#it’s like a theatrical aside and it works so well for the character

[preciouslittle-bhaalbabe]

I might get some hate for this but I think people give the rite of profane ascension a little too much credit. All it did was amplify that which was already there. All the possessiveness, the theatric demeanor, the strange coping mechanisms, that's all Astarion. He had those traits already. The rite didn't have a personality baked in that possessed Astarion once it was completed. If you had finished the rite instead, it would act differently.

Astarion, after getting unfathomable power is going to do the one thing he knows he can. Be the biggest prick on the sword coast lol. He thinks himself untouchable now so he's going to rub it in the face of anyone in the vicinity.

Something else I find really interesting. When not romancing Astarion it is MUCH easier to talk him down from going through with it. Alot of his desire to complete the ritual comes from fear of losing the one person he cares for. So the ritual corrupts that too and turns it into possessiveness. It was already there. He's so afraid of losing you that he does the vampiric equivalent of a marriage and now you both have a mind link along with the one from the tadpole. (Lots of interesting stuff about vampiric spouses in DnD lore that explains alot of what happens and what Astarion views the relationship as) The vampiric spouses happiness becomes everything. He dotes on them.

"Ask me anything, and it will be yours".

But he also establishes a clear dom/sub type dynamic. I think because it's what he has known the most and is also maybe a liiiiiitle drunk off the power still. Which isn't everyone's cup of tea. So post ritual Astarion can quickly become very uncomfortable for people. But it's not necessarily "new" or Cazadors personality baked into the ritual. He has always had the potential to be like this. Even without killing over 7000 people. That's what makes his character analysis so fascinating. A!A and spawn Astarion are so detailed and well written and analysing them both just makes me realise how much work was put into these companions.

One more thing I'd like to mention. Aside from the occasional difference in wording or his greetings, most of his voice lines are exactly the same. It's still Astarion. And of course this is due to resource management but I also think it works as being intentional as well. He's still in there. He's just really lost in the power sauce at the moment.

Do I think ascended Astarion is the "better" ending? Objectively, no. From an RP standpoint, maybe! I think almost every companion has an arc where lust for power or blind devotion becomes their downfall. Even Durge! It's what makes them such compelling characters.

[mayasaura]

one problem with a theatrical adaption of tlt is htn, where the reveal that Gideon lives on works because of the change of second person to first.

the only way i can think of it working is that the actor playing gideon works backstage, like the lights system (but is hidden from the audience aside from subtle hints)

the biggest hint is when when wake breaches pal's river bubble she 'breaks' the lighting system and the stage goes dark. harrow is ushered into the wings by pal so she doesn't see anything, but the lights flick back on just before the curtains drop for a scene change, and pal looks directly up at the light box in surprise and smiles. if the audience is quick to turn around they can see a flash of a black robe.

Oh boy my friend, have you come to the right place!!

So, fun fact about ninja. Bear with me, I am going somewhere with this. The image of a ninja covered head to toe in black, with a hood and mask, comes from Kabuki theatre. It was originally a stagehand uniform. Like stagehands in modern theatre, stagehands in Kabuki would wear all black to signify that they were not really there, and whatever effect they were causing (carrying a prop, creating a breeze, ect.) was to be taken as happening on its own. Basic stagehand stuff, a lot of productions in many styles around the world do it, especially if they don't have fancy rigging systems.

Someone (I don't remember who now, or in what play) had the idea to dress the ninja in a production up as a stagehand. In the convention of the theatre, this made them invisible. The audience was already so used to ignoring stagehands, they didn't know any more than the characters that the ninja was present, despite the actor being clearly visible on stage. Which meant when the ninja struck, it was as if out of nowhere. I can only imagine the uproar in the theatre the first time it happened. It worked so well as to become commonplace, and the rest is history. The popular image of a ninja is still a kabuki stagehand.

So, back to the stage play of Harrow the Ninth. I think you've hit almost exactly on how to incorporate the Gideon twist into a theatrical production. But not as a lighting tech. Gideon is a stage hand. Maybe there would be more than one stagehand, maybe she would be the only one, but she would operate in full view of the audience, literally setting the scenes. I think it works best if she's the only one, but if the production needs more, she should subtly stand out in some way. As the play went on, we would notice that this one stage hand... increasingly interacts with Harrow, though Harrow never acknowledges it. At first it might look like she's playing Harrow's necromancy, because that would be the main special effect she would need to help with. When Harrow is unconscious at the end of a scene, it's always the same stagehand carrying her out. But we all know she's not really there. Until Palamedes acknowledges her. Turns to look right at her, and speaks to her. I can see the scene clearly. He would look at her, stunned, until Gideon finally took off her mask. The line "Kill us twice, shame on God," would be addressed to Gideon, and then he would turn back to Harrow, kiss her on the forehead, and tell her to go. Gideon, always out of Harrow's line of sight, would guide Harrow away while Harrow looked back at Palamedes.

[miiilowo]

You should make the list of ways you were correct anyways, just for fun ~

eh. sure. why not

Any time a post of mine about afton got a decent amount of notes (aside from fanart) there'd usually be comments on it complaining about how "those" fans [note: i am one of "those" fans] have no idea what his personality actually is, and that they water him down, woobify and mischaracterize him, all while listing things off that are just genuinely part of william's character. while yes, there are fans that DO do that, the stuff they talk about is almost never an actual example of this happening. this is likely due to people not viewing him as a person and just a bland cold serial killer with no personality whatsoever

obviously movie william is not 1:1 with game or book william, but they're gonna be similar in personality. so heres some stuff ive seen people complain was "mischaracterization" thats present in the movie:

hes emotional/sentimental and actually cares about things - william calls the owner of freddys sentimental when talking to mike about the pizzeria (and we all know the owner is william), he visibly regrets/is shocked by the fact he stabs vanessa, he gets really worked up when things dont go his way, very quick to anger, etcetera. one could argue that william is lying about being sentimental and just wants to give an excuse for why the place is still around, but there'd be no reason to do that, considering mike has no idea anyone even died there, let alone the fact HE killed the kids. we know williams sole motive for keeping the place around definitely isnt just sentimental reasons, but i doubt that what he said doesnt have at least an ounce of truth to it. he holds onto trophies from his kills as well if him keeping garretts toy plane is anything to go off of

he actually likes bunnies and has an affinity for them - he has a rabbits foot on his keyring and has a letter/paper holder that's rabbit shaped. the letter holder isnt actually in any shots, but it was present on set on his desk

his personality isnt one note and dull/cold, and hes superstitious & a little offputting/jittery - the rabbits foot on his keyring ties into this idea, because if he actually believes it to be a good luck charm, then it shows some "quirkiness" for lack of a better term that people adamantly refuse to admit is in his personality. this also shows how hes superstitious, which is an idea thats present in the books, and people also like to pretend he isnt. he pokes fun at mike in a somewhat lighthearted way multiple times, he has a has a FRAMED PARTICIPATION AWARD on his wall for christs sake. the kids hair colors match the animatronics they were stuffed into (minus bonnie). he matched them. he made them match he paired them up for fun. not only that, but he gets visibly nervous and antsy when he realizes who mike is, and clearly really wants him to take the job. gets kind of weird. gets a kinda strange. he likes when things match afterall (symmetry, my friend!)

he's theatrical and over the top in personality on purpose (this is also essentially an argument for the last point) - in the books he goes on and on about performance and how he viewed both dave miller & springtrap as characters he plays, and i seriously wouldn't doubt that it'd be the same here, considering how cartoonishly evil he is while wearing the springbonnie suit. the voice changer, the little flourishes he adds to his speech, the fact he wipes off the knife when there wasnt any blood on it in the first place. for what. for what reason other than for pizzazz and intimidation points. the "oh, this is going to be so much fun!" line, and especially his playful demeanor disappearing the second he takes off the mask

he cares about his kids/likes kids - his expression when he stabs vanessa and she falls to the ground says enough i think. obviously hes not a GOOD parent, but being a good parent and caring about your kids are two wildly different things. you can be abusive and still care. most abusers dont process that they are abusers but thats a conversation for another time. william prioritizes himself over anyone else, but he still looks shocked after he stabs his daughter, and i refuse to blame that on bad acting because its MATTHEW LILLARD. the training tape for mike also states that he enjoyed entertaining kids, and yes, while that could be a lie, do you seriously think the creator of what essentially is chuck e cheese would actually despise children. the fact he gives garretts toy plane to vanessa could be a point toward him in this department as well, though its also just as likely he collects them as trophies. i like to think its a mix of both

i included these points specifically because i also have a plethora of evidence for them from both the books and the games, and theyre the ones i most commonly see people stating are unrealistic for afton.

its not a lot of stuff, but its not like he has a lot of screentime. lets be real

i do ADORE how egotistical and shortsighted they made him in the movie, though everyone can generally agree on that being a staple trait of his

[hana-no-seiiki]

COMME ON FAIT SON LIT, ON SE COUCHE.

⟣┄─ ˑ 𝐈. ✧ PAIRING: YAN! NEUVILETTE x SCUM! READER (ft. yan! other characters + mystery major pairing)

⟣┄─ ˑ 𝐈𝐈. ✧ TW/CW: Typical Yandere Themes: Stalking, Delulu, Yun’s vv broken French. Canon Divergence.

⟣┄─ ˑ 𝐈𝐈𝐈. ✧ SYNOPSIS: When given the power to flood the world with your admirer’s tears and skip work, who were you to reject it? | This happens prior to the Archon Quest

dedicated for le sims ( @o-tears-o-tides ) , aka the object of my platonic love and affection. happy birthday employee!!

Fucking with Neuvilette was your lifestyle. Figuratively that is. You wanted him to work harder if you were to provide him with the more literal definition of the term but regardless —

— making him suffer was your favorite hobby.

You held the prestigious role of documenter at the esteemed Palais Mermonia, where the dramatic tale of "Furina's Courtroom Crying Sessions" unfolded under the watchful eye of Neuvilette. In addition to chronicling these legal theatrics, your literary talents blossomed, weaving novels and insightful commentaries based on the trials you meticulously transcribed. This dual creative and professional endeavor earned you a devoted following throughout Teyvat and established influential connections with prominent figures across the nation.

Your relationship with Monsieur Neuvilette started off differently than what many would assume. Those privy to your early interactions could discern an undeniable enchantment on your part towards this man. Undoubtedly, he exuded an aura of elegance, elevated prestige, and an unwavering work ethic, all of which captivated admirers across the spectrum of society. His demeanor possessed an intoxicating allure for young ladies and gentlemen alike, leaving an indelible mark of respect and awe upon those fortunate enough to witness it.

“Monsieur Neuvilette.”

You greeted him with a slight bow, resisting the urge to smile at his presence. He reminded you a bit of someone from back home. A man that you’d do anything to receive a single praise from.

