#the main reason I consider is bc I feel like I didn’t go hard enough when I did it before

[girlvinland]

Do not let me attempt Whumptober this year. There is a voice inside of me saying “oh, think of how fun it would be to do Whumptober with a certain collection of OCs at my disposal!”

That is the devil speaking.

[emotsper]

Hi!!!!!!!!

You’re like the szai person on tumblr, and even tho I’ve been playing proseka for like two years, I still don’t read a lot of the stories………

So as the certified szai tumblr person, since you kinda own the tag, would you like to explain to me why szai is such a popular ship? I really didn’t read much of anything…

Have fun!!

let me be brief (1/350) (no bc its actually gonna be a long ramble. apolocheese.) (also sorry if formatting is awful im a mobile user and I literally just type whatever)

FOR REAL THOUGH. PLEASE JUST DO ME A FAVOR AND READ MMJ MAINSTORY...... not only its a good source of szai cocaina you get to experience the entire mmj mainstory. i was normal before mmj mainstory and i was less normaler after mmj mainstory.

it simply went even more downhill when i read tenshi no clover. genuinely the one event story that first made me cry (second one was ice drop event but thats a bit biased)

okay now lets get to the main meat of it. szai.

admittedly i was kind of normaler early on but one of my tipping point was Chasing the radiance event especially chapter 7. please read/watch it. please. this specific chapter sent me into my trip of insanity when it comes to szai. it also opened my eye to specific scenes in their side stories/mmj mainsto that i skimmed early on especially bc im a jp only player so fan tls may not be super accurate back then 💔

to start off, airi was a girl that was often made fun of for being tomboyish, and seeing idols for the first time made her feel a glimmer of hope that maybe she can also bring hope to other people. she finally manages to reach her goal and became an idol after several of failed auditions (very deserved especially after her hard work) while shizuku became an idol purely out of luck from the idol grand prix context her friends convinced her to join 😭😭 From the start their relationship feels a little bit doomed with how jealousy is kind of unavoidable from airis side. but against all odds, you get to see airi go to shizuku and cheering her up by giving shizuku her towel and telling her to wipe those tears especially with such a pretty face like hers (MACHINE CLANG CLANG RACK SFX) they are so crazy for this. especially when you realize that shizuku kept the towel until now. (the towel is her area upgrade item)

from this point, airi thought nothing much of shizuku yet other than her being her new rival (and that shes rly pretty) but shizuku sees airi as her main reason to keep going in this idol stuff at that time, and that was enough.

(okay purely for this next part im forgetting a bit so do remember it may not be fully accurate 🙏)

after training minori for awhile, szai went thru a mini divorce arc where airi was telling minori that being an idol isnt all fun and games and that minori should consider quitting, continuing on with how she flopped in the industry bc she was more popular as a reality show figure. but shizuku disagreed and kept saying how airi was an idol through and through and that she shouldn't have quit, but that just tipped airi off and she shouted at shizuku, unloading all her pent up jealousy that she had for awhile now. iconic as hell scene in the most angsty way possible.

u can easily tell this wasn't received well by shizuku. at all. airi you done fucked up. shizuku left her idol group the next day.

(addendum i forgot to add. shizuku truly believed that airi was the first and if not, the only person who sees shizuku as shizuku hinomori herself, without all the idol filter that people plastered on her. so when airi admitted that she was jealous w shizuku getting everything good in the industry, that basically broke shizuku. (color of myself is a nice one to read when it comes to this 🙏 also the i am we are event is a crazy good conclusion to shizukus current arc))

at this point airi realizes just how much shizuku was influenced by her past actions without her fully knowing about it. girl you done fucked up.

this scene is still one of the biggest and strongest kryptonite for szai fans. especially with what happens after.

after confronting shizuku about her choice knowing full well its airis fault, airi, angry at herself, goes immediately to cheerful*days training place (she knows the place since theyve kinda shared the spot iirc) while the rest of mmj follows. she started threatening arisa and almost threw punches but she held back and told the rest of cheerful*days that shizuku is more of an idol than everyone in the room (i may be hallucinating this one. do lmk)

they finally leave the place, and both apologies to each other. at the same time, they both admitted that they were each others idol

and then shizuku goes to tackle hug airi. what the queer

that only concludes the mainstory section btw. upon realizing it may be too much of a recap instead of actual explanation ill be brief w the rest of it (keep in mind i dont read EVERY szai story, just ones i was made aware of bc im playing on jp and story content is a bit harder to see/consume)

Main szai crazies for szai fans

1. chasing the radiance ch7. airi yet talks again about how shizukus hands are slender and elegant while hers are short and chubby (she compared her hands to a manju) and shizuku was mad at her about this and went on a long tangent about how airis gentle hands were the ones who pushes minori and shizuku forward when they think they couldn't.

this is probably the fifth time ive read this story and it still gets me. i hate these fruitsssss. please read the full chapter ive linked it near the start this chapter is so special to me.

2. my ideal idol (airi 5, jp only event for now)

Bro i Dont Even Know What Else To Say. Just Look At This Card

but if we're being serious . lets talk about this one specific card and the story shall we.

this card was a blast to the past; pre-mmj szai again.

we start off with present mmj getting ready for their turn in the joint performance with a new junior idol group that they were paired with. airi was a bit nervous and shizuku noticed it. so she offered to do something that would hopefully lessen the nervousness for both of them. shizuku softly puts her head on airis back and whispered several word of encouragements. shizuku reminisces to the past.

pre-mmj szai. shizuku was very nervous as she was waiting for her first performance ever as an idol. airi was also there, and it was going to be her first too. airi shows up to say hi to shizuku but she noticed that shizuku was really nervous and at the verge of crying. airi knew she had to do something and told shizuku to turn around, shizuku did. shizuku lets out a little surprised yelp as she feels airis hands and head pressing against her back. she could hear airi muttering some encouragement but we never get to hear what the words were, only that shizuku thought about how warm airis hands were. (i need to be euthanized)

back to the present, shizuku says that she hopes that this gesture can somehow "repay" for what airi did to her back then. i think im losing it. sorry

OKAY IM DONE IM DONE ITS ALMOST 1 AM MY BRAIN IS NOT GOING TO WORK ANYMORE IF I KEEP TYPING..... my brain can handle so little. anyways i hope this wall of text ramble can convince u to read mmj mainsto and consume more mmj stories........ i admit its not perfect or whatsoever bc i haven't read the mmj mainstory for awhile and i have a wee memory issue thats paired with my deafness so. yeah. enjoy. haha.

[super-rangers]

Hi Alex! Same anon from before with the peter parker question! there were so many parts of your newest chapter that I loved but there was one more section in particular that I wanted to ask about! I apologize in advance for being so long winded 😅 (by the way—I just wanted to formally say that the update was so heart-wrenchingly good and beautifully written and I was enamored with it and you can do no wrong)

In reference to this bit: “It doesn’t help that she can’t even say she would have changed her behavior if she had known back then. She knows herself. The knowledge would have just made her worse. She would have seen it as a victory, even though it would have still hurt somewhere under all her bravado.” As much of hard pill that was for Regina to swallow, I think it was almost equally as difficult to accept as a reader. I think a part of me always felt that although Regina had made it her mission to antagonize Janis, she would ease up if she ever realized she went too far? Like, that although we know now that it hurt her to hurt Janis, her ability to maintain her air of indifference was because she had distanced herself. She was detached from just how much Janis was suffering, didn’t have to see or experience it up close, so she was unaffected. But if she had known she crossed a line, it would have been her wake-up call, I guess? So to hear Regina admit herself that that may not have been the case…oof, definitely hurt a bit.

Which leads me to the thing that I’ve been thinking about—at the start of UIW, the bus accident was the catalyst for Regina’s reckoning and then the journey to better herself that followed. But in a world where, say, the bus incident never happened—do you think she would still end up where she is right now? How do you reckon it would happen? (I’m sorry, I know it’s such an open ended question but that part of the chapter made me think so much about timelines and how the sequence of events in our lives can really change the whole trajectory of them—like, if that information being made available to Regina then wouldn’t have been enough to stop her, is there anything else that would have? Or do you think the bus needed to happen? I feel like she was already kind of on her way there with the Burn Book fiasco and fallout of the Plastics, and I like to think Regina still would have found her way back to herself, it just maybe would have taken her a little longer—but it’s so interesting to consider other possibilities of how she would have gotten there.

Hello! First of all, never apologize for sending long messages, I really enjoy reading them! Second of all, thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it!!

Like most things in that chapter, I meant for it to hurt a bit 😅 I don’t want to waffle about it or go back and forth on my own decision to write that line, bc I wrote that section very intentionally, but I do want to say that you should take that declaration with a grain of salt. Part of the reason Regina thinks that way is because she is in the middle of a ‘I am the worst person in the world’ spiral. That’s not to say that she’s technically incorrect in her thinking there, but she believes the worst about herself in that moment. So maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad as she’s thinking, but her behavior probably still wouldn’t have been great.

But on to your main question (which is so interesting!),,,,I have no idea. It sucks to think that Regina needs to experience something life changing to become a better person, but. Maybe she does?? At least if we want her to change before the end of HS. Cause honestly, if the bus didn’t happen, I don’t think Regina would have changed until college probably.

Besides the dynamic change because of Cady, I don’t think Gretchen and Karen would have left Regina for that long. It might be awkward for a little while, but they’d go right back to being her minions. They went from following Regina to following Cady, and neither of them learned/changed much over the course of the movie imo. They might want to follow Cady and start being friends with Janis and Damian, but idk if that would last, especially if Regina was pressuring them to come back. (Sorry Gretchen and Karen 😬😬) That would let Regina maintain her own status quo for the rest of senior year. She wouldn't have a reason to change because, sure, her behavior caused a big to do at school and made her lose her friends for a little while, but then they'd come back and everything would be good again. Regina had solidly wormed her way into Gretchen's psyche (as seen in What's Wrong With Me) so it wouldn't take much for her to convince Gretchen to keep being her friend, and where Gretchen goes, Karen goes.

Being at college alone, though, that would knock Regina out of it, I think. Going from a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond and all that. I was going to say that she wouldn’t be able to bully anyone into being her friend but like...yeah she probably could. It would be more about her being away from home and in a new environment that would have her changing. A lot of maturing happens in college, and I think part of that maturation for Regina would be learning how to not be a shitty person lmao

But genuinely, I’m sticking mostly with my first answer – I have no real clue! But thanks to this question I will be thinking about it a lot 😂

[broodwolf221]

okay pt. 2 to this bc i made myself sad with the first part :')

They were back at Skyhold... that is, he was back at Skyhold, having returned with Varric and Cassandra, and Solas was nowhere to be found. The mages had snuck away after their altercation and he’d been poring over the fight. Both fights, really.

He was still pissed off but he couldn’t deny the growing swell of guilt. “My friend is dead.” It couldn’t be easy. Atros didn’t understand Solas, had never understood him, but he had seen that the man was gentle, that he was compassionate, and that he cared deeply and tried to help whenever he could. He kept trying to make sense of the situation and then shying away from it.

What if it had been one of his friends who had died? He didn’t know who his friends were, couldn’t recall any he’d use the term for... except maybe Solas. Trying to think it through like that was ridiculous though. What if Solas had died, and Solas had yelled at him for mourning Solas? No, it was ludicrous. He just wouldn’t be able to understand. He’d never understood the mage and it didn’t seem like that was going to change tonight.

But he did understand that he’d fucked up. That he’d lashed out at a horrible time. And he did understand that Solas might never return. That he might have ruined everything.

What was there to ruin?

He’d been in the rotunda for some time now, sitting at the man’s desk and idly toying with a quill he’d left there. He had considered looking through his books, trying to find something of interest, trying to sate the curiosity that was ever-present, but he felt he’d caused enough damage for one day. So it was just him and this damn quill, surrounded by Solas’ art and the faint tang of his paint that smelled like him and Atros was trying so hard to ignore that being the main reason he was here. It was comforting and familiar.

He jolted when the door opened and stood up quickly, almost guiltily, dropping the quill back to the desk like it’d burnt him. Solas stood in the open doorway, looking icy and distant. “Inquisitor.” The greeting was cold and Atros bristled before he forced it down and away. He didn't want to pick another fight. He was just surprised that Solas was back. Pleasantly surprised - but that was all.

That was all, right? He tried to ignore the rush of relief, not wanting to untangle the implications of it right now. Or ever.

“You’re back,” he announced awkwardly, unnecessarily. Solas scoffed.

“I’m not one to abandon my responsibilities. Nor my promises.” That was targeted and his hands clenched, watching as Solas’ eyes narrowed slightly. He’d noticed. Atros took a deep breath and forced his hands to relax.

“Guess not,” was all he said, stepping back from the desk. It felt too weird to be there with the mage in the doorway. Like an inversion of their usual dynamic. Instead he walked towards the scaffolding, leaning against the armature. “Look...” he trailed off, unable to maintain eye contact.

“Spare me.” He snapped to attention at the cold response, watching as Solas strode purposefully over to his desk. “You have made your priorities abundantly clear, Inquisitor. I shall not trouble you with my personal affairs again.” He picked up the quill and tossed it aside like it was stained. He glared, feeling the same pulse of anger that he’d felt on the field.

“Dammit, I’m trying here,” he snapped, pushing off the scaffolding. “I get it, you’re pissed, but-”

“Pissed?” Solas whirled around, that same heat in his eyes as before. “You think I’m angry? No, Inquisitor, I’m mourning. I lost someone dear to me today and all you can think about is yourself. Well, I’m here. I will follow your command. But do not expect me to salve your wounded ego.” He took a step back. Just like before. Fuck. He hated it when Solas made him retreat, he hated it. He hated him. The smug, sanctimonious bastard.

