Ash unfolded the paper. A jolt went through his body. He turned away quickly so that Jace and Sebastian, deep in conversation, wouldn't see his expression.
It was her, the strange human girl he's once seen in the Unseelie weapons room. Dark hair, eyes the colour of the sky he only partially remembered. A murder of crows circled in the sky behind her. Not a photograph, but a drawing, done with a wistful hand, a sense of love and longing emanating from the page. A name was scribbled in a corner: Drusilla Blackthorn.
Drusilla. She looked lonely, Ash thought, but determined as well, as if a hope lived behind those summer-blue eyes, a hope that could not be quenched by loss, a hope too strong to feel despair.
Ash's heart was pounding, though he could not have said why. Hastily, he folded the drawing and thrust it into his pocket.
there is literally nothing (and i mean nothing) that anyone could say that would convince me that ash doesn't have the biggest crush on dru blackthorn idfc.
LET ME TELL YOU this ain't platonic in the slightest, okay?
NOW FOR THOSE WHO HAVE TIME I WANNA ANALYSE THIS BC I HAVE ISSUES WELCOME
this one is for the folks who doubt morgenthorn will be endgame *peace out*
like the "her" being in italics is already sus enough because he's like "omg it's the pretty girl i saw that one time *blushes furiously*" and then he seems so pleased to finally know her name????? drusilla???? and then like examines the drawing so thoroughly it’s actually mental???? he thinks she’s the most gorgeous human to ever walk the earth (and he’s not wrong)
and to top it all off he’s all “hmmm my heart is beating kinda fast lolsies i wonder why” and then wait for it HE FUCKING TAKES THE DRAWING!!! LIKE HE FOLDS IT AND PUTS IT IN HIS POCKET BC OFC HE DOES!!!! HE HAS TO LOOK AT IT IN HIS FREE TIME U KNOW BC THAT’S WHAT U DO (when ur a freaking simp)!!! he is so so whipped already and twp hasn’t even been released pls i’m so far gone for them save me
dru is getting like properly thirsted over AND FUCKING RIGHTFULLY SO bc she’s an absolute goddess and we all know it… and ash is the drusilla blackthorn fanclub founder idc like god he is gonna have it SO bad for her in twp and guys when she finds out he kept the drawing all these years, i will simply evaporate out of existence
morgenthorn is gonna be my downfall mark my words
i can’t wait yay A N G S T😀
[pterodactyl screech]
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just wanted to let you know i am Eating your dai li lu ten au. long feng doesn’t know how to be Normal towards his new subordinate because everyone in the dai li, including himself, grew up being indoctrinated and turned into human weapons in an incredibly toxic and soul crushing environment (bc i don’t think the dai li only started being Like That after long feng gained control, and i think it’s canon they start training at 13?)…just like the FN royal family grew up being indoctrinated and turned into human weapons in an incredibly toxic and soul crushing environment, so for lu ten there are a surprising amount of uncomfortable similarities…This Is Fine
LITERALLY THISSSS and lu ten is like. his shiny new subordinate. but in order to keep a sharp eye on him obviously lu ten operates as long fengs personal agent. but it develops beyond "I have to have him near me to keep an eye on him".
being long fengs Only personal agent makes the way lu ten is treated compared to the REST of the dai li make sense- high clearance, solo missions that take him outside of ba sing se, his room (cell) being personal (its a room. but its a cell. Its still his room. it has a nice bed and lounging chairs and a tea set and scrolls and whatever the fuck else you have in your room) and deep under lake laogai (away from the sun). harsh punishments that are like 2 shots and a blunt away from torture.
but the thing is- and this is where the silco and jinx influence comes in- their dynamic is obviously built on manipulation, but long feng doesn't like... actively manipulate him with words or actions. the regularly scheduled chi blocking and dai li-special brainwashing, yeah, but he doesn't add onto it by feeding lu ten ideas or playing with lu tens mind. its not anything like ozai and azula, or mother gothel and rapunzel. its far more casual and trusting. professional, since it is still a boss and his subordinate, but since lu ten is special, there's a taste of domesticity. long feng doesn't make lu ten bust his ass for the paternal mentor side. its like 'dad and the cat he didn't want'.
