#uhhhh this got long sorry

[arainaizevran]

do you ever think about how Wyll's like second ever camp event is him getting tortured (put through The Torment Of The Hells?? drastic physical changes he did not consent to??) on screen in front of the whole camp and he tries to act like that was an okay and deserved thing for Mizora to do to him

During that scene with Karlach's confrontation, Wyll already knew that was something bad going to happen to him if he let her live. That's why he tries to rationalize it at first--"You served [Zariel]. That's enough to damn you."--and he still hesitates after--"You're asking me to trust a devil." But he saw the tadpole vision too, he knows Karlach is just a tiefling. He's been misled once again; he doesn't want to believe it, but the evidence is right there and he cannot deny that.

The thing is - he didn't know that he'll only get transformed. As far as warlock pacts go, he should have died or got sent straight to hell as punishment for disobeying orders. Fully knowing that possibility of dying or worse, Wyll saves Karlach anyway. Because it's the right thing to do.

In a way, I don't think Wyll thinks he deserves his punishment. His first line when you talk to him after is "Gods damn her straight back to Hells." and "I did what was right. And Mizora made me pay for it."

He has some awareness that he doesn't deserve what happened, but at the end of the day, he's still pacted, so he just takes whatever Mizora dishes out on him while trying to make the best out of it that he can.

Wyll also says, "It was worth the sacrifice," and that's pretty much the sum of his character. To be self-sacrificing time and time again. And maybe he thinks it's a sacrifice that he consciously makes instead of something that's thrust upon him without giving him a choice. Just like his pact, and just like everything else in his life. If he rationalizes it as a choice he makes, then he's not a victim, he's not abused or exploited. He's a hero, and heroes just have to make sacrifices for the greater good sometimes.

(Contrary to this, he does have a choice and it's a choice he keeps making, which is to do good things with his powers, rather than just succumbing to Mizora's evil influence. With his pact, he could've easily ran away and left the city to burn, and with Karlach, he could've easily followed Mizora's orders and killed her. But in both cases, he doesn't. Standing up to the devil on his shoulder is something that takes great strength.)

[dykedvonte]

The second fic idea is a what-if scenerio where Jimmy dies in the crash due to and altercation with Curly and how Curly would navigate being Captain once he has to notice the little things and how he and Anya's relationship develop as he adopts an identical view point to hers rather than just keeping the peace.

And maybe i will write it but only time will tell tbh but it's stuck in my brain dome for the time being.

[baalzebufo]

ive been rewatching gravity falls starting this week only this time around I have access to the commentary tracks i've never listened to before and

lemme tell ya, I don't need any sort of 'confirmation' from a source on the show when it comes to my headcanons. but hearing alex hirsch describe his idea for gideons origins as a talented kid who was born a 'freak' with his white hair and generally weird nature being kinda ostracised by his peers. and then finding a promise of power in the journal and it unlocking a little evil in him. feels very validating to be like ahhh. we were on the same wavelength...

im gonna put some doodles I did of Even Younger Gideon here because, i've been comin around on changing my previous backstory to lean into the 'town darling' thing more oops haha

everyone in town loves him! well, the adults, anyway. because hes cute and funny. and he doesnt understand WHY the other kids DONT like him. (the 'real' reason is just, they're kids. sometimes kids are rude to people who are different. bullying happens.) and if his identity is built around 'everyone loves me!' then what does it mean if they dont? he can't tell anyone. then the facade will crack. his parents will be disappointed if they find out, he thinks. so he internalizes it. until it reaches a boiling point.

like, I totally get it- when i was a kid id have elaborate fantasies at school about doing something So Cool And Badass that everyone would like me or be mad that they didnt like me before and the ppl who were mean to me would have to suck it. but those stayed fantasies. gideon was given the power to make those real, and turned into a monster about it

[musubiki]

I forgot if you talked abt this, but does the whole "being on the same level as mochi" thing ever come up in honest conversation between them? Seems like an entire...thing that really influences lime's choices when it comes to the main conflict. I would think either some time after mochi's over her initial jealousy, or heck wayyy after they stop the witch king

oooo youre right i dont think ive talked much about it or at all.,... but YEAH a very key part of limes character is his need to be on the same level as her...partly a pride thing, partly a "i dont feel like i have the right to stand beside her unless i can compete with her" thing

