#this is gonna make a really funny AND sad explanation later

[they-stare-i-ship]

I finished reading the atlas paradox

and now you're subjected to my SPOILERY thoughts.

Parisa Kamali: I love Parisa, I have loved her since the first book. I LIKE HER SO MUCH she's funny she's mean she's cool she's kind. She's incredibly powerful. She's so interesting and I really enjoyed how she slowly became "her royal softness". Whenever we have her pov it's so fun. I love how she's not scared of Atlas and how she challenged him. I can't wait to see what she does in the next book. I'm actually excited to see how Dalton has changed and how she reacts to them in the next book. Her relationship with Nico makes me so feel so nice. I also need her to be kiss Reina sometime in the next book.

Nico de Varona: he's been my annoying lil baby since the first book. I loved how he became more fleshed out in this book. I loved how lonely he got, his relationship with Reina and Tristan really intrigues me. HE'S SUCH A CHILD sometimes and I love him for it. Obviously I have spent the two books insane bc I knew he was in love with Gideon, I just knew it and they're just *chef's kiss* also speaking of his relationship with people, I think him and Libby will be stunning as besties, I truly cannot perceive them as romantic. They act so sibling like or even just asshole bestie like.

Reina Mori: when we started with this series I actually had more hopes from her. I feel like she didn't do much (especially in book 2) and my girl really doesn't understand communication. If she just talked to people sigh. But honestly her God thing, I am down. Go off, I'm excited to see her go off the rails bc people didn't talk to her the way she could have understood. I am low-key in love with how funny the duo of Reina and Callum is, tbh. I also get major ace vibes from her.

Libby Rhodes: honestly she was my second least favourite amount the six when we started. She desperately needed the corruption arc we got in the later half of the book. I think I will like her a lot more now. Her crush on belen was stunning to read. I can't wait for Libby to fuck shit up, literally fuck everyone up. And I genuinely truly deeply want her relationship with Nico to just be friendship. Friendships are equally as important and the fact that the universe made them parallel to eachother is my favourite thing.

Callum Nova: honestly I didn't really like him much during the first book, he was fine but we had more interesting characters. BUT DAMN CALLUM NOVA POST HEARTBREAK?? ~~ exquisite ~~ he's so fucking funny and hopeless and sad and pathetic. he is so desperate for love and so upset that he was denied it. He's my pathetic lil meow meow. Also I would LOVE to see him use his powers more in the future. As we keep learning about it, I keep loving him. Also I need Tristan to beg Callum to take him back.

Tristan Caine: actually I didn't enjoy his povs at all in the first book, I couldn't wait for them to be over. He is still my least favourite among the six but in the second book he was more interesting and fun. I'm a lil anxious of how Atlas is gonna use him and his powers. I don't care much of him but I want him to beg Callum or regret it for the rest of his existence. Also I hate LibbyTristan as a romantic permanent thing, they can fuck around and have fun but pls end at that.

Gideon Drake: I have loved him since day 1. He was the softer kinder balance to Nico's aggressive and abrasiveness. He is so interesting, his origin and his powers. I spent both the book wishing we had more of him. Now that we are out of the library maybe he'll get to play a more active role in the book. I am obsessed with Gideon (bc Nico is obsessed with Gideon) I love the tidbits we learn about Gideon like how Libby always liked him more or how max travelled with him for the rescue of the "prince". I want Gideon to have everything he wants, that's all.

Atlas Blakeley: I have been thinking of Giancarlo Esposito as Atlas the entire time. There's no explanation it's just vibes

Ezra: I'm glad he's dead 💖

[death-himself]

alright episode 7 thoughts, i don't know how to feel about this episode because it had both my favorite changes so far and my least favorite

procrustes' outfit was fucking VILE, it was godawful but so perfect, and honestly good casting too I think

I feel mean saying this, but does crusty's actor naturally look like that or was it makeup, because his wrinkles seem at least a bit exaggerated or maybe I'm just not used to old people looking old on tv

ok the waterbed looked cool, but I'm so mad they didn't kill him. It's probably another way to get around disney censorship but come on live a little

also the entrance to the underworld being in his mattress shop?? are you fucking serious

this is the first change that I've actually hated, like what the fuck

the entrance being in a record shop is funny and it makes sense because records/vinyl are sort of a dying fad, what's the reasoning behind the entrance being in a mattress shop???

I didn't really have many expectations for the crusty scene because it's not much of a thing in the books, but damn did that whole part annoy me

annabeth giving grover the stress ball was funny and made sense though, considering she couldn't have gotten it from waterland, and honestly her getting it from there doesn't really make sense in the first place

more about the earlier flashback, I have some thoughts about sally's characterization but I'll save it for later in this analysis

I get that all the dead lined up outside the wall makes more sense mythologically, but I'm too in love with the thought of having to sit in a record shop turned waiting room for eternity, it's just too funny to me

we didn't get charon's characterization :( I love charon in the books, I'm sad about that, justice for charon

the way cerberus just fuckin NOMMED grover, I don't think percy and annabeth freaked out enough about that, because I was freaking the fuck out

also I loved how they mentioned annabeth's dog as a kid, like that's how they should've been doing more of the exposition in previous episodes

having it be more of a background thing made it feel like a thing for the characters between the characters, instead of for the audience's sake

"it's in the dog" THAT HAD ME CACKLING he said it so dramatically with the dramatic music but it sounds so stupid I was dying repeating it to myself for so long

I LOVE what they did with the fields of asphodel, it was so creepy, and the implication that all the trees used to be people, it's so much creepier than just a bunch of people wandering around

I feel like it's a concept that's been done before somewhere, but I don't care, it's a cool concept

and then annabeth being rooted down by her regret, I feel like there should've been some beats between that and her explanation of the roots, but half hour episode, I've gotten used to the bad pacing by this point

also I'm assuming the regret has to do with running away from home? since her dad and their dog were mentioned and that's a whole thing in the book

maybe because athena's shown that she doesn't give a shit about annabeth, annabeth wants to give it another try with her dad? idk I'm just trying to think of what works logically tv series-wise

I didn't expect her using the pearl there, but honestly I think it works just fine, i have no complaints about that

percy and grover's interaction when they saw the bolt was so funny

and ok, I know they were gonna save percy's mom no matter what, but things have changed now that the solstice has passed. Zeus is already gathering an army so why aren't they rushing??

i think how they could've fixed that is have grover take the bag to bring it back to zeus, then have percy go on his own to save his mom. then maybe when he comes back to the beach ares is already there and attacking grover and annabeth or something

grover didn't do anything when talking to hades so I just think that could've worked better

OK NOW ABOUT THE FLASHBACK I...don't like how they handled sally being a mom

yes, being a mom is tough and I like that they're showing that, but when your kid asks you "why are you trying to get rid of me" you don't fuckin kiss them and walk away! that causes issues!!

I know that she didn't want to cry in front of him, I understand why she was hurt by that, but you don't just leave after your kid asks that! especially with how young percy was, she needed to reassure him that she's not trying to get rid of him

am I not seeing something here?? is that just my own trauma ringing through or something?? that was such a horrible move like oh my god, I was waiting the whole episode after that for her to go back and apologize or explain or SOMETHING, but we didn't get that

now I understand that line from an earlier episode about loving each other so much when you can only ever hurt each other, but damn

also final thought about sally, the woman playing her has a gorgeous side profile, I'm gonna draw it someday

anyway, hades's palace looks nothing like how I imagined it, I don't hate it, I just prefer my version way more mostly because I like Nico being like an actual prince in there

I hated Hades's new characterization for the first like 5 minutes, then I realized that he acts kinda like a confident Nico and that's funny

also I feel like this characterization makes him stand out more, it's very different from any other interpretation of Hades in media

at the same time it reminded me a bit of Hades in class of the titans, and that interpretation pisses me off to no end so...

but yeah, I still prefer book!Hades, but tv show!Hades is interesting so I like him

it really feels like the production crew figured out how to 3D print statues and Rick was like "that's cool, let's use statues whenever possible," there are so many damn statues in this show lol

"it's all candy canes and rainbows down here, I'm doing just fine" with the gloomy-ass wide shot and thunder in the distance, that's funny

with hades seeming to be the only one of the gods who's actively recognized how toxic the godly family is, it makes me curious how they'll handle his relationship with Nico if we ever make it to seasons 3 or 4

because his relationship with Nico is one of the better ones among godly parents, but it's not really the best in terms of parents, so I think they'd end up having to change a few things

the way sally summoned poseidon felt like a reversal of giving an offering at camp. she gave the fire to the food instead of the food to the fire. there's a meaning behind that, but I don't know how to articulate it

I was so certain that was poseidon walking up to percy, and then it turned out to be annabeth and I felt so dumb lol

but that means poseidon might be making an appearance to help percy in the fight against ares! right, maybe? i think it'd be cool

with how little percy's actually fought in the tv show, and with the exclusion of his training at camp, him beating ares without A LOT of help isn't gonna be satisfying, so we'll see

that little teaser with percy and luke going into the forest under the fireworks has me so excited

i feel like a lot of people have already said this, but I think all of the actual issues with the show are disney's fault. the censorship is just a small part of that, but the amount of episodes and their length was probably decided by disney, and that's really hurting the show.

yes, i have issues with the writing and the direction rick's taken with the series. but I definitely wouldn't have as many issues if disney allowed them more time each episode to expand on what they're going with. i saw someone say that an 8 episode series used to be called a miniseries and honestly, a miniseries isn't enough for an entire book to make it feel complete

anyway, with that all out of the way, I'm still enjoying the series, I had much fewer complaints about this episode than last episode, and honestly, all of my real complaints from this episode aren't gonna play a part in later seasons if we get them, so I'm alright with that

[fandomcrazy6226]

Liveblogging Dracula Daily - May 7

Brought to you on May 8 and the sore throat I woke up with this morning. Today is our final tech rehearsal and we open tomorrow, running until Saturday. So I'll finally get some sleep on Sunday! Sad half of that is my boyfriend can only come to opening night this week cause he's leaving for a trip on Friday (he was originally coming to Friday so he cold tag along with the post-show diner trip)

But yeah yours truly woke up with a sore throat so I'm basically popping cough drops to try and deal with it. My guess is all the pollen finally got to me. Other guess is that I'm sick, but I'm actually not letting that one be right

Anyway enough of my personal life, let's get back to what you're all here for: vampire silly times featuring everyone's favorite solicitor!

Man I would love to sleep for hours and wake up of my own accord. I haven't really done that without something coming later in the day since... two saturdays ago? Too long

Ok so I know dinner is what they used to call lunch, and I'm guessing he means 5-6 pm. But that's still pretty darn late for a lunch. Also this poor guy really needed that nap, huh

Sidenote, the wolves and the lack of people is making me think of Beauty and the Beast and I know that's obviously a very different story but it'd be really funny if all the furniture just randomly came to life and started singing at Jonathan.

And a huge library too!

So he called Jonathan all the way here so he could have an English tutor? I feel like first of all there are better people for that and second he probably could've disclosed that information. Like that's not gonna give anything away I don't think

Huh. Blue flame treasure. Is that an actual superstition or is that just something he's saying to distract Jonathan? It's a cool explanation either way I guess

Mmmmmm. sharp teeth. Suspicious... (i say with a heart's fire full of dramatic irony)

Oh Jonathan's sleep schedule has gotta be so busted at this point (relatable)

I kinda want to build this house in Minecraft now. It sounds cool

Ok so he marked his house in the atlas, as well as... Jonathan's house, I'd guess? Don't know who/what the third marking might be though

Hmmm obedience trance. Buddy. Johnny. Go to sleep. Please.

