#she did admit her logic here was not great

[bananonbinary]

me: ok so my brother has fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder that means he has to use a walker and wheelchair sometimes.

my mom: yes. this makes sense.

me: you also experience chronic pain in your hip and limp around a lot.

my mom: yes.

me: so you could perhaps use a cane or walker.

my mom: no thats illegal.

#mother pls #you dont have to be in immense pain all the time #your parents used walkers!! your 27yo uses a walker!! you are allowed! #she did admit her logic here was not great #kill the puritan in ur head living in pain is not Morally Correct #accepting help is not a sin

[longing-for-rain]

what exactly is Aang's toxic masculinity that you're talking about? there are no examples of such behavior on his part in the show. he is not an ideal person, he is a child who sometimes behaved incorrectly, just like all the other children in the show (Katara, Toph, Sokka), and this is normal.

in addition, we see how he regrets some of his wrong actions and gets better, while Zuko does not regret his toxic behavior, doesn't apologize and doesn't face the consequences of his behavior (racist jokes about Aang, demands that Katara forgive him as if he has the right to her forgiveness, an attack on Aang to "teach him a lesson" and many other things).

Hi anon, thanks for the ask! This is a very good illustration of what I was talking about in this post when I mentioned that I feel toxic men are overlooked more often for appearing “nice” than they are for being conventionally attractive.

No examples of toxic behavior in the show? What do you call this then?

I know what I (and the law) call it:

But you see, he’s “nice” right? This is just a misbehaved child, as you put it? Yah, no. He knew better and still did it because he was possessive; this whole interaction started because he was jealous that an actress playing Katara was interested in men other than him. And the show proceeded to frame the situation in a way that made Aang sympathetic, despite being the aggressor and the one behaving irrationally. How much more “toxically masculine” can you get than that? But he put on a flower crown once so we’re supposed to think he’s a soft uwu feminine boi (even though he was absolutely enraged that a female actress played him).

I also find it very interesting that you describe Katara and Sokka as “children” while Zuko is omitted from that list despite being the same age. Are you admitting you agree he’s more mature, or are you admitting that you hold him to different standards?

But, anyways. You asked about toxic behavior on Aang’s part, which I’ll get further into now that the most egregious example is out of the way.

Let’s break down what you consider unforgivably toxic behavior on Zuko’s part and compare it to Aang’s behavior in similar situations.

1. “Racist” jokes

I’m guessing this is made with reference to the “Air Temple preschool” comment. How exactly is this racist? In context, Aang is the one trying to force his beliefs on others, and Zuko makes this comment to a) tell him to back off and b) point out that Aang is, in fact, a child who doesn’t have any business telling Katara how to feel.

This point is particularly interesting to me, because it implies that the simple fact that Zuko doesn’t agree with the philosophy of Aang’s culture makes him racist. By this logic, Aang is also racist against Katara’s culture, because he clearly disagrees with her philosophy and is openly telling her that his culture is morally virtuous over hers. And well. That’s even more believable considering Aang’s previous reactions to Water Tribe culture.

Ah, yes. Playing with a cultural artifact like it’s a toy because you were upset about not being the center of attention for once, and telling everyone how disgusting you think cultural food is, what great ways to show the supposed love of your life how much you respect her culture!

I know your response to this point would be something like “uwu but he’s a kid he didn’t knowww” ok well. The same logic can be applied to any alleged “racism” on Zuko’s part.

2. “Demanding” forgiveness

Zuko: What can I do to make it up to you?

Ah, yes. How demanding of him. He’s clearly so self-centered and only thinking about his own values and agenda here.

It’s not like he…

…told his friend how she’s allowed to process her grief and try to impose his own morals…

…or demanded to know if his crush liked him back, wouldn’t accept “no” as an answer, and forced a kiss on her…

…or told an abuse victim he was wrong to want to kill his abusive father for trying to commit a genocide…

…oh, um. Yeah. Sorry, but after actually watching the show it’s very clear to me which character doesn’t seem to regret or see the flaws in any of his actions at the end of the show, which is when all of these examples took place.

3. Training in the finale

“Attacking Aang to teach him a lesson” … wow, that’s a very dishonest way of phrasing that situation. I’m impressed, I have to say. I’ve seen lots of dumb takes from Aang stans over the years but this is a new one.

Well, luckily I actually watched the scene in context, so my reaction was the same as all the other characters’ reactions in canon when they learned the context behind this “attack”:

They agree with him. Yeah. Obviously, when nobody is taking training seriously when the world is about to literally go up in flames, you might need to do something to get their attention.

“But it was dangerous!” you might argue. Well… yeah. When magic and bending is in the equation, training in the Avatar universe has been shown to be somewhat dangerous at times. As an example, from this very same episode, Toph very nearly smashed Sokka with a giant flaming rock. That was way closer to hurting someone than Zuko was in this incident. If you’re going to fault characters for making their training exercises too dangerous, I guess Toph is mega cancelled.

Now back to Aang. What was his reaction in this situation? How did he react to the end of the world being days away? He ran away with absolutely no plan. Just like he did at the very beginning of the show.

I mean, think about it. This is a critical flaw (and toxic trait) in Aang that is literally never addressed, because he starts and ends the show the exact same way: he’s faced with a problem, he runs away from it, then he’s saved by an in-universe equivalent of an Act of God. Wowie, such great character development. Not fixing your core flaw and having a mythical plot device materialize into existence to solve your problems for you. Aang’s whole arc is a big blah, because the writing fails to address any of his flaws or have him meaningfully question any of his values.

Meanwhile, Zuko has consistently been a fan favorite because he’s the opposite. His flaws are meaningfully addressed, he does admit he’s wrong and fix his flaws, and his character shows a critically acclaimed change throughout the show. His arc is written so well that despite being a cartoon character, Zuko is widely considered the poster child for a good redemption arc across all forms of media.

So anyways, miss me with the double standards… there is a reason why Zuko is the fan favorite, and it’s not just his abs 🔥

#fandom salt #meta #zuko #katara #aang critical #canon critical #atla #zutara #anti kataang #ask #anon

[dragondream-ing]

If someone defends Rhaenyra’s usurpation because of tRaDiTiOn, they better be waving a Maegor banner proudly.

I’m being serious.

So many people in this fandom care about the tradition of Westerosi inheritance and act like yelling about it justifies team green’s actions. They never seem to take into consideration what it means.

This post is inspired by my allergy to inconsistency and hypocrisy. Here we go.

The only consistent tradition of Targaryen succession is the ruler choosing their own heir. Sometimes that aligned with Westerosi tradition, often it did not. And it started with the very first heir. So either you admit Maegor was the rightful heir over Aenys, or you admit he wasn’t because Aegon the Conqueror said so.

Let me explain.

Visenya was Aegon’s first wife. In Westerosi tradition, Rhaenys would be considered at best a mistress and her children out of the succession or, at the least, behind Visenya’s children. The lords accepted the validity of Aegon’s plural marriage because they didn’t have the power to oppose the Conquerors, simple as. Tradition didn’t matter in the face of dragons. It is not a genuine argument and hasn’t been since the creation of the Crown itself. House Targaryen’s exceptionalism went beyond incest and dragons from the start, and accepting Aenys as king shows the nobles accepted this when it was convenient.

So I’d like team green to be consistent. Is the king’s word law, a la Aegon choosing Aenys as his heir? Or is this a break from tradition that was only corrected when Maegor killed his nephew and took the throne?

It gets messy from here. Maegor, as we know, didn’t have a child, so he chose his great-niece, Aerea as his heir. Jaehaerys was still alive, he could’ve chosen him. Heck, that might’ve eased like a drop of the tension between him, Jaehaerys and Alyssa Velaryon. So if you’re a tradition truther, Maegor was the proper king but then chose an untraditional heir. Hmm.

Then we get to Jaehaerys, and a tradition truther might think YES, THAT’S OUR GUY. But he’s really not.

Yes, he stopped considering his eldest living child, Daenerys, as his heir after Aemon was born. But then Aemon died.

Aemon did, however, die with an heir. Her name was Rhaenys. In Westerosi tradition, she’d inherit after him, because a daughter inherits before a brother. Now, I know the lords do all sorts of things to circumvent this (see Alys Karstark), but that *is* Westerosi tradition.

Did Jaehaerys follow tradition? Nope. He picked his second oldest son, Baelon.

Some might say there are logical reasons for this. Baelon was a warrior, older, and had grown sons. Rhaenys was like 18, married to an ambitious lord not named Targaryen, and at risk of dying in childbirth (Baelon was named heir in 92, Rhaenys had her first child in 92). HOWEVER, we see with Jeyne Arryn becoming Lady of the Vale while still a *toddler* that Westerosi tradition doesn’t set aside claims merely because such concerns exist. In fact, in ASOIAF, some Lannister married an f-ing BABY to lay claim to her lands because *she* is the acknowledged inheritor.

You could argue that it matters more when it’s the Crown, and I’ll concede that while pointing out you’ve made my argument for me: isn’t that a good reason for the Crown to do what it wants instead of following traditions that hamstring it?

If you’re a tradition truther, however, you should be in a rage and insisting Rhaenys inherit, and you should be outraged by what was done to her at the Council of 101 after Baelon dies. Her claim wasn’t even considered, Laenor’s was—ya know, her toddler son who got his claim *through* her.

So then Viserys takes the throne and continues the Targaryen custom of choosing his heir. And the tradition truthers of the fandom rise up and boo, and they cry “duty and sacrifice! What about tradition!?”

Just admit that the lords of Westeros, Alicent, her merry band of greens, and the fans that make excuses for them didn’t and don’t care about tradition unless it suits them, and they only become vocal about it when a woman stands a good chance of inheriting over a man.

Viserys never wavered in his choice, the realm knew it and so did the greens. This is precisely why Rhaenyra had far more support than her brother, and why the argument that the realm wouldn’t accept her is bs. The realm DID accept her. Because they understood something many in this fandom struggle to

There was only one consistent tradition of royal succession between the Conquest and the Dance: the ruler chooses their heir.

#anti team green #anti alicent stans #say tradition one more time I dare you #the Targaryens answer to neither gods nor men hello #is the king’s word law or not #one time I asked a team green stan this on Twitter and got blocked so fast lmao #team black forever #Rhaenyra is the true queen deal with it

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for mentioning college again to my online friend, despite her telling me she knows it's not for her/not making a decision about it right now?

We both turned 18 this year, and are in our last years of highschool, and hopefully will both graduate this year! We met two years ago, and call and play games together sometimes, send each other selfies, share our silly crushes—she's the best girl friend I have right now and im very grateful for her.

Some info about me: both of my parents grew up very low income and from rough places and got full scholarships/a deal(like they pay for your college, and then you work for them after), because of this they're financially doing much better than both their families(my mother regularly sending money back home to pay for surgeries , bills, etc.). All of this is to say I've been raised with the mindset that higher education is my ticket to bettering my life, and I take school very seriously. I live in an area with a lot of immigrants, and all my friends do plan on going to college. Here is my disclaimer that I know college is *not* for everyone, and you do not need to go to college to be successful. But my friend is in the same stage in life as me, and I think it could be beneficial for her. She's not the best student at all(also home-schooled and does online schooling), but she's passing all her classes. We've talked about it before and I've asked if she's thought about college, and she said no because everyone in her family who went was just left with debt. Additionally she's not motivated in school now, so she doesn't think she would be motivated in college and would just end up as a "money dump". She's also talked about college with her mom, who said that she was only 18 and didn't need to make decisions about it right now. Right now her plan is to get a minimum wage job after high school(she's mentioned a fast food chain). I do think it would be good for her to get out of the house because right now she's basically stuck at home because her mom doesn't like going places. To my knowledge she has no friends irl, because of the homeschooling. Which is one of the reasons why I think college would be great for her--the chance to be with other people your own age.

We've only talked about college one time where I just asked, and after that I haven't mentioned it because I don't want to act like I have any say in her life decisions or make her feel bad. I've just been thinking about it lately because logically to me it seems like if she did want to go to college, now would be the best time because she would have the support of her online school where she has a counselor. Her mom didn't go to college and she isn't in regular contact with her dad.

For more context my family is middle class and I'm not sure what her financial situation is, but I do know comfortable but not deeply so. I would hate to bring up college if it's something she knows she cant afford( but long term I think going to college would help her make more money than any job she started now, which is why Im thinking about bringing it up again). I don't know if this is enough context, and I'm willing to provide more! I'll admit I'm not the smartest teen out there, so if you see any thing wrong with my thinking or think I'm a total asshole please tell me and I'll check my behavior. Im also keeping in mind her lack of motivation that she mentioned she had in school, and of course her mental health and wellbeing is of like. the utmost importance.

so, would I be the asshole for bringing up college with her again, despite knowing her situation? I really love this friend and the last thing I would want to do with her is be disrespectful and insensitive. thank you for very much, Tumblr! any advice you can give in the comments would be greatly appreciated.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[kseung]

Wednesday Addams x Reader

Better Timing

Pt. 2 of Bad timing

Requested

Warnings: Wednesday being Wednesday.