(sorry for the long post rambles, apparently i have a lot more thoughts on this than i thought it did)

but actually this comes up WAY sooner, its WAY too big of an elephant in the room post-timeskip to go un-talked about. pre-timeskip lime could kind of quietly work away at trying to be better, but post-timeskip the m-34th thing is too obvious of a flag for mochi to think everything is okay with him

i think the issues really starts to be hashed out when mochi, at some point (relatively quickly after they reunite), brings up the notion of him quitting the m-34th. to an extent she understood why he joined, he gave her a bunch of reasons why he joined the regiment in the first place (jumping around a bunch of excuses like "They have good benefits" / "I was bored" / etc before finally telling her the truth that "I wanted to find you"), but what she didnt understand is why he stays in

she gave it a bit of time, they went through the whole "well you left me" vs "you joined the organization that exists to kill us" -> "call it even, water under the bridge" thing, and she thought that after a few weeks (months?) he would quit and just be part of her guild again, but he doesnt.

and when she asks him about it, he dodges the question, gives shit answers, dismisses it, a bunch of different things with the underlying message being "I'm not leaving you, but I'm not gonna quit working for them."

and she doesnt want to give him the "choose me or them" ultimatum either (even though pom seems all for it), because 1.) it feels like a shitty thing to do to him, if hes fighting this hard to stay in she doesnt want him to be unhappy, and 2.) shes afraid he might actually choose them

she starts to think a lot of things, that maybe he harbors some bitterness towards her, maybe he doesnt want to put all his eggs in one basket, maybe hes secretly feeding them information on her behind her back, ALL kinds of things.

eventually (and upsettingly) she gets the truth from clarinette. it takes fucking clarinette babbling her mouth away for mochi to get something that she hasnt gotten from lime himself. clarinette (in her delulu) wants to brag a little in the vein of "Haha he confided in me and not in you haha," and mentioned that when she asked him why he stays, he told her "The m-34th makes me stronger" or something along those lines.

and mochis first thought is "I can make him stronger too, he doesnt need to go to them."

and when she CONFRONTS him and tells him this, he gives her a flat "No, you can't." and it FEELS very cold when he says it. she can see the bitterness (bitterness???) behind his eyes when he says it. and its not a bitterness TOWARDS HER, its more of a "I spent 2 years before you left trying everything I could to make myself worthy of you this, and it did nothing. I would take 1 step forward and you would take 5. I'm not going back to that."

so this confrontation became one of those make it or break it conversations for lime, because his only two options were 1) tell mochi the actually pretty embarrassing and pathetic truth, or 2) risk losing her because shes already doubting him enough as it is

i think he probably tries route 2 first though. and whatever it is he tells her, he can see something in her eyes (mistrust? failing faith? fear?) which tells him "Oh no, oh shit, oh god, backtrack you idiot, BACKTRACK!!!" because if he lets this narrative go on for even a few minutes more, hes not going to be able to come back from it.

so he eventually actually does tell her the truth!! and he hates doing it. he really does feel pathetic. its so petty and stupid, he thinks. he shouldnt be trying to compete with the cat witch, hes supposed to be supportive. but he fucking hates being ONLY supportive. he wants to add something, contribute something meaningful, not just be a little accessory/sidekick to mochi.

and (as already mentioned) he cant do that without the m-34th. pre-timeskip he felt useless. and relative to mochi, he was. she wont say it, but she didnt need him. she would reassure him and tell him "You're amazing Lime!" but deep down she knew that after Amanita was dealt with and she was the full-fledged cat witch, she could do all of it on her own (and proves it when she leaves and takes none of them with her). she liked having him there (obviously), but anything he could do she could do better.

he felt like he just took up space, and when she left without telling him or taking him with her, it essentially proved his point. it was not even just a "I dont need you" thing anymore, it was now a "I don't need you, and I also know you don't have the means or ability to change that" and that fucking HURT.

the m-34th though....those guys really honed the shit out of his strengths. on an insane level. they gave him so many skills and tools as a black canvas to do SO MANY THINGS and SO WELL, and maybe this does bring up some resentment to the guild and magic?? that he had so much untapped potential that mochi could just not bring out in an effective way, it essentially bottlenecked him (not her fault, its hard to build the talents of an anti-magic person by using magic).