Well that was fun. Expect the actual May 8 post in a few hours, probably around 10:30 (will write during my 3rd period class)

PREVIOUS / NEXT

[alan-duarte]

TIMING:  January 25th 2013 LOCATION:  Rafael and Alan’s town house, Oldtown PARTIES: Alan and Rafael SUMMARY: Rafael and Alan share a few words at the kitchen table.  CONTENT WARNINGS:  sad gay men

Alan woke up in the middle of nowhere, dirt under his fingernails, mud smudged over his calves and elbows. He must have crawled for a bit, before he collapsed here, on the icy floor. God only knew what he had been up to last night. He didn’t remember much. In his dreams, he ran through the woods. Fast. Strong. He hunted everything. Everyone. Not tonight though. He didn’t recall seeing a human face in his dreams. There was progress. The first few times this happened, he didn’t remember anything at all. Yeah, there was progress. This had been happening for the past 6 months. 

Alan wanted it to stop. 

It was cold out here. His cheeks were warm. 

He swallowed down his sobbing, but he couldn’t keep the tears in. 

Blurry eyes took a look around. Where was he this time? 

Looked like Gatlin Fields. He was a long way from home. He had sold a place around here, not too long ago. Nice people. They’d never know why it was so cheap, but it really got him a nice bonus, getting the agency rid of the murder house. His supervisor couldn’t believe it. It felt nice, being congratulated like that. The other salesperson was either disgusted or envious. That, he could live with. 

Knowing where he was wasn’t much of a relief. He knew where he wasn’t. 

_______________________________

He stopped by the office for a change of clothes. It was early. No one saw him sneak in stark naked. No one saw him leave.

_______________________________

It was around 7 am when he finally got home. He had picked up danishes at the bakery downstairs. Rafael would probably be in bed, he didn’t start work at the cabinet until later and Alan knew him to have a sweet tooth. When they first started dating, he’d cherished the love handles on his husband’s waist. He thought it quite funny, a dentist with a thing for sweets. Lately, he was starting to grow similar ones. He didn’t like those quite as much.  

He knew Rafael would give him that same look he’d been giving him for the past couple of months. He didn’t ask for explanations anymore lately and that terrified Alan. 

He found him seated at the kitchen table, nursing a mug of coffee between his hands. 

Knots in his stomach, Alan had greeted him and set down the paper bag on the table. As he leaned in for a morning kiss, Rafael looked up. His eyes were red, tired, swollen, like he had been crying for a while. Fuck. "Can you sit down?" Alan didn't register immediately. Rafael had been less affectionate lately, turning his cheek on him, shying out of hugs. They hadn't had sex in 3 months. Yet, what he must have missed the most was the inflections in his husband's voice, the loving name calling, the ridiculous pet names and the small ways he showed him affection. Alan recalled being randomly offered knick knacks because they reminded Rafael of him, his husband folding napkins into a dog, or a heart, because he was cheesy. He hadn't been cheesy in a long while. That pained him the most. 

But he had never cried. He was not one for crying. 

Alan sat down. 

He looked down at the mug in Rafael's hands. His hands fell to his lap. 

"I'm not gonna ask you where you've been," his voice was even, and Alan wondered how long his husband rehearsed what he was about to say, how much of it he had written out in his head. Worried eyes glanced up from the cup of coffee and Alan noticed his husband had his warm brown eyes set on him. "Rafa-" he began, but something in the way he looked at him made him pause. Not pause. Stop. 

"I think we've reached the end of the road here, Alan." 

Alan shook his head. He wasn't doing this. He wanted to flee. Run. Something within him, burning, clawing, seemed to be begging him to do just that. Run. Quench that burning feeling away. Quench the pain away. Instead he sat there, making his wedding band turn around his finger. He nibbled on his lip, and tried to contain his sorrow within him. What was he supposed to say? But he always had something to say. And he always had the same reaction when he hurt. 

"So you're gonna throw away a decade of our lives because…" He took a deep breath. "This is bullshit," with a scoff he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Rafael, but this is such bullshit," tears pricking at his eyes again he stood up. He didn't want to be seen like this. And so he turned his back on him, stepping away urgently. Hands clasped against the edge of the kitchen island, he didn't pause to attempt making sense of his feelings. He should have. He should have taken a moment, grabbed a glass of water, seen that perhaps he was burning up, not because he felt betrayed, abandoned, or scared, but because, maybe, there was something else. Anything else.

"I can't. I won't accept it." He shook his head. "I won't accept it." Another shake of his head. "No. I… no. We've been through…" a lot. Storms, raging tempests of emotions, of sorrow, mourning, deaths, long discussions on parenthood, short ones on getting married. Very short ones. His face should have brightened up as he thought of their wedding day, but today, and from now on, it would no longer do.

"Alan, you need to sit," but he shook his head again, and his knees gave in. Once again, Alan swallowed down a sob. Why did he bother hiding his pain right now? Why was he always hiding his fucking pain? His shoulders were now shaking with grief, and still he covered his eyes. If he couldn’t see a thing, maybe no one would see him either. His cheeks were warm again. He heard the tears falling onto his collar. Why were they fucking loud. Why was everything fucking loud. 

Rafael’s chair scraped against the floor. At last, he let out a sonorous gasp. At last, he felt his husband’s hand on his shoulder. He felt him pulling him up. Alan refused to move, he refused to accept the comfort of Rafael’s arms, the warmth he had longed for.

He sat down on the floor. Rafael did the same. He could feel him next to him, and even though his stomach was churning, his eyes were burning and everything seemed to fall apart, he didn’t budge. “I didn’t do anything. I’d never do anything to you,” the words were getting out uneven, broken, stammering out of his mouth. “Please, you… I don’t know what’s wrong with me and I…” And he was fucking scared. “Please. Wait for me. Please. Please. I’ll figure it out, I’ll fix it. Please. I…” He smeared his tears onto his temples and looked at the other man. “I love you, and I’m so sorry.”

There was silence. Then, Rafael nodded. “Okay,” he softly said. Covering his face with both hands, he sighed. “Okay, but you have to pull your shit together.” 

Alan didn’t budge when the other stood up and left the room to get ready for work. For a moment, he sat there, sitting at the bottom of the kitchen island, thinking about how he was going to make things right. 

_______________________________

He tried. He never made things right. 

[orionsangel86]

A bit of a moan under the cut...

It's funny to be in this position where I follow a ton of SPN blogs, and a ton of Good Omens blogs, and so I get a lot of interesting hot takes across my dash.

It's fine for people to be critical, but I do find criticism of GO from SPN fans kinda hilarious and hypocritical.

"the writing was like bad fanfiction"

You did actually watch Supernatural yes? Even season 4 had its terrible fanfiction moments *cue trauma memory of Sam Winchester explaining "w*ncest" to his brother and shudder*

"There was no plot at all and it was all pointless."

Hmmm... reminds me of seasons 12, 13, and 14 of SPN

"The relationship reveal at the end was so stupid and clearly a crack ship from tumblr"

Yeah I was also really surprised when Dean and Crowley hooked up in Season 10.

"Neil Gaiman was clearly bullied into making them canon by tumblr, he absolutely hated fans asking if Crowley and Aziraphale were gay and in love back before the first season came out"

And? Why is him changing his mind (if thats what happened) a bad thing? What exactly do you think was happening behind the scenes at Supernatural regarding Destiel?

"Even if Neil Gaiman DID change his mind and decide to make it romantic, its still disingenuous and he's lying to you about what he planned with Terry Pratchett"

Sure. He could be. Funny how sometimes at some point people may see the light regarding their characters and realise that the story works better if they are together - at least Neil Gaiman was able to follow through, unlike Bobo Berens and Andrew Dabb who had their vision shat on by the CW.

Maybe he is exaggerating about what exactly he and Terry plotted out. He's protective of Terry's memory but clearly also painfully aware of how rabid the fans are and has gone a bit overboard in reassuring them. How many lies have you been told by the creators of SPN? How many times have Jackles and Mollins lied to you? Queerbaited you? Mocked you? Have you ever heard of a little thing called growth?

If you are gonna be critical about GO and Neil Gaiman, by all means go ahead. But DO NOT then sit there in the same breath and say SPN was better, that SPN had your back, or sing SPNs praises in any way.

Both shows have good and bad moments. Both sets of creators have lied at times, and tried to do whats best for their fans at times. Both shows are filled to the fucking brim with fanservice - at least GO didn't mock and ridicule its fans by either portraying them all as sad loser men, obsessive stalkers, or teenage girls who are a bit too obsessed with the sappier moments to be taken seriously. The fandom inserts in GO were older, wiser, calmer, and rather badass lesbians actually. I thought that was pretty neat.

I'm not even a huge Neil Gaiman stan, find most of his asks cringe (and often wonder if he picks out the cringier ones specifically to toy with and mock the fandom) and def find some of his explanations surrounding the origins of the GO sequel contradictory and nonsensical. Whilst he is a great fantasy writer, he isn't the best at screenwriting imo. He is also rubbish at comedy and needs support on that always. It is very clear to me that he has absorbed some of the tumblr mentality in his later years, as this is apparant to me in both GO and the Sandman, and yet, as someone who rather loves the tumblr mentality, I'm all for it. I think he is maybe trying a bit TOO hard to appeal to the tumblr specific queer community which can be alienating for wider audiences (i say this as someone who considers herself very much part of the tumblr specific queer community), and I do sometimes wonder if there is something a little bit disengenuous on his side about that, because, well, how much can an older cishet white man ever really understand the overly millennial/Gen Z queer majority AFAB leaning tumblr space? I do think some people have really got to crawl out of Neil Gaiman's ass because he is not your God. He is just a guy.

But I also think a lot of the hate thrown his way is unnecessary. A lot of people's gripes about him seem to be complaints that he is too wrapped up in tumblr culture. Which is an ironic criticism to come from tumblr users. If you hated GOS2 that's totally fine. But if you hated it and then proudly proclaim that "Supernatural did it first" "Supernatural did it better" or just "Supernatural was the best and Good Omens will never be Supernatural". Please, for the love of God, shut the fuck up. Supernatural was heavily influenced BY Good Omens, and the Sandman. Supernatural was so braizen in its stealing ideas from GO and the Sandman that it even stole one of the main characters NAMES.

As a long time SPN fan, any SPN fans ever claiming Neil Gaiman stole ideas from SPN is a fucking embarassment to the rest of the SPN fandom. By all means criticise Gaiman's work to your hearts content, but at least criticise it correctly and leave the hypocrisy at the door.

[chzdavmpr]

Delicious in Dungeon Reading Diary thing Volume 2

Spoilers, obviously

I think it's really smart to have Senshi basically be the handy man of the dungeon, the one keeping things running behind the scenes.

It's also really cool and smart how naturally Ryoko Kui managed to create a realistic feeling ecosystem. Like you read a panel like this

And just go "yeah that makes sense. It's like removing wolves from a national park causing the whole ecosystem to enter a death spiral." It's similar, but still feels unique to the dungeon setting. I think it's a sign of strong worldbuilding.

Senshi selling crops and telling people to leave the payment is chests is a really funny explanation for respawning dungeon loot.

She looks so sad. It's ok Marcelle. I think the cabbage is cool.

Is this guy 4 year old? Why is he THIS anti-vegetable?

Kobolds are PUPPIES?!!!

Senshi got that grindset

I just think it's funny how each ingredient lists it as stolen. As if in order to properly make the recipe you have to steal the ingredients

Just 2 floors to go! That's honestly a lot less then I would've guessed, at the current pace they will be back to the dragon by the 4th volume. It makes me very excited to see where the story goes.

