#it doesn’t have her vibe if I don’t clarify it though so just take it as a pink slash purple board

[little-spades]

★ Pink + Purple ! ★

first time making smth like this what do we think

[pagannatural]

2.16 Roadkill

- this episode starts off from the victim character’s perspective, Molly, so we see the brothers through her eyes much of the episode. She notices the brothers communicating with their eyes a lot, the camera focuses on their shared looks and reactions to her. It shows how well they know each other to communicate nonverbally like that.

- Molly says she and her husband “only ever really argued when we were stuck in the car” and Sam can relate because he and his husband also get on each others’ nerves being stuck in the car together.

Dean glares at him because he doesn’t like his personal life being shared with strangers or ghosts.

- Sam and Dean are aggressively giving married vibes. When Sam introduces himself, he doesn’t say “and this is my brother Dean” like he normally would. I’m pretty sure that throughout the episode Sam and Dean’s relationship is never clarified to Molly and they are heavily couple-coded:

Sam is the softer one, reassuring Molly it’ll be okay, Dean is more frank and takes charge. They speak using the royal we, work together as a team, and have little moments of influencing each other’s behavior the way couples do. For example, Dean telling her they’re hunting ghosts and Sam exasperatedly saying “don’t sugarcoat it for her.” She’s incredulous about ghosts and Dean says “crazier things have happened, huh?” hitting Sam’s arm and smirking playfully. It comes across as a warm, intimate little interaction, not like siblings bickering. Later, Sam insists on burying the bones they find because it’s important to him. Dean doesn’t want to at first, but of course he can’t say no to his wife. Sam is the one with the emotional influence who seems to have the last say, even though he appears to be gentler, filling the archetypal role of the feminine in the relationship. I would be surprised if she thought they were anything other than a couple.

- Sam is the one who looks after Molly and shows her more kindness. He has so much empathy for this ghost who can’t move on from her lost love, her husband. Sam is also the one who feels so uncomfortable with keeping from her that she can’t be with her husband.

It seems to really get to him, this woman pining for her impossible love. Like he knows what that’s like, pining for someone he can’t have. There is no romantic relationship this could really be for Sam, which makes me think it’s Dean. In reality, Molly’s husband moved on from her with a new family just like Sam thinks Dean should and will move on from him. He knows at this point that’s the truth of her story.

Sam can also relate to the fact that many ghosts “weren’t evil people. A lot of them were good, just something happened to them” as he grapples with his own fate. I wonder if on some level he sees Dean as what happened to him to make him feel like a monster.

- Molly says “she didn’t want to live without him” (her love) when they find a skeleton and Dean glances at her like this hits him.

He has proven and expressed that he does not want to live without Sam. He can relate to her too, he just tries to act tough.

- Sam tells Dean about an old country custom of planting a tree to mark a grave and Dean tells him “you’re like a walking encyclopedia of weirdness” and Sam says “yeah, I know,” like he’s genuinely hurt. Dean seems aware of Sam’s feelings for him, which adds another layer to this kind of interaction between them.

- episode theme is about blindness to the truth and inability to accept reality. Sam and Dean continue to struggle with accepting their reality too in terms of Sam’s future, but the other (stronger) parallel is the brothers’ relationship in comparison to Molly and her husband’s. She can’t accept a devastating truth about herself and the man that she loves, and throughout the episode Sam and Dean act just like a married couple. Their relationship is steeped in angst and tension because of their love for each other, because Dean won’t kill Sam no matter what he becomes. There are truths about themselves and their relationship that are too painful to accept.

[georgiapeach30513]

Jen, marketing anon from last night!

I came to clarify some comments because I do not want people running to your page and miscontruing things and then bombarding you for no reason. There’s another blog on here that I’ve seen who works in the industry and she was not impressed with the interview either.

This is just my opinion and I am not confirming anything was scripted. But I can tell you I am 1000% sure that interviewer was reading from a page and she looked very very awkward and almost unrehearsed. It bothers me because she works for access Hollywood and they should know beyond better in my opinion.

I work in marketing, yes. My industry is tech - which means the people I work with are usually engineering nerds gone corporate. Very different vibes lol. But we just did a video recently celebrating a partnership with a very prominent bank and our CEO and the client participated in the video. They appeared in the video to be “answering questions” and bless them both, couldn’t make it more obvious they were reading from something on a screen (it’s in the eye contact). Also - the camera pointing right at them while they stare to their left and shift back and forth makes it even more obvious. However, these people are not entertainers, reporters, or actors. Them being awkward on screen is a little less cringe but still meh when this stuff gets posted on YT and Facebook.

Like I mentioned, I can tell that 1000% the AH interviewer is reading off something. Her eyes shifting back and forth and she’s clearly not staring at the camera though the camera is on her face directly. Something was awkward about it but she’s reporting for AH so that’s even more weird to me how unprofessional and very not camera comfortable she looked.

As for CE, he at least looked like he was answering from memory or making it look as such - but he is an actor. That’s what he’s supposed to do.

But I’ll say this: The way he sounded during most of the interview…wasn’t great. I’m not hating on him and I know he’s just doing what he’s told, answering questions that she asked him - but I mentioned the cut away from his face as he started to talk about “personal” stuff was very telling.

Old footage, as he talks over the images that basically don’t have anything to do with the dog food he’s promoting was interesting. To me, it felt like a shoehorn. You don’t see his face as he’s saying the personal stuff and people hear him mention someone’s name. Again.

In marketing, we often have to “insert topic” and add a word or name or buzz topic when we push or promote a campaign. Our writers and social media marketers have to somehow mention what we need mentioned somewhere in the promotion. It can be done in many ways and the intent is always to make it look organic but many times, it feels the opposite. When you’ve been in the field for a bit you can usually pick out the obvious tells of a marketing push, which is why I wanted to send that ask to you last night. Something sincerely doesn’t feel right about all this and I do feel bad because I can see fans who care so much about a celeb being upset that they’re getting yanked around.

But business is business. Please take care of your own mental health if something like this is truly getting to you.

I can’t put words into other people’s mouths but if my boss saw this interview and she was approving it to go live - she would have asked them to re record and ask him to put more life into it. 😂 Also, if the questions were pre approved he could have had a ghost writer come up with something more substantial to say. If this was coming from the heart, well…

Like you mentioned yesterday, that energy he had with his old costar at the walk of fame ceremony was what you can’t fake. He seems like a man who truly wears his emotions and heart on his sleeve and he was genuinely happy and fond of seeing his friend.

This interview though? Yikes. Again, people will see and hear what they want and take what they want from this.

I give this interview a 2/10 as well. 😝

Agree with all your points. To me it’s obvious she was reading from a script. The camera was too close to her face and we see her awkwardly looking to the side. He however, as you mention, does seem to at least “know his lines”. I don’t think it’s absurd to think these questions were pre approved and that he had his speaking points and what he was okay mentioning.

[ronanlynchdefender]

An Aromantic Asexual Reading of Henry Cheng

Happy International Asexual Day! I had a lot of fun making “An Asexual Reading of Gansey” post, and so of course, I had to make a post about The Raven Cycle’s resident aroace king, Henry Cheng. Unlike Gansey, I think Henry is written with the intention of being canonically aroace. Henry, himself, implies as much, and the way his character is developed also supports this conclusion. In other words, the text does not lie. The man is aroace.

Henry Comes Out

A thought occurred to her. “I don’t need to remind you I’m with Gansey, right?” “Naturally not. I’m Henrysexual, anyway. Can I take you home?” (TRK, pg. 234)

I interpret this moment as Henry stating in clear terms that he is not interested in anyone romantically or sexually. While it is phrased somewhat as a quip, it is significant because, as we see throughout The Raven King, Henry is very intentional about how he uses his words and what words mean. He doesn’t need to comment or joke about his sexuality, but he does. He does it casually too, “I’m Henrysexual, anyway.” He phrases it almost as an afterthought. Clarifiying not only is he not interested in Blue, he is not interested at all.

Platonic Longing

So he had no real way to explain how he felt about trying to befriend Richard Gansey and the members of Gansey’s royal family. (TRK, pg. 266)

He felt 20 percent guilty for longing to become friends with Gansey and Sargent and Lynch and Parrish. The Vancouver crowd was great. They just weren’t enough, but words failed him to say why. (TRK, pg. 267)

Can you just imagine little Henry Cheng looking at Gansey’s friend group and longing to be a part of it? Honestly, I think all of us as readers can relate to Henry’s desire. We all want to be friends with them. We all want to be in their inner circle.

What Henry craves more than anything are those queerplatonic bonds that the raven boys have with each other. This is a kid who has grown up without anyone really understanding him, except maybe his mom. And here he is, in the least likely of places, witnessing this friend group possess exactly the type of relationships he has always craved but never had words to truly describe.

Not “Just” Friends, But Just, Friends

“You had RoboBee looking out for me.” “It was friendly. That was a friend thing.” He seemed anxious for Gansey to believe that his motives were pure, so Gansey said quickly, “I know that, just   I don’t meet many people who make friends like I do. So   fast.” (TRK, pg. 360)

I think this moment parallels the moment with Blue where Henry is clarifying that there is nothing else going on other than platonic vibes. He is not romantically or sexually interested in Blue or Gansey. His motives really, truly are just friendship. I think Henry is also nervous in this scene because he doesn’t know if Gansey will accept him as a friend. Henry is really desperate to be accepted as one of Gansey’s friends, his inner circle. Even though his desire is not romantic, Henry is still putting himself in a vulnerable position where he could get rejected. And Gansey is quick to try to dispel that anxiety. It’s a sweet moment between the two of them, honestly. And I think many of us can relate to the simple desire of just wanting to be someone’s friend without any romantic or sexual implications. I mean, that’s all many of us want. Just friends. Maybe very, very special friends that we feel inexplicably intense connections to but friends nonetheless.

Soulmates, But Platonic

“We’re friends at once, we would instantly do what friends would do for each other. Not just pals. Friends. Blood brothers. You just feel it. We instead of you and me. That’s jeong.” (TRK, pg. 360)

Not romantic. Not sexual. But a secret third thing. Throughout the whole series we witness Gansey’s very complicated feelings toward his friends, and here comes Henry Cheng with the perfect language to describe what Gansey is feeling. And who better than an aroace character to introduce the concept of platonic soulmates? Although, I would argue that what Henry is saying here is more than just platonic soulmates. It’s pure connection. It’s community.

Three’s A Crowd, Except When it’s Sarchengsey, Then it’s A Queerplatonic Polycule

Gansey had bid for a gap year and won. Henry had already planned on one. It was all convenient, as Blue had spent months planning how to cheaply hike across the country post-graduation, the destination: life. It was better with company. It was better with three. (TRK, pg. 434)

I just absolutely love that Henry agrees to accompany this true love pairing across country as their platonic third wheel. It’s fantastic actually. The idea of Bluesey being all romantic and shit and Henry is just completely unbothered. Completely content. Love it.

Also, Blue and Gansey could’ve very easily gone on a romantic road trip by themselves, but instead they thought hey let’s invite our good friend, Henry Cheng. Because who the fuck cares about true love? We’re all platonic soulmates here.

Also, extended vacation with your queerplatonic polycule. Need I say more 

Cars and Sex???

“Rumor has it that his father gave him a Fisker for his birthday and he’s too afraid to drive it.” (BLLB, pg. 154)

“Stop. Stop. Get in my car. You know what? You drive. This thing scares the piss out of me.” Henry tossed him the keys. (TRK, pg. 348)

In a book series where car driving/racing are constantly used as metaphors for sex, I find it very interesting that the most canonically aroace character is also afraid of driving his car. Coincidence?

Okay maybe I included this point partly as a joke, and maybe this is a stretch, but here me out. This isn’t some throwaway character detail. This is mentioned or referenced multiple times. At the bus loop, during the chase for Glendower, after Blue and Gansey’s late-night date, immediately after we are introduced to his character. Anyway  

In conclusion, Henry is an aroace king, and we needed way more of him in The Raven Cycle. He’s funny, dramatic, and brings a levity that some of the other characters don’t possess. A great, sorely underused character.

I may make more of these asexual analyses posts about The Raven Cycle because I have a lot more I want to say about the series as a whole, so you can follow me for that if you’re interested. I’d also love to hear other people’s thoughts.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and happy ace day!!!!!

[en-lista]

🖥 ... ⃕  THE CIRCUS UPLOADED A NEW VIDEO !

description : on the latest episode of mirror mirror, the studio is blessed by the goddess of hearts’ presence. oh, and she brought a enchanting friend too!

warning : mentions of low self-esteem, cyberbullying, and other things that may be triggering. viewer discretion is advised.

“hey, i’m enhypen and pandora’s calista. thank you for inviting me!” the female idol bows to the camera before taking her seat. 

her fictional counterpart walks into view and shyly waves at the camera.

“my name’s naeva, it’s nice to meet you all.” she speaks so softly, and with such a pretty smile on her face, you can hear the staff cooing.

we, the editors, decide to leave that sound in because #relate.

“we’re here to answer some questions that you, the audience, have sent in.” calista looks over at the lavender-haired girl and holds up her fist in a hwaiting motion. “shall we get started?” 

“mhm, let’s do it!”

THE GODDESS OF HEARTS : CALISTA !

👤 : what do you want to be remembered as in the future?

