#found the one disadvantage of having her as my home character...

[s-lycopersicum]

[branwinged]

i say this as a catelyn enjoyer, catelyn's hatred of jon is not particularly rational in the sense that it doesn't hinge on jon's own personal character. like some of it is borne out of wider prejudice regarding bastards (socially stigmatised as treacherous and grasping of their trueborn siblings' rights) of course, but the thing that hurts her most is what jon's presence in the household symbolically represents. and it's not the infidelity, it's the perpetual reminder of the disenfranchised position of women in their society and how little agency she truly has in her marriage and in the wider social sphere. the thing about catelyn's character is that she might be the conforming lady archetype, but she's also written to be very much aware of how disadvantaged women are in westeros.

"I might have been able to trade the Kingslayer for Father, but . . ." ". . . but not for the girls?" Her voice was icy quiet. "Girls are not important enough, are they?" Catelyn I, ACOK Is this my punishment for opposing him about Jon Snow? Or for being a woman, and worse, a mother? Catelyn V, ASOS “Father,” she said, “Father, I know what you did.” She was no longer an innocent bride with a head full of dreams. She was a widow, a traitor, a grieving mother, and wise, wise in the ways of the world. “You made him take her,” she whispered. “Lysa was the price Jon Arryn had to pay for the swords and spears of House Tully.” Catelyn I, ASOS Brienne looked at her with those blue and beautiful eyes. “As ladies die in childbed. No one sings songs about them.” “Children are a battle of a different sort.” Catelyn started across the yard. “A battle without banners or warhorns, but no less fierce. Catelyn VI, ACOK

^ these are not the words of someone who's content with her lot in life or has made perfect peace with the rules of westeros's feudal patriarchy. brienne and catelyn are both acknowledging the thankless role women are made to play. "no longer an innocent bride" / "wise in the ways of the world" has a certain misery to it, considering the topic at hand is hoster's abominable treatment of lysa for transgressing social norms. even a sentiment such as - "Pity filled Catelyn's heart. Is there any creature on earth as unfortunate as an ugly woman?", is not coming from a place of scorn or thoughtlessness, but from knowing too well how cruelly their world treats women, how brienne's appearance would affect her marriage prospects.

“Our duty.” Catelyn’s face was drawn as she started across the yard. I have always done my duty, she thought. [...] I gave Brandon my favor to wear, and never comforted Petyr once after he was wounded, nor bid him farewell when Father sent him off. And when Brandon was murdered and Father told me I must wed his brother, I did so gladly, though I never saw Ned’s face until our wedding day. I gave my maidenhood to this solemn stranger and sent him off to his war and his king and the woman who bore him his bastard, because I always did my duty. Catelyn VI, ACOK

there's such clear resignation here, this is not how you talk if you're proud to have done your duty, if you feel you were actually rewarded for having done it. and duty here means meeting the unforgiving expectations of westeros's feudal patriarchy. if sansa's chapters are about growing out of that conditioning by realising that there is no reward to be found here, then catelyn's chapters are about showing the personal cost of having lived your entire life internalising those ideals. her house words being 'family, duty, honor' is a very deliberate character choice.

so it's not just that ned cheated on her, but that he unanimously made the decision to install jon at their home and catelyn's feelings were allowed no say in the matter, that it happened even before she was able to step foot in winterfell with robb is another blow. she had just been exchanged as goods from one (dead) brother to another and she was supposed to be okay with all this, like the most natural thing in the world because her house words were drilled into her since childhood. but we know she wasn't. she stamped down that resentment out of duty, because he's her lord husband and she was to obey him, but that pain and the alienation for having done her duty was going somewhere. openly resenting her husband or her father is not a socially allowed option, so all that resentment gets unfairly taken out on jon, someone she has authority over. and i think identifying the major cause of that hatred as her frustrations with westoros's patriarchal ideals is important because that means knowing the truth of jon's parentage wouldn't have changed anything. that ned kept such a thing from her and again, unanimously made the decision to commit treason without consulting catelyn, is once again simply telling her that she has no control in this marriage, that her judgement is both unasked for and not valued.

[quasi-normalcy]

Which Star Trek series should you start with?

The Original Series: Advantages: + The one that started it all + Has some sophisticated and socially conscious science fiction that has held up exceptionally well + The lead characters all have really good chemistry and fun to see play off of one another + It's what most people probably think of when you say Star Trek (together with TNG) Disadvantages: - It can feel very dated and kind of sexist, particularly in its treatment of women - The sci-fi and social commentary may have held up, but damn it, the special effects really haven't - When TOS is bad, it's really, really bad.

The Animated Series: Advantages: + Basically just more TOS. Disadvantages: - Basically just more TOS, but substituting extremely cheap animation for bad special effects

The Next Generation: Advantages: + Probably the most popular one at this point + The crew is full of interesting characters and they're fun to spend time with + Just really smart people solving Space Mysteries + Socialist space utopia + Geordi-And-Data! + Lots of cool sci-fi concepts and social commentary + It's what most people probably think of when you say Star Trek (together with TOS) Disadvantages: - Although not in the same way as TOS, it can feel dated at times, particularly in terms of its treatment of women and it's near complete refusal to acknowledge queerness - Without wanting to bias viewer opinion, the first season is widely considered to be pretty bad - The series makes no bones about the fact that the socialist space utopia is better than every other society that has ever existed and will reiterate this point over and over again

Deep Space Nine: Advantages: + The most popular Trek series on Tumblr + Has a complete story arc, as well as arcs for all of its characters, including the extremely minor ones + Plain, simple, Garak. The humble tailor. + Garashir, if you're into that + Seriously has a really sophisticated treatment of things like post-colonial politics, anthropology, worldbuilding, and the horrors of warfare + Just the characters in general + Is the only Star Trek prior to the 2010s to even look meaningfully at queer representation Disadvantages: - Has an absolutely massive inferiority complex with respect to TNG and this drives a few poor writing decisions that seemingly exist just to poke the Socialist Space Utopia in its eye - Introduces a space religion and then just slowly turns it into Christianity with the numbers filed off - Seems to think that sexual harassment is just a quirky eccentricity - There's no women in its writers' room, and frankly it shows

Voyager: Advantages: + Probably the clearest instance of found family in space + Lots of really good episodes + Lots of fun new characters + Strong female role models + "Set a course...for home." Disadvantages: - Continuity? I never knew her! - Probably about 90% of Trek's reputation for technobabble comes from this one series - Even less queerness than TNG. - Only like...3 characters actually get arcs. - The first few seasons lean very hard into bullshit fake "Native American" spiritualism with one of the characters - How do these guys have warp drive but can't find any water?

Enterprise: Advantages: + Chronologically the first series + 90% less technobabble + The only series to plausibly frame our heroes as astronauts...on some kind of...star trek. + Still has probably the best production values of any series + Makes alien cultures of the week feel somehow richer and deeper than other series + Faith of the Heart is good, fuck you. Disadvantages: - Oh my god, the decon scenes - Seriously, if you've ever wondered what a "sexy" series written by a 14 year old boy who's only ever seen a bit of scrambled softcore porn on late-night cable would be like, this is the show for you - Somehow feels more sexist and racist than the show from the '60s - Seriously, the POC characters mostly exist to fill seats on the bridge; the women constantly have to undress themselves - Hellooooo, Bush II-era political analogies - Scott Bakula is a good actor but you wouldn't know it from this series - In season 3, they add a tambourine beat to Faith of the Heart and ruin it

Discovery: Advantages: + Noticed the lack of queer characters in the first 50 years of Star Trek canon and decided to make up for lost time + Seriously, the "Bury Your Gays" tally for this series is like...negative two + Just incredible representation in general + Some really good science fiction plots, particularly in later series + Some really fun, memorable characters + It's still running, so it has an active fandom on Tumblr Disadvantages: - Makes Elon Musk out to be one of the great visionary geniuses of history - Not really representative of Star Trek as a whole - The series swerves wildly in tone because of constant, behind-the-scenes churn in the writers' room - Offputtingly grimdark first season - Let's be honest, none of the season-long arcs have actually had satisfying conclusions - Half the cast feels like it's just there for exposition and to be killed for cheap drama

Picard: Advantages: + Has the best dramatic acting of any Star Trek series by a fair margin + Has the best musical score of any Star Trek series + Introduces a whole crew of fascinating new characters + Introduces all kinds of fascinating transhumanist concepts + AGNES. JURATI. Disadvantages: - You know all of those fascinating new characters that I mentioned? Yeah, it unceremoniously gets rid of all of them to bring back the old TNG gang. - You know that all of those fascinating transhumanist concepts that I mentioned? Yeah, it gets rid of those too so that to give us some generic action - Oh my god, someone teach the set designers to operate a fucking light switch - Grimdark - Nossssstalgia - Each season is basically unrelated to every other season - Depends so heavily on TNG that its final season is basically unwatchable if you haven't already seen a 30-year-old TV series

Lower Decks: Advantages: + It has probably the most efficient storytelling that I've ever seen; seriously, it's incredible how much it can fit into a half hour episode + It has a bunch of delightful, archetypical characters you get to know and love + You like hanging out with these people + The ship is kind of crap and you will learn to love it that way. + Basically a sitcom version of TNG. + Has a big fandom on Tumblr Disadvantages: - The art style is pretty Rick & Morty-ish - It takes most of its first season to really strike a good balance between being a sitcom and being a Star Trek series - The main character, Mariner, is kind of unlikable for the first season or so (she gets better) - Lots of callbacks to other series (though always either incidental or clearly explained) - Given that it's the first Star Trek sitcom, the comedy is honestly kinda the weakest part? Subjective I know.

Prodigy: Advantages: + Absolutely gorgeous to look at; the most visually stunning Star Trek by quite a ways + Lots of fun new characters on a cool ship + Gives you clear on-boarding notes to the Star Trek franchise if you're watching it for the first time + Can be watched on its own, but also works as a direct sequel to Voyager and a prequel to Picard (making both of them retoractively better, in fact) + Kind of like the Clone Wars or Rebels of the Star Trek universe, I guess? + Found family in space! The next generation! + Soon to be running on Netflix, so if you already have a Netflix subscription, you don't need to pay for another service + Written for a younger audience. Not necessarily an advantage, but nice if you happen to like family friendly animation or YA. Disadvantages: - *sigh* You basically need to pirate it. Thanks, Paramount. - Has a second season that we may or may not ever actually get to see even through piracy. Thanks, Paramount. - Isn't airing on the same streaming service as all of the other ones. Thanks, Paramount

Strange New Worlds: Advantages: + Basically what the original series would be if it were released today, rather than 57 years ago; all of the cool, socially consciousness sci-fi adventure, none of the weird 60s sexism + Fun, awesome characters you get to like spending time with right away + Incredible visuals + Nifty sci-fi concepts, mostly without the 90s-style technobabble Disadvantages: - A huge cast with only ten episodes a season, so many of them feel underdeveloped - Unfortunately, a bunch of its characters are younger versions of the characters from The Original Series, and they hog most of the spotlight; and the characters whose futures aren't locked in stone are kind of treated as disposable - In general, it needs to spend less time being a prequel, and more time being its own thing - "What if Starfleet ran into the Xenomorphs from Alien?" "Well, they'd probably kill them." "Okay, let's spend several episodes on this."

[iluvdragons0740]

Bad Sansuary day 8: yearning (feat. Horror)

I am using a little OC of mine for this, since I think she really fits the Bad Sanses (ahem she's crazy ahem). We're in a scenario where she's been with the gang for a while now. There is no romanticism in this, I think it'll mainly be her interacting with the gang following the prompts. It's also a weird mix of canon, fanon and headcanon. I tried my best, but beware of the cringe >_<

Every character belongs to its respective owner

Ashes belongs to me

Bad Sansuary belongs to @owl-bones

Everything was eerily quiet in the AU, everyone either hiding or already dead. Horror could hear the sounds of destruction and Blasters firing some blocks away, Dust and Killer having been sent to cause some destruction and generally be a distraction, while Horror and Ashes had been sent to rummage through some houses after swapping roles with them, them being the one terrorizing survivors before. They wanted to try and make positive AUs more negative, bringing Dream to a disadvantage in terms of power and making sure that what happened with Ink a few missions ago wouldn't happen again.

Horror broke into the Snowdin Shop, kicking the door open, and Ashes sauntered in after him, looking around with an "excited" expression like she had never seen the place before going up to the counter and jumping over it to go to the other side, Horror following her. They both rummaged around, Horror stealing all the food while Ashes took all the gold and sparkly things she could find, stocking her inventory with them.

At one point Horror found himself staring at a little doll he found on the counter, reliving memories about a little bunny girl back home, a girl whose life had been cut short when the Core shut down, one of the many he couldn't save from starvation and Undyne's guards. He held it tightly, his sharp tips of his phalanges piercing through some of the fabric as he remembered how it was back home. He didn't often let himself remember the life in his AU, but sometimes the memories got the best of him like his hunger did. The living hell it had slowly become after Frisk crossed that Barrier. His hope that slowly dwindled as things got worse. The things he had done, and the things that had been done to him. And then he remembered of before the famine, before Undyne's coup, before Frisk. He remembered a time that if not perfect, was peaceful. Where he could still smile and laugh. Where people weren't dying left and right like mosquitoes. Where they could all be happy.

Once, he wished for things to be fixed, to find a solution to all his problems, to find a Happy Ending. Now, what he truly yearned for was for everything to go back the way it was before. For everything to be normal again.

