#she isn't calling him Gil all the time yet

[softquietsteadylove]

What if a Deviant has mind controlling abilities and uses on Gil? The rest of them realizing it a bit too late when Gil suddenly started to attack.👀

Let the action and drama take its place!

Thena pulled her sword from one of the many Deviants from this most recent onslaught. "These seem quite unlike those of the past."

"They are bizarre," Sersi murmured, hovering and fluttering around the slain bodies around them now that there was no more threat. She looked up at Thena, "Deviants tend to mimic the wildlife the planet already sustains. But these are...they seem almost alien, like-"

"Us," Thena concluded, making Sersi nod her head with some reluctance. She looked out to the horizon, where the rest of the Fighters were already gathering along the front of the attack. "I must see to them."

Sersi merely nodded. She wasn't a Fighter, but even she had need to join the fray with the attacks were as dense as they were becoming. It was relatively early in their mission, but the more humans flourished, the more protection they needed. She squinted, "is that them?"

Ikaris was always easy to spot soaring well above everything around them. Kingo was also running towards them, waving his arms about something.

Thena frowned, "what are they saying?"

"Run!"

Gilgamesh rose up, breaking the horizon line and coming down with sheer force, his fist opening up the earth beneath him.

Kingo barely had enough distance to escape the minor earthquake, rolling and tumbling from it. Thena jerked in reaction but Sersi held her arm.

"What's happening?"

Gilgamesh continued his pursuit of them though, using his strength and concentrating it into different parts of his body to use as propulsion. He was launched forward, catching Kingo in his escape and raising his fist.

"Gil!" Ikaris swooped down, knocking him away from the Sharpshot Eternal. His eyes charged.

"No!" Thena launched herself up and into Ikaris' path, grappling onto him with a weapon and dragging them both away from Gilgamesh. "Don't hurt him!"

"Thena!" Ikaris roared at her like a pest on his back. He tossed her off, not bothering to return to the ground while the threat was still so present.

"What has done this?!" she demanded of her brother, keeping her eyes on Gilgamesh. Blank eyes took her in, assessing the new threat she posed.

"We don't know!" Kingo protested as he scrambled to his feet (and behind Thena). "One minute he was fine, then one of those things let out this sound--awful buzzing sound, really, then-"

"Kingo!" she barked at him, backing up slightly as Gilgamesh took slow, unfocused steps in their direction. He was the Strongest Eternal for a reason, and any one of them needed to exercise caution.

"I-I don't know!" he flailed again, faced down with the strongest of his brothers approaching like some mindless beast. "We all were fine but then Gil started acting weird."

"He is under some sort of influence," Thena concluded, as half-baked an assumption as it was. But Gilgamesh would never willingly turn on them like this. She kept her eyes on his, not that they were really looking at her. "He would never do this."

He would never raise a hand against her willingly.

Thena brought up her shield, catching the otherwise unstoppable fist of the Strongest Eternal. They both dug their feet in, the ground cracking beneath them. She held him at bay. "Leave us!"

Ikaris had already done so, taking Sersi away from danger at the first sign of an enemy he couldn't defeat singlehandedly.

"No way, T!" Kingo responded, bracing her from behind to help her not be pushed back by Gilgamesh's sheer strength.

"Go!" she snapped at him, keeping her eyes through the lights of her shield and on the enemy...on Gilgamesh. "Find Phastos--Ajak! Find a way to undo this!"

She knew Kingo was reluctant; he was actually very protective of all of them, despite his powers being most effective with some distance between himself and the enemy.

"I can handle him," she said more quietly. Her arms were starting to tire.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kingo muttered before letting go of her and rounding around Gil's side. He fired a few shots at the ground between them, creating somewhat of a dust cover. "Kari!"

A bolt of gold zoomed through the area, nearly impossible to see at all. She zipped Kingo away and then she was there. Thena spared her the briefest of glances. "I don't know what this is. But we can't hurt him."

He was still Gilgamesh.

Makkari tapped her on the shoulder. Thena did her best to look at her. He's vibrating.

She frowned. Makkari would know, though. Kingo had said that the Deviant on their end had let out some wretched sound and then this had happened.

Gil pushed harder and Thena increased the surface area of her shield, bracing it with her knee as well. She was growing tired of this. "Kari, did you feel a bigger vibration earlier?--some kind of sound or signal?"

Makkari was just as quick mentally as she was physically, looking at Gil and connecting the dots offered by her fellow Fighter. She placed her hand on the inside of Thena's shield, vibrating every cell in her body through it.

Gilgamesh drew back, gripping his head and roaring in agony from it.

"Gil!"

He gripped his head in his hands until he was on his knees. He drew back and smashed his head against the ground.

"Gilgamesh!" She hadn't even realised she had called out the first time, but this second time, Makkari held her back from going to him.

Gil slammed his head down again.

"Stop it!" Thean shouted, not that she could know if he could hear her or not.

His teeth were gritted together. "Run."

"Gil," she pleaded again--practically whimpered as her throat grew tight. She hated to see him like this.

It was early in the mission, sure. But she knew Gilgamesh, knew how kind and sweet and gentle he was by nature. This wasn't like him. She pulled against Makkari, who was letting her feet impact the ground to hold her back. "Please!"

"Thena!"

Makkari's head snapped up and just like that, she was running them away from him.

"Makkari, please!" Thena tried to reason with her sister as Gil got further away and then suddenly vanished from sight. Being transported by Makkari was always hard on the senses. "W-We can't-"

"Thena."

She turned, the rest of her team - her family - already standing by the Domo. She eyed Ajak, walking towards her a little too calmly. "You are going to leave him out there?"

"He's too dangerous, Thena," Phastos chimed in (from his safer distance). "We have to wait it out a little."

Thena's eyes hardened at her team. "You are abandoning him to this...sickness?"

Ajak had a strange look on her face as she closed the distance between them. Thena never liked that look--like she knew something and wasn't divulging everything. "The risk is too great, Thena. We have to let him get it out of his system. Give it time."

Thena looked back to the battlefield, fully able to sense the lingering presence of one of their own. She watched and listened; dirt dusted up and if she really concentrated she could hear him, still wailing like a beast looking for a fight.

Makkari looked between them all, moving to be seen by everyone's vantage point. Interrupting the vibrations worked. I can-

"We can't risk you," Ajak smiled at her, then looked to Thena's half-turned shoulder, "either of you."

Phastos also half turned, but towards the comfort of their ship. "Let him tire himself out, T. We'll go get him then."

"He's just out there swinging at nothing, right?" Sprite added in far too light a tone for the actual goings on. "Let him."

Druig said nothing but also disappeared into the sanctuary of the Domo. Makkari looked at him, shaking her head, but it did not persuade him to stay.

"I promise, Thena," Ajak said in that slow, lyrical way she had. "We will go to him as soon as the threat has passed."

Thena stood resolute against the skyline, watching over Gilgamesh as best she could. "You may abandon him if you see fit. I will not."

Sersi was the last one to leave, hovering between the lines of staying and saying something and joining the rest of her fellow Thinkers. In the end, Ikaris pulled her inside by the hand.

Makkari nodded at her and then at Thena.

"No," she responded to the question never asked. She looked up again, unable to pull herself away from the thought of Gilgamesh left alone with only the violence in his own mind. "I'll stay."

And so she sat herself down, on the ground, watching until there was no sign of movement, listening until his agony had quieted. And then she began the journey back to him.

#Thenamesh AU #a little angst a little drama #you can tell this is earlier in the narrative by the way she calls him Gilgamesh #she isn't calling him Gil all the time yet #I'd say this is before Babylon and maybe some time after the very first scene in the movie #they're getting to know each other a little still #personally and in the fight #of course they fight well together #but maybe they're still a little tentative on a personal level #but Thena knows Gilgamesh #he is the Strongest Eternal #but he is also sweet and kind and actually very funny #and he would never harm any of them willingly #she walks all the way back on her own #finds him exhausting and on the ground #freed of the Deviant's control without an enemy to fight #she picks up his head and rests it on her lap running her fingers through his hair #her poor Gilgamesh #Ajak and Phastos do come to check on him and Thena gives them the most bombastic side eye imaginable #Eternal side eye

[makalauriels]

As much as I’ve enjoyed all the confusion and outrage over Sauron’s identity from all sides, like I’ve said here, I think it’s time I throw my hat into the Sauron guessing ring!

Because we all need as much of the fun kind of speculation we can get.

Anyway I don’t think Sauron is any of the characters we’ve seen so far. In fact, I don’t think we’ll see Sauron on screen until season 2! If we’re lucky, we’ll see/hear him at the very end of the season finale as a kind of hook, but right now we will not know for certain he’s here.

Based on the info we get from episode 2, which I will elaborate on below, I suspect that Sauron is already in Eregion and already amongst the jewelsmiths.

Who would tell you this? Which thrall??

This is not found in any recorded document (or Doylishly, not in any of Tolkien’s writings). Maybe dear old Uncle Maedhros told you this tale.

But that's not it, isn't it? A certain Lord of Gifts has been whispering in your ear, hasn't he?

Why spring? When 20 or even 30 years is nothing to the elves and you certainly do not have the manpower for such an ambitious building project on such short notice.

And damningly, why is this proposed forge in the shape of Sauron’s sigil?!

Spoilers for future events under the cut:

Sauron already being in Eregion but going unnoticed by the people who canonically don’t trust him (Elrond, Gil-galad, Galadriel), because it’s Celebrimbor who is approaching people for this project and making them think it's his own idea, would be delicious drama because it would hurt everyone involved.

Celebrimbor - For… obvious banner related reasons.

Elrond - For aiding evil in the course of duty and letting his admiration and trust blind him. For bringing doom unto the dwarves in the form of 7 rings.

Gil-galad - Because he has unwittingly aided that which has come to destroy his kingdom. Suspicious and politically astute Gil-galad who is already aware that trouble is on the horizon and is doing his best to keep it at bay without alarming his subjects. Except by helping Celebrimbor whom he trusts for counsel, Gil-galad has doomed his kingdom by trusting bad advice. And this would be particularly terrible for a Gil-galad, son of Orodreth, who is most well-known for dooming his kingdom of Nargothrond (founded by Finrod from the prologue) by believing in terrible advice. All Gil-galad’s nightmares are coming true all at once.

Galadriel - Because from episode 1 we see her hunting Sauron across the far corners of Middle-earth. She’s spent so long away from home and has pushed herself and her followers to their limits, alienating everyone around her in the process, because she knows he’s out there. But all this hard work was for nothing, because the call is coming from inside the house and she wasn’t there to stop him.

Everything they are doing, all the missions and goals they have set for themselves? All of this will come to nothing. The road to hell will be paved with their good intentions.

Because… well… They’re Noldor.

Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever.

Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death’s shadow. For though Eru appointed to you to die not in Eä, and no sickness may assail you, yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos. There long shall ye abide and yearn for your bodies, and find little pity though all whom ye have slain should entreat for you. And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great burden, and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after. The Valar have spoken.

—Quenta Silmarillion, “Of the Flight of the Noldor”

#Rings of Power #lord of the rings on prime #lotrop #amazon lotr #Tolkien #Jrr Tolkien #Silmarillion #Lord of the Rings #Long post #Spoiler #Spoilers #If they do this they will be sexiest fanfiction authors out there #Because what is a Second Age fanfic without a ton of pain #Sauron #Galadriel #Elrond #gil galad #Gilgalad

[acceptsonlynttnightwing]

"Why are you being a killjoy, let people enjoy rings of power?"