“Ah, Mx. [Y/N] to what do I owe you the pleasure?” He looked up from his documents. He too had to resist the urge to beam at your form. After all you were one of if not the only person he felt like he could never have enough time with.

“It’s just that I thought you’d be home by now. In any case I have this coffee a friend gave me but I can’t drink it . . .” You looked to the side, breaking off eye contact from your superior. He would have frowned at the action had it not been accompanied by a sweet gesture of yours. You always excused your good deeds with some nonsense about self-interest but he knew you well enough that he could see through it all.

“Thank you.”

Then, you realized that it rained whenever he felt sad.

And when there’re intense rains there would be no work.

And when there was no work, you could stay at home or go out and do whatever the hell you want.

Also he liked you and whatever but that was besides the point! You could slack off and fulfill your sadistic needs.

And so began your journey to find what made your senior co-worker tick. Most of the time it was when you gave other people your attention ( aside from Furina for some reason ). A single headpat towards either Freminet or Lynette caused some light rain. Rejecting his advances caused the skies to stay blanketed for hours. Whenever you were absent it poured cats and dogs.

And lastly, when you and Lyney were practically fucking with words it was as if the Raiden Shogun herself was here to cry alongside him.

The man practically saw you as more valuable than the water he drowns himself with.

It was all you ever wanted and more.

Despite your excessive amounts of free time, you still found yourself to be stressed and tired. Due to your high profile job and connections, it was a must to move from place to place frequently as to avoid paparazzi among other dangers to your health and privacy.

You were planning to check the Fortress of Meropide that day to . . . have a date with Lyney. Don’t look at me like that! You two are the ones with the weird taste in scenery.

“Oh! Your Grace. How do you fare?” You bowed politely. You could feel the glare from the magician beside you burning as bright as his vision.

The man was a menacing person from looks to begin with, but there were also other reasons you often felt something crawl up your spine whenever you two met.

He always stared at you like you had done something wrong. When he was the former criminal between you two! Really, what a crude man. His trial was one of the biggest hits of your career so at least you had that to owe to him.

You still remove the chills you felt when he simply admitted his guilt.

“Mx. [L/N]. I was told to deliver this to you.”

“Oh? I didn’t know that the Duke of Meropide also worked as part-time delivery men.”

“Trust me, this is works for my own self interest more than the sender.”

You gave him a pointed look. Well those words didn’t seem suspicious at all. You shrugged as you examined the object. A letter. Cold pressed paper — the expensive kind too, bound together by stamped blue wax and what seemed to be a miniature lakelight lily.

Inside — in the most elegant cursive you’ve ever seen — was . . . a poem. It read as follows;

Ma gouttelette du ciel,

Telle une étoile dans la nuit,

Ton amour est mon miel,

Dans ton regard, tout est infini.

Tes sourires, doux rayons du jour,

Illuminent mes jours comme un phare,

Dans ce monde, tu es mon seul séjour,

Ton amour est ma plus belle fanfare.

La tendresse de tes mains,

L'éclat de ton rire mélodieux,

Sont pour moi de précieux biens,

Qui éclairent ma vie, radieux.

Ma gouttelette du ciel,

Dans ton amour, je m'égare,

Ton essence est mon miel,

Chaque moment avec toi est un phare.

It only took one line for you to recognize Neuvilette’s work. His water tasting hobbies was somewhat common knowledge to the public, and Lyney was less of a poem man and more of a showy partner.

And so, after making sure his eyes were on you, you ripped it apart.

“That’s a bit too harsh is it not?” Lyney spoke with a nagging tone, yet his eyes were filled with the utmost delight.

“Monsieur Lyney. You know of its contents? Has your father ever told you not to pry into other people’s business?”

“Perhaps. But we’re friends aren’t we? Friend’s don’t hide anything from eachother.”

You sighed. You hated it when he knew where to hit. “. . .Then can you do me a favor and use your vision for its disposal?”

“My pleasure.”

Orange flames barely appear for a moment before it is doused by the sky’s tears. But even then it was enough to destroy the letter.

“Your Grace—“

The clock was ticking.

A few months after you’d heard his screams, you found out that the traveler would be arriving to their next destination soon. There was only a small fragment of a moment to lose for preparation. The rain was getting unbearably strong. You could not count the amount of times you’ve had to replace your umbrella.

In any case, you had invited Charlotte for a chat at the cafe. Partly because of her vision which helped with the rain, and mostly because you wanted to gossip with her as you usually did when slacking off.

Those works of yours outside of your actual career at the Palais Memornia don’t make themselves after all.

“Rumor has it that young women of have been disappearing of late. Do you have any clues on this phenomenon yet, Charlotte?” You leaned unto the table. Your signature smug smile on your lips as you presented your question to the young lady.

“Not yet. Wait — aren’t I the journalist here? Why are you asking the questions? Don’t tell me you missed another deadline again.”

“I just want to get ahead on my writing. The Steambird must have gotten a lead, no?” You dipped on your tea as you spoke, gaze directed at its reflection of your face and the dark skies above.

“So you can slack off some more?”

“T’was what my doctor had prescribed. I need to take care of my mental health too, yknow.” You smiled, poking your cheek in a cutesy manner.

This was no good. You were getting nowhere in your investigation and your anxiety bit at you as time could only pass by. You bit your nails. What would he do? How would he bypass such a situation? Oh, how useless you were without him.

“[Y/N]!”

You almost don’t react to that name as you were overtaken by your thoughts. It seemed that you spent too much time worrying that Charlotte wasn’t even at your side anymore.

“Ah, Lady Furina. How may I be of service?” You stood from sit in a jolt. You were guilty of looking down at the archon from time to time but appearances must be kept in public.

“I came to personally escort you to Palais Memornia. We have a case that requires your presence.” She coughed. An unusual shaken demeanor on her. Not that she was a completely confident person all the time, but this look on her particularly screamed fear.

But what would an archon be afraid of?

“Urgently.”

“A case? But with this rain. . . surely — “

The rain abruptly stopped and with its sounds disappearing, a deep voice makes its way into your ears.

“It is yours, [Y/N]. You’re under arrest for suspicions of colluding with the Fatui.”

“Monsieur —“

He looked away from you before you could finish your call. You feel metal touch your skin as none other than Wriosthesley himself puts cuffs around your wrists.

“Stay put, Mx. [Y/N].”

You eyed the Iudex from beyond the ‘glass’. This chamber had not existed the last time you visited the Fortress. Yet here it was, almost an exact same replica of your room — yet it did not feel like home at all.

You supposed Fontaine in its entirety was not home at all.

“You framed me.”

You were lazy. Incompetent even. But you would never collude with those miscreants.

At least, those were the lies you fed yourself in order to feel better about the betrayals you made in a day to day basis.

You could imagine the looks on your colleague’s faces. Would they be surprised, neutral, would they even care at all? Or would they be so utterly hurt by your actions that they fall into a spiraling abyss of despair?

You yearned to witness it all.

“All you had to do was to accept me.” His gloved hand touches the material between you two, a ripple forming from his touch. You were surrounded by what seemed like primordial water.

“I would have forgiven your sins. I would have made you be reborn anew. Innocent and pure as water.”

The water parted for a brief moment but you do not dare do anything foolish. You stayed put, remained still as Neuvilette reached through, and allowed the dragon to drag his thumb across your jaw and lips.

“All you did was push me away.”

And then — he pulls your head through the opening.

You close your eyes. One smallest movement would have your neck turn into foam.

“[Y/N], ma gouttelette du ciel.”

Perhaps, you had no need to see all the other’s fall into hopelessness. After all, the man who put the most trust and adoration into you was right here with you.

If only you were able to empathize with him. If only you were able to return his feelings and live a fulfilling life filled with love.

If only you weren’t cursed to feel nothing for him at all.

“Comme on fait son lit, on se couche.”

After all, what the Doctor wills is what the patient gets,

and if you must sleep in your deathbed this day and suffer the Iudex’s judgement — then so it shall be.

⟣┄─ ˑ IV. ✧ DIVIDER

[ TRANSLATIONS ] [ MY FRENCH IS VV RUSTY SO PLEASE TELL ME IF THERE ARE BETTER REPLACEMENTS/TRANSLATIONS FOR THESE] :

Ma gouttelete du ciel- My droplet from the sky/heaven/my droplet of heaven etc.

Comme on fait son lit, on se couche - You made your bed, sleep on it / You dug your own grave.

[hello-gloomy]

'What was your nen again?'

____________________

Phantom troupe x Gen!reader

Description: The troupe finally had some free time so you decided to meet up with them again, you happen to bring up something none of them mentioned to you which brings up a question.

Warnings: Crack taken seriously. I don't think there's any use of Y/N aside from that pretty tame some of them might be OOC it's my first time writing for so many characters.

A/N: Just something short (Maybe) to tide us all over till the first two polls are done or till I finish my other WIPs. (I should be doing work rn but I'm not.) :^

_____________________

"You need to work on your sleeping habits."

"...What..?"

"You didn't go to sleep till 2 yesterday." Shalnark looked mildly unnerved at your claims, which made you feel slightly bad for the unconscious snooping you do through everyone's memories. But you couldn't help but bring it up, how is he supposed to commit crimes on three hours of sleep all the time. Bound to make mistakes like that.

"I never told you that..." This gains the attention of Pakunoda who happens to be close by she gets up from where she was sitting in the large dining hall you and the group were staying at for their temporary break.

"Told them what?"

"What time he went to sleep." Her brows furrowed for a second while she glanced at a shocked Shalnark.

"Lucky guess?" She pondered out loud, He grimaced at that while you giggled at his facial expression.

"I peeked at his memories."

"Brother eugh." You full-on belly laughed at that attracting some more of the others to get closer.

"What's going on now?"

"Shal didn't go to sleep till two."

"Explains eyebag."

"I DO NOT HAVE EYEBAGS."

Feitan moved closer to your left side while Shalnark opened up the camera on his phone to look at his eyes to prove his point.

"How see memory?"

"With my Nen." Everyone stopped and looked at you.

"You have Nen?"

"Mmm...Yeah..?"

"So your Nen is similar to mine then?"

"Kind of, just without the gun. I could project other people's memories too."

"Show Shalnark memory."

"Do not."

With that, you summon your nen and a small eyeglass appears you scope out an open wall and find one large enough by Uvo and Nobunaga. You motion for the others to follow behind you while Shalnark whines for you not to embarrass him. Walking past the other pair they take notice and ask Paku what's happening she gives a brief explanation. You engage Gyo and through your eye, you show the memory of Shalnark on his computer and after a bit of fast forwarding through the memory, you show him passed out at the desk. The projection comes to an end and you turn around to find Machi and Korotopi have joined you as well. Pakunoda turns to Shalnark to scold him first.

