#though he is aggressive in other scenes i do not justify either!!!!!!!! but like the core issue isnt his hypervigilant ptsd

[suncaptor]

Like the thing about Owen isn't that his PTSD made him physically and unknowingly harm Cristina once in his sleep it's that he fundamentally believes he needs whatever he wants from a relationship and the life he envisions for himself without any regard for what Cristina wants then will do anything he can justify to hurt her for it while still trying to make it out like she's a heartless bitch who can't compromise using a perception of her that is completely one dimensional and inaccurate to how she is acting.

[cannellee]

TOKYO REVENGERS OMEGAVERSE ☆

୨୧ alpha! taiju x alpha! kokonoi x alpha! inupi x omega! reader

my masterlist : ☆

tw : yandereish(?), some red flags, sex, breeding kink, slight oral (f!receiving)...

(I tried something that has been on my mind for a while now, I'm not exactly satisfied of what I wrote but I'll probably write more scenarios of them in the future to make up for it!)

there's definitely a clear hierarchy inside your little pack. with, of course, taiju on top of it all. his supremacy actually wasn't decided by worth or anything, but by a primal sense of submission none of you could fight off.

kokonoi and inupi are fine with it, as they still get to be close to you. they're glad taiju has accepted them enough to allow them to approach you. in fact, if taiju was to deny them of your affection, they wouldn't really be able to do anything. he is just way too strong for them.

but they feel linked to him and are very loyal, so there wouldn't be any valid reason for taiju to just throw them out of your pack. it's even safe to say that taiju does appreciate their company.

but don't be mistaken, kokonoi and inupi aren't powerless and do have an influence and a role to play. taiju isn't a dictator, it's far from the reality to assume that the three of you are abused by his bad temper.

kokonoi has quite the temper himself and speaks up whenever he thinks something is not right. whenever taiju is being too rough with you for example, gripping your wrist with just too much strength. kokonoi will clearly not let it slide, telling him to be more careful around you.

on the other hand, inupi is more laidback. he cares so much about your wellbeing, but simply trusts kokonoi to protect you. what he does best is reassuring you after a particularly lively argument between your alphas. shielding you from the bloody scene before you, whenever taiju gets mad at someone.

it rotates though, with either kokonoi or inupi staying with you. but what doesn't change is taiju, who's always leading the assault on the poor soul who crossed their paths.

inupi analyses your reactions and emotions, he knows what triggers you, what makes you happy... he has the chance to spend more time with you, as taiju and kokonoi are the ones ensuring your safety. it wouldn't be the case if it was just the two of you, so he's thankful.

kokonoi and inupi aren't particularly aggressive, but it doesn't mean they'll stop taiju's blinded rage and jealousy. they'll even join him sometimes, if the fight is justified. but it's too much of a bother to try and get him to listen, so they just witness the carnage. the good thing is that it reinforces the fear others feel whenever they look at you, knowing who is looking out for you...

                                     · · ୨୧ · ·

kokonoi finds it funny how you manage to turn the big and scary taiju into a tamed alpha. that's when realises just how much taiju loves you. despite his rough appearance, he would never hurt you willingly.

there are times when his protective instincts become overbearing. he's fiercely loyal, and driven by a need to keep his precious omega safe. while his intentions are genuine, his actions can come across as controlling.

that's when kokonoi and inupi intervene. you might not see anything wrong with taiju's behaviour, thinking it's only right to let his instincts decide on what to do. but kokonoi isn't all pleased when his omega starts going outside less and less.

he wants to be able to do all sorts of stuff with you and confronts taiju for his lack of consideration. inupi softly scolds you for not saying anything and just playfully pinches your cheek when you answer that it's fine with you.

taiju doesn't want his omega to feel trapped, albeit your reassuring words, he's hesitant. so he'll listen to his friends, like he always do. he knows they want the best for you, that's why he isn't doubting their intentions.

when you're spending time together outside, taiju again starts to act all intimidating. for your own sake. "taiju, stop being so mean to everyone! I was only talking to my friend!", you scold him after catching him sending daggers to your friend. he didn't mean to make them run away, he was just looking out for you, making sure he wasn't planning anything funny.

kokonoi is quick to buy you a treat afterwards, teasing you for being so cute when you're mad. you don't stay annoyed for too long though, preferring to chat with inupi.

                                     · · ୨୧ · ·

you're the heart of the relationship. their lives literally turn around their omega.

kokonoi is calling you multiple times a day and delivers cute gifts to you. inupi likes to come to your house unannounced with sweets he knows you love. taiju actually prefers to spend the day napping with you, cuddling in the safety of your nest. he'd rather have you close to him than anywhere else, he wants to know where you are as it appeases him.

taiju surprisingly is a great cook and overall great at any domestic task. so he'll express his love through acts of service, by cooking your favourite meals, running errands for you and anything you might ask of him. he's the definition of provide and protect.

he's a great listener, acting as an attentive support. you can share your concerns with him, although he might lash out later on if your sadness was provoked by someone else.

inupi frequently reminds you of how much he loves you, verbally expressing the deep affection he has. he likes to be intimate with his omega, so he'd rather build your relationship around trust and loyalty. you're really grateful for how compassionate and gentle inupi is with you.

kokonoi feels the need to shower you with excessive affection to make sure you feel loved. you told him countless of times you didn't need all of that, but he's still sending you gifts and taking you to cute and romantic dates with the others, although they're mostly planned by him. inupi and taiju fully trust him for this matter.

kokonoi wants you to know they'll always be there with you. he wants you to rely on them, because they'll do anything to provide a stable life for you.

                                     · · ୨୧ · ·

as I said, taiju isn't a tyrant and while he seems a bit aggressive, his pack's harmony is what matters the most in his eyes, along with your safety.

kokonoi is assertive and it complements taiju's nurturing nature. inupi is the soft side you need, and your support whenever you disagree with a decision that was made, especially if it's about you.

kokonoi and taiju often agree about how they should treat you ; if going out at this party is a good idea, if you should stay at home and stop working because clearly they can provide for you...

inupi does see the good in their choices but doesn't like they way you're left unsatisfied and frustrated. your scent often takes a sour note and while kokonoi tries to reason you by calmly describing why you should listen to them, inupi doesn't like the smell of your pheromones. he negotiates for you and often comes out victorious because your pouting and sulking face is just too much for them to not give in.

                                     · · ୨୧ · ·

during your heats, there is also a definite order. they don't like sharing you during such a vulnerable time of yours.

taiju goes first, rough and aggressive. he wants to breed you, nothing else. you awake such a strong sense of duty in him, he doesn't even prep you, judging you're just wet enough for him to start pounding into you. he's strong and you're so tiny, he's splitting your body in two, with his big hands solidly holding your legs up, knees touching your chest.

taiju makes you cry tears of pleasure, absolutely wrecking you and turning you into a mess. by the time he's finished with you and kokonoi takes his place, you're all pretty and obedient, ready to submit to whatever your alphas will do and say.

kokonoi likes seeing you so meek. you're already crying for his cock the second he enters the room and if your aroused scent didn't already, you can be sure the sight of his cute omega begging for him is enough to send blood rushing to his length.

he wastes no time in indulging in your desires, practically losing himself as well in the moment. while not violent at all, he's still vigorous and thrusts into you just how you like it. he bites and claims you, licking your already bruised skin. your scent is completely washed away, the musky ones of taiju and kokonoi sticking to your skin instead.

he fucks you from behind, loving the way the flesh of your ass bounces with each thrust. there's something about this position which just feels so right. seeing his omega so docile is honestly so rewarding and it satisfies his instincts.

lastly, you'll end up in the ends of the lovely inupi. he'll take his sweet time with you, knowing he's the last. he will kiss you everywhere, licking the hickeys left by his two friends before him. he's so patient and so kind that you become calmer and less impatient as well. you know inupi is gonna take good care of you, so you savour each of his actions.

he'll start by pushing his tongue inside of your pulsating core, lapping at your juices and remains of cum. your scent here is so strong it's almost too much for him too continue without instantly burying his hard cock inside you. but he has an insane self control and hearing you moan so loudly at his touches makes his alpha purr with pride.

by the time you've come at least a couple of times on his tongue and fingers, he's finally giving you the real thing. your senses are even more alert and inupi loves your glossy eyes. he fucks you gently, carefully praising his oh so perfect omega.

at the end of your heat, you're exhausted and completely weak, although very satisfied. your alphas know exactly what you need and how you need it and they always give it to you without any delay.

they take care of your trembling form, carrying you to the bathtub and tenderly massaging your poor muscles.

they never forget to tell you how much they love you and how grateful they are to have you in their lives. even taiju has his open hearted moments, where he confesses just how much of a blessing you represent.

[bonny-kookoo]

Is there ever a time the other members actually do confront Jungkook about Racoon!oc? Like someone gets in a bad mood and snaps even though she’s not in the way or doing anything?

Oh definitely.

---

"Can't you just stay home for at least once?!" Hoseok snaps, stress of the changed schedule and last minute preparations getting to him. "We've got to be at least a little professional here.!" He shakes his head, throwing his towel onto a desk close to you. It makes you wonder if you're really stressing them all out with your presence like this- maybe they just don't show it, but they feel the same as the rapper?

And while Jungkook didn't notice the interaction at all, a staff member definitely did. The older woman gently asked you to understand Idol's emotional outburst and to not take it personally, and you nod at that- but you also stay quiet after this incident, rather not interacting with Jungkook as much as usual.

Now that's something he definitely notices.

It's later when everyone eats that Hoseok sighs, looking across the table at you next to Jungkook, who constantly checks up on you because he knows that something is up. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, by the way." The dancer says, and you nod, waving it off.

"What happened?" The youngest of the band instantly asks, brows furrowed downwards as he looks at his bandmate.

"I got irritated at everything, and she unfortunately took the blow of it." Hoseok explains. "I'm.. I guess I'm not used to her being around, it made me nervous." He explains.

"Hyung, that's no reason to let it out on her." Jungkook argues lowly. He's not aggressive or whiny as usual- but firm in his words, mature and even understanding.

"I know. That's why I'm apologizing." He admits.

You nod. "I'll stay home from now on." You tell them. "Its really uhm.. it's fine. I know it ls probably weird." You smile a little, making Jimin shake his head.

"Please don't take it in a bad way." He tries. "We're not weirded out by you, or anything like that. It's just- we don't know you yet, and right now, it's a little stressful." He tries to justify. Jungkook shakes his head, putting down the chicken bone before wiping his hands.

"Sorry, but she's not even in the way whatsoever." He argues. "I didn't make a scene like that when you all brought your friends and family to practice either. So why is it suddenly different when I bring her?"

"Jungkook, she's different though." Namjoon says. "She's not family, she's a..." the leader cuts himself off, unable to continue his sentence at the heated gaze his bandmate sends him.

"She's what, Namjoon?" Jungkook asks in an icy tone.

"He didn't mean it-" Jimin tries to get in between, but Jungkook shakes his head.

"No, I want him to finish that sentence. She's what?" He asks again- not getting an answer, from anyone. "Thanks for that." He shakes his head, closing the box of his takeout, before he stands up, putting on his jacket before getting yours- a small hand gesture telling you to come to him so he can help you put it on.

"Jungkook-" Jimin tries- but the youngest won't even acknowledge him any longer, rather zipping up your coat, before he leaves the practice room, door slamming shut.

It's quiet for a good moment, until Yoongi speaks up from the sidelines.

"Damn." He shakes his head, Namjoon sighing as well.

"Yeah, damn. Who could've thought he'd react like this?" He shakes his head. "He's gotten so sensitive since getting her."

"No, that's not what I meant actually." Yoongi responds. "What was that? 'She's not family she's a pet'? Really?" He asks, earning a nod from both Jin and Taehyung equally.

"I didn't say she was a pet!" Namjoon argues.

"You wanted to, and it was obvious." Seokjin says. "Anyone would've reacted like that if someone called their partner nothing but a pet."

"She's his- what?" The bandleader says, surprised.

"Oh come on, it's not hard to guess at all." Taehyung chimes in, putting down his food now. "He's been talking about her for the entire time he's had her. And he's kissed her in the practice room multiple times."

"I thought.." namjoon starts.

"Jungkook wouldn't ever do that. I don't even know how you could think that." Yoongi says. "He loves her, she makes him happy, I'm really confused as to why that's so hard to see for you." He says, picking up his stuff as well after putting his phone in his pocket.

"Where are you going?" The leader wants to know as the rapper gets ready to leave.

"Meeting up with them. Texted kook - I wanna both apologize, and she's also left her water bottle here." He shrugs before he leaves as well.

Everyone does, in fact- leaving Namjoon alone with his thoughts for a while, to realize what went wrong just now.

[animeyanderelover]

Could you make Yandere Holy Knights(Gilthunder, Griamore, Howzer, Hendrickson, Guila, Jericho, Zaratras, Dreyfus and Gustaf)?

I already did Gilthunder in previous Hc's. Also, some Holy Knights didn't have that much screen time so my characterization of them might be a bit off.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, clinginess, obsession, delusion, manipulation, controlling behavior, protective behavior, stalking, threats, death

Yandere Holy Knights Hc's

Griamore

🛡️Griamore is down quite bad for his darling, as loyal and devoted as a man can be with the person he loves. There’s unfortunately one big obstacle and that is the fact that he is unable to express his adoration as he’s weak with his words. Just imagine a giant of a man feeling so shy and embarrassed in front of you to the point where his thoughts just jumble together into a mix of nonsense which he blurs out then, earning a confused glance from you. His movements get all awkward and stiff too, he’s bumped into objects and people around you and has only made a fool out of himself even more in front of you. It’s gotten so bad to the point where he’s too anxious to meet you, horrified to make a clown out of himself even more. Griamore has in fact attempted to stalk you one or two times but sadly a man with a built like his is simply not suited to serve as a stealthy stalker as he’s always spotted by you as soon as you turn around. The man is probably half-delusional as he belongs into the sort that justifies more violent and morally wrong actions.

🛡️The half-delusional side probably steams from Griamore’s overprotective side. His strong sense of loyalty and devotion obviously has awoken the strong urge inside of him to protect you as it has become his most important duty. He can get very aggressive if something threatens your well-being, be it mental or physical. With his inability to tell you how he feels, he tends to get a bit depressed as you might mistake his awkwardness and shyness as him disliking you, if you aren’t already slightly intimidated by his sheer built alone. To still express his fondness and adoration somehow, Griamore has resorted to gifting you secretly things as it is one of his main ways to express his love. You receive wildflowers, jewels and even things he has knitted himself. It he sees you wearing anything he has made for you, he feels like fainting out of happiness.

🛡️It’s probably not his intention to make your counterpart uncomfortable but by god, does he still do it. Oftentimes they just catch him staring at them with a conflicted look on his face, jaw clenched and in his eyes a glimmer reminding of a sulking puppy. He just stares and stares though until you take notice of Griamore in which case his eyes automatically snap somewhere else, blood rushing to his face. Considering that Griamore is incredibly tall and muscular, almost anyone would be a bit intimidated if he would ever approach you and tower over whoever elicits again and again this uncomfortable feeling deep inside the pit of his stomach. He is sultry and unhappy until he either gets over it or his s/o somehow soothes him by reassuring him. Even if they aren’t in a relationship at that point, Griamore would still feel better in the end if you would reassure him.

🛡️I feel like Griamore would fit the classic Yandere very well in the sense that he’s very shy and careful around you but can get very aggressive and ruthless around others, specifically when your health is on the line. Even without his magic he is very strong if we’re just counting physical strength alone, he’s definitely able to murder someone with one heavy punch alone. Under normal circumstances he is sane enough to know that he should be careful because you’d be frightened of him if you would witness such a violent scene in front of your eyes. If worst comes to worst though and he knows that you’re in troubles, he loses his mind just a bit though and might focus more on getting rid of the source of harm. On the self-sacrificing side too, he shields you with his own body to save you from any blow although luckily his body is very tough and his magic allows him to create a barrier around his own body.

