to zero complications. After that, they fall into a comfortable silence, the ginger running out of trans-related questions to ask the cod.

It’s quiet until Jimmy speaks again, muttering softly into the silence, like he’s scared the wrong person will hear him. Even if there’s no one but the future Count here to listen. "Sometimes I wish my dad were here, instead of my mum." 

"Would he be more…accepting of you?" The half dragon asks the question a little hesitantly, not having heard much about the late Ocean King. He knows the cod people weren’t fond of him, Lizzie misses him dearly, and that Jimmy wears his pendant despite never meeting the man; and that is all he’s gathered so far. Undsertanbly, the family doesn’t like talking about their late relative much, especially if his death was upsetting, like their behavior seems to imply just a little bit. (Maybe it’s why Jimmy’s mom is such a backside, the one person that could tolerate her is gone…)

"Yeah, Lizzie seems to think so anyways. She said he was always much nicer than mum is." Jimmy hums, a bit louder. He’s still pretty quiet though, subbed by thoughts of someone he wishes he got to know. If only for a little bit, even if only as a tiny egg or baby. "He always wanted a son too, apparently."

That leads Jimmy onto another subject not even five minutes later, one more related to the both of them. "That's why they picked us to get married, y'know?" The blonde asks, giving the ginger a rather knowing look. Some bad feeling is already starting to settle in the half dragon’s bones, and his tail flicks in a slight upsetness. 

"Because…." Fwhip prompts. He’s pretty sure he gets it, or at least where the blonde is going with this. But he doesn’t want to speak the words. This is Jimmy’s story to tell, after all, and they would taste like ash on his tongue if he did speak them aloud.

Jimmy confirms what he’s thinking, and the half dragon feels his stomach drop and some nasty feeling twist in his gut. "Because to her I'm not a boy."

"But Lizzie-" His protests are weak, even to his own ears, and sound like words of someone who’d never had the misfortune of meeting the Ocean Queen.

"Lizzie's too important to be married off like this. She's the heir to the throne, she has to learn to be queen or whatever. So mom picked me…" The cod cuts him off, going on a ramble before he can even stop himself. These are words he’s probably been wanting to say for a year and a few months now, and Fwhip can only imagine how satisfying it must be to finally say the truth, after all this time suffering in silence. He knows his own heart would feel a lot lighter if he would just do the same to Gem, back at home…

"And Gem….Gem is a girl. And they can't marry two girls together, can they?" It all comes into place there, how back when they were first told off the arrangement, Jimmy and his mother had glared at each other. And she had won the nonverbal argument they were having, and her son had been withdrawn and stiff for the rest of the day. 

Fwhip has never wanted to punch someone more in his life. And he shouldn't, because she's a queen, but he really, really fucking wants too. 

"I bet they still want us to make an heir still. It's probably in the agreement somewhere." Jimmy mumbles, voice breaking. He says it like he knows for a fact that detail is in the agreement, and not like he’s guessing. The prince is so certain of it, like his mother had made sure he knew exactly what she wanted. Jimmy sounds disgusted at the thought as well, and disturbed. Fwhip finds that he shares the sentiment.

"Absolutely not." The half dragon says, keeping his voice firm. They’re not fulfilling that part of the agreement. They can do the rest of it, but never that part, for both of their sakes, but mainly Jimmy’s. They're not having a baby, that can be Lizzie's job. 

"Thank cod." Jimmy mumbles, running a hand over his face and through his hair. He seems so incredibly relieved and happy by that answer, Fwhip kinda wants to reach over and hug him for a third time that day; for some reason he can’t place.

~~ Unfortunately, that is about the time one of the maids, presumably doing her daily cleaning, finds them. Both boys jump when the door is opening, scrambling further away from each other. They weren’t doing anything, but that sure made it look like they were. The maid spluttered a bit, her voice almost coming out as a yell when she spoke. "You two shouldn't be in a room alone, it's not proper!" She says, glaring at both the young rulers like they’d actually done something wrong .

"It's not the first time!" Fwhip retorts, immediately going on the disrespect. And also catching onto why this might be considered ‘improper,’ his blood beginning to boil before he even gets the question out of his mouth. "And why is it not proper, huh?"

"Fwhip-" Jimmy small protest is cut off, the maid speaking over him. Though the half dragon does have time to give the cod a quick glare, one that’s warning him to shut up. To let him handle this. To let him protect the blonde just this once . 

The maid begins, voice overlapping with Jimmy’s, and is getting cut off as soon as the young cod is, the half dragon’s temper snapping like a twig in the woods. “A young man and-"

"Well luckily for you, we're both young men. So piss off." Fwhip snaps, giving the woman the most annoyed glare he can muster. She does not, in fact, piss off despite the orders too. So the ginger repeats himself, knowing full well the castle staff have to listen to him because of who his parents are. Even if they all think he’s a little shit. (He doesn't normally like that privilege, but he’ll use it when it can benefit him, like right about now.) "You heard me. Piss off."

The maid glares at him for a moment, before huffing and turning heel. She doesn’t close the door when she leaves, but the maid does leave it ajar. Fwhip feels himself growl as he watches her leave, and there’s a scowl on his face when he turns back to Jimmy. ~~

“We should make out just to spite her.” He grumbles, a little pissed off all over again. The half dragon hated the people in this castle, hated how they talked about Jimmy. He hated it more than words could ever describe, only growls, tail lashing and other noises feeling right enough to convey it most of the time.

Jimmy snorts, a little amused. He pushes Fwhip away, nose wrinkling at the thought. Though with less disgust than would normally be there, no doubt. “No offense, but gross. Not with you.”

“I expected as much.” Fwhip says, rolling his eyes maybe a little fondly. Maybe in just a tiny bit of amusement. “That wasn't serious, by the way.” He adds, remembering earlier conversions about them……er, feeling for each other, and wanting to avoid anything like that from ever happening between them. 

“Thank cod.” Jimmy sighs, sounding really relieved, and that is where they decided to call it a night. Or a day, considering the sun hasn’t quite set. They sneak back towards their rooms, skipping dinner, just like they had skipped breakfast and a little bit of lunch, not caring how hungry they are or the consequences not eating much will have later on. Fwhip doesn’t want to see anyone else in this dumb palace for the rest of the day, and has no complaints when Jimmy drags him into his bedroom. He has no other complaints when, a few hours later, they both end up falling asleep in the same room.

Fwhip knows he probably wouldn;t be able to sleep, alone in his room, after all the stress and new information from today. He just needs to be by Jimmy for one night, until his anxieties are quelled, and then the two of them can finally go back to normal for the rest of this dumb stupid little trip.