Closing thought on chapter 9 since a lot happened: I think the bits of orc history we get is fascinating. It's left kinds unclear who started the conflict with them. Like they DO steal from others pretty regularly, but they do so only so that they can survive, and were basically banished underground. It makes them both more interesting and way less problematic then just a "naturally evil race," but they still feel like orcs instead of throwing out all the tropes that made them unique in classic fantasy fiction. Also very glad that unlike other chapters that are just named after the food they eat, the chapter called "orcs" does not have them eating orcs.

Ooh. Another puppy! I wonder if they are a kobold, or some other dog-person species? Oh also I've seen art of that person on the right. I think they join the party at some point or something.

Oh. They're dead. So at the very least they won't be important yet.

Ah man. When I saw ghosts on the back cover I was excited to see how they would eat ghosts. Which I guess the sorbet had a bit of ghost in it maybe. But I guess that actual magic stuffs are still separate from the food chain.

Poor guy. The "accidentally use really poor phrasing that makes you sound like a jerk" struggle is real

Mario 64 joke

The paintings were a very interesting way of giving a few drips of lore. It gives just enough make you interested. Also I'm gonna call it now: that elf that noticed Laios is the evil wizard who buried the city.

I wonder if the paintings kinda act as a time portal. Since the efl recognised Laios that means that the paintings have connected consciousness and continuity, which one way that could work is if the painting continuity was the real continuity. If they're not time portals though, I wonder what would happen if you did something with major consequences. Like if Laios killed the baby prince what would happen to the paintings of the prince's wedding day and coronation?

These things are a one-off thing and unless that elf is met and recognizes Laios none of these questions will be answered, will they?

Anyways, 2 chapters later Marcelle is confirmed as a horse girl.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME RYOKO KUI!

Senshi trusted Anne. Thought of her as a friend. To have her betray him, forcing him to kill her for his own survival. This is heartbreaking.

Senshi with his beard washed, and subsequently poofy after it dries is really funny, but tumblr only allows 10 images per post on the app, so you'll have to read the manga or watch the anime yourself to see it. There's actually been quite a few funny panels I wanted to share but couldn't.

Polygamous orcs. Good for them.

Laios just... draws a little stick figure of himself onto a living painting in the bonus chapter. And it seems to be a copy of his consciousness at the time of drawing. And then they just... leave it there. That's pretty messed up. The entire time this manga goes on I'm gonna just know in the back of my head that a copy of Laios is trapped in a single room forever. This also raised SO MANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT LIVING PAINTINGS and I'm now even more convinced that I won't get answers.

For some closing thoughts on the volume: I thought it was really good. Now that they've established the premise and basic character dynamics it felt like they gave me a lot more to chew on. There's now a countdown to the goal that makes it feels very within reach. There was bits of lore about both orcs and the dungeon that leave me wondering more. And the art and character writing is still just as good as volume 1. I look forward to reading volume 3. Ps: I only realised after typing all of this that her name is spelled "Marcille." I'm not combing through this post to fix it.

[curiouslavellan]

ELLYYYYYY!!!!! 📻📻📻 gimme three for everyone? and also three for soupmates? mayhaps? 👀👀

I'm gonna do everyone who pops into my head right away but I'll try to keep the post from being nine miles long 😂

I don't have a specific playlist for the fic but my Ariel playlist is just also the Ariel/Anders/Justice playlist so let's start there!

Hungover in the City of Dust by Autoheart

The phrase City of Dust has always given me Kirkwall vibes, and I think the progressive sort of panic/agitation in this song reminds me of the build up of the mage issue over the years. There's also a line later that says "powder in my fingernails" which makes me think about the bomb

2. Dinner & Diatribes by Hozier

I think this song would be Anders vibe at any social gathering Ariel ever goes to as Champion lol. big "let's leave." energy. Also I do think Anders cares about the Kirkwall crew and they care about him, but "your friends are a fate that befall me" is undeniably a funny line for hime

3. Share Your Address by Ben Platt

This song is just cute and suits the way Ariel immediately moves them into the estate. There is no such thing as moving too fast in this trio. Make being obsessed with each other wholesome <3

for three more Aurelia songs, I'm gonna go with

Nothing At All by the Crane Wives

This is the first song I ever put on her playlist and actually one that helped me start making her characters, all about how feeling awful is actually better than feeling nothing

2. A Lady by Tally Hall

Very short but I like the sort of dreamy sound of this one for Aurelia and Cole. The phrase "Showed me that I was a gentleman" ties into Cole's quest, especially the way I eventually want to change it for See Fire

3. Something That I Want by Grace Potter

Also sort of a shippy song for the two of them but mostly about her finding drive and some healthy selfishness again after she's cured

More Helaine songs because I'm still working my way through Deadfire so she's heavy on my mind

Infinitesimal by Mother Mother

She literally does have scars on her soul, a problem that consumes her life in the first game. She also has a lot of issues about legacy and the idea of MatteringTM

2. Inkpot Gods by The Amazing Devil

Perfect ship song for her and Aloth, also the lines

And to those gods, I will speak bluntly "We've an accord, if you ever touch or harm him Please, rest assured that you might not fear a man But to a woman, by the end, you'll kneel and plea 'Cause I'm more than what my mum told me to be"

are basically a summary of her entire character

3. My Little Phoenix by Tarja

recommended by @herearedragons <3 I can't help but love attaching very literal fire songs to a girl with a flaming head

Also 3 Halveri songs because she's on my mind a lot now that Veilguard's on the way. heads up 90% of her playlist is sad.

LAIKA by Pigeon Watch

This song. Makes me cry. Every time I hear it. Yes it is literally about the dog, but I also put it on the playlist of any protagonist who just gets chewed up and used by the narrative, so it definitely suits Hal

2. The World We Knew (Over and Over) by Frank Sinatra

This really suits the vibe of the years in between the end of basegame Inquisition and Trespasser, when Halveri didn't even know about the Fen'Harel thing and just thought her regular boyfriend had ran off and abandoned her without warning or explanation

3. Rule #34 by Fish in a Birdcage

I have a worldstate where Halveri and Bull get together instead of her and Solas. This song is blatantly about BDSM. I feel like I don't need to elaborate much here lmao

[nightofthelivingdollsofalbion]

Explain Dolls Of New Albion as if I'm a small child, pls?

DoNA is a steampunk musical and it's so epic! I'm gonna do a quick explanation of each act. The story is told in 4 acts, though the total runtime is about an hour and a half

Spoilers ahead so I'm adding a cut

~Devon

Act 1: Annabel (epic pog scientist except the part where she was stealing corpses tho that is very funny objectively) has a big ol crush on this guy named Jasper (who winds up marrying someone else, side note Jasper is canonically bi). Jasper dies unexpectedly and Annabel kinda sees this as her Chance bc thru her experiments, she's figured out how to bring people back from the dead. So she brings him back, in true steampunk fashion, as a funky lil automaton called a Doll. He hates this though and when the delusion wears off she essentially mercy kills him again

Act 2: Annabel later remarried and had a son, but she died when he was young. This act follows her son Edgar. His fiance Fay dumps him for another man and he apparently cannot be normal about this. He winds up finding Annabel's notes on how to bring back the dead and he uses them to start a business of bringing people's loved ones back as Dolls. This REALLY takes off and my man gets RICH rich. He uses his new wealth and power to have Fay's new man Absolutely Ruined. Just destroys this man's life. Then he brings back Jasper again (actual alive person Jasper was Fay's dad it turns out) and uses this to blackmail Fay into marrying him

Act 3: These two have a son named Byron, who is (canonically) the gayest man to ever live istg and act 3 follows him. Byron is absolutely hopelessly in love with Jasper and honestly? Love this for him. This man starts an entire religious and political movement (Voodoopunk) bc of his love for Jasper AND PEOPLE SUBSCRIBE TO IT. He does try running Jasper for mayor funny enough and almost wins. However, he let Jasper speak for himself once and Jasper communicates via a song he made that is so sad and pretty and also just Hits. One of the other Voodoopunk acolytes, Amelia, hears this song and uses the lyrics in her suicide note when she kills herself (bc of her abusive father). A lot of ppl misread this as the Dolls causing her to kill herself tho and they absolutely Riot. It doesn't help that all the Dolls keep playing Jasper's song either. All the Dolls are getting destroyed but Byron manages to save Jasper in time and hides him away

Act 4: Byron gets himself a lil trophy wife for political reasons and they have a daughter, Priscilla. Act 4 follows her. Since the riots occurred, New Albion has become a police state ruled by military. Anyone with any tokens of the dead will be executed if found, and said tokens destroyed. Priscilla and Jasper stay hidden away for this reason. Jasper has by this point learned to communicate normally and he does explain to Priscilla at one point that he never wanted to be brought back from the dead in the first place, and he just wants to be at peace. She feels it would be cruel to make him continue suffering just so she can live, so she reports herself to the police. They come, and both she and Jasper are killed. One of the soliders (our beloved Soldier 7285) sees this as the truest act of love and can't understand why something so pure is seen as a crime punishable by death. The musical ends with him promising to essentially tear down the government from the inside

[diabolikpersonals]

shin cl endings!!

euphoria end:

as carla gets ready to kill, yui sticks to shin and declares she won't let go of him no matter what. carla seems like he won't be stopping anyway, so kino's like "EAT THIS, FOUNDER" and slaps a magic-sealing talisman on him. (it's so lucky that kino got to take his phone and a talisman into this world with him lol, it feels like he's cheating)

shin casts his weapon aside......and PUNCHES carla super hard. then he yells his monologue about how he always looked up to him at him, and screams at him to come back. this seems to work, because carla looks dizzy for a bit, then he's like "ohh yeah I know who you are" YAY!!! yui bursts into tears about it, and shin's like "dont cry!!" and she points out that he looks like he's gonna cry too lol...he's really happy...I'm glad, shin...!!

"[because of the false memories] I even pointed a blade at you" (carla I don't mean to be an asshole but you've done that before without false memories lmao)

while those 3 are in their own world, kino leaves without saying goodbye, which makes me wanna die. like where are u going? aren't we a team? we still dont know how to get out of here?? kino we're friends???? COME BACK???? they notice he's gone later and yui thinks to herself that they'll definitely meet again.

anyway about endzeit. carla hasnt had any flair-ups or pain in the whole time he's been here. from this he deduces that the world they're in is like a bubble of space and time, so the reason his condition hasn't changed is because there isn't an actual flow of time here. someone must've made this place with magic, so it must have like, a core? and if we can find that core then we can probably escape. that must be the church! (we were already on our way to the church to solve the whole chess puzzle thing, so this explanation wasn't really needed, which I think is super funny lmao. he just told us we're on the right track basically)

.......kino, from afar, watches them head for the church. he says he wanted to go together though.......sniff.......but he can't now that carla's there, because his true identity might be exposed. I'm too emotional about this ;-; get home safely to yuri and then keep in touch later, ok...? it kinda sounds like you think this friendship is over, but that's too sad, so let's stay friends, ok??......

carla's big plan is "let's blow up the church." I really thought there was gonna be something to do with the chess board floor and the stone statues, but sure, that'll PROBABLY work. (if yelling at the sky worked in yuma's route then I'll believe anything will work.) so through shin's raw power we Tear That Fucking Building Down and the whole world collapses around us and we wake up in the real world, in eden! it worked because of course it did

socrates the magical sphere of light (which still cracks me up) appears and gives us his whole explanation which I've typed out a bunch of times now and don't care to explain it again. it's in the prologue. we get it

back at banmaden, shin and yui talk about all the shit they went through. shin always believed his brother would remember him, and it was that belief that eventually got them out of there. because of that, shin feels a little more confident in himself now. (aww!! happy for u, buddy!) in the end, he took down the church without relying on his brother too. yui agrees that he's even cooler now, and shin's like "then I'll have to make you fall in love with me even more!" and he takes her into the hall and asks her to dance. (he's talking like a gentleman ehehe) yui steals his cool "I'll always be by ur side" line before he can say it lmao. super cute ending!!

labyrinth end (fuck I'm scared):

carla tries to grab yui but shin's like "she's the one thing I won't give u!!" and he fights back. in this ending, rather than using his trump card, kino uses a bomb made of...pepper? and he tells shin to wolf out. shin and yui escape together, and kino says he'll meet up with them later. ...but he doesn't. (FUCK this is what I was scared of)

instead of kino, the one who meets them at the abandoned house is.........carla. it seems like kino revealed their whereabouts. they fight again, cuz shin won't give up yui. there's a ton of blood on my screen as shin gets slashed over and over then he collapses. carla takes yui away. shin begs him not to, and he and yui reach out for each other, but they can't reach...!

yui gets chained up in the violet dungeon with kino and shin, who were also caught. (hey, at least we're reunited?) they stay there like that for some amount of time, yui isn't sure. carla, in the meantime, has been busy destroying the other houses—killing everybody else. he comes there often to suck yui's blood and totally ignore shin and kino.

shin and kino are getting driven crazy by the smell of her blood every time. yui approaches shin while he's barely conscious, begging for it (this is so sexy help help help) and lets him have her blood. kino, also starving, bites her too. (wait, if you guys could bite her even while tied up all this time, why were you starving? whatever, I won't question it lol) so yui is gonna be trapped here forever, supplying 3 guys with her blood.