Nope. Just nope. I genuinely think that would be a mistake. This isn't just about some random show or YA nov - it's about a series that defined fantasy books for the last 70 years! It's about an author who spent decades clarifying his books and making bloodlines and timelines coherent! It's about his son, a man who spent his entire life going over his late father's work to give us the silmarilians and other works and the published letters! It's about a group of people, who while they weren't perfect or even completely right, spent a decade of their lives trying to faithfully adapt the aforementioned peoples' work.

It's about a greedy, soulless corporation turning this seminal piece of literature into yet another random tv show (wasn't the Wheel of Time and Chronicles of Shannara enough for you ghouls?). It's about them not giving two figs about anything when the creator spent decades getting things right!! Why could Gil-galad's clothes have been silver? Would it have been so hard to get an age appropriate Celebrimbor? Why give male elves short hair and make female dwarves beardless? Why does Galadriel wear the star of Feanor when she disliked him the whole time?? Why does Finrod called her 'Galadriel' instead of Artanis back in Valinor, before Celeborn even gave her the name? Why do Gil-galad, Elrond and Celebrimbor treat Galadriel like she's younger/less experienced than them??? She's literally their aunt/great aunt, great great aunt and aunt!

These aren't conscious changes due to lack of screentime (like PJ made), they're just careless!!! And unlike Peter Jackson, who admitted to changing things, apologised and explained why, no one knows if the show writers even know they're wrong or if they even bothered to read the books!

And what's up with the fake wokeness? People keep trying to dismiss anti-rop complaints saying using PoC is an improvement, and I agree completely! I haven't seen a single post on Tumblr complaining about the race-bending, but every other defense post mentions it! Personally, I'd prefer all black or all asian elves if they'd just give them long, correctly coloured hair (a characteristic that ACTUALLY matters, unlike skin colour).

Also, Amazon's not being progressive at all? Like, Tolkien mentioned multiple times that male and female elves were physically equals - but the armies are all male. Male elves can be old instead of ageless, but the women are young and hot? Male elves have short hair and female dwarves don't have beards? How is that not just playing into gender stereotypes? The female character is inexperienced and is treated condescendingly by the male ones DESPITE THAT NEVER HAPPENING IN THE BOOKS! Galadriel fighting physically is shown as empowering vs her canon strength being wisdom and magical strength (more female coded). The hobbits have Irish accents and the elves British? Way to tick off every cliche in the book.

Everything Tolkien's ever written suggests that he would hate this! He thought Sameness and lack of originality/creativity was the difference between elvish and orc-language!

What happened to ownership and intellectual privacy? In a world where corporations can remove days of television and lifetimes of animators' work for tax benefits, where do we make a stand and say enough is enough, we won't let you destroy another unique piece of work you NEVER could have created. Art is not about making a quick buck!

And it's not just about Tolkien. It's about the swarths of awful new tv show, generic books and soulless comics being churned out by a gigantic machine that steals artists' work and underpays labourers.

And what better opportunity will we have to make a stand? There's a billion dollars at stake! Let's MAKE corporations respect us!

#rings of power #tolkien #its a affront to everything he stood for #i didnt say anything about Shannara #i didnt complain publically about the Wheel of Time #i let persuasion go #but there's a breaking point #and turns out Tolkien is mine #there's rumours about a percy jackson tv show #even divergent deserved more respect than it got #dont even get me started on Eragon #i dread the day Hollywood discovers Inkheart or the Magiciens Guild or Forbidden Realms or basically everything i care about

[hellcatinnc]

Piofiore Fated Memories - Yang Review

Includes Spoilers....

So I know you hear so many people all happy about Yang and love him the best. After sticking through his route which has dragged out to the point of boredom for me I'm finally done. That being said Nicola I was interested every step of the way but Yang just annoyed me. The only thing he has going for him is his looks because damn he is hot. However I wouldn't even say when he is mean that he is even one bit flirty ever and he isn't a tsundere because there really is no niceness in this man, he is very cruel. Yandere probably fits thoroughly like people say I mean I'm sure you see it in his bad ending more but I refused to be scarred by this man. Bad enough the one time I accidently chose the wrong thing got him trying to rape Lili and that was just enough for me I'm just thankful it wasn't shown it was just the writing talking about what he was doing.

I don't understand why so many like him especially if its the darker elements they like about him. He is honestly just a freakin psycho in my book. Even Lee the guy who is trying to kill him and take over as the leader is hot but bat shit crazy. You spend most the time with kids' that guard you and their voices annoying like nails down a chalk board. God forbid you step out of line they will tell you how cute you are and then that they will kill you and its like WTF crazy ass kids.

Lee above..... The Hot Psycho/Crazy Kids

I waited so many times to get sweet moments and even when there was a glimmer of it he would fall back to a selfish act right behind it making me dislike him all over again. I really hoped even on the good ending he would say he was in love with her or say I love you but nope never get it. I also hated watching him kill Dante, Nicola, & Gil it broke my heart. In all those ways he was a coward as well he spent every time throwing Liliana on the ground first not caring if she got hurt when he did it just to get their attention since unlike him they were all gentleman so they thought to look at her first. Well everyone but Nicola's fight his was about getting vengeance for Dante. Worst part is I can't say I hate Yang he was true all the time to Lili that he was a monster a horrible man who didn't care and even in his declaration in the end it wasn't romantic. It was just that he wanted her, she couldn't leave or he would kill her but if he gets bored she can fuck off. Like seriously how is this show love.

Then on top of it everyone wants to know this mans name and he chooses to whisper in her ear yet leaves it on the note we still don't know. It might come around later but the point is it didn't end his story with it which irritated me. Then after killing all the mafias in the area instead of having a sweet quiet life with her its not good enough now he is off to London with her to kill and take over more. This is the only life that will come with this man. Now granted not gonna lie when he kisses her its passionate but just because he is good in bed doesn't mean he is a life soul mate. Honestly my opinion he is probably one of the worst written love interests I have seen in a game yet. He should have been chalked up to good sex life while with him then move on from there because to have fell in love with a man who she even says she can't condone what he has done and doesn't accept it yet loves him makes no sense to me.

What made me real mad is when both Gil, and Dante tried to reach out to her to protect her and she is like I don't trust you and calls them monsters yet she is standing by the man who sells women after he kidnaps them, allows drugs to run ramped and kill people, and will rape or kill a woman if he just feels like it. I swear when she is with him she has Stockholm syndrome its the only thing that makes sense. I can't imagine anyone in this game I will dislike more than Yang but time will tell and if it changes I will make not of it as for now he is at the bottom.

The last pictures are to prove my point on this is his romantic gesture of love to her here is my WTF moment because honestly I stick with most these men even the broke ones with the thought love can change them but not this man.

UPDATED REVIEW OF OTHER ROUTES CAN BE FOUND HERE!

#otome #gaming #piofiore #yang #piofiore yang #reviews #review #piofiore fated memories

[tricksterfiction]

Prompt #11 Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Time passed, somehow, but it was all blurry.

Active erosion, chiselling away at something, there were always so many distractions. The discontent was fleeting, sparks before being drowned away. She was conscious, propped upright, she had survived it all relatively intact. And yet... There was a pinprick of a hole, slowly widening.

Brief glimpses of the distractions, she was away from her ceiling hanging indoor plants, her beloved creeping ivy spilling over the window sill, the small animal bones, the messy desk piled with books with reference marks, dusty spines, and piles of old candle wax. A carefully tended shrine to Althyk with incense ash in pewter bowls. What all used to be such an important sanctuary.

Her bed was neat, orderly, sheets tucked so tightly you could bounce a single gil off it. It was cold and untouched.

Stranger's beds were so comfy, inviting, and she had tumbled endlessly into them.

"Would you like to join my girlfriend and I tonight?" He would ask, behind a blurry face.

"Sure," She would say, "Don't blame me if you break up once she realizes you can't perform oral for shit."

A good hearty laugh from both. Sen would laugh too.

Hands bound, the tip of a fang dragging delicately along the nape of her neck.

"Remember, you can do whatever you want. It'll be gone by the morning."

"I know, pet," A hot breath rolled over her neck, but their tone changed out of play mode, "Remember your safe word." Another, different blurry face swam into view as her blindfold was pulled down to make eye contact.

Another was seated beside her, similarly bound. Her posture was perfect.

"Of course." Sen would say.

Sat down at Carline Canopy.

"Sorry Sen, this isn't working out anymore. You-..." She sighed, "Barely take any time off, and I don't feel like we can fit into your life. You haven't told your parents about us." Both of them held hands, separate from Sen. They looked hurt.

"I-I understand." A strained frown, her heart ached, a spark of discontent flew. "I wish you both the best."

Another party of strangers, the sound of wine pouring. Holding out her mug.

"Whats the matter, little dragon?" A tilt of her chin.

She was suddenly shy, quailing, blushing. She was sandwiched by a handsome midlander and seeker, by her own deliberate efforts to join the party. Now that she was where she had wanted to be she was losing all nerve. Confused above all else why she was reacting so strongly to such a familiar set up. "N-nothing, just don't call me pet, kay?"

"Whatever you say," His face too was a blur, as he leaned in for a kiss and she gladly met him. More than ready to tune out the doubts, retreat gratefully into her body.

He stopped again, this time catching her hands and could tell her heart wasn't in it. He sweetly pressed his lips to her knuckles, searching her face, "Tell us, what is hurting?"

She brushed it off, cutting sharply, "I said it was nothing because it would only bore you."

A flick of leaflet, a letter, open exuberant excitement.

"Oh, Sen, the botanists commendations have finally arrived! Glowing as expected," Madame Dubois was elated, "Now only the military commendations...! Everything we've worked for is finally bearing fruit."

Sen stared at the leaflet, summoning a smile, "Yeah, I was wondering when it'd arrive."

Sensing something was off, Madame Dubois cautiously inquired, "You are still seeing the counsellor?"

"Yes, every week." She answered.

"Meditating?"

"Yes and praying before you ask." She answered dryly.

Madame Dubois wrung out her hands, worried, "Of course you're not expected to be here every night, I'll always cook for two- I..." She hesitated, "You've been so busy out of the house and speak so little of your social excursions."

"They're nothing really to talk about, truthfully. Please don't be worried, I'm just-"

"You miss Miss Kemp, yes?" She was taking shots in the dark.

Sen sighed loudly, "Everyday but that's not the problem. I'm just in a funk, okay? Untangle those hands."

---

Moons passed, summers came and went. Sen found herself in the spring again. Still stumbling in and out of her patterns. Presently bent over her current patient.

"Hold still." A small thin hook being threaded, aether surrounding her fingertips as pain relief, she stitched the back of some soldier's head. She blinked, zoning out. The soldier waited patiently for several moments, trying to stay still as time passed.

"Corporal?"

Every muscle was taut. Her entire body tensed, brow deeply furrowed. The hole in her heart had expanded so widely that the emptiness couldn't, wouldn't be ignored any longer. It throbbed hungrily to be filled, and not to be filled by sex, love or work.

Sen's breathing grew rapid, she flinched at the touch of her colleague tapping her shoulder. More time had passed than she realized, the soldier flinched as well.

"Ow!"