“i’d like to be remembered as someone who, despite having the odds stacked against her, pursued her dreams. life’s too short to play everything by the standards, do what you love without restraint.” 

calista looks proud of her own answer, until she hastily tacks on, “of course, within non-harmful boundaries!”

do what you love without restraint, but within non-harmful boundaries — roh aejeong, 2023

👤 : favorite concept you’ve done so far?

“since i haven’t properly debuted with pandora yet, i’ll pick my favorite from enha. honestly, i really enjoyed the concept we did for dimension-dilemma. compared to most of our eras, tamed-dashed had more of a carefree.. summery type of vibe, you know?” 

she pauses to look at naeva, who nods; the latter obviously invested in her words. 

“we didn’t have to worry much about acting seriously or pulling dangerous stunts because we were given the opportunity act like people our age.”

👤 : who had the most negative impact on your life?

“i wish i could answer but..” calista pretends to clear her throat before continuing, “well third place would be those who claim to be fans. it’s hard to just act like those criticisms and negativity don’t exist because they lurk everywhere, acting like they enjoy our music and watching our content when they actually find joy in tearing us, and others who come to our defense, down. 

so while i acknowledge that they’re here, waiting for me to slip up or even just breathe, i refuse to fall to their level. because at the end of the day, they’re just insecure people hiding behind screens to feel better about themselves.”

👤 : who’s your celebrity crush?

“at the moment?” 

the production crew gasp dramatically, eliciting both girls to laugh. it’s adorable, the way they try to cover their mouth but end up revealing their angelic smiles between peals of laughter.

“i just wanted to clarify- okay, i wouldn’t call it a crush, but i really admire zb1’s jiwoong. i’ve been following him from his acting debut to boys planet. he’s so cool and confident i just wanna ask him tips on how to do that too.. maybe i’ll ask gyunnie to put in a good word for me..”

to hourglass’s gyuri, please introduce calista to zb1′s jiwoong. love, the circus ♡  p.s. everyone here on this channel loves your group, never stop being queens! 

👤 : an idol you’d like to collaborate with?

“i’m stuck between seventeen and txt.. and no it’s not because i have friends in both groups.. okay maybe a little-”

calista pouts, causing the staff to fawn over her.

“seventeen are such exceptional performers that if i ever got to collab with them, i think i saved an empire in my previous life. at the same time though, txt are well-rounded idols with fantastic concepts to match so yeah-”

👤 : pandora or enha?

“or.”

calista’s smiling, yet it doesn’t quite reach the corners of her eyes. she fidgets with the ring sitting prettily on her index finger, the golden rose acting like her anchor. the memory’s still vivid—she scolded the guys after seeing the price tag they forgot to discard.

“i’ll never choose only one of them, not when they’re all amazing, talented, sweet people. and while i haven’t known my girls for as long as i’ve known my boys, the time that i’ve spent with them so far makes me certain that choosing to debut with them isn’t a regret.”

she sheds a shaky breath. one of the producers ask if she’d like to take a break. calista shakes her head. “thank you for your concern but i’m okay, don’t worry.”

nevertheless, a staff member walks onto the scene to give her some tissues and water. 

👤 : would you like to continue acting as a full-time career?

“if you asked me this three years ago, i’d have said yes. but when i get on that stage with my members, and i hear the cheers of our engenes and planetes, i feel like i’ve found my true calling. but i am still open to receiving acting gigs. who knows, maybe you’ll see me in the next season of all of us are dead..”

“wait, are you implying that you didn’t..” naeva hesitates for a second before making some motions—a sequence of gestures that hopefully won’t give away the story for those who haven’t watched the show yet.

the idol merely looks at the camera with a smirk.

👤 : what’s your favorite song to perform?

“in terms of enha, i love performing drunk-dazed. it’s got these hypnotic beats, along with a bold and energetic choreography to complement it. i can’t deny that at the end, i’m absolutely winded from all the jumping and spinning on the floor, but it really is fun to perform for engenes.”

“what about pandora?” naeva asks, then initially gets silence as an answer.

“it’s hard to pick because again, i haven’t debuted with them yet..” the idol drifts off again, head tilted while she looks up at the ceiling—seemingly expecting the answer to fall from up there. “i’d say, mainly because we’ve practiced this song several times, blue & night is my favorite.”

👤 : which country would you like to perform in?

“oh that’s easy, the u.k!” calista smiles fondly as she recalls, “while chobao and i were hanging out with chiara unnie, she told us a lot about the country, especially the cities she grew up in. thanks to that, i’d love to perform there and have a few days to explore the places.”

naeva raises her hand. “if it’s not too much to ask, who’s chobao?”

“it’s not, don’t worry—that’s lanfen! she might come off as mean and blunt but beneath that impression is a considerate and hilarious fluffy cat.”

“when you put it like that, she reminds me of jaan. maybe they could be friends..”

“maybe, but they could also butt heads due to their similarities.”

“at the same time though-”

this commercial break is brought to you by the guests who spent five minutes engaged in a debate about whether two tough softies can get along, and how long can they last. 

👤 : if you could go back to the past while knowing your future, would you change anything?

“as cliché as it sounds, i’m the type of person to believe that everything happens for a reason. decisions may not bear good things right away and that’s okay. while i have made some choices that make me go ‘i shouldn’t have done that’, i wouldn’t change any of them because i did get something precious out of those.. admittedly at times.. dumb decisions.”

the answer receives applause that resonates throughout the entire studio. calista’s bottom lip juts out as she jokes, “can i keep everyone here in my pocket? you all are so sweet to me and nana.”

“you’d need a very big pocket for that.” naeva giggles even more when the determined female looks past the cameramen and clasps her hands, “please nayoung unnie! pretty please!”

to be continued.. 

THE HEART’S REFLECTION : NAEVA !

👤 : who is your best friend?

“how do you define a ‘best friend’?” she wonders, looking over to calista for guidance. of course the older girl readily provides it, “it’s someone who, among your friends, you’re closest to.”

“then that’d be solon. he’s always there for me no matter what. when i need to talk to someone about something, he’s ready to listen. or if i’m confused about a certain subject, he’ll break it down so i can understand. he’s quite protective too—nowadays, i rarely ever go to the sea without him or jino accompanying me.”

“it sounds like he really cares about you.” calista approves before gesturing to the camera. “why don’t you leave a message for him, just in case he watches this.”

naeva shifts in her seat and beams warmly. “thank you nono, i really appreciate everything you do for me. i’ll always do the same for you so please don’t be afraid to approach me.”

👤 : what is your favorite subject at school?

“i have two, but one isn’t an official subject, is it okay to mention both of them?”

when one is so polite and soft-spoken, how can the crew say no? 

translation: of course it’s okay, anything and (almost) everything is okay when it’s for naeva the sweetheart.

“i really like creative writing. there’s something enjoyable in being able to unleash your imagination on a piece of paper, as well as stirring ideas around to see what can be made out of them. at the same time though, i enjoy after school because nightball practice occurs at that time, and it’s pretty much one of the few occasions i get to see my friends together so that time is really important to me.”

👤 : does it feel like you don't fit in sometimes?

similar to her human counterpart, the hybrid hesitantly nods and strains her rosy lips to show a smile. “yes there is. it’s not easy being a supernatural creature, let alone being the offspring of a common and rare species. maybe that’s why i don’t have much friends outside of the brothers and sooha—everyone else is scared that i may use my allure on them.”

naeva falls silent shortly after that, her head hung low as she stares at her lap. it only lasts for at least 30 seconds before she hastily fixes her posture and rubs her palms against her skirt.

“i don’t mind it that much, my little group is more than enough for me. they may have different personalities, and sometimes they hang my sanity over the edge of no return, but none of them have ever made me feel like i don’t deserve to be in decelis; like i don’t deserve to have them as my friends. they trust me, and that’s what makes me happy.”

👤 : are you and sooha friends?

“yes we are!” the excited lilt in her voice makes everyone’s hearts flutter; some even acting like they got struck by cupid’s arrow. she doesn’t notice as she’s busy rolling up her sleeve to reveal the beaded bracelet sitting snug on her wrist. “unless my memory’s foggy, we made each other matching bracelet during our first girls’ night. granted, we live in the same dorm building, but we hadn’t really been able to hang out one on one until then.”

out of the blue, a sheepish aura begins to surround the student. “don’t get us wrong, we love our other friends but..”

“..but it’s nice to have a girl friend to spend time with, discuss and do things you can’t do with guys?” calista guesses, though the twinkle in her syrup-tinted irises says she’s far too familiar with naeva’s struggle.

“exactly! she also doesn’t use me as an armrest or suddenly leap on me to get a piggyback ride so my head and back manage to get a well-deserved break.”

what an.. interesting taste in furniture and transportation..?

👤 : what is your biggest secret?

“if i tell you then it won’t be a secret anymore, right?” she jests, the apples of her cheeks lightly heating up when her joke is met with laughter and agreement. “i’ll tell you a wish of mine.

when i was younger, i met this boy, and he became my friend for a day. i don’t recall much about him—just that his eyes were so pretty, i felt like i was staring into the sun, and he had a tendency to give more than he should.”

her fingers instinctively rose to her necklace; specifically, the silver pendant that hung on the middle. with nostalgia injected in her smile, she summarizes, “if i ever meet him again, i’d like to thank him for showing me that even if the world turns its back on me, there will always be someone waiting for me with open arms.”

👤 : are you a day or night person?

“oh, i’ll have to think thoroughly about that one.”

how to think thoroughly and look cute while doing it, according to naeva:

first, play with your sleeve while you ponder about it. next, begin to mentally compare the pair of times. finally, snap your fingers as you come to a satisfying conclusion.

“i’ll say night because that’s when my mind’s will to be productive is at its peak. i mean, i do manage to complete tasks during the day, but it tends to feel like i’m fighting tiredness while doing so. meanwhile, when the moon is hanging above me, i have so much energy that i genuinely enjoy the things i do like watch the nightball practice, practice writing a novel, play around by the sea—those kinds of activities.”

at the end of her explanation, she notices the look of awe some of the crew are giving her. while she attempts to ignore the urge to curl into herself, she meekly asks, “did i say something wrong?”

“have you ever considered becoming a rapper?” someone pipes up.

..hiding her face behind her hands shall suffice for now.

👤 : have you ever wished that, even if it was temporary, you could be normal?

“yeah, definitely, but that’s in the past. i’ve stopped caring about people’s impossible ideals, and now i’m content with who i am.”

it’s not hard to tell—not when she speaks confidently and exudes it. of course, calista sounds like she supports the ‘younger’ girl.

“i like that you mentioned embracing yourself, regardless of whether you fit others’ definition of ‘normal’ or not. at the end of the day, the only opinion that matters is your own, so be kind to yourself. never be afraid to be your own monarch.”

be your own monarch — naeva & calista, 2023

👤 : do you have a crush?

naeva purses her lips and looks at everything but the cameras. the mannerism doesn’t fall short on calista’s radar, and her lips curl into a cheshire smile.

“who is it~?” she playfully prods efore leaning closer to the blushing girl. “you can whisper it to me if you’d like.”

lavender tresses momentarily create a halo around naeva before they fall against her back once more. she hastily explains, “it’s just a silly little infatuation, i’ll get over it sooner or later.”

“let’s check in later to see about that..”

all of a sudden, there’s a sly kitty and bashful puppy in the studio.

👤 : what are your abilities?

“i have quite a few, yet the most notable is imitation. what that means is i can copy others’ abilities and use them how ever i wish.” naeva recites it without much thought, it sounds like she’s explained it before.

her companion hums, thoughtfully nodding along. “you mentioned allure before, is it okay to explain what that entails?”

“oh yes, i have this special song that when heard, lowers a person’s guard enough for me to take control of their mind.” her voice falls a little towards the end as she adds, “but i swear i’ve never used it unless absolutely necessary, like in a battle.”

calista pats the lavender-haired girl’s armrest, a small gesture of assurance. despite that already being enough, she tells her, “we believe you.”

👤 : heli or jino?

the girls share a look of confusion before one falls into a stream of laughter. it doesn’t matter if she covers her mouth, everyone can tell calista’s gigging at the question. on the other hand, a mortified naeva slouches in her seat and stares up at the sky.

fly high naeva’s spirit!

once she’s calmed down, calista can’t help but note, “that’s such a random question, what on earth..” 

“it’s not when you know someone who’d definitely ask this.” naeva mumbles, the face of a certain troublemaker immediately popping in her mind. but before she can begin plotting what to do with the culprit, she recalls the question. 

she thinks about saying the name of the boy with the pretty golden eyes; the boy who’d stay up with her, talking about everything and nothing while her lithe fingers played with his ebony tresses..

“jino. in terms of people i’m close to, he’s right on solon’s heels. even though he can’t be near water, he always comes with me to the sea to make sure i’m safe. whenever i don’t feel good about myself, he’s popping out of thin air to dispel the negativity.” 

she wanted to say more, but the words don’t get past the tip of her tongue. instead, she beams with a crescent eyed smile.

“to my candlelight, let’s stay together forever, okay?”

“we have made it, thanks for sticking around ‘til the end!” calista bows in gratitude, her companion shortly following suit.

“if you enjoyed this episode, please tap the like button..” naeva send a glance to calista to check if she’s doing the outro right and gets a thumbs up in return. “then subscribe to this channel if you’d like to see more, thank you.”

“this was enhypen and pandora’s calista..” 

“accompanied by naeva..”

“..and we flipped your heart.”

taglist : @stealanity​ @lost-leopard-beanie​ @annoyingbitch83​ @starmaniic​ — send an ask / dm to be added !

