#the potential for angst and pining

[television-overload]

When you're already making great progress on a 70,000 word fic and an idea for ANOTHER long fic pops in your head....

[happypeachsludgeflower]

Has anyone considered the fact that Shen Jiu burning the Qiu manor to the ground and Yue Qingyuan arriving late to find the burnt manor means that not only was he convinced Shen Jiu died in that fire, he probably went back to the sect and made a memorial tablet for him. So yea, anyway, I was thinking, what if Shen Jiu found the tablet with his name on it later on after becoming a Qing Jing disciple and realized that Yue Qingyuan probably never showed up because he thought he was dead.

[wiggly-round-worm]

I think being possessed by Bill has permanent side effects, actually.

[fist-of-vengeance]

so what do we think fiddleford saw when he looked into the gremloblin's eyes? dude was so traumatised that stanford "oblivious to my assistant's emotional turmoil" pines took notice. it's what motivated him to INVENT THE MEMORY GUN IN THE FIRST PLACE. I'm honestly surprised i haven't seen more speculation about this

[screamingfrenchfries]

i feel like we need more content of bill interacting with stan while possessing ford. idk i just think it has the ultimate angst and/or humor potential

[it-happened-one-fic]

Nothing to Gain - Azul

Author Notes: I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this fic. Part of me really likes and another part of me.... Either way, I decided I might as well post it since I really didn't know what I wanted to post for this week. This fic was written while I listened to "Whataya Want From Me" by Adam Lambert which definitely affected the overall tone of this fic. As per usual, reader is gender neutral. I hope you enjoy!

Type: Gender-netural reader/ fluff/ some angst/ pining/ romance/ mentions of Octavinelle and Scarabia overblot so spoilers for those chapters

Word Count: 1820

There was something frightening about relying on others. It was something that Azul had noticed before and was the reason he preferred to surround himself with only the most reliable individuals. 

He could rely on them, and they could rely on him.

But his overblot had shaken him to his core. He’d questioned even his most basic beliefs about himself, and, to be honest, he still wasn’t entirely sure what to think of the events of that day.

However, neither Jade nor Floyd had changed their opinions of him or abandoned him after that day, as he’d feared they would. Instead, they remained by his side, as they always did. But there was a benefit to being there. Even after his overblot, Azul was still housewarden and had a say in how the Octavinelle dorm was run.

There might be some cost, but the benefit was great enough that the twins stayed, and Azul was comfortable with that. He understood it. 

What he didn’t understand was you. 

You stood nothing to gain by being kind to him and supporting him. If you were a normal person, you would either attempt to blackmail him or avoid him. Only allowing enough interaction to show how much you detested him for what he’d put you through.

But you apparently weren’t a normal person. Because you stayed by him and helped him through the aftermath of the overblot. 

Soothing the fleeing students whom he’d robbed of their spells and talents. Assuring them that all was well and such a thing wouldn’t occur again. Reminding them what a good, competent housewarden he was.

It hadn’t been easy, and it had taken you, Jade, Floyd, and Azul all working together to cover up everything that had happened and finally put his overblot to rest. And the entire time you were there, it made him nervous.

But at least after it was done, you would leave. That only made sense. There was no reason for you to stay past that point.

Azul had surmised that you must just be one of those people who liked to see their work done. Sort of like Jack, who’d been with you since the very start, even though he quite obviously had a distaste for both Azul and the tweels.

And, as expected, Jack left as soon as everything was settled. He had no further business with Octavinelle, and all was well on that front. But you didn’t leave.

Rather, you kept appearing in the very fringes of Azul’s vision. Smiling and offering a wave that was always returned by at least one of the tweels, as Azul found himself faltering.

Why were you still here? There was nothing to gain.

By the time winter break had come, he’d come up with a new plan and explanation for your strange behavior. You were always around because you wanted remuneration for your services. That made sense.

Having the tweels offer you a place to stay over winter break with an ever-benevolent warning about the fee was easy enough. An offer for your payment that wasn’t grounded in worry for the fact you were staying in the most run-down building on campus, no matter what Floyd said.