but these guys...as "bad" as they are (so the witches say), they gave him (and still give him) the power to change that which he hated about himself the most. so that "I don't need you, and I also know you don't have the means or ability to change that" thing can finally FINALLY be met with "Yeah you do, and yeah I fucking can."

so all these feelings manifest as "I won't leave the m-34th because they make me strong enough to stand by your side and not at your feet." AND THEY DO!!!!!! and he probably doesnt say those words directly but everything he DOES say communicates it enough for mochi to see it

(and he probably tells her all of this. she just listens)

so mochi, eventually, understands this. it took the whole pre-timeskip period and some of the post-timeskip period to get there, but she understands him a little more now (and a side of him she didnt know was there). i dont think theres anything she can do to change this aspect of him, but she at least understands his reasons and respects his freedom to pursue that which gives him peace, even if it conflicts with her uh.....occupation (nature?) as a witch. she also can tell him, without any lies or nice little reassurances that "You really are amazing, Lime." in a way she could never be, and he got there on his own, without her. i think shes happy just to know the truth, and know that hes not like betraying her or something. also she probably finds it kinda sweet that he works so hard to stand by her, but tries not to let it go to her head (or her heart) because at least half of it is a lime pride thing and not a mochi love thing

he also throws in a very lime-esq ending on it like "There I said it happy now??? Never make me talk about this again." while completely red-faced. he really does hate this side of himself but he cant help it.

[slimslamflimflam]

hi gamers i really like peppinoise and by extension pizzanelle (?) so i made a thing!!!!!!!!

also sugary spire trio all being in love is real in my heart,,,, they are sillies and deserve happiness :]

[asterroses]

how do i explain to people that my favorite game right now is a skyrim mod but also not really a skyrim mod in the sense of "it adds a mod to skyrim" but in the way of "it makes skyrim into a whole new game" . im obsessed can u tell

[enhanced-operatives-division]

i would love to hear about the ollie and handler crack ship here’s a silly doodle as well

LOVE THE DOODLE YOU SEE THE VISION!!!

Also this got my ass to design Ollie so:

(Love him - Also redesigned Reggie for this too so thanks!!)

And idk if it's moreso a crackship or a rarepair that only works in an AU (HACKS up Starstruck), but Reggie's line of "...and I hope Ollie made it out too. I hope a lot of things." It's totally me reading into it but like,,,,I want them to talk because Ollie is not dead to me in my heart of hearts.

Maybe the only change is like Reggie taps into the communication on the radio in Hot Water instead of using the earpiece, so Ollie ends up hearing him also? And they end up getting along really well (with Reggie having to jump through a couple hoops to be like "haha what agency..."). There's an Agency base in the South-East coast of Australia and maybe the Agency ends up adopting him after he washes up on the shore with the escape pod (after HEAVY questioning).

Alas take a doodle of my own:

Transcript (it's just canon lines):

Ollie: "She's being controlled, it's not her fault."

Reggie: "Agent, I have 0 experience dealing with giant security squids."

[youssefguedira]

🌻?

as someone who wants to go into film ive been Musing a lot lately on the idea of making films and probably art in general about a certain group's experience and marketing it that way, particularly in the sphere of films about "womanhood" that are marketed / discussed accordingly. and wrt to that specifically i have come to the conclusion i don't think it's possible to make a film about "womanhood" / the experience of being a woman because it always ends up being like. a specific subgroup's experience of being a woman and/or limited in its scope BY virtue of trying to include everyone, simply because by trying to include an entire experience in 1 piece of art will limit your ability to delve into it any further than the surface level. my biggest case for this is barbie which is trying to be a film about Being a Woman but ends up portraying a limited experience of it more than anything. and i think that's like, fine, but i also think calling it a film about Women necessarily creates an expectation that it will be relatable to all women, which is not possible, the same way making a movie about the lgbt experience won't be relatable to all lgbt people. i think it's significantly more impactful instead to make a movie about A Woman who is complex and multifaceted. like i KNOW barbie is necessarily a film where barbies will be kind of two dimensional because of being like. barbies but even still ken feels like a more developed character which is uhhhhh something. not to compare anatomy of a fall to barbie but i'm going to do that in that film sandra is complicated and mean and ambiguous and that is doing a lot more for the representation of women on screen (not that everything is a question of representation but that's another can of worms) simply by letting its female lead be a complete person with depth. challengers does this too to an extent. ultimately i think what barbie DOES get right is the theme of growing up + in some parts barbie's desire to become human. that there is significantly more compelling than its nods towards feminism. and i'm not gonna say i expected mattel's toy commercial to be a subversive masterpiece and the circumstances of its production are significantly different to anatomy of a fall but when the film is lauded as being about womanhood i WILL be poking holes in that argument because i love to complain and overthink. if they hadn't done that i wouldve liked it. and anyway barbie's feminism falls flat even beyond the surface level because at the end barbie still has to a) manage ken's emotional reaction and b) apologise for being unavailable romantically which as an aro person i Don't like. which may be somewhat influencing my opinion on the film. i think this may be word salad at this point so sorry if this is entirely incomprehensible but in conclusion: anatomy of a fall is a good film