_____________________________

A few days later, Fwhip’s trip is up. He has to go home now, and leave the Ocean back to its normal life. So, the night before, he hastily packs everything, and does several double checks to make sure he doesn’t leave anything. He doesn’t know when he’ll next see Jimmy, after all, and likes having his stuff with him when he can. And in the morning, after one last search of his guest room, he depearts before breakfast, just like he’s been ordered too, and starts making his way to the castle gates. (It only took him a few weeks to be confident in finding it….totally navigable castle… yep ..) As he walks, a certain prince joins him, and, for the last time on this trip, Fwhip finds no desire to shoo him away.

“Sorry for making you deal with all my problems.” Jimmy says, now walking him towards the castle’s entrance. His tail drags on the ground behind him, and Fwhip wonders if the cod will miss him. If he’ll be lonely now. (He secretly wonders if he will be too…) “I didn’t want this trip to be depressing, but it kinda was.”

“Don’t sweat it, it got me outta the house. And it would've been hard to ignore some parts.” Fwhip shrugs easily, bumping his tail with the blonde’s on purpose, playful. Maybe something like that would lighten the mood. He doesn’t know. The half dragon isn’t a people person, or a fish one. Never had been, never will be.

Jimmy bumps his tail back on purpose, the smallest of smiles flashing across his face. “Yeah.” His plan to be playful worked! Score one for Fwhip, score zero for social anxiety. Truly a massive win for him indeed, considering how many of his social attempts have failed before over the years.

“I don’t want anything fake anyways. I hate when people are fake for their stupid image or whatever.” The half dragon says honestly, giving the cod’s tail another return bump, one that’s a little stronger than before. “I just want the real people.” 

“Heh, okay.” Jimmy laughs, a real one this time. Maybe one of the few real ones he;s had in weeks. And then, before either of the boys know it, they are at the gate and the guards are going to help Fwhip depart. “See you later.” Jimmy calls that one last thing to him with a smile, already starting to back away and go back towards his little hell home. The whole ordeal truly feels a little wistful, for whatever reason, like they are old friends seeing each other off for the last time. Or something dumb and sappy like that.

“Whatever, nerd!” Fwhip calls over his shoulder, not hearing whatever Jimmy responds with, and before he knows it he is on the track back home. Back to the Grimlands. And he has a lot to wonder over, in those few hours it takes to get home. Like that strangely friendly goodbye he’d just had with Jimmy , of all the people in his social circle. And everything that’s happened over the past few weeks, to him and the Cod Prince alike, and how they’re going to act going forward. Because it’s certainly going to be very, very different from how they acted and treated each other, that's for certain.

The trip to the codlands…..does something to their relationship. Fwhip doesn't know how to describe it, other than he can barely stand the young cod half the time. Until someone starts calling him a girl, then he can more than tolerate him. Then the half dragon is willing to defend his future fiancé in any way he can. 

It's funny, they're funny like that. They hate each other, they both bully each other, even if the half dragon is arguably the instigator half the damn time. But he won't stoop to that level, and he won't let anyone else do so either. Fwhip thinks Jimmy even trusts him now, to a certain degree. Which he can't really blame the blonde for. If he lived in that horrible of a household, he would trust the first person who so much as respected him too. Though hopefully Jimmy can get away from it all, now that he's scheduled to spend more time with the codfolk….

God's, he's sitting here worrying about Jimmy of all people. That's what he meant when saying this did something to their relationship. It made them care about each other in some weird way. It made them care for each other for only a few seconds at a time, then it was back to business as usual. It probably solved a lot of problems they had, and Fwhip wouldn’t be surprised if it caused a few new ones as well. Something always did with the two of them.

Speaking of fixing and creating problems, he has a sister and (maybe a father, if he even sees his son today) he needs to talk to, and knows the conversation is imminent as soon as he arrives back in the Grimlands. It’s not a conversation he’s excited to have, he’s actually very scared of it. But he knows it needs to happen, and wants it to as well. So it’s going to happen today, whether the future Count likes it or not.

Him and Gem have been messaging a bit, ever since the communicators had been finished. The devices were in the works for months, and just happened to be finished a week after their big fight. Not only was that convenient, it also allowed for very stiff conversations to be held, before and during his trip to the Ocean Empire.

They haven't really seen each other in person since the argument, and even before he left, only scarcely in passing. But he thinks they're going to today, since Fwhip has been away from home two whole weeks. Maybe even three. He think’s shes the only one of his family who will welcome him home, and that’s fine by him. He’d had enough of shitty mothers for a little while, and would have plenty of time to see his dad later. Fwhip did, rather unfortunately, have to see the man at breakfast everyday.

An hour after he gets home and puts his bags away, Fwhip decides to bite the bullet. No more ignoring it, no more anxieties. He knocks on his sister’s bedroom door, just down the hall from where their fateful fight had occurred, and waits with bated breath for her to open it. If she’s not in there, then his whole plan is turned upside down, but whatever. He tried, and that’s enough. It should be enough.

It takes a second, but Gem does peak through the doorway a minute later, her green eyes uncertain. “Hey.” She says, clearly a little more than hesitant. On a good note for this, she doesn’t hide behind her door for long, and fully opens it. So they can be properly face to face.

“Hey.” Fwhip parrots, standing there for a second, dumbly. The words almost dry up in his throat, and the urge to run away from all this is very strong. But he doesn’t do it. He doesn’t run, he stands his ground and forces his voice to stay steady as he talks. “I'm sorry…for yelling at you, and calling your magic stupid.” This isn’t the Ocean, he’s not there anymore, he doesn’t have to grab Jimmy and run from things neither of them can seem to fix. He can fix this. They can fix this. “I know it's really impressive and you love doing it so…I'm sorry.” 

Gem blinks at him a bit, processing his words. She probably just expected another stilted conversation, one that ended without even fixing anything. But, as she’d told him once, Fwhip was kinda full of surprises. He was never the best at apologizing anyways, but he hopes that one can suffice. He hopes that the fact that he tried means enough.

“And I know how much your inventions mean to you, so I'm sorry for calling them dumb.” The young wizard says, after a moment of turning the words around in her head. She sounds unsure, but her brother always knows when it's genuine and when it’s fake. Gem isn’t good at proper apologies either, anyways. “And for calling you a dickhead.” 

Fwhip feels a small laugh bubble up from his throat, as he recalls his past attitude from the past month and a half, and what he’d just said to the Ocean Queen a few days before. “You weren't really wrong there, but thanks.” 

After a moment of silence, and a small giggle from Gem, the future Count speaks again. He asks the question that arguably scared him the most going into this, and finds himself very relieved at the answer. “Are we…cool now?”

“Yeah, we're cool.” Gem says, a small smile starting to form on her face. It’s a little somber, but it's the first time she’s smiled at him in over a month, so the half dragon will gladly take it. “I'll try to be a better sister from now on.”

