#<- not really writing them as romantic but you can interpret it however you like

[nerdyenby]

Third Life playlist

This is an explanation for my song choices for the Third Life segment of my Traffic Series playlist

Bang by AJR: this whole song is very much giving the same ‘Something’s going to happen but I don’t know what, thanks for coming along to find out’ energy as I get from the start of Third Life. Something’s going on, it’s not gonna end well, but we’re not particularly bothered, not yet at least. I also like to go for a double meaning and interpret the “bang” as Scar’s first death.

High Up by half•alive: “Behind your back a cold surprise, in favor of the third degree. I took a breath and took the knife, no I won’t defend the killer in me.” After accidentally killing Scar, Grian offers his own life to the man, vowing to do whatever Scar wants. When all Scar wants is company, the two establish Monopoly Mountain together and Grian comes to enjoy living with Scar. “Sitting on the mountain now I’m high up, never wanna come down. When you look at me, I’m lifted.”

Say It, Just Say It by The Mowgli’s: This song goes out to all the Third Life duos. “I will take your side, you make me feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life. And I could die to find that simple kind of love you can’t deny.”

Kamikaze by WALK THE MOON: I was familiar with the term “kamikaze” but wanted to clarify what exactly it meant in this context. According to Cambridge dictionary, a kamikaze attack is a sudden and violent onslaught, usually by an attacker who knows they will not make it out alive. I find this very fitting to 3L!Grian as he went mad causing death and destruction early on with no regard for his own life. “Going down with my wings on fire, guess I’ll see you in another life. Stepping out of body, you can tell everybody I’m a kamikaze.”

Sweet Nothing by Taylor Swift: Even after Grian dies and the terms of their deal are satisfied, he still goes back to Scar. It was barely a choice. “They said the end is coming, everyone’s up to something, I find myself running home to your sweet nothings.”

Fight for it by Joy Oladokun: “You’re sticking with me tonight for life, I’m sticking with you.” People dying left and right, Grian and Scar stick together, fighting for their lives.

The Great War by Taylor Swift: “All that bloodshed, crimson clover, the bombs were closer. My hand was the one you reached for all throughout the Great War. I’ll always remember the burning embers. I vowed not to fight anymore if we survived the Great War.” Final deaths raining around them, they leaned on each other heavily, relying on each other until it got to the final three. Scar was the one to bring Grian to red. “Somewhere in the haze, got a sense I’d been betrayed,” only for Scar to offer him his final life and the crown. Grian watched awestruck as Scar later down his life, giving the other complete permission to kill him.

Graveyard by Halsey: “It’s crazy when the thing you love the most is the detriment.” This song can be from either Grian or Scar’s point of view of how Grian keeps being the one to hurt Scar the most. They keep running back to each other, hoping it will change, but it never does. Whether it’s Scar’s first death or his last, it’s Grian. It’s always Grian. “When the hand you wanna hold is a weapon, and you’re nothing but skin.”

Gladiator by Waterparks: This is about the final fight in the cactus ring and all the forces pushing them into it: the ghosts, the Watchers, and us the viewers. “And what it comes back to is gladiators. Make them fight to the death. And they would cheer on a gladiator, but the whole time the gladiator wasn’t fighting because he liked fighting[…] he was fighting completely for survival. And his whole survival completely relied upon a stadium full of people.”

Getaway Car by Taylor Swift: After killing Scar, Grian reflects on how they met. “I struck a match and blew your mind, but I didn’t mean it, and you didn’t see it.” Their bond was formed from destruction and guilt. They were never going to end any other way. “Don’t pretend it’s such a mystery, think about the place where you first met me.”

? by Tate McRae: “It’s crazy to me because you grow up, you lose friends, you’re suddenly scared of things that you were literally never scared of before. And when I was younger, I used to think I could fly.” Grian’s final death: the fall.

Finale by AJR: Grian winning the Third Life and having to make Last Life. “Congratulations on your bit of success, we can’t wait to see what you do next.” The speaker can be interpreted the Watchers or us the audience (if you interpret them as distinct). “They wanted heaven from me, I gave ‘em hell. Now they want something bigger, I’m overwhelmed.”

[miss-tc-nova]

S/O Inexperienced in Relationships - TWST Housewardens

Not a day has gone by that I haven't been working on this. I'm SO sorry this took so long but I interpreted this in a few different ways and had to decide how I wanted to write it. But it's done!!!

Also, sorry for not using a fem!reader. I've apparently conditioned myself to write around that.

As for the question of my patience, I've answered that here, lol.

Premise: The Prefect is acting a bit odd

Words:

Riddle: 308

Leona: 357

Azul: 296

Kalim: 364

Vil: 351

Idia: 400

Malleus: 362

~~~~~

Riddle

Riddle has started to become suspicious.

You almost seem paranoid—second guessing every single move you make. The foods you choose, the clothes you wear, and apparently even the path you take to class. There is nothing that seems to get the green light the first time around.

At first he lets it go, seeing as it doesn’t interfere with his duties. But as the problem persists, it does begin to interfere in the relationship. This wasn’t a thing before you started dating.

He never thought he’d frown upon fastidiousness, but you checking and double checking that little book of yours has interrupted far too many activities and is beginning to irk him.

So he demands the book only to be stunned at the Queen’s rules written inside.

You had been spending hours upon hours trying to abide the Queen’s rules that Riddle knew by heart.

However, Riddle has recently come to terms with the idea that not everything has to be perfect—that people can just live. So while he admires your dedication to adhere to something he finds important, he’s concerned for your wellbeing.

When he questions why you would go to such lengths for this, you shyly, embarrassedly admit that you were afraid of losing him. You’ve never had many friends, let alone significant others. You didn’t really know what made a strong, enduring relationship.

But you knew the rules were important to him.

Riddle finally understands, warmth bleeding through his chest as a smile pulls at his lips.

“I don’t mind if you know the logistics of a relationship or not. What matters is that we build this one together. And while I admire your dedication to study the Queen’s rules, I would much rather you preserve your health. You’ll learn them in due time. Until then, please, just be yourself—my beautiful rose.”

~~~~~

Leona

Leona’s ire is growing.

This is not what he thought your relationship would be like.

Sure, he didn’t expect you to be throwing yourself at his lap or hanging off him, but to not even smile when he approaches you? If he didn’t know better, he’d say you weren’t even dating.

He’s starting to go out of his way to get a reaction out of you. Taking things out of your hands and pretending to examine them—sometimes returning them, sometimes not. Leaning against you, and if you manage to resist, he’ll just go limp until you crumple beneath his weight.

In some rare occasions, if you’re having a conversation with someone, he’ll just pick you up and walk off. Honestly, he’s impressed you haven’t snapped at him yet.

Eventually, while your attention is focused on studying, Leona snaps. He snatches the book from your hand and hurls it over the balcony of his room, leaving you stunned.

When you ask if he’s okay, he turns the question back on you. When you insist that there’s nothing wrong, he demands to know if you regret agreeing to go out with him.

Denying that accusation is not enough as Leona persists that you “don’t act like it.” Your retort turns out to be that you don’t know how to “act like it.”

His confusion finally gives you a moment to explain. You never had many relationships with anyone, including romantic kinds, so you have no idea what you’re doing in this relationship. All you really know is that Leona isn’t into clingy types so you tried your best to be the opposite.

It takes Leona a moment to soak in the information before he promptly tells you that you’re an idiot through a smirk.

“Look, I can’t say I’m a relationship expert but do what you want. Pretendin’ to be someone you think makes me happy is just stupid. And clearly not workin’ for ya, so you might as well go back to bein’ that person I asked out in the botanical gardens. Now get over here. We’re takin’ a nap. No, you can get your book later.”

~~~~~

Azul

Azul regrets his decision.

At first, he thought having you take on some of his responsibilities was a great idea. He didn’t even ask you to; you volunteered.

You can easily run the Lounge in his absence, scheduling shifts, obtaining stock, and whatever else that needed doing. Hell, he even trusts you to facilitate contracts on his behalf.

He’s thrilled to have the free time to look into new ventures.

Except, with all this free time, he starts to notice that you have none.

You’re always on the move, always writing, always busy. And it seems to be taking its toll. You look tired, the spark in your eyes gone.

Regret sinks in, mostly because he can’t remember the last time the two of you actually spent time together.

It takes several attempts to pry you away from your work to finally talk and Azul starts right off with reducing your workload. When you refuse, he persists, his suspicion growing until he finally asks why you’re being so stubborn.

You crack. The last thing you want is to lose him because you aren’t good enough. Friends, let alone partners, aren’t something you understand very well for lack of experience. Without that knowledge, you concluded that becoming as useful as you could was best.

A smile tugs at his lips as the man pulls you into his arms.

“My darling, I promise I’ll be just fine running things without you. But more importantly, I promise that nothing will change between us. And while most may find experience advantageous, I think I more enjoy the idea of us learning to be together, together. Now, I’ve taken the liberty of clearing both our schedules for the day. And I would enjoy nothing more than to spend it with you.”

~~~~~

Kalim

Kalim is…confused.

He loves you and he is absolutely basking in all the affection you shower him with.

But it doesn’t feel like you anymore.

Shortly after you began dating, you began fawning over him at every opportunity. Your arms were always wrapped around him and you always kissed his face when entering or leaving his presence.

The thing that really clued Kalim in to something being wrong was the constant smile on your face. You had a beautiful smile when it was genuine. But this smile is forced.

On top of that, you aren’t the kind of person to be this overly affectionate. It must be draining to keep up such an energetic façade. And the last thing Kalim wants is for someone close to him to pretend to be someone they’re not.

He mulls over how to ask you about something that you might find sensitive.

Then he catches you without your mask. You look tired and anxious. And he can’t hold it in anymore.

Ignoring your smile, Kalim gets to the point, asking point blank what’s wrong.

You deny at first, but he begs you not to lie to him. He cares too much and, after what happened with Jamil, he refuses to let someone else suffer in silence if there’s anything he can do.

So you tell him. You tell him that you were pretty much alone in your world, no friends or romantic partners. You don’t know how to act or what’s expected; you’re even more lost when it comes to dating a freaking prince. You can’t offer anything that he didn’t already have. All you have are your feelings for him.

Hearing your worries, Kalim drags you into his arms. Of course he’s happy that you would shower him with love, but he wants the real you, all the time.

“Mmm, I don’t really know what romantic relationships are like either. But I don’t think it really matters. It’s okay to not be happy all the time. I mean, I love seeing you smile, but I love you no matter how you feel. So please don’t pretend just for me. Oh, there it is—the most beautiful smile.”

~~~~~

Vil

Vil holds his tongue a bit too long.

Initially, he’s impressed by the sudden, significant effort you put into your health and appearance.

This included morning workouts, tracking every meal and drink, and spending hours making sure you look perfect for the day. Not a hair out of place nor a frayed hem—all the best you could do with what you had.

And Vil encouraged you. Yes, he noticed that you weren’t exactly thrilled with the new regime, but no one really is in the beginning. But he wanted to support you.

Yet the longer he observes your efforts, the more he realizes that this attempt to “better” yourself is having the opposite effect.

Sure, you’re more glam, but your emotional state hasn’t improved. In fact, you seem exhausted. You smile and act bright, but a true actor could see through it. He’s ashamed he let it get this far.

But he’s not letting it continue.

He catches you on the way to your next workout and gets to the point, asking why the sudden uptake of your rigorous routine.

You tell him you’d always meant to be healthier and just never had the motivation to. So he retorts asking what this new motivation might be.

This is where you hesitate, growing embarrassed. Vil’s gentle insistence coaxes your worries into the open. You were a loner in your home world so you have no idea how you managed to catch the eye of one of Twisted Wonderland’s biggest celebrities.

You gush about how perfect Vil is but you’re just you. You’re terrified to lose him, so all you could think to do is adopt Vil’s way of life.

A soft laughter escapes him as he presses a kiss to your head.

“While I admire your efforts to emulate my lifestyle, the last thing I want is for you to be miserable every day. You can make little changes; I’ll support your every step. But even if you don’t, you’re still perfect. And who has a better eye for perfection than I do? That’s right. You are my perfect, little gem..”