tldr: making a film/piece of art about a specific group's experience (i.e. "womanhood") and marketing it as such is kind of reductive and really difficult because you can never really capture the diversity of experiences of being a woman, lgbt, etc. more effective to make a film about 1 specific experience in said group and allowing that character to be a multifaceted person

[neriyon]

Not all who wander are lost - South Shroud

South Shroud Landing │ Upper Paths │ Buscarron's Druthers │ Urth's Gift

"During my travels, I met a man who mentioned visiting the Black Shroud as a young lad. He talked about the forest with both reverence and fear in his voice. Of lush trees that seemed to drown out the sun itself. Of bubbling streams that hosted beastkin larger than fully grown hyur. Of roots so big and old they were tearing apart ancient fortresses.

It got me thinking.

Of the trees that gave shade during warm summer days. Of beasts that my sisters hunted for food. Of stories of past civilizations told by elders. Curious how things I'd grown to find pleasant during my childhood seemed to scare this traveller, who'd only heard the deafening silence of the cold nights and missed the warm laughter of a family around the campfire."

Bonus! Alternative pic of Urth's Gift since I really liked the colors on it

[holocene-sims]

another text post (but this time about the story)

hello, it's me again! listen, i know it's been since february that i've posted the story (or...actually really anything substantial at all...) but TADA!

there's a story queue to get going!

edit: and by get going, i mean it's already going. i forgot to post this announcement first. oops!

the queue is roughly about two weeks long and will post twice a day, as usual, at 8 and 9PM EST!

fair warning that i'm running the queue while i'm away in ireland without access to my computer or tumblr, so i won't be able to fix the next // previous links or refill the queue again until i get back! but as soon as i return, i'll do replies and housekeeping :)

[definitelynotshouting]

hi tem!! 72, 77, 78!!

Ask me fanfic writer questions!

Omg hello!!! Eidnwjdjdj i shouldve guessed i'd get 77 immediately 😂😂😂😂

72.) what do you do if a scene gets too serious?

Generally im almost always aiming for serious on some level, tbh-- thats my favorite thing to write about!! Even while writing comedy, i tend to go for more serious undertones; in the case that im going intentionally for pure humor, though, and the scene comes out a little more serious than intended, i try to dial it back by focusing on banter, adding a bit of humor to the narration itself, and essentially laying the scene out in a way that's intentionally meant to draw your attention to whats supposed to be funny.

On the whole, though, serious scenes are my JAM and i adore writing them, so its not often i run into this problem!!

77.) how do you write kissing scenes?

OH BOY. OKAY. this is the point, i suppose, where i mention the Kissing Seminar.

The Kissing Seminar is a very informal discussion i held in one of my discord servers and later transcribed to a google doc when the topic of how to write kisses came up. Full disclosure: i kiss a lot. I love kissing. Ive kissed a ton of people in my life and i kiss my partner constantly. So when im writing kisses, i am pulling DIRECTLY from my own experiences on how it feels and how i do it (and sometimes i do need refreshers; last time i wrote a kiss i had to pause, kiss my partner for a minute, and then go back to writing. Partner reported being INCREDIBLY confused by the abruptness but was pleased to receive smooches until the next day when i informed them of why, and then they hit me with a pillow SJDNEJDJEJJS 😂😂😂😂)

Anyway, the Kissing Seminar is something ive been meaning to pretty up and post for public consumption time and time again, but havent yet because its just so currently low on the priority list. But it details HOW to kiss, and what to expect, and some options for how to write it if you want to go for something more detailed rather than just saying "they smooched". As a tl;dr, its generally all about body placement, rhythm, and emotions-- and the intermingling between them. If you want to write good kisses, focus on all three of these things, and it'll help you out a lot

78.) how do you choose where to end a chapter?

