#ultimately these are just made-up characters

[honey-tongued-devil]

[Arcane preference] reacting to a jealous s/o

Disclaimer: I’ve had about ten different requests regarding jealousy, and while this doesn’t cover all of them, it does address some. Disclaimer #2: It would be out of character to write that everyone handles it perfectly, so read at your own discretion. Lastly, as always, I’ve got an Arcane longfic in progress! If you’d like to read it, click HERE, and it’ll take you straight to the AO3 page.

Jayce:

You need to get a grip.

He’s an understanding person, but there’s a limit to everything. If jealousy stems from insecurity and is brought up as a calm and peaceful discussion, he’ll sit beside you to talk it out.

However, if it’s a scene, if it escalates into yelling, restrictive demands on his freedom, or absurd and over-the-top behavior, he’ll enter a period of coldness where he’ll reflect on things.

But if it happens again, don’t expect understanding.

You can’t expect to publicly humiliate someone like that, try to control them because of your own insecurities, and not face a negative reaction.

Viktor:

Raises an eyebrow, his only initial reaction.

The first thing he’ll do is laugh—whether because he finds the situation ridiculous or it’s just an instinctive response, that’s what you’ll see first.

From his perspective, he’s working like a beast of burden not just to be independent but to be a person with dignity, breaking free from the dynamic imposed by Zaun and Piltover that has shackled him like some original sin. And now, not only do you not trust him, but you’re also trying to put him back in the role of a pet that needs taming and obedience.

He knows he hasn’t done anything wrong, knows he hasn’t been giving attention to anyone else but you and his work.

That’s why jealousy only damages the relationship.

Ekko:

Perplexed.

Assuming no one would take a public scene well, in the case of a civil confrontation, he’d mostly be confused.

It makes sense, sure, given how close-knit all the Firelights are, but it never occurred to him that it might bother you.

He doesn’t even know how he should react. He’d definitely try to talk with you, figure out what exactly made you feel that way, and explain the ambiguous situation that set you off.

A scene isn’t a dealbreaker with him, but it does lead to a few days of awkwardness before a fight inevitably happens.

That doesn’t mean he lacks self-respect, though. After the umpteenth time, he’ll simply give up.

Vander:

He’s too old for this kind of nonsense, to be honest.

If you throw a scene, he’ll just ignore it. He’ll let you yell and stomp your feet until you’re out of energy, let you cool off, and then come back to have a conversation.

His response will be laced with irony, like, “Well, who wouldn’t be jealous of the most charming man in the Lanes, after all?” But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t take the issue seriously—he’s just trying to lighten the mood.

He’ll ask how you think he should handle it but ultimately decides for himself whether your request is reasonable or over the top.

When you lose your cool, he’ll treat you the same way he used to handle kids throwing tantrums.

Silco:

Let’s assume no one would dare make a scene in public with Silco out of pure survival instinct. That alone would be an immediate dealbreaker, and you wouldn’t have any chance to confront, talk, or even approach his space again.

A private scene would irritate him regardless. When you’re done, his response would be, “Is that all?”

He’s a diplomatic person. The idea of yelling—or even wasting unnecessary energy on these trivial little issues when his vision is grand, almost boundless—feels almost insulting to him.

If, however, you approach it as a calm and rational discussion, while he may still feel mildly annoyed, he’ll try to reassure you and help you understand that there’s no real reason for you to feel that way.

Jinx:

A fertile ground for conflict, given her fear of abandonment, obsessiveness, and jealousy.

Reverse card: if you start a scene, there’s a high chance she’ll throw it right back at you, leading to a full-blown argument.

Her fear of losing you means that even if your request makes her furious, she’ll still do what you want.

Not the healthiest relationship you could have, but hey, who am I to judge?

She’s not one to leave arguments unresolved. After the shouting match, there have to be cuddles, even if only to prove there’s no lingering resentment between you two.

Vi:

Completely caught off guard.

Now, no one likes a scene, BUT she grew up with a sister who felt emotions way too strongly, so there’s a good chance she’ll switch into “caregiver” mode and try to calm you down immediately instead of getting mad.

She wasn’t expecting an outburst like that. She’s likely more hurt by the fact that you feel this way than anything else.

After the fight, she’ll probably ask to hold you for a bit, trying to make up for unintentionally hurting you.

She’s open to changing the things you need her to change because she values you more than other people.

Caitlyn:

Caitlyn’s problem is that she has the dignity—and let’s be honest, that’s what it is—to tell you to fuck off after a jealous scene, especially if it’s in public. But unfortunately, she pours her soul into relationships, so she’ll try to talk it out.

She’ll meet you halfway within reason. Obviously, you can’t ask her to stop going out alone with colleagues after work, but if your concerns are more reasonable, she’ll try to accommodate them.

However, that doesn’t mean she’ll be calm immediately after the scene. Quite the opposite. She’ll need the rest of the day to cool off and a night’s sleep to forget how angry she was.

If you handle things diplomatically instead of with a scene, she won’t be angry but might feel a bit sad.

Mel:

If you throw a scene, expect to be left right where you are—literally.

If you want to yell, stomp your feet, and act immature, she’ll just turn and walk away, and you’ll find out the state of your relationship when you try to return to your shared apartment and find it empty.

It’s not about pettiness; it’s about the humiliation of being publicly exposed, about dragging your private matters into the open, showing so little respect that you can’t even grant her privacy.

If it’s a discussion, prepare to bottle it up.

Everything she does is for appearances, for trust, and as a political figure, she can’t neglect something as crucial as her public image.

It’s up to you to trust her enough.

Sevika:

A public scene disgusts her and puts her in a horrible position. She’ll be mocked—Silco will hit her once and tell her that “You walk her like a dog,” and his goons won’t let her live it down either.

Depending on her mood, the timing, and countless other factors, her reaction could range from ignoring you to screaming at you in the bar to telling you to get a grip or even walking away and ending it.

It’s about respect, pride, and understanding where your limits lie—and this might be one of those moments where you’ve crossed the line.

If you talk things out calmly, don’t expect her to console you. Whether you trust her or not isn’t her problem.

She holds no grudges, but she also has no intention of babying you.

[skrunksthatwunk]

this show is melting my fucking organs

[enemiestolovershoe]

Best Birthday Ever

Chris Sturniolo x bsf!reader

Summary: Y/N and Chris deepen their friendship turning his 21st birthday into an unforgettable night.

Warnings: SMUT 18+, use of y/n, oral (m receiving), unprotected p in v (wrap it up pls), friends to lovers, virgin!chris, loosing virginity

Words: 3.8k

Disclaimer: While the characters in this story are inspired by real people, the events and interactions are purely fictional and not reflective of reality.

The very first day of high school felt like an overwhelming blur of unfamiliar faces and nerves. But one thing stood out crystal clear—being assigned to sit next to Chris Sturniolo. It was almost comical how fast you hit it off. Within minutes, your shared sarcastic jokes and mutual confusion about the teacher's seating chart made it seem like you’d known each other for years. That was the beginning of everything.

Soon after, Chris introduced you to his brothers, Matt and Nick, who were his triplets. Meeting them felt like being absorbed into an entirely new world—a chaotic, hilarious, and ridiculously fun one. From that point on, the four of you became inseparable. You were a unit, a team. Movie nights, impromptu late-night drives, junk food binges—you name it, you did it together.

But something shifted when you were around 19. Out of nowhere, your feelings for Chris transformed. What used to be simple friendship became something deeper, something that scared the hell out of you. It hit you like a brick, sudden and unrelenting. Yet, you did your best to suppress it. There was no way you’d risk your friendship for feelings he likely didn’t share. What you didn’t know, though, was that Chris felt the exact same way. He’d been quietly falling for you but chose to hide it, too terrified of losing what you two had.

Then you got a boyfriend. It wasn’t anything serious at first, but things escalated quickly, and before long, you’d lost your virginity to him. Chris’s reaction was colder than you expected, especially when it came to your boyfriend. He was distant, sharp even, whenever the subject came up, though he never fully explained why. Things unraveled when you caught your boyfriend cheating. Devastated, you went straight to the Sturniolo house. Chris was the one who stayed up with you all night, listening to your sobs and holding you as you cried. He never let you go until you felt whole again. Even now, years later, he was still there for you.

After that heartbreak, you never dated again. And now, two years later, everything felt like it had gone full circle. You and the Sturniolos were as close as ever.

At 21, you were the oldest of the group, since the triplets were still 20—though their 21st birthday was only hours away. That’s why you were currently at their house, getting ready for a celebration with their closest friends.

Arriving a bit earlier than the others, you’d decided to get ready with Nick. He always had the best taste in fashion, and you trusted him more than anyone else when it came to looking your best.

“Y/N!” Matt shouted from the doorway, wrapping you in a bear-crushing hug the second you stepped inside. Nick quickly followed suit, pulling you into his arms with a grin. But it was Chris who hugged you the tightest. You noticed how his hands lingered for just a second too long before he finally let you go.

“Geez, Chris, you trying to crush her ribs or something?” Matt teased, smirking knowingly at his brother. Chris shot him a glare, cheeks tinged pink, and mumbled something about “just saying hi.”

Upstairs, you and Nick dove into picking an outfit. “No offense, but that top screams ‘I gave up,’” Nick said, holding up a much more stylish option.

“Excuse me? This top is a classic,” you argued, though you ultimately took his advice.

As you were finishing up your makeup, the door to Nick’s room burst open. Chris stood there, holding a can of Pepsi, his expression caught between nerves and awe. “Uh... I figured you might want something to drink,” he stammered, extending the soda to you.

You couldn’t help but laugh at how flustered he seemed. “Thanks, Chris.”

Nick’s jaw practically dropped. “Wait, hold up—did Chris just willingly share one of his Pepsis? Are we in an alternate universe?”

Chris rolled his eyes, trying to play it cool. “It’s just a drink, Nick. Relax.”

“Sure, just a drink,” Nick teased, winking at you. Chris muttered something under his breath before making a quick exit.

When you finally made your way downstairs, the party was already in full swing. The living room was packed with friends, music thumped through the speakers, and the smell of pizza filled the air. Everyone was laughing, chatting, and enjoying themselves.

It wasn’t long before someone suggested a game of Truth or Dare. The group eagerly circled up, the energy buzzing with anticipation. At first, the questions were lighthearted—“What’s your most embarrassing moment?” or “I dare you to shotgun a beer.” But as the night went on, things took a more daring turn.

One girl turned to you with a mischievous grin. “Y/N, have you ever faked an orgasm?”

The room went silent, all eyes on you. You felt your body tense, memories of your ex flashing through your mind. Chris, who had been leaning against the wall next to you, straightened up, his jaw tightening.

“Yeah,” you admitted quietly, forcing a small smile. “I have.”

The group laughed, some people making jokes, but you could feel Chris’s eyes on you. His gaze wasn’t teasing or curious—it was protective, concerned.