~~~~~

Idia

Idia may have missed his cue.

A new patch released on one of his games, so of course he was lost to the world.

Throughout the whole thing, you kept quiet, never interrupting his game as he spent endless hours hunched over his keyboard.

However, the moment that end credit scene concludes, the young man sits straight, rubs his eyes, and immediately notices a distinct lack of you.

Ortho informs him that you haven’t been around for a few days. Seeing as you spent nearly all your free time with Idia since you two started dating, that sounds suspicious.

When his messages receive no reply, he forces himself to trudge out of the dorm for the only person he’d brave society for.

In Ramshackle, he finds you doing homework. But as he opens his mouth to tell you about his fantastical adventure, he stops himself. Even as you look up at him, your mouth is shut, but even more, you look sad.

Awkward as hell, Idia sits beside you. He’s grateful for your courtesy of letting him enjoy his game, but even he admits that ignoring you was rude.

So he asks why you didn’t interrupt him.

Your shoulders shrug. Idia had been excited for this expansion. You’d never been in a relationship before, but it felt wrong to rain on his fun. Besides, you were used to being alone so you didn’t see a difference.

He stares, lips twisted shut. Then he stands and leaves, marching straight back to his dorm where he gets to work for the better part of two days—including shipping.

Then he returns to drag you back to Ignihyde. His cluttered room is a little more so—filled with empty boxes and wrappers. But right next to his desk is another, set up very similarly. Meanwhile, Idia himself fidgets, a tint of pink on his face.

“So, yeah, I was a major jerk for going AWOL and I totally deserve to be reemed. But I’d totally take being interrupted over tanking our relationship. ‘Sides, the OG you is way more valuable than any platinum. I know! Cringe! But, if you’re interested, maybe we can just party up instead? Yeah, it’s got the latest specs and I already downloaded the best RPG so we can play together. No worries, let Gloomurai show you how to stomp those other noobs! Why are you laughing? Oh geeze.”

~~~~~

Malleus

Malleus can tell there’s something, but isn’t entirely sure what.

The shift was minute, the slow withdraw.

All was as it should be when your relationship began. Malleus could not have been happier.

Then the creases worked their way across your face. Sure, you smiled with Malleus, but when conversation lulled, it vanished and your eyes turn downcast.

You always seemed lost in whatever concerns occupied your mind and, soon enough, even Malleus couldn’t regain your attention very easily.

Inevitably, he gains some clue when a song of praises of the great heir come exploding from Sebek’s mouth. As the freshman demeans another student for some trifling reason, the dragon distinctly notes your aura recoil. The floor has your attention and you’ve never looked so uneasy.

This worries him. All his life people had kept their distance, but to have the love of his life do so as well—he’s not sure he could stand it.

So the prince bides his time, waiting for a moment of privacy before his fear becomes unbearable. And with a heavy heart, he asks if his status has finally gotten to you.

You bashfully admit that it might have and he feels his heart cracking.

But you continue. Your experience in relationships is miniscule. You’ve only just begun to learn what it means to have friends but in romance your knowledge is woefully non-existent. The thought of maybe one day needing to lead a whole kingdom of people is terrifying. What if you mess it up?

Word by word, Malleus begins to realize that this isn’t about him or his status. He scorns himself for thinking you would care about that; nevertheless, it does ease his own worries.

Because he has nothing but faith in you.

“After everything that’s happened, it’s peculiar that you worry about such things. I may not be well versed in relationships myself, but I’m not concerned with whether or not you’re good for my kingdom. You’re good for me—perfect just as you are. And together we’ll learn and be an example of what it truly means to care for one another. Mm? Are you blushing? Was it something I said?”

~~~~~

[katz-chow]

im a ghost girlie but my love for soap is literally incomprehensible and i have this headcanon where its ghost x reader but soap third wheels all the time and its not like in a mean way at all, they’re just a trio that is basically inseparable. i also hc that they make so many jokes about being a throuple to the point where its not rlly a joke anymore lmao. anyway, this is all to ask if you’ll write some headcanons about that dynamic. fluff ofc! if u feel comfortable writing a little bit of poly soap x reader x ghost, i’d be very gracious 🙏🏽 but no pressure!

soap, simon, and the not-so-single parent

warnings: gn!reader, ghost x reader, soap x platonic!reader, my interpretation of ghost & soap, domesticity, fluff, johnny being johnny, simon being simon, reader being the concerned parent, third-wheel soap

a/n: this shit be on my mind constantly that johnny just loves to annoy and thirdwheel reader & simon. some of this is inspired by irl stuff. i'm not really into a poly triangle personally and i just can't imagine them, especially simon, to be okay with it, sorry!

humble beginnings

johnny didn't find out that simon had a romantic partner until you two reached past your 1 year anniversary. it happened by pretty much chance too, here's how that went: simon forgot a file, you were off of work, you drove to base, you dropped off said file using your dependent clearance, he kissed your cheek goodbye right in the doorway of his office (masked), johnny turned the corner, and as simon pulled away, you looked at johnny who was desperately trying to seem busy on his phone as he walked away hurriedly. he was on the calculator app. simon and you gave each other a look and he nodded, knowing that you've been wanting to meet the colorful coworkers (and his closest friends) for a while now. you called him over, soap, as you've remembered, not everyday you see a mohawk. johnny freezes and turned around to see you beckoning him back to the frame of the office, and simon with his arms crossed, staring a bit annoyed actually. he was chill when you two introduced each other, not wanting to embarrass himself. his eyes lit up though, when he heard you invite him over for dinner. "lovie..." simon started out, a gentle hand on your back. you hit his chest with the back of your head playfully, "no, no, this will be good for us. first diner party in our new house" "HOUSE? HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD SOMEONE" he wanted to scream at simon's face, what came out however was a "i dinnae want to be a bother to you both" you insisted and he felt bad (but also curious), so dinner it was. simon took off his mask to please you and well, it was the comfort of his home. he rolled his eyes as johnny quipped that he certainly was "quite the opposite". from that day forward, it was the three of you against...manchester i guess?

children, the both of them

johnny tags along whenever you two are running errands on leave or on off days when they're both stationed at home. sometimes it's just you and him, or him and simon, or all three of yall. it started with a "we're having brunch, wanna join?" and now it's more like "we're going to the zoo, 9 am, get there" they make up the weirdest challenges and it feels like you're babysitting them both. simon, doesn't see it, he's a grown adult man, he's not silly. johnny says it's just in his nature like how it's natural that wombats poop in cubes (he walked ahead to read that tidbit and walked back to regurgitate it back at the two of you). challenges include: simon and johnny getting into a long debate about which is better, the smoked salmon crepes or the chocolate crepes, and when they mix them together, who can eat it all without puking? who can get to the butterfly sanctuary the fastest without running? who can find your favorite fish in the 30,000 gallon (113562.35 liter) fish tank WHILE holding their breath as if they were swimming in the water johnny telling you that his jokes are the best, simon butting in and using the "i'm your boyfriend, surely my jokes are better" card. you wanted to throw them both out of the car as they kept going back and forth with the most stupidest, tasteless, dad jokes ever. johnny saying he can drive better than simon. simon saying he can fly a broken helicopter and land safely. you're in the driver's seat. simon quipped that he would be a good artist compared to this shit's canvas (picasso) and johnny saying that his cat can paint better. simon said dogs can do it better. johnny said- you get the idea simon threw up after the 8th time on a rollercoaster. johnny threw up on the 9th. you, however, went through a nice scenic boat ride :)

quiet mornings

you three are closer than yall think. whenever they're both away, you always miss the noise they bring in the kitchen, trying to figure out how to make muffins or...popcorn. the three of you doing the daily wordle, crossword, and sudoku. "what's c for?" "c4 is an explosive, bonnie" "no johnny, what does C STAND FOR? fucking idiot..." mornings when you both are expecting johnny are never quiet, especially when he announces that he's there by knocking on the front door and saying "it's johnny!" when someone opens it. even when he's not there, you can at least hear simon's almost silent breaths if it wasn't for how close you two were. you miss them when they have to leave, you know it can't be forever, but damnit you missed the buzzing of them both. you don't miss, however, johnny and simon playing drunk monopoly.

[purple-plum-petals]

⊱ TWST Characters and the Orange Peel Theory ⊰ || Multiple Character Scenario

╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮        Character(s): Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Trey Clover, Cater Diamond, Riddle Rosehearts, Jack Howl, Ruggie Bucchi, Leona Kingscholar, Jade Leech, Floyd Leech, Azul Ashengrotto, Jamil Viper, Kalim Al-Asim, Epel Felmier, Rook Hunt, Vil Schoeinheit, Ortho Shroud, Idia Shroud, Lilia Vanrouge, Silver, Sebek Zigvolt, Malleus Draconia (Twisted Wonderland)        Reader Type: Human, Ramshackle Prefect (Gender-Neutral Pronouns)        Warning(s): Nothing! I also always use the Japanese TWST Terms (Dorm Leader instead of Housewarden, Madols instead of Thaumarks, etc.) in my writing.        Genre: Scenario, Fluff, Attempt at Comedy        Word Count: ~1530 words        Scenario: What do the TWST boys do when you randomly turn to them, holding an orange in your palm as you ask, “Could you peel this for me?”        Author’s Note: I’ve been having a hard time motivating myself to work on requests as of late and, given the state of some of my friendships irl at the moment, I wanted to write about the TWST boys and whether or not they would “pass” the Orange Peel Theory relationship test (probably because I need some comfort right now lmao). For those who don’t know, the Orange Peel Theory is a theory that, if someone loves and cares about you, they will do the smallest of tasks for you with no fuss; this “test” is supposed to show whether or not the care and respect in a relationship are mutual (another one of these “tests” I saw was asking your friend or partner to tie your shoe for you). This was written to be read as platonic, but it can be interpreted as romantic if that’s your jam.

→ If you enjoyed my work, please reblog it if you can! Exposure on Tumblr is based on reblogging content rather than liking it, so your support would be much appreciated!  ♡ ╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Looks at the orange in your hand before giving you a warm smile in return, taking it from your grasp and peeling the outer rind with no comment. He even offers to feed it to you, holding one of the pieces of fruit between his pointer finger and thumb as he gently brings it to your lips. Will only take a piece for himself if you give him explicit permission to do so; after all, he doesn’t want to ask to have some of your lunch since you looked so excited to eat the orange when you asked him to peel it for you (you were more excited about the fact he agreed to peel the fruit for you rather than the orange itself). Passes the test with flying colors.