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Part 2 of my Eri and Overhaul Splurge (I accidentally cut my split my theory in half)

This also means Shigaraki might be Eri’s adopted big brother (The ‘Scariest’ Sibling relationship in BNHA)

And if you notice, Eri has white hair and red eyes (Her mother was shown to also have white hair, but who’s to say that wasn’t supposed to keep you off?)

And because of All for One’s Quirk, he has some expectation that his offspring will have devastating Quirks as well (If not then he also expects that as well)

There’s also the factor that if any of his offspring don’t reach his expectations and don’t do what he wants then he’ll also kill them regardless (Like a Narcissist Parent who manipulates to get what he wants but will show hostility, even abuse if he doesn’t get what he wants)

All for One probably didn’t have any interest in Eri because she didn’t show a useful quirk (As she just made someone vanish) and her whereabouts became unknown but he didn’t care what happened to her (As he cared more about Shigaraki and his development than some missing offspring)

Because while he likes to and is good at hiding his tracks, he also gives me vibes that he doesn’t really care nor concerned about any missing ‘loose ends’

However, if he learns just what kind of devastation Eri can make because of her Quirk then he’s ‘Excited’ and wants to meet his ‘Daughter’

He would probably become very obsessed and almost Yandere-like (But Platonically) over her since she reminds him of his little brother

He would think of Eri as one of his Possessions because he MADE her, meaning she belongs to him and no one else (He’s not going to make the same mistake twice)

He would find it amusing how ‘soft’ he is for his child (He would be shocked for just a moment when he notices how similar Eri’s eyes are to his brother)

All for One wants Eri to see him as her whole world and no one is allowed to take her away from him

If All for One is Eri’s Father then that also makes Shigaraki Eri’s ‘Brother’

This also means One for All is Eri’s Uncle and in a way, Deku is her brother (Including those who are also All for One’s Successors also being her Family)

Heh, All Might is Eri’s Grandfather/Great Uncle (It’s cute)

Though this makes All for One very scornful since these ‘Pests’ are trying to take one of his ‘Possessions’ (Eri) again

All for One would be amazed with Eri’s Quirk since it’s Devastating in a different kind of way (A ‘Heroic’ Quirk that’s actually Villainous in disguise)

I wouldn’t put this past All for One to do evil and cruelty on this scale (As he desires to be the ‘Demon King’, so that means he’s done all crimes and actions of unspeakable Evil during his time alive) so who’s to say he wouldn’t make offspring for his whims (Or even ‘Boredom’) for his own goals/amusement

However, I think Eri would be the most horrified because she might go back to her old thinking, as she’s not just a ‘Cursed Human’ but a ‘Monster’ and she’s the child of a Demon (And wonder why was she even born at all)

If this is actually true (Not all of it, but my theory that Eri is All for One’s Biological Daughter, or even his descendant) I will be shocked since this makes Eri even more important and give an ever deeper relationship between Eri and Deku (Since this technically makes them family, along with All Might, Nana Shimura and even Shigaraki)

This means that the One for All Users are technically family with All for One (It’s in a loop between AFO and OFA, then Nana Shimura and Shigaraki, and branches out to All Might and Deku)

All for One takes Quirks, One for All gives Quirks, Shigaraki can decay anything he touches and Eri can rewind anything she touches (Parallels between Father/Uncle and now Brother/Sister)

However, Eri’s Power is both

Just to clarify, I thought about this from a weird dream I had with Eri running away constantly from ‘Bad People’ (And there was also Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog??) If I ever dream it’s always weird and bizarre

I have late night thoughts about a lot series like this, about what-ifs that could happen in a series. This is actually an astute observation- with Eri being one of AFO's descendants, as it would make sense on why her quirk is so heavily sought after by those who know what it can do and while Dadzawa and the rest of UA is so intent on keeping her safe.

I could see Shigaraki being that kind of scary big brother, if Deku manages to save him and get through to him, if they are actually biologically related. However, I could see him being that kind of rough big brother, who doesn't like anyone but is soft on her, but don't mention it or he will deny it and get defensive.

The worldbuilding and lore behind BNHA is vast, and I wouldn't put it past the author to pull something like this.

This was an enjoyable and eye opening read.

Thank you for this!

[f0xgl0v3]

Main character Camp Jupiter Fatal Flaws Hc/General thoughts!

!!kind of Spoilers for ToA!!

Idk how long this will take to write; but this is my wild speculation on a lot of the Camp Jupiter characters (from HoO, haven’t read ToA yet) fatal flaws! This is all my opinion (that has been shaped by my personal interpretation and totally is all just my speculation and my interpretation not based on how uncle Rick has shown us how fatal flaws -especially in the earlier series- chooses to pick fatal flaws) I’ll do a part 2 for other Camp Jupiter character when I’m not tired because right now I’m struggling through writing Hazel’s part and I’m tired because I go to sleep at like 8:30 pm like a grandma on most days,

Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano,

I’ll be honest, I don’t have very strong opinions on Reyna; I read her in BoO and she’s interesting (though much of what I remember from her chapters were just the insane moment when Hylla chucked a car at Orion)

She just doesn’t stand out to me. In the nicest way possible, I don’t care much about her; I like the whole Venus thing, and that she ends up joining the huntresses (at the beginning when I heard it I didn’t like it too much, possibly a mixture of my own dislike for this interpretation of Artemis; while I was reading tTC I don’t know why but Artemis just annoyed me a bit, along with Zoë, though I don’t fully know why I didn’t like the huntresses to begin with, I just found them a little annoying- ig? Maybe they brought up childhood embarrassment from kindergarten long story but now I’ve grown to… tolerate their Riordan interpretation; maybe this will change by the time I read ToA. Maybe it’s just a mixture of characters I find mildly annoying- I honestly don’t like canon Thalia that much either, she’s okay, but just isn’t my taste. If anyone wants to know characters I like more that give me similar vibes are Hylla, Clarisse, Annabeth, etc.)

Okay this is supposed to be about Reyna-

I just don’t think about her very much.

But her fatal flaw-

Hubris? Guilt? Could be either of those, and my argument for either will of course be very opinion-based and not very well explained or evidence backed up; as that’s not what this page does and when I would ever put evidence and an actual argument in here is if it was about why Michael Varus totally idolized ancient Heroes (this is my hc, and is meant as a comedic example. I have no idea why that needed to be clarified, but I already typed it-)

But Hubris; whenever I think of Reyna’s choices specifically, I think of the lack of opinions she gets on doing it, or when she gets those opinions- the general disregard for those opinions if they give genuine concern and it’s not fitting in with what’s she’s decided to do,

Now this may just be because she’s in a leadership role and we are meant to see her as determined and choosing what she believes is best for the legion (Which in HoO is what I really can see objectively)

I also just see her as a little stubborn; may just be my read on it.

Guilt; the second option I think of when thinking of her fatal flaw; because we don’t exactly know if heroes in PJO are just given the fatal flaw along with their destiny at birth and then left to deal with it, or if they’re developed- from what we know I’ll operate with the assumption that Demigods develop their fatal flaws some time during childhood-

So I think when we hear about Reyna having this overwhelming guilt of committing Patricide on her father; I could see a lot of her worst flaw being that guilt; making her unsure and trepidatious (is that the right word? Hopefully) about making choices, second-guessing all of her decisions to think if she’s doing the right thing, stuff like that. Much more head-cannoney, but I like it; maybe it’s just angsty and after reading the chariot race in the Iliad after Patroclus’s death I need some actual recovery from the whiplash I experienced.

Overall; Reyna, don’t love her, don’t hate her. Love her dogs though, would let Aurum and Argentum eat me <3

Jason Grace

I’m talking about my boy!! Or, my other boy :]

He might be my 3rd favorite pjo character, though I’m not sure if that’s just because I need to somewhat redeem myself by not having 3 villains in a row be my favorites (if anyone would know, Caligula, Commodus, Lityerses, Clarisse, or Beckendorf could also easily steal 3rd place. But Luke and Octavian still sit ever revolving around 1st and 2nd place)

His chapters may be the hardest things to read through; only possibly beaten by the Iliad’s battle scene number 2748 where we talk about the 3rd dude whose head is bashed in with a rock, and listing of every Achaean. I still think he’s fun

Easily one of my favorites out of the seven (Frank, Hazel, Percy, and Annabeth all make it to my ‘I have a very positive opinion of them’. Love Leo and Piper; but Piper’s chapters were more of a slog to get through and I feel very neutral to negative about her, and Leo is fun but I don’t care about him too much- sorry guys, but Frank is cooler B])

Albino Afro-Latino Jason is my headcanon and I stand on my hill to die on it

He has sharp wolf teeth because I said so too-

Chews on things

Burnt out special kid for my heart-

I feel like his fatal flaw (which I mind everyone cannonically is ‘temptation to deliberate’ or as the wiki describes it because I don’t feel my interpretation as ‘indecisive and not wanting to make a choice that stands with one particular group,)

But my headcanon is his fatal flaw being Loyalty^^

This man drops everything for Piper; gives up his life in Camp Jupiter (which to be fair; he didn’t remember very well)

Takes the way worse choice of having to stay in the creepy Zeus cabin to be with her

And from what I heard he continues this record in ToA!

Even more traits of extreme to detrimental loyalty than Percy tbh-

So I think his thing is loyalty. The first few chapters of BoO is Jason coming to another near-death experience by the hands of a Roman and the ravaged soul of his mother while he outright rejects his Roman life for the Greeks- I think, BoO feels a little like a feverdream in my head so I don’t remember all of the specifics or my thoughts about it at the time I read it.

But I love this silly little skrunkle wolf kid. He also had piercings, and in my heart he didn’t die- what are you talking about?

Overall; love him, don’t know how much I like him in proportion to every other character I also like (Disco Darrin forever guys😎)

Frank Zhang

You guys see that I’m trying to get the Mc’s out of the way to then get to the things I like (talking about random side characters)

But Frank; he is so cute, I love him, he gets a nice hug.

Uhhhh, I don’t have much things about him

He tried playing hockey. That’s my goopy half-formed idea, I’ll probably have more of a story to that once I like actually can get one finger out of the side character train of thought to actually give Main characters some attention

I didn’t think of his fatal flaw going into this so this is my first draft of what I think Frank’s Fatal Flaw is,

The canon is low self-esteem, which may I say, after MoA is just like- dropped in HoO; I don’t remember many times where he was unsure of himself and that directly caused a detriment to the group (might be wrong because I finished SoN in a day and did that on like June 2nd this year so I’m rusty guys-)

But I feel bold, so I’m gonna say- not wrath, but some form of anger-related Fatal flaw,

Now; in SoN, self-esteem probably fits. But through MoA and beyond I remember notable moments in my brain of Frank and a very quick potent release of anger, or things related to anger and that emotional profile (is that right? Or uh, what I mean is like Anger being the umbrella term for all of the subcategories that we use to describe types of anger)

So I think that being Frank’s fatal flaw; having to go in a back and forth between not letting his anger bubble up and thinking that’s bad and watching as it comes up in fiery bursts feels fitting. Though I’m a little tired so it’s not my finest explanation

Hazel Levesque

I don’t have much ideas or opinions on the fandoms horse girl

I like her though, she’s rad

But uh

No thoughts on her

Hazel’s fatal flaw cannonically is her past. Which I kind of get; but Fatal flaws like originally were at least meant to be like actual flaws in the Og myths if I remember (Odysseus had Hubris; also his lying thing which was probably an offshoot of Hubris, but I just find that so funny for no reason-)

Hazel; honestly I don’t feel like I know her well enough to say for sure a fatal flaw for her based on her actions.

I would say impulsivity or recklessness but something in my brain is saying that might not be fully correct and I’m sure there’s plenty of options where she is not shown as reckless or impulsive

It is something that is to do with both her Gaea uprising #1 block, and saving her mother from the fields of punishment.

I’ll get back to you guys on a separate post

I’m tired so goodnight everyone^^ I’ll get back to my musings tomorrow, or another date

Goodnight!!

[newgenog]

REVENGE

Notes: I'm not done guys, but I'm making progress! 😭 So, I'm claiming it. This is the last teaser from chapter seven, dammit. 

If you're just stumbling across this, and haven't already done so, please stop and start by reading chapter one. 

This #Batwoman AU is based on the ABC tv series #Revenge. Ryan Wilder had just about everything taken from her when we met her, and she was doing her best to get it back. In this version of the story, that means taking some people down along the way. And, she's definitely no hero.

It's getting really hard to find teasers that won't spoil the fun too much. But, I can't leave you guys hanging. You've been holding me down for too long...I feel like we're really in this together!

So, thanks for the patience and good vibes, and happy teaser reading.

CHAPTER SEVEN SNEAK PEEK

Ryan sees Tommy Elliot standing in front of the chrome elevator doors, waiting for them to open and presumably take him to the same place she's headed. She doubts Kate’s expecting him, because she didn’t mention being double booked. And, even though Kate’s primary purpose in Ryan’s life is to get her access to the people who took her young life from her, to Robyn Wilde, Kate has become a close confidant. So, Tommy will need to quickly clarify if he’s here as friend or foe.

Ryan: “Surprise visit?”

Tommy tries to fight back the unexpectedness of hearing Robyn's voice with a small smirk. 

Tommy: “Kate’s used to my drop-ins…She’s had plenty of visits from me.” 

Ryan: “Because someone tolerates a lack of boundaries doesn’t mean they prefer them.” 