But you hadn’t accepted, and Azul was lost once more. You’d turned the offer down with a fond smile, joking that you didn’t want a bill like the one his offer would mean hanging over your head.

But that was that. Azul was sure he wouldn’t hear anything from you, at least until the next school year had begun. And by then, he would surely have figured out what it was that you wanted.

But he did hear from you. You’d quite literally crashed into the Mostro Lounge, landing in a heap on the ground. Covered in sand and trembling in fear as you’d looked up at the horde of angry Scarabia students that had come to collect you.

And Azul repaid you right then and there. He’d shielded you from those who’d sought you out and handled that matter promptly. 

It wasn’t as if there had been no reward for his actions after all. He’d assured himself that this was all just to get information on how, exactly, you’d managed to upset the students of Scarabia.

And that had led to another debacle, not entirely unlike what had happened to him. Jamil’s overblot.

Despite what Jade and Floyd may have teasingly suggested, Azul knew he’d only assisted you to give himself an in to winning over Jamil. And as for you spending the night safely in Octavinelle under his and the tweels protection for free one night…. That was just another part of his plan. Nothing odd at all.

By the end of the winter break, he’d repaid you, now had a perfectly good excuse to seek Jamil out for conversation, and everything was as it should be.

Or rather, it should have been.

Some part of Azul had seemed to grow cold when he’d seen you run into Ace and Deuce’s arms just after the Scarabia overblot, though. Perfectly happy to leave him behind in favor of your two friends.

And now Azul was having to question himself. Why did that upset him? He’d wanted you gone and handled because there had been no reason for you to be around him. Your lingering had made no sense, and his moroseness was equally ridiculous.

…. Right? Azul wasn’t expecting much as the next term started. He was fully prepared to go back to the way things were. With you hardly ever noticing his presence, while he would do his very best to ignore yours.

But he didn’t have to ignore you. Because as soon as he saw you in the hallway, you were turning to look his way. A smile on your face and a hand raised in cheerful greeting.

And suddenly Azul was frightened. What did you want? Why did you seem so happy to see him when you had your friends right by your side?

There was no benefit to staying near him, and you had seen him at his weakest, lowest, and most vile. So shouldn’t you want to have nothing to do with him?

He’d overblotted and attacked not only you but your friends. There was no reason to look so happy in this instance.

In his confusion, Azul found himself walking towards you quickly. Stopping as you looked at him with a slightly startled expression.

“Angelfish, if we might talk,” He started before glancing at both of the young men who flanked you with confused expressions that matched yours, save the wariness in their eyes. 

“Alone,” He finished a little more firmly than he’d intended, but if you noticed, you didn’t react.

Instead, you just nodded, a slightly uncertain smile appearing on your face as you responded, “Okay.” 

You waved off your two obviously concerned friends and followed Azul without a single concern. Only confusion.

Like you really did trust him. Like you really weren’t concerned in the slightest by his reputation or the things you knew that he did.

As if his past actions didn’t bother you and you weren’t the slightest bit upset by how he’d attempted to shoo you away with paltry offerings.

And it frightened Azul. He didn’t know what you wanted, and he didn’t know what he wanted. 

It was only once he was sure it was only the two of you that he turned to face you once more. Dropping any facade he had of confidence the very moment his eyes met yours.

“What do you want from me?” His voice quivered slightly, but he stood firm as you looked at him with utter confusion.

But then, as if you saw something in the depths of his pale blue eyes, your expression shifted to one of concern for him, and you stepped closer. Your voice dropping to a whisper that was perfectly filled with loving worry and that only made Azul feel more lost than he had before, “Azul? What do you mean?”

Azul had lived the entire first part of his life in the very deepest part of the ocean, but he knew that in this moment he was well beyond his depth.

Because suddenly all Azul could really think was that he didn’t want to let you down. Not when, as your simplistic question had just evidenced, you’d never been with him for any ulterior motive.

No, you stayed for a reason that Azul himself was only just now beginning to understand. You stayed because you cared for Azul, and that was enough.

