#would Greatly Annoy Him. and thus i must

[cosmik-homo]

This is my Super Early On reaction to Avon and its still Incredibly true.

I was thinking of only showing the main message in the cropping but tbh i feel part one is soo relevant as well. like. "OH MY GOD hes actually an emo fuck isnt he-"

[writeforfandoms]

"i think this is the part where you're supposed to kiss me" + kisses under mistletoe + Simon Riley x reader

(I combined two prompts from the same kisses list, hopefully that’s okay! Congrats on 2k followers, you absolutely deserve it 💖💖 Your writing is so goddamn fantastic and I am so delighted for you 💖💖💖💖)

Ooooh good picks!! I like these. Let's see where this goes...

Warnings: alcohol and teasing. And fluff.

--

You weren't entirely sure how you got here, but you were sure it was Soap's fault. Somehow.

You huffed softly, holding your drink a little tighter. The holiday party was a long-standing tradition, but one that you usually wiggled out of with various excuses. Ghost usually got out of it too.

But not this time. This time, Price had forced you both into going. Something about spreading the holiday suffering.

Sometimes you greatly disliked your captain.

Which is how you found yourself trying to hide against a wall. Except Soap would not stop pestering you for a dance and making comments about how bonnie you looked in a dress. Thus, you were inclined to blame anything that happened on him.

"You look like you ate a live goldfish."

You jolted at the familiar voice, looking over at Ghost. He was actually dressed for the occasion, jacket stretched across broad shoulders, black face mask concealing most of his features.

"Surprised Price let you wear that." You motioned to your own face in reference.

"Knew I wouldn't show up without it." Ghost leaned near you, turning his gaze out to the crowd again.

You huffed a quiet laugh, shaking your head. "Gonna guess he threatened you with the same terms, then." You folded your arms over your chest, watching the dancers for now. You could spot Soap among them, having given up on you and found someone else to charm.

"Two hours," Ghost grunted, sounding displeased.

"Guess we'd better make the most of it." You snagged champagne from a passing waiter and offered one to him with a teasing little grin. He huffed at you but took it, the glass delicate against his fingers. You looked away first, unreasonably warmed.

The first hour was easy. Avoid small talk, cover each other's backs, glower occasionally at Price or Soap, and drink. The second hour got a little more lively.

"This way," you hissed, taking a quick surreptitious look around before you walked ahead of Simon, leading the way further back. Away from the woman who had apparently made it her goal in life to be as annoying as possible.

That, or she was attempting suicide by Simon. You were a little surprised he hadn't don't anything worse when she put her hand flat against his stomach.

(And you had ignored the burning little curl in your own stomach.)

"Where are you taking me?" But Simon only sounded amused.

"Finding you a spot away from her," you grumbled. "Does she think you're a slab of meat?"

"Yes," came the droll answer from behind you. You flapped a hand at him and rounded a corner into a quiet hallway. Much better.

"This should do," you said, looking around with satisfaction. "We're still technically at the event."

Simon huffed in amusement. A moment later, he was a solid line of heat against your back, hands at your waist. Your pulse sped up and you tipped your head to look back at him.

"Jealous?" He murmured in your ear, the crinkles around his eyes giving away his smirk.

"Of what?" You asked, mentally scrambling. Shit! "Someone who doesn't know how to take a no?"

He tugged you back, closer to him, his touch electrifying even through your clothes. "Not one to share, are you?"

"Dunno what you mean," you murmured, tugging against his hold. But he held firm, not letting you get anywhere.

"Did you know," he purred, low and teasing, in your ear, "that you frown any time someone flirts with me?"

Whoops. You hadn't even noticed. "Must be a coincidence."

"Don't think so." One hand left your waist, and a moment later you felt warm breath on the shell of your ear. You shuddered, eyes sliding closed. "Think it's more than that."

"Oh?" You managed to keep your voice even, though your body betrayed you in ways you knew he'd marked.

Simon hummed softly, the sound rumbling in his chest against your back. "Look there."

You blinked, caught off guard, and looked up. A bunch of mistletoe had been pinned up as decoration here, just above your heads. "Mistletoe?"

He huffed softly, gently turning you until you faced him. Your hands settled on his shoulders, helping you keep your balance. He carried so much on these shoulders. You never failed to admire them.

But the sight of his face was what held your attention, a rare treat. You drank in every detail greedily, from the scars to the bent nose to the circles under his eyes. Because that's what made him Simon.

"I think this is the part where you're supposed to kiss me," he murmured, cheeky and amused. But not joking.

So you smiled, one hand cupping his cheek delicately. When he tipped his head into your hand, you leaned up with the same consideration and kissed him. Soft, sweet. Gentle. Not things either of you had an abundance of in your lives, but something you wanted to give him more of.

Price would forgive you for not going back to the party.

[verona2314]

Judgment of the Damned (translation) PART VII

Link part VI:

Summary:

In the realm of Limbo, where souls deemed too good for Hell but not virtuous enough for Heaven reside, Victoria finds herself thrust into an unprecedented mission. When a notorious sinner, Sir Pentious, achieves redemption and ascends to Heaven, it sends shockwaves through all realms. Tasked with unraveling this mystery, Victoria, a minor judge of souls, is sent to the infamous Hazbin Hotel in Hell. For the first time, an emissary from Limbo steps foot into the fiery depths, tasked with observing and judging the denizens of Hell for their potential for redemption. As Victoria navigates this unfamiliar territory, she captures the unrequired attention of the enigmatic Radio Demon, Alastor. Amidst the chaos of demonic antics and the pursuit of understanding redemption, Victoria must confront her own beliefs and judgments. As she delves deeper into the secrets of the Hazbin Hotel, Victoria uncovers hidden truths about sinners, redemption, and the ultimate fate of souls caught between damnation and salvation. With each soul she encounters, Victoria's journey becomes not only a quest for answers but a personal voyage of self-discovery in the heart of darkness.

Chapter 7: Like a Family ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alastor

"After walking a couple of minutes down the street, Alastor released the judge's arm. Yes, it was amusing to see her annoyed and hear her constant protests, but he didn't want to attract attention. Now, he continued walking at his usual pace while Victoria struggled to keep up, trailing a few meters behind. Could he walk slower? Yes. Was it the right and polite thing to do? Definitely. Would he? No, because he greatly enjoyed the sharp glare Victoria was directing at him. It was evident that she knew Alastor was doing it on purpose.

"Dear judge, you better move those legs if you don't want to fall behind. Should I perhaps hold your arm again?" he said mockingly.

"I appreciate the gesture," Victoria responded sarcastically with a polite tone, "but I believe the problem isn't a lack of vigor on my part; I would say it's an excess of yours. But you already know that. Enjoy it while you can, as I doubt I'll have any desire to go for another walk with you in the future."

For some reason, that statement made him feel a bit uncomfortable. He hadn't even considered the possibility of having more walks in the company of the judge, but the notion excited him. He liked the idea of having more conversations with Victoria and inviting her to explore new places was a good excuse to generate such interactions. And now that pretext had been discarded by his innocent joke. Now that he thought about it more carefully, why was he even thinking about justifications? Yes, he wanted to know more about her to find ways to manipulate her and thus obtain a quite powerful card. Winning the favor of the judge meant, perhaps, accessing a stack of files with valuable information, and more importantly, being able to modify or even annul contracts... his contract. It was also true that his interactions with her were absolutely entertaining and kept his mind very active. But that wasn't reason enough to feel so intrigued by her. Or was it? Perhaps she simply piqued his curiosity because of her origins from the Limbo.

"Oh my god! Is that Robert Johnson? What is he doing here? And is that Sinatra? I can't believe it!" exclaimed Victoria excitedly. It was the first time Alastor had seen her so enthusiastic about something. He could understand her excitement about Johnson, but the name Sinatra, while sounding familiar, he couldn't fully recall."

"I see you're familiar with the King of the Delta Blues. While my tastes lean more towards jazz, I can't deny that Johnson was a great musician," replied Alastor as he gently nudged Victoria to keep walking.

"Of course I recognize them! Jazz, you say? I hope you're familiar with Yardbird. And I imagine you also know about Sinatra," said Victoria, still excited as she kept her eyes on the two musicians.

"Yes, of course I know who Charlie Parker is. I've had the pleasure of hearing him here in Hell. As for the other one, I'm not sure."

"Are you kidding, Alastor? But you're the radio demon!" exclaimed the judge, surprised. Alastor tilted his head, not understanding the connection. Victoria sighed and continued speaking, "Frank Sinatra became famous through the radio. He was one of the first musicians to take advantage of the microphone because he didn't know how to project his voice very well. He had a great knowledge of radio. He became very famous with his rendition of 'I Will Never Smile Again.' Have you really never heard of him? It was a big radio hit. He even had a radio show for 14 years."

Alastor's expression darkened slightly. He remembered the man now. Frank Sinatra. A singer who rose to stardom after Alastor's time, but whom he had the misfortune of meeting in Hell. The man had dared to give him "advice" about Alastor's broadcasts. What audacity! As if that smooth voice knew more than he did. And that stupid song. He couldn't stand it. Why would anyone wait to smile until they meet someone? That would be a complete waste. Alastor realized the judge was looking at him with curiosity. He tried to force a broader smile to hide his growing irritation. "No, it really doesn't ring a bell, my dear judge. But it seems you're quite illustrious."

"Really? Then let's go talk to him. Maybe he can sing us something," the judge replied, stopping in her tracks. Alastor immediately took her shoulder to urge them to continue walking.

"My dear judge, I'd prefer we didn't. Let's avoid bothering these sinners. Besides, don't forget we have another priority," Alastor insisted to Victoria. While they kept walking, her eyes were fixed on the singer. Strangely, the fact that all of the judge's attention was on that individual caused his irritation to increase even more. What was so interesting about the guy? Sure, he sang wonderfully and his voice was charming, but so was his, and of course, Alastor ego would make him think that his was even better. And he could bet he was much more witty than "Francis." That guy could never measure up and engage the judge in those intellectually demanding conversations. Maybe in life, he had been a radio phenomenon, but Alastor was the radio demon, and he had managed to keep it at its peak even against new technologies.

"Alright. You're right. I'm sorry. I got carried away, I apologize," sighed the judge, returning to her usual calm. Finally, her eyes stopped paying attention to the singer and turned forward. "I wonder which other greats will be here. Beethoven? Rachmaninoff? Wagner? Debussy? I doubt Haydn or Vivaldi. Although it seems ending up in hell is much easier than one would think."

"I see you like passionate musicians. Tell me, dear judge. Do you know about them from having seen their lives from your comfortable seat in limbo?" inquired Alastor, fascinated by the knowledge the judge seemed to have in music. It was unexpected, but it was a conversation topic he enjoyed greatly.

"Of course, I adore the most passionate composers! Music serves as a vessel for expressing internal emotions, allowing others to understand them or even oneself. The tumultuous whirlwinds of emotions convey immense energy, vitality, and life. Moreover, softer or timid melodies can stir the heart and evoke feelings of nostalgia, sweetness, and countless other emotions. Often, we find ourselves constrained by social and internal norms, but the uninhibited expression found in music, its raw honesty, never fails to captivate and enchant me. I simply cannot fathom an existence devoid of music," responded the judge, her eyes shimmering with vitality.”

"I can understand what you mean, my dear judge. Indeed, it would be a waste to have ears if we couldn't appreciate music. Undoubtedly, it can be great company and quite inspiring." He could even add that his best crimes were committed under the fervor of music, but he preferred to omit that detail.

"Surprisingly, I agree with you," added the judge, looking him in the eyes.

At that moment, Alastor was overcome by a sense of understanding and comfort. He felt completely satisfied with the conversation and wondered if he was beginning to forge some kind of friendship with the judge. Yet again, this feeling was replaced by a noticeable discomfort and bewilderment.

As they approached their destination, Alastor began to feel the need for a moment to breathe, a few seconds for himself. At that moment, something caught his attention. A new butcher's shop. It was strange to find the establishment in that area, as they had not yet entered the cannibal district. However, it was almost noon and it wasn't a bad idea to settle their lunch. Besides, it was impossible to resist the temptation to try the new business.

"My dear judge," he called out. Victoria looked at him and nodded to indicate she was paying attention. "Would you do me the favor of waiting here while I make a brief visit to the business across the street?"

"Don't you prefer me to accompany you?" she asked, with little interest.

"Not at all! Don't bother. However, be a good judge and don't leave this spot," he emphasized, briefly tapping the tip of her nose with his index finger. Victoria shook her head in reaction to the sudden gesture, as if shooing away a fly. Once again, that strange discomfort overcame him, and his urgency to be alone increased. Without waiting for Victoria's response, he hurriedly crossed the street and entered the butcher shop. Once inside, he took a deep breath. The scent of fresh meat filled his senses, arousing his appetite and calming his spirits. He was starting to feel like himself again as the predatory instinct slowly awakened within him.

"Yes?" the butcher asked.

"Greetings, sir!" he exclaimed, paying little attention to the man. He approached the glass display case to inspect the available products. To his delight, there was a wide variety of cuts, all seemingly fresh. For a brief moment, he felt tempted to turn his head and look through the shop window to make sure the judge was still there, but he immediately shook off that impulse from his mind. There was no substantial reason to worry so much about her. Yes, she was a minor judge from limbo who could be a useful tool, but nothing more. There would be no real loss to him if something happened to her. Perhaps they would send another judge to finish her task. It was tedious to start over with another judge, but perhaps it could be less stubborn and charming. His teeth clenched. Why didn't he like that idea?

"Damn it," he lightly tapped the glass case with his fingers. The butcher watched him with fear.

"I-Is there anything to your liking?" the man asked, his eyes betraying a hint of fear. Alastor could sense the butcher's unease. "Not quite, my good friend!" he replied, his voice returning to its usual tone. "I seem to have lost my appetite," he chuckled awkwardly. Despite his efforts to make a choice, the task of selecting from the array of cuts had become absurdly complex. This was the finest butcher's shop he had visited in quite some time, yet he found himself unable to settle on a selection. How absurd! After several minutes of contemplation and frustration, he finally settled on purchasing a variety of cuts to put an end to his torment. It was more than he truly needed, but he reasoned he could always share some with Rosie.

Feeling slightly relieved, he gave his purchase one final inspection, bid the nervous butcher a polite farewell, and stepped back onto the street in search of the dear judge. It took only moments to realize she was no longer where he had left her. Scanning the area, he hoped to catch a glimpse of her admiring a shop window or captivated by a street musician, but she was nowhere in sight. A pang of anxiety twisted in Alastor's stomach. He began to search through nearby shops and alleys, but Victoria was nowhere to be found.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed, frustration boiling over for the second time that day.

Angeldust

That morning he had woken up feeling very lazy. The night before, he had had a few drinks with Husk and Victoria. Unexpectedly, the woman had turned out to be charming and very kind, but she had a mischievous spark that made her even more fun. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so much. The only person who had managed to make him feel even better was Husk. His cheeks reddened at the memory of that moment shared with the former overlord. He was the only person with whom he had let his guard down, showing himself as he really was. Last night, he felt a little closer to him thanks to the instance created by the judge's relaxed presence. But everything comes with a price, and the feeling of a hangover made sure to remind him of that.

After tossing and turning in bed for a while, he decided to get up to find something to eat. He had the day off and wanted to spend it in the quiet of the hotel. So, after getting some snacks, he headed to the couch to lie down with a blanket and watch TV. Maybe he would find the replay of last night's episode of the tv drama about the guy who fucked up with someone's sister. However, upon arriving in the hall, he would come across Vaggie and Charlie sharing a tender moment before the former exterminator saw him and demanded his help with cleaning up the remnants of the chandelier. He didn't have much energy, but he was still willing to refuse and enter into a conflict with her until he saw Charlie's pleading look. He had definitely softened.

After getting to work, Vaggie went to fetch Husk and Niffty to join in the task as well. At least he could spend more time with Husk. That made him happy.