But of course, he couldn't be that lucky. Even if the Boss did let him go and leave the gang, his AU was one of the few who didn't have Reset. He was stuck. And would probably be for a long time.

"Whatcha looking at?"

He was snapped back to reality as Ashes, who was leaning over the counter, looked at him curiously, a bit of malice in her eyes as she looked at the doll he was still holding and then back at him.

"Ohhhhh, reminiscing the past, ay big guy? Didn't take you for the nostalgic type~"

He tensed up a bit at that, but she simply tilted her head and stared him right in the eyes, waiting for him to say something while holding her hands under her chin. He hesitated as he answered

"Just... Thinking about back home, that's all."

Her smile got a little wider, and she leaned over more, arms on the counter

"Lemme guess, you want things to go back to the way they were before, hm? Before everything got messed up"

He was taken aback by this, and gave her a cautious look.

"How do you know that?"

She giggled, getting back into a more normal position.

"C'mon, we aren't that different you and I!~"

Then she stopped, seemingly reflecting for a moment.

"... Alright no that's a lie. We are very different. But it's not so unusual for people as messed up as us to wish to go back, to yearn and crave for normality. When everything was simpler and all that. I find it boring to be honest"

Horror tilted his head, reflecting on that. It made sense, at least in part. He surely wasn't happy with who he was now or what he did, and definitely found his old life much more bearable. He looked at Ashes, a question forming in his head, and he asked her:

"... So what do you yearn for anyway?"

At that, she blocked, eyes snapping to his and staring him with a weird expression as her smile froze on her face. Horror actually started to get a little unnerved before she suddenly got normal again and spoke up.

"Nothing, everything, who cares? We are never gonna obtain what we want anyway. So why even bother?!"

Horror was actually a bit worried at that, but when he tried to answer the Boss teleported in the shop.

"Horror, Ashes. The Stars are here. We need to go"

"Of course Boss!"

Ashes said that with a cheerful tone, as if nothing happened, and winked at Horror. Nightmare surrounded them with his tentacles. Then everything faded to black, and they left the AU.

[xxnashiraxx]

for the ask game: 4, 16, 17, 21, 30 🫶🏻

Ty so much my friend!!! Ily!! 💕💕💕

Answering questions from this post!!! 💗

4. If your Tav was a companion, where would they be found? I answered this one in this post, but here it is again!! 😊 I think if you could find her after the crash, she'd most likely end up down the beach a ways, sitting on the dock next to the dead fishermen, looking out at the water. She'd be trying to get her bearings and possibly even a little tearful, figuring out that she's "not in Kansas anymore". 😂 She'd be very thankful to the player for finding her and will hang on to their every word about this new world she's in, and I feel like some mischievous options would be misleading her and telling her stupid stuff to take advantage of her unfamiliarity. Unless you dismissed her and were just poking fun, she'd laugh afterward and scold the player for messing with her, but would most likely get an approval if the player is apologetic. 😂 Asking her to join the player's party would give you an approval, and she'd be so relieved, most likely forming a bond from that moment where she'd do anything to help the player character and try to be a useful asset despite her disadvantages. If resorting to dismissing her and leaving her on the beach, she'd probably nod and close in on herself and say "I'd not be of much help anyway... thank you for telling me where I am, at least." and I think that'd be the end of her lol. I'd like to think she'd make it to the Grove, but from then on, she'd most likely just end up abandoned and turned into a mind flayer without the protection of the astral prism.

16. Do they have a favorite creature in Faerun? I think at this moment in time, Ofelia hasn't seen many creatures, but her favorite so far would probably be the deep rothe 💖She thinks they're sweet 💗

17. Do they enjoy life as an adventurer? Right now- no, lol. She was thrust into this against her will and being so "bad" at it, she would probably give anything to reverse the situation and be back home. Over the course of the story, she'll realize that this is where she really belongs and be glad that it wasn't all just a bad dream 💖

21. What is your Tav's favorite spell? Definitely bardic inspiration!!! She loves to embolden the other's with power and, it's also my favorite because I get to write in the songs that'll help set the tone of the scene! 💖

30. What's your favorite thing about your Tav? My favorite thing about her is her loyalty and love. She'd honestly do anything for the people she loves, and that extends to helping each of the companions on their personal quests and seeing them through to the end. She has such a deep well of compassion and determination in her that I almost envy, and hope that I can reflect even a fraction of in my lifetime. 💗 I like writing her in a way that makes her heroic and cursed with empathy- she's no badass, she's not experienced, and she's not some insanely capable fighter. Her strongest trait is that love, and it makes up for the places that she lacks in, even if she can't see that and sometimes tries to supplement that with bad, risky decisions all for the sake of the ones she cares about.

Thank you for these questions, my friend!!! 🥰💖 Ilysm and I'm so honored for the ask!! 🫂

[characternerdocs]

What are the most morally questionable things Heath has done?

Admittedly, with Heath being my lil' cinnamon roll blorbo, he hasn't really done much that is super morally questionable.

When he was six though, and the caretakers at the children's home arranged for him to be moved to a psychiatric facility due to his claims of ghostly hallucinations and "growing prophetic powers", despite knowing deep down that her plan would lead to a pyrrhic success, Heath let his sister pull the time old twin switcheroo trick which resulted in her going to the pysch facility which he was moved in with a foster family shortly after, with nobody ever learned about the other twin's deception. However, the guilt of letting his sister pull the ruse has plagued Heath since that day.

Additionally, Heath is also fully aware of Emery's dietary preferences versus her needs. While he has found an ethical-ish option for Em (blood meal from the local plant nursery brewed in a coffee maker using coconut water instead of regular water), it is not Emery's preference. I imagine it is a, don't ask, don't tell, sorta topic for the two. But every so often, Heath will see a newspaper headline or hear a story on the local news station, and he gets that pang of guilt.

I really like the song Ruthlessness from Epic the Musical for Heath, and I see Ramiel as Poseidon. As Heath doesn't want to do the morally questionable thing, even if it may be the option that makes everything easier.

You are the worst kind of good // 'Cause you're not even great // A Greek who reeks of false righteousness // That's what I hate // 'Cause you fight to save lives // But won't kill and don't get the job done // I mean, you totally could have avoided all this // Had you just killed my son // But no

Tho, Rai doesn't care for her ... son. But she'd let Heath believe that he should kill him

BUT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS HEATH!

In the most recent D&D campaign I played, I played Heath. He was a wild magic sorcerer, which basically meant that if he cast a spell, I'd have to roll to see if he "Magic surged" and if I/Heath did surge, it would cause another magical effect which was out of my/Heath's control. Plus, our DM decided to continuously increase the fail number throughout the campaign, making it more likely that Heath would magic surge.

In this campaign, Heath:

Day one, Heath killed a man who was fleeing from a fight by using firebolt against him, burning the man alive. - I forgot you cannot deal non-lethal magic damage, and Heath's conscience pays the price... and the fleeing guy.

Magic surged and in doing so created a "delayed fireball" (basically, magically fire bomb) in the small enclosed basement of the former house/butcher shop of an NPC and his missing mother, who Heath and Pea-Poe, my friend's character, were trying to find. When the fireball went off, it destroyed the whole house and half the block. We refer to that as Heath's act of terrorism. It was also Emery's house and shop.

After saving Emery from the twisted scientist/necromancer man who kidnapped her seven years ago to use her blood in his weird experiment to create lethal street drugs and suffering many level of exhaustion, (Exhaustion basically gives you various disadvantages to your rolls or abilities with each increasing level) Heath tries to use the sheild spell to keep Pea-Poe from getting hit by a very large sewer rat, and failed, so Pea-Poe still took damage. But Heath also failed the magic surge. Somehow, all three (Pea-Poe, Emery, and Heath) were suddenly unconscious, and when they awoke, it turned out that Heath had teleported them all into a mage's magical mansion in a little pocket dimension. Everyone was back to full health, Heath was cured of his exhaustion, but turns out they were there for seven days in a complete comatose state, which allowed the Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG) to start his genocidal purge of the city's working and lower class

In a fight against the BBEG's muscle-headed henchwomen, Heath used the shield spell to defend against the woman's attack, and of course, he magic surged. When the woman's ax hit Heath's shield, it exploded in a shower of lava, badly injuring the henchwoman and melting her into the floor. He then finished off by using primal savagery, basically making his hand a blade, and stabbed the woman up under her chin into her brain. Emery killed the other henchwoman by punching her straight fist through her head. My DM also revealed that these juiced-up ladies were called Ray and Mel. I think it is very fitting that Emery and Heath got to kill Ray and Mel, respectively.

When finally confronting the BBEG, the BBEG has nine children magically bound to him, so any effect or damage that should affect him instead affected the children. Heath counter-spelled the BBEG's lightning spell (Counter-spell is basically just a "no you don't" effect, if it is successful), which it was! But he magic-surged, and three spots started to glow yellow as they were starting to charge with electricity. ( I have conformed with the DM that the CasMark pulled a Crocodile Dundee on the BBEG, say "That's not a Lightnin' spell, THIS is a Lightnin' spell") So we're on another timer, Heath and Emery are focused on getting the kiddos out of there, while Pea-Poe just mocks and antagonizes the BBEG. Heath and Emery prioritized the kids standing in the area of the glowing powder keg were freed first before moving on to the other kids. They managed to unbind five of the nine kids before the spell went off, but Pea-Poe did not get the BBEG out of the glowing spot he was in. In front of Heath's eyes, those remaining five kids just turned to dust and ash. Right there, Heath breaks down sobbing, while Emery over to the BBEG, who is hanging on to life, charred to a crisp and bald as the day he was born from the lightning bolt that just struck him, it having dealt so much damage over, it still had power left to damage him after taking out his meat sheilds; Emery goes over to the BBEG and just curbstomps his head with the heel of her boot. But since they also know there is a necromancer about, it is best not to leave a corpse around that he could salvage. So, bringing everything full circle, Heath gets up and just starts casting firebolt on the BBEG's body until the ashes are ash.

Thanks for the ask @icybreaths, I hope that D&D Heath's acts of terrorism are sufficiently morally questionable enough. I should leave you with the sketch I did of the roast of Phil and the drawing of Heath entering his villain era inspired by Monster, also from the Epic Musical.

[taramimeme-blog-blog]

Hapi: She is great and you should love her

Fire Emblem Three Houses has a lot of great characters in my opinion. I think one of the things they did really well with the game's world was in fleshing out enough world-building, and connecting the characters to that world such that, even when only hints are given about the character, the player can infer so much more.

Hapi is definitely one of those characters. I love her, and I will explain why she is interesting, and why you should love her too.

So first off, leading off based on my comment above, Hapi is a character where I think the player does have to do a particularly large amount of the inferring. In 3 Houses, as an Ashen Wolf, she has a pretty limited number of supports compared to any of the main house characters, and since she isn't part of one of the main houses, she's a bit more tangentially related to main story, whichever route you go.

But, there is a lot of interesting stuff to think about with her.

1: Hapi is one of the most dis-privileged characters in the cast.

Along with Leonie (a commoner from a poor hunting village with no direct connections to the nobility who had to borrow money to go to Garreg Mach) and Cyril (a war orphan, forcefully kept as a servant by Goneril, and then later handed off to Garreg Mach where, honestly, he seems to be only kind of sort of cared for) Hapi is probably one of the characters with the least connections to the power of Fodlan's nobility.

Even some other commoner characters have a bit more going for them. Ignatz and Raphael are from merchant families with direct connections to the nobility, and they probably came from towns, not the middle of nowhere. Ashe was born into a commoner family, but was adopted by a noble. Dorothea was born into utter poverty, but she managed to push her way into noble circles thanks to her signing talent.

But Hapi comes from the most nowhere village of all. Her village is literally a "hidden" village (more on that later). And she makes her way to Garreg Mach by being kidnapped and experimented on for 7 years, and then being forcefully transferred into Abyss because the church finds out about her curse and just kind of *shrugs* and shoves her somewhere where she hopefully won't kill anyone they care about.

So Hapi combines the situations of other crest-experimentation characters like Lysithea and Edelgard with the inherent disadvantage of being a commoner from nowheresville. Also, like Cyril, she had no say in where she ended up living.

Is it any wonder she keeps her expectations in check?

2: Her home village is fascinating

Hapi's village seems to be a secret village founded by Timotheos, an original crest bearer, though not one of the 12 elite. Aside from it being somewhere in Adrestia, it's never clear exactly where her village is, and the implication seems to be that it is isolated and hidden from the outside world.

This is so cool!

Do the people of this village use some sort of complicated magic to keep outsiders out? Do they really have zero interactions with the outside world, or just very limited interactions? Are they so able to hide themselves that they avoid even occasional visits from nobles drafting labor or demanding taxes? Maybe! It seems possible.

Even Leonie's village in a forest somewhere is on the radar of nobles. It's Lorenz's house that hires Jeralt to go there and take care of poachers, and Leonie at some point mentions nobles collecting taxes, so as rural as her village is, it is still integrated into Fodlan's society. But it seems possible that Hapi's village may be literally unknown to the outside world.

3: Does she, like, even have any formal education?

The game doesn't touch on this aspect of the commoner-noble gulf, but it's easy to guess from all the advantages that nobles seem to have that they almost certainly have better access to formal education.

Ashe, for example, didn't know how to read at age 10 when he was adopted into a noble house (admittedly, his parents had died, and maybe if they hadn't he would have had access to some sort of education). It's never implied that Leonie is illiterate, so evidently even in a rural village like hers, there is access to some amount of education, though that may be informal teaching done by people in the village rather than any sort of actual school.