“Hey, fuck you!” He closed the distance and this time Solas didn’t back down, didn’t make himself any less threatening, just met his eyes with a cold intensity. “You think I need you? You think I’m here for you to comfort me? You don’t know anything about me!” Fuck. How many times have they had this fight? His voice, his words, it all flooded him with a sickening sense of familiarity. Would they ever stop? He growled, frustrated, and turned away. “Shit. No, I’m... look.” He was forcing his voice down but he couldn’t meet Solas’ eyes. Not right now. “I just- I didn’t know if you’d come back.” Solas laughed, so condescending and sharp that it made him want to punch the damn mage. He restrained himself. “You’re being an ass right now, but I guess that’s fair.” He had to force each word out, but at least Solas didn’t laugh again. He didn’t respond at all, in fact. Atros still couldn’t meet his eyes. “Enjoy this. You’re not going to hear it again. But...” he took a deep breath and finally looked up, meeting his gaze as evenly as he could. “I’m sorry.” Solas blinked, clearly taken aback.

Atros, meanwhile, felt like his skin was on fire. He felt itchy and desperate to flee and-

Solas hand settled so gently around his wrist. Then his posture softened so fast that Atros briefly thought he was falling, unaided by the fact that the mage looked absolutely worn and exhausted.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, squeezing Atros’ wrist gently before withdrawing. He took a step back, leaning against his desk, and Atros took that as his cue to leave.

He was glad Solas was back.

[lqfiles]

omg and anon who brought up jjk… count ur days… jk…

without like,, trying to spoil anything.. bc i’m caught up with the story its literally (unfortunately) my top series anime wise i collect the manga and everything, id honestly put off watching it until the entire series is finished being animated, IF ur not already considering dropping the series all together. because a lot of people are due to the recent leaks chapters etc, although in my opinion they’re dropping it for the wrong reasons (got so close to the point and they still missed so bad)

i hate gege so bad they literally had every chance in the world to make such a good story with good themes and analogies and the whole shabang and they fumbled so bad. had everyone’s backstories and context set up so perfectly and then everyone was nerfed in some way. so many jjk consumers are perfect for gege in the way that NO ONE is understanding how hard themes and tragedy is meant to be. and it’s not even like “just because there’s no happy ending [yet] doesn’t mean it’s bad” ur right! it’s bad because jjk got to a point where the mc isn’t even the proper focus and there’s bitches misinterpreting his entire character as well as his most important supporting characters. YUUJI IS A CHILD. MEGUMI IS A CHILD. MY BEST FRIENDS. MY BABIES. WATCH UR MOUTH.

the way anime fans r a lot like kpop stans WHAT IS WITH GOJO SOLO STANS HES NOT THE MAIN CHARACTER SHUT UPPPPPP (coming from someone whos extremely parasocial to his character. megumi is my bias yall i love emo secondary protags it all started with sasuke and shikamaru.)

told a guy “friend” that it’s kinda like gege tried making angst in an age where aot and mha was at its peak and tbf still kind of is and he went on to say gege cooked mha and aot is ass bc of specific mha arcs (understandable but aside from those, the buildup was much better than jjk) and that aot got “political” when it didn’t need to be… i had to log out. when he said that. it’s almost as if. aot. was political. from the start. the whole theme. the whole point. of aot. was surrounding politics. it’s whatever tho… that’s what i get for trying to have a conversation with a man that plays valorant and smokes cigarettes in a non sexy way.

anyway this was my ted talk my sincere apologies for yapping again and possibly not making any sense……

—🪼

i’m really trying to not spoil it for me but the way i already got a gist of who is going to do die because of all the leaks on my tl 😭😭 but yeah i always see jjk accounts complain on tl about how the series is starting to become shit and how they hope the ending is going to be worse than mha or smth? i’m still not caught up enough and have not read the manga to know what they’re talking about plsss

but omg clockkk i feel like jjk has kinda lost its plot from what i’ve seen, like the whole point of the story is supposed to be yuji centered yet it isn’t and gojo has become the main character (which not like i’m complaining but still) i feel like maybe that’s why gege ***** gojo because he was starting to become the identity of jjk, idfkkk man gege confuses me

SOOOO MANY CHARACTERS ARE MISINTERPRETED like pmg i saw someone get onto megumi and portray him as some heartless villain like what is even going on atp 😭😭 THESE ARE 17 YEAR OLD BOYS WHO WERE THROWN INTO A LIFE FULL OF DANGER HAVE SOME COMPASSION…

see i never finished aot (was gonna wait for it to fully finish but i also heard the ending was ass?) and neither have i watched mha (head bad stuff about that) so i can’t comment on either but from what i remember aots who theme revolves around politics especially in the latter seasons 😭 YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM DUDEBROS PLSSS they think they know everything and are genuinely so insufferable

[workofheart]

levi ackerman relationship hcs

some modern headcanons, nsfw below the cut <3 it’s just levi brainrot at this point

definitely the type to follow (stalk) your spotify and check in to see what you’re listening to. if he has the time, he might even listen along and wonder what you’re doing. if it’s a particularly sad song or series of songs, he’ll know to send you a text to let you know he’s thinking of you

on that note, he also stalks your pinterest boards just to see what you’re into these days and (idk abt yall but i save pins of mens fashion) if he sees a cute outfit in your saves that fits his style, he might even try it out. reason being (though he’ll never admit to it) he loooves that kind of attention from you - when he looks particularly good and you can’t stop staring, it might just pull a smirk out of him

once you’re living together, he lowkey acts like a dad. might scold you for not closing doors, not turning off lights, all the like. he means well, honestly

however, doesn’t mind tidying up for you. folds your laundry, clears your plate, takes your jacket off your shoulders when you get home, just because it’s his way of showing he cares. definitely an acts of service kind of guy

really good at cooking! he likes spending days in the kitchen with you while he whips something up or tries something new and you just sit at the counter and talk to him. it’s a good way to catch up as your adult lives can sometimes get busy

if you fall asleep with earbuds still in, he’ll gently take them out for you before you go to bed <3 he’ll also plug your phone in for you if you forgot

occasionally reads aloud to you, especially if you’re having trouble sleeping. we all know he’s not much of a talker, but his voice is so relaxing and he doesn’t mind doing it if he knows it will help

the chillest, coolest boyfriend ever. he’s so mature, honest, and trusting, and you don’t have to worry about those high school dramatics when you’re dating him. when he chooses to date you, he’s serious about it - definitely not the type to just date for fun. he won’t hesitate to deny advances from other people, doesn’t care about what you wear, just fully devoted to you and wouldn’t even think about anyone else

i also think that with that dating in general, you would probably start out as acquaintances or maybe even friends. he needs to have a lot of trust in the person he chooses to date, so only after he’s known you a long time and you’ve made enough of an impact on his life for him to make it hard to let you go would he date you

speaking of, didn’t isayama say that levi would stutter around his crush? i can imagine him stumbling over his words, trying to cover it up with a cough, reaching to scratch his neck all sheepish, just getting all shy. even once you’re far past that stage of your relationship, sometimes you’re so upfront and bold, he can’t help himself :( you just make him so weak

braids your hair for you when you’re too tired to do it yourself - you’ll sit in front of him and his fingers are so gentle with your hair 🥺 he got the hang of it so quickly and has the dexterity to not tangle your hair and it always comes out so nice and clean, even if you’re just going to sleep in them

i peg him as a biiiig cuddler. not a lot of pda besides holding your hand, wrapping his arms around your waist, letting you hook your arm around his, etc., but in private he loves when he can just lay his head on your lap or chest bc then you can play with his hair, which relaxes him

he’s really intuitive and in tune with your emotions. if you’re feeling down, he’ll know, and he’ll also know if you need space or if you need comfort, both of which he is more than willing to oblige

he’s there to bring you cups of tea, maybe some cut up strawberries on the days you’re tired and want to sleep. will definitely tuck you in, and will also lay down with you for a bit if you ask

his go to way of getting you to talk is going on drives. 1) levi is a really good driver and 2) he’ll usually come and find you wherever you may be around the apartment, say something along the lines of, “i’m going on a drive, you wanna come?” or might just give you a look and jingle the keys around his fingers

it might take a little while of rolling through the backroads aimlessly for you to speak up, but when you do, he’s all ears. lets you talk through your thoughts, might prompt you further, offers advice if you ask for it. it’s also how you sort through relationship misunderstandings - they are rare, but all relationships have them, so it would be silly to present your relationship without them

i think that when levi is upset on the other hand, he’ll usually come to you for comfort. he isn’t necessarily looking for advice, but just to calm down and rest. some form of physical touch is good, like cuddling or napping, preferably where he can put his head on your chest so you can play with his hair

i think levi is the type of person to get a lot of intrusive thoughts or memories that he doesn’t really want to remember when they pop up, so having you as a distraction to hold him and let him know it’s alright is something he really appreciates

nsfw below the cut (18+)

unpopular opinion: levi is NOT the hard dom people tag him as. rather, i think of levi as a service top, so while he may be carrying out more of the work, you’re the one in control. getting you off gets him off 100%

considering he is usually very dominant outside the bedroom, he likes the opportunity to let you take control and direct him instead - it takes a weight off his shoulders

slow and smooth kisser. might put up a fake fight for dominance just to make it more fun, but eventually take the lead and kiss him dizzy

hearing your moans makes him unbelievably hard. the sounds you make go straight to his dick

and so: godly at giving head. he might edge you but it’s not to tease or as punishment, he just takes his time because he knows it feels better for you, and at the end of the day he wants you to feel as good as possible. your pleasure is his main priority.

knows how to use his fingers, knows how to use his tongue. knows what you like and picks up on it very quickly. i don’t think he’s that experienced but he’s got a good natural sense of what feels good - do not doubt him, he knows where the clit is 

he’s got a very wide range of capabilities for this, too. he can go slow and sensual on a calm sunday morning or absolutely dive in and ravage your pussy for more intense sessions - this is the one time he doesn’t mind making a mess 

making you cum is good for his self esteem/confidence lmfaooo he lives to see your flushed cheeks and heaving chest and be told he’s doing well. when you scratch his hair or cup his cheek as a quick thank you, his heart swells and his dick twitches

please kiss his neck, he will absolutely melt for you. especially the next day when he looks in the mirror and notices the little love bites you left him... he runs his fingers over them lightly and his eyelids get a little droopy as he remembers everything, will definitely seek you out for another round

tbh i don’t think he’s that kinky. he likes what he likes, i can’t imagine him comfortably degrading you or hitting you or anything like that. realistically, levi wouldn’t be having sex with someone he’s not in a committed relationship with. he wants it to be special and personal and therefore probably would not enjoy treating you poorly even if just for the sake of sex. if anything, he wants it the other way around bc he could easily be a bit of a masochist in bed

loves when you restrain him and ride the shit out of him, either by tying his hands to the bed or just pinning his arms down. likes when you “use” him to get off. put your hands around his neck and he’s putty in your hands

really loves when you tell him to cum - your voice is music to his hears and to hear it out loud and as a command has him doing exactly that. he’s not one to disobey orders lol. 

his brows furrow, his eyes squeeze shut, mouth falls open and lets out a low moan... jesus christ 

one more deep kiss, a quick clean up, and then he’s passing out with his head on your chest. after-sex sleep is some of the best rest he’s ever gotten

[redxblueihateloveyou]

how do you think rinharu will solve this issue? having rin stay in japan won't solve haru's abandonment issues and i wonder if competitive swimming is meant for haru, he seems to struggle a lot

Nah-ah, competitive swimming is not the problem here. He has the same amount of struggles with it as Rin and Ikuya. He actually as we saw in s3 surprisingly likes it a lot, and he was very excited about taking on Albert and he wasn't even upset about losing to him, he got worked up. It's like yeah, he takes pressure from others worse than Rin, but Rin for example is taking loses far worse than Haru. But this in fact doesn't mean they can't handle those. They both know that it's just how competitions are and they both knew what they were going for. And when Haru is happy, trash-talking opponents make him go lol and he just has his fun with this too.

The additional stress just simply unlocked the real reason why he's hurt. If it wasn't for this Rin thing he carries with him for like 10 years this would be nothing. Stress from the competition, but more specifically the fact that Albert kinda took away his main stress-relief by "polluting" the water just gave it a rise, but it's not the cause of that. Thinking of Rin easily resolved the "water pollution", letting him pass the free race. It's watching Rin lose and taking it this way that just triggered his ptsd.

The problem was and is what Aki said back when they were little “Nanase-kun seems like he can do anything all by himself, doesn’t he? He’s good at studying and sports and even art. He really can do anything, right? That’s why everyone relies on him, but it would really be something for Nanase-kun to rely on anyone, wouldn’t it?”

It's the fact that he feels too much, feels for everyone and his inability to ask for help in this case from the only person who can help him and from whom he needs it the most.

The problem is that last year when Hiyori decided to laugh about Rin leaving him into his face, rubbed salt into his deepest wound, Haru in return only gave him positive energy, swam with him, gave him happy Ikuya back and watched them being happy while smiling. Did Hiyori maybe say that he didn't mean those words? No. Did someone else the moment he said it corrected him? No. Where do you think stuff like this go?

The problem is that s1 drama was resolved just for Rin. It was never resolved for Haru. It's been just piling up for like 7 years now. I once again will say it, Rin only told Rei that none of that was Haru's fault, Haru still to this day thinks it is.

As for the second part, in my opinion, this isn't quite just about his abandonment issues, it's about his Rin issue. Bc it really doesn't matter if he's in Japan or not in Japan, in a free race or not in a free race (bc whether Rin chose to swim free or not, Rin is right there, and they can still be on a relay team together, and travel together etc). This is only partially about his fear of him leaving.

The problem here is that for Haru it's never enough. When everything was fine and he could swim against Rin and had a great relay team of his friends, he wasn't satisfied.

Rin was near the whole season, he still missed him.

They spent whole days alone together, was that enough? No. He still didn't want him to leave.

But saying stuff like "I know we came here to support our kohais, but please, don't leave, sit with me, not with them" is selfish, no matter how much you want it.

Here he is right next to him. Still not enough.

My point is.. thats not what this is about and I'm pretty sure that's not what Haru's talking about. It's bc he always does everything to stay with him for as long as possible, but Rin is blind as a bat and deaf as a doornail.

And I don't really know what else you can say in some situations. Bc like when Rin spent the night at Haru's and Haru asked him to wake him up at 5am just to spend more time with him Rin answered with something like "hahaha that's great, good night".

And I will never in general understand how Rin even translates what Haru says. Bc when Haru asked him to call, Rin read it as "let me disappear for 5 years, go home for each holiday and avoid you like a plague".