...it ends like that. wait, that wasn't bad at all. that was really hot actually. and I didnt even have to watch anybody die. this route was great!! even the bad end was fun! >:D

[thegongoozlerreacts]

Cemetery Mary: True End (Crowven's Route)

here i am!! time to get the true end, where i will hopefully get all of the answers to my questions (or at least most of them)

since the ending guide says that the true end is the same regardless of the route you got it on, i will be doing Crowven's and not twyla's or Reginald's because i just really like seeing Mary and Crowven have a good time together

spoilers below

since im gonna get the true ending, i've decided i wont skip anything so that i'll be going through a complete story (does that make sense??)

lol its kinda funny (not really) that Mary's parents were so worried that she'd be a victim of 'the Blackwood Butcher' im sure Reginald would find it funny since the only reason he's killing people is for Mary

i wonder why Reginald killed Mary's aunt and uncle (well i think he did) but only kidnapped her parents (unless he killed them at some point but if he did he would have let the bodies be found yk? for a funeral) maybe its just cuz it was her parents

man the tension between Mary and Crowven at the beginning,,,, at least in this route it will fade away

man,, i wonder what would have happened if Mary had told someone about the mystery number instead of like,, talking to them in secret

Vasilis looks cool i know theyre the mc of Blackout Hospital, and ive been planning to play that game after Cemetery Mary so after i get the true ending im gonna play that game afterwards lmaoo I wonder if Crowven shows up in Blackout Hospital or smth it would be interesting to see more of their relationship

"A chocolate muffin! Because sweet foods are the best!" Mary is so cute aaaaa i love her

i also wonder if we'll ever get an explanation for the animosity between twyla and Crowven like what was all that stuff in the lake about?? i need to know

im now wondering if the mystery number really is Reginald i mean who else could it be tho?? but it wasnt really confirmed in any route that its Reginald behind the mystery number and the kidnapping of Mary's parents, just that he's the killer how odd

ohhhh dude i just realized that Mary never learns that Reginald can tell when someone (when Mary?) is lying bc to get on that route you have to be honest with him, so she doesnt learn until that moment leading up to the good ending crazy

"Manslaughter on the Disorient Locomotive" lmaoo nice

I JUST REALIZED THAT TWYLA IS AN OWL OHHHH MY GOD. that makes sense

also Reginald being a pufferfish??? that explains why to get the good ending on his route you have to pick a pufferfish or a manta ray

wait a second. Mary Anta.... manta ray... OH MY FUCKING GOD

MARY ANTA IS JUST AN ANAGRAM OF MANTA RAY WHHH Ok that explains the manta ray part and why she was drawn with a manta ray cape in that one scene and why she feels connected to them and her hair-horn things oh my fucking god. holy shit. this is revolutionary

theyre so cute

also oh my god i just searched the relationship between crows and owls, and theyre enemies!! like Crowven and Twyla!! this makes me wanna search up other stuff about the animals the characters are associated with but i have a game to play so i'll do that later

"Rest-aurant In Peace" thats hilarious

i feel so bad for Mary :(( i hope she sees her parents in the true ending

so the mystery number denies being the one in the diner, which i know is Reginald cuz of the Reginald route so if the mystery number was really Reginald then why would he say that he wasnt in the diner and that he doesnt know who it was

he could be lying OR im wrong and the mystery number isnt Reginald at all but then who could it be??? well i guess i'll find out in the true end

aww this is so cute- oHMY GOD HER DAD IS A MANTA RAY

HE'S GOT THE HORNS AND A LITTLE TALE i wonder what her mom is another manta ray maybe???

man this dream makes me so sad :(( Mary thinks its another normal but fun day w her parents but turns out its just a nightmare also the text after Mary wakes up from the nightmare is so "What's the matter, Mary? I thought you liked ghosts." its so ?!?!?!??

the arcade music is such a banger fr

so Zapara and Theodore,,, what animals are they at first i thought Zapara was a cat but maybe she's a dog??? her ears look like cat ears so she's probably a cat and then Theodore is.... i have no idea my first thought was a ram but probably not?? maybe he is tho

anyways on with the game

i still think its really funny that Zapara and Theodore thought 'Cemetery Mary' was a ghost

"You just met them in the wrong environment, that's all!" lol and u thought having Mary find out that ur friends keep drugs in the cemetery was gonna make her like them more than a club????

"You'd never catch me here looking like some over-watered pansy!" oh Zapara,,,,, little do u know

i much prefer Mary's communication with ghosts over the cursed manga stuff

Sunny is so cute just adorable

"Who's the Crowven I know? Is he just a ghost too?" MAN this line is so,,,, its so,,,, rrraghhhghhhhgh yeah

they put her there in that nasty bathtub while she was asleep disgusting honestly if i were Mary i would be more mad about the fact they put me in a bath tub and not the mean noose prank that Zapara did

"I am not at all a violent person" lol. lmao. funny joke Reg

cries

"...After having lost so many people..." "...I'm just glad I haven't lost you yet." SOBBING

i love them so much,,, they are so cute,,,,

OKKK now its time for the TRUE END so excited!!

what happens if i say no oh LOL it just ends i mean that makes sense

so this mysterious narrator?? rewinded back to when Mary fell asleep at the mausoleum interesting

this sure is new Mary please dont go inside the suspicious white van (is that a white van???)

oh its the bus LOL ok get on the bus

why is he asking her to go back to sleep?? whats happening??

why are they leaving tf

who is that and wtf is happening????

CROWVEN DONT DO THAT DONT GRAB THE FUCKING WHEEL

OH SHIT THEY CRASHED

this is serious and im lowkey freaking out but this just looks cute

oh my god we're finally getting some answers lets gooooo

waitwaitwait wtf gangs??? like actually?? well ok

nO WAY ???? HE WAS THE HEAD OF CONGRESS?? so that was the war he was talking about

oh is that why Crowven and his family live in a cabin in the woods instead of actually inside the city???

aww cute

OH SO REGINALD DIDNT KILL THEM AT ALL IT WAS GANG STUFF

Crowven fucking inherited this shit??? yoo thats crazy oh is that what he was out of town for?? gang stuff??

OHHH WTF HE'S THE MYSTERY NUMBER??? ok so i was wrong okok wild i thought it was Reginald they both had that vibe

"Why were you so creepy over the phone?!?!" LMAOOO ok but true maybe its just cuz he's old/j

dont trust the old man just cuz he's old Mary

ok i guess the old man isnt too bad,,

Ovidius is nice i like him

if Crowven dies in the true end i will cry lol pls answer Mary's messages u soon u fucking idiot

NOOO WTF HER PARENTS WHERE ARE THEY WTF WTF WTF

i dont why but in my head these guys have a british accent

but theyre the only ones with the british accent so i think thats really funny it was the 'ello miss' that made me give them a british accent

anyways WTFFFFF NOOOOO i really hope her parents arent dead

why are we in a fucking movie theatre

OH SHIT CROWVEN WTF WTF IS HAPPENING

did Mary die is she a ghost wtf wtf i hope she didnt???? maybe this is just some weird nightmare??

ok it was just a nightmare but wtf

so she's in a jail cell

what.... the fuck?????

what ?? the fuck?? no explanation at all and for what?? what is he doing there? why was he not talking? where is he going? what the fuck is happening???

LETS GOOO CROWVEN'S ALIVE LETS FUCKING GO

Crowven r u fucking serious????

NOOO WAY TWYLA???? oh my god oh ok so that sorta explains the lake stuff n why they hate each other so much bc theyre in opposing gangs

oh fuck oh no she saw Mary

oh wait wtf she's helping Mary?? fr?? ok i guess she isnt that bad but i still dont like her

oh she's insane actually

oh ok i fucking knew it there is absolutely no reason to trust her

AH FUCK OH NO OH SHIT

lets fucking go!! thanks Ovidius

LETS GOOOOOOOO

goddamnit Crowven STOP IT

Mary what r u doing this is a fucking trap i feel it in my bones no way is it that easy

LMFAOOAOA ITS TWYLA'S CAR

she just threw her phone out the window tf

ok so thats really not important compared to everything else thats happening like the fact that Crowven's in the car that was chasing them

does twyla know abt Mary's ghost communication thing or smth cuz in the route i played she didnt get a chance to learn

oh ok nvm its not even a real mausoleum

i hate twyla so much

OHHHH SHE'S IN THE GHOST WORLD

BC SHE'S UNDER THE CEMETERY,,, ALSO THATS ED THERE TOO

oh my god its death???

crazy she's talking to death and theyre a unicorn????? or narwhal??? wait that doesnt matter

ok so Mary gave up her ability to visit the afterlife unfortunately but its ok it was for her family bro that was literally a deus ex machina right???

lets fucking go!!!

wild crazy insane all those words describe twyla

twyla shut the FUCK up

WAIT WAIT WAIT WTF???

NOOOOOOOO OVIDIUS NOOO WTF WTFWTF

ok so 1) Reginald just up and left with no explanation if i went on his route and got the true end from there then how would that happen? like would we get answers for the manga and that headstone? does Mary react to the fact that she has the ability to visit the afterlife for the first time there???

also a small headstone with twyla's initials showed up??? weird

wait what the fuck what???? huh??? will there be a sequel to this game bc i need an explanation for that and everything else

wow,,, so thats really the end wow

this whole game was an absolutely wild ride but i loved it

even tho there's still some mysteries yet to be tied up... im glad Mary and Crowven and her family are safe and are living a good life now its really nice

i do wonder if there'll be a sequel tho bc i'll definitely play that (there's a prequel so im also gonna play that too)

well,,, time for me to at breakfast bc ive been playing this game since 6 am and i am hungry LOL

[star-stream]

Gotcha 37: the baby is you ( :( )

Im sorry I know its a serious scene, and honestly RIP to a real one, Skebows you will be missed. But, them carrying a skateboard corpse through the hallway like its a medical drama did send me. So funny im sorry.