"they're right you do need to work on your sleeping habits." She held her hand on the side of her face. Shalnark turned a bit pink at her remark while Uvo and Nobunaga started laughing at him.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were the two of you considering how reckless you were being last week." They stopped immediately, and Machi's eyes were practically excited, begging you to show their embarrassing moments. You let out a quiet huff and turned around to project another moment. Showing the two men almost getting blown up on the task Chrollo had previously sent them on.

"Nice job."

"Shut up Machi!"

"Why don't you show one of her embarrassing moments!!"

"And get strung up hard pass. I like living unlike you two obviously." That had everyone laughing again. Chrollo had magically materialized and joined the theatrics of the group you had all made now.

"How far back can you go with individual memories?"

"From the instant their brain forms." "But I usually don't snoop back that far without explicit permission."

"If you'd prefer I can show memories from when you were younger?" You hold eye contact with Chrollo while the rest watch on. You get a bit nervous and start to doubt the previous forwardness you had getting ready to retract your question, Chrollo interrupts yours and everyone's thoughts.

"Just don't go back too far."

Carefully you picked a memory that you found lovely, one between The boss and Pakunoda. Everyone hushed when the light from your eye displayed upon the wall, you all heard the tune before you saw anyone, piles upon piles of trash a few giggles in between notes of the crackling song and soon enough two small figures came into view a young Chrollo and Paku holding hands arms enveloped around the waist of the other. They were beaming at one another you let it play a bit longer before it cut out. Turning around everyone was looking between Paku and Dancho. Pakunoda wiped her eyes before she looked over to a smiling Chrollo.

"That was a good choice."

[rdbrainz]

Info and oc related stuff Characters in the following order: Ikkon, Turzo, Zanni (in his Resurrección form, you can find his regular outfit somewhere on here wink-wink), Kenpachi Ryuya, Betsuyaku Taisuke Their stories take place in an au btw

Ikkon "Capitano" Agreda Refused his number Zanpakuto: Tiamtum. Doesn't look like a katana at all, it's a silver brass knuckle knife Resurrección: Orca. However, no special form is obtained when activated Other: h-207cm, w-about 130kg

Ikkon's animal prototype is orca, the most fearsome sea predator. I wanted to give themes to the members of my Arrancar troupe (aside from literally being inspired by theatre, circus, etc.) and settled on self-destructive attitudes and relationships☝🤓 So his theme is anger, resentment and revengefulness. Many in the troupe call him by his nickname, "Capitano", but Ikkon is not a Spaniard who came from far away like his theatrical counterpart, he has no army and in this respect, he resembles Captain Ahab who blindly hunts for his own death with his decisions. Incredibly and sometimes unreasonably vicious and cruel, firmly believing that if the world and its creatures have treated him with nothing but cruelty since his birth, he shouldn't treat the world any differently. He has no sporting interest in violence. Ikkon can have fun in the process - even dance as a mockery - but he is not interested in fair fights purely for the sake of finding a worthy opponent, so he hates when opponents try to initiate small talk during encounters. He would be much more happy if his prey would just shut up and die. Ikkon is dismissive towards everyone around him and keeps them at arm's length even when he seems to like someone, and he is more than happy with his position as a "hired force" since he refused to play a role in the troupe and kinda sticks around to find himself new things to kill time with or, well, kill. He has murdered a great number of Arrancar either for fun or because of some quarrels and dug himself an even deeper grave. Despite actually having some semblance of self-awareness, he always finds someone to blame. Technically, he's just a big, angry kid who's lucky enough to have a huge power advantage over literally all of his kin and who's is so stuck in his own anger, so limited by it that he's unable to change at this point. His views have gotten him nowhere but to an aimless, stupid and painful death, which he'd always predicted for himself, but even then he's managed to do his own thing and took the shinigami who fought him out in the process. "If I go down, you go down with me." He mainly relies on his immense physical strength, size, and good fighting ability, but he also uses Sonído, Cero, Bala, and other delights of the Arrancar form. His personal ability is blowing bubbles filled with compressed spiritual energy hundreds of times stronger than when it's just surrounding him. When they burst at his command, they release it in the form of powerful waves that, depending on the opponent's spiritual energy, can either blow their head off from the pressure or just topple them over. His Resurrección doesn't give him a cool orca-man form but works kinda like a Domain Expansion. The lack of any new physical abilities or a new form when released is paid off by the fact that Ikkon's Reiatsu at a large radius from him is so intense that it creates a pressure similar to that of being submerged deep underwater. It's called Hadal Zone (Ultra Abyssal) because of it. He can easily tinker with this pressure and change it back and forth with various rapidity, so he can give his enemy either a decompression sickness or an instant death from rupture… of pretty much everything… It's up to him, but he's more fond of killing shinigami, humans, and his kin with his own hands rather than standing aside while it's happening.

Ikkon's far more cool and talented in all sorts of things than people give him credit for. He has a very strong singing voice and sometimes sings to himself when he's alone. But nothing more than that. He's not ashamed of his talent, in fact, he takes pride in it but being the object of attention of the troupe is worse than death itself to him, so it's kinda his fault people tend to overlook things abt him. He actually finds most of the members annoying. Especially their voices thanks to his extra sensitive hearing. It gets so bad that if he were to fight shinigami in the world of the living he'd probably bawl his eyes out due to the noise pollution and not be focused enough to do anything. He also lives on the outskirts of the cathedral-like building, where the other Arrancar reside, in a cave of some sort. Not because he's not a part of the whole mess but because he feels safer and calmer in the place he's been living alone in for a couple of hundred years now, even in his hollow form. Named after two musicians - Federico Augusto Ágreda Álvarez (Zardonic) and Niko "Ikon" Lehdontie (Oranssi Pazuzu). Theme songs: Twelve Foot Ninja - Coming For You, Staind - Change, Combichrist - Throat Full of Glass, Seether - Pride, P.O.D. - Listening For The Silence, Найк Борзов - Слышу Тьму. Heavily lyrics-oriented I guess?? Whatever… Tbh he's grown on me over time and the more I think abt him the less I wanna kill him off (and Ryuya too) but for the sake of keeping the story intact, there's an alternative route where he almost dies but doesn't. Maybe I'll write it down later but first I need to tell you about Volto so ehh… We'll see I guess.

[chuuyrr]

Hello I would like make a request for BSD x Gojo! Reader, with the “Decay Of Angels” if you don’t mind.

In a story where all of the Mans in the “Decay Of Angels” (excluding Fukuchi) being fanboys to Gojo! Reader. Just like Miwa Kasumi being a fangirl to Gojo Satoru.

Make it separate please. Thank you 😊

paparazzi

bungou stray dogs x gojo! reader

masterlist of infinity

╰➤ CW(s): spoilers for bungou stray dogs, crack-ish and slight ooc! decay of angels (i don't really write for them)

╰➤ SYNOPSIS(s): a terrorist organization that specializes as a murder association can't help but take their eyes on the strongest ability user, or in which they simp for you.

╰➤ PAIRING(s): fyodor dostoevsky, nikolai gogol, sigma (separately with different scenarios)

excluding bram stoker and fukuchi as well because i honestly don't know how to write for them. also, i'm still quite new in writing for fyodor, nikolai and sigma, since i'm still catching up with the manga. despite them acting like miwa, i still stuck with their actual characters, but hopefully it's ok ! also, thanks for requesting anon dear ♡

being gojo [name], it's no surprise that you're quick to swoon people, may it be guys or girls.

one of their favorite things to do is literally gathering information and analyzing your every move. probably creepy, but not only were they keen on convincing you to join them, they really just wanted to see and adore you upclose, and when they do, may it be from a far in camera or personally, they're losing it in the inside.

apart from possessing sugawara michizane's six eyes and the limitless ability that makes you the strongest ability user alive, you're very charismatic person, and the decay of the angel is no exception to that. the instant they found and learned about you, they were stoked. they instantly became your biggest fans, despite being a terrorist organization that specializes as a murder association.

nikolai gogol !

nikolai is a die-hard fan of yours. he's head over heels in love with you, and he's a lot like miwa kasumi. he gets all giddy and excited as soon as he sees you, but unlike miwa, who is discreet, he is openly expressive.

"goodness, if it isn't an angel sent from above?" nikolai's calm demeanor crumbled when he saw you. he just can't help it.

nikolai practically pushes everyone around you aside and approaches you without hesitation or shame.

you weren't even on a mission. you were simply walking around yokohama by yourself when you were approached by a white-layered haired man dressed as a circus ringmaster. you watched as he pushed the man next to you away without hesitation before bowing with his hand to his chest and lifting his hat in respect.

"gojo [name], it's an honor to finally see you in person!" nikolai exclaimed a little too enthusiastically and theatrically.

behind your black round sunglasses, your eyes widened slightly. oh, how peculiar. he already recognizes you. perhaps a stalker? well, it's nothing to be alarmed about. you're type of person who eats death threats from higher-ups for breakfast—this was not actually a big deal, so you went along with it.

you proceeded to hold a baffled expression as you tapped your chin in a thoughtful manner, "oh, my. do i know you, kind sir?"

"hohoho, let me introduce myself! my name is nikolai gogol. i've heard everything about you dear! you're the heir of the gojo family and i'm a huge fan," he exclaimed enthusiastically, "do you mind if i quiz you, dove?"

"quiz me?" you tilted your head to the side, practically making nikolai squeal on the inside from how charming and adorable you were up close, especially when you did that—perfect, your charms were working well on him.

"mhm! it is but a simple question," nikolai hummed and chuckled softly as he nodded.

"alright then, go ahead," you smiled at him kindly as you clasped your hands together.

"a vase is what this usually adorns. be careful as it may have some thorns! but even so, it is as beautiful as a ravishing woman like you," nikolai declared with a wink.

it was a riddle.

"hmm, vase? thorns? beautiful?" you furrowed your brows and held your chin between your fingers, thinking of an answer. you snapped your fingers as you smiled at him, "ah, a rose!"

"ding ding!" chimed nikolai happily, and with that, he pulled a bouquet of roses from his overcoat and handed it to you, which made you gasp softly as he continued, "a beautiful rose, for a beautiful lady."

"well, aren't you quite the charmer?" your lips curved into a smile as you pushed your glasses down slightly, just enough for your blue six eyes to stare at him, "thank you, nikolai!"

nikolai found himself giddy at the prospect of seeing you this close up, especially those gorgeous eyes of yours, let alone hearing his name spill from your plump lips. you were truly as lovely as a rose, perhaps even more so.

however, as soon as he saw a familiar man approaching you from a distance, his eyes narrowed slightly. it appeared that it was now time for him to flee. his expression changed immediately as he extended his hand for you to take, and in return, he bent down and kissed your knuckles as he gently grasped your hand, catching you somewhat off guard.