And this outburst of "the greatest pain of my life is when you leave" was read as "let me just leave again".

The problem is Haru tried and tried to ask and show things in many different ways (which was pretty hard considering how he is), but couldn't ask directly for what he really wanted for obvious reasons. And no joke, there is a chance that Rin still wouldn't get it even if he did.

Rationally I think the resolve would be pretty simple, Rin will just enter the free race, bring him back and they'll talk after that.

It's just that with the way this set up right now, for Haru to be happy... I only see one option for how this talk can go, that I always was sure this anime can't give us. But then again I also do not quite get why even go there then.

I guess what I mean is with all my imagination I can't understand how he can ask for help in this situation, except for like I wrote here to ask him "just... be with me. I really need you to just be with me." If he already admitted how much it hurt him each time he left, idk what he's supposed to say at this point.. "please, stay and love me"? also "please, tell me what happened all those years ago isn't my fault" (he won't, bc he thinks it is), "please tell me you painfully missed me each time you were away too" (not to this extent, no, at least first times)?

What I personally want is same thing as in a fic for Rin to ask him to just tell him the truth, ask him to "please, I need you to talk". Gradually, step by step, from the beginning, all that's been eating him up all this years. Just to please tell Rin everything, so he could honestly reassure him, clear up all their misunderstandings, just TALK.

Bc if he let it all out, Rin can easily erase all of Haru's doubts and that nonsense that he is the reason why Rin never stays, that he was the reason he left in the first place etc, and eradicate the root of the problem, after this Haru would stop reacting to each time Rin leaves for a grocery store as if it's WW3.

P.S. I honestly think everyone should just go turn on Sam Smith - My Oasis and cry with Haru, bc this is probably the closest it can come to explain how he feels and just the whole mood for this situation rn. Like I've made a gifset to this a while ago, but rn the whole song is just super on point.

P.P.S. what I'm saying shortly is we all know how you can stop Haru's struggles easily, but what they would come up with hell if I know.

[bcdwhcre]

Ok so how bout an Erwin fic where the reader is Hanji’s assistant and they’re rly shy but Erwin finds her rly cute esp whenever they’re flustered or blushing. When he loses his arm hanji absentmindedly assigns the reader to shave his face when he’s in the infirmary and they’re both just left there like 😀 and there’s a lot of tension bc he keeps staring at them and the reader keeps on blushing but is v gentle omg I would be foaming at the mouth if you wrote this

“The Assistant,” Erwin x Reader

I shall deliver to my Erwin simps.

Summary: you’re Hange’s assistant and your newest assignment is to take care of Erwin after he was wounded, resulting in losing his arm.

Warnings: none, fluffy Erwin.

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It was unexpected and out of character for you to join the scouts. Even though you didn’t technically join the scouts fully, being Hange’s assistant was still like being apart of them.

You had begged her to let you work under her since you were absolutely fascinated by her work and the way she loved science just as much as you did, it was perfect fit and when she agreed you loved every single day of it.

When news came back that Commander Erwin had been seriously injured while out on a expedition, you had grown worried for your Captain as you waited back the main base.

Once everyone made it back, your eyes had instantly went on Erwin and noticed his whole arm was missing and you were more than shocked at the scene before you.

After everyone had managed to settle in back at the base, you were called to Hange’s office and you assumed it would be an assignment.

“I’m sorry that this assignment isn’t what you’re expecting or what you want but I’m putting my full trust in you and to take care of the Commander while he’s in the infirmary. He needs assistance.” She had explained to you and you nodded your head, not questioning her reason to send you to his side.

The way towards the infirmary had felt like a long one, you were actually quite nervous to assist the Commander and take care of him. Sure you had met him a few times, you do admit he is rather attractive and definitely intimidating so by nature you were nervous.

You were scared to mess this assignment up, you were scared to see Erwin in such a state and being unable to do certain things for himself. You were practically his nurse and that made you grow uneasy, afraid of screwing things up.

Your shaky hand reached up to gently knock on the door, hearing his approval to come in and you opened it up to see him on the bed, the absence of his arm had made the sleeve of the hospital gown limp and hanging on his shoulder.

“Hange sent me here-“

“I know, come in.” He insisted, gesturing you to fully come in the room and you did, standing there awkwardly for a few minutes, your cheeks heating up.

“Anything I can get you?”

“Maybe a cup of water for now? Kind of thirsty and they won’t let me get up and fetch it myself.” A small chuckle had left his lips and you nodded before leaving the room.

As you poured the water in the cup, your hand shaky and you had cursed to yourself for being so nervous about this. It wasn’t that big of a deal but the side of you that was super anti social and naturally shy, it made things a lot harder.

Your feet made its way back inside the room, resting the cup on the table beside him before standing there in front of him, chewing on your bottom lip.

Erwin had seen your nervousness and shyness as something really cute. He could tell how badly you didnt want to mess things up and he also noticed how your cheeks would flush when he would make eye contact with you. He tried not to make things obvious, hiding the smirk wanting to come across his face as he took sips of the water.

“One more thing,” He started off, setting the cup aside on the table.

“I need help shaving this mess off my face, if you don’t mind?” He asked you, raising his eyebrow while he kept the eye contact until you answered.

“Yeah, of course.” You agreed, you couldn’t just say no to the Commader, you were assigned to help his needs until he was comfortable enough.

You sucked in a sharp breath, grabbing all the items you needed and sat on the bed in front of him. You had moved the table to be beside you and you had nervously spread the shaving cream on his face, making it too obvious that your hands were still shaky.

Erwin had watched you closely, his eyes burning into you while you tried to remain concentrated on what you were doing but it was pretty hard for you to ignore his stares considering you felt how intense it was.

A couple of times you would lock eyes then quickly break the contact as your cheeks flushed red. You were positive your face looked as red as a tomato. You couldn’t believe how flushed you were but it was happening.

You carefully took the razor, dragging it down his jawline and he was very interested in your concentration as well as your desire to not meet his gaze, it amused him actually.

The tension in the room was so thick that you could choke on it. The both of you weren’t dumb, you can sense it and feel it surrounding the both of you but you tried to play it dumb, continuing to drag the razor down his skin gently, wiping the shaving cream off and repeating the same actions.

Erwin never looked at you fully for the first time before this day but when he had no choice but to look at you while you helped shaved his face, he couldn’t help but stare for minutes at a time. He liked the way your cheeks would turn pink to red in an instant, he liked the way you would scrunch up your nose and bite your lip while you were concentrating. He admitted you were a cute little thing.

“What made you want to be Hange’s assistant?” He finally spoke up, wanting to make things less awkward and tensed than what it is now.

“Um, I’m a big science nerd like she is.” You laughed slightly, meeting his gaze then looking back down.

“So you enjoy studying Titans like her, right?”

“Hm, yeah, I suppose.” You simply shrugged your shoulders, finishing off the last spot.

You grabbed the small towel, wiping off the remaining shaving cream off his face and smiled at how well you actually did.

“There, all clean.” You set the things down on the table, watching Erwin put up a small mirror and looked at his now clean face.

“Thank you, I really appreciate your help.” He admitted, resting his hand on your upper arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

You had felt a small tingle in your stomach, just as you thought you were comfortable he definitely made you completely nervous again. This time you tried your best to keep your cheeks from turning a shade of pink but some color ended up popping up anyways, not as much as before.

Erwin smiled sweetly at you, removing his hand and you stood up from the bed gathering up the materials on the table to go put away before returning to the end of his bed.

“If there’s nothing else, I can leave you be.”

“Actually, stay with me for a bit. I like your company.”

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The Erwin simps will be blessed with this work of art. Enjoy. Even tho it’s rather short🤧

• Main Masterlist •

• AOT Masterlist •

[greensaplinggrace]

honestly THANK YOU for saying all that abt baghra bc i thought i was going crazy from not liking her??? bc i haven't read the books and only summaries of them on wiki and like. i dunno why ppl like her actually even in the show bc this guy, her son, is like "i wanna make the world better for us grisha" and she's just like "no." even tho he sees that she's MAKING HERSELF SICK from suppressing her powers! she's literally like in bed coughing in the flashback yet seem much healthier at the little palace. also like after everything, after her disapproval, after the fold, after centuries of waiting for the sun summoner.. he never abandons her. he makes sure she's cares for. he doesn't harm her. and i have to wonder if baghra has ever thanks him for that, for just not leaving her alone. like i dunno how im suppose ro believe aleks is a heartless villain when he still cares for his abusive mom like this. like has baghra even told her she loved him (honestly she reminds me of a classic emotionally unavailable asian parent but maybe that's just me). also im wondering if baghra ever told aleks that he had an aunt.. bc like.. now that u bring up her isolating him it's like hmmmm...

not at me being like alina... why do u trust the bitter old woman who literally beats u with a stick and verbally abuses u every chance she gets.. just bc she showed a bad painting... like.. pls use two braincells to see that who u figured out as his mother... is also using his protection..

like baghra could've upped and left with alina. but no. she stayed bc she knew she was safe under aleks's protection.

alsoim just impressed that after his first friend tried to drown him and harvest his bones... he didn't go into hiding???? he still wanted to make a safe heaven for grisha!!! HE STILL WANTED TO PROTECT GRISHA EVEN AFTER HIS GRISHA FRIEND TRIED TO KILL HIM FOR HIS FUCKEN BONES. like... this is the guy im suppose to believe is the villain???

honestly i feel like part of the reason why LB's plotlines seem so bad and disconnected (and sometimes outright racist but that's another rant) and why darkles is disproportionately more violent and villainous in the later books is bc she didn't expect the darkling to be so popular and wanted to stick with her guns of making him the villain. but also wanted the money from aleks's popularity. but like you can't have ur cake and eat it too.

Well thank you for sending this ask! It's very sweet and very passionate. I'm glad you liked my post! I didn't put as much thought into it as some of my others lol. I kind of just talked. But it was nice to be able to finally talk about some of the problems I have with both her character and the fandom/author's perception of her.

HERE is the post this is referring to, in case anyone's wondering.

👀👀 You've hit the nail on the head for so many things, here!

Baghra is extremely emotionally unavailable, basically to the point of neglect. She's also verbally and physically abusive, traits which I doubt were only reserved for her students and not her son. Baghra claims she would do anything to protect him, but I've known a lot of parents who have that mindset and yet still harm their children because they think it's "good for them".

Aleksander stays at Baghra's side for years, and even when they're opposing each other she's never too far away from him. Idk if you've read the books but he does eventually hurt her. And as much as I don't like Baghra, I think his actions were horrid. But I'm also honestly kind of surprised it took him so long lmao.

Yeah I mean, in terms of isolation, let's not forget that she never wanted to introduce him to his father, either. Baghra's sense of eternity clouds a lot of her judgments on relationships, which means she views most people as dust and therefore teaches her son to as well. The problem with that is that he's a growing child, and he needs those social and emotional attachments for healthy development.

I would bet quite a bit of money that Baghra has either never told him she loves him or she has told him so few times it's practically forgettable.

And everything becomes more complicated because so many of Baghra's actions are understandable because of her life and her history, but the impacts they have on the people around her, especially Aleksander, are permanently damaging. And the fact that that's never gone over in critical depth in the books or how it's glossed over in fandom is just very disconcerting. Like, acknowledging Baghra's failings doesn't mean we're excusing Aleksander's actions, it just means we're holding Baghra liable for her own. Which the fandom should be doing, considering she's the epitome of an abusive parental figure.

And Alina trusting Baghra over Aleksander is even more confusing! Especially in the show!! This is the woman who beat her and abused her and tortured her friends when they tiny little children (and who probably still does so now that they're adults). This is the woman who mocks you and harasses you and insults you on a regular basis. Why does Baghra revealing she's Aleksander's mother make Alina change her mind?! Like fuck, I'd just feel bad for Aleksander. No wonder he kept it a secret, I would too! And that painting is enough evidence?! Really?! A random painting shown to you by this abusive mentor that's been making your life hell. That's what you're going to betray your new lover over?

The friends trying to harvest his bones thing is a good point, too. I think Aleksander, especially show Aleksander, is incredibly idealistic. I think he cares too much for others - those he's deemed worth his care (a sentiment given to him by Baghra). Despite everything she's tried to teach him about hiding and abandoning others and never caring and never doing anything to help or reach out or connect with people, Aleksander still continues to do so. It's likely because he never got it from Baghra growing up, and so is desperate for those emotional needs to be fulfilled elsewhere.

His turning point, when Baghra tells him it was understandable that those kids tried to kill him because the world is such a hard place for them - that's crucial. And the reason it's possible as a motivating factor is because of that idealism and that desire to help and that desire to be everything his mother isn't. Baghra tells him this trauma he just experienced was because of the oppression of his people, and instead of following her lead and accepting that, going into hiding and abandoning everybody to their misery, he goes I can do something about that. I can make it so this never happens again. Which is usually how trauma like that combines with one's core personality traits at a young age, especially when there's none of the essential support systems in place to aid in recovery (ie, the role Baghra should have been filling but wasn't, because she decided to exacerbate the problem instead).

And yeah, one of my biggest problems with the ham-fisted "beating you over the head with a sledgehammer of evil deeds" look-how-bad-this-character-is! portrayal of the Darkling in the later books comes from the impression I get that Bardugo doesn't trust her readers. She's so desperate to have us hate this character and think him an irredeemable villain, not trusting any of her readers to engage critically with a morally gray character, that it feels quite a bit like condescending fucking bullshit. Which ew, I know how to engage with literature, thanks.

She really does seem to look down on a large part of her fandom, and imo, the infantilization of the female characters in her books seems to carry over to her impression of most of her female readers as well. Which is why the Darkling's character arc gets fucking destroyed. But he's still a good cash grab, of course, so she'll shake his dead corpse in front of the fandom for money every time she wants something from it.

Also! Another reason I think her plotlines feel disconnected (I'm sorry Bardugo I respect you as a person, but shit-) is because the writing in SaB is just bad. I mean, nevermind the absolutely nauseating implications of the way she portrays the Grisha as a persecuted group who's situation is never actually fully addressed as it should be, considering Grisha rights is what her main villain is fighting for (imo for a series called the Grishaverse, LB seems to be pretty anti Grisha), but her characters and story alone are just wrong for each other. They don't fit together.