In Hapi's case, perhaps she learned to read in some sort of informal schooling system in her home village. She also may have received some sort of education when she was kept as a prisoner since Anselma looked after her to some extent during her time there. But it seems likely that she has never been in any sort of formal school setting prior to being suddenly invited into Byleth's class.

(The Ashen Wolves have a classroom in Abyss, and the DLC makes it sound like Aelfric set up their class, so maybe there was some schooling there too, but it's not clear how that fits into the main game since the DLC story is explicitly an alternate universe.)

It's interesting to think about how she would have reacted to this. Lack of formal schooling, and lack of knowledge of how to school is a major impediment to educational success in the real world. There's a lot of stuff that is never explicitly taught about how to do school that students are expected to just know if they've been attending formal schooling since a young age.

In the US, where I live, students who lack formal educational experience can be classified as SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) and they are potentially given access to expanded services as a result. Students like this in extreme cases (say refugees from wars) may lack basic skills like how to hold a pencil. They are typically not familiar with things like having to do homework on a regular basis, and they may not know how to take notes on a lecture, etc. And of course, they may also be illiterate, even in their home language, let alone in English, the language of instruction in US schools.

Again, it is never implied that Hapi is illiterate, and she very well may have had opportunities to learn to read like I mentioned above, but she is also very likely unfamiliar with many academic concepts, and with the unspoken norms of wider society in general. After all, she spent her childhood in an isolated village, and then spent her formative teenage years locked up and not in contact with most people.

I find myself wondering how she adjusts to life in Garreg Mach as a student. I think it's interesting that, in one of her meal lines, if you invite her and Linhardt, she mentions that the dining hall usually bums her out. It's probably partially due to the fact that knowledge of her curse got out at some point, and a lot of people give her a wide berth, which would definitely be upsetting for anyone, but maybe dealing with the social aspects of eating in a public space, and going to a crowded classroom every day is also stressful for her.

4: But she also knows stuff!

In her support chain with Yuri, it's shown that Hapi is very knowledgeable about constellations. She dismisses the knowledge as basic stuff that everyone in her village knows, but aside from knowing about constellations, she also surprises Yuri by telling him that the earth they are on is a big ball, and that it is moving and the stars are still.

Like Ashe, Yuri was also adopted into a noble house, and has presumably received some amount of formal education like a noble would receive, so the fact that he doesn't know this implies that this knowledge is not common, even among the educated nobles. This tracks with some of the books in the Abyss library writing about how the church has repressed a lot of knowledge related to the sciences.

It brings up the question of, what else might Hapi and people in her village know about that the rest of Fodlan doesn't? Do they know about unique forms of magic that are utterly unknown to the rest of Fodlan? Have they learned about medicine like surgeries that is restricted by the church?

I think it's interesting to think that Hapi might actually have a lot of knowledge that others don't, despite her educational disadvantages. This again reminds me of the real-world SLIFE students I mentioned above. In teacher education, we are often reminded to not view SLIFE students, students with disabilities, or students who are learning English as a second language solely in terms of their disadvantages. It sells them short. They are whole people, and like all people, they are complicated. Even students who have missed out on formal education and who have been subjected to unimaginable trauma still have their individual strengths, and they have the knowledge that they have gained from their life experiences.

So Hapi is not just a victim. She has undoubtedly been subjected to horrific things, and she is way on the periphery of Fodlan's power centers, but she brings her own strengths to the table.

In terms of other knowledge she has, she is shown in her supports with Bernadetta in 3 Hopes to be familiar with what plants are edible. (Not surprising for someone from a rural village, and for someone who ran off on her own and had to feed herself for some amount of time as a kid before getting kidnapped.)

5: Despite her traumatic experiences, she believes in people and does right by them

Hapi is always shown to be pretty open to other people and their oddities, and while she is usually pretty blunt in how she talks to people, she seems to have very few prejudices against how people do things. She's willing to listen to people, and open to new ideas.

This fits with her history of coming from an isolated village and running away to seek freedom and see the outside world.

Since she comes from an isolated village, it makes sense that she would not be familiar with Fodlan's norms. Furthermore, she spent so many of her younger years locked up that she would have had few opportunities to learn about how things are "supposed" to be in society. This is a strength of her background. In contrast with some of the more nobility-obsessed nobles, who tend to have strong, rigid ideas of how the world is supposed to work (think someone like Lorenz). Hapi does not have a lot of preconceptions to fight against. She values friendship, and interacts with people on an equal footing, even using ridiculous nicknames with some of the more politically powerful people in Fodlan's society like Dimitri (3 Houses) and Claude (3 Hopes). She insists on sharing snacks with Constance, even when the latter thinks that it is inappropriate to be stuffing one's face in public, because Hapi doesn't see the value in upholding silly social rules, but she does see the value in sharing the joyful experience of eating something delicious with a friend.

(On that note, she's also the student in 3 Houses with the fewest disliked foods from what I remember. And she likes the crawfish dish that almost no one likes. I can see this as a combination of not having prejudices, and also a practicality sprung from her rough life, where she has probably often been unable to afford to be picky and has had to eat whatever was available.)

Speaking of Constance, all the Hapi / Constance fans out there know this already, but it still bears repeating, their friendship (or more maybe?) is absolutely sweet, and is such a wonderful example of how well people can support each other with their different strengths and backgrounds.

While her house has been destroyed, Constance still does come from a privileged, noble background, and has the social capital and the knowledge needed to move smoothly in noble circles. Hapi on the other hand never shows "proper" deference to anyone, and is semi-ostracized due to her curse.

Getting back to the idea of Hapi lacking formal education and knowledge of wider-Fodlan, I like to imagine that what made her and Constance such good friends was that, they were able to support each other in Abyss / Garreg Mach.

I can imagine Constance, shell-shocked, dealing with the loss of her house, her status, her purpose in life, and her entire family, being totally at a loss for what to do upon arriving at Abyss. I like to think that Hapi, who had learned to be strong in confinement, saw this lost woman and made sure to get her on her feet, and to show her that she could still build a life, even in a cruddy prison like Abyss. I also feel like Hapi probably does a lot of work keeping Constance's spirits up every time they need to go to the surface in the sunlight, and I can imagine Hapi maybe even literally holding Constance's arm and guiding her where she needs to be in order to not let her give into her sunlight-induced despair.

On the flip side, I imagine Constance was a big help to Hapi when they first started going to classes on the surface, and dealing with the school situation. Constance may have been the one to guide Hapi in what to do in class. I can imagine her teaching Hapi that she needs to bring materials with her, she needs to take notes, if she has a question, the proper solution is to check in with the professor, not only to possibly get an answer, but also to let them know that you got lost so that they can better help you in the future. These are all formal schooling skills that I could see Hapi not having as a result of her background.

And of course, we get to see Constance standing up for Hapi in their 3 Houses support chain when some mean girls decide to bully the person with the weakest position in Fodlan's society just because they can. Constance is having none of that, and it is absolutely the sweetest.

6: Other random thoughts

She likes pretty pebbles and collects them! And she likes Ignatz's art (3 Hopes). She has an appreciation for pretty things even if she usually gives off the impression of being kind of apathetic.

Aside from Constance, I also like her relationship with Linhardt. Neither of them have time for society's rules and sucking up to those in power, and it is very believable that they would get along once Hapi saw past Linhardt's grating first-impression. (I don't think there's anyone who isn't annoyed by Linhardt when they first meet him.) Like Hapi, Linhardt is genuine, and he doesn't try to be someone he isn't.

I think it would have been neat to see interactions between Hapi and Leonie in either 3 Houses or 3 Hopes. Both of them have commoner backgrounds, and both of them have seen the darker sides of authority as a result. (Leonie feeling stomped on by nobles, and Hapi feeling stomped on by the church.) They would have a lot to talk about while out hunting / collecting edible plants.

Conclusion

So yeah, Hapi is wonderful, though she wouldn't ever say so herself. (Just ask Constance about why Hapi is so great, she'll give you a monologue on Hapi's many charms in her place <3)

[crackspinewornpages]

War and Peace 70/198 -Leo Tolstoy

61 

After his induction Pierre was given instructions on how to manage his estates and went to Kiev to give orders and abolish the unconstitutional servitude of the serfs (and what scaffolding did you put in place cause you can’t just change the system without any plans) and corporal punishment and establish hospitals, asylums and schools. The stewards and overseers thought he was displeased with their work or found out they were embezzling, others found amusement in his out of character speech. At Count Bezukhof’s death it was said her had an income of five hundred thousand rubles a year, but Pierre felt poorer then when he had an allowance of ten thousand a year with debts, dependents and building projects. The chief overseer calculated funds and Pierre refused to listen of using peasant labor, paying off mortgages and progressing too rapidly, Pierre had no head for proper work and told him to do whatever. (slaps forehead) 

Pierre had acquaintances in Kiev who welcomed the wealthy landowner and Pierre was tempted to go back to the party life. He knew he wasn't fulfilling the Mason’s obligation of living amoral life but took comfort he was fulfilling the other one of reformation of the human race. Spring of 1807 he desired to go back to Petersburg to visit his possessions and see the condition of the peasantry. The chief overseer, considering Pierre’s ideas were disadvantageous to him, Pierre and the peasants, made concessions not to emancipate the serfs but did erect public buildings and put on a show knowing Pierre’s character to delude him and emotionally touch him. 

 Pierre thought the estates were picturesque and the peasants gave him a pleasant reception and gratitude. What he did not know was he visited a commercial village, the well to do peasants greeted him and nine tenths of peasants of the same village were still in destitution. The women he had stopped from working in the fields had to do harder work on their own communal land. The priests oppressed the villagers and ransomed back their children and the stonework for buildings was the forced servitude of the serfs. (going about as well as China’s Great Leap Forward) Pierre wrote self-enthusiastic letters, happy at the gratitude but mortified to be the recipient of it, how he could have easily done more. The chief overseer played with Pierre like a toy and told him how useless it would be to emancipate the serfs who were content as they are. (serfs are basically slaves) Pierre agreed with him but insisted on it feeling it was justice. The chief overseer agreed to do it knowing Pierre would never be in position to find out the truth. (well he’s right about that) 

62 

Rostof returned from his furlough and realized how strong his ties were to Denisof and the regiment, it was like he returned home. Denisof ran out to greet him, “The regiment was also his home, and as sweet and dear to him as the home of his childhood,”p.226 No more of the mad confusion of the outside world where he found himself engaged in questionable actions, in the regiment everything was known, no necessity for thought or decision, fulfill your duties that was all. Since the debt debacle Rostof swore to pay back his parents within five years, (Rostof you pissed away the equivalent of 300k that’s a descent sized house in my area) only spend two of his ten-thousand-ruble allowance and saving the rest. 

The army was in Bartenstein waiting for the Emperor and a new campaign, in April the Pavlograd regiment hadn't moved in weeks from a deserted German village, days with no provisions. They had dug up sprouts and ate it despite warnings of it being poisonous and they became swollen. Despite of the destitution life was the same as usual, “Little was said about the general situation, partly because nothing positive was known, partly because there was a general impression that the war was going badly.”p.228 

In April the troops cheered that the Sovereign was coming, Rostof didn't experience this as the Povlograd regiment were far from Baitentein stationed at posts, Rostof and Denisof were in a covered trench. In April, Rostof one morning was anticipating a promotion to follow his reconnoitering expiation and eagerly waited for Denisof’s return to talk to him. Denisof was in a bad mood, reprimanding Topcheyenko as he let others eat the poisonous root, they wouldn't listen. Then Denisof yelled for the second platoon to saddle he rushed in for his whip and saber and left. 

Late in the afternoon fifteen hussars and emancipated horses came with wagons, Rostof thought it was provisions but Denisof was reprimanding two officers for robbing an escort of their wagons and ran them off. The next day the regiment commander advised Denisof to write a receipt of what they got to the commissary department, or the loss will be put on the infantry and the resulting investigation will end badly. When Denisof returned he could hardly speak and his state made Rostof worried and Denisof said they were going to try him for robbery. He was so bad the doctor took blood from him to calm him down. (weakness from blood loss means he calmed down right) 

Denisof recounted what happened and Rostof had to calm him again, the next day and adjutant of the regiment came with a formal document from the regimental commander as a court martial has been convened, he’d be lucky to get off with a degradation. Those who felt aggrieved came to testify Denisof came drunk and called the commissary a thief, threatened him and attacked officials. Denisof declared the whole story rubbish to Rostof and he wasn't afraid of a court martial, but Rostof knew better. Every day more enquiries and summons and in May he was required to turn over command to his next seniority and appear in headquarters to defend himself. The next day before he was to go they made reconnaissance with the enemy Denisof as usual went to the front and got shot in the leg, a trifling wound he would not normally leave the regiment for, but this was a profit, he gave up command and went to the hospital. (what was his plan to get a medical discharge to put off the trial to make them feel sorry for him to appear as a hero so they wouldn't try him) 

63 

June was the Battle of the Friedland followed by an armistice, Rostof missed Denisof and not hearing any news went to the hospital in a ruined village giving it a gloomy appearance. Inside it was an overwhelming odor of disease and rot. (they didn’t even wash hands or know of germs back then to go to a hospital was a death sentence) A surgeon told him to leave it’s a house of leprosy, a typhus outbreak they already lost five doctors. He can't recall seeing Denisof after three hospitals in charge of four hundred sick and they’re sending more, he’ll ask around but is pretty sure Denisof is dead. 