Words: 815~

Now, before you read. I apologize for making this drabble too short.

After some good sleep, now that you and Wednesday were doing okay, you decided it was time to talk to her. You were doing much better. That day you had spent your classes with her, as per usual. She seemed to like having her schedule back to normal.

Your friends were all glad stuff was better. They were happy you weren't gloomy anymore. At least not gloomy alone. Enid was particularly thrilled. But can you blame her? Her favorite ship was sailing again.

You knocked three times in a waltz pattern, letting Wednesday know it was you who knocked. You then opened the door, finding her sitting in front of her typewriter. You smiled, settling for her bed. You took off your shoes, and sat cross-legged. Maybe now you'd get to think about what to say.

—I was talking to you.

Wednesday's voice is usually stoic, but with enough potential for deadpan jokes. Even if she doesn't admit it, she's quite the funny gal. You then realized she had stopped writing, as you heard nothing but silence. You looked at her, nodding.

—Sorry. I was thinking. What did you tell me?

—I can't concentrate with you here. It'd be better if we could talk now.

Oh, yeah. That. It made sense, really. Wednesday was, most probably, thinking about what you'd say. Then she wouldn't be able to concentrate, of course.

—Sure, Wens.

She couldn't help but tug upwards the corners of her mouth. The nickname you had for her always made her feel. That in itself was a great accomplishment. One you were happy to achieve.

You started. —First of all, I want to apologize for being mean to you. I needed space, but I went the wrong way when trying to get it. It's completely okay for you not to accept it—. You sighed. Things were sprawled all over the table, with no sign of order whatsoever.

You guessed it was time to kick the elefant out of the room. —I really like you, Wednesday. I really, really do. Seeing you with Tyler crushed me. I was actually planning on confessing that day—, you said after laughing nervously. —I know you aren't exactly keen on showing feelings, so seeing you kiss him was shocking.

She was thingking about your words. By the way her face looked, you could see that she thought it was logical, in a way, that you felt what you felt. She nodded.

—I was not trying to make you feel bad. I apologize for that—. You smiled at what Wednesday said. You knew. She wasn't quite as keen on hurting you as she was with others, much less in non-physical ways. She was silent then for some moments. Expressing herself out loud was always uncomfortable for her, so you patiently waited. —Tyler tried to kiss me before, so I thought that maybe it was what I had to do. The ambience did not help either—. You nodded, almost imperceptibly. She saw it and took it as a sign to continue. —I don't know what I feel. But I knew that kissing him felt wrong. Maybe later I could feel how it is when I kiss you?

She and her way with words. Speaking was not her forte, but you still smiled. You moved until you were sitting closer to her, at least at arm's reach. Emotions suit her well, she just doesn't want to acknowledge that fact.

—So... you're saying you want to kiss me?

—Quite obviously.

—Take your chance—, you shrugged.

You smiled when Wednesday pulled you towards her, gripping onto your necktie. She may be small, but she's also quite strong. It made you feel things akin to her very own sentiments.

At first you were just face to face, keeping up the most intense yet meaningful stares. Until her eyes wandered off, downwards to your lips. Your hand traveled to her waist, as she gripped the fabric tighter.

—I'll be taking it gladly.

She moved forward, finally kissing you like you so desperately wanted. You pulled her towards you, getting her out of that uncomfortable chair. She settled better on your lap, finally circling your neck with one of her arms.

—Why did we take so long to do that?

—Such a regret...—, she trailed off. She stilled, looking at you. —No words about this to anyone or I'll break your neck.

—Hmm. No thanks. Seems like you like my neck too much to allow it to break.

She pulled on your tie.

—Shut it.

You were more than happy to shut up if it meant kissing for a little while more.

••••

—Enid screamed. My ears are hurting now. Lovely.

You looked at Wednesday as she sat across from you at the table. Her eyes looked particularly alive that day, beaming but still Wednesday. You swallowed your piece of bread.

—And hugged you too. You seem extra stiff—, you said. She nodded. —You're such an adorable creature. My creature, hmm?

Oh, that she was.

#wednesday addams x reader #wednesday adams x reader #wednesday x reader #wednesday addams #wednesday adams #wednesday #wednesday addams imagine #wednesday imagines #wednesday imagine #jenna ortega x reader #fanfic #x reader

[blues824]

🌹Can I request a secario where a female riddle Rosehearts being isekai'd in the the word of the remarried empress.

❤️Imagine sovieshu wants her to be his mistresses and she get red with rage and almost usses( off with your head) not even te king of the qween of hearts dared to take a mistress and imagine her telling him that having a misters is braking one of the rules that dezeve the biheading of both parties king or not.

🌹Imagine her being navier right hand because she respected knows the rules and treats her like the empress that she is with full respect and admiration( and she doesn't have to worry about her sleeping with her husband or her trying to drag her name in the mud unlike rattrash😤 )

❤️Her telling navier about how her mother was like and how she was dorm leader of heartslabyul and imagine navier loving the idea of a rose garden like In her word to make her comfortable( and the female riddle throwing a unbirtday party for her because her birthday got ruined).

🌹Her understanding heinley when he is a bird because of the animal Language classes back in twisted wonderland.

❤️Imagine everyone learning about her idol the qween of hearts and her tendesy to decapitated the people who dare to not follow the rules.

🌹She could not stand rattrash because she is not following the qween of hearts rules and the empire that she rezides in the amount of times she collard her or almost did makes her mis ace and that said alot

(Duke kaufman looks like Kalim but acts like jamil)

A new fandom, a new set of tags. Also, with the amount of times you have requested a [character]!Reader in the Remarried Empress, I think I may need to start another Google Drive Folder.

We respect character slander here on my blog, alright? Sovieshit and Rattrash are on my hitlist.

Sovieshu is shocked that you would refuse to become one of his mistresses. Mans has never been told ‘no’ before (just wait, dude) and he doesn’t know how to take it. Since he was in a higher place of power than you, you (as calmly as you could) told him that it was against your culture’s rules to become someone’s mistress, even saying that you could be beheaded.

He tries to reassure your safety as long as you would accept, but you keep refusing. He really doesn’t know how to take a hint. Eventually, you get angry and lash out. You questioned the sheer amount of audacity he must have for asking for another mistress when he already had one as well as a wife.

Rashta and you are both enemies of each other. Of course, part of the reason is cultural differences. It was shameful to become the mistress of a reigning monarch where you’re from. The amount of times you have had to refrain from beheading her is too many to count. It really did make you miss Ace, and that was saying a lot.

Another reason is because of how she carried herself without any dignity. She always tried to take the offensive position but always ended up wailing back to Emperor Sovieshu. In front of the guy, you called her the lowest of cowards and that she should be ashamed of herself. The young mistress was shocked that her ‘husband(?)’ didn’t do anything. After all, how could he? He was still infatuated with you.

Navier asked you to become her handmaiden. You, relieved to find someone competent, accepted. She is delighted that you took so easily to the duties of one of her handmaidens. She did enjoy your conversations of what your world was like. You two get along because you tend to think logically rather than with emotions.

She takes up the ‘motherly’ role during your time here. In order to make you a tad more comfortable, she added a section of red roses to her garden just for you. In return, you offered to throw her one of the best unbirthday parties because hers was ruined in the worst way. She had to admit that it was a great celebration.

Heinrey panicked when he found out that you could understand him perfectly when he was in his bird form. You promised to cover for him, mainly because his visits as Queen made Empress Navier happy. You would offer ‘translations’ for Navier (coming up with something when she asked what Queen was saying) and explain that you were taught to understand animals.

He was grateful for you doing him this huge favor. You warned him that if he were to hurt the Empress in any way, you would have his head on a wooden platter because at that point he wouldn’t have deserved a silver one. You were very intimidating to him.

Bonus: Kosair, after meeting you, had to admit that he did fall for you. Not only were you wholeheartedly against Sovieshu, but you served Navier with your whole heart. He could tell that his beloved sister’s mood has lightened with you around.

If you will have him, he will show you places you could never imagine. He will act as your protector, make sure that you feel loved, and cherish you for as long as you will allow him to. He has the intention of marrying you one day, alright? He is not playing around.

#the remarried empress #the remarried empress x reader #remarried empress #remarried empress x reader #sovieshu #sovieshu x reader #emperor sovieshu #rashta #rashta x reader #navier #navier x reader #navier trovi #heinrey #heinrey x reader #kosair #kosair trovi #kosair x reader

[ukulelevillainwrites]

who follows the rules anyway?

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

final part

pairing: anthony lockwood x reader

word count : 6.3k

note: so here we are, some 8 months later this series is done! having mixed feelings rn but anyway i'm so glad i got to share this with you guys and there's a lot more to come

taglist: @demigoddess-of-ghosts ; @sub-text ; @mothman21 ; @aislinrayne ; @oblivious-idiot ; @neewtmas ; @maraschinomerry ; @bella-rose29 ; @bobbys-not-that-small ; @novelizt ; @fudosl ; @archiveoftara ; @cassiopeiia24

[from Lockwood’s pov]

It was still early when he started to emerge from his dreamless sleep. The few hours of rest he managed to get weren’t enough to drown out the confusion that had taken over his thoughts ever since Barnes had showed up yesterday. The sun wasn’t up yet. Time stood still and everything was quiet. He tossed and turned trying to fall back asleep but the blinking of the ghost lamp around the corner kept lighting up his room in a soft fluorescent light.

After y/n had gone up to the attic yesterday, he had stayed with George discussing new plans. They had spent dinner going over their notes from the previous weeks, their scribbling blackening the white cloth with new ideas. The problem was that they needed to take on new cases and planning for the party had already exhausted them. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that Dufour would have to wait a few more weeks until they were ready to strike again. The plate George had prepared for her was going cold and not seeing her come down, Lockwood had tried to bring it up for her. He had been relieved to find her fast asleep and not brooding about Barnes’ news. Even though she had woken up late after the night they spent at the fundraiser, she hadn’t seemed to be doing so great. He really hoped it was the champagne and not something else.

Thinking back to the night before, it was a miracle she had talked to him at all that afternoon. He had tried from the very beginning to separate work from his personal life. Whatever was the nature of his feelings towards her, whether it be hatred or otherwise, they had to have each other’s back in the field and that was all that mattered. Somehow, she still managed to tear down his walls of defense. Saying he had lost control at that party would have been an understatement. From the moment her lips stained his cheek red, all logic flew out the window. Between his proximity, his jealousy and the few terms of endearment that had slipped his mouth during the night, he had turned their working relationship into a minefield without a doubt.

She had rolled over, interrupting his train of thoughts. He had looked at her with fondness while she stretched in her sleep before settling back on her side. He then had gone back downstairs, thinking that rest would probably do her some good. He hadn’t had the opportunity to bring her even more bad news that night. But now here he was, the following day, with this unpleasant discussion still ahead of him and it certainly wasn’t going to let him fall back asleep. He reluctantly pushed his blanket away and pulled his grey hoodie over his head.

After his usual breakfast tea, and a second mug for comfort, Lockwood paced around the library while he waited for y/n to wake up. He had to tell her she wouldn’t get her revenge any time soon, the sooner the better. But did he really have to? The last time he refused to help her they had one of their worst fights. He certainly didn’t want that to happen again. All he wanted was for them to get along. That was a lie. What he really wanted was for her to look at him with the same fondness she had the night before, even just for an instant. He wanted her to tell him what she had meant when she’d admitted she had let her feelings get the best of her. He wanted to hold her in his arms again. What a mistake this had been. The three of them would go under if they didn’t take on new cases soon. And they would all have him to blame, just because he let his feelings get in the way of his work.

When he looked back at the clock on the wall, it was already 8:30. y/n had been supposedly asleep for twelve hours now. Granted she didn’t look too well yesterday, she still should have been awake by now.

For the third time, he went back to the kitchen for another mug of tea. He ran towards the door when he finally heard footsteps coming that way. He was greeted with George’s disheveled look instead of the person he was expecting to see. His smile faltered and he went back to standing next to the counter without saying a word.

“Good morning to you too…”

He poured his friend a cup of tea as a form of apology.

“Sorry,” he said while handing it to him, “I thought you were y/n”

George stared at him with a torn expression, hesitating between a snide comment or a sarcastic joke. He took a sip of his tea and sighed.

“She’s been asleep for a while now.”

Before Lockwood could share his worry, a knock on the front door interrupted him.

“Did we have any appointments scheduled today?”

“No, the last one I scheduled is tomorrow at 10”

He frowned and went back up the few steps and answered the door. Lucy and Norrie smiled at him, brandishing a dessert box from the corner shop.

“Lucy, you shouldn’t have. We owe everything to you. I should be the one buying you doughnuts.”

“It’s not too late for that!” She winked.

“Did everything go well with DEPRAC?” Norrie asked.

“Well…” He hesitated. “Not exactly. Come in.”

He ushered them inside, explaining the talk they had with Barnes the day before.

“How did she take it?” Norrie asked about y/n.

“I’m not sure…”

Lucy placed the box of treats on the small table in the hall to take off her coat and knocked over some of the items lying there.