And, looking back, Azul knew all those things he’d done in the past…. Offering you a room in Octavinelle for a fee only to waive that fee the very moment you’d appeared in front of him, frightened and covered in sand…. All of that had been him not wanting you to come to harm. 

Because even after seeing him at his most shameful, you hadn’t judged him as weak, untalented, or anything less. Instead, you looked at him like he had just as much worth as anyone else here.

And you genuinely cared for him. In your own way, you’d been supporting him ever since then, as he leaned on you without even realizing it.

Knowing all of that now, it felt wrong to ask you what you wanted. Because was it really you that wanted something, or was it him?

You continued to look at him, worriedly searching his eyes for an answer as one of your hands reached up to cup his cheek, “Azul?” Your voice was so soft, and it nearly broke him as he realized exactly how wonderful you were and how it didn’t make any sense for you to be here with him when he was so perfectly broken.

But he inhaled, a smile working its way onto his face as he let his hand cover your own, “I’m sorry, Angelfish. I… Just don’t give up on me yet.”

Your eyes widened as his hand wrapped around yours and pulled it from his face before squeezing it lightly, “I’m having to work all of this out and…”

He trailed off, faltering as he searched for words, but you only smiled. Shaking your head slightly before you responded, “No, I understand. You need time, and what happened to you… It messed you up.”

Azul nodded, half-touched that you could still be so understanding despite the confusing circumstances he’d put you in, and half-disappointed in himself.

Because he could only hope that you would keep appearing in peripheral vision and helping him get through the difficult days.

And he would do his best. He was slowly coming to understand what it was to care for someone without a cost-benefit relationship. And even if he didn’t know exactly what he wanted from you, he would with time, and he would repay you tenfold for everything you’d given him.

[kind-of-a-shitty-wizard]

i think that the concept of haskill + mantling as a gradual process is the coolest everever, because imagine you serve a god for ages but regularly hes replaced by another person... haskill knows sheogorath's personality will overtake the HoK's eventually but theres still a period where sheo's essentially died and been replaced, and this new person barely knows him even if he technically knows everything about them. i imagine theres a lot of onesidedness, cos haskill's unfalteringly loyal to / caring for / knowledgeable about someone who basically doesn't know who he is and maybe its a little tragic for him to watch sheogorath forget himself over and over

i can imagine him bringing (for example) tea to the HoK a few months into their mantling transformation, and the HoK is like "wow i didn't even know i liked this kind of tea before" and haskill just stoically goes "very good, your grace" but inside he knows that, of course they like it, its sheogorath's favorite. ough. agh. ough <- taking overtime poison damage from this thought

[bluejayybird]

SPOILER FOR THE BOOK OF BILL

Okay, so I'm not avidly into gravity falls, but like.

Seeing that Dipper and Mabel only survived the one time, I'm just thinking...

All of the other circumstances, them dying one way or another... Lee, Ford and the others potentially surviving as well, but...

Having to break the news that the youngest twins are gone, one or both... Or if they'd all just been wiped out one day, whether it was during an oddball adventure, or if Bill won during any of their encounters/weirdmageddon...

The guilt, if one of the twins was still left... Thinking they could've done more, that it could've been prevented... The way that guilt would ultimately lead to the other's demise....

Everyone else in shambles, wondering how they could've done more...

Just thinkin--

[heyitsspiders]

bill is totally normal i've been drawing gravity falls stuff so much, literally in a little over a month ive made 57 drawings on my ipad (and many more on paper) PLUS a 18k word fic im working on im going insane

[sp00kies]

Aroace Ford this, Billford that

Have you guys considered one-sided Billford??

[achromatic-bot]

I've decided we need an AU where Phil is the king of England and Dan is the Prime Minister.

[television-overload]

When you're already making great progress on a 70,000 word fic and an idea for ANOTHER long fic pops in your head....

[sokkastyles]

You can go back in time and add one extra Zuko and Katara interaction scene into the show (unfortunately everything else stays the same including the awful canon endgame pairs.) What kind of scene between them would you add?