“O-okay.” Fwhip stammers, and doesn’t know why that gets him so much. He doesn’t know why that almost makes him cry, but tears do start to prick at the corner of his eyes. Fwhip blinks them away, right as Gem crashes straight into his chest.

“I missed you, you big idiot.” She huffs, hugging him. She’s hidden her face in his coat, and Fwhip remembers again, He remembers Jimmy, just like this not even a week ago, and his sister doing the same thing when they were much younger. The half dragon hugs her back tightly, and slightly wonders when he became the comfort guy.

“I missed you too…” He mumbled, wings covering both of them. “I’ll try to be a better brother, too.” He rests his head on top of hers, barely noticing the strange absence of her wizard hat. Gem just makes a sound, and drags them both into her room, managing to kick the door shut in the process. The twins need time to be emotional in private, instead of letting the whole manor walk by and overhear their conversation.

They end up on Gem’s bed just….laying there, after a good cry or two from the both of them of course. They chat about what’s been going on with each of them for the past few weeks, about anything and everything that comes to mind. It’s really nice, just laying next to his sister again, exiting near each other. He missed her, a lot more than he let himself think about over the last few weeks.

“I was messaging Jimmy earlier.” Gem hums, their sides pressed together. She had a book in her hands at one point, fiddling with pages as their conversations dragged on, fell off, then restarted all over again. But now she seems content just to lay next to her brother, the book long forgotten somewhere else on her stupidly big bed.

Fwhip feels his ears prick up in surprise, He didn’t think the forge was giving out communicators to other empires yet, but he hadn’t been home in a while. A lot could happen in just a month, after all, even when he wasn’t there. (Hell, his seaside trip had proved just what could happen in a month, really.) “He got his communicator?”

“Yeah, they sent it over a day ago I think. I wanted to help him set it up.” Gem explains, her fingers drumming against her purple bed sheets, something she does when there’s a lot on her mind. “He said you guys got closer when I asked about the visit.” 

“Yeah.” Fwhip says, his tone going heavy. He flicks his eyes up towards the ceiling, and a frown stretches across his face involuntarily.

Gem sees the way his face falls, and Fwhip knows her brows have furrowed without even looking over at her. “What did you two talk about..?”

“It's not my place to say but…..you can ask him.” Fwhip says, his thoughts being rather damp once again. He wants Gem to know all that stuff, since she’s decently close with the cod, but won’t reveal more than he’s comfortable with. “But basically his mom sucks and I really fucking hate her.” 

“Oh dear.” Gem says, instantly pulling her communicator out from her robe, presumably to message Jimmy instantly. Which makes sense. Based of Fwhip’s words and body language, the wizard knows she should be very concerned about what was talked about, and what’s been going on in that Ocean. Part of Fwhip wishes he’d remained oblivious to it, kinda, but most of him is glad he knows now. Most of him is glad he can now help.

“ Oh dear indeed.” The half dragon says, copying his sister and pulling out his own communicator. When he opens it, there’s a message from Jimmy, one sent twenty minutes ago. Briefly, before he opens it, he wonders if it’s something horrible and serious. He fears his previous actions made everything worse for the cod, and is hit with a massive wave of relief when that’s not the case, and it’s something more normal and mundane. 

SolidarityGaming: this is jimmy, gem gave me your username thingy

SolidarityGaming: add me back asshole

fWhip: okay jeez

fWhip: also tf is ur name????

SolidarityGaming: I didn't know what else to put okay

fWhip: of course  

The conversation ends there, Fwhip having to hold back a snort. Of course Jimmy had picked a really dumb name, instead of just using his real one. Of course. He was so dumb like that. (No, the half dragon was not thinking that fondly, what in the word are you talking about. He would never be fond over a fish, never in a million years. The hugging today doesn’t count either, because Jimmy was sad. That’s all, no other reason.)

He spares a glance at Gem, and sees his sister is still on her own communicator. By what he can see, she’s still messaging Jimmy. Probably about what Fwhip directed her to earlier. And, with all due respect to the guy, he’s too emotionally spent to relive all that again, even in digital form. Almost a month of it had been more than enough for once lifetime, and Fwhip is sure he’ll get to see more of the cod’s problems as the years trudge on.

The half dragon rests his head on Gem’s shoulder, deciding just to rest for once, and let the sounds of her typing lull him to sleep for the night. They haven’t shared a room, let alone a bed, since they were pretty little, so this was nice. And it helps him miss her less, especially when rings wrap around both of them in a protective little cocoon.

Things aren’t better between them, and their problems are very far from solved, but that doesn’t matter for now. All that matters is that they've made up, and they’re going to try and be better the best way they can. All that matters is that Gem can give her sleeping brother a fond look in between messages with Jimmy, and that they’re talking again. All that matters is that the twins are okay, for now at least, they’re okay.

[alpaca-clouds]

Something I will never understand...

Kinda based on what I wrote yesterday about the entire diferentiation...

You know, something I am never going to understand is the people, who will get super angry over any sort of adaption of whatever media they like. Putting Trevor in here, because I currently see it the most with Castlevania, but I might as well have put in here a gif of Lord of the Rings, the Witcher and what not. Because it is always the same. People, who have gotten to know a fandom through one form of media and then will spend so much effort into... hating any sort of adaption.

Heck, Witcher might be the best example, given that there are book fans hating on either games and Netflix series - and game fans hating the series. And... Probably also series fans who hate the games. And... I don't know.

And quite frankly, I don't get it. Because even if whatever adaption does not do it for you... So what? It did not take away from whatever the original medium you liked was. That medium did not vanish. The Witcher books did not vanish because of either adaption. Heck, contrary, they finally got translations into languages they did not get translated into before. The Castlevania games did not vanish because of the TV series. Same goes basically for any adaption. Chances are in fact quite good that a lot more people got into the original medium through the adaption - and that because of that the original medium was made more accessible to more people.

But guess what: People are gonna think twice about whether they actually want to engage with whatever the original medium was, when they got into the fandom through an adaption and all the fans of whatever original medium do is bash the adaption that made people fall in love with the franchise.

Sure, I get that at times it is frustrating when the adaption has more fans than the original medium and all you want is some fanwork and what not for the original medium.

Heck, Witcher is one of those cases for me. I read those books as a teenager and they mean the world to me. And it is not even as if I dislike any of the adaptions (well, except maybe the first game with its stupid "sexy card collection game" and what not), but I also will very firmly remain in the camp of "neither adaption quite gets the book and what it went for". And I absolutely have experienced people trying to argue something about that world and those characters... who have not read the books or even engaged with what theming there is in the games and series. But I... just ignore it.

I will watch the series as its own thing. And will play at least the second and third game on their own merrit. But yes, the books are my favorite. But... I do not spend time with hating on that stuff.