Snapped back to reality, "Ah- I, sorry one moment." She rapidly finished the stitching, tying it off. Patting the soldier's shoulder, free to go.

They rubbed their neck, giving Sen a strange look before heading out of the ward.

Her colleague, face sharply in focus, young miqo'te woman with a bushy brow and slowly invading unibrow. She was climbing the ranks, and despite Sen's sharp tongue leaned on her for her experience, "You alright, Urabe?"

Sen blinked at her, before she knew what she was saying - the words smashed past all internal filters, "I don't want to do this anymore."

Her colleague began to laugh, "Yeah it's slow today, you don't have any physicals scheduled today right?"

Sen was uncharacteristically neutral, no hints of amusement to be found, she got up. In a flurry of movement she cleaned up her workspace, washed her hands, tugging off her uniform over her head.

Her colleagues complained, "Go to the change rooms, for godssakes-"

She didn't reply but pulled on a deep green cloak, fastening it, not sparing them a second look.

"Sen?"

She stopped, the three of them in total were staring at her. She reassured them, "I'll see you tomorrow." Then was gone.

---

Sen wondered through Gridania on foot, holding the reigns of her chocobo. Moonshine was kweh'ing with delight, expectant of exercise and exploration. The conjurer found herself by the massive community board, staring at the various flyers for bar nights, fights, and other social events.

A Private she recognized was pinning recruitment flyers up when she approached, squinting at something in particular. She reached tugging it free from underneath the colourful layers.

"Bokh?" She said aloud, "Authentic Bokh?" She deliberated, would it be a waste of time? How many scantily clad muscle men and women would be drawn to a traditional wrestling event?

The hyur private noticed her, a salute before leaning over to see what caught her eye. He chuckled, "You lizards really do like wrestling huh?"

"Don't call me lizard, Private." She warned sharply, folding the flyer to tuck into her belt.

He straightened, rolled his eyes, and returned to his flyer pinning while muttering, "Whatever, foreigner."

That got him a shove, "That's rich coming from you, Private Steele."

"Hey! Watch it-"

She continued, piercing, "When your family only moved to the Shroud two summers ago, you've barely got the stink of Greenwrath off of you." She cut deep, "I've lived here nearly my entire life and you would do well showing some godsdamn respect to the people mending your bruised ego after a snapped bow string nearly took out your eye three moons ago."

He blushed furiously, but elected wisely to shut up.

Sen walked away, reading the flyer closely. With the evening off she tapped the folded flyer to her chin with thought. She spared a look down at herself - not really dressed for the beach. It wouldn't really matter, she wasn't going to do any wrestling herself.

She went to Limsa Lominsa, down to the Mists, Moonshine happiest of all.

She arrived late for the start, riding up along the seabreeze markets, looking over the stone walls past patrons perched on them. She rode on taking herself down to the sands. It was busy - crowds were gathered around three separate rings of wrestlers paired off already in full swing of their matches.

To her surprise there was a great deal of variety of wrestlers from miqo'te, auri, hyur, lalafells, men and women across the spectrum. A rare smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she dismounted shooing Moonshine off to explore and find a good patch of grass to graze. Instead the chocobo went bounding to play in the surf.

Coming up behind a considerable crowd she pushed past to get to the front, many excuse me's, begging of pardons, gentle shouldering to get to the front for a good view to watch.

A dark keeper, only shades above shadow faced off against a towering xaela. He was lanky, distantly familiar, and the way he moved past the mountain he faced off against he was practically acrobatic. Fangs flashed with a confident grin. Red eyes lit up with adrenaline.

"I don't fucking believe it." A face snapped sharply into focus past all the noise. The same face smiling with latent approval while he carried home his younger sister Dolyea after their tree mishap. A face screwing up with disgust at tasting something foul they had snuck into his lunch. His face barely restrained fury, holding up his lance speared with a Bog Yarzon's limb shaking it at the pair of troublemakers, they snickered behind their hands.

The match ended, she found his discarded shirt thrown off to the side while two others swarmed to his side as he had all but collapsed in the sands from the exertion. They were congratulating him on the wonderful match.

Sen offered him his shirt, "Hey Twig."

He stared up at her, scrutinizing the nickname long since unheard. Jesser'to accepted his shirt, he replied curiously, "Pipsqueak?"

#ffxivwrite2023 #ffxivwrite #writing prompt #prompt 11 #it's a long one folks #haunted house #florence + the machine #Youtube

[villagerain]

@steeleidolon --

It is as public as a public venue can be -- more or less. Not precisely the highest class of bars, End of the Line resides in the sliver between the transit station and the corkscrew tunnel vehicle access, and serves grounders who may need to wait for the train until last call as much as it serves Plate-dwellers looking for a taste of the underbelly without the grime of Wall Market.

It may as well be a speakeasy lifted from fifty years ago and deposited three hundred meters above the ground. Nicotine-stained brick and amber lights, wrought iron cup-stools, plush leather benches worn to a patina, a dark hardwood bar, real wood and brass in an age of synthetics, all paint a picture of run-down opulence.

And then there's the karaoke setup. Kunsel descends to whistles, the odd catcall, a tossed-crumpled gil note (with a phone number, it looks like), and then jeers as he cedes the stage and the microphone to an unsteady salaryman who is ruddy-faced and eager for the next song. Must be a regular. It's early yet as these places go and the crowd isn't that large.

Kunsel is mostly out of regs, not that over-knee boots and fitted trousers are terribly uncommon. The hug of long-sleeved mesh and angle-patterned dark fabric draw attention away from the lambent gleam of eyes in the dark. Not to say he did not bring the other half of his uniform--it's within sight in the clear-paneled gun cabinet behind the bar. Swords and coat, right next to someone's shotgun. Maybe the barkeep's. Maybe not.

Playing by the rules and all.

Kunsel helps himself to a perch on a stool right nearby with an air of sprezzatura he may not feel at the eerily familiar face.

"Oof. Why are you looking at me in that tone of voice?" He manages wry as he orders something strong and citrus-forward. Maybe he'll even get to finish it. "Was it that bad?"

A Turk outside of uniform is still a Turk. Balto has eschewed the usual suit jacket and white shirt for a satin, navy blue shirt buttoned up to his collarbone and white slacks, but he is not here without purpose. That delineation between profession and personal does not exist for him anymore. The higher you climb, the older you get, the smaller the view out that window becomes. 

SOLDIER First Class, Kunsel. Newly promoted. Not his usual type, but that hardly matters. 

Balto keeps his head bowed, providing his undivided attention as his companion’s rich baritenor shares space with the warmth from old-fashioned, power hungry incandescents and exposed brickwork walls. 

He's already nursing a drink by the time Kunsel snakes his way back through the rounded tables with their glossy, vinyl black marble finish. The ball of ice in his glass bobs on its amber bed as he sets it down and leans against the bartop on one elbow with his body angled towards Kunsel.

"You could benefit from vocal training." There's something resembling a grin on his face, more in his eyes than the line of his mouth as he meets Kunsel’s gaze over the top of his glasses. "It wasn't bad, objectively speaking."

Good enough to impress the crowd, although the reception of most any performance always improves with a pretty face.  

“I can’t complain anyway.” If not for a direct invitation to attend, he’d be sitting out in the cold on the rooftop right about now, half-asleep with a headset on. Good to know the brutal honesty approach isn’t a total wash. “So, why the change of heart?”

Balto breaks eye contact briefly to glance at the bartender as she slides an eye wateringly bright, orange cocktail across the way.

“Sector Eight Cocktail.” She looks between the two men beneath a fringe of brown bangs, guessing at their association perhaps, before the curiosity drowns somewhere in the need to address the demands of the bar’s other patrons. Attractive in the conventional sense, despite the fake lashes and dramatic winged liner. Balto catches her attention before she can turn away by wiggling his fingers ‘hello.’ 

“Hey pretty miss, I’ll have one too, please.”

#steeleidolon #kunsel. #we're borrowing time 'til the sunlight comes -- steeleidolon. #[ ν ] – εγλ 0001 - 0007.

[voidartisan]

I posted 744 times in 2022

That's 744 more posts than 2021!

281 posts created (38%)

463 posts reblogged (62%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@voidartisan

@gil-estel

@procrastinationonvacation

@smhalltheurlsaretaken

@thenegoteator

I tagged 543 of my posts in 2022

Only 27% of my posts had no tags

#star wars - 240 posts

#sw - 239 posts

#obi wan kenobi - 114 posts

#tcw - 91 posts

#the clone wars - 91 posts

#talking into the void - 61 posts

#anakin skywalker - 52 posts

#satine kryze - 30 posts

#ahsoka tano - 24 posts

#the queen's thief - 24 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#ever since i came up with this i’ve had a concept for a drawing with the ‘onum realia’ ‘realisa onum’ phrases floating around in my brain

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Not to rant about the Jedi as a family again, but it always makes me so happy to think about the smallest younglings insisting on being picked up and as a result, honored, experienced jedi masters having conversations about Very Important Jedi Matters with toddlers hugging their necks and older younglings being delighted that there are jedi from species big enought to keep picking them up almost until they become padawans, and padawans helping escort younglings to ilum and helping teach initiate classes and the younger padawans gathering around the senior padawans to hear all about the adventures they just had on an off world mission and young jedi knights taking on their first padawans being terrified they'll mess something up because this isn't just a class, this kid is now their responsibility. This is their kid now and being comforted and guided by older knights and masters and old grizzled masters taking on apprentices as young as seven and loving them with their whole hearts and younglings seeing a knight or a master or a senior padawan and just knowing that that's going to be their master and creche masters who wave to their initiates who have become padawans as they walk past in the hallway and asking them to step in and help with a class and archivists who encourage their curiosity and help them navigate the temple archives and all the jedi who don't even recognize that lost-looking kid in the corridor but still stop and ask them if they need help or directions and yeah.

917 notes - Posted September 1, 2022

#4

Rewatching the prequels this week was NOT supposed to make me emotional about the jedi order but it was just the way obi-wan walked into the youngling's class and they all paused and said hello and yoda used it as a teaching moment and took the kid's answer seriously and gently poked fun at obi and the fact that jedi masters go by their last names with politicians and dignitaries but all the other jedi including the padawans and the younglings call them by their first names and how when the temple was attacked the younglings ran to the council chambers to find the wisest most powerful members of the order to help them fully believing they would find protection and instructions-

2,024 notes - Posted August 1, 2022

#3

nothing will ever be able to top the fact that Loid proposed to Yor with a pull ring from a grenade. it's literally the best choice anyone could have made when writing that. nothing could be more appropriate and yet completely unhinged out of context.

2,074 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

#2

Obi-Wan learns very quickly that the best way to restrain Anakin when he’s about to run off is to just. Grab his padawan by the neck of his robes and press him against his side so that he can’t get away. Anakin’s too tall and strong for it to work by the time he’s sixteen or so, but his instinct is still to grab the reckless small person and hug them when they need to be stopped.

He doesn’t even give it a second thought when he does it to Ahsoka about three weeks after she enters the picture. She freezes immediately, unsure if she’s supposed to fight back and Anakin laughs so hard he almost falls over.

