#and talking about things you clearly don't understand

[kinky-cas]

Jack should have tattled about the empty deal because the huge blowout fight Dean and Cas would have had about it would have been SO fun to watch for me personally.

Jack lets something slip (accidentally? on purpose? idk) when they're all in the library and Dean slowly turns to look at Cas.

"And when, exactly, were you planning on telling me—us about this?"

*Cas, jaw tensed* "I wasn't."

(at this point, Sam grabs Jack by the arm and starts backing out of the room)

"You weren't. Of course you weren't. Because secrets and deals always end so well for us."

"We have more important things to worry about right now, Dean. This isn't exactly pressing."

"A deal that could get you taken by an ancient eldritch force at any time isn't pressing?! "

*bitchy sigh* "At any time is a flagrant exaggeration. I wasn't exactly concerned about triggering it accidentally, or soon. It's hardly any of your business, anyways."

"None of my business? None of my business that you made a deal with some eldritch entity that has a personal grudge against you. A deal for your life, Cas!"

"I have full confidence in my ability to manage it, as I have been managing it, and the terms aren't impacting anyone else."

"Oh, because you think you keeping yourself miserable all the time is just a you problem, huh?"

"Definitionally, yes, it is a "me problem", Dean."

"Right, because you don't think the rest of us are at all impacted by knowing that if you're happy it'll literally kill you?"

"Well if things had gone as planned you wouldn't have had to know, would you?"

"Not knowing is worse! And besides, Jack still knew! You were going to let him carry that by himself? Did you ever consider what that kind of knowledge can do to a kid? What it would have done to him when the Empty did eventually take you? Because it sure doesn't seem like you had any plan to get out of the deal eventually!"

"Don't you dare make your issues with this about Jack. I won't apologize to you for saving his life, and frankly I don't understand why we're discussing this. The deal is already made, and I am not going to risk Jack's life by interfering with it now. I've been perfectly fine so far. This discussion is pointless."

"Pointless. Pointless? A discussion about the deal that's apparently just waiting to kill you is pointless?"

"I don't see what arguing about this will accomplish. It was my choice to offer my life in exchange for Jack's, and my "happiness" is certainly a more than worthwhile trade for his life and safety. Are you implying otherwise?"

"That is not what I meant and you know it. Of course I'm glad we have Jack back, that's not my point!"

"Then pray, tell, Dean, what is your point? Because as far as I can see it, the only purpose this discussion is serving is as totally unnecessary additional insurance against the Empty showing up right now."

"And what's that supposed to mean??"

*audible eyeroll* "I don't know, Dean, clearly I'm thrilled to be arguing with you right now—"

(this goes on for another 20 minutes, and ends with neither of them talking to each other for at least 3 days. and then we get to see dean being paranoid about cas being happy and guilty about cas NOT feeling happy all at once, and tying himself up into knots about it.)

[thebestsetter]

Undressed

Synopsis: Break ups are tough. The ones with the one you swore you'd spend your whole life are even harder. He'll never get over you, he's sure of it. How could he, when everywhere he looks, you're there?

Characters: Rin Itoshi, Oliver Aiku, Michael Kaiser, Sae Itoshi

TW: The word fuck sometimes, OOC characters 😟

A/N: This is obviously inspired by Sombr's song "Undressed". Y'all should totally listen to it.

A/N²: THEBESTSETTER'S WRITING COMEBACK???

I don't wanna get undressed for a new person all over again

Rin Itoshi has never had an easy time opening up to other people.

Ever since he was a kid, talking about his feelings and thoughts never came as easily to him as it did to others. Feelings were... well, complicated. The only one who could make him come out of his little shell was Sae Itoshi, his older brother. The one who promised to always be by Rin's side. The one who he looked up to. The one who comforted him and gave him free popsickles.

The one who betrayed him. The one who felt disgusted by Rin. The one Rin wanted to crush and destroy.

And also the one who broke Rin. Who made him cry countless times, wondering just what was wrong with him.

After that fateful night, Rin never opened up to anyone again. Why bother? If even his own brother abandoned him, others would too, right? People come and go, so what's the point in being an open book? They're gonna leave anyways, he's clearly destined to be alone (And he's okay with it, really.)

Or perhaps not, cause somebody else managed to break through the walls he oh so carefully built up. You managed to.

Talking to you was easy. He didn't felt like he was forced to speak, it just came naturally. It was as if his own body wanted to open up to you, to have a shoulder to cry on - or maybe it was just the effect you had on him, he'll never really know.

He told you everything. He talked to you about the ugliest parts of him, the ones he tried so hard to hide. He told you about Sae and how the whole situation regarding both of them made him feel. He felt vulnerable enough to cry in front of you, multiple times.

He still remembers your arms around him, the embrace strong, yet so gentle. It was clear you cared for him. Scratch that, you told him you loved him, more than once. And he loved you back. So, so much.

That's why he doesn't understand what went wrong. Why he's here and you're there. Why he's alone again.

"...Rin?"

Well, not exactly alone.

Don't get him wrong, his new girlfriend is good. Great even. She's pretty, the media loves her and her cooking is very good.

There's just one problem.

She isn't you.

"Is everything alright?"

His shoulders are shaking as he lies with her in their shared bed, his back facing her while he looks at the wall as if it was the most interesting thing in the room.

"Mhm" He nods, trying to calm down. His breath is unstable, even if he tries to hide it.

"You're shaking. You sure you're alright?"

The feeling of her hand going up and down his back, clearly trying to calm him down, does nothing to help. Actually, it only makes things worse: he feels disgusted by it. Her touch feels so, so wrong. It feels forced. Out of place. Strange.

He brushes her hand off like it physically burns with a little more force than normal. He realized it was too much though, so he tried to play it cool.

"Sorry" he says, finally finding his voice again "I'm fine, really. You should sleep now... Love"

He almost spits the word, like it's acid going through his mouth. The stinging sensation in his lips after saying it makes his head start reeling and his heart beat faster.

"Rin, you know you can always talk to me when something's wrong, right? I'm your girlfriend, sweetie. You need to trust me for this relationship to work"

Trust? He trusted too many people already. Sae. You.

And, suddenly, the earning becomes hatred. For a split second, he holds the pillow tighter, the longing he felt for you quickly replaced by pure anger.

You promised him. You told him you'd never leave him. And the worst part is that he believed you. He wanted to believe.

He really should talk to her. She's waiting for an answer, staring at him in silence. She stares at him like the kids used to do when he was little: like his feeling were too confusing to understand. Like he was too much.

You never once looked at him like that. You looked at him with understanding in your eyes. With care and patience.

The anger turns into tears. One by one, they begin to spill from his eyes as he hiccups into his pillow. It's as if the ghost of your hands is right there, wiping away his tears.

"Talk to me, Rin" she says - no, she pleads.

But he can't. Even though he knows he should, his mind doesn't want to. He opens and closes his mouth, trying to find the right words to say, but finds none. His body physically holds him back from talking to her the way it used to do with you.

"...I can't"

He'll never be able to open up to another person, as long as the ghost of you still haunts him. He doesn't want to.

I don't wanna kiss someone else's neck and have to pretend it's yours instead

This wasn't supposed to happen.

He wasn't supposed to get attached.

It was meant to be an one stand, a quick "fuck and go" to help him get his mind off of the current... situation he was facing.

But Aiku couldn't help it: she just looked too much like you.

Her hair, her face, hell even her name sounded like yours - which really helped him cover his slip ups (moaning your name instead of hers) many times.

When they were sleeping together, she put her cold feet under his legs to warm them up just like you used to do. Her favorite series are the same as yours. Her style looks liked yours. She was almost you.

Almost. She wasn't you.

But if Aiku closed his eyes really tight, he could pretend it was you.

He knew he looked crazy, but he just couldn't stop it.