Apologizing, she bent down to retrieve them. She put them back and handed Lockwood a camera film.

“You shouldn’t let that lie around out of its wrapping paper, the dust could damage it.”

“What’s this?”

“I don’t know I knocked it over just then.”

He put it in his pocket, wondering where it could have come from, and looked nervously at the clock in the living room. Lucy hung her coat in the hall before taking back the box they had brought and making her way into the kitchen. It took him a second to realize that her coat was hanging in the spot where y/n’s usually was. He looked down and noticed her shoes weren’t there either. Either she had gone to bed with them, or something was wrong. And he had a hunch it was the latter. He didn’t think twice and climbed the steps two by two in a rush to the attic. As he had suspected, her bed was empty. It had been a long time since she had bailed on them, and he thought he wouldn’t have to handle this kind of situation anymore. But apparently, he had failed to see how much this issue affected her. Barnes had told her explicitly to not go look for evidence herself and she had done the exact opposite. Though it would be unfair to blame her for it, he probably would have done the same thing. He rushed back downstairs and stormed into the kitchen.

“y/n is gone.”

The serious look on his face was enough to make the room go silent.

“Where could she be?” Lucy asked, worried.

“Considering this,” he tossed the camera film from earlier to George, “I’m going to guess she went to get evidence herself last night.”

Another silence stretched as they all considered his words. George seemed to shut down. He stared at the table without a word. When his eyes came back into focus, he asked

“When do you think she left?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t hear anything. Did you?”

“I thought I heard something, but I figured it was you. “

“When was it?” Lockwood pressed.

“Around three?” He stood up and pushed his chair back. “Or four maybe?”

She had been gone for over five hours and still hadn’t come home. She could have gone anywhere, she could have met anybody… before he could spiral any further, George got up. He didn’t wait for Lockwood to answer and headed towards the hall.

“Where are you going? We need to think! Where could she have gone?”

“I don’t know but I’m going to find her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

Lockwood had to put himself between the door and his friend to keep him from taking a step further. George looked back at him defiantly.

“George, no. I’m not losing you too because you wanted to play hero.”

“That’s rich coming from you!” He yelled back. “I’m doing this. She’s only going after Dufour because I shared my suspicions in the first place. This is all my fault and I need to fix it.” He mumbled.

“We,” he emphasized, “need to be smart about this.”

“We don’t have time! The last time she wandered by herself at night she got chased by relic men, she could be-”

“I know!” Lockwood shouted.

They stared at each other, considering the unspoken words. The air was thick with tension and panic started to clutch his chest tighter.

“Someone needs to go after her.” George insisted.

“And someone needs to get DEPRAC.” Lockwood stared at his best friend with an unspoken plea. George looked back at him with a furrowed brow, fidgeting with the zipper of his orange parka. Lockwood was used to the researcher’s passive expressions. Sometimes, they could barely be called expressions at all. But now his eyes were filled with worry, a genuine please begging to let him go.

“I… I’ll take care of DEPRAC.”

George sighed in relief and reached for the door once more.

“But you are not going there alone.” Lockwood said, resting a hand on his shoulder before he could run off.

“We’ll go!” Lucy intervened.

“Are- are you sure?” Norrie asked, surprised by her girlfriend’s sudden interest for dangerous missions.

“She’s our friend too, and she needs our help. Where do we begin?”

---

[back to reader’s pov]

The sound of a window breaking jolted her awake. Her head was hurting, an ache pressing on her temples so much her vision was blurry. She released a pained sigh, barely noticing the girl getting up from her fall through the back window who was shaking the last remnants of glass out of her wavy auburn hair. She only noticed she was there when she took her by the shoulders, shaking her awake. It took her embarrassingly long to realize that Lucy was the one coming to her rescue. Before she could open her mouth, the girl slapped her across the face, hard enough to make her lose balance and trip over the edge of the chair she was sitting on. The ties at her wrists and feet kept her in place and the sudden pain from tugging on them woke her up for good. Through heavy eyelids she turned her head to see the back window intact and the room she was in empty.

The sun was up now. She wasn’t quite sure how she had ended up here but clearly her suicidal plan, if anyone could even call it that, had backfired in the worst way. She vaguely recalled leaving the house in the middle of the night with nothing but a camera in her bag and heading towards Fittes. The rest of the night was a blur. She guessed from the ache at the back of her head that she had found who she had been looking for but they had found her too. Their identity became clear when she heard voices coming from the corridor leading to the room she was held in. She pretended to be unconscious and listened as their steps echoed closer.

“I’m not in the business of knowing what he’s up to. I sell him the sources he asks for and move on. But with that DEPRAC audit, I’m losing my biggest client.”

“What do I care?” A man’s voice asked dejectedly.

“No clients for me means no payment for you, you idiot. We need a new buyer and we need them now!” A door slammed, making her jump. She kept her eyes closed, listening to the voices becoming less muffled with each step.

“Can you find me a contact in the Society, or do I have to ask someone else?” Dufour asked, as pleasant as she had known her when she got fired.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Yes, you will.” The two of them entered the room she was held in. “And watch her, make sure she doesn’t cause any more trouble. You know what to do if she does.”

Despite the shudder running down her spine, y/n remained still. She would not let the ominous threats break her spirit. She would not give into her fear. Time stood still when the door closed, leaving her alone with who she could assume was a relic-man armed to the teeth. She listened to his footsteps pace the room while trying to keep her breath steady. However, she could not help flinching when the footsteps stopped a few steps away from her, the sound of heavy boots resonating in the room before stopping in an even louder silence.

“You can stop acting, you’re really terrible at this.” Said a familiar voice.

She had expected a low, menacing voice but instead it was El’s sardonic tone that made her open her eyes. To her surprise, the first thing she saw was in fact a relic-man standing menacingly a few steps away from her. El was leaning against the wall on her left, playing with a pocketknife.

“So… I see you’re still terrible at making decisions.”

“You really think you’re better when you have me tied up in a basement?” The pounding in her head made it hard to think.

“This isn’t a basement and we wouldn’t have had to if you had just minded your own business.”

“Where are we then?”

“You really think you’re that clever? You’re not subtle. The only thing you can do is mess things up!”

“You mean keep you and Dufour from dealing relics you stole from your clients? I won’t let you get away with it that easily, no.”

“You ruined everything.” Their voice sounded final, decisive. A few nights ago they had threatened her without shame. Today, it was a death sentence.

“What did I do to you El? We were friends. Then, out of nowhere you trick me to get me fired and you get murderous tendencies?”

“It must be nice remaining so unaware all this time.” They sighed dreamily, however their face remained stern.

“What are you talking about?”

“Before coming to Fittes, you worked at Tendy’s, correct?”

“How did you-”

“My uncle died seven years ago. My cousin took it hard, and I’d always been close to them, so it wasn’t easy for me either. He came back, and they had to hire someone to fix it. Tendy’s agents came by, messed up the case. They couldn’t find the source so we had to watch them take every last thing that belonged to my uncle to burn it in the furnaces. Grieving wasn’t easy after that. Those stupid kids took every last memory we had of him because they were incompetent. Then, a few years later, guess who happened to be my new roommate?”

y/n stayed silent.

“Not only did I have to live with you but I had to see you succeed and get promoted above me when we both knew perfectly well how unfit you were for the job.”

“I was thirteen. I followed what my supervisor told us to do.”

“You didn’t get any better at making decisions later on! Listening to you and your amazing cases working with Kipps, saying how much you wanted to climb the corporate ladder of the Fittes organization. Not on my watch. You didn’t deserve it then and you certainly don’t deserve it now.”

“And getting me fired wasn’t enough?”

“Of course not! When I applied to get the spot I deserved all along I got denied because Kipps took your side! I had to work with Dufour because of you!”

She eyed Dufour’s arm man, wondering if El’s words were going to put them both in danger.

“Believe me if you had worked with her longer, you would know that Rasler won’t stand up for her.”

She sent them a sorry look. Despite the ties around her wrists and ankles, she couldn’t help the guilt that rose in her. She vaguely recalled the case El mentioned but not enough for her sympathy to sound genuine.

“It’s not too late. I can put in a good word for you with Kipps, you can join his team!”

“None of it matters now. All I want is to make sure you won’t cause any more trouble.”

They turned their back to her and nodded to Rasler. The man loomed over her with a menacing stare, taking out a knife to execute orders.

“El please! I swear I can make it up to you!”

They ignored her, only turning around to enjoy the view with a sly smirk.

“Please!” She begged, tears filling her eyes.

Rasler was upon her, the blade resting against the crook of her neck, the cool of the metal sending shivers down her spine. She shut her eyes, waiting for the fatal moment. Before her executioner could finish what he had started, the sound of a window breaking resonated in her ears. She didn’t know if she was hallucinating again or not, but one moment the knife was pressing down her neck and the next it was gone. She tentatively opened an eye to see if she was dreaming. Lucy was holding the man down, disarming him of his weapon. Behind him, Norrie and George were keeping El from escaping.

They tripped Norrie who cried out in pain and used the distraction to slip out. George ran after them. In the commotion, Lucy lost focus long enough to give her adversary the advantage back. He reached for the knife he had dropped. Lucy lunged to reach it before him, tackling him in the process. y/n couldn’t do anything but watch the scene unfold as she pulled on her ties to try to help her friend. She should have known that her previous hallucination meant Lucy was coming to her rescue. It had been right before. The least she could do was return the favor, but her ties wouldn’t let go. She yelled at Lucy to watch out when Rasler caught the knife that was inches away from his fingers. He swung the blade at her face making y/n flinch. When she looked back up, Lucy had gotten away. She grabbed the first thing she could find, in this case a steel chair lying around, and hit the relic-man with all her strength. The man went down instantly. She grabbed his knife and cut y/n loose. Her wrists were burning from the tight rope that had almost cut all circulation in her hands. She thanked Lucy, tears filling her eyes again, but before she could hug the girl, she shouted

“Come on! We have to catch the other one!” and left the room in a hurry. y/n followed closely to find El stuck, their back under George’s knee. He had a tight grip on their arms and was holding them down on the ground. The look they sent her way made her blood run cold. Norrie came rushing back, saying how she had lost track of Dufour. Her friends were already planning their next move, but she still hadn’t registered the fact that they were here. They were all here to save her even though she had walked into a death trap of her own volition. She was still dizzy from the blow she must have received on the head and the adrenaline wasn’t mixing well.

“Are you okay?” Lucy placed a hand on her shoulder, stabilizing her spinning head. y/n wrapped her arms around her shoulders, hugging the girl close and taking her first deep breath in almost an hour.

“Thank you for coming.” She said between tears.

Caught up in the moment, she didn’t realize the commotion and the noises getting closer to them. The doors flew open and five or six DEPRAC agents stormed in, relieving George and handcuffing El. As soon as he stood up, she hugged him tightly too without letting go, even when she spotted Dufour in DEPRAC’s custody in one of their vans. George had never been one for physical affection, but he didn’t let her go either.

“How did you find me?” She mumbled, her mouth half smashed against his shoulder.

“Don’t ask me it was all Lucy. She led us to you in record breaking time.”

“Really?” She parted from him and looked at the girl with a questioning stare.

“I don’t really know I just… had a hunch.” Lucy replied. They exchanged a complicit glance.

“You know,” George added in a lower voice, “I think she could be a great addition to the team. You two seem to complement each other quite well.”

“I agree.” y/n smiled.

“I’ll talk to Lockwood once this is all over.”

“Wait, speaking of, where is he?”

George didn’t have to answer. She spotted him outside the warehouse, right at the entrance, talking with inspector Barnes. The discussion seemed to be heated. She threw another glance towards her friends, thanking them again for saving her from her idiotic mistake.

“Don’t worry about it.” Norrie said. “We all make mistakes.” She paused, noticing y/n’s insistent stare somewhere above her shoulder. She looked back and smiled.

“You should go see him, he’s been really worried.”

y/n smiled back at her before heading towards him.

“This is not what we agreed upon!” Lockwood retorted, losing his usually impenetrable composure.

“Keep complaining and I make it three.”

Lockwood sighed, looking away in anger. Whatever they were discussing, he did not seem pleased. He crossed his arms, his jaw clenched. Suddenly he froze, noticing her approaching. He did not hesitate and walked over to her in two short strides, holding her close before she could say anything. She hugged him back, his familiar scent enveloping her in a comforting embrace. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, but she could feel his was too.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I’m so sorry, Lockwood.”

He held her closer at those words, leaving a kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes and leaned into him. One kiss turned into a second, then a third at the corner of her eye, on her cheek, her jaw. His nose was practically touching hers. She thought she might start to levitate further and further away from the ground. He stared into her eyes, determination highlighting his sharp features. Her heart sank to her stomach and took flight at the same time. The sudden feeling surprised her yet made her feel light as a feather. She smiled so much her cheeks hurt, and she couldn’t help her eyes dropping to his lips with anticipation.

“I can’t blame you for being a little reckless now, can I?” He smiled and everything was right again, nothing else mattered now.