2,455 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I think the Jedi council should have at least considered sending obi-wan over to Dooku to be like “yes hello I am here for sith training” just to see what would happen

26,015 notes - Posted October 19, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #tbh i'm kind of surprised obi-wan was only number three in the tags lol #i'm also in shock over the fact that I'M the blog i reblog from the most #feels a little egotistical

[yunieluna]

So I couldn't help myself - there's too much Biggs x Jessie in my mind and I need to get them out in the open for everyone else to enjoy.

I've never written fanfiction before, so please bear with me. 🙇🏼‍♀️

These are the Days of our Lives

Chapter 1: Aftermath / Under Pressure

The sun is shining brightly through the window, casting the room in a golden light. Every other person would open their eyes to welcome a new morning, but the man lying in bed doesn't.

Yet, the first thing she does every morning is come to his room to check on him, see if there's progress, make sure he's still at least breathing, and then get disappointed that he's not waking up - it's been weeks, so why isn't he? She's been asking that very same question every single day as well.

She wants to remain by his side, but the sight of his injured, unmoving body painfully reminds her of her father's state, so she removes her hand from where it was resting on his and prepares to leave.

"Good morning," a voice calls from behind.

"Good morning to you too."

"How is he holding up?" the young woman in glasses inquires.

"No changes."

A small nod and rueful smile are her answers. Silence grows in the room as if a loss is mourned.

He is NOT dead, though! Not like so many others who lost their lives when the plate fell. Not like her parents, who lived topside the very same plate that buried the Sector 7 slums underneath it.

Not like Wedge who fell from Shinra Tower and whose death was reported by members of Avalanche's main branch. You would've assumed he'd land on his feet like one of his cats, but that was obviously not the case. So the only thing that remains of him is his red bandana, which she received as a keep-sake.

Only she and him survived, rescued by members of the neighborhood watch just minutes before the collapse - at least that's what they told her after she regained consciousness. He hadn't yet, and his bullet wounds still need new dressings from time to time. But at least Biggs is alive. He just needs to finally wake up.

"Jessie? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Ms. Folia's request suddenly puts an end to her reminiscing.

"Of course. How can I help?"

"Well, you've been here for a few weeks now and know your way around..."

"Are you trying to ask me to be a teacher here? Cause I don't think that would be a good idea," Jessie states sheepishly.

Ms. Folia shakes her head reassuringly and says, "Ehm, no. Don't worry...Truth be told, we're in quite a pinch. We received donations to keep the Leaf House running, but ever since the plate of Sector 7 collapsed, they stopped."

Of course they did; after all, it was Biggs who anonymously sent money to the Leaf House every month, Jessie thinks to herself.

"It's getting really hard to feed the kids without that money, even more so because the number of orphans has risen as well due to the catastrophe. I was wondering if you have any idea or the means to help us out?"

Ms. Folia's plea sounds urgent. But Jessie had lost everything she knew and had that day as well. Her parents hadn't lived in the slums, and she herself grew up topside. Her father's comatose condition, which the Mako poisoning had left him in, made it necessary to care for him 24/7, and the medical treatments had sucked the Rasberry family dry financially anyway. Jessie had given every single Gil she could spare to help her parents out, and even though this became redundant now after losing them, opening up a new filtration system business from scratch wouldn't be easy and most likely take too much time. And the savings from her time at the Gold Saucer had long been gone by now too.

Gold Saucer! That might be a way to earn some quick Gil...Jessie contemplates.

She is still a well-respected actress and was the star of 'Loveless’. Her poster hangs in the halls of Event Square to this day. And even better, she was still in contact with some of her former co-workers. Reaching out to them and asking for a possible comeback on stage wouldn't be a problem at all.

Jessie’s grinning, “I think I know how to help. Let me reach out to some people.”

A few days later, she’s back in Biggs’ room, but not to check on him. She sits next to his bed, taking his hand like she has so many times before.

“So, I’m going to be gone for a while. But I know you've got everything under control here.” Her voice is warm, but her smile is bittersweet. “And I’ll be back, so don’t worry for a change, okay?”

Jessie knows that if Biggs would wake up at this very moment, he’d try to convince her to stay immediately. He would say that he would figure something out; the Leaf House is his responsibility after all. That it’s not necessary to sell her soul to this bottomless pit of Mako consumption of a fun park. But it’s time to pay back the hospitality she received.

And there’s also a part of her that misses being on stage, even though she’s usually in the center of attention wherever she goes anyway, theater or not. Acting has always been a way of escaping reality for her. Sure, the reasons for starting acting in the first place had been different, but when her father’s incident happened just days before her debut as Rosa in ‘Loveless’, it granted her an easy escape from the cruel sides of life ever since. Maybe she wants to forget again. Forget about the bombs she made that killed innocent citizens, the collapsed plate that buried the Sector 7 slums underneath it, the lives lost - her parents, Wedge and many more.

And forget about Biggs. The concern if he will ever wake up again, the fear of having to tell him about Wedge, and so many other unspoken words she keeps to herself for so long already.

“I’m not as good as you at taking responsibility, Biggs.” She takes something out of her pocket and puts it in the hand she had been holding. She puts the chair she was sitting on back in its place by the desk and places another item on it, right next to Biggs’ red Avalanche headband that had been lying there untouched ever since it had been removed to bandage him up. She takes a glance at him one last time, “See you soon.” Then she’s gone, and silence is the only thing that remains in the room.

There’s children’s laughter outside, though. A very familiar sound. I missed that sound, he thinks. A thought? It's been a while since I had one of those. He’s slowly opening his eyes, struggling with the brightness of the room. His head is spinning a little too, but memories are already starting to come back. Avalanche, the missions, the pillar of the plate, bullet wounds, blood, Cloud…Oh shit.

----------

I'll be posting a picture of a scene for each chapter as well - mostly just quick drawings with just outlines.

And some shots from the games that I used for inspiration:

Chapter 2: On Stage / Show must go on

Nothing really changed around here, I see. Jessie realizes, standing on the moving band that takes her up to Event Square. Can’t wait to see everyone and the theater again. 

She’s got an appointment with the owner to sign her new contract. She had always liked Dio, yes, he’s pretty over the top most of the time, but he treats his employees well and is a real showman, who valued every single time she and her acting colleagues did a good job on stage. 

Two men in dark sunglasses and weird haircuts approached her as she was sitting on a bench in the waiting room backstage. They must be new. Jessie figures, since she's never seen them work here before. 

“You’re the new girl? The boss is ready to see you now.” one of them explains.

Strange that Dio is not coming to pick her up himself. 

“Ehm, yes, that would be me.” 

“Common then, we’re takin’ you to him.” The other guy says.

Something feels off here. Hopefully, Dio will have a suitable explanation for why he hired these suspicious guys. 

Jessie enters the room they guide her to, closely followed by the two guys. It's not Dio’s usual bureau, in fact, she’s surprised by the entire decor in this very room. Wooden walls in a deep shade of red, satin lamps hanging from the ceiling and framing the walls. A big wooden desk in the center of the room catches her attention. There’s a set of two chairs in front of it and one big armchair on the opposite side - it’s red, of course. The person who must be sitting in the chair has turned their back towards the entering group of people, though. 

That’s a lot of drama, even for Dio, Jessie thinks. 

“Soooo, you’re the new actress they hired for our most famous play?” 

Wait, what’s going on? That’s not Dio’s voice. 

“Sit… and we talk about your contract.” With that, the person turns around in their armchair, and Jessie finally gets a look at who’s the person the other two referred to as the boss. 

No way! Jessie’s at a loss for words for a second.

“Don Corneo?” 

There’s no doubt about it. Don Corneo, the biggest name of the Wall Market of the Sector 6 slums, is sitting right in front of her. Everybody in the slums knows him, he’s the worst creep one could imagine, but sadly, he’s also nearly as powerful. Tifa had gone investigating on her own, when they heard Corneo send his lackeys to look for Barrett and other clues on Avalanche. But Jessie didn’t know how that turned out, since they never got the chance to talk about it afterwards. Corneo seems to be doing well though.

“Oh my! Look at that cute birdie.” Corneo chimes. “You’ll be selling us tickets like free materia.” 

Jessie can’t help but shudder. She really needs that money for the Leaf House though, everybody is counting on her. Corneo is not trustworthy, she knows that much, so being extra cautious is important here. I’m an actress, I can pull that off.  

“The play was really popular when I was playing the main, so I hope I’ll be able to make it a huge success again while I’m here.”

“Ah, yeah…now that you mention it.” Corneo sports a grin that makes Jessie even more uncomfortable. “A few special appearances that were agreed on, won’t do any good. It’s hard times, people want consistency.”

“I’m sorry, but I struggle to get what you’re trying to say.”

“I’m saying that I want you to perform until the play runs out in a few months. I’m kinda into romance myself, but it seems that everything has been set for a change of plays, and changing that again would cost a lot of money…” 

He still rambles on, but Jessie is already lost in thought. So, I’m supposed to stay here for months and work for Corneo? And if I refuse, I’ll basically get nothing. There’s not even a real option here, is there?

“It’s fine with me. Depending on the payment.” Jessie musters to answer.

“Oh, little Birdie, you should not worry. Expenses and Rooming are free. Salary is as agreed upon per performance, plus 1% of ticket sales.” 

Wow, that’s generous. Where’s the hook? She is sure there must be one, but in the end, she agrees nevertheless. 

“Thank you for the generosity, and I’m hoping to meet your expectations.” All Jessie’s really hoping for is to finally be able to discard this personality for the day at least, she’s tired of pretending to cater to all of Corneo’s wills. You’ll definitely meet my expectations, don’t worry, is what Corneo is smiling about mischievously, though and says, "Excellent! Kotch and Scotch will guide you to your room.” 

These are the names of his right hand men? Seriously? Nomen est Omen - your name really can be a premonition. 

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

It feels as if she’s never been away from the stage at all. Acting with people she still knows helps too, but it’s mostly the familiarity of the place and material that makes her feel at home. Just a few more hours and she’ll have her debut. Wrong word. Of course it’s not her first performance as Rosa, that was many years ago, but she still wants to dedicate it to her Father…and her Mother now, too. She had always supported her aspirations, she actually recently complained a little that Jessie’s not been that focused on acting anymore. Little did she know that saving the planet with her buddies had become Jessie’s number one goal. Jessie didn’t want to make her Mom worry even more, taking care of her Dad was straining enough, so she never told her about joining Avalanche in the first place. 

I’ll make you proud. All of you. This is for you, Dad, Mom, Wedge and all the other souls within the Lifestream. And for you too, Biggs.

Nothing but standing ovations and constant clapping in enjoyment - such different kinds of noises compared to those that she had gotten used to. It had been an overwhelming success. Every member of the cast and crew is overjoyed. Corneo even sent some bottles backstage to celebrate. Maybe he’s not that bad of a person at all? What a stupid thought born out of excitement, she mentally notes. 

“Here you go.” Jessie takes the glass of sparkling wine that has been handed to her by the actor who plays Alphred - the prince and her love interest. He resembles Cloud in appearance - blond hair, blue eyes.

“We really missed you around here,” another actor states. He plays a minor role of a fighter and rival to Alphred in the beginning, but never caught her attention until now. His black hair, brown eyes and kindness remind her of Biggs. 

“Salute!” Everyone shouts in unison, and Jessie raises her glass too, but her mind has already wandered…

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

The drinks are good, the best Jessie ever had, actually. 

“Thanks for helping me figure out the menu.” Tifa beams with joy.