Your turn came, and you directed a question at one of the guests, trying to shift the attention off yourself. After a few more rounds, the attention shifted to Chris.

“Truth or dare, Chris?” one of the guys asked.

Chris hesitated. “Uh... truth.”

The guy smirked, clearly looking to stir up some drama. “When was the last time you got laid?”

The question hung in the air, heavier than any of the others. Chris froze, the usual playful energy in his demeanor completely gone. His brothers exchanged glances, clearly taken aback, and you noticed how he clenched his fists at his sides.

“You okay, Chris?” you asked softly, leaning in just enough so only he could hear.

He swallowed hard, avoiding your gaze. “Yeah... I’m fine.” But his voice betrayed him—it was shaky, uncertain.

Chris hesitated, the silence in the room stretching unbearably before he finally answered, forcing a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve never gotten laid. Next question.”

The room fell completely silent. A ripple of shock passed through the circle, and even his brothers exchanged surprised glances. Chris’s gaze flickered to the floor, his usual confidence stripped away in an instant.

Without thinking, you reached out and placed your hand gently on his arm, offering silent reassurance. When he glanced at you, your sweet, supportive smile met his uncertain eyes. Slowly, his tense shoulders relaxed, and he managed to return the faintest smile, gratitude shining through his vulnerability.

The moment passed, and the group awkwardly shifted back to drinking, chatting, and carrying on as if nothing had happened. You stuck around for a while, laughing with Matt and Nick as the party carried on, but your eyes kept darting around the room. Chris had vanished.

After a few minutes of scanning the crowd and not spotting him, you excused yourself. “I’ll be right back,” you said to Matt and Nick, who were too deep in conversation to notice the concern lacing your tone.

You made your way upstairs, stopping in front of Chris’s door. Knocking softly, you called out, “It’s me. Are you in there, Chris?”

A few seconds later, the door creaked open, revealing Chris standing there with red, puffy eyes. His usual playful energy was completely gone. He looked vulnerable, broken.

“Chris…” you said softly, your heart sinking at the sight of him. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he gently grabbed your hand and pulled you inside, shutting the door behind you. He took a deep, shaky breath, as if trying to gather his thoughts, but the moment he spoke, it all came tumbling out.

“I’m so fucking embarrassed, Y/N,” he blurted, his voice cracking. He ran a hand through his hair, pacing the room as he continued. “Everybody knows now. They know I’m a virgin. It’s so fucking humiliating. I wanted to lie, I really did, but I just couldn’t. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t.”

Your chest ached at the raw frustration and shame in his voice. Without hesitation, you crossed the room and wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into a hug. His hands hovered awkwardly for a moment before he melted into your embrace, clinging to you like a lifeline.

“Chris, listen to me,” you said gently, your voice firm yet comforting. “There is nothing—absolutely nothing—you need to be embarrassed about. You haven’t had sex yet. So what? That doesn’t change who you are. Anyone who thinks differently can shut the fuck up, because they don’t know you the way I do.”

He didn’t say anything, but you could feel the tension in his body slowly fading. You pulled back just enough to look up at him, your hands coming up to cup his face. Your thumbs brushed away the lingering tears on his cheeks as you smiled softly at him.

“You’re still you, Chris,” you continued. “Whether you’ve had sex or not doesn’t change that.”

Chris let out a shaky laugh, though the sadness in his eyes hadn’t completely disappeared. “I just feel like… I don’t know, like I’m behind everyone else. I’m 21, for God’s sake.”

“Not yet,” you teased, trying to lighten the mood. “You’ve still got, what? Half an hour?”

That earned a real laugh from him, though it was tinged with melancholy. “Doesn’t make a difference,” he muttered. “It’s not like I’m going to lose it in the next hour.”

You tilted your head, watching him carefully. “What if you do?”

Chris’s brows furrowed in confusion, his eyes locking onto yours. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” You took a deep breath, your heart pounding in your chest. “What if I take your virginity?”

Chris blinked, stunned into silence. He searched your face, trying to figure out if you were joking. “Y/N, stop joking, please. This is serious.”

“I’m not joking, Chris,” you said softly, your voice steady.

His breath hitched. “You—you would do that for me?”

“I’d do anything for you, Chris,” you said, a soft smile spreading across your lips.

For a moment, he just stared at you, his emotions flickering across his face—confusion, disbelief, and something deeper. Then, slowly, as if testing the waters, he leaned in. His lips brushed against yours, tentative and soft.

It was the first time Chris had ever kissed you, and it was everything.

The kiss started soft, like a gentle spark igniting between the two of you, but it quickly grew more heated. Chris’s hands found your waist as you leaned into him, his grip tightening with every passing second. You pushed him back with a playful nudge, and he stumbled onto his bed, his laughter mixing with the sound of the mattress creaking beneath him. Before he could say a word, you climbed onto him, straddling his lap and pulling him up into another deep kiss.

His breath hitched as your core pressed against him, and you could feel him hardening beneath you. The slight friction caused a soft whimper to escape both of you, the sound sending a shiver down your spine. You began moving your hips in slow, deliberate motions, eliciting quiet moans from Chris as he tilted his head back, his fingers digging into your thighs.

“Y/N…” he whispered, his voice breathy, almost pleading. You pulled back just enough to look at him, his cheeks flushed, his blue eyes wide and filled with nervous excitement.

“Relax,” you murmured, your lips brushing against his. Your fingers toyed with the hem of his shirt, tugging at it slightly. “This needs to come off.”

Chris blinked, his nervous smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Yeah, okay,” he said, his voice cracking slightly as he lifted his arms to help you pull his shirt off. The second his chest was bare, you couldn’t help but run your fingers down his torso, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath your touch.

“You’re beautiful, Chris,” you said softly, the sincerity in your voice making him blush even harder.

He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “You can’t just say stuff like that, Y/N. I’m trying to keep it together here.”

You grinned and leaned down, your lips brushing against his jawline. “Who said I want you to keep it together?”

His breath hitched again as your words sank in, and you guided his hands to the hem of your shirt. “You can undress me too, Chris. No need to be shy.”

His eyes met yours, wide with both excitement and hesitation. After a moment, he nodded, his fingers trembling slightly as he lifted your shirt over your head. The way his breath hitched again when he saw the black lace bra you were wearing made you smile.

“Wow…” he muttered under his breath, his eyes glued to you.

You chuckled, reaching for one of his hands. “You can touch me, Chris. It’s okay.”

He looked at you as if asking for reassurance, and when you nodded, he let you guide his hand to your chest. His fingers flexed hesitantly at first, but as he began kneading your breast through the fabric, his confidence grew. His other hand quickly joined, and you couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped your lips as he touched you.

“Does this… feel good?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Better than good,” you replied, leaning down to kiss his neck. Your lips left a trail of soft, open-mouthed kisses along his skin, and his whimpers were like music to your ears.

When his hands faltered slightly, you pulled back just enough to look at him. “You’re doing perfect, Chris.”

He smiled, his cheeks still flushed. “You’re… perfect.”

Your heart skipped a beat at his words, but you didn’t linger on them for long. Instead, you climbed off his lap, earning a small, disappointed sound from him, and began sliding your skirt down your legs. Now, standing before him in just your matching black lace underwear, you noticed how his eyes roamed over you, filled with awe and adoration.

“You’re staring,” you teased, though his gaze only made you feel more confident.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, though his eyes didn’t leave you. “I just… you’re so beautiful, Y/N.”

You stepped closer, kneeling between his legs as your hands reached for his belt. “You don’t have to be nervous, you know. It’s just me.”

“I’m not nervous,” he insisted, though the way his hands fidgeted gave him away.

You raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Liar.”

He laughed softly, his hand coming up to cup your cheek. “Maybe a little.”

You leaned into his touch, your voice soft. “We’ll take it slow, Chris. I promise.”

With that, you focused on unbuckling his belt, taking your time to open the button of his jeans and slide them down his legs. When you glanced up at him, his expression was one of pure anticipation.

“You sure you wanna do this, Chris?” you asked, your tone serious now. “It’s your first time, and I don’t want to make you feel pressured or… repeat the same mistakes I did.”

His hand reached for yours, squeezing it gently. “I’m 100% sure, Y/N. This will never be a mistake to me.”

The conviction in his voice made your chest tighten, and you nodded, a small smile tugging at your lips. “Okay.”

You slid his boxers down next, leaving him completely bare before you. Chris’s cheeks turned crimson, but he didn’t try to hide himself. Instead, he watched you with bated breath as you wrapped your hand around him, your touch gentle as you spread the precum along his length.

“Is this okay?” you asked, wanting to make sure he was comfortable.

“Yeah,” he breathed, his head falling back against the headboard. “It’s more than okay.”

You pumped him slowly at first, watching his reactions carefully. The way his chest rose and fell, the quiet moans spilling from his lips, it all made you want to give him more.

Leaning forward, you swirled your tongue around his tip, savoring the way his hips jerked slightly at the sensation. “Y/N…” he gasped, his hand finding its way into your hair as you began to take more of him into your mouth.

You worked him with a mix of your hand and mouth, listening to the sweet sounds he made. He was a mess beneath you, his moans growing louder and more desperate with every passing second.

“Y/N, I—” His voice broke as he tried to warn you he was close, but just as he was about to reach his peak, you pulled off him, leaving him breathless and whimpering.

Chris’s chest was heaving, his breath ragged as he lay beneath you, trying to compose himself. His cheeks were flushed, his lips slightly parted, and his eyes fluttered open to meet yours. “Why did you stop?” he asked, his voice breathless and laced with desperation.

You leaned down, brushing your lips against his ear as you whispered, “Because I don’t want you to cum yet. I want you to cum with me, pretty boy.”

Chris let out a strangled moan, his head falling back against the pillows as his eyes rolled back. “Fuck…” he groaned, his hands gripping the sheets tightly.

You smirked, loving how completely undone he was beneath you. Slowly, you stood up from your position, your movements deliberate and teasing. His dazed eyes followed you as you straightened, and you held his gaze while hooking your thumbs into the waistband of your panties.

Chris swallowed hard as you stripped them down your legs, his eyes drinking in every inch of you. His breathing grew even shakier as you stepped out of them and stood there, completely bare before him.

“God damn, you’re so beautiful, Y/N,” he whispered, his voice reverent. His words were so sincere, so filled with awe, that your heart skipped a beat.

“Thank you, Chris,” you replied softly, your lips curving into a playful smile. You pointed toward the headboard. “Now, scoot over to the headboard for me.”

Chris blinked, as if snapping out of a trance, and quickly obeyed. “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a shy smile, moving back until his head was resting against the headboard, his long legs stretched out before him. His hands fidgeted in his lap, a mix of anticipation and nervous energy.

You crawled toward him, your movements slow and deliberate, and his wide-eyed gaze never left yours. As you settled back into his lap, straddling him once more, you placed your hands on his chest, feeling his heart pounding beneath your palm.