"it is truly an honor to see you in person," nikolai exclaimed before smiling and pulling away.

"gojo-chan!" you turned around to see ranpo running towards you, holding his hat and huffing for air as he came to a halt.

"ah, ranpo-kun! what are you doing here?" you asked, blinking.

"it's urgent. i need to discuss something with you," ranpo said, his eyes widening slightly as he looked at the bouquet of roses in your hands, "eh, were you on a date or something?"

"nope. this kind man gave this bouquet of roses to m—your eyes widened as soon as you turned around and found nikolai gone without a trace.

"what man?" ranpo raised a brow at you suspiciously.

you lowered your black round sunglasses to scan your surroundings, but nikolai gogol had vanished without a trace. despite the vast perception your six eyes provides you, you couldn't see him from a mile away.

he was really gone.

you then returned your attention to the bouquet of roses he had just given you, only to discover a small card tied to one of the roses that read,

"i apologize, dove, but i have a show to run. don't worry, we will meet again, gojo [name]."

after reading, you froze and found yourself clutching the bouquet tightly.

this card appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

sigma !

sigma, unlike nikolai gogol, is the true miwa kasumi type. he fanboys for you more on the inside than on the outside due to his casino manager reputation, aside from being a part of the decay of angels.

"it that... gojo [name]?" the young man muttered himself, surprised.

sigma noticed you from afar as a customer in the sky casino—his very own casino—due to your ever-familiar black round sunglasses and signature snow-white hair. sigma's eyes widened and he found himself bobbing his adam's apple. you weren't even dressed in your usual attire. you were dressed elegantly in a sleeveless black dress with a slit exposing one of your thighs and matching black heels.

how could he possibly have missed your name? sigma was certain he had memorized his casino's customers because he was the manager. unless, of course, this is your first time here; it has to be your first time. he had never seen you here before, and based on your information, you work for heiwa in tokyo.

you, on the other hand, were sipping a soda that had been served to you because you don't drink alcohol as you casually flirted and smooth-talked this one customer, discreetly learning about this sky casino.

it may not appear so, but you were on a mission right now. heiwa, your organization in charge of tokyo, asked you to look into any leads related to the books.

sigma followed you as soon as you finished talking with the said man; he was envious of how close the said man was to you. you, on the other hand, could not help but smile.

you got the manager of the sky casino's attention exactly as you planned.

you set your drink down, handing it to one of the establishment's waiters, and smiled as you watched sigma approach you, nearly tripping on his heels. his heart was racing and his mind was pounding.

oh my god.

you just smiled at him.

"yes?" you sweetly asked, watching as sigma gathered himself, clearing his throat as he faced you. you were making him nervous.

"p-pardon me, gojo [name]-san," he cleared his throat, "as the manager of the sky casino, i would just like to check in my casino's customers. that man wasn't bothering you, was he?" sigma asked, glancing at the man you were talking to earlier.

oh, my. well isn't he a bold one?

aren't customers in this establishment coded? hmm, the fact that this man knew your name could only mean one thing—this person is well aware of who you are, whether as a member of heiwa or a descendant of sugawara michizane, or maybe as the head of the gojo family. but you maintained your cool as you acknowledged him.

"oh, so you're the manager!" you exclaimed, resting your chin between your thumb and index fingers, "no worries. he wasn't bothering me at all. thank you for the concern. goodness, i should commend you. i'm not really one for casinos and all that gambling, but this establishment sure is accommodating and well kept in order. you seem very capable, and you even check on your customers!"

sigma's eyes widened. he was caught off guard. oh my goodness. his heart was screaming. you simply complimented him.

'gojo [name] commended me. gojo thinks i'm capable,' he thought, fighting back a flush that was forming and spreading across his face.

you were making him fall in love with you so easily. good god. just how were you doing that?

"would you like to share a drink or two with me, mr. manager?" you asked, tilting your head and using your charm. you mentally smirked as you watched sigma's adam's apple bob up and down. this guy was a big fan of yours it seems.

"only if it's okay with you though! you must be a busy man," you chuckled later, "it's just that I've been meaning to talk to you."

"r-really now?" sigma blinked profusely.

"you see, i'm from tokyo, and a colleague of mine mentioned the sky casino being a worthwhile place to visit here in yokohama," you skillfully lied, your voice smooth as silk, "so places i've never been to or heard of before really interest me, so i was wondering if i could perhaps hear of this establishment's background perhaps? i'm genuinely curious."

"i don't mind at all, gojo-san," a smile graced his lips, "it would be an honor to enlighten you,"

"really? why, thank you! you really are dependable!" you clasped your hands together.

you then gave him a closed-eye smile, which caused sigma to blush furiously, causing him to cover his face and turn away from you, pretending to cough when you opened your eyes and straightened your posture.

fyodor dostoevsky !

now, fyodor is not as expressive and open compared to sigma and, especially, nikolai. in fact, he's very discreet. fyodor is similar to miwa in that he maintains his cool and calm at all costs despite his feelings for you.

it was a moonlit, dark night. you had just finished business in yokohama and were now craving some sweets due to your sweet tooth, and what better way to satisfy your cravings than to satisfy your cravings? it is possible to get some at your favorite coffee shop even if it is late at night. you cheerfully pushed the glass doors, the doorbell chiming upon contact.

fyodor was already outside the coffee shop when you walked in, having arrived only a few minutes before you. with the decay of the angel almost always watching you and your fondness for restaurants and shops selling sweets, it was quite easy to track where you frequently went.

fyodor wasn't the type to go wherever he pleased in public, but he'd been meaning to see you up close, not just through a camera or screen.

after ordering a slice of red velvet cake and a matcha crepe cake, as well as your preferred iced coffee, you took the only available seat by the window and clutched your receipt, waiting for your order. fyodor decided to order at the cashier as well, and then he decided to look around, pretending to look for a vacant seat despite already knowing you had already taken the last one.

fyodor smiled at the sight of you, sitting on the cozy chair, your heavenly blue six eyes drawn towards the full moon outside as you leaned your head against your knuckles, elbows propped on the arm of the chair, and legs crossed over one another—such grace.

"excuse me," your eyes widened slightly. the stranger's russian accent easily caught your attention.

fyodor felt a little nervous now that you were staring at him from head to toe. he couldn't help but be swooned by how intently you were staring at him, especially when you pulled down your sunglasses and stared at him with your heavenly six eyes. you were simply stunning.

"yes?" your lips curved into a friendly smile.

"do you mind if i sit with you?" fyodor asked, motioning over the other tables that were occupied to reason.

"sure, i don't mind," you replied nonchalantly with a shrug of your shoulders, looking around to see that despite the late hour, the coffee shop was packed, making fyodor extremely pleased with your response.

just then, one of the pick-up staff members called your name, along with another, as two trays were served, "orders for [name] and fedya are ready at the bar!" the man said.

"that my order; do you mind if you stay here while i go get it?" you exclaimed, standing up from your seat, but fyodor gently grabbed your shoulder, forcing you to stay.

"i'll get yours, mine's ready at the bar as well," fyodor reasoned, giving you a closed-eye smile. you tried to object, but he shook his head and insisted, "just think of it as my way of repaying your kindness in allowing me to sit with you."

you couldn't help but crease your brows as fyodor walked away to pick up your orders. that man had an odd allure, but you noticed he was quite attractive—shoulder length black hair and sharp deep purple eyes—even his clothing choices were odd, but you weren't going to judge. you straightened your back in either case as he returned to the table, smiling as he handed you your drink and sweets.

"your name's fedya, right?" you suddenly asked.

fyodor's eyes widened slightly as something within him ignited when you said his nickname—even if he may or may not have planned it when he ordered his drink.

but, goodness gracious.

it sounded so good to hear it from you.

"no, my name's fyodor, dear," oops. there was a slip, but oh, well. you don't seem to mind the small endearment anyway. hehe.

"oh," you remarked with interest, smiling with a hint of mischief, "well, thank you, fedya."

fyodor stifled a small chuckle as he sat down on the seat across you, "my name's fyodor, dear."

"well, yeah, but fedya sounds cuter," you exclaimed as you sipped your drink, "plus, if you don't want me to call you that, you should have given your real name instead."

"well, you're not wrong," fyodor smiled and waved it away as he sipped the tea he ordered.

"you're not from around here, are you?" you pointed out, as you ate a piece of your red velvet cake, "your name and accent are russian."

"yes, i'm just visiting," fyodor replied, leaning back against his seat, his hands intertwined on his lap, "yokohama's an interesting city."

"i guess i agree with you on that," you shrugged, nodding in agreement.

as you two ate and drank, fyodor continued to converse with you. to be honest, there was nothing hidden behind fyodor purposefully bumping into you. he just wanted to see you up close and talk to you, and he couldn't help but be amused by how you're talking and hanging out with him—you knew what he was up to.

even if you were being playful and casual, fyodor could see and sense your passive-aggression, especially when he started talking about ability users and how sinful man is.

you may appear to be a charming and chatty young lady, but you were gojo [name].

he knows about you. how could he not? not when the decay of the angel had been eyeing for some time now. apart from possessing a dangerously strong ability and the six eyes altogether, fyodor even knows how you came from a wealthy family—a clan that you head—and he knows exactly how to push your buttons.

"all that self-righteous talk you're getting there, tch, not really a fan of it," you scoffed as you stirred your drink, your eyes narrowing slightly.

"but when you look at me like that with those eyes of yours, my love," fyodor murmured quietly as he sipped his tea, "i sure am a fan."

"uh, what did you say?" you wondered, tilting your head, "i didn't quite catch that."

"nothing, dear," fyodor said with a closed-eye smile and a wave of his hand to dismiss it.

[thegrunkiest]

Overanalyzing the Spectral Assassin Dialogue

When there's a character with scarce material to draw from for writing, I tend to read into lines a lot, despite it being very likely that It's Not That Deep.

Lucien Lachance is no exception to this; in my opinion his comments in Skyrim actually offer more hints at his character than in Oblivion (aside from being very versed and pious in the Dark Brotherhood's doctrine - that's a personal interpretation I will not shake 😌). Wes Johnson, as always with his unique voices, also gives us some flavor and nuance to think on, whether intentional or not. Here are my personal takeaways from some of his dialogue!

"An ancient city, Markarth. Built by the Dwemer, the dwarves of old. To think, an entire race... eradicated. Not even I can take credit for that feat."

This suggests to me a bit of an ego. Given this comment it's safe to say he is quite self-assured in his skills and reputation, which I suppose can be taken as a healthy confidence, too. Either or! Though I like thinking arrogance personally.