Rostof asked at the officer’s ward and runs into Tushin now missing an arm, who takes him to Denisof. Rostof could tell by his voice Denisof was in a lot of pain. Rostof asked of the affair and Denisof pulled out a letter and his reply, his neighbor, Uhlan, told him to petition the Sovreign, he won't, he’s not a thief, he’s served the Tsar honorably. Tushin says he must give in, the auditor even told him it’s bad business and wrote a petition for him. Rostof didn't argue with Denisof and as a favor takes a petition to the Emperor, the auditor wrote for him, he just craved a pardon. “Hand it in, it’s evident...’ her did not finish his sentence, and smiled a painfully unnatural smile.”p.234 (I thought at this point Denisof would get his leg amputated and die from infection) 

64 

After giving a report of Denisof’s condition Rostof went to Tilist with the petition. On the twenty fifth the French and Russian emperors were meeting and Boris begged to be present to see Napoleon. Watching the emperors Boris felt his position secured, his name known and always seen and the Emperor knew his face and the inner circle ceased to shun him. (you might be welcomed in Boris but you are not one of them you don’t have the pedigree) On July sixth he was dinning with Count Zhilinski, one of Napoleon’s aides and Imperial Gaurd officials when Rostof arrived surprised to see Boris there with French officers. 

Rostof was greeted by Boris, but he could see the annoyance on his face and could tell his arrival was untimely. Boris took him to the table and introduced him and insisted if he was tired to go rest in his bedroom where Rostof told him of the petition. Now alone together Rostof found it awkward to look Boris in the eyes who warned the Sovereign is strict in such cases, best not to bring it to him, so he should give it to the commander of the corps. Rostof accused him of not wanting to do anything, Boris’s responses was cut off by Zhilinski’s calling him and Rostof excused himself. 

No day could be less favorable than the one Rostof presented his petition, he could not go to the general in command as he was in civilian dress and without a leave of absence. On the ninth the preliminary peace article was signed and both emperors were expected at a banquet. Rostof swore not to have anything to do with the unhelpful Boris and won’t leave town until he helps Denisof. He runs up to the mansion Alexander occupied, up to the prepared horse escort, someone asked him what he wanted and told him the petition should go to the general in charge. The general in chief, who didn't care about his dressage, heard Rostof’s case and accepted his letter and Rostof hearing the jingling of spurs, ran to the doorway with other spectators to catch a glimpse of his majesty. The general formal in charge of Rostof’s command spoke to him and the Sovereign said loud enough to be heard by all, “I cannot, general, and I cannot because the law is more powerful than I.” p.239 (well at least there’s one powerful leader that believes that) He rode off and Rostof and the crowd ran after him. (I feel like how the public worships this guy is like pre Covid celebrity culture) 

PART SIXTH 

65  

1808-1810, with peace with Napoleon the Tsar invades Sweden as France and Sweden fought. When Austria defies Napoleon, Russia is on the French side. While Napoleon fights Spain and Portugal and on the Iberian Peninsula, the army under Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington begins Britain’s first participation on the land fighting. “But in this campaign Russia is not involved, and by the standards of those troubled times is enjoying peace and tranquility.”p.240 

1808 the Emperor went to Erfurt to meet Napoleon, by 1809 there was talk of possible marriage to the other’s sisters. Besides external politics, Russia’s attention was also on internal reforms across the domain. Andrei wasn't bothered for two years, living in the country all of Pierre’s enterprises brought no results while Andrei had no trouble with it. 

An estate with three hundred serfs were enrolled as free farmers, the first instance in Russia, in Boqucharovo a midwife was to help in case of childbirth and a priest employed to teach children. Andrei followed outside events and men fresh from Petersburg were far behind him in knowledge of politics. He spent his time accounting for the last two poor campaigns and projected change for military regulations. At his son’s estates of Riazon as trustee called on the district Marshall of nobility Count Ilya Andreyitch Rostof. 

It was hot and he was in a bad mood, he went under the tree shade and saw some young girls playing, one approached the carriage but seeing he was a stranger ran off. He felt pained by it, a beautiful day, everyone so cheerful, but this girl didn't wish to know him. (boo fucking hoo for you) What did she have to be happy about, (Andrei unlike you other people actually enjoy life) she certainly wasn't thinking about military code. (why would she) 

Count Rostof was entertaining at Otradnoye and welcomed Andrei who spent the day attracted to Natasha, wondering what she was thinking about and why she was happy. That night it was hot and he couldn't sleep annoyed at Count Rostof for needing the proper papers sent for from the city. He opened the window and heard women’s voices from the floor below singing, Natasha had wanted Sonya to look at the moon. When she checked the window Andrei thought his existence was nothing to her but felt youthful hope, too weak to analyze it he went to sleep. 

On going home, he made up his mind to return to Petersburg in Autumn and thinks of reasons to go. “It seemed clear to him that all his experiments of life would surely be wasted and pointless unless he were to put them into effort and once more take an active part in life.”p.243 At home he was restless of the countryside, looking at a portrait of Lisa she no longer seemed to say these terrible words. Andrei would pace with conflicting moods thinking of ideas connected to Pierre, glory, Natasha, love and which was hanging his life. 

66 

Two years before this Pierre’s return from his estates he found himself the head of the Petersburg Freemasons. He established lodges, enrolled new members, labored for unions and original documents. He gave money to the Masonic Temple and promoted collections for charity which the members barely donated to and he supported the unaided Alm houses established by the order. He kept up his usual life, fine dinning and wine but looked at it as immoral, he couldn't stop participating in the amusements with his bachelor friends. 

Before the year was over, he felt the Masonic ground was giving was faster and faster the more he tried to maintain it but still found himself committed to it. At the same time his wife sent a letter begging for an interview, her grief at what happened and a desire to devote her life to him, she was abroad and about to return to Petersburg. (oh so she’s out of money isn’t she) One of the brotherhood advised him that his severity to his wife was unjust and in violation of the first rule of pardoning the penitent. The same time Vasili’s wife wanted to see him for something important, Pierre could tell they wouldn't let up on him reconciling with Helene. If he didn't agree to it it was because with his depression, he didn't have to energy to either forgive or punish her, if she came to him he’d just send her away. He wrote in his diary that his mother in law told him Helene was back, she is unhappy and innocent, if he sees her he won't have the strength to refuse. He doesn't know whose advise to seek but concluded he had no right to refuse her request since it’s his duty to help everyone and told her he has nothing to forgive. 

In those days high society court balls were divided into inner circles with their own peculiarities, now the most popular was the French circle lead by Count Rumyantsof and Caulaincourt, Helene played a prominent part in it. Helene was at Erfurt during the Emperor's meeting and made acquaintance of all the Napoleonic celebrities. Pierre wasn’t surprised, her beauty found success and she became more beautiful over time, men fawned over her. Pierre knew she was stupid despite her reputation of being clever and charming with no concept of the subjects discussed. (ok but given evidence of Pierre’s actions and how we only get Pierre’s point of view is this him just projecting) Pierre was the type of husband such a brilliant woman should have, queer and absent-minded serving only as background dressing which he was affable towards all. (the Scarlet Pimpernel and his wife come to mind) Boris also frequented Helene’s salon and Pierre didn't like seeing them together and might suffer again as he did three years ago, but the renounced the idea and banished suspicions. During this time he experienced many joys and doubts. 

67 

The Rostof’s financial affairs didn't improve the two years they lived in the country while Rostof kept his word continuing in an obscure regiment with the advancement and living frugally on two thousand a year the Rostof’s still lived above their means increasing debts. The old Count for relief got a government position and allowed the girls one last season of amusement. In Petersburg Berg progressed and Vera accepted, however the Rostofs moved into a society where they didn't know which one they belonged. In Petersburg their position was vague they were initially accepted by them in Moscow, now didn't notice them. 

They entertained as they did in Moscow, but the company was mixed, Berg showed off his injured arm and sword and told stories of his service so detailed they believed him and awarded him decorations and citations. (how easy is it to get promoted in the 1800's Russian military) 1809 he was Captain of the Gaurd, though there were skeptics you had to admit Berg was well disciplined, brave officer. Four years before Berg caught sight of Vera and swore to marry her now, his time had come. At first his proposal was treated with surprise, the son of an obscure Lithuanian nobleman, but the Rostofs thought it was an excellent arrangement anyway, their state was little attraction to the suitors and Vera was twenty-four. (le gasp such an old maid practically over the hill) 

Berg told his friend he thought it all over he secured his parents a leasehold on the Baltic frontier, he can live on his salary in Petersburg and her estate since he’s economical they can live well. “I don’t marry her for her money; I don’t call that sort of thing honorable; but it’s no more than fair for the wife to contribute her portion and the husband his.”p.249 He has his appointment her connections and little property and best of all she is lovely and loves him and he loves her. Her sister, however, is the opposite, disagreeable, not like Vera well balanced and admirable. 

The Rostof’s joy at Vera’s proposal was artificial and relatives were mixed were perplexity and mortification, they weren’t fond of Vera and were glad to be rid of her. (something tells me Natasha is the favorite child) The old Count was perplexed, because of his finances, where he stood, or how much he owed, what he was able to give as Vera’s dowry, there was nothing to spare and they had a week. A few days before the wedding Berg came to see him to ask what the dowry was and explained if he didn't know he’d withdraw the proposal. (jackass the wedding is a few days away) The Count gave him a note for eighty thousand rubles but Berg wanted thirty thousand in cash to make himself ready for his new life. The Count says make it twenty thousand and will still give the note for eighty so Berg won’t demand more. (you just struggled to pay 43 thousand rubles for a gambling debt and just offer up 100 thousand?!) 

68 

Natasha was sixteen and in those four years she counted she hadn't seen Boris when she was with her mother and Sonya she declared it was childish nonsense, (really Sonya after all the stuff between you and Rostof) but in her heart wondered if his promise was in jest or genuine. Natasha thought he was avoiding her as he had been to Moscow several times and not once gone to see them. People said he forgot his old friends while his mother Anna Mikhailovna boasted of him and his career. (yeah he had forgotten his old friends) Now, in Petersburg, Boris went to see them to make them understand the childhood promise wasn't binding, he had a brilliant position, was intimate with Countess Helene Bezukhof and had a position in the service, now contemplated marrying a wealthy heiress. 

Boris remembered Natasha as a little girl and was taken aback at her change, (she went from a tween to a teen) as he spoke to the Count, Natasha gazed at his fine dress and noticed how he spoke. Her glance troubled Boris and he didn't stay ten minutes before leaving and he confessed to himself Natasha still fascinated him, but he had to renounce his feelings, a dowerless girl would ruin him and renewing their friendship would be a base trick. He resolved not to meet her again but kept going to the Rostofs and kept putting off the explanation. The Countess and Sonya could see Natasha still felt for him, he even ceased seeing Helene and spent most of his spare time at the Rostof’s. 

The evening Natasha went to see her mother, pausing to let her finish her prayer before reclining on the couch. Those nightly visits to her mother happened before the Count returned from his club. The old Countess told her daughter, at sixteen she was already married but what does she wish, she’s already turned Boris’s head, but she can't marry him he is young, (but sixteen isn’t) she is poor, he’s a relative (at least they’re not like the Hapsburgs) and she doesn't love him. It isn't proper, people don't remember childhood affections but if people see them intimate it may put off other men and it’s torturing him for nothing. Boris cant keep coming over so often, it won’t end well. Natasha says to let him come over, they both enjoy it but she won't marry him, it’s understood he won't marry her but this way they can see each other. In her own room it took a long time for Natasha to sleep, imaging herself with an intelligent handsome man, singing an opera to herself. The next day the Countess had a talk with Boris and he stopped being a frequent visitor. 

69 

December 1810, a ball of diplomatic corps and the Emperor present at the grandee of Gtherine’s time. The police guarded the entrance as uniformed men and ladies went up each arrival an excitement. A third of the guests arrived but the Rostofs were still getting ready, their cousin Marya Ignatyevna Peronski took charge of teaching her country cousins entry in Petersburg high life. Five minutes until ten and the ladies weren't dressed, Natasha had woken at eight and spent all day in excitement for her first great ball and expended all her effort to have everyone dressed to perfection. (and that took 14 hours) They should reach the ballroom at half past ten, but Natasha still had not dressed (you had 14 hours) and they had to pick up Marya. Natasha’s skirt was too long, having two maids tuck it hastily, a quarter past ten they were finally in the carriage. Marya was already waiting for them, she was in a stole like the Rostofs but without the haste and flurry, used to it all. At last at eleven they left for the ball. (so they’re a half hour late leaving for the ball this is why you leave an hour early) 

70 

Natasha didn't have a moments freedom that morning to think of what was before her, now in that carriage she imagined the ball and up the red staircase it came over her what propriety and behavior she must have at the ball. She walked along, hiding her excitement, all was comingled in glittering procession and the hosts welcomed them at the door. The guests were crowded at the at the entrance waiting for the Sovereign, Marya pointed at notable people. Natasha was glad to see the familiar face of Pierre even if Marya called him a ridiculous creature. (well she’s not wrong) 

There was a stir and the Sovereign arrived the crowd parted as he went to the drawing room. The throng moved away from the doors, a young man begged the lingering ladies to step back as gentlemen chose dance partners. The Sovereign danced with the lady of the house followed by other couples and Natasha felt her family was neglected standing along the wall, waiting for her greatest enjoyment and disappointment, she felt like crying. (yeah pretty crummy to be the girl no one wants to dance with all night) The Count and Marya were in other groups, they were alone among strangers, Andrei, Anatol and Boris all passed them by and she felt mortified. (geez even being ignored by your friends at a big dance) 

The Sovereign sat after three dances and as no one began the waltz an aide danced with Helene and Natasha almost cried that she wasn't leading the first waltz. (you’re new and no one knows you) Andre wasn't listening to Boren Firhof of the Imperial Council meeting, he was looking at the gentlemen too intimidated to take the dance floor and the ladies waiting. Pierre told him to take the Rostof girl, so he went up to them and took Natasha by the waist before inviting her and she was delighted with gratitude. They were the second couple on the floor and Andrei was one of the best dancers and he desired to leave the political talk around him and broke up the circle of people abashed by the Sovereign's presence. He wanted to dance and chose Natasha because Pierre suggested her and she was the first to attract his attention. Now close to her he felt renewed and fresh life, (dude she's sixteen) releasing her, he stopped and looked at other dancers. 