🛡️Considering that he can create very strong magical barriers, I definitely see him using his magic to trap you inside one if something happens and he snaps. Whilst that mostly counts for any case where your life is in danger and he wants to protect you, he could use it just as well in a case where you try to leave him or distance yourself from him and he’s reached the end of his patience. The chance of an abduction is likely in case he’s triggered, most likely the case if either your life is in danger or you ignore him and attempt to leave him, a devastating scenario even if you weren’t even his lover before. Griamore knows that he has to keep an eye on you after abduction though because even he might get in troubles if someone would find out.

🛡️Being around you is like walking on eggshells for Griamore as he does not want to embarrass himself nor displease you in any way. Most of the time he is a very tame choice of a Yandere to have though although he is clumsy to verbally express his adoration, you might even hear him stuttering. Physical affection is kept to a minimum for a while as he’s incredibly flustered with the thought at first so he sticks with gift-giving in the beginning and protecting you. Since he’s so tall and strong though, with time he grows very fond of the idea to give you a piggy back or to carry you around. It’s hard to truly anger him and he’s against the idea of hurting you yet if you do manage to displease him, Griamore does try to act strict so you know that you shouldn’t overstep any boundaries and try to fool him. His facial expression grows cold in such a case and whilst he wouldn’t dare hurt you, he will use his physique to his advantage.

Howzer

🌪️Despite Howzer's somewhat stupid and naive antics at times, it should be a mutual realization for both him and his comrades that he feels very attracted to his darling. A rather easy-going and quite optimistic individual, Howzer likes to focus on the positive instead of focusing on the negative. The same can most likely be applied to how he views the relationship between you two, or the one he hopes to have with you. He likes to only focus on the good parts instead of the bad ones and that mindset alone already classifies him as a more delusional person. Everything you might have a problem with when it comes to him or the way he behaves around you, he tries to make you dismiss by appeasing you. Let's just focus on the good stuff instead!

🌪️On a more protective side of things although it isn't that escalated as it is in some other cases. I'd feel like after the incident with Holy Knights consuming Demon blood to get stronger though and after realizing that Gilthunder was suffering because his lover had been imprisoned, Howzer harbors some sort of regret and guilt because he didn't know. That lingering feeling occasionally dwells up inside of him and leads him to acting more protective. Sure, when it comes to you having a problem with him, he'll brush it off. If it's you having a problem with something or someone else though, it's an entirely new story. He isn't necessarily as manipulative as some other characters are but if it ever comes to a discussion because you tend to have a problem with him, he will try to avoid discussing the topic any further and change the subject, doing his best to keep your mind occupied with something else and make you forget about the stupid argument.

🌪️He demonstrates a lot of self-confidence most of the time although I do think if he isn't officially your lover at that time, he has a small complex. He's never been necessarily popular with women before and even if his darling is no women, he tends to feel a bit worried that he's unpopular with them as well. Howzer is a small pain in the ass when he's jealous though as he can't stop himself from inserting himself into every interaction and trying to gain your attention somehow. That is in case you aren't his darling at the time. If you are, he's more smug although still very annoying as he basically flaunts into everyone's face that you're his s/o, emphasizing his point by throwing an arm around your shoulder or grabbing you by your waist and pulling you closer.

🌪️It's been shown that Howzer is a bit of a fight enthusiast, at least when it comes to tournaments. He's also a bit proud of the fact that he is a Holy Knight and can use his powers very good so he does act a bit like a show-off at times around you, especially during a tournament. Looking on how he is rathe laid-back most of the time, Howzer isn't someone who is very impulsive nor feels the constant need to act rather violent around others. He limits serious fighting for the amount someone actually poses a serious threat to his darling or their relationship with him. Even then it's important to mention that in most cases he will give a good and serious warning.

🌪️He brings the aspect of living together up at one point, obviously he would like to share a home with you at one point. He's usually very respectful though so if his darling asks for some more time, he will give it to them. If his wish to live together with you grows bigger, Howzer probably resorts to being more clingy as he wants to spend more time with you. It never escalates to something serious but it can definitely get a bit annoying for you as he is up your arse as soon as you two see each other. Now, obviously the Holy Knight stays on the optimistic side of things so he still keeps hope that you will agree one day. An abduction is a delicate topic to even consider after all and most likely a bigger option if his delusion and with that his optimism is somehow shattered by you.

🌪️He likes to drink, especially after work, and every time he manages to drink a few bottles too much, he always comes stumbling to your house. He's just extremely annoying and tiring when he's in a drunken state as he essentially just clings to your side and makes constant demands. Those demands mainly include getting your attention and your affection and he doesn't stop until you've given in only to make the next request seconds after. Luckily he's a fast sleeper. Considering that this is the first time for him in a relationship, Howzer doesn't know at times how to deal with you and that is most likely a main focus if you do get into an argument with him.

Hendrickson

🔷As an experienced Holy Knight, expectations would probably be that Hendrickson would be quite level-headed and calm in his approach for his s/o yet reality often doesn't match expectations. He's never had any partner in his life before nor is he experienced in the art of courting so Hendrickson is actually rather shy and careful when in your presence. He gets easily flustered when his darling shoots him a smile and stiffens up the moment they decide to engage in a conversation with him. More than often he just stands at a decent distance and stares at you, at times follows you around and stalks you a bit. Obsessive and protective would be good words although in his case they're taken in a more harmless context as he's just for the first time in his life in love with someone. Dreyfus often teases him for it.

🔷That is if we're talking before the murder of Zaratras or after he has been freed from the corruption of darkness. If we're still talking about the days where he was his most ruthless self, things would look very much different for you. Hendrickson is in this case far more possessive, manipulative and very controlling. You're rarely allowed to leave the house without him or his permission and if you do leave without him, you need to inform him exactly where you plan to go and have to be back at a certain time. Darkness and the more twisted love of his are somewhat obvious for you even if Hendrickson isn't openly violent nor shares his plans with you. In fact he does his best to keep the image of a happy relationship and a happy marriage in tact but he's not above slightly threatening you, your social standing or even your family if you ever try to leave the suffocating relationship.

🔷Jealousy before his corruption is as awkward as it is uncomfortable for Hendrickson as he does not know by all means how he should act, only knows that he doesn't like seeing the events unfolding in front of his own eyes. At the same time he's fearful of angering you by trying to join your little discussion with your companion. After the encounter with Fraudrin, jealousy is not as much a problem for him as his possessive streak is. He expects his s/o to know that they belong to him and expects from others to know that they shouldn't even jokingly suggest anything to you. In this case going against him is just scary as he is anything but friendly to the other person and you just know that you'll get scolded from him later on too. Forbidding you to meet someone is very common during those days if you don't know how to behave yourself around others and vice versa.

🔷In a normal state of mind, killing would be the last solution if nothing else can be done. Although a young Hendrickson is still quite inexperienced and an post-corruption Hendrickson has taken too many lives to feel confident to kill once more. A prime of his killing counts is obviously during the days where he's possessed and is ruthless, cruel and even sadistic with his enemies. Everyone who gets in the way of his plans or in the way of his relationship with you will either be thrown into prison or set up with passing time. He's unforgiving and even the pleads of his darling won't do any good as he's cold to punish everyone who doesn't know better.

🔷An abduction is likely after he's murdered Zaratras and has gone down the path of corruption, although he attempts the more indirect path at first via manipulation. A marriage is always a good way to live together with someone and additionally a ring on your finger and the knowledge that he's your husband would be a very excellent way of telling others that they shouldn't try anything and you shouldn't either. This can admittedly also include subtle threats from him to you to speed up the process. Hendrickson is after marriage not afraid to lock you away in your shared house, forbid you to leave it so you can only wait at home for him. If you ever try to escape or, worst scenario, find out about his plans and how he was the one who framed the Seven Sins back then, you can expect to be imprisoned in the house for good with some loyal Holy Knights guarding you when he has to continue his schemes.

🔷If you've known him for a long time already, you've seen Hendrickson change more than just once. You get to know him as a shy man who can't look you straight into the eyes, see how he transforms into a cold, possessive and manipulative Holy Knight who pushes you into a marriage with him and doesn't allow you to leave him to a matured man full of regrets after his mind has been set free. There's a lot of conflicting feelings inside of you even after you've found out the truth from all those years agao that led to his rapid change as Hendrickson decides to tell you the truth you deserve. A part of his young self has returned to him though as you find him getting flustered when you get too close or spacing out whilst looking at you.

Dreyfus

🟣Dreyfus is with his overall behavior around his darling much more dignified than Hendrickson would be even with Fraudrin using him as his vessel,a testament to the strength of his obsession. The urge of protective and possessive feelings bleed through even when Fraudrin has full control over his body as Dreyfus has already lost his first wife Anna in an attack. Despite those emotions, Dreyfus does stay away from his darling a lot more than he is comfortable with and that is both his and Fraudrin's decision. For the demon who controls his body, you're a nuisance who always manages to throw the Holy Knight's feelings into a turmoil and giving him by extension troubles to keep Dreyfus down and Dreyfus wants to avoid you percisely because he has no real control over his own body during that time. Whilst he is more dignified and respectful, it's still hard for you to get close to him as he draws a clear line, for your own protection at that time.

🟣It's around the time where he believes that his son has died that Dreyfus shatters and loses some of his determination to keep you away from him. He grows paranoid as he believes that he has lost now not only his first wife but also his son, the last reminder she had of him. It's that certain paranoia that causes his possessive and protective side to suddenly increase tenfold to the point where even Deyfus struggles against his willpower. The man all of a sudden has lower Holy Knights looking after you and reporting on your activities, you find him approaching you in public more often as he insists on accompanying you around the city when he finds the time to do so. Even if it is all done under his paranoid mindset, it's undeniable that Dreyfus is very diligent in his task to keep a watchful eye out for you.

🟣Jealousy is a tricky topic to tackle for him as Dreyfus has his own pride and would hate to give in to such pity feelings. Jealousy can't be helped though, even if he knows that he's the one avoiding you for your own protection since he knows that Fraudrin dislikes you. His face hardens when he catches someone else with you though, someone you seem to be very open with. That prickly emotion inside his chest tainting his thoughts to do about just anything to separate them from you is almost unbearable yet he just stares for a good while, an intimidating look decorating his face. You might be a bit startled when he the Holy Knight suddenly approaches you and greets you, throwing the person with you a harsh glare as he starts a small conversation with you whilst not missing out on constantly glaring at the other person.

🟣Without Fraudrin, Dreyfus would surely be a bit more forgiving. He'd still be someone who would punish someone if they were to hurt you in any way, shape or form but it's worse when Fraudrin is possessing his body. He's far more ruthless and cold-hearted, not hesitant to kill someone if they pose a threat to you somehow. With him being a vessel for Fraudrin, there's the genuine danger that he might start mistaking his own darker moments and feelings when his obsession escalates as something that the demon inside of him triggers. I doubt that he uses it as a constant excuse to justify lives he takes for you since Dreyfus is on the more lucid spectrum but it probably happens a few times that he does use the demon as a scapegoat to make peace with what crime he has committed.

🟣I'd say that after Griamore's death, a time where he is emotionally devastated and broken, would be a potential trigger phase for him where you might get kidnapped by him. He's after all in the belief that he has lost all the people he has loved and now only you remain. He can't lose you too. There's a small part of his consciousness that still tells him that it's wrong but it is weak compared to the sorrow and the fear poisoning his mind and heart after hearing the news of his son's death. You, who were for the most part not aware of his feelings for you, are for that reason all the more terrified when he abducts you and locks you away one day. Maybe it's because Dreyfus is still able to understand your feelings that he's so calm and tries to put your mind at ease, although that is hard given the circumstances you're in.

🟣You become a weak point for Dreyfus as he crumbles under the aspect of your life being in danger. Chances are that Fraudrin, who has possessed his body for so many years, gets partially infected with this obsession as well just as much as he also feels an attachment to Grimamore, the son of Dreyfus. After Fraudrin is killed and Dreyfus has full control over his body back, he feels more secure when approaching you. That is if he hasn't done anything possibly traumatizing to you during the time where Fraudrin still existed within him. He's still rather strict and possessive with you at times but it's less intense now that he's trying to atone for the sins he has done. Most of the times at least.

Guila

💥Guila is already very dedicated when it comes to her younger brother Zeal just as much when it comes to her position as a knight so you could say the same counts when she happens to fall very badly in love with her darling. She's very dedicated. So much to the point where her normally calm demeanor crumbles with the amount of times you float around in her head. Guila is the obsessed type who is likely to memorize about everything and anything she can find out about her darling and she most likely has a diary hidden somewhere in her room, pages filled with all information she has gathered or simple rantings of how adorable you are. She really is immersed in you as discovering more about you becomes a fatal hobby of hers to the point where she threatens others around you mildly with an unsettling smile to fill her in on you. Around you, Guila keeps her sweet facade though.

💥She appears most of the time confident to the point where people genuinely believe that she's just that sure that she can court you and end up being your partner. The woman herself feels for a large part the same although this dips more into the delusional side of her than in her confident one. In reality she has deluded herself precisely because she just isn't that confident as she may look like. Additionally she isn't patient and if she wouldn't tell herself that the both of you will end up together at some point in time, she'd probably burst and do something terrible. Her impatience can show at times in which case she reveals the uglier side of herself, even to you at times. That luckily isn't a common occurrence though as she manages to keep her sweet facade up when around you. She isn't trying as hard around others though as she has less problems threatening people around you.

💥Considering that she is more inscure, jealousy is prone to hit her multiple times for the silliest reasons but feelings have rarely been something that can be tamed with logic. It truly is a hideous emotion that causes her stomach to twist and her blood to boil as she is pushed to the limits of her self-control to not lose her temper whilst you're still there as it's so important for her that you perceive her in a positive light. A twisted smile that just screams fake and stiff body movements, fist clenching and unclenching whilst she considers drawing her rapier yet doing her best to hold back. Her feelings have to be let out in some form though and even if she might not burst in front of you, she'll definitely cause a small rampage somewhere else to gain a little bit sanity back, or at least the semblance of it.

💥Guila dabbles in threats and violence here and there for numerous reasons that really only classify her more as a hopeless case. Her insecurities whether or not she can even charm you might not be acknowledged by her consciousness, but subconsciously those feelings definitely drive her possessive side up a bit higher and do tend to make her just act a tad bit unhinged. Her smile is one of the scariest things, this closed-eyed smile and the sweet facade she keeps up even whilst cornering and threatening someone before everything is dropped and an utterly disgusted look crosses her face. Long story in short, Guila isn't afraid to dirty her hands with blood here and there if it guarantees that she can be with the one person she loves the most.

💥Continuing her all so sweet act whilst still believing in her delusional hopes, you'd be surprised to find out that the Holy Knight has less qualms to be a bit more forceful to convince you. That already starts with the way she seems to worm her way into your daily life, whether you want her there or not. Guila is at one point just always there, visits the same shops as you and even actively waits for you outside only to run into you then and tag along. She often invits you over to her house too and you have not the heart to say no to her as she looks so excited. It's not like she gives you a chance either to reject her offer. I fear she's ready to use more extreme methods to have you permanently stay in her house, that might include certain accidents that make your own house for a while uninhabitable.