When he gifted her the perfume you used, he brushed it off as a coincidence. Many girls wear that fragrance, so it's not a big deal, really. When he "accidentally" bought her VIP tickets to that rock band you liked - the one he refused to go with you many times, claiming he was "busy" - even though he knew she doesn't like rock, he just shrugged and said he liked the band - he doesn't know a single song beside your favorite one. When he kisses her neck, he needs to pretend it's you, or else he physically can't be affectionate with her. He closes his eyes and inhales your her cologne, smiling to himself as he mutters your name.

"Aiku?" She asks, turning to look directly at him "Who's that?"

And that's when he realized: she was not you. Because her eyes were nothing like yours.

He misses them. Your eyes, I mean: the way the colors in your iris danced, inviting him in and making him grow an inexplicable need to kiss you till you're both a breathing mess of love and earn.

That's why he knows he should stop.

He really should.

"What do you mean? I said your name"

There's not an ounce of doubt in his voice when he talks to her, as if they've had this conversation hundreds of times already.

"...okay then"

And when she turns and he can't see her face - her eyes - anymore, he automatically goes back to pretending it's you again.

So you have to understand, he couldn't let go of her. Cause then he'd have to get over you, and he's not sure if he's ready to.

I look across the tracks and see you with another

There's nothing worse than seeing your lover moving on while you still suffer

Kaiser feels sick to his fucking stomach.

What the actual fuck is happening just in front of him? Why are you at your cafeteria with a lowlife? Your cafeteria. Yours and Kaiser's. The one you had your first date in. The one where he asked you to be his girlfriend.

He's gonna throw up.

Why are you with that bastard? He looks like a fucking dog that hasn't taken a bath in weeks - no, months. He's so much better than that idiot in front of you right now. He knows it. And he's sure you know it too.

So why are you smiling so hard?

How can you be smiling so hard without him, when he's never gotten over you? When he still earns for you, still goes through your old photos on his phone. When he still calls you just to listen to your voice on the voicemail.

How can you move on while he's still suffering? And how can you look so pretty while doing it.?

It's unfair. He's been on dates after your break up, sure, but never managed to find anyone even close to your level. That's why he doesn't know how you managed to.

Kaiser knows he's pathetic. He though those lovesick fools from the movies you forced him to watch were ridiculous - until it was him in their position.

He rejects every girl that even tries to talk to him. The scented candles - the ones that have your scent - are always lit. He checks your social media like it's a ritual.

He even cries himself to sleep sometimes, trying to figure out just what went wrong. Why he's so easy to abandon. Why no relationship ever works for him.

"Mich... Kaiser" He hears someone call.

It's you. Hand in hand with your new... Lover.

He can't help the disgusted expression that appears in his face.

"...hey" It's so weak, so low, so unlike him that even you seem surprised

"What are you doing here?"

I was looking for you, hoping to see you here. Alone. Looking for me, too

"Ah, just passing by. The coffe here is the best, you know."

It's not a question, it's an affirmation. He knows you know. You told him yourself that they serve your favorite coffe.

"Yeah, I know" an uncomfortable silence settled, but Kaiser didn't even oay attention. His eyes were focused on your hands, intertwined with that guy's. "So..." You start, looking at him. Oh, how he missed your eyes.

But not like that. You're looking at him with indifference, not with the loved you used to. "How's life going?"

"Amazing" Bullshit "I'm seeing someone" it's the most absurd lie he's ever said.

"Really? That's great!" No. You're not supposed to be happy. That would mean you...

"I'm glad you also managed to move on" Also? "You know I still care for you, right?"

He's gonna cry.

"Y-yeah" How many times has the mighty Michael Kaiser stuttered?

"You should call me" he's blocked.

You seem to remember it, since you blush and look to the side. His face softens when he sees this. You really haven't changed. At least, not completely. "I'm gonna unblock you, don't worry"

Oh, how long has he earned to hear those words? But not like this. Whatever this is, it isn't what he wanted.

"Sure" he puts his cold and alone hands inside the pockets of his jacket, pretending it's you holding them. "I need to go, now. She's waiting for me at home"

There's no one at his house - he can't call it home anymore. Home is wherever you are.

"Yeah, sure. Goodbye, Kaiser"

"Goodbye"

He begins walking away, his eyes glossy and the air around his face filled with the puffs from his heavy breathing.

"Oh, I almost forgot"

He looks at you again, locking eyes. He takes in your whole body, almost as if it's the last time he'll ever see you: and it might be.

"Take care of youself, Micha."

It seems his pillow will wake up wet again.

I don't want the children of another man to have the eyes of the girl I won't forget

Sae changed.

Spain changed him. Life changed him. Football changed him.

Whatever was going between you both before he travelled was over. He made it very clear that day, when he broke up with you on a snowy day.

He knew he needed to do it. He needed to if he wanted to he the best midfielder in the world.

He also told you to not wait for him, even though you told him you would. He wasn't selfish enough. He knew you deserved to be happy.

And even though he said you shouldn't wait, he still held hope. Hope that you had waited for him, just like you said you would.

That's how he finds himself in Japan again after almost 5 years, strolling through the park where you spent your whole childhood playing together, searching for you.

Everywhere he looks, there's a piece of you. The swings you both ate ice cream in. The sand box where you'd play with Rin. The bench where he confessed his love for you. The olive tree where you first met. The...

"Daddy, look! It's Sae Itoshi, from Real Madrid!"

He snaps out of his daydream when a highpitched voice breaks him out of it.

"It's really him, daddy!"

"Are you sure, sweetie?"

"Yes! Yes! 100% sure!"

"Okay then, go talk to him"

He looks to his right and sees a little girl running up to him a smile on her face and her arms open wide. Her dad is behind her, recording the whole thing while smiling.

"Hello" he says, ruffling her hair a little. He doesn't really like paparazzi, but he really likes his kid fans. Only when they're not spoiled, though "What's your name, little one?"

"I'm Hannah!" She says, still hugging his legs "And I'm your biggest fan!"

He smiles a little

"Well then, 'biggest Sae fan'" he hears her dad say, laughing and coming closer "Why don't you let him go now so you can take a picture together?"

She reluctantly lets go, still not able to contain her smile. When the photo is taken, Sae crouched down to her height to say goodbye, like he always does with kids.

Except it's not the same. The words die in his lips.

Because he recognizes that look. Those eyes.

They're exactly like yours. Even the sparkle in them is the same.

He's suddenly brought back to the thoughts of you. The way you looked at him when he declared his love. The way your eyes sparkled when he won one of the most important championships of the town with his silly school football team. Hell, he even remembered the way your eyes filled with tears when he broke up with you that day.

All because of that little girl.

It can't be... can it?

"Hey, man" he hears the girl's dad say, which makes him quickly rise up again (without really saying anything to the girl. He got too distracted)

"Yes?"

"Could you give a shout out to my wife? She really likes soccer, so I'm sure she knows you"

Oh God.

"Sure. What's her name?"

Please don't say her name please don't say her name please don't say her name please don't...

"Sure. It's..."

He tunes everything down the moment the name began to form itself in the man's lips. Maybe if Sae didn't hear it, it wouldn't be truth.

Yeah, maybe.

But it wouldn't. The truth was simple: you moved on. And the proof was there, right in front of him, smiling without a care in the world.

"So, think you can do it? The video, I mean"

Those kid's eyes will haunt him forever. He's sure of it.

"...yeah. I'll do it"

[shiongenkai]

Ghouls as Lifeguards

Because I am, once again, bored at work. Don't worry abt it. Sometimes life is making bad posts to appeal to you and only you .

Frostheim

Ohhh you'd think they're good. You'd really think. But you would be so wrong.