"By the way," he spoke to Charlie as he swept the floor, "I understand not wanting to involve the judge in this task, but shouldn't Alastor help too?"

"Well..." the blonde responded, "yes, but... he seemed a bit busy this morning. He left the hotel with the judge to show her around the city."

"Huh? I don't think it's a good idea for Deer Ears to be out there freely with the judge. He might try to convince her to make some deal without us around to prevent it. It's his thing, isn't it?" Angel commented, a little irritated. It bothered him a lot that Alastor wasn't helping.

"Come on, Angel. It's not good to always assume the worst of people."

"Are you kidding, Charlie? Of course you wouldn't suspect anything shady. But let me tell you, last night he stood outside the bar's door for several minutes, watching the judge very closely. I was the only one who noticed, but I didn't want to do anything because it could ruin the good mood. It's completely suspicious that Alastor shows so much interest in someone," he added this time, feeling genuinely concerned about the situation. After all, the deer demon had managed to make a deal with Charlie. He didn't know the details of it, but it wasn't difficult to deduce from what had happened that day and Vaggie's attitude.

"Aw, maybe he just likes the judge," the princess of hell replied, clearly trying to convince herself. "Don't worry, Angel. If Alastor really intends to use the judge, he won't let anything happen to her. I'm sure he'll take care of her diligently."

Angel was about to voice his disagreement, but the arrival of Niffty, Husk, and Vaggie cut the moment short. It wasn't worth getting into an argument. Charlie admitting that it wasn't an ideal situation wouldn't make Alastor return to the hotel with the judge. He shrugged and decided not to interfere any further.

After half an hour, they had finished the task. Despite its tediousness, Angel felt a certain sense of satisfaction. The best part was that he still had time to watch the episode replay. He quickly grabbed his snacks and blanket and rushed to the couch. He was finally going to have the morning he had been longing for.

"Can we join you?" Charlie asked from behind, smiling kindly. He didn't really feel like interacting with others anymore, but he was in a common area. Plus, he could sense a hint of distress in Charlie's eyes. Damn it, he really had softened. With a sigh, he shrugged indifferently and lazily nodded his head.

"Sure. But I want to watch the replay of my melodrama," he said, turning the TV on.

"Uh, what's it about?" the blonde asked eagerly as she sat down next to him.

"It's about a guy who hooked up with someone's sister," he explained briefly.

"I've heard of it. They say it's actually pretty good," Vaggie chimed in, settling in as well.

"Good? It's incredible. You have no idea about all the twists and turns it has, but the best part is, it's full of mysteries that keep you intrigued. Just when you think a secret is about to be revealed, another puzzle comes up. I don't know how the writers manage not to go crazy and tie up all the loose ends afterward."

"Uhh, you've convinced me, Angel," Charlie said excitedly.

"The leggies is right," Husk's voice was heard as he entered the room. "I've seen it too. At first, I thought it would be another crap soap with its stupid dramas and mediocre romances. But after the first two episodes, I realized that wasn't the case. Yeah, some of the acting is pretty bad, but at the end of the day, it's a minor detail," the former overlord finished with a half-smile as he looked at Angel.

A pleasant warmth filled his chest. Maybe it wasn't so bad to have a bit of company right now. Normally, no one shared his taste in TV shows, but this time it was different, and that made him feel happy. Maybe he could suggest to Charlie that they all watch the premiere of a new episode together and then discuss their opinions on it. He had many theories to share. The idea excited him. He snuggled further into the blanket, wanting to capture this warm feeling and hold onto it for as long as possible. Was this what people with a relatively normal family felt like? How fortunate.

They were halfway through the episode replay. Everyone in complete silence, attentive to every dialogue, every detail, every clue. The scene was tense, dramatic, and very exciting. Charlie covered her eyes, and Vaggie was on the edge of her seat, while Husk set his liquor bottle aside. One of the characters was saying their final words when the transmission was interrupted. It was a little past noon, so they weren't in news time. At least not on that channel, however, the screen was being taken over by the unpleasant blonde news presenter with a twisted neck. As always, Katie Killjoy living up to her name.

"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you these shocking images captured by several citizens near the cannibal town. In what appeared to be a street altercation, an unidentified woman decided to intervene using a power that until this moment was believed to be mere legend."Said the presenter.

The television showed a video captured by a cell phone from a considerable distance, yet it was still possible to recognize the judge as the protagonist of the footage. Victoria stood tall in a long black robe. Her left hand held a staff with a gavel-like head. The judge's eyes shone intensely in their own amber hue as her hair fluttered in the wind, free from its usual styling. Despite the ambient noise, it was possible to hear her utter words that sent shivers down Angel's spine. "In the exercise of my judicial authority, I invoke the Mandatum iudicisos, by which I command you to release this sinner." Barely had the judge uttered those words when an ochre light flooded the area, causing the recording to abruptly cut off. "According to reliable sources, what we have just witnessed is an ability known as 'the judge's mandate,' a faculty that, according to various legends, belongs exclusively to the 'judges of limbo,' entities whose existence was merely speculative. Have we just witnessed evidence confirming the reality of these stories? What do the highest authorities have to say about this? Were they ignorant fools of this fact or were they concealing her presence? We hope to receive their statements soon. I'm Katie Killjoy, and this is News 666. Shut up, Tom," the news anchor concluded.

The screen once again displayed the replay of the soap opera. The episode had ended, and now the credits were rolling. The room was filled with silence. Even Vaggie was speechless.

"Fucking shit," Angel was finally able to say, "we're fucked."

Link part VIII

[myfandomprompts]

𝐀𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞 - 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟓

Summary: Aemond has reunited with his dragon, but he now has only one thing in mind: you, his very pregnant wife far way from everything, and especially from him at the moment.

Warning: Fire & Blood spoilers (still not canon partly), angst

Masterlist (Part 24 - Part 26)

Mist was filling the valley, lightly cleared by the powerful flaps of wings of Vhagar as she steadily landed on the hill across from Deep Den, where the towers of the castle rose from the rocky mountain. Anxiety grew in Aemond’s heart at the thought that you might be in one of these towers, within reach, after all these months of being apart. Had he been right to send you away? What would've happened if he had not?

As he walked down the hill to the castle gate, he put aside these questions.

He cast a determined look to the guards that were eyeing him suspiciously, showing them their Lord’s sigil as he ordered to be taken to you at once, and soon he was climbing the inside stairs and was led to an adjacent antechamber. There, he was brought before two menacing looking guards at each side of a Lady he did not recognise that prevented him from advancing further.

Momentarily annoyed that you were not there, he nonetheless took the time to examine the face of the woman standing before him with her feet rooted to the ground and a hard expression on her face. As he narrowed his eyes at her, he noticed that she had some of your features, rendering her identity clear.

“Lady Melara I presume,” he said with a wry smile.

Mouth pouting, your mother bowed her head slightly in a polite greeting.

“Indeed your Grace. It is an honour,” she announced without warmth. “Your visit is quite unexpected, I must say I am surprised.”

“Why?” he replied shamelessly, glancing at the two guards that stared at him with displaced interest. “I am entitled to see my wife whenever I please. I made vows and I take them very seriously, my visit was only a matter of time.”

Melara quite failed at hiding her annoyance, and Aemond could only express dislike toward her behaviour despite her evident resemblance with you. His patience would not hold.

“My daughter had suffered a very difficult labour,” she announced, tone accusing as if it was his fault. “She is still recovering, she needs rest, quiet. She should not be disturbed, under any circumstances.”

Mixed feelings instantly took hold of him as he processed the information, instantly overwhelmed by the implication of your state as he forgot all about his irritation toward Lady Melara.

“When?” he blurted out.

“A week ago,” your mother said reluctantly, clasping her hands together in front of her. “She still has not recovered yet, thus I am afraid your visit will have to wait,” she firmly concluded, eyeing him as he pressed his lips into a thin line.

He felt his blood boil at her words, and his annoyance instantly reappeared as his patience escaped him. The news of you being unwell a whole week after labour had him so riled up that he pitied anyone who would find themselves on his path right now. Face hardening, he felt his body move slowly forward as he abandoned all decorum, tone menacing.

“If you believe that two guards will prevent me from going to her, I am afraid you greatly underestimate me, my Lady," he stated, eye boring into hers as he took care in showing that her attempt to intimidate him failed. “Either you take me to her chambers now, or I will force my way in, and I believe that we would both find that regrettable,” he slowly said, eye burning with determination.

He saw your mother shiver but quickly took hold of herself again, finding her usual scowl. The guards next to her had grabbed the hilt of their swords but Aemond did not even take notice, awaiting for the woman before him to speak.

But she said nothing, only briefly closing her eyes in resignation and taking a reluctant step aside before waving to a near servant as a silent command.

Aemond could not help the smirk that made its way to his lips, satisfied at her compliance.

“I almost forgot,” he said cockily as he passed her. “Your husband sends his regards.”

And with that he followed the servant outside of the room, leaving your mother behind.

You were sleeping. He recognised your slow breathing he had grown used to by your time in his arms, and as the servant closed the door behind him, rendering the room silent, he finally found the courage to move and he carefully made his way to the bed, taking care not to disturb you.

Maybe it was fear that prevented him from rushing to your side and taking you in his arms this instant, but here in the curtain-drawn room, every breath he heard you took felt precious, and having you in front of him seemed like a dream he did not wish to wake from.

He quietly discarded his weapons and sat on the bed, watching your face as you rested, noticing some pained features and sweat on your forehead confirming your mother’s sayings. You were still beautiful, even in pain, he thought. How much he wanted to take it away, to not have rushed to the Red Keep to kill for revenge but instead ensured that you were safe. It would forever remain one of his regrets. 

He gently reached to swipe some away, the sensation of your skin sending electricity through his fingers, but the feeling of your fever made him bite his lips in worry. He almost missed the way your eyes fluttered open slowly, your hooded gaze landing upon him.

He saw your body react to his, and he braced himself to the sound of your voice, finally.

“...Aemond?”

You blinked again as you raised yourself on your elbow.

“Shhh my love, you need to lie down,” he ordered, hand still caressing your face.

But you were already sitting, narrowing your eyes as the sheets once covering you slid off your form, making you shiver from the cold.

“Tell me I am not dreaming,” you pleaded, reaching for the hand that rested on your face, eyes fully wide now, hooded but still burning.

A lump got stuck in his throat, Aemond could only look at you dearly as your face shifted from pain to utter relief, unable to say a word as he could finally admire you.

“Oh Gods Aemond!” you weakly cried out, wrapping your arms around him in a tight embrace. He held you close as he stroked your hair fondly, feeling every fibre of his body jolt in satisfaction. “How…?”

“No matter now, just… let me hold you,” he said against you before placing kisses over the side of your head.

Nothing had prepared you for the feeling of being reunited with Aemond in this moment, and even though your fever had lowered since the last few days, you still felt your body overwhelmed by the sensation his body gave yours, as if the missing part of your soul was slowly sewed back together. As you held him tightly, you could not help but notice how thinner he seemed to be, and you instantly grew concerned, remembering that he had been a prisoner for months and had certainly just been freed somehow.

“Aemond, what did they do to you?” you said, breaking the embrace to examine him and reaching to cup his jaw.

“Shh, I am fine, do not worry. I am a dragon, I am not easily broken, even by the likes of me,” he answered, taking hold of your other hand to press it against his heart. “This is you I am worrying about.”

Your head ached a bit, but the softness of his voice was soothing, like medicine as he set aside a strand of your hair away from your face.

“There is nothing to worry about, now that you are here I…” you swallowed, wishing to appear stronger than you were at the moment. “I always knew. I never stopped believing that we would find each other again.”

He pulled you against his chest again, holding you tightly as he rested his chin on your head. He recalled the constant dread that filled his mind when he was stuck in his damn cell, about how he blamed himself for failing you, failing his family. His breath grew heavier.

"We are together now, and I will not let anyone use you again, it is a promise. You are the Prince’s spouse, you belong to the Targaryen’s dynasty, and I would rather die than let anyone touch you again.”

You squeezed his forearm, the closeness of his body not enough.

“I do not want you to die…” you whispered, afraid of his words.

“Then I shall not.”

You felt your headache vanish as he held you in his arms.

“Is my father…?”

“I saw him. He is fine,” he reassured. “I would have brought him to you, but he stubbornly refused to mount Vhagar… A Lydden trait I fear.”

His witty tone made you scoff in his chest, feeling the smile he bore as he rested his chin on your head.

“You should know that she has been of great help to me… Vhagar. Living up to your fierceness, she had.”

“So I have heard,” he replied, the sound of his voice vibrating in your body. “Though I assure you that she has been more reasonable than I would have been if I had been there.”

You did not doubt him for a second, but you wanted nothing more than to avoid the subject of Ulf the White right now, rather enjoying this precious moment. Instead you pulled yourself from his chest in order to look at him, taking in his always glorious features despite his late suffering and your eyes darted to his lips where a faint smile still lingered, and you could not resist. You leaned to meet with it in a shy manner, making his breath sharpen in his chest as he held you gently in return, taking your chin in his fingers, as if afraid that you would break.

Nothing else mattered in this silent moment, rejoicing in the presence of one another until a faint noise erupted from somewhere in the room, making Aemond stiffen and break the kiss. You only smiled as more coos were heard from behind him.

“I think someone wants to meet you,” you smiled.

Aemond’s expression was of shock, but it made your heart fill with warmth as you watched his eye slowly coming to the realisation of what laid only metres away from him.

His head turned toward the noise, absent-mindedly sliding his hand from your body and stood up, carefully approaching the crib next to the bed. You could only watch from your position as his face shifted from anxiousness to complete awe, making your heart melt as he laid his eyes upon his daughter for the first time.

“This is Naerys.”

Aemond briefly glanced at you, dazed looking before reporting his gaze on the baby in the crib, hand itching to touch her.

“She is so small…” he whispered, eye fixed on her, his silver hair falling on the sides of his face.

You let a moment pass for Aemond to admire her. “Bring her here.”

He glanced back at you, unsure.

“I don’t-”

“You will do just fine. You only have to mind her head,” you assured, repositioning yourself on the bed encouragingly.

He watched her for a few more seconds before delicately scooping her in his arms, careful in holding her head like she was porcelain. Although he seemed anxious, he was the very image of the father you had envisioned in your mind for your daughter, careful and loving, and you were glad the Mother had blessed you with both their existence as your husband came back to sit at your side.

Naerys stretched her tiny arms in the air aimlessly, briefly brushing Aemond’s hair as she rested one of her hands against his chest. You made sure that Aemond kept holding her as you both watched your child chortle weakly between the two of you, entranced at her very sight.

“Naerys…” he breathed out as his thumb grazed her cheek softly.

“I only guessed that you would like such a name. When we were young, you often spoke of this book in which Valeryian’s women would…”

“It’s perfect,” he interrupted, taking one of his hands from under your daughter, flushing her against his chest more tightly in order to reach for your chin and kiss you softly again, his agreement felt like the world to you.

After a while you felt your eyes itch a little, the excitement of your reunion with Aemond tiring your already weak state and you faltered a bit, the motion immediately noticed by Aemond. With a worried look, he made you lean against the pillows carefully before taking his place next to you, pressing Naerys to rest comfortably on his chest as he laid down, your head on his shoulder and wrapping his free hand around you.

“Do not send me away again,” you spoke under your breath. “Ever.”

“I won’t.” he answered, placing a kiss on top of your head.

You fell into a happier slumber.

You had made an unexpected recovery, the rapid lowering of your fever stunning the maester as he congratulated himself on the efficiency of his potions, but you knew otherwise.

You knew it to be far-fetched, but you had the firm belief that it was Aemond’s presence that had hastened your healing, since you had been feeling better the days after his return, his touch and the familiar glow in his eye that you had missed acting like a remedy on you. Your appetite had returned and even if you still felt weak, walking was not as tiresome as before.

Aemond had stayed for a few days upon his return, settling in your quarters, mostly resting with you and taking care of his newborn daughter. You knew him to be affected by his recent confinement, but he showed renewed vigour when it came to Naerys.