💥I can see her either trying to hide her darker side from her younger brother due to the last bit of awareness she has left inside of her or trying to justify everything to him and make him believe that this is still all normal. She picks up the passion of cooking and baking as soon as she starts gaining such strong emotions her you since she makes you come over to visit her so much and insists that you stay for lunch or dinner. Hearing you complimenting her food makes her heart flutter. Honestly, she's quite the two-faced person as she tends to be sweeter and to an extent even bashful around you yet keeps her calm and cold-hearted behavior around everyone who isn't you as she has little to no problems threatening them too.

Jericho

🟪Jericho is more of a Tsundere when it comes to her feelings and a rather proud individual so you can't expect a confession from her any time soon. No, she would like to keep her face and that is quite difficult when she finds herself around you as her brain basically just stops functioning and a blush is constantly covering her cheeks. So the young woman is doing her best to stay out of your way for a while as she'd be way too embarrassed to face you whilst acting like an idiot. Especially since she's a woman and aspires to be Holy Knight, something that isn't as common in the kingdom nor fully accepted. Due to her being a female Holy Knight, Jericho tends to suffer from low self-esteem at times which unconsciously serves as another reason why she's for a while so keen to avoid you. The purple-haired girl ends up being a stalker, something that still fills her with shame but it's more bearable than making a clown out of herself when around you.

🟪She's protective of her darling and her low confidence in herself at times kind of influences that urge of hers. Jericho wants to prove herself to you as much as to herself so she's taken the responsibility to keep you safe. It wouldn't be all that bad if she wouldn't be so zealous with this task which leads to her acting very overbearing at times, all in an attempt to show you what she can do for you. The girl is more possessive in certain moments too an that all is also partially influenced by her not so good view on herself at times. Even if she strays away from you for a long while, it's also safe to say that she won't let anyone else get closer to you during that time where she's just stalking you. She knows that this is quite low of her and that this probably goes against the ideals of a Holy Knight but seeing you smiling with someone else has to be one of the worst feelings ever.

🟪Similiar to Guila, Jericho is also quite open to experience jealousy thanks to her self-esteem not being as good at times despite her confident act. Differently from her fellow female knight, Jericho won't have the courage to step out of her spot at most moments. Instead she can only clench her fists and her jaw and glare daggers at whoever is the victim of her brooding jealousy in that moment. Watching you two is unbearable for her after a while and in most cases she just finds herself leaving you two with quick steps. She doesn't want to interrupt, doesn't want to cause a scene and give you the wrong impression about her but she surely will search for your partner and have a talk with them.

🟪She's brash and rude but luckily she's more barking than biting. Her possessive side leads her at times to tracking someone down and threatening and intimidating them but Jericho would rarely pick up a weapon or use her magic to injure someone seriously. She tries to not harm innocent people and hopes that her warnings will be enough to stop someone from getting any closer to you. Her hesitation to damage someone more than that gradually fades away as she grows older and gains more experience with her abilities though which does mean that she is far more stern and strict if someone doesn't head her warning.

🟪Secretly fawning over the thought of living together with you, on the outside keeping it tough and playing it off as good as she can. A domestic life with her darling sounds very enchanting, all the more since it would mean that she can protect you better. That would require her suggesting the idea to you though and before that she would have to be in a relationship with you too. Both are things that Jericho struggles with for a longer while. Differently from Guila though, Jericho is a honest soul so she wouldn't want to resort to any cheap methods to have you under the same roof as her. It would be far more rewarding if you'd feel the same as her.

🟪After drinking the demon blood, Jericho is for a while overly possessive and even quite controlling when it comes to you as this marks the darker phase for her but after she's been freed from it, she starts maturing. She slowly attempts to interact normally with you and not stalk you, gives you a chance to know her better. You don't have to know that she already knows quite a bit about you due to all of the times where she was just casually stalking you. I'd say she's quite tame overall even if she's at times just a tad bit more possessive over you. She still likes to play the tough woman and still acts overall very boyish around you but she finds herself growing more comfortable to be girlish with you at times.

Gustaf

🌨��� Gustaf is delusional and his delusion makes him quite confident when it comes to approaching and courting his lover since he basically sees them as his soulmate or something along the lines of destiny. Unfortunately that ultimately transforms him into a rather pestering and downright overbearing person at times since he won't leave you alone an won't listen nor believe you even when you reject him. Instead that only pushes him into believing that he knows something that you don't know just yet, otherwise you'd surely feel the same way about him. So there might just be something slightly condescending about the way he treats you since he thinks that he knows better and that you just don't know yet what's good for you.

🌨️ Protective and possessive and maybe just a tiny bit controlling over his darling. There's probably not much need to explain why. He's a Holy Knight confident in his skills and on top of that he also sees you as his soulmate so it should be fairly obvious why he would want to protect you and make sure that no one else tries anything with you whilst he's still working on courting you. The need to monitor you and your daily life a bit more than he should starts when he realizes that you probably don't know yet that fate has brought you two together so in his mind he's just stopping you from making a mistake you might regret later on.

🌨️ It's an uncomfortable topic to tackle, even for someone delusional like Gustaf. You can at least feel at ease knowing that he at the end of the day feels a bit more confident that even if you do get along with someone very nicely, you're still meant to be with him. So you might graciously call him forgiving when you make him jealous or someone else makes him jealous because he always tells himself that neither you nor that someone else are probably aware of the connection you have with him. Obviously Gustaf will still do something if the situation escalates, straighten up the misunderstanding and prevent you from doing a stupid mistake. That act of forgiveness is over the moment he has told someone that you two belong together though, that counts for you just as much as it counts for others.

🌨️ He's more of a risk than his younger sister is simply because Gustaf doesn't have that same hesitation as Jericho. He doesn't need to prevent to be tough simply because he's confident in his skills and in himself which makes him more threatening. Now, he does have his honor and he won't just injure and harm everyone as he only gets more violent if he perceives someone as a threat to your relationship with him or to your life. Most people who he thinks might try to interfere with his love story are often excused as not aware of the fate that ties him and his darling together, hence why he gives such people most of the time a warning, a reminder to not try to take what is meant to be his. The Holy Knight is not as forgiving when it comes to people who are out to harm you as he handles such threats much more brutally.

🌨️ He has a domestic life with his darling already envisioned and he is very fixated on making it happen as he sees this as only natural. Your own opinion and your own thoughts are dismissed in some shape or form as he once again pulls the "I know better than you" card to excuse any actions he might take. This is a guarantee that you might find yourself being forced in a situation where you have to live with him. Believe me, it will definitely happen if you deny him his request of living together for too long. Not like he would understand why you wouldn't want to live with him together as he could move in with you at any moment.

🌨️ Honestly, he does say that he respects you and your opinion but you only have to observe him for a bit to realize that he isn't speaking the truth. Whilst Gustaf might try, he ultimately fails to fully accept all of your wishes and your thoughts. He sees himself as your protector and he would like you to stay away from all sorts of fights and just let him handle the problems. This doesn't have to mean that he just thinks that you aren't strong but might rather come from his concern that you might get hurt. Gustaf wants his darling safe and sound, away from all harm so he tends to be very overprotective around his lover. He isn't the worst but the fact that he won't take you seriously if you don't feel the same as he does due to his delusional belief definitely makes him hard to handle as he's very stubborn.

Zaratras

🌩️ Upon first glance, Zaratras appears to be rather tough and serious, especially considering his reputation as the strongest knight in Liones who is even on par with the Seven Deadly Sins. Around his lover tough, Zaratras is almost a completely different person as he's soft, silly and very lovingly. He's probably a tad bit too obsessed with his darling as he deems it as very important that he knows about everything about them to give them as much happiness and treat them as best as possible. He also keeps everything you give him and treats it with utter care and whilst he doesn't have a shrine yet, Zaratras sees your gifts as lucky charms he has to polish and worship a bit.

🌩️ What starts as a lucid obsession for Zaratras in the beginning turns sooner or later into something that strays away from reality. Is he ultimately a tad bit delusional in his head? Most definitely. You see, the more this man gets to know you, the more he starts to think that he can't possibly love anyone as much as he can love you. Eventually this thought of his turns into genuine conviction that he won't be able to love anyone romantically besides you. From that moment on his eyes are only set on you and he goes actively out his way to court and spoil you. Luckily he isn't completely gone in his head though as he still knows that stealing things from you or forcing you into anything with him is still wrong and cares too much for you to harm you in any way such as this.

🌩️ Zaratras is unintentionally bound to startle people when he feels jealous but not because he tries to scare them or intimidate them. In fact he tries to stuff his swirling emotions down but the end result is that he stiffens up, his face goes all blank and that he can't help but stare rather intensely at you and whoever you're with at the moment. He feels sorry almost every time when he realizes that he has made you and your companion uncomfortable, apologizes multiple times to you. Jealousy triggers sadness inside of him though as it only becomes more obvious for him each time that he really can't love anyone besides you. At the same time it strengthens his determination to court you and become your lover.

🌩️ All his overemotional and silly behavior around you aside, there is a reason why he's hailed as the strongest Holy Knight in the whole kingdom of Liones and that shouldn't be forgotten. Zaratras is additionally very protective of his lover, only enhanced by the fact that his first wife was attacked and killed, and finds himself often making a fuss over the smallest things that either hurt you or sadden you in any way. He isn't the type to abuse his power nor his position as he's kind and refined but no one wants to make an enemy of him as it won't end well. If someone harms someone else, they should be prepared to get harmed as well, that's what Zaratras believes. So if he warns someone beforehand to not scheme anything to hurt his lover and they still do it, they should be fully aware that he will protect his darling and inflict serious damage.

🌩️ He's daydreaming about waking up in the morning with his darling in his arms and spending each day together with them under the same house and it makes him feel all fuzzy on the inside. At one point he's mentioning it nearly every day to his darling as well, observing how they react to the suggestion. I can't really see him forcing such a decision upon you though since your happiness and comfort are his priority. He's bound to turn stricter when he's in his position as a Holy Knight and has to adapt a more serious and tough side of his. This only happens when there's something dangerous going on that could harm you but in such cases Zaratras tends to startle his darling as he isn't the same silly and goofy man they normally know but fully immersed in his role as a Holy Knight of Liones in which case he won't listen to any protest from you as he is worried for your safety.

🌩️ He coddles his darling a lot since he hates seeing them sad and whilst the attention he gives them can be flattering, it can at times also be a bit smothering. If he knows that you are unhappy or unwell, Zaratras has a hard time leaving you alone which normally results in him being very clingy and staying with you. Gilthunder probably makes fun of him because Zaratras is very obviously trying his everything to impress you and to make himself look as good as possible when he's spending time with you. During Gilthunder's younger years he's often asking his darling to babysit for a bit, an excuse to have you coming over and to see you more frequently. It always warms his heart to see that his son and you get along so greatly.

[beauty-and-passion]

Something I'm curious and unsure about is what happened to Logan in POF. Like I know that when Patton presses the [Skip All] button we see Janus' hook take Logan off screen, in which Janus takes his place. Then we see Logan at the end, unharmed (as he stated) and seemed to return very easily.

But it feels so off. He just starts so passive-aggressive

[Logan]: Not that any of you care, but I am unharmed, and I don't want to talk about it. I'm just here to deliver one last fact, then I will do you all a favor and spare you my company.

It's so aggressive, for something untrue. Or at least, the not caring part. Second Roman learnt it was actually Deceit he instantly asked what happened to Logan, and after Logan remarks this, Patton instantly tries to talk.

Of course, it also makes sense he think sparing himself will be a favour, with Roman selecting ignorant and Patton selecting skip.

But it is really passive-aggressive. And the fact he just doesn't want to talk about it. And what was more weird was Janus' response to seeing Logan.

[Deceit]: Oh s(hit), b(itch).

While very funny, also confusing. Did Janus think Logan was going to get mad at him for removing him, derailing the conversation? Not sure. Though the little hand wave it funny. Janus seems unhappy about Logan presence until he starts talking about Peter Singer. As that works in his favour. But what did he think Logan would say/do that made him unhappy with his presence? He wouldn't state the obvious that he was replaced by Janus. So what?

But the biggest thing that feels off is Janus' response to Roman asking for Logan's whereabouts?

[Deceit]: Nothing at all, and I resent the question.

The way he says it, so fast and deadpan, makes it feel like a lie. Which means he did something, but what? Pretty sure he does resent the question though.

But, I can't imagine what would of happened? Logan is clearly unharmed, just very annoyed, which can easily be explained by his previous treatment by the others, but how Janus' handles it feels so weird too. Or maybe I'm looking too deep.

Very long but, what do you think?

I know it sounds like a joke coming from me, but I think we're overanalyzing this scene XD

Let's recap what happened: Patton pressed the skip button, Janus pulled Logan away and took his place.

Now Janus shows himself. Roman connects the dots and asks him: "What have you done with Logan?", which means: "I know Logan didn't just disappear, but you're involved".

Since Janus was involved because he pulled Logan off with his own crook, he lies like the liar he is and says: "Nothing at all, and I resent the question", which means: "I didn't do anything to send Logan away and I'm offended you think I'm involved". Which, translated from lies to truth, means: "I took Logan off with my crook and I don't want to tell you".

So chaos ensues, Janus talks some sense into Patton and finally Logan comes back.

Let’s see things from Janus' point of view first: he sent Logan away and took his place. How do you think he would react, as soon as he sees the same guy coming back? Would he be happy? Or would he be scared of what he could say? If I were him, I wouldn’t be very happy either and think something like: “Oh shit, now I have to face this guy’s anger”.

That’s what Janus was probably expecting from Logan: to start blaming him, calling him evil, protesting because “you pulled me away and took my place and that’s not legally allowed, that’s identity fraud”. And, probably, to reveal that the “skip all” button was made by Janus, because I doubt Logan would’ve ever added a black and yellow button to let his friends shut him up.

But revealing this would’ve meant Roman siding with Logan and blaming Janus for being evil - thus shifting the entire point of the conversation from a higher, moral discussion about selfishness and selflessness, to a simpler “this guy is evil”. In other words, Janus expected repercussions for his actions and feared he had to waste time justifying himself, instead of continuing with the discussion he cared more.

Now, let’s see things from Logan’s point of view.

He was talking with his friends, offering his point of view, when his supposed best pal skipped him - basically telling him to shut up. Then he was grabbed by a crook and not-so-gently pulled away.

If we consider the relationships Logan has, it’s clear he has a bigger, stronger relationship with Patton and Roman than with Janus. He doesn’t see him as a friend, like the other two.

So put yourself in his shoes: what would hurt you more? The guy you barely know who took you away from the conversation or the friend who told you to shut up because he doesn’t care about what you have to say?

I don't know you, but my friends ignoring me would hurt a lot more. And Logan proved it with his behaviour and this sentence:

[Logan]: Not that any of you care, but I am unharmed, and I don't want to talk about it. I'm just here to deliver one last fact, then I will do you all a favor and spare you my company.

The main point of Logan’s sentence isn’t “Something happened while Janus took me away”, but “You skipped me while I was talking. Therefore, you don't want me around. Therefore, you didn't care when I was pulled away. Therefore, I just came back to say one last thing, before going away like you asked.” That’s the core of Logan’s passive-aggressiveness.

Sure, we know that Logan’s friends care about him, but that's not what Logan felt. Because he was skipped by them. Because they didn't want to listen to him. That hurt him more than Janus taking his place.

And this is why, in the end, Janus was surprised Logan said something that helped him. He thought Logan just wanted to throw his anger at him: but he was much angrier at his friends instead.