Jin Kamurai

His ass is NOOTTTT WORKING. Oh my god he is Not working. He's the supervisor you have who sucks and doesn't do anything yet bosses you around forever. You make a group chat to complain about him and he inexplicably discovers it. Its horrible. You hate him. And yet, somehow, you never have any issues with patrons.... (its because he Makes Them respect you. And then denies doing it. You will never learn he fights for you. He will always be That Asshole Supervisor). 5/10

Tohma Ishibashi

He's the tolerable supervisor but he's like. He scares you. Lowkey. If a parent comes up to him he's like sorry my guard did that I'll Talk To Them. EVEN IF IT WASNT YOUR FAULTTTT but the way he says it really makes it feel like your fault. However. Later you learn that parent got in trouble and was banned from the pool for completely unrelated reasons and you looked at him and he went 'That's unfortunate for them ^_^' and the look in his eyes was so cold you searched for every life preserver for yourself Just In Case. 8/10

Kaito Fuji

Took this job for: cash and to be popular with women. Ended up: sunburnt as hell and ready to go homeevery goddamn second. He turned his back once to flirt with someone and a kid started drowning and he panicked so hard he tried to save the kid and he DID but passed out immediately after. And then. He was fired. 3/10 bc he Did Save That Kid...

Lucas Errant

Bad in the other way. He's not Quite 'no fun allowed' but he's close!! Always blowing his whistle and telling kids to stop doing things. Always worries someone is drowning when they clearly aren't. Doesn't understand waterslide dispatch. The parents love him tho. Kaito is so mad about it, always. 3/10 but if you put him with Kaito they both get 4.5/10 because the sheer disbelief at the other motivates them to be just a little bit better (but Not Much).

Vagastrom

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh if I saw a pool with these guys as the lifeguards I. Would feel an Emotion. Which one? Certainly An Emotion.

Alan Mido

No. Well. Yes? But mostly no. Good news is he can definitely save you if you drown. Bad news is he's terrifying, for one, and always looks mad at you, for two, and if you ask him for a bandaid he'll glare at you on accident and too many kids have cried when he's on shift so he's not. Working as a lifeguard for long. Sorry king. Maybe next time. 2/10

Leo Kurosagi

He's on his phone and I am personally going to fire him. If a kid drowns on his watch he blames the parent, and lowkey he's probably right, which makes it worse. I think if he had a reason to do his best he would and he would do great, but until then, we will all drown in the pool on his watch Together. 1/10

Shohei Haizono

He tries. He's fine at it, too, and the kids like him well enough, and he does a well enough job. Genuinely probably the best in Vagastrom. However, when Leo is fired (or quits) Sho also bounces, mostly because he finds it boring and he already has to bathe Enough. 7/10

Jabberwock

I already worked with a Ren before and it was horrible. Unfortunately, I am a Haru. I haven't worked with a Towa yet, but if I do, I'll probably burst into tears. However. ?

Haru Sagara

Have you. Do you. Well first of all no he's not getting 10/10 so don't expect that. I only mostly play favouritism. Reasons he would be good is that he's pretty diligent and would respond quickly and appropriately. He would be a great supervisor. Reasons he would be bad is that he would probably be concerned abt his arm (and would waffle abt whether to keep it on or not, which would make him hesitate methinks). and two. If he is not in jumping distance of the water he is Sprinting and using his stigma and catching a rock or whatever and eating Turbo Shit and now your supervisor needs a lifeguard and it is Bad All Around. awesome. 7/10

Towa Otonashi

good news. 8/10 if he likes you. Bad news. 0/10 if he doesn't. Someone who was rude to him starts drowning and hes like damn not my problem. someone annoys him when haru is down for the count and he electrocutes the Whole Pool. he does not work. the pool frequently has bad weather. he sees MC and leaves his stand. Awesome. Worlds Worst Pool. 1/10 bc if he likes you he'll save you

Ren Shiranami

TEN SECONDS TO IDENTIFY 20 SECONDS TO TAKE ACTION LETS GO 30 SECOND STANDARD KING!!!!!!! However. He . HESITATES. His ass is like I have 20 seconds uhhhhh fuck uhhh shit uhhhh fuck. uhh. and then its drowning situation and then its unconscious and Haru intervenes and hes like this fucking sucks . BUT! He'd be good at CPR. He can do it. My man can work an AED. I know in my heart and soul he's a lil fisherman boy who knows whats up. 8/10 bc I rated Tohma too low if I give Ren 9/10.

Sinostra

goodbye cruel world. ill miss you when im underwater. and dead.

Taiga Hoshibami

I need us all to take a second and just think about this. Can we all do that. All hold hands and try to imagine Taiga Hoshibami as a lifeguard. Can we. BECAUSE I CANNOT FATHOM IT. IT IS FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG. WHY IS HE THERE? THATS NOT THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR HIM. PLEASE GET HIM OUT OF THERE????? To be honest. He probably wouldn't show up anyway. Sorry buddy. 0/10

Romeo Scorpius Lucci

I can't. He has a big sunhat and all the sun protection and he has an umbrella and a misting fan and sunglasses and he looks downright absolutely fucking miserable. Tells kids not to run and they ignore him and they eat shit and he's like IFTYS and the parents are like can you stop speaking letters at us and help our child. Please. And he quits on the spot. 3/10 he's too pretty to fail

Ritsu Shinjo

He has read every manual front to cover he is so prepared in an accident he's got this shit DOWN. In theory. Can he swim? Unknown. You ask him. He does not answer. Ren sees him from across the pool and they share a Look. Ritsu quietly pulls you aside. He can't. You sigh and put a frowny face next to his employee progress report. 1/10

Hotarubi

Subaru Kagami

He would be so nervous but I honestly think he'd be fine. Like genuinely just fine. He would probably be nervous every day and it'd shave years off his life as he imagines everything that could possibly ever go wrong even a little. It truly haunts him every waking moment and it feels sort of like he's dying? And Haku listens and is like hey. its. hey subaru? It's okay to quit, and Subaru is like. IT IS? And then. he doesn't quit. 5/10 book a spa vacation

Haku Kusanagi

He's a sleeper agent lifeguard. He's like so stereotypical good lifeguard he's almost Bad? LIKE . FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES HE'S DEFINITELY A GOOD LIFEGUARD. CERTIFIED GRADE A. BUT HE'S LIKE. ITS JUST OFF. IT SCARES YOU. He has an energy on stand that you can't quite place. MC looks at him and then looks up and realises he is on hour nine of Zenji Kotodama's greatest hits and that energy is On His Last Legs. and she's like ohhh okay. Yeah okay. 8/10

Zenji Kotodama

The retail post was predicated on the idea that Zenji is not a ghost because that was funnier than ghost Zenji. This post is way funnier if he's a ghost. Your ass is NOT getting saved today buddy. You see the world go dark and a hand reaches out to you and its Zenji and you're like ohhh I'm saved. No. ghost. good luck. goodbye. He'll sing a song as you go 1/10 (For real though, 4/10 because he helps keep ppl calm and also is like dont worry my dears. zenji kotodama will keep the beat going for CPR.)

Obscuary

Obscuary is actually a 0/10 dorm . Lyca 'Tries so Hard' Colt a dn Rui 'kills you' Mizuki are an outlier and should not have been counted

Edward Hart

I cannot in good faith possibly give him more than like 3 points guys. Truly I cannot. I cannot fathom who would let him be a lifeguard. Probably the same ppl who let Taiga be one. Bad people. bad people who should feel bad because WHAT IS HE DOING THEEERREEEEE!!!!! I GUESS. HE COULD GIVE ADVICE? I GUESS? 1/10

Rui Mizuki

so. um. so. SO BASICALLY? IF HE DOESNT HAVE TO DO A RESCUE ITS FINE? I THINK? PROBABLY? BUT LIKE. OTHERWISE......... i cant. picturing rui trying to do a rescue without touching the person. TEARS IN MY EYES. PLEASE. WHO LET HIM DO THIS. PLEASE HELP HIM? PLEASE? HEY GUYS? TEAM? HEY GANG? -5/10 PLEASSE DONT KILL THEM MORE THAN THEY ALREADY ARE.