NEXT

[saratogaroadwrites]

For King and Country (82/122)

For King and Country | saratogaroad rating: T total wordcount:  280,466 characters: Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Roland Crane, Aranella, Batu, Tani, Lofty, Leander Aristidies, Bracken Meadows relationships: Roland Crane & Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Aranella & Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Roland Crane & Aranella, Batu & Tani, Batu & Evan, Tani & Evan, Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum & Lofty, Rolander other tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Mother-Son Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Place Slowly Becomes Home People Slowly Become Family, Found Family, For Want of A Nail warnings: none

Pulled from his world by mysterious powers, former president Roland Crane finds himself caught in the middle of a coup meant to take the life of the young King Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum. Joining forces with Aranella, the pair of them set out to aid Evan in making his dream of a kingdom where everyone can live happily ever after a reality.

But the road to peace is a long and treacherous one and there is no promise of success in a world where darkness spreads ever thicker with each passing day. If they are to stand a chance, they must stand together, for king and for country.

(A retelling.)

=

“Aye, that was a fine meal,” Batu patted his belly, sitting back in his chair. “My compliments to the chef, Miss Aranella.”

Aranella smiled humbly. “Thank you, Batu. I’m no Floyd, but I can handle myself in a working kitchen. Certainly easier than trying to make something in the galley on the Eternity.”

“Wooden ships do have a certain…” Leander paused for a moment, then finished with a chuckle, “Disadvantage compared to metal ones, that is true.”

A laugh rippled down the table, coming the loudest from those who had had the pleasure of weeks at sea. There was something to be said about actually being able to cook instead of having to rely on dried and pre-prepared rations.

“There is that,” Evan agreed, his tail waving casually behind him as he grinned at Batu. “And I’m certain it helps that you don’t get airsick.”

“Oi!” Batu protested, though he was more amused than anything else. The group fell into a content silence with only the sounds of the Zippelin’s rotors to break the calm of the night. Across the table from Aranella, on Evan’s right side, Roland looked pensive. She frowned.

“Roland?”

“What?” he raised his head, then smiled quickly. “Sorry, just. Thinking. About what we’re going to do with Dell.”

The mood shifted. Everyone looked over to him, easy smiles fading away to pensive frowns and furrowed brows. Taking a deep breath, Roland lay his hands on the table.

“I’m just going to come out and say it,” he said, “We’re out of time, and we’re out of options. If we’re going to deal with Dell diplomatically, we need to get the Mark.”

“Yes, but…” Evan’s ears folded back, “How are we supposed to get it? The Kingsway is locked, and the Mark itself is deep within the Castle. Even if we could get into the city, I don’t see how we can sneak that far in without being detected.”

“And it’s not the best idea to open a relationship by being sneaky like this,” Bracken said. She eyed Roland. “But I’m guessing you’ve got a plan?”

“I do,” He nodded. He took another deep breath and then said, “I’m going to turn on Evermore.”

Silence. For a few heartbeats, no one dared to breathe. Then, all at once, sound returned. Leander slapped his palm to his face as Lofty, Tani, and Batu all burst out laughing. Evan and Aranella shared a confused look. After a few seconds passed, Tani grabbed enough composure to giggle out,

“You, turn on Evan? Don’t be ridiculous! Nobody’d buy that!”

As if caught up in just how ridiculous it really all was, Tani fell back into peals of helpless laughter. Roland sighed, shaking his head faintly, and crossed his arms over his chest. Aranella knew he wasn’t the sort of man to joke about such a serious thing, and her eyes narrowed. He’d been serious? Lofty seemed to realize and stopped mid-laugh.

“Hang on!” He exclaimed, “Youer flippin’ serious?!” When Roland nodded and all laughter stopped, Lofty shook his head. “ Cor, but you don’t do anythin’ by halves, do you?!”

Roland shrugged. “Never have, never will.” A smile flickered across his face, there and gone in a heartbeat, before he glanced at Evan. “Not that I’m not touched by your faith in me, but this is something that has to be done.”

“Except it wouldn’t work,” Evan said firmly, “We know that you would never betray us, Roland. I’m fairly certain most of the townsfolk know that as well. Why would anyone believe that you had turned on us?”

“I’m hoping it would be out of desperation, honestly.” Roland replied. He lowered his arms and spoke seriously, “Whoever’s watching through the Prying Eyes is an agent for Dell, right? That’s what we’ve been thinking. That means that anything they can use, anyone they can use, they’re going to snatch up.”

Aranella sat up straight. He couldn’t mean—there was no possible way—

“Which means,” Roland said, “That if they think they can use a traitor, they’ll take them to Dell. It’s a way in without having to slip past the army.”

He did mean it.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” She asked incredulously, “Going in to Dell alone? Have you forgotten what Mausinger did?”

“Of course not,” Roland frowned, “but what other options do we have? Attacking them head on isn’t an option, and it’s like you said,” he turned to Evan, “Even if we could somehow get in undetected, it’s a lot of castle to get through. This is our best chance.”

“No,” Evan said firmly, “No. It’s too dangerous. I can’t let you do this.”

“Evan--”

“No.” Evan repeated. His lower lip quivered as he seemed to force himself to breath deeply. Aranella reached out and laid a hand on his arm, but he didn’t seem to notice. Composing himself, he looked to Roland. “If Mausinger discovers this ruse, he’ll…you’ll be…” He shook his head. “I’m not willing to risk that.”

Roland’s face softened. “I know you’re not. And I’m not saying this to be reckless, Evan. I’m saying it because it’s the only option we still have available.” He spread his hands as he spoke. “Without the Mark, we have nothing to offer to Dell. If we have nothing to offer, they have no reason to come to the table, and we stand no chance of brokering a peace. If we can’t do that, then…”

“War.” Evan swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes shut. “I just…I can’t…”

“Hey.” Roland reached out, putting a hand on Evan’s shoulder. “None of that. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”

“Does it have to be you?” Tani asked with a serious expression on her face. “Sure, somebody’s gotta go in and get the stupid thing, but why can’t it be one of us instead?”

“No one else would be believed, I am afraid,” Leander said, removing his glasses. “Lady Aranella would never turn on Evan, and the rest of us do not have enough information to offer a new master. I doubt the Higgledies would be able to do what is required, either.” As a squeaky protest went up around the table, he sighed. “Roland is our only option.”

Evan shook his head. “There has to be another way. Surely,” He looked up and down the table, taking in the grimaces on everyone’s faces. “Surely, this cannot be the only option we have available!” He turned to Roland and pleaded, “…Can it?”

“I’m sorry, Evan,” he said, “but this is it. And if we don’t move now, we’ll lose whatever chance we have of catching Mausinger before he moves. It’s risky, I’ll give you that, but…” He shrugged helplessly. “We’ve pulled off harder things before. This can’t be as hard as fighting a dragon.”

“Aye,” Batu said, “but when we tussled with the Windwyrm, there were the five of us with weapons and armor. This’ll be like chargin’ into a Wyvern den unarmed and unarmored. Ye can go in, make a right ruckus, and take a few of the blasted sods down with ye, but gettin’ back out?” He shook his head. “Chances o’that are slim to none, lad.”

“Then maybe you should bet against me,” Roland said, raising an eyebrow. “That way I’ll walk back out for sure.”

Batu’s protest was without heat. A smile flickered across Evan’s face as he took a deep breath and held it, before it disappeared as he exhaled.

“Alright,” he said in a small voice. “I understand. But please,” When he looked up, his eyes were full of resolve. “Walk us through your plan. If we are to make this work, we all need to know our roles.”

“Of course,” Roland said, his soft smile dropping away. He laid his hands, palms down, on the table. “My plan is pretty simple, but I’ll need your help, Leander.” When Leander inclined his head he continued, “I’ll need to be seen taking supplies and reports to an unknown person, someone maybe a little shady, so that the idea that I’ve turned on Evermore actually gets out. This’ll need to happen in full view of a guard rotation, so…”

“One of the storerooms,” Tani chimed in. She turned to Batu and asked, “There’s a patrol on the west side that goes by around midnight, yeah? What about assigning Munokhoi to that?”

“Aye,” Batu nodded, “He’s the loyal sort. He sees any sort o’treachery afoot, he’d come and tell me quick as lightnin’. After that…well, I s’pose I’d have to look into it for meself. Catch sight o’ Roland turnin’ on us.”

“After that,” Aranella crossed her arms, tapping her fingers along her elbow, “If you were to confront Roland in full view of a Prying Eye, the spy would see it all. And, if this confrontation were to happen in the throne room, with the rest of us all in attendance…”

“There would be no choice but to exile a traitor.” Evan swallowed hard. Normally the pride in Roland’s eyes would have had him sitting up straighter, Aranella thought, but at that moment in time it seemed only to make him slump further. Still, he nodded. “Alright. That will have to be how you get in to Dell, but how will you get back out?”

“Leave that to me,” Bracken said, “The actual getting out will be on you, Roland, but I can rig up a few things that’ll help. Smoke grenades, flash-bangs, that kind of thing.” She smirked. “Maybe even a pill that’ll turn you into a frog or something. Slip out through the waterways and you won’t have any trouble.”

Roland coughed to hide a laugh. “Right. I’ll leave that in your hands, then. Anyway,” he turned back to Evan, “Once I’m out of the city, I’ll make my way back to Evermore. It may take some time, but I’ll come home.”

The meal sat heavy in Aranella’s stomach as she watched Evan nod, his hands shaking even as he clasped them together. He couldn’t lose another father. Not like this, not to Mausinger. If he did, then…

She didn’t want to consider it. She didn’t want to consider what would happen to her son if he lost Roland now.

That, she decided, was a path they were never going to tread. No matter what it took, she told herself, Roland was going to come home.

Even if she had to burn Dell to the ground to bring him back.

[nspired1fanfiction]

Ichor and Pomegranate, Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Image used with permission by artist Practical Al Ichor and Pomegranate by Nspired1

Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Pairing: Jill Valentine/Albert Wesker Features: Chris Redfield, Marvin Branagh, Brian Irons, the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team (Resident Evil), the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team (Resident Evil), Kevin Ryman, Wes Drucker, Elliot Edward, Claire Redfield, Rita Phillips, Original Characters, Tags: Partners in Crime, Crime Scenes, Murder Mystery, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Human Albert Wesker, Good Albert Wesker, Well sort of, Fuck it, Flirting, Young Jill Valentine, Eventual Smut, Albert Wesker Being an Asshole, Crime Scene Details, Angst, Checking Out Your Superior, Power Dynamics, Police humor, Police Procedural, Bitter brand fluff, Eventual Romance, Pining, Slow Burn, Kevin Ryman is my wingman Chapter 11: Those Who Set a Table for Fortune

There was something different in his face, something off and without thinking about it, Jill tilted her head and studied him for a moment without answering.

The silence that lengthened between them was oddly peaceful while she thought.

He still had on his sunglasses, which was an oddity for him in his own home. Even the office only had one domed light within the space, and it cast shadows across both of their faces.

"What is it?" Wesker asked as he leaned forward slightly and brought his right hand to rest along his thigh. He still wore his black gloves and ever so gently, his four fingers rubbed against his thumb in a circular motion while he watched her.

"Captain, as impeccable as you are with reading silences, you do have some of your own tells," she answered next.

"Do I?" he mused before his thumb and forefinger paused. As if he already knew.

"Mhm," she continued, daring to reach her hand forward to grab his. "They used to train me to hunt men like you, you know."

The button to his right leather glove popped gently in her fingers while she lifted her eyes to where she thought his were behind the sunglasses.

With her fingers pulling the glove off slowly, she continued, "Men who yell, threaten, and make noise either go for distraction or display." Her smile was a closed envelope "Either suits me. If I could hear them, I could find them." The glove dropped to the floor.

"But you, captain?" The button for his left glove came undone. "I have to find you, and when I do, I simply watch." The skin of his palms was calloused as the pads of her fingers trailed after the material. "And what I see is sometimes the loudest of them all."

His fingers enclosed over hers before she could pull it back.

They sat facing one another in their chairs. Captain Wesker leaned forward further, and she didn't think she imagined the husky tone that came next.

"And what do you see?"

"You're in pain," she answered before her hand pulled from his and she slowly reached up for the sunglasses.

When he caught her wrist, she flinched from the speed but relaxed when she heard his exhale.