[thesherrinfordfacility]

am i missing something in kinda comparing the entire maggie and nina situation to paris? 'cause there was no need to get them to fall in love. a&c might not be able to make people actually feel it, but they seem to have mind control down pat without much effort (or any moral quandaries). they could have waited for an angel to show up and just faked it- easy, certain way out. it's not like the idea of working together like that is even weird, not after the gabriel miracle.

so. either they missed it, which is plausible, and uhhh, renders this whole ask pointless, or *would* have moral issues with it (also plausible💀), or they're being completely ridiculous again, and would rather plan balls than actually make an effort to get themselves out of Mortal Fucking Peril (not that aziraphale necessarily knows it is). i think it would fit the pattern, honestly- when not having huge blowouts over *problems of their own making* (hey aziraphale kill this kid it'll be fine, aziraphale why won't you ditch earth with me, crowley why won't you come to heaven with me), the ineffables always seem to be constantly, aggressively orbiting eachother, making heart eyes and goofing off (cough end of the resurrectionists "not kind" cough) with 0 regard for safety except for the (very very sadly i can't find the -ennial word for every other century) occasional heart attack, and then just skipping right back down the aisle.

(hope this is coherent, i've been editing things a little too long to tell)

hello @aq-uatic my darling!!!💕

(bby im so sorry!!! i thought i had posted this ages ago and i went rooting around in the drafts to continue something else and realised i hadn't!!! im an idiot sorry!!!)

i think there is some context behind aziraphale's actions in particular with this scene:

we know that aziraphale has a fondness for maggie, that i'd argue goes slightly beyond the fondness he has for humans in general (and even then that's questionable at times), and he seems genuinely put out that he's not in a position to help her - to wiggle his fingers about, and make it happen for her (horrifying implications, aziraphale, but we move). so, whilst aziraphale obviously is prompted into the whole 'lets-make-these-two-humans-fall-in-love-bc-that's-totally-normal-and-okay' by holding the everyday record back in the bookshop, i think there is an element of aziraphale genuinely wanting to help her, and coming up with the ball is his interpretation of an organic way to do that (💀). but it doesn't justify the whole thing one little bit; despite the possibility of that being his intention, it's completely batshit - nina certainly didnt know, let alone consent, to anything, and maggie didn't either; they're not dolls for either of them to play around with.

essentially though, i agree - any logical, coherent, sensible thinking would have probably just helped them arrive at a solution that didn't involve warping reality and bringing a whole room of people under a horrifying amount of hypnosis. but you have two supernatural creatures who, in a fairly major way by the time of 2023 at least, have their sense of existing amongst humanity influenced by not only the clandestine, dramatic nature of their own story, but by their tendencies towards damsel-but-not-wholly-in-distress-ing and anti-hero-at-best-ing respectively. we have to barely scratch the surface to see the intertextuality between these traits of theirs, and where they might stem from stories told in certain books and movies (emma by jane austen, and james bond spring to mind).

they constantly talk in riddles to each other, in code and in double meanings - they may somewhat understand the general sense of what the other is saying, but it's not categorical and leaves too much room for error or misinterpretation (which, ultimately, it does). it's a constant dance circling each other, ebbing and flowing, pulling in and drawing back, but never coming together properly; it's a quadrille vs. a waltz.

it makes sense that they are so used to finding the most roundabout and convoluted ways to do things, and this continues into s2, because not only is it how it tends to go down in fiction, but also because that's literally how they've had to exist - not only so their closeness isn't detected, or so their true natures aren't suspected by their respective head offices, but also by nature of being literal supernatural creatures living amongst humans - sleeper agents, of a kind - and constantly having to exist without detection.

none of this makes it right, of course not - but i actually don't think they see any other way of going about things. they're so good at it, so well practiced, that (as just two examples) they run verbal rings around gabriel/metatron (book) and beelzebub chattering about the great vs. ineffable plans at the airfield, and they dance around the most straightforward solution to the maggie/nina problem. as for themselves and their relationship, they dont speak plainly to each other until the bandstand or final fifteen... and even then, i feel like its aziraphale that is maybe the first to break and speak plainly? idk:

i think it's clear that crowley is the more scared, and therefore the more cautious, in this regard. for all his objections attempting to distance himself as an angel compared to crowley's being a demon, aziraphale feels to me that he is the more inclined to throw caution to the wind. i think its because crowley understands the danger in blowing their cover a little more than aziraphale does - aziraphale on multiple occasions slips in nearly admitting their closeness (1800, end of 1827 as you pointed out, and when meeting with the archangels in heaven in s1) - and is still stuck in the safety that dancing around what should be plainly said affords them. they both - as you wonderfully put it - aggressively orbit each other, and breaking the holding pattern comes a little too late.

so no, i think your drawing the parallel between the Weird-Ass dynamic in 1793, how they handle the maggie/nina storyline, and then how they behave with each other, is very apt! but its, at this time, arguably all that they've known - acting in this way - and breaking the cycle is starting to happen, but won't pay its dividends until s3✨

[4ssun]

decided on long asks every 2 chapters and full story analysis every five ☝☝

soo idk if tyong is actually related to yn or is a close friend but in my head they've all known each other since young ages and i want to read ab that so. bad. like yk how in shows wherever there's the climax of an episode (movies too) and they skip to another scene?? i hope it's like that where something big happens and the next chapter is taeyong and baby yn having fun as children.. but then that would mean tyong did something.. cause like whenever at the climax the problem happens and hen they'll do a backstory to justify the villian and... i'm ranting but you get my point i think??

the foreshadowing is crazy like. if even we didn't know yet (cough cough the character chart) the suspense and clues would make me a little sherlock holmes.

the contrast is so funny to me 😭😭 but i wish we saw how sumin sees yn. they're "friends", a one-sided relationship as it seems, but i think sumin is sort of distanced too. i don't think she's fake, but wary of yn? considering how soobin doesn't know about yn despite them (yn/sumin) being roommates, i don't think she talks about yn when with him. it could be intentional or maybe the hatred is mutual. though, yn might either be looking too far into her hatred or sumin could genuinely be a bad person. as of now, we don't know... but i think it's jealousy on yn's side.

even moreso seeing how sumin's texts aren't hostile or passive aggressive. but yn's texts aren't either, making me think less that sumin is distant from yn and more that they simply have a roommate relationship but aren't friends.

i love reading your works because it's always letting me see a different side of people. like in cas, there was yn who was irrational, a completely different mindset than mine was at the time. and now, we get to see how yn's mindset and intrusive thoughts drive her behavior.

but also (back to characters) i see yn glorifying yet despising sumin. envy isn't a foreign concept to me, so seeing it portrayed perfect feels like a biography T0T

ahhh i love long asks </3 answer under the cut!

for starters, taeyong is yn's cousin!! he was also her legal guardian until she was eighteen because her mom [redacted]!! but yes, he's known her since she was born (he was 10 when she was born, now she's 19!) and yuta too because yutayong have been best friends since kindergarten so they've always been her family.

yong has no villain arc in this story... BUT he is involved in [redacted]. no spoilers!!

the character chart is accurate, but i'll give you this hint. yn's relationship lines are her inner thoughts (thus sumin's) but soobin's are a bit different... no spoilers!

also no spoilers for the next chapter, but you will get to see how sumin views yn! you're correct on some things, but a bit far on others.

tysm for this 😭😭 i always love your analysis! and thank you for pointing out the different yns! i really do enjoy dynamic yns who aren't all the same and i haven't seen someone try to pull off a "green with envy" yn!

[idkhowtopickausername]

I agree that it can't all be put on the editors, but Kishimoto had Naruto say the standard issue ninja-tool ideology was wrong and how he was going to find his own way early on. I don’t really think Kishimoto had in mind to make Naruto's answer to that be raising the shinobi age limit or something to that effect. After that it would be so anti-climatic. Naruto still didn't have an answer after the whole Pein thing either, but Minato also said something along the lines of as long as shinobi exist peace cannot which planted an interesting seed - would abolishing the system altogether result in peace? We can't really say what Kishimoto was planning I guess we can just speculate, but the way he set up story-telling elements early on suggest otherwise, and even if he gave up on it eventually he still threw in some of those ideas in the mix.

I think Sasuke and Pein were portrayed to be very sympathetic and justified in their feelings, but the way they went about getting change in a violent manner was not okay... by killing people/robbing them of free will. Madara and Obito too. It was still clear from their backstories and motivations that change in the system is required, but change in a different way. Also Tobirama was straight up admonished by Orochimaru and Hashirama (though nothing ever came of it but he's a dead man and obviously nowhere near enough but by the end it's not like Tobirama was praised for his actions). Danzo's values were not upheld the only people who were like "good job Danzo" were those anti-Uchiha which were also obviously not in the right. I think maybe the first step should've been calling out the Will of Fire for what it actually is - propaganda. It burns with the sacrifices of many. Unless everyone knows the truth it's easy to take something at face value and say they were wrong, or they were right. Their actions were justified, those were not. They were villains, they were heroes.

Sorry I've rambled long enough bye.

I can see what you’re saying and I think if I had only seen the Land of Waves arc then I would probably think the show was going to end with some sort of systemic change, but the nationalism in the parts that come after that feels too ubiquitous to me to be forced or incidental. Even as early as part 1 I do think there was some (although much less) of it. When Sasuke asked to fight Naruto on the rooftop and was acting more aggressive towards him than he ever had before (which I don’t think was necessarily out of character given how he’d just been retraumatized over not being powerful enough), he refused to put on the leaf headband which I think in terms of how that scene was framed served to link uncharacteristic aggression and breaking of friendships (the show’s moral core being about not betraying your friends) with disloyalty to to the village. He was implied to be straying from the ‘correct path’ of loyalty to the village and it was implied that later on he would learn a lesson and come aback, even if he was portrayed sympathetically.

While it’s true that Danzo and Tobirama weren’t necessarily treated as good people by the narrative, other characters who have killed lots of people for the village (Itachi, Minato, and Kakashi for example) are portrayed as heroic. Itachi carried out a genocide and this is portrayed as tragic but to some degree justified, which I don’t think Kishimoto was forced into writing. A person doesn’t have to be overtly bigoted or visibly leaping at the chance to do something cruel to still actively uphold an oppressive system. Hiruzen is treated as a bit flawed and like he maybe could have done better but nonetheless well-intentioned when he is shown to have known about Danzo’s plans as and done nothing about it, and then Naruto himself agrees to cover up the massacre which isn’t necessarily out of place in a story that was already portraying Itachi as a tragic hero who humbly accepts hatred instead of praise.

The villains’ plans are for the most part impractical and overly violent (although in many ways the same could be said of the current system), but it’s part of the problem that all of their plans are shown to be that way. The good characters don’t actually do anything to really change the system in any material way, they just passively lament the problems with it. The only characters who do construct actual plans for change and try to put them into action are the villains, and giving them such ridiculous plans is a significant part of how the show vilifies more radical viewpoints. The rhetoric of “the leaf village killed my family and made my life hell so we need to actively change the system so that this never happens again and I have a plan to make this happen” being paired with plans that are allegorical of things like a nuclear arms race (ironically the opposite of what someone who actually opposes the war machine would probably want), does lead to the vilification of characters like the ame orphans even if they are portrayed as sympathetic. Sasuke killed less people over the course of the story than almost all the series’ adult characters but is still portrayed at times as unhinged and overly violent in conjunction with moments when he moves further away from being loyal to the village.

I do agree that you can take quotes like Minato saying that peace can never be achieved while shinobi exist and put them together to get actual political criticism and implications that the system should be abolished, which is why I think lots of people (including myself) feel drawn to analyzing it, but at the same time you have Jiraiya saying there’s too much ‘hate’ in the shinobi world and Naruto winning all his fights with the power of friendship and the implication that people just need to be nicer to each other. I think the politics of the show at many points are muddled and contradictory, and abolishing the shinobi system would have been the most actually logical answer to the problems presented, but it’s not uncommon for people to lament problems that are effects of a larger system and even recognize them as systemic issues but still be opposed to any actual attempts to radically change that system, or veer away from them in favor of platitudes.

I don’t think Naruto raising the age limit of shinobi would presented as the full solution to the political problems presented if Kishimoto had more time, it’s more like he would be shown making some new rules like that and through the magical power of him being nice and powerful and a good leader Konoha would be portrayed as generally more prosperous and peaceful and major wars would be averted while the day to day violence of the shinobi system would be glossed over.

[winter-tospring]

I hate how yall swifties take legitimate criticism of her as like "misogynistic hate". Also blaming her management company when her dad was a shareholder at said company before she was signed ... she honestly had a lot more say than she admits. But that doesn't fit her victim complex so 🤷🏼‍♀️

I mean I didn't even talk about this but okay 😂 Going from your point about her dad being a shareholder at the management company - to me, he counts as one of the people who have been behind the scenes trying to (and succeeding in, because she was young at the time) control her image and mold it to what he and others thought was Good, and to not offend his community (which, just from having watched her documentary, seems conservative, and shows his opinion diverges from hers when it comes to actions to take politically, for example).

I'm not gonna defend every single thing she does, I'm disappointed and tired about some/a lot of things, I just can't stand pure hate that's aggressive and spreads lies to justify the hate somehow.

When you have someone who hasn't done anything hateful like so many have but still gets hate like that each time she releases anything, it's goddamn tiring.

And I wouldn't say what she gets now is necessarily misoginistic hate, at least it's not the hate I see. Years ago, yeah, when she was slut shamed and mocked constantly for how she dressed/talked/danced, yeah.

Anyway, I don't stand by everything she does. But I'm sick of people hating on her and casually throwing "We should just k*Il her" and comments like that in random posts about them not liking her. There are people I don't like either, fuck, a lot of people, lol. I don't go around happily spreading shit like that, though. That's what always boggles my mind about the hate she gets. She's not freaking Jeff Bezos, or Tr*mp, ffs. But no matter what she does or says, it's gonna be there. I have nothing against valid criticism, I have a thing against the escalation to talking about her like she's pure evil. It disgusts me more than her mistakes, yeah. Incessantly going after someone and digging for anything to excuse aggressive insults is sickening.

Also, note: not all Taylor fans are the same person. We're not all hardcore defending her when she's wrong. A lot of her fans are very willing to discuss things she does or doesn't do that let us down/arent okay. It's not all black or white.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

I might be back on my bullshit thinking about Louis [as if I ever stopped] and episode 2 again. Like... there are a lot of things that could’ve been handled better when it comes to ep2, but can we just appreciate his apology to Clementine during the archery scene? 

[note: this turned into a bit of a rant, and for that, I apologize]

It still baffles me that he gets dismissed as a shitbird by portions of the fandom to this day for being upset with Clem and AJ when he just found out his best friend gave away the twins, murdered Brody and tried to pin it on Clementine to cover his tracks... only to then be murdered by AJ after he already gave up, shot him in the back of the head right in front of everyone and left Louis heartbroken and traumatized. 

Like I understand that some of y’all think Clementine and AJ should never be held accountable for anything they do and they’re always right, even when they’re in the wrong because you’re the player projecting yourself onto them and everyone who is mean to you is a stupid head unless they’re mean in the right way.

Or you’re one of those violentine stans who feels like the only way to validate your ship is to create this narrative that Louis is a traitor and Clementine would never love him after he voted for them to leave as if the only way you know how to make Violet look good is to make Louis bad by comparison instead of like... y’know, being one of the decent stans who explain and gush about the positives of the ship itself and why they love it rather obsessing over the other ship. 

Either way, you’re really gonna look at that situation of Louis reacting to his best friend’s death after what just went down and be like “calm down, Louis, you’re being a jerk :/” like.... I’m sorry? 

