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tathrin · 1 year

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Back at you with the asks! You write Gimli and Legolas as distinctively representative of their own peoples, and clearly you have some pretty strong headcanons about dwarves and elves, as kindreds. What counts as "smart" and "capable" for each, and how much would your Gimli and Legolas be considered smart and capable by their respective cultures? What might each of their peoples think of Gimli's and Legolas' particular strengths? What might their relative weaknesses be, in their own contexts? How much do you consciously or unconsciously write them to balance each other's weaknesses, within or across cultures?

Ohhhhh boy wow this is an extremely delightful and, frankly, flattering question and I feel like you are maybe giving me more credit for Thinking Things Through than I have actually earned or deserve, but I am going to try to answer it in full the way such a fantastic query deserves as best I can anyway!

(the not-so-secret secret is that I write a lot more by instinct/seat-of-my-pants than I probably should shhhhhh.)

Legolas and the Wood-elves: he's everybody's little brother. He's one of (if not the) youngest elves in Mirkwood, one of the very last to be born before the Shadow (which was already creeping over the forest when he was born, although only a little bit; not enough that they had to really acknowledge it yet, even if they had sort of noticed its first unwelcome tendrils) grew so dark that they stopped risking birthing new children into their woods.

So Mirkwood (Greenwood still, then; Greenwood for a long, long time before they finally resigned themselves to the truth of the name everyone else had given them a long time ago) has always, in my head, been a very we'll be happy to spite you on purpose sort of place. Their forest is awash in darkness, so they will be joyful as a weapon against the dark. They're happy on purpose. Their merriment is a weapon. And they raised their children to be happy, dammit. Not naive, not vulnerable; they couldn't afford that. They raised them to know the dangers of their forest, and to know how to protect themselves against it, yes; but also to do so without ever giving up on joy and laughter. Which was a weapon, yes, but it was also very important to them that their children would still grow-up happy. That no matter how dark Mirkwood got, the children would never stop laughing.

Which was great, and I think informs Legolas's attitude and consistent cheerfulness during the Quest very much (of course it does, since it's being worked backwards from the canonical fact of said attitude, as an explanation for it lol)...but also, as a sort of unintended side-effect, the elves of Mirkwood didn't really want to see their youngest generation grow up, not entirely. Elves clearly have to be able to adapt to seeing someone they knew as a baby as a whole-ass adult, because they live forever (unless you kill them) so there's no just aging-out and letting the new generation eventually take over; the new generation lives alongside all the old ones too. So they'd have to have become adept at this shift in perspective, culturally.

However. The last generation of children born in Greenwood before it became Mirkwood is a special case, because their youth was such a source of joy to everyone else that they just sort of...never entirely stopped thinking of them as kids. (The fact that there hasn't yet been a generation of kids to follow them contributes to this too, of course; they're seen as The Youngsters because they still are the youngest.)

So on one hand, yes everyone has learned to respect the skills and fighting prowess of "the youngsters" because this is Mirkwood, and you aren't going to have many elves who don't go out and fight because practically everything in the forest wants to kill you a little bit. And Mirkwood values things like swift reflexes and sharp eyes and good aim, because that's how you stay alive; they value being able to judge the difference between a shadow and A Shadow at a glance because if you guess wrong "dying" is sort of the best-case result. They value loyalty and determination and the ability to be joyful even in the face of defeat and despair. And Legolas has all of those traits and skills, for sure.

In fact I think Legolas is one of their best archers (in a scene I can't remember whether I've published yet or not, his sister muses on how it might be because his spirits are so bright that his vision is yet unclouded by the Shadow that hangs heavy on the rest of them) and he's definitely trusted to, like, Walk Into The Murderforest And Come Back Alive, sure. They trust him in a fight! He's a competent adult and a skilled archer! But he's also still a kid to their eyes, in a lot of ways, even though he isn't and they know he isn't...but he still feels like one.