Silver

Peels the rind from the flesh of the orange with a small smile while continuing to talk happily about whatever subject you two had been discussing prior to your question. He doesn’t ask why you suddenly needed the orange peeled since it doesn’t really matter to him; you asked him for help and he was happy to deliver (he was even touched you were comfortable enough to ask him to do that for you). Passes the test perfectly.

Kalim, Rook

Peels the orange with a level of perfection you didn’t even know was possible. You’re left absolutely astounded when he returns the newly-peeled fruit in your hand with a smile, not a single ounce of pith left on the flesh of the orange slices; it was the best orange you’ve probably ever eaten in your life. He passes the test and you honestly couldn’t ask for a better person to peel an orange.

Ortho

Is a bit curious as to why you asked him to peel the orange for you since he’s seen you do it before, but he doesn’t say anything as he takes the fruit from your hand to peel it. However, he ends up overestimating the amount of strength needed to remove the outer rind from the flesh, so now the both of you are splattered in orange juice and pulp. Your laughter at the ridiculous situation makes what happened a fond memory rather than something to be embarrassed about. While he technically passes the test, you now have no orange to eat (it has been reduced to atoms). It’s the thought that counts, though.

Jack, Malleus

Agrees to peel the orange for you, but he does want a couple pieces of the fruit in exchange for his services; he doesn’t just do things for free you know. He peels the orange for a price, but it’s a reasonable deal at least. You agree to his terms and watch as he happily and easily peels the orange, humming all the while. Once the rind has been removed from the flesh, he takes three slices of the fruit for himself to snack on before giving you the rest. Even though he peeled the orange for you, he technically fails the test since he wanted something in return.

Ruggie, Azul

Plucks the orange from your palm, but asks why you’re not able to peel it yourself. Are you not feeling well or something? He then begins to ask if you’re eating an orange because you need extra vitamin C as he proceeds to ask if you’re coming down with a cold; he definitely overthinks why you asked him to peel your orange for you. So, while he does peel the orange and successfully passes the test, you’re starting to think that maybe he cares about you a little too much with the sudden worry about your well-being.

Deuce, Riddle

Demands to know why you’re asking him to peel your orange for you since he’s seen you do it plenty of times before (keep in mind, he’s asking this while actively peeling your orange for you)! He then proceeds to ask if you’ve been eating properly and taking care of yourself if removing the rind from a piece of fruit was too strenuous on your human body; he even offers you to come and join him while he trains since his vigorous routine would be sure to give you enough strength to peel the orange on your own. He passes the test, but is the lecture something you truly want to have to sit through?

Sebek

Knows and is aware of the theory since he has seen it circling around on social media as of late, but he’s happy to peel the orange for you nevertheless. He even thinks it’s super cute how you asked him out of all your fellow classmates to try this viral test with (he’s actually kind of honored)! He of course passes the test since he already knew about it, but he would have gladly peeled your orange for you even if he didn’t know about it; you’re just that special to him.

Cater

Also knows about the theory from social media, but doesn’t really want to get his hands all sticky and potentially ruin a nail while trying to remove the outer layer of the fruit. Thankfully, he came prepared in case you asked him to do this “test” since he’s not one to disappoint, pulling an orange peeler from his back pocket as he separated the rind from the flesh. However, if push came to shove, Vil wouldn’t be against ruining his nails or getting his hands sticky with orange juice if it meant he could show you how much he cared for you. Passes the test since he doesn’t mind getting a little messy if it means he can express his appreciation toward you through small gestures such as this.

Vil

Takes the orange from your hand to peel it for you, but will be teasing you about it the entire time. Why are you suddenly not able to peel an orange, hmm? Why didn’t you ask another one of your friends? Were you waiting specifically to ask him of all people? My, now aren’t you adorable! He technically passes the test even if he’s kind of mean about it. Keep in mind that he will bring up your strange and sudden inability to peel your orange up in the future to tease you.

Trey, Jade, Lilia

Agrees to peel the orange, but is a little curious why you picked an orange to eat for lunch since you usually preferred having one of the apples he’d bring (he even started bringing an extra one just for you). A little bit upset you didn’t want an apple today, but he peels the orange for you with only a single comment about your lackluster choice of fruit for the day. Passes the test and peels the orange with no problem, but he’s kind of disappointed you didn’t want an apple; he can peel an apple faster than he can peel an orange.

Epel

Straight up says no and that he knows you’re capable of peeling it yourself. Why would he bother getting his hands all sticky just for you to be able to eat some fruit? If you want it, you can go through the mess it takes to get past the outer rind. However, he immediately notices your shoulders sag in disappointment as you bring the fruit to your body before you begin to peel it yourself. He rolls his eyes and lets out a huff before snagging the orange from your grasp, peeling it himself before handing the fruit back to you without a word. Technically fails the test, but at least he peeled it for you after seeing how downtrodden you looked.

Ace, Leona, Jamil

Nods his head and takes the orange from your hand but, alas, he can’t even peel the orange. You both knew he wasn’t exactly the strongest or healthiest individual on campus, but neither of you thought it was this bad. After his pride is wounded and his face is a deep shade of red, you gingerly take the orange from his grasp and peel it yourself, offering him a piece of fruit in the hopes it will cheer him up. Passes the test even if he was unable to garner enough strength to actually peel the orange; he makes you promise not to tell anyone about this.

Idia

His reaction truly depends on how he’s feeling at the moment. If he’s in a bad mood, he’d either tell you no or – if someone had done something that day to really piss him off – crush and/or throw the orange. If he’s feeling a bit playful, he’d pluck it out of your hand and hold it high above your head while you pleaded for him to give you your snack back. However, if he’s in a good mood that day (and if he’s not trying to hide his slight soft spot towards you), he’d gently take it from your hand and peel the orange with ease, handing you back a perfectly peeled fruit for you to eat before asking if he could have a piece. He either fails the test exponentially or passes it with flying colors; it honestly all depends on his mood at the time.

Floyd

[gabrielsbubblegumbitch]

Hello again! LOVE op's posts about static moth so so much they are giving me ungodly amounts of serotonin ... It's genuinely been such a joy reading your interpretations of their relationship and what makes them work the way they do. Even with the limited amount of content we have of them I believe you've nailed their respective personalities and behavior patterns spectacularly and every single post has been extremely interesting to go through and to analyze off of!

Regarding the reasons as to why Valentino likes vox as a romantic partner, I also believe part of it has to do with some of Vox's more stalkerish tendencies as well? His (not yet canon but close) Voyeurism, his constant need for control, etc.

This is more of a head canon than anything else, but I do genuinely believe Valentino enjoys the obsessive attention he can get only from Vox as it does wonders to quell his constant sense of emptiness, his subsequent feelings of abandonment, and the anxieties that follow. The fact that he knows Vox enjoys stalking him, (probably) gets off on it and is actively deriving pleasure from simply watching him go about his day may be adding to the thrill and content as well. The thing is, as generally absurd and problematic it is, this behavior seems to bring a sense of security for both Partys involved: Throughout the show during all 4 episodes that feature Valentino's presence, we have yet to see a single scene with him without at least one camera tracking his movements. They are everywhere. They follow him wherever he goes, Vox can follow him wherever he goes whenever he so chooses, even to Vals own personal quarters. They are a massive, glaring red flag and quite frankly would bring a suffocating amount of pressure and sense of captivity to any other person under the same circumstance. But Val never brings this up, so I feel he either doesn't think he's in a favourable condition to complain, or he likes the idea of Vox always having his eyes on him. For me I think it's the latter, and I think for him to act so nonchalant around vox's cameras and his potentially constant, 24/7-hour surveillance, it has to have offered him some form of comfort. It has to have made him feel good, either about himself, about the state of their relationship, or both.

(apologies for the sloppy wording, hope you have a wonderful day!)

Awww, Anon, you are so sweet! Reading your question brought me so much joy <3 I think your perspective is spot on, and I wholeheartedly agree with it. I must admit I initially omitted this aspect of their relationship from my initial response because the question specifically focused on love rather than "sexy and toxic stuff." For me, voyeurism and stalking kink are more closely related to the latter category.

That being said, Val undoubtedly enjoys having Vox's eyes always on him. Being a diva and a performer, he relishes performing for Vox, especially knowing Vox's likes all the deranged shit but desperately tries to hide it underneath his clean façade. So he’s basically like “I’m going to hit this bitch for you, Voxy. As a treat.” recognizing that Vox couldn't do it himself without tarnishing his image. In return, Val receives even more attention and admiration, perpetuating the cycle.

Since you've given me the opportunity to delve into Vox's voyeurism further, I'll add some additional insights (I've been meaning to write a proper post about it for some time now but that rabbit hole is just too deep). It's fundamentally about control, of course, and it's simply a kink. However, kinks are not merely about arousal; they involve complex psychological dynamics. People a lot smarter than me wrote a shit ton of essays about voyeurism, especially since it is a very relevant topic in the visual media era. One sentence about Lacan's interpretation of it grasps really well what I have in mind when I think about Vox:

By appropriating the other as image, the voyeur makes it an object of pleasure*, while remaining uninvolved in the other's intimacy.

It’s a parasitic relationship. A voyeur gets symbolic control over their object and it gives them the sense of being powerful. And they don’t have to offer anything themselves – no effort that is required to gain control in situations with two subjects involved, nor the vulnerability necessary in consensual relationships. They can just freely feed on others without offering anything in exchange.

Without delving too deeply into philosophy, Vox's inability to live authentically stems from his obsession with his image, his guardedness, and his need for control. This sets a lot of limitations about what he can allow himself to personalmy experience. So he derives dopamine from "stealing" others' experiences and emotions, while avoiding the effort and vulnerability required in genuine connections.

*In a broader sense, voyeuristic pleasure isn't necessarily sexual; it can manifest as the thrill some people experience from watching macabre imagery in movies, eavesdropping on neighbors' drama, or even watching overly personal vlogs.

[espiepuffs]

Can I request a Nemona X Galarian gn reader who’s also been to every region?

All around the world!

Pairing: Nemona x GN!Reader, Kieran x GN!Reader, Penny x GN! Reader (Can be interpreted as platonic/romantic, hinting at romantic at the end of Kieran’s!)

Notes: Hello anon, I really like this request idea! I hope you don’t mind, but I added Kieran and Penny due to them also being good characters to write for this specific prompt! I hope you enjoy reading it, and thank you so much for requesting!

Nemona

Nemona would find you so cool.

When she first met you, her thought process would definitely be ‘woah, they’ve been all around the world!’ to ‘imagine all the types of Pokémon they’ve caught and seen!’ which leads to a “Let’s battle, right now!”

(It’s non-negotiable.)

When she does battle you, she enjoys doing so because of all the different Pokémon you use!

Whenever you guys have rematches, she definitely encourages you to use different Pokémon, she loves a challenge >:)

Hope you’ve caught a lot, because if you know her she’ll want a lot of battles! It doesn’t matter if that Pokémon is in Paldea’s dex; she’ll be prepared for it!

She also likes to see all your different Pokémon outside of battle!

Before she met you, she’d only seen the Paldean variant of Wooper. She had no idea that that they were blue everywhere else?? That’s so cool!

As well as that, your Galarian Meowth is so cool? She’s in awe of how different it looks compared to normal ones!

She loves your Alolan Raichu. She could spend hours observing it, it’s so cute??? She’s so fascinated at how it practically ‘surfs’ on its tail.