And the ending is one of the main pieces of evidence in that regard! You can’t say the ending where Alina isn’t Grisha anymore is her “going back to where she started” when she’s always been Grisha. She just didn’t know she was Grisha because she denied that part of herself that she was born with.

Alina is reluctant to move forward or change, she struggles with adapting, and she’s very set on the things she’s grown attached to throughout her life. She also has some latent prejudices against the Grisha, and so denies the possibility of being Grisha for those reasons as well.

Alina’s lack of powers in the beginning of her life because she willfully doesn’t learn about them to avoid change versus her lack of powers at the end of the book when she’s accepted them and then they’re stripped away from her by outer forces are two entirely separate circumstances. You can’t make a parallel about lost powers and lack of Grisha status bringing her back to the start when she was always Grisha and she always had powers and she simply refused to come to terms with it because of personal reasons.

The first situation is an internal conflict that indicates a story about growth and a journey of self acceptance. Denying herself the opportunity to learn about her heritage and to find acceptance with a group of people like her because she’s tied to the past and because of the way she was raised is the setup for a narrative that tackles unlearning prejudice and learning how to connect with a part of her identity that was denied her and learning how to grow independent and self assured. It’s the setup for a different story entirely. The second situation is an external conflict that centers around the ‘corrupting influence of power’... for some reason.

In a world where Grisha do not have social, political, or economic power and they are hunted, centering your heroine’s journey of self acceptance and growth around an external conflict about... the corrupting influence of power (in a group of people that don’t actually have any power?!) just doesn’t work. It is literally impossible to connect the two stories Bardugo is trying to push in Shadow and Bone without seriously damaging the main character’s developmental arc.

The only way a narrative like this would work, claiming that she has gone back to where she started, is either a) if the Grisha weren’t actually a persecuted group and instead were apart of the upper class, or b) if the one bad connection between the two instances is acknowledged - that Alina denied a part of herself crucial to self acceptance and growing up, and that losing her powers at the end has also denied her. It is a tragedy, not a happy ending.

Alina suffered because she didn’t use her powers. She grew sick. It was bad for her. This was not a resistance to 'the corruption of power and the burden of greed', it was her suffering because she couldn’t fully accept herself.

Framing the ending as a return to the beginning can’t be done if you don’t address how bad the beginning was for your main character. You brought her back to a bad point in her life. You regressed her. This should be a low point in her arc. It should be a problem that’s solved so she can finish developing organically or it should be something that is acknowledged as a tragedy in it’s own right, for the future the world (the writing) denied her.

This is a ramble and it makes no sense and I’m really sorry, but my point is that Bardugo put the wrong characters in the wrong story. The character arc required for organic development doesn’t match the story and intended message at all. The narrative doesn’t fit the cast. She's got two clashing stories attempting to work in tandem and she ends up with both conflicting messages that fans still can’t comprehend in her writing and an ending that doesn’t suit her main character to such an impossible degree that it’s almost laughable.

So yeah, there's a few reasons why I think the story and the plot feels so bad and disconnected. I hope you don't mind me making this answer so long! 😅 I was not expecting to write this much.

[crybabyddl]

I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO REITERATE SOMETHING

Yes, let’s circle back to the beautiful performance of Edge of Great. More specifically the BODY LANGUAGE, particularly Julie and Luke’s, which I will be analyzing with gifs.

Exhibit A

Jealous Luke looks over at Julie and Reggie vibing

Julie is aware that she’s avoiding Luke, which she is doing so bc she realized her feelings for him thanks to Flynn earlier in the episode.

Since Julie has put the task of ignoring Luke upon herself even though she has no obligation to, she ends up failing her own mission. She sees Luke’s reaction to the lack of her attention.

She literally FREEZES. She’s emotionally worried to confront what she’s feeling and it’s beginning to manifest physically.

Exhibit B

It gets better y’all. After Luke finally has even a crumb of Julie’s attention, he beckons her over with his signature head tilt. This is important bc he did this with his longtime bandmate during the soundcheck of what would’ve been their biggest performance. If he feels comfortable enough using that body language with a girl he’s only known for, what, a week and a half(?) then you know this puppy boy’s got it BAD.

Julie is well aware that Luke is getting jealous. But in classic Julie fashion, she will try to tune it out instead of addressing it. Our wicked beauty doesn’t like confrontation and would rather just deny and avoid than potentially make things awkward, especially when she knows Luke would ask her about it at a later time.

The look on Julie’s face. Her eyes widen and the classic tight-lipped awkward smile is present. She’s literally saying “ok enough of that let’s get back to work doo doo doo” with her face. The way her body SWINGS back into performance mode as she faces the audience again. It may have been a split second, but when you’re deliberately trying to avoid looking into the dreamy (dead) eyes of someone you shouldn’t be crushing on, any amount of time feels too long. Plus, she knows Flynn is watching and doesn’t want her to lecture her (but she does anyway bc Flynn is observant and knows her bestie too well to let any action slip past her).

Exhibit C

Keep in mind; NONE OF THE GUYS KNOW WHY JULIE IS AVOIDING LUKE. Flynn, Alex, and Reggie have noticed the Juke chemistry, but it’s still too soon for them to get past the “we like each other but we’re too clueless to notice that we reciprocate” phase, so even though their respective besties know, they are still denying. Besides, Reg, Alex, and Flynn know better than to keep pestering if they want to keep their kneecaps. In reality they’re both smart enough to tell by this point, but for the sake of the plot and to make everything more adorably frustrating, Flynn has the collective brain cell under lock and key, leaving Juke to be like *dog tilting its head and making that “a-roo?” noise*

Anyway, Reggie notices Luke being snubbed after realizing that his extra dose of Julie time was slightly out of the ordinary. Luke is clearly concerned (look at his eyebrows and how his eyes travel from Reggie, to Julie, then to the audience to trying and get his mind off it and bring his focus back to the main goal; the performance.) If he can’t have the moment of connection with Julie that he so desperately craves, he’s gonna fill that void as best he can by connecting with the audience. >:’)

But Reggie’s trying to help Luke brush it off by conveying his reaction as ‘look at julie coming into her own! i told you she was a star! and you thought you were the lead singer? think again buddy this girl’s got you beat!’

But since Reggie isnt a master at hiding his feelings yet, especially around Luke, —who was able to get under his skin earlier (“girls, am i right?”)—Luke was easily able to see through that and interpreted what Reggie was saying as “look at julie go, she all in the zone. you’re literally making heart eyes at her get a grip you’re slacking lmao” (hence luke’s right eyebrow quirking at reggie like ‘dude seriously gimme a break u know i need attention like tinkerbell’) even though Reggie’s true message was a bit less harsh and more lovingly teasing, but it’s Luke, he sees things through his eyes and at his intensity, regardless of who it’s coming from. (This is one of the reasons why Luke comes off as selfish at times.)

Exhibit D

Poor Lukey boi can’t seem to catch a break today! Not only does Julie ignore him, then has a cute lil (platonic but it’s luke so it still makes him jealous >:P) moment, but now she has the AUDACITY to interact with Alex? The guy who was out learning Ghost 101 with this Willie guy instead of rehearsing with the band? What gives?! What’s he got that your moody ghost bf doesn’t? >:’(

He literally just watches, and even glances back in a way that, to me, screams ‘did i see that right? did i just see what i just saw with my own dreamy (but dead) eyes? say sike rn.’ \_(*_*)_/

Meanwhile, Alex pays no mind. I like to think that Alex is fully aware that Luke is an angry boy rn, but has learned to ignore it, especially this bc literally NOTHING happened. Either that or Alex has no clue and just truly thinks nothing of it and is having too much fun to think about Luke’s moody and childish behavior. Either way, Alex is just straight chilling and we love to see it *^_^*

Notice how Reggie is right there vibing with Julie and Alex. Luke feels a bit betrayed like ‘not you too! i know you were the first to turn on me but i figured since you’re such a golden retriever you’d be loyal and come back to my side!😠🥲’

Also; Luke approaches the rest of the group, wanting to be included in at least SOME of the vibing, but when Julie starts dancing and smiling with her buddy Alex, he backs up like

“you know what? nope. nevermind. not doin’ it.”

and the group’s like “i mean hey it’s your loss, but luke we want you to-”

“no, bc you chose to piss me off right in front of my face so no luke time for any of you! no cuddles, no hugs, no nothing! you made your bed, now lie in it and perish.”

Exhibit E & F: This is where it gets a bit interesting and theorized hehe...

Now we all know that this moment is just fucking ICONIC

WEOWH NEOW NEOW!!! WEOW NEHR NEHR NER-NER-NER NEHR NEHR NEOWHR!!! (wer nehr-nehr-ner-ner-nehr-nehr!!) WUEHNER-NEUHNER-NEHR-NEEOW-NEOWH! DLOOLOODDUH-DOODLAH-HOOBLUEH-NEOWHR-NEUEHR-NEEEEEEUOWRH!!!!

But hear me out– HEAR ME OUT!

What if... now don’t shoot the messenger who just so happens to also be the theorist... but what if...

WHAT IF!!! Luke didn’t!! plan this?!!!

Listen i know you’re probably thinking:

“Well uh Nicole, isn’t that kinda the whole point? It literally wasn’t planned until Charlie realized Madi was gonna be standing on the piano so he suggested the idea for the guitar solo to Kenny.”

And you’re right! But here’s the kicker:

What if Luke THE CHARACTER, just decided to do this as an “Alright that’s it! You wanna be like that? Well what if I just hit you with my super awesome radical totally cool wowza guitar skills & make a moment between us? Huh? What do you think about that? Hmm? HMMM???!!!”

He licks his lips & that to me read** like he was nervous (**read rhyming with bed just to clarify) so that means it could’ve been a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment thing.

In the second gif, you can see that Julie’s head is tilted, as if she’s a bit confused, but she’s also delightfully surprised.

Julie is quick to smile and scrunch her nose at Luke, something she does often. It tells Luke his impulsive action garnered a positive response from his favorite girl. Julie also starts to shake her head, but doesn’t go through the motion in full, which means she’s still a bit nervous to let her guard down. This is probably because she doesn’t know what he’s thinking or what he will do next. The lopsided smile mixed with the suave, gliding steps towards her probably brought her back to her daydream lol.

Luke’s happy bc Julie’s no longer ignoring him. He smiles like a GOOBER bc this chump is simping HARD for our Julie. So cute! :’)

Exhibit G

And hear me when I offer this:

What if Luke poofed the guys out???

I know, I know. It’s a bold claim to make. But the boys are special, considering they are a threat to Caleb (3 gay-variant himbos vs. a gay magician that could’ve been on broadway but decided to make some sort of deal with a devil so he just entertains capitalists who most likely sold their souls to get into the hgc which i will probably elaborate on in a future theory so dont do that bc im gonna lmao idc we all have big brains) So it’s not too crazy to think that they could share some ghost powers.

We know Caleb transported the guys during You Got Nothing to Lose. And the guys have left a place at the exact same time on more than one occasion.

And you may be thinking “well what if the guys poofed out to give juke a moment alone together?” And to that I say...

Look at Reggie. He isn’t looking back at Alex like “dude let’s give them some space.”

The timing of him turning around, at least to me, makes me think Reggie was surprised by Luke approaching the piano. (But also he lowkey was waiting for Luke to prove him wrong by doing something to get Julie’s attention so Reggie isn’t mad. Neither is Alex but he doesn’t like being told how or WHEN to ghost) Luke doesn’t even give his bandmates a warning eyebrow quirk, a hand signal, nothing. Reggie turns to Alex like ‘dude what is he DOING?’ And before he can even really convey that, they go *POOF*

This man had a plan and he was gonna do it, so he did. Whether it’s the power of love, they stopped performing, or Reggie and Alex actually poofed out, the odds worked in Luke’s favor so he and Julie could have a super special moment, a moment special enough to make an actual living person (Nick) wonder if a “hologram” has a better chance at connecting with Julie than he does.

Again, regardless of who made them poof or how they poofed, they mf poofed so Luke’s a happy hamster. (Idk it just sounded fitting instead of happy camper lol wait what if someone had 3 pet hamsters and named them alex reggie and luke🥺 someone buy some hamsters and let me be their godmother or their aunt and i’ll love them from afar.) Anyway, Luke’s thriving, flourishing, his crops are going to grow in time for the harvest.

You can see Julie lean back as she turns to see Luke. It’s... almost as if... She. Wasn’t. Expecting. Him. To. Be. There..??

Honey badger Luke bc he DGAF <|:) Bitch, it’s Luke mf Patterson and he’s gonna,, GET! IN! YOUR! FAAAACE!!!

You CANNOT tell me he’s not doing the absolute MOST to try and seduce Miss Juliana Mariposa Rose Molina.

Yes I’m making a headcanon that Julie has TWO middle names and that one of them is the spanish word for butterfly and that the other is her mother’s name. Also yes, I believe (i believe that we’re just one dream away from who we’re– oh, that’s not what we’re doing? okay, sorry!) that Juliana is Julie’s full name.

In this house we love and respect Juliana Mariposa (Dahlia)** Rose Molina

**I’m just putting Dahlia there for fun bc I can. :) Whether I’d consider it a possible middle name of hers depends. Anyway I just thought it was a cute thing to add bc it goes along with the other middle names I gave her *^_^* Also, I feel like I made a post giving a bunch of the characters middle names lemme see if I can find it later)

Ok i’m done this took me basically all day from like 10am until 4:08. I obviously took breaks in between, but not long ones...😶

[ace-attorney-prison]

Hi i’m back!! Hope you’re doing well :D

Anyways, looking back to that time i asked you about the Jacques and Jack hc (which i still think about til today bc your interpretation of their relationship was so good), turns out that i like Jack even more now lmao

So, any general headcanons for Jack Hammer? Dunno if you’d consider him a villain or not (bc i do), so if you don’t have any hcs for him then you can do general hcs for Jacques instead, i’d be happy with either of them!

Ty again and have a nice day!!