Indeed, when the midwives would come and take care of her, Aemond was never far, gaze always fixed on their doings as they changed her or helped you nurse her, as afraid that they would take her away from him. You had found it endearing at first, until one day he had snapped at them so violently for being not gentle enough with his daughter that the midwives would now come much less, afraid of suffering the wrath of the Kinslayer. You had taken his arm in a soothing attempt and told him that everything was fine, meanwhile pitying the poor boy that would be the first to lay his eye on your daughter in the future if Aemond Targaryen was there to witness it.

Your husband had also become a master in avoiding your mother, disappearing to Vhagar whenever she visited you, and reappearing hours later with a foul mood. Your brother’s visits kept on, bearing gifts to his niece and asking about your health, but they became scarcer, each time ending with him glancing anxiously at Aemond when he was in the room with you and departing hastily.

“I think your brother is scared of me.” Aemond had said one time when Armory had glanced at him with fleeing eyes as he entered, excused himself to you and left, passing by Aemond in the process.

You laughed softly, adjusting Naerys in your arms that had just let go of your breast, enough fed. “No, I don’t think so. He just… might be a little sad that he is not spending as much time with me than before, now that you are here.”

“Jealous mh?” he said, advancing into the room and discarding his sword onto the table and coming to kiss you. “I sense that I should feel guilty about it, but oddly enough, I don’t.”

“Be nice,” you scolded as he took Naerys from your arms carefully. “He is one of the only people inside of this castle that does not resent you completely.”

He hummed again, laying the babe into the crib with a fond smile before returning to you, digging his elbow onto the mattress as he laid at your side.

“I guess ordering a siege and robbing them of their armies tend to have that effect.”

“It just might,” you concluded, absent-mindedly massaging your breast in an attempt to ease the pain. “But I think Vhagar is what makes them think twice before stabbing you in a dark corridor. And their love for me, of course,” you said with an arrogant grin.

You saw his eye briefly lower to your movement over your chest before looking up to you again, amused at your words.

“How could one not," he stated before his expression became serious. “How is your head?”

“Fine. I believe that all of these herbal teas have finally taken effect,” you lied, both of you perfectly aware that your state had improved as soon as he had arrived, but not wanting to admit it out loud.

“Good.” he concluded, still watching you as you put on a drape over your shoulder to shield you from the cold as he reached for the fabric of your gown, playing with it. You felt him fall into that uneasiness he had since he had come back, something was amiss again.

“You are leaving…” you said, afraid to know the answer.

He sighed, not daring to raise his gaze to you.

“I have no choice. I have stayed away from my duties for too long.”

Naerys squeaked as you said nothing.

“What will happen, Aemond?”

The grip on your gown seemed to tighten as you heard him take a deep breath.

“I will annihilate every remaining Blacks, starting with my bastard of a nephew, and the death of Helaena and my brother will be avenged.”

You refrained tears from coming into your eyes at the thought of Helaena. It was the first time Aemond had assessed her death before you, and still you could not find the strength to speak of it, or even console him with words, only with your touch for now.

“This is unwise… If Jacaerys dies then-”

“What would you know of it?” he snapped at you, suddenly irritated, eye burning as he met yours. “He is a threat, as is my uncle and all of his off-springs. They will be next.”

“Aemond you must think about it. You cannot stand up against all of them, only a deal or an agreement would-”

“Killing them is the only way to ensure that my family is safe. That you are safe.”

“You are losing!”

You had talked louder than you meant to, overwhelmed by your emotions, the cold truth coming out of  your mouth hit both of you hard. Aemond stood up abruptly and began pacing into the room, an icy fury as he gripped the back of a chair in an attempt to steel himself, expression dark. You tried to soften your voice for what you were about to say.

“You are losing and you know it. Your great-cousin knows it, Cole knows it… Your brother knows it. Otherwise, why would he have gone to such lengths at capturing Jacaerys instead of simply kill him? Because he knows that a deal is the only thing that-”

“Rhaenyra is dead !” his voice yelled, voice slightly shaking in hatred.

“And she had allies! Still very much breathing,” you tried. “The Lannisters are already struggling with the northern armies, and the Hightower’s forces are greatly diminished. The twins are missing and-.”

“The twins are alive and well.” he said coldly.

“What?” you blurted out, appalled.

“Larys Strong had them smuggled into Oldtown, weeks ago. They are to remain there for safety.”

“This is... I am glad,” you said, taking a moment to relieve in the good news. “This is good, it means that they would do anything to have Jacaerys back.”

“It does not matter what they want. I will not consider anything other than blood until Daemon Targaryen is reduced to a pile of ashes. And you know him to be in the same state of mind. There is nothing either of us can do about it.”

You knew it to be true, Daemon Targaryen was too erratic to envision peace. But so was Aemond, and you would not back down, you would not lose him if you had a say in the matter.

“I won’t let you do this. We have spent too much time apart from each other, and now that I found you again I-”

“I have no choice!” he shouted, pushing the back of the chair violently forward, making it bump into the table next to it. “Not everything is settled by treaties and agreements Y/N, and I am Prince Regent! What I say goes.”

“So why are you here?” you asked in an accusing tone as Naerys, disturbed in her slumber by her parents’ shouts, started to cry. Aemond paused, furrowing his brow.

“What?”

“Why are you here, instead of executing Jacaerys? Why are you here, instead of chasing your uncle this instant, with his dragon so deadly that both of you would surely end up dead?” you said, not letting him talk as you saw his mouth open to retort over Naerys’s cries. “I will tell you why Aemond. You say that you have no choice, but you have not yet realised that you already made up your mind. You are here because you have waited too long and sacrificed too much in order to have what your heart desired, only to throw it away in the name of vengeance. To have us. That is why you did not depart already.”

Aemond’s expression was blank, staring straight at you, unmoving. Your watery eyes fled his gaze as you firmly made your way to the crib in which your daughter cried, ignoring him as you passed inches from him.

You had already quarrelled with him in the past, but never like this. You wondered how his silence would bode for you as you picked up Naerys to rock her into your arms, expecting his harsh voice to argue again with you at any moment. But you heard shuffling and the next instant, Aemond’s arms were wrapped around you, chin resting on your shoulder.

“Why must you be so… insightful,” he said quietly, breath against your ear as he sighed. You said nothing, voice too ready to crack.

“I do not wish to fight with you. I am sorry I yelled,” he continued as he was met with your silence.

You inhaled sharply as Naerys finally settled down, her cries turning into gurgles.

“I do not like it either. I only wish for you to remain alive. To be breathing, to be with us.”

He let go of your waist in order to face you, cupping your face as you held Naerys tightly.

“I promise you that I will do anything in my power to return to you. But you must understand that Daemon must die.”

“Aemond please-”

He silenced you with a kiss, tender and longing as his nose brushed against your cheek.

“I do not want to speak of it any more,” he said, final. “I will return soon.”

You could say nothing as you watched him stroke your daughter’s cheek before kissing your forehead and go to retrieve his belongings. Your eyes followed him as he left the room, leaving an aching emptiness in it, and in your heart.

You knew you had reached to him somehow, but your greatest fear was the mutual hatred that your husband and his uncle shared toward each other. History would surely remember this.

-0- Part 26

@let-love-bleeds-red @crazylokonugget @jeyramarie @ephemeralninon @mrswhitethornbelikov @dudfahsn @missusnora @queenofterrasen418 @honeytrapsblogp-graham @heathclifftragedyy @discowizard88 @ivartheblessed @xceafh @bubbletae7 @omgkatherine97 @tzipora-art @signyvenetia @ml0103 @nsainmoonchild @lonadane @skythighs @bietchz @samnblack @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @projectcampbell @ripdragonbeans @caribbeangal @polireader @zillahvathek @moni-cah @literishdegree99 @a-beaverhausen @thekinslayer @maniccrystalhippie @princessofdarkwinter @isaxbella749 @claudie-080102 @ebaylee422 @hydrationqueensworld @crumblychunksofheaven @officiallyunofficialperson @grungegrrrl @stargaryenx

[frozenwafflesagain]

I spent the first hour of my 25th birthday thinking about Ben Hargreeves, as one does.

And thus I present…

A Collection of Ben Hargreeves Thoughts And Theories

- INSANELY misunderstood in my opinion

- There is a difference between how Ben was as a child versus who he is as a (ghost) adult

- The Hargreeves all remember the child Ben was, while Klaus knows who Ben became and loves him for it

- Ben as a child: sweet, quiet, kind, gentle, polite, snarky, serious, timid, fearful, still, obedient, know-it-all

- Ben as an adult: loyal, determined, jaded, unapologetic, realist, tough love, practical, sad, sarcastic, caring, desperate, annoyed

- Everyone says Ben was “the best of them” when they were teenagers; I imagine that he was always there for whoever needed it with a kind word or just a hand to hold. Ben just wants to help, I think that’s one trait that stayed with him into adulthood.

- He was afraid of the Horror growing up, obviously. He didn’t want to use it, we can assume from this that he never took pleasure in the death and destruction it brought. He literally says “I didn’t sign up for this.”

- Seemed to go along with Klaus’ pranks, even enjoy them. He might have had a bit of a wild side as a teenager that faded a bit after he died.

- We know he was scared to move on to the afterlife when he died. I think it was because he didn’t want to leave his family yet.

- He stayed with Klaus all those years, and he didn’t have to. He CHOSE to. I think he wanted to stay with Klaus, give him someone to hold on to and watch out for him no matter how frustrating it got.

- But even though he wouldn’t abandon Klaus, Ben very clearly got angry and frustrated and annoyed with him, and understandably so. He had to watch Klaus waste away the life he didn’t get to have.

- When he says as much to Klaus when they’re at the motel, I don’t think this was Ben choosing to rub the reality of his death in Klaus’ face. I don’t think he was doing it to be malicious, because that’s not Ben. I think that he was trying to give Klaus something else to focus on while he was reliving his trauma. Tough love - yeah, what he was saying was undoubtedly hard for Klaus to hear, and I’m sure Ben was airing out his own grievances, but I think it was in the name of distraction more than anything else. If Klaus could think about what Ben was going through instead of focusing on the memories, that could help him in the end.

- In regards to the S2 possession: I chalk that up to poor writing and poor characterization. Ben ASKING Klaus to possess him makes sense to me, but everything else that he does without consent I see as a failure to understand Ben’s character. After everything they went through as kids, after everything Ben himself went through, after the things he probably saw happen to Klaus on the streets, I simply refuse to believe that Ben would have “no regrets” about taking control of Klaus’ body like that. The person the writers have set up Ben to be prior to those scenes would NEVER have been okay with that. Honestly, in my mind, those Ben scenes are not canon.

-That being said, his decision to save Viktor makes perfect sense. As much as he clearly wanted to stay with Klaus, he knew he would finally make an impact on his sibling’s lives if he could get to Viktor and help him control his powers. Again, he showed Viktor tough love along with compassion: he didn’t let him give up.

- But wanting a hug as he goes? There’s the Ben they all knew as kids.

- I think he probably regretted not getting to tell Klaus the truth in his last moments, which is why he asks Viktor to do it. He didn’t want Klaus to carry around the guilt he must have felt at the idea that he made Ben stay. Ben, despite growing harder and more jaded in death, is still kindhearted.

- Predictably, dying greatly affected his personality and the way he saw things as he stayed with Klaus.

[true-blue-sonic]

Good morning/ afternoon/ evening Blue :D

(for the hot take)

Honestly Sonic X is not as good as many people say. And not because of Chris (that for some reason gets a lot of hate). I just think that the concept is cool but the writing is messed up. Especially of some characters like Amy and Tails. Instead of Sonic's friends they made them his #1 fans😭 as if they wanted to make these characters annoying on purpose so that Sonic's the cool guy which really didn't make the show very enjoyable for me. But ofc it's sega

Good morning! ^-^

Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree

I haven't watched Sonic X in ages, but I must readily admit that the first episode is one of my favourites... because Chris isn't in it for most of it, haha. (The actual most favourite is Defective Detectives and I just skip the part about the two worlds causing time to freeze or whatever lol.) I think that the whole premise inherently provides issues: naturally they'll want to give the humans attention (why else would they be created?), but that draws screentime away from the game characters, who I'm far more interested in. (Related to your statement, I think that is one of the reasons Chris is so disliked: he takes up roles that were filled by game characters, like at the end of the SA2 arc. Considering the fact X!Amy isn't the most charming of portrayals, a scene wherein she tells Shadow about how the world is good and people are inherently worth protecting could have shown a good side of her. But instead Chris got it, and I feel like people experience that as leeching a much-needed role from a character already not presented so well throughout the series.) And the incorporating of the game stories in the second season became rather messy, resulting in quite some unanswered questions (e.g. how Eggman was born on the human planet yet transported to Sonic's world and how Gerald managed to create an anthro hedgehog. Have those ever been addressed?). Furthermore, from what I remember, Sonic just spent a lot of time lazing around or doing his own thing before coming in at the end to help out. I don't think it's unfitting for him, but I agree that it feels like the other game characters thus often got the shaft to give Sonic his big hero moment.

But here I must once again reiterate that I just haven't watched it in ages and this is all from memory. I do enjoy puns and stuff and iirc the English show was riddled with them, so that's at least a point in its favour! :> But overall, I think I'd much rather have gotten an anime entirely about Sonic's world and the adventures to be had there, instead of incorporating the "real" world in it. But then also not how it was done in Season 3, with a lot of grimdarkness and stuff XD In that regard, I think the first season was "better" than the second: the stories were entirely original, whereas the second season was kind of "game plots but now with the humans put in them". I really enjoyed watching X when I first became a fan (it greatly helped with my English!) and I'd be more than happy to binge-rewatch it again one day, but in hindsight, I can also see why people dislike the show so much.

[mirageofadesert]

C-Drama Review: My Journey to You

Broadcast: iQIYI, 2023, 24 Episodes Genre: Romance, Wuxia

My Rating 7/10

A beautiful show with a promising premise, ultimately disappointing with a poorly realized asynchronous story-telling and unsatisfactory ending.

Acting: 6/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 9/10 Storytelling: 4/10 Pacing: 7/10 Re-watch Value: 6/10  Bonus: for Jolin Jin's and Tian Jiarui's characters. One of my favorite big sister and little brother!

Summary with minor spoilers: My Journey to You tells the story of two assassins, Yun Weishan (played by Yu Shuxin) and Shangguan Qian (played by Lu Yuxiao), who are sent to infiltrate an enemy sect territory, the Gong residence, disguised as potential brides. However, their respective objectives are in conflict with each other, and so are their targets. They encounter two very different young masters and their respective families. Young Master Gong Ziyu (played by Zhang Linghe) surprisingly attains the title of Sword Wielder of the Gong family, but faces accusations about the legitimacy of this status and title. Only by completing three challenges can he prove himself and take up his family's legacy. He falls in love with Yun Weishan early on, meanwhile Shangguan Qian future husband Gong Shang Jue (played by Cheng Lei) distrusts his new bride. In a balancing act, she must win his trust without revealing her true intentions. Thus begins a dangerous game, wherein the lines between friend and foe are blurred. The price? Freedom from the oppressing employers - and their own survival.

My review - spoilers ahead!

The show started out incredible promising: A captivating premise, a darker tone in both cinematography and theme, beautiful sets and costumes, decent special effects and a different voice for Esther Yu. And while the show had great moments, it overall failed to deliver what it promised. So what went wrong?

The short version is that the show suffered from the typical shortcoming: mediocre acting, misguided directing and bad writing.

Esther Yu and Zhang Ling He never stood out to me as particularly great actors, and this holds true in this show as well. However, I don't think the problem with My Journey to You can be blamed on their unconvincing acting, but is rather a product of the direction the writing took them.