Honestly this episode did a real great job of showing the part of Houtarou that goes to become Daybreak in the future. Im honestly sold on it. Also, Hopper1 trying to tickle him to make him laugh :( I think Chemies dont really understand the concept of death also, I saw on the production blog that they were gonna have something with Steamliner but scrapped it and im glad they did. I think its good to keep the Chemies as more nature aligned beings like animals. Hopper1 does know "sad is bad" "laugh is good" and its good to keep it simple like that, its charming. Lets leave the more complicated emotions to the others, dont burden yourselves.

As a fan of the show "Old Enough!" i loved seeing Hopper1s first errand... The voice actor, Fukuen, did her utmost voicing Hopper1 in this episode. The sounds coming out of it were so cute i tear up just thinking about it... My favorite one is the sneeze that came after it got drenched in water. It reminded me of Togepi from pokemon, i miss Togepi.

Im SO glad we got this quiet moment between Houtarou and his mom, it was a really touching scene. I think his mom is real sweet. Also honestly the part where baby mode Houtarou pours syrup on his pancakes did make me tear up. What a comforting scene.... You really made us think we were so back but it was already so over from the start... It really makes what happens in the later half of the episode more impactful, ive learned a lot. If Houtarou had been sad the whole time it wouldnt have hurt as much, yes... You guys are really good at twisting the knife...

Also i think i said in the previous post that i thought Daybreak that fought Gigist might have been the Houtarou Daybreak but i had completely forgotten about Houtarous dad maybe being Daybreak too and also that there mightve been other Kamen Riders since they knew about the concept. It was a good reminder thank you, ill try not to forget again.

We got more scenes of the seniors fighting!!! Thank you so much, i love them cause theyre so cute. Its nice that youre picking up the letters that got scattered, youre good kids...

Well thats something I didnt think wed get an explanation for but there we go. Hes been transmuting himself by using the philosopher stone in him this whole time. Whoda thunk it. My theory was that he was somehow doing it wrong but i guess not.

You know this is a funny coincidence but this came out in the same week that the Dungeon Meshi episode where Senshi asks Marcille why she compared the soul to an egg came out. Houtarou and his egg are now basically, um. like a breakfast burrito. I guess.

Interesting...! I see her alliance with Gigist isnt unconditional. I love that honestly. I love that she wants Geryon back so fucking bad. I think she and Rinne should be friends fr (but she should still try to kill her)

I find it really fun that now Spanner and Minato are their own team. Theyve been teaming up a lot lately and its cute i think. Also finally Spanner gets to defeat something, its been ages. This post is about Spanner:

Honestly. Hopper1 turning into CrossHopper just so they can DASH your last hopes that there might be a way out of it was cruel, i love it.

Can I be honest for a sec? The Hopper Malgam? Slaps absolute nuts. This shits tight as hell. Its so good holy shit. They were COOKING..

Also the locust final attack?!? Baller. Its so scary, 10/10.

Houtarou telling Hopper1 to kill him if that would ease his pain... that was rough yall. This was a rough episode. Im tearing up just thinking about it again. Hey...

The transition from the monstruous Hopper Malgam voice to the small and confused Hopper1 voice before it dies... Man. Man..!!!

Im honestly. Glad that they didnt do this with Hopper1 first. Like, leading up with Skebows, as an accident, was really rough, but it WAS an accident. AnTrooper was a good "confirmation" of how things work and also cemented pretty much where everyone else stood on the matter. The seniors and Rinne didnt want to make the choice for Houtarou, Spanner has grown a lot and came to respect Houtarous perspective, but like Minato he ultimately wont pull his punches to stop the Chemys from hurting people, and Houtarou was still having doubts.

But with Hopper1 its like. Its not an accident anymore, he KNOWS that if he stops it it WILL die. And he has to do it anyways with that burden because he also figured out that Hopper1 doesnt want to hurt anyone even on a Malgam form and to let it would also be cruel. This truly is Kamen Rider.

I read in the production blog that they wanted to explore the relationship between the Rider and the Monsters much like in Kuuga, they also had a quote saying that previously with Sabimarus transformation Houtarou had to face other peoples violence but in this episode he had to face his own violence. Banger episode. Everyone did a great job.

Anyways Houtarou becomes an egg... I know its a Philosopher Stone/Philosophers egg thing, but congrats on Houtarous gender i guess. Wish you couldve found out in a less aggressive way.

Junsei you did such a good job in this episode. I really feel bad for Houtarou. Next week things will be better for him, so hang in there!

[sprxngsxng]

@ninjartsy​ entangle event starter; 💜

She shouldn’t be outside, at least not at this hour. Sakura was well aware of how dangerous Fuyuki was becoming; members of the family had already been sent away for their own safety.

... Not her, of course...

Shivering in the early-spring air, she turns her attention back to the house. It’s windows glow warmly, tricking any passersby into thinking it was an inviting space. But she was outside for a reason, after all; that house was anything but safe.

... A noise catches the young girl’s attention; the snap of a twig, maybe? Nervously, she turns to look towards it. In her young heart, she hopes it’s a cute animal. Anything to ease her nerves.

“...H... Hello...?”

[ptergwen]

Hey could you write one where the reader helps tom, who's heavily drunk, get home? Somehow tonight he's a sad drunk and cries about random things to the reader it amuses the reader, but later surprised when tom cries saying that he thinks the reader is dating someone else because he saw the reader going out with a guy days before??

warnings: lots of drinking mentions and swearing

a/n: woah this is pretty long 😭 got a little carried away heh enjoy

-

“you’re where?” you ask into the phone, eyebrows furrowed as you try to make sense of tom’s drunken speech.

he seems to have gotten himself into a little bit of trouble. all his critical thinking skills blocked out by the alcohol, he ended up calling you. you’re now determined to find out where your friend is and help him home. tom has a track record for doing stupid shit when he’s drunk.

“th’ pub,” tom slurs back. “you wanna join me? have a drink?” you can hear the smirk in his voice. he’s leaning on the bar, but his arm slides and draws an oh, shit out of him. so he doesn’t hear your giggling, you put a hand over your mouth. “y/n/n, you coming?” he asks sort of desperately once he has his balance.

“yeah, tom. i’m on my way,” you reply and head to your front door, keys already in your hands. “hurry,” he commands, then takes a sip of beer from his nearly empty bottle. he’s not making this easy for you. the drunker he gets, the harder it is to drag his ass out of there. “i am, i am. see you soon.” you hang up with a sigh.

it doesn’t take you long to get to the pub, which is a good and sometimes bad thing, this time good. you find parking and speed walk inside. your eyes instantly scan the place for your buzzed best friend. he’s not hard to find in one of his signature white t-shirts, hair slicked back. he’s hunched over in the stool, and his head is down. that’s concerning.

the bartender is cleaning up a spill nearby him when you approach the bar. tom whines out a series of, “i’m sorry, i’m so sorry, i’m really sorry,” to him. he’s crying. weeping would be more accurate. his whole body moves while he sobs into his arms. you sit down next to him and put a hand on his back.

he looks over at you with tears falling down his cheeks. “tom, what happened?” you frown, already turned to face him. his eyes water again. “i- i spilled my drink and it got all over and i feel so bad, y/n,” tom tells you in a high pitched tone, the bartender placing down another beer in front of him.

you shoot him a glare because he’s clearly had enough. he swings the rag he was using to clean over his shoulder and shrugs. isn’t part of his job knowing when to cut people off?

“thank you,” tom mumbles to the guy, who gives him a nod before tom grabs the beer off the counter. you snatch it away from him. “oh, no. that’s enough already.” you put his drink down on the other side of you. that encourages tom to cry some more, hiding his face in his arms for a second time. “no fair!” he yells and sounds like a child while doing it.

“you’re gonna have a really bad hangover, or puke this all up, or both,” you explain your confiscation to him. “probably both.” tom lifts his head up, eyes sad yet hopeful at the same time. he grabs your hand with both of his. “will you take care of me?” the question, mostly how he asks it, makes your heart clench.

“of course. let’s get you home, okay?” you stand up and loop an arm around his back. tom follows suit, you pulling him towards you and grabbing his jacket off the stool. “no, i wanna stay with you.” he insists, stumbling forward as you lead him towards the exit. you’re hoping he already paid because you don’t feel like that sketchy bartender coming after you.

“sure, you can spend the night. we haven’t had a sleepover in a while,” you agree, pushing open the door with your foot, arms preoccupied with tom. your offhanded joke makes him emotional again. there’s more to it, though. “it’s- it’s been so long,” tom sniffles out. “aw,” you chuckle and tighten your arm around him.

he used to stay over your place a lot before he moved in with the boys and harry. he misses being able to crawl into your bed and snore while you lay in his arms. you also miss it, so it’s funny how neither of you have said anything.

the tears in tom’s eyes make his vision blurry, which in turn makes him trip over a rock. “sorry, man,” he apologizes to it, you steadying him and letting out another laugh. he’s funny when he’s so far gone. “we’re almost at the car,” you let him know with a tiny smile. “‘mkay,” tom nods and wipes his tears away, leaning into you for the rest of the way there.

tom does fine for most of the car ride. there’s an incident where he gags and you almost pull over, but he ends up not needing it. he feels so awful he nearly puked in your car that it makes him cry yet again. you promise him it’s fine, that you don’t mind and everything is fine. you’ve never seen drunk or sober tom act like this.

you bring him straight to your room when you get home, dropping him on the bed and huffing. tom falls onto his back. he closes his eyes and purses his lips. “do you need anything?” you pant, answering yourself before he does. “you should have some water.” “ok,” tom mumbles and drags his tongue along the inside of his cheek. “ma’am,” he adds.

rolling your eyes, you make your way to the kitchen to get him a water bottle. you start to wonder why he got so plastered in the first place. seeing him in this state beyond worries you. you love tom too much to watch him fall apart. you really love him.

you come back to your room and flick on the lights. tom throws an arm over his head, mouth agape and a groan escaping it. “shit, sorry,” you giggle, shutting the lights off. “you’re a madwoman,” he rasps back. he sounds slightly more aware of himself now. “well, you’re a madman. here.” you toss him the water.

tom obviously doesn’t catch it, so it lands on his stomach. he rips off the cap and goes to take a sip while laying down. he’ll throw up for real this time if he does that.

“tom, tom, tom,” you murmur to yourself in a playfully disapproving tone. you take a seat next to him, tugging at his hand to get him to sit up. he smiles lazily and brings the bottle to his lips, watching a smile spread across your own face while he takes a sip. the two of you make eye contact for long enough that you notice something visibly shift within him.

tom looks down at his lap instead, taking his mouth off the water with a pop. he then exhales through his nose rather reflectively. you take notice of that, squinting at him in the dark. “what?” you wonder aloud. a few seconds go by without tom saying anything, deciding if it’s worth bringing up. he figures he might as well say it because it’ll come out eventually.

“the other day,” tom starts, voice deep and alcohol still in his system. “were you out with someone? a guy?” you’re not quite sure what he’s referring to. “huh?” is all you say back. “harry was picking up dinner, said he saw you on a date at the restaurant.” he gets quieter during the second part, almost upset. you sit up from the comfortable position you were in.

“harry was there? i didn’t know that,” you tell him as you try to piece together the story. tom takes that as confirmation. “so, you were on a date?” he caps the water and throws it somewhere on your bed. “i need another drink.” “it wasn’t a date- hang on.” it finally clicks with you why he was getting wasted by himself in the latest hours of the night.

“you were drinking because you thought i went on a date?” you ask tom softly, another smile pulling at your lips. “um...” he blows out of his mouth and nods, still nodding as he speaks. “yeah. made me feel shitty.” what you said now registers with him. he perks up ever so slightly. “but, you said it wasn’t a date?” “no,” you quickly dismiss. “he’s in one of my classes.”