Aren’t you the same people who complained about Luke not giving a shit about Nick’s death back in s2? how he didn’t have a reaction? In fact, aren’t you also the same people who vigorously defended Kenny for his reaction to Sarita’s death after he lashed out at Clementine? Remember? When he yelled at her and called her a stupid fucking kid who thinks she can just get anyone killed and it’s okay because she said sorry? but it’s fine because Kenny’s reacting in a realistic way that makes sense for his character and he later apologizes for it? 

but now here you are, getting a realistic reaction out of Louis that makes sense with his character and all of a sudden, you don’t like it? You want him to just be like “Oh no, Marlon.... anyway.” Really?

Louis is hurt, he’s pissed and he doesn’t know what to do. He’s so shaken by what the hell just happened, Marlon’s dead body is bleeding out on the ground, Ruby’s talking about getting fucking medicine as if that’s gonna do anything, Violet waving her cleaver around at them even though literally none of them were looking at AJ they were all looking at Clementine, Violet you are not helping anyone in this situation, you’re only making it worse and adding to the aggression... but no, Louis shouldn’t be a fucking mess right now. He should just shrug his shoulders and be like “Welp, this is fine.” 

Then there’s the damn funeral. Look, Clementine and AJ shouldn’t have been there. I know they had to be for story purposes, but it’s such a bad idea that it makes Violet, the one who wanted them there, look like an ass who has no regard for anyone other than herself, Clementine and AJ, and those who agree with her... which is only Tenn and I guess everyone else sucks and their feelings are invalid because no one else wanted them there since it’s not a good idea to have Marlon’s murderer attend his funeral and if you believe that isn’t going to piss people off or make them uncomfortable, then either you don’t care or you don’t know how to read a room. 

And by the way, Louis wasn’t the one who suggested voting them out. He wasn’t even there when MITCH said they should take a vote and everyone agreed to it. So why is it that Louis gets all this blame for how the vote turned out? Oh, Louis is such a traitor because he’s the reason they got kicked out.... except no? 

First of all, if you’re so mad at Louis then how come you’re not mad at Ruby? She voted them out, too. So did Omar. They contributed to kicking them out. How come no one else talks about how much they hate them after they said having the vote was a fair idea and then voted them out? Oh, and Willy, too. Willy voted them out. The only other person who gets heat for the vote is Mitch, and he was the one who came up with the idea in the first place... but no one else, huh? 

Also, how come only Violet gets praise for wanting Clementine and AJ to stay? Never see anyone talk about how amazing Aasim is after he was the third vote for them. He has legit reasons for wanting them around, too, but he didn’t want them at the funeral either so what, does that cancel out his vote for you? Where is the Aasim love? 

Then we got the dorms where Louis and Violet come to escort them away, and once again, I have to mention that both of them are wrong in this situation. They’re on the extreme opposites where Violet thinks they should stay because they didn’t do anything wrong, and Louis thinks they should leave because AJ’s dangerous. Both of these view points make sense with their characters.

However, I guess some conveniently ignore how conflicted Louis is about the whole thing and how he’s feeling about it because it doesn’t fit with the narrative they’re trying to push about his character. 

Again, he’s dealing with a lot of shit right now only to be constantly invalidated by Violet, who keeps telling him what a shithead he is for hurting about this, how he’s just burying his head in the sand again and all this other shit, and he eventually snaps at her and says AJ’s dangerous, which hurts AJ and it’s all over Louis’ face that he realizes he snapped and he feels bad about it. 

But Louis never got aggressive with them, he never laid a hand on them, and he was there to escort them out in the woods. And that argument of “he sent them out there to die therefore Clementine and AJ should hate him, Clem shouldn’t want any friendly/romantic relationship with him because he put AJ at risk and got him shot” is.... I dunno, ugh? It’s ugh. You act like Louis did this to intentionally get them hurt when that’s not true. 

Clementine and AJ have survived on their own for years, so it makes sense that Louis would try to justify this to himself like “they’ll make it out there, they’ll survive because they’ve done this before... this is for the best for everyone” and no, him telling them that this is probably like going home for them isn’t okay, but it makes sense for his character because he doesn’t actually know how bad it is out there. 

None of them know, they’ve all lived in walls their whole lives. It’s naïve of him, yes, but it makes sense and he didn’t do this with shitty intentions of wanting them to get hurt. He didn’t know that Lilly and Abel would be out there, he didn’t know AJ would get shot, he didn’t know any of it. He didn’t think that if they voted them out, this would happen. He was struggling with his feelings about them and saying goodbye to someone he was starting to feel a connection with. 

And he let them back in. Hell, he carried AJ into the school himself when they showed up wounded and you still wanna call him an asshole and a traitor? He could’ve said nope, get the hell out. We kicked you out, you’re not welcome here. 

He didn’t do that, he ran to them to see if they’re okay, he brought AJ to Ruby and stayed with him the entire time Clem was in the office with Violet.... AND he apologized to AJ, quietly begging for him to be okay... and when he’s faced with Clementine after what happened, he doesn’t know what to say to her. He can’t even look at her because he feels so ashamed of himself and feels all the blame for this. 

This is a moment that ties back to backstory. Louis’ emotions overpowered him, he made a decision and now AJ is shot and bleeding on the couch.... when he came to the school, they [the staff, I assume] said these kids were bad people, they told Louis that he was bad after what he did to his parents and he internalized that, and this whole this just reaffirms that idea “I am bad, I hurt people, this is my fault.” He blames himself for everything even though there’s no way he could’ve known. You can feel Louis’ genuine concern for AJ and how he’s doing, but at the same time, he’s trying to distance himself from Clementine… and well, sorta failing since he brings her clothes and they have the conversation in the dorms. 

Then the archery scene.... y’know, the scene I was gonna make a simple little post about that somehow turned into this. 

Once again we have Louis and Violet arguing because that’s what they do now, and Violet continues to tell him to get over himself without listening to anything he says, and he goes to practice archery so that y’know... when the raiders come he can use a weapon to help defend them since he’s not very good with it and needs practice.

Clem goes to check on him, and Louis apologizes for voting them out, explains that when AJ shot Marlon, he blamed Clementine when that wasn’t the right thing to do. He had a lot going on emotionally on top of what was happening around him, but after having two weeks to work through things alone, even though he’ll never be happy Marlon died, he can understand why AJ thought it was the right thing to do... and if he could take everything back, he would. He knew that the moment they came back, and he still does. 

I just.... how often does Clementine ever get an actual apology from anyone who has hurt her? A real apology from someone who means it and then doesn’t just turn around and repeat the same hurtful actions? Like... it baffles me that people will look at this genuine apology and tell him to fuck off, but will accept and continue to adore someone like Kenny who will apologize for hurting Clem, only to never try to be better and ends up hurting her even more next time. 

Or they’ll accept and justify Violet’s last minute apology for punching Clementine in the face on the boat and putting everyone [including AJ, rememeber?] at risk of either dying or being made into brainwashed soldiers by the delta. 

They both have reasons for their behaviors and you’ll work your ass off to justify them, and I’m not saying your points are wrong or invalid, but you seriously won’t even try to extend that same thing to Louis? Why? 

Well, jokes on you because I too will work my ass of to talk about Louis and what he’s going through and that’s how posts like this get made. I know not everyone is going to feel that connection to him that I have, and you’re allowed to not like him as a character, but realize that I’m also allowed to give my perspective on his character and why I disagree with points posed by those who don’t like him. 

The archery scene is one of my favorites. It’s Louis and Clementine proving that they’re able to open up to one another and say they’re sorry, to forgive the other without being petty or holding it over the other to throw back at them the next time they argue. It proves that Louis wants to put in the effort to repair their relationship and atone for the mistakes he made, to step up and not be “bad” anymore. 

I mean, Louis says it best himself. Everyone heard the jokes and the piano, after that, they stop listening... a lot of people just boil him down to a funny man who never takes anything seriously and the only thing he could ever bring to Clementine’s life is a good laugh, but those who stuck with him and put an effort into building his and Clementine’s relationship know better than that. They know how much this apology in ep2 means even with the downer that the timeline of events rushes everything a bit. 

The fact that Louis doesn’t have this big ego that prevents him from apologizes, that he can forgive AJ for what he did and still build a strong relationship with both him and Clementine, that if you earn his trust he will follow you to hell and back, that he isn’t afraid to call Clementine out on her bullshit and doesn’t have a come apart when she does the same to him, that with her and AJ by his side he finally doesn’t feel alone anymore.... it’s all just so fucking good. 

I dunno, maybe you can understand why I get so ugh whenever I still see these same arguments about him being made with this double standard that doesn’t apply to other characters.

[renegadewangs]

Van Zieks - the Examination, part 12

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: (see Part 1 for the more detailed disclaimer.) - These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I’m outlining stems from my own views and experiences. If you believe that I’ve missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. -The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. - I’m using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what’s said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent. -It doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Let's bring this thing home! It's time for the conclusion of the essay series!

Conclusion With a stupidly long essay series behind us, it's time to look at what we've learned! Let's go back to Part 1 and review what we needed from Van Zieks's character development for a fully rounded redemption arc, shall we?

1) Present an antagonistic (possibly immoral) force who personifies Ryunosuke’s biggest personal obstacle/weakness, in this case racial prejudice. 2) Humanizing traits begin to show. OPTIONAL: A backstory to justify any immorality he has. 3) Over time, Barok has his realization and sees the error of his ways. 4) Barok atones for his immorality, not simply through apology but by taking decisive steps. 5) The cast around him acknowledges his efforts and forgives him.

And looking at the main game (plus additional dialogue), we have...

1) Antagonistic force:

Etc. etc. I have many of these. We can all agree that as an antagonistic force, he does his job quite well. CEO of Racism and White Privilege in the flesh. It works, since we as the audience get very frustrated and want to see him defeated.

2) Humanization:

Giving him an old friend to be a defendant was a brilliant move, really. Albert's reflection on the friendship and the person Van Zieks used to be really helped flesh him out and make him appear more like a human being with, y'know, emotions and weaknesses. The little snippets of dialogue in his office really help too. Presenting evidence can also lead to fun tidbits. All in all, considering how gruff and distant Van Zieks is, they really did their very best to humanize him. The writers were given very little to work with but they exploited every opportunity to come their way.

OPTIONAL backstory:

Again, I don't think we needed a tragic backstory to have a well-rounded, redeemable character. Still, it ties in very expertly to the game's plot and the motivations of quite a few other characters. The story of Klint van Zieks and his death isn't necessarily Barok van Zieks's backstory, it's the center of an intricate web which also holds Kazuma, Stronghart, Gregson, Jigoku, (S)Holmes, Mikotoba, Sithe, Drebber- I could go on. A LOT. So because of how very integrated it is into the main narrative's recurring themes and characters, I'll give it props for being relevant and well thought out. The bigger question is: Does it justify his immorality? Not entirely. I think the game could have gotten more out of this if they'd involved the other two exchange students in this tale just a bit more. They could have given more attention to how Jigoku's aggressive behavior in the trial impacted Van Zieks, and explained whether he might've suspected Mikotoba of sabotaging (S)Holmes's investigation. If the narrative had done that, all three Japanese people to come to London would have been ‘the bad guy’ in Van Zieks's eyes and it would have given more credence to his racial generalization. They could have also given more attention to how the people around him reacted to Genshin being the Professor, because I'm sure Stronghart and Gregson stoked the fire in terms of xenophobia. As it stands, there isn't really enough there to justify hatred of an entire race as opposed to just one person.

3) Realization/Redemption

We see him already start to realize the error of his ways around the end of 1-5, which is technically only about halfway into the full narrative. Unfortunately, thanks to 2-2 being played afterwards (but chronologically set before 1-5), any progress made in 1-5 can become invalidated in the player's eyes. Growth works best when it's done linear. Don't get me wrong, flashbacking to earlier times when a character is still more morally tainted can work well, but it needs to be executed properly. Barok's behavior in 2-2 is downright insulting towards the audience itself and therefore, it causes emotional friction when relaying the narrative endgoal of redemption. It also makes it extra jarring when we hit 2-3, and suddenly Van Zieks is meant to be relying on the protagonist's desire to expose the truth. How on earth can we as the audience trust that Van Zieks believes in Ryu's abilities when we just came fresh out of a case where this man actively sabotages Ryu's efforts?

Still, the line of redemption continues from 2-3 into 2-4 well enough. He admits that he was wrong- that his hatred was illogical and that he needs to change. This is the very definition of redemption. I need to stress once more this is not to be confused with atonement, which comes next.

4) Atonement

Here it is. It's not enough to simply acknowledge mistakes; one needs to work hard to fix them. Since Van Zieks is the defendant for two whole episodes, equaling roughly 20% of the full narrative and 67% of the time following his first true realization (chronologically), there isn't much that he can actively do to atone. Because remember, not only do these actions need to fit the situation he's currently in, they need to fit his personality. These two limitations ensure the atonement mostly takes the form of dialogue. Of apologies.

One might want to point out that he never apologizes specifically for his racism, but there's a reason for that. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that there isn't a single character who ever uses a word like “racism”, “xenophobia” or even “racial prejudice” in this game. It's for the same reason you'll never see an Ace Attorney character utter words like “alcoholism”, “drug abuse” or “depression”. These things may be implied very strongly, to the point where you'll know for certain a character is suffering from it, but it's never given these exact labels. It has to do with the tone of the game. In Great Ace Attorney's dialogue, Barok van Zieks is only ever described as holding “a deep hatred for Japanese”, which is then the only thing he could apologize for. And he does, so long as you aren't looking for a literal phrasing of “I apologize for my deep hatred of your people”.

Regardless, he can't take more active, decisive action until he's freed from prison and two scenes with Van Zieks later, the game has ended. He still manages to take two actions, though! The first is to publicize the truth of the Professor, taking the blame of the mass murders off Genshin's shoulders (and losing his own privilege in the process). The second is to take Kazuma under his wing as his disciple. I'm not certain there's anything else the narrative could have had him do. What is decisively missing, however, is the following:

5) Acknowledgment

The above aren't good examples of cast acknowledgment that Van Zieks is taking part in a redemption arc, rather, they're the best I could find. Characters are acknowledging that he's changing- that he's being kinder to them and they can get along with him now, but they're not acknowledging that he caused hurt in the first place. This, in my opinion, is the Great Ace Attorney's biggest narrative flaw. I've talked before about how Ryu's reaction to Van Zieks's racism is 'indirect communication', a typically Japanese manner of dealing with negativity. I've also talked about how Ryu is not in a position to speak up, as he's a literal minority who is there to represent his country in an official capacity and can’t afford to make enemies. However, characters like Susato and Kazuma are far more outspoken in their opinions, as is Soseki. The only one who ever calls Van Zieks out on his racism is the British judge, and even that is done very meekly. When an old crusty white guy is the one who condemns white privilege in a cast full of minorities, you've got a problem. The Japanese cast's refusal to acknowledge that Van Zieks's words were harmful is like Team Avatar telling Zuko that sure, he can join since he's a good guy now, but never once acknowledging that he burned down villages or betrayed everyone's trust in Ba Sing Se. There's something very vital missing, see? If indeed the cast had called Van Zieks out more actively on his harmful ways and how necessary it was for him to change, he in turn could have taken more atonement steps in response.

So, for the conclusion: Does Barok van Zieks tick all the necessary boxes for a complete redemption arc? Yes. In a very technical sense, all the requirements are there. But does that mean it's a successful arc? Not necessarily. The game has a few slip-ups, a few things not executed as well as they could have been. For that reason, whether the audience is satisfied with the arc is entirely up to them. Taking into consideration that they had to cram a whole lot of story into just two games- the second game in particular, I can acknowledge they did their very best with the limitations that were there.

And there we have it! That’s all I could think to say on the matter. I hope everyone who read this till the very end enjoyed it, maybe even learned a thing or two. I’m always open to questions, input and constructive criticism!