Also... the way he utters "eradicated"? Sounds wistful, almost. Perhaps he derives personal, sick pleasure in the idea, or perhaps is pleased by the fact such a large-scale notion of death and discord would surely please Sithis greatly.

"You wish to kill me? Someone has already had that honor. Hah!"

"Ha ha! I've suffered worse!"

Could be taken as simple statements - because yes, obviously, he was killed and it was brutal... but what interests me is that he's laughing about it. He's not mad nor morose over his death. Perhaps he's grown to accept the circumstances over two centuries, or sees it as a theatric close to his personal legend.

"Someone has already had that honor" is a tasty tidbit that furthers this idea; I perceive this as an ego similar to the Markarth quote. He sees it as something of an achievement to have been killed: the infamous Lucien Lachance, acclaimed Speaker of the Black Hand, epitome of what the Dark Brotherhood stood for, finally taken to the grave? Be it for false accusations - with his death, no doubt the world became just a bit safer...

"Have you heard the tale of Mathieu Bellamont, and the Great Treachery of Cheydinhal? Kill a boy's mother, and vengeance festers in the son."

The famous line. To me this actually adds on to the above quotes - it's interesting just how... indifferent he sounds about it. He words it as though he's about to read us an Edgar Allen Poe story, rather than harp about some unfortunate events that ultimately destroyed - and prematurely ended - his life. Again, perhaps he's had lifetimes to come to terms with it, but it's just compelling how he's not outright angry. Which honestly? I feel like that'd insult Bellamont more than anything.

"Ah, yes. Solitude. Seat of the High King of Skyrim. Messy business, kingslaying. Ah, but so very satisfying..."

Oh yeah. He's undoubtedly killed a king in the past; it sounds here like he's speaking from personal experience. Take that as you will. Had it been a previous High King of Skyrim, giving a motive to his stated journey through Skyrim in his youth? I'm curious if there's any lore that could align timelines and point to who he could have assassinated, even if it could be chalked up to happy coincidence.

"In my time, the Blades protected the Emperor. It would seem these Penitus Oculatus will prove equally incompetent."

"My time saw the assassination of an Emperor as well. Alas, the Dark Brotherhood did not have the honor of that kill."

He seems to somewhat revel in Uriel's assassination though confesses some... envy, perhaps?... that it was not the Brotherhood's work. He also blatantly criticises the Blade's failure (ouch, man, don't do my boy Baurus like that!) I mean, it goes without saying his allegiance lies with the Brotherhood above anyone else, and he's evil and nasty, but these quotes convince me he doesn't hold any strong political stance. Complimenting the kingslaying quote and in tune with slaying the Emperor in Skyrim. Powerful targets are just high-prized game - and an acclaimed opportunity to orchestrate Sithis's will on a grander stage.

"Yes. Kill the chef, and then steal his very identity. For that is the true death."

This is most likely just some idle ruminations. It has me thinking nonetheless. Not out of the realm of possibility that he's assumed false identities himself to get to more valuable targets, of course.

I have some wild ideas that have branched from this though. What if?... what if he's stolen identities on a personal level? Aliases, if you will. Some serial killers are notorious for it (take H.H. Holmes for example). What if Lucien Lachance isn't actually Lucien Lachance? (Okay, this one's the total crackpot theory of the bunch but it was a fun idea to throw out there)

[directdogman]

In my own writing I struggle with giving each character their own voice (speech patterns, phrases they use) and in Dialtown each character is super specific. Are there certain things you had to remember for each character, other than Oliver using his fucked up slang lmao.

When I write my characters, I can usually hear them in my head to some extent. Like, I can picture how it would feel to talk to them, or if I tuned out while one of my characters was chattering away about something, I can kinda hear the unintelligible static.

If you want me to write a lil essay pointing out differences in how the characters in the main cast are written, alright, I'll bite:

Verbal ticks help differentiate characters for me. We all know about Randy's stuttering, but there's more than just that in how the characters' sentence structures affect how we see their speech.

Karen's sentences tend to end in periods, if they aren't questions or if her voice isn't raised. Almost all of Randy's sentences, meanwhile, end with ellipses (…) or hyphens to indicate he trailed off/stuttered his way through the ending. Oliver does occasionally end sentences with ellipses or hyphens, but defaults to periods and often exclamation marks, as he's pretty excitable. This alone shows the difference in tone/confidence that the main 3 have without changing any words.

The characters all use slightly different terminology when they speak. Oliver's fucked up slang is only a part of it, he also uses theatrical language, often framing sentences creatively and in a way that absurdly beefs up the word count of his dialogue. He uses fairly atypical adjectives, surrealist language. He refers to himself in the third person sometimes. He uses imperfect tenses in order to make his sentences longer/less uniform. I'll give an example, from when Gingi asks Oliver if film reel movie projection is magic:

"I consider myself a sorcerer of FILTH, perhaps (an apt conjurer of muck/grime), but this artform isn't QUITE witchcraft NOR warlockery, I'm 'fraid."

Okay, putting aside the bizarre content of the sentence itself, one curious thing to note is that the whole sentence is full of words that don't convey any additional information. Conjurer is a synonym of sorcerer and he uses two synonyms for dirty AFTER already using filth. Guy loves theatrical language and will structure his sentence to make sentences much longer, so he can fit more of it in. But, then ends the sentence by taking a whole syllable away from the word 'afraid' and abbreviation it, like speaking with an accent. Oliver's sentence pacing is completely different to other people because of the volume of odd language he uses. In the context of the game, he's also drawing the player in by creating a pause, as the next line is:

"No, the actual "beaming" work comes from our dear old movie projector, and possibly my greatest love: Big Bertha!"

He likes Big Bertha and enjoys talking about her, and he tries to draw Gingi in and get Gingi invested in this thing by drawing out the introduction and forcing Gingi to wait for him to introduce Bertha in suspense. Randy volunteers info as if he thinks you're gonna hit him, unable to stand silence and hence, the sound of his own thoughts.

To contrast, Karen uses direct language, mainly. I wouldn't call her speech robotic, as most of the time she can retract language, she does (I am->I'm, I would->I'd, etc) but usually she uses direct tenses, and takes fewer words to say what she needs to compared to, say, Oliver. Generally, the words she uses tonally matches what she says. Weirder, less usual words come out when Karen is reacting to something she finds weird/illogical.

Norm's speech could be described as someone with a heavy accent who's well read, but is slightly insecure about being well-read. He uses words like 'y'all', 'ain't', 'reckon', retracts words like 'to' as 't'', but if you pay attention, he occasionally uses technical, academic language that doesn't match the aesthetics of the rest of his language. You can take the boy away from book learnin', but ya can't take the book learning outta the boy.

Billy is aggressive and generally, his language is designed to make the player feel bad in some way. Generally speaking, he's either insulting you, mocking your knowledge of the world, pointing out something you said as stupid, or is using words like 'lmayo'. Billy doesn't care much about the player, but is interested enough to talk to the player as a means to offend/demean them until you run out of things to say or leave, frustrated, which is Billy's goal. If you view what he says in this lens, you'll see this accurately describes how he speaks to you.

Billy uses surrealist language occasionally to seem more hellish and inhuman, but often, uses fewer words than other main characters. Subconsciously, it's to convey that Billy doesn't respect you enough to use more words. When Billy DOES use big words, it's exclusively on purpose and exclusively to subconsciously belittle Gingi, like when he refers to Gingi as a 'amphibian moron'.

God, similar to Billy, tends to use fewer words than most other characters. He often gives formulaic dialogue responses. There's no psychological play here, God just genuinely doesn't care how Gingi or anyone else sees him or if his tone/phrasing is improper because he knows how little respect people in Dialtown have for him anyway and embraces it.

Sometimes though, he does use uncommon synonyms for words, a byproduct of having lived so long through other times/eras. The references he makes are much the same. Fucker occasionally references ancient Greek figures and expects the references to land, as if everyone present somehow would've once somehow met these ancient fellows.

Mingus uses formal, impersonal language, and tends to use uncommon synonyms for words. The purpose of this is to subconsciously belittle the person she's speaking to and affirm her social class.

While she'll skirt past a commonly used word for a rare synonym in order to make her speech sound more dignified, she rarely leaves out pronouns in sentences. The reason for this is because most of her speech has an indignant tone. She's complaining about some shoddily done action or what she feels is a lack of service. So, the last thing she'd want to do is miss the opportunity to rant directly about her grievances in direct terms. Creative phrasing isn't used to replace pronouns but used to more elaborately phrase the error someone has committed to further emphasize her dismay. EG:

"You created the entire universe, and yet, the ability to perform a simple CARTWHEEL eludes you?"

Instead of saying "can", she says "the ability", instead of 'can't do', it's 'elude'. Hell, instead of 'do', it's 'perform'. But, both at the beginning and end of the sentence, she doesn't think to phrase the sentence in a way to avoid repeating the word 'you'. Like I said, the flourishes are just to drive the point home that she sees herself as above the person she's speaking to and to reaffirm how absurd she sees the limitations of others.

How Jerry talks is basically the conflict within a well educated but defeated man whose brain is decaying from years of substandard life. His speech, like his brain, is in conflict. His job dictates that he should always use terms of respect, like sir/ma'am, but he curses too. When he raises his voice, his sentences are often short and abrupt, but the words he uses tend to be elaborate and rarely used. Jerry is educated, has opinions on stuff. His mind is wasted at his job, and even through his defeated cynicism, you can subtly see that Jerry wants a better life through the words he uses.

Jerry's speech patterns are actually quite close to the narrator, and this is intentional, actually. The two characters share a few things in common that affect how they speak. Namely: Having to deal with Gingi's antics. There's almost a tired parental tone to both.

I could ramble for hours (please don't let me do this), but those are some examples of core character writing differences, namely in how I try to use language. Incorporating subtleties into the dialogue is good for separating characters and when you plan these out so that these placed differences are specific to traits that the characters have, your work'll feel more alive and be more satisfying to analyze later. Overthink. Overthink overthink overthink. It works, at least for me.

[callsignfate]

traditional wake-up methods

Day Fifteen of Writemas/Birthday posts!

If you want to see the scheduled posts go here If you want to see more posts like this go here TW: None? Let me know if I've missed any!

♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡

It was rare that you and Kate were home at the same time in the morning and both had the day off. You finally decided to leave your perfect spot of warmth in the bed before you moved to find your wife, fully expecting her to be working even though she said she wouldn't.

After walking down the hall, you could see the bathroom door closed, with a small slice of light coming out from the bottom, making you smile as an idea popped into your head.

You slowly sneaked into the bathroom, and the loud water thankfully drowned out your arrival. Gently, you pulled off your clothes before pushing the shower curtain aside. Your wife was washing her hair, and she sighed and let out a small laugh.