The tension arcs get boring really fast: Again and again the female leads are in danger of being exposed (or better: exposing themselves), but by the third time it doesn't feel exciting anymore. The other major plot line is the conflict surrounding the succession of the sword wielder title, which I was never able to care about. I think a different story-line for the ML would have greatly benefited the drama. Trying to make the audience care about him by putting a lot of emphasis on his hard childhood early on in the show, didn't work, because it felt so irrelevant compared to the backstories of the other characters. It didn't give him depth, it actually took it away.  Therefore, the dynamic between the main couple wasn't working either - she was too cold, he was too immature for them to create any interesting chemistry.

The second couple not only had the better written characters, their storyline had more suspense. I have seen mainly Esther Yu being criticized for this drama, so my potentially controversial opinion is, that it's actually the fault of the dull main storyline and the bland ML.

The other big problem are the poorly build-up plot twists. Some of these plot twists themselves were great, like the switch of the medical document and the death of the little sister. While these were great plot points, the narrative build-up wasn't. In retrospect, it made sense we got so much information about the MLs unhappy childhood and complex relationship with his parents, because that build-up both to the medical record swap and the betrayal of the older brother, however... it was just done in such an annoying way, that it made the ML look unnecessary whiny and the storyline boring.

As the show progressed, they increasingly used the element of time-jumps and flashbacks to tell the story. There should have been a better way to deliver tension and twists, than constantly making jumps in order to catch the audience off guard. Part of the fun in mysteries like this is to make guesses while watching, but that only goes so far, when it is all in the editing and crucial information is simply being withheld. And what made this even worse, it that the final plot twist (e.g. the brother coming back) was so predictable, all the asynchronous story-telling wasn't even necessary!

Worst of all was the ending: A twin sister out of nowhere? A villain that was poorly build up? No resolution for the second couple? A cliffhanger for a next season that does not fit the tone of the first 23 episodes and is unlikely to ever happen? Frustrating.

It wasn't all bad: The supporting cast was great. Ryan Cheng, Jolin Jin and Tian Jiarui were amazing! The dynamics between all the other couples were engaging as well. Gong Zishang was my favorite comic relief in any cdrama, and she gave the whole show such a unique vibe! Tian Jiarui's character was right done my alley - I just love my twisted little psychopath in emotional turmoil!

Just one last thought ... please no more Chen Duling? She has been in most shows I have watched this summer and has failed to charm me every time. She is a decent actress, but the type casting of "sad, whiny girl" isn't doing her any favors.

Overall, I think this was a decent drama. I still would recommend you to watch this show, especially if you value intriguing characters over plot!

[crownshattered-arch]

@sleepysilverknight inquired: (To Malleus) Silver with an air of intensity followed Malleus around the school ensuring his lord was in classes first before he worried for his own attendance. His movements were stiff and yet the air of professionalism seemed to age Silver greatly the younger man acting as an old war veteran marching to their captains orders. "My Lord.." Silver called his inept senses picking up on others nearby, that and they were kind of being loud. Not nearly as loud as Sebek but loud enough. "Potential danger may lie ahead, permission to walk ahead and defend as needed?" Perhaps it was indeed something, but the chances of it being nothing and Silver really just needed to calm his senses was the more likely option.

⁕| Unprompted |⁕

Why was he still being guarded every second of the day..?? Perhaps he would have been even more annoyed by the prospect if he wasn't so used to being accompanied. The briar prince had privacy as it seemed, and it has always been this way. Even so, that wasn't Silver's fault, so he dared not take his annoyance out on his guard. In fact, he didn't even show his annoyance in the slightest. But Malleus still looked forward to after class where he could disappear and be on his own.

"Hmm?" The prince had been so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice Silver speak to him. However, Malleus caught on quite quickly and looked in the direction of the loud students. In a way, Malleus was almost pleased... Usually everyone grew silent in his presence. It was...unnerving, although no one would be able to tell simply by looking at him.

Malleus turned his chartreuse gaze towards the guard beside him. "No need. They are simply students speaking enthusiastically among their peers." Malleus turned his gaze forward once more, walking with the perfect grace and purpose of a future king. "And Silver... You have classes to attend to as well, I presume? I can walk the rest of the way. You are still a student, and thus you must adhere to the school's attendance policy."

[009720kakashi]

narasnooze

"Well, doesn't that sound promising..." he mumbled quietly, wondering just what kind of unlucky business had happened to two entire teams. That guy must be cursed, Shikamaru thought. Well, it depended on what the Hound exactly meant with unlucky, but it sure seemed a bit suspicious. Sparrow seemed to lack a bit of luck, as well. Or her team, at least. Hopefully the injuries weren't too severe... "Fourteen? ...I don't know whether I should be impressed or offer my condolences." he replied honestly but decided on both. "I only have seven months worth of ANBU experience so far. I'm looking forward to work with you... Why do I suddenly feel more like a rookie now, than when I started.." he let a chuckle slip out. He turned his head to Rabbit. Ah, that's right... Someone had said Hatake had that set of skill. It was quite impressive even though people seemed to be annoyed with it. They felt threatened, maybe not physically but definitely mentally... he thought, forming a small smirk. The copy-nin threatened their ego. "I wouldn't mind. Besides, I think it would greatly improve the team work in certain situations if everyone knew what their comrades could do... Makes it easier to work out a strategy fast. It'd be rough to play a game of chess if you have no idea how to move your pieces..." Shikamaru turned his attention back to Hound. "I manipulate shadows, basically. Bend them into a sort of solid form which I can use to make them do what I want. The more focus, the more solid. I can take control over another person's movements by connecting my shadow to theirs..." With that, his family name was probably not much of a secret. Stag nodded to the information finally given to him about what they were doing, and going. "Hn... Well, that sounds troublesome... And we have zero ideas of who or what it can be that are responsible for these disappearances? So many people..." he trailed off, falling into deep thought about what it could mean. "No blood or signs of struggle? Just the shards?"

No it was not. Especially considering that Sheep was fairly new and just had two teams thus far. He would not add that though. Kakashi did naturally not know all the details and he would not speculate. That Sheep had lost two teams was a fact though. 

“It’s still deliberate…sort off” he replied. Minato Sensei had not exactly ordered it. He had asked him though and Kakashi probably could have refused but Minato also must have been fairly certain that he wouldn’t. After his death Kakashi had simply stayed. The oath did not die with the Hokage after all. It was to the office or even more the village. 

He did? Ok… that was rare. 

“Easy to say for someone with a Kekkai Genkai…since you can’t exactly learn them he sure can’t copy them anyway” Rabbit mumbled.

With that talent it was quite clear which clan Stag belonged too.

“Hilarious guy the quartermaster ne?” he commented. Because really a stag for someone from the Nara clan? Apparently he did look for fitting if there was something. Maybe that Moth was Aburame then.

“That’s what the Hokage said…shards of one mask…I doubt there is much scent left either. After all it has been some time now.” He’d put his summons on it though there still might be something.

“Maybe we would better have taken an Inuzuka with us then” Rabbit said.

“Maa is he trying to pick a fight with me?” Kakashi asked, wondering if he had had some beef with the guy he didn’t know about.

narasnooze

"Mmm..." he hummed, knowing very well that he could be quite annoying when he was this indirect. He had a bad habit of testing people's patience. But, he figured the guy deserved a bit better answer from him. At least this time. "Well, I understand that you don't want to share your thoughts about Sheep, he's our Captain... It could end up troublesome. Same goes for Sparrow. You don't really want to go further into detail about her, either... not now and not to me. I'm gonna assume it's because you don't know me, naturally you don't trust me on a personal level. It's none of my business, really, either. I respect that." Perhaps Shikamaru would fall into the same category as Sparrow for the Hound, after being his weird self. Okay, maybe not the very same, but in another Dislike-folder. It was fine. He wasn't trying to be liked, or disliked. The less great energy between the three other ANBU had just made him a bit curious. His bad. "Yeah... I'm gonna end up calling every cat-masked ANBU 'meow'... who the hell can keep track of Cat, Panther, Tiger, Lion and whatever other feline animal there is? I should've re-painted mine into a clown face, for the irony." That'd be eerily disturbing for the enemy, too, probably. "Ahh... I thought it was a moth." he yawned again. "So, what's this mission about? I wasn't really told."

“Troublesome hm?” he said amused. It still could end up troublesome. A mission where people disappeared without a trace required certain skill sets.  He would not accuse a Captain openly. Stating facts was something else though.

“Sheep’s teams tend to be fairly unlucky which is why he does not have a fixed team at the moment. He’ll probably rotate in again once a Captain dies on duty.” 

Sheep had managed to lose 2 entire teams. On both occasions he had been the only survivor. In Kakashi’s book hat was very interesting to say the least. Kakashi had work with him before but had never been under his command. His performance had been lacking to say it mildly. At times there were other factors than skill that made Captains though.

“Sparrow’s team is hospitalized from their last mission as far as I found out in the 15 minutes I managed to spare between assignment and meeting…I could have used these 5 minutes they were late” he replied with a grin that made his eye wrinkle.

Kakashi had been with ANBU since he was 14. He basically grew up in it and was fairly well connected.

“I don’t think we worked together yet ne? How long are you in ANBU and what’s your specialty?” he asked.

Since he was talking to another ANBU operative and all of them were paranoid and really not good volunteering information he sighed and went ahead, even though probably everyone knew anyway which really was kind of unfair.

“I entered ANBU when I was 14. Speciality…Chidori I suppose since I invented that myself and did not copy it.” Chidori had been basically done before Obito’s death. He could not really use it without the Sharingan but the jutsu had been finished in its structure.

“I thought your specialty is reading porn” Rabbit commented.

“Maa that would be ‘reading’ though because no matter the content it’s still ‘reading’…I don’t think ‘reading’ qualifies as a speciality for a Shinobi ne Rabbit?”

“Stag you might want to be careful with what you share if you do not want to see your hard work in someone else’s hands” Rabbit said. Ahhh so he was one of those. Taking issue with Kakashi copying jutsu. Which was fairly stupid really. They were working for the same village. Why wouldn’t he copy jutsu if he could? It made him stronger and benefitted Konoha. 

“Oh we should keep an eye on him around the campfire then.” Just in case the masks were more fitting than people thought. 

“People have gone missing. Civilians first. The affected villages had called for help. Konoha answered but the teams that had been send also disappeared. 4 Teams so far. The last team consisted of 3 ANBU. All that was left of them were the shards of a broken mask. Get culprits dead or alive” Kakashi recounted what the Hokage had said.

[villainessxassassin]

Could you do the overprotective brother hcs with the first years? Also gn reader this time please~

Guinevere: Of course! Also, please check the author's notes below the story.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Synopsis: You and your brother were both transported into night raven collage. Safe to say your brother does his very best to thwart away any suiters. But what happens when he discovers that you were in love with someone and that said person tries to win your brother over? Will he give them their blessings?

>Vice house wardens and Ruggie Ver

>Similar headcanons with the house wardens(Fem!reader)

(Separate) First years x gn!reader

“Of all the people you’ve attracted did it really have to be that one troublesome first year y/n?”

“Oi! I’m right here you know! And I’m not troublesome!“

“Hmm? Did you hear someone talking y/n? Because I’m certain that I hear an annoying bug“

“You-!“

-Dear me your brother greatly despises Ace and Ace despises him as well! Luckily your there to prevent them from fist fighting each other.

-The reason why your brother dislikes him is because how Adeuce and Grim always managed to get in trouble and somehow gets you involved in it.

-And when he found out that Ace was trying to court you he was dead set on trying to separate you and Ace.

-Ace pranked your brother one time and he was fuming to get revenge on Ace, Your brother may or may not have snitched on him to Riddle. He got collared when Riddle knew what troublesome deeds Ace has caused.

-Thus the two of them started to prank on one another. 

-These two also have a rivalry with one another, that being insulting each other or something like that.

-Anyway one thing these two would do is to try and steal your attention since your brother didn’t want you to hang out with him since he's afraid Ace would influence you, his dear sibling.

-Ace would steal your attention because- well he just loves your attention to be on him and that annoyed face your brother would make once he succeeds 

-Anyway what made your brother like him and get along was how fun he actually is to be around, he also finds himself amused by how Ace got himself in trouble with Crewel one time.

-Congratulations Ace you’ve earned the approval of y/n’s brother, don't get your hopes up just yet though, he’ll hurt Ace if you break his sibling’s heart. Also them annoying one another won’t disappear since it’s a way for them to show how much they get along. You sometimes get pranked by them.

-Since Ace also has an older brother I believe the two of them would get along together quite well, they’d probably tease or prank him , who knows. Oh how Ace wanted to punch your brother and his once those two become in-laws

-Poor Deuce... He didn’t know what on earth he did wrong when your brother was glaring at him in the distance.

-Deuce swears that your brother holds a grudge on him or something but you reassured him that it wasn’t the case.

-you told Deuce that your brother is just that quite overprotective of his family members but he’ll learn to grow towards Deuce overtime.

-So Deuce did his best to get along with your brother, and your brother did not like this at all...

-He dislikes Deuce since he also gets in trouble with Ace though your brother said Deuce is more tolerable than his other braincell-

-Still deuce persisted in getting close to you brother, and your brother was impressed to say the least that despite his cold treatment Deuce would still try to befriend him.

-but then your brother found out about Deuce old delinquent self he was shocked.

“He was a what before?!“

-Then your brother noticed how he tried to change himself to an honor student. Safe to say your brother liked him because Deuce wanted his mother to be happy.

-He then discovered that Deuce is somewhat innocent thus he started the ‘must protect my sibling’s wholesome relationship’

-Oh dear your brother loves to tease this poor boy. He and Ace would team up and make Deuce suffer.

“Looks like you’ll have to call me big brother from now on since you have my approval to date my sibling~“

“Y/n y-your brother is teasing me again!“

-Why would people hate jack when he’s literally a green flag?

-Your brother doesn’t dislike him, rather he had a wrong impression of Jack because at first he got intimidated by him.

-so your brother made it his job to keep you away from that scary looking fellow.

-Your brother got a heart attack when he heard that you actually got close to him.

“y/n are you crazy???“

-He wanted to talk to Jack and ohhh boy how he was mistaken by him.

- He found out that while Jack may look intimidating, he was actually a gentleman.

-yes, yes the perfect person for his sibling.

-safe to say your brother apologized for having the wrong impression of him. 

“I apologize for I have misjudge you, you may freely court my sibling.“

“Uhm.. T-thank you?“

-Anyway these two hang out with each other a lot.

-Your brother found the cactus collection of Jack and found it cute that he decided to give him another one to add to the collection.

-And when your brother found out about his unique magic and how fluffy he is?

-he began to pester Jack to show his wolf form more

-so that you and him can get cuddled.

-If you think Deuce was suffering of your sibling’s teasing think about what Epel’s current feelings are.

-Epel hated your brother because of this.

-He really wants to get along with your dear brother but he’s having second choices because of your brother’s constant teasing

-Of course your brother wasn't always that way, because after you told him about epel (and at the time your brother still didn't know what epel looked like)

-and after you told him that epel came from that pish posh fancy dorm called pomefiore, he more or less got a little worried

-It's not that he disapproved of the dorms characteristics, he was just worried for himself and for you to have a goody-two-shoes of partner (he was also worried he'd have to speak all fancy smancy when around your partner and maybe have to correct his own table manners to look at least decent in your partners eyes)

-It was supposed to be him judging your supposedly significant other, not the other way around!

-All those thoughts vanished however once he was able to get a good look at epel, and my was he shocked (in a good way)

-and after getting to know how he wasn't all just fancy talk and curtseys here and there, was your brother able to truly accept him

-Epel for sure still had a long way to go, but with his determination and drive to keep improving, your brother didn't see a need to get in between you two

-Should you be happy for this new development? yes

-Will your brother ever stop teasing epel? probably not

-Well atleast they got along in your perspective, that being epel trying his best to not break his cool and calm composure while your brother hurdles teasing remark and comments at him

-yep, they're getting along so well

-Oh dear... We have a very bad situation...

-Your brother and Sebek don’t mix together at all, just like water and oil.

-Your brother get’s annoyed that he keeps mentioning Waka-sama. You don’t mind but- oh how your brother wants to sew his mouth shut with his constant yelling.