Tommy: “We’ve always had a very candid relationship. I’m sure she’d tell me if she wanted me to do something differently.” 

Ryan: “Fair enough. I have no doubt Kate’s the honest one in your friendship.” 

The doors open, and Jacob Kane is standing inside of the elevator. Neither of them walks into it, right away.

Jacob: “Tommy! It’s been a while…"

Tommy: “Yes, sir. It has been a while. It’s not the same without you around the house.”

Jacob: "Yes, well, hopefully I’ll be back soon… And, Robyn is it?”

Ryan nods, and offers a small smile as he steps out.. 

Jacob: “Do you both have a meeting with Kate?”

Ryan: ”I do, and I have to get back to Luke right after. So, I should head up.”

Tommy: “I was in the area and thought I’d stop in to see my friend.”

Jacob: “Well, if you have a moment, I’d like a word.” 

Tommy: “Sure…” 

Ryan takes the opportunity to get a head start, hitting the button to the top floor, and smirking at Tommy as the doors close in front of him.  

~~~~~

Ryan: “You’ve got company, and it isn’t just me.”

Kate: “Wow! Busy day. Who else is coming up?”

Ryan: “Oh, just your bestie.” 

Kate frowns, and then remembers.

Kate: “You don’t mean Tommy?”

Ryan: “Oh, but I do…”

Kate: “Okaaay…this should be interesting. Did you see him checking in, or something?”

Ryan: “Actually, he was here before me, but your dad wanted to talk to him, so I came up to warn you.”

Kate: “Thanks for that, and while I'm at it, thanks for the connection to Julia. My dad came by to tell me about their meeting, and to check on things with Luke… and apologize.” 

Ryan nods, trying to limit her words in reaction to Jacob Kane’s organization’s part in making Luke unconscious.  

Ryan: “So, are things going to work out with her?”

Kate: “I think so…but I also think he’s about to keep her pretty busy. I hope that’s not going to interfere with anything you needed.” 

Ryan: “So far, my stuff has been pretty easy. Simple contracts. I just wanted someone I knew I could trust involved. I can wait for her.” 

The elevator doors chime, and Tommy walks through them. Ryan glances over her shoulder, briefly and then takes her seat at Kate's desk. He tries not to be ruffled by her presence and smiles wide at Kate.

Tommy: "Kate…I've missed you."

Kate: "What are you doing here, Tommy? Shouldn't you be somewhere worshiping Catherine and trying to fast forward through the corporate ladder?"

Tommy: "I did start my internship yesterday, and it's great so far, thanks for asking."

Kate stares at him, already completely over his audacity. 

Kate: "So you're not here to make amends, but to gloat?"

He glances down at Robyn who hasn't looked back at him. He hates that she's here, and would much rather do this privately. But he made a commitment to Catherine and Evan. So, he decides to make an example out of her presence instead.

Tommy: "You're upset because I wasn't more honest, right? Consider this me turning over a new leaf."

Kate: "Seriously Tommy, as you can see, I'm busy. So, whatever you came for, can you get to it already?"

Tommy: "Okay, I can see your sense of humor is on limited supply, so I’ll cut straight to it. We’ve been friends for a long time, and I don’t want my recent behavior to ruin that. And, in the spirit of being more forthcoming, I’ll add that I was present when you texted Evan. I’m concerned that what’s been going on with us has had an impact on the two of you. I don’t want them caught in the middle, so if there’s anything I can do to improve our situation, let me know."

Kate looks down at Robyn, who she hasn’t shared the full story with, but who has been more supportive lately than her supposed best friend. Robyn looks back as if to say, ‘this choice is all yours.’

Kate: “I have a friend in the hospital, and my family is a wreck. I really don’t need any more drama in my life.” 

Tommy: “I was hoping you’d feel that way.” 

Kate: “Let me finish. If you’re going to be in my life, I’m going to need you to bring something positive to it. From where I stand, you’ve been using us and judging us, all at the same time. And because you’re my friend, I would have helped you if you’d just been honest with me. But because I’m your friend, and it seems you’re going through a hard time right now, which has evidently made you bitter and desperate, I’m going to forgive you. I don’t forget though, and I’m not huge on repeat chances. So this is it. I can’t really handle another thing…” 

Tommy drops his head, because that dig stung, but he’s also not surprised that she’d take the chance to get a lick in. He’s getting his way, and if that means he has to take a small verbal beating for them to move forward, he needs to find a way to do that. When his eyes return to hers, his expression is amicable. 

Tommy: “Understood. I’ll limit the drama. But you know us divas come with a little extra pizzazz.” 

Kate shakes her head, accepting his agreement, knowing that’s probably the best she’ll get from him. 

Kate: “Is there anything else…? I think we’ve kept Robyn waiting long enough.” 

Tommy: “Right. You two have a party to plan?”

Kate: “A fundraiser, but it’ll be a good time.” 

Ryan completely distrusts Tommy. She can tell he’s fishing, but if Kate wants to indulge him as a way to mend their bond, she doesn’t want to be outwardly discouraging. So when Kate smiles down at her, she simply grins back.

Tommy: “You’ve got the best in Gotham helping you with your plans, but if there’s anything I can do…” 

Kate: “I doubt Catherine is going to share two people from her team with us.” 

Tommy: “After all you’ve done for me, I’d figure out how to manage.” 

Kate: “I appreciate the offer.” 

Tommy: “Well, I’ll leave you to it, but maybe we can get a drink or dinner soon?” 

Kate: “We can do that…” 

Tommy nods, and then turns to leave. When they hear the elevator doors close, they give each other exasperated looks. Then Ryan shifts hers to one of sympathy. 

Ryan: “You okay?”

Kate: “Are you? Is okay even within the realm of possibility right now?”

Ryan: “I guess not…which makes me want to say thank you, again, for still wanting to do this right now.” 

Kate: “No, really, I’m grateful. It’s good to do something…good. I think Luke would prefer it too.” 

If only Kate knew how true that was. Luke has committed too much of himself to Ryan for her to squander his time and efforts because he wasn’t in shape enough to help her. If ever there was a time to rise to the occasion, and show how much she valued him, it was now. Kate’s gaze shifts to one of greater concern, and Ryan wonders if she’s shown too many of her cards.

Kate: “Can I ask you something off the cuff?”

~~~~~

To be continued...

What's Kate going to ask Ryan about? 😁 See you next week (ideally with a finished chapter)! 🤞🏽 Support the Writer and Actor strikes. #wgastrike #sagaftrastrike #StopCancellingDiverseShows

[undercoverxs]

mik09to oh man, i swear, it's like you hopped out of my brain and brought out all the stuff ive been rambling and mulling over to my friend for the past week! it's so cool to see folks with similar thoughts and observations like this, from the imeeji thing to the potential of there being more than just one alter in his system! :D

mik09to also no worries at all, sorry for the confusion! you got the orekoto thing completely correct - my bad for not clarifying!

mik09to would love to know when you think his eyes feel fake, since im super curious on other takes on it 👁 im chewing on the possibility of a third too, since im conflicted between "its just mikoto and orekoto and im overthinking the duality motif" vs "the duality motif is a red herring and meant to make you think theres only 2"; lots of thoughts on this, but im definitely rambling enough as is. sorry for blowing up your notifs!

(( no I’m so happy to be indulged!! I’ve been able to talk with friends about it too, but I feel that it’s s o nice to find people outside the bubble with these thoughts!!

And man y e ah, the duality thing seems....... I don’t know how to take it. From my understandings, it seems way more common to have far more than two in a system. But from a writer’s perspective, especially with such limited screentime, I couldn’t blame them for keeping it minimal, especially if they’re trying to be true to life in other aspects. So the duality aesthetics, calling the next song “Double,” like... are you trying to mislead us or really just doing two......... Or, could... Mikoto and Orekoto be trying to get our attention off the third..?

I have.......... way too many thoughts on the possibilities with this song. I’ll go under readmore to feel a little cleaner

So, my idea of three first came from reading the song as though everyone in the system has a section to themselves. Operating on that, I wanted to separate them by music style--

First comes the heavy metal style, and we watch the murder. Keeping in mind the voice drama, and going with the idea that “Mikoto” is the murderer, this calls the desire to link this style of music to him.

But then we get this music, and we get the pleas to look at him more closely, and just... this doesn’t really match the vibe Orekoto gave off, yknow? But, maybe it’s just an act, by him or mikoto. But-- who exactly would this act be for? And how? With every other prisoner, even if they try to put on airs, it feels more like it’s because they themselves buy into those airs, at least a little. It still reflects something genuine in them. With the nature of extractions, it doesn’t seem like it should be possible, for the songs themselves to purposefully look es/the audience in the eye and say “No, no, that isn’t true.”

I've thought about the possibility that this is still Mikoto, though-- and rather than pleading to reconsider that he’s a killer, the possibility came up that he could be.. unaware that he’s part of a system? And begging “It must be a mistake, take a good look at me”, could instead be denial to that fact? Maybe, it’s on the table for me.

Bu t back to the three person theory-- uhhh I’ll refer to this one as ‘Aokoto’ :>

So. Whoever this is, we don’t get to see their eyes the first time this scene comes up, besides the first time they open them. Hard to read from that. But sort of plays into the added theory at the end of this post--

The second time it goes back to this motif-- my girlfriend jus t pointed this out like last night I love her It follows the mirror scene, and there’s...

One-- who’s in the mirror

Two-- who’s head bows

Three...?

The one in the mirror changed expressions far too quickly, and the one closer to us isn’t making that expression; if it were his reflection, his thumb should be reflected too..?

We come back to blue, and he falls back-- This look of horror feels genuine. Again, maybe it could be Mikoto, simply unaware and being confronted with his DID-- Or could be Aokoto, being confronted with everything.

As the water goes red, if we assume it’s blood/representation of the murder, then.... Well, if Mikoto killed someone, and Orekoto was cleaning up the mess, then they both would be pretty well aware, right? So what’s this expression for?

We cut to him in the bath, washing off the blood. An air around him that reads more like Orekoto to me, but I digress-- We go back to blue.

And here.

These eyes feel fake.

I don’t know what exactly it is about it-- his eyes, expression, movement, but here, all I can read as genuine about him is desperation, to sweep it all under the rug, to convince. Maybe it’s Aokoto trying to convince himself. Maybe it’s Mikoto or Orekoto trying to convince you.

Personally, I feel like it’s Mikoto now, but that’s just personal vibes. I think Mikoto puts on the act, loosely mimicking Aokoto’s sweeter presence

then drops it, issuing a sort of warning,

and Orekoto comes in at the very end, telling us that we’re done now.

.

.

.

Maybe. I don’t know. I wish I knew a single thing about tarot cuz that might help.

But, my friends and I have been toying with the idea that Aokoto may have split off right after the murder-- An alter that’s meant to carry no stress at all, giving the body a few moments to just relax... Maybe? but that part’s not based on anything besides. there’s probably a lot of stress wrapped up in this boy.

-- Ah, I’m also leaning toward the idea that it was Aokoto who spoke for the first part of their interrogation with Es-- There could have been an act there too of course, but at times he just sounded... too genuinely confused, scared? It makes one wonder.

[graftisms]

JOSHUA & CHARLENE — DAY THIRTY-FOUR

location :   afternoon / poolside 

featuring :   @guttcd​

JOSH

josh makes a mental note to pull charlene when there's other people around—not for witnesses, so she won't try to cause a scene that way. they haven't spoken since he had been so confident about naomi, confidence that clearly wasn't misguided, but apparently had been enough to seem like he was bragging about her? josh hadn't meant to come off braggy... or if he did, it wasn't totally on purpose. finding the girl sunbathing on a pool chair, he comes over and stands right in front of the sun, blocking her light.  "hey," he says, a little cautiously, "can we talk for a second?"

CHARLENE

Charlene has her eyes closed, not realizing that someone is standing in front of her until she hears a voice. Confusion flashes across her face but is then replaced by one of annoyance the moment she opens her eyes and realizes who’s blocking her light. What now? “Nah dude. I’m good.” Josh is right about Charlene not wanting to make a scene but not because people around them might witness it. She would just rather keep working on her suntan rather than get into it with him.  She was only a passenger on the Naomi and Josh shit train for like, a day, and yet she finds herself so astronomically done with the both of them. How do Jenny and Dylan manage to remain the bigger person? Maybe this just says more about how petty Charlene can be. “So can you like, move? You’re totally killing my vibe right now.” What the hell do they even have to talk about? The weather?

JOSH

ugh, of course she would do this. is there not a single person in this villa that can turn off the drama for five minutes? maybe he should just take the L and walk away, but josh isn't used to being dismissed so quickly. so yeah, he stays where he is, arms folding over his chest but staying strong in his stance. she had to know his offer was rhetorical. "fine, i'll make it fast," he continues anyway. "just wanted to say i'm sorry for how it all worked out. i mean, that you got involved and are now sleeping alone. even though you told naomi i was bragging to you, i really didn't mean it like that." really, this is nice of josh to apologize at all--if she were a man, he probably wouldn't be giving them any courtesy. but with his two biggest rivals in the villa finally gone, josh would like to take this opportunity to have some sort of fresh start. as little arguments as possible. starting now... or later, depending how charlene responds.