Lyca Colt

He's so good. Chat you gotta believ e me. There's nothing better than a guard who is rlly willing to do their best even if they're a little confused. HE'S GOT THE SPIRIT!!!!! Lowkey he'd actually be kinda bad bc the smells would overwhelm him and the sounds and he'd prbably get too mad at the kids and yell and call them stupid and make them cry but he's also tryign so hard. You can't fault him. AND he would be good in a rescue situation for sure. Trust me. Trust me. I'd trust him with my life. Maybe not in CPR. But surely the rest 7/10 but 10/10 in my hearrt

Mortkranken

Ohhhhhh no ignore Sinostra's note. No yeah. No we've done it. Mortkranken once again wins Worst At This Job. Yup. Yep. No yeah. Yep.

Yuri Isami

Imagine Yuri in a pool. That's it. NO BUT FOR REAL? HE'S LIKE JIRO. SAVE THEM. And Jiro is like I can't swim though. But okay. And Yuri is like JIRO DON'T. and then they stare at the water and you drown and die and then Yuri is like OKAY. NOW . IS MY TIME. he's like. Do you see the vision. He can't help you Not Drown. But by god. You are in the best hands when someoen else gets you out of the water. He sure does guard your life. Just not. IN THE WATER. 2/10 BECOME A PARAMEDIC INSTEAD.

Jiro Kirisaki

Hey if you need a lifeguard for your lifeguard that's a bad lifeguard -10/10 jiro please stop drowning on the job and making the others save you its really inflating the incident report economy and making everyone's lives worse and zenji is crying so now we can't even giv you cpr to baby shark anymore thanks buddy

[enlightenedfeline]

Tips for writing internal dialouge:

1- Don't just get in your character's head, become your character. Getting into a characters head and becoming the character are of course two completely different things, doing the prior is easier than the latter, but they completely change how readers perceive your character.

When you write internal dialouge in your characters head, it's a lot more concise and follows a pacing that's easier to keep up with, the thoughts are clearer, and your character seems to be jumping from one topic to the next.

However, this isn't natural to how everyone thinks, especially when it comes to younger characters, or characters in high stress situations.

This doesn't mean that writing someone who can think clearly in a stressful situation is unrealistic, there are people with that ability, but remember that this is an ability that's gained, not necessarily something that your character will possess naturally.

This is something I can go into deeper detail about in another post, because I don't wanna focus on one point for too long.

Becoming your character essentially means thinking their thoughts, not thinking of their thoughts. Experiencing their feelings, and throwing it down on the page, no matter how incoherent it is.

This technique works in heavily emotional scenes, and if done right can communicate the message you want to your reader without you explicitly stating it, which can make the scene more powerful, and more real.

2- Don't share irrelevant information. While you will sometimes have to share seemingly unnecessary information for realism, this doesn't mean that you should bore your reader just because they're in your characters head.

It will take hard work and a ton of writing to find the inner monologue/dialouge/description balance that suits your writing style, but you will find it.

Just keep in mind that if you feel the information won't help your reader understand/relate to your character any better, then you probably shouldn't include it in the final draft.

3- Have them comment on the world around them. Yes! Little comments and observations may seem unnecessary to you, you made this character, you know all this already, but this can reveal a lot about your character, using show don't tell.

This doesn't mean have them comment on everything, unless of course this is a habit they have.

But if it's not, then have them comment occasionally on small details, just internally, have them notice things your average person wouldn't if they're a particularly smart character, or have them not notice obvious details if they're not intelectually gifted.

4- Show different types of intelligence! Internal monologue can be the most effective method of showing off what ways your character is smart in without making it seem like they're showing off, or needing to have other people bring up their intelligence in conversation.

Show us what they notice and what conclusions they come to. Do they panic under pressure or keep a level head? When there's a disaster do they help or run away, why?

Leave it up to the reader to analyze what things mean so they can feel more engaged!

5- Every character is different. If every person thinks differently, then every character should think differently.

Don't put it entirely upon your shoulders to make your reader understand, your job is to be clear, your reader's job is to care enough to analyze.

Like I said above, make the reader feel engaged, let them figure out the character while you cleverly leave hints here and there of the type of person your character is.

6- How much space does internal dialouge have in your story? You have to decide now how much room you're willing to give internal dialouge in your story, and how many characters you're willing to give the space to talk in your story, this greatly impacts how your readers perceive characters and situations.

Internal dialouge is a big part of any story, and I've still gotta figure it out myself, this is probably the first of many tip posts specifically for internal dialouge.

Maybe some of this advice will help, maybe it won't, either way, I hope this feline has enlightened you!

[yikesy]

I wonder if Apollo ever tried to talk to Artemis about her syncretism with Selene.

Because after his syncretism with Helios, he felt so awful about it, and maybe he would hope that his sister would understand. That she would be the only one to understand.

What do you think?

ah but it wouldn't have been artemis would it? it'd have been Diana, let's not forget that this is all set during roman times

the horror of apollo's syncretism is that it was subtle and insidious, hard to fight because there was nothing to fight, it wasn't violent it was creeping. the horror of artemis' syncretism was that for a time it was complete ego death, she became a whole another person. so she was already being taken over by another identity and now we add another one to the mix???? this is an absolute mindfuckery. apollo's horror is his self awareness and artemis' is her lack of it, I've seen post syncretism diana believing she had always been the moon goddess of their pantheon

so how does artemis feel about selene?? I don't know. she's a repressor and syncretism causes memory problems, she probably surpressed a lot of memories of her. I can imagine apollo asking her about it and her answer being a kinda aggressive shrug and change of topic. and apollo wouldn't push. because he knows first hand how tortuous it is to be aware for this. he would recognize this as her protecting herself and would never want to subject her to what he goes through, especially when she clearly doesn't want to. so he'd just,, take note of it and be careful not to trigger her. soooo pretty par for the course with them tbh 😅😅

still... something I wonder... the moon fits very well with artemis' domains of course but,, she's a goddess of nature. of forestry and animals and very grounded things. apollo is the god of light and that's where the sun thing came from, they're very related. and artemis is apollo's twin so if he becomes the sun then of course it only makes sense for her to be the moon, they're a matched set, they're (sun&moon) a matched set, it's only logical. still I always get the impression she only comes by her moon associations through her connection to apollo so,, I just have to wonder how she may feel about it

there's something to be said about the only things keeping her afloat on the modern world being things that associate her or are connected to apollo. the moon and her patronage of girls and childbirth, the only thing that connect her to civilization. but her main things?? the wilderness has been almost completely tamed and hunting is no longer necessary. that which was all encompassing in antiquity and has been slowly but surely been driven to irrelevance. by Civilization. her own brother. and now she's pretty much has to live by his charity. AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF HER DAD IS FORCING HER TO LIVE IN THE FUCKING US. so yeah I think she could be doing a lot better lmao

[croquettish]

Hi, thesis anon (for lack of a better name lol) back again. I wanted to pick your brain about Radzig and Henry's relationship (imo one of the most fascinating dynamics in the games) - specifically the question of legitimization. Do you think Radzig has any intention to even try and legitimize Henry post-kcd2? I understand with the king in Vienna, that wouldn't immediately be possible. But would he want to, do you think? Would the king grant his request if he did make it? And would Henry want to be legitimized?

How important is it that Radzig has no legitimate heirs? He honestly doesn't seem to care as much about it...is it because he is a minor lord? While Hans is being forced into marriage and heirs, nobody seems to care Radzig is a (legitimate) childless bachelor...why?

I also go back and forth on the legitimacy thing for Henry. Would it mean he'd have to continue the Kobyla line (would he take that name? I'm sorry for being ignorant about this), and thus get pushed into the same situation as Hans? In that case I am very sure he would not want the political responsibilities that come with legitimacy. As we see in the game, Henry seems to be pretty free to do his own thing in a way that Hans isn't. I don't think he'd want to give that up. Also there's his complicated feelings towards Martin as his pa, though he didn't have a last name as a commoner. Also, would Radzig force him into it, if he decided he wanted to legitimize Henry? Probably not, right?

Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts! ❤️

Thesis anon, hello!

