#not really a theory but I want it to stay with everything else I've written about this fanfic

[tulipsinthedas]

Just finished binging the Fallout tv show and 🤯 I've got so many thoughts running through this little brain of mine. So here's a very long rant no one asked for. Maybe I'll make a more digestible version later. Obviously SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Be warned!

First off - the lore. So many interesting things were added into the lore by this show that I find so fascinating, as well as theories I've had that were touched upon. All of which makes this very exciting but also leaves me DESPERATE for season two. The main thing that has really stuck with me is the confirmation that Vault-Tec were the ones to drop the bombs like hello??? I've always had an inkling ever since I started delving into fallout lore a good year or two ago that they were behind everything, but finally having it confirmed is so fun. Of course, some people out there are going to be irritated (L take) but this imo will make replays so much more interesting. Same with the addition of ghouls needing medication to keep from becoming feral. Although this begs some questions; what is the medicine? Is it just radaway, or something else entirely? Maybe it's connected to whatever Hancock used to ghoulify himself? Or maybe it's connected to Doctor Barrows' research into ghouls fom Fallout 3? Idk! But I hope it's answered in season 2.

Cooper being the inspiration behind the iconic vault boy mascot absolutely gagged me. It was kinda hinted at even in the beginning at the kids birthday party but I was still surprised. Pleasantly, of course. Other smaller things, like the BOS branding and helmets opening up, among other things, were also fun touches that develop the lore in ways that the games probably never would have. It's small things like this that despite livening up the wasteland, would be unnecessary uses of resources from a game-development standpoint. So I think if season 2 ends up being a banger like season 1, we could see a lot more tiny additions to the lore like this!

Secondly - the characters. I don't even know where to start. They were written so well which is such a critical part of a good series. Lucy, despite everything she goes through, stays true to her morals and by doing so, probably unknowingly, is changing those around her. Despite being stubborn, she's willing to listen and understand other viewpoints and adapt herself. It's so refreshing to see a main female lead who isn't written as either weak and naive or strong and boneheaded; she'd a perfect mix of both. I also appreciate them not making her a total push over, even in the beginning before she is given any reason to change. She grows, but never fails to stay true to herself. Plus the whole sex positive thing is an amazing touch to add as well, especially for a woman.

And while on this topic, Maximus is such a cutie pie. Writing characters that are selflessly aligned can definitely be a hit or miss, and without properly being fleshed out, can be one-dimensional, but I never felt that way with him. Despite trying to help others and be a good person, he still has flaws and does feels selfish things. They took the trope of the knight in shining armor, literally, and gave him actual human characteristics that made him feel real. Underneath his heroic demeanor, he's just a little guy who likes slippers and vault popcorn. Who just wants to be somewhere safe away from war and danger, to be where he can just relax and not have to worry. And his romance arc with Lucy is just way too cute. From the moment they met in Filly I knew something was going to happen and I was so excited when they finally kissed lmao. The sweet, innocent love at first sight thing they have going on is the perfect dichotomy to all the bloodshed and heavy themes going on in the rest of the show.

And finally, Cooper is reviving the inner ghoul lover in me and I cannot complain at all. As a certified Hancock lover, I feel seen ✋ also Walton Goggins is just incredibly fine. But that's besides the point. His character is arguably the best written because despite being an undeniably evil person, he is still likeable. 200 years have turned him into a man who had to lose his humanity to survive, and the pre-war flashbacks being shown through his eyes give him, and the story, so much depth. Despite his ways, you can't help but still feel for him, to still root for him and hope that he still has a little bit of that humanity left within him. Which imo was shown multiple times; for example him not killing Maximus in episode two even though he easily could have done so. And the fact that he's still searching for his family all these years later? When he was asked what has been keeping him going so long, I think they are his reason. Whether he is searching to reunite or to exact revenge on Barb for dropping the bombs while him and Janey were outside idk. But it makes his story all the more heartbreaking. I also love the writing for Norm, Moldaver, Dane, and so many others, but this is already too long ass it is.

Overall, this series was so good and I'll be impatiently awaiting season 2! Some things I'm hoping to see next seasons are super mutants for sure, as well as synths and more of the enclave. I think they went easy this season to test the waters and see just how interested people are. And now that they know people are very interested, I think they'll be more willing to invest a larger budget, and add more. Rant over!

#fallout #fallout show #fallout series #fallout prime #fallout tv series #cooper howard #lucy maclean #maximus fallout #fallout series spoilers #fallout spoilers #fallout amazon #fallout ghoul

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hi so the New York Times just published a gaylor manifesto and since you’ve been my main source of info for this stuff I wanted to share it https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/opinion/taylor-swift-queer.html

sigh.

okay. if anyone wants to read along, check out the unpaywalled article here:

https://archive.is/uHxuV

before we really get into this I just want to say that I looked into author Anna Marks' previous contributions to the NYT opinion column, of which there are two: a piece about how Marks, as a queer fan, is "heartbroken" by Harry Styles 'appropriating" queer culture by wearing ugly clothes, and an audio piece about how women referring to themselves as "girls" on TikTok is actually radical feminist praxis. so. hot mess express up in here.

anyway this piece is a shitshow that basically plays at the greatest hits from Gaylor conspiracy theories, mainly harping on her inability to come out because of some intangible threat it would pose to her career:

While Ms. Swift’s songs, largely written from her own perspective, cannot always conform to the idea of a woman our culture expects, her celebrity can. That separation, between Swift the songwriter and Swift the star, allows Ms. Swift to press against the golden birdcage in which she has found herself. She can write about women’s complexity in her confessional songs, but if ever she chooses not to publicly comply with the dominant culture’s fantasy, she will remain uncategorizable, and therefore, unsellable. Her star — as bright as it is now — would surely dim.

immediately beneath this is an image of Taylor Swift crumpled face-down onstage, looking wet; if nothing else, it's peak melodrama.

the most glaring thing about this, to me, is Marks' willful omission of other queer pop stars. she opens the article with a jarring discussion of lesbian country singer Chely Wright's 2006 suicide attempt and mentions a few contemporary celebrities who have been encouraged to stay closeted -  Cara Delevingne, Colton Haynes, Elliot Page, Kristen Stewart, Raven Symoné and Sam Smith - but with the obvious exception of Smith, they're hardly Swift's peers. as I've said before in my worst and most stupid post, the argument that outing herself would "dim Taylor's star" falls apart pretty significantly when you look at the success of artists like Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Cardi B, and Halsey. Taylor Swift had a bigger year in 2023 than any of them combined, frankly; coming out as queer wouldn't slow her down in the slightest. why the fuck are gaylors so determined to act like she's beholden to a fanbase comprised entirely of conservatives?

also everything about how coming out is sooooo hard for famous people because they're subject to scrutiny and weird behavior as if that's not? something Taylor Swift already deals with? hello hi? get a grip I implore you. why are we wasting webspace on this.

[wild-karrde]

I'm gonna say something, and it's not targeted at any one user in particular because I've seen this ramping up A LOT across the fandom, especially with the premiere coming this week.

People are allowed to have different expectations/hopes/opinions than you, and that's not a personal attack on anyone. They are allowed to do that.

You can hope a character comes back from the dead. In a franchise that has practically written the joke that only Qui-Gon Jinn can't survive a lightsaber to the chest, I think it's more than fair to hope Tech re-emerges (I have my own EXCEPTIONALLY dark theories on how that may go, but we'll see). It's also ok for you to want him to stay dead. You are completely allowed to think that his arc hard run its course and his death served a purpose.

You can like the clones' physique as it's portrayed. You can prefer them thicker. And having one of these opinions is not an attack on the other.

You can want a happy ending for the Bad Batch and can be sad if it doesn't happen. That's allowed. You can also expect them to all die and to have our souls crushed. And wanting one of those doesn't make you "naive" or "too dark" or whatever adjective for not expecting the other.

I could go on and on with examples, but all to say there's this weird passive aggressive atmosphere going on right now where people post one thing, and others in the same circles/community feel the need to post the exact opposite like it's some kind of weird debate. There's posts circulating that feel borderline shaming for people that have particular hopes for the season. This is Tumblr. People just post stuff that makes them happy. Posting something you enjoy or have a theory about on a show isn't an attack on someone else or their opinions. And if you don't like someone's opinions THAT MUCH, then just unfollow them. It's really that simple. I've done it without saying a word to the person I disagreed with.

It's just really strange to me that a community that thrives off of theories and possibilities and different character interpretations and twisting threads of canon into complex stories based on a single line of dialogue or passing glance would be getting chippy with one another for having the same types of theories and hopes for undetermined canon. This is media we all love, so can we please let each other have our individual thoughts and opinions about it? I have had PLENTY of differing opinions with my friends on here about things I did/didn't like in a show. They're still my friends though.

In addition, can we all remember that just because something doesn't turn out the way you wanted, that doesn't mean it's bad; sometimes, sure, it's bad, but what I've found is that most likely means it just wasn't for you. And that's fine. Not everything can/should be for you. So go write a fic about it. Seriously. We all live for AUs. Go do it.

Let's all just be kind to one another, yeah? Because lately it feels like we're stepping on one another's excitement, and I'm not here for that.

#maybe we all just chill #because the last few weeks have been a lot #and every time I log on here I find I'm getting annoyed #let people have their feelings and hopes and theories #it costs you nothing #and impacts you in no way #and that's why we're all here anyway right? #so just be nice #don't be a wombat

[prof-ramses]

A Mammon Analysis Written By A Mammon Kinnie! :8D

It's time to make y'all love this magnificent bastard even more than you already do so we can finally have something just happen in this fandom!

First off, the analysis.

A lot of people seem to think of Mammon as "dumb" or "oblivious", when he's far from either. Mammon is actually a very intelligent and attentive person, but just like most subtle things about him, it can be hard to notice because of his eccentricities.

As far as I see it, Mammon views everything he does as an investment to some extent, whether it be a literal monetary one or one of time, effort and/or attention. This is also one of the big things that make him so relatable to me. It's also worth noting that as a flipside to this, he also sees any option he's presented with in terms of physical or emotional value and trying to maximize said value as much as possible.

Mam doesn't interrupt "Two Minutes Notice" not because he's stupid, but because insults don't truly detract from the value of him or anything he has, not to mention the fact that he could tell that a lot of people would be willing to buy the song, just look how many are hanging of Fizz's every word when he describes having a crappy boss.

Likewise, criticizing Fizz's weight is something Mam solely does because it helps profits and has no genuine personal issue with Fizz potentially getting chunkier.

This shows something else interesting about Mammon, he doesn't really want to do destructive things, people just keep giving him every reason to do so, he's not dangerous on his own.

Every action Mam takes that makes Fizz uncomfortable is a direct result of him catering to what the consumers want, whether it be religiously watching his spokesman's weight for the sake of keeping the skinny sex-bots accurate, or forcing a mentally unstable person to spend a lot of time socializing to get people to pay admission for a meet-&-greet.

There's also the fact that he runs Greed in such a way that benefits Hell as a whole way more than Ozzie and Bee do. Admittedly, he over charges for his products, but said products are up to snuff, you'd expect him to peddle cheap junk that falls apart almost instantly, but no, he makes quality products and just charges extra. He really is a shrewd businessman when you get down to it, and that's something a lot of people have sadly overlooked when discussing our favorite spider.

Which brings me to my next point, Mammon being a spider is actually really clever, assuming what I'm about to describe was intended and not just me reading too much into a cheap Australia joke. Spiders are often shown as eerie and a way of reminding the viewer of a piece of media that nature can be scary, and though they do some really weird and freaky stuff, that's also the beauty of spiders. They have some of the most innovative and distinct hunting patterns in nature, they're more of a neutral presence, just like greed itself.

I've seen many people claim in their analysis of Mammon that "greed can't be good" which is just demonstrably untrue, greed is really just any action that prioritizes bettering oneself, it's only destructive if you are willing to be destructive, but even then it can lead to innovation and broad positive change, even if someone is worse off because of it.

Lastly, I want to discuss Mammon's obvious need for personal affection, the big guy is blatantly touch starved and craves a close connection, I have a rather headcanon-y idea about the origin of this behavior and I plan to link to it once I post about it in detail, but that can wait. However, this does reflect that idea of value and investment, Mam has yet to find someone who is both pleasant for him to be around and whose company has a reasonable "price". I see many possibilities for exploring this facet of his characterization and look forward to seeing the discussion about it grow.

Stay tuned for my HCs and theories about his Stinginess! ALL HAIL MAMMON!

#helluva boss #hellaverse #writing analysis #hb Mammon #helluva Mammon #hellaverse Mammon #Mammonposting #hb Fizzarolli #hb Asmodeus #helluva Fizzarolli #helluva Asmodeus #hellaverse Fizzarolli #hellaverse Asmodeus

[idyllic-affections]

i know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes.

summary. "Baizhu reached out to their shoulder, giving it a tender squeeze. "I just want to know why you left so abruptly. We were so close. There is nothing you could say or do that would make me resent you."" trigger & content warnings for self-hatred, severe blood, major traumatic life events, depictions of trauma, panic attacks & a fuck ton of crying, implications of suicidal ideation but it is never explicitly stated in an obvious way, overall heavy on the themes of mental health, heavy spoilers for baizhu's story quest and childe's character stories, [name] is called pretty once. tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. friends to strangers to friends, hurt/comfort. baizhu & childhood friend!reader, brief hints of childe & reader. 10k words. they/them pronouns for reader. author's thoughts. it is here. the fabled "friends to something significantly worse to friends again" fic is finally here (june if you're reading this, thank you for the idea lmaoo <33). btw! this post runs on the theory that skirk is associated with khaenri'ah. no idea what her personality is like so.... bear with me pls. she gives off "tired, bitter big sister" vibes in this fic. at one point, nightmare by set it off started playing while i was writing this and i think thats so fucking funny, that is so childhood friend![name]core. a LOT of ironic songs played while i was writing this actually! maybe ill make a post about it?