CHARLENE

She props her upper body up with her elbows, letting out a sigh of defeat when he refuses to step away. “I didn’t say you were bragging.” She clarifies. “I said that you were acting super confident about the possibility of you two getting back together. Which… I now see why.” Literally didn’t even last a day. Pathetic. “She really didn’t put up much of a fight did she?” Charlene can’t help the scoff that escapes her as she says that, though it’s mostly to mask how embarrassed she is by the whole ordeal. At the fact that she was stupid enough to think that she stood a fair chance when  it’s clear ( to her lol ) now that Naomi was too dick whipped to actually give her one.  “I don’t have a problem with you. You weren’t the one that decided to lead me on and Naomi already apologized about that so…” she shrugs, like what can you do? . “Thank you. For telling me the truth about that night. I doubt you did it to look out for me but still. I really don’t like liars so you don’t have to pretend like you’re sorry about how things worked out. You knew this was going to happen, the least you can do is not bullshit me, yeah?” Charlene can’t bring herself to actually believe his words to be honest. Thinks that he’s only apologizing to give himself a nicer edit for the cameras. If he’s looking to clear the air then he’s going to have to do better than just say a simple sorry. Does he think he’s talking to Naomi? 

JOSH

by now he doesn't even remember what naomi had tried to use against him when she had mentioned charlene and josh's last conversation, mostly because it no longer really matters. none of what him and charlene talked about is relevant anymore, really, though charlene pointing that out makes his lips press together to hide a smile or grimace. he feels a little bit of both right now: smug that he got what he wanted, but not loving that it was the at the expense of someone else. but really, what did this girl expect? had she not watched the show? he finds it hard to believe naomi wouldn't have mentioned him at all during casa... though on second thought, maybe it's best not to go there. "i don't think she meant for it to happen like that." suddenly sheepish, josh slinks into the chair beside her, rubbing the back of his neck. "i mean... okay, that came out wrong. i'm not sorry how it went down, obviously, because i'm happy the way it did, but i'm sorry that you had to get involved, really. i've just had enough drama in this villa, not getting along with people who have a problem with me, and i'd just like us to be cool. i mean, you're still here, right? that's gotta count for something. it was probably for the best she brought you back, so now you can have a shot at finding someone else." always the strategist, josh has to think that charlene getting sacked off by naomi must give her a decent edit—and clearly people don't hate her, if they got enough votes to be safe last night. there's bound to be more bombshells any day now, and right now charlene's the most single, which means they'll be going straight to her.

CHARLENE

Him coming to Naomi’s defense earns another scoff from Charlene.  “Denial is a River in Egypt, dude. She knew what she was going to do the moment she felt like she had to come up with lies and excuses to see you.” She thinks back to the ones Naomi spewed as she tried to justify her going to the hideaway with him and  how annoyed she was by them. Charlene sits up fully when Josh takes a seat. “It sounds like you’re the common denominator if you really have all that drama surrounding you.” Though the very same could be said about her. Naomi was what, the fifth person to show interest in Charlene only to immediately take it back? What does that say about her? Maybe that she’s stupid for even bothering to stay in the villa. Pathetic for holding onto some scrap of hope that someone will come in for her. It sounds like Josh picked up on that too, only his version of it sounds a lot more logical than hers.   “Look —“ Index and thumb come up to pinch the bridge of her nose and she closes her eyes shit, taking  a deep breath to stop herself from letting her emotions get the best of her again. “It’s not your fault that I got involved. It’s not… really about that though. I knew that you guys had history and that she was going to like, talk to you about it. I was ready for that but Jesus Christ, dude. I was looking to build an actual connection. Not to be a part of some…  game.” Green eyes bore right into him now as she speaks. If she looks like she’s tired, that’s because she is.

“I know it’s for the best that she buckled as fast as she did but that doesn’t stop the fact that my ego took a major blow from it.” Her upper lip curls in a cringe, clearly uncomfortable with the fact that she said that out loud. ( Even though it was obvious lbr lol ) “I feel like a massive, pitiful idiot and now you want me to be cool? Rub some dirt on it and get over myself so you don’t have to feel like you’ve made another enemy or something?” Her words are harsh but they aren’t meant to attack. There’s a vulnerability behind them, maybe even a hope for Josh to understand where she’s coming from.  “I see you and I appreciate you trying to rationalize it. I am excited for the next bombshell and I’m hoping for things to work out better and that someone will come along to make this experience worth it” ‘Cus aside from the friends she has made, it has honestly been shit. “But I’m not going to like, be grateful that all I have is a ticket back when I wanted more. I deserved more.” She deserves love damn it! “Again, I don’t have a problem with you or anything but I’m not going to swallow my feelings for you when neither you nor Naomi bothered to consider them in the first place. Let me be bitter, bro. I’ll get over it on my own time.” She doubts they actually care for her sake though. Which is fine,  she doesn’t have the time to care about them either. Her focus is now set on trying to nurse her self confidence back to health.

JOSH

her childish remark back makes him laugh, shaking his head. is this chick for real? "i mean, it's not like she owed you anything," he points out. "and it's not like we were having a quickie before she got back into bed with you. we just talked for a bit, that's all." yeah, josh probably would be equally as annoyed as charlene is if he were in her position, but he's not. also naomi had made her choice not one but two nights ago, nearly half as long as charlene and naomi have known each other. surely she can't be this butthurt about it, can she? except apparently the answer is yes, from the serious way that charlene pinches her nose. a memory comes back to josh from a few weeks ago: jenny having only been in the villa for a few days, laughing about how serious josh seemed to take everything. and back then, he had been taking his time here very seriously, having just taken a good thing he had with naomi and thrown it in a dumpster fire after kissing jenny on impulse. it had annoyed him then that she couldn't see this place for what it was, something serious—and honestly, sometimes a mindfuck. but he can't help but feel a little like jenny in that situation now, trying not to look at charlene with three heads at she explains her problems. maybe if naomi and her had been together for at least a week he'd understand this, but if she seriously trying to make him and naomi out to be villains just because they inevitably got back together?

"alright," he says slowly after a few seconds pause, absorbing all of that. "well, you can be bitter all you want, but piece of advice? this is love island," he tells her, not unkindly. "there's a cash prize at the end of it. naomi wasn't trying to play you, but it is a game. it's not like you come here and there's magically your person, and you're happy and chill the rest of the time. give yourself time, damn." so much for not trying to make an enemy, but it sounds like charlene needs some tough love, because whoever she's friends with are clearly sparing her feelings. "the only thing you really have on your side in this place is time—time that naomi granted you by bringing you back, so you could meet more people and maybe one will be interested in you. and you'll be interested in them," josh adds. "not trying to be mean, just... keep your expectations in check. if you're going to feel like an idiot every time a relationship doesn't work here, then... maybe this isn't the place for you."

CHARLENE

“She owed me the truth at least.” Charlene is quick to correct. Her face is stuck almost in like a permanent cringe as she looks at him, the classic one that girls give men at the clubs when they give them unwanted attention. “Why are you telling me this now? You already got the girl — are you not content with that? Why are you hell-bent on making excuses for Naomi?” Fuck, maybe they really do deserve each other. She wonders if that's the appeal,  the two of them justifying the other so neither one of them ever has to feel bad about the shit they pull. “What, do you think I should go and apologize to her for breaking things off so soon? Maybe I should ask her to give me another chance or something since it sounds like you think that I’m unjustified in being upset.” So much for that apology of his. Now she’s certain he only said it to either clean his own conscience or try to look good for the cameras.

Keep your expectations in check… that was exactly  what Josh had told her during their last conversation and just like last time, it almost makes her want to cower away from him. "What do you care about how high my expectations are?" The rest of his words were harsh but she thinks that she might have had an easier time swallowing them if he didn’t keep adding those bits defending Naomi “So what, this is all a game to you? So you playing Jenny and Dylan and you fucking that girl in casa was all just... the name of the game? You’re sick if you think you can dismiss all the shit you guys pulled by simply calling it that. Are you two that broke to want the cash prize that bad?” Isn’t Naomi’s whole thing that she’s a rich nepo baby? “Whatever. That's a game you two can keep to yourself now. Ain't got nothing to do with me. Just...  don't act like Naomi’s lack of respect for herself and for me is something I'm supposed to be grateful for because it ‘bought me some time’ or whatever. That’s literally so rude.”  That maybe this isn't the place for you bit does get to her though, much more than she would care to admit to him right now. She has been having thought of those already so it wasn't exactly shocking but having Josh tell her that outright hurts in a way she thinks will keep her up tonight.

JOSH

"the truth about what? where she was for the thirty minute she wasn't in bed? did you ask her?" maybe having this conversation is a bad idea, considering josh barely knows anything about the charlene/naomi dynamic. "does it matter, anyway? would you have preferred her to break up with you two days later for me? i'm not making excuses for naomi," josh argues, incorrectly, "i just think that you're so busy pointing fingers at her for blame, when you're the one who came back with someone who had two guys waiting for her. i find it hard to believe that she would've brought you back without warning you, right?" by now he knows enough about how naomi's mind operates, giving her a fail-safe in the relationship before bringing someone back—so when this inevitably happened between him and naomi, she would be free from consequences. apparently she had chosen the world's most bitter casa bombshell, however. "no, i'm... i'm not saying you don't have a reason to be pissed," he backtracks, realizing how it sounds. "but i don't know. what are you going to do, avoid her the rest of the time you're here? you may as well work your shit out. nobody wants to be with someone hung up on someone they were with for two days."

god, he never should've called it a game. he can only imagine now the way this edit looks, trying to figure out how to dig himself out of this hole. "hey, don't bring jenny into this," he shoots her a dirty look, showing real annoyance for the first time this conversation. "that's not what i meant. the game is you couple up with someone or you leave, but you don't know my relationships—with naomi, jenny, anyone. stop acting like we're trying to pull a fast one over on you because naomi realized she'd rather be with me. i tried to warn you, and yet..." he trails off knowingly, giving her a look. josh is so sick of everyone calling his relationship with naomi a game, as if he enjoyed being dumped by her and trying to move on with jenny, only for that to crash and burn. he knows how he comes across around the villa by now, but he hates that people think of him as that cruel. "fine," he scoffs, rising to his feet. "i hope you're a little more charming than you are now when new people come in, otherwise you won't be lasting very long. but hey, good luck."

CHARLENE

“i did ask her and she told me that she was dealing with an upset stomach and just happened to run into you. not that she specifically sought you out. had me thinking you were stalking her or waiting outside of the restroom to ambush her or something.” to be fair, that was more charlene’s imagination running wild, finding it easier to blame josh for being creepy that to think that naomi was lying. “ i would have preferred for her to just tell me she wanted to get back with you instead of making me think that i actually stood a chance. if naomi had communicated to me that she was just looking for a fwb to make you sweat a little, i probably would have been down and it would have been fine – but she didn't and you just making excuses for her is like an extra slap to the face.” she thinks it makes him look dumb too and weirdly enough, that gives her some reassurance.  “you wanna know the truth josh?” she offers a humorless laugh, “i don’t think she brought your name up once. just kept saying that she had unfinished business, which i knew bits and pieces of. i told her i wanted her to pick me if she thought we could go somewhere. she said she would have me in mind when she made her decision. maybe that was just another lie.” charlene shrugs. “i’m not going to ignore her.” she clarifies, though it might be a little bit of a lie. “i’m still coupled up with her. i kind of have to talk to her. i’m not gonna pretend that i’m dying to be besties with her though. i’m minding my damn business. you’re the one that approached me. again. you got a little crush on me or something?” if he’s looking for a third, he’s going to have to put his name down on the waitlist lol.

his annoyance in her bringing up jenny makes her frown. “so either i should have known about your relationship or i dont know anything at all – which one is it?” he keeps saying one thing then following it up with something different.  “you weren’t the only person to warn me that she would go back to you. i just thought that she… i don’t know, would give you a harder time about it. enough for her to actually get to know me.” from what both naomi and josh have said, it sounds like she buckled on the first night. “ newsflash dude,  i have fucking feelings. you two might not give a shit about them but i do and i will not let you pretend like im not allowed to have them.” charlene doesn’t realize how tight her chest is until he stands up, looking like he's about to leave. The relief that hits her is almost instant and she relaxes into her chair. “ finally – go give your excuses to someone dumb enough to actually fall for them.” she turns her body to the side facing him and waves a hand in the air as if to shoo him away. his parting words bring her to smile, a bit amused by the idea that she wasn’t charming enough for him. poor josh. “sure, ill work on that. next time you want to apologize to someone, try to mean it, will you?"

[secondbetrayer]

so I want to talk specifically about the show’s characterisation of lyra compared to the book, and how this will be reflected in my writing of her to the best of my ability!

so I would say the main difference between book lyra and show lyra is a criticism I have seen: she’s not quite as feral in the show as she is in the books. she’s a bit more contained in how she acts, speaks, etc. lyra in the book is very wild because she was kind of just left to her own devices most of the time, whereas that same vibe isn’t always quite there in the show - though this is no fault of dafne’s!

for example in the amber spyglass book? in the scenes with mrs coulter in the cave, lyra and pan put up more of a fight even while drugged, to the point marisa ends up at one stage slapping lyra in annoyance and to try and get her to stop.