Chris still couldn’t believe this was happening. The fact that you—his best friend, the girl he had been secretly in love with for years—were about to take his virginity felt almost surreal. He looked up at you, his eyes full of adoration and vulnerability.

“You okay?” you asked softly, brushing his messy hair back from his forehead.

“Yeah… I just…” He paused, his lips twitching into a small smile. “I still can’t believe this is real.”

You leaned in, pressing a tender kiss to his lips. “It’s real, Chris. And it’s just us. Nobody else, nothing else matters right now.”

He nodded, his hands finding your hips again as you reached between your bodies, lining him up at your entrance. “Are you ready, Chris?” you asked, your voice gentle but filled with anticipation.

“Yes,” he breathed, his eyes locking with yours. “More than ready.”

With that, you sank down onto him slowly, letting him fill you inch by inch. A loud, unrestrained moan tore from Chris’s throat, his hands gripping your hips tightly as he tried to steady himself. You let out a shaky moan of your own, the feeling of him stretching you almost overwhelming.

“Chris,” you gasped, your voice trembling, “you’re so big…”

“Fuck,” Chris groaned, his head falling back against the headboard. “Don’t say that—I don’t want to cum yet.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, leaning forward to kiss him again. “You’re doing so good,” you whispered against his lips, your voice soft and reassuring. “Just breathe, okay?”

He nodded, his hands roaming up and down your sides as he tried to keep himself from completely losing control. You began to move, lifting your hips before sinking back down onto him, setting a slow and steady rhythm.

The room filled with the sounds of your shared pleasure, soft moans and gasps escaping both of you. Chris’s eyes stayed locked on yours, his gaze full of so much love and admiration that it made your heart ache.

“You feel so good, Y/N,” he murmured, his voice shaking. “I… I don’t even have words for this.”

You smiled, cupping his cheek as you leaned in to kiss him again. “Just let yourself feel it, Chris. Don’t think—just feel.”

He let out a low groan, his hands moving to grip your waist as you began to pick up the pace. “Fuck, I love you, Y/N,” he mumbled, his words barely audible but unmistakable.

For a moment, you thought it might just be his pussy drunk mind talking, but the way he looked at you told you he meant every word. Your heart swelled, and without hesitation, you whispered back, “I love you too, Chris.”

His eyes widened for a split second before they softened, a beautiful smile spreading across his face despite the tension in his body.

“I’m so close, Y/N,” he admitted, his voice desperate.

“Me too,” you gasped, your movements becoming more erratic as you felt the knot in your stomach tightening.

The moment your climax hit, you cried out his name, your body trembling as waves of pleasure washed over you. The feeling of you tightening around him was too much for Chris to handle, and with a loud moan, he followed you over the edge, spilling inside you as his entire body shuddered.

You both collapsed against each other, your foreheads touching as you tried to catch your breath. Chris’s arms wrapped around you, holding you close as if he never wanted to let go.

“Thank you so much, Y/N,” he said softly, his voice filled with emotion.

“You don’t need to thank me,” you replied, brushing your fingers through his damp hair.

“I do,” he insisted, his eyes meeting yours. “And I meant what I said. I love you—I have for a while now.”

Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes as you smiled. “I love you too, Chris. I always have.”

You leaned in, kissing him deeply, the moment filled with nothing but love and tenderness.

Suddenly, a loud banging on Chris’s door shattered the quiet.

“Wrap it up, Chris!” Matt’s voice boomed from the other side. “You missed the birthday countdown—we’re officially legal!”

You and Chris both froze before bursting into laughter, the tension from the moment dissolving into pure joy.

“Happy birthday, baby,” you said between giggles, leaning in to kiss him again.

Chris grinned, his cheeks still flushed. “Best birthday ever.”

Taglist: @sophand4n4 @courta13

[jealousmartini]

for the s/o ask game: 🪽❤️‍🩹💭

i love hearing about people's love lives sm and your blog is so real

UghGGughh oh my gosh thanK YEWWW FOR THE ASK HUNNY

ᨳ⊹ ˖ ࣪ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM THE THE DR S/O ASK GAME! ⋆.🎀˚

   ── .✦  ┆  𖤐  ┆  ␥ 

🪽 — what is your s/o from? (made-up, media, book, movie etc…) and why did you feel drawn to them?

Now I can already sense the tension in the air for this question, and I'm gonna need yall to lay down the tomatoes so I can EXPLAIN myself alr..?... Katsuki Bakugo. NOW HEY HEY I SAID PUT THEM DOWN🫵🏾 LET ME EXPLAINNN☹️

To put it simply, his character has always intrigued me, confused me and entertained me. So much so that I found myself unironically wanting to understand him even after going back and forth with myself trying to figure out if i liked him or not, and countless times ive failed lmao. But! For some reason i still felt a need to get him, so no matter how many times i misunderstood him I kept trying

And so with the help of my curiosity for his character and my consistancy with the anime, other mha/bakugo enthusiasts opinions and headcanons, edits and fanfictions, I finally got it was because he is just so raw-ly and really him and how he naturally navigates in relationships, especially the ones he prioritises. Even with how canonly brash, grumpy, bullyish, and mean he is, and with how so many people are really hypocritical talking about "oh his character development isnt really development unless he changes his attitude towards people" and "he needs to change his personality in order for us to believe it is real improvement", as if the concept of nuance doesn't exist, he doesnt adjust to their opinions. (Not unless it is absolutely necessary which he DOES realise is the case in major parts of the anime which i LOVE him for being so self aware)

It is the way he never let anyone change him. Which IS bullyish, loud and cocky. He IS mean, kinda crazy and blunt. And deep down I fucking LOVED THAT. Because even with such an insane personality he doesn't let that take over, and his self awareness is strong enough to check himself when he knows hes in the wrong. And it's not like he's biased with the way he treats people because he treats everyone equally like for example: with the way he nicknames everyone by their appearance, quirk or personality in a way that IS kinda mean but if you get him, is actually kinda funny too. And he still doesnt let his ego get the better of him when he recognises someone as respectable and admits that is so. And even though it's not in a socially acceptable nice and sweet way which was what everyone wanted him to be, it was still equal. It was still somehow fair.

And ontop of that, it's not like he picks on people he doesn't even know (anymore). There is that obvious well needed change of charcter he had (which is part of his character development) and if you actually pay attention youll notice his maturity developed too. So when I tried to tell myself that I didnt like him in the beginning, I would still find myself respecting and admiring him because of how true he was to himself, yet still pushed himself to become better because he was still so self aware.

I then realised he was quickly growing on me. Because through his character development I learnt that "being better" doesn't always mean being what is socially acceptable, or "nice" which is always what is expected. And I then noticed how I never really wanted him to change his personality. Because I accepted that this was HIM and had the right to be him, without others trying to change him. And i unironically fuck with the way he is naturally. He who is not like everyone else in the sense that is he isnt "nice and friendly"; still has the right to move around and exist as he, is (which is mean cocky and brash) and does so accordingly and confidently, will ultimately earn my utmost respect expeditiously. And when it finally clicked me, I guess I kinda fell in love a little🫠🫠(im down horrendous).

❤️‍🩹 — what does your s/o smell like?

Smokey caramel and fucking vanilla😭😩😩 because of katsuki's nitroglycerin sweat, he always smells like caramel but it starts to smell burnt, smokey or like someone is cooking caramel anytime he uses it, depending on how bad the explosions are. It is so fucking funny to me how someone so brash, mean and cocky naturally smells like a bakery😭😭. At least he doesn't smell like cooked flesh though so 🤷

💭 — who was the first person you told after getting with your s/o?

MY GIRLS URARAKA, MOMO, MINA AND JIROU! (and somehow kirishima, denki, sero and deku found out...) first it was Uraraka I told cus she and I are like this though🤞🏾🤞🏾 It's been a thing that basically the whole class knows I have a crush on bakugo even though I have a naturally flirty and freaky personality with most of my friends JOKINGLY, but if you squint, it's apparently really obvious. And those bitches have been squinting real hard😒😒😒

[a-bottle-of-tyelenol]

I see what you mean but I do actually disagree with this!

Polites is a character that we don’t know much about but we do see a very clear dynamic starting in Full Speed Ahead. A reoccurring scene in EPIC is Odysseus blatantly ignoring Eurylochus or dismissing him, which is what leads to the distrust between them and the opening of the windbag. This is something that still happens in FSA, except Odysseus does give Eurylochus some acknowledgement by saying that “if we don’t return, you can make this whole place burn”— showing that he heard Eurylochus and even agrees with him.

This was not a middle ground reached by or because of Polites, it was one reached by Odysseus.

(As with every post/reply I do, this got long so I put the rest under the cut.)

Polites and Eurylochus are meant to act as our first introductions to open arms and ruthlessness, with Polites actually voicing what open arms is and Eurylochus acting as the first human representation of it before Poseidon can come and properly introduce it. They are two sides of the spectrum and Odysseus is the middle ground; he is the king, the captain, and ultimately the one who makes the decisions. Polites does not change Eurylochus’ stance on anything, he only changes Odysseus’. In a situation where Polites made it to the opening of the windbag, Eurylochus and the crew likely would’ve just ignored him or hid it from him because I could very well see a world where they believe Polites is Odysseus’ favorite and the only one he will properly listen to— especially in a world where Odysseus has already seen Polites die and is keeping him close to try and prevent it.

“Everything’s changed since Polites” has next to nothing to do with Eurylochus, it’s only about Odysseus. Odysseus is the one that changed because he no longer has someone to be the other side to Eurylochus’ perspective and therefore has to embody it like Polites did, which is why Eurylochus ends up getting dismissed over and over again. It’s no longer Odysseus seeing the two perspectives and choosing which pieces he wants to use (like a game master or even a puppeteer), it’s him already having chosen which perspective he’s going with because he has to be the one to carry it forward.

In the time loop system that I proposed, there is another important thing to remember: Odysseus has already gone through these loops before. This is notable because Odysseus is coming in with preconceived notions of what he does and does not think will work. He has the experience of knowing how these situations played out, and that leads him personally having to pick and choose which actions he takes based on what has already happened to him instead of what Polites and Eurylochus offer as hypotheticals or general opinions.

This means that Polites’ existence doesn’t really change anything, nor does Eurylochus’, because Odysseus is no longer looking to them for guidance— he’s looking to himself and his personal experiences. He might listen to Polites if he has something new to offer, but that would likely end in Odysseus doing the same thing he did to Eurylochus— hearing him, but not really listening if it doesn’t fit with what he was already thinking.

This is mostly because the idea that I’m playing with is fate, and fate is unchangeable (there are obviously caveats to that, especially when you introduce the common conflict of free will versus fate, but still).

