may i ask for your thoughts on dior my beloved??? 👀

DIOR MY BELOVED. HIMST. BLORBO. Ok now that I have my initial reaction down:

Given the post I assume sparked this re: Dior as a rebellious kid, I'm gonna start there

I don't think it was quite rebellion in the traditional sense? Definitely not as much as like. Feanor (bc Dior doesn't have mommy/daddy issues). It's more of a "I am different from my parents and need to go my own way and that way happens to be the Exact Opposite of what they did"

I have a Whole Heckin Bunch of headcanons on he and Nimloth (and their kids) here, also a reblog with Valinor relationship headcanons, if you feel like reading 6+ pages on our underappreciated king, if not, I shall Sum Up relevant stuff

Basically: he joins the marchwardens at 18-ish where he meets Nimloth and they have a rivals to lovers speedrun. She's the one who calls him Eluchil (an insult at first but turns sincere) and he tells her his plan to get respect and political capital by increasing his influence, but the Plan falls apart just when he's starting to get Properly Acknowledged bc Thingol gets killed and Melian leaves and Menegroth gets sacked and whoopsie time for Political Influence Speedrun because he's KING NOW

(DIOR (also Elros and probably Arwen) is the politically ambitious peredhel thank you very much, NOT Elrond)

Gonna put a cut here because this got pretty long lol, I am just getting started with all my many random headcanons

Anyway, Beren and Luthien don't really know about his political aspirations at first, they just think he's joining the Marchwardens to connect to his elvish heritage and make friends his own age and fulfil the Elvish YAWN (Young Adult Wandering iNstinct), and while they don't really Get It they understand and are reasonably supportive

(Luthien grumbles privately for a while but once Dior starts writing them abt Nimloth she's like "Ooh? Another person to dote on? Daughter!?" (Beren: in LAW. Luthien: D A U G H T E R) and all is forgiven)

They find out about it at a Very Inconvenient Time. Don't know when except that probably he doesn't mean for them to find out. Maybe Nimloth lets something slip at a dinner?

I know Luthien and Daeron are like "You WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN DORIATH POLITICS??? After our childhoods and the Quest??? We raised you better than this???" (Beren in the background: "Daeron this is your fault for being his Favorite Adult and cushioning how much being prince sucked.")

Obviously they're mostly worried for him and after an argument and more grumbling they're supportive but. Two Forest Hippies and a Wandering Musician, all former royalty (or close to, wrt Beren) who all ran from Society like hell was behind them Do Not Get It lol

After 6 fairly miserable years of Kinging and getting killed and reembodied he is. Significantly less gung ho about being in charge, but he still expects his political opinions/advice to be listened to, within reason (just because he doesn't want the kingship back Does Not mean that they can deny that he was king)

(Compared to the Noldor, who went through kings like paper towels and had twelve times as much nobility, this is an entirely reasonable request)

anyway some other general headcanons, in no particular order:

This is a general Eldritch Peredhil thing but None of them are allo. Or cis. They all got two things from Melian: being Spooky, and being aspec genderqueers of some flavor.

Dior is a fairly picky eater, mostly because of Texture. He, like his parents, is generally vegetarian with some supernatural (*vampire and werewolf*) exceptions. He really likes Luthien's vegetable dumplings, and Beren's curries and stews. He Cannot Stand cooked greens unless they're thoroughly disguised though.

Really, really loves fruit candied in honey. Big sweet tooth in general, and no shame about it. He passes this to his kids.

He learns to play lots of instruments and to compose from Daeron, but the flute is his first and favorite bc ~nostalgia. He learns singing from Luthien but doesn't like it quite as much- loves dancing though. Beren teaches him whittling, which he uses to occupy his hands. He makes lots of hair combs and pins for Nimloth.

He takes after Beren a little bit more in personality, but it's not really noticeable because it's colored a lot by lack of trauma and eldritch peredhel stuff and habits that he picked up from Daeron who shares them with Luthien. He takes after her too though, the biggest thing being unrelenting stubbornness and determination to get what he wants, by the Valar, even if he dies trying.

He also looks a Lot like Beren, but similarly it's hard to tell at first glance because inevitably what stands out is all the Spooky Shiny Stuff, rather than his actual features. His eyes are bright orangey-gold, which is important because it's the exact same shade as Beren's brown but hyper-saturated and lighter.

He wears his hair in Proper Styles for appearances, but he doesn't like how it feels 90% of the time because it's too tight or too loose or too stiff or-. His hair also inherited a lot of Luthien's Weirdness (her hair is only very debatably called hair and may or may not have a little sentience) which makes it extremely hard to do. The plus side to it though is that once he gets the braids right there is very little that can budge them, so he can keep them in for a long time. Still prefers his hair down, or in a simple braid to keep it out of the way if he must.