       "What's the last thing on our list?"

       Surely the sky had been painted by the Celestial Gods above—how else could one even hope to explain the otherworldly beauty it held? Pinks blended smoothly in with hues of golden orange and baby blue as the sun crept lower and lower towards the horizon. A few stars already dotted the evening sky, twinkling and sparkling against their background.

       In the reflection of their eyes, the light danced.

       Their friend hummed thoughtfully, brushing some of his hair away from his face, before scanning the words written in practically illegible handwriting inside the little journal the two's shared master had given them. "Violetgrass... I think."

       "You think?" they echoed, amused, peering over his shoulder into the notebook. He shrugged.

       "Master's handwriting isn't exactly... er, legible."

       They giggled at that. "No doctor's is. I think it has something to do with how many prescriptions they have to write on a daily basis. Like... they have to write fast, so they have some kind of language of their own to be as efficient as possible."

       "Is that so?"

       "...Honestly, I don't know. Something like that, I guess."

       He smiled at them, teasing, "Shouldn't you know better than anyone, [Name]?"

       "Shut up, Baizhu, I'm still learning!" they huffed with faux annoyance, snatching the book from his hands. "Yeah, that says Violetgrass. Hm... you should probably go back, then. It's getting kind of late," they mused, meeting the boy's gentle burgundy gaze. "I've got it from here."

       "Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't mind going with you."

       "I'm sure. I get Violetgrass on my own all the time. It gets cold at night, and with everything going on, it's probably better that only one of us goes out. Less of a chance of the sickness spreading further, you know?"

       "I can't really argue with that," he admitted. "Alright, but don't stay out too late."

       "Don't worry," they reassured, "I don't intend to."

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       Darkness had fallen by the time they reached their normal spot for gathering Violetgrass. Specks of glittery stars dotted the night sky; it took all of their mental strength to not sit and admire it. They would never get their task done if they did.

       'The last time I did this with my bag on, I fell.'

       With that thought in mind, they hummed and carefully took the cross-body bag filled to the brim with medicinal herbs off. They set it neatly to the side. Before beginning, they stretched, hoping to somehow make themselves more flexible and limber by doing so. A series of satisfying pops were released from their bones.

       It was then that they began gingerly scaling the cliffside—it wasn't impossibly steep, and they'd done it an abundance of times in the past, so it didn't present too big of a challenge. It wasn't anything they weren't used to.

       The ground then unexpectedly trembled beneath their feet. They huffed as their foot slipped, sending them sliding down a few feet and back onto solid ground. The single piece of Violetgrass that they needed seemed to mock their failure from its place several feet above them.

       "Aw, come on..." they murmured, slightly frustrated. "Maybe I should have had Baizhu stay and help..."

       Then, again without warning, just as they were about to make another attempt, the ground split open.

       A scream was torn from their throat as they fell. It was as if Teyvat itself had swallowed them into its core. They made a a desperate attempt to reach for the surface, but as soon as they were in, the crack snapped shut once again. No matter how fast they fell, no kind of ground ever seemed to get any closer. Briefly through their terror, they wondered if this was how they'd die—falling into nothingness for eternity until they starved, mortal body eventually decaying into nothing and becoming one with the never-ending emptiness.

       This was never meant to be how they'd die. Their death was supposed to be fated through Changsheng's contract, not through... this.

       A sob ripped through their throat as their body unexpectedly slammed into the ground. Upon impact, they knew at least a handful of bones in their wrists had broken. Perhaps it was unwise to brace their fall with their wrists, but then again... it would have been far worse if they landed on their back. Breaking their back may very well have been a death sentence in the scenario they were in. Honestly, they were just thankful that their shoulders and forearms seemed to be okay, aside from a rhythmic throbbing coursing through both arms. Their body trembled pathetically like a leaf in the wind, ready to be blown away at any second. At least a leaf would see daylight or even moonlight.

       It was pitch black for them, as if the darkness actively sought out and destroyed any source of light it was capable of finding. It seemed to sap any will they might've had to resist, to find a way out. Their will was gone. It was like it was never there in the first place. The ominous dark took all that determination, all that light, and consumed it like a starved beast until there was nothing but a shell left behind.

       A deep pit settled in their gut as they whimpered, curling up into a ball. Surely, this was just a dream. An awful, terrible dream. They'd wake up and everything would be normal—they'd still be on the surface, gathering the last of their master's requested herbs before heading back and resuming their life as normal.

       Regardless of whether or not this was a horrifying nightmare, sleeping was far more appealing than staying awake.

       It was with tears rolling down their cheeks that they tucked their head into their arms, wincing at the shooting pain that ascended the length of their arms when too much pressure was applied to their wrists, and succumbed to the boundless darkness.

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       Time was an illusion.

       That's how they felt, at least, because they had no idea how long they had been underneath Teyvat for. It could've been hours or it could've been days—they wouldn't know the difference either way. Everything was fuzzy. Their sleep was restless and interrupted; no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't truly sleep. Even if they managed to fall asleep, they'd wake up again after a few minutes with a jolt and a wave of paranoia. What frustrated them so deeply about it was that they knew very well that their body would never heal if they didn't sleep well. They'd never have the strength to escape if that were the case. It was infuriating.

       The distant echo of footsteps made their muscles tense. The sound ceased a few feet away from where they laid.

       "You'll never survive down here like this."

       A nervous whine threatened to leave their throat. They swallowed it down, hands trembling slightly.

       "Get up. I can tell that you're awake."

       Fuck.

       With what minimal strength they did still have, they pushed themselves up using their elbows. Using their hands would only hurt them more. It was difficult to see, but nonetheless, they could see her eyes clearly. Empty, star-shaped irises stared down at them, piercing the very depths of their soul, picking them apart like some kind of subject of a dissection. The utter bite of her gaze caused them to suck in a sharp breath, posture straightening slightly.

       "I've no idea why the Abyss would want someone so... pathetic," she scoffed. "Look at you, resigning to your fate like some kind of lost puppy with its tail between its legs."

       "No, I... That's not..." they stammered, trailing off, hoarse voice quick to die out in the face of her frigid sternness. "I'm not..."

       "Oh? Am I wrong?"

       "No— Yes, I mean, yes, I was... My wrists, they broke when I fell, so... They broke and I don't have anything to fix them with, so I thought resting would be a better idea than running or fighting, and—"

       "Alright, alright, stop. Get up. Follow me."

       She began to walk away.

       "H— huh?"

       "You want to survive, don't you?"

       They scurried after her before they could have any kind of second doubts.

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       The woman introduced herself as Skirk, a seasoned swodswoman with extensive knowledge about the Abyss and how to survive in it. She had been kind enough (well... it was debatable whether her gesture was out of kindness or due to ulterior motives, but they had no other choice but to trust her) to treat their injuries, stiffly wrapping their wrists so that they could heal properly.

       It took about six weeks for them to heal adequately. Within that time, they were surprised to find that they had begun to be able to see through the darkness, as though their eyes had finally adjusted.

       They had hoped she would help them get out when they were fully healed, but...

       No.

       When she asked if they wanted to survive, she sure as hell intended to teach them how to do just that.

       "Slow, uncoordinated, weak," she criticized venomously, swinging her blade down at them with great force. She would undoubtedly kill them if they gave her any chance to. If they made one mistake... "Just how do you think you'll get by in this realm when you can hardly defend yourself?"

       "I— I didn't have to in Teyvat!" they sobbed, tears streaking down their cheeks from both the pain of the several open cuts and bruises blooming on their skin and the pain of being away from home for so long. How long had it been? They had no clue. Their wrists throbbed as they parried her blade with one of their own. "I was the apprentice of a doctor! I was safe there!"

       "Well, you're not safe here. Get used to it," she sneered. "It's kill or be killed down here."

       "I don't want to kill!"

       "Then you'll be killed."

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       "Stop hesitating. Kill it."

       The Abyssal creature at their feet seemed to whimper, trying its best to crawl away from them. It's body was already terribly mangled, limbs broken and twisted in ways they never should have been. Archons know what the eldritch creature even was—they sure as hell had no clue. All they knew was that they felt sorry for it. It looked so small and weak beneath them. 'Pathetic,' a malevolent whisper drifted through their mind, 'it looks pathetic.' With a shake of their head, perhaps in an attempt to rid their mind of such cruel thoughts, cries escaped their throat. Their chest rose and fell in sobbing, labored breaths. All they could hear in their ears was the distinct sound of blood rushing. Their chest ached. Their body ached.

       They wanted to go home.

       "I can't, Skirk, I can't..."

       "You can," she hissed, "and you will."

       "No," they cried harder, "look at it! I can't..."

       "You can," she repeated, though this time with strange serenity, as she stepped behind them; with her hands, she forced their dagger down into the creature's chest, "and you will."

       Blood splattered across their figure as they let out an utterly visceral wail.

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       Soft sobs wracked their figure. The more they tried to suppress their cries, the worse they got.

       Many nights were spent in this manner. It wouldn't be the first night they spent crying themselves to sleep, and it was unlikely to be the last. Was it from the pain? The stress, perhaps? They truly didn't know. The only thing they knew was that they could only fall asleep if they exhausted themselves by crying first.

       They just wanted to go home.

       Then again...

       Would they be accepted back? There was blood on their hands now. Fresh blood of a life that had value just like any other before they so cruelly took it away because in Skirk's words, it was 'kill or be killed.'

       Would they still be viable for Changsheng's contract?

       What if their master was dead by the time they returned?

       What if they never returned?

       Maybe that would be for the better.

       But they wanted to go home regardless.

       Then, the first light they saw in what seemed to be ages graced their empty irises. The light was treasured. Without thinking, they trapped it between their palms like one would to a firefly in the night so that it could not escape them.

       A cool, smooth stone that most definitely wasn't there before now sat between their cupped hands. The rush of cold against their feverish skin prompted them to peer inside the little cage created by their rough hands.

       Inside sat a Cryo vision, still-wet blood smearing over its chilling surface.

       That night, they cried harder than they ever had before, clutching the Cryo Archon's blessing like it was some kind of lifeline.

       Contrary to what they may have believed at the time, the night they got their vision marked the final night they would ever spend crying themselves to sleep in the Abyss.

       That "morning," Skirk would note an evident change in their demeanor.

       That "morning" would mark the point at which the Abyss officially reached the depths of their soul, sucking the last of the light from them and changing them fundamentally.

       That "morning" would mark the point at which they were no longer Changsheng's next contractee.

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       Skirk taught them much in the first seven months of their time in the Abyss.

       The longer they stayed, the warmer she became in her behavior towards them. She vaguely reminded them of their medicinal Master, though she was certainly much tougher than he was. She was not unkind, they had concluded. She was simply hardened. Archons know what she must have been through to be so cold.

       Despite all that, she even did them the kindness of celebrating their birthday.

       "When you do finally get out," she had said to them that day, "you will find that very little time has passed in Teyvat. Don't be surprised. You'll be a year older mentally, but your bodily age will be about the same as it was when you fell."

       "How long has it been since I fell, then?"

       Her reply sent chills up their spine, stomach twisting in sheer disbelief:

       "Seven days."

       Of course, "celebrating" just meant that they got to sleep the day off rather than be relentlessly beat up by the swordswoman. Nonetheless, they appreciated the break.

       Ultimately, they had come to the conclusion that she was much different than what they'd initially assumed.

       They'd taken it upon themselves to patrol around what Skirk considered to be her "territory." They'd chuckled a bit to themselves when she described it in such a way, but said nothing, only offering to patrol in her place for the day as a favor. Allegedly, that was how she encountered them all those months ago.

       They were surprised to find that they, too, encountered a poor victim of the Abyss. It was a boy; if they had to guess, they would say he was somewhere around their age, maybe slightly younger.

       'Is this what Skirk saw when she looked at me? Archons, no wonder she looked like she was going to tear my throat out,' they mused absently, unblinking void eyes staring down at the ginger boy on the floor in front of them. He looked like he wanted to say something but simply couldn't force the words out. 'He really does look like a lost puppy... is that what I looked like?'

       His blue eyes were wide with shock and terror, glossed over with unshed tears. The Abyss was slowly beginning to dim the light in those eyes of his, but hadn't gotten very far yet—they still shone with an innocence they hadn't seen in quite a while, an innocence that didn't belong in a place such as the Abyss. His shaking hands clasped weakly at his foot; that's when they noticed that it was broken.

       Some kind of forgotten instinct suddenly sparked again in their chest at the sight of his wounded ankle. Life... it was a thing they were supposed to protect. That was something they had been taught for as long as they could recall. It was only after falling into the Abyss that they began to stray from those teachings.