"Don't." He lowered her hand from his face. "Full marks for perception. You've found me at a disadvantage, but surely a headache isn't all you've figured out."

"No," she agreed with a pointed look that flashed his way. "But I'd rather see your eyes when I tell you that."

"I'm sure you would," he obliged in a drawl before he released her arm. "Let me see your reports."

[alwaysteveswife]

Tina's Halloween Party | Steve Harrington x Fem! Reader.

a/n: I found this and what can I say, I love angst and unrequited love, plus I love Sandy Olsson. I wrote it in the middle of last year for an inktober lol.

This happens early in season 2, during the scene at Tina's house (and yes, I almost cried watching Joe cry in the bathroom, it broke my heart and I'm still not over it 🥲). Y/N has been in love with Steve for years, and due to his lack of good friends, she finds herself having to comfort him when Nancy yells cruel things at him while drunk.

Warnings: Angst, unrequited love, mentions of Sandy Olsson, Mention of Steve's great love for KFC.

Number of characters: 6,223

Y/N stopped in front of Tina's house, it was easy to spot her, among the drunken teenagers and the big sign at the entrance that said "spirit house" made it very inconspicuous.

She was wearing a costume of Sandy Olsson, the leading lady from Grease. She had to admit she had done a great job with the costume, it looked pretty much like her.

She walked into the house, seeing young people drunk and probably high on drugs. In one corner she saw Billy Hargrove, the new guy in from California, he was upside down, drinking from a giant beer mug. How could girls possibly like that?

Y/N shook her head, trying to erase the disgusting image of Billy with his naked torso full of sweat, alcohol and saliva. Inside the house the atmosphere was even worse. People canoodling, dancing around with each other, parties are definitely not her thing.

She started looking for someone she knew, so at least it wouldn't feel so uncomfortable. Luckily for her, Harrington was here. She noticed how he was dancing in a strange way, while smiling at Nancy. Y/N grimaced as she realized that they had most likely come as a couple.

She sighed, deciding to sit on the living room couch and tackle the kitchen so she could get out as much food as she could, no doubt the best way to drown her sorrows.

"Y/N! You came," Steve rested his hand on her shoulder, startling her. He was wearing a black suit along with sunglasses. He looked stupidly beautiful.

"Sure! I mean, how could I miss such an... amazing party?" She knew her face said it all. Disadvantages of being too expressive.

"I know this isn't your thing, but I promise after a while you'll get used to it," she could hear him laughing, sipping a glass of punch, or whatever that stuff was.

Y/N smiled hugely, proud that she was able to make him laugh. A year ago just dreaming about a situation like this made her gag. She never got along with Steve very well, but that didn't mean she was blind, she found him quite attractive. His attitude was that of a random jerk, or at least that's what she thought before she met him.

She's not sure at what point it happened, sometimes she think it was when he killed the demogorgon to defend her, or all the times they talked during the breaks when the two of them were waiting for Jonathan and Nancy. The point is, sooner rather than later, Y/N ended up falling for Harrington's charms, and she hated that.

And not exactly because he was a jerk, but because of how deeply in love he was with Nancy Wheeler. Having to see them every day kissing in the hallway, going home together, going on dates, was something she couldn't stand, it hurt.

Jonathan still didn't know about it, she was afraid to tell him and he would do something crazy, but she wanted to tell him more than enough.

"I see you came with Nancy" she looked at Nancy out of the corner of her eye. She was drinking like there was no tomorrow.

"Shit, wait here, okay?" Steve ran to her side, trying to get her to stop drinking.

From where she was she couldn't hear well, but Y/N could tell they were fighting, or rather, Nancy was fighting. As they struggled the punch landed on Nancy's skirt, leaving a big red stain on it.

After that they both went upstairs to the bathroom, and Y/N stayed there, alone. She went back to her plan A, drown her sorrows in food. For a second, she thought she saw Jonathan in the crowd, but dismissed that idea right away, he was supposed to go get candy with the guys.

She got up from the couch when she saw Steve come downstairs. He was coming without Nancy, and more importantly, he was crying. Y/N hurried to him, following him to the exit.

"Steve!" She grabbed his arm, breathing hard from the little run she had done.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to talk right now," He looked down at the floor, forcing his voice so it didn't sound like he wanted to cry.

"Then let's not talk, how about we go get a box of KFC? You like them, don't you?" She released her grip, waiting for him to agree.

"Okay," he sighed, getting into his car. "Get in".

"Yes!" She sat down as fast as she could, buckling up as soon as she got in.

The ride was quiet, they didn't talk until Steve asked for their order and asked Y/N what she wanted. Luckily, they didn't have to wait long, they had a few things ready, so Steve was only there for 15 minutes and then back to the car.

"Y/N?" Steve had his eyes fixed on the fried chicken in the box.

"Yes?" She stopped eating, looking in his direction.

"Do you think... You think I'm a bullshit?" He looked at her with teary eyes, biting his lower lip to keep from sobbing.

"Of course not," she hugged him tightly, avoiding touching his clothes with her fingers so as not to stain them with grease. "Why do you say that?"

"Nancy" He pulled his hair back, sighing "She said it was bullshit, that our relationship was bullshit, she... she said she didn't love me".

And he broke down. He began to cry as he hugged her. The only thing she chose to do was to try to comfort him, patting his back with her wrists.

"That's a lie, Steve, you wasn't a... that," she avoided the bad word, she didn't like to say them. Y/N pulled back a little to look him in the eye, "You've come so far this past year, and you know it. You're like a different person, a much better one. You got away from Carol and Tommy H. You saved my life" she was internally grateful that it was night and the car didn't have the lights on, she was probably red with embarrassment now "You're a handsome boy, and tender, and.... I'm sure there are many girls who would like to go out with you because of the way you are, because of this new and better version of you" her verbal vomit had sent thousands of hints, but to her good or bad luck, Steve is pretty slow at hints.

"You think so?" He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye. And no, it wasn't that glint they talk about in love books, it was the glint you get when you cry.

Y/N just nodded, sitting back in her seat, eating the rest of the chicken left in her box. "Maybe" thinks Y/N "when get home I'll go to my mom's room and cry and ask her why she had to have such an awkward daughter in love".

Masterlist

[misschifuyu]

General relationship headcanons with Inui and Hakkai

requested

characters: inui seishu + hakkai shiba

genre: fluff

warnings: none

Inui

inui is someone who is very careful when it comes to expressing his feelings. he much prefers to keep a neutral stance whenever speaking to those he cares most about, simply because it helps him not develop too strong of a bond with the other person. he's afraid to follow the path of koko, so he's especially careful when it comes to love

so it came as quite the shock when you came into his life. no doubt, he found you attractive at first glance, but even after just a few words exchanged here and there, he had started to wonder - and, frankly, worry - why he wanted to continue listening to you, to get to know you better

as he started to connect the dots, he quickly recalled just how his friend would act with his sister. and it frightened him.

he was falling and he had nothing to grab onto, to stop himself from sinking into the one emotion he had been running away from - love

when you confessed, since he most definitely not put himself in that situation seeing as he was trying to control his growing affection towards you, he would be left absolutely stunned. of course, he reciprocated your words, but it would take him a few minutes to explain to you that he was scared of a relationship

but, don't worry. you understood him, and were willing to take things as slow as he needed. after all, there was no need to rush into everything all at once

give him a few weeks, let's say two. during this time, he would visit you much more often, hold your hand when he knew no prying eyes were around and, all around, start warming up to you. of course, he knew you well enough by that point, but it still took him a little to get used to the whole relationship status

he will, undoubtedly, come to koko whenever he had any doubts. he wants to improve himself for you, trying his best to become the partner you deserve. his friend may be not always be of the best help, but anything was better than nothing

once he has fallen into a comfortable state around you, you will quickly notice what he had been deprived of all these years. he turns into a very affection person whenever he's around you, mostly when you're either at his house or yours. expect to be followed around quietly by this softie

hugs from behind are his personal favourite. feeling you so close to him, your arms holding onto his as he bring you into his chest and rests his head on yours. it's very comforting for him, so expect him to do so quite often. he may be silent as he does so, but the way his heartbeat will slow down will be enough to tell you that he feels safe with you

play with his hair whenever the two of you are cuddling, trust me. your fingers running through his soft locks will be enough to send him off into a good, hour-long nap, no questions ask. he's a pretty deep sleeper, so you can tie his hair up into a bun. he will be oblivious to it all until he walks past a mirror upon waking up, groggy eyes fixating on the little mass of hair on the top of his head

one thing that will truly make his heart flutter is whenever you pepper his face with kisses. although he may not mention it, he's a little insecure about his scar. but this will quickly change when you tell him how all his features are absolutely beautiful, placing little, butterfly kisses on his soft skin as he lays on your lap, facing you from below

you truly are his source of comfort, of love. he won't brag about you, but by the way his lips would turn up into a smile when he knows he'll see you after a meeting is more than enough to let the other members of the gang know just how much he loves you

a closeted lover boy, let's say

he will, on occasions, turn up at your house during the late hours of the evening with a a flower or two he picked up on his way to your place, or even a box of your favourite snacks. anything that reminds him of you, really. and if you gift him something, you best believe he will treasure it as though his life depended on it

one thing that you hadn't expected from him was his liking towards taking pictures. he's always been fond of snapping pictures of sceneries here and there, and he just so happens to have one of these polaroid cameras

your wall - and his, for that matter - will be filled with selfies, random pictures of him you'd take and some of yourself that he'd keep on his bedside table. he deemed it a way to remind him of how much the two of you have been through and the importance you held in his life

of course, his phone wallpaper is a picture of the two of you when you went to a summer fair, where he most definitely didn't spend the best part of half his change on trying to win you a prize that had caught your eye

afterwards, you had insisted on trying to win him something too; however, he had assured you that there was no need, he was more than content with seeing you get a prize instead

inui will be very cautious when it comes to your involvement with anything related to the gang. if you happen to be also member, he will stick by your side just as much as he does with koko, and will not hesitate to throw himself into a dangerous situation if you were ever at a disadvantage

he's a little reckless when it comes to this. he acts without thinking when it comes to your safety, so more often than not, others will have to get involved if things get ugly. he may not look like much of a threat, but he will completely change his demeanour whenever those he loved were involved

he just can't afford to lose another person again. having found someone he could fully trust in, and show love to, he isn't about to let some punk take it all away from him. so he will put his own life on the line

but it's mutual, between the two of you. undoubtedly made for each other, it would take some doing from the enemy to actually knock one of you out. truly a couple that any gangster would wish for, that is an indisputable fact

Hakkai

the baby of the shibas. he may act all tough and strong when with toman, but it's a given fact that he has a very soft, vulnerable side. it's really what comes with such a conflictive childhood; but he will constantly try to put all of that behind him, building himself up to stand up to those who looked down upon him

this strategy of his, however, won't be very effective when he was introduced to you. a close friend of mitsuya's, he had thought the two of you might get along quite well. right off the bat, hakkai had to take a few seconds before actually coming to the decision of what to say to you upon first seeing you

he couldn't exactly tell you how attractive you were on the first day, now could he?

as the two of you would get to know you better - fulfilling mitsuya's expectations - he would start to notice that he looked forward to seeing you each time there was a meeting. this would lead to a timid suggestion of hanging out either before or after the next meeting, receiving a content response from your behalf

his crush will go anything but unnoticed by his sister. yuzuha will quickly notice how he would come home a little quiet, lost in his thoughts although not in a gloomy state. he actually seemed to be a little happier now

she would be the one to push him to confess to you, after having heard his considerably long rant about you that he accidentally came out with whilst he was talking to her. she was over the moon to hear that her little brother was finally crushing on someone, and would walk him through all the key points to not scare you off or come off as weird when he told you about his feelings

luckily enough, her strategies proved to be successful, and before he could even register it in his mind, hakkai had achieved a relationship with the one that had been flooding his thoughts for a good few months now

although he may not be entirely experienced in the whole dating area, he will be anything but shy when trying his best to be the perfect boyfriend. he may not show much pda, mainly because he still tries to upkeep his strong persona even around you, but his lingering will not go unnoticed by the other members. wherever you were, hakkai was never too behind

he just loves being around you, to be able to call you his partner. you're like a little - since this guy is ridiculously tall - beam of light that he wished he could keep by his side at all times. behind closed doors he will be much more affectionate, to the point you would actually wonder if this was the same person you would attend toman meetings with

being the soft giant he is, he absolutely loves engulfing you in his arms. spooning you, hugs from behind, laying you on his chest, you name it. he can be awfully cheesy at times, too, so expect to be showered with the most sappy comments ever. you're convinced he keeps a list of them.