“Lockwood!” Barnes shouted after shutting the door to the van taking El to Scotland Yard’s headquarters. He straightened up and took a step back, startled by the inspector calling his name. “I’ll see you three on Monday. Don’t be late.”

He looked down and frowned, frustration slowly turning to resolution.

“What is that about?”

“Let’s get you home now.” He defiantly ignored her, his usual wolfish grin proudly trying to win her over.

“Lockwood…”

“I’ll make you tea!” He added to convince her.

She would let it go… for now. The only thing she wanted more than honesty was going back to Portland Row, back home, back to safety.

The five of them went home and settled around the Thinking Cloth to finally enjoy the treats the girls had brought earlier that day. The tea tasted particularly sweet now that this whole case was finally put to rest, relieving everyone’s mind. The group was cheerful, happy to share a moment of peace. After the first round of doughnuts, a comfortable silent fell over the kitchen, the only noises coming from the clinking of mugs.

“I need to thank you all again.” y/n said.

They all smiled warmly at her.

“I wouldn’t be here without you, you saved my life. Lucy you came in just at the right time.”

“And I’d do it again.” The girl answered without a trace of doubt.

“I thought you wanted to stay as far from the field as possible?” Norrie asked, surprised.

“Well, that wasn’t really a case…”

y/n sent a look to George who was already staring at her, the same thought probably crossing his mind.

“George, thank you for giving me a home.”

“I’m the one who got you in this mess… I’m the reason you got fired in the first place.”

“El would have found a way to get me fired no matter what you did. None of it is your fault.” She reached out and squeezed his hand.

“And Lockwood, thank you for letting me stay.” She concluded. She looked back at him. He simply smiled. The intimacy of the moment they had shared a few hours prior brought heat to her cheeks.

When the box of treats was finished, the girls got up and y/n hugged them again, still overwhelmed and grateful. The five of them walked back into the hall, agreeing to spend a day together soon to get their minds off work, whatever it may be. When y/n opened the front door to usher the girls out she found herself face to face with Quill Kipps.

“I just heard about Mrs. Dufour!” He said, panting. “I’m glad you’re okay! This is all behind you now.”

“Yes, it is. Thank you for checking up on me, it’s very sweet.”

“Well, actually I come with news. Dufour’s arrest means that Fittes is considering offering you your job back. As your team leader the final decision is mine to make, and I think you know what I’ve decided. The question is, would you like to?”

“Come back? To work at Fittes? With you?”

She couldn’t help but look back into the hall, where George and Lockwood stared at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. She looked back at Kipps who waited with the same anticipation.

“Um I-I…”

“I’ll give you time to think about it. We can always discuss it over coffee, you still owe me one.” He winked. “I’d love to work with you again.” He climbed down the few steps in front of the door before turning back into the street.

This offer was the last thing she had expected that day. She hadn’t even considered the possibility of Fittes wanting her back if she managed to prove the truth about Dufour. But now the dream she had pursued most of her life was rising up from its ashes and Kipps had dropped this on her like it was a regular everyday decision. Norrie and Lucy smiled as they walked passed her, patting her on the back before leaving her to it, not uttering a word as to not disturb the tumultuous contradicting thoughts flooding her mind. She shut the door and turned around to see George still staring at her. Lockwood was gone.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t… know. I mean… It was my dream until a few months ago. But I’ve moved on. I’m happy here with you guys. But if I don’t take it am I missing out? What should I do?”

“I can’t tell you what to do, but I’ll support you no matter what you decide.” He looked up towards the landing. “I’m sure Lockwood will too.”

She looked in the same direction he did with a sad smile and slowly went up the stairs. On the first floor, she heard shuffling coming from Lockwood’s room. She got closer and saw him pacing around his bedroom. He stopped when he caught her eyes looking through the half-open door. He tried to smile at her, but Kipps’ offer definitely had an effect on him.

“I don’t know what I’ll do yet.” She tried to reassure him.

“You should take it.” He said, his tone definitive, like he had made the decision for her.

“I’m not sure.”

“Yes, you are. It’s what’s best for you. I can’t offer you what he can. Not the same wage, not the same reputation, not the same freedom…”

The last criteria made her chuckle slightly.

“I’m pretty sure I’m still more free here than at Fittes.”

“Not anymore…”

“What do you mean?”

He stayed silent.

“That conversation with Barnes…” She understood. “What did he say.”

“Lockwood & Co. is under a tutelage of sorts. We can’t work on any case that Barnes didn’t assign and without his supervision…”

The terms seemed extreme. She couldn’t understand why all of a sudden the inspector would apply such restrictive conditions to the small agency.

“Why would he do that?”

“Because otherwise he refused to help me.”

“Help you?” It took her a moment to register. “Oh… Oh! I am responsible for this?”

“No! This isn’t your fault.”

“But if I hadn’t gone through with my mediocre plan and gotten into that much trouble then none of this would have happened!”

He took a step closer and looked down at her with a stern look.

“This is not your fault. His terms could have been twice as bad and I still would have agreed to them.”

She looked at him with a matching intensity, unable to argue. No matter how much she wanted to apologize again, promise she could make it right, she couldn’t find the words.

“The next two months will be hard, but it’s worth it.”

The sentiment was sweet and the intention behind his words was enough to make her heart leap but laughter was all that managed to escape her mouth.

“Two months? You’re being that dramatic for two months of supervision?” She laughed harder, holding on to his arm. “I’m sure you’ll be alright.” She smiled at him, softened by how ridiculously attractive he looked when he took offence.

“I still think you’d be better off with Kipps.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

With a confidence she had never expressed before she closed the gap between them. Her hand was still on his arm, her grip tighter to bring him close. His lips were soft against hers but she could feel how he froze at the unexpected contact. She didn’t insist and drew back, apologizing for her sudden inappropriate behaviour. He caught her hand before she could take a step back, his intense stare still set on her with a determination she had only seen him exude in the field. It was his turn to close his hand firmly around her arm to bring her back to him. His other hand found the back of her head. The awkwardness of her apologies was quickly forgotten when he brought his lips down to hers, the need to be closer to him overpowering everything else. She brought her hands up behind his head, fingers buried in his hair while he wrapped his arm tighter around her waist. She forgot where she was, barely noticing the wall he was pressing her up against. Nothing in the world mattered anymore. The lack of sleep, the hostage situation, Kipps’ offer, everything seemed a mile away. All she wanted was to feel his breath and his lips against hers as long as possible. They didn’t want to let each other go. When he pulled away for air, she barely gave him time before kissing him again and when she pulled away, he chased her lips like it was his reason to live. Each kiss grew hungrier and more passionate than the last. She bit his bottom lip on a dare and the response she got made her want to do more. The noise that escaped his throat as he breathed into her made her knees buckle and she sighed with desire. He slid his tongue against hers, his hand holding on to her neck tighter, his strong fingers making a mess of her hair. Just like he had done earlier that day, he drifted from her lips to her jaw before kissing down her neck, leaving marks here and there.

“Please stay.” He begged. She had rarely heard him so vulnerable.

“Of course I’ll stay.” She said. “I could never leave you.” She wanted to add, but he was already kissing her again, thankfulness mixed with something more.

“Lockwood-”

He looked up into her eyes, leaving her neck for a moment.

“Please, call me Anthony.”

She was caught off guard by the request. She had never used his first name, not even once. It felt strangely intimate using it. She kissed him softly, touched by his trust.

“We should probably discuss how we’re gonna work together if we’re a thing…”

“Yes definitely.”

There was a silence, neither of them knowing where to start. He was still holding her close and her arms were still around his neck, the proximity filled with unresolved tension.

“Maybe we could… take it slow? Sleep on it and see how it goes tomorrow?” She offered hesitantly.

“Yes that’s… that’s a good idea.”

They remained a while longer, gazing into each other’s eyes. Reluctantly, she slid her hands down, stroking his shoulders and chest before letting go. He unwrapped his hand from her waist and she instantly missed his touch.

They didn’t look away from each other as they walked out towards the door to his room. They must have looked ridiculous but she didn’t care.

“George will probably call us down for dinner any time now.”

“I’ll see you then.” She said with a small smile before heading towards the attic.

None of it felt real. Once in her room she realized that she didn’t even know why she went there. Mechanically, she picked up her hairbrush to untangle the mess done by Lockwood’s hands. Anthony’s. She corrected herself. Her lips were still tingly and soft purple marks started to show on her neck. George would have a lot to say about that. George who was probably preparing something delicious downstairs and who would call her any minute now. She wasn’t hungry though and didn’t know if she could eat anything after a day like that. Guilt crept up on her when she realized she would probably skip dinner, but it was quickly replaced by an overpowering feeling from deep inside her. A different kind of hunger.

She climbed down the stairs leading to her room and opened the door to find Lockwood already standing there.

“I don’t want to take it slow.” She said and he smiled instantly. He obviously had similar ideas.

She led him up the stairs in a hurry. The few minutes they had spent apart felt like she had been stuck underwater and she was finally coming up for air now that his lips were against hers again. From the moment they first met she had loathed his confidence and how pretentious it made him. But now that he slid his hands under her shirt, their warmth spreading across the skin of her back, she had to admit that she was rather fond of it. She traced his jaw with her fingers and lowered them down his neck until she reached the collar of his shirt that was getting in the way. Slowly, she untied the knot of his tie, and she could have fainted from the noise he made. His tie hit the floor and was quickly joined by her shirt, the two of them collapsing on her bed blissfully unaware of the warm plates waiting for them three floors below.

---

She poured George his tea and prepared it the way she knew he liked it, trying desperately to make up for the night before. She was sorry they had left him eat by himself, but she wasn’t that sorry if she was honest with herself. She had not stopped smiling since she had woken up next to Lockwood and she couldn’t help it, not even with George insistently staring at her.

“So… I guess you’re staying with us then?” He tried to ask innocently but his smile betrayed him. “Where’s Lockwood?”

“He’s taking a shower.” She answered a little too fast.

“He probably needs it.” George mumbled to himself.

She threw the dish towel at him, making him laugh. She was not going to hear the end of it. But her smile hadn’t left her lips. When they sat down in their usual seats, they heard Lockwood in the hallway speaking on the phone. A few moments later he joined them, his smile matching hers. He kissed the top of her head before sitting next to her.

“So, what do we do now?” George asked.

“Well, inspector Barnes just called to assign us our first supervised case.”

“You seem oddly happy about that.”

Before he could make any other comment, he understood his friend’s good mood was not coming from work but from the girl he was gazing at.

“Is this going to be a problem? We have work to do!”

“No, you’re right.” y/n said, putting distance between her and her now boyfriend. “Please continue.”

With his usual grin, Lockwood settled back into his role as agency leader.

“George, do you know anything about Kensal Green cemetery?”

#who follows the rules anyway #ukuwrites #lockwood and co fic #lockwood and co #anthony lockwood x reader #anthony lockwood x y/n #anthony lockwood #lockwood & co

[marimeeko]

I have a sudden, unsolicited opinion on the moment where Ochako admits that she fell in love with Izuku. Since it has been going around as one of those context-less, surface level articles on Google(I spotted it too)

So it's talking about the moment when Ochako is fighting Toga and she tells her that she fell in love with Izuku.

Does she use the exact wording? Yes.

Does that mean it's an end all declaration? Does it mean she is endgame with Izuku? I do not think so.

I don't think it's the final nail in the coffin to the argument for any other ship involving Izuku or Ochako. Here's why:

The admission is so anticlimactic.

We have known for a while that Ochako has complicated feelings about Izuku. We know that it has been a bit of a crush. And that has led to ANTICIPATION to see what becomes of those feelings.

But along the anticipation, we have also seen her going through some feelings of discomfort about the whole thing...unusual, for a supposed love interest of a Shonen manga!

So the audience has been waiting for a LONG time for something, anything, to happen between Ochako and Izuku that rewards that anticipation and that waffling on Ochakos part.

And for something like a supposed love confession, a line like "I fell in love with Izuku Midoriya", to heppen....

But NOT in a moment between Ochako and Izuku themselves, just also does not reward the anticipation that was built up.

She did not confirm and admit these feelings TO izuku. She admitted them to Himiko.

And that is the first time the audience hears her positively confirm that she had those feelings, blatantly.

But it TAKES AWAY from the actual relationship because Himiko received that confession...not Izuku.

We didn't get a charged confession between Ochako and Izuku. The relationship was STILL not mutually developed. It's still just a quality of Ochako, it says nothing about Izuku. The anticipation of Ochako having a crush, and changing, complicated feelings for Izuku and where that would eventually climax, where it would reach its peak for Ochako and Izuku both, instead is diverted. Kind of literally. Because it didn't happen at either chance they had to talk it out, to confess, she sent Izuku away when Himiko tried to trap him into a love discussion. She didnt bring it up before the war began even though they had such a calm moment to be able to do so. It didn't come out in the logical places. And now in the endgame, they have split up to fight different battles...Ochako has even exhausted everything she has right now to save Himiko and likely is out until we receive the wrap up.