You’ve also got a lot of questions coming your way about your Pokémon.

As well as a lot of questions about the different regions you’ve gone to!

She’s been to Unova, Kitakami and obviously Paldea, so she’s curious about the different cultures and people around them!

You’re going to spend hours talking about the different sights, people, and culture, and she’ll be listening closely to every minute, asking about things every now and then.

She’s most interested in Galar, (unsurprisingly) due to the way battles are run there.

You’re happy to indulge her, telling her about your time battling there, and of how you made your way to the semifinals of the Galarian Champion cup, of how you were beaten by a boy similar to your age named Hop.

And since it’s all broadcasted for the world to see, you invite her to watch it with you, to which she happily obliges.

Kieran

“You’ve been all over the world?! Wowzers!”

He’s so amazed. Kieran hasn’t really gone anywhere apart from Kitakami, Unova and briefly to Paldea.

He finds it so interesting, he wants to know tons about all your different adventures around the world!

He himself actually knows quite a bit about Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh due to them having similar cultures to Kitakami, but enjoys your recounts nevertheless.

He’s more into places more different to his, like Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar and Paldea however. Not to say he doesn’t like listening to your journeys in the first four! He enjoys cultural difference and variety. As said before, he’d still be enthralled to hear about them!

He enjoys hearing about the Pokémon most, especially tales about legendary creatures, and mythicals that have practically no sightings, only having been written down in history books.

Tell him about your trips to Kalos, the food you had there and the grand Lumiose Tower that would stand tall and bright. Maybe the two of you should go there together?

Or entertain him with the story of the mythical Meloetta, how its beautiful music and dance inspired many works of art, music and song.

Kieran would want to know about your hometown the most, so tell him about Galar, and what’s happened there.

He’d definitely be interested in its history and the darkest day, as well as the battling culture there.

Wait, there are videos of you battling in the Champion Cup?! He wants to see that!

“Wowzers, you’re so amazin’ , s/o!” Is all he can respond with after he sees the way you lead your Pokémon in battle.

He’s flabbergasted, simply staring at your rotom phone once he sees that the battle’s over and done with.

Expect him to ask for battle tips from you, since you placed in the semifinals!

Have you told him about Galarian culture and traditions yet?

If not, just maybe you should be bold and tell him about the tradition of handling applins to people that you like, and hope that he isn’t too flustered after finding out to reciprocate your feelings!

Penny

Penny would know instantly that you’re a Galarian. You all stick out like sore thumbs, your accents easy to recognise and your fashion as bold as a highlighter.

Maybe it was the fact she was Galarian as well, but it was really easy to tell.

You two would spend a lot of time talking about the different brands you’d shopped at, giving recommendations to each other for the next time you’d head there.

The conversations goes from Galarian brands, to Galar itself, to all sorts of regions.

“Wait, you’ve been to other regions?!”

Penny had only been to two. Her homeland, great old Galar, and Paldea!

So you having been to every one? She’s intrigued.

She might have no intention of going to other regions at the moment, but her interest was piqued when she heard that you had.

She’s most interested about the sort of adven-tours (see what I did there?) you had and the sort of Pokémon you met.

“In Sinnoh, there were these guys that went under the name Team Galactic. They had horrid hair and outfits Penny, I think they’d need Atticus to go over there and give them new clothes for them to ever be taken seriously.”

When she hears that you’ve been to Kanto, she gets so excited and proceeds to info dump about the Sailor Sun manga because that’s where the author lives, and how it has an anime!

(Watch it with her pretty please c: )

She also likes seeing the sights there too. Show her photos of the ferris wheel you went to in Unova, or the Subway trains that you’d battle the train conductors on.

And although she’s not too big a fan of going outside herself, she enjoys looking at the Alolan beaches and how gorgeous they look at sunset. Show her Lumiose city!

She’ll be satisfied looking at anything with you!

Give her recommendations of places to go to. She probably wouldn’t consider going to them anytime soon, but she knows she’s in reliable hands when it comes to picking a place to go on holiday to.

Even after she hangs out with you and talks about all the different regions, there’s still one more thing she’s got on her mind.

She got to watch your Galar Champion Cup battles, of course!

She uses them as background noise while she’s drawing, or chilling with her veevees!

[cosmicisms]

alhaitham being whipped for his lover

sfw

gn!reader

a/n: love you alhaitham but you’ve been temporarily benched for a twink magician. sorry! also idk what the format of this post is like, i just threw words together without much thought.

alhaitham who had no want or need for romance before meeting you.

panics upon getting to know you more because he can sense something is wrong.

he’s very in tune with his own emotions and thoughts, so right off the bat, he knows that you’re making him feel some type of way.

poor guy, you’ve made him doubt everything he ever knew about himself.

you’d never realise it, though.

even when you greeted him with your happy smile, placing the hot coffee on his desk, he simply nods and politely thanks you.

oh god, but if you could peek into his mind. panic.

he’d usher you out of his office, claiming that you’re distracting him from the files he must attend to, even though you’re pretty sure he’s asked you out to lunch many a time during his work hours. hm…

after a while he caves, tired of denying his own feelings.

as mentioned earlier, he’s very in tune with his own thoughts. he’s not going to hide from them forever.

having approached you with his confession laid out neatly in his mind, alhaitham is rendered speechless as he’s met with that same feeling of desire he always felt around you.

except now it was more intense, blooming within him and causing him to belt out his confession in a rather strange way.

you could’ve sworn he was lecturing you, judging by the way he spoke.

after you processed his words, you accepted and returned his confession with that same sweet smile he adored.

and here you two are now. a happy couple. all according to alhaitham’s strategic plan that he definitely did not spend hours upon hours perfecting and agonising over.

now, having alhaitham as your boyfriend comes with a lot of things.

first of all, his love languages are quality time and acts of service.

even you being in the room with him while he works is enough for him. bonus points if you sit on his lap while he reads.

speaking of work, do you need help with yours? alhaitham’s a scholar, well versed in many fields. have a report you’re dreading to write up? alhaitham will try his best to help, lending you resources and giving you pointers along the way.

also he’s a touchy guy. not in the sense that he’s emotional, i mean he’s a cuddlebug.

loves to touch you in any sort of way. interpret that however you like, but i’m talking about linked pinkies while walking through sumeru city, fingers gently caring through your hair while he reads, and throwing his leg over you while you both sleep.

“i’m clingy? not at all, i simply want to keep you in my sights lest you get into any trouble. what’s that? i’m in denial? hm… then i will refrain from touching you. no, no, you’ve lost your chances now, darling.”

pet names are another thing. he doesn’t really use em. maybe the occasional “darling” or “dear” now and then, but most of the time, he’ll address you by your name.

but the way he does it still has you blushing all the same.

he likes seeing you wearing his clothes. at first, he was confused, however.

“i don’t understand. you have your own clothes that are perfectly suitable, and yet you wear mine anyways? …alright, then.”

yep, he secretly loves it. will melt upon seeing you wrapped up in his cape, his cheeks tainted with pink.

not the biggest sappy romantic, if i’m being honest. how would’ve thought, right?

he’ll cook something for you both and have a nice dinner in the privacy of his home (having kicked kaveh out for the night).

doesn’t enjoy dates out and about, but will gladly take you to the quieter spots of the city. maybe the library for a nice reading date, the two of you cuddled together in a corner with a book each.

…though, his attention is definitely focused on you, rather than the text in his hand.

will literally do anything for you. yeah, he might tease you a little for it, but he won’t hesitate.

alhaitham’s always been sure of himself. whether people thought he was arrogant or just that self-confident, he didn’t really care either way.

but for you? oh, for you…

he loves you. he could never deny that.

“you are the only one who could ever make me feel this way. i love you, y/n. let’s stay together for a long time. dare i say forever?”

[clearheartsgreyflowerss]

About my darling! - Furina x reader

Side notes: reader uses a claymore. this was written with a chubby reader in mind, but I believe it can really be interpreted however :)

SPOILERS FOR THE FONTAINE QUEST UTC

Asking about [Name] - oh? You want to know more about [Name]? I'll have you know, they are the most beautiful, most amazing partner in existence! If I of all people am amazed by their presence, you should be too.

About [Name]'s eating habits - Does [Name] like cake as much as me? Well, no one likes cake as much as I, yet they are a close second. We often have tea time together whenever our schedules line up, and I always make sure they get a slice of Hotel Debord's famous cake- yes traveller- even if that means I have to give up a slice. My darling deserves only the best!

Serious thoughts on [Name] - they... Saved me, to an extent. After the events of the prophecy, I was immediately cast down from the life of an archon. I feared I would lose them when they figured out I had lied... Yet, when they finally found me after, they gave me the biggest hug, and promised me everything would be fine. They often make silly little promises, but I really believed them in that moment. I struggled for a long time after that, but they always stuck with me, and for that I am eternally grateful.

About [Name]'s weapon (speaking with Neuvillette) - ...oh archons, they can swing that claymore around. They're so amazingly strong and I love them so much- hey! Listen to me! No I am not "rambling on"; [Name] is very important!

About [Name]'s love language - The people of Fontaine often use that saying, yet I've never truly thought about it. Hmmm... I'd say [name] likes using their words, but they also enjoy doing things for me. In return, I believe they most enjoy my touch, and words of encouragement just like theirs.

This is just a short little thing I wanted to try, and I felt like I could do it for Furina best. She's a character I relate to, but also really like in a romantic sense.

If y'all liked this please feel free to suggest other characters, they may not be as great but I did really enjoy writing this, so lmk!

Also happy pride month all my gays and theys 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Daily click to help those in Palestine

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Would you mind talking more about Ghost? I dig your interpretation on him so i'm curious if you'd share your thoughts; since i know how COD in general writes these characters and we know romance isn't on the table for them, ESP for someone like Ghost (even confimred by his voice actor too!)

So all that aside, in your opinion, what would it take to win Ghost's heart (or well, Simon's)? :)

It's great to hear you like my interpretation of Ghost! I'll gladly share my thoughts on this, the supposed love life of Simon Riley is one of my favorite subjects 🧐

Thoughts on what would it take to win Simon's heart under the cut ->

To be honest I see it highly unlikely that Ghost would date. I think Samuel Roukin's opinion on this matter was spot on. Simon's traumatic background, trust issues, the need to stay anonymous and his profession as a special ops soldier is just too heavy a combo. His family's murder and multiple betrayals have pushed him on a path of extreme independence and made him evade any kind of attachment.

That being said... I'm a hopeless romantic and love to imagine scenarios just like every other little simp here 🩷💋, and I've pictured (and occasionally written) him to be drawn to someone who is principally the opposite of himself, but who also has a dash of angst in their heart and firsthand experience or at least some basic understanding of complex trauma.

A positive vibes only/sunshine type of person would not resonate well with his darkness, and a carefree joker would only annoy him. Then again, there's Soap – but the thing with John MacTavish is that he shares the same profession and in that way, is not a stranger to the Underworld. Their banter is also evidence enough that Soap is not afraid of Ghost's madness and even looks up to him – actually a perfect way to make someone like Ghost enjoy your company. This man has a terrible praise kink but he can't stand spineless bootlickers. So the adoration should happen in a "I trust you and would follow you to hell & back" kind of way.