Also goes barefoot whenever possible- this is more socially acceptable because Thingol often did too, and you couldn't get shoes on Melian and her kids for love or money, so it's become something of a trend/statement that the royal family takes too far sometimes (affectionate) rather than a sign of wildness (judgemental)

He's fluent in Sindarin (multiple dialects, this guy can code switch like crazy) and Taliska, but he also knows a non-zero amount of Quenya because Beren has some from Finrod. He doesn't exactly use it, but it's enough that he can hypothetically parse simple conversations with a lot of guesswork and tone-reading and common root words.

When he's 8-ish he gets a kitten. He names the kitten Rhoss (whisper/rustling sound). The kitten is Very Very loud. Luthien is the "dad that didn't want the pet" in this situation (cats + songbirds=BAD, Dior promised to keep him inside/in the barn). Beren is the one who championed the cat and regrets it immensely, because he is a very light sleeper and Rhoss gets Zoomies. It's all very ironic.

Beren and Luthien tell him the Tale Of Tinuviel (roughly) version of their adventure when he's very young (they keep "Uncle Finrod and Friends were brutally slaughtered via werewolf" out until he's at least eight) and he occasionally confuses small details. He's very irritated by this, and actually writes out different versions to keep them all straight when telling them to his kids.

(This is the big reason so many details about their quest survive even though they went off merrily to be Bog People, and why so few details about their life post quest exist- he knows that part and didn't write it down.)

Because they are dad's dear departed friends, Dior never admits that he picks favorites of the Faithful from Beren's stories. It changes throughout his life a lot depending on what he's going through, but when he meets them in Valinor he gains a surprising respect for Eluihu (or perhaps not surprising. That they turned away from Celegorm to aid his father when it was Celegorm's followers that left his children to die is... Poetic)

This man has a wicked sense of humor. This is entirely from Beren, ("even now it is in my hand") and ranges from absolutely *terrible* dad jokes, to Legitimately Concerning gallows humor. He's also very snarky- many a comment has been muttered under his breath to Nimloth that made her have to try Very Hard not to laugh

He doesn't like shapeshifting very much (species dysphoria~) but sometimes you just have to give your spouse snuggles as a giant wolf. And being a bird is just really fun.

He has a crazy green thumb- Nimloth insists that he's cheating with Maia powers, he insists he's just that good, this debate never gets resolved. He grows her lots of flowers.

They have lots of silly little arguments like that, lots of lighthearted bickering. Like over nicknames for Elured and Elurin: Dior calls them Thoroval and Thorogamp (Eagle-wing and Eagle-talon), Nimloth calls them Erionnath (Daisy-sons) and both of them jokingly protest over the other. It's very cute

He loves basking in sunlight, but also really likes storms, preferably in the day. He likes being able to see the stars at night.

All peredhil have "In this world, it's adopt and be adopted" vibes they give off, some stronger than others. Dior's aren't as strong as Elrond's but they're pretty dang strong. He gets so many honorary uncles. He becomes an honorary uncle to so many people. He meets Earendil for the first time and goes "Ah, another son". Meets Idril and Tuor and goes "Ah, new cousins". Meets Elrond and goes "Ah, beloved grandson". If you are even distantly related to him by blood or choice you are Not Safe from becoming Family.

Luthien's brand of feral is pretty consistent, she's always this close to becoming a full-fledged eldritch abomination and it's just part of her personality. When she hides it is when you really need to run, because that means she has a Plan. Beren's brand of feral is essentially "depressed forest cryptid cleans up nice"- when he isn't crippled by grief and rage and trauma he can play a very normal, respectable member of society, he'd just much rather be lurking in the woods somewhere.

Dior gets Beren's brand of feral with all of Luthien's intensity and without the trauma. He is very good at putting up a stern, graceful elvenking front. He can walk the walk and talk the talk as it were, and unless you're close to him or have seen him let loose, it's easy to think it's real. Make no mistake though, it is a front, and he is as completely and utterly feral as his parents when you take that away. He is always 100% down to go wild with the slightest excuse, and can switch from Dignified King to Nightmare Beast to Dignified King With Blood Dripping Off His Mouth in the span of a minute.

(The Feanorions got a very big receiving end of this. It's Terrifying)

I use to think there was no way Jikook would ever come out. Together or even as individuals. Now I think its looking more and more like they will after MS and the reunion. I am leaning toward Jimin for sure, which is funny, cause I always said Jimin probably wouldn't because he's so OT7 and worries about BTS and he knows it would most likely harm his dad's business and his dad just opened a new place, but I can't see Jimin's dad being super damn selfish and telling him to stay in the closet to protect his business. Maybe to protect him, but not his business. He sees what his son goes through daily. The lies, defamation, slander, accusations. Called a queerbaiter and predator. And not sure how true this is, but this buddy system thing apparently has JK solos trying to research who the guy is standing next to JK, just to get goods on JK in the military and of course Jikook gossip, they are so mad and desperate. Not sure if that is true, but if so, Oh the SK government gonna snatch these MF's bald if they really track down these soldiers families and start harassing them. They don't even realize how fucking horrible that makes JK look. Tkk joining in as well. None of them have respect for JK. it reflects so bad on JK to try and involve other soldiers in their vendetta's and unfortunately for JK there are clout chasing people out there who will give up his privacy. He is gonna be so fucking humiliated and embarrassed if this turns out to be true.