So, the anticipation I mentioned, again, does not have a payout in the form of even a rushed battlefield confession because the two of them are fighting different battles.

Instead the audience is given the confirmation of "I fell in love with him" when he is not even present, when Ochako is not confessing to him or confronting him. It comes out with Toga, when she Is trying to reach out and level with her, it almost could read as a "I had a crush on the same boy" kind of statement. It comes out when saving Himiko is Ochakos main priority.

What I'm saying here is that Ochakos love confession for Izuku, which is usually a big deal in any story, is in the back seat to prioritize each of their other relationships and goals. Which is great that it is not forced upon us when there are bigger things happening, however it just does a disservice to the pairing itself when most of the feelings are expressed onesidedly, and an actual statement of love, if it's not even outdated because of changed feelings, means a lot less when it's not filling the gap between the two people in question. When the confession doesn't reach the other person.

(And I will go ahead and say that is kind of similar to how bkdk is right now as well, bc we have SO MUCH material on Katsukis side, about how he feels and how much he cares about Izuku, but not a lot on what Izuku feels or allows himself to feel about Katsuki. I will call that out as well.)

Like at this point, the best we could hope for, for Ochako and Izuku being a couple, is a very open note about it in the aftermath. Like maybe Ochako asks Izuku if he would like to get crepes with her. That's just enough given context clues to suggest to the audience that yes there are still some feelings there, she heard what he said about crepes and holding hands and took note of it, but also that Izuku himself is willing to explore those feelings as well. It would be Ochako finally choosing her feelings for Izuku, but without it being too sudden for Izuku to accept. This whole time we are not shown Izuku crushing on her at all it would be strange to have him suddenly initiate.

But anything more romantic and profound than that? Any dramatic reveal/confession of feelings, any chance for them to have a moment in the midst of war to have the "i love you" discussion? That has been bypassed time and time again. Horikoshi COULD HAVE WORKED IT IN, IF IT WERE A PRIORITY TO HAVE THEM ENDGAME. While no, romance doesn't have to be a priority in a Shonen, and Ochako has flipped the script on how she handles her feelings as a shonen love interest, Hori has demonstrated that threads and concepts of romance ARE part of his narrative.

And right now? Hot take, but the most romantic thread that Izuku, his main character, finds himself in, is whatever the hell is going on between him and Katsuki Bakugou.

You'd just think if the mc was going to be with a romantic partner, a girl, by the end of the story, something would have happened.

I feel like I'm going in circles past my point, but it boils down to Izuku not having any indication of interest in Ochako besides friendliness....the fact that the audience received confirmation of Ochako loving Izuku from her telling a 3rd party and NOT her subject, and the anticipation of that confession, built up for YEARS of this manga and animes run, of supposed feelings not really being paid off, if the two are meant to be the romantic end game. It also boils down to the fact that the anticipation of the confession had a CHANCE to occur with Izuku, the subject, multiple times. It boils down to again, ochako and Izukus relationship being romantic in anyway being little more than an after thought.

AND! it doesn't even guarantee that her feelings of love for him are still the same! We don't know for sure if she STILL loves Izuku!

So yeah. I hope this made sense, but it sure feels anticlimactic to have a love confession(supposedly) not even occur while the subject is present, where the audience can view it and celebrate that long awaited conclusion.

As always, these articles that pop up on Google leave a lot of context out, and are very face value. They saw Ochako say the L word and called it endgame. There is a reason I don't read them.

#bakudeku #bnha spoilers #bkdk #togachako #thoughts on romance in bnha #take with a grain of salt bc i could of course be wrong #but that is how it reads to me #honestly i would be satisfied with the scenario of ochako asking izuku on a little crepe date at the very end #bc it would still be believable #even if we dont know how izu feels #there is nothing that says he cant aay yes to a small casual date like that at the end pf their war #just dont call it a whirlwind romance cus its not #there also nothing wrong with izuku just not having a dtrong romantic interest in anyone #he has a lot going on it makes sense #just bc shonen USUALLY has this big romantic sideplot doesnt mean hori wont subvert it #he already has honestly #arguably tho he has got more romantic coded drama going on with Katsuki #BUT THATS JUST OPINION FROM A MULTISHIPPER WHO SPECIALIZES IN BKDK #anyway ochako is doing fantastic and i love her very much #ochako uraraka #at the end of the day horikoshis writing is pretty complex #he had already done Ochako a service by subverting the love interest character trope and having her focus on Himiko instead of Izuku

[rolanpilled]

Rolan, and how he deals with grief

Here's a Rolan fact I actually forgot until now.

BG3 spoilers under cut + TW for suicide

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.

.

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If both Rolan and ONE of his siblings die, it is implied in the script that the remaining sibling commits suicide by walking into the shadow curse -

++++++

Player: I did what I could to save him. (after Rolan dies)

Lia: Doesn't matter, does it? They're gone.

Lia: Everyone I've ever loved is dead. I did this - I failed them. [devnote: her grief is starting to overwhelm her, she blames herself and thinks she's worthless]

Lia: You won't see me again. [devnote: she's planning to walk into the cursed darkness to die - alone]

-

Player: He died as he lived - stupidly.

Cal: Rolan could be stubborn, but he was never malicious. Not like you. [devnote: despite his grief, he feels pity for the player]

Cal: Everyone I've ever loved is dead. I have nothing. [devnote: shellshocked, unable to process what happened]

Cal: You won't see me again. [devnote: he's planning to walk into the cursed darkness to die - alone]

++++++

There are a lot of thoughts I have about this - for one, Lia seems to have a similar reaction to Rolan if he loses his siblings. Despite their differences in opinion, they've probably had more influence on each others' behaviors and internal morals than they think. On the other hand, Cal seems so shocked that he's unable to process reality, I think this signals to a certain type of dynamic between the three where his (presumably older) siblings were like protectors or mentors to him.

The main thought I have is that in most situations (aside from saving everyone), Rolan is often the one who ends up as the sole survivor after his siblings die at Moonrise. But he survives in all cases, heading to Baldur's Gate and resuming his apprenticeship. The grief might be enough to kill him if he truly had nothing else, but he pushes through it regardless, because otherwise, the loss would have been for nothing, which is something he himself admits is hubris (in his journal). Rolan's logical approach to life backfires on him; if he's so great, if he's a hero, why couldn't he save the two people who meant the most to him? He's had this idea all his life, that he's talented and powerful, so he's supposed to be able to protect everyone on his own, and when he can't do that, the magnitude of his failure is such that he can't even process it himself. He has to try and move on with his life because that's what he'd want from them - so that's what they would have wanted for him (if Rolan dies, he leaves behind a hologram telling his surviving sibling/s to head to Baldur's Gate and move on quickly from the grief).

His apprenticeship is really all that's left to him at that point, the only thing distracting him from his overwhelming grief. That's what makes it all the more tragic that Lorroakan turns out to be who he is, a selfish, hybristic abuser who treats him no better than a servant. There's something so heartbreaking about seeing how bitter and hopeless he becomes after his siblings' death, knowing he has nowhere else to go.

#rolan #rolan bg3 #bg3 rolan #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 spoilers #can i just give rolan a big hug? #tw: suicide mention #tw: abuse mention

[oneatlatime]

The Cave of Two Lovers

I always wanted to be a frog on a leaf.

Does Aang have chaps?

Instructed to hold his arms closer together, Aang immediately spreads them as far apart as physically possible.

Hippies!

Chong's wife is not called Cheech. That's a travesty.

Between the 90s boy band hair and the quadrupedal underwear, Sokka is not looking his best this episode!

Uncle, were you watching? Did you see? Lookit Uncle I even threw in some fist shaking at god and a dramatic tumble. Did you watch? Lookitmeeeeeeee.

Seems like it's Zuko's turn with the brain cell. Iroh plays the dumbass a lot but he can't seriously be contemplating risking poisoning himself while he has zero resources.

Appa getting a turn as the couch rather than the whip. Sweet braids.

"Oh it's a real legend" is a remarkably accurate statement when speaking of oral folklore. Real v. Fake legends are an actual thing!

Did anyone watch Arthur growing up? Anyone remember the Crazy Bus song? I feel like this Tunnel song is what Crazy Bus was trying to be.

I like her skirt. Actually all of their clothes are pretty neat.

Why does Appa hate going underground?

That's got to be watercolour.

The stick is a better catch than the fish. It's a damn good stick.

Zuko actually managing to admit that he needs help! Or rather, that they need help. That's growth! Maybe that's why Iroh poisoned himself? Or maybe he's just having a dumb moment? Two consecutive dumb moments?

Do you think being unwanted in literally every country on earth including his own is going to be enough to convince Zuko that maybe his nation isn't so great?

Her earrings are bells. She probably deafens herself when she walks.

Why is the science guy freaking out about curses?

Chong's necklace flowers keep drastically changing size depending on how close up the shot is.

Average fire nation soldier is superstitious. I bet they can use that. And this guy's hands are huge. Also those flying grappling hook chain things are, in my opinion, the fire nation's greatest combat advantage. Who needs bending when you have those?

The math-defying torches apparently work like strike anywhere matches.

Definitely watching this one on a CRT when I have the chance. Too dark otherwise.

Can you do that? Turn a map of the paths you've taken into a solvable maze? Don't you need to see all possible paths to solve a maze?

Three things: a) I like Song's voice actress. Very pretty voice, matches the face well. b) Zuko being terminally awkward when needing to lie is something that's been consistent since the third episode. He really needs to work on that. c) There's a whole world of visual storytelling in the fact that, when hastily required to look natural, Zuko defaults to parade rest.

The latest fashion in men's neckwear.

I mean technically yeah, Zuko's dad is fighting in the war, but Good Lord are he and Song bonding over traumas from the 100% opposite directions.

They snuck in a Bob Dylan joke!?!?!

Poor Appa is having a time of it this episode.

Sokka would rather die in a self-inflicted rock slide than hang with the hippies. That's a very Sokka thing.

The lighting here is beautiful. All warm and glowy.

Poor Song. It's borderline embarrassing to watch how wrong she is. But at the same time, she's completely right. The Fire Nation did hurt Zuko. But the Fire Nation is Zuko. But Zuko was hurt by the Fire Nation. Zuko's brain must be inside out right now.

No touchy.

Why is Zuko surprised by her burns? Did he think his nation took over most of the world by asking nicely? Seriously, did he?

It's good to finally see more burns. Well, not good, but logical. I think I ranted last episode about why I was so surprised by the lack of burns.

I'm with Sokka on this one. There is a (very limited) time and a (very tiny) place for singalongs, and this isn't it. Also I keep thinking that Momo is wearing an Adidas tracksuit.

The last thing cave walls see before death.

What do you know, it is a real legend.

Pretty. This whole sequence is inky.

I love how this show does badass bitches.

How on brand is it that the city founded by think-outside-the-box badgermole wrassling innovators is now ruled by Bumi? Original thought, badass earthbender, giant murderous rabbit; he fits right in.

No kissing until you're 35. What a face though.

Aang STOP TALKING YOU CANNOT WIN!!!

What's wrong with you is that you're 12. No one is smooth at 12.

According to the episode The Storm, the avatar does in fact represent hope to Zuko, but Song just can't stop putting her foot in it. Literally any other earth kingdom refugee would come away from an evening with Song feeling renewed hope, but she's unintentionally and unknowingly hit pretty much every one of Zuko's sore spots. This must have been a very frustrating evening for him.

In case we forgot that Zuko was the villain, he steals a horse bird. Iroh why are you ok with this?

Ouch.

Where is your chin

Chong was right. All they did need to do was play music. These guys would probably kill me if I tried, but gosh they're so cute I want 5.

How many string instruments does Chong have stashed in his robe? His improv skills are top notch though.

You want me to believe that a couple of millennia of badgermoles rearranging things as they see fit has not altered the path of the crystals?

I feel ya buddy.

Sokka assuming his rightful throne. King of the Badgermoles.

Badgermoles have elf ears.

"Really? We let huge ferocious beasts lead our way." I love this line.

Appa's such a good friend. Settling in for a long listening session.

"So are you guys going to come to Omashu with us?" "Nope." "Ok." *fucks off into the sunset* Now that's how you write out a character.

NOOO BUMI!!!

Do you think the hippies knew? Is that why they didn't want to go to Omashu? It would be totally on brand for them to know the whole time and not tell.

Final Thoughts

Well that was a hell of a bait and switch ending. Supreme goof A-plot, Zuko having his dearly held beliefs dragged through the mud B-plot, and then suddenly *BOOM* overarching plot.

So is this season going to be the 'step on Zuko until he's decent' season? Because he's got a long way to go.

Why was Iroh being so stupid in the beginning? Does he have a blind spot where tea is concerned? He made Zuko look like the reasonable one. That's quite a feat.

At first glance, Sokka got to shine in this episode, but actually it was Chong who was right all along. There was a real legend about a secret tunnel, the solution was to trust in love, both as Aang & Katara did and as Chong's group tried (love songs). And that kid WAS the avatar! Three for Three!