I try to reflect that more book level of feralness here. during the brief period where lyra is living as mrs coulter’s assistant, she might be a bit more toned down and polite because she will actively be toning herself down a bit to impress mrs coulter, who expects her to be more ladylike. but generally where appropriate I do try to write her to her full feralness. idk how well I always achieve it but I do intend to re-read the books at some point in 2023 - and regularly! - to refresh myself which will help.

and just to clarify: I love the show! like really love it, and really love dafne as lyra. this isn’t me trying to hate on it or her, so please don’t take it that way! I still think they got the heart of lyra down well for the most part and I will always hold the show adaptation dear to my heart for getting me to read the books and fully immersing me in Lyra’s world . this is merely a critique of something I adore, bc nothing is flawless!

sadly I think in the show, multiple characters got their teeth taken out a bit and while it certainly doesn’t make the portrayals or the show bad in my opinion - I think show gets the heart of the characters pretty well and I think they all have their moments where they feel exactly like their book selves and that is deffo very magical - I still think it is a fair critique to make.

[daydreamingleclerc]

official | mason mount

the boyfriend vibes from this gif are exquisite

on your fifth date, mason takes you to his hometown and makes it official. 

warnings: uncle!mason (because he makes me soft)... but seriously i don’t think there’s any. enjoy bff’s<3

when mason asked if you wanted to meet his family, it shocked you. you’d only been on four dates, but due to his job and semi-recent break up, you expected it to be much more of a hook-up on the first date situation. except, he dropped you at your front door and asked if he could see you again. 

two months had passed since that night, and as you sat in the passenger seat of his benz, you were getting antsy. he wasn’t even officially your boyfriend yet, even though he was silently screaming out to ask you everytime you sat in the very seat you sat in beside him now. his fingers skimmed your knee when he sensed your rising tension, and pinched the flesh of your exposed leg softly to catch your attention. 

“what if they don’t like me?” you asked, picking at the skin around the bed of your nails as best you could with acrylics, a lump in your throat as the words left your lips. the familiar sound of mason’s indicator clicked and when he turned the corner, he knitted his eyebrows together. “what if they don’t like the way i dress or the way i-”

“-y/n, darling, they’ll love you.” he shifted in his seat and readjusted the drawstrings on his orange hoodie. you let out a big breath, knowing it was one thing to meet mason’s parents, but meeting his brother’s and his niece in the city he was raised in was far more than you expected. 

“you don’t know that, mase.”

“can’t bail out even if you wanted to,” he pinched your knee again softly to settle your nerves and you noticed the teasing tone to his voice when he spoke. you stuck your tongue out unamused by his antics but before he reversed into the space, he kissed your cheek. “if i didn’t think they’d love you i wouldn’t have asked you to meet them.” 

the two of you waited side-by-side at the bonnet of his car for his family to arrive any minute, his fingers fiddling with yours to keep your thoughts in tact. with every car that entered the lot, your heart sped up until mason checked to see if it was his family. “maybe they got worried you wouldn’t like them,” he joked, his fingertip swirling circles on your palm, “or maybe they can smell your fear from miles away.” 

“are you saying i smell?” 

you raised an eyebrow, and now he was the one to stick out his tongue. he wrapped an arm around your shoulder loosely and the two of you found amusement in the cars that went round the lot in circles just to clarify that it was mason mount waiting on the bonnet of a mercedes. 

several minutes passed before his parents pulled up beside you, and mason noticed the immediate shift in your body language. you hunched slightly, the muscles in your shoulders tensing. his mother jumped out of the car and bundled towards her last-born child, a bright smile on her face. mason’s brother pulled up next to his parents car and you sighed in relief. 

as you got lost in thought, mason’s hand reached out to yours and laced your fingers together, your white turtleneck brushing up against the excess cotton on his hoodie that fell between you. in a bizarre turn of events that even you didn’t expect, you held your free arm out in front of both of them with a big smile on your face. mason’s thumb continued to trace delicate shapes on your palm, and when his mum took your hand in hers and leaned forward to pull you in for a hug, he felt the tension in your body release. 

“we’ve heard so much about you, y/n,” his mother, debbie released your body from hers and immediately mason’s father, tony, swooped in and took her place. almost immediately, you felt at home, his parents giving off the same warmth that he did. mason blushed when his mother spoke, a light peach tint shimmering against the apples of his cheeks, and he tugged the black beanie further down his head. 

“-that’s because loverboy doesn’t know how to shut up.” mason’s brother, lewis shouted from around the back of his parents car. mason gave an irritable grumble and you couldn’t help but giggle at the scene unfolding. you’d met lewis once very briefly on facetime one sunday afternoon when you were at mason’s, but you were shocked when he came up to you and gave you a warm, welcoming hug. 

“has he asked you to be his girlfriend yet?” 

it was very clear lewis was a joker when he asked the question, with one hand wrapped around your shoulder loosely, pointing at mason with his thumb. you shook your head, playing along with lewis’ game. 

“you’d think after two months i’d have my foot in the door, wouldn’t you?” 

the two of you continued to embarrass mason, who was verging on turning the same colour as your red handbag, which hung draped over your shoulder. he tried to pull away from you and hide himself away in embarrassment but you pulled him back towards you and left a kiss on his stubbly upper-lip. 

mason’s sister and brother-in-law, sam turned the corner with their daughter, summer in a pushchair, the girl you’d heard all about. she was the center of mason’s attention from the minute he saw her, his eyes brightening at the sight f the child in front of him. you’d seen all the videos and pictures of summer on his camera roll - a picture of him and summer from a holiday in ibiza over the summer was his lockscreen, and so as silly as it might have sounded, the two year old was the one you were most nervous to meet. 

as lewis mingled with his parents, mason took you over to the other three, and jaz was stood waiting with open arms. she kissed her little brother’s forehead, something which he immediately wiped off with the back of his hand like a child, and she turned to you, “i won’t do the same to you because you’re gorgeous enough, y/n,” the two of you laughed and exchanged hugs, and once again mason made a grumbling noise. 

“mase, we finally have someone to take the piss out of you with.” sam reached over to hug you almost instantly, with one hand on the handle of summer’s push-chair. “he’s not all he’s cut out to be, is he?”

“nah,” you shook your head, “i can play way better than he can.” 

“atta-girl.”

mason was already crouched down and greeting summer when you pulled away, desperately trying to focus on anything other than his heart threatening to burst at the sight of you and his family being so comfortable around one another. 

mason tugged your skirt, and you sunk down to his level, resting your hand on his knee for stability. he tapped his fingers on the plastic tray of summer’s buggy and she smiled, a light giggle leaving her lips when mason’s fingers somehhow ended up tickling underneath her chin. “hi sweetheart,” he cooed, “have you missed uncle mase?” 

the toddler babbled on to mason, who tried to keep up with her words. you only caught a few, those being ‘mummy’, ‘masey’, and what sounded like ‘nursery’. you’d recalled mason saying she was starting nursery at the beginning of last week, and how his heart swelled when sam sent him a video of her counting up to five. 

“have you had fun at nursery, baby? daddy sent uncle masey a video of you counting!” 

summer wrapped her tiny hand around mason’s index finger as he poked her and your heart swelled at the sight. she looked up at you, with big brown eyes like mason’s and chubby cheeks you wanted to squeeze. “summer, this is y/n, can you say hi for me?” 

you waved at the toddler, a bright smile on your face. she reciprocated the wave by opening and closing her fingers to her palm, a smile on her face. “hi summer,” you cooed, fiddling with the long, leather strap of your bag. “uncle masey told me that you like peppa, is that right?” 

summer got excited for a moment, flailing her arms up and repeating the word peppa a few times. mason settled her down, and when you pulled out a peppa plushy and a little interactive peppa watch that she could touch and fiddle with on her wrist, her face lit up. jaz and sam both gasped excitedly when summer looked up at them, and mason struggled to keep himself from smiling like a madman. 

“what do you say to aunty y/n sweetheart?” mason poked her again, and she mumbled a thank you. you handed jaz the watch and summer the plushy, but she only wanted you. her hand wrapped around your finger, and tony soon joked that you were officially part of the family, “she’s got you wrapped around her finger, that means you’re one of us now.” 

mason unclipped summer from the restraints of her buggy and when he attempted to pull her out, she wailed, but soon stopped when she realised you were the one he was handing her to. 

“right then, we’re all off,” lewis and sam joked. “we’ll pick her up around four?” 

“that’s fine! aunty y/n’s gonna be your new favourite, isn’t she summer?” 

it was when you were sat at lunch that mason managed to get you alone. summer was in a highchair next to him, and the two of you were having a contest to see which drawing’s summer preferred, while she scribbled on blank pages. mason couldn’t help but capture the moments between you and summer all day, like when you ran around on the promenade with her giggling in your arms, or when you, him and summer all held hands walking across the wall. 

“they really like you, y’know,” he said, making quiet conversation. “i haven’t seen them like this in a long time.” 

“i really like them, too.” you replied, a smile on your face as summer attempted to draw on your knuckles with an orange crayon after spotting a tattoo hiding under your jumper. 

“i think it’s only fair for me to ask you to make it official, don’t you?”  

as soon as he asked the question, he watched your face light up. you flashed him that smile he thought was so perfect, and he adored the way your eyes glistened in the restaraunt lighting. silence fell upon you for a minute as you opened your mouth in an attempt to speak, but the words falling short. 

“be my girlfriend, y/n y/l/n.” 

you realised then that it wasn’t so much a question as it was an order of love. a way for him to tell you everything he’d been feeling in the weeks leading up to now without actually saying it, and your heart fluttered. for once, it felt like you were on the same page with a man you were seeing. 

“of course,” was all you could say, and when he leaned over summer’s head to kiss you, that everyone at the table realised what had happened. they all cheered, which startled you and immediately you pulled away from mason, sitting back down properly and shushing the group. you were now the one with a blush the colour of mason’s hoodie, and he laughed at the sight. 

he watched over you as you gossiped with jaz about the waiter in the green tie, and bonded with his mother over the things you enjoyed. he couldn’t quite believe that this early on his heart was so full of love, but when you walked along the promenade with frozen lemonade and ice cream, that was when he really understood the full extent of what his heart was telling him. 

he pulled you back, calling you over and cutting short your conversation with his mother. his fingers looped yours and you slurped at your frozen lemonade with a smile while he wiped the ice cream from his mouth. 

“i love you.” 

he blurted it out, like word-vomit, and for a minute he looked as if he regretted the words leaving his lips. your heart skipped a beat at the look on his face when he realised that really, truly, he meant it. he was speaking from the heart and lying his feelings down, face up to the sky. your lips curled up into a big, toothy smile, and you slurped at your lemonade one more time. 

“i love you, mason.” 

and just like that, his whole world fell into place.

[intergalacticaquarium]

Part 2- A Pair of Brown Eyes

2.5k, Eddie x Reader/fem!Oc/ step!henderson!reader

Content: hotboxing a cool van, awkward flirting, Irish punk music, the awkward awkward aftermath to almost smooching, loving description of eddies huge brown eyes bc I'm in love with him

Summary:

After an awkward first meeting of her Dad's new fiance Claudia Henderson and her son Dustin, Sam needs to unwind, and who would show up but Eddie Munson.

(part to of my series Home Again about an original character Samantha Campbell, kind of a retelling of s4 and there's more to come. You don't really need to read the first chapter to get the vibes but it's along a similar vein and provides more context)

(Series masterpost/chapter links here!)

---

    Sam sat on the blankets covering the floor of the van while hanging her legs over the side out of the open door, lazily smoking a joint and trying not to think, just focusing on the accent of Pogues that she could finally understand after reading the lyrics on the little booklet in the CD case a million times. She wasn’t sure how long she had been there, and also wasn’t sure if one Eddie Munson knew that she could see him looking at her van from his front porch when she glanced up at the rear view mirror, and how he started to walk down the step and turn around a few times before shaking his head resolutely and starting to walk towards her. She appreciated his hesitation in going to talk to her but wasn’t sure she liked his decision yet.

    She didn’t move even as she heard him getting closer, and continued to be still and pretend not to see him when he stood right by the door, smiling a little as he realized she didn’t know he was there and looked behind him to consider leaving. It was funny to see somebody that usually had so much bravado getting a bit nervous. She decided to take pity and prop herself up on her elbows, squinting towards him standing in front of the setting sun.

    “Hey, Munson.” She said, and he took that as enough of an invitation to sit down beside her.

    “Hey, Campbell. Figured you’d be at your dad’s place tonight.” 

    Sam shrugged. “Nah. They…had a whole room made up for me but it- it was too weird. Not yet, anyway.”  She said, feeling a bit vulnerable. 

    Eddie had obviously sensed that she was uncomfortable and looked away awkwardly.

    “Sorry- should I not have come over here?” He asked quietly. 

    “No!” She said quickly, suddenly glad for the company. “I mean yes. It’s fine that you’re here and you should stay and hang out.” She clarified and he laughed a little and scooted entirely into the van, taking the joint from her hand and taking a hit before passing it back. 

    After talking for a few minutes the song changed over and Eddie frowned. “Okay, I gotta ask, what the hell are you listening to? This doesn’t really seem like your kind of thing.”

    Sam rolled her eyes. “What about me right now would imply that I don’t like punk music..”

    Eddie laughed. “Punk? This is like…an irish jig”

    She made a face more offended than she felt when she was honestly relishing the moment to prove herself right, and had to stop herself from giggling at the joke she had just thought of.

    “Are you trying to tell me that banjo and tin whistle can’t be punk?” 

    He stared at her like she was crazy. “Yes. That is exactly what I’m saying. I’m more of a metalhead but I know that you can’t just call folk music punk and make it true.”

    “Wow, Eddie. I had no idea you were such a conformist.” She said, doing her best to keep any and all sarcasm or laughter out of her face as his face instantly dropped.