“we were working on an assignment, and i thought having him over would give him the wrong idea.” you’re grinning by the end of your explanation because of what you feel is about to come next. tom beams back at you, moving closer to you on the bed. “good,” he affirms and brings a hand up to your cheek. his wide pupils search yours, thumb brushing your skin.

“‘cuz i like you, and love you.” his voice drops to a whisper. “love you a lot.” “i like you too,” you breathe out, enjoying the way his warm hand makes your skin tingle. “and, i love you.” “wish i knew that before i got fucking pissed,” tom mumbles, but seems unbothered because he leans in to kiss you. you’re met with his beer breath before giving him a push back.

“speaking of, you’re still drunk,” you laugh and comb your fingers through his matted curls. “i’m not,” tom protests, ducking away from you. scoffing, you retract your hand with a knowing look. “you are. i can smell it. we should go to sleep, tom.” he caves and lays down, letting his head fall in your lap. “fine. can we at least cuddle?”

he’s relentless.

but, you say yes.

[mandareeboo]

SU Music Rankings

Bc I can and I wanna start some Disk Horse rip. These are all in order of preference, with explanations, etc. It’s a long bitch. That said, I’m not counting little short jingles or small joke songs like Little Butler. This is the meat and potatoes of SU music- just under 30 songs. I might do the rest if people like my takes lol.

I scored it mostly on three bases- how dear it was to my heart, how much/often I relisten to it, and also what it means to the plot. That said, little fun songs don’t automatically go farther down than big, plot-heavy songs either! It’s a strange little balance.

Special Note: I don’t dislike any of this music! I love SU and that includes its bumps and glitches. I just pick favorite children lol.

1.) Change

Was there ever a more Steven moment than when he wiped the blood off his face and kissed it into sparkles? I think not. 

If “Be Wherever You Are” is an ode to young Steven, then this is teen Steven’s. Talking about change, and how much and how little it can do. How he holds his arms up for Spinel to hug him, so trusting. How he seems able to just. Break into soft tears at will, and not to be manipulative- it’s just his kind nature. The warmth in his voice. Fuck yesssss.

2.) Change Your Mind

This song is only fifty five seconds and it’s EVERYTHING to me. It really felt like someone was speaking the words I’d always held deep inside of me, unsure of how to say. It feels like a goodbye to someone who never really loved me. 

As much as I enjoyed Future, if this was the finale of SU, I would’ve been perfectly okay with that.

3.) Drift Away

This song gave me legitimate shivers the first time I heard it, and it still haunts me to this day. Spinel stayed, and waited, and all she got was a transmission thousands of years later. Fuck.

4.) Here We Are In The Future

THE MOVIE IS SU AS ITS BEST AND I WON’T BE SWAYED ON IT. Steven being a teen who loves his weird family but is growing just a bit sarcastic to their drama. The adorable love he and Connie share. His slow realization that he will always be working, always have things to do, is both somber and real. The Crystal Gems won’t be safe with one epic battle. They’ll be safe with years of hard work and love. HIS LITTLE HANDSHAKE WITH AMETHYST.

This is a helluva bop and a great way to summarize the main character’s backstories.

5.) Let’s Only Think About Love

Did ya’ll know that Zach Callison killed his throat with that last note? He gave his all for this performance in a vocal range he no longer comfortably do and by god did it SHINE. The FLAIR. The FORESHADOWING. All of the Gems all being awkward about Rose and Steven trying to bring them to the present. Peridot having a mini-existential crisis in a cute yellow dress. I love Zach Callison’s normal singing voice but man is that a fucking bop. Nothing will ever beat it.

6.) Here Comes A Thought

This bad boy helped me out a LOT with some mental issues I was dealing with in high school. I was unmedicated, unsupervised, and full of anxiety. I’d have break downs when I tried to speak about certain things. I couldn’t function. This song inspired me. It helped me feel okay with my intrusive thoughts.

And the episode! -chef’s kiss-. Once again bringing up the morally gray area of training child soldiers. Connie expanding her social group. Steven’s trauma hauling ass in that second half. The ANIMATION. Stevonnie’s gorgeous singing voice. GOD yes.

7.) It’s Over Isn’t It?

Just barely squeaking above Stronger Than You, this ballad is everything gorgeous. The whole episode is. I think Mr. Greg stands in the top five of my episodes for the entire show. It even got nominated!

There’s just so much about this song that I love. The gentle melancholy of Pearl’s voice. How the crew had to redo the shots for this bit bc Deedee went so fucking hard. The hard cuts between Pearl, remembering the love of her life, and Steven, who has begun to feel like he took her away. I’d recommend this song to anyone, regardless of what they do or don’t know about SU, simply bc it tugs so many heartstrings of love, loss, and responsibility.

8.) Stronger Than You

Did you realize this episode aired SEVEN years ago? This bitch was what got me into SU! Hearing about Ruby and Sapphire made my little gay heart so happy inside, and then getting a whole song confirming that they were a couple, that their love powered the strongest Gem on the team? Aaaaaaaaa

To this DAY I get excited when I hear Estelle start singing. This song is timeless. This song will live in media history. God I fucking love this song.

9.) Other Friends

I’m not the biggest musical person, so I hadn’t heard of Sarah Stiles before her casting as Spinel, but JESUS CHRIST the lady went hard. She went SO fucking hard. Sarah Stiles started on 100 and somehow just kept CLIMBING. You can just hear the sheer manic energy building in her voice, the anger and resentment. 10/10 Sarah Stiles is a queen.

10.) Independent Together

This made the list entirely bc the crew was like “you’re gonna get a himbo ass Steven-Greg fusion singing with Opal while Garnet flies across the moon on Lion while floating” and I am forever thankful to them for it

11.) Who We Are

Bismuth deserved more songs. ‘Nuff said.

12.) Peace and Love (On the Planet Earth)

It Could’ve been Great is EASILY one of my favorite s2 episodes. I love the entire concept of this song. Of Steven making music to reflect how much Earth means to him and his family. Of him teaching Peridot some self-care. Also Peridot’s singing voice is really cute and squeaky. 

I know it’s silly, but I would’ve really enjoyed a flip around of this in Future! Like Peridot reminding Steven how much he loves music, that he needs to take time to relax for himself, maybe with a new verse or just a remix of the original song!

13.) Something Entirely New

I watched this episode as it aired, and I legitimately almost cried. I love Charlyne Yi’s voice so much ya’ll- her raspy, not perfect singing voice against Sapphire’s deep soothing lull is great.

And to have Ruby and Sapphire’s meeting be the way it was- for Ruby to bemoan Sapphire losing Homeworld, to being stuck with a single Ruby, while Sapphire is a noble who has always been taught everyone in her “caste” is vitally important (and has, in her own mind, taken that to mean every Gem, as she should) and how they come together and make each other happy. Good shit good shit.

14.) I’m Just a Comet

The fact that Greg’s music career never really blasted off pisses me off to this day bc Tom Scharpling’s voice is fucking BUTTER. Also the song really feels like a jab at his parents now that we know the kind of dynamic he had growing up. “This life in the stars if all I’ve ever known” is definitely him wiping away their existence after reminding them (and himself) the things they used to say about him.

15.) Do It For Her

This episode. This fucking episode. This episode got me permanently hooked on SU. I’d just binged season 1 and was kinda meh about it overall after the bop of Stronger Than You. “Oh,” I thought to myself, foolishly, “I’ll probably just casually watch this from time to time.”

Like three days later Sworn to the Sword aired and that was it. I was hooked! Pearl’s gentle training song turning darker and darker, Connie’s accompaniment from nervous to determined to fully into such a toxic mindset. The fact that SU had the BALLS to discuss the repercussions of training child soldiers, now and later. This episode was everything to me, STILL is everything to me.

Six years and well over 100 fanfics written later, I think it’s safe to say this show swallowed me whole and never let go.

16.) System/Boot.pearl_final(3)

I debated putting this on the list because it’s not anything crazy important, just a way to show things are Wrong, but I had to do it entirely bc Pearl is so damn SALTY.

Like telling us about the Gems makes sense, she felt like she was given a duty, but she went so damn petty. WHY is that Ruby alone. Gross. This Amethyst is a trash dump. Wtf are you people.

17.) Full Disclosure

This episode really feels like a turning point for SU. Before, the show had its dark moments- but now we’re in the thick of it, and it’s not going away. Full Disclosure felt like an rebuff to the idea of returning to any normal we’d established in season 1. Gems are actually a giant species now. Gems tried to kill us now. There’s this Yellow Diamond bitch who got namedropped. Something about a Cluster. 

The song itself is BALLER, with its ingenious use of Steven’s ringtone and photos as he tries to decide whether to clue in Connie on all this nonsense. Meanwhile we, the audience, already know damn well Connie about to yeet some common sense into him.

18.) What’s the Use of Feeling Blue?

I’mma admit it- I’m a Yellow Diamond stan. I’ve always loved her- her anger, her poise, her hardworking nature. I actively argued against the “Yellow Shattered Pink” theories back in the day. But, man, when this arc leaked? I got so overexcited I was too jittery to watch it for like two days. It’s easily my favorite arc of the series. The sheer alien nature of the zoo, the Famethyst, and absolutely Patti Lupone’s beautiful ballad. Goddamn. Yellow singing to Blue to try and help her regain her old status, the warble in her voice as she reminds Blue she misses Pink too, the movement of the bubbles as she talks about attack. It gives me shivers to this day. FUCK.

19.) Tower of Mistakes

This is, fun fact, that only SU song I have completely memorized. The story itself is kinda funny! See, we lost internet at my house for a solid 5 to 6 months when these episodes aired, so I only got a very brief window to view them all. But this was the first Amethyst song in a long while, and I didn’t want to forget it! So I keep replaying it in my head for ages. And that’s still definitely a thing.

Anyway will never not be sad that this entire song was about making it up to Garnet for Amethyst’s perceived slights with Sugilite (which was a two-way road), only for Garnet to pressure her into fusion later when pissed and never discuss it again bc Garnet probably never thought twice about it and Amethyst has the emotional openness of a clam that’s just been told its ugly. Helluva way to make someone feel like shit, G. Helluva way to bottle that shit, Ames.

20.) On the Run

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Amethyst! Needed! More! Songs! 

The dichotomy between Steven’s play and Amethyst’s honest desire to run away from home is so well-done, especially when you consider a lot of Steven and Amethyst’s actions are playing together. The song is also near and dear to me simply bc it’s my favorite Amethyst episode to exist (well, maybe second to What’s Your Problem, but not by much). Moments like these are all the proof I need that they were right to fuse first.

21.) Be Wherever You Are

This tune really just feels like an ode to who Steven was as a kid. Trapped on an island with no way home, and he’s just happy to be with his friends. The stars are beautiful and not oppressive. Also that one animatic with Lars and the Off Colors playing in the Homeworld Kindergarten to this music was iconic and made this song get stuck in my head for a solid month.

22.) Familiar

I ADORE how the crew use bright neon colors to show how alien Homeworld can be. And Steven recognizing that the Diamonds treat him how the CGs used to, and how prepared he is to “fix” a broken family. It’s a soft, gentle tune about melancholy. Also the Pebbles are beautiful.

23.) Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart

Such a cute little love ballad, but every time I listen to it now I just imagine the heart attack Rose must’ve had at the line “And if we look out of place/Well, baby, that's okay/I'll drive us into outer space.” like there’s a Vietnam war flashback if I ever heard one

24.) What Can I Do?

I’m kind of neutral on this one? Rose and Greg both have great voices, but the song itself lacks many lyrics. I think it was definitely a good way to show Rose’s flaws in thinking.

Also, I’m shocked they managed cram that much vaguely sexual innuendo into two minutes, followed by how Not Hetereo that dance between Rose and Pearl was, and not get their asses chewed by it. You go guys.