I'm still not a fan of Aang & Katara being involved romantically (mostly because they're BABY), but I love the way they related to each other this episode. Their interactions felt 100% natural. What tween hasn't put their foot in their mouth around their crush?

Someone give Appa a hug. You know what? Give Momo a hug too. He worked hard as a wolfbat early alert system.

Speaking of Appa, are his underside sections furry? Covered in short grey fur? Or are they hard grey armoured plates? Are they shell or skin?

I've noticed that animal noises come in three flavours in this show: Appa grumbles, Momo trills, or wolfbat hisses. Most animals make variations of these three.

Are we sure Song hasn't been hitting the White Jade herself? Those are pretty similar.

Poor Song is really crapped on this episode. All she did was be compassionate and she gets her horse thing stolen. It makes sense that she wouldn't try to retrieve her horse thing, both because she's too kind, and because it's just her and her mom against two fairly rough guys. If this is the season of Zuko improvement, how many more innocents like Song will be crapped on in the name of improving Zuko?

Chong's robe's sleeve kind of hangs off his waist, since he's rocking the one shoulder look. I thought Bato was rocking that same look in his episode, and spent the whole episode looking for where he stashed his sleeve, but I couldn't find it. But now I see Chong with the same look and he definitely has extra sleeve trailing. So did Bato cut off his sleeve? Is he wearing the robe he was wearing when he got injured and his sleeve burned off? Is there a known way to tuck robe sleeves in inconspicuously and the fact that we can see Chong's is a bit of visual storytelling pointing to the hippies' general scatterbrained nature? Am I overthinking this?

I liked this episode! Definitely going on my rewatch list! The hippies are just the right amount of stupid, Zuko gets a break from being a shouty jerk, and Aang and Katara get to be just awkward kids (albeit while trapped in a life or death situation - priorities guys). Poor Sokka, Appa, and Song have a pretty bad time. But Sokka being terrorised by stupidity makes for funny tv.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the cave of two lovers #avatar the last airbender

[hopeymchope]

(Yeah I probably misread something)

There is something I am curious about that I wanted to share with you

If I remember correctly (please correct me if I am wrong here) in the answer yukari becomes more antagonistic towards Aigis because she’s heartbroken over makoto’s death because she lost the guy she loves

One thing I want to bring up is in the kotone route some of the ship tease scenes with yukari are replaced with akihiko and as we all know all yukari’s scenes with kotone are mostly platonic along with her feelings so I doubt if there was a kotone version of the answer yukari would take it as bad as she did(not saying she wouldn’t but not as hard is all I’m saying)

So if we had a kotone version of the answer who would take yukari’s place

(Personally I’m leaning towards akihiko)

Yukari is antagonistic in "The Answer" because she wants to bring Makoto back to life regardless of what it would mean. From what I can recall (and this might be a little off the mark), they'd have to redo the battle against Nyx to try and destroy it completely OR they'd have to remove Makoto from his service the Great Seal to protect all life from Nyx — thereby endangering the world. But Yukari's so desperate to see him again that she (along with Mitsuru - who sides with Yukari for reasons left unstated) winds up fighting new protag Aigis (and whoever is with her party by then).

It's not explicitly stated to be romantic, but her desperate desire to see him even if it undoes the entire point of his sacrifice (...that he didn't fuckin' know he was making, I should note) definitely comes off that way IMO — regardless of whether you choose to believe Makoto returned those affections. After all, Junpei even compares it to how he'd feel if he could go back and save Chidori (which is sure an interesting bit of dialogue given that her survival seems to be canon in P4A). I guess you could argue that it's at least up to interpretation whether Yukari's feelings were a romantic love or something just intensely platonic.

The easiest and most logical answer here is to just say "Yukari gets that role in any version of The Answer." So whether that makes her bisexually in love with Kotone or just very emotionally attached to Kotone as part of her found family, she should probably remain the person who fights against keeping them gone, because that's just her character and because it reduces the amount of work a dev team would undertake.

But let's say we want to do something more radical and ensure that the person who fights back is a potential love interest with a legit romantic hangup on the protagonist. When you look at Kotone's potential love interests — Ahihiko, Theodore, Ryoji, Aigis, and even fucking Ken — who among them seems most likely to be so messed up over a (theoretical) Kotone death that they'd be willing to undo the purpose of her sacrifice for the chance to see her once more?

There are really only two options, because (A) Aigis is the lead protagonist of 'The Answer' and pre-determined to take the side of maintaining his sacrifice. (B) The velvet room attendants are established to be on the side of maintaining the sacrificer... although we do learn in Persona 4 Arena that Elizabeth leaves the Velvet Room to go on a quest to destroy Nyx and thereby release Makoto from being stuck as the seal, returning him to life. Maybe Theo could do the same in the Kotoneverse? (C) Ryuji is off the table for obvious reasons related to his identity.

That leaves just Akihiko and Ken. Akihiko would be a really dramatic interesting route to go, and I think I'd honestly prefer it? Because to see someone with his level of determination get so undone would be REALLY intense. But... I also admit that Kotone's worst romance option is the one that makes the most sense.

Because like I said, jst because The Answer strongly supports the idea that Yukari loves Makoto doesn't mean it ALSO supports the idea that they were canonically together. I will never support the idea that Kotone had any canonical feelings towards Ken, but regardless of that, I still feel like Ken is the obvious pick to take up Yukari's role as the one who has trouble accepting that Kotone's truly gone. It's easy to imagine him as the character who is nursing an unrequited love that's THAT hardcore, leaving him to take up his weapon against the squad.

#persona 3 spoilers #asks #femc #kotone shiomi #makoto yuki #yukari takeba #persona 3 #p3p #persona 3 fes #persona the answer #the answer #persona #persona series

[anotherrosesthatfell]

Is there any story about how Cross received the veil from Killer?

Oh yes, it's a draft but thank God you remind me of it so I finished it already- also I change Cross and Killer age gap- to make it more logical duh- 💀 I didn't count properly back then-

It have been a few days since Cross made a deal with Nightmare. He had to admit that Nightmare is a bit dumb and desperate. At least for Cross he get to walk around the castle freely.

Also he really want to meet with the Queen again. He was so in love with her beauty but unfortunately Nightmare didn't let him to talk with Killer.

"I wonder where is she...." he look around looking for a servant that could help him.

Unfortunately none of the servants want to help him and they seems to avoid talking about Killer.

Well seems like Cross have to use his skill to find- he's too dedicated-

Later he stumbled across a garden. Seems like it was hidden because he only find it because he fell off from the pond which lead him to the garden. Oddly enough his clothes is still dry.

The garden seems to be tend carefully by someone. The flowers, the fishes and kids.

"Wait children? What are they doing here-." Cross muttered to himself.

The two children are sleeping and they resemble Nightmare. Cross guessed it's Nightmare kids since he did told him he was married.

Cross decided to wake the two children so he can ask them why are they here alone.

Before he can do that, a red knife suddenly threatened his neck. Cross recognized the glove, it's Killer.

"Ah! Lady, it's me! Remember?" Cross smiles as he slowly took away the knife from Killer.

"... Oh. You the weird man who proposed to me with that flower ring." Said Killer.

"yes that's is me!" Said Cross. "Are you the one who tend this garden? It's beautiful just like you."

"be quiet, my children is sleeping." Killer took away her knife from Cross then pushed him to the side.

"Wait children-?! Oh damn are you the Queen?" realization hits Cross harder than his almost execution. "You look young to be a mother though, how old are you? I'm 23 by the way."

"Queen.... Yeah sure." Killer sighed and looked dead in the eyes. "I'm 20."

"20..? But your children..." Cross finally realized what's going on. "Oh...- sorry, I heard the king is a very evil man. I should expect something like this... ...-"

"... It's okay, it's not your fault." Said Killer. "How did you get in here? This place is.. Well a prison for me."

"A prison? So you mean you can't get out at all?" He asked.

"Yeah...- I tried and my children ended up getting hurt by him." she replied then start to picking up both Crescent and Angst from the ground. "You should go back, he will come back anytime soon. I don't want people to get hurt because of me again..."

She then enter the small cottage that's is in the garden. It's where she sleep since she hates being in the same room with Nightmare.

Cross had a deep thought for while. He went back to castle, thinking what he can do for Killer.

"hmm... I think this should work." Cross got a wonderful idea now.

The next day....

As usual Killer is tending the garden while Crescent and Angst playing with the fishes.

It was a peaceful morning until Cross came again-

"Hello my lady and princes! I have a great news!" Said Cross happily. "Buckle up because we're going out!"

Killer was startled while the children immediately hide behind Killer.

"What...?" She doesn't understand what Cross meant by that.

"Well I talked with the king. He agreed to let you out once a while so let's go! I'll bring you out for lunch." Cross explained everything to Killer.

"Ah... Mom are we really going out? Can I finally see the sun?" Asked Crescent.

"Of course kiddo! If you want to see the sun you have to go to the light kingdom though but we can go there right now if you want."

"Uwah! Mom let's go there!" Angst tugged on Killer sleeve. "Please I want to read more books too!"

"...- okay fine. Before that we have to wear disguise. I don't want to get weird stares." Said Killer.

"If people stares at you, they probably think you're beautiful you know?" Cross suddenly complimented Killer out of nowhere which got her flustered.

"Ah... Huh...?" a second later she frown. "Real funny- haha, I'll go get some scarfs."

Killer went inside the tiny cottage to get some scarfs-

"Mister, you shouldn't call my mommy pretty. She don't like being called that." Said Angst.

"really? She seems a bit happy when I called her that though. You also should call your mother beautiful, so she can know how much you loves her." Said Cross.

"I don't see the point of loving—"

Crescent quickly cut Angst off and smile nervously. "of course mister! We will always say that to mom."

A few moments later, they arrived at the sun kingdom. Crescent and Angst are wearing adorable onesie bear. Meanwhile Killer is wearing a hijab and Cross wearing a veil...

"Seriously is this necessary?" Asked Cross.

"No but it's funny to see you in that veil." Killer slightly chuckles. "Don't take it seriously, you look decent."

"Really? thanks!" Cross was happy to hear a compliment from Killer. "Oh I pickpockets some people money while you were talking. Let's use it."

"How did you..- never mind..." She chuckles. "Let's go."

It was a very happy time for them. Killer was happy to see her children get to express their childhood.

Hours passed by, Crescent and Angst fell asleep on Killer's lap.

"Here I got free cotton candy for you." Said Cross as he sat next to Killer. "Don't worry I didn't steal it, I seduce the seller instead."

"you're really bad haha-" Killer smiles as she took the cotton candy from Cross hand. "You know this is my first time having this. I was isolated and didn't get to experience my childhood..." Said Killer.

"Oh... Then from now on I'll try to be more free so I can bring you out." Cross immediately replied to Killer. "I also didn't get to experience my childhood since I was living in a slum...-"

"heh... I guess we do have something in common." Killer smiles faintly.

It was a very comforting atmosphere. Cross get to know Killer while Killer got a new friend.

"I really like the veil you gave me. It's actually more comfortable than I thought." Said Cross.

"I'm glad. It belonged to someone I care about. Not gonna lie, it suits you more than them." Said Killer. "you... You can keep it. I trust you to take care of it."

"Really? I mean I don't want to take something precious from you." Cross was about to take off the veil but Cross stopped him.

"It's alright, you're now precious to me..."

"oh...!" Cross quickly nodded, he was blushing but thank God the veil hide the redness on his cheeks. "My real name is Hermes-" Cross suddenly blurted out his real out of nowhere- damn simp-

"... Oh, my real name is Amaris." she suddenly laugh at Cross behavior. "You can call me by my name when we're alone. I don't trust anyone expect you now."

"Oh my God lady please marry me-"

"what?"

"I mean I want to marry a bird!" Cross mentally slapped himself

Wow he really make himself an embarrassment-

#evil lux au #[e.l.a] ask #cross sans #killer sans #crescent sans #angst sans #canon storyline #undertale au #in old lore they kinda was a thing 💀 #until Hope snatched Killer from Cross- #I used to ship Cross and Killer so- okay still is but in e.l.a they could never be a thing because traumasss

[justatalkingface]

The 'Great' MHA Read Along, Part Three (Chapters 8-11): "Support" Gear and Dodging Death.

Well. You asked for this, so I deliver; upon your head be it.

So. We start off with talking about costumes... actually pretty interesting, though, with companies doing these costumes, I'm kind of surprised there's not brand names on them; All Might, Brought To You By Sony, or something. I guess that was a level of realism Hori wasn't prepared to deal with.... (Note Bakugou's costume comments; 'kill with my knees'?) but then we get to Izuku. And I can't help but feel jipped by this, in a couple of ways. Izuku ends up looking... well, like his mom made his costume, a sore, underdressed thumb compared to all the professionally dressed heroes... and he's also the only one whose face is entirely covered for some reason?

On the other hand, though, it is a nice touching scene, the family reconnecting, Inko admitting her mistakes and that she'll support Izuku.... but couldn't it have been done differently? As is, it feels like Inko is being used as a blatant emotional tool to make Izuku different, and that's rough since her character is barely existent in the first place, and quickly fades away into oblivion as time passes. In the same way that Izuku is the only one who can't actually use his Quirk, the same way he's the only one who is so completely unprepared for UA, he's now the only one who who doesn't actually have a proper costume.