Before you knew it, you felt the freezing water hit your back, making you scream and jump out of the shower.

"Why! Why is it freezing cold!" you yelled as you grabbed a towel. "Are you insane?" you added, your teeth chattering, the warmth you had from the bed completely gone.

"Cold showers are good for you," Kate said, trying not to laugh hysterically at you. She looked out of the partially open shower curtain, stifling a laugh as you scowled back at her, resembling a wet, unhappy cat.

You shook your head, water droplets flying, as you wrapped the towel around yourself with a dramatic huff. "Good for me? I was perfectly warm before someone decided to turn this into an Arctic expedition."

Kate chuckled, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. "Come on, it's invigorating. Builds character."

You shot her a playful glare, the mock seriousness making her laugh even harder. "Character? I've got plenty of character. What I need right now is a hot shower."

"Well, you're already wet, so half the battle is won," Kate quipped, unable to contain her amusement.

With a feigned sigh, you peeled off the damp towel and stepped back into the shower. The cold water hit you like a thousand tiny needles, and you couldn't help but yelp again.

Kate leaned against the bathroom counter, thoroughly entertained. "You know, I read somewhere that cold showers improve circulation."

"You read too much," you muttered, enduring the chill as you quickly washed off. "And I'm pretty sure warm hugs improve circulation too. Ever consider that?"

Kate smirked, an impish glint in her eyes. "Well, you got a point. Warm hugs can be quite effective."

You finished your chilly shower in record time, all the while shooting Kate mock glares. Stepping out, you grabbed another towel, wrapping it around yourself with a theatrical shiver.

"Next time, warn a person before turning the shower into the Arctic Circle," you declared, earning a laugh from Kate as she handed you a warm, fluffy towel.

"You're the one who joined my shower I remind you," she teased.

You playfully rolled your eyes. "Ah, technicalities. I thought I'd surprise you with my presence, not get a wake-up call from the Ice Age."

Kate grinned, unabashedly enjoying your antics. "Well, now you're wide awake and full of vigor. Mission accomplished."

You pretended to consider this, holding a hand to your chin in mock contemplation. "I suppose I can't argue with that. Now, can we move on to more traditional wake-up methods? Like coffee?"

Kate nodded, finally relenting. "Fair enough. I'll make the coffee if you promise not to sabotage the thermostat."

♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡

If you want to see the scheduled posts go here If you want to see more posts like this go here

[elysiaishere]

Genshin Thoughts/Theories No One Asked For, (Spoilers) —Relationship Edition Part 1

At this point, this should be a series because I'm lost in the Genshin sauce, and it doesn't seem like I'm coming out of it anytime soon.

So, here are some mostly inane thoughts I've had about various relationships in the canon:

1. Nahida and Wanderer

Nahida and Wanderer have a beautiful friendship.

On the surface, a friendship between them seems unlikely. He's arrogant, rude and at times, downright cruel. Nahida, on the other hand, is a warm and forgiving spirit. But, if we consider their past experiences, we are able to build a clearer picture of how Nahida and Wanderer are able to not only get along but complement each other as well. Both endured long periods of isolation and loneliness, and from what the canon has shown us, these periods have largely shaped who they are today.

For all that she's the God of Wisdom, Nahida is young and inexperienced. Her imprisonment prevented her from forming authentic, meaningful bonds with her people, and, as such, it suffocated her own self-confidence and ability to connect with others. Even now, she doubts herself.

In contrast, Wanderer is an experienced combatant and seasoned leader. His time as a Fatui Harbinger, no doubt, taught him how to coordinate people and communicate his expectations—even if his expectations were otherwise cruel and unfair.

These differences, however, are key to why their dynamic works so well. Nahida is able to build him a safe space to explore his own humanity without judgment. On the other hand, Wanderer is able to both protect Nahida from physical threats and model self-confidence in a way she can easily emulate.

It's unorthodox, sure, but their friendship showcases a phenomenal example of how, sometimes, we find the most fulfilling and meaningful relationships in the strangest of places. Truly, I hope to see more of them in the future. I'm always delighted by their rapport. She obviously enjoys teasing him, and despite his enormous pride, he allows it.

2. Furina and Neuvillette

In an earlier post, I briefly touched on the speculations I have about who Furina/Focalors is to Neuvillette and vice-versa. In this post, I intend to dissect what information—or lack thereof—is available to us. After all, as the Hydro Archon and Hydro Dragon, respectively, their destinies have no doubt always been intertwined.

In Neuvillette's character teaser, "Watcher in the Deep," Neuvillette admits that he longs to find the answers to the many questions he has regarding his identity. He has no leads, no starting lines, and even states: "It's as if I've forgotten something since the very beginning."

Then, some seconds later and out of frame, we hear Furina:

"So, why don't you find the answers for yourself?"

Her voice is soft, encouraging, and a stark contrast from the shrill, theatrical young woman we've come to know throughout the 4.0 and 4.1 Archon Quests. This suggests that, at one point in time, Furina and Neuvillette were once close.

In comparison, their interactions we've seen thus far are a pale shade of that. He often seems exasperated by her antics while she expects him to yield to her whims, no matter how unreasonable those whims might be.

I liken it to a relationship between a spoilt little sister and an exhausted older brother. Entertaining, fun, and downright hilarious.

Jokes aside, I don't think he's indifferent to Furina. In fact, we're shown on a handful of occasions the exact opposite. Just before the iconic Primordial Seas cutscene, he tells the Traveler he's reluctant to leave Furina alone with Arlecchino and, as such, asks the Traveler to watch over her throughout the meeting. Then, in the aftermath, while the Traveler and Neuvillette are talking outside the Opera Epiclese, the scene focuses on Neuvillette watching Furina sneak away. The Traveler is none the wiser, but based on how he tunes out Paimon and watches her leave, we can deduce that he's worried about how out of character Furina seems.

I'd also like to highlight that this is the first time we've seen Neuvillette call her simply "Furina" instead of "Lady Furina." I think this is quite indicative of a more nuanced relationship than what has been observed so far.

As for Furina, I find her to be a living, breathing dichotomy. Initially, she appears spoilt and immature. A young woman who feels insecure, so she overcompensates with glamour and entertainment. But, if we gleaned nothing else from her meeting with Arlecchino, it's clear that she does, in fact, take her status as the Hydro Archon very seriously. She cares about Fontaine and its people.

Moreover, Furina, I think, carries a lot of care for Neuvillette as well. She seems comfortable in his presence, so much so that she doesn't feel the need to perform for him. Or, at the very least, Furina doesn't feel the need to perform him much. She seems to feel much safer and settled during her initial meeting with Arlecchino than she is in the second. Implying, to some degree, that Furina trusts him to look out for her if a situation turns south.

With that said, I think something strange has occurred that's led to the formation of their current dynamic. Perhaps the "curse" Arlecchino mentioned. And whatever has occurred, curse or not, it has totally reshaped their relationship. However, I simply can't deduce what.

[burningvelvet]

Thoughts on Charlotte Brontë's Villette so far (queerness and comparisons to Jane Eyre):

- This is my fifth Brontë novel and I'm about halfway through it so far (either thanks to or in spite of finals, Thanksgiving break, and my intermittent insanity).

- This is probably the weirdest Brontë novel I've read so far. "Weird" how? Well, in chapter 14 our expatriate narrator, whose identity is concealed from us, is locked in an attic with rats by her co-worker (and eventual lover) who is a French literary professor directing a theatrical production and forcing her to be the understudy in a leading romantic male role for which she has to practice her lines in this attic, which is also said to be haunted by a murdered nun who she later either sees or hallucinates while wandering around ill, not knowing which country she is in, and resisting Catholic conversion from a priest. And throughout the novel the identities of all the characters are hidden, and the narrator (Lucy Snowe) is extremely unreliable.

- I can say at this point that Villette has more queer subtext than any of the other Brontë novels I've read so far. In second place I would rank Jane Eyre, which is the first and only other Charlotte work I've read (aside from poems/letters). To the non-believers, I recommend 'He is rather peculiar, perhaps': Reading Mr Rochester's Coarseness Queerly by C. O'Callaghan and The Realm of Faeries: Queerness and Neurodivergence in Jane Eyre by Grace Patrick-West; with the expansive, theoretical sense of the term "queer" being a more broad term covering behavior that is not strictly sexual but could be coded for such. Rochester and Jane are both inherent outsiders in society, and for Rochester this is largely tied to sexual problems. He has several quotes on how societal notions of acceptable romance must be changed, and as an outed adulterer who openly admits to engaging in primarily international relationships and presents himself as an aging bachelor, he is already defying romantic conventions in multiple ways.

So Charlotte may have been the most-likely-to-be-LGBTQ+ Brontë of the bunch, although Emily was the known "tomboy" of the family, and though none of the others lived as long as she did and so did not have the opportunity to explore as many topics. From the little I've investigated, I believe there is a world of analysis already done on Charlotte's possible queerness, so I cease here.

- I've noticed some callbacks to Jane Eyre. It's mostly set in France and so there's a lot of French like in Eyre, but not so much that it's distracting imo. For fans of Adèle Varens (like me) you will be pleased to know that there is a comparably fashionable and overexcitable French girl who in terms of psychoanalytic criticism I argue could be thought of as a variant of Adèle within Charlotte's mind. Similarly, a male love interest is compared to Nebuchadnezzar like Mr. Rochester was, and this comparison is made when our narrator is expressing her attraction to the man in blatant terms, which gives us insight into the mind of Jane Eyre via further confirmation of Charlotte's association with Nebuchadnezzar/attraction. I mean, we all know Jane was attracted to Mr. Rochester, but Lucy's attraction is more realized because it is more matured, possibly on account of her being slightly older at that part of the novel than we see Jane when she relates Mr. Rochester to Nebuchadnezzar. Like Jane, Lucy is also a poor, unattractive governess. And Charlotte's classic "dear reader," is a thing once more!

- Charlotte 🤝 totally unrealistic and problematic age-gap romances which aren't consummated until some change in station makes it slightly more socially palatable

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Mihawk is primed and ready to be dragged into Buggy's orbit, kicking and screaming of course(metaphorically, he is too dignified for these theatrics), idk like he can reluctantly wingman him and Shanks into reuniting, it will be hilarious. Mihawk long-sufferingly aiding idiot one and idiot two into making up and leaving and freeing him and Crocodile from Buggy's burden in the process. I just find it endlessly fascinating how Mihawk, offense over the clown aesthetics and grovelling aside, kept his ass alive (to use him, but we can all tell that neither he nor Crocodile have managed to do much controlling, apart from physical abuse that's played for laughs). I want to see what Oda will do with his clown blorbo and the characters he has sentenced to association with Buggy, every direction will bring forth so much fun stuff

if there's one thing we know about mihawk it's that he is always trying so hard to not care about other people. it's those trust issues rearing their head again; mihawk seems like one of those guys who thinks if he doesn't get close to anyone then he can't get hurt by anyone.

well, tough luck, hawkeyes. no man is an island, and proximity will bring with it concern if not affection, no matter how you try to resist.

he definitely could wingman the shuggy reconciliation at this point, but would he? i think he's content to pretend he doesn't care about either shanks or buggy until the end of time—or until emperor buggy's shadow is no longer a safe place for him to hide. at that point, i think as he's packing to leave mihawk would casually inform buggy that he's sent shanks a message revealing all, so now buggy will be shanks' problem and not mihawk's.