       They needed to protect him. He was so fragile, the poor thing.

       Briefly, they wondered what Baizhu, Jiangli, and their Master were doing right about now. Were they worried? They had no way of knowing. They did their best to brush those thoughts off before the homesickness could set in.

       "You're hurt..." they observed, breaking the uneasy silence. "Broke it when you fell, huh? Can you walk, or will I have to carry you?"

       "H— huh? Um..."

       "Right. Got it. Hurry up and get on my back," they instructed, kneeling down with their back facing him so he could climb on with ease.

       "How—" he gasped, withdrawing from them. "How can I trust you?"

       "You'll die if you don't," they stated plainly, glaring back at him. Their gaze sent chills up his spine. It was so... empty. He was sure that not even the most seasoned warrior in his home nation looked so blank. It seemed as if all the light had been sucked from their soul, leaving a hardened shell of what they once were. Even Fatui officials had some kind of light in their face, but they simply did not. It unsettled him. "Get on. Now. You wouldn't last a day out here."

       Though hesitant and utterly terrified, he yielded, reaching up to wrap his arms securely around their neck. They hooked their arms under his thighs and hoisted him up. Then, with a huff, they stood up.

       The silence weighed a little too heavy for the boy's liking. Once the initial terror had worn off, he felt something much warmer bloom in his chest—awe. Absolute, unfettered awe.

       Surely someone as tough as them could help him become more courageous.

       "What's your name?"

       "What, you trying to make conversation? Build rapport? I'm not planning on killing you. Relax," they scoffed. Then, after a brief, awkward silence, they went on, "...It's [Name]."

       "I'm Ajax," he greeted with surprising grit for someone who just fell into the Abyss. "Hey, you're brave, right?"

       "I... I guess?"

       They dared to peek back at him. His eyes shone with light and determination foreign to anything or anyone in the Abyss. It did not belong here. He did not belong here.

       "Teach me how to be brave like that."

       Little did he know that light would disappear soon enough. They simply chose to look away, rather than mourn the loss that was inevitably going to occur.

       "...You'll want to meet my teacher, then. She'll toughen you up."

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       "What is that?"

       Ajax squeaked slightly, to which their lips twitched upwards into the ghost of a vaguely amused smile. Skirk must have unsettled him even more than they did.

       "A boy."

       Skirk's cold eyes narrowed at them. "No shit, [Name]."

       "He fell and broke his ankle, so I brought him here," they elaborated, kneeling down again so he could easily get off their back without hurting himself even more. He gingerly slid off of them. Once he was off, they stood back up, walking over to her. "Anyway, I see why you wanted to rip my head off when you met me. You're totally right. He looked fucking pathetic."

       "Oh, you get it now, hm?" She smirked, placing a firm hand on their shoulder. "Never thought I'd see the day you called someone pathetic."

       They shrugged. "This place changes you, but I suppose I don't have to tell you of all people that." Then, they beckoned her to lean down slightly. When she obliged them, they whispered something inaudible into her ear, occasionally glancing over at Ajax. They eventually withdrew, turning to face him.

       "If it's courage you seek," Skirk said, scrutinizing the boy; he seemed to shrink under her gaze, "you'll indeed find it down here."

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       Ajax’s time in the Abyss was short. They had briefly wondered if they would ever one day run into him on the surface when they did eventually get out. The thought was oddly nice.

       He changed very fast, they recalled. What was once a timid and easily frightened boy had become a hardened weapon of war that sought out bloodshed just for the thrill of it. It fascinated them, really. Why weren’t they like that? They were but a fraction of the beast that he had become. The sensation of being alive certainly gave them a rush, but they hardly reveled in it the way he did.

       Then again, maybe that’s why they could at least hold their own against Skirk.

       That was something he could never truly manage to achieve. Once in a blue moon, the Snezhnayan boy could hold his own against them, but never Skirk. She was on a different level entirely. Now that they really thought about it, however, it seemed very likely that it was because he just wasn’t level-headed in the way they were.

       That brought another question to mind, however: why wasn’t he level-headed like them? Why did he relish in the bloodshed more than they did?

       The only possible explanation was their origins. Being from Chenyu Vale, it was hardly any surprise that one particular ideology was stamped irremovably into their brain.

       Even so…

       It would be unrealistic to expect that they wouldn’t change during their stay in the Abyss. Their exposure to Abyssal energy was insanely long—the fact that they still cared at all about saving lives was shocking.

       Fourteen months into their time in the Abyss, something in their mind snapped.

       They could recall nothing about their episode. All they remembered was that Skirk had them training, as usual, against hordes of Abyssal monsters. It wasn’t something all too challenging for them; they were quite used to her highly demanding training sessions. Just when they started getting slightly overwhelmed, an unfamiliar rage boiled in their chest, and they blacked out.

       When they came to, all they could see was death.

       Blood soaked their clothes and fingertips. They were quick to come to the horrifying realization that it was not theirs. None of the blood was theirs. Not a single drop was theirs. The shallow scratch on their cheek wasn't even deep enough to bleed. They dared not turn around. Their gaze remained locked into the darkness ahead of them, hands trembling and eyes watering.

       Before they could say or do anything, before Skirk could say or do anything, the Abyss spit them out. It simply... decided it was done. As if it had grown bored, or as if it were finally satisfied with the level of corruption in their mind and soul. They lost consciousness briefly, only to awaken exactly where they had gone missing over a year ago.

       …

       Well, over two weeks ago, they guessed. Time dilation was a difficult thing to get used to.

        “Bright… Archons above…” they groaned, pressing their hands over their eyes in an attempt to gradually adjust to the sheer brightness of the surface. It made them a little sick, if they were to be quite honest; they had grown used to the pitch blackness of the other realm. “Gods, it’s bright…”

        “…[Name]?”

       They peeked through their fingers, squinting in the hopes of being able to make out the figure standing a few feet from them. When it finally hit them just who it was, their heart throbbed. The soft green hair they had grown so accustomed to braiding throughout their childhood, now wild and untamed as a terrible consequence of stress and panic, the tender eyes filled with perhaps a little too much wisdom for a child that age…

       They were really back on the surface. It wasn’t just some sick trick of the mind, no.

       They were home.

        “Bai— Baizhu?”

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       He was quick to call for help, leading them back to their shared Master. Jiangli seemed to almost cry when she saw them again—tears of relief or tears of worry, they didn't know. She reminded them of a concerned mother.

       However, something they dreaded terribly had come to pass.

       Their Master discovered that they were in no need of his healing. They were uninjured. All that blood was not theirs. It was never theirs. They were completely unharmed.

       "There isn't a single scratch on you."

       They intentionally avoided his gaze, instead focusing on their hands rested in their lap. Absentmindedly, they noted how calloused and scarred their hands were compared to how soft they had once been. The hands of a healer had become something far more sinister. Changsheng was eerily quiet.

       "...[Name]?"

       "No"—they sniffled, finally meeting their Master’s golden irises filled with tender concern, concern they did not deserve after what they had done—"there isn't."

       The conversation died right then and there.

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       Their departure from Chenyu Vale was sudden and unexpected. Many did not know why they left. All they left behind that could explain why they left was a small envelope for Baizhu, but they honestly didn't know if he would even open it. Leaving him without a single word... it made them want to cry every time they thought about it.

       The goodbyes they said to Jiangli and their Master were tearful, but neither of the two could stop them from leaving after learning that they had suffered so much. After all, what place did a killer have in Chenyu Vale?

        ‘You’re not a killer,’ Jiangli had insisted. ‘You’re not. You belong here, with us.’

       They disagreed with her sentiment. How could she still look at them with such kindness, even after knowing what awful things they had done? Maybe that’s why they left without speaking to Baizhu. Maybe they knew he would have pleaded with them to stay. Maybe they knew they would have stayed if it were he who asked.

       Many of their years were spent wandering Teyvat, but every now and then...

       They'd settle in Snezhnaya to catch up with an old acquaintance of theirs after tracking down his whereabouts.

       "The Fatui, hm? Looks like you really aren't some scared little kid anymore. Shame. You were quite a cute scared little kid."

       They hopped from nation to nation on a whim, picking up knowledge and still studying medicine on the side, though they wouldn't dare call themselves a doctor of any kind. It was Liyue that they often avoided, and if they really couldn't help it, they'd sneak along the border like some kind of internationally wanted criminal. The idea of running into Baizhu would always send their stomach into knots. What would they even say to him? He owed them nothing. He owed them no kind of forgiveness.

       'And yet, despite all that...' they mused, staring vacantly at the sleeping Jiangli at their side, 'here I am. I won't let anything hurt you, even if it means putting myself at risk.'

       Their fingers gently ran through her tangled locks.

       The constant pulsating glow of their Cryo vision was indication enough that, through their own means, they were keeping those terrible god remains at bay. Between the gorgeous icy energy that generated from them, a magenta glow was woven in like some kind of skilled artist's tapestry. It was as beautiful as it was unsettling.

       The Abyss would always be a part of them. They might as well put Skirk's teachings to use.

       "Why do you do such insane things?" they wondered aloud, head tilting back to shift their empty gaze towards the roof of the cavern. "You know that if I destroy those remains, your husband will die, and yet... I followed you nonetheless, knowing I would be at an impasse until someone came to rescue us, knowing I would inevitably cross paths with the one I have fought so hard to avoid. Why are you like this? So irresponsible, but then again... I am no better. I wouldn't be here if I was."

       "Jiangli!"

       "Well... it doesn't matter now," they murmured quietly, gently shaking her shoulder. "Jiangli, wake up. Baizhu and your husband are here. Some others too… I don’t know them though."

       "We found her!... but who's that beside her?"

       Baizhu was oddly silent, watching how they treated her with such tenderness, helping her sit up when she groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Jialiang did not so much as flinch, however—he rushed up to them.

       "[Name]! How is she?! Is she okay?!"

       "Gods, Jialiang—" they hissed, pinching his arm in a soft attempt at scolding him. They vaguely resembled a parent chiding their child, despite the fact that he was older than them. "Don't run like that. You'll keel over dead if you keep that up. She's fine. She was just sleeping, I promise. I ensured her safety."

       "Your ability to stave off the effects of the god remains is rather impressive, [Name]."

       "...It's really not, Baizhu," they opposed quietly, rising to their feet. They dared not meet his eyes, looking anywhere but at him—they would feel an overwhelming sense of guilt if they were to see the evidence of his and Changsheng's contract, the contract that was always meant to be theirs. On top of that… they were certain he could see right through them, see the way they huffed out their breaths in a labored attempt at getting enough oxygen. "Don't try to make conversation. I'm not planning on running away this time. Jiangli probably did this on purpose... she forced my hand. It— look, it doesn’t matter. We'll talk about this, about everything, later."

       He seemed content with that answer—for the time being, at least.

       "Well, that's a first," Changsheng hissed from around the doctor's neck, "now isn't it?"

       "You're getting sassy in your old age, Changsheng," they commented. "Haven't changed a single bit since the last time I saw you, hmm? Sassy old lady~"

       "Hey!"

       "Sorry, wait— Paimon's confused," the floating fairy interrupted. ‘Oh,’ they thought, ‘so that’s who Ajax was talking about.’ "Knowing Baizhu is one thing, but knowing Changsheng is waaaay different! Who are you?"

       "My name is [Name]," they introduced with deceptive calmness that masked the pure, unadulterated panic they were experiencing on the inside. "You may have heard of me through a certain Fatui Harbinger. ‘Codename Childe, but I also go by Tartaglia,’ you know. The ginger with a bunch of cute siblings. Have you met them? They’re the cutest. Anyway, the harbinger has quite the collection of good things to say about you, traveler."

       Aether tensed slightly, shooting Baizhu an odd look, almost as if to ask who he was associating with in his spare time.

       "Relax. I'm not a part of the Fatui," they dismissed with a wave of their hand. "Those people are a bit insane, if you ask me, supporting a deity who hardly seems to care for them or the general population of her nation... Erm. Anyway. I only happen to know Ajax because we were both victims of the same circumstance a while back."

       "What..." Aether trailed off, blinking. Something in the way he looked at them, looked at the blankness in their eyes, said that he already understood. "...What does that mean?"

       "Ask him yourself. Do me a favor, though, and tell me what he says. I'm genuinely curious."

       "Hey!" Paimon cut in with an annoyed huff, stomping her foot like an aggravated toddler. The thought made them smile slightly. "Stop ignoring Paimon! You still didn't answer her question!"

       "[Name] was another one of my Master's disciples, like Jiangli," Baizhu explained on their behalf, briefly glancing in their direction. "Although... I haven't seen them in several years. Like Jiangli, they too ran away."

       "Oh, Gods, Baizhu," they groaned, turning to face him properly for the first time in years. Their breath almost dared to hitch at the golden irises that stared back at them. "Don't be dramatic. Are you telling people I ran away? I didn't run away. I told our Master why I was leaving and when I planned on doing so. It's Jiangli who really didn't tell anyone why she left. I wasn't that secretive about why I left, you know."

       "Nuance."

       They then softened up slightly, running their hand through their hair. A deep sigh left through their nose. "...You really haven't changed at all."