-Your brother had a nightmare where he’s surrounded by yelling Sebek’s

-He dislikes him more because of that

"HOW DARE A MERE HUMAN-"

 "Sebek use your INDOOR voice please or SO HELP ME I'LL SEW THAT MOUTH OF YOURS!" 

 "YOU DARE THREATHEN ME OTHER HUMAN???"

“Hah! You think I'm afraid of you? THIS IS MY FINALY WARNING"

-Anyway It’ll take quite some time for these two to get along especially your brother.

-I believe that for these two to get along is due to the diasomnia helping the poor souls how much time Sebek and your brother bicker.

-They do eventually get along and like Sebek due to his devotion to serve the young master.

-So i guess you can say that they're like Frenemies?

-anyhow you're happy that Sebek and your brother are getting along.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Guinevere: I apologize for the other overprotective brother post I didn't notice until an anon pointed out that I placed "sister" instead of "sibling" in what was supposed to be a gender-neutral post. That was my mistake for hurrying to post it. Anyway thank you for telling us and please don't hesitate to point it out to us in the future!

Also if many people would ask I could do the rest of the boys not sure if I’ll include the housewardens since we already made a similar post.

kishira: *want's to neglect her duties as an author but will proofread only for ya'll <3*

[kitkatscabinet]

Hi I was wondering if you could write a Ryan x reader where the two would sneak away from their positions as consulars to hang out like listening to music or podcast (since mentioned in the game that he never turned in his phone)

Genre: fluff

Word count: 627

Kaitlyn was annoyed, you were supposed to meet her 10 minutes ago to help organise activities for the kids and no one had seen or heard about your whereabouts. This wasn’t the first time you had flaked out either, a few weeks into camp you had started mysteriously disappearing and no one seemed to know where you went. Just as she was about to get about and search for you again her attention was caught by you shouting her name. Turning to face the noise she found you making a mad dash towards her, huffing out an apology for being late and watching as you winced at her scolding words.

When Kaitlyn had asked where you’d been you simply claimed to have lost track of the time, the kids had held you up in conversation. Sighing in relief as she seemed to buy your excuse, you had lost track of time with Ryan once again. It wasn’t that you were embarrassed or ashamed but you didn’t want anyone to harass Ryan over his phone so you lied. A few days into camp you had found Ryan with his phone, listening to a podcast of some kind. Dumbfounded at how he’d managed to get away with not handing it in you’d teased him, jokingly threatening to turn him in if he didn’t share. Apparently, he hadn’t clocked onto the fact that you were joking and had simply held out an earbud for you. Thus, starting a ritual of sneaking off and listening to music or podcasts. Even after you’d confirmed you had been joking, he still let you share his phone. As the pair of you exchanged music and you listened to his podcasts you found yourself easily bonding with him and you could easily say he was one of your greatest friends at the camp, even if you were starting to feel a little bit more for him.

A few more weeks of you either being late or mysteriously no where to be found had a few more people than Kaitlyn suspicious, unbeknownst to either you or Ryan. Dylan and Kaitlyn had been near obsessively watching you, waiting for you to slip up in a game you didn’t know existed.

You had been sitting with Ryan for about 40 minutes now, podcast long finished as the pair of you found yourself playfully arguing over the existence of the supernatural.

“I’m just saying if the Hag of Hackett’s quarry turns her victims into her son, then how does anybody even know about her? If she’s killing all the people she encounters than who’s telling the stories huh, riddle me that” you exclaimed passionately as Ryan just chuckled, putting his hands in the air in a disarming motion. You felt your breath hitching at the action, taking in the crinkles in the corner of his eyes when he smiled and the way it made your heart beat faster.

Before he could reply, Kaitlyn jumped out of nowhere with an accusing finger, grinning like she’d just won the lottery. “Aha! I knew it” she yelled in victory, fist-pumping and confusing you greatly. She must have picked up on the confusion on both of your faces as her little victory moment became stilted. “That you two were dating, you’re always sneaking off together…” she trailed off upon noticing the absolute shock and panic on your face and eventually turned to leave the two of you alone again.

“Huh, that was a little weird” you said, turning to face Ryan’s just as shocked face. The two of you shrugged and put on the next episode of the podcast, but the seeds had been planted within both of you and if you left Ryan just a little more flustered than usual then that was your business alone.

Taglist: @qlqstqr @laurakearnxy @wolfsquad @rainbows-dreams @dylanlenievy @kestisvrse @aaetherr69 @jjkk1m @g0th1ka @ghostverz @thebookbakery

[fabricated-misslieness]

pairing: childe x winged adeptus male reader

wc: 2.2k | cw: implied violence, reader struggling with crowds

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 (you are here) | part 4 | part 5

a/n: i forgot how long it took to write

“These are my terms and conditions; much like the former Geo Archon, we will sign a contract.”

The God of Contract’s gaze landed on you, a crying and grieving child kneeling by the dust-covered glaze lily garden, watching over the spot where Guizhong would’ve been. He was done taking his unsightly revenge against Berith, but the state of sanity it had put him through was still affecting him.

You look up at him fearfully, backing away slowly so as to not provoke him. His eyes… they were red, not their usual warm amber.

“Don’t worry, I.. won’t harm you.” He takes a deep breath, shakes his head, runs a hand through his hair, but he still feels enraged. This’ll be over in a moment, he thinks. “You’re much too young for this, losing” he gulps back a sob-induced voice crack, “a loved one.”

He kneels down in front of you with a forced calmness. He himself is beginning to grieve as the anger starts to fade, but his sadness would only put you into a deeper state of mourning. He had to be strong, for you, and you had to be too. “We must be strong, for her. I’ll give you a couple decisions, neither one has repercussions. Sign a contract with me, to protect the people your… mother so dearly cared for, or you live your life freely, as she one day predicted you would do.”

You chose the latter.

You only heard of the events of Liyue’s Osial incident after Cloud Retainer had returned. A quick visit to Xiao, as Retainer’s retellings tend to go on and on, told you everything you needed to know. You were glad Morax was retiring, and most of all, that he’d moved on, much unlike you.

“You are to do your best to keep from annoying me and hindering our path, in return, I’ll help you figure out your,” You huff out a sigh, “‘heart’s capabilities’.”

Childe holds out his hand, to which you raise an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t we- I don’t know, shake on it?”

“There is no need to ‘shake on it’.” You reply.

He snickers, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Shall we get to Liyue Harbor then?”

“Liyue Harbor… I haven’t been there.”

You pause, and Childe wonders if you’re counting how long ago you went there. Your pause prolongs, and then he realizes you’re staring at him instead of racking your brain. He prompts, “In..?”

“That’s it.”

You hadn’t left the trust of Jueyun Karst in years, nor have you been surrounded by the citizens of Liyue since they up and left Guili plains. “Haven’t been there.”

He deadpans, “Really?”

“Yeah.”

And so, you depart to the City of Commerce.

The path you take is old and beaten, but breathtaking nonetheless. You take the way through lower Minlin, and the journey was full of sights to behold.

A dimly lit cavern, within it laid a ginormous monster Childe called the ‘Primo Geovishap’, which awfully reminded you of the late Azhdaha. Your current traveling partner wanted to fight it, but you wouldn’t let him.

Right outside was the ruins of old Tianqiu, and while the path out of them was scarcely shaded, thus causing you to overheat a little, the sight was beautiful nonetheless. Monsters seemed to have made it their home, which was a bit of a hindrance to deal with.

“Stand back, I got this!” Childe smiles cheekily, summoning hydro swords with that vision of his. You roll your eyes at his words; he’s cocky, you’ve just learned, and he had a reason, for he seemed good at fighting. Except he’d underestimated you, greatly.

“Oh.” By the time he’s done dealing one pyro whopperflower, you’re done with the other two. He laughs nervously at your annoyed look, “Let’s move on, shall we?”

The trip up wasn’t all that nice, but you stopped atop a cliff. One ruin was in the deeper valley below you, though flooded, a second sat on a mountain on the left, and a third by the mountain and valley on the right. It seemed that humans had thoroughly abandoned the land outside of the harbor and Qingce, but you couldn’t blame them with the fact that they prospered most there.

Childe led you down the right ruin. Up ahead were ruin guards and a couple other Fatui, which he assured would stand aside when they saw him pass by. While they did as he promised, they insisted on staring at you intently like a Sumeru scholar to their research topic.

Ruin Guards were not something you were fond of. Unlike other monsters of Teyvat, they weren’t living beings, but man-made machines. You didn’t want to think back to the dreadful years following the cataclysm. Once they were disposed off, you made it to the next area: Lingju pass. At the top of the ruins, you had a sight of the beautiful Red Maple tree at the center of the lake, and the mountains in the background.

“You seem curious.” He sits beside you as you admire the scenery, under the guise of a break. “Why’s that?”

“Like I said, I haven’t been to Liyue Harbor. I imagined that would’ve led you to believe I haven’t been outside of Jueyun Karst all that much.” Your eyes trace over the trees, golden accents of the platforms in the ruins, and luscious greens of the ever growing grass. Childe sees these things reflecting off your eyes.

“Wow, I can’t imagine that.” He seems intrigued. “I’ve already been to every nation once, and while there’s certainly still much to admire, well, I’ve seen plenty of wonderful sceneries.”

“So you’ve grown accustomed to such sights?”

“That’s right.” He nods, though you don’t take notice. “But I’d enjoy seeing them again, nevertheless. So, can I show you around?”

For a moment, you forget about the contract you’d just signed with him. You wouldn’t mind seeing sceneries like this nor experiencing the environment of each nation. You’d be delighted to. The only thing holding you back was, well, her. She wouldn’t have wanted that, but you felt indebted to the nation she’d shown you, Liyue. Perhaps you should give the rest of the world a chance, “I’d like that.”

Childe smiles at how content you look right now. It’s the first he’s seen of you like this. Sure, he’s only known you for a couple hours, but you’d been nothing less than a sourpuss that wanted to get this contract over with. He liked seeing you like this, letting yourself get immersed in the world around you.

He hopes that you can be this way for as long as he’s around.

Each red maple, knotwood, and even birch tree’s leaves reflected the sun, causing them to glow. For most people, and especially Childe it seemed, would be bothered by it as it would hurt their eyes; but you were an adeptus, an illuminated individual with senses much more heightened than the average mortal, allowing you to admire the world to a better extent.

By the time you get close to what Childe calls ‘the Backdoor to Liyue Harbor’, the sun begins to set. You tread down another broken path down a hill, which is most visibly eroded and hard to maneuver. You’re only walking down to accompany your traveling partner, but you wouldn’t admit that.

“So,” Childe begins as he cautiously steps down uneven stone stairs, “How’d you like the world outside of Jueyun Karst?”

“It’s nice, lots of scenery.” Your answer is short, something he didn’t quite expect. He thought you’d shared a moment earlier. Well, that’s some progress down the drain. Once he’s down on stable ground, however, he catches sight of you.

You’re looking up at the changing colors of the sky, light blues, beaming purples, and bright pinks. “Have you… not seen a sunset before?”

“No, I have.” You sigh, almost dreamily. He wonders if he’ll ever get you to do that over him. “Just… even after three-thousand years, it never ceases to amaze me. Same goes for the sunrise.”

Childe’s gotten used to many things. Sunsets, sunrises, the wonderful sceneries of the seven nations… maybe he should stop and admire them too.

You sit down for a while to admire the sky, even though the main attraction –the sun– is hidden behind the mountain you’ve been climbing down. He scootches to sit down next to you, “How doesn’t it get tiring?”

You frown softly now that he’s next to you. It reminds you of something, just like the phrase ‘heart’s capabilities’, except this time you’re sure why. You don’t wanna think about it. “I’d rather not say.”

“Oh.” He rubs the back of his neck, “Sorry, touchy subject?”

“... let’s just get going.”

“Liyue Harbor.” Childe smiles, as if this land were his home.

In a way, it is. He’s been here for only a little while, a few months or so, and while he misses his home in Snezhnaya; he sure feels as if he'll miss Liyue too. He’ll miss its warmth for sure, especially the crowds of the night market.

Speaking of which, “The night market!” He exclaims, showing off the road to the town center with his hands.

Just like Xiao and the rest of the Adepti, you’re not partial to crowds. You don’t know how Ganyu’s grown so used to it, although you haven’t talked to her in a while either. You had wings, extremely noticeable ones in the orange glow of their paper lanterns; These people were ordinary, they would do no harm to you, but you wouldn’t be able to stand their stares as you walked by.

Childe notices you lagging behind. “Something the matter?”

You stand under a shadow, hoping it hides your equally dark wings sufficiently until some bystander decides to take a closer look at you, “I’m not fond of crowds.”

He doesn’t know what’s coming over him when he says, “I’ll hold your hand, if it reassures you.”

He holds it out and it’s… inviting, like you’ll be safe if you hold it. You take a deep breath for courage and take it. “Okay.”

Childe smiles, “Good.” He may seem calm but he’s internally screaming in his head.

With your hand in the warmth of his, he leads you around the market. He seems familiar with the people, friendly even, despite being a Harbinger. You suppose he’s so amiable that people tend to forget. “Mr. Childe!” Some old merchant exclaims, “Chop Suey for you and your date?”

A warmth flushes your cheeks, but you’re too sheepish to correct her. Everyone’s eyes are on the two of you, just as you’d thought.

“Well, actually-” He glances at you and he can’t decipher whether you’re nervous because of what the merchant said or the people around you. He figures that he should get you out of this situation soon. “Miss Su, what are you doing on this side of the city now?”

“There were far more people here tonight.” Her eyes crinkle up with her smile. “Well, what d’ya say? Chop Suey, thirteen thousand mora each.” A merchant’s smile meant to portray kindness.

“Hmm,” He hums as he thinks. “What about Mora Meat? Four hundred mora each.”

“That’s thirty below the regular selling price.” He’s brave and familiar enough with them to haggle, it seems. “Can’t you settle for four hundred thirty, ya rich kid?”

“I thought you said I’d get a discount if I came with a friend.” He snickers.

“Ugh, that’s right.” She gives in, shaking her head at herself. “Alright, two mora meat, four hundred mora each.”

He squeezes your hand as she bags the items up, as if to reassure you that it won’t take more than a few minutes now. Once the two make the exchange, he’s quick to drag you out of the crowd. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You take the bag he hands you. “Just a little overwhelmed. It’s been a long time since I’ve last been surrounded by this many people.” They still glance at you as they pass your little corner, but at least you’re not exactly near a merchant –or a place they’d normally stop at.

“We can leave, if you want; find a place to sleep around here.” He offers.

You’re about to accept it gladly when your eyes catch sight of something behind him. “There’s this place down by the wharf we could… what are you looking at?”

A hairstick, on the decorated end hangs a small glaze lily carved from a blue gemstone you don’t know of. You have no use for it, your hair isn’t quite the bother, nor do you have anyone to give it to. Even so, it reminds you of Guizhong. It’s certainly something you would’ve given her if you’d had the opportunity to get one back then.

“Hold on a sec.” Childe shoves his snack bag in your hand and rushes over to the merchandise you’d been eyeing up. Somehow, he knows exactly what you want.

Once it’s been successfully exchanged for, he makes his way back over to you with a delighted smile on his face. “Is this what you wanted?”

“Yeah.”

He gently turns your palm up and lays the hairstick there, “Here, you can keep it.” And before you can speak up to promise to pay something back, he says, “Don’t worry about giving me anything in return, it’s fine. I have more wealth than I could use.”

You frown at the idea, but you nod anyway, “Okay. Thank you,” You look up at him. He looks at you with a careless smile, “Childe.”

[octoir]

in the politest way possible, I disagree!

1a. Let’s go back and talk about SPEW.

It’s in their nature ter look after humans, that’s what they like, see? Yeh’d be makin’ ‘em unhappy ter take away their work, an’ insultin’ ‘em if yeh tried ter pay ‘em.