So it's not like they're condescending or cruel or anything, but they do I think look at him and instinctively think "oh no baby, must take care of" on some level. So: is he seen as smart and capable? Yes, for sure. But also: "omg Elrond did you really send A CHILD to MORDOR?" Elrond: he's six-hundred years old wtf. Mirkwood: "yes, a six-hundred-year-old BABY!" Elrond: .....wtf tho. So, again, it's not like his opinions or suggestions would be dismissed or ignored...but there's always going to be a bit of a protective urge there (because the elves of Mirkwood worked so hard to protect their last generation of children, and it's a hard habit to break even though they aren't children anymore) and a kind of eternal-head-pat vibe.

Also he is sheltered. (Or was, before the Quest. I expect Elrond was smart enough to try and avoid Thranduil as much as possible before he got on that boat to Aman.) I go back and forth on whether or not Rílaerloth was involved in the Battle of Five Armies, but Legolas was absolutely not brought along when Thranduil marched a bunch of their forces off to potential-war-with-the-dwarves. It's one thing to let your kids go out and shoot spiders and possibly risk a glancing encounter with a Nazgûl ("and what do we do if we see one of the Lords of Dol Guldur? That's right we run the fuck away, thank you children") and another thing altogether to bring them purposefully to something that might become a war.

Especially for the elves of Mirkwood, who lost so much in the War of the Last Alliance. None of the folks who lived through that would be keen to bring any of the "youngsters" into a full-fledged war I don't think, even a comparatively little one that they were all expecting would end up being nothing more than some Posturing With Weapons in the end. (If Thranduil had known that it was going to be an actual war he wouldn't have brought Rílaerloth, either, even if he'd have had to have Eregmegil sit on her to stop her.)

*You'll note that I haven't mentioned anything about lore or wisdom or any of the more traditional Elvish Talents here, just fighting and survival; this is tied to the whole more dangerous, less wise aspect of Mirkwood. They certainly do value wisdom and lore still, and it's not like Legolas is ignorant or an idiot; but there's a reason he forgets the words to old songs halfway through, and Aragorn doesn't. In Mirkwood they're more focused on "this is how you kill a spider before it can eat you" and "how to recognize a web that's fresh enough to be sticky versus one that's old enough to be safe to touch" and "when you feel a creeping darkness like this brushing against your soul, run like fuck" than on the things you learn in Rivendell.

In the evenings they don't gather in their peaceful Hall of Fire and exchange poetry compositions, they get drunk and dance around the fire and sing as loud as they can to scare the shadows away. They're more practical in the sort of lore they value because they have to be. They don't have a magic Ring to protect their borders; in fact, they literally have Ringwraiths and Dark Lords squatting in their own damn forest far too much of the time. Also, honestly, a lot of that lore is the history of other people anyway.

The elves of Mirkwood stayed in their forest because they wanted to; the ones who fled from Doriath and joined them there came precisely because they wanted a "simpler and more natural" elvish way of life. They weren't really involved in a lot of the Elvish Drama going on outside their woods (and when the stakes got high enough that they did get involved, three-quarters of their army died so. yeah. that's not really going to inspire them to go out and socialize more, is it?) most of the time. So if maybe Legolas can't remember the difference between Andreth and Adanel...does it matter, in Mirkwood?

(No, no it doesn't.)

Gimli and the Dwarves: I have a lot fewer Concrete Headcanons and Societal World Building done for the Lonely Mountain than I do for Mirkwood, so this is going to be very much a briefer response, I'm afraid. But I think Gimli was likely equal parts respected and overlooked by his people, because he is a very talented and erudite dwarf of a very fine line of dwarves, so on one hand everybody definitely would respect him and his capabilities...but on the other, I think they do take him for granted a little bit, because of course he would be good at x and y and also z, because he is Gimli son of Glóin of the House of Durin! And he's certainly talented—but also hasn't really done anything of great significance before the Quest, due mainly to the fact that there simply wasn't anything significant to do. So: respected, yes. But not always acknowledged, in a way.

Not given the "he's a kid!" treatment like Legolas is, but just having his competence and skill taken for granted much more often than it gets remarked upon. People expect Gimli son of Glóin of the House of Durin to be awesome (and he is!). Mind you, over-achiever that he is, he goes out and gets himself sent on this massively important Quest and then proves to be so much more awesome than anyone was prepared for...but it's not until he gets back, and the full accounting of his deeds and accolades and honors is recounted, that anyone in the Lonely Mountain really stops to go oh huh.