    “No, I-” He started, and she laughed when he couldn’t think of anything to say. “It’s not though-what are you doing?”

    Eddie glanced over at her commotion to see her bent over and reaching towards the front seat, and he quickly looked away to avoid staring at her ass, but it was almost inevitable from where he was sitting. 

    “I’m proving you wrong.” She said, a little bit muffled while she dug through fast food bags hunting for her tape collection..

    “Do you need help? I can just get out and get something out of the front seat for you if you want. The door is literally open.”

    “I’ve got it! My arms are kinda short, one second.” She pulled out the few months old tape of Rum Sodomy and the Lash and put it into the tape player. Still up on her knees she turned back to Eddie’s skeptical face at the first few slow notes and croons about devils on your shoulders and Sam held up five fingers counting down and when she reached one the song somebody counted down, the singer shouted, the drums crashed, and Eddie’s face changed to one of shock and enjoyment. When she saw his face Sam pumped a fist in victory and fell back onto the mattress laughing, taking the joint from his slack fingers and taking her hit and watched Eddie listen while she grinned. As the song slowed down again he nodded in concession.

    “I guess I stand corrected. That is, without a doubt, a punk rock irish jig. I didn't know that was possible.” He laughed and looked at her, and how much her mood had changed in just the last few moments. That was more like the Sam that he remembered before she left Hawkins. 

    They continued to listen and chat and it struck Sam how glad she was that he came over, she needed the company.. The songs got a  little slower and as the sun went down and the air got cooler they closed the van door and sat side by side on the mattress in the back of her van with beers in hand lighting another joint.    

    She told him about her time in the city and he caught her up on some crucial gossip of Hawkins since she had been gone. 

    “Sounds like this place has gotten way worse since I left.” She said after listening to some of the fallout of the ‘mall fire’ that she had missed.

    “Yeah- I think that most of us are trying to get out of Hawkins, and you came back voluntarily, it’s insane. I’d have been gone years ago if I could just fuckin graduate.” He said, almost boastfully.

    “Why haven’t you just dropped out then? What’s stopping you from just…leaving?”

    “Honestly I thought about it around my junior year but now I’ve just spent so fuckin long that it would be a huge waste of time if I dont. Also I want to flip off the principal on stage.” 

    She had a feeling that wasn’t all there was.

    “And you’d miss your little wizard buddies.” She joked, and was surprised when he smiled affectionately.

    “Maybe that’s part of it. I dunno. It’s nice to at least know where I…don’t fit in.” He said, and then cringed at the honestly. “That sounded super lame.”

    “I don’t really understand, but it doesn’t sound lame.” She glanced down. “I think that you like not fitting in more than I do.” She said, glancing back at him and his nod of concession.

    “I can’t say you’re wrong about that. But I also can’t imagine that you changed your whole look because you want to fit in.”

    “I mean…I kinda did, honestly. This is how my friends in New York dressed, but I’m going to keep dressing this way because I like it and I kind of have this fantasy that if I go back to school looking different nobody will recognize me and ask me why I left and didn’t call anybody for like a year.”

    “That’s…probably not going to happen.” He warned her.

    “I know. But a girl can dream.” She sighed. “I just hope it wasn’t a mistake coming back.”

    “It might be. Or it will just be a boring school year and then you’ll be back on your way to the outside world.”

    “Yeah. Maybe.” She took a drag off of the joint that was on its last legs. “I was just thinking about what you said yesterday. When you asked if the thing that made me leave was still a problem.”

    “Is it?”

    “I honestly don’t know. That’s why I don’t want to talk to anybody and I’m gonna keep sleeping in this van, I don’t want to find out.”

    He tilted his head, confused. 

    “There was a thing.” She started, her mouth moving faster than her brain. “There was this thing that happened to me last year and it was weird and insane and scary and when I told my Dad he just…didn’t believe me. He thought I was having a mental breakdown. Maybe I was but I don’t think…” Sam trailed off, still frustrated at her own cognitive dissonance. 

Eddie bristled at all the terrible possibilities that sentence could imply and felt a sudden wash of protective instincts for somebody that he had always considered a near stranger despite the fact that he had known her for years.

“Are you, like, in danger or something?” He said, carefully choosing his words.

She shrugged. “Fuckin maybe. I have no idea, but I know that if I start talking to people I’ll let something slip and they’ll think I’m insane.”

“Christ alive, Sam I’m trying so hard to be respectful and not ask you what happened but you are making this sound like the most tantalizing secret known to mankind.”

She gave a half hearted laugh. “I could tell you the dead truth right now and I guarantee that you’d think I was making shit up to get out of telling the real story.”

“Try me.”

He said it so earnestly that she wanted to, and his brown eyes almost forced it out of her, but she bit her lip and shook her head.

“No. I can't do it again. I’ve had this exact conversation with, like, four therapists that promised that they’d listen and not judge and believe me and then they looked me in the eye and tried to lie and say they did when they obviously didn’t.” She said, trying to hide how much it hurt.

“I’m not a therapist. Or a rational person.” He said encouragingly, chipping away at her will to keep it a secret. 

“No, you’re not. But I’m having a nice time hanging out with you and I really don’t want to ruin it.” She said, and that got him to back off, putting his hands up in a dramatic but understanding gesture.

“I get it. Everybody’s got their secrets. Well, except for me, but I’m a freak.” He said with a grin to break the tension. 

“Don’t call yourself that.” Sam said reflexively.

Eddie snorted. “See, that’s the fun thing about knowing where you don’t fit in, 99% of the time when somebody tries to start shit they’re just commenting on something that I actually like about myself and probably worked pretty hard on. If I didn’t want them to call me a freak I’d act like less of a freak” He boasted

“You’ve got quite the ego, Munson.” She said and looked at him sitting next to her.

“I know. I worked pretty hard on it.” He said cockily and tilted his head playfully.

“So it’s all an act and you’re just a poser?” She said, soft and joking, only now noticing that Eddie was sorta cute. Sweet. 

He grabbed his heart and collapsed forward onto her shoulder like he had been mortally wounded, the limited space obviously cramping his exaggeration and he fell dramatically into her lap, making her laugh and staring at her with fake heartbreak and a dramatic hand on his forehead.

“My ego may be humongous but that doesn’t make it less breakable!”

“God you are such a dork.” She said affectionately and he pumped his fist in triumph. It seemed like he was about to get up when the song changed along with something in her expression that he didn’t understand yet.

The music slowed and the song changed and she almost laughed at how appropriate it was, like her van was trying to wingman her with the man half propped up and half laying in her lap.

And I rove and I rove and I rove and I rove and I rove… for a pair of brown eyes.… for a pair of brown eyes.

And damn were those brown eyes staring up at her, huge and round and giving away every emotion whether he liked it or not. Huge and soft and she knew that Eddie was thinking almost the exact same thing. The words of the music were hard for him to understand, hearing it for the first time, but a chorus repeated so many times so clearly like that was hard to miss. The part of his brain that usually can’t shut up wanted to mention it but he knew that the second he did she would look away and who knows if he’d ever get close enough again to see there was actually quite a bit of green in her eyes around the dark brown.

The song and the moment waltzed forward until the scrutiny was too much for either of them to take and they looked away, both blushing. Suddenly they both felt awkward in the aftermath when they realized that they had just stared into each other's eyes while he was resting his head on her lap for about a solid minute, and outside of that moment and that verse of that song the van was suddenly too small and hot and awkward.

 Eddie scrambled into a sitting position, bumping into her elbow and knocking a few things over in the small space and he frantically began to try and put them back in their proper spot without bumping into Sam as she took a self conscious hit off of their fourth joint too  fast and started coughing. He grabbed her water bottle, unscrewed the top and handed it to her just as the song changed over to the one she loved but did just start with some screaming. They both jumped, jerking the bottle and spilling quite a bit of water all over the mattress and blankets. His eyes went wide with regret, expecting her to get mad and he was ready to apologize.

 All at once it was too much and Sam started to giggle mercilessly, her lungs burning and still coughing but completely unable to stop, especially after he joined in on her extremely stoned and contagious laughter until all the awkwardness and whatever energy it was that caused it was gone and they were both left high and giggly, and getting sleepier by the second. The laughter died down and picked back up a few times, those stray giggles returning involuntarily like hiccups and threatening to overtake them again until they had both calmed down, their ribs and lungs hurting as they tried to catch their breath. 

Sam yawned, and so did Eddie, and you glanced at the clock, seeing that it was almost two am.

“I should probably take off. If I'm gonna graduate this year I don’t want to jinx it by being late on the first day.” He paused. “Not too late, at least.” He opened the van door and paused again. “I’m definitely gonna show up at some point tomorrow.”

“Shit, is that tomorrow?” Sam said, suddenly wishing she had just stayed out of town.

“Yeah. It’s gonna be the worst, but uh- if we have the same lunch, you can sit with me and the guys.”

“The guys?” She said in amusement, and he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m probably just going to eat in the van.”

“Is this the part where you reveal that you’re actually a ghost whose spirit is tied to this van?” “You don’t get all my secrets in one night, Munson.” She teased, and he awkwardly waved goodbye and walked the very short walk to his trailer with a smile on his face, only realizing a few hours later that he had left his jacket there.

[capseycartwright]

"I am fed up with half-measures. I deserve better." (Got huge buddie and malex vibes from this one 👀)

ao3 link

The last thing Eddie expected to find at his door was Buck, of all people – not because Buck was an unusual fixture in his home; no, because Buck was supposed to be on a date.

Eddie had been trying his best for weeks now, to be the dutiful best friend, and support Buck’s relationship with Taylor – regardless of how much he wished Buck wasn’t dating anyone else – and it was hard. It was hard, and so Eddie was halfway through a tub of his favourite flavour of ice-cream (the excessively expensive one Buck had introduced him to, the one Eddie only bought when he knew Christopher wasn’t home). He’d also cracked open a bottle of wine Hen and Karen had given him as a thank you for babysitting Denny, one Saturday afternoon (he’d made a mental note to thank Karen – the woman had good taste in wine) and so Eddie was well settled in for an evening of feeling sorry for himself while Christopher was at a sleepover party.

Until – well, Buck decided to bang his door in.

Tucking his ice-cream into the crook of his arm, Eddie raised an eyebrow. “You have a key,” he reminded, looking a frazzled Buck up and down. He was clearly dressed for a date – wearing that blue striped shirt that made Eddie’s mouth water, a neat jacket over the top – but he was also clearly not on said date.

“I have had the worst day,” Buck declared dramatically, kicking his sneakers off in the hallway, brow furrowing as he noticed the bottle of wine on the table. “Do you have company?” he asked, clearly confused – Ana was long gone, to be fair, their relationship having ended weeks previously.

Eddie swallowed, glancing down at his very sad outfit of a pair of raggedy old sweatpants, and a grubby sweatshirt that had definitely seen better days – Eddie wasn’t a sentimental man, really, but Christopher always called it Eddie’s cuddliest sweatshirt, so Eddie didn’t have the heart to throw it out.

“No,” he reassured. “I don’t.”

“Wine, though?”

“Are you questioning my methods of self-care?” Eddie retorted. “I like wine, sue me.”

“All wine tastes the same,” Buck sighed, throwing himself on the couch, reaching for the bottle.

“You can have a glass,” Eddie intervened. “But I will kick you out of my house if you drink directly from that bottle, Buck. I’d like to pretend I have some level of class,” he sighed, padding into the kitchen and grabbing another wine glass – a set Abuela had bought him, when he’d moved to LA. “So,” he said, setting the glass down on the coffee table, pausing to take a scoop of his slowly melting ice-cream before he continued. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or are we going to play charades?”

Buck rolled his eyes, but took the wine glass, all the same, pouring himself a generous measure. He took a swig, before he spoke, raising an eyebrow. “Did you pick this out?” he questioned, no doubt thinking back to the evening where Eddie had been in charge of getting wine for their family dinner and had accidentally bought cooking wine. It was an easy mistake to have made, if you asked Eddie.

Eddie shook his head. “Present from Karen and Hen,” he clarified. “Stop deflecting.”

“I broke up with Taylor,” and oh, if Eddie hadn’t been waiting to hear those words for so long.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie tried, because he couldn’t look that happy about it, could he? It would give the game away – and in so many ways, Eddie was convinced his feelings were obvious, that he’d given the game away a long time ago, but Buck had never mentioned it.

“I’m not,” Buck looked furious, again. “I – we had this nice date planned, right? We made sure to pick a night where we were both off, where she doesn’t need to be in work early tomorrow, and I’m off, so we could get breakfast, too – really spend some time together,” he explained. “And I got to the restaurant and I waited, and I waited, and I waited for a fucking hour, Eddie, and nothing – no text, no call from her. I was sitting there, spiralling, wondering if she was – if she was dead, or something. Right? So, after an hour, I decided I was going to pass by the news station, and see what was happening, and do you know what she said?”

Eddie shook his head.

“That she’d told her intern to call me and cancel our date, because a story came up,” Buck practically spat. “I mean, is she serious? And like – I love that she has a career she loves, because she gets how I feel about being a firefighter, but she does this all the time and I just never feel like I’m even getting close to the top of her priority list. So, I – I asked her, if I was ever going to be something she prioritised over work, and she said no.”

Eddie winced. “She was honest, at least,” he tried.