"you wanna know what's the best thing in my life? it's the first word of this sentence"

"hakkai...you realise that just works better written down, right?"

definitely an avid enthusiast of making you think over why you were with him in the first place. of course, you loved him and everything that came with the youngest shiba, but sometimes you truly wondered where he got his personality from

speaking of family, meeting his siblings will be an experience in itself, to say the least. yuzuha will be ever so welcoming when you first went over to their house, offering you food and sitting you down to get to know you better. she knew you were a perfect match for her brother, and she's delighted to have you as a sister-in-law

now...taiju may be a little different. just by appearance, he's quite intimidating. you did know about him, but you had never actually spoken to him in the entirety of your life. hakkai will stand nearby when you eventually meet him, just in case something got out of hand.

however, surprisingly enough, the eldest sibling gave you a friendly pat on your shoulder, thanking you for finally giving his brother a chance at a relationship. the way it came off sounded like he believed hakkai to be almost unlovable, but you supposed it was pretty good coming from such a scary individual

needless to say, your boyfriend had a few things to murmur about when his brother left. you reassure him that it was alright, though. truthfully, you had expected it to go another way even

dates with hakkai will be quite an often occurrence. apart from his duties in toman, he doesn't have much to do. he attends online school, so as soon as he slaps his laptop closed, he's usually on his way over to your house. he will always take you out on a ride on his motorbike, around the busy city filled with people and commotion

you want to go out for lunch? he knows the best places. want to go shopping? the guy brought his wallet for a reason. he's such a sucker for you that he will drive across the city for even the smallest thing for you, he didn't mind. if it meant he could see that smile of yours, he's absolutely willing to do anything

he's also a perfect shopping partner. he hangs out with mitsuya a lot, so he's picked up on some knowledge on fashion and is more than happy to help you pick out outfits. he will always offer to carry your bags, too. truly the perfect boyfriend, wouldn't you agree?

just be sure to shower him in love and kisses once you get back home. he will happily receive each and every one with a wide smile, lifting you up into his arms as he tells you, once more, how much he loves you

some may say the two of you are too soft and sappy for a couple involved in the gangster world, but neither of you could care less. not everyone could say they fought alongside their partner that they would, afterwards, spend quality time with, no matter how bruised up you were

you always had a laugh after a fight with other gangs; both of you would always mock the rivals, saying how they never really stood a chance in the first place

the two of you are like a pair of old women when it came to judging people neither of you liked; if anyone happened to listen in, they would automatically think you were simply best friends by the way you would speak

needless to say, hakkai will be both an amazing boyfriend as much as a friend, and you can always count on him if you're ever in need of a mood booster, because he will rush over to your place as fast as he can

[holylulusworld]

Courting

Title: Courting

Square Filled for @spnabobingo​​​ (Round 6): Opposites attract

Ship: Alpha!Dean Winchester x Omega!Reader

Characters: Sam Winchester

Rating: Teen

Summary: When a tall and handsome alpha moves to town, you do something no one would expect from an omega.

Warnings: angst, pining, courting, shy reader, a/b/o, a/b/o dynamics, sick reader, cuddling & snuggling, fluff

Word Count: 2,1 k

A/N: I found a cute headcanon about an omega courting for her chosen alpha on @omegaversethings​​ and turned it into a fanfiction. Thank you again. <3

Divider by @firefly-graphics​​​​​

You always were a ‘classic’ omega. Meek, silent and shy. You never dared to talk to a foreign alpha let alone introduce yourself to one.

But here you are, offering the new alpha in your neighborhood a homemade cherry pie. You hope Dean, that’s the name of the alpha giving you sleepless nights, will like it.

“Hi, uh-erm,” you stammer, eyes glued to the ground. “I know how it feels to be new in town and the neighborhood. I made a cherry pie. If you don’t like it, it’s okay.” Before the alpha can say anything you push the container with the pie in his hands to run off.

“What?” puzzled Dean watches you run toward your house. His eyes dart from the pie in his hand back to you struggling to unlock your door. “She just brought me pie…awesome.”

The alpha strolls back inside his house, grinning as you baked him his favorite pie. “Love me some pie.”

Over the next week, you spied on your neighbor. You tried to talk to him again, to give him more gifts but you’re not the only unmated omega in your neighborhood.

Last week Lisa offered her help with decorating his house.

Three days ago, Cassie parade along the street, wearing a skirt leaving little to nothing to your imagination, and right now, Bela tries to hit on Dean, purring for him.

You hate omegas like them as they always get the alphas you like. Being a shy omega, plain and meek, means a disadvantage when it comes to courting for an alpha.

“Not again, Bela-“ you growl low in your throat, rummaging in a paper bag. You bought random things for your chosen alpha to impress and court for him. “This one is mine…”

“Hi,” you whimper catching the tall alpha’s scent. You can feel his intense gaze on you and the heat creeps into your cheeks. “I-I,” for a second you look up at the alpha, give him a soft smile before you place a pair of socks in his hands.

“Hi,” he says but you are halfway on your way toward your house, whimpering as you can still smell his scent linger on your clothes.

“What?” Dean stands outside of his home, looks at the socks in his hands, puzzled. 

“Do you want to finish the kitchen now or not?” Sam asks, poking his head out of the door. “Dean? Is something wrong?”

“Last week she brought me a cherry pie and ran off, today it’s socks, with pie on them,” Dean huffs. “What’s going on?”

Sam starts laughing, he even holds his stomach at his brother’s puzzled expression.

“Dean,” Sam rolls his eyes at his brother’s question. “Did you really not realize you are being courted?”

“I get the pie, but why socks, Sammy? And since when do omegas court for an alpha,” Dean sniffs at the socks, growling low in his throat when he catches your scent. 

“Some omegas do court for an alpha. I just never thought Y/N would do so. She seemed to be shy and meek,” Sam smirks when Dean presses the socks to his chest. “Maybe you should talk to her?”

“Why? I got pie and socks,” Dean grins. “I will just wait for her to come back. Maybe she makes me food too.”

Watching Lisa talk to the alpha again you growl low in your throat. You waited patiently for Dean to come home and now that woman is chatting him up again.

“He’s mine,” you mutter. “Get your hands off my alpha. Can you just not be all over my alpha, all of you.” your hands ball into fists when Lisa giggles and her hands grip one of the tall alpha’s biceps.

“Hi,” you shuffle from one foot to the other, offering the container with food to the tall alpha. You still don’t meet his eyes, not even when he clears his throat.

“You know, you could just talk to me, Y/N,” chewing on your lower lip you lift your head to glance at the tall alpha. You don’t know why he knows your name, but your heart began to race when he said it. “Hi, I’m Dean and I liked your pie. What did you bring me today?”

“Uh-steak and green beans. Potatoes and sauce. I-I wanted to bring you pie too, but I can only carry one container,” nervously babbling you hand Dean the food, ready to run off again.

“Why don’t we share the food?” he offers, smiling softly. “You gave me all those nice things and I would like to-“ you dash toward your house, unbeknownst Dean just wanted to invite you. 

Your heart races and your head starts to spin when you slam the door shut to sink to your knees. 

“He-he talked to me,” you whine, sniffing at your hand. Dean brushed his fingers over your skin, and you can still scent him. 

Another day passes when you sneak toward Dean’s house. Right, when you try to knock he opens the door, offering a soft smile again. 

“Hi, Y/N,” he says, and you whimper when he says your name. “The food was delicious but I would’ve liked to share it with you. Why don’t you come inside?”

“I-I got a pie for you,” looking at the container with another pie and another pair of socks on top you bite your lower lip. “I hope you’ll like it.”

You try to hand it to Dean to run away once again but he steps outside, cups your face with two fingers to force you to look up at him. “Omega, come inside,” he says, and your heart does somersaults. “I want to share the pie with you. And,” he dips his head to catch your scent, “I cooked. Thought I should invite you over.”

“Y-you cooked,” you squeak when Dean moves his hand to your neck to brush your scenting gland. “I-I don’t know if I should-“

“Come inside, omega,” he says, voice deeper now, more commanding. You immediately drop your gaze and nod silently, knowing he just used his alpha voice. “I want to get to know you better, sweetheart.”

“O-kay…”

After you had dinner with Dean, you decided to think about better gifts. You assume he tried to be friendly and pay you back for your food, but you want him to know you courted for him.

“What can I bring him next?” pinching the bridge of your nose you sigh deeply. “Maybe new socks – no, I already did twice. Underwear – too obvious. Oh, maybe a hairbrush.”

A knock brings you out of your thoughts. You slowly get up, wondering who knocks at your door on a Sunday evening.

Sighing deeply, you make your way to the door, opening it to find Dean on your doorstep.

“Hi,” you gasp when Dean offers you a book and a chocolate box. “I wanted to come over and thank you for the delicious pie and food, and I’m wearing your socks.” He points at his feet. 

“A-are you-“ biting your tongue you look at the gifts in Dean’s hands. “Are you courting for me, alpha?”

“Thought you’ll never ask,” Dean grins, stepping closer to catch your scent. “Can we go out? I’d like to invite you for dinner, Y/N.”

“You are courting for me,” your heart flutters when Dean hands you the gifts. “Yes, uh-please. I’d like to go out with you, Dean.”

“How about Saturday?” he asks, demanding an answer. The alpha makes his interest known when he looks at your mating gland. “Omega?”

“Yes, I got time,” you nod eagerly, gifts pressed tightly to your chest now. 

“Awesome. I’ll pick you up at six,” he says, giving you a once over before he nods to himself. “I’ll be seeing you, Y/N.”

When he turns to leave you must stop your heart from racing. You watch him waltz toward his house, giving you a little show when he purposely stops at his mailbox to raise to his full height and rolls his shoulders.

“Damn,” you bite your lower lip, squealing when he turns around to give you a wink. “He’s so tall and handsome…and cocky. Oh-God-where-did-I-get-myself-into?” you babble, walking back inside your house.

“Omega, Y/N? Did you change your mind?” Dean mutters, knocking at your door. “It’s quarter past six.”

“Hi,” you cough, barely finding the strength to hold the door open. “’m sorry but I don’t feel good.” you whine, hating you must turn Dean down. “I got a terrible cold and I’m freezing and I’m hot all the time.”

“Jesus,” Dean immediately scoops you into his arms to carry you toward your couch. He looks you all over, presses one large palm to your forehead. “You’re burning up, sweetheart. I’m gonna help you out of your sweaty clothes. You’ll have a hot bath while I get you something, okay.”

“Uh-“ you sigh, eyes fluttering close, “you can’t see me naked, Sir…” you drift into sleep, mumbling something about pancakes when you suddenly feel like you are floating on air. “Wait!”

“It’s okay, Y/N. I will prepare the bath and you can undress. I’ll just go back to my house and get something for you. ‘K?”

Humming you rest your head against Dean’s shoulder, let him carry you upstairs to look for your bedroom. 

“Where’s your bedroom?”

“Second room to the left,” you whine, nuzzling your face in Dean’s shoulder. “I can’t scent you.”

“You’re sick, sweetheart. Lemme just get you comfortable, Y/N,” he ushers inside your bedroom, carefully places you onto the bed before he looks for your bathroom, cursing as you almost roll off the bed. “Careful, omega. Hmm…guess I must stick around…”

Dean came back when you finally made it out of your bathtub.

You barely had the time to walk out of your bathroom when he stormed into your bedroom, blankets, pillows, and a few of his clothes tugged under one arm while he balanced a bowl of chicken soup with his other hand.

“I changed the sheets and tried to get you my clothes, blankets, and anything fluffy I could find at my place. It’s not much, though,” you purr when Dean puts everything on your bed to create a safe nest smelling like him. “Lie on the bed and I’ll help you get comfortable. I brought you chicken soup.”

“Soup? You made me soup?”

“Uh-I asked my mom how to make it,” Dean shrugs, explaining his mother always made chicken soup for him when he was a boy. “Now let me help you, Y/N.”

“You don’t have to, Dean,” you sigh, snuggling into one of his soft plaids. “Smells like you, I like it.”

“Yeah, everything smells like me,” he purrs, watching you relax on the nest he made for you. “You’ll smell like me too.” Dean hides he feels his heart swell when you rub his scent into your skin.

The primal part, his alpha purrs in delight, loves that you are covered with his clothes and scent.

“I’m so tired…”

“You need to eat something first, sweetheart,” Dean insists. He helps you sit while you claw at one of his shirts. You press the fabric to your nose, inhale his scent deeply, finally purring when he sits next to you to feed you with the soup.

“I wanna sleep, Dean,” you protest but Dean pushes the spoon carefully past your lips, smirking when you swallow the warm soup.

“Good, isn’t it?”

“Good,” you cough. “And tasty…”

“I got my stuff for the next few days. Food. Clothes. Toiletries and my phone and laptop. I can work from home and take care of you,” Dean explains, while he covers you with a warm blanket. 

You are wearing one of his plaids, and he can’t help the smile creep onto his face when you snatch another from the nest to cradle it in your arms.

“I called in sick,” you whisper, closing your eyes. 

“Good,” Dean crawls under the covers, not missing your breath hitches in your throat when he lies behind you to bring you in his arms. “I’m gonna take care of my omega.”

“Your omega?”

“Mine,” he kisses your mating gland, purring when you tilt your head to grant him more access. “When you are healthy again, I’m gonna take you out, or make you dinner, sweetheart.”

“I didn’t think I got a chance,” you mumble. “I’m shy and meek, you are so—” 

“I like you are shy and sweet,” he noses his way along your neck, breathing you in. “You smell so good, like – home.”

“Home,” you whisper happily. “You smell like safety and adventure at the same time. Musky and like a warm apple pie.”

“Did I tell you I loved your pie?” Dean licks his lips, “I love me some pie. My omega bakes the best pies in the world.”

“Your omega,” you hum, liking the sound of it…

Tags in reblog.