       He seemed to smile a bit at their exasperation. It was only fair, they supposed. They had left him in the dark for years. He deserved to find some amusement in the uncomfortable situation they were both forced into.

       "Well... whatever. We have bigger issues than my past friendships right now," they said, crossing their arms over their chest. "What are we doing about these remains? I have protected Jiangli's body and mind, but only to an extent. She is infected and it will continue to worsen if we do nothing. However, if we destroy these remains..."

       "Indeed..." Baizhu murmured, turning to the man in question. "If we destroy these remains, your life will come to an end."

       "If you knew what she was doing," Aether cut in, "why didn't you stop her?"

       "You cannot stop a woman like that once she has her heart set on something. All I could do was watch from the background until she put herself in too much danger, to the point where I'd have to defend her," they sighed, "such as what she did here."

       Jialiang looked between them and Baizhu. "...I had wondered when this day might come."

       Jiangli was silent.

       "We've been working our butts off to save Jialiang's life!" Paimon shouted. "We can't just give up on him now! Baizhu, you're a great doctor. Surely you've gotta know of some other way we can save him, right? Or— [Name]! If you studied with Baizhu, you should know a few things too, right?"

       "Sure. I still remember some things from that time," they replied, tilting their head back a bit so they could gaze at Jiangli's husband. "Jialiang could continue taking the poison. Jiangli is... in decent condition overall, so it wouldn't be the end of the world to delay the destruction of the remains, but she will fall more ill as time goes on. Either way, someone will die if we don't do something."

       "[Name], you've been watching Jiangli," Jialiang stated, standing up to meet their eyes. "How long does she have?"

       "If she completely stopped coming here..." they mused thoughtfully, "a few weeks at most would be my guess. You'd probably get a more precise answer from Baizhu, though."

       "I would say that is accurate," Baizhu agreed, nodding. "I could... extend that time, however, if I were to treat her using a secret art."

       "You..." They wanted to scold him, chide him for even suggesting such a thing, but in the end, they did not. It would make them a hypocrite. They simply bit their tongue. Jiangli watched closely with a gentle gaze comparable to that of an aunt or a mother as the various emotions flickered across their expression.

       "...But what would be the point of that?" Jialiang lamented. "Dr. Baizhu, I am all too aware of the dangers of god remains. You are not the first to mention it to me. [Name] often warned me, but... I did not listen. If I continue to sustain my own life using this wretched substance, then not only would Jiangli have to keep risking her life to make my medicine for me, but I would have to live with the looming threat of these remains breaking out and wreaking havoc not just upon me, but my entire family. I know for a fact that I should have died over a decade ago. The fact that I've been around to see Ayu grow up is already a great blessing from Rex Lapis. If my choice can keep Jiangli alive, then... even if I die..."

       "Jialiang..." Paimon trailed off.

       The man chuckled sadly. "After cheating death for so long, it seems I've grown somewhat addicted to life."

       "Life is a terrible drug for those of us who often come face-to-face with death," they admitted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Take a minute to talk with Jiangli. We'll wait."

       "Thank you..." he said, kneeling down at his tired wife's side, "I'm sorry that I won't be able to repay your kindness in this life."

       "Jialiang...” Paimon cried, wiping her face with her little balled up hands. “Baizhu, Changsheng, [Name], is there really nothing else any of you can do?"

       "Cheating death is beyond my ability," they answered apologetically. "I know much of arts that are... beyond this world, but they are not used for preserving nor extending life. I wish I could do more, but I can’t. My apologies."

       "I am sure that over the years, Jiangli will have tried all the conventional methods known to humankind. As for the less conventional methods, I have little expertise besides Changsheng's secret art..."

       Aether's gaze flickered between them and Baizhu as he said that, before settling back on the Liyuean doctor. "...They're aware of it?"

       "Try to avoid treating me like an outsider," they half-scolded. "Believe it or not, I was meant to be bound to Changsheng. Fate had different plans, however, so yes. I am very much aware. Even through the medium, that being Changsheng, none of Baizhu's predecessors could manage to cheat death."

       "Mortals are fated to grow old and pass on when their natural lifespan runs out," the snake mused. "If it were so easy to combat the natural processes of aging and death, Jiangli would not have had to resort to unnatural methods."

       Paimon sniffled. "What a crazy situation... Jiangli risked it all to save Jialiang's life, and now, Jialiang has to sacrifice himself to save Jiangli. What's the point of it all..?"

       "Love, I have heard, tends to make people do insane things," they stated. "It's quite tragic, really."

       The traveler nodded. "All we can do now is honor Jialiang's decision and bear witness."

       "...I've seen many final farewells in my time," Baizhu commented softly, quietly, "but I can never get used to it."

       "In the human realm, all things must come to an end. Is it not a fitting end to die for a worthy cause? At least... that's what generations of Masters before you always believed."

       They wondered if Changsheng was somehow trying to be reassuring.

       "The path they chose was indeed a heroic one," Baizhu agreed, "but when I think of those who would willingly sacrifice themselves for others... I cannot help but think that theirs are the lives least deserving of death."

       The quiet whispers shared between the couple gradually died down. It was then that Jialiang stood up.

       "I've said my goodbyes. My time has come. Do what you must."

       "As you wish."

       "We have not been in contact for years," they spoke up, stepping forward and raising their hand, "but I know you well enough to know that a man dying indirectly by your own hand will weigh on your mind. I will take care of this. Stand down, Baizhu."

       The doctor seemed momentarily stunned, but he nodded nonetheless, backing off. "...Very well, [Name]."

       With a chilling wind and a flick of their wrist, the god remains dissipated with a hiss.

       It wasn't very long until Jialiang collapsed.

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       "Jialiang..! Jialiang!"

       The man shot up with a gasp, instinctively clutching at his chest.

       "Dad! Are you awake?!"

       "Jiangli..? Ayu? Didn't I..." Jialiang trailed off, gaze drifting to the seals stuck on his skin. "Huh? What are these?"

       Changsheng’s voice drew his attention. "How does it feel to come back to life?"

       "Do you feel strange or different in any way?" Baizhu questioned, walking to his bediside. "If so, could you describe it to me in detail?"

       "Dr. Baizhu! I thought I was going to..."

       "Die? You did, actually," they stated, gently holding his arm, carefully inspecting the sigils as to not disrupt the delicate imitation of immortality that the doctor had created. "To think this is what Baizhu's been doing in my absence... absolutely fascinating. Sorry, Jialiang, do you mind? I'll back off if it's uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid to tell me.”

       Jiangli giggled at her husband's look of sheer confusion.

       "Uh... no, you're— you're okay..? Go ahead."

       Baizhu's lips quirked up at the sight of their enthusiasm. He said nothing of it, though. "As things stand now, you're more akin to a zombie than a human."

       "...I'm a zombie?!"

       "That's right. Before we set off, I asked Qiqi to prepare and Elixir of Immortality. With its help, you have been suspended in the space between life and death. Of course, this is but a crude imitation of an adeptus art. I don't expect it to extend your life indefinitely. Whether it will keep you alive for a few days, a few months, or a few years...” Baizhu mused, “I am as interested as you to find out, but however long you have left, I believe it should be more than sufficient time for you to say your final goodbyes before departing the world in peace. ...I hope Director Hu finds this arrangement to be a satisfactory one?"

       "An Elixir of Immortality? How'd you cook that up? Ugh," the girl in question groaned, "leave it to you to work on something like that behind my back..."

       "It's a work in progress that hardly lives up to its name, and it would've had no effect if not for Jialiang's iron will." Baizhu shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. "In the end, I am merely a doctor. I understand very little about the great principles governing life and death, and the perpetual cycle of yin and yang. All I know is that if I am presented with a life that deserves to be saved, I will do everything within my power to save it. Even this would have counted for nothing if not for Director Hu's assistance... after all, did you not tell Jialiang to show us the way before we set off for Qingce Village?"

       "Oops! Aaaand, I'm busted..."

       "Without Director Hu nudging things in the right direction, we may not have found Jiangli and [Name] in time. They could only hold those remains off for so long."

       "It wouldn't have meant anything if not for your friend over there," she pointed out. "They nudged me first."

       "I did," they conceded, finally backing away from Jialiang after finishing their investigation of his sigils. "What of it? I was worried about Jialiang and Jiangli. I told Director Hu who I was and where I was headed after eavesdropping, and then she nudged Jialiang in that direction. It's not that serious."

       "Eavesdropping is kind of serious!" Paimon exclaimed, shooting them an odd look.

       "Fair point, but it's not like I was eavesdropping on someone I've never met. What could Baizhu have said to you that I wouldn't have already known? Absolutely nothing.”

       "I knew there were people listening in on our conversation back then," Aether murmured. "To think it was you two..."

       "No wonder he didn't mention the Elixir back then," Director Hu muttered to herself. "I thought he was being frank and transparent with me for once, but apparently not."

       Jialiang cleared his throat, laughing a bit. "Director Hu told me to keep her suggestion a secret, and [Name] had told Jiangli and I a while ago to keep it a secret that they were in Liyue, but it seems nothing escapes Dr. Baizhu's attention..."

       "Never underestimate a serpent's sense of smell!" Changsheng hissed, almost seeming to be proud.

       "All I wanted was to help Jialiang find his missing wife as soon as possible, so that he could be on his way to the afterlife without any unfulfilled wishes making the journey more difficult than it needs to be..." Hu Tao sighed. "Leave it to Bubu Pharmacy to snatch the perfect opportunity right outta my hands at the last hurdle! Never mind, I'll just have to put it down in the books as a deferred consideration... one Qiqi was enough of a conundrum; the last thing I need's another one. If I'd known this was coming, I would have whisked him off to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor the moment I found him."

       "Y— you stay away from my dad! When I grow up, I'm gonna become a better doctor than Mom and Baizhu, and cure Dad for good!" Ayu declared, making them chuckle into their hand. They ruffled his brown hair fondly. "A— and [Name]! Better than [Name] too!"

       "I don't really practice medicine anymore, honey. I definitely don't count as a doctor. You'd outdo me within a week."

       Jiangli grinned at them, teasing, "I don't know, [Name]. For someone who 'doesn't practice medicine anymore,' you still act as if you do. You seem very fascinated with Baizhu's imitation of immortality on a very deep level.”

       "Old habits die hard," they simply answered. "What can I say?”

       "Oh? Is that so?" Hu Tao chimed, turning to Ayu. "Well, you wouldn't be the first person who's tried to put Wangsheng Funeral Parlor out of business. If you're serious about it, you'll have your work cut out for you."

       Just like that, she turned on her heel and left.

       "Phew... is she finally gone?" Qiqi peeked out from her hiding spot. Upon seeing them, and noting that Hu Tao was gone, she ran over to them, presenting them with a silk flower. "I meant to give it to you earlier... because it's pretty, like you... but I forgot..."

       Their face turned serious as they faced the Liyuean doctor. "Baizhu."

       "Hm?"

       "I'm keeping her. She's mine now. This is my child now."

       Both Baizhu and Jiangli chuckled at how purely enamored they were with her, kneeling down so Qiqi could tuck the flower behind their ear. They cooed over her sweetness, patting her head lovingly. Ayu almost seemed a little jealous of the attention they showered her in.

       "All's well that ends well!" Paimon chimed, turning to Aether. "If you ask Paimon, we should probably go do something to celebrate this heard-earned family reunion..."

       "Paimon's idea of a celebration can only mean one thing..."

       "Hehe! At times like this, a grand celebratory feast is in order!"

       Jialiang chuckled, "It feels like it was a whole lifetime ago when I last talked with Jiangli and Ayu around the dinner table."

       "Rightfully so," they said, "you've been through a lot."

       Aether nodded. "This was a hard-earned meal."

       "Yaaay~! Paimon can't wait! Alright, first thing's first—off to the market for some fresh ingredients! Let's go~!"

       "Wait up!" Ayu shouted, running after them. "I'll come too!"

       "Baizhu, thank you so, so much for everything you've done for us..." Jiangli thanked, then turning to place a hand on their shoulder as many had done before her. "And [Name], I would not be as well as I am now if not for you. You've been standoffish for the past decade, but I know you still care. For all of us."

       "Ah... I wasn't trying to come off as cold. Things just got tough for me after that incident. I never want you guys to feel like I don't care, you know..."

       "Don't mention it, Jiangli," Baizhu reassured. "I was just doing my duty."

       "Just your duty, huh..." she mused wistfully. "Baizhu, Changsheng, [Name], would you mind if we took this conversation outside?"

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       "Time flies. It's been so long since we've been together like this... Changsheng, you're the same as ever," Jiangli laughed. "You haven't changed one bit!"

       "That's literally what I said to her, too," they exclaimed. "See, I knew I was right! Some things just don't change, hm?"

       "...You two, on the other hand, have changed a lot," Changsheng replied, a thoughtful lilt to her tone. She certainly knew more than what she was letting on.

       "You're right," Jiangli admitted. "My younger self would have never imagined that things would one day turn out this way."

       "I doubt that any of us imagined our lives would turn out this way," they added. "I mean, really... our time in Chenyu Vale seems so far gone now, doesn’t it?”

       “It really does,” the woman agreed.