However, due to the shit he's been through, I'd say (contrary to popular headcanon, I dunno?) that Simon would likely fall for someone outside the military world. First of all, he's very uncomfortable with the fact that his partner has to fear for his safety. But the fear of losing his partner to the dangers of this profession would be a little too much. It would only trigger a shitload of PTSD stuff. The fear of losing a loved one again would override the mutual experience and bonding through warfare, all the elements which otherwise might be pull factors in a military love interest. On the other hand, people with traumatic backgrounds tend to repeat the pattern, no matter how horrific or unsafe, simply because it's familiar. Still, I'd say someone from the base personnel would be a more alluring option for him. The shared hell, so to say, could make the foundations of this relationship quite dark. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing!

Deep down, Simon would be attracted to softness. Not innocence, per se, just something different from the realm in which he operates. This is why I think he could definitely fall for "a normie". He would appreciate dark humor and a certain kind of fearlessness, however. What ultimately would win his heart is someone who can stand, even cherish, his melancholy and cynicism and life choices and who is not on a quest to change or "fix" him.

I think Simon's ultimate wish is to find a home because he has lost it (or hasn't really had one in the first place). He's a leader and has to provide safety and support on a daily basis to the people under his command. But who offers support and safety to him? He knows how to protect people but doesn't know how to create a safe space, so he would appreciate someone who makes him feel he's finally found his way home. I think he yearns for a small measure of peace and a slice of normal life to wash away the adrenaline and blood and filth, he wants a small corner free from the demons that haunt him, even if he would reluctantly (if ever) admit that he does.

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

How do you think Agrippa was like personally?

Marcus Agrippa is a hard man to understand. He's one of my probblos (problematic blorbos), and a lot of stories suggest that he was a smart, humble, patient and forgiving guy. The scale and frequency of his public works projects also goes way beyond mere self-interest or propaganda value; he appears to have genuinely wanted to improve people's quality of life. You can find examples in my Marcus Agrippa tag, or in the writings of Josephus, Pliny the Elder and especially Cassius Dio.

However: Agrippa's closest friend and political ally was Octavian, and he was also good buddies with Herod. Yes, that Herod. And Agrippa supported Roman imperialism and Octavian's autocratic regime, but let's ignore the politics and stick to the personal side here. What does it say about Agrippa that he liked and supported those men?

Agrippa either enabled or tolerated all of Octavian's bloodier, more vicious acts - and the more moderate and beneficial choices, too. Octavian encouraged Agrippa's projects and accomplishments, and repeatedly insisted Agrippa was his equal, not his subordinate. They appear to have really loved each other; whether platonic or romantic, I don't know. I think we need to remember how much they had in common, or we risk reducing each of them to a caricature.

According to Seneca the Elder, Agrippa's favorite saying was "Harmony makes small things grow; lack of harmony makes great things decay" - mostly in reference to friendships. And I think that, if you only knew him as a friend, and not a politician or general, he'd be a pretty cool guy.

I wonder if the quote also hints that Agrippa cared more about his friends than any particular ideology or government. He fought for Octavian, and whatever regime advanced his and Octavian's interests, not for a cause or principle. For me, a person committed to democracy, that's unsettling. I like to think I'd choose my freedoms over a friend, if I had to...and oops, the politics crept in anyway.

That said, I didn't grow up in the chaotic final years of the Roman republic, and I haven't had to face the dilemmas Agrippa, Octavian and their contemporaries did. So much of interpreting these guys depends on what kind of world you think they grew up in, and what options you think they had for surviving in it. It's easy to idolize or condemn someone; it's harder to understand them.

[kinopio-writes]

Waltz in from the depths

May I request some headcanons for sir pentious x a reader who is very tall n strong who does gardening and landscaping around the hotel ? The reader kind of gives off old dad vibes personality wise! Unsure how descriptive you want asks so I hope this is okay!!

-Definitely NOT the silly corner 🐹

A/N: The description is perfectly fine! Shoutout to @the-s1lly-corner—who definitely did NOT send in this request—for reblogging my stuff! Anyway, congrats Sir Pentious! You’re the first character I’ve written on this blog! Just like how you’re the first character to be redeemed. Btw, this turned out to be neither platonic nor romantic. Interpret it however you like! Sorry if it sucks, lol. Trying to get used to writing for other people.

Warnings: None

———

Sir Pentious x Tall&Strong Gardener!Reader w/ old dad vibes

Since you said the reader does gardening and landscaping around the hotel, I’m going to make them a staff member. Specifically one that was there pre-Sir Pentious’s arrival

• being intimidated was an understatement

• he definitely (cartoonishly) gulped upon seeing your shadow overcast his entire body—hat included!

• Sir Pentious would do his best to avoid you after the initial encounter

• he was your number one suspect as to who was plotting to kill him

• if the fact that you were holding a scythe every time he saw you had anything to say! (reminder; you’re a gardener)

• every time he saw you, his hood would flare in alarm and he would slither away immediately

• he’d only look at you from a distance

• by that I mean that he would spy on you with binoculars while you harmlessly do your thing

• he would be in his room, creating something that would be effective in dealing with you

• “Aha! Behold! (Name)-repellent 10000!”

• all of this doesn’t go unnoticed, of course

• but every time you would try to talk to him, he’d have an unpleasant expression on his face (you can see this expression a lot in episode 2 when Charlie was with Pentious)

• you’d eventually get the message and stop bothering him

• only after episode 3, where everyone had to participate in trust exercises, was when he started to warm up to you

• after the whole ordeal with Vaggie’s idea of building up trust, you’d compliment him for being a resilient little guy with a pat on his back and his guarded persona would start to crumble

• now that you’d get to know each other normally, he’d naturally gravitate towards you because of your laid-back attitude

• not to mention you were more of a listener

• he can yap endlessly about his inventions or whatnot and you’d actually listen!

• he’d constantly try to appeal for your approval as well (like with Lucifer and Vox)

• while he had no interest in gardening, he would try to help

• feast your eyes upon his watering invention; Sodden Grounds 13000!

• you’d give him a pat on the back. “Thanks, little guy. This would help a lot with my time. I appreciate it.”

• his heart would swell and he’d burst into tears

• no one had praised him for his inventions before

• except for his eggbois, but they didn’t count

• they’d just get wrecked to oblivion most of the time (looking at you, Alastor)

• after that, he would be more eager to make your daily tasks easier

• too eager at times

• he was really just chasing that dopamine rush of being acknowledged for his achievements

• so don’t forget to remind him to relax from time to time

[comradekatara]

with another atla revival on its way (I hate Netflix) I’m starting to see “shipping wars” again and I’m hating/fighting for my life with all these z*tara shippers. I guess, for me, people who ship them together fundamentally don’t understand or even like Katara and yet they will hail themselves as the only people who get her (in what universe…) and claim that Zuko would have treated her infinitely better than Aang (I can’t with people). I’ve had a look on your page and FAQ and I think we share the same thoughts on the ship with the whole coloniser x colonised aspect (this is not to say I don’t like Zuko, but still). I guess what I’m asking is do you think these people get her as a character? ALSO finding out that the comic book writer shipped them and broke up Mai and Zuko made me feel some type of way.

i like how you said “on its way” only 22 hours ago (as of 2/29) despite the fact that natla fully came out a week ago. that said, i still haven’t seen it, so in my mind it also doesn’t exist (at least until i do actually watch it tomorrow). also, for what it’s worth, i do think that breaking up zuko and mai is the right call, it’s just that the execution was fucking awful, because gene yang cannot write for shit and doesn’t understand these characters. but it’s also really funny that he apparently ships zvtara (like, that tracks) but also their only prominent one-on-one interaction in the comics is when he physically restrains her…. lol. lmfao even.

as for the way zvtara shippers talk about katara and aang it truly is bonkers insane the lengths they’ll go and the reaches they’ll make to justify why their personal preference is, in fact, morally correct. i mean, intellectually correct is one thing, because i believe in making a persuasive argument and citing your sources, but morally correct??? they’ll act like aang is some awful toxic misogynist (yes, i know) and that zuko is in fact a paragon of support and respect for women. when we’ve all seen firsthand how he behaves as mai’s boyfriend (sidenote: the fact that they’ll claim that MAI is the one who is “abusive” to ZUKO is crazy. people hate women so fucking much it’s unreal).

in terms of how they discuss katara, it’s not so much the fact that the ship is literally colonizer/colonized (although it is), but the way that shippers deliberately play into these colonial biases and dynamics when portraying them. i actually think had zvtara shippers not been egregiously racist about it for so long, i wouldn’t really mind the ship itself. like, they are very obvious narrative foils who parallel each other in many ways and their arcs are inextricably bound up in each other and incredibly meaningful to both of them. i can understand why people read katara touching his scar in the catacombs or zuko jumping in front of lightning to save her as romantic. not my personal cup of tea, but like. it’s not NOT there. i don’t even object to people calling them soulmates tbh, because like. yeah. they are???

however. the complete lack of understanding as to what colonialism is or how it functions (ive literally seen ppl say that zuko isn’t a colonizer bc he never personally occupies territory, as if he didn’t BURN DOWN SUKI’S VILLAGE, and that the swt was colonized by the fn because they don’t explicitly occupy land like they do in the ek) really pervades the (romantic) interpretation of this dynamic as i’ve observed it over the years. a lot of katara in fire nation reds, as “fire lady,” abandoning her culture for zuko’s sake (despite this apparently being egregiously problematic when katara does this for aang’s sake). one time i came across a literal pocahontas au?!?!?? like. it’s SO dire.

and beyond the very obvious racism, the way they paint shipping zvtara as feminist and progressive is insane because, as you say, they do hate katara. i don’t know how to explain to these people that sanding down all her flaws and turning her into this angelic maternal endless well of compassion and emotional labor means you don’t actually like her character as it is presented in canon. acting as if katara lacks flaws (she is, in fact, deeply flawed) or so much more mature than the rest of her friends and must suffer that burden every day (hint: she’s not and she doesn’t) until the noble zuko comes along and is so gracious towards her and her alone (he’s literally the most immature of the lot, screams and whines at her, and at everyone) is just. a really impressive amount of editorializing. and they turn aang and sokka into these whiny, idiotic babies to justify that decision, as if aang and sokka are not highly intelligent, wise, capable, and responsible in their own right.

katara and zuko are in fact flawed in similar ways. they’re both impulsive, self-righteous, stubborn, myopic, callous, and filled with an unquenchable, blinding rage. it’s clear that when they are aligned in that rage, their dysfunction feeds into each other and they block the rest of the world out to satisfy their impulses. katara is able to pull back at the last moment in “the southern raiders” in a beautiful culmination of her internal character arc, but the entire build-up to this moment sort of showcases the ways in which they might not be great for each other as a couple. but people will do some incredible mental gymnastics to explain why they are nonetheless always right about everything, and why aang and sokka are always wrong and don’t understand katara at all. also, fwiw, reducing “the southern raiders” to who is right vs who is wrong when it’s actually about how various characters approach and process their grief in a deliberately subjective way is just. god. exhausting. i’m exhausted.

the thing about atla is that it is a well-written show, especially as far as its main characters are concerned. katara is so dear and special to me specifically because she is allowed to be so flawed and three dimensional and realistically human. and ignoring zuko’s myriad flaws means ignoring the depth that apparently makes him the most interesting character to 90% of atla fans. there really isn’t a need to editorialize and reduce canon to fit a neat little narrative, when the narrative that already exists is just. already really solid. and the thing is, i don’t even think you should have to change canon all that much to justify this ship, because it’s one of the central dynamics of the entire show. and yet, people still do. they really do. so i think that’s telling, don’t you?