Heck, I could go on and on for hours about how I disliked what the MCU did with certain storylines frome the comics. But I don't (at least not unless someone asks me about it). Because it is just an absolute waste of time. I can rage about it, sure, but it will not change the way Disney is gonna produce those movies. All it would do is sour the mood for everyone else. The comics are still there. I can still read them. I do not need to watch Iron Man 3 or Avengers 2.

And sure... there are times, when I really get annoyed with adaptions. For example if they white wash and what not. Or just are plain bad (*coughs*Artemis Fowl*coughs*)... But why waste my time thinking and raging about something I do not like - rather than engaging with a thing I actually do like?

Maybe I am just too old for this kinda stuff. I don't know.

Kinda reminds me though of some of my old fandoms. Like Digimon or Pokémon, where with each new itaration people are gonna be up in arms about how much they hate the new thing and how much better old thing was. Going so far to just constantly attack folks who like new thing. Especially new fans, who find their way into the fandom through this.

And it is like... Yeah, you guys do a great job discouraging people from engaging with your fandom. Top. Amazing. Couldn't do it better.

I mean, sure, to me the Witcher games or the Witcher Netflix show will never reach the greatness of the books. But... to others they do. And that is fine. It is fine.

Because I know that telling those people: "You will actually never understand the greatness of the Witcher, because you like those silly games" will not get anyone to actually read or like the books.

[darklinaforever]

Ok. I need to address this.

Are there people who seriously think that Stydia was just fan service, out of nowhere in season 6? Seriously ? What series did you watch exactly? There are countless strong Stydia scenes with ambiguous and or romantic implications, or outright ROMANTIC background music in the series, long before Season 6! In 5X14 alone, Stiles asks Lydia to wake up while holding her hand with the song Where's My Love playing in the background. And yet people didn't see the romantic subtext in there? Really ? What do you need then?

Also, I've seen some haters claiming that there was nothing to be surprised about when Stydia broke up in the movie, because Dylan O'brien always hated Stydia, and said in an interview that they would have broken up at the after a few weeks...

So that's wrong.

Yes, Dylan said that, before going on to the fact that he was joking and that the two were meant to be together and happy. It's beautiful denial in some people anyway. To distort the words of an actor at this point to prove himself right.

Then it was Dylan who improvised the Stydia kiss on the cheek in 6X01. My ass he hates Stydia.

Also, quite a few of the cast members themselves were shipping Stydia together. To claim otherwise is bullshit.

And to anyone complaining that Stydia was too long and therefore no longer made sense...

It was fucking slowburn. A slowburn is supposed to be long to get a final realization! That's the point ! Canonically, in their universe, Stydia took 3 years to be together after being friends in high school. Sorry to tell you, but it's not an eternity or unrealistic. Not everyone gets in couple quickly.

Besides, I don't understand this obsession to say that Stydia is not valid because we've never seen them be a couple in a direct way...

You know, it's like complaining that fairy tales end right on the reunion of lovers finally reunited, or their marriage, being done, we have no insight into how their romantic relationship really works. But no one ever gets upset about it, or says it makes the relationship less valid. Besides, it's not a scheme found only in fairy tales, but including in a lot of classic novels with a central romance, or more recently in some romantic comedies.

And honestly? I don't care to see my ship's life as a couple! What matters is the buildup and the fact that they finally end up together in the end. Seeing them in couple mode is ultimately just a bonus, which I don't care about, because I can easily imagine it myself.

Oh, and if you're backing up the Stydia shit script of the movie as confirmation of your dumb ideas about this couple being forced, ridiculous, meant to break up forever, etc, well that just proves you're hopeless. This movie was absolute shit in every way, a goddamn thing that ruins the whole series, and not just Stydia. Even Allison's comeback is stupid. (and I say that as I ship Scott and Allison)

But in addition, knowing that the film still remains in the idea that Lydia is in love with Stiles and visibly sad to have abandoned him, and that Jeff Davis himself said in an interview that the two will most likely meet again... How is this supposed to be a victory for the anti?!

It mostly feels like a stupid breakup made to create unnecessary drama that would probably get a resolution later. Like the majority of couples getting together in a series that continues and has not actually ended its story.

Another of the reasons why I prefer the story to end once the couple are together rather than stretching out and seeing inevitable breakups / reconciliations made to keep the viewer hooked.

And as much as I'm a fan of Stydia, I absolutely refuse that this film be entitled to a sequel one day. It's shit, from A to Z, that deserves to be ignored and forgotten.

Teen Wolf movie sequel =

Also, those who act like Stydia aren't in a 6X20 couple are... pathetic at best? Everyone forgets this scene where Stydia takes her hand by instinct and where Lydia, remembering her first kiss with Stiles, tells Malia to kiss Scott to help calm him down? No, of course, let's forget this scene to justify our fantasy of: There was never anything ambiguous or romantic about Stydia, including in the last episode, proving that season 6A was a mistake!

And there are anti Stiles, acting like his character is toxic? People act like Stydia is toxic? Really ? It's so stupid it honestly makes me laugh.

I've been on tumblr for 2 years, but I only took a look at the Stydia/Teen wolf tag recently, and the crap I've seen there is really startling.

[just-a-random-person24]

Stark's Mind notes episodes 7-12 :)

Episode 7

• wishes he'd have a grappling hook but thinks he'd fall into the water below if he did have one

• acrophobic!

• still uncomfortable with being in vents. Vent sharks and the possibility of the facility collapsing on him

• doesn't know how the grating held his weight

• would rather be dehydrated than drink Black Mesa's water

• thinks of the aliens of a hindrance

• doesn't know why he's the only one trying to get help. Thinks the resonance cascade couldn't have killed *that* many people. He complains like a parent who doesn't get any help around the house

• would rather be the one to end the resonance cascade cause he caused it

• thinks about jumping down the edge for a moment

• seems very happy about having to jump across boxes

• lots of pep-talk for himself <3

• “Up is right! But then left would be down…” taking that phrase very literally ~~cough ♾️ cough~~

• wonders if the Houndeyes are actually dangerous and if they just want to play

• actually I lied in ep 5. He seems happy to finally be getting to the office complex :)

---

Episode 8

• tries to get the other scientist in the room to open the door, fails

• why can't the HEV suit go through the electrical hazard? it's a *hazard* the *hazard* suit should be designed for

• thinks him being alive even though he's gone through shit that should've killed him is convenient

• says the Barnacle he just killed is repulsive

• he talks a lot for a series that's a *mind* series /loving

• “That should stop the leak.” that’s… a power switch

• EAS broadcasting the disaster at Black Mesa, telling people within the affected area to get out

• tries to come up with a scientific name for the headcrab zombies

• apologizes to the guard for his dead friend

• “I never meant to bring you to this word, but I can assure you, I will dedicate every single breath in my body to taking you out.” Okay, you can be cool *once*

• he gets a Colt Python here instead of the regular Spas-12. Probably cause it's an earlier version of the game or maybe modded?