       The evening light bathed their face in yellow-orange light; it wasn't quite late enough yet for the light to take on a more golden hue, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Even after all the horrors they had witnessed, they still had the capacity to recognize beauty.

       "Liyue's so pretty at this time, isn't it?" they wondered aloud.

       "You always did think so," Baizhu replied. "That much hasn't changed."

       An oddly comfortable silence settled for but a few short moments as the small group descended the last of the stairs that led to Bubu Pharmacy. Jiangli was the first to break it:

        “I’ve taken a look at your Elixir of Immortality, Baizhu, as has [Name]. It isn’t altogether dissimilar from the poison I concocted in terms of the way it functions.”

        “I have to say, Jiangli, it was a stroke of genius to use poison to maintain life. I hope you’re not too upset at me for… copying your methods?”

        “No, not at all. With your intellect, even if you’d never seen my poison, I believe you would have eventually arrived at the same approach, but I’m still impressed by how quickly you gained such a thorough understanding of it. Jialiang’s still only been in your care for a few days. Not just that—you even managed to improve upon the original formula. That cannot be explained by intellect alone…”

        “Ten mora says he tried it out on himself.”

        “Ha!” Changsheng laughed. “Told you the truth would come out sooner or later.”

        “Knew it,” they hummed. “Life force has never been the only thing Changsheng’s contract allows her contractees to transfer. I know simply because I used to catch our master doing things like that all the time.”

        “Baizhu…” Jiangli trailed off.

        “…Nothing gets past you two. Yes, Changsheng’s secret art also allows for the transfer of toxins and diseases. When I treated Jialiang for the second time, I transferred some of the poison from his body onto my own. Not only did this allow me to alleviate the burden on him, but it also gave me an opportunity to study its properties. There is no need to worry about any long-term consequences to my health, however. Now that the source has been destroyed, any remaining poison in me will have already dissipated.”

        “But you took such a huge risk,” Jiangli opposed. “If we hadn’t destroyed the gods’ remains back there, then even you might have…” She then sighed. “What am I saying? I’m in no position to criticize you for this, and if [Name] knew… it’s no wonder why they were adamant on destroying the remains themselves.”

       They nodded. “I had to be sure they would be gone. Believe me, whatever was there before… it is not there now and will never be there again.”

        “Leave it to you to see through us all, even from such a distance,” she said with a fond, wistful smile. She turned back to Baizhu. “The reason I left our Master and went into hiding all those years ago was that he was getting old, and I didn’t want him using up any more of his own life force to treat my husband, but in the end… how were my methods any different than his? I risked one life to save another, and then you tried the poison on yourself, too… It looks like both of us have ended up going the same way as out master before us. As for [Name]… heh, they’re hardly any better.”

       Baizhu seemed intrigued by her statement. “How so?”

        “[Name], why don’t you tell Baizhu how you absorbed the majority of that gods’ remains to keep them from getting to me?”

        “It’s different,” they insisted, gaze shifting towards the golden sky. "I mean, I did do that, yes—that’s not what I’m denying. You two do it because if there is a life in front of you deserving of being saved, you save it, and… ten years ago, I would have done it solely for the same reasons. Now, though… It’s different. That incident changed me, Jiangli. I do it because I get a rush from surviving things like that.”

        “Nonetheless, your intentions towards others are still good,” Jiangli said, gently squeezing their upper arm. “Would you have done it if you didn’t care? If you weren’t scared for my life? You said it yourself. You were worried about my husband and I. You put yourself in a situation you knew would inevitably lead to you and Baizhu meeting again. You put yourself at risk, and that is what really makes me wonder: are all disciples of Chenyu Vale destined to turn out this way? To live a short life, having given away our own for the sake of others? To fight relentlessly against the natural course of life and death, whatever the cost? …Maybe our fate is sealed the moment we decide to study medicine.”

        “We are doctors, Jiangli. We ought never say that anyone’s fate is sealed.”

        “Baizhu, I can tell that over the years, you’ve used the contract with Changsheng to transfer many diseases and toxins onto yourself. There are so many, that some of them I don’t even recognize… can you still stop it before it’s too late?”

        “Don’t fool yourself. We all know the answer to that question, Jiangli,” they interrupted, “and we all know it’s a very honest no. All disciples of Chneyu Vale believe in the same core principle. Don’t be a hypocrite.”

        “Heey~!” Paimon shouted, waving the group over. “Food’s ready!”

        “Mom!” Ayu exclaimed excitedly, running up to the woman. “Come and join us! Aether taught me a load of new recipes and said even Dad’ll be able to taste them! Come and try them out!”

        “Yes, darling, mom’ll be there in just a minute… Hey, slow down!” she exclaimed, chasing after her child. She stopped briefly, turning back to face them and Baizhu. “Baizhu, I know I won’t be able to convince you, but… please don’t forget that, if one day, you’re not around anymore… Qiqi, Gui, and all the friends that have grown fond of you, they will all miss you dearly.”

        “There’s no need to worry, Jiangli. I know what I’m doing.”

        “…I can only hope so,” she sighed, “and [Name]? I believe you know where this conversation needs to go. I was honest about why I left. It’s your turn now.”

       She walked off after her son.

       A silence settled in her absence. This time, however, it was tense.

       Then, Baizhu seemed to search his pockets for something. His face brightened slightly when he found it: a small envelope yellowed with age. He handed it over to them.

       "You... never opened it?" they wondered softly, holding the letter they'd written all those years ago with such delicacy that they weren't even aware they were capable of anymore.

       "I wanted to hear the explanation from you."

       "This was from me," they tried to counter.

       "[Name]."

       "Yeah, yeah... I get it. You wanted to hear it from me directly. I know," they sighed, leaning back against the railing, fidgeting with the paper envelope help in their hands. "It really isn't a pretty story, but if anyone deserves to know... I suppose it's you. I’m surprised Changsheng didn’t tell you already, given how inclined she is to gossiping—”

        “Hey!”

        “—Just... please. Do me a favor and try not to look at me too differently after you hear it."

       Baizhu reached out to their shoulder, giving it a tender squeeze. "I just want to know why you left so abruptly. We were so close. There is nothing you could say or do that would make me resent you."

       They smiled bitterly. "We'll see about that."

                         — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       For the first time in a very long time, they spoke to Baizhu.

       Not superficially, not as distant professionals, but as friends. It was a moment of honest vulnerability that truly frightened them. They hadn't been that vulnerable since before their fall.

       The silence weighed heavily on their chest as they gazed anywhere but at their former friend. Somehow, the anticipation for his response was far more suffocating than any other in the past—even the anticipation for their Master's response was never this heavy.

       Then, the Liyuean doctor reached out, gingerly tugging them towards his figure. His arms settled comfortably around their waist.

       The weak beating of his heart and the wheezing breaths he took prompted them to sob. The sound they let out was overwhelmingly heartbreaking; it was somehow even worse than the cry they had let out upon taking that first life all those years ago in the Abyss. All the pain they suppressed for all the years they hid from their home, their friends... it all came flooding out at once.

       "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

       "You went through all of that," Baizhu whispered, his voice meant only for them (and Changsheng by default…) to hear as a hand ran soothingly through their hair, "and you truly believed we would hold that against you?"

       "Yes!" they wept. Archons... they hadn't felt this pathetic since their initial descent into the Abyss. "Gods, Baizhu, of course I thought you all would hold it against me! I was supposed to be Changsheng's next contractee! It was never supposed to be you! I didn't want it to be you!"

       "I know."

       "It's not fair! You— you're here giving away your life force, and you're going to die young, and it's going to be my fault! I should have done something differently! Maybe then we wouldn't be in this situation!"

       "It's not your fault."

       "It is!"

       "It's not."

       "You're suffering because of me!"

       "[Name]."

       "I only ever do bad things to you," they sobbed. "Why do you still want to forgive me? Why are you wasting your time comforting me? You should just move on. You're better off without me."

       "Stay in Liyue."

       "H— huh?" they sniffled. "What? No, I... No!”

        “Stay, [Name]. Please.”

        “No! Why do you even want me to stay here?! You should hate me! You should—”

        “You’re reckless with your own life. Do you really think I don’t see it? You claim to get a rush from being alive, but… I do not believe that is the only thing you seek out by putting yourself at risk. Mentally well people don’t behave this way. Let me help you. Please."

        ‘No shit,’ they wanted to say, ‘I haven’t been well since that day.’

        “Are you saying you don’t trust me to be on my own?”

        “I am.”

       Their throat closed. They squeezed their eyes shut.

       He was right, much as they hated it.

        “…Fucking hypocrite.”

       "That may be so.” He smiled ruefully. “If that isn’t good enough of a reason, then… I’m asking you to stay because I want you to stay, [Name]. Stay with me for a little while." His eyes were filled with a gentleness that they wholeheartedly believed should not have been directed at them. "We still get along, don't we? Though you may have changed, I genuinely find it hard to believe anything about us has changed, so stay. Let's get to know each other again, hm?"

       They blinked. Once, twice. Tears pricked at their eyelashes.

       "...Okay."

       They still failed to part from Baizhu, but he didn't seem to mind, only resuming his motions of brushing his fingers through their hair.

       "Qiqi quite likes your company, too."

       "Yes..." they murmured. "Um, a lot of kids seem to, you know... Ayu, my other friend's siblings... I don't really get it, but they, um, they all seem to like me."

       For what was the first time in decades, they felt truly at peace. They'd often engage in meaningless conversation under the sunset's light with Baizhu in their youth, gathering herbs and the like for their shared Master. To do something so similar once again...

       It soothed the beast their soul had become. 

       The sunset's light, however, did not dance in their eyes as it once had.

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot! taglist: @zeldadou, @ophelium-flowers, @aikitsuki.

#aphelion writes 🌸 #favoniuslibrary #astronetwrk #genshin impact x reader #genshin platonic #genshin x reader #platonic genshin #platonic genshin impact #platonic genshin impact x reader #platonic genshin x reader #platonic baizhu x reader #baizhu x reader

[everyonehasthoughts]

❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤍🖤💖💔💕📖🏳️‍🌈🏳️💀

hi cas. pls answer my questions

To preface this I have only been on the outskirts of this fandom for a hot minute but because you asked me so nicely to reblog this I will give my two cents

❤ mischaracterized by the fandom

I'd I had to say that anyone was most mischaracterized it would have to be hm. Dame Alina. They hate to see a woman winning. She's very much written to seem like a bee eye tee see ach but like. If my boyfriend dumped me for a girl 100 years younger then me I'd be pissed too.

🧡 popular theory I disagree with

I don't actually know any current theories you'd have to send me some and I'll see if I agree with them

💛 popular ship I can't get behind

I've seen a large amount of Fitz and Marella shippers right now (lavacake?) And you know I respect the hustle but they're gay girlbesties to me I just can't see them dating. Otherwise I was literally the pioneer of every poly ship ever back in the early days. Multishipper Supreme

💚 what does everyone else get wrong abt your fave character

That Fitz is well adjusted. Or that his attitude problems somehow manifested out of nowhere and he was definitely not affected by his tumultuous childhood and borderline abuse but you didn't hear that from me

I would need to take a deeper look but if it's anything like it used to be probably everything the fandom thinks abt dex.

💙 - not as hot as everyone thinks

I would have to say uhmmmmmm kenric (pun not intended) I never vibed with him

💜 - hotter then everyone thinks

Bronte. He could get it

🤍 - not as morally bad

This is a difficult thing I would have to say uh. Idk do Sophie antis still exist? She can do whatever she wants forever. Fitz and probably Linh as well based on how she acted in the last book. Alina also since I said that before

🖤 - more morally bad

Literally every adult that isn't Grady, Edaline, Juline, Kesler and Della

💖 - unpopular opinion

Apparently thinking Alden is a bad father is unpopular atm so there's that. Also disliking forkle maybe he's always given me rancid vibes. Also I would like to say i think alden being a bad or not great guy would be a fantastic writing decisions

💔 main character you would remove

Lol. Forkle. Either one of them. Or both

💕unpopular ship you like

Is there such thing as an unpopular ship? I was pretty sure we were a great multishipping fandom. I like sofitz! And Fitz and Linh

📖 book you would take away

This new one that's coming out lol. I really don't care abt whatever Keefe got up to

🏳️‍🌈 fandom thinks they're queer but you don't see it

It's impossible for me to not see the possibility of queerness in everyone

💀 who should die

I'd say forkle but he's technically dead. I also don't want alden dead because I think the story would be really cool if she leaned into him being a bit nefarious. Lady Gisela probably cuz like. Idk how she keeps surviving this shit. Mostly for the dead to stay dead this isnt supernatural

Welcome to discussion abt any of this but BE NICE it's a book series. I respect your opinions, please respect mine

#kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #ask game #unpopular opinion #tw abuse mention #tw abuse

[96percentdone]

I've been ruminating on fandom lately. Criticizing fandom at all will get you barraged by very defensive fans who will accuse you of hating fun, not understanding creative expression, and being an art snob, and I am about to go a LOT harder than most of the posts I've been exposed to, so in an attempt to preemptively curb that indignance: I like fandom. I have written fanfics, and theory posts, and meta, and I've reblogged countless fanart. A lot of what I engage with or have made meets the standards I'm about to critique, and I understand completely that for many, fandom is a hobby. People would like to escape from the struggles in their lives. They find comfort in the media they love, so they immerse themselves it. It can be hard to make anything in this capitalist hellscape, so if you've achieved something at all, it's a miracle. I get it. I really do. I'm not an art snob; I think it's fine if things aren't that deep, and they're primarily wish-fulfillment. I have some grievances with the critics too, and they'll come up. This post isn't about you specifically; it's bigger. Fandom content suffers a lack of substance because of superficial engagement with the source material.