I go off of instinct, mostly!!! Usually i try to keep my chapters all to a similar length (so for hunger au, im aiming for 4-5k each time), and because i know how long most of my scenes take (about 1-2k depending) im able to round off where things should stop after a certain amount of scenes have been written. Sometimes its not precise, though-- last chapter of litd was meant to have the Pearl conversation fully in it, but Tango ended up being the primary focus, and i couldnt really edit that out without sacrificing a lot. So as soon as i found a good stopping place, i went ahead and finished the chapter.

Good stopping places for me are where a scene naturally ends and begins to transition into a new one-- think like movie clips, or scenes in a play. To continue using hunger au chap 4 as an example, the final "clip" so to speak started with Tango and Grian on the couch, and ended with Tango leaving the set while Pearl took his place. I found this to be a really good natural stopping point for the chapter, because Pearl and Grian's convo is very different from the way Tango and Grian's went, so it requires a different tone and new atmosphere to fully delve into that. I find that when the tone of a scene changes, or something new is happening, or time is shown to have passed in some way, these are naturally good places to stop a chapter.

I think this is often why people will choose to end their chapters with their characters falling asleep-- its a natural transition that people instinctively recognize as moving things forward, so it acts as a way to separate one scene from the next. The problem with relying on that alone though is that it can become very repetitive, so its important to be able to start pinpointing all your transition sentences or paragraphs so you can find other places and ways to end chapters and add in some variety

As with all things, though, this isnt a hard and fast rule; i can think of several ways one might want to lean on that for thematic purposes, or using it as a motif, or just a particular expression of style. Really what it comes down to is what you want from your story, and the best ways to achieve that; a good editor in particular will help you find a way to do that. Wkdnwke sorry this became sort of a very extended ramble, but as a professional editor and a longtime writer i find the subject fascinating and feel like mechanics like this arent really talked about often enough. Anyway thank you for listening to my little soapbox if you read all the way through, and thank you so much for the questions!!!!! :DD

[quietwingsinthesky]

Very interested to see what you do with this w the Amy/Rory/Doctor/River polycule

see this has so much potential now right? the angst alone.

because imagine you fall in love with this woman, this incredible woman who drops in at her own whim to cause chaos and save your life and flirt with your doctor. who has all of his future tucked away in a little blue book, and — you hope — all of yours, too. imagine you fall in love with her when she knows everything about you and you can’t know anything about her — spoilers, after all.

imagine you kiss her for the first time (seems only fair, if the doctor gets to, if you get to kiss the doctor, if the doctor gets to kiss your wife) and she lets you. just lets you. which isn’t like river song at all, to just let anything happen to her. but when you stop, she’s looking at you as sad as you’ve ever seen her. you don’t know what that means, but you do remember one of the few things she’s told you, that all the doctor’s firsts, and it must stand to reason, your firsts, are her lasts. you tell yourself you will kiss her again and kiss her often, as if that can make up for the fact that to her, she’ll never have it again. (and, obviously, your wife agrees, because what she wants, she’ll have, her boys and her river song.)

there was never any way not to fall in love with her, really. that’s simply what you do when someone falls out of the sky, or, better put, out of one spaceship and into the one you call home. how do you nearly die together, save the universe, bond over the doctor’s terrible fashion choices, without loving her? the doctor falls slowest, falls hardest, with a crash that rings through the whole universe, and the next time he sees her, he’s got his own book to match hers. and when the four of you are together, there’s nothing that can hurt you.

except that the doctor dies. and then there’s three months running from monsters you can’t remember. and there’s a body that isn’t yours that melts away (you feel that. don’t tell the doctor, but you feel it, every last second, until there’s nothing left of you and all you can ask is ‘why?’) and then there’s a daughter you get to hold for two minutes. tell her fairy tales come true, about the Last Centurion and the Doctor and your River Song, because they’re going to come for you.

well. two of them do. and river song arrives too late and right on time.

and you fell in love with her. you all fell in love with her. what else could you do?

there’s melted flesh on your dress. will she remember any of that? will your daughter remember that you tried to hold onto her, you fought so hard, you held on so tight, and it doesn’t matter unless she remembers. but if she remembers that, she’ll remember being taken from you as well, and that’s almost too much to bear, the thought of her falling from your arms into nothing and asking you ‘why? why couldn’t you have saved me?’

river song takes your hand, and you kiss her, and she still lets it happen. or lets it happen for the first time.

and then she tells you that she’s your daughter.

hell of a spoiler, right?