Wow. How incredibly annoying, Hermione is, for trying to free Elves when they don’t even want to be freed! How desperate, how cross, how naive and stuck-up she is. Doesn’t she know how to actually help house elves? Doesn’t she know that they actually like being mistreated? (what a weird parallel between SPEW and liberalism, that must just be coincidence)

Throughout GoF, Hermione and Ron bicker back and forth about SPEW. Ron finds it hilarious and mocks her relentlessly. What about Harry? What does he think? We don’t know. It’s oddly absent of opinion, except for moments like this,

“Yeah, right,” said Harry. He took a swig of butterbeer under his cloak. “Hermione, when are you going to give up on this spew stuff?”

when he asks when she’ll give up, like an exasperated parent asking their child when they’ll give up on their new phase, as if trying to abolish slavery can be portrayed as a ‘phase.’

I don’t think Harry is necessarily internally moralistic at all. He seems to depend on other people telling him what the right opinion is for marginalized groups, otherwise, he doesn’t care much for politics. Centaurs? Goblins? Meh. They’re not people, after all.

1b. I also think Harry isn’t really capable of moral nuance— for example, Marietta. Harry is absolutely furious at her. Cho tries to explain that Marietta’s mother was in danger of losing her job at the Ministry, yet Harry still just does not care, claiming she’s an “unforgivable traitor.” He even describes her (canonically) permanent disfigurement as “brilliant.”

And this doesn’t change. I know everyone hates the epilogue— fuck it, I’m citing it. He names one of his kids after Dumbledore and Snape. What does naming a child mean?

In my experience, people usually name their children after people or things they greatly like or admire (think of Grace, Hope, Noah, etc) as a form of hope that their children have similar qualities. Yikes!

Dumbledore and Snape are both teenagers trapped in adult bodies, unable to emotionally mature beyond key moments in their formative years (Ariana/Grindelwald, Lily, etc) and thus absolutely fuck Harry and the Trio over in almost laughably horrible ways. But Harry still respects them, feels positively towards them, names his son after them. There’s no moral nuance here. They’re not even morally grey characters— it feels like all of Dumbledore and Snape’s actions have been, somewhat ironically, excused for the “Greater Good,” excused for what they did in the end.

2. okay…so he calls TMR handsome. Euphemia’s point, however, was that Harry “called people ugly with no remorse.” I’m not dying on this hill, but there are a few quotes that I think are pretty interesting:

“Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.”

“Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.”

“The lighted dial of Dudley’s watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist…”

“…and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him.”

“Behind him walked a Slytherin girl who reminded Harry of a picture he’d seen in Holidays with Hags. She was large and square and her heavy jaw jutted aggressively.” (Millicent Bulstrode)

“Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face.” (Rita Skeeter)

“‘How are you?’ she said, standing up and holding out one of her large, mannish hands to Dumbledore.” (Rita Skeeter)

“Once or twice she had turned squatly in her seat to look at him, her wide toad’s mouth stretched in what he thought had been a gloating smile.” (Umbridge)

“‘Thank you very much, Professor.’ ‘You’re a good boy,’ said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling down his fat cheeks into his walrus mustache.”

A particular scene:

"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" sneered Malfoy. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

"You know your mother, Malfoy?" said Harry — both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy — "that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"

Malfoy's pale face went slightly pink. “Don’t you dare insult my mother, Potter.”

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said Harry, turning away.

Very thought-provoking, awfully similar situations. I wonder what the key difference is 🤷

3. Okay, Draco. I’ll give you that— he did try to cast the cruciatus. However, I’m not trying to focus on whether or not that was justified. Justified or not, it gets brushed off way, way too easily. He does feel regret…but I don’t think it’s genuine, long-term regret. He tells Hermione that he does genuinely feel bad about it…

He was having a bad enough time without Hermione lecturing him; the looks on the Gryffindor team’s faces when he had told them he would not be able to play on Saturday had been the worst punishment of all. He could feel Ginny’s eyes on him now but did not meet them; he did not want to see disappointment or anger there. He had just told her that she would be playing Seeker on Saturday and that Dean would be rejoining the team as Chaser in her place. Perhaps, if they won, Ginny and Dean would make up during the post-match euphoria. … The thought went through Harry like an icy knife. …

But damn if his internal dialogue doesn’t reveal something different. And this is taken from literally the moment before he says that. Seriously, check page 594.

Everything just gets glossed over in favor of the Prince, of the shock of Snape as the Prince, and Harry’s attempted murder just gets…quietly hushed up. He doesn’t get expelled, he doesn’t even have to say sorry— maybe he serves a few detentions, but what the fuck is a few detentions in the face of a life? Harry has literally almost MURDERED someone and yet he faces ZERO consequences and appears to experience NO regret (which, hm, like father like son right? LMFAO)

4. Carrow. Oh, Carrow. The cruciatus curse is interesting.

“Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?” she yelled. She had abandoned her baby voice now. “You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain - to enjoy it - righteous anger won’t hurt me for long…

Harry wanted to cause pain. Not just pain— unimaginable, excruciating pain, pain that he’s personally experienced. And he didn’t have to just want to cause pain—he also had to enjoy it. You can’t dismiss it as a moral outburst of “righteous anger,” because wanting to cause pain so severe it has literally driven people into insanity is not something you push past and sweep under the bed.

You mention that what sets Harry apart from someone like LV is his forgiving nature. Frankly, I think what sets him apart is that he’s been groomed. His attempted suicide shouldn’t be seen as this awe-inspiring, tear-jerking thing. It should be seen as what it really is— a culmination of (intentional or not) 7 years of consistently rewarded self-sacrificial behavior by literally every adult in his life.

it's so funny to me when harry's portrayed as a saint in tomarry fics. like, i get it, compared to tom, harry is a saint, but just because of that, it doesn't mean he's the nicest, purest little bean.

harry's literally fatphobic, unless it's towards people he likes. he calls people ugly with no remorse and he's side-eyeing someone 90% of the time.

he's against hermione's dedication to at least try and free the elves (which is basically being neutral on slave labour)

he idolises questionable people (dumbledore and snape)

he uses the cruciatus successfully. he nearly kills someone and barely feels any remorse for it (draco in hbp)

no matter how much you want to believe, his moral compass isn't the best

[deidearly]

Kakashi Relationship Headcanons

Guess who’s back with another relationship headcanon today? And as usual, I had a good time writing this one even got slightly carried away, hehe. Enjoy! XX. 

Well— Hatake Kakashi, huh? Dating him would be such a roller coaster ride, tbh. It’s like, one moment he’s so clingy, fragile, so afraid of losing you— but one moment he’s like, “Just do what you need to do. I don’t really care.” This is due to the fact that he’s got a lot of things in his mind and occasionally struggled to sort out his priorities. 

Anyway, of course you’ve complained about his ‘reading-smut-in-public’ issue, especially when you’re together. You two would come up with an agreement somehow. But to piss you off, he’d pretend like you’re the one who’s obsessed with reading smuts.

You’re browsing for some important books and he playfully yelled, “Y/N! Come here, it’s your favorite book— Icha Icha Tactics! My, I know you’ve had four books, but another one won’t hurt, right? Since you love it that much!” making everyone in the bookstore giggled.

He received “Y/N Signature Punch” that day.

To your surprise, he’s not very secretive about his relationship with you. In fact, you’ve caught him frequently use you as an excuse for him to escape some unwanted occasions.

Let’s say Gai was asking Kakashi to fight him like usual— and he wasn’t having it that day. “Gai, with all respect— I would gladly accept your challenge. But can’t you feel the springtime of romance youth is blooming? I must see Y/N immediately.”

Gai’s tearing up.

Don’t worry, he actually went to your place.

“Yo. Can we hang out? I just told Gai that I would come to your place. Please say ‘yes’ to make me less of a jerk, will you?”

Would totally show up in front of your place at an ungodly hour.

At first it surprised you but now you’re used to it.

You just finished your mission, it went pretty well but you felt there were some wasted chances due to your captain’s miscalculation. It’s nearly 2 AM but you caught yourself wide awake, reviewing back your battle– only to got distracted by a knock on your bedroom’s window. Instead of turning your head in surprise, you already knew who it was. To have a little fun for yourself, you ignored the sound, which was later followed by a second knock. Walking over to the window, you saw a silver-haired man with a mask. Although half of his face was covered, it’s obvious that a smile was apparent. “Yo.” he greeted, but you replied with a sigh. “You could actually knock on the door and I’d let you in through the door. It’s something normal people would do, Kakashi.” you grumbled, opening the window for him to get in. “Ah, spare me the lecture!”

So, reverse psychology works best for Kakashi. Like the Icha Icha Tactics– the more you ignore his behavior, he would actually try not to read his book in public like you told him to. But the more you complain, he’d read it in places where he shouldn’t be reading it at all. This method works in almost every cases.

You’ve been dating for weeks, but you haven’t seen his face.

Yes, when kissing, too.

You’ve had enough of kissing fabric. 

You had planned to make a dinner together at his place. He was preparing the dishes and you’re about to finish your cooking, when he suddenly asked, “Hey, Y/N. Have you ever wondered what would I look like under this mask?” You were dying to know actually. So, now you’re stuck with two options: (a) be honest about it, (b) pull out another reverse psychological answer— and you chose the latter. “Huh? Not really,” you shrugged, “I don’t really care so it’s not like I’m eager to see it.” and of course, this was a lie. Kakashi went silent for a while. “Anyway, dinner’s re—“ you swore you could’ve dropped the whole pan when you saw an unfamiliar presence. “Kakashi?” you asked hesitantly. The man looked up with a questioning look, “Why are you blushing?” he replied casually.

“ANYONE WITH A DECENT EYESIGHT WOULD BLUSH TOO, YOU STUPID.”

He’s honestly so heavenly to look at.

Sometimes it’s just too overwhelming to see his whole face, you thought.

It’s safe to say that it’s a privilege to be able to see his face. But due to his immense charm, you’d prefer to have him with a mask on.

“Y/N, I feel naked without my mask—“ , “And I honestly feel like I’m being forced to see an illicit nudity, too. Put your mask on, it’s fine honestly.”

He’s been very good at his job for almost his whole life, a fine shinobi. So, he’s rarely exposed to mundane things, moreover a relationship. Thus, making him quite restrained in expressing himself. Plus, he was labelled with some negative titles, saying how cold-blooded he was and he just decided to live with it. This, obviously, requires a lot of patience.

But he’s determined to change, the first step he took was letting you in— into his life.

It started rocky, though.

He’d say something like how he didn’t care much about you and sadly, he really didn’t.

But as the time went by he realized how your presence has been the one that helped him through it. How you’ve always been there to comfort him, by listening to him, giving him a lot of supports, or simply by reminding him that he’s not completely alone.

And when that moment came, he’s sworn to protect you with all his might.

He had a lot of nightmares, he still does, unfortunately. But when you’re around, your presence eases him up a little.

When you’re not around, however, he’d rather spend all night unhealthily tiring himself until he fall asleep.

His personal favorite would be curling up next to you with his hand around your waist while hiding his face near the crook of your neck as he’s giving you some soft neck kisses.

Again, NECK KISSES.

He had a hard time trying to open up himself fully to you and this applies to romantic gestures, I believe. He surely would take his time to explore you, what you like, and what he likes.

Would shower you with kisses, all over your face without missing a spot. He greatly admires every inches of yourself. 

Body worship, oof.

Lowkey (semi highkey) protective.

Lowkey (semi highkey) a show-off.

Would straight up jump to save you if it’s necessary.

And since he’s a show-off, he lowkey loves PDA— but the soft ones, of course. You two would always get spotted together. He would casually sling his arm around your shoulder or lazily has his hand wrapped around your waist.

Favorite time to spend with you is training together. No matter how many times you’ve told him to “fight with an intent to win” he simply refuses— saying how, he’s “far too powerful” for you.

But deep down he just doesn’t want to hurt you…

Chatting in the middle of a training

“Tsunade-sama hasn’t assigned me any missions lately *throws kunai*” , “Maybe if you threw your kunai accurately, she will. *dodge kunai*” , “Kakashi, shut your pretty mouth up. *throws MORE kunai aggressively*”

When you turned him down while he was showing off his new tricks, though, it weirdly turned him on.

He loves someone powerful, with a right amount of cocky.

Doesn’t talk big. He’s a man of action— his action speaks louder than words!

Doesn’t spoil you that much, though. Because it’s actually him who needs to be spoiled.

Really loves it when you trace your fingers all over his skin— it’s intimately soft, he claimed.

LOVES YOUR SCENT. Has it memorized probably.

He’d prefer someone independent. Someone who could actually take care of themselves instead of relying on him completely. 

Anyone too childish would remind him of Team 7, tbh.

Speaking of Team 7, they would probably be the one to get introduced to you.

Naruto was so shocked to find out that his sensei was capable to develop a romantic feeling towards someone. But he had his doubt— do you really know Kakashi? He started to bombard you with questions to test your knowledge.

“So, do you know what’s Kakashi Sensei’s favorite—“ , “I’ve seen his face. Multiple times.” , “YOU WHAT?”

Complained and sulked about it, “Kakashi Sensei, we’ve trained together for years. How could you?!”

Sakura was confused.

“How? I know he’s probably very handsome under that mask but come on, Y/N, reading smut in public? That’s an absolute no.”

On the contrary, Sasuke was thrilled, internally.

“Yeah. Finally. Old man has someone to annoy besides us. About time.”

He has a pretty bad behavior, too. Unlike Gaara, who’d put an emotionless facade when he’s only in the Kazekage mode, Kakashi would treat you just how he feels like doing it that day. 

Let’s be real, he has so many bottled up feelings inside his heart so it’s not a surprise that someday, somehow, a random painful emotion just hit him— hard, and he shut himself out.

The hospital is the place you immediately visit right after Kakashi’s arrival after a mission because you know he’d be there— reading his book with a few bruises here and there. But this time was a bit different. When he’s hospitalized, he would whine about you not being able to stay more than an hour— but right now you’re puzzled, since he’s been completely silent and avoiding you, answering your questions with a mere shrugs.

Tsunade told you that the mission went pretty well, thanks to Kakashi for eliminating all the enemies on the field, singlehandedly. You automatically knew that it must brought up his past traumas. “Kakashi, it’s not your fault.” you decided to speak, earning a glance from Kakashi, but that’s it. “It’s a mission and you protected all of your comrades!”

“I killed them, Y/N. I didn’t have to, but I did.” he said, with his eyes still glued elsewhere. “Every time I look at my hands, I feel dirty. It reminded me of that—“, “Kakashi, look at me.”

You moved closer to his bed, reaching out your hand and traced your fingers softly on his face. His cheeks were cold, and you could clearly see how he was slightly trembling with teary eyes. “Kakashi, if you didn’t do it— it could’ve been your own comrades. Now they’re safe and sound, thanks to you.”, you paused as he slowly began to move his sight to you. “And if I could meet you way sooner, I would remind you every day that it’s never your fault— it’s never been. You’re a good person, Kakashi. I, and all of us, are forever thankful for the things you’ve done.” you whispered, now wiping a few tears that fell down to his cheeks. A weak smile started to bloom, “I’m forever thankful for you as well, Y/N.”

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

Hi, first off I ship Zutara and I come in peace. I was pointed your way by a friend when I asked for people who ship kataang who are nevertheless willing to hear different views. I have lurked on blog a week and finally got up my nerve to ask how you or any other Kataang can deny that the last part of book 3 was completely Zutara but then stopped abruptly with no buildup? You can finesse tone on text so I'm not being sarcastic or bitchy, it is a serious question (1/5)

In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko. In Ember Island Players, she realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was, and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from “Aang’s gone!” to “Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.” (2/5)

Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic. I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed. (4/5)

And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend. And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders. I get that Kataang “won” and I’ve made peace with that, but ... I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story. I swear on my gmom [sic] if they’d done this for [Zvtara], I’d be mad as hell. So I don’t understand, I really don’t. (5/5)

As always, I shall begin with a disclaimer: anon, you do not have to agree with this post. No one has to agree with this post, as it is strictly my own thoughts on the subject matter raised here! As per usual, I will not be putting this in the main tags - much less the Zvtara tag! - because I have basic fandom decency, lmao. If you (the general you, not anon specifically) do disagree with this post, that is totally fine, I simply ask that you are polite in expressing your disagreement (if you choose to do so at all! no one is expected to, lmao. i promise).