If the concept was “time loop au where Odysseus DOESN’T have memories of the previous loops but he somehow gets Polites to survive” then you would probably be right. Having Polities on that initial trip to balance out Eurylochus and offer Odysseus the choice between the two likely would’ve worked and could’ve gotten them home— though, it is hard to definitively say that because we don’t know how starvation would’ve affected him (an issue brought up in FSA that would’ve been exacerbated because they didn’t get food from the cyclops) or what his other philosophies in life would be. Many people read between the lines and say that Polites would’ve supported a lot of Odysseus’ monstrous acts because open arms means to try and be kind, not to naively trust everyone and never fight back when it’s an obvious enemy. Polites is a soldier that survived for ten years, after all, and he didn’t protest attacking the cyclops so it’s hard to say what his stance would’ve been further down the line when things got worse.

But, otherwise, Polites “being the glue” doesn’t really work when Odysseus already has a lot the answers and is merely trying to keep as many people alive as possible. In the end, Polites being there means nothing because fate dictates that it means nothing. Odysseus will still fall victim to his own hubris and Eurylochus will still fall victim to his own mistrust and Polites will still fall victim to the narrative and his own philosophies. All that changes is when it happens, how it happens, and how much it deviates from the original timeline.

time loop!au where odysseus is forced to continuously attempt to get home alive and he realizes that, no matter how hard he tries, he simply cannot save polites. it is weaved in the very fabric of his existence, his fate, and the only way that odysseus can ever get home is if polites does not come with him.

if it isn’t the cyclops, polites dies trying to protect his friends from the laestrygonians. if it isn’t the laestrygonians, he dies to poseidon’s hand as an example for odysseus’ disrespect. if it isn’t poseidon, he dies fighting circe because hermes is no longer there to help. if it isn’t circe, he dies fighting the souls of the underworld. if it isn’t the underworld, he dies falling for the siren’s song. if it isn’t the siren, he dies being struck by zeus’ lightning. if it isn’t lighting— oh, who am I kidding? it’s always the lightning.

polites will never make it— he can never make it. he falls victim to the narrative, the words of fate that dictate odysseus a hero in his own right. odysseus can only change if polites dies and he can only go home if he changes. with polites alive, he can never internalize what his morality means to him. with polites alive, he can never question his own judgment. with polites alive, odysseus remains fractured from the war and has no reason to fix it since, after all, you can still see yourself in a broken mirror.

it is no longer about choosing whose blood is on his hands, it’s about choosing which face he would rather see for the rest of his life. at least polites will only haunt his dreams.

[xo2dee]

NOW LOADING. .

DMC MASTERLIST

AMBROSIAL

PAIRING: Vergil x (Fem)Reader WARNINGS: Slight sexual tension sooo MDNI/18+ only. WORD COUNT: 4676 SUMMARY: He didn't even like strawberries. He just liked to piss you off.

A/N: first ever fic i ever posted on ao3 which is nuts. vergil brainrot never dies.

If you were to look back on yourself years ago, the thought of your current position in life sounded preposterous. A fairy-tale, fantasy even. Who in their right mind would take up demon-slaying as their primary job?

You, apparently.

Four years beforehand was the beginning: you had set out, armed with a baseball bat as ghoulish creatures had raided your hometown. You were a newbie, so incredibly under-prepared, and came out of that fight wounded and traumatized, but ultimately victorious. It was a start, no one was ever perfect as a beginner, you made mistakes, but weeks later you made your mind up and decided you wanted to kill these monsters for they did to your home and all those people. After all, it was the least you could in honor of their memory and for your guilt in surviving.

You could remember the ache in your back from being hunched over your computer looking up workout routines, the pain of ice-filled baths to relieve your soreness from pulling muscles after strenuous workouts and fights, and the scars on your body throbbing from one too many near-fatal fights with demons. You were human, painfully human, you had realized that particular notion after nearly breaking your hand socking a demon in the jaw. It was then that you realized you couldn't fight hand-to-hand combat with some demons (why did you even try anyway?) and you needed a weapon, one that was not a baseball or an axe that was on its last life. You needed a gun.

There you met her. Nico. 

Two and a half years into your self-employment, Nico came speeding into your life. Literally, she almost ran you over.

You had to explain yourself that no, you were not a demon, you were just a carrying carcass because it was a good alternate to weight-lifting because you didn't have any weights. She had looked at you like you were stupid, eyes squinting and cigarette ash falling from the smoke in-between her lips and onto the road before asking, "You a demon hunter?"

Well, you didn't necessary call yourself that, but, whatever, you told her yes.

Nico grinned after that and introduced herself, telling you that you were lucky for her bumping into you. You wouldn't necessarily call that 'bumping into you' and how you were lucky from almost being flattened like a cartoon character on the side of the road? You had not one clue, but you took her word for it in the end. 

Through her you met Nero, a young man – you had believed he was an old man at first because of his hair, to which he got fussy about while Nico was hysterical in the background – and learned that he too was a demon hunter, a rather good one at that; miles better than you. Of course, the glowing claw-tipped arm told you there was more to him than you knew, but you didn't push it, not when he convinced Nico to make you a weapon so you didn't look like a Neanderthal running around with a wooden baseball beating demons with it. 

"It'll cost ya, I don't just do handouts," she had told you, blowing cigarette smoke into your face. A test you presumed.

Nero looked ready to interject at that, but you spoke up before another loud argument broke out while fanning away the smoke.

"I'll pay you anything you want."

Nero looked at you like you had just sold your soul – you probably did – while Nico smiled and stubbed her cigarette out with the tip of her boot. "I always knew I liked you."

She had made you a bayonet, a gorgeous onyx one held that objective affection towards. You had thanked her, giving a hefty amount of cash and practically skipped off ready to use your new baby. However, you were not a good shot since you almost shot Nero in the head – more times than you would like to admit. 

That's when you met him. Dante, the Legendary Demon Hunter – though he didn't like to go by that, Nico called him that albeit never even meeting the man. And your teacher you guessed, not like he did any teaching standing off to the side occasionally throwing jokes at you and trying to hold his laughter back when you missed a target by a couple of feet. But still, he meant well. 

Nero had practically held you by your scruff in front of Dante like some lost puppy and told him everything he knew about you, up to how shitty of a shooter you were, but were able to wrestle demons down in a fight. The aged man scratched the scruff adorning his chin and looked you up and down before sighing.

"Okay, but I can't pay ya."

What was with these people and money? Dante didn't pay you, and Nico would sometimes charge out the ass. Of course, you later learned Dante didn't pay you not because he was Eugene Krabs incarnate, but because he literally had no money and was in debt. You wondered if he even paid taxes.

(Though coming to find out Dante's true agenda behind being in debt – aside from the mountainous supply of pizza and booze he spent it on – you didn't bring it up, opting to keep your thoughts and mouth to yourself and just taking your duct of the pay from Morrison, Lady or Trish when you had the chance.) 

Your 'demon hunter' status was well-off after that, you had teammates – meeting your favorites: Lady and Trish – your skills only increased, and you were basically employed at Devil May Cry. Life was fine until a giant fucking tree sprouted out of the ground in Red Grave City, and it was your hometown incident all over again. Dante, Lady, and Trish had went missing in May of that year leaving you with Nico and Nero, as well as the odd new member V, and his talking pet demon Griffon. You did not converse with him that well, he was quiet and you appreciated that since you often had to hear Nero and Nico's arguments, or worse, Dante's and Lady's. Still, you remained polite to him as long as he was to you, perhaps that's why you felt a little melancholic when he never returned after leaving with Dante and Nero that one time only a month after knowing him. Maybe you were sad at the thought that he died, given Nero and Nico had made a companion out of him and you were feeling sympathetic for them.

Then again, maybe you were sad for Nero since his father was apparently V, but was not V, ripped his arm off, was the reason behind the Qliphoth, fought his own father, then watched as his father and his uncle jumped into Hell to stop the roots from the tree from spreading any further out of the city. You had blinked when he relayed it all to Nico and you, astonished he seemed happier. You supposed it was understandable, he had found out that he did have family left (sometimes you had wondered if Dante was his father given the striking similarities and the relationship between them) and his arm... grew back. You didn't question it when you watched him later on pull out an old book with a V engraved on the front and flip through the pages with a ghost of small smile on his lips. If Nero was content, then all your complaints dissolved. 

You weren't exactly so content cleaning up someone else's mess, but you reminded yourself that you wished someone had done it for you back then. As well having Morrison technically being your boss for the time being, you had to listen to him and take jobs from him. 

It was months later when Dante came back, appearing in the middle of Devil May Cry through a random portal. You expected nothing less from someone like him, yet you still remained apprehensive scowling at the azure rift breaking reality. Out of it sooner than you expected came Dante, swaggering while looking like he never wanted to do it again and –

Who was that?

"Babe! Didn't expect to see you here, you been keeping the place clean for me?" Dante started out, walking towards you with his arms spread. It almost looked like he was going in for a hug, yet you knew Dante wasn't exactly the type for physical contact and your expression probably wasn't the most welcoming then. You didn't know if it was from your frazzled mask or him just being him, but he stopped mere feet away from you, holding up his hands in mock surrender as you regarded, "Relax, it's just me and Verg."

'Verg'. Vergil. It was him, Nero's father and Dante's elder twin. It was the first time you had laid eyes on him, though you listened to him and untensed. You took that time to not so discreetly take in the new face in front of you. 

And boy, was he a sight. 

The genes that ran in the family of Sparda must've been something other-worldly (literally). You can see the similarities in the twins: their hair the same shade, yet they both opted for a different approach on how they styled it with nearly the same type of face structure and same color in their eyes – however a different type of glint and feeling in them. They were of the same height, yet it looked like the eldest was a tad taller and you weren't too sure if it was due to his hair perhaps the boots he was wearing. Their choice of wear completely differed too, much in the sense of the colors they wore and the amount of skin they were willing to show; whereas Dante donned a regular Henley shirt with the beginnings of his chest exposed, his brother dressed himself completely covered in an odd vest, you didn't know where he had gotten, with the zipper all the way up to his chin with the only skin showing being his face and parts of his hands and fingers. Other than that, they seemed to like the leather pants combo too and it was easy to tell they were brothers. 

You didn't miss Dante's red coat, and Vergil's blue one. 

Truly the same blood, but completely different people. 

You were still staring at him, perhaps like a little too long than you would've liked to have admitted, but you were having trouble wrapping your brain around the fact you were in the presence of the man that ripped your friend's arm who was also his dad, who also caused Qliphoth rising and then jumped into Hell and was back with his brother, who seemed to have settled that... 'difference' he had with him enough to bring him back to Devil May Cry...

You stared, mastering a poker face through years of being alone. 

He stood rigidly in the middle of the room as if he was a statue, a white-knuckled grip on his sword with stiff shoulders as he eyed the room warily before landing on you. He looked down at you with a furrowed brow and a scowl like you were bug he was ready to step on. His presence was so... icy compared to Dante feeling so warm. They truly were polar opposites; the Red Oni and the Blue Oni. As you stared the more handsome he got and you could see how he was able to father a child – a child who looked so much like him, it was uncanny. Then he opened his mouth.