Many fandom critical posts on this website bring up shipping culture as the reason everything is samey and uninteresting, often referencing ao3 in specific. I sympathize with these posts, I also find shipping prominence can be fairly tedious when you want to read ANYTHING else, but why is it when complain about fandom, we point the finger at fic? Why do we use shorthands like "he would not fucking say that," and drop ao3 tagging conventions, and mention fanfic websites? Have y'all LOOKED at the fan art you reblog? A lot of it is just posing and kissing. If you wanted to analyze it for any further meaning, I don't think you'd get very far. I am not positioning fanfiction as superior; as everyone points out, a lot of it is repetitive and derivative, but let's not pretend that this is a fanfic exclusive issue. We can take it further out! Look at the absolute state of meta. Most analysis is done in service of promoting a headcanon or a ship if it isn't just a theory wildly speculating an explanation for an unresolved or ambiguous plot point. We're gonna include those guys who make power scaling rankings, filling out the wiki, etc too. They're fans! Everyone agrees those people aren't engaging with the text in a deeper way, but that doesn't make them NOT fans. It is the way their appreciation manifests the clearest! We're all fans; we are doing the same thing in just a different form.

Most of what gets popularized I all these spaces is based on a strictly literal understanding of the work; it's about plot events and how characters relate to it and one another, and the meaning people get out of it—from shipping to theorizing to memes to tierlists—never goes beyond that level. If people don't know how to look for themes, to interpret symbolism and examine the construction of a work to see how it contributes to how the whole is operating to affect them, because their education on how to do it sucked shit, then obviously they won't. But I don't think that's enough to explain the heart of the problem.

Critics will bring up the fandom wash cycle, an analogy for how way fandom will spend more time engaged with itself than the source material, and perpetuate its own tropes and fixations ad nauseum. This is true in any fanspace you can spend your time in, including those "who would win" bros. I hear this, and I think of social media, the place most of fandom lives now. People making original work often talk about how their stuff never gets any attention compared to fandom stuff; the biggest fandoms are sprawling franchises with corporate entities behind them. Social media algorithms promote what is already popular, what will generate the most clicks, so you stay online and make their corporate overlords more money. It is the depth of human experience streamlined into easily digestible chunks.

You're spent because life is hard and the world sucks and the only relief you can find is in the media you love. You don't want to expend a lot of energy today, so you'll consume or create ship centered content, or fan theories, or memes and gifs. You'll wonder who would win in a fight. Even without social media, people feed their own algorithms, because the system is designed to encourage it. Fandom is part of a larger whole.

If fandom will ever be more than what it is, you have to be willing to put in the work to fix it. Criticism won't cut it. As the saying goes, be the change you want to see in the world. Create what you want to see, use what you make to teach what might be lacking, seek out more of the things that look like what you want fandom to be (I assure you it exists), not just what you already know. Fandom is perpetuated by fans. Being a fan doesn't make you predisposed to creating cyclical, watered-down content. Every fan has a rich internal life with a whole host of experiences that should inform both how they make their works and how they read it to begin with, because they're people.

People are far too diverse to be defined by an algorithm; maybe with enough effort, we can write a new one.

#hope.txt

[generalluxun]

Fanficton: Reciprocation, Chapter 1

A Chlolix Chapterfic with an Aro/Ace Felix! The whole thing is written, I'm just posting it a chapter at a time, here and on AO3 (link in Bio) Set in a canon Divergent S5 where Felix chose not to steal the Yo-yo.

I hope you enjoy, and welcome all comments. This is my first Aro/Ace chatacter, and I've taken the time to enlist a couple of Aro/Ace friends to beta for my in addition to doing my own research.

Full text of Chapter 1 after the break.

The image in the mirror regarded him with disdain. Under that harsh gaze he turned and twisted, checking hair, collar, buttons, cufflinks, belt, even raising one foot and the other to examine the soles of each shoe. It was all immaculate—as always—yet immaculate was the bare minimum. Perfection brought no joy when it was a standard.

Felix crossed to his dresser and assembled the rest of his accessories: watch, wallet, cuff-blade, wire, fool's powder, and, lastly, his cell phone. A quick glance indicated his preparation alarm was about to go off. Nine more alarms for the day were set and ticking down. Each an activity that would not be happening today. Felix left the alarms in place, it was important to remember the cost of these outings. It added to Gabriel's tally, though at this point it was pennies against a mountain of gold bullion.

Felix stepped out of his room, then swayed back in as his mother swept down the hallway in a sudden rush. He followed smoothly in her wake. Amilie began to scour the living room frantically yet wordlessly. Felix glanced beside the television, then reached between the couch and the end table.

"Here it is, Mother." Felix held up her purse.

"Felix!" Amilie spun in surprise, but immediately a smile bloomed on her face. She walked to him and took the purse before air kissing beside his cheek. "My wonderful baby boy, what would I do without you?"

Felix remained focused, but did briefly wear a smile; his mother appreciated such things. "You're welcome, Mother. I am glad I caught you before you left."

She waved him off as she turned to rummage in her purse. "I won't be gone long, Felix. It's just more endless paperwork from your father's estate."

Felix grimaced. "I'm going to Paris today. I won't be back until late. I might stay over." He internally began to catalog the things he would fall behind on if he extended his visit.

His mother frowned worriedly. "Again? You just came back. Is it really that important?"

He met her questioning look with a level one. "It is, Mother. It involves Gabriel."

Amilie finished rifling through her purse and zipped it up so sharply she winced at the end, sticking her finger in her mouth to suck the bruise. She took it out to carp, "Everything seems to involve that beast of a man."

Felix reached out, hesitated, then told himself this was his mother and completed the action. He settled his hand on her shoulder. "Hopefully, not for much longer."

Amilie looked ready to fight, but Felix held her eyes and she relented. "Just be carefull, honey. I don't want you getting hurt. You're all I have left."

He completed the ritual. "And you're all I need." He took his hand back. "I will be careful. I don't expect to cross his path directly, and there is nothing else in Paris that holds any mystery for me."

---------------------

Paris spring was a charming affair, if you had the mind for it. Felix recognized the beauty in an abstract way. The healthy greens smattered with the colors of blooming new life were well balanced against the more staid and stark architectural choices of the old city. There was more here to stir the soul than in the clutches of old industrial London.

The greater part of his mind was focused on one house in particular though. Agreste manor stood out in its compound, but even more so the secrets it held. Gabriel Agreste, his uncle, was Shadowmoth. He'd tested that theory at personal risk.

Risk. His last visit here had presented a chance to upset the balance. A chance to free himself. As Felix stood staring up at the observatory window of his uncle's manor he turned over his split second choice one more time.

Ladybug's yo-yo was there, the trusting hero's back was turned. He needed only to touch it once and he would have the ultimate bargaining chip with his uncle.

What?! The idea had run headlong into everything that made Felix who he was. He was better than these fools. He was better than Gabriel. He was better than humans made by random chance. Trading a bounty for a single miraculous, no matter how precious, was a weakling's ploy. Past that, even his bumbling uncle might win with all that power to command. Where then would that leave Felix with his paltry gains? Self determination in the face of utter destruction?

He had let the moment pass. He had returned the miraculous and shared the encounter with his cousin. Let Adrien worry about living up to my standards of heroism. Yet now he was taken to task by his own pride. Having given up the easy path, he must make the hard path work.

He began to notice onlookers out of the corner of his eye. They had been longer in coming than usual. Adrien Agreste could not be out and about in Paris for long without the public catching wind. As his doppleganger, Felix was subject to the same attentions despite his wishes. It had been a full fifteen minutes this time, rather than ten. Had something changed? Had the failure of the First Love campaign already taken its toll on the brand?

Felix moved away from Agreste manor. His swift pace left curious onlookers in the dust, and he was once more alone with his thoughts. How do I get back into the mansion? Gabriel will be on his guard after tricking me with the fakes. Perhaps I can draw him out? Adrien… do I seek out my cousin’s help? What excuse can I use for a swap yet again? He obviously can’t handle the truth of things. A night time break in risks much. Perhaps I can make my move while he is distracted with Ladybug. There is a more gruesome bargaining chip in play. Why give, when I can take away? She is my mother’s sister though. Will he call my bluff?

Variables swam through his head, nothing was lining itself up neatly. If he had more time, he could force things into a better position, but with Gabriel’s trap sprung Felix couldn’t count on his uncle remaining passive much longer. He would not let the fallout from this entanglement ensnare his mother. She was only just now free herself.

Felix rejected plan after plan as he walked blindly through Paris streets. Too risky, too slow, too complicated, too dangerous. Nothing worked and his frustration rose to a crescendo. It took him a full minute to realize the chime wasn’t an internal screaming, but rather one of his alarms.

Felix took out his phone and silenced it. So much for boxing practice today.

A quick glance around told him he had ventured into one of the commercial districts. Oblivious masses trudged about their lives, ignorant of the very gift of being. That truth smeared itself across Felix’s rational thought, blowing apart the fragments of his latest plan. The stress was attempting to overwhelm him. Felix would not let it; he needed a distraction.

As if signaling his cause was just, fate provided him an outlet. Chloé Bourgeois stepped out of a shop two stores up. Oddly, she was alone, and carrying only a single bag. These little details were easily glossed over by her mere existence however. Felix quickened his pace to catch up to her, while running a hand up through his hair to muss the well groomed locks. He pitched his voice higher, and sucked all sense of duty and purpose from it. “Hey Chloé. It’s great to see you! I was just thinking of grabbing a bite to eat. Do you want to join me?”

She turned as quickly as ever, but immediately something was wrong. Instead of a bright smile there was a sharp scowl on those painted lips. She didn’t charge him. She didn’t gush. Even before she spoke, Felix felt an itch between his shoulder blades.

“You’re not Adri-nobody. Don’t even bother trying to pretend you are!"

Felix wasn't one to give up so easily, and Chloé was always a sucker for this game. He heaved a sigh and stuck his hands into his pockets, letting his shoulders slump like some vagrant. "That's not very nice, Chloé. I came to apologize. Are you really going to hold a little misunderstanding against me? I thought we were friends."

Those twilight blue eyes remained mere slits instead of widening. There was no shout of joy and reconciliation, nothing for Felix to mock. She stalked up to him and looked him over in a calculating way she never had before. It was all wrong, the itch grew.

"You're pretending to be Adrien. If you were Adrien you'd be far too busy with your baker girl and your new friends for the likes of me. Sorry to disappoint you, but your game is over. Keep trying if you want though. I can laugh while you look ridiculous, utterly ridiculous."

Chloé tried to finish with a glower, but Felix could hear her teeth grinding behind those pouting lips. She was beyond angry, but he hadn't been the cause. He felt… cheated?

He dropped the act and straightened up, running his hands back through his hair to tame it. When he spoke again it was his own voice, cool and confident. "What on earth happened, Chloé? Was it you or my cousin who was the fool this time?" 

Both were equally plausible.

She leveled a finger at him, nail hovering like a dagger just below his chin. "That's none of your business, discount Adrien! You just stay away from me, you hear? All of you Agrestes are nothing to me now. From ugly Gabriel, to stupid Adrien, right down to annoying you."

She spun at the end of her pronouncement, giving him no room for a retort. The most he could say was that she looked absolutely silly stomping away. Yet, he hadn't been the cause. He had barely been involved in the entire over-emotional exchange. She had even called him-

Felix screamed after her, unaccountable rage flaring from sources he couldn't name. "I AM NOT AN AGRESTE!"

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfiction #chloé bourgeois #Felix Fathom #Felix Graham de Vanily #Chlolix #Amilie Graham de Vanily #Aro/Ace #season 5 divergent #ml fanfic #Felix X Chloé

[iced-coffeebean]

Fic Writer (of doom) Interview :)

Thank you for the tagged my beloved Stars (aka @starsmadeinheaven)

How many works do you have on AO3?

WOW UH

I apparently have 31 works on AO3. Christ, that's a lot.

21 of them are Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

4 are Original Works

3 of them of Hetalia

2 are Yu-Gi-Oh 5d's

And 1 is Yu-Gi-Oh! DM

What’s your total AO3 word count?

72,638 words apparently. Slay. I didn't think I'd have a lot of words tbh.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Oh god, I wonder.

1. Everything Stays (Hetalia GerItaPan Oneshot)

2. Sakura Petals Blossom But Love Blossoms Faster (Hetalia AmeriPan oneshot)

3. You Know I Love You Right? (Yu-Gi-Oh! DM Wishshipping Oneshot)

4. My Remedy (Hetalia ItaPan oneshot)

5. This Is Home (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5d's fic collab with my brother)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to but sometimes it feels like they don't need me to respond to them if that makes sense?? Sometimes it's just a statement more than a comment of appreciation if that makes sense???