Alright. Formalities are out of the way!

I’ll admit I giggled a little bit when you say you lurked on my blog for a week, because I’ve actually talked about this subject numerous times in the past! I just found it funny you hadn’t stumbled across any posts about it yet, lol. So, as a heads up, know that I will be providing several links in this post since - again - this subject and related subjects have been analyzed a multitude of times before. I highly recommend reading them all! Mostly because I don’t intend to spend forever restating what’s been said over and over and over lmaooo. I will provide the resources, but it is up to each individual to take advantage of them.

To begin: your ask actually contains a few logical fallacies, anon! I do not mean this as shade or to belittle you - I fall victim to this issue all the time myself. Anyone who writes analyses or participates in debates does! Humans are imperfect and often like to cut corners to reach a conclusion. It is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about because - as the existence of your ask in inbox indicates - you are willing to learn more. So kudos to you, my friend!

Alright. So what logical fallacies am I talking about here? (For the record: specific definitions of logical fallacies were taken from here.)

1. Hasty Generalization.

“A hasty generalization is a general statement without sufficient evidence to support it.” Numerous claims are made in this ask that I have absolutely no doubt you believe to be true, anon, but there really isn’t any concrete evidence to support it! I will go into more detail later, of course, but let’s quickly look at one example:

“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”

For the time being, I will ask but one question: from the show itself, not fanon, how do you know this?

2. Causal Fallacy

Ah, this guy. My own worst enemy, tbh! “A causal fallacy is any logical breakdown when identifying a cause,” of which there are several types. “One causal fallacy is the false cause or non causa pro causa (‘not the-cause for a cause’) fallacy, which is when you conclude about a cause without enough evidence to do so.” In your ask, you claim:

“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”

Again, for the time being, I will ask only one question: from the show itself, not fanon, what led you to believe this statement?

“Another kind of causal fallacy is the correlational fallacy also known as cum hoc ergo propter hoc (Lat., ‘with this therefore because of this’). This fallacy happens when you mistakenly interpret two things found together as being causally related.” In your ask, you claim:

“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

I will ask one question: from the show itself, not fanon, why would you believe these are indicative of romance? (Consider the context the show is situated in, too - e.g. the war, Katara being Azula’s only available match in skill, etc.)

The reason I bring up the issue of logical fallacies is again not at all to make you feel bad, anon!! You were simply trying to express your point to me and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do so. See, your ask actually presents a larger fandom trend:

Misconstruing fanon as canon.

What you have offered to me, anon, are fanon conclusions. To clarify: there is absolutely nothing wrong with fanon. I adore fanon interpretations (an example I have used in the past is Kuzaang - like, I don’t care that there’s no canon basis! I do what I want lmao!), but a line has to be drawn between exploring fanon interpretations and expecting everyone to take that fanon as canon. Again, anon, this is not your fault! It is not any one person’s fault, lmao. It is an issue of fandom as a whole, and all of us fall victim to it.

With that in mind, I will break down the different components of your ask. I will also do my best to be brief - as aforementioned, I and others have analyzed this issue numerous times before, lmao. To avoid confusion, it would be best to read through each or at least most links as they are provided!

Firstly, there are two posts I have made in the past that almost directly answer your overarching question here in this ask. Please read them prior to continuing, as I will occasionally reference them:

This post explains how Zvtara was not built up from TSR/EIP-onwards, and how their supposed “canon enemies to lovers arc” is a completely fanon construction.

This post explains the issue of the “canon Zvtara” rhetoric from rabid zkers (and you, anon, are absolutely NOT one, in case you were worried).

Alrighty. With that out the way, let’s get into it!

“In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko.”

Gotta start by saying that TSR is not about Zuko. TSR is, first and foremost, about Katara. Katara does not realize she was wrong about Zuko, because here’s the truth - she wasn’t wrong about him. Zuko did horrible things to the Gaang. Katara was not wrong to hold him accountable for that. What Katara does realize is that holding such rage so close to her chest is bad for her. This rage was not solely anger against Zuko, either; it was of course about Yon Rha, too, but it was also anger towards Kya and Katara herself. Essentially, TSR is where Katara realizes she has to forgive herself. Zuko is only one part of her journey (similar to Aang’s role in the episode, if a different end of the spectrum).

This post explains how TSR was fundamentally about Katara.

Additional resources about TSR:

This post explains Aang’s comments to Katara in TSR and how Katara herself recognized their validity.

This post explains why both Aang and Zuko were important to Katara in TSR.

This post is an extensive breakdown of Aang and Katara’s relationship within TSR.

“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”

You provide no context for this claim, so I’m going to work with the assumption this is about their reactions to the play itself and the infamous kiss!

There is something important we must keep in mind when discussing EIP: the play they watch is literally imperialist propaganda. It is meant to demean the entire Gaang, and indeed it does exactly that. You mention Katara and Aang specifically, so I will recap what I have explained before about their depictions in EIP: Katara, an indigenous woman, is hypersexualized and portrayed as overly emotional (and thus “irrational”). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that women of the Water Tribes are less intelligent and less suited for “responsibility” than Fire Nation women. Aang, a pacifist and the sole survivor of genocide who is also canonly the male character most comfortable with femininity and spirituality, is portrayed as a flighty, airheaded woman (this is a well-known imperialist tactic meant to emasculate the target, seeing as masculinity was often equated with power in fascist regimes; thus, they effectively belittled Aang before the FN audience). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that the Air Nomads were foolish, weak people who deserved to die.

In other words, of course Aang and Katara were upset about how they portrayed in the play. It is understandable that tensions would be running high and consequently that mistakes (we all know the one) would be made.

This post explains how EIP belittles each member of the Gaang (and why the play is not indicative of Zvtara).

This post talks specifically about EIP and their portrayal of Aang and Katara.

Now onto the kiss. As everyone knows and no one has ever disagreed with, Aang was wrong to kiss Katara. Point blank!

But what people do misunderstand is Katara and Aang’s feelings regarding the kiss. Given your above quote, I assume you believe Aang kissing Katara supposedly made her realize that Aang wasn’t as mature as she once thought. On the surface, this seems like a logical conclusion! But digging deeper reveals… well, there’s nothing that indicates this conclusion at all. Even jumping ahead to the finale, when Zuko has doubts over Aang’s return, Katara demonstrates her faith in Aang (although of course she’s nervous - I won’t deny the obvious, lmao) as she says, “Aang won’t lose. He’s gonna come back. He has to.”

In other words, nothing in canon suggests that Katara believes Aang is immature because of what happened in EIP. She still trusts in his return, as she did even before she knew him (and arguably is more confident in him now, given the 60~ episodes of them growing closer). Furthermore, when Aang does disappear, Katara doesn’t have an outburst about how “immature” it was for him to “run away again.” The viewers know Aang didn’t run away, of course (fans who insist he did are not worth arguing with, anon - they don’t understand the show, rip), but that is a luxury the rest of the Gaang is not afforded. And yet even though Aang has vanished off the face of the planet, Katara still believes he will save the world. If anything, that signifies the utmost confidence in his skill and maturity!

To go back to the kiss itself, this post explains the true source of Katara’s conflict in turning down Aang (hint: she says it herself in the episode! you know, the whole war going on) and why the EIP kiss did not sink Kataang’s relationship.

Additional sources about EIP:

This post explains how the EIP kiss was resolved through narrative parallels.

This post explains how the EIP kiss is so often blown out of proportion.

“… and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from ‘Aang’s gone!’ to ‘Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.’”

As I already touched upon, Katara didn’t need a soliloquy to emphasize her connection to Aang once he disappeared. She trusts that he will return. She says so herself. I guess I just don’t understand how you got from Point A, Katara has consistent faith in Aang, to Point B, Katara and the rest of the Gaang didn’t care about Aang’s disappearance. It’s honestly a bit more like Point A to Point Z, lmao! If you would like to expand on your logic here, I would love to hear more!!

There are a few specific aspects I want to note about your rationale, though. You argue the Gaang moves from ‘Aang disappeared’ to ‘let’s find Iroh,’ but the Gaang actually went from:

1. Aang disappeared!

2. They search the entire island for him.

3. Okay, they couldn’t find him, so they track down June and have her try to find Aang.

4. June says to them, “No, I mean he’s gone gone. He doesn’t exist.” (And she clarifies to Sokka that she doesn’t mean dead, either - she means Aang has totally blinked out of their world.)

5. Only after all of this do they decide to track down Iroh.

The Gaang cares immensely about the fact that Aang is gone, and you could actually argue they waste time by trying to track him down. They don’t give up until June essentially tells them that some Spirit World shenanigans were involved. Even if you don’t think they reached that specific conclusion, I have to ask: What else were they supposed to do? They were told Aang didn’t exist! How are they supposed to fix that?

Well, they can’t. So they do the next best thing: they find Iroh, the man who knows Ozai better than anyone and is also one of the most talented firebenders in the world. In my opinion, that’s a very logical step to take.

“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

I’ll be blunt here, lol: in my opinion, nothing of what you listed in your ask is inherently romantic.

Okay. I am going to assume you’ve read the first two posts I linked earlier (“Zvtara did not have an E-L arc” and “the ‘canon’ Zvtara of rabid zkers has issues”), because I do not intend to rehash everything they contain, lol. Consequently, I presume you realize by now that there was no canon romantic interest between Zuko and Katara.

And as I always say, just because there wasn’t a canon romance doesn’t mean people can’t take fanon routes! Of course they can! That’s the entire point of fanon! But fanon is not canon, and I am strictly referring to canon in my discussions.

You claim Katara was all over Zuko, which in itself I don’t think is an accurate assessment, because she doesn’t really do anything with Zuko outside the three points you bring up (other than the June gag, which I addressed in one of the aforementioned linked posts). So I’ll go ahead and break down each instance you provide!

1. “[Katara] was giving [Zuko] a pep talk about Iroh”

Katara asked Zuko if he was okay. She asked him if he was genuinely sorry. She reassures him that Iroh will forgive him. That’s… all. Not to diminish the significance of this conversation, but it’s not exactly an intimate, romantically-charged discussion (unless fanon-ized). But on that note, let’s tackle the canon significance of this moment!

Katara knows firsthand the challenge of forgiving Zuko. And she knows that Zuko understands how hard it was for her to forgive him (note: Katara’s anger was totally justified, and anyone who disagrees is probably a rabid Zuko stan lmao). She also recognizes that Zuko is terrified it will take Iroh the same struggle to forgive him that Katara went through. This scene is not related to romance at all. It’s about compassion. It’s about Katara and Zuko’s friendship having progressed, slowly but surely, to the point where she’s not afraid to extend empathy to him anymore (seeing as the first time, beneath Ba Sing Se, did not go so well; you know - Aang died and all). It’s about Zuko recognizing his own fallibility (and the audience recognizing how much he’s grown). He questions how he can even face his uncle after all he’s done to the man, which is a far cry from his entitled attitude in TSR, where he demanded to know why Katara didn’t trust him when everyone else had forgiven him.

To make this moment, this moment about Zuko’s relationship with his uncle who is all but a literal father to him, this moment of vulnerability, of guilt, of remorse, of growth, to claim this powerful moment is about a nonexistent romantic relationship? In my opinion, that is incredibly reductive to what this scene is supposed to signify. And again, there is nothing wrong with people exploring such a possibility in fanon, but in canon? Nah. It doesn’t track.

2. “[Katara] was going with [Zuko] to Azula”

Don’t forget that at first, Zuko planned to take on Azula alone. He doesn’t request Katara to accompany him until Iroh tells him that he’ll need help. As such, Zuko’s immediate agreement with Iroh is reflective of his personal growth (Book 1 and 2 Zuko would have argued and insisted he didn’t need any help). It also demonstrates, however, that Katara was not obsessively on Zuko’s mind. He doesn’t choose Katara until Iroh points out that Zuko will need assistance in taking Azula down. This means that Zuko’s choice of Katara to join him is a tactical decision, not an emotional one. And by all accounts, it’s a damn good decision! Zuko witnessed firsthand beneath Ba Sing Se a) how powerful Katara was (e.g. that wave after Aang died) and b) how Katara was the only one who could take on Azula*.

Of course, besides the fact that Katara was the only match for Azula, who else was Zuko going to choose? Sokka and Suki, while talented in their own right, were no competition for Azula. Toph, while the greatest earthbender in the world, was needed to metalbend the airships. Katara was the only (and the best!) option.

Also, on their trip to face Azula, the only thing they talk about within their three lines of canon conversation are Azula and Aang. Not exactly a romantic flight, lmao.

*Zuko never saw Aang fight Azula on the drill.

3. “[Katara] was healing [Zuko] and saying he saved her not the other way around”

Actually, this is what the transcript says:

Zuko: Thank you, Katara.

Katara: I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.

You’re right about how their lines refer to them saving each other, but you posit it as a romantic moment, when the lines are actually pretty straightforward. Zuko thanks Katara as she heals him from the partially-redirected lightning strike, and Katara thanks him for trying to redirect the lightning away from her and in doing so saving her life. In terms of canon, there’s nothing romantic about this, lol! (Which I talked about extensively in the E-L post, if you need to reference it again.) The reason being is that you have to take the show itself into context when you do analysis. If there was no canon romantic buildup between Zuko and Katara, why would these lines in canon (not fanon! fanon is free rein, lmao) be interpreted through a romantic lens?

Well, they wouldn’t be interpreted as such. Plain and simple.

“I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

Because looking through a canon lens, they aren’t romantic. That’s all. You are of course welcome to view them as such through a fanon lens!! It’s just about recognizing the line between canon and fanon.

“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”

I asked earlier what content in the show itself led you to believe. I have wracked my own mind, and I cannot think of anything that would point to this conclusion. Zuko was in Katara’s good graces for 5 episodes. That’s 8% of the show. Not exactly a lot of time for Zuko to start believing his life would be pointless if Katara was killed, is it?

This post explains the improbability of Zuko having a crush on Katara within canon.

This post explains how Zuko’s racism towards the Air Nomads in TSR and the finale is, well, exactly that - racism (and not a sign of a crush on Katara).

And, of course, as has been said a million times, Zuko taking the lightning for Katara out of romantic interest would completely undermine his redemption arc. Since it has been said over and over and over, I will be brief: Zuko taking the lightning is significant because it is a selfless act (one of his only in the series), and it directly parallels his selfish act of choosing not to intervene when Azula killed Aang with lightning beneath Ba Sing Se. This moment demonstrates Zuko’s growth, how he has learned to accept unconditional love from Iroh and the Gaang and Mai and even Ty Lee and sure, even from Appa and Momo, too. To make this moment of pure selflessness about a nonexistent romance? To force a fanon romance in replacement of canon redemption and canon platonic significance?

Such a decision speaks wonders about a person’s priorities, in my opinion, as well as how amatonormativity impacts them.

Furthermore, Zuko’s choice cements Katara’s position as his surrogate sibling, as she is Azula’s primary foil. Zuko chooses the sister who heals over the sister who harms. I won’t go too much into it here, because it has already been talked about extensively before! Thus, I offer you this post that explains how Zuko and Katara - in canon - are positioned as surrogate siblings as well as Azula’s role in this matter. I also offer this post that lays out through screencaps how Zuko and Katara - in canon - treat each other like family.

Additional sources about the final Agni Kai:

This post in part discusses fanon misinterpretation of the final Agni Kai and why such a lens is not true to canon relationships.

This post explains why the final Agni Kai is not intended to be romantic.

This post explains how the final Agni Kai is primarily about Azula and how reducing it to be a big Zvtara moment is detrimental to both her and to Zuko and Katara themselves.

“And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend.”