(Btw sorry for the kinda long ask lol i didn’t expect it to be this long shsjsksk, also please take your time with the answers, i can wait :)) )

Hi!! I'm really glad you liked my headcanons, and thank you again for asking! <3 I love thinking about and developing these characters c:

I'll guess I'll start out by saying that-

For a good while now, I've headcanoned that Juan has looked up to Jack Hammer since childhood (courtesy of @zarla-s and @bardic-feline)

In my own HC, Juan's parents took him to a convention when he was a kid, and since Jack starred in The Singing Samurai, his parents took him to a meet and greet. Juan didn't know the guy or that movie at the time and wasn't super interested, but they talked briefly and Jack said some encouraging things to Juan (who was primarily interested in a music career), and Juan was like !!!! and watched the movies he was in later and looked up to him ever since.

One of the big reasons he looked up to him is because of similar circumstances. Like Juan, Jack didn't grow up wealthy. Didn't grow up with one foot already in the door of the industry. He just had a dream and worked hard for it until he got his big break- which was really encouraging to little kid Juan.

‎

Jack always thought of himself as a good guy. He'd treat people with respect (when he thought they deserved it), was kind to children, friendly with most people. Part of his reputation was earned by being a decent guy. He'd even consider it part of his career to take the extra mile (or half-mile) for those he networks with.

So when the accident happened, it hit him. Hard.

Dee was wrong- it wasn't on purpose. Sure, Manuel kept acting like Jack wasn't working hard enough on their fight scene- wasn't making it realistic enough, wasn't putting enough energy into the action, etc. And Jack, being a more experienced actor (in his opinion) and a more popular and successful one, felt irritated and spoken down to. So, yes, he made it a point to shove much harder. But he never meant to kill him. Didn't mean to even seriously injure him. It was an accident. A mistake.

He feels so numb and guilty that for a while, he just takes the punishment from Dee. Maybe he was never a good person, and he deserves what he's getting. All these low-paying villain roles he's been having to get into the mindsets of... maybe it's a good role for him. He's awful, terrible.

But after a while, that guilty mindset shifts slightly. And he feels a growing anger towards Dee. It was an accident, one that was traumatizing to him and he feels guilty about. He doesn't deserve to be treated like this. How dare she?

There have even been a few times that she's hinted that she may use her mafia connections to go after his loved ones. (Although she never did, the message was intentional. She wanted him to feel that fear, that pain. To have the threat of a beloved person ripped from him in turn.)

After a while, he starts to consider ending things by killing her, too. He's a monster (or so he's come to internalize), so what's one more dead body at his feet? But murder isn't exactly something he's ever entertained before. Didn't grow up thinking he'd have someone's blood on his hands. So he creates good excuses for himself as to why he should have it done.

She's part of the mafia, so perhaps killing her would save many others. She's hinted at threats towards his family and friends, so perhaps it's necessary.

But really, subconsciously his main reason is his anger and bitterness about how she's been treating him.

As for Will Powers... he doesn't hate him enough to actively want to ruin his life. He doesn't like the guy, though. Everything about Will always annoyed Jack. (Subconsciously, he reminds him of himself in some ways, and it's a painful reminder of all the promise he had when he was younger.)

But the blame has to be pinned on someone, and Will is the most convenient. The fact that he dislikes him so much and harbors so much bitterness towards him just makes it a little easier. If he doesn't pin the blame on him, then the mafia would likely get retribution by hurting Jack and those close to him.

‎

Needless to say, Juan was... shaken to hear the news. Especially since he'd only recently begun to break into the business, and had gotten to briefly meet Jack again at an event only months prior.

[patchofsunlight]

Warmth | Zuko x Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Avatar!Reader AU | Zuko has made many mistakes and holds uncountable regrets, but maybe Y/N can still love him back. Spoiler: she does.

REQUEST (by anon): “Could you do a zuko with maybe a f! avatar? Him falling in love with her like how they joked in ember island play. And him being tormented when she 'dies' in cross roads and them having some tender moment of confessing either in the western temple or ember island? maybe the play has the kiss and he confesses idk”

WORD COUNT: 5.3k

WARNINGS: Y/N is the Avatar, so Aang doesn’t exist. kissing, there might be swear words but I don’t really remember, bad editing. lots of mutual pining and some angst. I don’t know if I did this request justice but I really tried?

OBSERVATIONS: there’s a bit of Sokka x Reader bc I’m a weak woman but in the end he’s the main Zuko and Y/N shipper. not having Aang seriously hurt me. I wrote most of the Zuko sad rant in the beginning listening to Words Fail by Ben Platt and I think it would be interesting if you guys listened to that while reading? idk

I hope you all like it!!! feedback is always appreciated, so keep that in mind and thank you very much for reading!!

There was a hole inside his chest that Zuko simply couldn’t get rid of. It hurt him to his core, bringing pained sobs to the edge of his throat and slowly dismantling his soul.

He always thought getting rid of Y/N would quench his anger, rebuild his honor and complete his destiny. Now, his father accepted him again, Mai was his girlfriend, and Azula treated him like a true brother, in her own deranged ways. The Fire Nation considered him a hero, the man who killed the Avatar.

Then why did it trouble him so much? Why did he wake up every night in a cold sweat, with tears stinging his eyes? Why did he have the same nightmare over and over where he was the one responsible for her death, hitting her with lightning and watching as the light inside her disappeared, leaving behind only her idle body and Katara’s desperate cries? Why couldn’t he be satisfied? He had fulfilled his fate. He had done what he was meant to do, sided with his people, and fought against his greatest enemy. Why wasn’t he happy? Why couldn’t he ever be happy?

Back in Ba Sing Se, he saw her at the Jasmine Dragon more than once. He couldn’t believe his eyes when she first entered the teashop, and he was pretty sure she had recognized him, but Y/N managed to send a polite smile in his direction and sit down, greeting “Mushi” with joy. When Zuko served her tea, she asked him what his name was as if she didn’t know. She didn’t confront nor attack him — she simply let him live his new life and went on living hers. It felt like she had washed off his sins, erased the bloodstains he carried in his soul and hands. Y/N freed him of his past and he had thrown it all away.

It was the right thing to do, he had told himself day after day after day. Except it wasn’t, and now Iroh refused to talk to him and the Avatar was probably dead and, in the case she wasn’t, she would never forgive him. She wouldn’t let him be free of himself again and he would never get redemption for his mistakes.

He wished he could go back in time and fight alongside Y/N in that crystal cave, wished he could live up to the trust Katara offered him before they were saved, wished he could have stopped Azula from throwing that lightning bolt. He wished he could do things in the right way, yet he couldn’t. Zuko tried so hard to regain his so-called honor and to bring his father pride but his only real achievement was engulfing himself in guilt and regret, being aware that powerful and forgiving Y/N could be dead because of his lack of dignity and character — this couldn’t be honor. Violence, betrayal, death, and hurt couldn’t be honor, and he wasn’t sure he wanted his father’s pride if it meant feeling like this, like he was no good, like he was not worthy of love or praise or admiration.

Zuko had spent a great part of his life hating himself, but nothing compared to the hate he felt every night after waking up from another crushing nightmare. How dared he make this about himself and his feelings of guilt when the Avatar could be dead? How dared he worry about the Fire Lord’s pride when the world’s last hope was gone? How dared he indulge in self-pity after all he had done? He didn’t deserve pity, didn’t deserve help, he only deserved to wallow in his own pain and die. But that wouldn’t fix anything, neither would it bring Y/N back — he had to act, and he had to do it fast.

Going after Team Avatar was not difficult. He thought he would feel complicated like he had when first betraying Y/N’s trust, thought it would hurt like coming back to the Fire Nation did. Thankfully, leaving only caused a new type of satisfaction to bloom inside his chest, giving him the sensation he was finally walking through the right path. Hope seemed to pour out of every pore in his body and he could somehow think of better, future days when he would have done enough to make up for his mistakes, days when he didn’t feel the urge to scream every time he looked at a mirror. Maybe then he wouldn’t have to despise himself like he currently did, maybe things would be okay and he would be truly happy, if that was even something he had the capability to do.

But then they didn’t want him. He left everything behind, he charged every inch of his hope with the idea of joining the Avatar, and they didn’t want him. Why would they? Why would they, after everything he had done? How could he have even considered they would accept him, that she would trust him again? Of course they didn’t want him. No one did and no one ever would and that was entirely his fault — it was his fault that he was a bad person, took the wrong decisions, and caused pain and destruction. It was his fault he never did the right thing and he should’ve known he would be rejected again, for being rejected was just what he deserved.

But it still hurt. Oh, Spirits, it hurt. She couldn’t even look at him, even after he helped them defeat Combustion Man and was finally accepted in the group. Sadly, it made Zuko realize that, no matter where he stood, he would never be a part of their team, and Y/N would never trust him entirely. For some reason, that was more upsetting than their rejection. He wanted to impress her, wanted her to like him, and she never would.

“Y/N? Can I—can I come in?”

The Avatar looked up from the map she was currently analysing on her bed, studying his figure carefully before nodding with hesitance, “yes. Do you need something?”

He sighed deeply and walked towards her, feeling his heart crack when she brought her legs closer to her body and away from him the moment he sat on the edge of the bed, “I—I just wanted to talk to you about, well, you know, everything.”

Her expression hardened and she averted her eyes back to the map, “we have nothing to talk about, Zuko. You can go back to your room.”

The Fire Nation Prince swallowed nervously, “Y/N, please. I’m so, so sorry. I have made so many mistakes, I—”

“Zuko,” her voice was firm and emotionless, but that quickly changed when she met his gaze, “I thought things could be different. I thought things could be different back in the North Pole, when we first talked to each other and you told me about Azula. I thought things could be different when you saved me as the Blue Spirit. And I was so convinced things would be different when we met again in Ba Sing Se that I—” she scoffed at her own words, “I had a crush on you, can you believe that? That’s why I visited the teashop so regularly, I just wanted to see you. Stupid, of course. I should’ve known.”

Zuko was sure she could hear his anxious heart beating from the other side of the bed. They were less than a foot away, and yet it felt like miles. He didn’t want her to think about him like that, he didn’t want her to be disappointed in him. Damn, she used to have a crush on him, she liked him, and he screwed everything up like usual. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I’m—I’m here now, I’m on your side.”

“Yeah, but I thought you were on my side back then too. Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. You need to teach me firebending and that’s the only reason you’re allowed here. Talking is unnecessary.”

“Please, I—”

“You should leave, Prince Zuko,” he flinched at the title escaping her lips, hating how it sounded bitter coming from her, “I have really important matters to deal with. We’ll start my firebending training tomorrow.” 

“Y/N—”

“Leave, Zuko.”

With a heaviness inside his stomach, he left the room, missing if by a second the frustrated tear that ran down Y/N’s cheek. She wanted to trust him, but how could she? How could she let him in after his betrayal? She had always been forgiving, but she refused to be naive — seeing Zuko side with Azula in the crystal caves hurt her deeply and shoved her little crush on him down her throat. She couldn’t go through that again, it would be simply idiotic to. Y/N had to stand her ground. She wouldn’t be hurt by him again.

-----

“Hey, jerks. Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerkbending?”

“Get out of—” Zuko was interrupted by the Avatar’s laughter. Sokka smiled softly at her, cheeks blushing. For some reason, that only managed to piss Zuko off even more, “get out of here!”

“Okay, take it easy. I was just kidding around,” the Water Tribe boy winked at Y/N, “see you later?”

“Sure, we still need to see that part of the temple we found yesterday. Exploration partners!”

“Exploration partners!” he agreed with a chuckle and turned away from them. “Bye, Y/N. Jerkbending… Still got it.”

Zuko glanced at her with irritation while she watched Sokka leave. He felt already incredibly frustrated for not being able to produce his fire and not knowing why, he definitely did not need to watch as Sokka and Y/N flirted. 

They would make a cute couple, though, and she smiled so brightly at him it was physically painful to watch. He wanted her to smile like that at him, look like that at him. But she wouldn’t — she was over her crush and had no reason to ever feel anything towards him again, not after what he had done. He didn’t deserve her love anyway, so maybe it was for the best.

“So? Any progress, Sifu Hotman?”

“I told you not to call me that,” he snarled angrily and she sighed.

“Sorry, Sifu Hotman.”

“This was a mistake,” he sat down roughly, ignoring the ache on his legs due to the sudden movement, “maybe teaching you firebending is not my destiny.”

She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, not understanding, “what do you mean?”

“How can I teach you anything when I’ve lost my fire, Y/N?” he chuckled sadly, letting one of his hands go through his hair in distress. “I wanted to be on the good side of the war and I can’t even make myself useful.”

“You haven’t lost your fire, Zuko,” her voice was careful, “I think you’re just going through some internal conflict and that’s reflecting on your bending, but if you were meant to teach me firebending, you will. Your destiny is still your destiny regardless, Sifu Hotman.”

“It’s easy for you to say, you’re the Avatar! I’m not even sure who I am anymore, but you have always known what your destiny was.”

“Yeah, and I was scared of it,” she smiled softly, “I ran away and disappeared for a hundred years. People died because of my absence. I have made mistakes, and I have failed many, many times. Sadly, that doesn’t make me less of an Avatar. Zuko, if you must be my teacher, it’s gonna work. We’ll figure things out and you will get your fire back. Okay?”

He stared inside her eyes. There was still some sort of mistrust in them — she was willing to help him because she needed him, but still suspicious. She wasn’t really sure he was on their side, but this was a start. He was going to fix everything and he would make her proud. He would make Y/N happy to call him a friend. Or something more.

Maybe he had a crush on her, too.

-----

Toph’s idea to look for the original source of firebending had greatly backfired (no pun intended, even though Y/N could clearly hear Sokka’s laughter in her head at the joke). They traveled to the Sun Warriors’ ancient city and found an impressive temple adorned with statues. Things were going surprisingly well until they weren’t, and now they were stuck in a disgusting glue because Zuko touched the pretty gemstone. Hours had passed and Y/N was increasingly more annoyed at their situation.

“You had to pick up the glowing egg, didn’t you?”

“At least I made something happen! If it were up to you, we’d never have made it past the courtyard.”

“Maybe, but we wouldn’t be stuck here either, so did you really win?”

Zuko rolled his eyes, “this is stupid. How are we getting out of here?”

“Help!” the girl screamed as loudly as she could, being met with only silence.