So yeah, it depends.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don't really know tbh. I have a lot of unfinished YGO fics that in theory, are supposed to have lots of angst and possibly angsty endings but I never finished those but they don't really count ig??

I haven't really written angst but maybe Cross My Heart In Hopes To Die

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Probably almost all of them have neutral/happy endings.

Everything Stays and My Remedy

Do you write crossovers?

I don't think I've written any currently unless it's Yu-Gi-Oh! related since you can smack some of the shows together. If it isn't YGO shows being smacked together, it probably won't exist. Maybe a series AU for another series but them meeting that series' characters?

No </3

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I've gotten some hate on my Anikishipping fics but tbh idc anymore. I'll write whatever makes me happy and if people have a problem with that, they can suck my dick. Like idk what else to say.

If you don't like it, go write something else then.

Before going onto AO3, I was on Wattpad and we ALL know how THAT must have gone.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I write smut but I rarely ever post it and if I do, it's anon LMAO.

I just feel like it's too awkward and I'm just scared people are gonna judge me LOL.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I wouldn't know and I SURE hope not.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nah. I'm not that famous yet.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

This Is Home is a fic I'm writing with my brother. It's kind of on a hiatus cause of life and cause of the YGO fandom break we're both taking. We'll talk it out and see if we can continue it.

I'm actually gonna hopefully work on new micronation related works with other lads so I'm SUPER excited for that!!!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Hetalia: GerItaPan and MolSeb.

DM: Wishshipping

GX: Anikishipping

5D'S: Toolshipping

Zexal: Aztecshipping

Arc-V: Candyshipping

Vrains: Respectfulshipping

Sevens: Moonlightroadshipping

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I had a Spamano/ItaPan/MolSeb werewolf fic that I was gonna do but I gave the fic away to a moot to write instead since I lost interest in it and didn't want to write anymore.

What are your writing strengths?

Tbh, I don't know. Probably internal dialogue and emotions. I like writing arguments and deep conversations cause it's so fun playing around with people's emotions <33

What are your writing weaknesses?

DESCRIPTIONS AND USING FANCY WORDS.

I don't wanna sound repetitive with words but god, I need to work on having a bigger vocabulary.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I try to use it in fics considering I'm in the Hetalia fandom but I do try to add translations at the bottom/on the notes if it's something that most people wouldn't know by now or more complicated items. I try to not use it cause I don't want to be that person with awful Google Translate or sucky translation app language errors but yk, sometimes duty calls.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Probably Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal or Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V if I'm being honest. I don't remember y'all. It's been a SECOND.

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I wanna write Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains content but the show is so SLOW and BORING for me but I really LOVE Spectre and I would love to maybe write some Respectfulshipping.

I'd also love to write some Gakuto fics for Sevens cause they did his character SO WRONG it's makes me SO MAD.

For Hetalia, I'm not really sure tbh.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

For YGO, maybe Imaginary Friend (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Anikishipping oneshot)

For Hetalia, it's definitely gotta be My Remedy

I tag these lads (you don't have to do them if you don't want to)

@stardust-revolver @starfishes-and-watercolors @apalonespinifera

This concludes my ask <3

(I'm going to be honest, most of the fics I mentioned here I kind of hate now but I left to see any possible growth or progress when I work on new stuff. I only really like my more recent content but we won't go into that <3)

#iced_coffeearts #coffee rambles #coffee rambles about stuff

[monsterkissed]

You said you liked to share BNGN trivia, so you got any tidbits?

some assorted trivialities (spoilers for a fanfic up to the latest chapter):

the fic was originally envisioned (and partly written) as a series of drabbles! if i had kept that going, it would currently be 5,376 drabbles long.

tiramisu was written into the outline entirely as bait/tribute to my partners, who are big siamese fans. she is now the most popular oc i have ever made for anything. i considered writing an origin story fic for her back when there was a jjba oc zine in the works, but it fell thru and now it only lives in my head. it involves multiple murders : )

bngn is not phf-compliant bc i did not want to read it. to make up for this i promise to find other horrible things for fugo to go through instead <3

probably not news to anyone by this point but here is some explicit confirmation: the first prologue that opens the fic is not about doppio

there are so many cases of foreshadowing in the form of jokes or joke-adjacent statements at this point that i cannot actually remember them all. if you see me make a silly comment in this fic there is at least a 20% chance it's actually a very sneaky mean comment hiding behind the linear progression of time

when i first drafted the outline act 3 was much much shorter and had a few drastic differences. one of these was that polnareff (or at least one of him) would have survived to support the gang much as he does in the original VA, but i could not think of anything fun for him to do that didn't detract from everything else, or at least nothing more fun than the inexplicable spectacle of two dead polnareffs after all of the build-up towards him. rip, rip.

speaking of fun: i wanted to have every major character get at least one really cool moment, regardless of how central they were to the story. i didn't want anyone to feel like you could cut them out completely and it wouldn't matter, i wanted to keep that ensemble feel of VA and give everyone room to affect the story in important ways, even if the fic still obviously has its focusses. of the ones i've published so far, i think i like mista's intervention in the Trish & Dop vs Fugo fight best out of those moments because i just had so much fun writing and visualising it and he felt like a natural fit to provoke fugo's own position in the story as a person fixated on the objective facts (which he was canonically Not Wrong about, in terms of sticking with bruno being a dubious plan for anyone fond of staying alive) to face off against someone who operates more on vibes and rolling the dice.

way back in the depths of drabble-draft the flashbacks were going to occur chronologically, followed by the present day stuff. but as i became aware that this was growing into something i realised that this would be stitching two pretty drastically different fics together back to back, and decided instead to use the current format. in theory this was purely going to allow me to show doppio's relationship with diavolo alongside his absence from him, so we can see simultaneously why he values and misses him so much and what he's becoming without him. in practice it led to a bunch of smaller changes that built up into, among other things, the premise of the entire canon divergence. technically, all of the flashbacks in act 1 and 2 "take place" during ch. 30. there is an implication to this that so far nobody has commented on ;)

i spent an amount of time researching macdonalds in italy that i will never ever get back

speaking of researching things that don't matter to anyone but me: everywhere a major scene happens is based on a specific spot i hand-picked on google maps. i roamed a lot of italian countryside via satellite trying to find the Exact kind of big, ugly, concrete-floored farm i had in mind for the first secco fight

technically this fic (or at least the extended universe around it) has sorbet and gelato VA-style origin stories to go with their fanstands (which i had a lot of fun with, workshopping around ideas for things that would make for excellent and suitably juicy assassination tools but vulnerable in a stand vs stand battle). much like tiramisu, so does my second stand-using oc brodo (who also cameos in 'I Think We're Alone Now', because skulking around trying not to be noticed is his speciality) the third, katarina, is only mostly goncharov-inspired, and Heart of Glass was originally going to be one of the chapter titles for this fic. another song with a very similar title still will be!

i had no intention of narancia being as big a presence in the fic as he was, but the longer i wrote the more i realised that he's just too fun to put in a room with doppio. the scene where he accepts the truth made me feel genuinely like a bit of a horrible person because i'd enjoyed building up their friendship so much and it was one of those chapters where i knew Exactly what the character would want to do and exactly why it would be the thing that would hurt them the most.

when i was hammering out the outline for what would become this fic an artist i had been following released a song that i put on in the background while i wrote, and then stopped writing and went back to listen to it properly twelve or thirteen times because it was eerily vibing perfectly with some of the themes i had been kicking around in my head trying to make something out of. it put a few seeds in my head in the way that some things serendipitously do, so much so that i almost named the whole fic after it. in the end, i decided to affix it to just one chapter where i felt it would best set the tone for the imminent descent to come. that chapter would be chapter thirty-eight.

[r4y-writes]

BSD "THE BOOK" THEORY

I'm not elaborating much, I've seen several theories about who the author of the book is, I've seen people saying it's Fyodor or Natsume, but I believe it's neither of them and I find the explanation quite simple.

But once again, it's just a theory, and as we all know bsd is known for it's unpredictable outcomes so while I strongly believe this, I also believe it could be all wrong.

Anyway, let's get to the actual theory :)

The author is Asagiri himself

If you think about it, it actually makes sense. Bsd is a universe similar to a fanfiction, with characters that almost already exist- the writers- except in this world it's like an alternative universe they're in- where these writers have abilities related to their works and live in the present.

I think Asagiri is the author of the book, because as we've seen what's written on the page becomes real- so i thought what if this whole story is the book? In the anime (not in the manga tho, at least i don't remember noticing it) there's this image of the book and the title says "stray dogs", which is a metaphor for the characters in the Bsd universe.

If the current events are happening because they're written on the page, then what if the rest of this story is written on the book?

We never get to see how the writers got their abilities

And, if you actually think about it, it's a bit odd how some of them would notice them- for example, Fukuzawa, his ability is related to the agency. So what before that? Did he have an ability at all before the agency was created? Or does he use it only for those he cares about- but it so, he would use it on his friends and such aswell, right? Something's missing.

Fyodor and the other characters are part of the story

I mean, it makes more sense if it's someone outside of it writting it. Still, there's lots of possibilities and he could be writing about a world he's in, of course. But I feel like it makes more sense if it's an outsider writing it. Fyodor has said himself he wants a world with no abilities, so he's not the writer- why would he write about a world with abilities if he could discard it from the start?

Ranpo said this book is more than just an ability

That's the big thing- Who would have such amount of power? Someone who's not part of the story. Someone who can change it and decide everything as they want. Someone that won't be affected by the changes.

If this isn't an ability how- and who- could create such a thing? The author of the whole series, Asagiri.

----

But again, there's so many theories out there, so many possibilities, so there's no way none of us can be sure until it's revealed.

---

If that was it, how would the story end, or keep going after the author was revealed?

I believe it would be a really interesting ending to have the characters realise they're living in a world of fiction, created by someone's imagination, and the different reactions of each finding it out.

Here's some possible endings I thought of:

They decide they don't want to live in a world that's not "real", that's being created by someone else, so they all decide to end the story, maybe by killing themselves and destroying the world. This is the one I'm least convinced about, since it's unlikely they all agree to do the same.

They all agree to keep the world going and keep living their lives because they've grown with it and it's their reality. But again, for the same reasons as the possibility 1, I don't believe much in this one.

Some of them kill themselves, not willing to live in a "fake" world, and some of them decide to stay and keep things as they are.

---

What do you think? Feel free to discuss theories with me, ask questions, and thanks so much for reading this until here. I hope you enjoyed it!

#writing #anime #anime and manga #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bungo sd #bsd analysis #bsd theories #opinion

[corneliaavenue-ao3]

2022 Wrapped

Tagged by @seriouslysam8

Sorry for not doing this in 2022, I was busy last night!

Post the top 5 works you're most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular)

Well since I only published 5 works this makes my life easy!

i wrote a poem (you say what a mind) - my first ever fanfic! just a nice sweet moment between Harry and Ginny in OOTP. I feel like it's not a secret that I love missing moments between those two in OOTP.

island breeze with the lights down low - I WROTE SMUT?!?

up on a roof with a school girls crush - written for several sunlit daylights! Also a New Year's Eve fic, so very fitting for the day!

the road not taken looks real good now - also written for several sunlit daylights (not that it had to be, all of my fics are slightly based off of Taylor Swift songs). Harry and Ginny just get a much needed moment of peace before the horcrux hunt

god rest my soul - a quick oneshot I wrote a few days ago about the impact Tom has on Ginny. I am really proud of the prose on this fic.

your top 4 current WIPs that you're excited to release in the new year

I will be honest, not sure I have 4.

the breaks in your soul - a oneshot about a double date between Lavender/Ron and Ginny/Dean. It is like 99% done, I just am not happy with the last paragraph and honestly I hate the title. I have been scouring Taylor Swift lyrics to find something better and nothing has clicked yet. So it will stay a WIP until I find a better title!

barefoot in the kitchen - I posted a scene of this for Several Sunlit Daylights. It is just a bunch of missing moments of Harry and Ginny in the kitchen over the years!

time can't stop me quite like you did - this is my baby. I've been thinking about this fic for maybe 2 years now. Some dark magic happens while cleaning Grimmauld Place causing Harry and Ginny to get stuck in a time loop. They must work together to figure out how to get out of the time loop and why they are the only two stuck in it. Originally it was a one shot and then I wrote a lot and now its a multi-chapter fic. Hopefully you see this in 2023.

I have ideas post time can't stop me quite like you did, so in theory those are mental WIPs

your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year

Well to start off I posted a fic this year! I got over that huge mental leap and started to share my work!

I think my detail in my prose have improved. I try to paint more and more of a picture of the scene.

I used to struggle with dialogue, and not I think I have some natural banter and flow! Still needs a little improvement, but that is okay!

your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year

To focus when I write. I often write 100 words and then go off and do something else. I want to dedicate some time to writing each week.

I want to build more of a community with my writing! That is my favorite things about fandom, and I just want to continue to build on what I have! (love you to all of my mutuals!)

and your number 1 favorite line you've written this year

I'll be honest, I am not 100% sure this is my favorite, but I do really like it! A scene from the road not taken...

Her bed was much colder now that Harry no longer occupied it with her. Now that she had experienced fire, everything else felt cold. The frigid feeling froze Ginny as she realized this new bitterness would stick with her when Harry really left for good.