So I went digging into Radzig's history a bit more which included sifting through a Czech text that I clumsily google translated (Tomáš Šimek's Hrady, zámky a tvrze v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku). According to that, he definitely had a wife (Anna of Úlibic) who was left widowed after he died in 1416. His wiki article mentioned that he had sons who were taken care of by Mikuláš Šraňek and Mikuláš of Úlibice, but I could not find any mention of that in the source it cites. Instead, it says that "The castle was then held by the widow Anna of Úlibice together with Mikuláš Šraňek and Mikuláš of Úlibice."

Again, that could be the limitations of auto-translation, but I don't think that's the case. I imagine that Warhorse took that lack of sons or lack of clarity and used it to their advantage, and just didn't give him sons in the game. I mean, callback to us talking about how they play fast and loose with history, as far as we know he doesn't have a wife in canon either even though we know that she seems to have existed by 1403.

The thing is, you say that he doesn't seem to care much, but I don't think that's entirely true. We haven't had enough time to talk to Radzig about where he stands on this matter. Henry only learns that Radzig is Dadzig at the end of KCD1 and next to no time passes between the two games. Even when they meet up in KCD2 it's always for very brief instances: on the road after the Maleshov rescue, where they split up again straight away, and then again at the very end of the game. They get the chance to speak up on the hill, join the feast, and then end up splitting up again. Talk of legitimacy or anything else hasn't really had the chance to come up at all. Henry even admits at one point that he barely knows Radzig:

Which is honestly kind of heartbreaking in its own way. Meanwhile, Radzig doesn't hesitate at any point. He's been in Henry's life (even if it was on the periphery thereof) all his life and clearly watched him grow up. One of my favorite moments in KCD1 is when Henry steps away from where they were talking and Radzig sort of quietly calls him son. It's honestly quite touching and a bit sad how desperately he wants to embrace that father and son dynamic after having been denied it his whole life.

I also think it's notable (and relevant to Henry's potential legitimization) that Henry rises in the ranks fast. You'll recall how annoyed Hans was that Henry flagrantly breaks rules and is then rewarded for it. He's put in the city watch, Radzig takes him into his service, he gets constant commendations for the things he does (which do, of course, deserve commendation, but still). He also gets upgraded to Hans' squire, squires having been either nobles themselves, perhaps expecting to be knights one day, or at the very least important enough to be the lords of their own manors regardless of status.

All that in mind, I think the game is prepping things really nicely actually to suggest that Radzig might hope to legitimize Henry. Here's the issue: if Radzig dies without legitimate heirs, his line dies with him and his lands and assets would be redistributed. In other words, they go back to the king and thereby end up available for distribution to other nobles that said king might want to reward or bribe or what have you. Ergo, it's in the king's best interest not to legitimize anyone.

Here's where the tinfoil hat goes back on. Wouldn't it be FUN if KCD3 was about going to rescue Wenceslas from prison NOT ONLY because it means that Hans can get his land, but ALSO because it would mean that Wenceslas would owe them and would thus be compelled accordingly to reward Radzig by legitimizing Henry? Eh? Eh??? 👀

I will say that, off the top of my head, I don't think that Henry would want to be legitimized. Or would care all that much. His status is more or less secure at this point. He's going to be part of the landed gentry no matter what. Hans is already promising him a million noble estates, not to mention that Henry has a level of social mobility that is genuinely something to be envied for the time. And legitimization would restrict a lot of that freedom in a big way. He'd end up, as you said, with a lot of political responsibility, he would take Radzig's last name (though I don't think that would matter to him all that much, since it's not like it would overwrite another last name, it would just add one on that wasn't there before), and he would be expected to marry well and have heirs. At least that would be the hope for him.

Then again, even non-legitimized bastards sometimes were placed into beneficial marriages that would serve to further elevate their status, so he's not entirely free of that sort of fate. But I don't think Radzig would force him into such a marriage, nor do I think he'd force him to accept legitimization if he didn't want it. However.

I think if there was a concern regarding Radzig's line, if Henry caught wind of the fact that his father was losing sleep over the fact that his line might end and that his assets and land would go back to the crown... especially bearing in mind that this could possibly mean Sigismund, in which case someone like von Bergow would end up with the land? I think Henry would do the self-sacrificial, selfless thing he loves to do so very much and bite the bullet. And go rescue the king in Vienna for both him and Hans' sake.

[frost-eyed-autumn]

One of her illusions opening the door is about what he expects by now. Not that he wouldn't probably do the same, if he had that sort of power. Workaholic that he was, it wasn't hard to understand the appeal of having extra hands to mitigate having to stop whatever she had already been doing before he arrived.

His brow quirks a little bit at her odd, precarious position. He doubts she intends harm, either to him or to herself, considering she's lounging with food and a drink. If she had been though, he has one advantage most don't. He's faster than most people alive have any right to be, or are physically built for for that matter, so even if this were a worst case scenario--...

Well, he doesn't think it is, but who could really say after the discussion they had had previously? The existential suggestion that she might not even be a "real" person in the standard sense.

For some people, that's enough to push them over the edge.

"Hey." It's light and casual, slipping his shoes off at the door. It was... sort of business, but he's not here on a job, and Neo's more settled in to her living space, so it's only more respectful to do so.

His eyes briefly drift over her latest project as he strolls in, and he figures that must be what she'd kept herself occupied with since they last parted. From what parts of it he could see, she'd spent a lot of time on it.

Eventually, he stops a few feet back, taking note of her tension. She definitely hadn't forgotten their talk before, but it didn't really change what he had to say either way, keeping his own posture deliberately relaxed and unthreatening.

"Look, I'm... sorry, for the things I said before. I probably came off a lot worse than I intended to. It's not that I was trying to be dismissive or anything like that. If I'm being honest, I'd much rather believe what you told me is true more than any of the alternate possibilities it could have been." He gives a small, mildly humored scoff trailing at the end of low-spoken words that sound genuinely remorseful. "It'd be a whole lot simpler and safer if it really is how you say."

There's an unspoken but at the end of his words, but he thinks Neo is sharp enough to catch it without needing it explained -- again -- and probably still touchy enough to be grateful he doesn't tread back into it after he promised to drop it entirely.

"Maybe we can try to start over? I don't exactly expect you to just spill your whole life story to me, or want to talk about it straight away, but with all you can do and what you've shown me, I'm sure you must have some pretty interesting stories. Maybe you could tell me a few of them some time? I wouldn't be against hearing more about it, when you're ready to tell me."

It's an attempt, at least, of extending an olive branch of some humility where there was clearly still a rift.

𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐀 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑, 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 promptly as soon as the door swings open. Neo lounges across from it in the window, watching him lazily from her perch. She's got a glass balanced perilously on one knee, and a plate on her stomach, long hair spilling messily over the edge of the sill and swinging languidly in the breeze. Her eyes take him in slowly, tongue idly licking spicy mayo from her fingertips. On her bed, fabric is stacked near the foot, a completed outfit in pink and white spread carefully just below her pillows, beside a half-open sewing kit.

One hand waves idly in a 'come in' gesture, but she's tense, somewhat.

It feels as though she's waiting for something from him- anger or yelling or something equally explosive. It's what she's used to, after all.

The tension in her shoulders isn't because she doesn't want to see him, but because she's not sure what to expect. Salem and Cinder both had their own... volatile tempers when it came to dwelling on things someone had done and expressing their displeasure belatedly. Usually long after whatever someone had done even mattered anymore. Whether or not Chuuya holds the same kind of grudge-or anything similar- will inform the rest of her decisions for the day.

Anticipation of whatever he might say has her setting her sandwich back on its plate, expectant.

[somewhere-elena]

Notes between the Noise

Frat! Lin Liè x fem reader

Part four -> Part five

You've texted Liè a bit since that plan you and the girls made.. And to be honest? You weren't seeing results.

Maybe since you haven't asked to hangout one on one yet, but you were extremely nervous to.

It's not because he was being dry or anything, his texts had smileys and stuff. He would text you first sometimes too! Just you thought he was being friendly.

"ARE YOU KIDDING??!" Doreen exclaimed.