“No, Thank you for the free drinks. They're awesome. They'll surely be the hit of the bar.” Biggs always makes sure to praise where it is due. Sometimes one starts wondering if it's all just an act, when people do that. A mask they put on to appear nice and likable, but Biggs is different. He's completely genuine and really means everything he says. 

“It's really hard to decide on just one though”, Biggs says looking at the pile of glasses in front of them. They all had different colors - yellow, green, one even a bright shade of red. 

Jessie suddenly jumps off the stool she was sitting on, turns around, raises the glass of her current cocktail and triumphantly explains, “Yep, this is the one!” 

Biggs and Tifa share a knowing look of amusement. That might have been one too many, Biggs thinks to himself. 

As soon as this thought had left his mind, Jessie stumbles a little…Oh oh, that doesn't look good. She meanwhile exclaims loudly, “Bartender! Whip me up another Costa del So—...” 

I knew it. Biggs barely manages to catch Jessie in time when she loses her balance. She safely lands in his arms though, her back pressing against his chest. Her cheeks are a little red from drinking, and maybe from embarrassment, too. It’s just Biggs though, she reminds herself. He had seen me do worse. 

His grip on her arms to help steady her is firm, yet gentle. Jessie tilts her head upward, meeting Biggs’ gaze. He’s watching her, concerned and worried. Be careful, or that wrinkle between your eyebrows will stay, she muses to herself. She starts to feel a little dizzy. Maybe it’s the drinks? Or…? A sudden realization hit her. She was still in Biggs’ arms, staring at him. Right into his dark brown eyes, which sometimes appear to be even black. Had they always had this mesmerizing effect on her? ….Shoot! 

“I'm cutting you off.” With a swift motion of his right hand, Biggs takes the glass that Jessie had still been holding and sets it back on the counter, interrupting her thoughts. His left arm is gently guiding her back to her seat. The moment is gone. 

“C’mon, one more couldn’t hurt.”

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

He’s not here to stop her from drinking now. He’d really been strict about her drinking habits, even though he himself ended up drunk most times as well. So annoying! It’s nice that he worries, though, Jessie reminds herself, smiling bittersweetly. 

“Cheers!!” Her colleagues raise their glasses for another toast, and the memory is gone. 

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

The pain is still there occasionally, but he tries to ignore it the best he can. He hates it if he’s making others worry, despite the fact that he’s constantly worrying about others. Now especially. 

His whole life got turned upside down after he woke up two weeks ago. Not that it hadn’t been before, but now it’s even worse. 

There was no amnesia, just big black question marks about what happened while he was unconscious. And then he received messages, he’d rather forget again. No turning back at this point, though. 

He misses Wedge. Constantly. He wasn’t able to understand what he was holding in his hand, when he woke up…So he wouldn't have thought that it’s the only thing that’s left of him - the red Bandana Wedge was wearing. Later, he understood that it was Jessie, who gave it to him. Jessie. One of her gloves had been placed on the desk of the room he was resting in. 

A sign that she was still alive? That she was thinking about him? That she was coming back?

All of these thoughts didn’t matter anymore when he received that one particular letter…

-----------

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

Inspirational pics and scenes I reference:

#biggs ff7 #jessie rasberry #biggs #jessie ff7 #bessie #ff7 au #avalanche ff7 #ff7 fanfic #rarepair #first try at writing #Biggs x Jessie #Jessie x Biggs #ff7 fanart #fanart

[firelord-frowny]

there are like 0 world class violin soloists who don't make an audible tapping noise against the fingerboard in MAAAANY instances, particularly when playing larger intervals and/or coming from an open string, and/or playing really fast, slurred passages where the notes only have a split second to be heard before the next note needs to start,

and yet there are stilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll all these fucking pedagogues out there wanting to die on the cross of You Don't Need To Press The String All The Way To The Fingerboard And It's Actually Bad To Make A Tapping Noise.

??????????????????????????????????????????????

ok which one of you is gonna go tell hilary hahn that she's doing it wrong? hmm? who's gonna tell rachel podger to withdraw her latest release of the bach toccatta arrangement for solo violin which has VERY AUDIBLE TAPPING NOISES all throughout??? HMMM??? Somebody better snatch all those prizes out of Soo Been Lee's hands! let's call James Ehnes and Ray Chen and Midori and Gil Shaham so they can sit in a masterclass where some adjunct professor at some unremarkable university can lecture them about how they're all using Too Much Tension.

!!!!!!!!!! I legit Do Not Get It.

Same vibe as when my old evil violin teacher showed me this famous clip of heifetz pulling off a near-impossible bow stroke, and then criticized him for having a "bad bowhold."

It occurs to me that a possible caveat may be that when it comes to orchestral playing, maybe the extreme clarity and crispness that's achieved with a firmer touch isn't necessary because the lil imperfections in the tone quality are more easily swallowed up by the resonance of all the other unison pitches. Which I mean, I don't know that to be true, but it seems like a safe hypothesis, in which case, then sure, you could lessen the chances of muscle/tendon strain if you use lighter pressure.

HOWEVER!!! If you're doing solo repertoire, there's basically a 100% chance that it's waaaaaaaaaay more physically demanding than even the longest, most difficult full orchestra pieces. So if a soloist can bust out Brahms and Tchaikovsky and Paganini and solo Bach several times a week for years on end while using a firmer touch all the while without suffering any adverse consequences, then an orchestral player should DEFINITELY be able to do the same, and have even less of a chance for adverse consequences since their music isn't as physically complicated and demanding.

and i just???? Do Not Understand why there's so much eagerness to reject the things that the worlds greatest players do that are the REASON why they sound great, in favor of sticking to whatever insufficient philosophies that have gotten them to a medium level of professional playing and no further.

don't you wanna sound better???? don't you wanna BE the player that other professionals are gobsmacked by? Don't you want people to hear you play, and have no idea how you pulled off what you just pulled off? How did you land that enormous fingered octave shift so flawlessly? How did you nail every single note of that hella fast four octave phyrgian scale?? How did you get those double stops to ring with such fullness?

If you fuckinnnn PAY ATTENTION to the actual motions of legendary players, you realize that the reason they sound as amazing as they do is because they straight up just do things differently than the rest of us. Their bowholds are unique and idiosyncratic and can change several times in a single phrase. they initiate shifts with a different part of their hand. they contort their wrists into seemingly awkward positions to nail awkward chords. Their bows are often visibly NOT ~parallel to the string~. they do NOT always start every note ~from the string.~

And yet you expect to be able to ever accomplish any of that same shit without making similar adjustments along the way? Without setting aside those ~basic rules~ that are really just meant to help beginners get off to a good start without straining theirselves before their bodies are ready for more demanding techniques??

ljjkfkldlgkhfskjd ghehjrkr jgfsoj g fdfkgjsdf dsgh i cant

#yall i am sounding SO GOOD these days #still don't have the attention span to finish learning anything to completion tho :(

[roanniee]

SO.

Let's try this again🤸🏻

Also Idil vibes strong on this one. I can't say Gil bc Gil calls Ate Sel smth specific like she does with me.

Ship the @mythos-blogs Crew

ps. here's the server <3

@admiringlove

Baby Sam is very hard working and focused on whatever she's doing that sometimes, she forgets to take care of herself. So, I see Sugawara Koushi with her perfectly, someone caring and understanding, but knows better than to let her overwork and tells her when enough is enough. The both of you do struggle with a few things, and when you fight or have insecure moments, you sit down to talk about it instead of shouting at each other. Overall, a really good match I say.

Baby Sam also kins Oikawa and I ship Oikawa hardcore with Suga LMAO

@ninjamomo

Me. That's my wife <333

Okay but for realsies. I ship Idil with Bokuto Koutarou. Bokuto and Idil would be just... soft love. I see dancing in the rain, bathtub relaxation hours together and cuddling in bed. Idil knows that Bokuto is a busy man, and Bokuto knows he is a busy man. But that doesn't mean that they were gonna let the relationship go. Oh no. Those two will hold on like a cat with his claws on the couch. A really really soft, supportive and strong love.

@tooru-luvs

I actually had a hard time with Ms. Zizi. See, I haven't interacted with her much. But, based on the interactions of hers that I see on my tl, I can see that she is very playful but also can be serious. Hence, why I say that she'd be amazing with Kuroo Tetsurou. Kuroo is playful and an overall gremlin, but he's very caring ang knows exactly when to be serious and how serious. He'll help her with anything he can help her with, but he also knows when no to because it's something Zizi needs to do for herself. Likewise, Zizi knows when to be cheery to make Kuroo smile, but also when to sit and talk to Kuroo about a delicate matter. They'd both ground each other, while matching the same playful energy.

@rokudaddie

HEY I CAN TAG HER NOW KSKSKS

ME ME ME ME ME

anyways hehe. Gly. Lovely, sweet, Gly. She's very caring, but my god does she also enjoy chaos. Hence, I'm putting her with Hoshiumi Korai. We all know Hoshiumi is a little gremlin with a heart of gold. The way these two are together would be immaculate. They're chaos together, but even with all the chaos, they have time to look at the other to make sure they're okay. PLUSSS! Hoshiumi will always unconsciously be touching Gly, just to make sure that she's there. Gly would unconsciously make sure that Hoshiumi is in her peripheral vision too.

@moonlit-island

Ooooh Raya! Raya is so damn sweet and caring and uplifting. I love her sm. Hehehe anyway I ship her with Tsukishima Kei. The Tarot cards said so, and so did the zodiac signs. SKSKS Anyway! Yes, a really good match. Raya's got a really good head on her shoulders, but I see her watching all the chaos from the sidelines, much like Tsukishima. When they're together, they'd start the chaos and then sit back and eat popcorn as they watch the world burn.

@laineeey00

Ate Laine? Some will definitely say Kita, because it's Ate Laine, but I say Hirugami Sachiro. Hirugami would be such a good man for Ate Laine. I imagine them sitting down in the living room, books spread out on the table. Just silence while studying, but every now and then, one of them would look up to look at the other, smile and then return back to what they were doing. Ate Laine makes sure that Hirugami takes breaks and Hirugami makes sure that Ate Laine isn't stressing so much. Just so cute honestly.

@betheydocrimewrites

Ah, Adult Sam. Hmmm. Adult Sam is a whirlwind of chaos and sweet, sweet angst. I definitely see them with darling Yamaguchi Tadashi. I see them in bed, Sam on his laptop, and him just hugging them tight when something they were writing was choking them up. But, Sam is just overall an amazing person that they deserve someone so sweet and caring like Yamaguchi. Obvi, it is reciprocated, and I see such a sweet love in the works.

@melsun

Oooh. Alice.

Melian and Matsukawa Issei would make a very interesting pairing. Both independent yet still co-dependent on each other. Melian knows how to calm Matsukawa after a tough day at work, and Matsukawa knows how to keep Melian from stressing. Matsukawa would also hype Melian up so much?? Like any outfit Melian wears, Matsukawa's right there telling them how good and amazing they look and how well they matched the outfit up. Honestly, just a very functional household and I love that.

@lovemeian

oh oof Lavi. I want to say Meian but for reasons I cannot disclose, I won't say that for now. I will say though, that she will be so good with Dabi. Lavi has a few things she needs to work on, and Dabi is always there for her. Actually lbr, they both have issues to work on, but I feel like together, they'd overcome that. I feel like they'd?? Actually be so understanding of each other that it shocks and confuses others bc?? hello it's Dabi?? but yes, a really good match.