[masterhandss]

Personally I don't see what you see in Geordo. He seems like such a scumbag to me and is the least likable charater in the whole series. He is always trying to get her alone to push her into things of a sexual/ more romantic nature without taking how she really feels into consideration. Like he "really wants her" and thats enough for him without caring what she really wants. Honestly he is the borderline non-con villian in my mind.

I mean, it's okay if you feel like that. To each their own.

Hmmm when I think about Geordo being sexually aggressive towards Katarina, I only really just think of the anime. The manga is a much more moe-fied and toned down version of the novels, and the novels does an okay job at balancing his desires for Katarina in all aspects. I'm not saying he doesn't have that trait in the other two mediums, I just think that they aren't as intense as the anime, so as someone who consumes all three versions I just tilt my head and go "huh." Of course I'm sure there are people who read the manga and novels that still feel uncomfortable about his behavior and that's valid too.

-> light novel spoilers ahead <-

tldr, there is a lot more going on to him than just someone who offers sweet words and questionable invitations to Katarina's ears, this may not be noticeable or acceptable to some people but we get to know more about how he thinks whenever the novels puts us in his point of view. You're free to dislike him as much as you want, but I like him & don't see him as a scumbag; and here's why:

I at least find it okay that Geordo is very serious about his pursuits for her because he is aware that she is dense and will not get it until you spell it in the sky. Everyone is just walking eggshells around Katarina hoping that the girl would just develop feelings for one of them to win the harem olympics. He knows that being dealt with a good card isn't enough, so he's actively taking action in order to win her heart. I mean I don't always agree with his methods either, like the "fait accompli" line or constantly inviting her to his room alone, but really, how much of that is something he really means to do vs how much of that is his excessive flirting + our minds assuming that he really means to claim her in that way?

Lines like that are really popular with japanese fans because it makes Geordo look "sexy" and "forward", which they enjoy in their fictional stories. He knows that his position gives him an advantage so he'll try to play his cards right and use it to increase his chances in victory.

It actually reminds me of a scene from the Hamefura StoryMe game, (don't really know how canon it is but I remember the JP ver. was advertised by @/hamhura) where Geordo indirectly asked Katarina how to woo a girl he really likes, and Katarina thinking he was referring to Maria, gives all the things he usually does in order to win her heart (visit her home, give her gift, dance with her in parties, be really forward about your feelings etc). I'm not saying Katarina approves of the ways Geordo attempts to win her heart, but there's some hilarity in knowing that Geordo already had and is constantly trying all the known ways to win over a girl in the world from a young age, and still has nothing to show for it. Like no awareness, much less any *feelings* lmao. So trying to make it obvious that he is interested in her romantically and sexually seems like the next logical step to him. I mean if you go by Geordo's logic and considering the time period this takes place in, he's pretty confident that he can get Katarina to love him back and they are engaged anyways so in his head he's in safe waters to attempt to make teases about such advancements if it gives him the smallest chance that Katarina would become at least aware of him through it.

Of course I know that stuff like that won't fly here in the real world, but maybe that's why I'm so lenient personally when it comes to his (debatably) sexual teases and advances, because it's a fictional story for a japanese audience. Doesn't mean I would approve any advances like that if it happens to me, it's just that it's hard to take his actions seriously when Katarina or the story doesn't take them seriously. Like, the girl would be pushed down to a bed by RufuSora and gives her a hickey and she still thinks the man is out for her blood.

He wouldn't even be entirely wrong, knowing the identities of the characters who Katarina knows has romantic interest in her in the novels, actions does speak louder than words when it comes to her. Like I said, whether or not Geordo really means what he says when the story teases the readers with sexual implications in his words and action depends on the reader in my opinion. They are there, I wont pretend they don't but I'd argue about the level of intent depending on what scene you're talking about.

The only scenes on the top of my head where he is very abrasive towards Katarina is the "fait accompli" scene, the Book scene form the anime (S1 EP8), saying he wants to lock her in his room (LN6) and the multiple times Geordo had invited her in his room at night alone (LN6 and LN8, i think).

I've already explained why I am okay with both Keith and Geordo's Book scenes from episode 8 of the first season because they are accurate representations of an exaggerated and unhinged versions of their desires towards Katarina so I won't bore you with those details again.

He mentioned in Volume 6 that he wants to lock Katarina in his room forever and keep her light to himself, which alarmed a few people when the book came out, but he said that in a moment where he feels super grateful and loving towards her because she knew how tired he was despite his fake face and without even saying anything. It was a moment where he felt so infatuated towards her that he wished the moment where he gets to rest in her arms would last forever, thus he made such a comment. I make it sound more dramatic than it was in Volume 6, it was just a quick comment honestly lmao.

For people who don't read the novels, that last part looks very sus and raises a few red flags I know, but to be fair we can't definitively say what his intentions are because Katarina never commits to those visits. Katarina has actually become wary of those invitations, because Keith and Mary have warned her that Geordo's intentions are sexual, but I'm not really trusting the word of the two people who are most distrustful and antagonistic to Geordo. They could be right, of course, but who can really say? We assume that they are correct because they care about Katarina and are wary of Geordo, but hamefura('s novels) is full of unreliable narrators anyways, it's not like Keith or Mary would consider the possibility of it being anything else because when it comes to the third prince they always fear the worst case scenario.

If you think about it, Geordo is probably aware that winning her over with a "fait accompli" won't work at all because it'll put him in a position that will make other people push him for the throne (which he doesn't want) or could ruin his reputation in high society if Katarina or her family react to it negatively. I'm not Geordo though, so I can't really say if he even have such fears and doubts in the first place, that's just my assessment based on the obstacles he has. On the outside he is really sure of himself and confident (which he arguably deserves) and on the inside he is very careful and insecure when it comes to Katarina.

Also like, spoilers but for someone who is very forward when it comes to his physical advances, Geordo is super weak when he is in the receiving end of those touches. He gets super embarrassed and easily flustered when its Katarina who is touching him, as if implying that to some extent that he's all just talk lmao.

I don't really agree that Geordo doesn't care about what Katarina feels at all, in fact his inner dilemma in the novels is that he doesn't know what to do because in every step he takes he might do something that could ruin his image in Katarina's eyes, be it pursuing or abandoning the throne or looking like a monster in front of her. He even halts his plans to make advances towards her during the Keith Kidnapping Arc, but threw it away because he knows how much finding Keith means to Katarina. He puts what Katarina want and doesn't want as his priority, so when what she feels is unclear that's when he acts on his own intuition. The only reason Geordo feels so confident to advance towards her sexually is because Katarina never rejected him before (because she doesn't know what they mean, and all of this is for the sake of simply making her aware in the first place)

I'm not trying to make anyone think that one has to read all the books in order to understand him, I think the manga does okay at conveying his feelings too. The anime really prioritizes on making him look "sexy" for the japanese female audience, so anything he does is sprinkled with spice whether we like it or not.

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm overanalyzing all his actions just to justify them, everyone has the right to be uncomfortable with his advances if it seems too much for you. It's just that his actions, while over the top and unnecessary, are done to please the type of audience that hamefura caters to, and it's hard to take him completely seriously when the story doesn't either in my opinion. Doesn't mean he's right or that any of it is okay, but it's his method of trying to put a dent on Katarina's bakashield. When you're in a race versus your friends who Katarina all loves equally, he's gonna use whatever card he can get in order to win.

I like Geordo; I like how much of his feelings for Katarina forces him to reexamine himself and realize that he isn't a perfect prince at all, that he has lots of problems and flaws that he needs to work out in order to be someone worthy of her. I like the way he falls more and more in love with her in every interaction they have because he finally gets to have a genuinely and caring interaction with someone. I like how Geordo wants to do better and be better for Katarina and the people around him, and he wants to be able to thank Katarina directly for that through being able to show his love. I like that despite how much of a chad he acts in front of her, he's a blushing mess at the thought of Katarina returning his feelings. I find it funny when his "sexual advances" fails and gets thwarted because he's trying them on the densest person and most protected lady to ever live. I like how Geordo is so head-over-heals in love with her and how much comfort and warmth she brings to him by simply being her caring and bubbly self.

I guess it's just a matter of different perspectives. If you find him unlikeable or a villain, then you do you. I try to explain why I personally excuse his actions, but I know it wont fly with everyone. We all see each character differently and absorb the material in different ways. In fact it's probably a bad idea for me to defend him with material that isn't the anime nor manga yet lmao. I mean I'm not that much of a fan of Mary anymore, and I'm kinda scared and wary of her, but I know people don't see her the way I do and I'm okay with that.

Maybe its just me, who is the kind of person who just goes with the flow and doesn't think too hard because it's all fiction anyways

It's hard to tell all this from simply watching the anime, so I laid all my feelings down in hopes that someone out there would understand why I like him so much.

Thank you for the ask, you can ask more questions or call me out if I said anything insensitive or wrong, I know a lot of this is me overanalyzing things which might look like I'm jus stretching. As someone who is aware of the things to come in Hamefura X, I can say that I am both excited and nervous as to how everyone will react for the direction of Geordo's character.

[venusluvrr]

The Psychological Horror Manhwa “Killing Stalking” is not a Romance, but an Emotional Series Depicting the Codependent Relationship Between Two Ill Individuals

Content Warning!!: contains mentions of sexual abuse (rape) and mental illness.

Killing Stalking is an immensely twisted webcomic series, mainly popular within the Yaoi community for its boy on boy focused plotline. The story follows characters Yoon Bum (Bum), a shy, scrawny young man with a haunting past filled with abuse, and Oh Sangwoo (Sangwoo), a younger man who also has a quite damaging upbringing but masks it perfectly with his vibrant, extroverted personality. After being saved from a rape attempt during his time serving in the military, Bum develops a crush on his saviour, Sangwoo, from which an unhealthy obsession starts to arise and he eventually finds himself locating and breaking into the man’s home one day when he’s out. When he does, he discovers a terribly injured woman being held captive in his basement, and with further evidence, soon comes to the realization that his crush is actually a serial killer -- hence the name “Killing Stalking,” as Sangwoo kills and Bum stalks. For a very specific reason though, Sangwoo decides not to kill the man that had been stalking him, and instead holds him hostage in his custody. From here, the story goes into exceeding depth of the abnormal, toxic, and manipulative relationship the two form during their time spent together. By just the mere description of it, it’s a bit concerning to know that a large portion of readers still support Sangwoo and Bum’s relationship. In other words, they believe they truly loved each other and that the story was not only horror fiction but a romance as well. One could easily come to this conclusion by basing their relationship on the few parts within the novel where they showed affection towards each other -- for example when Bum allows Sangwoo to hug him to sleep when he suffered through the night, or my personal favourite, when Sangwoo buys Bum a stuffed frog keychain after finding out that he had an affinity for such creatures. But we cannot simply dismiss the underlying factors of their relationship because of some cute things they did that made our heart melt -- Sangwoo still abused Bum at his leisure which makes those moments quite meaningless in the sense of it all. What Sangwoo and Yoonbum shared can’t be classified as “love,” because even with their peculiar bond and endearing moments, the psychological damage they both endured played a bigger part in the way they perceived each other.

Many toxic relationships start out lovely and glamorous until the couple have become comfortable enough to start revealing some bad habits, but in Sangwoo and Bum’s case, they were already off to a bad start, as the reason they remained with each other was solely for reasons pertaining to their poor mental health.

At the time Sangwoo saved Bum in the military, Bum still suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) -- a disorder he inferrably developed due to the fact that he grew up being constantly physically and sexually abused by the people around him. People with this illness may easily develop an infatuation for a person who shows them even the least bit of care; It can reach the point where they begin to idolize them and see them almost as a perfect human being -- which is exactly how Bum viewed Sangwoo after he helped him to escape a rape attempt. The likely specific term for what Sangwoo was to Bum is a Favourite Person (FP). To an individual suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, their FP is everything -- their self-worth, identity and emotional dependency all rely on this one person, making them the center of their lives. In contrast to this sincere fondness, the only reason Sangwoo kept Bum alive was because of the man’s resemblance to his late mother -- the one person in his life who he truly loved. While his father was abusive and negligent, his mother tried her best to care for her son even while her own mental stability wasn’t so great either. Even though it was implied that he was responsible for the murder of both his mother and father in high school -- getting away with it scotch-free because of how perfectly executed his plan was -- he still shared a special bond with the woman, allowing her existence follow and continue to torutue him mentally as he grew older. When he saw Yoonbum, he felt as if she had been somewhat resurrected, or at least he could pretend so by dressing him up in his mother’s clothes and making him cook and do the chores; He also played the husband role by abusing and assaulting Bum just as his father did to his mother -- mostly just out of his own nature. Sangwoo had his own issues, “mommy issues,” and he initially needed to keep Bum alive so he could fulfill his own longing desires. Knowing the man’s character though, things wouldn’t end there and instead headed down a very gruesome and frightful path.

The very reasons that the two were drawn to each other we’re even more evident the longer they lived under the same roof. While Yoonbum continued to recall the perfect image he had of Sangwoo in his head, Sangwoo continued to manipulate the man in order to satisfy his own needs. A healthy relationship cannot be based on deceit, because one person will end up victimized instead of loved.

Oh Sangwoo is a sadistic sociopath with a history of kidnapping, abusing, raping and torturing innocent people, and because of his illness, he shows feels and shows no remorse for his actions and even proceeds to kill off his victims as they pleaded in objection. What some people don’t understand is that when Sangwoo met Bum, the only reason he treated him differently was not because he thought of him as special, but because he had a personal agenda that included making Bum think that was the truth and that he was indeed the favoured victim among many. It’s no surprise with the man’s manipulative personality that he would enjoy planting a lie in Bum’s head to make him stay and continue to do as he says, and this is confirmed whenever he returned back to his old destructive habits even after showing the man acts of affection. Yes, Sangwoo spared Bum’s life, clothed him and fed him, but as their bond grew, his narcissistic attitude was still more apparent than ever.

Upon meeting Bum for the first time, Sangwoo didn’t hesitate to aggressively break his ankles to prevent his mobility, he left the man within the dark confinement of his basement for a certain period of time before letting him out only after he had gained his trust. He made him sit in a chair to wash dishes and make dinner because he could no longer stand. Sangwoo also constantly dragged Bum down with derogatory words and statements every chance he could get, this included calling him a “retard,” and referring to him as a “disgusting” and “filthy” human being. As confirmed by the author, Sangwoo is also heterosexual, which is further proved by the homophobic remarks he made towards a significantly older man who was sexually attracted to him while murdering him with Bum’s aid. This fact alone is another one that should justify a strong point that demonstrates the true hostility of their relationship -- Yoonbum never gave his consent to have sex with Sangwoo, nor did he allow it to happen because “he wanted it.” He specifically used phrases such as, “No,” “Stop,” and “It hurts,” implying that sometimes there was no mutual agreement when they had sex and Sangwoo had actually raped him several times.

People with Borderline Personality Disorder have been reported to have difficulties seeing the faults in their partner -- this explains why Bum still held on to him. He chose to stay when he had the chance to escape, and with tears rolling down his face from excruciating pain he still told Sangwoo he loved him. In a scene where Bum is left alone with the police as they investigate the suspicions they have surrounding him, he questions them saying, “Could you kiss somebody like me? Could you love somebody like me?” As he believes nobody but Sangwoo could answer yes to those two questions, convinced that Sangwoo really does have feelings for him. It’s saddening to know that the poor man had successfully been lured into a trap, and because of his mental health it would be much harder for him to realize it.