Tagging (sorry if you have already been tagged I have no clue who has participated!)

@displayheartcode @nuatthebeach @thegirlwhowrites642 @ginnyw-potter

#happy 2023!

[hypnoticwinter]

Am I a real person now?

For a long time I guess I kind of just assumed that my life would stay in a sort of quiet low-level limbo until I died. I've worked entry-level jobs all my life and been happy with it because I was writing in my spare time, which is what I really wanted to do, and, further, I never had any expectations of being able to make money off of my writing.

I've kept my life simple so I could devote time to my writing and my reading. Now a friend wants me to do the writing on a project for him. Of course I said yes immediately, because he's brilliant and any project he's involved with would be a dream to work on, but although he'd said it would be paid, I guess I didn't really think about what that would mean. It was easy, I guess, to sort of assume that it would peter out and lead nowhere - not because of a lack of skill or drive on his part, but because everything else in my life, besides my writing, has petered out and lead nowhere.

Now, though, I'm in a discord server with the rest of the team and talking about lofty things, or rather listening to the rest of them talk about them. We need to launch a kickstarter and get funding, we want to fly everybody out to a different state so we can all meet each other. This is real? I guess it's real. I never thought I'd be involved with anything real like that.

What am I supposed to do now? Half of me is torn between drafting up outlines and figuring out what story we're trying to tell, and half of me (the smarter half) is reminding me not to do any work without a contract. What have I gotten into? Will I fill out a 1099 for this? Will I need to quit my job so I can work full-time on this? Will I get a salary? I haven't flown anywhere in years, much less worked on a project with people face-to-face, or even with people that I've met face-to-face. I can't remember the last time I stayed in a hotel, or even traveled to a different state.

There are so many questions I want to ask the project manager, or my friend, but it wouldn't be prudent. There is still time for this all to collapse...or for it to succeed. Wouldn't that be strange? It wouldn't be what I'm used to, that's for sure.

Maybe a decade ago or even five years ago I would have made a fool of myself and asked all those questions I want to, but now that I'm almost 30 I know better.

What a strange feeling of vulnerability, to look at these people and think of how much more together their lives must be than mine. All I've cared about for years has been my writing, and in some ways that's what got me involved in this project, but I hate to think of the comparison that'll be made if we do get funding and we do all fly out and meet up with each other. I'll have to buy new clothes, ones I'll actually look presentable in. Maybe do something with my hair.

The one saving grace is that I'm not nervous about my actual role. The writing's fine; I haven't written for this kind of media before, but I know the theory and my penchant for planning should take care of it. It'll be work, though, real work, and a lot of it. But I'm a good writer, and I'm not worried about that.

'Am I a real person now?' I think to myself, and the answer's still maybe. Maybe if we get funding, maybe if I really do need to quit my job and work on this full-time, maybe if in April next year I really am filling out a 1099, maybe I'll be real then. Maybe I'll be real when I have a hotel room for one in a different state. Maybe not. I guess I'll see.

[valleynix]

Before I go further into the story... I'VE DONE RESEARCH. And I have one more theory. I hope I managed to make it make sense it was hard to gather thoughts into words.

So the Megamycete can store the consciousnesses of people that are infected/died. It is also capable of creating a whole new realm.

So, I think when the blackouts happen Reader finds themselves in the world created by the Megamycete. The people they see are pieces/versions/copies of their and other people's (like Dimis) consciousness. Since there was a calmer version of Daniela, I assume there can be a scarier, more feral version(s) of the Reader too.

Now I think Miranda is, perhaps, running tests on the Reader, on the different copies/versions of their consciousness like it was with Rose in the DLC. Maybe they're supposed to go through some kind of scenario(s)?

To see which version will succeed and in what circumstances.

But it seems most (if not all) failed. That's why the "Not enough, not good, can’t help" lines.

That would explain the feeling of deja vu, that Reader already spent time with Dimitrescus. Those could be the memories of a different version of the Reader that had already gone through the scenario.

But I don't know if this is the version that Miranda chose as destined to succeed or if it's a random consciousness on loose?

(Or the Reader the story we follow is still a test subject and none of this is actually real like idk they're trapped in their body, their mind stuck in the fake realm)

But... yeah, what was Miranda's goal. This is the part of theory I have doubts about but let's go.

It's strange but for me it looks like Miranda wanted Reader to like... neutralise the Dimitrescus? But Reader became attached to them so they didn't want to hurt them. So Miranda forced them by getting into their head. (Since it was mentioned she can do that)

In those blackouts I feel like Reader becomes hostile toward them sometimes, like they're not completely themselves.

The ch6 blackout looks like Reader (even if didn't want it) attacked them (perhaps even killed one of them) but failed at defeating them all.

And Miranda(?) said they weren't ready, but she can try again. As in, use another copy of the Reader perhaps? To make them go through this all again and see if this time they'll be successful.

So when those people the Reader sees say they're not good enough, they can't help. Maybe they mean they can't fight against Miranda to stay sane and not hurt the people they grew to care about.

There was a line "I can't let her win" so perhaps they mean they can't let Miranda take over their mind and make them fight against Dimitrescus.

Idk why she would want them dead tho😭 so I may be so horribly stupidly wrong about this part but yeah

before i get started partially answering your theory (because i don't want to spoil anything), can i just tell you how much i ADORE this theory??? like... oh my god. i love the thought and work you clearly put into making it and i will cherish it <33

i will say that you did pick up on a few things!! and something you did hit PERFECTLY (but i will not say which part >:) ). it's very interesting seeing theories pop up before the reveal because, truthfully, everything is written as if there are several possibilities, if that makes sense?

like, it's intentionally misleading so that you won't really know what's going on until the reveal, but the clues/hints/foreshadowing can lead to multiple outcomes. i am tired and my vision is blurry so i hope this makes sense BAHA

i believe Miranda's motives are either hinted at or said in chapter eight/nine, but when/if you get there, i'd be happy to clarify her reasoning for doing All That and why she wants to Dimitrescus (and everyone else) dead. i really can't remember if i did go into detail about it or if it was all simply implication; i'd have to go back and reread :o

but listen, nah. we don't insult theories here >:( i had fun reading what you think is going on and all the evidence you have to back yourself up; no theory is a stupid one! i intentionally wrote it so that you most likely wouldn't know what exactly was going on, but you did come very close in some areas and 100% got some others :D

i do look forward to hearing what else you have to say as you continue reading <33

#asks #mmm this is exciting skdfhjs #i think only like #one person ?? #actually guessed what was going on before the reveal #ezzie partially guessed iirc #but again it's all intentional #you are being intentionally misguided >:)

[ian-galagher]

Hey Willow (: how are you ? Here are a few questions if you feel like answering about our favorite boys 😉

Headcanon challenge:

1. Besides “Mick” and “Mickey”, what’s Ian nickname for Mickey? From all the nicknames Mickey calls him , what’s Ian’s favorite?

2. What’s the story behind Mickey’s knuckle tattoos? (When / how / by who) When Ian gets a tattoo for Mickey, what is it / on what occasion?

3. Random turn-on for Mickey and a random turn-on for Ian? (Bonus: something that really shouldn’t be a turn on but is)

4. What’s their Instagram @ ? When did they start following each other?

5. If they get a pet, is it a dog (who walks it more often?) or a cat (who cuddles with it more often) ? 

HELLO! I'm fighting a cold and I'm being SO brave about it. *sniffs* And some idiot cut the wires of the internet in our street but it's up and running again and I'm so so glad. It's weird being without internet. ANYWAY thank you for sending these! 😁

1. Nicknames! Weirdly, I kinda like the idea of Ian not having nicknames for Mickey. Mickey has more than plenty for him, so maybe that's his thing. Ian brings out 'Mick' only on special occasions, or as a way for Mickey to know that he's serious. He used 'babe' once on the show but it somehow felt out of character, I can't see that being a regular thing.

2. Tattoos! I think Mickey got them done young, maybe at 13, to impress his dad and brothers. Afterwards Terry said he's 'a man now' even though he was literally just a kid. Now they're just a reminder of his old life.

I LOVE the idea of Ian surprising Mickey with an ass tattoo. Mickey doesn't get it. "Why your ass man? You're a top." But Ian justifies it by saying his ass belongs to Mickey now, and no one else. 🥺

3. Turn-ons! Mickey definitely has a uniform kink. Loves seeing Ian in his paramedic outfit, or that heavy gear that they wore for the security gig. He'll say shit like, "step on me with those boots", which puzzles Ian. "Wouldn't that hurt?!" He still wears the uniform, but he's not stepping on anyone. The boots can stay on though.

Ian. Sigh, it's gonna be something with tomatoes isn't it. No, it's coming home to Mickey cooking him dinner wearing an apron and nothing but an apron. Ian will drop everything and go straight for his neck, kissing it up and down which is another one of Mickey's turn-ons. Added bonus, Ian gets to smell Mickey 🥰

Something that REALLY shouldn't be a turn on but is is smoking. Smoking is terrible in so many ways and yet when Mickey lights up, tilting his head back to blow out a stream of smoke, Ian's a goner.

4. Instagram! Heheh I've got a pretty cool idea for a fic I'm writing and I don't wanna spoil it but I also haven't written in weeks 😭 and I don't know how to get back into it anymore. So maybe I'm giving up on that. Mickey's got something soppy like MrMilkovichGalagher while Ian's using IanGalagher because Gallagher was already taken (Mickey just used one L as a reference to his tattoo, or so he says. Ian's not entirely convinced he simply forgot how to spell again)

5. Pets! ONE OF EACH PLEASE 🥺 Mickey gets a badass dog he dotes on. He thinks it'll scare people off but he's never been stopped in the street more often. Everyone wants to pet the cute doggie.

Ian meanwhile gets a cat, a scruffy little thing, which crawls onto his lap in the evenings and is allowed to stay there, no matter how much Mickey protests that his lap is for him only.

My even deeper theory is that Mickey is most like a cat (doesn't wanna be cuddled but secretly does, doesn't do as told, scratchy) and Ian is like a dog (loyal, friendly, enjoys runs, will go through a fire for the right person) which is why they get pets representing the other 🥺

#THANK YOU FOR THIS IT HAS BEEN SO MUCH FUN!!!! #it only took me FOREVER to reply but i really liked these! #hope you have a good weekend 🥰 #shameless #ask #Headcanon challenge #gallavich-headcanon

[roci-wolf]

okay so. the album.

hehe i wrote all my thoughts and ranked the songs here~ if you’re interested

but yeah i agree with everything you said. hall of fame truly is THAT GIRL!! i love that song. it’s such a trip to listen to. and it’s the perfect intro to SKZ, not just the album

and s-class… i definitely see what you mean. i think when i first heard it i was like WHOA what’s going onnnnnn cause it was just very very interesting for them to switch genres like that. and i had a theory about it too but i also didn’t bother looking into it bc i got lazy AHHAHAHAHAH but yeah it’s such a great song

and honestly i didn’t really pay too much attention to FNF at first. and then i did and i was like…. amazed. cause i didn’t know they were singing about the nature lost during the fire in australia! i– like that really shocked me. i didn’t mention it when i first wrote my song impressions bc i was so focused on *cough* criticising certain songwriting *cough* 👀😂 but really when i realised i was completely floored. not just by the song but also by the fact that they made that song? like… chris and felix… man, it’s rare for people to love their home country this much, yknow? to write a song for it. they definitely didn’t have to. but they did, out of love. and i just… idk colour me impressed and touched, i suppose.

and yes chan expressing his thoughts and encouragement in youtiful was very heartwarming 💛 i do think it’s a beautiful song. like the melody is just… so calming. i just wish the lyrics were better jejdjdhshsjd (man i feel so mean. esp since he’s my bias and i’m sure he poured his heart into it but !!! i just– can’t HAHAHAHAH)

yesss, i read what you wrote about the songs and damn, i agree with everything... and i mean, EVERYTHING if yk what i mean... i'll get to that 👀

tbh hall of fame could easily be a marvel soundtrack and i think that's what makes me like it so so much kcjskdn

and yeah, i get what you mean with s-class! it really does sound plausible, idk if they did it with that in mind but i can see the vision and it fits sooo

yesss, it also took me a while to notice fnf, but after reading the lyrics and watching the mv as well, it gave me goosebumps. now, the songwriting... is definitely better than youtiful 🤣 and no, you are not mean, what you did is constructive criticism and you were honest so it's ok! i have the same thoughts, i just didn't say anything because i've seen some stays debate over it and i wanted to play it safe 😭 but don't worry bestie, i agree, it rlly isn't chan's best written song, but the act in itself is appreciated and it shows that they rlly do pay attention to what their fans say

and i am sure that chan would be very happy to read your opinion, because how else is an artist supposed to grow if they don't see their mistakes, right? anyway, it wasn't really a 'mistake', just a work that could have been chiseled a little more. but yeah, my point is, i'm sure he'd understand 🤣 and that he'd love you just as much regardless. and as you said, i think that more practice on his part would bring much better results from him. i've noticed him getting more confident and writing english lyrics more often lately so i'm sure we can look forward to some better full eng songs

i meaaan, connected is really enjoyable and it's written well according to it's genre soo 👀 i'm expectant for what else he has in store

#roci's ✉️ #sulfurcosmos