@writewithmarites

Me <3

Severus Snape. Ate Tes is chaotic. I'm sorry but her default in the server is chaos, especially with the bot around HAHAHAHA but anyway! Severus would be so good to ground Ate Tes, keep her from getting a little too chaotic BUT ALSO, he can help her when she's not taking care of herself. She also helpes him with his potions, and it makes the job easier on him. But of course, Severus is a slytherin, and most of the time he'd be the one inciting the chaos and we just don't know it. Anyway, Ate Tes is honestly so wonderful and I love her sm and she deserves someone to tame like the serious, bratty, angsty Severus Snape. <333

@saudade-mayari

ME. AGAIN LMAO. <3

ANYWAY

Nozel Silva. Nozel and Ate Sel. Oh gosh what a thought. Nozel is....arrogant, prideful, and he sees himself as someone more important than others. But, the man does know respect and he does care for people, especially Ate Sel. I have no doubts that Ate Sel can make that man kneel and follow her wishes, but I also know that Ate Sel would not let this man get away with his arrogance and pride. Nozel cares for her a lot. She's his partner, the carrier of the future of House Silva, and the only one that has caught his attention. He loves her, and that man would drop nearly everything for her.

@risumu

Eris! Eribabe and Ojiro Aran. Idek why. But the vibes would be so immaculate. I see road trips and early morning dancing in the kitchen to an indie song one of them is hyperfixated on. I also see late night walks to the convenience store, holding hands and just silence? Basking in each other's prescence. Eris definitely steals Aran's sweaters to the point that Aran buys two of his sizes so he can interchange them. One to give to Eris when the one she took doesn't smell like him anymore. Love all over the place.

@sunarent

Mel. That's it.

Okay but also, I see Iwaizumi Hajime. I was thinking about Suna but the more I think back about the things I know about Ali and our interactions, I see Iwa. I feel like they'd understand each other so much. And the love isn't seen much, not because they don't love each other, but because it's something they need to say really. It's more shown in the touches and kisses and cuddling. They know that they love each each other, and that's enough for them.

@tetsvhoe

Honestly I want to say Kuroo but.

Kozume Kenma. Gwennie works so hard and stresses so much. Her sleeping sched is unavailable lmao. Kenma would be so good for her because he knows how it is, to be stressed and not have an actual sleeping sched. I feel like they'd be good together. In all honesty, they'd probably take care of each other more than they would themselves but no one is complaining really.

@slutbench

MY BABYYYY. MY DAUGHTER. I LOVE YOU SM AND I SWEAR I'M NOT MAD.

I ship you with...

Azumane Asahi. Why? Because you remind me of Noya sometimes. Very energetic, a little bit of low moments and just a ball of sunshine in general. Asahi is perfect for you, Mija. He'd be able to just connect with her in ways others just don't understand. People would say that Asahi is too...soft? They'd say someone like Daicho or maybe Bokuto would be better for you, Mija, but really, he's perfect. Asahi and Gil. He balances her out in so many ways, even if no one else can see it.

@ushisrever

NIA!

Ushijima Wakatoshi. Really, the two of them are perfect. Stoic, quiet, can be chaotic. Very protective, even if the two deny it. Nia, you and Ushi are like...pillars? Support? Quiet, unmovable, but still, everyone knows you're both there, and you don't really leave people's minds. I see the two feeding off of each other's energy, especially when it comes to protecting others that they care about. (Looking at you, Lavi) I see hours where it's just her watching him playing in the background and he just looks at her, smiles, and then goes back to playing. It's really cute.

@sumebreaks

MAIA! HI! We haven't interacted much, I'm so sorry for that sweets. bUT BUT BUT!!!!

You're so sweet and caring and loving??? I really see you with Miya Atsumu! I see Tsumu bugging you to take a break and give him attention. BUT! I also see you?? Bugging him, telling him to get off the court or he's sleeping on the couch HAHAHA I feel like you two really just? Connect. Both playful, both caring, both are busy with their own things so there's not too much expectations that cannot be met for now. Idk I really see a love that's always there, no matter how busy they get.

@vindictivtsumu

AAAAAH DEVON HUN!

I love Devon and their writing so much??? Omg. Yknow who would be amazing with them? Akaashi Keiji. Akaashi is very articulate and just overall book smart in my opinion, and I see that him and Devon would fit so well. He is Devon's personal beta reader HAHAHAH BUT!!!!! Devon also watches Akaashi edit and points out anything that he missed. I see days when they're just sitting there, talking softly to each other that the sound of typing was louder. But that's okay bc you both are content and happy and in love.

@ricflairdrip20

I just met you not even 24 hours ago hehehe HIIII

I will not lie.

I asked for help from Ate Sel HAHAHHAHA

But!!!! She says Ukai Keishin, and honestly I see it. The nsfw-rp channel is the reason why and I'm not saying more HAHAHAHA I see nights when it's Keishin and her just? Idk having fun and being kids bc lbr that man can be a kid sometimes. I also see them taking care of each other in unconventional ways, ways that would not be okay for others, but it's her love language with him. V v v domestic.

I HOPE Y'ALL MYTHOS CREW LIKED THAT MATCHING UP BYE

#castledorms #merguest: anonymous #mythos #this is what i do instead of sleeping #this drained my braincells bye

[softquietsteadylove]

You get so many specific prompts, so I thought maybe it might be fun to send you a prompt with just a few words so you can write ANYTHING you want for them, in any au or in canon! (And obviously if muse doesn’t strike feel free to skip lol but if you like this i’ll keep sending them!) words for this one: sunshine, gratitude, eyes

"Hey."

Gil smiles as she finds her place next to him. They're not on watch, he just would rather be out here than on Ajak's mission to socialise with the humans. "Hey, Sunshine."

She laughs, because she thinks it's funny that he calls her these things. Like it's a sweet joke, just between the two of them. He calls her that because it suits her--describes her. "Admiring the view?"

Honestly, the planet is...dull. Not that Sersi wouldn't have a whole dissertation with which to correct him on that. But he hasn't yet seen enough of it to think it's this truly marvellous place. "I like the water."

"Hm," Thena muses beside him, also taking in the shades of green and blue below them. The scent of the salt travels upward and the breeze of it rustles her hair. "There is something calming about it."

Gil isn't sure if he would describe it as calming. He always looks down at the waves crashing into a cliff as a tumultuous and violent thing. He thinks they should fear and respect the sea, but keep their distance. "You think?"

But Thena nods, soaking in its majesty. "The humans have claimed the earth they need, plots of land and spaces for their settlements. But no one owns the sea."

No, that is true. The waters of this planet are unencumbered, threatening to swallow up the landmasses by domination but always receding as per the moon's orders.

Thena bumps his hip with hers.

He chuckles, "what?"

She tilts her head, and it is unfair for someone so deadly to be so charming. "You're ruminating."

"I am not," he laughs off, but she's caught him fair and square.

"Share your thoughts," she prompts him, pursing her lips as a playfulness comes over her, "oh great tyrant king, Gilgamesh."

He rolls his eyes and huffs at her poking fun. As if her joy is not his joy also. "We shouldn't take the ocean lightly. It's dangerous, no matter how calm the beach waves might look at times."

"I'm not taking it lightly," she replies easily, and he gets the sense that she's heard and understood all the thoughts in his head. "I see it for what it is--the force behind it."

They both look out into the bay, where the gentle lapping of waves against the shore gives way to the rough and choppy texture of endless depth. Those waters will see plenty of Deviant carcasses, too deep for the humans to ever find.

"But I accept that along with this part," she moves her head in the other direction, nodding to where Sersi is showing a human family how to cast a net. The young ones giggle with glee and their joy makes the Elemental Eternal glow from within. "They are both part of the sea. I think that only adds to its beauty."

Beauty, Gilgamesh thinks, is not so simple a thing. He struggles to describe things as beautiful. A sunrise or a sunset merely exists, the sea is the colour it is because of the sediment in the water, the sky changes per the hour sometimes.

But he sees the light shining off Thena's eyes, constricting her pupils and bringing out the green colour of them. The darker rim around the iris, the jade colours swirling more calmly. That, he thinks, is beauty.

"Gil?" Thena asks, pulling him from his silence.

He smiles, because she's good at making him smile. "I guess I see what you mean."

"I for one am thankful for the cooling breeze the water offers," she states more clearly and lightly, moving away from the contemplative. She inhales as another wave crashes below and causes an updraft.

Gil unfolds his arms so he can move some of her hair off her shoulder and away from tickling her face needlessly. She looks at him and he withdraws, exhausted from the affection. "I don't have to be thankful to a body of water."

Thena laughs, and it's a very cute laugh for a Goddess of War. "There must be something for which you're thankful."

Her. It's always her. If she knew the degree to which he focused his thoughts on her surely she would recoil.

"Hm?" she prods, sliding closer until he can feel her much smaller arm against his thicker one. Their shoulder plates clink together and she celebrates getting a laugh out of him. "Anything?"

He looks at her unabashedly now. If he could tell her that she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, he would. Far more than any of their travels to this planet, far more than any natural phenomenon here now, he would. "I guess there is something."

"Something?"

"Someone," he amends quickly, and it seems to make his point. She smiles down at the water below, something like shyness coming over her.

Her hands clasp behind her back, "I'm sure they're thankful for you, too."

He snorts, "I don't know about that."

"Well," Thena angles herself towards him before rising onto her toes, "I am."

Gilgamesh lets her bend to press her lips to his cheek. He does it passively, letting her delicate hands balance her against his shoulder and his elbow. He leans ever so slightly for her, but that's it. He doesn't want to encourage this. He'll lose all sense, if he does.

"Shall we?" she prompts him, turning in the direction of their own.

"Fine," he grunts, but follows her like she has him on a leash. His steps are heavy and slow behind her light and graceful ones. If something were to approach from behind, let it face him first before so much as getting a glimpse of her.

"You should tell Ajak you are warming to the planet," Thena suggests lightly. "She seems quite bewitched by it. To say nothing of Sersi."

Gilgamesh has to constantly stop himself from telling Ikaris that he will never fully capture Sersi's heart away from this planet and the people residing here.

"We have much of it to see," she looks over her shoulder at him. "Perhaps somewhere you would like more."

He thinks all of this planet will look the same--feel the same. He shrugs.

Thena doesn't take offense to his lack of contribution. She looks forward again, "Ajak says we will abandon the ship entirely the more humans perceive us."

Gil doesn't entirely trust Ajak. He thinks she means well, but he also thinks that there are times when she doesn't tell them all she knows.

"I know you will miss our refuge away from them."

Gil uncrosses his arms, moving more deliberately to walk beside his partner. "So long as they don't ask me to join in any dancing, then fine."

Thena laughs, letting him capture her hand in his. "I'll defend you from such trials."

Then he has no qualms, no matter where they go, or how long they stay on this blue and green marble. If she is with him, then he can face anything.