(why yes, i'm never getting over perona's tears about mihawk not saying a single kind thing to her until right before she moves out leaves gloom island. he's so tsuntsun it's unreal.)

anyway, i agree, i want more cross guild screen time asap!! i need to know what this chaotic group's idea of a one piece hunt looks like. how much of the upper management is just getting day drunk while buggy's biggest fans do the real work? or have they actually gotten invested in the hunt against their will?? i wanna knooooow

[datrb]

Meet the artist!

I just now realized that there's already 150 of you and i have never actually introduced myself...

So that's fun. But hey, better late than never, am i right?

*Achem*

(This is extremely awkward...)

Heya! My name is Dat! Or at least that's what everyone calls me.

I'm a second year college student, studying theatrical lights, and doing art in my spare time as a hobby. Used to play table tennis on a professional level, but had to quit due to it colliding with my studies and having a negative effect on my physical health, among other reasons.

More trivial information about me will include:

Age, which i prefer not to disclose publicly, but i am an adult.

Height - 173 cm (5'6), last time i checked.

Biological gender i prefer not to disclose as i see it as unimportant.

Pronouns i don't care about, you can use whatever as long you stay consistent with yourself.

Sexuality i think is unimportant, but i'm aroace, if you're interested.

Majority of you will recognize me from my artworks. More specifically my AvA/M fanarts and human designs for the characters of these series, which make up majority of my posts and serve as both my biggest pride and guiltiest of pleasures.

That is... among other things i might be recognized for.

But i really enjoy creating original artworks too, and even have my own fantasy setting, the story and the world of which i wish to share at some point and make more art connected to it, even if characters i want to portray are a bit outside the scope of my abilities as an artist.

Sadly, with how much pressure i've been putting on my wrist with all the art, writing and sports it ended up having a negative effect on my health and i am currently going through a diagnosis process regarding my wrist pains which were present for 5 years now, in hopes that i'll be able to finally be rid of it.

This is also a reason i was unable to draw anything for the longest time, as well as not being able to work on major pieces and "The big project"

Aside from that i also like to write. Usually it's little scenes and dialogues between characters in my setting, but there have been a few things that include AvA/M characters, what i may or may not post in future, when i actually finish it.

I guess that's all i have to say for now tho...

I will likely do an update for this post in future, but if you want to ask me about any of my HCs in AvA or any other fandom, my setting, myself, or do an art request - my asks are open and i welcome everyone in there!

[dont-f-with-moogles]

Hi! I am a sucker for hc where Levi is illiterate when he first joined the scouts, tried to hide it from everyone but eventually Hange notices..LEVIHAN FLUFF ❤️✋💀

This was an awesome ask! Thank you so much for sending it to me. I love writing canonverse, especially when I get the chance to work in a hc amongst the source material. I added some of my hcs for Hange too. Hope you like it - let me know what you think! A World Without Words Characters: Levi x Hange Word Count: 1632 words Canon universe

A hush had settled over the Mess Hall, broken only by the occasional clinking of cutlery and low hum of voices. A pair of fresh recruits were heatedly debating a topic in low, urgent tones. The newly-appointed leader of Second Squad sat staring into an empty tankard. On the far side of the room Hange had taken a lone seat at one of the long, wooden tables. Their hands were clasped upon the tabletop; in front of them a plaid tea towel had been draped over two dishes. Eyes alight, they spied Levi as he entered through the main doors. Slyly, and without turning their head, Hange mapped his progress as he crossed the hall towards them.  

“Evening, Levi!” they began animatedly before he had even reached for the backrest of the closest chair. “Now, I know this dinner is seriously overdue, given how long it’s been since your first expedition…”

Levi scraped his chair against the flagstones noisily, causing several heads to whip around in their direction. 

“...I’m sorry that I couldn’t afford anywhere more fancy! My measly wages just don’t stretch that far,” Hange laughed. “But luckily, I was able to save us -” Theatrically, they flung back the plaid cloth to reveal two floral-patterned plates bearing thick slices of flaky pastry, each deep-filled with cold offcuts. 

“The last two pieces of pie!” 

“You needn’t have gone to any trouble,” Levi said in a low voice. “I’m not hungry.”

Hange’s hand dropped to the table in defeat. “So much for that then. I guess I could always give the other slice to Moblit…”

Levi took a seat beside Hange, one arm leaning on the table’s edge. “You brought those papers, right?” 

“Right! The purchase order forms.”

Hange reached down to retrieve several crumpled sheets, a pen nib and a small well of ink from their bag. They pushed the plates aside and laid the materials out between the two of them.

“I’ve been curious since you mentioned it, Levi… what exactly do you need these for?”

Levi leaned back so that his elbow rested on the back of his chair. “Well… since I’ve been made Captain, it means I’ve gotta sign formal papers, right? Let’s just say someone suggested I take a look at a few examples.” 

“Ah, then say no more!” Hange brought the top sheet closer, tracing the lines of cramped, untidy scrawl with their finger. “The item you’re ordering goes in this column, reference or serial number if needed in the second column, and then the cost goes here.” Their finger travelled to the bottom of the paper. “Then you need to sign and date it before it goes to Erwin for approval.”

Hange sat back as Levi pored over the contents of the page. “Do you use the same form for everything? Food, equipment - things like that?”

“The same type of form, sure, but you would order food provisions separately to, say, housekeeping supplies or weaponry.” Hange pushed their glasses further up their nose. Levi’s brow was furrowed in concentration as he read, his mouth silently shaping the letters. Hange felt compelled to offer an apologetic shrug.

“This one is for specialist equipment,” they tried meekly. “The top row says ‘microscope.’ It’s not easy to read thanks to my bad handwriting!”

Without reply, Levi shuffled the papers so that a bank sheet was placed beside Hange’s order form. His expression, if anything, grew more intense as he dipped the pen into the inkwell. Hange glanced around the sparse hall, listening to the scratching of Levi’s writing amidst the murmur of voices. It was only as he drew to a sudden halt that Hange looked down at the page. They were astonished to see it empty.

At first, Hange wondered whether the pen nib had finally broken. It was one they had long meant to throw out. But - no - Levi had only managed to produce a few disjointed letters before the pen had come to a rest, point-down on the page. His arm was trembling as he pressed the nib down hard. The metal buckled, threatening to snap. 

“Levi!” Hange grabbed the tea towel to mop up the ink which had spurted onto the paper. “Stop - you’ll tear a hole in it!”

But Levi was still glaring, the pen clutched in his whitened fist. All of a sudden, Hange felt like a fool. They removed the towel, twisting it upon their lap as they sought for a tactful way to address the obvious, but unanticipated, obstacle which lay before them. 

“Sorry. Perhaps one of Miche’s reports would have been easier - clearer -  to follow.”

Hange swallowed uncomfortably, the heat rising in their cheeks. 

“No.” Levi’s voice was calm, at odds with his squared shoulders and stiffened arm. “It’s not the handwriting.”

“Then… I’m sorry that I didn’t make the connection.” Despite their desire to avoid any further embarrassment for him, Hange could not help but scrutinise Levi’s writing. “I’m sure things in the Underground were very different when it came to education…”

Levi met their enquiring gaze, his eyes narrowed.

“I can read and write. I know the words I need,” Levi dropped the pen upon the table. “But when it comes to certain technical words like these…” He gestured at the paper. “...they never mattered as much. In that place, you didn’t need to know how to spell to go on living.”

“That makes sense.” Hange’s own shoulders relaxed a little. “Perhaps you never had a formal education, Levi, but you have combat skills and street smarts. You’re good at reading people.” 

Levi scoffed bitterly.

“Believe me when I say that Erwin doesn’t hire leaders based on their literacy levels.” Hange regarded him warmly over their clasped hands. “Not when they have so much more to offer.” 

Levi held their look for a moment before he glanced away uncomfortably. 

“And in the meantime, I can help!” Hange took a fresh sheet of paper from their bag and passed it to Levi for him to etch out a copy of the three columns.

“For instance when you write ‘grapple hook,’ ‘grapple’ has the ‘l’ and the ‘e’ the other way round.” Hange watched as Levi carefully transcribed the correct spelling onto the sheet.

“Underneath you wrote ‘gas’ before you stopped. Is that for a new batch of gas cylinders?”

Painstakingly, Levi copied each letter as Hange spelled the second word. They continued in this way until Levi had populated the columns. 

“I bet you picked all this up from books, huh Four Eyes?” Levi lifted his hand to check his penmanship. The letters were a little uneven and spaced out. Like a child’s writing, the dark ink glistened from the exertion of pressing the pen nib a little too hard against the paper. “Tell me you weren’t huddled under the covers each night, reading until morning?”

A wistful smile appeared on Hange’s face. Then the light dimmed in their eyes.

“I wish…” When they laughed this time, it was a hollow sound. “... but we didn’t have books at home.”

Levi placed the pen down. Hange lowered their hands to grip their knees, their gaze averted to the tabletop.

“I managed to get a couple of books from a trader in town. They were black market goods. I thought I’d hidden them well enough but my parents found them and burned them.”

Levi raised his eyebrows.

“Wallists,” Hange explained in answer to his surprise. “They were simple farming folk. Small town people with small minds. They were wary of outside influences and with good reason too. Each week came reports of disappearances, killings… the inescapable fates which awaited those who asked too many questions.”

They gave a small sigh.

“My school, like the others, banned all books other than those which were government-approved. We weren’t allowed to read for ourselves, think for ourselves or question what we were being told. It was all so -” They brought their fist down upon the table, sending the long-forgotten plates of pie clattering. “- infuriating!”

Levi’s mouth hung slightly open.

“We never really had books in the house either,” he admitted. “I remember there was one that Iz-” He stopped himself. Hange said nothing, for Levi had not so much as uttered the names of his two closest friends since their first disastrous expedition almost one year ago. 

Levi drew a breath and continued.

“We didn’t have much… what we did have was either traded or sold.” He rubbed an eye with the heel of his hand. “I can’t even remember what it was called now. I think it had a horse on the cover? Guess it’s just another lost thing.” A faraway look had come into his eyes.