"This is good, Y/n!! He's actually texting you and not being dry!" Doreen said.

"He could just be friendly." You said.

"Ermmm no!" Doreen said.

You sigh.

"Since when does texting dictate whether or not a guy likes you?" You asked.

"Since social media." Doreen said.

You groan.

"The exact thing that killed romance." You huff.

"Cmon, Y/n.. Don't be so- moody.. Be optimistic!" Luna encouraged.

"Fine, fine. Jeez..." You grumble

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

You were on your phone one morning when you got a text;

You clutched your phone a bit, letting out a shaky breath. He needed to talk to you?? Oh god.

You scramble out of bed and go to get dressed.

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

You fiddle with your hair a bit as you're about to turn the corner to the library, mentally hyping yourself up.

'Okay, okay.. Just calm down- you got this! Besides, we don't even know if he's gonna ask us out.'

You take a deep breath before you turn the corner. But you pause.

There was a girl. With Liè.

You step back behind the corner, peeking a bit.

You watched as she hugged him and kissed his cheek before walking away. You quickly turn the corner and whip out your phone.

You pocket your phone, taking yet ANOTHER deep breath.

You then turn the corner and begin walking towards him with a smile on your face.

"Hey-" You greet.

Liè perked up, turning around to see you.

"Hey! You made it..." He said, almost surprised.

"Of course I did- you said you wanted to talk to me..." You reply.

"Yeah, well... I wanted to know if you wanted to grab lunch? I know a good place.. Me and my girlfriend go there a lot." He said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as you two began walking together.

"Girlfriend? Is she okay with us going there?.." You ask.

"Well.... My relationship with her is very rocky right now... She's definitely cheating, I just can't prove it. It's more of a gut feeling, y'know?" He explained.

"Not letting me use her phone, no matter what... Always going out, making excuses to bail on our plans- it's frustrating." He continued.

Your expression softened a bit.

"I understand. I just don't wanna cause a fight or anything." You said.

"It's fine. I was gonna break up with her today anyways... Besides- I'd much rather hang around you." He added.

Your heart stuttered and you smiled nervously.

"Yeah? Well- what's this about the food place?.."

"Lemme take you. Cmon." He said.

You guys walked out to his dorm parking lot and got into his car; a black 2010 Coverolet Camaro.

You both buckled in and he turned the key in the ignition, the engine roaring to life.

"So- your girlfriend?.. How come you never told the group about her?" You ask.

"She wanted us to stay a secret." Liè said, beginning to drive.

"She said that at the beginning. Three months ago." He added.

"She's been hanging around a guy best friend... Rayden or something? I forgot his name." Liè grumbled, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

You hum.

"Well... Clearly things with her are stressing you out. Maybe our hangout will help take your mind off of things." You said with a little smile.

Liè glanced at you from the side, a slight blush forming on his face.

"...Yeah." He added softly.

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

"Holy crap you weren't lying.. That place was so good!" You said, Liè holding the diner door open while you guys walked out.

He chuckled, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets.

"I told you." He said, getting back into his car, you following behind him.

"How about the arcade? Or do you wanna go back to your dorm?..." He offered.

You perk up at the mention of the arcade.

"The arcade sounds fun.. Let's of there?" You said.

"Arcade it is." He said, beginning to drive in the direction.

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

"You're button mashing!" Liè said, brows furrowed in concentration as you guys played a fighting game.

"No, I'm playing the game." You said sassily.

"By button mashing." Liè said, groaning as his screen flashed with a 'Defeated' while yours flashed with 'Victory'.

"Ha! I win!!" You cheer with a bright smile.

Liè looks at you, his gaze lingers as his eyes softening a bit before he snaps out of it.

"Yeah, yeah, it's luck." He huffed as you guys walked away from the machine.

"Button mashing shouldn't be a technique. You didn't even know how to play at first, I had to teach you the basic-" He paused as he noticed your gaze on something else entirely.

A claw machine. With plushies inside.

"What?" He asked.

You point, eyes sparkling.

"Liè!! They have a Snorlax plush!" You said in delight, rushing over and looking closer.

Liè followed behind you, an amused smile on his face.

"You do know that claw machines are rigged, right?" He asked.

"Not all of them!" You reply.

"If I don't get that plush- I'm gonna cry." You declare.

At the end of the day. You knew it was true. Those things were rigged.

You huff in annoyance.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom-" You said.

Liè handed you some money.

"Get us some drinks on your way out?" He asked.

You glance at him, taking the money.

"Fine. I'll be back." You said, walking off.

Liè nodded before looking at the claw machine.

'Fuck it.' He though, sticking a dollar into the machine.

Three attempts later. No luck.

He groaned, rubbing his face.

He then looked around before smirking as he saw no one was nearby.

What did he do? He stuck his hand up through the slot and grabbed the plush, which he knocked near the edge.

He snatched it from the machine.

"Victory is mine." He said, glaring at the machine before making his way to the food area of the arcade.

You were sitting at a table, sipping at your drink, scrolling on your phone.

"I'm back, sorry I took a minute." Liè said, holding the plush behind his back.

"Hey- it's fine, I didn't mind waiting." You said.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

You nod as you both got up and began making your way out of the arcade.

Once you stepped outside and got into his car, Liè pulled the plush from behind his back and handed it to you.

"I won it for you." He said.

Your eyes lit up and you took it from him gently, looking at the soft Snorlax plush in awe.

"Liè... Really?" You ask, a grin starting to form on your face.

He smiled and nodded. By now, the sun was setting.

"For making this day.. Fun. It helped me let loose and I really enjoyed spending time with you." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

You smile flusteredly.

"You're easy to hang out and have fun with..." You said.

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

"Thank for dropping me off." You said as you guys pulled up to your dorm building.

"No problem." He replied.

You were about to get out before he grabbed your wrist.

"Wait-" He said.

You looked at him curiously.

"Yeah??" You reply.

He took a deep breath before pulling you in closer.

Your face flushed and your eyes met his before he kissed you. Straight up. No warning.

But it was gentle. It was sweet. It wasn't rushed.

You lean into it for a few seconds before you both pulled away, faces flushed.

His eyes widened at what he just did.

"Fuck! I'm so sorry- I don't know what came over me-" He stumbled his words.

You stared at him in slight awe for a moment before smiling.

"Don't apologize. I liked it." You said quietly.

There was a moment of silence and before he could reply, you spoke again, opening the car door.

"I'll see you later, yeah? Goodnight Liè." You said, grabbing your drink and Snorlax plush before shutting the car door and walking into your dorm building.

Leaving a stunned, flustered Liè in his car.

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈

Tag list: @arabesquechou

[vinbitism]

Slenderman and Vinnie rant idk. mainly just Vinnie rant. I have a lot Im thinking about.

can't stop thinking Slenderman and Vinnie again. I fucking hate their dynamic so much (I love it bc it's well done but I HATE HATE IT) like that's what people don't get w Vinnie and Habit's relationship, Vinnie wanted to be saved from slenderman. If he's going to be abused he wants it to be on his own terms and he wants to be aware of it. Like slenderman uses Vinnie's unconscious body to do his bidding and it makes Vinnie feel disgusting and awful. He feels SAFER with habit. that should tell you something.

Ppl talk about how slenderman is after all the emh guys but I'd really like to argue that clearly they're just extras to him. Vinnie is the only one he "cares" about.

pretty much every video where Slenderman is shown he is looking right at Vinnie/Vinnie is there in the video when Slenderman is being shown. He's never just targeting Jeff, Steph or Evan, it's always ALWAYS Vinnie. Habit and the rake have free reign over the others, they just CAN'T mess with Vinnie aside from a little harm. Like the rake slices Vinnie's arm twice, once in the tapes and once in series. It's a warning, really. (habit breaks this agreement w slenderman which is what pisses Slenderman off so much)

like this dynamic hurts me. I don't expect ppl to watch the whole thing but it's just Vinnie dealing w Slenderman and how much he fucking hates it and how awful it makes him feel

Slenderman disemboweled the reverend not to be a hero, not because the reverend did something awful. he did it because he was JEALOUS.