Oh, good question, and one I had to think about for a bit!

If everything else has to stay the same...

The scene opens on Zuko and Katara immediately after the agni kai. Slowly, tentatively, fire sages and palace staff begin to emerge from the still smoldering shadows of the palace courtyard. A fire sage with a slightly singed hat appears, still clinging to the fire lord's golden hairpiece. The man looks uncertainly at Katara, then to the chained Azula, still intermittently spitting fire, but whose screaming has started to become broken, hysterical sobs. Katara is warily watching the sages, her gaze flicking back towards the Fire Nation princess, then back towards Zuko, her arm on his back holding him steady. She feels him begin to sag and grabs him with both hands. He doesn't seem to notice the sages watching them. He turns to her.

Zuko: Katara, I don't...

She catches him and manages to half-carry him to some annex room where she can lay him down and examine his wound more closely. She does some more waterbending healing while Zuko starts to fade in and out. Finally she assures him that he'll be okay, he just needs rest.

Katara looks out a window of the small annex room, and notices hopefully that the red is starting to fade from the sky. The comet is finally passing. Although the view outside is also occasionally tinted by the light of blue fire, and they can still hear distantly, although with more time between each one than before, now, the sounds of Azula's desperate cries of fury.

Katara turns back to Zuko, lying on his back, and sees that he is awake and alert, his eyes open. He's watching her silently. She tries to think of something to say, something reassuring, but Zuko speaks first.

Zuko: He'll be here.

Katara looks towards the window again, as they both watch for some sign of Aang. Katara then looks back at Zuko, still lying on his back, a little guiltily. She tries to lighten the mood.

Katara: Can you believe that bounty hunter woman thought we were dating? I mean, us? And that play! "I had eyes for you from the moment you captured me, Prince Zuko." Gross!

Katara makes a disgusted face.

Zuko: Yeah, totally gross.

His voice is faint, showing his exhaustion, low and with an unnamable quality. He smiles a little, his eyes still watching her carefully.

Katara looks out the window again to avoid looking at him.

Katara: I mean, it's completely ridiculous!

Zuko: So ridiculous.

Katara, abruptly, still not looking in Zuko's direction: You know, Aang kissed me.

Zuko looks a bit surprised, but doesn't reveal much. He turns away from Katara.

Zuko: I should get in touch with Mai's uncle and get her out of prison. Not that she'll want anything to do with me.

Both of them look thoughtful, looking away from the other. There's a long moment of silence.

Katara: You'll be firelord. I'm sure you can work something out.

Zuko: Yeah.

His voice is noncommittal, though. Katara pulls her knees up to her chest. She seems to be deciding something, although she's not sure if it's the right decision or not. She senses Zuko feels the same way. They sit for a while like that, together but apart, in silence. Something is growing between them, although neither is ready to admit it quite yet, and both have other obligations at present. But maybe one day...

Katara looks back towards the window in time to notice Appa streak across the sky, coming toward them.

Katara, standing up, shouting and waving her arms out the window: Aang! Over here!

End scene.

[coffeemira]

need an age regression/de-aging fic where a post-KH4 riku has to take care of a younger sora, and bb sora is just completely awestruck over how strong and kind and pretty (and tall!!) his best friend riku got… and is so transparently smitten that riku, who is actually dating present-day sora, is just like: wow we really were oblivious how did either of us miss sora’s glaring crush on me??

[harmonytheme]

Do you think ,when Dillon and Lucas are broken up and in their angst era, they will kiss or more like the last angst era?

i'm kinda torn bc i loved that they didn't kiss properly during angst era 1.0 (mostly because of the circumstances they were in) but for this one I am hoping they do. i want them to want each other SO BAD with lucas trying so hard to stay away but not being able to. And dillon pining endlessly for the boy he lost to the stupidest mistake of his life. 😩

[shackledaces]

to my friend who told me that, “judging by their body language, stuilly probably weren’t even in a relationship when they died”… congratulations, I’m now brainrotting on that.