And I think even then, they probably still continue to take his prowess for granted a little bit, simply because they're so used to him being that way—and so used to expecting him to excel at whatever it is he's asked to do. I think the full breadth of his brilliance probably won't be properly realized and appreciated until some years later, when he's Lord of Aglarond and there's a bit more distance there, and more younger dwarves who grew-up on the stories of Gimli more than just "yeah that's Glóin's kid, he's good hand at [insert-skill-here]" running around to be in proper awe of Gimli of the Nine Walkers, Gimli Lockbearer, Gimli Elf-Friend, Gimli Lord of the Glittering Caves, Gimli Silvertongue, Gimli Friend of Kings...etc etc etc.

I think the older dwarves might actually end up a little blindsided by it, in a way, when it does sort of click in their heads.

Weaknesses & Balance: Legolas has a tendency to run-off half-cocked without thinking things through, trusting his instinct and skill to get him out of whatever he might end up running into (part of this is because of the aforementioned sheltering: yes Mirkwood is a dangerous place, but he's never really been anywhere but Mirkwood before, and the dangers of Mirkwood are dangers that he knows how to deal with so he doesn't need to worry that he's going to end up in over-his-head there). He's also definitely the short-tempered one of the pair (hello, Éomer!) although he's also the more easy-going in a lot of ways simply because there aren't a lot of things that do make his temper spike.

Gimli by contrast is more of a craftsman in his approach to the world, although not so much as to hesitate when faced with a need to act (for instance: "dwarves can't shape stone with our fingernails, but I'll come figure it out anyway!") but that's countered somewhat by his extremely overpowering sense of loyalty: if his idiot friends run into a bad situation, you can bet that Gimli will be right on their heels even if he ought to know better. He's more self-effacing, too, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing, although in his case it's mostly the former. Conversely, he's very prideful, too, although he's such a gentleman about it that you don't really notice ("I would take offense at x, if you weren't too ignorant to know better!" etc) because it's not a rude sort of arrogance; just a supreme, contended confidence both in himself and in his people.

I think Gimli wears his heart on his sleeve a lot more, although Legolas is the one who's more directly open about his own thoughts and feelings whereas Gimli is more inclined to keep things to himself. (Gimli thinks; Legolas blurts.)

Gimli certainly does share his feelings ("what about your companions! what about Legolas and me!"), sometimes trying to cover them with gruffness (see: "I was upset to think you might be dead when I found you underneath that troll, only because I'd gone to so much effort to keep you alive, you see! I definitely wasn't running around the battlefield frantically searching for you out of pure friendship and love, nope!" and "say not so! I'd be bummed if all the elves left because elves are kind of cool you know?") and sometimes dropping some full-on poetry at us (see: "I have looked the last upon that which is fairest!" as well as literally every single word about Aglarond lol) but it tends to pop out in half-involuntary bursts where he just gets so overwhelmed by how much he cares that he can't help himself.

Whereas Legolas is just like "oh yeah let me tell you about the Sea-Longing that's eating my soul from the inside out, nbd" or "sorry, can't translate these songs for you because I Am Sad." He may not walk around actively volunteering his thoughts or opinions unprompted often, but he doesn't seem to make any efforts to maintain a pretense or keep whatever he's feeling private either, when the topic comes up. He'll just walk around Singing What He Feels for the whole world to hear, why not?

And on the aforementioned topics of poetic phrasing and Not Having A Filter, Legolas is definitely The Awkward One when it comes to conversation and diplomacy. Gimli Silvertongue knows how to craft a clever phrase, thank you very much! He is eloquent and gracious and even-tempered and Legolas...well, we're all probably lucky if he's remembered to speak in Westron rather than his own weird forest dialect of Sindarin, tbh. When one of them needs to do the talking for them both, it's almost always going to be Gimli. Legolas is the guy you get when you need to shoot-down a flying Nazgûl; Gimli is the one you call when there's a delicate diplomatic situation to be discussed.