Jimin probably knows at this point he is never gonna be free to live his life with Jk or his members or anyone for that matter, without harassment, unless he speaks his truth, which he's been trying to do for years, without out right saying it. Even if it means leaving korea and going somewhere else. Maybe Japan or even America who knows. Same with JK. I too think he will. In fact, JK has probably already been talked off the ledge by Hybe and Jimin not to out them, when he gets in his fed up moods. You can tell both are increasingly getting more and more frustrated. They even resorted to being private & working in silence, but BAM, when they wanna come out swinging, they damn sure do. The swing and knock fucking heads off. So I think its looking more and more possible that they aren't gonna hide much longer or at the very least make that glass closet even more clearer and stop putting restrictions on themselves after MS. I feel it in my gut. These so called fans are pushing them to their breaking point and its been brewing. Their public, we don't give a fuck about your feelings, private trip to Japan and now enlisting together was just the start. Wait and see if Jikook don't free themselves from this fandom. or I could be wrong and nothing will change, but I kinda think there will be change of some sort.

Jungkook got bad rep for the longest time for being "an asshole" "shitty" "fuckboy" with zero social skills- which time and again he's proven that's not the case. Being introverted don't mean you hate humans.

It's nice he's making friends in there- as he should. That is IF that's his even friend. I expect Jimin has made friends in there also. However Jimin is a private person who isn't going to expose his friendships accidentally. He can be guarded. Also, he's a Libra, he has the gift of foresight to know people would try to use whoever he's close with to get to him in there- like they doing with JK.

It's a shame these people can't live normal lives, smile at someone, stand next to someone, be polite to without all manner of theories being written about them assuming all sort of things about them and the poor stranger.

Jimin is growing, maturing, setting his priorities straight and since 2020 we've seen him gradually choosing his relationship, prioritizing it and making conscious decisions with that in mind.

Personally, I'm happy there aren't at cross purposes anymore and seem to be moving in the same direction in life.

I won't make any predictions for now, just observing and appreciating their bond, it's beautiful to behold as it unfolds. There's not much chaos within their relationship not much turbulence.

I want to see it to the very end. That's why I keep following their journey.

I want to see how they navigate a 7 way dynamic when they come back together as a group with the growth that's taken place in each of them.

Fully coming out is off the table, but they could surprise me who knows. We in uncharted territories here.

If Jikook do come out they will shock the skin off my bones honestly. That said, I'm still rooting for them.

Miles 1610 X Nigerian Y/N

notes: nigga when I tell you this took my too long to make. Like writing this is not for the weak bruh

warnings: jus fluff ig

summary: y/n takes miles to meet her nigerian parents. ( im nigerian so umm yea)

“Miles, they are not going to like you if you don't take this seriously.” You said this for the 15th time. Miles is coming with you to a party your parents are throwing at your house. You thought it would be a good time to introduce them to Miles for the first time. As much as you were excited, you were hella nervous because this was the first time you ever brought into this household. And not just any household, but a Nigerian one at that. 

Miles needed to understand that one wrong move will ultimately end in your mom gossiping to all your aunts and your dad to the uncles saying, “ arabinrin mi, o ko ni gbagbọ aṣiwère ti ọmọbinrin wa mu fun wa lati pade oh.” (my sister, you won't believe the fool our daughter has brought back for us to meet oh) 

It's like you could hear it from a mile away. The thought made you sweat bullets because you know that they'll never approve if they have a horrible introduction to each other. “ No Miles try again, that's not right! C’mon you actually have to try. “ You said about just giving up and saying maybe this isn't the right time for him to meet them. ‘’Mami por que te preocupas tanto?’’ He said coming closer to hold your waist. “ because you don't know my parents, they're super judgemental and really strict. Like they didn't want me to even think about boys until i was at the ripe age of 30.’’ “ Thats crazy.’’ He said while laughing. 

 ‘Not its not, because as much as i love you, i need our parents to support our relationship.’’ you said as you were pacing around your room. ‘’ Ok ok I understand. Tell me what I need to do and I'll do it ok?” he said while grabbing both of your sides and engulfing you in a warm hug. And you sigh as you take in a pleasant whiff of his cologne.