"What are you looking at?”

Why were you not surprised?

You did not like him. His voice fit him perfectly; so cold, and just so Vergil. It was slightly nasally and not like the husky tones of Dante's, but you knew his voice could instill fear into grown men and anyone else. However, you were not swayed, instead overcome with the backhand of his attitude.

Dante put up a hand before you could open your mouth and fire off a retort. Vergil wasn't even asking, it felt more like a demand to know why you were blatantly ogling him. You didn't answer, only throwing back an attitude with a tsk! and whipping your head around from his smartass. He didn't retaliate, stepping away from the scene and dismissing you like you were still nothing more than little bug underneath his boot. You had watched him walk away, glaring at the back of his head through the sides of your eyes. Dante, meanwhile, only laughed patting your shoulder looking a little too happy.

"I think you'll get along just great."

You did not get along 'just great'.

After that, it was a series of events...

Once you decided to be courteous for Dante and take his laundry with yours, to which Vergil all but dumped his dirty ass clothes on you as well. Literally, he just dropped them in your arms and you had struggled to catch them (why did you anyway?).

You had glared, fingers gripping the insanely nice fabric of his coat as he stood but two feet away from you, "Why should I?"

Vergil had the nerve to look down at you again, features as stunning as ever in the low light of the shop and his expression betraying nothing but that stoic exterior he was known for, yet you saw a minimal raise to one of his eyebrows, "Are you not offering?"

"I'm offering Dante."

"Then your common courtesy is a lie?"

He really had a retort for everything, didn't he? You scowled at him and pinched his coat between your fingers, "That's rich coming from you... but sure," you stuffed it down into the basket, balling it up extra measure to piss him off, "Anything for you, your Highnass."

You didn't give him time to reply, walking out with as much dignity as you could knowing you had given in and were going to do his laundry. Though he didn't know you kept his coat longer in the dryer to absorb as much static as it could, and you balled it up again to get as many wrinkles as you could in it. 

(You were sure he knew though, if that Stanley Kubrick stare you got returning it was anything to abide by.)

As you left, you could hear Dante sigh.

"Have you ever heard of please? And have you ever actually talked to a woman before?"

There was another time you were just standing next to him, then suddenly your cheek was squished up against his bicep and body nearly compressed under his weight as he slammed you both into a nearby wall. You didn't think that perhaps he was shielding you from the rampant rage of a demon, more annoyed with the fact your bruised nose was getting the horribly intoxicating scent of his cologne, or whatever it was, and you could feel the disturbing way his lean body molded into your own.

"...Vergil."

All you got was a slight tilt of his head. 

"Get your big ass off of me."

That got you the frosty glare you had been waiting for, the silvery tint in his eyes not something you were unfamiliar with or afraid to look into it. Vergil regarded you for but a few short moments, eyes darting around every inch of your face before quietly speaking, "I expected a thanks, not an insult for saving your frail self."

'Frail'? Whatever, you weren't about to argue with him thinking you were a dainty daffodil. He had eventually lifted off of you after you vouched out you had to pee because he was pressing on your bladder, the man looking – dare you say it – embarrassed over it as well.

Afterwards, it was another of Dante’s input.

“I need you to tell me how you had Nero, because this is just sad.”

It was a constant back and forth, though the times you randomly turned around and Vergil was just glaring at you nearly looking like he wanted to combust were the oddest of his vampire-like behavior. You figured perhaps he was plotting your demise, though it started getting weird whenever you turned around and he was inches from your face.

You didn’t like to think too hard about those.

Whether it was awkward van rides with you staring at him seeing if you could piss him off, him taking away a demon kill from you at the last second, you 'forgetting' to wash his laundry, him spreading out on the couch in the world's biggest man-spread so you had no place to sit, it was a constant back and forth. Or perhaps it was present time with the matter at hands.

Kyrie had brought her famous strawberry pie because she knew it was your favorite, and you had stashed the piece in the fridge for later time only for the next current day it to be gone. You confronted Dante about the matter ready to scold him when he you he hadn’t been around to even know you had any (and pouted you didn’t share), and then suggested Vergil did it. You didn't believe it, sure you two had... whatever going on, but you knew that as half-demons the twins did not have to eat human food; Dante only did so to keep in touch with his human side and probably because he missed his mother's cooking at times. Vergil, however, you never saw eat once, practically wrinkling and up-turning his nose whenever Dante brought back pizza or strawberry sundaes, so you assumed it had been Dante who ate your beloved pie and didn't want to admit to not hear your nagging. 

Though Dante had listened to your reasoning and told you something that surprised you given Vergil's... tastes.

"True, he doesn't like strawberry-flavored things. I think he likes chocolate."

Of course he liked chocolate, perhaps bitter and dark like him. 

Vergil would not eat your pie. 

Or so you thought until he and you were sitting across from each other at Devil May Cry at that moment. When you caught his eye, you watched morbidly curious as he bore his silvery eyes into yours and ran his thumb across his plump bottom lip until you could see the crumb of red he purposefully left for you to see. He ate it. He ate your fucking pie out of sheer pettiness.

He didn't even like strawberries. He just liked to piss you off.

(Didn't your mother tell you that boys picking on you meant they liked you?

Still... you didn't think that applied to forty-year old half-demons with stick up their asses.)

You could not stand him, you hated him and his handsome face and his stupid lips. You don't know how many times you envisioned stepping on his stupid coat and watching him trip and fall flat on his face, or just tackling him into the ground in a fury, or just fighting him, or just kissing him –

You swallowed at that last thought, raising your gaze from his titled lips to lidded eyes. Teasing. 

You never had a problem with looking him dead in the eye before, yet there was something brewing in-between that nearly had you sweating as you looked at him then. Since when where you shy?

Looking at Vergil then though... you weren't sure if you wanted to body slam him... or kiss him. Or both in that order.

So you did. You don't know what possessed you, whether it was his expression taunting you or the overwhelming urge to get rid of whatever the feeling was inside you, you shot up determined, marched over and tackled him into the couch. It was not necessarily a body slam like you wanted, but the giddy feeling you got watching his eyes widening a fraction and that barely concealed grunt he let out when you straddled him and pushed him down into the cushions was worth it. You felt yourself grow embarrassed at that point and uneasy as well. Vergil not throwing you across the room was one thing, but being able to straddle him and have him on his back was another thing altogether. Still, planting a kiss on those lips...

"Why are you making that face?" he asked once you finally looked him in the eye. He look unamused at a first glance, but close enough something was dancing in his pupils.

You knew you were embarrassed from the heat you felt on your cheeks. What face were you making? Did you look constipated? Whatever, you pushed it away and tightened your thighs against his waist and gripped his shoulders harder, reveling in watching his eyes flick downwards for a mere moment. You inhaled, hoping your voice didn't come out as unsteady as your body and mind felt. 

"You ate my pie."

"All this over a slice of a dessert."

"You did it on purpose because you knew it was mine."

"I didn't see your name on it."

"You don't even like strawberries."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because."

"As I said, perhaps you should leave your name on things if they are yours."

"That's rich coming from the one who has their initial on their own little diary."

Vergil's eyes narrowed, "That 'diary' is a book of poetry, not that your narrow-minded self would know anything about." That hit a nerve.

"I want my pie, you ass."

"How am I supposed to give you 'your pie' if I have already ate it?"

Why did he look so smug? You trailed your eyes from his long lashes, to the slope of his nose, to his prominent cupid's bow before finally landing on his lips. You remembered the crumb he swiped away realizing he had only ate the pie just prior beforehand, he purposefully took it out of the fridge and let it sit until he knew you would be back and he ate it just before you returned, He ate it just to see you squirm. The sneaky, plotting, petty, handsome bastard...

You attention was roused back to him when he spoke again, saying your name, "I asked you a question: How are you supposed to get your pie if I have already ate it?" Vergil had caught you staring at his lips you realized. He was staring at yours now and unabashedly rolling his eyes down your body. It was an inquiry, wondering if you were going to do it. If you had the gall to. He knew what thoughts were brewing in your mind just by the look in your eyes and the flux in your body temperature. You made up your mind then, scooting up to sit on his abdomen and slapping your hands on either side of his face. You wanted your pie, so you were going to get a taste of it at least. 

"Fine."

Your spine bending awkwardly at that angle reminded you once again the times you spent hunched over your computer, but the dull ache didn't compare to what Vergil's lips felt like. They were partly chapped, but you didn't mind, not when he was already opening his mouth for an invitation for you to get a taste. So you did just that, pushing your tongue through to explore his mouth for the fruitiness of your lost pie. He did taste like Kyrie's famous strawberry pie, but somehow it tasted better once it was on his tongue. He made a noise underneath you and maneuvered his hands to touch you, one gripping your hip fingers digging into your shirt and the other curled around the back of your neck to pull you further into him. You felt dreamy melting into him and moving your lips along his, you only failed to realize how incredibly sloppy your kissing was when Vergil pulled your neck back to speak against your lips.

"You are atrocious at that." Well, you can tell now given the saliva glistening on his lips. "Are you trying to devour me?"

You hummed, pushing your body down to lay atop his, "I don't think you can talk big when you don't know how to kiss either."

"Mmmm," you've never heard that noise before and it sent a flutter straight to your lower abdomen. Vergil moved the hand resting at the back of your neck, brushing fingers across your cheek to grip your face tilting forward until your lips touched again.

Compared to you basically drooling into his mouth in a needy make-out session, the kiss he left on you was chaste and so longing. It felt sweet. You wanted more as molded his lips onto your top lip, leaving you at the expense of his buxom bottom lip. You had wanted this so bad and all you could do was grip the lapels of his coat and drown yourself into Vergil's kiss. It was over far too soon than you wanted, which was why you chased after him when he parted away from you looking all too pleased with himself again. "I don't know how to kiss, yet here you are chasing after me again whining for another."

You groaned and hid your face in his chest again knowing that he had won. Again.

Vergil: 6

You: 2

Not that you ever won against his wittiness in the first place. Yet this time you felt you had won something big. 

Vergil did have a son, so maybe you were wrong about his skills in kissing. 

The moment was interrupted when the doors to the shop busted open and the owner waltzed in acting like he wasn't outside the door listening.

"OH – whoops, didn't realize you two were busy canoodling," Dante's tone sounded all too amused as he covered his eyes with hand, yet created a space in his fingers so he could peak at you both, "I'll just be on my way. Give you some privacy. Be safe though we don't need a repeat    "

"Dante."

You had shot up back into a sitting position on Vergil when Dante burst into the shop, hoping to show the red-wearing twin that no, you two were not doing what he thought and almost countered saying you were both just wrestling, but that sounded even worse somehow. Vergil had hissed out his name sending a scathing side-eye towards his brother and you prayed they didn't breakout into another 'argument'. 'Arguments' being full-blown fights, whether it be with swords or just throwing hands at each other over the stupidest reasons. You had walked into their fights on more than one occasion, always giving a dry look towards them when Dante would usually explain that Vergil got mad he called his hair ugly or something. You almost rolled your eyes again, Grown ass men.