long feng isn't suspicious of what lu ten does on his solo missions. hed get defensive on lu tens behalf if one of the other dai li heads that do know about lu ten being a fire nation prince would imply that he might betray long feng and ba sing se. he doesn't try to push anything onto lu ten because he doesn't have to- everything long feng wants in lu ten as his agent develops on its own, naturally. hes not cold and calculating when hes punishing lu ten for failing a mission, even if the punishments are crazy harsh. he hands over delicate business that could threaten ba sing se's security to lu ten with relief because long feng trusts him more than he trusts the other powerful dai li heads and politicians that are near long feng's level of power in ba sing se- and not even because lu ten will answer to him anyway, or because he has no reason not to- just because he trusts that lu ten will get the job done right. he trusts lu tens productivity and skill not just as a worker, but just as a person. the pride and care is genuine, and it coexists with the fact that he would definitely use lu ten against the fire nation as a last resort defense if worse came to worst.
and yeah, long feng notes their similarities and vows that since lu ten is a special case agent, he will be treated by long feng humanly, and with respect and care. it's almost like a parent vowing to not be like their parents before them, but like. dark sided and evil
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There are many times that Astarion thinks he may have no feelings at all. That they could all be yet another illusion of choice, his mind a malleable thing, built to be manipulated rather than be allowed to choose anything. If he were wired this way then maybe the decades upon decades of enforced obedience might not hang over him like a hangman's axe — His rage so unbridled that he must laugh to keep it at bay. Would Cazador want him to feel that way? To make being dragged home hurt more? To remind him that he's nothing more than a tool to be pointed towards its work, an object that foolishly believes it has any more purpose than what it was made for? The sun on his skin is sometimes his only lifeline in this. Cazador would never let him have it. Giving to take away is one thing, but even giving a toy a breath of freedom like this wouldn't even be something the bastard would consider. A walk out at night, maybe; One followed by weeks locked up without more than cockroaches to feed on because he dared to believe he had earned time to himself. Never the sunlight. Never clear air and people who look at him as if he might be useful for more than what he's done for as long as he can remember—
He has plenty of time to question it. After all, elves don't truly sleep and too many lifetimes of never resting at all have left him bereft of most meditation skills. Astarion listens to cicadas. He counts their many scratching notes as if their legs are tiny violins serenading him teasingly. There's always something to look at, too: Karlach's blazing heart crackling louder than the camp's dwindling fire, Wyll's tossing and turning as he slowly but surely grows accustomed to his devilish form, Lae'zel's almost-comically tense posture as if she is a stone knight cast on a coffin, sword covering the length of her body. At times he wonders, with a kind of undeniable glee, that they never wake to stare at him in horror. For a not-quite-vampire, it only gets better than that when one is allowed in a building.
Tonight is different though. Astarion is awake once again, of course, but the difference is in his companions. All are asleep, save one — the cleric he's still not quite sorry he jumped at the coast that proves herself more and more useful as the days pass by. He has to think of people that way. Else he'll stop being able to question how he feels and be forced to come to terms with it all.
She's looming. And Astarion should know, he's an expert loomer. Propping his chin up slightly on his makeshift pillow, he takes in her odd position at the center of camp. Eyes far away and face flat. Usually he'd leave things be. People are wont to do as they will whether he says anything or not. But how can he — How can he possibly do that when he can't control what she might do next? If she's only contemplating whether to wake someone up and venture out, that's one thing. Maybe she wants to go kill a few extra bandits just to feel their blood on her skin. Astarion would understand! Instinct is a funny thing. After living in a state of alert most of one's life, it refuses to quiet down for any anomaly.
"Briar," he hisses softly, shaking his head with irritation (mostly at himself, also because she's made him think too hard). "Dear, what are you doing? You're not a statue, you're a half-elf."
@hauntedurge
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