[exsanguidus]

Controversial opinion; I think Ascended Astarion is the true Astarion. In DnD lore, vampirism amplifies a person's traits for whoever they are at the time they become a true vampire. A Paladin wanting to save people will end up ruling a city with an iron fist to keep people safe. A mage wanting to heal those they love will hurt everyone else to heal them. Astarion was on a journey with Tav - one from being controlled, owned, and tortured to being free, curious, and even powerful. Becoming a full vampire and ascending just amplified that. It forced a self-actualization, not a descent into villainy. I think Ascended Astarion is cannon Astarion. He will always be a vampire, and vampires in DnD are always the amplification of a true self. Without ascention, he is still malleable - but I don't think its what he wants. He wants to be powerful (protected by his own power too - his power being a means to self-preservation), he wants to be loved, seen, and free. Free of hunger, free to walk in the sun, free of Cazador. All these things are true regardless of the path you choose. But, they are all only attainable through ascension. When you ascend Astarion - he gets everything he wants and becomes who he truly is.

I'm going to start this with a disclaimer:

I work in the mental health field professionally and majored in Social & Behavioral Science, which is partly why I felt drawn to Astarion as a sort of case study. Characters rooted in trauma are interesting to me and I enjoy picking them apart to judge how real it feels. I utilize my educational and professional background to essentially guide how I write Astarion on this account.

That said, despite me being a professional in the field, all of what I have to say is my personal opinion and interpretation of Astarion's character based on how I interpret the material Larian gave us and the material that can be found in DND lore. Even in real life, things have variation and not all mental health struggles (getting over trauma is part of mental health) present the exact same way. There are theories that exist to try and explain some trends in mental health studies, psychology, and sociology, but again they're called theories for a reason.

Now, my response to this question will be under the cut and will include spoilers.

I know what lore in particular you're referencing, anon, because I've been going back to it a lot ever since I opened this account.

Astarion very much has an insecure attachment style born from his abuse at Cazador's hands. Specifically, an anxious-avoidant attachment type that leans more towards avoidant when he's first met and then begins to swing more towards anxious as he begins to get closer to Tav and the other companions.

Anxious-avoidant attachment types (also known as the “fearful or disorganized type”) bring together the worst of both worlds. Anxious-avoidants are not only afraid of intimacy and commitment, but they distrust and lash out emotionally at anyone who tries to get close to them. Anxious-avoidants often spend much of their time alone and miserable, or in abusive or dysfunctional relationships. Anxious-avoidants are low in confidence and less likely to express emotions, preferring to suppress them. However, they can have intense emotional outbursts when under stress. They also don’t tend to seek help when in need due to a distrust of others. This sucks because they are also incapable of sorting through their own issues. Anxious-avoidants really get the worst of both worlds. They avoid intimacy not because they prefer to be alone like avoidants. Rather, they avoid intimacy because they are so terrified of its potential to hurt them (Mark Manson, Attachment Styles and How They Affect Your Relationships).

Typically, most studies of Attachment Theory focus on the relationship of parents-children or romantic partners, but it can also be applied to any significant relationship someone has in their lifetime. Attachment styles thus are capable of changing based on new relationship experiences.

If you end up giving him the "good" ending where he denies the Ascension, it's implied in his final dialogue that he's actively working towards having a secure attachment type due to the influences of his fellow worm-afflicted associates - particularly Tav.

I think that it's important to also note that, even if Tav doesn't romantically connect with Astarion, he shows hints of desperately wanting someone to care for him, support him, and love him. He does want to know what sex would be like as something other than a tool, and especially what it would be like to actually want to have it just for the pure sake of enjoying having it.

You have to understand that Astarion doesn't even understand the concept of casual sex or friends with benefits. All those times he had to seduce people for Cazador was not casual sex or a friends with benefits situation. All of them were transactions with a means to an end. He got nothing out of seducing those victims besides the possibility of not incurring Cazador's wrath that night - but even then, there was still a possibility because Cazador was an abuser.

Abusers are incapable of providing genuine safety, but can manipulate their victims into believing an illusion of safety. Often times, they manipulate their victims into this by using phrases like "you made me do this by being disobedient", "it wouldn't come to this if you just did what you were told", and then weaponizing basic needs such as shelter, food, and social interaction. The bare minimum becomes something the victim is expected to be grateful for and viewed as a favor, which means anything beyond the bare minimum is expected to be viewed as a theatrical showing of care and love.

In game, Tav has the chance to hear Astarion tell the story of how Cazador turned him. He basically states that he got attacked by a mob due to a ruling he handed down when he was magistrate and then Cazador saved him and offered him immortality. It can be inferred that in his pre-vampiric days, Astarion had no idea that Cazador was abusive to his spawn.

This is likely because it seems that Cazador is careful about his public image. He doesn't allow his spawn to drink from humans, very likely not just as a means to further oppress them and dampen their potential power they could get from drinking people's blood, but also as a way to ensure there's not just a bunch of people out in the city being bitten and left alive to tell the story - or left dead on the street suspiciously.

He has his spawn seduce and lure people, particularly lower class people that would be harder for general society to realize is missing or just that he knows people who could actually challenge him wouldn't care for (you learn that reading some of the books and notes in Szarr Palace). The only exception to this is the kidnapping of Gur children, but even then it seems to fit his MO as it seems Gur are considered somewhat outcasts from the rest of Baldurian society due to their cultural differences.

It should also be noted that he himself doesn't do these seductions or kidnappings. He specifically chooses spawn to be his lackeys and that's likely so, if shit hits the fan and the spawn gets caught, he has deniability since he wasn't there. It's methodical and thought out to keep as many eyes away from him so he can still obtain what he wants and keep sailing under the radar.

Cazador is this methodical and purposeful as a result of his own trauma, which we learn about from the skull of his master in the dungeon of Szaar Palace. There's one interaction in particular with the skull in which Tav can learn that, at one point, Cazador attempted to rebel and usurp his master. Cazador failed and his master punished him via impalement. Not because Cazador had the audacity to try and usurp him, but because Cazador tried and failed. Cazador's master punished Cazador via torture because his master was disgusted by the fact that his spawn was too weak to succeed in such a plot.

Which brings me to my next point... it's not uncommon for victims of abuse to later become abusers. Hence the term Cycle of Abuse exists. Many abusers who were once victims often have the mentality of either "I'm not nearly as bad as my abuser was, they should be grateful I care enough to not be so bad" or "I survived and it made me tougher, they need to suck it up and let it help them build character" or both. They often fail to view their abuse as abuse and fail to recognize how their experience as abuse victims contributes into making them toxic and abusive to others.

There's many peer-reviewed scholarly articles you can find about the cycle of abuse, but one I particularly find useful is Editorial: Dissociation, and cycles of abuse across generations by David P.H. Jones. It talks specifically about parents and children, but I believe some of the general points made can be applied to Cazador and his spawn, as he crafts a very family-like setting that can be seen in the way that his spawn refer to one another as brothers and sisters.

This would thus make him the father figure, a role exponentially made important by the fact he denies his spawn education on things that could serve to give them ideas or the ability to leave him (for example, Astarion mentions that none of the spawn were permitted to learn about the language of the various symbols around the palace) and he consistently chooses his Golden Children (Favored Spawns) as a means of providing more false security. Do what he says, when he says, exactly how he says and don't complain then you will have benefits. You will be Favored, and to have his favor is the highest honor you could achieve.

Torture is clearly presented as Cazador's primary go-to for discipline. Research has also concluded that trauma has a way of affecting the brain and memories.

Trauma can prevent information (like words, images, sounds, etc.) from different parts of the brain from combining to make a semantic memory. The temporal lobe and inferior parietal cortex collect information from different brain areas to create semantic memory (The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine).

Astarion mentions a few times in-game that he can barely remember his life before Cazador, if at all, and a huge part of that is likely because of all the trauma Cazador inflicted upon him that exacerbated the natural occurrence of memory loss from aging (if vampires experience natural memory loss from aging, that is). This is most likely true for all of Cazador's spawn.

I say all this as a set up to truly answering you, anon, specifically where you say: "from being controlled, owned, and tortured to being free, curious, and even powerful. Becoming a full vampire and ascending just amplified that. It forced a self-actualization, not a descent into villainy."

I can argue that Astarion did not feel free up until after a decision to Ascend or not was made. And I argue that stance due to some dialogue he can have with Tav here he basically states that the power Ascension could guarantee that no one, even someone after Cazador is dead, could ever come in to oppress and hurt him again. Even with Cazador dead, he has such an intense fear of being enslaved and used that he turns to catastrophic thoughts as justification to why he needs to Ascend.

Catastrophic thinking is a cognitive distortion that occurs when people have a hard time weighing the likelihood of certain outcomes and believe that terrible or catastrophic outcomes—which are highly unlikely—become, in one’s mind, salient and extremely likely. (Tom Zaubler, MD, MPH).

Aside from the Gur, whom Astarion can manage to evade and even kill perfectly fine as just a spawn, we're not presented with any hints of another big bad in the vampire world that could possibly want Astarion. As such, there's not really any tangible threat, but rather a perceived threat that he believes is destined to darken his doorstep at any time.

His catastrophic thinking is a trauma response. His belief that he needs to be the most powerful being in the room as a way to be truly free is a trauma response. Cazador broke him down emotionally, mentally, physically, and sexually to make him believe that he was weak and trapped. Furthermore, that he remained trapped because he was too weak to do anything about it.

You see how this goes full circle into how Cazador's master punished Cazador for not being able to successfully usurp him? It places blame on the victim, allowing shame and helplessness to root that the abuser can manipulate. We know that Astarion definitely feels shame because he tells Tav that. For most of his dialogue until the boss fight, he's constantly bringing up that he did what Cazador wanted and acted obedient because he had no choice.

This is true, he had to act in self-preservation to survive and unfortunately that meant he had to be subservient. A few dialogue choices you can have your Tav pick can challenge Astarion and say he could have still tried, to which he'll rightfully tell Tav that Tav has no right to judge him for the choices he made to survive.

When Astarion encounters Sebastian in the dungeon, its made pretty obvious how much guilt and shame he truly feels. Furthermore, that for all Astarion's protesting and exclaiming that no one has the right to judge him, a part of him did believe that he didn't do enough to try and escape enslavement. A part of himself blamed himself and believed he allowed himself to be abused when, in reality, he was put in a horrible situation with very limited options. He did the best he could in the moment, with what information he had in those moments.

I also want to argue that who Astarion is when we meet him isn't his true self. It's who he had to become in order to survive Cazador. Astarion doesn't even know who his true self is because he didn't have the opportunity to explore his own likes and preferences. Cazador molded all of his spawn because he had a specific purpose for them.

Not only that, but since Cazador would have to more directly deal with these spawn since he used them as lackies, he also would have molded them to behave in ways to his preference so that he wouldn't find their presence unbearable and feel inclined to murder them out of annoyance. This is also where the Favored Spawn being separated and set on a pedestal comes into play. Those who could please him and play to his wants and needs had better benefits. If all of the spawn are acting in self-preservation, they would want to be favored and thus would want to adapt themselves to things Cazador liked and approved of.