So, you know, something like that, I imagine. Plus, if we wanted to get real funky-fucky with it, we’d have an excuse to toss out the stupid ‘get pregnant on a tardis and have a time lord baby’ thing and just make the doctor the one who knocked amy up. (or who knocked her up with rory with weird time lord sex that allows there to be multiple fathers, who knows.) not that he would know until the bombs all drop, because he’d insist it was only rory’s and rory would agree. and then, seeing river’s dna would be the world’s worst paternity test, you know?

[unnamed-atlas]

Having brain worms. What if uhhhhhh SOS Mianite au

[pea-brain]

outfit designs for my sister's oc lei-hua fan<3

[legolasghosty]

Ohh for the fluffy dialogue prompts can you do 2. “I feel like I can breathe better with you around.” for Willex please? <3

Yessss, I am so sorry about how long it's taken me to get to this!!! But here you go!!! Also... I am so very sorry for how angsty this got! Send me another ask and I'll get you some actual fluff next time! Yikes!

Alex waits till the hall light clicks off. Then he counts slowly to 100 to give his parents plenty of time to get to their room and shut the door. Once he's sure they're out of earshot, he slowly sits up and pulls his phone from under the pillow. There's a text from Willie on the screen from about five minutes ago.

Willie - I'm outside. Do you need help?

Alex quickly types out a negative response, then forces himself up and out of his bed. This won't take long, and the noise generated by a second person would greatly increase the chances of him getting caught.

He can't get caught. Not this time. Not after...

No. He's getting out tonight. Away from rules that don't make sense and pointed glances and people surrounding him, laying hands on his shoulders, all praying aloud at once and proclaiming victory over The Enemy when Alex collapsed to the floor, tears leaking from his eyes as he fought to keep from drowning.

He can't take it anymore. Not after that. He can't fake it.

Alex pulls out the half packed suitcase from under his bed. No time to be tidy, he just has to be fast and quiet.

The last couple of his comfy shirts and pants go into the suitcase, then some socks and underwear. One of his warmer coats and a white button down go in as well. Gotta be practical when running away from your homophobic family, right?

Willie promised to handle all the hygiene products, so Alex doesn't bother risking a trip to the bathroom for his toothbrush or shampoo. He adds all of the spare drumsticks he keeps at home to the suitcase. There aren't many. In goes a picture of him and his big sister when they were in middle school, and the cardboard box that holds all of Alex's ticket stubs and cards and things from his friends.

And that's it. There's other things in the room of course, but nothing Alex wants to take with him. Most of it doesn't even feel like it belongs to him anyways.

It belongs to Alexander Mercer, the quiet, serious boy who studies his Bible all the time and never talks back to his parents and blushes at the thought of holding hands with the pastor's daughter. Not Alex, the snarky, anxious wreck who wrestles with his friends and plays his drums till his hands tremble and curls up against his boyfriend's side at movie nights.

Alex takes a shaky breath. When was the last time he got a proper breath? Has he even been breathing the last hour or so? He's not sure.

He zips up the suitcase, grabs his fanny pack, and texts Willie that he's ready to go. He receives a heart and a thumbs up in less than 30 seconds.

It takes him a minute to get the window open. The last time it got opened was probably last fall or something. As he carefully removes the screen, something moving outside catches his eye.

"Alex?" comes a soft whisper.

"Yeah, right here," Alex responds, placing the screen on his bedroom floor.

Willie appears on the other side a moment later, the dim light from the street casting shadows over their face. Alex feels his lips twist up in his first real smile of the day.

"Hey," Willie murmurs, resting his hands on the window sill. "You wanna get out of here?"

Alex bites back a sob and nods.

It takes them a few minutes to get Alex's stuff out the window and into Willie's car. Once it's done, Willie guides Alex over to the passengers side and helps him in before running around to hop into their own seat.