Legolas is also definitely the more easily distracted, and I think Gimli teases him about that a lot—although that's also a bit of a cover, because Gimli knows that Legolas's senses are so much sharper than his. Said distractability is in part a result of the natural flightiness of Wood-elves and in part the result of having those keen senses: he notices more things, so of course he's more likely to be distracted by them. Having said sharp senses also means Legolas can more safely afford to allow himself to be distracted, because he doesn't have to actually pay attention to notice an approaching danger the way Gimli does. (And yes, Gimli gets grumpy about that sometimes, but this is part of that "cover feelings through gruffness" thing: he doesn't want to admit that he worries that Legolas will get himself into trouble by not paying enough attention, and he definitely doesn't want to admit that dwarven senses can't keep up.)

In fact, I think post-Quest one of Gimli's biggest weaknesses is his concern that a mortal dwarf can't keep up with an elf. I think he worries about it a lot more than is merited by reality, actually, and I think that's informed in large part by his knowledge of his own mortality and how much it will eventually hurt Legolas to lose him. He cannot help but dwell on all the things a dwarf can't do that an elf can, because he's so preoccupied by the one big one: an elf can stay, while a dwarf eventually has* to leave...has to die. So while it doesn't exactly shake his sense of confidence in himself, it has him paying a lot more attention to what he can't do than what he can. He doesn't forget his strength or skills; he just ends up weighing them less than they deserve when balanced against what elves can do instead.

*he doesn't, as it turns out! but he doesn't know that yet.

(As much as he comes to dread Gimli's death, none of the rest of that has ever occurred to Legolas. If anyone asked Legolas if he ever got "tired" of being "held-back" by the "limitations of a dwarf" you'd get a very confused look in return and an apologetic explanation about how Different Types Of People Have Different Strengths, Silly...or, depending on how rudely you phrased the question, a very quick and probably painful lesson on what more dangerous and less wise can mean. Legolas doesn't really understand mortal limits—see: "are you sure you don't want to just keep running all night? why not?" and of course the infamous "gee why don't y'all just walk ON the snow? what, like it's hard?" incident—but when somebody says "No Legolas, that's Not Physically Possible" he rolls with it, even being able to later point-out to marchwardens who don't know Mortal Limits as well as he (now) does that his friends need more than a single rope to run on, pls!)

Legolas is right, though, because their different strengths really do balance one another well: Gimli is the solid, thoughtful, reliable rock who makes for both an unwavering foundation on which to build and an eloquent shield upon which the waves of the world will break and leave them both unscathed behind his kind and dauntless walls. Legolas is the swift, sharp knifeblade that darts out mercilessly from the shadows to dispatch a threat and then turns around and returns just as fleetly with armfuls of unquenched joy and laughter to brighten even the blackest, deepest night without any caution or hesitation. Legolas reminds Gimli of how much he delights in curiosity and exploration; Gimli reminds Legolas of the joy and comfort of coming home after wandering afar.

Of course they had to go to Aman together. Gimli could never have resisted following Legolas somewhere so interesting, and Legolas would never have managed such a portentous journey without Gimli there to steady him along the path.

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babacontainsmultitudes · 3 months

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So I made this post a little while ago regarding dndads characters and the tma entities and didn't really include any explanations cause that would have been very very long for a somewhat niche post. But, if you'll humor me, I feel compelled to make the quickest case for Vast! Taylor cause I'm thinking about him lol, and specifically without even getting into personality traits, I just want to point to Taylor's track record and note that he (off the top of my head):

Climbed to the top of the tallest tree he could find and shot a clone of himself off of it

Had to be physically held back from jumping off the highest floor of a twelve story building

Did a high-dive into an ocean of paper and abandoned Normal in said ocean of paper.

Had the chance to at least partially spare Scary from the damage of a very high fall. Didn't.

Submitting this as evidence to the court, people of the jury thank you for your time.