#Thenamesh Reverse AU #thank you for the ask sweetheart! #I love this idea!!! #and I did love this au so I'm happy to get to explore it more honestly #grumpyxsunshine is a delicate balance #when I tell you I have been obsessed with finding a way to get him to call her Sunshine #this one fits perfectly #Gil thinks he's so tough and unbothered #Thena: *walks into a room* #Gil: hey Sunshine light of my life #but on the outside he's all >: [ #everyone knows #they're like someone go tell Gil that it's time for dinner #no one wants to do it #they only ever wait for Thena #eventually this Gil also finds that he likes cooking #but stars above don't wander into his kitchen uninvited #if you're not Thena you're gonna get scary kitchen dad telling you not to touch anything #and if you are Thena #you'll get invited to taste and then sent away with snacks

[aiohon12]

Top 5 animals! Top 5 Fate characters 😊

Oh golly! Hmm my top five animals. My animals are hard to choose! But here they are! Giraffes were in mine but bunnies are cuter!

1. Wolves/dogs

2. Cows

3. Horses

4. Platypuses

5. Rabbits

Dogs are in the wolf section hopefully! 😅

My favorite fate characters top 5 are -drum roll please !

1. Gilgamesh: he's the king of heroes and one of the reasons I got into fate (besides Rin) he has so many flaws that it makes you like him. Especially his arrogance his greatest flaw. His pride and self importance, he Carrie's himself a character and how his speeches are really inspiring and full of wise quotes I actually like his way of speech as well. The king himself is also extremely wealthy, he take what he wants and not necessarily gets it. He's powerful king who had everything but he had isolation, though he found a friend Enkidu he learn of friendship. But as character his sheer stubbornness and arrogance is what I like him it makes him flawed person and even though he thinks he's perfect he isn't he's imperfect man. Plus he's highly attractive🌸 but also his caster self is amazing I love his mature version and he's wiser in that form. Caster Gilgamesh is version of Gilgamesh of how would be if he would return as wise king and ruled over humans as wise king (although it's not fate series main Gil, it's spin off version fgo Gilgamesh) I still love both version though. Oh note Gilgamesh also loves to see people pushing to their limits and do their best he actually is respectful in some sense because Iskhander I like their interactions it was very kingly thing of Gilgamesh.

2. Rama: though he's young king he's also very kind, and has sense of innocence in my opinion. All he wants to see his wife Sita it's so cute his devotion to his wife and he's only 16! I love his demeanor and his overall personally, he's not a greedy king like Gilgamesh or arrogant either. He like the opposite and caring personality. His compassion and devotion is incredible. PS his noble phatasm is also cool to me and he's a saber class, he's very adorable in my eyes. He's not bad a king but he's truly kind boy and very respectful it's one my reasons why he's on the list.

3. Rin Tohsaka: she my all time gal in fate and I think her color scheme amazing. It's cute she a tsundere but not the annoying type of ones I seen in many anime. She cares about her sister from afar and actually does things to help others, she very good teacher as well and love her relationship with the other characters and her dad too. She well balance character compare to the others, she knowledgeable and she willing to help, even it means to risk it or sacrifice what she wants but it's all for the better of others and situation. Level-headed and she may seem popular among her peers but she actually very magi who wants to live normal life and she thinks Sakura had a better one (even though it's the opposite at least I think tbh) Rin is going to be on the top five list, and just love her design as well, she is strong and independent girl why would not like her?

4. Medea: honestly I'm not surprise she is on this list, she had sad story to begin with and I thought her cunning and intelligence got her into this list. All she wants is to go home that's all she wants nothing more, but in order to do that she will anything even use souls to power up. I love her sheer will and cautious, yet manipulative nature has charm me in some ways and she also very pretty though others might steer clear from her because she is known to be a witch due to her past and nature. Medea just wants to go home and be free and somewhere a place where she belongs, a loving place to call home. Though I don't support her with the Rin's teacher (master and servant relations in general) she had her reasons why she doing what she did in fate stay night routes. I like the fact she actually has magic like Gilgamesh they both are from the age of gods where true magic exists , she doesn't need to have this "fake" magic or imitation of it. She's the real Deal, she even made Saber her servant even though servants can't actually get the grail because they are used to get it for the masters unless the master grants the servants wish. Medea has strong standing in her actions which is why she is very interesting character in my eyes.

5. Irisviel von einzbern: another character from fate zero/besides Gilgamesh who super popular but one of reasons why I like her so much was Iri she had such amazing personality and pretty and I shipped her so hard with her husband Kiritsugu and makes them such lovely couple. Though he was cold to her at times he knew she would sacrifice herself eventually and she wasn't human she was homunculus. But her husband taught her many things where she learn human emotion which made her on the list! I love her sweet her caring personality, she also positive and curious whic makes her so cute, though she has sad ending she still made an impact on Kiritsugu where her love and devotion didn't go to waste and what she continue to fight with his ideals to save people. She stand out as a character because of her strong will and her compassion for others. I think her true joys was her family and I also like Saber and her relationship very respective. I still like her as one my top fave girls in fate series.

That's all my favorite folks. It was hard to choose few except for 3 of them 👀

#fgo gilgamesh #fate stay night #rin tohsaka #fate zero #top five #rama #irisviel von einzbern #fate medea #questions #my favorite animals #my reasons #animegirl #king of heroes #epic of gilgamesh #fgo fate grand order

[akampana]

Gilgamesh/arturia/diarmuid(threesome) pre relationship 1, general 1, love 7

Gilgamesh/Arturia/Diarmuid (YAAAS YEAHHHHH OT3 BABYYY *screaming and crying*)

If i release a story like this one day don't come for me I've long had this penned down HAHAHAAH

Modern AU, but they're all a little younger than in the other AUs. This takes place in a University setting.

Pre-relationship 1 How did they first meet?

Short answer: -And they were roommates! oHmYgOd they were roommates

Long answer:

Gil, Enkidu, and Diar were roommates throughout college. Enkidu followed Gil wherever he went, so they were a given, but at their request, they got a third roommate to take the extra room.

Diarmuid was an acquaintance of Enkidu's, an art student who'd entered the same university through a scholarship and had a part time job. Gil said yes, cause he could at least look forward to Diar not being in the apartment for too long. Also, Diarmuid was attractive and it couldn't hurt to have a pretty fuck within arms reach.

They spent the entirety of Enkidu's undergraduate degree together, but after Enkidu suddenly left, Gil and Diar stayed together anyway, since he was literally the only other person the rich blonde could stomach being with.

After some convincing, Diar finally got Gil to agree to find another roommate, which was a whole PROCESS, but Diar went through the groundwork and Gil FINALLY agreed to meet one last person. A freshman- tragically - but whatever, some poor blonde thing that was gonna be eaten up, what was his name, Arthur?

So they make it to the meeting, and the guy literally arrived fresh from the airport. He was a little shorter than his bio said, and a little too awkward, but he mentioned he didn't have anywhere yet to stay for the night, so Diar gave Gil the pleading eyes and boom, roommate secured. Something familiar about his face made Gil think twice, but the blonde brushed it off. It would come to mind eventually.

Arthur was good roommate. He kept clean, kept quiet. never said anything even when he walked in on Gil and Diar, and he took care of chores without even having to be asked. He also never joined them in the jacuzzi, though, or even to share drinks on the balcony. Sometimes, he'd disappear for a few days and come back exhausted without much explanation.

And finally, after a few months of being friendly with the little freshman, they found out why.

One lazy evening, while Arthur was out again, Diarmuid put the tv on for background noise, and they just happened to be broadcasting the announcement of a merger between some old tea company and an establishment Gil barely recognized.

And right there in the middle was 'Arthur', thinner, with shorter hair and a height that actually matched what was in his bio. Next to him was their roommate, long hair loose and in a white gown, standing next to him with the fakest smile upon her face as the newscaster called out her name.

Arturia Pendragon, one half of the Pendragon twins that would soon inherit the tea business of the same name.

General 1 Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?

She asked. Although they acted like a throuple already, they never officially got together until MUCH later.

They didn't have to put a label on anything, since they were all roommates anyway. Only when Gil completed his Masters and Diarmuid graduated did Arturia suddenly realize she didn't want them to leave. So holding one of their hands in each of hers, she asked them if they'd like to be in a relationship with her.

Gil scoffed, "Have you believed this entire time we weren't in one?"

Love 7 What are their favorite things to do together?

Their weekends are spent buying feasts of takeout and sitting in the jacuzzi with a crate of beer within arm's reach. When take-out isn't available, they try baking with...varying degrees of success. Gil didn't think he'd like cooking at first, but his partners convinced him to try.

thank you for the ask! ;_; wow idk what happened but i fell off the deep end somewhere along the way HAHAAH hope this was fun for you anyway.

Ask meme

#OT3 BABYYYYYYYYYYY #this is based on a wip i have been working on since 2017 #akampana asks #-ship questions #it actually used to be a soulmate au; but i removed that part and that became #And Then There Were Three #which you can find on Ao3 #ahahaha lmk if this au interests you all #gilartdiar #ot3 #gilgamesh #diarmuid #arturia #artoria

[painted-crow]

Fictional double Birds, webcomics edition!

I found/rediscovered some more Bird characters for y'all~

These pals are all webcomic characters, so you can read their stories for free :D the name headers link to the first page of their respective comics!

Just a reminder, clicking the images gives you better quality and can make the text easier to read. I've put alt text on the images with the relevant info--sorry if this still isn't the most accessible post. ^^;

Henry Jekyll (The Glass Scientists)

Thanks to @aubade-things for reminding me this comic exists, and for discussing it with me! I binged the whole thing a few days ago, haha.

The Glass Scientists is a webcomic about a haven society for mad scientists, in a world that does not like them. Jekyll here is trying to keep it from falling apart, but between mad science shenanigans, plain old lack of funding, and a fellow called Hyde who is definitely not the same person, who told you that, he's... uh... struggling.

Jekyll screams Badger secondary at first, his Bird secondary is just VERY burnt.

He idealizes Badger as a huge part of how he thinks a Proper Gentleman should be, and he has this super uptight Badger performance that does noooot actually make him happy.

His primary's shaky, too, but he's working on it. This just about says it all, honestly:

Yes, that is a figment of his own imagination yelling at him for using Bird secondary to sort out a major piece of his system.

Jekyll is peak "person who looks like they have their shit together but is actually a mess underneath" and I'd be okay with him being a little less relatable thank you very much

He is slowly reclaiming his secondary though:

Sidenote: I have had almost that exact experience, about the same topic, during a period where I'd burned Bird secondary.

(Seven year old Paint was obsessed with the idea of plant medicine. You know how some kids mix up "potions" with stuff from their back yard? I wanted mine to work. I had this giant textbook about it and everything.)

Alas, remembering was less useful to me; all it really gave me was an extra uncanny experience reading this webcomic :p

Thistle (Daughter of the Lilies)

Thistle is a cinnamon roll hiding a whoooooole lot of trauma and anxiety. I'll let you find those panels for yourself, though. Instead, here she is entertaining some children with her magic:

Sometimes she sounds like a Badger primary, but she's a full-fledged Bird:

Her secondary is a little singed, too, but hers is WAY better off than Jekyll's. She's doin ok.

Spoiler warning: the current comic arc shows her face, which is a major reveal--so if you want to puzzle out what her deal is on your own, start from the beginning and avoid the front page for now ^^

She's also super relatable, but in a way that doesn't bug me. I'm trying to figure out why Jekyll does... I think it's that he's an example of a very burnt Bird secondary that looks seriously familiar to me, but his primary is unstable too and I find that unnerving--I've never burned mine. To me, he feels deeply unhealthy in a way that Thistle doesn't at all. Thistle's morality is very clear and bright; the parts of her system she struggles with most are about how she sees herself, but I deal with the same thing (it's probably less common for Birds not to) so that's fine.