Dante held up his hands, one hand holding a pizza box, "Okay, sheesh, don't get your panties in a bunch, Verg. You should be worrying about hers."

"Leave us!"

The remaining effort it took for him to leave was the blue spectral sword that he ducked for before laughing and disappearing upstairs. You watched the summoning sword pierce the wall before dragging your eyes back to Vergil, who was already looking at you. "You're both annoying."

He glowered again, "You are infuriating and a maddening being. A witch."

"That's a new one. Are you saying I bewitched the mighty Vergil."

"Hardly."

"Okay, Verg."

His eye twitched at the crude nickname before pulling you back down onto him by your elbows, you had a clear message of what he wanted by the way his eyes were half-lidded and hands ghosting over your back.

You gave him a cheeky grin basking in the satisfaction of his brow twitching in annoyance at it, "You trying swap spit again?"

"You are disgusting."

You hardly took the insult to heart when his lips slowly pressed against yours again and you sighed dreamily into his mouth.  

You suppose you could forgive him for the pie if you got that in return.

[perpetuallyexhaustedlibrarian]

What’s your favorite Wind Breaker arc?

This is such a good question! And a hard one. After some thinking, I've decided that my favorite is the Shishitoren arc! Yes, the very first one.

When I first started watching Wind Breaker, I was super skeptical. I did not expect it to be any good! I mean, how many times has 'delinquents with a heart of gold' been done in anime? I was expecting something generic - fun to watch, but ultimately forgettable. And then we meet Sakura, Mr. Blushy himself:

He's so pure and sweet. He feels ostracized by society, but it hasn't made him cruel. And he's fighty because he's been hurt by society but is compensating for it. Our first hint that there's more than meets the eye to this story.

Next, we meet Shishitoren. At first they seem like they will be the straight-up irredeemable villains who are the vehicle to show us how strong and good Bofurin is. Togame is fucking terrifying in his first appearance! He fucking smashes a bottle over a guy's head! That's evil behavior right there.

But then Bofurin starts fighting in the 'Ori tournament arc,' and we realize all of these characters have depth, even the 'side characters.' Even the 'villain' Shishitorens. Sako, Choji, and Togame especially, but even Kanuma and Arima! All the characters have history with each other.

Every time you think the story is going to zig, it zags. It never takes the easy way out, or does the predictable thing. It respects its characters, and treats their problems with the gravity and subtlety they deserve.

We first see in the Shishitoren arc how therapy-jutsu and emotional intelligence are what actually solve problems in Wind Breaker, not so much the fighting - Togame has depression! So does Choji. And the fights/dialogue with Sakura and Umemiya help them realize that they fucked up!

The Shishitoren arc is the perfect encapsulation of what Wind Breaker is about. It's not just a fighting manga. There's story here, and character depth. Subtlety. A masterwork of storytelling. It also sets up things that have a big payoff later. This arc is the first hint that there is more here than we might initially have thought. That's why it's my favorite.

Sorry, I know I rambled a bit here. Thanks for the ask! And if anyone has any others, send them on!

[rayastasy]

Plot holes in the Elriel endgame narrative that make me believe in Gwynriel

3 books are left (2 full length and 1 novella) - 2 main characters left to resolve (Elaine and Azriel) and 4 side characters who have been highlighted with the main characters (Gwyn, Emerie, Mor, Lucian) - If couples are Lucian/Elaine , Gwyn/Azriel for the main books and then Mor/Emerie in the novella, that perfectly wraps up all the characters.

If Elaine and Azriel are together end of the next book then whomst the hell is the last book about? Lucian and Vassa? Why would some side characters randomly get their own full length book… and where does that leave Gwyn?

There have been obvious micro flirtations written in with Gwyn and Azriel (“you’re the new ribbon Az”) (The whole thing with the necklace??) Why on EARTH would SJM do that if Gwyn was not intended to be associated with Azriel specifically. Why would she make you question the obvious set up of Elriel if it was intended to be Elriel all along. (Maybe for a love triangle trope?)

OKAY so you think that SJM is doing 2 love triangles on both sides in ONE relationship? You think that it’s Elain choosing between Azriel and Lucian and also Azriel is choosing between Elaine and Gwyn? Thats just not how that works at all and I don’t think I need to explain that one further.

The main argument I hear from Elriels is how it’s stupid to even think it would be Gwyn because SJM has made it so obvious that there is something with Azriel and Elain which is CORRECT. But you know who else was obviously end game at the end of a book in a series? Feyre and Tamlin, Aelin and Chaol. It’s SJMs signature move so I don’t understand that argument at all. If anything I would ask if she was really going to pull that move again??

Elaine’s flowers - Feyre (Moon and Stars), Nesta (flames), Elaine (Flowers) …. Can’t you see Elaine and Lucian ending up at the spring court together after Lucian and Tamlin resolve things which is obviously going to happen. Elaine is spring, not shadows and night. We all know that.

After all that’s been said about Mates…I do not see SJM disregarding Lucian and Elaine’s mating bond. An argument can be made that this will be the other side of it where she follows true love instead of the bond but I just don’t buy it. We haven’t seen love with Elriel…only lust. I think more likely it will be a different story in that it is hard for Elaine to accept the bond but eventually she will and that is what her book with involve. I think Elaine’s book is next and will include her even hooking up with Azriel but ultimately she will end up with Lucian and then we will have Azriels book next as he sorts through all of his unrequited lusts and ends up finding love over lust.

I am not trying to argue or hear you say this is stupid in the comments. If you think it’s stupid I better see a logical counter argument on each bullet point. I’ve been reading so many Elriel theories and acknowledging that some have my Gwynriel heart shaking in my boots. But ultimately this is why I can’t fully accept it and I just want to hear the thoughts of Elriels that are capable of seeing multiple thought processes and critically thinking about it, am curious if any of these things give you pause in Elriel confidence or if you, like me, think it could go either way.

Thanks for reading my thesis

[singlebraincelledgoat]

FSYY concept art

Wanna know what the definition of insanity is? Trying to figure out what over 350+ characters look like in an ancient Chinese novel cause oh my god why are there so many characters how did anyone keep track of them

Anyways, I’m slowly but surely making it down the roster

Starting with one of my niche favorites from this novel, Lei Zhenzi. That one guy who ate the apricots that happened to turn you into a thunder bird

In a lot of modern adaptations, he’s more monstrous in his looks and personality. I’ve watched a movie where he was basically China’s version of the Hulk (it’s called The First Myth Clash of Gods. Not the best movie but it’s a huge guilty pleasure to me I love it lol)

He’s not like that in the book at all, in fact he’s kinda a fail girl in my eyes. I wanted to lean towards an interpretation where he may be this huge bird person (I’d imagine he towers over most of the other generals. Maybe like 6’8-7ft tall), but he’s still a little self conscious about it all. He can’t get around without making at least one stranger panicked at the sight of him. He was a person at birth, but his circumstances have completely changed everything

Also, I think he has the most underrated power concepts. I wanted to base him off of paragon falcons because imagine this guy diving straight at you at 240 mph with a trail of lightning behind him. I think a lot of Shang soldiers have described him as a sentient lightning bolt with how quick he is

Next is the Huang family! Which have more people so this yap session is gonna be way longer. Buckle up lol

I always saw Huang Feihu as this serious and commanding general, but he’s also that sweet old guy who’d drop the hardest wisdom when you needed it. It’s what makes him really generally well liked

Like when NeZha rescues him and his family, he expresses a lot of subtle gratitude to this stranger that just saved his family’s lives. NeZha, a little unused to this kind of affection, brushes it off initially. But it leaves a lasting impression that eventually leads to him really connecting with the rest of the family

Feihu really be pulling his weight as a single dad of 4 + NeZha /j

I know Lady Jia narratively serves as motivation for the Huang family to rebel, but if there’s one thing I’m known for it’s giving female characters all my attention like they deserve

I think Lady Jia is a foil to her husband. Where he was serious but sweet, she was sweet but serious. Always polite and quiet, but was very stubborn and more prideful. You could not get her to do something she didn’t want to

All their kids got their mother’s pride, especially after her death. Imagine being TianXiang, about 7 at the time, suddenly being thrusted into rebellion and grieving the lost of his mom. TianXiang stronger than me, I would not have survived

I was listening to the Ithica saga when I made these concepts, so I may have had a few EPIC Telemechus thoughts put onto him lol. TianXiang mainly takes after his dad, carrying a much stronger empathy that stems from him. He was a kid, so he did kid shenanigans even in the Zhou camps and any neighboring villages. But he’s got his father’s charm, how could you say no to him? Especially with everything going on

As for TianHua, he takes after his mom mainly. A prideful hothead who wants to do great things. I got a little confused about his origin in the translation I read, but I think he was taken away from his family by his master when he was like 3. Which means he never got a chance to connect with his mom as when he joins the rebellion she was long dead (oough imagine how jarring it was for him to come back only to be the brother that most resembles their mom)

Ultimately, their pride and emotions were what lead to the Huang family’s downfall. TianHua, in his pride and stubbornness to fight, ignores his master’s warning of his fate. His father and brothers next, fighting both the Shang army and their own grief over loosing another family member. And finally TianXiang, his pride to his family making him unwilling to acknowledge the Shang dynasty. Plus, he’s the last living member of his family, what is there to loose?

God this bloodline is so doomed…

I was gonna yap more about them all but I think I’ve already written a lot lmao. Maybe I’ll save some of those thoughts for another post

[astra-galaxie]

Taking a Break

Hi everyone.

As you’ve probably guessed from the title, I am taking a break from the Criminal Case fandom. I’ll be gone for at least 2 weeks, maybe more if needed. While I’m gone, I will not be on any sites, at least not for CC-related reasons, updating any of my stories or posting new content on Tumblr. That means I won’t be checking notifications or even going on some platforms, and I will be leaving all the Discord servers I am in after posting this.

If you need to reach me (please don’t contact me about CC), I will occasionally check my direct messages on Discord.

2024 has so far been the worst year for my mental health, and to summarize how I feel in one sentence: I’m tired, and honestly, I have considered leaving CC more than once. I tried not to let my mental health affect my relationship with CC since it was like the light at the end of the tunnel for me. But with things calming down IRL, I’ve realized how straining CC was on my mental health and a person can only bend so much before they break, and I fear I will break if I do not step away…

I have been in the CC fandom for over 10 years, most of that time spent as a lurker and then as a writer who stayed in a little bubble isolated with my stories and rarely engaging with others. But over time, I came out of my bubble with the help of friends I made through CC and gained even more along the way. However, things have happened recently behind the scenes that are making me consider leaving the fandom, so it's time I take a break and focus on other things for a little while.