#dndads #taylor swift dndads #posting this at the weirdest time but that's fine I just needed to ramble about this lol #but I like Eye! and Hunt! Taylor too those make sense to me #I'm just saying that if there's someone who would willingly yeet them-self into the void it'd be him (...And Hermie that one time but-)#it's also a personality thing though #that's harder to articulate concretely...#but idk he's *resilient* the way a lot of the vast avatars tend to be like he just moves forward lol #life is long after all #he's got Crew's determination... and Fairchild's... w-wealth and cane lmao #I think there's definitely something to be said about all the space stuff I just can't put a proper finger on it atm #even the fucking showering outside in the rain thing hahaha he's a ranger! he likes the great outdoors! the wide open spaces!#well was a ranger but you know what I mean lol

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one-equaltemper · 8 months

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join me in my far-too-long note that borders on an essay about chapters 28-30 of be my baby

i'll be honest, writing things like this inherently makes me feel like a terrible writer because i obviously didn't *clearly* get my point across and maybe i need to go back and edit the offending chapters, but for now...a note.

you will notice we're keeping a very casual vibe here because i haven't bothered to capitalize anything. we're just friends, having a chat! i'm definitely not wringing my hands and a little bit frustrated because that would be defensive and i do not want to come across as defensive. so here we go, under the cut, so you can avoid spoilers in case you're not caught up:

there have been lots of thoughts and, i think, a bit of confusion over an aspect of the argument between draco and hermione beginning in chapter 28. to the best of my knowledge this stems not from the argument itself — draco telling hermione that pansy (his second ex-wife whom she knows little about) has contacted him and wants to have a chat — but about what happens after.

hermione is overcome with feelings and her first instinct is to get away. i don't want to say she's a runner, because i don't think she is, but i think she's the type of person to need a little bit of time to herself and to her thoughts to understand and come to terms with information that is particularly inflammatory or worrisome. however, as she makes to move away from draco, he essentially refuses her the privacy.

first, i get it. draco comes off looking extremely controlling in this moment. i knew it would be difficult going in to write the scene, but i felt it was important for reasons i will explain.

second, lets talk about the rules.

in chapter five, draco first asks hermione to text him when she's out and let him know where she is and where she's going. it's just a check in text, but it's one of the first rules that they put into place.

in chapter 12, titled manners, draco asks hermione to hold his hand while they're walking outside. the rest of this chapter delves in draco showing her that maybe she's not actually all that ready to dive headfirst into a dd/lg relationship, but that rule still stands.

three, their relationship type. are they in a 24/7 dd/lg relationship? no. does it extend beyond the bedroom? yes. this is not just a sexual thing for them and some of the rules that they both agree to reflects that.

so, what happened? what was i trying to portray?

essentially that you don't get to pick and choose which rules you want to follow when you're in a relationship like this. hermione knows she's not supposed to wander, she knows she's supposed to hold his hand when they're out or, at the very least, stick close to him. argument or not, draco is still responsible for her.

draco gave her another option; he told her that he could take her back to his flat and she could determine from there whether she'd like to be alone. he simply, at the end of the day, asked her to remember their agreed upon rules. when hermione continued to refuse and he could see she wasn't going to do what he asked, he begrudgingly allowed her to separate herself from him as long as he could see her.

however, it was still against the rules and is part of the reason for the punishment in chapter 30.

if draco comes off as controlling, it's because he is. i'm not trying to hide that. i know, hermione knows it, astoria knows, theo knows it. even draco knows it. he has a deep need to control everything around him.

i know this story is not going to be everyone's cup of tea but my real goal here is to look at the nuances in a relationship like this. it's not always sexy or attractive. sometimes it's beyond complicated and it's just the nature of the dynamic. that's what i was trying to show.

i hope this makes sense and answers some of the questions and concerns from those chapters. i will go back and see what i can do about making these things clearer, but hopefully this note helps.

#be my baby #oneequaltemper #i definitely rambled way too long #it's nothing bad i literally just spilled every thought in my brain into this

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so-called-quail · 2 months

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'Trapped in the end!' said Sam bitterly, his anger rising again above weariness and despair. 'Gnats in a net. May the curse of Faramir bite that Gollum and bite him quick!' 'That would not help us now,' said Frodo.

Sword in hand Sam went after him. For the moment he had forgotten everything else but the red fury in his brain and the desire to kill Gollum. But before he could overtake him, Gollum was gone. Then as the dark hole stood before him and the stench came out to meet him, like a clap of thunder the thought of Frodo and the monster smote upon Sam's mind.