• calls the guard a friend :)

• attributes his knowledge of reloading the magnum to watching enough Clint Eastwood movies

• “Now we can safely traverse.” Sir you are alone, who's ‘we’?

• guard shot the houndeye watching TV :,(

• willing to believe Black Mesa installed ceiling turrets just to be evil

---

Episode 9

• needs a helmet :(. Also no vents

• asks a guard if he wants to experience a near-death experience with him

• thinks the guard doesn't believe him about the turret gun

• “Fuck- that was too close!” There is blood on the wall behind him

• thinks the turrets guns were Black Mesa's way of dealing with the recession

• wants to try to save as many people as he can

• FELIX MENTION! STUPID ASS SECRETARY /loving

• tries to help the scientists getting dragged into a vent by a vent shark. fails :(

• gets to the other living scientists! Very offended when the male scientist told him they would die out there

• “step side to side to dodge their attacks!” npc moments

• more turrets! he is *not* getting the achievement :(

• Tells the last remaining survivor with him to stay down

• definitely not doing well after seeing people die right in front of him. Blames himself for their deaths

• apologizes to the hurt scientist

• “Just don't let up, Stark. Don't give in.” Someone *besides* himself should give him a pep talk

• notices the amount of corpses in the room :(

• thinks the guards and scientist are ignoring the amount of stress the whole situation has put on him

• “Why am I shaking? I can do this. See? I can do it, I can deal with this. Well, it doesn't matter if I *can* deal with it. It's that I *have* to. Because people… people like Dr. Vance, or Dr. Kleiner, people like them are counting on me. And I swear… I will get through this, I will. I *have* to. ‘Cause it's my responsibility.”

---

Episode 10

• contemplates getting snacks from the cafeteria. Doesn't because it'd be too awkward

• tells the scientist in the freezer that they're a headache to work with. Still tries to get her to leave the freezer

• takes some bullets from a dead guard despite it being in a pool of blood

• “The only thing this place could give me is a cold because of how cold it is in here.”

• can do a pull-up :(

• lots of meat in the freezer

• MR WHISKERS <3. says the name makes any animal objectively cute

• very confused why the scientist is still in the freezer

• stacking things to avoid things!

• doesn't like being in the vents. Unhygienic and vent sharks and spiders :(

• doesn't like spiders. Doesn't like insects in general

• corrects himself insects *and* arachnids

• that explosion and fire got WAY to close to his face

• thinks this is now the 20th time he's almost died

• lists off all the ways you could die. Very normal things

• “I concur.” I need you to shut up /aff

• the guard left with the other living scientist is gone :(

• checks the stairway for any turrets before going forward

• g-man spotted!

• again thinks the survivors with him are ignoring how he obviously feels about the whole situation

• first death he doesn't blame himself for! Good for him

• thinks it's good the scientist just fell to his death instead of any of the horrible ways you *could* die in Black Mesa

• “it's only a matter of time before the soldiers get to us.” moments taken right before disaster

---

Episode11

• has a lot to deal with when he gets out :(

• “Charming physicist saves entire facility.” Okay Mr. Ego

• realizing that the actual headline would be ‘Rouge physicist commits corporate sabotage’ he instead focuses on not dying

• once again has the opportunity to eat and doesn't

• worries he's stuck after the fire doors closed before realizing there's a button

• easily recognizes a laser tripwire

• Fails multiple times at using the grenades to blow up the turret. Doesn't understand he should save those

• gets shot somewhere he could feel (ear?)

• mentioned before, he usually resorts to his magnum before pistol

• says the fire doors closing is worse than his fire alarm

• questions how vortigaunts teleporting can shatter the glass

• doesn't use the first aid station despite being shot

• no more magnum ammo :(

• feels like Indiana Jones

• jokes about the scientist staying in the freezer

• tries to make small talk with the two scientists

• g-man spotted!

• when hearing the announcement system is under military command says it's a good thing

• “The military is here and we can go home safe and sound.” Oh buddy

• not sure if Breen is aware he was the whistleblower

• the military is not here to help :(

---

Episode 12

• absolutely doesn't want to confront the soldier. Thinks he's overthinking

• just wants to get out and help others escape

• goes around the body to avoid getting blood on his suit

• thinks the rescue team wouldn't believe he killed the soldier in self defense

• MP5!

• going to assume the best and that the rest of the rescue team doesn't know, says that's a bad thing to do

• “My other ear!” your ear got shot before??

• reaffirms that him killing the military is self-defense

• he's a felon/domestic terrorist now because he's killing soldiers

• not closing the fire door because he thinks others should see how incompetent the military is

• tries to climb up boxes to see through the fence. Still can't see much

• falls off the boxes and says that doing that was stupid :(

• prefers the aliens over marines. They don't know what headshots are do he has a 70% chance of living

• still upset about no helmet

• 2 bleeding ears! ouchie!

• runs straight into a bunch of soldiers to try and protect the scientists. Fails

• blood on his suit? Or maybe just a bunch of bullets hitting his suit??

• tries shooting a marine far away with the magnum *without* looking through the iron sight

• his ears are bleeding again :(

• certain he can't negotiate with the military anymore

• has no clue how he's able to even kill the military for being a no-body

• “I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. And yet somehow… heh, I really shouldn't dwell on that kind of thinking too much. Usually that kind of thinking actually leads you to your death.”

• again doesn't acknowledge the first aid when he really needs it

[itsuki-minamy]

"SIDE GOLD"

CHAPTER 3: OOTONO BENJI (PART 4)

* List of Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Anno

"Kirinoichi" is found, as the name suggests, in the night mist. He could dimly see the stalls with straw mats spread out on the floor, a rarity these days, and people milling around them under the bare hanging light bulbs. The voices that came and went swayed, disconcerting the visitors with an ambiguous sense of distance, as near or far.

In such a city, in a plaza that could be the inner part or the edge, the "Kagirohigumi" and the "Fourth Legal Affairs Office" divided into several groups, surrounding a pot placed on a charcoal brazier. Everyone was dipping their chopsticks into the town's self-proclaimed specialty, "Nan-yara-nabe" (short for "What's on it?"), to replenish their mental and physical fatigue with nabe.

Ootono was in one of these relaxation circles.

Or rather, they were mixed.

The attitude of the people surrounding the pot was completely transparent.

"I became the "King" right after the defeat, when I finished taking care of the remaining business of the General Staff Headquarters. When I was having breakfast, I said to Chika-san who was sitting across from me: "As promised. I survived the war. Let's get married."

Not to mention Nazumi, who talks bluntly as if he's giving a sermon.

"What are you talking about, stupid?"

Unno with a face of chewing bitter bugs that were not in the ingredients of the pot.

"So, did you get it!?"