25.) Cookie Cat

I love a lot of the vibes this song has. The lyrics are so damn prophetic, but they also sound like the kind of weird 90s commercials I grew up on. It’s been like two decades since I saw the Shirley Temple commercial but I’ll be damned if I don’t remember “Animals crackers in my soup! Monkey and rabbits loop-de-loop.”

26.) Giant Woman

I am. NOT the biggest fan of Steven’s original singing voice. I feel bad saying that, since it was just Zach Callison as a kid, but he never jived well with me for some reason. So I wouldn’t listen to this on the fly. 

The song itself is still really good though, with all sorts of fun animation of Amethyst and Pearl being bitchy to each other. It’s a bit sad in hindsight to see tiny Steven trying to get his moms to get along. Ahh, season 1.

27.) Strong in the Real Way

This song has SUCH a strong start. Pearl reflecting on Sugilite’s problems, but the show making sure to show us that Pearl’s lack of enthusiasm towards her also lends itself to jealousy as well as just general malaise. How much she cares about Steven, and wants him to grow up strong. 

And then Steven just kinda. Ruins it? I appreciate his enthusiasm for tryna bulk up but to take what was starting as such a rich, personal song and broadcasting it to random strangers just makes me a bit sad. Almost a bit angry on her behalf?

28.) That Distant Shore

I KNOW this is gonna create some discourse, but I’m just not the biggest Lapis stan. I love her voice. I love the visuals of the song. And I get why she felt afraid and needed to flee.

But Lapis never got to take responsibility for her own actions. And, in the end, the song feels hollow to me- because we all know she’ll never talk to anyone about it, know she’ll burst back in and destroy the barn, and no one will ever question it. I like Lapis a lot, but I feel like her arc never was fully finished. She never got help. She never learned to feel safe.

29.) Dear Old Dad

I’ve yet to meet a single human being who likes this episode tbh. There’s some great discussion about what kind of parent Greg is from it, and what kind of dynamic he has with the Gems that he felt he had to fake an injury to hang out with his son. Honestly the first half was fine and dandy. It’s just that then they Greg just went out of his way to drag Steven away from missions and such. It never jived well with his character before or after.

Also, is it just me, or does Zach himself sound like he hates the song as he sings it? There’s no passion or heart in his voice. It sounds like they told him to read off cue cards and he did. Tom Scharpling’s best attempts didn’t save this one for being a skipper. But the episode, unfortunately, isn’t, so it gets a spot on here.

[genshin-impact-writings]

May I request a songfic for Wicked Game for Childe x reader? Like, he's in love with the reader but he keeps pushing them away because he feels like it makes him weak etc. Can have a sad or happy ending, whichever you prefer! ❤️

I'm so, so sorry for the long wait, dear! But I couldn't decide where I wanted to go with this, so I kept working on other requests but it's finally done. I really hope you're still interested in this and like what I came up with. I decided to write a more happy ending because I wasn't in the mood for making it angsty, hope you don't mind that. Anyway, have fun reading and take care! <3

Btw, I listened to this version of the song while I was working on this.

Wicked Game – Tartaglia/Childe x gn!reader

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you It's strange what desire will make foolish people do I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

The day he had met you was one he would never forget. With nothing more than a single glance and a soft smile you somehow had flipped his whole world upside down, a world he had carefully constructed around himself when he became the Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers. It was almost funny, really. No one had ever managed to throw him for a loop, not even the strongest enemies he had to face on the battlefield – until he had stumbled upon you on that fateful day in Liyue Harbor. Suddenly, nothing he knew before seemed to make sense anymore. And after a few seconds of staring at you, he realized that he was irretrievably lost.

Lost in the way you smiled at him and the other customers that came to the small tea shop you worked at. Lost in the way your pretty eyes gleamed in the pale light of the moon when he saw you after dark. Lost in the warmth and comfort he always felt when you were around.

And as the time progressed and weeks and months went by, Tartaglia understood that it was more than just a crush. He was so in love with you that it almost hurt him physically.

And yet, he knew that he couldn’t allow himself to feel like that. For someone like him, it was dangerous to care about someone, not only because his enemies would never miss an opportunity to hurt him by hurting the ones he loved but also because feelings like these were nothing more than a distraction, a hindrance that kept him from completely focusing on his missions. Tartaglia couldn’t afford messing up, not when he didn’t want to disappoint the Tsaritsa. After all, he had sworn an oath, an oath to always put her and her interests first, and he couldn’t do that when someone – when you were all he could think of. You were the first person who crossed his mind as soon as he woke up and the last one he saw before drifting off to sleep in the evening. It was wonderful and terrible at the same time, and yet, there was nothing he could do to stop himself from falling deeper in love with you.

It would be smart to avoid you, hoping that these feelings would disappear someday but still, he found himself visiting the little tea shop you worked at every day. It was embarrassing, really, given the fact that he knew absolutely nothing about tea but instead of listening to you as you explained the tea varieties and different ways of preparation, he kept staring at you, taking in your beauty and indulging in the warm, fuzzy feeling that always welled up inside him when the two of you crossed paths.

And the fact that you seemed to like him too didn’t make things easier. It was so hard to pretend that he didn’t care for you, to push you away over and over again, but for the sake of your safety – and to protect his stupid, foolish heart from shattering into a million pieces – he needed to keep you at distance. He needed to be strong, not only for his homeland but also for you – he needed to protect you from himself and from the things he did in the past and would do in the future.

Even if it meant that he would end up alone again.

Even if it meant that he had to break your heart.

No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart) No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart) With you With you

Tartaglia had started avoiding you one and a half weeks ago, not visiting the tea shop once and heading into the opposite direction as soon as he saw you on the streets, and still his heart started to beat faster when he thought about you or heard someone mention your name. He hated to act like this; he hated to hurt your feelings but what else could he do? You’d be better off without him, as well as he’d be better off without these distracting feelings.

At least, that was what he tried to tell himself.

And it worked surprisingly well – until he bumped into you on your way to work that morning. He hadn’t noticed you at first, or else he would’ve chosen another way to get to Northland Bank, but now it was too late to turn around and leave.

“I’m sorry,” he said, carefully avoiding your gaze as he helped you picking up your belongings that you had dropped. “I didn’t see you.”

Your lips curled into a soft smile. “It’s no big deal,” you replied. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you at the shop for a while.”

“Oh, about that…” He didn’t finish his sentence. It had been foolish to believe that you wouldn’t notice it. One time, you had even called out his name when you saw him near the shop, only to see him fobbing you off with a brief wave of his hand before turning around and leaving without giving you another glance. “Well…”

“You’re probably bored by my rambling about tea, huh?” you guessed, still smiling at him like you were really glad to see him again. “Don’t worry, I’m not offended if you are.”

“No, that’s not – that’s not the case.”

Your eyes were twinkling in amusement, and before he could look away again, he suddenly found himself staring into your eyes, his stupid heart skipping a beat as your smile grew wider. “That’s good to know,” you said softly. “But I was thinking… maybe we could meet up later, I mean, when – when the shop’s closed. You know, like-“

“Like a date,” he finished your sentence, his mouth suddenly so dry that he barely managed to get the words out. No, no, no, this couldn’t be true. How was he supposed to reject you when you asked him for a date, looking at him with his hopeful expression in your eyes? Just how?

“If you don’t want to that’s fine, too,” you mumbled, your cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Tartaglia chuckled. “If I don’t want to?” he repeated and shook his head in disbelief. “Oh, (Y/N), I’d love to go out with you.” The words were out before he could stop himself. He knew that it wasn’t right, that he should take it back right now but as soon as he saw the genuine happiness in your eyes, he knew that there was no way back. And, if he was completely honest for a second, he didn’t want that anyways.

“I’ll pick you up at your house at – um, let’s say, tomorrow at 8?”

“Perfect.”

What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you

He didn’t show up.

Once again, you darted a nervous glance at the clock above the table, probably for the millionth time today. It was already half past 9 and Tartaglia was nowhere to be seen. An hour ago, you had tried to calm yourself down by telling yourself that he would be here any second now, that he was held up by someone or something but now, it was hard to think positive.

With a quiet sigh, you plunked yourself down on the couch. Tartaglia had stood you up, and it was stupid to deceive yourself by trying to tell you otherwise. He obviously had no interest in going out with you, it was easy as that. Perhaps he had only agreed in the first place because he didn’t know how to tell you No, or maybe he had fun going around and making others feel absolutely miserable.

You didn’t know, and you didn’t care.

No, that was actually a lie. You cared. You wanted to know what was wrong, why he wasn’t here with you right now and why he had started to act like you weren’t even friends anymore about two weeks ago. Overnight, he had changed his behavior completely, starting with not visiting the tea shop anymore through to blatantly ignoring you whenever your paths crossed. But no matter how hard you tried to make sense of it, you simply didn’t understand it.

And the fact that he invited you on a date, only to stand you up, confused you even more. His behavior made no sense at all, whichever way you looked at it.

You sighed again. In the beginning, your relationship had been so easy. You never had any trouble understanding him and you had always assumed that he liked to spend time with you. Heck, for a while you had even thought that he returned the feelings you had for him.

But apparently, he didn’t.

You buried your face in your hands, trying to fight back the tears that were welling up in your eyes. What kind of game was he playing? Did he even realize how much his behavior hurt you?

And I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart) No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart) With you

“You! Stop right there!”

Tartaglia froze as he heard your angry voice. For a brief moment, he considered acting like he hadn’t heard you and just walk on by but deep down, he knew that he owed you an apology and an explanation why he hadn’t shown up to your date almost one week ago. The truth was that he really had wanted to go out with you – but at the same time, he had seen the opportunity to make you hate him by standing you up which would hopefully help him to get over you.

So much for that, he thought to himself as he slowly turned around to you. You were staring at him, your eyes filled with pent-up anger. “I was convinced you’d ignore me again,” you said, arms akimbo. “But it seems you’ve finally gathered the courage to talk to me after you skipped out on me last week.”

“Yeah, about that-“

“Stop,” you interrupted him. “I don’t want to hear your half-assed apologies. I just want you to listen to what I have to say.”

He pressed his lips together and nodded. In all this time he had never seen you so angry and it was obvious that you were about to release a tirade but he knew very well that he deserved it. He deserved that you didn’t even give him the change to explain himself.

You huffed at the contrite expression on his face. “I’m not going to fall for that,” you warned him. “So don’t even try.”

Tartaglia nodded again, still not saying anything, just as you had told him.

“Great. Listen, I really don’t want to steal your precious time,” you replied in an undertone of utter sarcasm, “I just want to understand what’s going on. We’re friends, aren’t we? Damn, my silly self even thought that we could be more than that for a second but that’s not – that’s not the point now. I only want to know why you treat me like I am not in the least important to you all of a sudden.”

When he didn’t reply anything, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. “Hello? Haven’t you got a tongue in your head?”

“I don’t know what you want to hear, (Y/N).”

“The truth, Tartaglia,” you stated simply. “I don’t need any apologies or justifications. Just the truth.”

Tartaglia shook his head. There was no way he could tell you the truth because then, he’d have to explain why he was so afraid of falling love, why he was so afraid of being weak. This was none of your business; it was his burden, not yours. You shouldn’t even worry about things like that; you should be in your shop, happily smiling at customers instead of wasting your time with someone like him.

“I can’t do this anymore,” you said when the silence between the two of you became unbearable, your voice shaking ever so slightly. “If you don’t want to be with me, just tell me. I can take it. But stop acting like you care, only to ignore me the day after! Stop pushing me around like that.”