This is not goodbye forever. If you know me and my stories, you know my goal is to write every Criminal Case season from 1 to 8 (yes, I will be writing and hopefully improving City of Romance!). I’ve been at it for about 8 years, so I’m too far into things to give up!

But I have another goal, and no, I’m not referring to making headcanons for every CC character. It's to create a safe space for people to share their ideas, thoughts, and opinions without fearing ridicule. There is enough hate in the world, so why should I contribute to it when I can use my platform to be positive instead? It’s why, even when the idea might not be my cup of tea, or I might not understand parts of it, I still encourage people to pursue their ideas and focus on the good things. I hope people know that you can send me the craziest, crack-filled ideas (anonymously or not) and that I will do my best to give positive feedback.

I do give constructive feedback if people ask me to, but again, I’m no Goddess of Writing and Content Creation, so I would never expect people to take my words as gospel. I would never want people to feel they HAVE to change something in their creation just because I suggested it. I want people to be happy with THEIR work, just as I am with mine.

The biggest piece of advice I always give people when they ask for my help or opinion on their project(s) is to write about what makes you happy. While it is important to listen to feedback to learn what you can improve on, ultimately, YOU are the creator. YOU are putting in the time, effort and skills into the project, and if YOU are not happy with what you are creating, then you will lose interest in it. Create things you are happy and proud of. YOU are bringing your ideas to life and sharing them for others to enjoy, not the other way around.

You can never please everyone, but you can always please yourself.

But do NOT use that as an excuse to spam, rage bait, or terrorize others. Everyone is entitled to their likes and dislikes, but you should not force your opinions on others. If you see something you don’t like, just ignore/block it and keep scrolling. It takes much less time than writing a hate comment or making a call-out post. And while sometimes those are reasonably warranted, please still take the time to consider the repercussions of something before you post it and ask yourself: Is it really worth it?

If you’ve stuck with me this long, thank you for listening to my rambling.

Maybe it's naive or wishful thinking to hope people have learned from 2024 and will think before they post, but I hope at least some people will learn from their mistakes or those of others. I know I have learned from the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t think I’m perfect or anyone special because, at the end of the day, I’m just a writer who discovered a hobby for creating fanfiction when they were a teen and somehow gained a following of amazing fans and made fantastic friends along the way. I’m human and make mistakes, but it's from those mistakes that we grow and improve as people.

That said, I am signing off for now. My mental health is at rock bottom, and all I can focus on recently is negative. I keep thinking the worst of my writing and other content. All my mind has been telling me is that everything I make is terrible, and no one likes it. And while I know that is far from the truth, thanks to the amazing support and love I receive from all of you (shout out to everyone who keeps the CC fandom alive!) I must leave and stop focusing on everything before returning with a clear, more positive mindset.

I will see you all when I return. Will I not do anything CC related? Probably not, since you can take Astra out of CC, but you can't take CC out of Astra! But I will not be touching or even looking at my mainstream series while I’m gone, so don’t expect me to return with an update ready for it.

Thank you for listening.

Astra G.

[thesunshinenotebook]

Ok, so! Besides the usual, “Of course Newt made it to the safe haven, what are you talking about?? What's page 250???” jokes, I've also seen a couple of posts recently by people who were annoyed that we literally refuse to accept this man's death. And so I throw my opinion into the void. Yes, I love fix-it fics and AUs where Newt lives. In fact, they're all canon to me. But! From an analytical standpoint, I bring this controversial (??) opinion:

Newt had to catch the Flare. He had to die.

In this slightly long and largely unedited essay, I will explain why…

Newt not being immune, besides adding emotional turmoil and intense pain to the story, also added humanity to the Flare, the disease that robs people of their humanity. The Cranks could be perceived as soulless monsters, obstacles, plot development and nothing more. We know that they theoretically used to be humans, and we feel pity for them on some level, but it’s not the focus of our attention. Newt changes that, because Newt is a Crank, and Newt is a human, and we love Newt. I’m aware that other characters were infected before Newt was (in the book all of the Gladers thought that they were infected and in the movie Winston and Brenda actually were), but I feel like Newt being such an important character and getting the virus really brought this point home.

The entire series revolves around the choice between two evils: let the world fall to disease, or torture children for a theoretical cure. Newt experienced both sides of the issues (fell to the disease AND was also tortured for research before that, the poor guy). He understood the need for a cure better than anyone, but he also knew exactly what WICKED would do to get it. And guess what? Torturing children is never ethical!

Newt couldn't live, because then it would just be Thomas and friends vs. the inferior losers with the Flare. Newt didn’t deserve to die, but his friends didn’t exactly deserve for him to live (though they didn’t deserve to lose him, either). The world is unfair, and they couldn’t win everything. This, again, shows the complexity of the issue, challenging Thomas's decision to leave the city and give up on the idea of a cure.

Another issue brought up by Newt's catching the Flare and his subsequent death is this continuous motif of memory and identity, which obviously played a huge role in the rest of the series as well (everyone losing their memories before the maze, writing their names on the wall, remembering all of their friends that died). Newt has always been selfless and caring, and this continues even as he begins to lose his sanity and himself. Newt wants to hang on to who he is rather than turning into a monster, and, ultimately, he chooses death over losing himself. He lives on in memory, though, as well as through his journal. There are so many other complexities to Newt's story; questions of identity, depression, selflessness, bottled emotions, and love. All of this immensely complicates his death, and the fact that it was technically suicide. It's so important to have characters like Newt in fiction, if only to explore the depths of these issues. So many of us can see so much of ourselves in Newt. His story might not give us all the answers, but it does give us a reason to hope.

The truth is that life is unfair. Newt's situation emphasizes how true this is in the story, humanizing the Flare virus and drawing a direct comparison between wicked's goal and the goal of the kids who are running from them. Our world today is similarly unfair, though obviously in different ways. There are challenges and setbacks and hurt, just like in the story, but Newt proves that these troubles aren't all that there is. We can't escape every problem, but we can make the most of what we do have. We can love and joke and laugh with others, even if the world is falling apart. The ending might be sad, but the pages in the middle can still make us smile, and maybe help us inspire the next person to do the same. 

[zacki0gaming]

@zones-spinterest-corner I still respect your opinion but, I still heavily disagree.

Okay cool but have you considered that Cyanide has made a lot more of an impression in far fewer episodes than Cube (in my opinion) At least Cyanide had something interesting going for her

Cyanide/Teal’s central conflict of grappling with her own morality could've been really good if Brittany would just STOP rushing through this series and just didn't finish it off this quickly...

And as for your claim that Cyanide/Teal has something interesting going for, like I said before, her morality struggle is the only thing that is interesting about her entire character arc in my opinion.

Cube is the definition of “go girl, give us nothing!!” I forget he exists because he just. Does nothing He’s supposed to be the main character but does jack shit to earn that title, everyone else around him does everything to move the plot forward (even DUB does more than him!!)

I’m not going to dive too deeply into your opinion on Cube, including your use of the phrase “go girl, give us nothing!!” to describe him, or the claim that he puts in very little effort in his role. Frankly, that whole perspective is just… Bafflingly ridiculous. He's not truly forgettable or horrible main protagonist (in my opinion), especially considering that Cube has shown more "struggles" out of the rest of the main characters and the supporting cast since Season 1, which were explicitly expressed upon since Season 1, Episode 3 from his corrupted counterpart, Cubic and his quote, "Nothing but doubts you being a good caretaker fills your mind..." His journey into becoming a better caretaker is WAY MORE INTERESTING than Pentellow trying to come to terms with wanting to find her family on the Family Search Arc.

As for Dub, the so-called "main antagonist," he barely even does shit in this series outside of having some interesting info here and there for him, and being in his tower most of the time, trying to cook some… Well-executed plan or have his servants successes something entirely without it miserably failing at the end.

Also I genuinely question why you keep watching TPC since it seems like you genuinely hate it at this point, like it genuinely seems like you have absolutely nothing positive to say about it

Ok first of all, are you arguing me that I'm suggesting that I completely hate this show? "No".

The Pink Corruption (TPC) isn’t “entirely terrible,” despite its, in my opinion, awful writing. There are aspects of the show I genuinely enjoy. For instance, the music is quite pleasant, especially during some of the boss battles. There are also concepts, like the Soul Realms, that had the potential to be much more engaging if they were explored further, though they’ve become more of an occasional element now. They were certain characters and villains that I personally like, such as Cubic, for example, is my favorite and, in my opinion, the most MENACING villain in the series (even more menacing and scary than Dub himself).

I’m still following the series because I want to see how it ultimately ends (if Brittany ever finishes it), even if my anticipation is gonna still… disappoint me, cause I'm still curious of it's "full conclusion". As for Season 2’s plot so far, I’m not enjoying the direction it’s taking. That would include… Villains that are new or already shown are often built up with a lot of hype to return, only to be defeated in anti-climactic ways. Circubit is a prime example—he was hyped up so much even before Season 2 began, only to be defeated surprisingly easily by Orange in the first episode of the season. Then, without any real explanation, he reappears as a pure shape with this seemingly newfound power he has to control both forms as a pure and corrupt in the most recent episode. Ajaceare, which is another cool villain who gets defeated immediately by Gold and his group, which still pisses me off.

The pacing remains rushed, and Cyanide/Teal’s character arc could have been handled FAR BETTER. I would have liked to see a more in-depth exploration of the consequences of her fully corrupted form, when it was first introduced in the recent episode of Season 2 and how it would affect her arc and morality struggle over time. INSTEAD, of cramming it into a single episode, ruining it's impact.

Yea, I'm done talking about this, bye.

TPC SHOWDOWN - Round 5A

MAIN TERMINAL

[strqyr]

here to say thank you for understanding the characters the way as they should be, so many misinterpret them horribly and take them at their face value or will straight up make up a headcanon and then trick themselves into thinking thats what the character is(yang being the biggest one that gets mischaracterized so much and so badly). you actually go through each characters heads while considering canon material and fune tooth combing each and every scene and piece of information for them

i try my best lol. i'm sure i get stuff 'wrong' (i.e. not necessarily what the writers themselves were going for) every now and then, such is life when we all come from different backgrounds and have different life experiences that mold us, but nothing is more fun than putting myself in specific character's shoes and really digging in to see what makes them tick, how their backstories inform their actions, both past and present, and so on and so on.

i think a common stumbling block—besides headcanons taking priority, which frankly is a package deal with fandom in general—is the though that if you like a character, they must be good, and if you dislike a character, they must be bad, which leads to all their actions being painted in same light, nuance be damned. people want nuanced and flawed characters as long as it suits them; the moment it doesn't, all that gets thrown out the window while still claiming that nuance is everything—just don't point out that the character they like might actually be *GASP* flawed, or that character they dislike might actually not be Pure Evil™, and everything is fine.