I mean, I get it; on one hand, it's symbolic, and the way he eventually updates it shows his evolution as a hero. But at the same time, I've already made it clear what I think of Izuku starting off so behind, so I don't actually like that symbolism, and even if I was, the narrative feels like it's going a little too hard on the 'he doesn't belong' thing at this point. First time around, I was fine with how Izuku was, and even now my dislike of the starting situation is more on a meta scale than anything, despite the bad logic behind it, because it's written in so engagingly, but I never once liked the costume thing.

There's also the question of why she's OK with Izuku going to UA with either, A, no Quirk that she knows of, or B, a Quirk he just... randomly got, somehow, while applying? When, according to a literal doctor (Dr. Diabolus Ex Machina himself; is the fact that AFO's most loyal minion apparently was Izuku's doctor going to be relevent at some point or...?), that was never going to happen? Ever?

There's... there's a lot of questions she should be asking, here, and as far as we can tell, that just never happens. This whole dynamic here, there was all sorts of room to play with it, expand it, develop Inko as a character and Izuku's background more (and look at the fact that she found out her son was Quirkless and... got fat? Because she handled that guilt badly? The way they talk is like they never talked about Inko saying he couldn't be a hero until just then. Did they... did they really just never ever talk about this again until just now? The more you think about all, the more things don't make sense) and Hori didn't just drop the ball with this, he spiked it into the ground rather than use it.

I'm... sort of grudgingly OK with All Might being a not great teacher here, but not really. I mean, it's still in line with how his brain got ripped out of his head after Arc One, which at this point is something I have a well established history of being... not well pleased about, but it'd track that he wouldn't know how to train students in basic heroism, unlike exercising....

But that leads back to the question of, 'Then why is he a teacher if he can't teach?' Him doing something he explicitly has no idea how to do makes no sense. It's super double dumb though since, again, this is All Might's precious powered-time, and he's using it to... not just to teach kids when he could be saving lives, but teach kids badly, and again, that's stupid, and everyone involved, including Nezu, Super Genius, should realize this.

God, he's so badly shoe-horned into all this I'm actually wondering if he was supposed to die in Arc One and pass on his Quirk to Izuku that way, and him being in at all is Hori changing that plan at the last minute.

So, before I start on Bakugou vs Izuku... let's pause it here so I can go on a tangent: Bakugou's support gear.

There's several problems with it as an in-setting item, all focused around a simple fact: they're not there for 'support', they're weapons. Fundamentally, Bakugou's Gauntlets are just... giant explosive cannons, just like the literal grenades he gets, or the edgy machine guns in late story. No other hero's support gear we see are like that, pure weapons based only around harming others (I remember later, a Random Civilian gets his hand on support gear, I think from Detnerat gear, and that's a weapon, but A, that's from Detnerat, and so made to bring society to its knees, literally, and two, the entire point of that little scene was to show how stupid and helpless civilians are, and how they should dare get above themselves and try to defend themselves (which is clearly set up to support sheep narrative of civilians Hri loves to pull, while also making it make less sense since, if civilians doing anything backfires that badly, then yeah, maybe they're right to do literally nothing so they can't fuck it up) and so I am far from giving it the benefit of the doubt.)

I know later, Bakugou take one off and Izuku uses it, and so they're just... literally giant explosive guns, literally just a pair of guns he has strapped to his arms. Everyone else has gear that supports their Quirks, even Snipe with his actual gun (which enhances his Quirk, which is dependant on a projectile), while Bakugou alone has something that replaces it.

Thematically, that's weird and has bad vibes. On a more practical level, someone, somewhere, must have approved this thing, looked at this design with the more or less literal description of 'giant bomb', and said, 'Yeah, this is OK, let's do it'. This basiclly has no purpose other than to kill people or to cause massive property damage; there's no... safe mode, no limiting, it's just point and FIRE EVERYTHING!!! Why? Why did they just hand it to him? (And, as a side note, how was it full enough to use when Bakugou had just got it? There's no way he sweat enough to fill that thing; otherwise he would have collapsed from dehydration.)

So. Yeah. I have problems with that. And now the fight, and I find this fact distinctive:

Bakugou starts off this fight by proclaiming he's going to use this to beat up Izuku. I'm going to be honest here; if I was a teacher? I would absolutely respond to that, somehow, even if it's simple as, 'Bakugou, no, also now I'm watching you'. It's not exactly a reach to call that an obvious red flag.

(Side note; 'Rage You Damn Nerd' or 'Ferocity of a Fucking Nerd'? Really? What the hell is this chapter title.)

Flashback: Bakugou, as a kid, saying to murder those villains. God, really? Was nobody ever concerned about that?

And then Izuku counters Bakugou, and he just... loses it. Completely. Because of course; how dare Izuku fight back! How dare he resist Bakugou's righteous anger?!

And yet another reminder of the cringy fact that Bakugou was first place, despite the fact it's against his narrative set up of being the little fish, just because of how much Hori hypes him up.

Bakugou: I've been torturing you for all these years, and you've been sitting back and taking it. Clearly, you've been hiding your Quirk all this time, just so you could laugh at me!

Me: ????

Holy fuck, the ego on that comment. I've heard about 'everything being about you', but this is nuts.

Izuku builds up courage to face his fears/bully, and meanwhile Bakugou flashes back to how useless everyone else is, and how great he is, and how dare Izuku stand up to him, when he gave him the perfect name to describe how worthless he is? How dare he try to rescue him that one time when they were kids?! How dare he have concern?!?!?!

*leans back in chair*

Hoolyyy fuck, Bakugou, that is a lot of clusterfuck in such a small, three page sequence.

'Ah, Iida. What a wholesome palate cleanser', I think, more or less in lockstep with Uraraka. I love how his big plan is literally cleaning; I mean, I get the logic, but still.

Alas. All good things end.

So, for a lot of people, the big, defining moment of Bakugou's story and how bad they think he is is Chapter One and the suicide baiting. That's obviously shit, but to me, this is the big moment, the, if you pardon the drama (I can't think of a way to phrase it better), the 'original sin' of MHA as a whole: Bakugou tries to kill someone, and absolutely nothing happens.

This isn't an exaggeration, BTW; let me lay out the scene here:

Bakugou is armed with, as I said before, an insanely aggressive weapon, one that has no purpose other than to kill people or destroy things. He is given this weapon with, apparently, absolutely no comments about being careful with it, not to harm someone with it, or anything, and then takes it into an exercise with his classmates.

This exercise takes place in a building, one that can easily be damaged by the blast of that thing. As this is a multi-story building, even a blast not aimed at someone could easily get someone killed if part of the building collapses on top of them.

Bakugou takes this weapon, and he aims it at a human being. To top it off, All Might, who by all means should be an authority in, 'Yeah, this could definitely kill someone', explicitly tells him that, 'No, you'll kill him!' before he fires.

Bakugou's response? 'He'll be fine if he dodges!"

And then he fires.

And the fact that, not only does this happen at all, but this fight continues afterwords, is inexcusable. Blatantly, obviously, inexcusable. This is, unironically, Bakugou attempting to kill someone.

On tape, no less!

I mean, hell, with this one chapter, we have the means (the gauntlet), the motive (Izuku's... existence? The fact that he dares to stand against Bakugou?), and the opportunity (this entire exercise), along with witnesses watching him do it in real time. If this had hit Izuku, the trial against Bakugou would have been a cakewalk.

And the thing is? Everything before this, everything, is something that could be excused. Granted, it would strain the suspension of belief to the breaking point at times, but everyone could be that stupid and/or that biased, in theory.

But this? There is absolutely no way that this could happen, and be acceptable in the logic of this story. I don't care if All Might is literally missing his brain, I don't care if Aizawa just.... hates Izuku with a deep and unexplainable loathing (BTW, I think I forgot to mention last time that Aizawa sabotaged Izuku's scores? Well, considering how Izuku with his super toss was in a contest against a girl that only is invisible, there's no way he was in last place, so... yeah. Aizawa sabotaged him). Forget their heroic instincts, forget all of that; if they let this happen, everyone involved with this would have their lives destroyed. They can't cover it up, because at some point, Inko is really going to wonder, 'Hey, where is my kid at?' and the second she asks that everything crumbles.

That, and why would they try to cover it up? Bakugou's character is, in many ways, the cliche of the sports star from a small school, who the entire school, if not the town, bends over backwards to keep him in that position (which, ironically, never would have helped Aldera that much, because Bakugou, as is, would never give them credit, respect, or money. Bakugou, if he improved enough to give them that? Would give them shit for what they let him do instead. That plan was doomed from the start). The thing is? That tolerance only goes so far; sure, he can bully the nerd all day long, and hell, he can beat him half-to-literal-death if there's no one there of importance to serve as witness, but this? This isn't just attacking the nerd. This is chasing him in a car. And, when the nerd escapes into the school? The jock then drives into the school, and only stops when the car itself gets jammed in a wall.

There's a point, in other words, where all that tolerance ends. This is waay past that point.

That, and the fact that UA isn't a small school, with a sports department propped up by their one good athlete; UA is the school that athlete wants to go to. To UA, Bakugou the metaphorical athlete is completely replaceable; how many students were trying to get in again?

And all of that? All of that is assuming that every single one of them is, in fact, the absolute worse, trash, shallow self-serving shit versions of them possible, instead of being heroes, in a school for heroes, for whom there should be standards all over the place.

So the fact that he fires this shot, and that the flash-stepping All Might doesn't just bitch slap him out of it beforehand, or at least make it clear if he does his heroic life is over, and then afterwards he allows this fight to continue, and then after that, there's barely even a harsh word said in response to this, by anyone, much less any sort of consequences for it, school based or otherwise, shatters my SOD into dust.

The logic and foundation of this setting can not support this sequence of events. So... why? Why did this happen? Why was this allowed to happen?

Bakugou. The completely irrational, completely assholish Bakugou, who would do this, because this falls in line with his behavior from what we've seen of him thus far... if he was held to account for this? Given consequences, realistic consequences, for his realistically horrific behavior? He'd be gone, at least. Out of UA, out of Izuku's life (if only), and out of the story.

But... for whatever reason, even before all the polls came in (I think), Hori just wanted Bakugou to stay in the story. Why? Maybe there was a more proper redemption arc in the works. Maybe it was always going to be like it was now. Maybe Hori just likes Bakugou. Who knows?

The point is Bakugou, The Living Idiot Ball, is born into the story at this moment, a character who makes everyone around him their impossibly worse selves. His behavior will improve, somewhat, but the behavior of those around him won't.

Well, thankfully, the building doesn't collapse on all of them after that (thought maybe it should have? I'm not an expert, but that is a big hole there)... and here's something else that bothers me.

I can't understand All Might's motivation here for not stopping the match, as in I'm looking at his stated motivation for that, and it doesn't make sense.

In his head, he's talking about this will fuel Izuku's growth, basiclly. And, maybe it does, but that's not the problem here. The problem is Izuku could die, and is getting some serious injuries as Bakugou beats the living shit out of him; it's not worth all of that for some extra growth now, when he still has his entire school life to improve. And sure, we know that, in a meta sense, this is A, prep for the villains soon to show up, and that, B, Izuku does not, in fact, have his entire school life to get better. But All Might doesn't know that; All Might doesn't have any reason to think AFO is still alive, much less masterminding an attack. So... why the rush?

Before, he was rushing Izuku's training, but there was a concrete reason: Izuku needed to get into U.A. Well... mission accomplished; he's in. So why the push?

To give a somewhat in character reason, I guess, to try and excuse Bakugou, The Living Idiot Ball.

Meanwhile, all the characters can't stop talking up about how great a fighter Bakugou is, because it's not enough to excuse him from a murder attempt, apparently everyone needs to make sure the audience knows about how much of a 'beast' Bakugou is!

And, all of this, while Bakugou has this crazed sounding rant about how Izuku is 'looking down' on him, when until five seconds ago he thought he was beneath your boot. Even while they're fighting, Izuku can't help but talk up the person who single handedly ruined his entire life.

*sighs for forever*

Anyways, Izuku barely claims a win with teamwork, determination, and the magically ability to remember what his objective is!

(cue funny little omake where Mt Lady breaks her office with puns)

And... the last chapter of this arc: 'Bakugou's Starting Line'. Ugh.

Anyways, Bakugou beats Izuku half to death, but he loses. He loses, and has a mental break down because of that, and All Might is remarkably fine with this whole situation.

Then, Momo proves that she's smart and on top of things (enjoy that while it lasts), the other fights happen, which... brutally honest, I can't care much about, beyond Todoroki proving that, suprise suprise, he's actually the big fish in the 1A lake (enjoy that while it lasts as well! The nerfs are coming for everyone not named Bakugou or Izuku), which is yet more mental damage on Bakugou's oh so sensitive ego.