Now he tried to find strength to tear himself away and go on a lonely journey – for vengeance. If once he could go, his anger would bear him down all the roads of the world, pursuing, until he had him at last: Gollum. Then Gollum would die in a corner. But that was not what he had set out to do. It would not be worth while to leave his master for that. It would not bring him back. Nothing would.

Sam and vengeance in today's entry

#idk i have Thoughts about this... rambles ahead...#there's an interesting arc here with how sam approaches his feelings of vengeance in this entry #starting with the first quote. frodo's response to sam is so brief and doesn't get much time to sit with all the action going on #but i feel like it speaks volumes #at least in showcasing the different points they stand on #sam centers his resentment and feelings of revenge... he's quick to get frustrated and immediately goes for threatening gollum #meanwhile frodo is focused on getting out. he doesn't have time to nurse anger nor does he want to #it feels like he's advising sam to move past it because he knows it's futile to stay stuck in those feelings #then there's sam's fight with gollum #after days and weeks of building tension from his mistrust towards gollum... this is where the dam finally breaks #sam's been feeding into his resentment for SO LONG it's no wonder he gets into this state of blind fury towards the end #he set himself up to seek vengeance the moment he gets the opportunity #which in some way i'm sure does help him in fending off gollum... that strength had to come from somewhere #but once he's staved him off he continues to fixate that anger on gollum and forgets what he originally set out to do-- protect frodo #and then we're left with the final quote...#it isn't until sam has (perceived to have) lost everything that he is able to come to the conclusion that vengeance won't serve him #...a lesson learned a little too late?? maybe?? no?? it feels cruel to say that #i definitely do not want to take the position that sam was responsible for what happened to frodo #he was pinned in a horribly desperate situation and couldn't do much once gollum attacked #i don't think much would've changed if he hadn't had his moment of fury with chasing gollum #anyways newbie here-- i haven't read anything ahead from here so idk what character arcs await sam #but i'm interested to see if this is later built upon or acknowledged #end of rambles skdfjgkdjsfg #lotr newsletter #lotr newsletter march 13th #EDIT: I forgot to space the quotes out 😭#not a crime but they can get confusing to read when scrunched together hrnnnn

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sskk-manifesto · 12 days

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#A nice episode :) I have a lot of headache tho and forgot everything I wanted to say #The ss/kk is nice :) It's nice every time Akutagawa spontaneously saves Atsushi seemingly with no reason to #The animation was very nice! It's evident a lot of money and effort went into this season and these last episodes in particular #And I like the art style a lot better than the one in the other seasons. Even season 4 where the animation is comparatively as good #What more. The Kyouka screentime is nice. The whole Guild aftermath celebrations section is very nice and heartwarming to watch #I still take a lot of issues with the entire way Kyouka's entrance exam was conceived but I think they're fairly self-explanatory.#Also fundamentally coherent with b/sd's general worldviews so #But even then there's a line that bothers me to an unexplainable amount from the first time I watched it to now.#The “it hurts” when she's hugging Atsushi. And I've reflected over that line so long from the moment I first heard it...#I think. Its meaning is to symbolize how being in the light sometimes will still result to be too overwhelming for Kyouka–#to the point at times it will still end up hurting her. But that doesn't make it any less worth it #So to say‚ there's no such thing as perfect happy endings. But she is going to be okay nonetheless #BUT IT STILL BUGS ME. I feel like it's part of a school of thought for whom we should just accept the fact that there's evil in the world–#that we can't eradicate. And nothing can be done about it. Which I don't think is a functional or useful way of thinking?#ALSO I know it's. Most definitely‚ 99% not how the scene is supposed to be interpreted #BUT ATSUSHI IS THE ONE HUGGING AND THUS HURTING HER and you know how there is this very slight narrative that seemingly–#frames Kyouka and Atsushi as romantic partners and like... Idk.#In that context the line almost feels expression of a narrative of wives having to bear pain that is natural and unavoidable.#I know this definitely wasn't the intended meaning it's just a bad impression for some reason I can't be able to shrug off even after years #But don't listen to me #I don't think there's anything else to add. Overall a very good episode.#Take a shot every time someone says “all according to Dazai's plan”#random rambles

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merakiui · 1 year

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Genuine friend heizou would be so nice in that situation. He can gather the information needed from you, your friends, and anyone else to help you out! That's what friends are for!!