(people relating to characters probably also plays a part here; any pointed flaw towards a character they like is seen as an attack against them, etc.)

yang to me is a fascinating case, because, well. people often point towards jaune as the character most often bastardized by fandom, and i completely get that, but what i've also found is that these jaune fans often just. stay on their lane, doing their own thing, which is very easy to ignore if you so please. with yang, though, i've seen people getting upset at other fans for taking an official description of yang into account when portraying her in artwork or fics and straight up claiming that the very obvious canon trait of yang's is either a) never really been a thing (it has very much been a thing since day 1), or b) a made-up fanon thing, and it's like

if you don't like it, take it up with rooster teeth??? why get mad at other fans for characterizing yang as she is in canon??? makes no sense lmao

anyway, not that i need them to stop; the most appreciation i've gained towards characters has been solely because i've seen takes about them that immediately, without ever having thought about these characters that deeply before, make me go "that's bullshit" and then dig through canon to make myself understand why my instinct was that strong—and often finding new things that i had never considered before. it's a win-win situation for me skdgkjhkfh

[kismetconstellations]

@sockdooe, This is the full original image:

According to the Tumblr post I originally snagged it from, it's an early piece of promotional artwork, meant to depict Keith as the series's central character. Shiro is shoved into the background, presumably to illustrate that he was intended to fulfill a Doomed Mentor role.

[epickiya722]

So I'm looking through the comments of this one video about the reveal about Wasuke being the reincarnated and this comment actually put me in my feelings.

Like??? Nah, it's too early for me to cry right now.

[alongtidesoflight]

so here's my honest thoughts on dragon age: the veilguard, after ~40 hours of playing. i finished the main quest after having finished all companion quests and major faction quests. just to clear up what content i saw, i played as an elven transmasc rook who is a member of the lords of fortune. he romanced lucanis (although after finishing the game i'm now leaning towards taash). i don't know what's happening in playthroughs that have a different race, gender identity, romance or faction going on.

full spoilers ahead, i mean it. don't read further if you want to avoid them. i don't want complaining about it in my asks.

oh and also, if you're worried because of a few negative reviews online i can comfort you by saying don't give a fuck about a certain big name youtuber who is very much tied to bethesda franchises giving this a negative review. i'll explain why.

i'm starting off with the things i liked

the game looks really pretty. i was worried it wouldn't feel like thedas anymore (with them trying to "focus on northern thedas only" i thought they'd make a clear cut in environmental design. they do and they don't. it's complicated. i'll elaborate on it when talking about the negative stuff). anyway it does. minrathous feels like kirkwall. treviso enchanted me like the winter palace did. the hossberg wetlands reminded me of the hinterlands and a couple other inquisition maps. arlathan looked like... arlathan. the crossroads were different, but familiar. overall i like the way it looks and feels. it's thedas, with a twist. it's a good one, and gives everything a solid but unique feel.

combat is top tier. if you're a hardcore dragon age player you WILL miss the tactical aspect of it for a bit, but i promise you, once you're used to the way the combat works, you will be lapping that shit up. and once you get to ability combos you'll mourn the control you used to have over your companions in battle a bit less

the MAIN quest and its story. i expected worse, way worse. and for a while the game even had me tricked (harr harr you'll get it in a second) it is Really That Much Worse. but holy shit was it good. i walked away satisfied ngl.

your choices have SOLID weight. there's consequences, good AND bad. i got minrathous blighted, ruled over by venatori, and the leader of the shadow dragons ultimately died because of my decisions. i made those at the beginning and throughout the game. he died at the end. DAVRIN died because i didn't expect what i was saying to have that much weight. i thought i was in the clear. he had hero status. well turns out, your choices can still get your companions killed even if you do everything right. i fucking love him. he shouldn't have made that sacrifice just because i told him to do everything it takes once.

the inquisitor, morrigan and dorian being there, surprisingly. there's also negatives to this though, see below.

speaking of companions dying and the inquisitor playing a bigger role: the final quest feels like me2's suicide mission. i was blown away by it and the fact that i got to see the results of all my efforts playing out in front of me.

bioware are NOT trying to redeem solas. they love him as a character yes, but i wasn't forced to see any good in him. he betrays you. he fucked my rook over twice. he fucked him over right back, for good this time (the veil wasn't torn down, i anchored it by binding him to it, he's doomed to uphold it). but solas really lives up to his name as the trickster elven god. rip to all the people who grew really attached to him over the years.

varric died. if you like him that's probably as hard reading it as it was watching it. varric died and the game lies about it until the very end. when the realisation hits, it hurts. but in the very best way.

the amount of care they put into gender expression and trans identities this time around. (i'll add onto this with negative points as well too).

rook feels very much ingrained in the world of thedas. he doesn't ask questions that expose the player to lore through dialogue as if he's stepped foot into thedas for the first time. those conversations feel very solid and good. i hope other faction players got as much joy out of this as i did.

and the things i didn't like and boy there's a lot unfortunately

the music. let's just get that out of the way holy shit. it doesn't feel like it belongs in this universe. it gets so incredibly sci-fi-y at times you'd think it's taken straight from mass effect andromeda. there's not a single song unique to veilguard that i really enjoyed. it broke my immersion, real bad. hearing a busker play the tavern songs from inquisition on a lute right after i killed some venatori with wobbly bass songs playing in the background is just odd. weird tonal shift. don't like it. it's made for people who like flashy light-weight cinema.

tevinter nights is required reading. the podcasts are required listening exercises. the game is so fast paced, especially at the start, that there's no time to introduce you to characters and how much weight their names carry in-game. i would not have known who half these people are if i hadn't skimmed over tevinter nights. i'd care even less about them than i already did. there is no time to get properly attached to them. people will act as if you're talking to a legend personified and you'll be thinking man goddamn which chapter of tevinter night were they in again and what did they do???

there's a weird mismatch with the animations. you'll have beautifully fluid ones, like emmrich casting spells. and then you'll have rook's face animating in the most unnatural manner that's sorta reminiscent of mass effect andromeda's "my face is tired" addison, when their emotions SHOULD be landing with the player rn instead.

i'm not vibing with the art style. sometimes it works. most of the time it doesn't. at points i felt like i was watching tangled.

that also brings me to some of the dialogue. same issue. i am watching frozen. i am watching tangled. someone on the writer's team really likes the adorkable trope. bellara is its victim.

for all the talk about identity, bioware sure doesn't like theirs. the grey warden armor got a redesign again and it just makes them look like a generic army. i hate it lol

in general, i don't like the armor design. the wardrobe/appearances system is fine, but it's just not helping if all the armors are just... kinda bland or downight bad looking? and don't get me started on the lords of fortune armor. that is orientalism personified.

the world states should have been carried over, full stop. i know they said they didn't because they want to separate what happens in the north from what happens in the south, which... i could have lived with that. but the inquisitor sends you letters that keep you up to date on... the south of thedas. you learn that there's a blight again, that people are standing strong but it's difficult, denerim's fallen, the rulers are taking care of it, orlais is fighting and they're successful for a while, etc etc. what's good bioware. i thought we don't care about the south this time around. why are you feeding me so much boring generic information. if you're not gonna show any of it and just write letters, then carrying the world state over should not have been an issue. i have a game dev background. those few lines of code would not have broken your budget or pushed your engine's limits. fuck right off.

this gripe of mine carries over to all the cameos. as a lord of fortune you have to deal with isabela a lot. it's fun. i missed her. you get to go drinking with her and taash and bellara! also my hawke romanced her. she's not mentioned once. they had the opportunity to put a sentence or two about her in there with not a lot of effort, trust me.

when varric dies, all she has is a single line about it. for gold, for fortune, for varric. she only says it if you interact with her on your way to the final push. that's not mandatory.

morrigan is there. kieran isn't. the old god soul that mythal and then solas absorbed? who cares at this point, the gods are dead now and solas is locked away for eternity. i suppose? why is morrigan there. she feels unneeded. i wish they'd just left her down south, at least that way i wouldn't have had to witness her god awful redesign.

dorian at least feels as if he belongs in this story. the shadow dragons are a crucial part to protecting minrathous. he's also weirdly underutilised. isabela and morrigan had more lines than him in my playthrough.

on the topic of romance: bro that was underwhelming. no, genuinely. you know when romance picked up a bit? after the point of no return. i heard maybe two lines of companion banter about it before that. maybe i missed something which i honestly doubt, but romance did not play much of a role in lucanis's storyline. i saved his grandmother as he wished me to (and if you read tevinter nights you know she was rather abusive and their relationship not the healthiest) and told him to focus on his family. a reunified family my rook wasn't even introduced to as a partner at the end of all that.

really, do not buy this game if you're only in it for the romances. others might be better, lucanis's basically gave me nothing. except for an outing (the second coffee date i had with him, it was getting repetitive) all of it played out once i committed to the final quest. the sex scene was a fade to black. annoyingly right after davrin died. if you're looking for well paced and good spice, pick up something else. the sweet talk and the final goodbye were nice though.

for all the good the ever-presence of gender identity does, it is brought up in such a disruptive manner too. it doesn't even play out naturally if you CHOOSE the lines that are meant to be said. hearing the words trans and non-binary in this setting doesn't feel right, and i'm saying this as a trans guy. i think it could have been handled more gracefully. the amount of times my rook went "i'm a MAN" as if he's about to start drumming on his chest and roaring any second now got super nerve-grating. "i'm so glad you're into me... the me who is trans. remember?" just. tell me one trans person who'd talk like that to a person they've grown close with and are trying to romance. this game doesn't handle sexuality well, so all this hey my body might not look like the way you're expecting it to look talk amounts to nothing anyway. i feel about this the way i feel about krem: this is partial exposition to trans experiences... packaged up for cis consumption. the ONLY exception to that is interacting with taash. holy shit was all of that heartwarming and bro did it feel good and natural to talk to them about theirs and rook's gender.

rivain and nevarra are new locations added by veilguard. they're also incredibly underwhelming, small and constricted maps. rivain is a coastline with a few ruins. the hall of valor is a partial ruin nestled into a cave on a beach, with a fighting pit. isabela is there in her skimpy outfit commentating your pit fights. that's it. i'm sorry if you were looking for a bustling pirate cove or whatever. you're not gonna get it. the nevarran crypts btw are a long ass dungeon crawl. that's it.

speaking of maps. i thought people were being dramatic when they said you're gonna be fighting the same enemies on them again and again. i thought they were figure of speeching it. they're not. you WILL fight the same amount of enemies. in the same spot. every time you reload the map. best to stay on a map and clear out the enemies and do as much questing on that map as you can before leaving, because you WILL have to do it all over again once you return.

the three choices i made for my inquisitor didn't matter lol she didn't have to face solas and therefore couldn't stop him at any cost as she had sworn (maybe because my rook tricked solas into binding himself to the veil, there was also an option to fight him. would she have stepped in? who knows). blackwall wasn't mentioned. and either her using a small amount of her forces in the final fight was the reason the civilians of minrathous fared so well..... or it just didn't matter. ultimately i think she had very little impact on anything