“Who are you yelling to? Nobody’s lived here for centuries,” the Fire Prince argued and it was Y/N’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Well, what do you think we should do, genius?”

“Think about our place in the universe?”

Despite her current irritation, Y/N couldn’t help but smile at his words. He instinctively smiled back and she felt warmth spread through her chest.

She was starting to think she wasn’t as over her crush on him as she thought.

They were rescued by the Sun Warriors and judged by the last dragons, and Y/N was sure she hadn’t felt this alive in a while. After burning Katara (it was so long ago it seemed like a different life), she had thought of fire as something destructive, harmful, but she could now see it with new eyes. Fire could be love, life, and power. 

The Avatar glanced at Zuko. Maybe she could try and see him as that, too. 

-----

“You did well today,” Zuko complimented warily, avoiding her gaze, “if we keep up the training, you might become a better firebender than me.”

“Why, thank you, Hotman,” she smiled brightly and Zuko was sure he could pass out right there, “I just have a great teacher.”

“Y/N!”

The Avatar felt Sokka before she saw him, laughing at the way he hugged her from behind joyfully, leaning his chin on her shoulder. “Hey, honey. What’s up?”

“Doing fine,” he mumbled, brushing her hair off his face delicately, “wanna grab something to eat?”

“I think I’m gonna train some more and clean myself later. I’ll meet you after?”

“Sure! I’ll be back inside. See you, Y/N, Zuko.”

They both watched as the Water Tribe boy entered the temple again. There was a weird burning sensation running through Zuko’s blood when he asked, voice slightly raspy and overly quiet, “so, you and Sokka, huh? You make a nice couple.”

She turned her head to him so quickly it almost gave her whiplash, “what? No! I mean—” she blushed at the question, flustered by the fact he would even consider something like that. The Fire Prince waited silently, irritation surfacing at her stammering. He wasn’t sure why that angered him so much, but he decided to be still and listen, “we are just friends,” she concluded, “he means a lot to me, but so do Katara and Toph, you know? We are—we are just friends. He even likes that Kyoshi Warrior, Suki! So, yeah, we are definitely not a couple.”

“I see,” Zuko felt curiously static with that piece of information, “and you don’t have feelings for him?”

“No, of course not. I mean, I had a thing for him when we first met, but now it’s gone. He’s my best friend and I love him, just not like that.”

“Okay. Good.”

“Good?” Y/N turned her head to the side in confusion and he paled considerably, finally noticing the meaning of his own words. “Why is that good?”

“Oh? I—it’s good that you love him! Yeah, having friends is amazing, right? Yeah.”

She smiled amusingly, “it truly is.”

“Yeah.”

The Avatar chuckled lightly, “come on, Sifu Hotman. Let’s do that leg movement again, I think I’m not doing it right.”

Days passed and a lot of things happened. Zuko knew Y/N wouldn’t be happy with Sokka’s suicide mission, but he couldn’t let him do it alone, so he accompanied him to the Boiling Rock. Again, she wasn’t happy when he followed Katara for revenge for her mother’s death, but then at least someone had Katara’s back and was ready to protect her. He desperately wanted to earn Y/N’s trust and friendship, but that was rather difficult when he insisted on doing the stuff she didn’t want him to do.

They continued their training on Ember Island and the whole Team seemed to thoroughly enjoy the place. Y/N was giving her all to learn firebending and was succeeding splendidly. To be honest, Zuko loved to see her get the moves right — every single time she made it, she would look at him with bright eyes and grin. It was the most beautiful sight Zuko had ever seen and he would do anything to have it permanently engraved in his mind.

They stayed up late during one particular night. They were both exhausted after hours of training and ended up sat beside each other on the ground on the back of the Fire Nation Royal Family’s beach house. The air between them was filled with silence and heavy breathing from their previous effort.

“Hey, Zuko?” after a few moments, Y/N called him gently, voice tired and raspy giving him chills. She laid down and stared at the dark sky. “Look at the stars with me.”

He blinked, “really? I mean, shouldn’t we go inside?”

“Please?” her eyes met his and his heart skipped a beat. “Just for a bit.”

“Okay,” Zuko whispered, lying down next to her. They looked at the sky quietly for a bit.

He liked to be around her. It could be the Avatar thing, but Y/N had a calming aura around her that was just unmissable. Being next to her like this gave him the feeling things would be alright, the feeling he was not worthless. It was a lie, of course. There was no way to know how their plans would go, and he was pretty much worthless.

But being beside her was enough to trick his mind. Maybe the little crush he harbored towards her had become something more — Spirits, he liked her so much. Not that it mattered, considering there was no way she would ever love him back, not after everything he had done.

“When I was younger, I believed we became stars when we died.”

He turned his head to look at her, “really?”

She turned to look back and his breath hitched at their close proximity. She chuckled, “yeah. I didn’t even know I was the Avatar back then, I was so young. They told me when I was sixteen, and I ran away shortly after,” there was bitterness to her words, “like a coward.”

“You are not a coward, Y/N. You had no way of knowing how things would go.”

“You really think so?”

“I do. Besides, if you hadn’t run away, you wouldn’t have been stuck on ice for a hundred years, and I would never have met you, which would be awful,” he widened his eyes, completing quickly, “and Sokka, Katara, and Toph, too. I wouldn’t have met them either. Of course.”

Her smile was so pretty he forgot how to breathe, “you’re right, Zuko. I don’t think I would have liked to live a life where I never met you,” she smirked before going on with teasing eyes, “and Sokka, Katara, and Toph, too. Of course.”

“Of course,” he agreed with a blush on his face. They stared at each other carefully and Zuko was pretty sure his heart was performing a professional routine of somersaults inside his body. He definitely was past just a simple crush.

Y/N smiled that dazzling smile of hers before averting her gaze to the stars again and yawning. “We should go in.”

“We should,” the Fire Prince immediately started to sit up, but she held him down with a hand to his chest, and probably felt his crazy heartbeat under her fingers.

“Just a bit more, Prince Zuko,” she whispered, eyes trained to the sky. Slowly but surely, she moved her hand from his chest to his own hand, creating goosebumps on every inch of skin she lightly touched on the way there. Zuko could feel his body burn at the barely-there feeling of her fingertips. She intertwined her fingers with his carefully, giving him the chance to pull away if he so wished. He let out a shaky breath and squeezed her hand. She immediately squeezed his back in reassurance.

In the middle of the quiet and comfort they suddenly found in each other, they fell asleep under the stars, fingers playing with each other until exhaustion finally engulfed them in dreams of pretty smiles and light touches.

It was nice to dodge the nightmares.

-----

“I’ve heard you and Zuko slept outside today,” Sokka had a teasing tone to his voice. Y/N glared at him, “you are together now or something?”

“We are not,” she countered, scratching Appa while they talked. Zuko, Toph, Katara, and Suki had left for the beach already. Y/N still needed to feed her sky bison and Sokka offered to help with the excuse of being a good friend. The Avatar was absolutely sure that wasn’t the real reason he stayed back alongside her and he was currently proving her right, “we were just stargazing and then fell asleep.”

“Stargazing, huh? Real cute. I bet it was an endearing impromptu date, wasn’t it?”

“Since when do you even know the word impromptu?”

“I am always full of surprises.”

“Right,” she rolled her eyes and he laughed loudly, “it was not a date.”

“But you do like him, right?.”

“What?” she turned her entire body to him, furrowing her brows and crossing her arms in a defensive stance. “Why would you say that?”

“Because I know you better than you know yourself and I can tell you have feelings for him,” Sokka copied her movements, staring at her with a smirk, “I also know he likes you back.”

Y/N scoffed and transferred her attention back to Appa, “he does not.”

“So you admit you like him!”

“Shut up, Sokka!” she glared, but quickly gave up under his intense eyes and raised brows. “Yeah, I like him. It doesn’t matter, though.”

“Yes, it does! He feels the same! Look, what about this,” he leaned in closer, that crazy look he had whenever making up a plan taking over his face, “we are going to watch that play about us tonight, right? Well, you guys can sit next to each other! Like a couple!”

“That’s a terrible idea, honey.”

“It’s not! I bet he’s gonna make a move!”

“He won’t, because he’s not in love with me.”

“Wait, you’re in love with him?”

Y/N’s entire body tensed up. She shouldn’t have said that. She wasn’t in love with Zuko! Was she? I mean, she did love to be beside him, and her heart sped up when he gave her one of his rare smiles, and training with him when he had his shirt off was distracting to say the least. Besides, he really seemed to have changed and grown — she felt like she could trust him again, but she could never be sure, and she was adamant on not getting hurt once more. Especially now, when she was dealing with so many things. If he betrayed her a second time… Spirits, it would be just too much to handle.

“I don’t know,” she muttered and Sokka’s cheeky smile faltered, “I don’t want to be.”

He stretched an arm out to hold her hand fondly, “it’s fine, Y/N. Whatever happens, I’m here for you, okay?”

The Avatar smiled sadly, “thank you, Sokka. I’m really glad to have you in my life.”

“I know, honey. I’m great like that.”

She laughed loudly and he grinned in satisfaction, turning her body around and starting to lead her towards the beach, an arm through her shoulders holding her close to his body.

“Shut up, Sokka. You’re so stupid.”

“Yeah, yeah. I love you too.”

Zuko felt a pang to his chest when Sokka and Y/N arrived at the beach holding each other so dearly, but he knew he had no right to complain. She would be better off with Sokka anyway — he was good-looking, nice, funny, smart. Meanwhile, Zuko was nothing but a sad mixture of mistakes and regrets. The Avatar deserved more than that.

“Hey, Hotman,” she walked to him with a smile, planting a kiss on Sokka’s cheek before leaving his side. “Why are you all alone on the sand?”

“Because he’s boring,” Toph answered from some feet away and Katara chuckled. Zuko could feel his face redden.

“He is not,” Y/N argued amusingly, sitting down beside him and grinning. She glanced at him with a happy spark in her eyes, “are you excited for the play tonight?”

“No,” he muttered, but his lack of vivacity didn’t bother her in the slightest, “the Ember Island plays are always ridiculous.”

“I think it’s going to be fun,” she shrugged contently, basking in the hot sun, “if it isn’t, we can always throw food at the stage or whatever.”

He tried really hard, but couldn’t bit back the smile that took over his frown. He watched her attentively, noticing how she seemed to glow in the daylight, giving off this incredible warmth he had only ever seen on her. He averted away his gaze, feeling his neck and face heat up at how unapologetically beautiful she was.

Zuko cleared his throat quietly, “yeah, I guess.”

She only smirked in response.

-----

The play could be worse, he figured. Yes, their portrayal of him was horrible (even though his friends — could he call them friends? Were they friends? He hoped they were — said otherwise) and the actress playing Y/N was not nearly as pretty as the Avatar really was, but Y/N was next to him and, at some point, she had leaned her head on his shoulder tiredly and stayed there. All the training was getting to her and he felt inexplicable joy in the fact she trusted him enough to rest her body on his.

“Look,” her voice was raspy from sleepiness and a chill ran down his spine, “I think now is when you join Team Avatar and becomes our friend.”

He nodded carefully not to disturb her from her position and his heart skipped a beat when she nuzzled closer to his neck. Zuko watched as actor Zuko was accepted into the group and just after a scene with only him and actress Y/N started. Actor Zuko stared at the actress longingly, “my dear Y/N… I know I have wronged you in many ways, but I wanted to apologize for my mistakes and beg for your forgiveness!”

Y/N giggled at that, nudging him affectionately, “that really happened.”

He smiled, eyes following the performers on stage. Actor Zuko continued, “your forgiveness… And maybe your love, Avatar.”

They both immediately tensed up at the words and Y/N moved her head slightly, brows furrowing in confusion.

“My love, Prince Zuko?”

“Yes, my darling.”

They all watched as Actor Zuko and Actress Y/N kissed passionately, earning cheers from the audience. Sokka whistled loudly and Y/N turned to glare at him, receiving a wink in return.

“I have been in love with you since we first met!” Actor Zuko declared excitedly, holding Actress Y/N’s hands. “You are the only one who can make me forget about my teen angst. I love you, Y/N.”

“Well… I don’t!” Actress Y/N moved away swiftly and the crowd gasped in surprise. “I have accepted you in my group, Prince Zuko… But I’ll never accept you in my heart! You’re a bad person that doesn’t deserve my love!”

“What?!” Sokka almost screamed in disbelief. Y/N finally took her head off Zuko’s shoulder, incertitude swimming in her eyes. Before she had the chance to speak, Zuko had already left. The Water Tribe boy widened his eyes at her. “Go after him!”

Y/N nodded her head, getting out of her seat and walking after Zuko, calling his name. He ignored her, feeling anger boil inside him. He knew she would never directly say something like that, but he also knew it was true. She would never love him — he wasn’t worthy of her love, and he was pretty sure she was aware of that too.

“Zuko, wait!” she finally catched up to him, holding his arm and pulling him back. “It’s just a stupid play, Zuko. None of that is true.”

“Really, Y/N?” he turned to stare at her, rage covering his expression. “Because I’m almost certain it is. They said I don’t deserve love, Y/N, and that’s true. After everything I’ve done…”

“No!” she exclaimed desperately, shaking her head vehemently in disagreement. “Zuko, of course you deserve love. Yes, you have made mistakes, but all of us have. You shouldn’t care about what some actress says.”

“But they’re right, Y/N,” he insisted, feeling tears stinging his eyes, “I’m unworthy of love and everyone knows, and that’s why nobody actually loves me.”

“I love you!” she yelled out before she could stop herself, breath hitching at the troubled look taking over his face. Y/N sighed deeply, crossing her arms shyly and looking away, “I do,” her voice was small as she blushed, “I thought I was over my little crush for you but I wasn’t, and it’s—it’s much more than a little crush. I was afraid of admitting it but I know who you are, Zuko. You are loyal and smart and so inherently good and I love you. Spirits, I really do.”

  He stared at her for a second, processing her words. She fidgeted anxiously and he smiled at all her small manners. With certainty to his movements, Zuko took a step forwards and cradled her face in his hands. He studied every inch of her expression, waiting for some kind of rejection. She offered him a hopeful smile and he was quick to smash his lips with hers, feeling the warmth that always surrounded her consume him entirely. He kissed her passionately, happiness pouring out of him — the words “she loves you” echoing inside his mind like a broken record, filling his heart with joy.