This would mean learning to be cruel to those less fortunate and not doing anything as charity. This is the reason why Astarion approves of some questionable decisions Tav can make. Astarion learned his ideals and morality from Cazador because he had to so he could know how to please Cazador and stay in his master's good graces. After a while, even if you started off disagreeing, forcing yourself to act a certain way can become a habit that sticks with you. You convince yourself to enjoy it too so it's easier to swallow.

Astarion craves power because he knows that power is the quickest, easiest, and - what he believes - most effective way to prevent him from having to use that method ever again. It's logical to want power to solve that.

You said in your ask: "He wants to be powerful (protected by his own power too - his power being a means to self-preservation), he wants to be loved, seen, and free. Free of hunger, free to walk in the sun, free of Cazador. All these things are true regardless of the path you choose. But, they are all only attainable through ascension. When you ascend Astarion - he gets everything he wants and becomes who he truly is."

In the most literal of terms, yes, Ascension gives him all of those. However, since the basis of him believing he needs power to be free is rooted in fear, that's not actually really freedom. That is still his fear ruling over him.

There's a stark difference in what someone wants versus what they need. He wants power, to be seen, to be loved, and to be free. What he actually needs is security, stability, support, consistency, empathy, and autonomy. The things he wants is what he believes will solve the empty cups of what he needs, and he believes that because the only example he had on how to act to get what you want - until the events of the game - was Cazador. He literally had no other example of how to get your needs met except through selfishness, cruelty, force, manipulation, and abuse.

Again, I reiterate. The Astarion we first meet is not Astarion's true nature. Astarion's true nature was corrupted by his abuse from Cazador and the subsequent trauma that followed. If it had been his true nature, he would have happily been Cazador's subject because their true natures would have been in alignment.

It only becomes his true nature if he allows that trauma to define him and decides that he needs to embrace it rather than fight it. That is then what gets amplified because that fear that roots those wants becomes amplified.

Honestly, it's impossible to say what would be canon for Astarion because there's too many factors.

Studies have shown that having more supportive and positive influences, even if its later in life after leaving the abuser, tends to work in favor of the victim breaking the cycle of abuse. As such, I think that if you make a Tav who's core values are autonomy, consent, second chances, and redemption and somehow manage to get high enough approval that he'd even consider caring what they think; then its more likely that Astarion would reject Ascension due to observing how much softer, kinder, patient, and merciful Tav is.

But if its a Tav that has no interest in getting to know him beyond the surface or Tav doesn't exist at all, I honestly think he would end up going through with Ascension. Mostly because, to me, it seems like he didn't really bother to have more than surface level interactions with the other companions and the other companions really only ended up getting to know him better as a result to Tav managing to get past his masking. He does not lower his mask on his own accord, only after certain things are done and said by Tav.

Unfortunately, I just don't really think any of the other companions you can pick up in-game would really be able to provide support and determined consistency in the same way that players can make Tav. Hence I don't think he'd end up caring enough about any of them to ever start to think that perhaps freedom can be defined differently than the way he initially believes, and would view Ascension as the only right way to get his needs fulfilled.

[spiderceo]

I AM OBSESSED WITH YOUR WALLY HEADCANONS!! Can we hopefully get more obsessive/ Yandere Wally?? Romantic or platonic ^^

WALLY DARLING HCS PT.2

pairing: wally & gn!reader (romantic or platonic — up for interpretation)

warnings: scopophobia (fear of staring), obsessive behaviour, mentions of/implied stalking, attachment issues

a/n: i love writing for this silly demonic puppet so thank you for asking sjhshsh i’m glad you enjoy my headcanons ^^

master post

✿ you’ve started receiving random notes all over the place lately. the topics vary from things you have recently done to talking about how good you looked today.

✿ the notes are usually quite sweet but recently, they’ve been showing up in concerning places. your kitchen cupboards, your wardrobe, and even under your pillow.

✿ the culprit behind these notes has yet to have been caught but you’ve had the faintest of hints. the giveaway towards exactly who’s been doing this? small spots of paint decorating the pages.

✿ even when you’ve spent the whole day together, wally doesn’t want you to leave. it’s almost like he wishes to keep you captive in his hugs and art. it’s sweet that he wishes to spend so much time with you, but it’s beginning to get worrying just how often he begs for your attention.

✿ “you’re so cute when you sleep!”

✿ when have you ever been asleep around him?

✿ recently, wally has taken to painting you in shades of red.

✿ “did you miss me? because i really missed you!” said after he only saw you yesterday.

✿ wally struggles to be away from you for too long — especially if being away means that you can hang out with other people.

✿ wally is just enamoured by your eyes. he loves staring into them whenever you look his way. eye contact is always a prominent thing when it comes to your meetings. wally’s staring, however, feels a lot deeper than simply looking at someone. there’s an odd tingling sensation accompanied by it which you can never quite explain.

as always, my ask box is open for any requests and suggestions. <3

< last part !!

!! next part >

[linawritestwst]

Hi for requests, can I ask for a reader (gender doesnt matter) who used to be an assassin back in their home world and their interactions with the vice dorm leaders? They haven’t told anyone yet, but who would catch on?

vice dorm leaders x reader who used to be an assassin in their world (gn!reader)

THIS IS SUCH A COOL REQUEST i'm gonna be honest, i've been wanting to write something about an assassin!reader for a long time 🤭

these headcanons can be interpreted as both romantic or platonic (though some of them are a bit more romantic than others). also jamil headcanons turned out to be much longer than i intended. oh well jamil simps here's your food

warnings: mentions of murders, death, weapons and some minor physical violence (such as attacking and threatening other characters)

trey clover.

♡ he actually did have a feeling that there's more to you than meets the eye. don't take him wrong, he's sure that you're a kind and gentle person, but you just have this.. vibe, as cater would say. he felt like you're hiding something and not just from him, but from everyone here. of course, he wanted to know the truth, but he wouldn't force you to tell him anything. he respects your privacy and he's sure that you will tell him everything yourself if you feel comfortable with it.

♡ he has to admit, you can be.. kinda scary sometimes, haha. you sure know a lot about poisons, you'd be a perfect pomefiore student, honestly. and you're not scared of sharp things like knives, syringes, scissors, etc, at all, in fact, you look so.. confident when you use them? but like, confident in a scary way, you look so intense when you hold those things, it's like you could kill anyone with that thing right now, haha. y-you wouldn't actually kill anyone, right?..

♡ he would find out the truth about you by accident, he would just make a joke about you secretly being an assassin because of your knowledge and your skills. and that's when you would grab him by the throat, not worried about anyone finding you since it's just you two alone right now. wow, trey knew that you're good at p.e, but your physical strength is.. truly something. you could easily choke him anytime now, you're just holding back because you want to know how he found out. and when it turns out that it really was just an innocent joke, even though trey did have some suspicions about you.. you sigh heavily and let him go. this guy has to be more careful with his sense of humor.

♡ starting from that day, you know that there's no reason for you to try and hide anything from trey. no matter how hard you try to deny it, this guy knows for sure that you're an assassin now. you have no choice but to ask him not to tell anyone and if he does tell- wait, he's actually okay with it? he simply laughs and says that he knows what you're gonna do if he tells others the truth about you, so you don't have to worry about him exposing you or anything. as long as you don't actually hurt anyone, he doesn't mind your company, he likes you a lot, actually. you're so confused, why is this guy not scared of you at all?? you almost ended up choking him to death, why does he still want to be friends with you (or possibly, even something more)? ah, it's because he's so used to dealing with those chaotic heartslabyul students that he's not really scared of anything, even assassins..

ruggie bucchi.

♡ another guy who had a feeling that you're not so innocent.. however, he's totally okay with it. he won't try to learn more about your past or anything like that. it's not like he even cares that much about it. everyone has their own secrets, after all. well, unless someone orders him to find more information about you and promises to pay him well, that's when he will actually try to find out who you really are. come on, what else did you expect from him?

♡ he can't figure you out at all, but he does have a feeling that you killed someone in the past. at first it's just something that he jokes about and doesn't take too seriously, but.. something about you just makes him feel a bit uneasy. and that's already a lot, it can be quite hard to scare someone like ruggie. you know what, he's not even gonna try to find out more about you anymore. his life is more important than that and he's pretty sure that you could easily take his life if you wanted. so nope, better safe than sorry.

♡ he would find out your secret on accident and similar to trey, he would casually go "wow, y/n, i wouldn't be surprised if you turned out to be a serial killer or something". and of course, he's wrong, you're not exactly a serial killer.. but you're still a killer. SO NEVERMIND HE IS SURPRISED. you make him fall on the ground and grab his head, forcing him to tell you where he got that info from. you promise not to hurt him if he tells you, though you're not sure if you can keep that promise. ruggie tries to assure you that it was just a joke and he didn't actually think that you killed someone- that's a lie. that's a lie, he was sure that you killed at least one person in the past.

♡ you know that other students may find you if this guy makes too much noise, so you let him go. honestly, that was kind of stupid, now that you think about it. you were an assassin in your home world, but this is a completely different world, so.. you don't have to be an assassin anymore. you apologize to ruggie and tell him that it was just an old habit. he jokes about you having very interesting habits, but right after that he quietly asks if you actually are a serial killer. you know, it's not like he's scared of you, haha.. "yes", you say, deadpan. OH. OKAY. COOL. great, he really has to be more careful with you now- you laugh because of how funny his face expression looks and tell him that it was just a joke. he almost calms down, but then you go "i'm an assassin actually". t-that's not any better, you know that?? you don't have to worry about ruggie telling anyone anything though.. well, if someone asks and promises to pay- fine, fine, he really won't tell anyone.

jade leech.

♡ ANOTHER ONE. he probably figured out your true identity right when he met you. he didn't say anything though, so you can thank him for that. he would do it only if he got something in return, similar to ruggie, but it's still not that easy to make him talk. he's the curious type, so he would try to find out more, even though he can confidently say that you have killed someone before. he wants to know the details: how have you killed that person, who was that person, are you an insane serial killer or do you have a more sympathetic motivation? hm.. maybe it was actually your job?

♡ just so you know, he doesn't judge you or anything like that. no matter what reason you had for killing that person or those people, it's your life, it's your choice, so yeah, keep slaying, king/queen/monarch <3 and as you spend more time with him, he will give you hints about knowing more about your past than you think. of course, these hints make you very nervous, but don't worry, HE DOES IT INTENTIONALLY. hehe, it's so fun to see you react like that, considering that you're very calm most of the time and don't get scared often. but hey, if you react like this, it means he's on the right track, right?

♡ when the time comes, he would ask you about it himself. and he also would do it in a crowded place, so that killing him to keep your secret won't be that easy. don't worry, it's not like he would ask this question right in front of everyone, he would do it quietly, it's basically a whisper compared to voices of other people and noises that they make. and it's enough to make you panic, because you can't really make him shut up right now. so you just ask him as quietly as he did, "what do you want?". huh? what does he mean by "nothing"? he just thought that you should know that he's aware of your "dark side". ah, and again, he just wanted to see your reaction too. this guy is more dangerous than you even though you're literally an assassin..