"man doesn't share." when I tell you that shit hit me to my core I need you to guys to really think about what that means. Slenderman has been slowly breaking Vinnies mind more and more and even as a child he would use him like this. Vinnie was such a kind kid who clearly loved to talk to people and Slenderman took advantage of that. Vinnie is so easy to manipulate and that's what made him so valuable.

why do you think habit isolated him? Vinnie can't spread if he is locked away, he can't give Slenderman power if he's hidden away.

Vinnie practically throws himself at Habit to take him away all because "Atleast you talk" Like IMMM RIPPING MY EYES OUTTTT OYSYHDHJ atleast Habit TALKS to him. He doesn't just STAND there. atleast Habit tells him what he wants and what he means HE CANT UNDERSTAND SLENDERMAN AND HE HATES IT. he feels so used by him and with habit he has a choice, or atleast he feels like he does. It's so. UGH.

Slenderman truly fucked him up so bad. Not only does he cough the black goo, it comes out of his eyes, ears, and nose. Every part of him is violated by slendermans presence and it's so devastating to me. the dynamic hurts so bad. Vinnie is there to be a toy to play with and I hope that man is at peace now. I hope in whatever form he may be in, whatever life he lives, I hope it was his last. I hope he gets to move on and I hope he gets to know what it feels like to be free.

[blood-orange-juice]

Just wanna say that you have some of the most interesting takes of childe I've heard. I don't agree 100% on all of them (though I''m too sleep deprived to go in-depth on that and no where near as articulate or critical thinking as you) but you have such interesting insight on his character and I feel like I have gained a much deeper understanding of his character by reading what you have to say abt him. He has such nuance and depth that it's honestly hard for me to wrap my head around. You've highlighted his completely contrasting character and to me and now he won't leave my brain. Said with completely sincerity, your analysis' honestly inspire me to think more critically about characters and media.

Anyways. all that for me to ask what your thoughts are on his hyper combativeness. I don't believe he has fighting on his mind 100% of the time like so much fanon depicts him but I think he's defintely weird about it and very set upoun a fight once he has his mind on it, even if that takes a lot of patience & persistence. Is a measure for him to test his strength upon or does he truly just revel in a good fight. Probably a mixture of both with something more complex thrown in there. I think you've talked about it before but I'm curious if you've had any new thoughts.

Eh, I don't agree with myself either sometimes. I have 3 contradictory headcanons of this guy. He contains multitudes.

And thank you so much! <3 I think Genshin generally has great characters, they just don't do much with them because that is the nature of gacha.

I would assume it's a mixture of several things, yeah. We know from Chasca's character stories and from some Natlan quests that people (and dragons) affected by the Abyss will seek out conflict and destruction and that it's something like hunger. And our boy hyperfocuses even on the smallest possibilities of conflict and has a very special tone when he talks about chaos possibly erupting somewhere.

I don't believe he's thinking of it 100% of the time either but I think it's one of his basic needs now, like food. Fandom calls him bloodthirsty sometimes but I think he's chaos- and conflict-thirsty. It's not trauma, he just carries the Abyss in him and that's what the Abyss wants.

(and he clearly has a set of rules about it. he never attacks first, for example, and tries to avoid killing. there's something hungry and terrible in him but he keeps it on a tight leash)

But also... he's barely 20 and he's good at this. Show me a twenty something guy who doesn't want to show off his skills. There's a human aspect to it too.

I have a suspicion he's also training for something. I don't know if it's killing the whale, or killing something much worse, or trying to transcend reality in general, his pattern of behaviour is closer to a person with some kind of hidden goal than to an adrenaline junkie or someone who wants to better himself just for the sake of being the best. I really wonder if he was changed because he randomly got corrupted/tainted when he came in contact with the whale or if it was a choice to achieve something.

[coffeebooksrain18]

Why can’t team black stans accept strong boys are bastards after more than three years?

I am a bastard myself and its really weird how TB push it under the carpet: just now I came across a tb stan STILL whinging that in the books it was more ambiguous they were bastards versus in the show its obvious. But that’s not true, it was obvious in the books too. Their features were described in detail for that reason. IDK I get very xenophobic vibes from black stans. Most of them are blood purists who dunk on the greens for being half targaryen but they cannot do to the strong boys at risk of being called hypocrites hence they blur the truth of them being illegitimate strongs by spreading false information from the books. But it’s SO obvious they overhype the strong boys yet hate they’re bastards and not true’ targaryens. TB fans unironically are more anti bastard than alicent hightower and catelyn stark combined :p

They truly are hypocrites when it comes to the Strong boys and the fact they are in fact bastards in both canons. Also I don't understand it either, I've been accused as being Bastardphobic to which I told the person I have two siblings born/conceived out of wedlock and I don't care. I find it more odd how they want to use the word Bastard in its traditional sense for modern times when bow its just an insult like Bitch.

And yes the Strong boys were bastards in book. We have an interview of GrrM where he says if he could in the future he would build more on Rhaenyra's relationship with HARWIN STRONG, and how it effected her relationship with Laenor and by extension the Velaryons. But the fact that they still cling to this is baffling when the author himself pretty clearly stated they are bastards.

I've seen many pull out that Baratheon black hair mixed with Targaryen white could make brown. Or that they got their hair color from Aemma since she didn't have a clear description in book. Which all these are fine, if they are legitimate I would lean with the Aemma one sine the Baratheon theory doesn't even work with the world. Like GrrM has drilled his genetics for this world into us and yet they pull stuff like that out of their asses and act like it's Canon.

Also that theory dies quickly when you point out neither, House Targaryen, House Velaryon, House Barathon, or House Arryn are described as having brown eyes or pug noses. House Targaryen and House Velaryon have purple eyes. House Baratheon has blue. And House Arryn is aid to have blue to grey eyes (though the do lean grey I believe). House Baratheon is said to have strong features and wide frames. House Arryn are aid to have softer features and pale skin. None of this correlates to the Strong Boys brown hair, brown eyes, or pug noses.

Another argument they use is the fact GrrM didn't really describe House Strong besides one person who was blood and blue eyed. But that is one person, they very well could've gotten those looks from their Mother or Harwin could've gotten his looks from his Mother.

Also this whole thing peeves me since TGs get so much htw for theorizing Alicent had blonde hair since King Jaehaerys thought she was his daughter Saera. Though I don't believe this one myself I think it is more reasonable and set in the Canon than th idea the Strong Boys are bastards.

They forget many things GrrM has made clear, Rhaenyra is inspired and a parallel to Cersei, three illegitimate children, demanding they sit the throne, are only two that are clear to see. And yet MANY TBs hate Cersei. If you look at old posts about Rhaenyra before the show came out many of them are stating this fact and how obvious it is.

And yes many are Blood Purists. I cannot tell you how many posts I've seen talking about how the greens and Strong boys have the same amount of Targaryen blood but the Strong Boys is better since they have the blood of th First Men. Also almost every Daemyra I come across (and I bet these are some of the worsts) make posts on how it was Rhaeyra that gave Daemon "Pure Valyrain Sons". They forget Laena is Valyrian. Her Mother is a Targaryen and her Father is from House Velaryon, a VALYRIAN HOUSE. which only makes one wonder why they are so obsessed with the Valyrian Targaryen blood, like yeah Dragons cool but we know fem Nettles you don't have to be a Targaryen or Dragonseed to claim a Dragon. Though it probably makes it a lot easier. It makes me icky since so may act like they love the Velaryons and yt they diminish their part/stories in the Dance and all around really. It's extremely racist and needs called out more.

And finally let me say this, since we're talking about Blood Purity I figured I would point this out since I'm tired of seeing people say the Targtowers and the Strong Boys have the same amount of Targaryen blood as a way to belittle the greens.

Aemma Arryn was half Targaryen, half Arryn. And that means if we say Viserys was a pure Targaryen (he wasn't but let's just say he was) Rhaenyra 25% Arryn and 75% Targaryen.