She moved away when there was no more air in her lungs, breathing heavily and grinning like a mad woman. Y/N lifted her arm and touched his scar so fondly it physically hurt. Never before had he been touched with such care and it made tears flood his eyes, something she instantly noticed, giggling at his cuteness and drying one running tear with her thumb. She felt like her chest was full. He kissed her thumb lovingly when it rested near his mouth. 

She loved him. She thought he was worthy of love, of her love, even after everything he had done. No matter how many mistakes he had made, she still loved him, and that thought was enough to make Zuko feel some sort of hope towards the future.

Spirits, she really loved him.

“I love you too, Y/N. Very, very much.”

is it good? not really. could it be worse? yeah lmao

taglist: @bottledcostcowater @lammello @coldlilheart @azucanela @samsmultifandomblogs and @knaite-solo that asked to be tagged on this particular piece

thank you all for reading!! I hope you liked it!!

[cestcirque]

Hi, is it okay to ask for a few writing tips?

So I've decided to come back to writing after almost 8 years of not doing it, and of course I thought it was a good idea to get back to it in a format I've never done before, a SMAU 🙄😓

I'm having a hard time trying to get the point of each chapter across through texts. Sometimes it feels like a character messages the other and it feels so unnatural like, I try to explain the context of something (like a characters bg story) and it feels like overexposition.

My main difficulty with this is making sure that the readers get to know and feel what happened outside of the "phone" without necessarily having to write out a scene, because there's a lot of subtly and body language in written scenes that help with the build-up of emotional plot points. Without that, I feel like the climax of my story is a little...lackluster?

Since you two beautiful stories that definitely made me FEEL things without having written parts, I thought of asking you if you ever had this problem and how did you overcame it.

Omg 🥺 yes, always down to give writing tips!!! I’m so touched it’s me you want to ask 💕 I truly think there’s so much you can do in SMAU and I wish more people explored it in depth

I’ll direct this towards SMAU but some of it is just philosophy for prose writers as well! ⤵️

I had trouble at first too, but it’s really just a shift in thinking. Instead of action, the focus is character—SMAU is literally all about how people interact with each other, and in my opinion that gives more opportunity to hone in on some very specific emotions

When it comes down to it, it’s like you’re writing a script. And in order to write a script, throw out that prose mindset. Just throw it out 😝 Body language doesn’t exist here!

Think about the scene you’re trying to write. Obviously first make sure it’s a *necessary* scene to advance plot / develop character. Then consider the following, in this order:

1. Don’t be afraid to let important things happen “offscreen”

First step is to let go of the details, esp when your characters are doing things in person. With SMAU, you don’t need to tell your readers everything! In fact, it’ll be impossible to tell your readers everything. The trick here is simply showing that your characters experienced it nonetheless. But rather than giving a play-by-play after the fact (one of my pet peeves 🙄), consider how the action would have changed the way they speak to each other

Something like… “God, why didn’t one of us bring an umbrella?” “Ugh next time I’ll check the menu before making a reservation.” “Weird that the park closes early on Sundays.” “Was nOT expecting it to be that much to rent a car.”

OR to focus on character… “You know you didn’t have to sneak out this morning.” “No fun, at least come inside next time.” “Not even a goodbye?” “What, missing me already?”

2. Find a good reason for each interaction to be happening in the first place

So you’ve figured out which scenes can happen offscreen… but wait, what if your characters are physically in the same space or there’s an in-person action that’s absolutely crucial to your story? Well, what would cause someone to text about it? Find the reason. My biggest pet peeve in SMAUs is when characters start texting each other while they’re in the same room… they’re only doing that bc the writer didn’t find a good enough reason

I’ll use Step 7 of Aperture as an example. The scene at the bookstore is where I struggled the most in the “no prose” challenge. Yet the solution was so simple once I shifted my thinking: “Akaashi help, I’ve lost you.” “Sorry sorry, I’m on the second floor. Literary fiction.” Two lines of setup. And now they can have their conversation

3. Say as much as possible with as few words as possible

Once you know all your interactions are on solid ground, try to write dialogue that tells you more than just the words. Say things without saying things. This is what I try to do in general, even in prose. Always try to do this. I think over-explaining is the mark of an amateur. Remember you’re not the only one on the court thinking—readers can connect the dots too

Example. My absolute favorite line of The Cardinal Set was in Page 21 when the interviewer asks Atsumu if he lost track of the prompter. He says, “Not at all, forgive me. I don’t believe I could’ve made it through that speech if I wasn’t looking at her.” Not only does that tell you what’s physically happening in the studio, but also exactly how he’s feeling

An easier exercise might be to ask yourself how a character says “I love you” without really saying it. We all say it without saying it sometimes—“get home safe” or “have you eaten yet?” or “I saw this and thought of you.” Shirabu said, “Let’s start over, okay?” Semi said, “I’m literally already getting ready to go out.” Atsumu said, “I will never disclose her name.” Akaashi said, “I’ll be back in a bit with stuff to make you breakfast”

4. Remember a SMAU is not just limited to “social media”

If you’ve gone through the first few steps and there’s still something that you can’t articulate quite right, maybe you can tell the story with a different frame. I mean I spoofed a whole online article, for God’s sake 😅 and that was probably my favorite thing to write

Think about how much you do on your phone! It’s a lot! All the world’s a stage! Back to Step 7 again, I literally added in that Google search screenshot hours before posting it, simply bc I realized I could??? Like it’s amazing how much the visuals on your phone can help tell the story

5. Do things that can only be done in SMAU

Last miscellaneous piece of advice. Seems basic but I think people still forget it bc the format is already so different. Why did you choose SMAU in the first place, and not any other method of storytelling?

Point being SMAU is a completely unique way to write. What really sells it is proving that you couldn’t have told this story any other way. I mean what’s the point if you could just as easily tell the same story in prose? I talk a lot about visuals having equal weight in the plot, but you can do it solely with writing too—in no other medium can you so easily sext the wrong person 🤣 and you can’t even try explaining these alternating conversations in prose

So experiment! Go wild! You can do so much more in SMAU than you think!

[zevlors-tail]

So, I'm through episode 2 in Tears of Themis, and I would like to give a little review and say some things.

Spoilers for episodes 1, 2, and the beginning of Vyn's story BTW!!!

As far as functionality and storyline, those things are great. I am extremely interested in where the story is going, and the characters and plot are captivating. The game runs pretty smooth too, and it's not too different from Obey Me in terms of a card system and the episodes, though I do feel it could have been made a bit simpler...

So now that I've given my praise, I want to address a couple...issues that I have with the actual content of the game. 😬

I'll just be blunt. I don't like the fact that so far, mental illness has been portrayed the way it has. Quite frankly I think it's not only extremely harmful and misrepresenting of those who actually are affected by it, but also in poor taste to include it in such a prevalent way in an otome game. I'm not sure I understand the point behind it other than using it as an excuse for a motive for some of the cases and situations, which to me is absolutely just...yuck. And for that matter, there have been no warnings whatsoever for players who might be sensitive to those subjects either. It just pops up in the story randomly.

In Vyn's very first story segment, you literally see someone with SH marks, and it's MC's job to somehow read into that and come to the conclusion that one of Vyn's students is suicidal. In epside 2, bipolar disorder (idk the current/correct term or if that one's outdated, I'm sorry! I'm only quoting the term from the game!) is literally used as a piece of evidence and the motive as to why a man murdered his wife. Also, let's not forget the way Estelle literally used Janus' illness against him to try and manipulate him to go public with their marriage, saying "I have to take care of you and your depression, but who's going to take care of me?" That was quite possibly the most toxic line from this game I've read yet. And even in episode one, there was a brief mention of Grandpa Vern having depression after everything that transpired with Pedro and Penny's Comfort Foods, but MC and Artem quickly pass it off with something along the lines of "Well the trial's over now, so he'll be fine!"

Are you kidding me? 😳 I just feel like if you can't write a compelling murder mystery plot without having to make someone mentally ill to give them a motive, maybe you shouldn't be writing that plot. Also, you're misrepresenting everyone with mental illness and spreading misinformation about what it's really like. In real world situations, it's never black and white like that. It's so different for everyone, and it cannot be 'cured' or just 'go away' just because the main stressor or source of the problem does. It doesn't work like that, but I digress...

Note: I didn't really mention it here, but because I bring up Mystic Messenger in a later comparison, I would like to note that while MysMes also had a similar issue to this (ie. Rika, her cult, and mental illness), I feel that it was handled significantly better and multiple characters recognized her wrongdoings and condemned her and her actions for it. I haven't played through Saeran or V's route, so I can't vouch for that content. I just feel that MysMes handled it better (not perfectly), which is why it wasn't brought up here.

I think I've said enough about that. On to my next qualm:

I've noticed there have been several conversations about MC's figure and weight already, including Luke saying something akin to "I've always thought you looked too skinny," and MC thinking they were fat or asking/acusing Luke of calling them fat. I can't remember exactly what was said or mentioned but it made me feel uncomfortable for several reasons. The first is that weight didn't really need to be mentioned at all, and that is a particular sensitivity of mine, and the second being that Luke calling MC skinny is, well- it assumes that every single player is...skinny.

That is quite obviously not the case. Whatever their reasoning for it, they've now made every person who isn't considered skinny feel left out and shitty. I would even go as far as to say it's borderline fat-phobic with the type of comments that were made.

And on that topic...there is also no representation for POC whatsoever when it comes to MC. As far as I know, MC isn't customizable. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I never saw an option to change skin color, hair color, eye color, or just icons in general. Why? I'm tired of the "skinny white girl" rhetoric. Not everyone is skinny, not everyone is white, and not everyone is a girl or feminine.

Which leads me to my final big issue! I understand that an otome game's target audience is usually women, so I understand MC being a girl. I do. However- in comparison with Obey Me and even Mystic Messenger, the MC in Tears of Themis is overwhelmingly feminine. Again, I understand target audience, but come on. Even Mystic Messenger only occasionally poked at the MC's specific gender and even hid their eyes so make it slightly more anonymous/neutral (not to say the game wasn't in the wrong for it, bc they very well could have made the MC gender neutral apart from the CGI's), but I feel like this game specifically really paints a picture of a female MC that's extremely hard for me to relate to as a nonbinary person.

Also, even though I'm supposed to be the main character, it feels like I'm playing through someone else's life. They've fleshed out MC so much that she isn't actually relatable anymore, at least in my opinion. She's unnaturally upbeat, has an entire story about her childhood, specific hobbies and a designated work place, and has an entire appearance on screen. And unlike in both MysMes and Obey Me, you actually don't get the option to choose different responses to characters. It's just a set story. The only place you get to choose anything is when you're presenting evidence and testimony in court. So no personalization of MC is really my issue here, I think.

Props to Obey Me for making MC gender neutral, and props to MysMes for at least keeping MC relatable and giving them choices to respond with even if the game set their gender. And hey, MysMes even had different icons to choose from for MC too. Tears of Themis, what's the hold up? 🤨

It's generally a good game when it comes to it's working functions and systems, and I understand that no one is obligated to tag triggers, really. But it's still a game, and it's not above critique.

I give this game...3 stars out of 5. Functionality is great, plot is interesting when it's not misrepresenting, and the love interests are interesting and attractive. The art is beautiful. However, it ranks third on the list of otome games I've played so far (and I've only played three, meaning it's last on the list).

Obey Me takes the cake at number one with it's beautiful art and gender neutral MC as well as its multiple love interests and ridiculously hilarious plot. Mystic Messenger comes in at a solid second place, also with beautiful art and an interesting plot. MysMes also gets props for the way their hourglass system works and the way the story unfolded in different routes and all the different endings you could get. And finally we've got Tears of Themis in third...it could stand to do a bit better.

Well, that's pretty much all I got. Others are welcome to add on to this as well. If I'm wrong about something, please let me know respectfully.

[floralovebot]

what are ur thoughts... on helia's relationship with masculinity? his earlier wardrobe was softer colors and peasant blouses and his (beautiful, beautiful T^T) hair was kept long. obviously we know that shit slapped even if the show wont acknowledge it now. his look always made him super distinct from the rest of the guys, but i feel like that may have also been an alienizing factor? red fountain is a military school and i promise im not asking for your take on gender roles or toxic masculinity of the entire magic dimension or to write helia a planet and culture and backstory from scratch (unless? 👀, bc your takes are always fascinating), but do you think he was ever taken with that, or felt subject to other's opinions on that sort of thing? has he always been comfortable with his presentation, or did he have any clumsy teenage overcompensating? if the latter, would you say leaving red fountain helped him come to terms with that or reinvent himself to his tastes? or maybe had him overcorrecting in the opposite direction, to distance himself from the red fountain lifestyle as well as account for his two haircuts and more traditionally masculine style later on?

anon i'm in love with you.

I have so many thoughts about Helia's overall aesthetic (and some about his concept designs heheh) but I won't get into all of them since that would make this way too long. To be honest, within canon we don't know a lot about Helia's personal thoughts about Red Fountain or the culture surrounding it and other military/paramilitary establishments. While this does make it harder for people to give him a solid characterization, it actually makes a lot of sense considering how quiet he is in terms of his own thoughts on things. We have random tidbits and rumors from other characters but almost nothing from him.

When it comes to his looks in canon, honestly I don't think it would ever be an issue. While long hair on men is stigmatized in real life, in Winx Club it's not that big of a deal, in fact, it's pretty normal. We see multiple male characters with long hair and not typically considered masculine wardrobes. Saladin, Palladium, Avalon, Valtor, and even background Specialists are just a few examples. Longer hair on men is a normal thing throughout all of the planets and only seems to be weird on Earth (ie Sky and Helia cutting their hair to blend in). While I do have a lot of thoughts on Helia's hair, I really doubt it was ever an issue in canon. It's only an area of topic in the fandom due to a couple of things that don't factor into canon (such as men having long hair being stigmatized in real life or the rumors that Helia was originally a female character [with absolutely no proof of that besides his long hair and slightly more feminine looking face]).