"Yes, because I promised. It was the best condition for us to survive."

Suwako, who lashed out at the conversation, and Chika, who responded calmly.

"If you don't want to fight, you might eat as well."

"......"

Okuma, who calmly handed over the bowl, paid no attention to the appearance of Ootono, who was covered in bandages. Only Colt received the bowl as it was given to him, it may because he was so depressed that he couldn't even afford to do like as everybody...

(After seeing such a monster, maybe I'm not a big deal.)

Even he looked down on himself, they were all so natural.

Nazumi continued.

"Yes, that kind of consent..."

"It was always exactly the same "yes"."

Chika's correction followed.

"The moment I got permission, I came into contact with that "Slate"."

Unno vomited in a bad mood.

"So what are you talking about? You want me to call you a lucky bastard?"

He looked at Ootono as if he was asking for his consent.

Nazumi also ignored Unno.

"The good is the good... I think that the "explosion of desire to build a new time" that I sustained caused the "Slate" to react. It is also said that the other "Kings" are the reason for his mental image."

He looked at Ootono as if asking for an answer.

Ootono himself did not react to any of them. Or rather, he didn't know how to react and remained silent. Originally, he had no intention of being this close to them, nor did he intend to have a complicated conversation.

Right after he helped them to escape from that "nothing".

Before he knew it, he was able to use the mysterious mist, guiding the group to where "Kirinoichi" was, which he had established nearby.

He would hide them in that hiding place until he was sure the "nothing" that was crawling around was gone. But he had nothing else to do with it.

With that thought in mind, he sat with his back against the city gate post (it was just a wooden stake left in the vacant lot), playing the accordion with a casual look on his face.

"Oh, Ni-san. Thank you for letting our boys escape."

"You are the "King" of the Gray Sword. Nice to meet you."

Ootono, who did not want to reveal his true identity, was shocked, but his legs did not have the strength to immediately escape. All he could do was remain seated and replied with a confused manner.

"Oh, why do you know?"

"Well, somehow."

"That's because everyone is a "King"."

The group that was supposed to let them pass also stopped around the three of them, so he had no choice but to lead them. It was out of desperation that he decided to spend the time waiting around the hot pot together.

As the townspeople prepared the pot, he received an explanation from Nazumi, and learned that he was apparently the "Grey King" Benji Ootono.

However, the impression...

(It's also quite pretentious.)

That's what it meant.

Regardless of the facts, Ootono thought that his capacity (what he could do, what he wanted to do, what he could hold, and what he wanted to retain) was "very small."

Even if he knew it was just a title, it was terrifying. He couldn't even think it was a joke to stand shoulder to shoulder with youngsters who could boast of themselves as "Kings", let alone fight against anything.

For him, the mist was not a weapon of war. All he needed was a modest fence to protect the people who connected their days here in "Kirinoichi".

The young people treated Ootono as something normal.

"What about that "mental image"? It's a story that neither I nor this Ni-san knew about."

"That's not enough, so I'm going to explain. I hope you don't break the story."

He rushed into the refereeing of the gaze.

"Ok, ok, you two."

It wasn't his style at all.

After thinking about it, Ootono rethought:

(Is that so?)

Suddenly, he remembered the old days when his voice and his body bounced, and he felt a pain in his chest.

Instead of a bitter smile, he asked with twitching cheeks.

"I have something to do with it too, you say?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't say it's irrelevant. That monster called "Black Cloak" is based on the same laws as us... it's one of the 'Kings' who was born according to some kind of mental image."

Hearing Nazumi's words, the movement of the chopsticks around the pot stopped for a moment.

Unno snorted and stuck his chopsticks into the pot, and the piece of carrot got caught.

"Eh, is that the same as me? What kind of joke is that?"

Nazumi dipped his chopsticks into the pot and found a piece of corned beef.

"You should also "somehow" understand that your power was absorbed. Judging by the passion in his voice, he also has a will. That... is someone..."

Okuma, who picked up a mochi-like object, and Suwako, who filled her mouth with potatoes, looked at the chief with a grim expression.

"A monster that eats people, is it a person?"

"It's scary that I couldn't put my fists through it."

"Don't worry, I'll beat you next time."

Groundlessly, but firmly, Unno promised.

Next to him, Colt was muttering to himself as he held a bowl that had piled up unnoticed (everyone was pushing stuff they didn't want to eat into the pot) in his hand.

"What we've dabbled in... how far away is the "King"... isn't it beyond human control?"

Chika, who bit into takuan, asked her husband with a sense of crisis.

"In other words, someone started targeting not only Hagure, but also the "King"... Do you have any plans to counter it?"

"No, nothing."

Nazumi reluctantly gave in to his wife, but it's not like there wasn't a plan.

"However, I believe that by exploring the mental image I mentioned earlier, we will be able to identify the characteristics of the "Black Cloak" monster and how to deal with it. So..."Grey King" Benji Ootono."

His gaze turned and he caught Ootono head on.

That force made Benji's big body cringe.

"What...?"

"You were able to lead our retreat. In other words, capture the movement of the "Black Cloak", right? If you don't mind, I'd like you to tell me the reason."

Nazumi took off his cap and bowed his head.

"What? After all you depend on Ni-san for that measures?"

Ootono gently accepted Unno's sarcasm.

"I don't care that much."

"Please."

Saying that, Nazumi took a calm listening stance.

Although he didn't want to follow his example, Unno's sheer interest silenced him.

Everyone's attention was focused on the circle of the pot.

Ootono flinched, his lips cramping as he prefaced.

"Because I'm like this... I can't speak fluently."

This time Chika bowed her head next to Nazumi.

"Take your time."

"......"

Even with such courtesy, Ootono began to speak.

"...This mist is like a part of me. It seems to be a convenient thing that I can sense the movement of the person who entered and confuse them."

Seeing is believing, the mist gathered on the bandaged palm, forming a ball of pure white.

In the air of astonishment, Nazumi analyzed the phenomenon.

"I see... So, the power of the "Grey King" is detection and disturbance?"

"Well, I wonder if that's what it is."

Nodding, Ootono literally scattered the ball in his hand.

"However, it must have been around autumn, on the edge of the mist... ''Musikui'' began to appear. It eats my mist as it passes, leaving holes in it."

"If it's like our "power", it'll eat anything..."

Unno remembered the feeling of being sucked in and clenched his fist.

Ootono nodded again.

"Every time I get bitten on the edge, I run away in a hurry, but... ''Musikui'' writhes all over Tokyo like a snake, so it's really scary to find it again and again."

Then he looked at the two young men.

"But tonight, I felt like a huge mass with great force was flowing into... I think it also felt the two of them collided."

"It tried swallowing us in a big chunk?"

"The first event, that happened today, was a clash between "Kings"...  the time when you woke up as a "King" but no sword appearance was seen, because that was nighttime?"