To the readers that think, “Sangwoo and Yoonbum needed each other,” -- You’re not completely wrong. They did need each other in the way that they found somewhat of a saneness from each other’s presence, each using one another to each other’s benefit. But being together at the same time built on their insanity, as the presence of Sangwoo’s mother seemed to grow even more prevalent with Bum, who resembled her, also in the picture, and Yoonbum growing so unhealthily attached to Sangwoo that he constantly feared of abandonment and turned the sociopath into the only source of his happiness. They needed each other, but not for the right reasons. They were attached to each other, but there was no love, otherwise it would reflect throughout the story. One of the most debate-worthy scenes that challenge this fact is when Sangwoo is reported by an old lady in the hospital, the one that had ended his life, that he was calling out Bum’s name throughout the night as he lay in his deathbed. Those were his final words, and Yoonbum’s final word was also Sangwoo’s name before he was very well implied to have been hit by a car while he chased an illusion of the man he “loved.” Even I almost felt that this was solid proof that even through the tough and terrible of their relationship, deep inside, the two really were in love but could not express it in the right way due to their mental health issues -- after all, what someone makes of their final moments before death is much more meaningful than most of what they've done in their life entirely. But I came to realize that the only way I could support this relationship would be if they had met in an alternate universe where they did not suffer from such dreadful childhood trauma that made them into the hurting individual they had become before meeting each other. As difficult as it is for me to picture the two with different partners, it would be best if the two had not met at all as they only fed into the severity of their conditions.

[evansgonnabuck]

This scene while the song Better days was playing in the background that says

"Better days (on their way) are comin'

Better days, better days are comin"

A lot of people might hate the idea of them together but I think they're perfect for each other.

Buck was a self-diagnosed sex addict. He used and be used by women for pleasure. He was a reckless punk who does stupid things like stealing a government owned firetruck multiple times for sex. But he was a good Firefighter and had mad skills only lacking in discipline as per Hen. But later on in 1x01 he did help Athena to capture the thief.

Taylor was aggressive and some may say a bitch when she wanted to air it all what she caught on tape of Bobby while Dosed. But she was the one who asked first to call for the cops to save Bobby from almost jumping from the rooftop, right? It was Athena who responded.

Did Taylor used Buck in 2x08 for pleasure? I would say YES and NO. Yes, she did use Buck for pleasure and NO she didn't force him to do it with her. Buck's a grown ass man who can handle and decide for himself. He ate his own words (toasting for restraint) by having sex with her in a bar's public restroom. He did came back and met her in a parking lot and intended to invite her for a drink which insinuates for another hook up. Safe to say, they used each other and there's nothing wrong with it.

Taylor did not purposely friend zoned Buck in 4x12. I can't pin point exactly why cause we haven't gotten any back story from her but from what I've seen, she was clearly holding it back. In 4x08 Buck said "Hey come on, I'm likeable" which Taylor just stared at him teary eyed. She didn't made fun of it nor deny it because fuck it Buck is indeed likeable. So in 4x13 when she said "I'm glad we're friends" was not exactly a friendzoning him. There was nothing to friendzoned to begin with. Buck didn't make any move for it to happen either apart from his "We're a good team" words. That doesn't justify enough that he was making a move. Okay, maybe a little but it could be read as something else, right?

Taylor likes Buck and Buck likes Taylor and that was heavily implied. They like each other but they didn't know the extent of that likeness until Buck was in a vulnerable situation when Eddie got shot. Taylor was worried sick for him. Understandably, Buck didn't trust Taylor there cause he might think Taylor's just fishing information for her news story. But she didn't. Though Buck was vulnerable, he saw it. Taylor was there for Buck when no one else does. Okay, Christopher was there. Carla was there but it was Taylor who comforts him first when he needed it before Christopher comforts and reassured him that everything's gonna be okay. She held his hand when he was shaking. She drove him to Eddie's house. She was there. She was worried and Taylor didn't know how to handle that feeling either. It was kind of new to her too that the thought of Buck being hurt worried her a lot.

Taylor came back to him after she ran away after kissing him. Like I said, those feelings were new to Taylor too. She didn't know the extent of her feelings for him until the Sniper was targeting the firefighters. Unlike Abby and Ali, Taylor came back to him. For him. Because she wanted Buck and Buck willingly accepted her cause what Buck wanted all his life was for someone to want him. And Buck wanted Taylor since they've met and after they ran to each other again in 4x08.

Buck and Taylor are not perfect individuals. They had and will always have flaws. But with each other they could grow and learn all about it TOGETHER.

Buck needs someone to smack him when he's bullshitting. And Taylor is a kind of woman who doesn't buy bullshit at all. Taylor needs someone who ground her and Buck's personality alone was the right fit for her.

I am in no way shitting on Buck and Eddie as I am also open into it. Honestly, I could see Eddie's feelings for Buck mirroring to Taylor's. Afraid at first, but it was Taylor who braved and face her fears. Her feelings.

Like I also said, all these theories and speculations remains theories and speculations cause we haven't got any back story from Taylor. We didn't know her outside of her job. Why she acts the way she does, etc. So for now, my instincts tells me that Buck and Taylor are good (or better?) for each other and we'll have to see their newly found dynamic as a couple next season.

For what it's worth, Better days are comin on their way for Buck and Taylor whether they end up together as endgame or not and that's a fact.

[quickspinner]

S4E1 Truth Reactions

Just a reminder, you can filter #quickrants if you don’t want to see this kind of thing.

So...I’m not that upset.  I think I’m in the minority here, but clearly my expectations were sufficiently low and I’m really mostly okay with it. I wanted one thing out of this episode, for them to not screw up Luka’s character, and I got that. 

There’s a lot of things I’m not happy about, but all indications from early on were that they were going to break the ship up way sooner than we expected, so I kind of had time to make my peace with that. I just wanted them to keep Luka’s character intact, and for him and Marinette to part on good terms so that we can HC that they get together later when they are both more mature.

The things that I didn’t like were so typical that they didn’t even bother me that  much:

Literally every character they could possibly shoehorn in saying “Marinette is in love with Adrien Agreste” (however, note, that while every other character was talking about Adrien, aside from that first convo, Marinette was not)

Adrien didn’t even show up and it was all about him, from the rambly confusion in Marinette’s bedroom, to Luka saying “hey, if you’re still in love with Adrien, I’ll understand.” 

Chat Noir saying he would never force a secret from Ladybug when the entire episode Siren exists. I mean, regardless of how you feel about Chat’s behavior in that episode...he was trying to force the issue. If not from Ladybug, then to get Ladybug’s secret from Plagg, all without being akumatized. 

The biggest issue I have with the episode is the way they shoehorned the Couffaine family drama into it, which meant that neither plot thread got the attention it needed/deserved, and as a result, they had to skip over a lot of stuff, and the entire narrative of the episode was choppy. Would it have been that hard to have a few episodes leading up to this where we saw Marinette ditching Luka on dates, instead of cramming it all into one montage of pain? And we’re really going to go from Jagged saying that he basically ditched his family for no good reason, into Luka hugging him and letting him be the dad-comforter at the end of the ep? AND WHAT ABOUT JULEKA? Does she just not count because she’s a girl and men only care about their sons? Astruc just doubled down on the twin thing on Twitter, but we’re not even going to address that at all? 

That whole thing should have been dealt with in another episode; Luka could have found out in this one, and then we could have seen him approaching Jagged as a civilian later (maybe we’ll still see this, but I don’t have any faith it will happen) to work it all out. 

I admit I kinda screamed when Anarka said it, though. I didn’t think they would ever confirm it on air. The way it was handled, though, ugh. Jagged really comes off like a deadbeat jerk and then he just, what? Gets forgiven for no reason? After he wrote a song called “My Guitar Is My Only Family”???? 

Also, the episode as a whole was visually really ugly, and Luka really got the worst of it. Like, yikes. I don’t know why they went full on Lord of the Rings with the special effects, either, can’t you make a character look shocked without inverting the entire background? Multiple times? 

Side note: can I just say how hilarious I find it that Hawkmoth repaired the peacock Miraculous with a 50 cent pin back from Joanne’s and by saying “Repair yourself!” Just...so ridiculous.

There were a lot of things I liked.

The sincerity of the movie date. Marinette may have flaked big time not remembering it, but once they actually got out together, away from other influences, they were having so much fun! Going to see a movie they knew was terrible because they both love Jagged so much! I have hearts in my eyes. They were super cute! Their lyric guessing contest! They way they were so focused on each other and having fun. Marinette’s cute way of giving him his gift for ‘winning’ the contest, and Luka using their lyric game to ask for a kiss, and having that cute little nervous look before he really went for it. I’m gonna be watching that scene like a billion times. 

My heart broke for both of them when Marinette kept running off. I like that they made it clear that this was an ongoing thing. That one moment of Luka being snarky and upset that she didn’t come to the concert just hurt that much more because he’s normally so calm. It really hurt when he didn’t get excited that she finally arrived.

But what happened after that was so Luka. He didn’t get sulky and passive aggressive. He didn’t get upset with her in front of everybody. He took her somewhere private, somewhere that was important to him, and he gave her context for how he was feeling by sharing something private about himself, and he asked her as gently as possible what was going on. I think it’s telling that he made a point of letting her know that he was okay with it if she was still hung up on Adrien.  All he really wanted from her was confirmation that she was committed to this relationship, because after being ditched so many times it’s natural to start questioning whether she was really ready for this, and he didn’t want to be pressuring her into something. He just wanted her to tell him the truth. I think the parallel he gave her was nice, too; not only was he sort of letting her know he maybe has some abandonment issues that are making this hard for him, he’s giving her an opening to admit that she gets overwhelmed for whatever reason and that she ditches him to go hide and collect herself. In spite of all the things he is clearly feeling, he’s so careful with her, and it shows even more when he’s fighting his akumatization. Because his feelings are that she should tell him, that she should trust him, and he’s hurt that she doesn’t, but what he says, and what his behavior backs up, is that you can’t force the truth out of people (nice callback to Silencer there, where Ladybug said something similar about forcing someone to tell the truth is meaningless). He wants to believe that Marinette trusts him and has a good reason for not telling him; he wants to believe that if he can make her feel safe enough she’ll choose to confide in him. Poor guy is just trying to understand without spilling his bad feelings all over her. That’s really the core of what I like about Luka; he’s thoughtful, respectful, and gentle, but he confronts issues head on. He did it in Silencer, he did it in Felix, he did it in Miracle Queen, each time getting right to the heart of what Marinette was having trouble saying without putting pressure on her to admit anything she wasn’t ready for her. That’s what I was really, really scared of losing in this episode and I am just over the moon that they handled it so well. 

The akuma is another story, but akumas are akumas. Those where his emotions without control and I’m not upset about that. Both of Luka’s akumas were about anger and powerlessness. 

I feel deeply cheated that we didn’t get any kind of scene of Luka coming back to the boat, and Anarka having to tell him again about Jagged because he doesn’t remember, but she said it in front of everyone (including Juleka) so there’s no way to keep it a secret anymore. The cut to the breakup scene on the bridge was just so abrupt, and there was so much that should have happened between that that we should have seen.

I would have liked to have seen Marinette finding him, and asking if he’s okay, and giving him a little sympathy before finally giving him the honesty he asked for. Even when she tries to say it, that she can’t give him the relationship he deserves right now (and I’m eternally grateful that she didn’t lie to him and tell him that it actually was because of Adrien), Luka makes a choice. He closes his eyes as he hugs her (which I think is significant, given the whole third-eye imagery of Truth) and he doesn’t make her say it. Honestly, I usually feel gross about using the word ‘deserved’ in relationships, but I think it’s justified here--he deserved for her to look him in the eye and tell him that she couldn’t be with him. But he didn’t make her do it. He wasn’t angry at her, and they didn’t part with bad feelings, and he was Luka right up until the end.

Maybe it’s sad that that’s as much as I felt could be reasonably hoped for in this episode, but there it is. I’m not happy, but I’m satisfied.

[clearlynotjanus]

Loceit Appreciation Week: Day Two, Crook/Aftermath

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Chapter Summary: As the aftermath of choosing to attend Lee & Mary-Lee's wedding over Thomas' big acting break approaches, Janus extends Logan an unprecedented olive branch that results in the pair inadvertently working together.

CW: Drinking mention, very brief religion mention, philosophy Word Count: 3703 Genre: Gen, Hurt/comfort Rating: Gen Ships: Slowburn Loceit, pre-established Dukeceit, pre-established Intrulogical, slowburn intruloceit

taglist: @sanderssidesangsttrash​ @catalinaacosta​ @whatishappeningrightnow​ @anxiousbean4404​ @vexelore​ @the-dead-and-the-decaying​ @serpentinesomebody​ @poptartsaysurloved​ @robertdownerjr​ @dangitsbrightinhere​ @iamuncomffy​ @sanderdarksides​ @evertriedsoywithyourpopcorn​ @dragonfander @virgilstarantula​ @a-rudethude @indubitably-emo @gay-artist-626​ @cosplayhanna​ @edupunkn00b​ @wouldntyou-liketoknow​ @awesomerandomgirl1 @rizzyluke @loceitweek2021

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April 13th was rapidly approaching and with each passing hour, Thomas sank deeper into denial. Indecision welled as he went back and forth on the subject matter; callback or wedding, callback or wedding, the opportunity of a lifetime or a petty social engagement -- ugh. There was nothing resolute about his choice, about Roman’s choice. It was impulsive, fueled by the short lived desire to be seen as a good person. The kicker was that, even though Thomas was beginning to see this much, it didn’t matter. He would continue burying the realization under mounds of repression while justifying his discontent every way he could manage, grasping at every straw and still coming up short. 

And Janus was supposed to help him, obviously. Repression may have been Patton’s speciality at times, but lying was his jurisdiction; even and especially when those lies were told to himself -- Thomas’ self. He was expected to disregard the resentment in his heart and perform his function. Well, if Thomas could make questionable decisions, then so could Janus, and he decided that they would all find it very difficult to cope when Thomas suddenly found himself incapable of lying on the wretched day. Maybe then Janus’ argument would be taken seriously -- but that was assuming Thomas would even notice.

Stewing in these thoughts, Janus shifted in his seat. Remus, used to his malcontented fidgeting, never spared a glance, however Logan seemed to finally have had enough.

“Are you alright, Janus?” Logan asked from his position, diagonal from the other. His tone was more annoyed and straightforward than concerned. He had genuinely been interested in the show Remus had put on but found it impossible to concentrate with Janus’ excessive sighing and movement.

“I suppose,” Janus lamented, resuming his contemplative silence. Perturbed, Logan adjusted his glasses and resigned himself to sitting back.

“Well, if there’s anything to be done,” Logan offered mindlessly, allowing his sentence to trail off as his focus resumed on the television.

“Well there is one thing,” Janus seized the opportunity after a brief pause, leaning forward with a hushed tone. Logan blinked at the sudden intensity of Janus’ charm.

“And that would be?” He responded dubiously, glancing almost nervously at Remus who seemed utterly absorbed by the show, sparing no attention to either of them. Similarly, Janus opened his mouth to begin speaking, but then inhaled as he registered the fact of Remus in the room still.

“Join me in the kitchen for a moment?” Janus stood fluidly, “I think we could use a drink,” he excused the thinly veiled shift before turning and exiting for the kitchen.

Confused, Logan sat up, only then realizing how much he had leaned towards Janus in the moment. The back of his neck itched with a familiar heat and he cleared his throat.

“I guess I’ll be--” Logan started to explain but Remus quickly waved a hand and shhhh’d him aggressively. With a small smile, Logan pressed a brief kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek, earning a soft sound of appreciation before standing and following after Janus.

Logan entered as Janus finished pouring a second glass of wine. Assuming the other already filled was for him, Logan accepted and rested a hip against the counter. He crossed an arm under his elbow and watched Janus cap the wine with expectation in his raised chin, but Janus didn’t start speaking until he brought the glass to his lips.