Tartaglia was painfully aware of the fact that you were on the verge of tears. Everything about your posture told him that you were about to lose your composure, and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to say something. He knew that he had treated you like garbage, that he had hurt your feelings over and over again but what was he supposed to do now? There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to turn back time and wipe the slate clean.

“I’m sorry,” he finally whispered, completely helpless, while you stood there with hanging shoulders as tears started to stream down your beautiful face. “I’m so sorry.”

“I should’ve known better,” you sobbed. “I should’ve known better than to fall in love with someone like you!”

In that moment, he felt his protective instinct kick in. It didn’t matter that he had promised himself to stay away from you or that he was the reason for your tears. All he wanted now was to comfort you, to reassure you that everything would be fine again.

In an instant, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to his body, his hands gently caressing your back as you buried your face in his chest. “Don’t cry,” he mumbled, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. “Please, darling, don’t cry.”

He held you close, uttering apology after apology and patiently waiting for you to calm down. When you finally pulled away, your eyes were puffy and red-rimmed. Your lower lip was trembling, almost as if you were trying to fight back even more tears. “I hate you.”

“I know,” Tartaglia replied softly and reached out to brush a strand of hair from your forehead. “I deserve that.”

“I don’t really hate you,” you whispered.

“I know,” he repeated and cupped your face with both hands, gently wiping away the tears on your cheeks before he leaned in and brushed his lips against yours in a soft, almost chaste kiss. It didn’t last long, and yet it was enough to make him realize that being in love with you didn’t make him weak. It made him strong.

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you.

[pigeonp0st]

Hi!! Can you possibly write a head cannon where y/n is kurts twin and is dating Quinn? Sorry if this isn’t specific any storyline is ok.

Quinn Fabray x Reader #3

Words: 2,024

Warnings: Mention of Car Crash, Hospital

Notes:

I was reading a story that involved a car crash and just...sort of took inspiration from that for more direction. I hope this is what you were looking for, thank you for requesting (and sorry for spelling mistakes)

———

You got into a car crash.

It wasn’t really your fault, it’s not as if you could have known that some dude driving a truck wanted to push you off a cliff…well, you’re sure he didn’t exactly want to; but that’s not the point, you think.

The point is that you got into a car crash. A car crash (or truck crashing, really) that you should have died from, but you didn’t. A car crash that should have presented lifetime injuries, but it didn’t.

And you’re lucky. That’s the magic word that keeps going around. You’re lucky.

Yeah, fuck that.

You don’t feel very lucky, laying down in your hospital bed and feeling so much pain everywhere, laying down in your hospital bed and not even being able to go to the bathroom by yourself... this doesn’t feel lucky. This feels miserable and shitty and—

Quinn. Quinn is here.

Quinn is sitting in the corner of the hospital room, reading a book with red rimmed eyes and shaky hands.

Quinn she— she wasn’t here yesterday. You wonder for a moment how she could have found out, and then you realize…

Kurt.

Kurt went to school today. You figure he must have relayed the news to the Glee club. If you had been awake yesterday, or even the day before—the night you got into the crash—you would have told him not to tell her.

Quinn doesn’t deserve to find out about this the way she probably found out about this. Quinn doesn’t deserve the worry she’s probably feeling...you know it would have been better for you to text her yourself so she knew immediately that you were fine. So you would be able to downplay the injuries.

Kurt likes being dramatic, and Quinn likes to panic.

“Quinn, you can’t be here,” you rasp out, your throat dry from lack of use. Her green eyes immediately snap up towards you.

“Y/N,” Quinn breathes out, voice full of relief as she sets her book down and moves towards the side of your bed to cup your cheek. “They said you woke up earlier but I had to see it to believe it.”

You give her a weak smile, not able to resist nuzzling your face into her hands. Her eyes watering with more tears almost makes you regret it. “Baby,” you whisper, “Kurt...my dad...what if they see? Where are they?”

Quinn’s face morphs into something guilty and apprehensive. “They both... sort of know about our relationship now…” she rushes to continue when she sees your wide eyes, “they were shocked, but they seem to be doing fine with the news.”

You blink at her, once, twice, and then drop your eyes closed with a wince. “Kurt’s gonna bother me so much about this,” you mumble. “How did they find out?”

You feel Quinn tense before you manage to open your eyes to see it.

“Me yelling at the nice lady up front to let me see my girlfriend probably told them as much,” Quinn says slowly, as if she expects an angry reaction. You don’t feel much anger. You haven’t really cared about them knowing for a while now…

In the beginning it just made sense to keep it a secret from them. Now, not so much.

Plus, nearly dying put some things into perspective for you.

“Does Finn know?”

Now it’s Quinn’s turn to wince. “I’m not sure,” she admits quietly, then adds, “i’m sorry if i’ve made things awkward for you.”

You can’t help but laugh at that, a laugh that turns into a coughing fit, and then turns into a whole bunch of growling while you grit your teeth in pain. “Fuck, fuck, that really hurt.”

Quinn’s hand is trembling again. “Do you want me to get the doctors?” She asks, with no small amount of panic. She’s terrified, and has been terrified since the moment Kurt told her you were in an accident.

“No, no, it’s fine,” you assure her, ignoring the pull of stitches that feel like they’re everywhere, and the hurt in your ribs. “I’m sure Finn will get over it eventually, when he finds out.”

“It’s not as if you two were siblings when I dated him,” Quinn jokes, though her eyebrows are furrowed with her worry.

You give her a smile that you hope is reassuring and try to relax into the hospital bed. Your eyes are heavy with tiredness, and you feel extremely drugged (yet at the same time not drugged enough), but you want to stay awake for Quinn.

Quinn has other plans.

She kisses your forehead, then promises against the skin there, “i’ll be here when you wake up.”

And right before you drift off into the dream world, you hear her say; “please don’t do this to me again,” in a voice that’s so weak and scared that you want to open your eyes again and reassure her.

You fall asleep instead.

——-

Quinn is there when you wake up again, but so is Kurt.

They’re talking. About you, you realize bitterly. About the crash, and the physical therapy you’re going to need to go through for your shoulder.

They’re talking quietly, as if to not disturb you, and it’s weird hearing the two most important people in your life talk. Especially since you know that just a day ago Kurt was terrified of Quinn.

Maybe not terrified...he was intimidated. Everyone is of Quinn.

(Quinn admitted to you once that sometimes she thrives in their fear, and other times she just feels alone. She told you that she doesn’t want to hurt people anymore just because she’s hurting, and that she’s trying to make people comfortable around her again.

The intimidation used to be from fear, now it’s from awe, so you suppose her plan hasn’t really worked. People worship the ground she walks on.

You worship the ground she walks on.)

Quinn is more deep than you expected though, and more deep than you’re sure everyone else expects. She’s more funny, more smart, more self-deprecating, more hurt, more nerdy, more goofy—than you ever realized.

She’s just a person full of surprises.

“Y/N?”

You jump in the hospital bed in alarm, your side and shoulder aching in protest. Yep. Quinn is full of surprises.

“Are you okay?” Quinn asks, giving you a sad smile. “Sorry for shocking you.”

Kurt pokes his head over her shoulder (it’s weird seeing them so close), “you don’t look so good,” he points out, as if you hadn’t already figured that out. The glare you send him has him shrugging.

“I’m fine, babe.” You ignore Kurt’s smirk at the nickname. “Could one of you just ask the doctors for about twenty pills for the pain?”

“And a hairbrush,” Kurt jokes, though his eyes are lined with the worry he thinks he’s hiding well, “got it.”

“You try getting pushed off a small cliff by a truck, see how you look afterwards!” You yell at Kurt’s retreating back.

There’s a tense silence the second Kurt is out of the room. Quinn’s eyes are focused on a spot on the hospital sheets, and she doesn’t look at you, even as she tries to make a joke for some levity;

“Twenty pills is a definite overdose. I hope Kurt isn’t actually asking for that amount.”

You snort, shaking your head. “They wouldn’t give it to him even if he asked.” Then, quietly, you ask; “Quinn, are you alright?”

She shakes her head. “You almost died,” Quinn mumbles, and she says it like an explanation, you suppose it is one.

It was terrifying, those moments when the truck hit, and those long moments after when you were still conscious.

“I keep thinking about what would have happened if you weren’t even a bit as lucky as you were,” she admits, closing her eyes. “You almost died. The only reason you're here now is because you were lucky.”

“Quinn—”

“You can’t die,” Quinn says, her eyes desperate when they snap open to look into yours. “You don’t get to leave me. That can’t be an option.”

But it is, because nothing is really guaranteed in life. Quinn knows this, has known this since a very young age, you imagine.

“I’m sorry,” is the only thing you can manage to say in the face of Quinn’s sadness.

Quinn seems to get a hold of herself after your apology. She just shakes her head and runs a hand through her hair and she’s Quinn again. “It’s not your fault. Just work hard at getting better soon so you can help me get through the school days.”

You nod, then hesitate. “Will you love me if I never drive again?” It’s meant to be a joke but it comes out more seriously than you intend. Quinn’s eyes immediately go soft and loving.

“Yes. I’d love you even if you didn’t even want to sit in a car again,” she says, and you believe her. You believe her.

“Then you’d have to walk everywhere with me,” you laugh, even as tears fall down your cheek. Quinn immediately bends down to kiss them away.

“The more calories burned, the more junk food I can have,” Quinn reassures, and you love her.

You love her so damn much.

——

Kurt is eyeing you and Quinn with something like wonderments in his eyes later that day.

Quinn can’t bring herself to care much though. What he thinks about her relationship with you in the least of her concerns right now. The only thing she really cares about right now is you.

She cares about you looking at her the way you’re looking at her right now, with a dopey drug induced smile. She cares about the fact that you’re looking at her at all. You’re looking at her right now because you’re alive.

You’re alive, Quinn reminds herself. The what if’s don’t matter.

“Quinn, will you marry me?” You ask, words slurred together. It brings Quinn straight out of her thoughts and into the real world.

She blinks at you for a couple of seconds and then nods uncertainty. You won’t remember this anyways, Quinn assures herself, but as she looks over her shoulder at Kurt’s wide eyes she realizes that he will.

Welp.

“One day,” Quinn continues, for appearance sake. Kurt snorts behind her.

She can’t be whipped enough for her girlfriend that she accepts a proposal this young. (She is though. She hates to admit that she’s incapable of saying no to a question like that from you, but it’s the truth.)

“I wanna get married now,” You protest, and Quinn doesn’t really know what to say to that.

“Y/N you can’t force the girl to marry you. Have some respect,” Kurt says, laughter in his voice. Quinn’s thankful for his intervention, though she won’t show it.

You pout at Kurt, and then at Quinn, “Fine. Just tell me when you’re ready, okay?” You ask, and Quinn loves desperately. She loves.

“Yeah. Okay.”

Not even Kurt’s rambling about ‘the disgustingness of love’ keeps her from the lightness in her chest at seeing you smile at her the way you are now.

You’re going to be okay.

The both of you will be, Quinn realizes, when Kurt cuts off his complaints to start planning for your wedding.

“We won’t be getting married for a while,” Quinn reminds the both of them. She gets blissfully ignored after a side glance from Kurt and another pout from you.

She’ll be okay, and even—Quinn realizes—Kurt will be. She wasn’t paying attention to how devastated he seemed earlier today, but in the face of his relief and happiness the differences between his behavior now seem obvious now.

He was devastated, but he’s okay now, because you’re awake. Quinn’s okay now because you're awake.

“Quinn, will you wear a suit for the wedding?” You ask, bringing Quinn out of her thoughts for probably the fifth time today.

Kurt snickers at Quinn’s resounding grimace, and his amusement only raises when Quinn mumbles, hesitantly, “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“That sounds like a no, dear sister.”