The Strong Boys would have 50% Strong, 12.5% Arryn, and 37.5% Targaryen blood.

And then th Targtowers. Half Targaryen so 50%, and Half Hightower yet again 50%.

So actually for the TBs who act like the Strong Boys are "better" for having "more Targaryen blood". The don't in fact Rhaena and Baela have more Targaryen blood than them. But they only ever call them the Velaryon twins. Yet another show of Hypocrisy from TB.

Sorry for going on a rant as you can see I'm very passionate about this subject Anon.

Much Love!

[qiu-yan]

#The thing about this conversation is that IF jgy had not been literally killing nmj everything he said here would be reasonable#and lxc!! is being INCREDIBLY dismissive!!!

#this is why it drives me up the wall when people pretend lxc literally always takes jgy's side in everything READ THIS PASSAGE#what he wants is *peace* and because USUALLY peace is also what jgy wants they end up aligned more often than nmj#however when it's jgy who is the one going 'maybe this doesn't work because da-ge. um. kicked me down the stairs'#lan xichen goes 'well just don't make him angry' WHICH IS WILD!!

#again as readers we know jgy is literally killing nmj here BUT XICHEN DOESN'T#if you were in a relationship (whatever it is they have) and they physically injured you then THREATENED TO KILL YOU#and then your other [whatever] is like 'don't provoke him' YOU SHOULD RUN. VERY FAST. IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.

#this is also why when some proclaimed xiyaolovers call nieyao abusive i think 'so lxc is an abuse apologist?'#because if you read nieyao as abusive then what lxc is doing here is abuse apolagia! and victim blaming!#yet SOMEHOW we always ignore that part!!

#anyway op remember when we were talking about how xiyao both live in a fantasy about e/o#and how they both stop believing in it at some point but for jgy that is MUCH earlier than lxc who believes it until post-timeskip?#and in the end we both agreed the change for jgy is much more gradual but initially i said the 'moment' for jgy was around nmj's death#and the reason for that was this conversation.

i mean jgy has already decided to kill nmj which implies some level of loss of trust in er-ge#(because lxc was supposed to PROTECT him and help nieyao solve their problems and he clearly thinks that is no longer feasible)#but in this moment xiyao are in COMPLETE disconnect about the level of danger jgy is in.#i think jgy is sort of mentally prepping lxc for nmj's death here like oh da-ge's rage is sooo bad (won't be strange if he qi deviates soon)#but beyond that he is secretly *asking for understanding* you get it right? that i'm in danger? why i had to do this?#(and also. so secretly that he doesnt even admit to himself: is there another way? could I stop now? could you protect me after all?)

#and lan xichen cannot give him an affirmative answer. he *doesn't* understand. he'll *never* be able to understand.#so in this moment i believe the fantasy does break for jgy.#and then nmj dies and he delusionally patches the fantasy back up and goes on to live in denial for another decade.

tags via @lgbtlunaverse

Kind of obsessed with takes abt Jin Guangyao's manipulativeness (which I'm not even refuting! He is manipulative!) that also refuse to take into consideration the context in which his manipulation exists, which proceeds to net you awesome takes about who in 3zun was The Abuser and people showing up to the comments sections of good postcanon Xiyao reconciliation fic to passive aggressively talk about how it's sad that Lan Xichen is getting manipulated back into a toxic relationship

[matteoberrettini]

genuinely hilarious btw how people on twt want soo bad to make matteo a villain in jannik's story or some shit like it's a disney movie. less than a month ago he said they'd talked recently and he's never had anything but good things to say about jannik but to some people it'll never be enough because he made a decision for his career that i understand is hard to digest but it has nothing to do with his relationship with jannik, jannik himself said it doesn't bother him, they both have never indicated they weren't on good terms. like yeah we can't ever really know the truth behind what they say in public, but i think we should stick with what we can see and read, yeah? because making wild assumptions based on nothing doesn't lead to anything good, it's just speculation and i don't see what anyone gains from it?? i think maybe some people need to grow up and accept that they don't know these people. they don't know jannik and what he thinks or feels or who he talks to or who avoids him or whatever. we know what he shows and tells us and that has to be enough because otherwise we go down dangerous paths

[lordgeneralsix]

reddit dudes proudly saying they leave sam bc the silver is more important and they don't care about some dude they just met bc he's not actually henry's brother kind of makes me sad bc my god people really are that stupid and they're not kidding huh

[centeris2]

swedish/maybe any european sso folks plz explain

I'm tracking the SSO legal stuff and "limited time offers" is one of the issues, which in my brain means "can't offer things only for a limited time in game like the halloween horses only available for the halloween event, pressuring the player to buy star coins to buy the horses/gear during that 4 week window"

But they mean double star coin offers or when lifetime is 30% off. Which I guess are 'limited time' deals?

I'm from the USA. Sales, buy-one-get-one, coupons, discounts, etc are normal for me. Is that NOT a thing in Europe??? I genuinely do not understand what the confusion is over a company having a sale is, or why that's worth freaking out and clutching pearls over in the EU.

Someone please explain like I'm 5 I'm assuming I'm missing cultural context here.

[maxdibert]

Well, it's interesting that you say this because:

My great-grandfather was almost executed after spending a year in a fascist prison and being sentenced to death for political reasons. My grandfather ended up in a French concentration camp after fleeing at the end of our civil war—he was 18 when they put him in the camp. Two years later, they took him from there to the Nazi concentration camp of Mauthausen.

Both of my parents—each on their own—were part of political groups in their youth, leftist groups in a far-right dictatorship. They had trouble with the police because of this, and the political police were no joke, I’m sure you understand. I myself was involved in political groups from the age of 15 to 22, actively engaged groups, and I’ve had my own clashes with neo-Nazi and far-right groups.

If you’re going to lecture someone using the "guerrilla warrior" fallacy, unfortunately, I’m the worst possible person for that to work on.

As someone with a family that lived through a civil war, I can tell you that many people who fight in wars don’t do it out of conviction but out of obligation. Choosing a side often doesn’t depend on you but on which side your town falls under. And privileged people always have it much easier, whether they’re on one side or the other.

This is something that anyone from a society truly devastated by war knows. My parents grew up in antifascist environments—of course, they followed antifascist groups. That was the logical thing to do. They had the means, the education, and the support. I joined antifascist groups in high school, and that doesn’t make you a hero, especially when you have a safety net to fall back on.

A cop cracked my head open when I was 17 and got arrested for protesting outside a school—was that heroic? Well, when you have parents who could walk into the police station with an excellent lawyer and the resources to cover everything, no, it wasn’t that heroic. Heroism is getting up every day, surviving without resources or support, and making it through however you can.

The one who doesn’t understand what they’re talking about is you because it’s clear you have no idea how political activism works beyond the internet. You’ve never had to deal with legal accusations of that nature. If you had been involved in politics, you would have realized that most of the so-called "heroes of the people" are actually nepo babies or middle-class individuals—because they’re the ones who can afford the luxury and privilege of being arrested, getting beaten up, or skipping classes for a strike. And if you don’t understand something as basic as that, then don’t talk about what you don’t know, because with every word you say, you only make yourself look more ignorant and like someone with zero real-life experience on the matter.

I would have loved to see you alone in a clash with a group of neo-Nazis. I have been in clashes with neo-Nazis, and I’m not going to wear a medal for it because it’s not something praiseworthy. It’s what was expected of someone like me and what my position as a relatively privileged person allowed me to do. The one who had to apply for two scholarships just to go to university and still work to afford rent wasn’t out there fighting neo-Nazis, but they had far more merit than those of us who were.

Your view of politics is purely social-democratic—pure social liberalism. You have no class consciousness, you don’t understand the roots of systemic problems, and you don’t even bother to be self-aware about them. Your discourse comes from a place of privilege, and honestly, it’s embarrassing.

Isn’t that funny that Snape stans are obsessed w James as much as Snape himself was obsessed with him