He slowly nodded three times.

"That's all I can say... Did I help you?"

Nazumi and Chika once again expressed their gratitude with a beautiful bow.

"More than enough information. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Thank you for taking the risk and helping us."

Ootono couldn't take it straight.

"Kindness, no."

He lowered his eyes as if he regretted it.

"What would happen to him if he ate a power as big as you two? I got scared, so I came to check on him. That's all."

Then, Unno spoke with a warm voice of goodwill.

"If that's all, don't bother saying "Come here, run away"."

"......!"

He raised Ootono's line of sight.

His eyes were a little more stern than his voice, but he was still smiling. If the other person hadn't been hurt, he could have hit their back.

Both Suwako and Okuma smiled, bowed their thick bodies, and thanked him.

"Well, actually, I was saved... Thank you."

"Don't forget your kindness."

Finally, after confirming the appearance of his subordinates, including "Ebisu no Kunizo", who seemed to be uncomfortable with other circles, Colt murmured something into his mouth.

Ootono, who couldn't stand the things that sprouted anymore, decided to separate.

"We are fine now... it seems to be gone."

"That's right, Gosso-san!"

"PAHN", making a sound and join his palms together, Unno stood up neatly without regretting any remnants.

Seeing that, the "Kagirohigumi" also left their seats.

In response, Chika said, "Fourth Legal Affairs Bureau.".

The Colt team also secretly tried not to stand out.

Finally, Nazumi stood up and handed over a business card.

"With your power, you should be able to deal with it, but if you have any problems, contact the "Fourth Legal Affairs Office" here. If you want, we can put you in public protection, along with the people who live here. Honestly, in a time when that is lurking, it is more dangerous to stay away."

Ootono received the business card, but did not stand up.

"Thank you."

While he was sitting, he slowly shook his head.

"But I... will protect these people who can only stay here."

No one denied the way of life of the "Grey King" there.

The mist melted in the morning sun.

They were released in an unknown open space.

As if waking up from a dream, or having passed through their throats, "Kagirohigumi" and the "Fourth Legal Affairs Bureau", who grasped the situation, immediately faced each other as if they were breathing. The "Red King" and the "Blue King" standing in front of each other also collided with each other's gazes.

But it did not lead to a confrontation.

It was a big problem for both sides to lose their tempers in the fog, but in this case, it was because there were people physically getting in the way between the two camps.

It was the Colt group sent from Nanakamado.

The tense tension lasted only a few seconds.

"Give up, don't."

"Ebisu no Kunizo" was the first to raise his voice and sit down.

Then the other people sat down one after another.

"I quit too."

"Oh, that's enough."

"Not worth it."

Some took off their characteristic coats before sitting down, others sat upright as if waiting for an intervention, and others went out into the open. All of them had lost their composure from the night before and have reverted to their original form, the bodyguards who run tricks on the outskirts of the city.

Among them, there was a person who was stunned.

The American who led them was Thomas Colt. The deep, wrinkled smile that still floated on his head gave him the impression that it was just that kind of shape, and he could tell at a glance that it was painful bravado.

Nazumi stepped away from the formation and stepped forward to speak.

"So, I'll take care of you here, ok?"

Colt was facing the day after tomorrow.

"Go ahead, as you wish. The losses due to the inability to counter the "King's" strength are within the assumptions of the plan. Nanakamado will switch to another option."

As he spoke fluently, he shrugged. His expression, particularly stern, was still distorted by the gloomy tone of his voice.

Nazumi guessed, but he didn't say anything and kept talking.

"Do you want me to send you back... to the commander who caused the disturbance, to the intelligence agency?"

"It would be troublesome if I, an American, were detained, right? Nanakamado is now politically cornered and has lost his composure... The "King" that they have been so afraid of for so long that they did not touch him..."

Colt looked at Unno.

"It's completely reckless, to the point of ramming him. On top of that, if they found out that I was also detained by the "Fourth Legal Affairs Bureau", it would be a nuisance to everyone and they would pull a lot of desperate tricks."

Unno, who received the gaze from him, caught the gist of the indirect conversation.

Colt wasn't threatening to escape alone.

Rather the opposite...

Thinking about it, Unno took a step closer to the person he was impressed with.

"Even if you go home, you won't be fine, Colt-san."

"Still, I can't help but go home."

His fake smile was mixed with a touch of genuine emotion.

“If someone who faced the situation had to report it in detail and make an appeal… as expected, we shouldn't interfere with the "King". And, above all, the danger of that "Seventh King"."

Seeing how determined he was, Unno smiled at the other person with the same level of depth, but with genuine emotion. He puffed out his chest and said proudly.

"Yes, then do your best."

"Thank you."

Colt put on his dirty floppy hat and gave a little bow.

Nazumi let out a breath.

"I wish you wouldn't decide for the two of us."

Unno looked at the rude person.

"Are you saying that you are against it?"

"No, Nanakamado is more likely to listen to Colt-san's explanation than a warning from us, a hostile organization."

"Then don't be stupid and useless."

"No matter what you do, confirmation is necessary."

Among them, Colt, who had a wry smile on his face, began to walk slowly.

"I'm sorry I wasted your time."

He sent his repentance through his back.

"I return to Nanakamado because, as an American who has awakened to power, I have nowhere to go. Because I work as an intelligence agent there, I am exempt from being mobilized for a spy war against the communist bloc...all my actions are of self-protection."

However, Unno does not tolerate condescension.

He patted his back as he left with a sonorous voice.

"You have a life in front of you to regret or burn it, you can do what you want."

Colt stopped for a moment.

"......"

However, he walked out into the morning sun without looking back.

Lastly, he lightly waved his hand in embarrassment.

A MAN WHO WANTS TO BECOME A CROCODILE.

Oh.

I will become a crocodile.

My mother told me and my brothers.

Crocodiles usually hide in the dark and deep bottom of the water.

Shut up and do nothing.

When it goes down, it floats to the surface and eats things around it.

Anything you can get your hands on.

When it is full, it sinks back to the bottom of the water and sleeps.

Shut up and do nothing.

Don't piss me off

Do not hurt me.

When he gets angry, he rages at the bottom of the water and summons a storm.

They're all screwed.

Due to his tenacity, when he suffers, he goes after the person who hurt him.

From sea to land, anywhere.

Don't piss me off

Do not hurt me.

That's why everyone is afraid to get close.

So I'll turn into a crocodile.

Silently, do nothing, eat your fill.

Additional poem info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wani_(dragon)

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

In what position do you think a (lot) smarter Aleksander would be?

This is difficult to say because it’s like at what point in time does he acquire this additional intelligence lol? Does it change his goals? Or simply how he pursues them?