Izuku, unsurprisingly, ends up needing to be put back together after all that, and Recovery Girl has a rare positive portrayal where she says that Izuku getting beat to hell and back is, in fact, bad, which All Might agrees with like a sheepish child rather than an adult who has carried massive responsibilities for years now and who, need I remind you all, was not too long ago competent and did in fact avoid letting Izuku be permanently harmed... you know, the good old days.

Anyways, everyone is impressed by Izuku, cool, cool, and then... Izuku shits on it by telling Bakugou, 'This isn't my Quirk!', thus locking in his participation in late story stuff forever.

And again... why? Why does he feel responsible for this? Why does he need to make sure he's not... accidently, tricking Bakugou by letting him be an idiot and think he was just... holding back his entire life, and instead all but blows a secret of nigh incalculable value. To his bully. Because his bully felt bad.

*resists the urge to scream into my desk*

And, for a second time this sequence... why? Why would he do that? Why is he simping so damn hard for him?

*spreads hands*

Bakugou, The Living Idiot Ball, whom proximity to drives idiotic and irrational behavior into all.

And then Bakugou has tears in his eyes as he realizes he's not the top dog, and we're apparently supposed to feel sorry for him, and then All Might shows up, burning more of his precious time to talk to Bakugou, not long after his murder attempt, and rather than trying to... chastise him or anything, he rushes to tell Bakugou to cheer up!

I don't know about you, but if I could only give Bakugou one piece of advice, it would definitely be, 'protect your ego!'

Then Izuku affirms to the audience that Bakugou is still the standard he's chasing after, just in case we didn't get the message that Bakugou is the best, because Hori wants to make that very clear in our minds.

Finally: villians. ...Why is the mindless Nomu in the bar?

#bnha critical #mha critical #The 'Great' MHA Read Along #bakugou critical #izuku deserves better #bakugou the living idiot ball #the arc the SOD breaks and never quite recovers #i have no idea what i'm doing #what the fuck did i just bring upon this cursed land

[olderthannetfic]

One time I was on a discord server, I was in my early 20s (I'm still in my 20s tbf), server for the collecting of a certain item type. Some random drama happened with a user claiming to be abused at home, we tried to help. Girl got kicked because people got too sus about it.

Anyway, because I had been involved speaking to her, one of the mods contacted me in the DMs. Told me about the situation, and I was kinda shocked, so I asked a few extra questions. Call them Mod15

Well another mod then contacted me, and told me that Mod15 was talking shit about me, for asking the questions about the situation, and that Mod15 IS 15!!! I had no idea. That mod was really mad at Mod15 because 1) she didn't like that a mod was just 15 years old. 2) the mod had basically bought themselves into the role by buying the server nitro. 3) the admin didn't do anything/incredibly passive. Let's call that mod: ModP

I showed ModP the conversation with Mod15, and showed her that my talk with him was pretty basic bitch. But man did I fucking feel disgusted by this. I never contacted Mod15, he contacted ME. I deleted my entire talk with him. It was basically just "What happened? Is everyone ok? Do you know if she's ok." that stuff.

Side info: When I joined I also asked if they'd have a NSFW channel, just "because" it kinda was the norm to have one if the hobby had a lot of adults, even if it wouldn't contain anything sexually explicit. So it was made, but there was very little happening all things considered.

Well skip forward a few weeks. We had a vent channel, and Idk how it started. (I still have the screenshots from start to finish somewhere on another discord with a friend, but I'd need to look for them.)

But for some reason we started talking about how minors, who're minors entering the 18+ channel should be kicked from the server. The admin only made the NSFW channel "click to confirm" instead of role based, which is something that was discussed later between him and the mods I was told my ModP later. (Or another Mod I got to know.)

And guess whoms't but Mod15 would freak the fuck out and start an entire thing about it. He said we couldn't demand this blah blah. One argument he had was shit like "Well we see things like these on twitter, so why care if we see it here." and like, because this is a closed space. A lot of that kinda logic, that it wasn't a problem finding 18+ content anywhere on the web, and we shouldn't bitch about it.

Hell even some other minor and a lot of adults said that this was not a good point to make, and that these warnings and channels aren't made to "just keep minors safe", but to keep adults safe as well. And that adults have a right to want spaces where minors can't and won't enter. Anyway, this went on for far too long. I mean I think this thing went on for a few hours. Mod15 also freaked out when someone suggested making it role only.

Mod15 admitted to having entered the NSFW channel, which wasn't the great point he was trying to make, and one of the other adults admitted to having shared some bodypillow designs with Mod15. Which also wasn't a particular flex you'd make tbh.

ModP contacted me in that time, and another Mod, ModT, and they were actually annoyed that the Admin refused to do anything, and still wanted to keep Mod15. They had apparently also tried to make some specific roles before, but Admin just didn't wanna do it. You know, roles that give you identifiers such as "minor, male, female, adult" or pronouns etc.

They asked me if I could talk to Admin, and I did try, but Admin was so fucking passive, he said "Well, the problem was that you had asked about the NSFW channel." Not the fact that a minor decided that this was a free invitation to enter, or that the minor decided he had the random right to contact me about something, and then bitch about me to the other mods. That's when I decided I couldn't deal with this and left, if he couldn't even see how annoying it had gotten. At that point the collection discord had also grown considerably in size, because it got the "official (collectors) server" on reddit as well, and I didn't wanna stick around for the shitshow.

Extra info: The server did have an "introduction" channel, but it didn't have roles to give identifiers. And as probably anyone on a slightly bigger server would know, you start muting a lot of channels quickly. Admin tried to blame me for not checking the channel, in his DMs to me, when at that time there were constantly people joining and I had like half the channels muted to begin with.

--

15-year-olds make terrible mods.

[tonberrykins]

Hey, I get I've been raving about Astarion a lot but, like, are there ACTUALLY people out here who hate Gale and are calling him an incel? Is this a thing? Thank God I apparently curate well bc holy fucking shit I would be having heart palpitations DAILY out of SHEER ANGER.

So, like, we're always going to make fun of our faves and whatnot bc lbr "bro, you were banging Mystra and fucked up that bad?" THOUGH TO BE FAIR, if you're a wizard it isn't that hard to bang Mystra. It's kind of her thing. P sure her banging Elminster as many times as she has is the main reason he's still kicking and out being the Faerûnian Gandalf that he is in-game. Mystra's bodycount aside (especially since that has ZERO bearing on ANYTHING least of all her portfolio and purpose), like, Gale is a very intelligent man. He is also what we would consider as an objectively good person. Save the kids, help the tieflings, be kind and compassionate to those the average "good" aligned folks would consider "worthy" and yeah. He is literally the Alistair Theirin of BG3 if you Fusion Danced him together with Awakening Anders.

That being said, he is also very deeply flawed in that he KNOWS he is brilliant and in that brilliance, knowing his own talent, he thinks he knows better than even his own goddess BUT-! But, but, but, he is mortal, is young enough and in an age to not be able to wrack up the accomplishments of, say, Elminster whom he clearly knows on a fairly personal level so, like anyone who knows they are capable of doing great things, he feels INFERIOR bc he hasn't, in his mind, PROVEN that he is as great as he knows he is. And that's the hubris of mortality.

Objectively, LOGICALLY, he knows that he's more than proven himself capable. Mystra wouldn't have started a relationship with him otherwise, and she never asked him to prove himself. It was his own desperation to prove that he was worthy of her and thinking he knew EVERYTHING that lead to his terrible situation. Is he very clinical and logical about it? Yes. Is he squirrelly about it in the beginning? Very much, yes. Hell, I would be. No one wants to be friends with a literal ticking time bomb and the man is VERY lonely. Hell, that's the name of the game baybee! Baldur's Gate 3: These Bitches Need a Hug; YES EVEN LAE'ZEL, I WILL FIGHT Y'ALL!

Back to Gale, your friendship with him is something he very much treasures and when he starts all his finger wiggling and magic talk he's like any nerd sharing the thing he is most passionate about. He is also the first to admit he fucked up. HOWEVER, that does not (imo) warrant him needing to sacrifice himself all for Mystra's forgiveness, and even Elminster isn't on board with that. And, like, when he talks about Mystra it's never in an accusatory manner towards her. He clearly still loves her, likely always will, but that never negates his love for the PC who chooses to romance him. He is also very much prone to falling into the same pitfall of hubris that got him before and very clearly needs guidance that, yes, Mystra clearly did neglect in giving him. But he never outright blames her, at least he's not in my playthroughs thus far even after having spoken with her in the temple. He's just a sad, lonely nerd and that does not automatically make him an incel; y'all just don't know how to read, listen, or understand nuance. Apparently.

tl;dr

Gale deserves as much love as Astarion but bc he isn't evil "babygirl" material that's "fixable" he's just called an incel when he can be a very genuine friend, but what are those nowadays I guess?

#bg3 #gale of waterdeep #this was a rant #unhinged and freeflowing #bc I'm mad lol #it's like Gale is suffering the same shit as Lae'zel #bitches hate a brusque and blunt woman who won't immediately like them #and people also hate men who aren't uwu enough for them #which is another problem altogether but I digress #though honestly Gale and Shadowheart seem to have more similar points for comparison #on the just absolutely random hatred they get #granted Shadowheart and Lae'zel get it more bc how dare the tiddies not like me IMMEDIATELY #anyway these are all my weird children #my freakish found family #and I love them all very much

[burr-ell]

🤍, 🖤?

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

So this is gonna seem contradictory to my reblog of blorb's post; this is not intended to be read as a counter to it, but as a complement: Percy.

If I'm being honest, one of the things that kinda bothers me about C1 group fanart is when I see everyone else in the party at their fully developed state, like with their Vestiges and powerups and everything, and then Percy's out here...with Orthax. Whom he expelled from himself with a natural 20 wisdom save, for the record, in episode 35. He spent more time without Orthax than with him!

It is objectively true that Percy invented the gun knowing what harm it could do but did it anyway. He once permanently maimed an innocent boy because he wasn't giving the answers he wanted. He gave Grog a cursed sword and didn't tell anyone because he didn't want it to be his responsibility and he thought Grog could handle it. It is also objectively true that he expressed doubts about what he was doing even during the Briarwood arc and admitted he was scared of who he was becoming and outright asked the group to stop him if they thought they should. He publicly apologized to Desmond and admitted his wrong and assured him recompense in both money and job security. He participated in a resurrection ritual for a child he didn't know who got caught in the crossfire of a battle. He fought to provide the people of Westruun a safe haven in their city, while still encouraging people to leave if they wished, because he wanted to honor the fact that what they had built there was important to them.

I think Percy is one of those characters that people view as either a silly little Human Disaster™ or as Vox Machina's Token Evil Teammate (the audience who projected onto him as the Facts and Logic guy seems to have dissipated after it became clear that he was. very much not doing that), and neither of those things are true. When Laura remarked that she looked at Percy and said "I can fix him", it was very clearly a joke, but I think people take that seriously and think Vex is the only reason he's not Lawful Evil or something. (Taliesin once said that without Vex's influence Percy could potentially have turned out Lawful Good—Laura's reaction was "eugh".) Percy didn't believe he could EVER be worthy of Vex and never once intended to act on his feelings; the change in him between episodes 35 and 68 was because he personally chose to be better, over and over again—even through several instances of him having Fucked Up Big Time—for its own sake. His forgiveness of Ripley is what inspired Vex, and I don't think people acknowledge that enough.

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

I kind of alluded to this in the ship question but to be clear at the outset, I think Vax is a good person*, but I also think his flaws tend to be overlooked. He gets Soft Boy'd a lot, and while I don't think characters who operate on emotion are bad or stupid by default (my favorite superhero is Starfire), I think fandom tends to assume people who operate on emotion are good by default. Vax does a lot of reckless things that he's repeatedly called out for by everyone in the group, and he generally lets it roll off him because his metric for success is "but did you die". He saw a kid that he thought needed some tough love, and his first response was "bludgeon him over the back of the head and instantly knock him unconscious". He ran into a trap that nearly got Cassandra killed and never once apologized to her. He ran after Raishan and attacked, an action that actually did get Vex and Scanlan killed, and not only did he never apologize to them, he openly said in front of them that he didn't regret doing it (after being rightfully angry with Percy for getting Vex killed and having seen some proof that Scanlan might not be doing great!).

Like, to be clear, again, none of those things make him a bad person; I think overall he's a good person, and I think they're good character choices!* What I'm saying is that he has some genuine rough edges to him, and I think a lot of that gets ignored or sanded down in fanon to make him "the nice twin" or a perfect YA Hero love interest for a Keyleth who is being projected onto, and that simply isn't the character Liam played.

*I wouldn't normally put in that kind of good-person caveat—I don't think the end-all be-all is whether or not a fictional character is a good person—but a) this is a question about morality and b) some folks are weird about Liam.

unpopular opinions asks

#percy is someone who falls down over and over again because of HIS OWN flaws and bad choices and still gets back up to do the right thing #and i don't think i quite realized how much that resonated with me until now #cr meta #asks #percy de rolo #also STAN STARFIRE YOU DONT HAVE A CHOICE