That does say something about the general tone of the two stories. DotL deals with some heavy topics, but it's a much more optimistic feeling world with a much more stable protagonist.

DotL fights with Girl Genius for rank as my favorite webcomic, period. Everyone should go read it, it's beautiful and funny and relatable and tragic and then it's funny again. Also there are dragons! At least one of them is plot relevant, and several of the pages he's on got turned into posters by popular demand because the art is just that good.

Speaking of Girl Genius:

Gilgamesh Wulfenbach (Girl Genius)

Girl Genius is a gaslamp fantasy comedy adventure romance about mad scientists, and it does all of those things really well at the same time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's a goldmine for Bird secondaries.

This story has also been adapted into ebook and audiobook versions, so if comics are hard for you to read, that could be a more accessible option!

Snake primary is the most popular (Agatha, Tarvek, Zeetha, Bang, Krosp, Lars, and most of the Jagers) but there are a few Birds hanging around. The Baron is a Bird primary, I think, and Othar is some form of Exploded Idealist (double Lion?) but I'm going to focus on Gil because he's a main character.

The page that cements his primary for me is this one, where he's arguing with Snake primary Zeetha (who is Loyal to Agatha). Agatha's been the victim of some weird mind control stuff by the story's BBEG, but Gil hasn't gotten that context yet and the Baron (his dad) is convinced Agatha IS the BBEG.

And yes, he's technically pantsless in this scene but hasn't realized that yet either. It's not his fault... the "ability to rant" part of a Spark's brain wakes up long before their situational awareness does.

Also lol @ Zeetha's reaction. Gil is one of Agatha's Important People, and Agatha is Zeetha's, so he's safe, for now, if he behaves.

As for his secondary:

And:

Like many of the cast, Gil is a Spark and very vulnerable to nerd sniping. RIP his lost sleep.

Also mine, actually. I'm gonna end this here and try to go back to bed ^^;

Happy reading!

#sortinghatchats #meta #ravenclaw primary #ravenclaw secondary #burned ravenclaw secondary #paint speaks #q

[badabjng]

Huma moodboard - proposal (Huma's Happily Ever After 2/4)

When, after almost a year of living together, Harry finally decided to pop the question to Uma, basically everyone got involved. And, to these days, they all still wonder how they managed to organize everything and keep the secret from a clueless Uma.

Jay, Carlos and Ben, with the help of Jane, took care of setting up the location for the date. Harry wanted it to be by the beach, their favorite place and the place where everything started, where they kissed for the first time.

Lonnie and Audrey took care of the dinner. Harry tried to help but ended up burning the lobster, so he got kicked out of the kitchen.

Dizzy handmade the ring. She and Harry spent entire afternoons working on the perfect model. He wanted it to be fancy and elegant, but still something that screamed "this is made for Uma" . The choice of using a sapphire of the same color of her hair was almost obvious.

Celia had a really peculiar job: she had to go through Uma's stuff in Ursula's house to find a picture of Harry and Uma that they took years ago. It was a very important part of the speech Harry had in mind for his proposal.

Mal and Evie's job was probably one of the hardest: have Uma wear a fancy dress to a "casual date" with her boyfriend. Evie thought it would look perfect with Harry's more edgy style in the engagement pictures.

Gil's job was either the most useless one or the most useful: he provided himself and his friends with the perfect hiding spot to witness the whole thing without getting caught. Harry kind of got angry when he found out what his best friend was doing, but in the end he let him do it.

Dinner went fine, just like any other normal date, then Harry pulled out of his jacket a little box wrapped in teal paper.

"What's this for?" Uma asked, surprised. It's wasn't her birthday nor their anniversary, so she was pretty confused.

"Just open it" Harry said, with a smile.

Inside the box there was a framed picture. It was Harry and Uma, in their old pirate clothes. They were about sixteen or seventeen. They were looking away from the camera and it seemed like they were talking to someone else. He had an arm around her shoulder and it didn't show in the picture, but she had an arm around his waist.

"Remember this?" Harry asked.

Uma smiled and nodded. "Of course" she said. "It's from when we found that instant camera in the garbage and wanted to test if it still worked. We took one picture of Gil by accident, then we were preparing to take one as a crew but Desiree took a picture of us without telling us. And it was the last one, so no crew picture" she recalled.

"We had no idea she was taking a picture of us, we were acting so natural. We wouldn't be posing like that if we knew we had a camera on us" Harry pointed out.

"That's true" Uma agreed.

"We were already in love. Even if we didn't know it yet, because we had no idea what love was. We used to touch each other and be around each other all the time, and it was weird for two Isle kids to be so touchy but it just felt natural with you."

"We're still those kids. Only older, wiser. Less angry, happier."

Harry took a deep breath.

"Yes, we are. We will always be. But back then I would have never imagined that one day I would go on dates with my captain, or walk around holding her hand or - for God's sake - living with her and decorate for fall and Christmas. I thought it was something Auradon kids did because their life was so easy that they could afford to complicate it with all this love nonsense. Then that day at the Bay I realized that it wasn't complicated. With you, nothing is complicated. Kissing you in front of everybody isn't complicated. Having a picture of us pinned on our fridge isn't complicated. Love isn't hard with you. I love you, Uma. You're the only girl I've ever loved and the only one I'll ever love. And I want you in my life forever."

He tried not to talk too fast and not to make it sound like he had prepared it. And it was surprisingly easy, because the words came from his heart. He had been thinking about his speech for so long now that saying the actual word out loud wasn't hard at all. He put his hand in his pocket again and pulled out a blue velvet box and opened it, showing the ring to Uma.

"Will you marry me?" he asked.

Uma smiled. She knew something was off when Evie basically forced her to look nice for a random date. She was sure that their friends were somewhere behind the bushes ready to stick cameras at their noses.

"Of course I do" she answered. "And bear in mind that all of this is a formality and an excuse to have a fancy party, because I was gonna spend the rest of my life with you anyways, because I love you more than anyone else."

(And then, you know, the rest of the group jumped out of the bushes and ruined the romantic atmosphere. Gil was yelling "Calling it for best man", as if it was a race.)

#huma #uma x harry #harry hook x uma #harry x uma #harry hook #uma daughter of ursula #descendants #descendants 2 #descendants 3 #descendants au #huma's happily ever after

[carrotsofavonlea]

I'll be looking at the moon (but I'll be seeing you) p. 2

Anne breathed a sigh of relief, arms stretching up into the clear night sky. The party inside Miss Stacy's house to celebrate the exams was still bustling, but she needed a moment or two to breathe. It still hadn't sunk in yet. Anne Shirley Cuthbert was going to Queens. 

"Hello dear old moon!" She waved up at the sky, "I am officially a college student. Well...in a few weeks when I actually arrive at Queens."

She sat down on the step, kicking her feet out in front of her. The door behind her opened and she glanced over her shoulder to see Gilbert quietly sit next to her. Suddenly she got a sense of déjà vu.

"Seems I'm always catching you out here." He laughed and Anne shrugged, trying to avoid his eyes.

"You did it." He said, leaning his arm on his knee as he faced her. How was it he could look so handsome just sitting? She had to keep reminding herself that she was over him, but then he went and did something like that and she found it harder and harder to stop the intrusive thoughts of how handsome he was.

"We did it." She nudged his shoulder, before mentally scolding herself. Why did she do that? "Uh, I mean we tied for first."

He nodded, "Fair and square." 

All Anne could focus on was the beating of her heart. How traitorous it was. Gilbert was in love with someone else and the sooner Anne could convince herself of that, the easier it would be.

"Remember the last time we were out here?" His voice brought her back to the moment. 

"We'd successfully rallied against social change." She nervously played with the hem of her skirt. Anything to keep herself from looking into his eyes for too long.

"You really are ahead by a century." 

Anne felt herself blushing, "I'm just trying to make the world a little better."

"I believe you will." For the first time she held his gaze. It was so earnest, so warm, so...romantic?

Anne found herself back in the position she had been in the last time she was sat on this porch. The moonlight was far too romantic, and played tricks on her mind that Gilbert's eyes were full of romance. That the twinkle in them wasn't just from the moon but because he was looking at her. It hurt her heart to think of him looking at anyone else like this.

Their arms were touching, and Anne didn't know how that had happened. But now she had noticed it, it was all she could feel. Was it normal to feel so alive and electric around someone?

But it was wrong. "Winifred will be glad you're spending more time in Charlottetown."

He sighed, leaning back from her. When had he leaned in? "Right. Winifred."

"She's a lovely girl. Woman." Anne looked down at her feet. "She'll be expecting a proposal any day now, I'm sure."

"I'm not going to marry Winifred." 

"What? But I thought you were...in love."

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "The last time I was in Charlottetown I...I called it off."

"Why?" Her heart was racing, she didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Because it wouldn't be fair to her. She's an amazing person and deserves to be with someone who isn't…in love with someone else…" he trailed off, but his eyes firmly glued to Anne's.

"Oh, I see…"

Boldly, Gilbert took Anne's hand in his. "I thought I knew about love, and feelings. But clearly I don't. Because it took me so long to realise that what I felt for Winnie was just infatuation. Not love. She was pretty, and friendly, and nice to be around. I was sad and she didn't push me away. And slowly I began to think, maybe I could spend more time with her. But she doesn't make me feel the way you do."

"Me?"

"You're passionate, you care with every fibre of your being, stand up for what's right no matter what the consequences. When we're together, actually working as a team, I feel like I'm contributing to something. Like I'm making a difference. 

She pulled her hand from his. "I don't want to be someone's second choice, Gil."

"You were never a second choice. Ever. I was a fool to think I could be with someone else, when my heart always belonged to you." He picked up her hand again, placing it against his chest over his heart, pleading with her. "You stole it without me even realising, I couldn't ever give it away because it was never mine to begin with."

Anne could feel how fast his heart was beating under her hand. Everything was so confusing. She knew her feelings but had tried to push them aside, waiting for someone who really would love her back. And now Gilbert had to come back and ruin everything, making her crumble beneath him.

"Sometimes... sometimes you feel like a stranger, like I don't know you. And other times it's as if you've waltzed out of a Jane Austen novel."

He shifted his hand so that he could lace their fingers together, lowering them from his chest. She didn't pull away.

"We wouldn't be good together." But Anne knew that wasn't true.

"You know that isn't true." It's like he could read her mind.

"So what do we do?" 

His gaze shifted from her eyes to her lips, and she felt herself mirror him. Neither knew who had begun leaning in first but soon Anne could see every tiny freckle on his nose. His warm hand came up to cup her cheek and it felt like it perfectly fit, as if his hand was designed to hold her cheek and her cheek alone. 

Suddenly his lips brushed against hers lightly, and then they were gone. She opened her eyes - not remembering ever closing them - and saw the terrified expression on his face. 

"Anne I'm sorry I-" but he never got a chance to finish his sentence, before she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him back quickly.

"I'm in love with you, Anne." He whispered, her hands still at the back of his neck.

"And I'm in love with you, Gil." 

They stayed under the moonlight a moment longer, taking in this new adventure and what it all meant. But one thing was for sure: they made a good t-e-a-m.

#awae #anne Shirley #Gilbert Blythe #anne with an e #shirbert