Like first of all, I don’t understand why it took him that long to attempt a coup. I can sub in headcanons about how he thought as long as the Shadow Fold is a problem he can’t solve, it’s going to give the impression of an ineffective government and he doesn’t want that associated with his rule, so the Lantsovs can keep the bad PR until they find a sun summoner. But the book never actually implies that? So what’s going on? Is he just procrastinating? Does he have anxiety?

Meanwhile, why is he just sitting around waiting for a sun summoner? What if one never shows up? Has he really just been sitting around for centuries doing nothing? Like was he just going to wait endlessly with zero back up plan? Like regular people in real history have been way more effective in taking power and that’s without the aid of a personal army, immortality, a literally endless amount of time, or the unholy powers of darkness lmao.

The political backdrop of this series truly makes no sense 😭😭😭

But yeah if we’re ignoring that and just talking about how he could have been smarter once the plot took off:

The absolute biggest, most bewildering mistake he makes imo is going full gloves off insane villain mode once Alina runs away. I love it as a character beat, but it’s literally so easy to… not do that. He doesn’t attempt any damage control whatsoever. He basically confirms everything Baghra said about him, when he could have just played up the fact that Alina disappeared in the middle of the night and he’s been SO worried about her, etc etc.

From a character perspective, I think he’s just too old and impatient to bother explaining anything to anyone. But it does feel like a huge misstep that he never actually tries to convince Alina to his side in general. His high handed “I am so reasonable and you are so stupid” schtick may be great for his ego but it’s not really conducive to getting her to see his side of things.

ALSO OPTING TO KILL MAL INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY BARGAINING HIS LIFE FOR ALINA’S COOPERATION??? Once again, great character beat. But also really, really stupid of him.

And then, he somehow manages to lose the capital despite a successful coup? How?? Why??? Sir ,you have your own literal army that’s only loyal to you 😭😭😭From what I can tell he also only loses the capital because he chose to leave instead of holding it. So. Maybe don’t do that 😭😭

From S&S on, it’s harder to guess what he’s up to in real time. But the choices of his we do see continue to be colored by needless vindictiveness, petulance, and a volatile temper. He talks so much about his unending patience yet he never actually demonstrates it! Almost everything he does feels like a bad choice or a potentially clever one that he immediately undercuts because of his own shortsightedness. This remains true all the way to RoW where his plan to enter the stage as a saint is more about a single decisive dramatic moment (that goes very poorly) rather than actually putting in the legwork to leverage his following to accumulate real power or to gather an actual army. He barely even takes the time to familiarize himself with the playing field. It’s the equivalent of a get rich quick scheme 😭😭

I feel like he has pretty much every advantage throughout these books! It’s so easy to picture a scenario where he takes control of the country and keeps it, or slowly persuades Alina to listen to his points. Idk all he has to really do on that front is to wait a couple hundred years so that everyone she knows dies, and to not? commit? very obviously unnecessary and impossible to justify mass murders??

So idk “Where would he be if he was smart” winning literally everything?

[theweirdestroller]

Headcanons Pt 2 - Star Sanses

Part two of this headcanon saga! If anyone here knows me from my time on Wattpad, a lot of this may be new to you. I actually used to favor this trio before I looked deeper into Ink and Dream. I would like to say my opinions on the Apple Incident now look less like "wtf Dream, why weren't you a better brother???" and more like "wtf village, those are six-year-olds. Leave them alone." To be fair, I typically write the incident with the twins nearing their teens. So, y'know. But canonically, they're both like, six. Anyway! Stars, you're up! It's your turn on the headcanon chopping block! (they're all sympathetic btw)

Ink:

Really good at drawing but can't write a simple story to save his life

Actually pretty good at sewing. He can not only repair clothing, but make his own

Uses he/they pronouns but doesn't really understand gender. Blue has tried to explain it, but Ink just can't grasp the concept. Or forgets. It might actually be that he keeps forgetting

Despite being horrible at reading others' emotions, he's very good at making and keeping friends. It could be the general joy and carefree attitude he has, but people just really like him

So, with the paints, Ink is supposed to have a bit of each. And most of the time he does. But much like some people ignore certain feelings to cope, Ink will refuse to drink blue or red on certain days because he doesn't want to put up with those feelings if something happens to make them flare up

Has a severe case of leukophobia. He likes painting on his and his friends' bones because of this, but does not explain why

As much as he loves animals, he's scared to have a pet because he thinks he'll forget to take care of it

Despite all his fear of having a pet, he has raised multiple generations of butterflies! And has a pollinator garden

Dream:

Much like Nightmare, Dream forgave Nim for everything. Much like the Gang, Ink and Blue don't agree

Doesn't know how the modern world works. Nightmare remained awake for the 500 years Dream was in stone and it shows. Dream doesn't understand modern tech, modern clothes, or modern slang. Barely understands what a laptop is much less how it works. Never seen a hoodie before, but now he must have ten. "And what, Ink, in the multiverse is a yeet?!" Nightmare likes teasing him for it. Nightmare watched technology and style and weird slang grow. He has a smartphone and regularly shows other people all the pictures of stupid things the Gang did

Can't stand the taste or smell of apples. Which is weird, because Nightmare can, but the Gang thinks he can't

Can't talk to people. If he gets past his nerves, he's really charismatic, but he'd rather die than approach someone first. This was not an issue when he was little, or even newly freed

Likes climbing things, mainly mountains and other tall landforms, but he'll join Cross in scaling random buildings or people sometimes

His magic feels like someone injected cotton candy into your soul. It's sweet and fluffy, sugary, but you know too much is bad for you

Blue:

Okie dokie! The one normal one. He is the best cook out of the Stars. Just really good at following recipes

Has a pet, it's just Toby. Toby likes stealing Blue's attacks.

He has 20 HP, and it took so much training just to get there. He's also pretty good at dodging, but compared to other Sanses, he's not particularly skilled

Feels like he doesn't belong in the Stars. He'll walk into an AU next to literal gods and everyone's cheering. For all three of them. Doesn't really know what to do about these feelings

So, Blue's best friends are some of the strongest Sanses alive. And he regularly has to battle with their stupidity. This makes him incredibly intolerant to stupid/arrogant/idiotic people. He will call people out on rude behavior, bullying, or other such things. A lot of people love him for this. A lot of people, who I shall refer to as Karens, hate him for this.

I need to stress, Blue isn't mean to people, but you can't be a prick around him. He just won't put up with it, whether it affected him directly, or it just occurred near him

Despite being the only Sans out of the Gang and Stars that was younger than his Papyrus, he probably acts more like a fun yet responsible big brother than anyone else

And there are the Stars! I realized I never spat my stupid Hogwarts Sorting list and reasonings behind it, and I must do that next. Because Blue is a Gryffindor. And he's the only one of these three. So I'll do my sorting next, before moving on to other Sanses.