[yazthebookish]

People who claim Rhysand only made Feyre High Queen for sexual reasons and actually consider it are just disappointing. People who also make fun of her disadvantage at not knowing how to read are also equally disappointing. The first is so sexist and the second so incredibly low. That’s why I have quite a few people in this fandom blocked because of horrible opinions like these. Making fun of a young woman who couldn’t read because she was neglected and there was no one who cared enough to help or made her feel comfortable or loved enough to ask for help. The way she’s risked her life multiple times for Prythian and for the NC? She’s earned her place yet I’m sure we have *women* in our fandom who claim it’s because she’s good in bed. Oh and those who make fun of the less fortunate that couldn’t read. Makes me stan Feyre even more tbh, since she faces such different high expectations and ridicule than most of our characters who aren’t in leader positions. She has to deal with being underestimated everyday and women in the fandom choose to tear a less fortunate, self sacrificing woman down. And for what? Probably mostly petulant reasons

I really disagree with both arguments about Feyre.

Having access to education is a privilege, one which Feyre was too young to have and it's been stripped away from her when they went into poverty and none of her elder sisters or father really bothered to teach her (now that I think of it I doubt they had access to books to actually teach her). Being illiterate is not a measure of intelligence. My great grandmother was illiterate but she was a pool of knowledge. Many people in the world still do not have access to education but life teaches them a lot. They are more intelligent than many literate people around us.

Feyre gained her place because of what she had done for Prythian and Rhysand's love and support for her. She already lives in a world that is unjust and cruel to females. She was a mere human who was the key to freeing all of the High Lords. She found a home in the Night Court and took it upon herself to protect it.

Feyre is not perfect and I question some of her actions but she isn't terrible in my opinion. I think the "pro and anti" culture in the fandom take the arguments too far sometimes and even exaggerate them. I mean it is already a hostile environment to be in so it's hard to look at two sides of something.

[asmallnerd-archive]

Autistic Shoto Todoroki

The analysis

First off, I would like to say that this is purely a passion project. I am not a professional, I am an autistic teenager and I’m just very interested in this character because I heavily relate to him. I’ve collected some scenes from the manga and two specific things from the third light novel.

If you could boost this (if you’re interested that’d be great because while I really enjoy doing this it does take a lot of time! With that being said let’s dive into this and I hope you find this interesting!

Could Shoto Todoroki be autistic? Here is why I think he absolutely could.

Emotional perception

Let’s start with one of the most obvious things about his character. The emotional factor.

Shoto doesn’t emote in the way his peers do. Now, of course this also plays into the brooding mysterious guy archetype, but that’s not what we’re talking about.

Shoto’s face is typically relatively neutral, this is apparent from the moment we first meet him and while he does tend to express his emotions more clearly later in the story, it doesn’t ever really change. Something that immediately comes to mind is how in chapter 202 Iida asks if Shoto is alright because Iida noticed his expression change (because he knows him very well by this point). Ojiro points out that he did not notice this, since Shoto’s face barely changes at all.

We see Shoto in a lot of situations where his peers show excitement while his expression remans completely flat. This lack of emoting is something extremely common in people with autism. It’s not that they don’t have emotions or don’t express them at all, they just do it in a way that is hard to understand for people outside the spectrum or those who don’t know the autistic individual very well. They often struggle to understand what emotion they’re feeling in the first place and of course it’s hard to express feelings if you don’t know what you’re feeling.

Shoto doesn’t only show difficulty expressing his emotions but also recognizing those of other people. One of the best examples of this is the final exam arc, where he gets paired up with Yaoyorozu. In chapter 63 specifically, he doesn’t realize that Yaoyorozu is upset about something even though to someone else it’d probably have been obvious. Only when Aizawa points out that he should listen to her does he notice that he’s been doing something wrong. Shoto didn’t notice she was upset, and he didn’t notice he was being rude.

Emotions and emotional responses are continuously shown to be difficult for Shoto to handle. What he has absolutely no issues with, on the other hand, are academics. Of course, we can naturally assume that he’s been drilled to study hard from a very young age, but he is also extremely intelligent outside of the classroom. During the sports festival he is the first person shown to figure out that the obstacle course poses a lot more disadvantages to the people in the lead, during the practical exam, he is able to come up with a solid strategy very quickly.

During the training camp arc, him and Deku are the ones to come up with a strategy to protect Bakugo on the spot. He also doesn’t seem to consider his intelligence anything special. A lot of autistic people tend to assume that other people’s experiences align with their own. This can be seen when he seems surprised about Denki worrying that he’ll fail the written final exam. He asks how he could possibly fail if he’s been attending class, like the concept is entirely foreign to him (also there’s about a 0% chance this was a joke because this is Shoto we’re talking about.) He is very good at logical problem solving but emotional issues seem to stump him.

Literacy and verbal filters

Moving on, another big factor that Shoto seems to struggle with is his tendency to be overly literal and very blunt. There are several instances where he says things that we as readers as well as other characters perceive as insensitive. Once again, his interaction with Denki about the final exams (chapter 60) can be an example. He didn’t seem to think it was inappropriate and because this is Shoto, he didn’t ask to tease him either. Denki even points out that this was insensitive to say. A more subtle example is his conversation with Izuku in chapter 73, when they talk about Kota. His overall phrasing is fine, but he remains very blunt and direct and essentially ends up telling Izuku that his tendency to cut to people’s hearts with his words is annoying.

My personal favorite for an example can be found in chapter 83, in the hospital after the training camp, when the class visits Izuku, Shoto points out that “Of course Bakugo isn’t here.” Needless to say, he couldn’t possibly have timed this statement any worse. It wasn’t necessary in the first place, but he didn’t register it as something inappropriate to say.

One example of not him being unintentionally rude but just showing a different approach to telling the truth is seen in the third light novel. The fifth chapter revolves around the class preparing a birthday party for Iida. At one point, Sato asks if Iida has food allergies out of nowhere. Iida naturally asks why he needs to know this, Shoto is immediately ready to answer the question honestly, which would have spoiled the surprise, had Izuku not stepped in.

Autistic people often have trouble seeing whether something is or isn’t appropriate to say. Neurotypical people’s brains have a filtering process, it helps them be aware of possible responses to a statement. This filtering process is not functional or only limited in autistic people.

Shoto is also overly literal. In chapter 57, he gets upset over his friends continuously getting their hands hurt and refers to himself as “the hand crusher”. He is very serious about this and does not understand how Iida and Izuku could possibly think he was joking.

In chapter 164, he answers Gang Orca’s metaphoric question entirely seriously. During the interview training in chapter 241 he first seems confused by the made-up mission in the first place. He then proceeds to ask Mt Lady if she has a heart condition when she uses the phrase “My heart would burst out of my chest”. Finally, he appears genuinely horrified when she calls him a “lady killer” (“My smile will kill women..?!”)

In chapter 257, when Mineta claims school talk will “ruin the taste of the food”, Shoto simply says it tastes the same to him, to which Mineta proceeds to call him out for being overly literal.

Autistic people typically struggle to understand jokes and sarcasm, in fact, it’s often one of the main characteristics in people with an ASD diagnosis.

Overfamiliarity and Oversharing

Shoto’s tendency to overshare is another thing that is very typical foe ASD.

He doesn’t seem to understand that telling his life story to a classmate he’s barely interacted with prior is not exactly an appropriate thing to do. He repeats this later with All Might and, most notably, in chapter 165, when talking to the preschoolers during his provisional licensing course.

He also seems to have a slightly different perception of what makes someone friends than his classmates. As shown in chapter 241, to him, spending time with Bakugo during the licensing course is enough to deem them friends. Even when Bakugo points out that there is no correlation between the time spent together and friendship, he still doesn’t seem to understand.

Autistic people tend to become overly familiar and are easily attached to people if they perceive just one of their interactions as positive.

Attachment to inanimate things

This is something not really shown in the manga, but noteworthy, nonetheless. We know that Shoto, upon moving into the dorm building, remodeled his entire room from a modern, more western style room, into a traditional Japanese style one. The second chapter of the third novels goes into depth about why he did this. Shoto was entirely dumbstruck and thrown off by how different the room is from what he was used to. He knew the traditional Japanese rooms from home and his brain assumed that the dorms would be the same. He felt like the different style was wrong. He doesn’t like the unfamiliar flooring and even a small thing like the positioning of the light switch bother him.

He’s not comfortable in the unfamiliar environment, so he decides to change it.

Autistic people often struggle to adjust to changes. In environment and routine. They feel most comfortable in a well established and familiar routine, that includes the feel of their living space. A change of environment this drastic would be extremely stressful for someone on the spectrum.

Another thing that isn’t particularly obvious but does make sense when considered is that Shoto seems to have a comfort food (cold soba). While he’s never shown or stated to be a picky eater he does seem to opt for the same food whenever he gets the chance. Autistic people often have a very restricted diet due to sensory processing issues that apply to food textures, smells and taste.

Additional points

Shoto seems to be a little face blind. He doesn’t know who Kota is when Izuku mentions him, which seems to genuinely surprise Izuku. He also didn’t remember Inasa at all despite them having been at the same entrance exam.

In chapter 202 he’s shown completely zoning out. Of course, this can happen to anyone, I just found it interesting because it was shown so clearly, making it obvious that it was something we should pay attention to.

In the novel chapter in which he remodels his room it is also mentioned that the feeling of synthetic floor against his feet upsets him.

Shoto also seems relatively indifferent to temperature. Of course, that would correlate to his quirk as well, but it is also common for autistic people to struggle with temperature perception as well as other things that neurotypical people don’t struggle to recognize like hunger or thirst. This specifically applies to situations where you would typically end up in pain like, for example, frostbite. Shoto would obviously be used tot his but him showing no reaction at all to his body halfway freezing over was a little unnerving.

He also is shown to be relatively uninterested in certain social events like for example the room competition after the class moves into the dorms. He doesn’t want to be there; he’d rather go to sleep. In the beginning he also shows clear disinterest in making friends with his classmates. Both very typical things for people on the spectrum.

In chapter 244, Hawks asks Shoto a question in a way that seems to confuse him so much he can’t even form a coherent response. [Hawks: “Seemed like you were in trouble, Endeavor.” Endeavor: “Me? Not a chance.” Hawks: “But it seemed that way, didn’t it, Shoto?” Shoto: “Um..I…uh…”]

He probably didn’t register if Hawks actually wanted him to answer or not.

In chapter 64 he mistakes Yaoyorozu crying for her feeling sick, horribly misreading her expressions.

This last point is more personal than the rest, watching his reactions to Endeavor’s fight with the Nomu in chapter 190 made me think of the stress progression that often causes autistic shutdowns. Shoto was clearly becoming more and more stressed as he was watching and once it was over simply seemed to shut down. That is a very typical response to emotional distress or overstimulation in autistic people.

Final disclaimer

This is purely for my own entertainment; it is not meant to be offensive to anyone and I am not saying that this is absolutely what is going on. I’m simply elaborating on a theory/headcanon that I have. That being said, if you have questions feel free to drop them in the ask box, I’d be thrilled!

[beware-thecrow]

All great characters that you listed!

What about each character draws you to them?

(Also, omg go to bed! Get some sleep!)

i forgot to answer this the other day but this was about my favorite characters, these are not all of them but the most important of them. BHNA Tomura: i like that he questions, that he's clever, critical and is always learning. I like that he's truthful to the fault. He knows heroes will sacrifice those they love for the masses, so instead he's willing to sacrifice the masses for those he loves. I like that he's brave, he never cowards despite being in disadvantage, he's willing to fight despite the odds and to do it for others. He's dutiful towards his people, he protects them, avenges them and secures them. Without even trying to create one, he gave the league a place to call home and they follow him because they believe in him and vice versa. He's fair, in more than one way, he's also loyal. He's a leader.

Izuku: bravest boy, he's so done with afo's bullshit. He starts as a self rightgeous child with not a single critical bone in his body, and yet still finds compassion for those he doesn't understand.

Hawks: I know people hate him, but i can't, i love him more even. I understand every single bullshit he pulls because it's the kind of decision i would take. He's the only one willing to get his hands dirty to do what he thinks is correct. He's willing to be alone and to be everything he hates to protect the civilians. I've said this before, if i can understand that Tomura was groomed by the man that saved him, i can understand that Keigo is doing just the same. He's willing to be nasty and to be hated for doing what he was taught is his duty. Remember again because people forget, Keigo wasn't saved actually, his mother told him at 5 he was basically dead weight. He saved those people to show her he was worth something and then she sold him to the hero commission. No hero came for him either.

Gojo: my most beloved, burdened by his power and the love he holds for everything that surrounds him, including Geto. Even if you don't read it as somehow romantic, you cannot deny Gojo loved him dearly, his only friend and even then he found out he was so horrifyingly alone. Gojo could have the world in the palm of his hand, but no one to walk in it by his side. The dichotomy of it. He's literally untoucheable, and yet he chooses to teach, to care and protect. He chooses to be a clown, to be laid back, to be lighthearted. His self imposed duty is his downfall in the end, love is a curse and Satoru Gojo loves too much. He had the choice no one else had, to be a God or to be a man. Foolishly he chose the latter.

Edward Elric: Ah....to be a motherless older brother, trying to keep your younger brother and yourself from the adult world while your dad shines for his absence. Couldn't be me. But really, Edward is just...so brave. He's tough and then toughens up some more. If he doesn't have it, then he finds it somewhere. He's no everything he needs to be, but then he manages to actually be that and more. And he bravens up each time. Witty and sharp as a knife. Volatile and temperamental, compassionate, but just not enough to let him drag. What has to be done, is done. Even if he's hurt beyond repair and scared. Even when there's loneliness and then loneliness. Trauma like his does that to a child, does that to an older sibling. Leaves you sharp and wild, unable to stop and rest for the sake of everyone and despite yourself. It's not a compliment, but it's not a vice either.