This point could probably get a post of its own, lol, but fortunately I and others have already written a few! I will link them below - first, however, I question your choice of “declares.” Technically, yes, Mai does say outright that it doesn’t hurt how the new Fire Lord is her boyfriend, but your phrasing implies Zuko resisted her proclamation. When… he doesn’t. In fact, he embraces it, asking if that means she doesn’t hate him anymore (read: he asks if they’re back on good terms again). Zuko clearly doesn’t have a problem with the girl he loves wanting to be with him again - so why do some parts of fandom so adamantly insist he does? (Not you, anon - I am referring to the rabid fanoners, lol.)

Also, regarding how Zuko hasn’t talked about Mai for six episodes, we’ve gotta be realistic with this assessment in terms of canon:

1. It was the crux of the war. They were either going to live or die. There was no time for romance at this point! Sokka and Suki weren’t professing their love on the battlefield, lmao, so it’s not exactly strange that Zuko didn’t bust into a monologue about how he missed Mai. I think they were just a little bit distracted by the possible end of the world, lol, and all that jazz.

2. Zuko probably thought Mai was dead. He knows what Azula is like. He knows his sister doesn’t have time for people who get in her way (Aang can testify to this, lmao). So can you blame him for not wanting to think about how the girl he loved had died (to his knowledge) to save him?

You gotta cut the kid some slack, lol. Anyways! Additional sources about Maiko:

This post breaks down the notion of Maiko and “deserve.”

This post rationalizes through a canon lens why Mai’s arrival at the palace surprised Zuko.

This post is the mother of Maiko metas, explaining in tremendous detail why their relationships works, is relevant to canon, and was well-implemented for what its role was.

“And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders.”

What in canon has led you to the conclusion that Katara was annoyed with Aang? What specific moments from TSR to the finale made you think Katara was annoyed with Aang and remained annoyed with Aang? Are there any, or are you thinking about fanon interpretation? (Canon vs fanon strikes again!)

In TSR, Katara explicitly thanks Aang for understanding her perspective. Nothing there is indicative of annoyance (and as in the links provided earlier, she was not angry at Aang/Zuko/etc. so much as she was at herself. well, she was a little bit angry with Zuko, lmao). In EIP, Katara is understandably angry at Aang’s decision to kiss her, but Aang completely backs off, and we see in the part 1 of the finale that there are no hard feelings or weird tension between them. Katara in fact actively expresses concern for Aang after Zuko sporadically attacked him when she demands of the firebender, “What’s wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!” Even when Aang and Katara do butt heads later in the episode as Aang tries to think of a way to defeat Ozai without killing him, Katara doesn’t stay frustrated. Like I said - when she and Zuko are flying to Azula, she demonstrates her unwavering faith in Aang through her belief that he will return. So… where is the annoyance that you feel was present?

With all this mind, i.e. looking strictly at canon, Katara wasn’t annoyed with Aang during this time. Thus, Katara kisses Aang because she loved him. Because he backed off and gave her the space she needed to make a decision about if she wanted to be with him (hence Katara being the one to initiate the kiss). Because the issue was never about if she reciprocated his feelings (they both knew they loved each other) but rather it had to do with the war. At the end of the finale, the war is over, and there is nothing that prevents them from being together. Simple.

This post explains how Katara’s feelings for Aang develop throughout the series (and were not neglected, as rabid zkers like to claim, for some reason? again - you are not one of them, anon).

This post also covers Katara’s interest in Aang throughout the series.

“I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story.”

I mean, you definitely don’t have to ship Kataang. It may not be your cup of tea, and that’s totally okay! But as the above links demonstrate, Kataang was a fantastic story. It was well-implemented into the narrative from Day 1. The soulmateism is unparalleled!

Also, it’s worth noting that A:TLA itself was essentially pre-written. The writers knew how the story would end from the get-go, including that the show would end with Kataang. A few Zvtara gags were thrown in to add a sense of “who will Katara choose?” drama as the show aired, but Zuko and Katara were never planned to end up together. One reason so many newer fans are fine with Kataang from the start is that there’s no tension of waiting a week for a new episode when you can watch all 61 episodes straight through on Netflix, lmao. It’s even more obvious now than when A:TLA was airing that Aang and Katara will end up together, if that makes sense. (Although I talked about this in the E-L post linked earlier, so you probably understand this point already, as it was explained in detail there!)

All of this is to say that Kataang is not a “crap story” in terms of writing (again, personal taste is a different matter) because it was woven in from the beginning and had powerful narrative significance! (Kataang represented numerous complementary components of the series, such as yin and yang, push and pull, air and water, Oma and Shu, etc.)

Now. If you really and truly want to understand why Kataang shippers like Kataang, anon, consider reading some Kataang fanfics or exploring some Kataang headcanons. I read fics involving Zvtara more regularly than you might think, lol, because… well, it’s just a ship. I understand the appeal of romantic Zvtara and I can actually appreciate it when it’s well-written! I’m sure if you’re willing to put in just a little legwork (you don’t need to go the whole mile, lmao - ‘tis just fandom), you’ll realize why people like Kataang, even if it isn’t exactly your thing. You have the range, anon!! You got this!

I hope I managed to answer your questions, my friend! As always, you do not have to agree with anything I have said here. It is totally fine if you and anyone else disagrees! Everything above is simply my own perspective on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to read my response and all the different links I provided! I hope it has expanded your understanding of the subject at hand!

[bailey-reaper]

A drabble where Barok finally asks his crush out on a date but everything goes wrong? with a happy end? :)

A Comedy of Errors... (but Barok's not laughing)

Notes: 😂 Even though I love Barok having happiness and love and kindness to counterbalance all the suffering and turmoil he's endured... I do also love it when he loses his rag at people / things go wrong and irk him. I *love* everything that goes on in his office during the 3rd case in the 2nd game... it's my favourite part of the whole thing! He gets so angry and it's glorious!

S/O is gender neutral (they/them pronouns). Barok refers to them using petnames.

Content Warnings: schadenfreude; cringe; things going wrong; frog mention...

"It's a date!" they said with a big smile and a rosy blush on their cheeks. It almost felt like a dream – Barok had said he was 'deeply fond of them' and invited them out to dinner with him; a date.

"Yes..." Barok nodded, similarly blushing but trying not to acknowledge it, "I'm... looking forward to it," and he was. Deeply.

"Me too!"

The two agreed to meet a week later at a restaurant that Barok was familiar with; he explained it was not because he thought his taste was better, but rather because he was on good terms with the proprietor and, thus, far less likely to be poisoned...

──────≪⊰✥⊱≫───────

At last, after a week in which the two of them thought of little else, the day of their date arrived. Despite a few annoying things going awry prior to him leaving the home, such as a button popping off his shirt when he accidentally rolled his shoulders back with a little too much gusto and his favourite cravat still being too wet to wear, he was determined not to let himself be downhearted.

He arrived at the venue promptly and waited outside for his beloved to arrive. Much to his frustration, a pigeon decided to relieve itself from its perch just above him -- leaving an unpleasant stain on the shoulder of his dinner jacket. Thankfully, he spotted it before his beloved arrived and was able to remedy it with a handkerchief before they saw it.

That didn't stop him scowling up at the pigeon, who flew off in a hurry as it clearly sensed danger.

"Barok!" their voice drew his attention, and took his breath away as they approached looking as radiant as ever. They were clearly dressed for the occasion.

"You look lovely," he remarked as he took their hand and kissed the back of it, "Thank you for coming."

They giggled, "The devil himself couldn't have stopped me."

He smiled at that, "I'm glad..." before offering them his hand, "Shall we?" they nodded, accepting his hand, and allowed him to lead them inside. Barok regarded the maître d and frowned slightly. Something was niggling in the back of his mind; déjà vu but not in a pleasant way, "Good evening," he pushed the feeling away. It would not spoil this date, "I arranged a table for two, name van Zieks."

"Ah yes!" the head waiter said, smiling, "Good evening, Lord van Zieks, allow me to show you to your table."

They were led to a lovely little table that offered a wonderful view of the inner courtyard and the fountain that was situated in the centre of it; it was an appropriately intimate space for a date. Barok pulled the chair out for his beloved and tucked them in, before sitting down himself. The head waiter handed them both menus and set a wine list down on the table, leaving them to look over the fare on offer.

"Wow," his beloved breathed, "This place is amazing."

Barok smiled, "I'm glad you like it... it's a fitting venue for one as beautiful as you."

They blushed and buried their nose in the menu, "T-...Thank you..."

"What wine would you like?" he picked up the menu to inspect the selection on offer.

"I think you're best suited to choosing that!"

"Hmh... very well."

Finally, the maître d came over, "Can I take the order of the two lovebirds~?"

Barok peered at him once more, cocking his head slightly as he studied the grinning man; there was definitely something... odd about him. It gave rise to the most curious irked sensation in the pit of his stomach, "Ahem... We'll have a bottle of the House Sauvignon--"

"Oh do forgive me, sir, we're fresh out of the Sauvignon Blanc..." the waiter said, vaguely apologetically.

"I see," Barok sighed, "Never mind... we'll have a bottle of the Moselle..."

"Mmmm... we're out of that one, too...."

"How about a bottle of Hock?"

"Sorry... none of that, either..."

"Well, in that case... a Burgundy?"

"... Ah... I regret to inform you...."

He grimaced in disbelief, "What the devil is going on... has your cellar dried up or some such? What wines are on offer, then?"

"Well... actually we're fresh out of wine, sir."

"Then why didn't you say that at the start?! More to the point, why bother bringing the wine menu over?"

"Well... on the other side are a number of other drinks that are available..."

"....." he sighed and turned the double-sided drinks menu over to peruse the other beverages on offer, "Fine. A bottle of Moët & Chandon. Black label."

"My, my! Someone has expensive tastes!" the head waiter remarked with a jovial laugh.

"..." The seething glare Barok offered in reply seemed to have the effect of making the man wither somewhat, "Just... tell me you have the damned thing in stock."

"Yes! We do indeed."

"Well that's a relief. Now, before we even bother with food, is there anything not on the menu?" he wasn't going through that... ordeal again.

"No, no!" the annoying man said with a shake of his head, "The kitchen is fully stocked!"

"A small mercy," Barok observed, before looking over at his beloved, "I'm... sorry about that rigmarole regarding the wine... what would you like to eat?"

They smiled and shook their head, "Oh, no, no, don't be!" then, they gave their order to the maître d before folding over their menu and returning it to him.

"Excellent taste!" the waiter said, before looking to the dour reaper, "And what can I get to delight you, sir?"

"Frogs legs to start," he said, "Followed by the steak, rare, with seasonal vegetables."

"Very good, very good!" he made a careful note, then took both the food and drinks menus, "I shall bring over your champagne in a moment and your food will be ready shortly. Do enjoy the wonderfully ambient surroundings, perfect for a date like this!"

Barok peered at the waiter as if he were more than overstaying his welcome; finally, he left them in peace.

"Gods..." he shook his head and sighed, "I do not remember the head waiter ever being that... vexatious. What has gotten into him?"

His beloved smiled, "Oh it really doesn't matter, I'm just happy to be here with you."

"Yes..." he nodded, "You're right, I'm delighted to finally have a chance to spend time with you... like this," it was a blessing that they'd reciprocated his feelings and were amenable to a date with him. No doubt most would be intimidated by his pseudonym and the general way in which he carried himself. But not them, not his beloved. They seemed to accept him as he was, and that was greatly welcomed.

They talked, mostly about how their weeks had been and about shared interests, such as the books that had taken their fancy of late. It was surprisingly easy to converse with them, which was a welcomed change from Barok's perspective. His beloved made for far more enjoyable company than the wooden aristocrats who drove him to the depths of boredom with their inane nattering and inconsequential opinions.

"This champagne is really lovely," they remarked, after taking another sip from their flute, "I'm not normally that fond of bubbles... but this has such a nice, fruity after taste."

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a nod; relieved that the beverage had a) materialised and b) wasn't corked or in some other way undrinkable. The way this date had been going thus far, outside of the interaction with his beloved, had left him wondering what else might go wrong.

Sadly, he didn't have to wait long...

"Your starters!" the waiter announced as he came over with two plates, their contents concealed by silver cloches. He set the two plates down, one in front of each of the diners, then lifted the first cloche, before turning to Barok's, "And, for the gentleman, frog's legs..."

Only, it was not frogs legs. It was a whole, live frog. After a few blinks of its beady black eyes and inflations of its vocal sac, the amphibian launched itself off the plate and into Barok's hair.

"What?!" he reached up in a bid to grab the creature, but his unwelcome passenger hopped out of the way and on to the floor, before disappearing in the direction of the kitchen. Barok glared at the waiter, "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Gracious me! I do apologise! I must have written 'raw frogs legs' by mistake!" the maître d said with a look of shock that was strangely disingenuous, "Do forgive me! I shall put in your order immediately--"

"Don't bother," Barok snapped, "Just make sure the main course isn't an entire living, breathing cow."

"Now, now, don't be ridiculous, sir...."

Once more he levelled the waiter with a withering glare.

"Please," Barok said to his beloved, "Don't let your food go cold."

They smiled, "Shall we share it, perhaps?"

"Oh..." that brought a blush to his cheeks, "No... I... couldn't possibly take from your plate..." but, to his surprise, a piece was already being presented to him. He decided against continued declining, and leaned forward to accept the mouthful, "Thank you..." he said, once he'd finished chewing and swallowing.

"It's good, isn't it?" his beloved said.

"Yes..." perhaps all the more so, having come from their plate.

──────≪⊰✥⊱≫───────

Thankfully, the rest of the date seemed to go surprisingly well -- in so far as there were no more frogs or similar cock ups (though his steak was medium, much to his disappointment, he decided against complaining as the mere fact the thing was edible was relief enough).

"I've had a lovely time," his beloved said to him as they finished off their dessert course.

"So have I," Barok replied, smiling softly, "Thank you, for agreeing to join me."

"Oh.... no... it's my pleasure... I've enjoyed myself a great deal in your company, Lord van Zieks."

"I'm glad to hear it... this has certainly been an... eventful date. I'm sorry, again, about all the oddities that have occurred."

"Oh, no, don't be! It's been a wonderful and memorable date, I loved every minute!"

"Oh ho! It seems this date has been a marvelous success, dear fellow!" announced a familiar voice. Barok knew that voice. It brought a scowl to his lips and a furrow to his brow almost instantly; as if the very muscles in his face were conditioned to respond in this manner.

"Herlock... Sholmes?!"

The maître d tore off his disguise and grinned happily, "Yes! It is I! You never suspected a thing!"

"... What are you doing here?!"

"Why! I had heard rumours that the Reaper was going on a date, so Iris and I took bets on whether that was the truth or not. Alas, it seems I now owe her five pounds..." he looked momentarily crestfallen, "But who can be glum when such a lovely couple is here before them? Truly, you two are as sweet as syrup together!"

"Hehe, thank you," his beloved smiled happily at the compliment.

". . . . . . . So you came to sabotage my date?" Barok hissed.

"What?! No! I came to ensure that you had a most memorable and eventful night, and I think I've exceeded expectations on all fronts!"

"You have indeed!" they said, nodding.

"Well," Barok folded his arms, "In that case, I shall leave the bill to you," he stood up smoothly and took his beloved by the arm.

Sholmes fell over, arms flailing, "Wait... WHAT?!"

"Farewell, 'detective'," Barok called over his shoulder as he escorted his beloved out the door. It brought him no end of delight to think that the man would be washing pots until the early hours.

(Let that be a lesson to you, you second-rate crime scene botherer!) he thought, smirking to himself. This was a most pleasing end to what had been a wonderful date, despite Herlock's meddling.

"You have some truly interesting and intriguing friends, Barok," his beloved observed as he walked them home.

"I'm not certain that 'friend' is the correct word here, my dear," he replied, though he was still smiling to himself as he held their hand and squeezed it fondly. It seemed that despite the ... characters that plagued him, they were not enough to deter his beloved.

That was certainly a huge relief.