“Something’s coming, you do realize,” he said while meeting Logan’s eyes carefully, his voice low and smooth like a secret. Janus followed his sentence with a slow sip. Logan took the pause to formulate his answer.

“That depends entirely on what you mean by ‘something,’” Logan replied hesitantly, but with a loosely concealed air of knowing. 

The date of Lee and Mary-Lee’s wedding was of little importance to him, though the ramifications on Thomas’ stress levels were vexing. The two were connected, obviously, Logan wasn’t so ignorant as to pretend otherwise; however, he couldn’t empathize nor sympathize with Thomas’ decision -- or Roman’s decision, rather. If providing support for his friends was truly paramount, then why was Thomas stressed? He was unable to sleep soundly despite understanding Remus’ behavior now. Similarly unable to concentrate on work, thoughtlessly picking at his food, distracted by persistent and troubling thoughts of guilt, remorse, and failure.

“But yes,” Logan shook his head, conceding. “Something is coming and we’re all bound to talk in circles again.” He sighed and took a sip that quickly turned into a gulp from his glass.

“They never do listen to you,” Janus pointed out sympathetically and Logan frowned, looking away. “That isn’t your fault, of course,” he quickly soothed the burning truth but Logan remained silent for several long moments. Before he spoke again, he brought his glass up for another long drink.

“It is true though,” Logan admitted with a sigh. It was Janus’ turn to frown. They were all so ignorant to ignore Logic of all sides. How Logan had kept his patience for this long was beyond him. 

“I don’t know how to make them listen,” Logan whispered, stare unfocused across the room. “Sometimes they do but,” his shoulders deflated and he rolled his eyes back up to Janus’ face, his lips lined in resigned disappointment. “More frequently they take my lessons in the opposite direction and come up with some alternative and pointless meaning,” Exasperation leaked into his tone. Janus exhaled in the following silence.

“Well, my favor,” he started after a moment and Logan blinked up, suddenly remembering what this conversation was supposed to be about, “with that in mind, is less for me than it is for you.”

Logan’s brows creased as his eyes narrowed, not in suspicion but in confusion. He opened his mouth, intending to ask how that could possibly be, but his breath was quickly stolen by Janus’ delicate hand on his shoulder as he began to leave.

“When the time comes,” Janus whispered almost directly into Logan’s ear as he leaned in. Goosebumps raised along his arms and his stomach knotted in a way he was beginning to associate with Janus specifically. “Rely on me.”

- - - - -

Another debate spent as an observer, reduced to an annoying popup ad not even most of the audience bothered to pause for; too enthralled with the meaningless, cyclical conversation enduring above. At least Logan could console himself with the idea that some people were reading what he had to say. Thomas, at the very least, already knew everything he was saying. Logic wasn’t a feeling after all but something deeply embedded. A fact that only added fuel to the fire of frustration but that wasn’t something he was concentrating on currently.

Then Patton finally asked for his input directly. Logan already knew that Patton wouldn’t like what he had to say, but it was what Thomas needed to hear; the reality that’s been lying underneath every decision they’ve ever made. It was something Patton actively avoided thinking about. The fact was that his view and use of empathy was far more akin to pity, a feeling that only thinly veiled the nihilistic complex Morality had gotten entangled with in Thomas’ youth. “God,” “fate,” and “nothingness;” were all just terms for relinquishing control of one’s life. A habit that was clearly getting Thomas into situations that weighed on him heavily.

Logan began with reciting the source material: pity runs counter to the instincts that preserve and enhance the value of life. Friedrich Nietzche’s The Anti-Christ. A fantastic read about Nietzsche's claim that Christianity is a poisoner of western culture with its inherent apathy central to westernization. That wasn’t the first sentence nor was it the opening statement of the section he was referring to, but it was a perfectly adequate summary. However Logan didn’t even finish half of his following sentence explaining Nietzche’s philosophy before a yellow and black button appeared on his textbox. Skip all -- click. No hesitation. 

No second thought.

Well, Logan did say that he was making his facts optional this time. 

Something hard suddenly wrapped around his throat and the next thing Logan knew, he was being violently torn away from the scene.

Upright on his feet, he landed in a familiar place. Blinking around the shadowy corners of the Dark Side living room, Logan cleared his throat and adjusted his tie with tense hands. How unnecessarily brutal, he thought.

“Oh hey, Lolo!” Remus greeted from the couch, suddenly realizing his forced entrance. “De -- I mean Jan just left!” A pause. “Wait,” he said slowly like he suspected them of something, but when he continued, he sounded humored again. “Did he send you to babysit me while he went and fucked with the Light Sides?”

Logan sighed, shoulders deflating. “It seems that way,” He conceded, piecing different puzzle pieces together but still getting the same result as Remus. “What are you doing, then,” Logan asked in a rather flat and tired tone as he sat down next to his boyfriend, who proceeded to gush about the diagram he had been sketching for a new building in his Duchy.

Logan guessed Janus had sent him here, in proximity and obligation to Remus, rather than stewing by himself in his room in case he found himself disagreeing with how this had been handled. Which he did, but only with the execution, and not enough to stop Janus at this point. Rely on me, Janus had said a few days ago now and at the time Logan had clammed up from the situation. Janus’ lips pressed against his ear, a hand on his shoulder, wine coursing through his blood; his mind had raced with possibilities and it wasn’t until now that Logan realized what a brilliant set up it had been. 

Hopefully Janus got through to the others easier than him. Historically that hadn’t been the case yet but there was a severe lack of data to infer from. Logan had many chances to convince the others of various rationale at this point. Janus had only the opportunity twice. It was only fair that Logan would rely on him then, and try not to be bitter about it. They had been getting nowhere when he was involved and the only Side Logan could blame was Patton.

Minutes ticked by before Logan detected an opening for further input. Janus struggled with his metaphor, faltered and Logic appeared. Not that any of you care, he began speaking only really to Patton and Roman, but I am unharmed. Janus reacted negatively, perhaps assuming Logan was upset with him for the intrusion -- And I don’t want to talk about it. He wasn’t upset. At least not with Janus.

His explanation ensued and in a rare occurrence, everyone listened. Whether that was due to Janus having gotten their attention focused on the issue at hand or Logan finally having a convincing argument, in the moment he wasn’t sure. However nothing really spoke to the fact that Janus was an emotionally inclined Side more than the way he reacted to Logan putting a legitimate name to his stance; Effective Altruism. His expression was full of clear fascination at being taught something, intrigue to know more, attentive listening; it was Janus’ debut discussion on the stage all over again. The first time Logan had been so explicitly asked for frequent contributions in what had felt like forever. Logan easily fell back into the comforting feeling of being heard -- before sinking out and preventing himself from witnessing anymore absurd contradictions.

After leaving of his own volition to his room, Logan fell back on his bed with a sigh and removed his glasses. Everything was very difficult, he thought, pinching the bridge of his nose; and it would always be difficult as long as Patton continued to be so frustratingly obtuse. Well, at least Janus got it, but seeing that he had an easier time getting through to the others felt bitter. It really did boil down to some … fallacy of Logic, didn’t it.

Logan lost track of time in the mire of his thoughts, at some point having opened his eyes to stare blindly at the ceiling. Everything had calmed down in the living room it seemed. Thomas was now preoccupied with his friends and the Sides were released to continue with their day. Only Logan wasn’t sure what it was he should be doing. A familiar question floated through his mind like an astringently sweet memory; was he even necessary?

“Well don’t you look comfy.”

“Janus,” Logan sat up and rushed to shove his glasses on.

“Oh sorry,” Janus whispered, gesturing with a limp wrist. “Was I interrupting? Were you experiencing an emotion? Should I leave?” Janus teased with drama in his soft voice. Logan cleared his throat.

“Considering you’re already here, no,” He stood and adjusted his tie. “Why are you here? I thought everything was taken care of.”

“It is,” Janus reassured smugly but then slowly crossed the room towards Logan, his eyes and fingertips indulgently dragging along the books lining the wall. “Are you saying I can’t visit?” He paused in front of Logan with pouting lips and a hurt expression. Standing a few inches too close, he reached a gloved hand to smooth the back of Logan’s mussed bed hair. “Check up on you?”

“I didn’t say that.” Heat overtook his face as he quickly looked away, dislodging the hand in his hair with the movement. “You can. I just wasn’t expecting you.” Janus frowned.

“I don’t know why,” he replied, quietly astounded. Didn’t they have an agreement? Why wouldn’t he come to...debrief or whatever after all that? Janus’ lips pursed in a wounded expression as he watched Logan take steps away, looking everywhere but up at him. “That’s beside the point however.” He huffed a soft sigh and tilted his head, attempting to meet Logan’s eyes. “You’re very angry, aren’t you?” He guessed. For once Logan wasn’t denying any of his emotions which was both progress and rather troublesome. The misguided assumption prompted Logan to finally acknowledge his gaze again at least. Janus thought his face was rather unreadable.

“No,” Logan shook his head, giving his own heavy sigh. “Frustrated,” he admitted like Janus was pulling his teeth.

Janus hummed with understanding, raising his chin with a nod. “Well I apologize,” He offered seriously, lifting half of his mouth in a genuine expression. “Perhaps I should’ve been a tad more explicit beforehand,” Janus shrugged shallowly, willing to admit his fault. “It did work however, so I thank you for relying on me. As ... difficult as that may have been.” Janus finished, all too aware of how manipulated Logan might feel; how artificial the moments of closeness they had together lately must suddenly seem -- and while Janus wouldn’t put that sort of thing past himself, it wasn’t true in this case.

“No,” Logan shook his head, blinking at Janus’ seriousness. “I’m not frustrated with you,” he explained slowly, diverted from his frustration for a moment in the misunderstanding.

“You’re not?” Confusion mixed with intrigue on Janus’ face. “Well, what are you frustrated with then?”

Logan rapped knuckles against his desk in thought, looking away from Janus again and down at the action. It was with pride that he regarded himself as Thomas’ language center. Words came easily to him, most of the time. Struggling to phrase things wasn’t an obstacle he faced frequently. However, more often than not, Janus made this part of his job difficult. At the same time, it wasn’t something he’d blame Janus for. It wasn’t Janus’ fault Logan thought he was captivating, distracting. Beautiful.

Logan’s knuckles went still on the desk. “As usual, I find myself frustrated with emotions.” Janus’ brow twitched; was it not just frustration he was feeling? Was there something more he couldn’t articulate? “More specifically,” Logan continued and rolled his eyes back up at Janus, “I’m frustrated with Patton, which is nothing new.”

“Ahh,” Janus breathed, the sound turning into a gentle chuckle. If he had been worried, the concern began to melt away. “Yes,” he nodded slowly, “I can easily imagine that.” Janus thought on their own interaction before his arrival here, in Logan’s room. It was ... very awkward. Patton seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further, or perhaps Janus had just been trying to beat a dead horse. “He’s very naive and difficult to communicate with.” Janus scrunched his nose. 

Historically, he had an easy enough time understanding Patton. He was soft, liked to see the best in people even when he had very clear evidence not to. Patton was emotional and stubborn. There wasn’t anything too complicated about him that Janus didn’t get. It was when he attempted to employ the reverse of Patton understanding him where tragedy struck. For someone who boasted about empathy, Morality had an awful time seeing where Janus came from.

“Yes, precisely. He’s so stubborn,” Logan agreed enthusiastically. As he continued, he began to gesture wildly, speaking with his hands as much as his words to convey his growing level of frustration. “It’s incredible that you’re able to get through to him so effectively when I have been trying to do the same for years now. I mean, stubborn is a kind word for him at this point and he continues to prove that at every moral junction we come to. No, not even just moral junctions; daily undertakings and productivity suffer constantly because of his unreliability! It’s just,” Logan sputtered a humorless laugh, his hands falling hard against his thighs. “Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.”

Janus paused after Logan’s rant came to an end, cocking his head thoughtfully. In the silence Logan caught his breath with a heavy sigh.

“Sorry, I … didn’t mean to blow up on you like that,” Logan apologized, dismissively shaking his head as embarrassment knotted his stomach.

“Oh no, it’s quite alright. Actually I appreciate it,” Janus quickly snuffed out Logan’s self consciousness. The words felt genuine enough and Logan took a deep breath in an attempt to quell the rising self resentment that predictably followed his emotional expression. “I was just contemplating your words, is all,” Janus continued reassuringly, and the sentiment took Logan by surprise. Why had he assumed Janus’ silence meant dismissal of his admission? “I suppose it simply comes down to a matter of communication methods,” Janus glanced to the side in a reflective pause. “You’re a teacher,” He continued after a moment, a gentle smile on his lips as he met Logan’s eyes again. “But Patton doesn’t take very well to being told things.” Logan snorted a knowing and arid laugh, but then thought on how Janus had communicated with Patton in the past.

“You also tell him things,” Logan’s brows furrowed. “He just seems to readily listen to you.”

“Ah, there’s a difference though,” Janus wagged a flimsy finger. “I don’t tell him anything he doesn’t already know at that point in the conversation. Patton’s like … a horse that desperately needs to drink, but refuses to, even when you bring the water to him directly. In such a case, you need to lead the horse to the water. But how do you get him there? Well, in Patton’s case, asking him questions that in turn make him question his own motives tends to work.”

“Ah, the Socratic method,” Logan interrupted as Janus paused.

“Exactly,” He nodded before continuing, “But more importantly, I hear his justifications. I try to see where he’s coming from so I can...clear a path, so to say, from his point A to wherever my point is.” Logan hummed thoughtfully and marveled at the amount of consideration Janus put into his communication with Patton. 

It was admirable and Logan found himself agreeing, once again, with the many flattering adjectives Remus has used for his partner in the past. Graceful, patient, and ridiculously smart. His current explanation made a lot of sense, and Logan felt a bit stupid. He chuckled dryly and looked down, adjusting his glasses. Janus cocked his head, expression perplexed with raised brows.

“Did I say something funny?”

“No,” Logan sighed, “The opposite. You made a great point and I was wondering how I had never thought of that myself.” He admitted with an impressive amount of vulnerability. While the compliment felt nice, mostly Janus was now smiling with pride in Logan’s new found understanding and the handful of walls he had dropped in the process.

“Sometimes,” Janus sighed with a smile, approaching Logan as he had earlier; with steps that placed him just a little too close. “You just need some perspective.” He reached up with both hands and flattened Logan’s collar affectionately, the unexpected gesture making him inhale briskly. “I mean, we all do,” Janus continued, resting his fingers gently against Logan’s collar bones. “Not just you, of course.” 

“Of course,” Logan repeated in a whisper that was more breath than words. Having Janus this close, he suddenly felt whatever intelligible response he may have had evaporate on his tongue as a heat quickly consumed his neck all the way to his cheeks. 

Janus’ smile twitched wider as he lingered, mischievous amusement sparkling in his eyes. Logan was so easy to rile up; even with a foot between them right now, Janus could feel the attraction rolling off him like heat off concrete in the summer. If he continued to stand here, what would Logan do?

“How are you feeling now?” Janus asked after a silent moment. Under his hands, he could feel Logan’s heart rate pick up.

“Fine,” Logan answered automatically, the word cracking indecently. He cleared his throat which marginally brought his senses back. “Fine,” He repeated, shaking his head with a small smile. Janus thought the expression seemed a little forced. 

“Good,” Janus nodded shallowly and paused for another beat before turning away, leaving the air around Logan significantly easier to breathe. “Well, if you need anything else,” Janus’ voice trailed off as he twisted the doorknob with one hand and raised another to delicately wave his fingers goodbye.

When his door clicked shut, Logan fell heavily back on his bed again with a groan that ended in a sigh.

Chapter One || Chapter Three