I think when it comes to Helia feeling out of place, it would likely have more to do with his personal interests, aka art, and not necessarily wanting to be a Specialist. Contrary to fanon, Helia likes being a Specialist and we know he respects Saladin and Red Fountain as a whole. Him leaving was largely due to being more interested in art than the "family business" so to speak. It's shown multiple times in canon that Helia feels a lot of pressure from being related to Saladin and that his own actions and opinions affect both Saladin and the school (which says a lot about how the Magix Dimension feels about families and relations). His back and forth between being a Specialist and being an artist have to do with him not wanting to disappoint Saladin or affect his image in a negative way.

We do know that other Specialists and people outside of the school have opinions about him and what he does but we don't actually know how he feels about that or how he deals with it. It gets brought up quite a few times; random people who aren't close to him talking shit for no reason (Brandon in ep.8, Riven multiple times in the comics, other random specialists, etc), and yet, Helia's own feelings about the matter never get revealed. Again, I think this plays into how quiet he is about his own emotions, not wanting to start shit or get into a fight that could later damage Red Fountain's image.

In that way, you could say Helia deals with some amount of rejecting masculinity, but personally, I think his actions have more to do with feeling like he needs to have a "good" image because of his familial relations. Helia doesn't start conflict, he doesn't push things or engage in arguments, he's extremely conscious about how his actions affect Saladin and the school (he even uses this to his advantage in the Shaab Stone arc). We don't know the extent of how much people talk about him, behind his back or to his face, and we don't the extent of how much it affects him.

Personally, I think Helia is conscious enough to have dealt with toxic masculinity, specifically trying to get away with it, earlier in his life. While Red Fountain is a paramilitary school, it's shown explicitly that they don't tolerate that attitude and try to knock it out of any boy that enters (aka don't start dumb fights, don't insult your teammates, don't do dumb shit to prove your worth, etc). The only reason the main boys managed to stay in the school is that they're canonically the best students and Codatorta believed in them (also cause yknow,, they're the love interests).

While the Magix Dimension definitely has some degree of toxic masculinity, Helia in particular mostly battles with toxic perfectionism and family legacy. He's not consciously or subconsciously trying to be the ideal version of a man nor does he base his life or opinions of himself on that. Helia tries to be the perfect Specialist and the perfect grandson. He tries to be the perfect student in a school that's largely associated with the best soldiers in the universe and that's also run by his grandpa, while also dealing with his own actions and opinions affecting the image of said grandpa and school. So honestly, no, I don't think Helia particularly gets affected by masculinity, toxic or otherwise, and I don't think any of his actions in canon could be led by it. However, I do think he's in an awkward situation and tries too hard to live up to other people's (and his own) expectations of him and that some of those expectations can run into the "ideal" version of masculinity (such as Brandon saying "he doesn't like to get his hands dirty" as an insult).

While I do love the idea of Helia going through a little teenage rebellion and him going to art school being a result of that, in canon, it's partially implied that he really didn't change. Saladin sees him as the same person and the specialists recognize who he is. There is no "whomst the fuck are you" kind of moment with any of the characters. This is more implied by canon than directly shown but, I do think that Helia was one of those people who had to mature quickly as a kid. And that him leaving Red Fountain multiple times is mostly him trying to get away from those expectations. We see this theme with multiple characters so I don't think it's a wild conclusion.

When it comes to his haircuts and different aesthetics, I think that's mainly Rainbow mucking things up. His aesthetic change in S4 is so they can blend in, it's not him being himself. Even when their identities get revealed and everyone knows they aren't from Earth, they're still trying to fit in and live within that Earth culture. His changes in the later seasons are largely due to Nickelodeon not understanding the characters and just wanting a group of masculine soldier dudes.

Unpopular opinion but: I think a better way of showing how out of their element the specialists were in S4, would actually be to cut Helia's hair super short, not just the uneven shreds he got, and then have him grow it out through the season (maybe even magically like they did with Musa) to show that they're chill on Earth and people aren't scared of them. Is this an excuse for me to imagine him with a wolf cut? Yes.

[miraculouscontent]

Didn’t Need Burrow (May 23rd-25th)

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Astruc admitted Sabine was based on an ex and Marinette is what he imagined their daughter to be like. He later admits Audrey was based on an ex and Chloe is what he imagined their daughter would be like. Despite moving on, he still bitter and created two teen girls as "payback" against his exes.

The whole “virtual daughter” thing still squicks me out.

Also, I don’t actually take “Didn’t Need Burrows” referring specifically to the staff/fandom since that’s outside of the show, but I also definitely think about them all the time and like sticking them in here.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Building off of the "Adrien knows about Marinette's crush on him and tells Plagg about it" Burrow, Plagg will point out to Adrien that this is a bad idea and what he is doing is wrong and that Adrien is leading Marinette on so as to stroke his own ego. He will not be listened to, and the show portray him as in the wrong, despite him being right, because anybody who stands up for Marinette's agency deserves to be shut down. In the meantime, Adrien will be allowed to continue

Bonus if Plagg will be considered “wrong” because Adrien not leading Marinette on would lead to him being sAd because Marinette isn’t fawning over him anymore (as if he doesn’t have a million fans).

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Zoe will be presented not only as "Chloe if she was good person", but also as "Marinette if she wasn't constantly making mistakes"

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Zoe will be basically  Marinette if "Marinette's Mistake of the Week" formula never existed.

Sounds about right.

Amazing what can happen when the show doesn’t have a gun to your head telling you to make mistakes in every episode.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: The show delves into a shitty harem as the writers forget that Adrien is not the main character. Who knows, maybe Zoe will join the harem.

The only reason I feel like Zoe wouldn’t be a part of Adrien’s harem is so she can ship the love square.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: There will be Animaestro-type episode where Marinette "makes alliance" with (read: is manipulated by) Chloe or Lila against Zoe. In the end she is only one punished, while her "partner in crime"  (or rather person who manipulated her) walks away completely scot-free.

To the surprise of no one. Can’t have the antagonists be punished, because that would make sense.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: (narrative-wise) Agreste's family drama and Bourgeois's sisters drama will overshadow whatever Marinette character arc will be in season 4.

I’m taking this a step further and saying that Marinette in generall will keep having her plots/”arcs” overshadowed by everyone else.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Marinette will be akumatized. She will be easily defeated due to "bond" between Chat Noir and Temporary Ladybug Zoe. This will be presented like Ladybug's constant refuse to "bond" with Chat Noir was reason why their fights with Akumatized Villains are so hard. (bonus: This episode will be followed by a group of fans that would state that Zoe should replace Marinette as Ladybug Miraculous Holder and not Chloe as Bee Miraculous Holder.)

Uggggh, I’m always waiting for the “love square magical bond” garbage.

Also, the bonus reminds me of the fact that I don’t understand people who hate on both Marinette and Luka but continue to ship the love square. Like, wouldn’t they want to ship Adrien with someone “””worthy””” of him??

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: If Marinette akumatization has Miracle Queen-type set-up, Chat Noir will quickly defeat her and whatever all other Miraculous Holders alone (or optionally supported by Temporary Ladybug Zoe). This will be presented by narrattive as proof of why Chat Noir is Brawn in Ladybug-Chat Noir duo. (Bonus: After that episode Adrien stans will make mass of "I hope this will shut up everyone who think that Chat Noir is useless/weaker than Ladybug/etc." type posts)

At this point, I’ve just grown numb to Chat suddenly being able to do things that don’t make sense for him.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Temporary Ladybug Zoe

Okay but is she keeping the black highlights or do they turn red. These are important questions.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Kagami will be changed (ret-conned) into  Adrienette (or other Love Square's part) shipper after "Lies"

Something similar is already on the card so that’s fun. :’3

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Zoe, not Marinette, will be wearing that dress from the Season 4 Concept Art.

*eye twitch*

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Rena Rogue will be appearing even when she isn't needed to defeat Akuma of the Week. This will be probably used to justify Chat Noir's increasing resent up towards Ladybug and (probably) consequent reversal of Love Square.

anything: *happens*

Chat Noir: bad Ladybug

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Ending: Marinette will willingly sacrifice herself to wake up from coma/ressurect Emilie. Both Adrien and Gabriel will be happy that Emilie is back. Adrien will have his happy relationship/ending with Zoe whom personality is (or was ret-conned into) "Marinette in anything but name". (Bonus points: if everyone behave like Marinette never existed after Emilie revival)

I’m sad.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: If Akuma of the Week isn't Reflekta/Mr Pigeon/Gigantitan/etc,.Pig Miraculous"s "Gift" power will basically fail and only make current Akumatized Villain angrier and more determined to achieve his goal, basically restarting whole fight against Akuma.

PIGELLA NO

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Lila will never react to Zoe becoming more popular than her

I imagine Zoe isn’t the same age as Chloe since they’re not twins, so Zoe at least won’t be in Bustier’s class.

Now, if they make her a Lila slave, then we’ll see.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow to know that Marinette is going to hate Zoe for being related to Chloe and this will be limited to her or she'll be the only one scolded for it (likely by Adrien), because you can't hate someone for who they're related to (which actually is a good lesson but ml will probably f it up somehow).

I feel like the writers just look at a character and go, “okay, how can we engineer them in a way for Marinette to mess up around them?

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need Burrow - Chat will find out Rena Rouge knows her identity and becomes angry bc "You and me against the world, m'lady." This will cause one episode of Adrienette becoming closer and Ladynoir drifting apart before Chat magically forgives her like it was no big deal after she makes a huge gesture to get him back.

You’d think they’d have worn out the reset button by now...

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow: one of two things will happen, either Adrien will try to help Luka get back together with Marinette (basically the same plot as Mr. pigeon 72) or the relationship will not be brought up ever again and Mari and Luka don't really directly interact with each other anymore

“Bonus” if Adrien is “taught a lesson” that he shouldn’t meddle, and it’s only because he chose to meddle in Lukanette. “Double bonus” if his attempts actually get Lukanette back together but this is presented as a bad thing (for some reason)..

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Zoe will be(e)come pernament Bee Miraculous Holder.

This won’t be added because I think we already got official confirmation on this?

Oh, or do you mean “permanent” as in her keeping the miraculous eventually?

edit: yes, that’s what they meant (also, A+ pun)

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Every Miraculous Holder introduced in Season 4 will be will lose right to their Miraculous, except Zoe/Vesperia.

lol me just imagining them struggling over either making models or trying to not use those miraculouses anymore.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Luka will be forced to say Adrien and Marinette are perfect for each other in "Optigami".

Wow, show, why don’t you just prove more that you’re purposefully pointing out that you’re giving Marinette a grand total of One “Obvious” Option.

Anonymous asked:

Unsure if this one has been sent yet but | Didn't Need Burrow: Alya is going to continue Marinette to pursue Adrien even after Marinette broke down and said she doesn't have time for love right now.

We have some similar ones I think.

“Marinette’s feelings towards moving on are invalidated/ignored by one of her “friends” to push for the Love Square“

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Sandboy 2.0: Ladybug's nightmare will be about Chat Noir abandoning/hating her

I was dumb enough to raise an eyebrow at this like, “Would they really reuse akum--oh wait.”

Anonymous asked:

I'm gonna try and go for a good Didn't Need Burrow: WHen Sole Crusher gets Marinette we'll either get a lovely King Kong moment between them, or Chat Noir will come in and save her (and it'll possibly be a moment of reverse love square).

If they have Marinette doing the cliche “crushing because they got saved” I’m gonna throw hands.

Anonymous asked:

Don't need to burrow:

Marinette will never have a heart to heart with Luka revealing she's Ladybug or even explain the reason for their breakup.

Just gonna slap a big asterisk on this because it’s like:

*despite Luka being an obvious choice and they could’ve worked out the issue but the show is afraid of the side ship they’ve created working out better than the love square itself

Anonymous asked:

Don't need to Burrow: For Optigami, the episode will barely or never acknowledge Luka's and Marinette's relationship/breakup. It will be ignored and we won't have any cute Lukanette moments. As long as Adrien is in the picture, Luka will be always sidelined.

Honestly that last one is basically one of the commandments of this show.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Lila will now only appear in cameos (probably without even any voice lines).

show writers, shoving Lila under a rug: Leela Ransai?? Never heard of him.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Since Lukanette is over, Luka can be ret-conned from show. Everyone will behave like he never existed at all (and Lukanette never hapenned).

We at least know that Luka now appears in a later episode, but this could easily be worded as “Luka can be retconned away from being Marinette’s love interest and everyone will act like he and Marinette aren’t that close or never made soft eyes at each other.”

Except I wouldn’t count on Lukanette being retconned because that would stop the show from being allowed to make Marinette feel bad and guilty and possibly cause another akuma over it, plus possibly Luka “rejecting” his feelings for her and thus making her feel worse that he sees her in a lesser light.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: There will be an episode that will break "Mr Pigeon" episode record of  "Don't Need a Burrow" and close calls.

Not gonna lie, I would be legitimately impressed if that happened. I’m just wondering what predictions would be mashed together to make it as such.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow to know that Zoey (I heard somewhere that that’s how her name is going to be in America, it might be wrong), is going to get involved in the love square somehow.

Bonus:

Or she will replace Kagami’s role as Marinette’s friendly rival, and when her heart gets broken Marinette will be the one to blame, for no reason, like always. Or she will have an interest in Marinette, since it seems they are going to be close friends, only for Marinette to put her in the friend zone, and she gets akumatized. People will blame Marinette for giving false hopes to the girl, even though, she never acted different than how a friend would act.

All girls exist to comment/have an opinion on the love square, obviously, and they’re antagonists/villains if they have a negative opinion on it.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Writers will use Alya bashing concept of Alya proposing Lila as potential new Miraculous Holder. Marinette will obviously refuse, but due to fact that Lila is suddenly ret-conned into being good person this is Marinette's Mistake of the Week. She will repair it by making Lila pernament Miraulous Holder

Waiting for the one episode long Lila redemption...

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Sabrina will be redeemed. She will change from Chloe's servant... to Zoe's servant.

and it’s fine of course because Zoe and Sabrina are best friends and Sabrina is doing this all happily and willingly.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Alya will be changed into basically Marinette's Guardianship mentor

Somehow, this is one of the ones I hate the most because it seems accurate so far.