But at the same time, yan!heizou that now from the information he gathered about your past relationship, which knows what to do and what not to do. He promises to keep you safe, you don't ever have to worry about kuni ever again! DW he will always be there to help you out, that's what lovers friends are for!! :)))

Heizou is so refreshing and normal compared to Kuni. At least that’s how he seems on the surface. He’ll wrap his arms around you and Kuni, putting his weight on both of you, and call the two of you his little lovebirds, much to your displeasure and Kuni’s pride. He’ll tell the scariest campfire stories when the lot of you are in the forest, passing drinks and snacks around happily. But he always explains the twists and motivations at the very end, even though no one’s really listening when they’re either drunk or high (or both). He likes to work out the logistics of horror and to comprehend the steps that were taken to pull off the crimes detailed in these stories, some he’s made up and others cases he’s studied in class.

Heizou is always observing things around him. He likes to keep an activity record of the people he finds interesting. Because of this, he has pages and pages dedicated to his friends and their relationships, everything outlined with the occasional correction as he learns more. All of these relationships have one thing in common: you’re connected to them. Your relationship with Kazuha, your relationship with Tighnari, your relationship with Venti, your relationship with him—he keeps track of everything. What he hasn’t been able to work out lately is your relationship with Kuni. You seemed so opposed to him in the beginning, even if you tried (and failed) to hide your obvious apprehension. Heizou and his detective’s brain can sense one thing: there must be more to this than what he’s currently seeing.

And he’s proven correct when he pulls you aside one day after noticing the distress that has worn your youthful features into something tired and anxious. When you spill the truth and he listens intently, nodding and humming along, a part of him is overwhelmed with morbid satisfaction. He was right; he knew something was off between you and Kuni, but he could never quite put his finger on it. And oh isn’t this something! Heizou has read up on stories of crazy, vindictive ex-partners, but he’s never encountered one in real life. To think that the sweet Kuni could hide a side so dark, but then the best criminals cloak themselves in sheep’s clothing.

Like the good friend he is, he offers to help you gather and compile evidence so that when you do involve the authorities they won’t turn you away on account of a lack of solid evidence. Heizou really does want to help you. He’s completely genuine in his approach, but there is the side of him that’s happy to know you’re so vulnerable and easy to manipulate. Which makes him sound like such a terrible person! Really, he’s a sweetheart. You have to trust his handsome face! Heizou is just…conflicted. He’s liked you for a while now—nearly a year if he’s counting properly—and the fact that your history with Kuni and Kuni’s most recent actions are tainting your view of romance… It makes it harder for him to charm you. If you’re constantly guarded, how can he possibly slip through the cracks in your heart? Kuni’s ruining everything for him.

But Heizou has a plan. He’ll be your supportive net—the one to hold you up when you can’t stand—and he’ll work effortlessly to unravel Kuni’s terrible plot so that he can be permanently removed from your life. And once he’s gone, there won’t be anymore roadblocks and Heizou will finally get to have you for himself. He’ll show you that good guys exist—that he’s one of them! After all, he’ll know exactly how to act and what not to say or do because he has an extensive record of all Kuni’s done, both according to your retelling of events and his observations. You’ve just given him the cheat code to your heart, and he’s determined to use it to show you every good side he has to offer. Anything that isn’t so savory will be hidden under layers of sweetness. Heizou’s good at keeping secrets and even better at comprehending the complexities of the human mind. He knows just how to paint a friendly, disarming image of himself.

#genshin chit chat #yandere shikanoin heizou #more heizou thoughts please forgive rambling in tags but!!!#what if he entered the group in the same way kuni did?#he’s been stalking you ever since he caught sight of you in passing #and has been watching and following you when time permits #when he learns who your friends are he starts to strike up conversations with them #it’s easy to charm venti into a friendship because he’s so outgoing and makes friends wherever he goes #so heizou starts with him and it isn’t long before venti’s brought him into the group #and from there heizou cements himself into this friendship so that he can be closer to you #the two of you most definitely kissed during drunk truth or dare #and venti took too many photos of it (photos that heizou has saved in his phone)#heizou just really loves you #he wants only the best for you <3 #and obviously the best includes him!

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