“Totally,” Buck agreed. “And I appreciate the honesty – really – and it’s not like it ended on bad terms. We just didn’t want the same thing out of a relationship, and I’m not going to resent her for it. But – fuck, this is nice wine by the way – I am fed up with half-measures, Eddie,” he sighed, slumping back on the couch. “I deserve better.”

Eddie swallowed thickly. Buck did deserve better – and Eddie wasn’t going to sit here and pretend as though he was better, as though he knew he could be boyfriend of the year and give Buck everything he needed. But – Eddie loved him, and surely, surely that had to be enough? It had to be enough to love someone so much it felt like your love for them was etched into the very bones of who you were? Eddie so badly wanted to be enough.

“I wouldn’t,” Eddie said quietly, suddenly conscious of the melting ice-cream he was still gripping tightly. It had cost eleven dollars, he reminded – he should probably put it back in the freezer.

Buck looked at him, utterly confused. “What?”

“I wouldn’t love you in half-measures,” Eddie wasn’t sure where he was finding the bravery, to finally say it, to tell Buck how he felt, but somehow, somewhere, he’d found a bravery he wasn’t sure he’d ever had before. He had thought he’d be spending the rest of his life trundling along, desperately in love with a best friend who didn’t love him back. Eddie had accepted it, almost – because having Buck as a friend was better than not having Buck at all.

Buck’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes wide, and excited. “How would you love me, Eddie?” he asked, his voice soft, and trembling – the only giveaway that he felt as nervous as Eddie did, there and then, dangling on the precipice of something new, and wonderful.

“Forever,” Eddie said. “I’d love you forever, Buck.”

(And when Buck kissed him – he tasted like wine, and Eddie knew he tasted like wine, and Buck’s shirt was soft, under tentative fingertips as Eddie reached out to hold him the way he’d so desperately wanted to for so long, and –

Well, it felt like the beginning of forever.)

send me a prompt from this list

[phoenixyfriend]

Time Travel ft. Leia and Vader

(Helped by @atagotiak)

I was reading a bunch of different time travel fics, and my brain slotted in that one "Vader hands over the Empire to Leia and is now her most devoted sycophant" dynamic and mixed it with the "Luke and Vader time-travel and Vader does the right thing but only because it would make Luke sad if he didn't."

I landed on "Leia time travels to prequels era, but her least favorite family member has also traveled with her, though it takes him a few months to find her because he has less resources without the entire Imperial Navy, but he's still a scary Sith in all black with a breathing mask and intimidating cape."

"Tiny angry lady who wants to force democracy and her giant Sith father whom she hates but has resigned herself to pointing at threats like a tank who inexplicably loves her" is a delightful dynamic.

The first few months included a lot of concern about "why do you know so much about Sith if you're not trained or looking to be one" and then Vader shows up and calls her 'daughter' and she insults him and it's like "Oh. That explains it."

Council Member: We have a Sith in the Temple. Vader: Former Sith. Leia: Listen. He is your best chance against Sidious. Also, do you want Dooku dead? Vader can make him dead. Council Member: Your father i-- Leia, scrunching up her face: Don't call him that.

Like Leia is deep in conversation when the Temple starts panicking because Vader just. Showed up? He snuck in, somehow? So Palpatine wouldn't catch him on video entering through the front door? And people try to keep her away from the trouble, because there's an entire array of Jedi Masters to deal with this Surprise Sith, except she can sense exactly which Sith it is and once she shouts "oh you have got to be kidding me!" she just starts running and, well, it's Leia. Nobody can stop her.

(Leia does have less combat training, at least less force-assisted combat training, than the Jedi. But then the Jedi don’t want to hurt here here. She's not fighting her way down, either, she's just running really fast and all the best fighters already left. They had a head start. So Leia's mostly running past random padawans and the like.)

She shoves her way to the front of the group of Masters who. Well, they're certainly ready to attack. But Vader is just standing there. Doing nothing. Still intimidating as fuck but he's not doing anything.

And then Leia bursts onto the scene like "You motherfucker."

She hits her head on a clipboard and whines because UGH he's a walking WMD and they could REALLY use him against Palpatine but also. She hates him so much.

She tries to hand him off to the Jedi council but he insists that he will only take orders from Leia herself.

Jedi: Wait, what. Leia, completely ignoring them: Did you follow me here? Vader, through the mechanical wheezing: I have no loyalty to my master and no empire to serve. You are all that I have left. Leia: Me? Me? I'm all that you have left? You committed a genocide that killed all the family I had except for the twin brother you later mutilated! Jedi: Wait what Vader, going to one knee: I pledge my loyalty and blade to you and only you, daughter. Leia, ready to explode: I. I just. Jedi, some of whom really want to say things but are slowly realizing that they just accidentally acquired a Sith Lord by proxy: What. Leia: I hate you so much but I can't even get rid of you, you're too useful. Vader: I live to serve. Leia: Yeah. Got that. Fuck. Someone get him a full medical rundown, I don't know the last time that mess of a life support system was updated. Jedi, agitated again: WHAT Leia: Listen, I don't like him, but I'm not stupid enough to throw away the second most dangerous person in the universe when I can point him at the most dangerous person in the universe. Especially not if he's going to listen to me. Jedi: But... he's a Sith. Leia: Please trust me when I say this: you might be able to take him down eventually, but he will take dozens of you down with him, and right now he's... honestly, I'm pretty sure he's more depressed than malicious. Jedi: You hate him. I can feel it. Leia: Yes, but I can be professional about it. Vader: They have not yet d-- Leia: Nope! No talking! Not until I've had a chance to process this mess!

There is a whole lot of Leia snapping at Vader to stop it whenever he starts giving off vibes like he wants to take the most violent shortcut possible.

She is not the gentle hand that Luke would be.

Leia isn't a Jedi or working for them but she's wormed her way into being an ally. They don't 100% trust her, especially not with Vader just showing up and declaring her family but like

How do you say no to a WMD walking into your house and saying "I will fight the monster you cower from at night."

There's a lot of Leia snapping off an admonishment that sounds just a little too odd and then when questioned she just says "He knows what he did."

tbh I'm not sure how long it takes for them to tell anyone that Anakin is Vader. They might hold it off in hopes that Anakin can just retire to be Mr. Amidala after the war is over.

Well, Leia hopes. Vader just lets Leia make that call and then glowers at his younger self every time they're in the same room.

I do feel like Leia tells Obi-Wan the truth first

Imagine. Imagine a Vader who’s past still isn’t known. But has gotten somewhat comfortable around the Jedi (not really but the bar for what counts and comfortable for him is low). And Obi-Wan habitually banters with darksiders, right? If Vader’s guard is down for a moment and he, without thinking, references an inside joke...

Might be the most fun in terms of ways to tell Obi-Wan "We're time travelers and Vader is what happens if you let Palpatine drive Anakin off the edge"

If Vader has decided to pledge himself to her orders after destroying her planet, then fine. She can work with that. She's not going to be happy about it, but she can make it work.

The Jedi Temple hates having Vader anywhere nearby but he is actually very good at hiding himself from people, including Palpatine And for all that Leia seems perpetually irritated with her apparent bodyguard, he does seem to listen to her.

Jedi council: We still haven't figured out how to handle Dooku Leia: Do you know his location? Jedi council: Yes. Leia: [sigh] Leia: Vader, deal with it. Alive if possible.

(Leia does need to clarify an acceptable level of violence against the people protecting Dooku.) (She needs to clarify... many things.)

Leia always says "Vader" and one time a poor fool just asks why she doesn't call him dad and she snarls out "He is not the man that raised me, and I am glad for it."

Someone less foolish later prods more compassionately and she lets them know she was adopted and didn't properly meet Vader except in passing until she was nineteen.

"And then he tortured you." "And then he tortured me, yes." "Damn." "Didn't even find out we were related until a few years later when he chopped my brother's arm off." "You... wow." "I know."

At least one exchange that is L: You mean when you tortured me? A: He did what. V: I was not aware of our relation at that time. L: Not the point! I am fully aware of your interrogation methods and I refuse to let you be the one to acquire the evidence for-- A: Wait no go back he tortured you? L: Move on, please, we already have. A: That means I'm... oh Force, I'm going to torture my own daughter what in the actual fu-- L: We're moving on.

(“I end up torturing my own daughter” If Leia’s feeling especially spiteful I can see her saying “you mutilate your own son too”)

Concept: Leia is very free with traumatizing details of her past re:Vader and Anakin thinks that it sucks but doesn’t think much of it bc Sith. And then some time later he finds out...

(I love characters who use the traumatizing details of their past to shut down conversations.)

It's such a wonderfully horrifying concept for him to try to awkwardly comfort this girl he kind of knows because having a Sith for a dad sounds like it would suck and Leia seems nice, even if she's kind of weird and uncomfortable around Anakin, but he saw her flinch around a few other tall people wearing black robes the way she stiffens around Vader so maybe it's just that!

It is not.

Vader does get a significant amount of medical treatment. Including a bunch of "holy shit, that's a lot of drugs" and similar. There is so much lightning damage.

hnnng I'm just really in love with the image of Tiny Tiny Leia sitting behind a desk for some fancy negotiation, the picture of professionalism, while Vader just stands behind her shoulder, looming, glaring expressionless death at whoever came to speak with his baby girl.

Not that he would call her that, because she'd just hate him more and he's really not sure how to fix that problem, other than doing whatever she asks with no complaints and hoping she appreciates it.

Vader: [looks at children wandering by, has complicated emotions] Leia, tired of his shit: What now? Vader: I killed them, once. Leia, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath: And you're not going to do that again. No killing children. Vader: I know that. Leia: Great. I am... regretting asking. I am so very much regretting asking.

I do really like the idea of someone asking Leia once if she wants Jedi training and she says, no, actually, she's fully aware of the fact that she's angry little ball of hate sometimes, especially towards her bio father, and she'd like to refrain from putting herself in a position where she knows enough about the Force to Fall. She wouldn't Fall. But it does make people shut up.

[ddarker-dreams]

Hey lock ! Abt hwr reader, I wonder about her mbti type. Ik it's a reader insert but I can see girlie being ixtj or ixtp (since reader's kind of, stiff ? Rigid ? Like she means well but her face is just :| which gives off ixtj or inferior fe vibes). Wdyt of hwr reader's mbti ?

LONG HAVE I WAITED FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ABOUT HWR READER'S MBTI... cracks knuckles... it's time to get to work. >:)

HWR reader’s mbti is... drum roll please... ISTJ! 

she is 100% an introverted sensing dominant. structure is more of her thing — hence her inclination toward following orders rather than making decisions for herself, though she starts to progress in this area throughout the main story. she prefers efficiency over exploration and tends to approach things in a straightforward manner. unspoken verbal nuance also tends to go over her head... but she has a strong grasp on solid concepts and thrives when working with fact. she tends to pull from her long-term memory to make sense of new information, which tends to make her less flexible at times. she relies heavily on schemas and struggles to comprehend things (and people...) that don’t follow logic. hence her occasional apprehension toward chrollo who often acts in weird, self-contradicting ways, and clear disdain for hisoka. the dude just makes zero sense to her. 

what you said about her meaning well but coming across as stiff is one of her biggest concerns HJKETMR she prefers to let her actions speak for her, but sometimes, that just doesn’t always work. hence the rift that formed between her and ash. it’s also why, if she was to be honest with herself, charismatic individuals annoy her so much. they can talk circles around people and come off exactly how they intend to while being ingenuine. it comes to them so naturally and that irks her, since that’s not really a skill you can learn like mathematics. her pride would never let her admit this though. 

one of the reasons why chrollo managed to slip through her maximum security vault of emotional defenses is that he recognized this quality of hers and ran with it. my favorite example of this happens pretty early on:

[...]

“You used to not like fiction?” Chrollo questions, and you’re quick to defend yourself. It’s no secret that your boss is a fan of literature — specifically, the classics that all fall under fiction — so you don’t want him to get the wrong impression.

“I didn’t see the point when I was younger,” you confess, stirring your lemonade, ice cubes clinking in the process. “It felt like a waste of time that could’ve been better spent elsewhere. Nonfiction, of course, gives you useful information. Stuff that you might use at some point or another.”

You rest your chin on your hand. “I grew out of that phase. There’s still value to be had from fiction, it’s just a different kind. I can appreciate it now.”

“I’m relieved to hear you say that,” he takes a sip of his drink of choice, unsweetened iced tea. “Until you clarified yourself, I thought about revoking your membership.”

You don’t know why, but the way he says it so seriously while smiling manages to get to you. The back of your hand rushes to cover your mouth, a small giggle leaving your lips, that grows into a full-blown laugh. Chrollo freezes in his spot, taking in your unexpected reaction as if he was trying to immortalize it into his mind. He stares at you with slightly widened eyes until you settle down, heat rising to your face at the uncontrolled reaction.

“That—”

“I—”

You both start speaking at the same time and stop just as fast. Clearing your throat, you motion for him to continue with your hand, taking a big sip of your tangy lemonade.

Chrollo shifts ever so slightly in his seat. “I believe that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you laugh.”

[...]

the man is a legend. she is capable of loosening up, it just takes a particular set of circumstances. chrollo just... makes her feel human?? something she never knew she wanted, but now that she’s experienced it, it’s rather... pleasant. 

anyway oh god this is getting long isn’t it. i just love my MCs a lot. for funsies, here are the MBTI types of some of the original characters in HWR: 

estella avalor - ENTJ ash avalor - INTP  karina novikoff - ENTP xue ya - ISTP victor avalor - ESTJ dinara avalor - INFP