Willie places the key in the ignition, then turns to Alex. "You sure?"

Alex doesn't hesitate. "Yeah. Let's get out of here."

Willie nods and turns the car on. They drive slowly out of Alex's neighborhood, then turn onto a bigger street. Alex tries to focus on the stores they're driving past to ground himself, but it doesn't work.

What does work is focusing on Willie. Paying attention to the strands of hair that have escaped their low bun to frame their face. Noticing the way his hoodie sleeves are bunched up around his elbows because Willie always runs warm. Taking in the way the tapping of their fingers against the steering wheel matches the beat of the music playing softly from the radio. Memorizing the determined glint in his eyes when the streetlights catch them.

Alex loves them. And he knows that a love like theirs can't be wrong. It's just love, just like anyone else's.

Willie pulls into their driveway and parks the car. Alex looks up at the dark Covington residence and takes in another shaky breath.

"You ready for this?" Willie asks, turning to Alex and holding out a hand.

Alex laces their fingers together and squeezes. The steady pressure of Willie's hand in his seems to relieve some of the tightness in his chest. The caring, concerned look in their eyes removes the huge weight pressing down on his shoulders. The gentle tone of his voice slows the massive waves battering Alex's mind.

"What?" Willie says then, smiling. "What's that look for?"

The question startles a chuckle out of Alex. "I feel like I can breathe better with you around," he answers softly.

"I'm glad," Willie murmurs.

He slowly raises his other hand to cup Alex's cheek, giving him plenty of time to pull away as they lean in. Alex doesn't, instead meeting them halfway in a sweet kiss.

After a second, Alex pulls back. "Shall we get inside?" he says.

Willie nods and gives him a wide smile. "I thought you'd never ask."

[faereun]

'i've been around long enough to know that good things never last." / @illithide , astarion && genesis

now, genesis has never claimed herself to be an optimist  —  that being said, she's always at least   tried   to look on the bright side of things. alas, one can only peer  through  the  dark   begging for light for so long until they become disillusioned. one can only have so much faith before they are betrayed by their beliefs, ideals razed by   THE  CRUEL  REALITY   of the universe and its many villains. astarion's words hit the druid like a particularly nasty   [ ice  knife , ] heart dropping to her stomach. the vampire spawn certainly isn't wrong  —  he knows suffering better than the majority of them. knows suffering best , even. she fiddles with the side of her belt anxiously, fingers darting in and out through the loops of her alchemy pouch. 

the druid thinks back to the very beginning of her tale, to her father leaving her in that   creaking  old  house   , never to return. she thinks of the grove that had eventually taken her in, only to   [ cast  her  out ]   when she had proven too much a liability. she remembers her arrival in baldur's gate, finally finding work under the alchemist at danthelon's dancing axe, just to be whisked away a few tendays later   —  dropped into a mindflayer ship, with   a  parasite  squirming   behind her eye. finally, she lands on her   MOST  RECENT  RECOLLECTION   of disappointment: praying to her mother for salvation, the demigoddess's most desperate pleas ultimately going unanswered.

she looks up to meet the rogue's searching gaze, her eyes apologetic and the set of her mouth sorrowful.   'i only wish that i could prove you wrong, here and now. that i were more the positive type  —  like karlach, maybe. but i think i may near be just as cynical as you,'   the wood elf laughs drily. for a moment, she just watches astarion, noting how their eyes seem duller than usual, their skin somehow even more pallid. it makes the marrow of her bones hurt. she aches to reach out and hold him close, tightly to the thud thud thud of her heart against her ribcage.

mustering up what little courage she has, [ her bravery sapped ] from the toiling of the day, genesis brings her hand to rest atop astarion's. she gives them a   SHAKY  ,  WEARY  SMILE   , and squeezes their palm against hers.   'but, for what it's worth? to me, at least, this is a good thing. and i'm here. and i don't plan on going anywhere any time soon, worm or no,'   she murmurs, glancing away once more.

 'i … have not often been privy to good things. but i am nothing if not fiercely dedicated to my wellbeing, and my happiness. and it would seem that you have become a part of that, in some ways. so. all that is to say … i will try and make this last, until i take my last breath . ' and she means it, truly. so long as astarion will have her, genesis will remain steadfast at his side — whether that's as a trusted confidante and friend, or more.