Before Hange could offer comment, Levi seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. He took up a fresh sheet and, laying it by the side of the first, began to copy out his lines neatly. Hange watched in quiet amazement.

“But look at this improvement already! I’ve never seen such progress before!” They gripped Levi’s shoulder.

“Careful, idiot! You’ll jog me.”

Hange released him and continued their proud observation as Levi dipped the pen in the inkwell. “Your writing is so neat, Levi. In a few more tries it’ll look as professional as newspaper print!”

Levi completed his final line slowly.

Above, approved. Levi.

“No thanks to this mess of a report.” Levi glowered at Hange’s original document. “...but I do owe you for the spelling lesson, at least. Thanks Hange.”

“Hmm.” Hange tapped a finger against their chin. “How about this then? You treat us to dinner next time. Call it payment for my tuition?”

Levi managed a husky laugh as he stood and gathered the papers into a pile.

“Let me think about that, Four Eyes. For now, I’d better go hand these in.”

[practically-an-x-man]

I haven't even seen the prompt, but do Francesca next?

On it, boss! 🫡

Just kidding, I'm actually super excited to talk about this one, so be prepared for a long ramble ahead lol

Link to the ask game here, and to the original fic here

____

“Good afternoon, ladies, you’re both looking lovely today.” he said, greeting them each with a kiss on the cheek.  “Oh, like you’d know.” one of them chirped, smiling back at him. Jimmy scoffed, pressing his fingers to his chest as if wounded.  “Please, doll, I do still know a beautiful woman when I see one. And I seem to find myself in front of two of New York’s finest.”

I really, genuinely enjoyed writing this opening scene. Jimmy spends most of Heart in Your Hands somewhat isolated from the others around him - he's friendly, yes, he tries to connect, but there's a physical barrier in the form of the enclosure he's in and a metaphorical barrier in the form of a hundred years of culture-shift that he has to work around. Here, we get a glimpse at him interacting with people who are his friends and who genuinely understand him. In a way, it's the purest glimpse at his personality I've written so far, before there were those barriers affecting his interactions with the world.

On another note, there was a part of me that worried about depicting Jimmy this way. There's a stereotype about gay men being theatrical and dramatic, and even as a very theatrical transmasculine person myself, I didn't want Jimmy to feel like a cheap character or a stereotype. I don't really think I'm in danger of this - he's a well-rounded character, and even if he is theatrical and flirty, it's definitely not the only side of him that we see - but I did worry a little about how the old "no reading comprehension" website would take it.

“The Tunnel of Love,” he said, “Six minutes of beautiful romantic solitude, free from any prying eyes or expectations. It’s simple, really. You’ll go in first with the lovely Dorothy, and then I will follow you with my dear Marie. There’s a concrete lip around the central channel, and once we’re past the lights I’ll simply hop ahead and join you, and Dorothy will step aside. Then we merely have to remember to switch back before the ride is through.”

There's a bit of historical accuracy in Jimmy's plan here. First of all, the two women are obviously acting as beards for Jimmy and Robert's relationship, and one of the women being named Dorothy is an allusion to the slang term "friend of Dorothy" meaning a gay man.

I don't have any sources saying this little switcheroo was common for queer couples to get together, but the Tunnel of Love has a long history of being... well, a way for couples to get a quickie in while on Coney Island. After it became common, they even started positioning guards along the ride to deter couples from getting too frisky with each other. If anything, Jimmy's plan is tame compared to what the ride was normally used for.

“I don’t know, James… I don’t trust this.”

You already noticed this in the fic, but I'm going to mention it here as well: Robert has the same little habit that Lars eventually also will, calling Jimmy by his full name rather than his nickname. There are intentionally meant to be some parallels between Jimmy and Robert's relationship here and how he behaves with Lars later, and this is partially meant to imply that Lars is a reincarnation of Robert's soul. Jimmy being drawn to Lars at the end of the fic, and feeling that stronger desire to be known rather than disappear, is another allusion to this.

“Thank you, dear,” Jimmy whispered, and kissed her on the cheek. It was about the only place he’d ever kissed a woman, a simple peck on the cheek in greeting or in thank-you. Little did he know, it would be the last kiss James Luciano would have in his life.

I'm always hit-or-miss on these little omniscient moments in fics, like mentioning that this kiss will technically be Jimmy's last. On the one hand, I usually try to maintain the character's perspective on fics and avoid a particularly omniscient narrator - Jimmy doesn't know this will be his last kiss, of course, and I feel that maintaining his limited perspective keeps things grounded.

I wouldn't have kept this one in if the audience didn't already know Jimmy was going to die. If his death was a surprise, mentioning this here would break the shock of the scene, and it might outweigh the emotional impact of his last kiss being this little thank-you peck on the cheek. However, since Jimmy's story is already known by the audience, I felt that keeping this line brought the emotional gut-punch without pulling away the tension of the scene.

“I have wanted this…” Jimmy sighed, now closer to his partner than he’d ever been before, or would ever be again, “For a very long time.”

Keep an eye on this line here... you might see it again someday.

Then it came again, like thunder and lightning, and this time he was thrown to the bottom of the raft. The pain came late, but it came all at once, alongside a fountaining spray of liquid. He took a breath and found himself choking, spitting salty copper onto his own clothing.

Here's the thing about writing death scenes for a character that becomes a ghost... you have to get the details right. This scene took a lot of planning. Jimmy can't fall out of the raft, because his clothes aren't wet as a ghost. He can't even step into the water, because his socks and shoes aren't wet. He has to be shot only once, since his only visible wound is the one in his chest, his clothes have to remain intact except for the bullet wound, and he can't die in a way that will mess up his hair too badly since it's not that badly mussed as a ghost. Positioning is everything, because it all has to be preserved the way we see him as a ghost.

Two more flashes, perhaps more, lit up the tunnel. Jimmy’s thoughts crept along, slowing in time with his heartbeat. He was suddenly certain, dreadfully certain, that he would not see the sun again.

Those two flashes are Robert getting shot. In HIYH, Ray reads out a newspaper article about the event, which includes Robert having been shot twice but recovering. Again, everything has to be consistent in this scene, or it won't work. It was tricky trying to get the right level of detail - it has to align with what I've already established, but Jimmy is also literally dying here and obviously won't be lucid enough to notice everything as it happens.

At first, he wasn't so much as a whisper. He was merely intent, a concentrated bubble of energy like a star from the cosmos. Help me.

This moment, with him slowly coalescing into form, I came up at a really strange moment. I was literally laying in bed, about to fall asleep, and this line sprung into my head exactly as it's written down here. I got the whole "intent" passage and most of the "voice" passage verbatim, and an outline for the rest, and I decided that I had to get it written down immediately because I wouldn't get the wording write if I saved it for the morning. It was almost 2 AM and I was typing it out on my phone in the dark because I didn't want to lose track of the idea XD

And it ended up being a very impactful part of the piece, so I think it's worth it!

Through his questioning, and a great deal of trial and error, he learned that it was now the year of 1941. If he’d lived, he would be nearing sixty. Somehow he’d lost nearly thirty years, in all the time it took to pull himself back together again. It hadn’t felt that long. But then again, time had a habit of falling away from him, these days.

I'm not sure what the canon is for how ghosts become ghosts in the Ghostbusters universe. I know that Ronan becomes a ghost immediately after he dies in the 2016 reboot, and obviously Egon's ghost doesn't take too long to form since he begins nudging objects shortly after the younger Spenglers move in in Afterlife, but I'm not sure what the "norm" is.

Obviously I'd decided in HIYH that Jimmy's lifelike and corporeal form is thanks to decades of effort on his part, but I went a step farther with it here as you can see. Yes, he does get his visual form after about thirty years of effort, and his corporeal form an uncertain level of time after that, but this fic shows the sheer level of want and drive it took to even get there. He starts from zero, the barest level of paranormal energy to even be considered a ghost, and fights to build himself up from there. You'll also notice repeated lines about Jimmy loving humanity, both before and after his death - he wants to be a part of it, he's not ready to leave so soon. He's driven by love, and not necessarily romantic love.

He never learned her name, and she never even knew he was there with her. She grew older, her stutter much better, her visits less frequent, but he still grew to treasure them either way. She was his one source of stories, at least until his own fingers could find the page again.

This story didn't really need the inclusion of this moment. It still would stand on its own without it, and this was another scene I came up while falling asleep. But I think it shows a lot about Jimmy and what he loves, so I left it in. He loves humanity and strives to be connected with it even in these little ways, and he retains his love of reading.

Originally, I also had the idea to include Jimmy reciting novels to himself, line by line, as a way to pass the time as a ghost. It would be a nod towards his great memory for what he reads, and it would be another way to show how long and dull the time is when he isn't able to interact with the others around him, but in the end I just couldn't fit it cleanly into the rest of the scene.

Jimmy found himself approaching. There was something interesting about this one, something that drew him in like even the others had not. He wasn’t sure what precisely it was, or if it was simply a projection of his ongoing loneliness.

Like I said earlier, this magnetism towards Lars is a little nod towards him having Robert's reincarnated soul. I never intended that to be part of this fic when I first began writing it, but you'd suggested it for that headcanon ask game and it just... fit. It became part of canon.

Normally I'm not a big fan of soulmate AUs or things of that nature, I feel like they've got a lot of flaws and holes, but this works for me because it isn't quite a soulmate AU. I mean... just because Robert's soul is reincarnated doesn't mean anything is destined to become of it, it just means he's familiar to Jimmy and they're somewhat drawn to each other, and Jimmy and Lars will still have to build their relationship from scratch like anyone else. My other big qualm with soulmate AUs is the idea of the characters being "stuck" to their soulmate, even if they turn out to be abusive or just don't align with each other, but this version of it avoids that too. I just... I really like this idea, thank you for suggesting it.

So he’d heard the stories, then. But James Luciano had no desire to vanish. Not now. This time he wanted to be seen. This time he wanted to be known.  “These little guys are cute, don’t you think?”

It was important to me that Jimmy knows Lars is onto him, at least a little bit. He notices the way Lars avoids looking at him directly, and realizes through that that he knows Jimmy is a ghost.

In HIYH, we see Lars make several decisions regarding this interaction: he wins Jimmy a prize as he asks, then decides to face him directly even though there's the risk of Jimmy disappearing. With Jimmy's perspective, I wanted him to have the same choices: he knows that this could be a setup for some sort of ghost hunt, and still chooses to interact.

Obviously Jimmy doesn't choose to be captured and brought to the PRC, that still surprises him, but he does choose to engage with Lars when he could have walked away. It was important to me that this interaction was motivated on both ends, that both Jimmy and Lars are curious about each other and that it wasn't one-sided.