♡ after that, jade would raise the topic of you being an assassin only in private, unless he thinks that you're brave and reckless enough to try to kill him. you still can't believe that he doesn't want anything from you, you can't remember the leech twins being so kind. it's probably because he's not afraid of you at all, even though you've killed people before. this guy also can use magic, so.. he's probably stronger than you, even though you don't want to admit it. before you leave, he suddenly tells you that he can still tell everyone who you really are, if he wants, so.. you better behave and not try anything funny, okay? yeah, this guy is terrifying.

jamil viper.

♡ he does get this weird feeling whenever he sees you, so he tries to be as careful as he can. he also doesn't let you spend too much time with kalim, because if you do something to him.. honestly, he wouldn't even blame you, it's easy to fool someone like kalim, but if anything happens to him, jamil will be in huge trouble. he would try to find more information about you though. he probably shouldn't be afraid of someone who has no magical abilities at all, but still, who knows what you're actually capable of. and why does his heart beat faster when you're around.. no, he's pretty sure it's not because he has a crush on you.

♡ .. hey, what if he actually tries to get to know you better? you know, totally not because he wants to understand if you're dangerous or not, haha. it feels believable too, because it's not like jamil became more friendly all of a sudden. he's still his usual self, it's just that he talks to you a bit more often now. you're surprised to realize that you actually enjoy his company, but you still can't help but feel like you should pay closer attention to him. after all, you also think that jamil is hiding something. wait, maybe you should try and find out his secret before he finds out yours? that way you can blackmail him if he even tries to reveal your identity! haha, that's it, you two are besties now, he doesn't have a choice <3

♡ your interactions are actually very entertaining to watch. you two are lying to each other and pretending to be friends even though you both know that you're doing this just so that you can go "I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE" when the other person lets their guard down. kalim is just happy to see you becoming friends and doesn't find it suspicious at all :D and eventually, you two start getting closer to the truth. you start to notice that jamil's smile whenever he's talking to kalim looks a bit forced and jamil notices that you become.. very enthusiastic whenever someone mentions a murder, a weapon or anything related to that. someone jokingly asks "hey what's the best way to kill someone" and you give such a detailed answer, everyone else goes shocked. and you have stars in your eyes the whole time. yeah, you're definitely insane.

♡ so, how would jamil try to find out your secret? oh, HE WOULD JUST TRY TO PROVOKE YOU. if you're angry enough, it's possible that you will end up accidentally revealing something about yourself. he wouldn't do it in a crowded place though, unlike jade, because even though this guy is obviously pretending to be your friend and he totally didn't become attached in the process he still respects you and he will keep your secret unless.. you know, you're actually dangerous. so while you two are cooking together, jamil suddenly ruins the warm and friendly atmosphere and asks, is there anything that you're hiding from him? oh, don't be shy, he's sure your secret isn't that bad, you're friends, right? it's not like you killed someone or anything- hey. hey, y/n, you're supposed to use this knife for cooking, WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

♡ you point your knife at him and ask what does he mean by that. how much does he know? did he know about it this whole time? does this mean that.. he won? he found out your secret and you still don't know much about him, you just think that he actually hates kalim and.. that's it. it's nothing compared to your secret. but it means nothing to you, so when you mention that you think jamil is just pretending to be this nice and polite person.. he does get a bit nervous. but hey, it's not like you have any proof. and jamil can't really prove that you're an assassin because no one would believe him if he says that you tried to kill him with a knife, you're pretty popular here.. fine. you were an assassin, right? you're not actually planning to kill anyone, right? so.. how about you two make a deal? jamil doesn't tell anyone anything about you and you don't tell anyone anything about jamil. you do want to tell everyone that this guy is more dangerous than he looks, but if he promises to keep your secret.. well, it looks like you'll have to pretend to be friends for a bit longer than you expected.

rook hunt.

♡ HE IS SO EXCITED YOU HAVE NO IDEA. oh, this guy knows. he knows that you're not so sweet and innocent. oh, you have nothing to be afraid of, he's not planning to reveal your secrets or anything like that. something is telling him that you're not planning to go back to that job of yours and you want to start a new life in this world, so why should he ruin it? and also he doesn't think it's that bad, you probably did it just because it was your job.. ah, and he doesn't have any problem with you enjoying it! you had fun, so again, why should he ruin it?

♡ he still wants to learn more though. not because he wants to tell others about your past, but simply because he finds you interesting. he really does want to get to know you better. did you enjoy killing people? did you hate your job? why did you become an assassin? could it be that your reason was actually very tragic and you had no other choice? or you actually hate people and you were more than glad to get a job like that? he won't judge, you will still be beautiful in his eyes. why? hm.. let's say that you're beautiful in this "special" way. you're so mysterious, of course a guy like him would want to know more!

♡ but you're smart, it's easy for you to notice that rook's been spending quite a lot of time with you lately and he asked you so many questions that it starts to feel like he's not just being friendly with you, this guy has either figured out who you are OR HE'S PLANNING TO KILL YOU. both options are terrifying. but no matter what he's planning, you won't give up without a fight. it doesn't help that this guy's been stalking you for a while now, that's even more suspicious. it's okay though, in case something happens, you will be able to fight back. wait, actually, maybe you should be the one to make a first move?

♡ YOU WERE WRONG. YOU WERE SO WRONG. you two are equally strong, but rook still manages to win. so here you are, lying on the ground and struggling to breathe properly. huh.. this is so weird. you're supposed to feel awful, you're supposed to hate this guy or even be afraid of him, but.. you're actually impressed? you even had fun fighting him like this?? and maybe it was kinda hot of him haha- he tells you that he tried to be nice, but oh well, it looks like you had other plans and you decided to use that kindness of his to deceive him. but he still won't tell anyone who you really are, so you don't have to worry about anything. why? ah.. it's because he had fun fighting you too. things like this don't happen often, so it felt like something new and exciting to him. also, he's sure that if he does tell everyone about your past, you still won't let him live a long life and he doesn't want that. not because he's scared of you, but because he's sure you two can be great friends.

lilia vanrouge.

♡ just like most of these guys, he does have a feeling that you're actually more dangerous than you look. oh, it's not just a feeling, he's absolutely sure of it. hey, he does have a reason to believe that, this guy was literally a general, he knows a person who killed someone in the past when he sees one. he's one of those guys who would try to find out more about you just because he finds you interesting. no, he's not scared at all, he may be old, but he's sure that if you two had to fight, he would win. and you would regret trying to kill him anyway however, he makes sure you don't try to hurt other students. he wants to trust you and he knows that most of these students are strong enough, but still.. there's a chance of you becoming another person who's precious to him, so don't try to kill other people who are just as precious to him, okay?

♡ honestly, you want to kill this guy just because of how annoying he is. he is so nice to you, but he also teases you and pranks you so often that it's hard to fight the urge to just stab him right there. you force yourself to calm down and take a deep breath. you don't have to go back to your ways, you can just live a nice and normal as normal as it can be in this world life, you don't need any enemies here. also you know better than try to fight lilia vanrouge himself, you know that you're stronger than some students despite being magicless, but you still doubt that it would be a good decision considering the things this guy says sometimes.

♡ if you can't fight him, then you will try your best to ignore him. or, you know, just act normal around him. don't act suspicious, don't act like you used to be this extremely dangerous assassin in your home world who was proud of their job and was not just good, but great at it. but lilia can see right through your act and he even finds it entertaining. it's so funny to watch you try and convince everyone that you actually have a huge fear of knives right after you showed that you seem to have a talent for knife throwing. it's so funny that it's kind of cute even. keep acting like that and lilia might just fall in love with you, haha. come on, it was just a joke, don't take it so seriously!

♡ he would mention the topic of you being an assassin right after inviting you to go on a walk with him, you know, old men like him need to go outside more often, haha- anyway, you've killed people in the past, right? you want to attack this guy so bad, but you know that you can't. it would be too stupid and you know that you shouldn't underestimate lilia. so you just sigh and tell him the truth. for some reason, you feel like lilia isn't the type to expose you anyway. he's a surprisingly good listener and he doesn't interrupt you, you even find yourself wanting to tell him more about your past. you know you shouldn't trust him so easily though. when it's time for you two to go back to nrc, lilia thanks you for being honest with him and promises that he won't tell anyone about it. he actually had a lot of fun talking to you and.. he understands your feelings quite well. hey, maybe you two should be friends? oh, but can you promise him not to hurt anyone unless it's absolutely necessary? and if you try to hurt the people who are dear to him- nah, you wouldn't do that, you're too smart for making lilia angry on purpose.

[winterxgardener]

What makes Shourtney stand out to me (as a possible couple) is that despite all the LA influences and insane talent, they kinda seem like two people you could see hanging out in your neighborhood. They are so special but normal at the same time if that makes sense.

I also feel that neither of them are particularly great at hiding their true feelings about people and things around them - and I love that about them. I'm sure they do a loooooot of self-censoring but at the same time, have hard time maintaining a proper poker face.

Actually, there are some 2019-2020 videos where Courtney and Shayne start acting silly/flirty together, and the other person in the room (usually Ian and Damien) has a slightly amused but uncomfortable "here we go again" expression on their face. The expression is so relatable 'cause I've been in similar situations myself at the workplace and kept thinking "you guys really need to do something about this romantic tension 'cause we have a meeting with the boss in two minutes and she might have some questions". So awkward but hilarious at the same time.

Similarly to the previous anon, I also wish we could hear their own experience at some point since what we discuss here in Tumblr, is mainly just speculation/interpretation. Even if it turns out that Shourtney never happened and we shippers have been living in delulu, I'd still love to hear what their shared journey has been (bts) since it feels like they rarely talk about their friendship/something-else-ship anymore. Ian and Anthony discuss their friendship frequently in videos, Shayne and Damien make references to their shared past experiences from time to time, and I've even heard Amanda and Angela commenting on how close friends they are. But I can not remember the last time Shayne and Courtney had even a brief discussion about them as a duo, despite being one of the more iconic ones.

I actually think that it was the contradiction between their non-verbal language and verbal treatment of each other that led me to speculate (1-2 years ago) that something is going on bts. For me their "heart eyes" alone are not really a proof of anything since they keep looking at half the cast with similar endearment. However, I found it weird that they would look at each other so lovingly (at least in brief moments) but rarely ever say anything friend-like directly to each other or even act politely, like normal coworkers. Some people will explain that with their long friendship but they are close with Damien and Ian as well and rarely act in the same contradictory way with them. I just can't explain that with anything else but "something's going on".

As a background info: I started my Smosh journey with videos from 2022 and 2023, and initially, knew nothing about the Shourtney shipping that happened in late 2010s. Despite this (or because of it?) I sensed something between them and was not surprised to hear that they might be more than just coworkers. However, I def understand why shippers got a bad rep in Defy era because I can not sense the same chemistry between them in older videos and would have needed a fair amount of delulu to convince myself that they are together. Nowadays, it's the other way around: you need to make a lot of mental acrobics to explain why they are most probably just friends.

Btw, sorry for a long, not-so-cohesive ramble on this. I'm writing this in a sleepy mode, and am not sure myself what is the red thread of this anymore. :D

I am speechless while reading this. What do you mean by 'not cohesive'? This is a well-structured narrative. 🤯🤯

I agree that between 2019 and 2021, Shourtney appeared different, especially during their Twitch streams since they were unedited, unlike now, where they can easily censor or edit some of their moments.

Regarding their chemistry, from 2015 to 2018, it was just full-blown flirting as friends. (I don't know if I'm just being delusional), but something changed in 2019.🙉🙈