TIME SKIP

Miles rang the doorbell to your parents house. “ remember everything i taught you please, and just be yourself at the same time.’’ you said while giving him a nervous smile. ‘’ Don't worry mami everything will be ok’’ He said wanting to give you a kiss but the door flew open.’’ e kassan mommy this is Miles” you said very sweetly to your mom. “ ekassan ma o dara pupọ o pade rẹ” Miles said while bending down to greet your mom. You just stand there; completely shook because you never taught him all of that. ‘’ Here are some roses I brought you, and you look completely beautiful, now I know where Yn got her beauty from.” He says smirking a little at you and how surprised you are. “ AHH AHH YN, why didn't you tell me you got with this handsome man?! Please arewa okunrin, what's your ethnicity, let me have three guesses!’’ your mom said begging the poor boy. “ No mom please no, he doesn't need to tell you all of that.” you said completely embarrassed that it even came out of her mouth. Luckily, Miles just laughed and proceeded to answer the question. “ I'm actually African american and Puerto rican ma.’’ “

Ehen so Yn has now gone and brought home a latin boy, ok ohh.’’ Your mom says, folding her arms in astonishment. “ Ok well Yns dad isn't here right now but you're more than welcome to stay.” Your mom says pulling him away for him to meet all your aunties. “ Come and see the fine boy Yn has brought to me ohh.’’ She exclaimed while pulling miles away. You laughed as you saw him being poked and prodded by many aunties at once. When they finally finished, which felt like hours after, he came back to meet you with a smirk on your face. “ Well, that was definitely something.’’ he said like he just saw a ghost. “ This is my family for you.’’ You said while laughing your head off. “ Haha. very funny.’’ He said while rolling his eyes. “ Anyway, im super hungry, can i get something to eat real quick?’’ He asked, wrapping his hand around your shoulder. “ Not too close omo, do you want her to get pregnant?!’’ Your mom yelled from far away. “ Mom! Stop please im begging” you said covering your face in embarrassment. “ Sorry!” Miles quickly said while moving his arm, but still scooting closer to you so that he can be near you as much as possible. “ Ok lemme just get something for you to eat c’mon.’’ You said while pulling him off the couch. 

He followed you to the kitchen and jumped up when he saw plantain. 

“ You guys have platanos too?!’’ “ Mi vida, here if anyone hears you call it that you're in big trouble. We call it dodo or plantain.” You said while rubbing his face by how cute he's being. “ Well whatever you want to call it, give me two big spoon-fuls of that please.” He said  while looking at it like it was his prey he was about to catch. “ Ok OK! It's not going anywhere why are you looking at it like that?’’ You said, chuckling at how hungry he is. “ Oh and gimme some fufu and efo riro.” He said looking over the table. “ Miles bruh, how do you even know about that?’ You said dying of laughter. “ Mami stop asking my questions and just put it please i'm dying over here” He said all dramatic.

Ok so this is litterally my first story so dont judge me pls. :)

I'm trying to think of what, if anything, would motivate my main Hawkes to involve themselves with the Inquisition, and while I can't pin down Adrian's thing, Garrett's is definitely Anders.

I don't have a unified worldstate between all three games, though my main playthroughs of DAO and DAI are connected (my Elves Save Thedas worldstate), so I'm not sure where my Hawkes would fit in there, but I figure the only thing that could convince Garrett to step away from the rebellion would be that the Inquisition is reasonably confident that they know Anders is alive and well, and they have the resources to track him down. They'd have an interest in doing so to cement support for the Inquisition's mission, because the faithful still want blood for the Mage-Templar War, and because if the MTW hadn't happened, then the Divine wouldn't have died, and because they want punishment/justice for Elthina's death and the fall of the Gallows. If Garrett thinks that playing nice with the Inquisition is the only way he can save Anders, he'd do it. He's moved by the Corypheus issue, sure, but his immediate concern is Anders. He's lost everyone else in his life; he's not gonna lose him, too.

This is a purple Hawke that went more and more red as the Acts went on. He's not about to put his neck on the line for a holy war on the side of an institution he hates unless there's a super compelling reason. And Varric is ostensibly the only civilian who knows where they are (they've been running a safe house in Nevarra) since he and Garrett still communicated over the years. Sparingly, since Hawke knows that part of Varric hates him and Anders for what happened in Kirkwall, but also because they were in each other's pockets for so long that it's hard to extricate themselves fully. So when he gets Varric’s letter saying that the Inquisition is closing in on them, Garrett is furious.

I imagine that maybe Varric saw it as a warning, as well as an ask, but Garrett saw it as a threat. "Do this or I'll make sure they know where you are." Varric's already let the Inquisition know that Garrett and his companions had dealt with Corypheus before, so why wouldn't Garrett think he'd sold them out this way, too?

Garrett wouldn't willingly come to the Inquisition's aid if not for Anders' sake. There's nothing in him that would volunteer to align himself in any way with them. They are just another branch of the Chantry, no matter how much the Inquisition and the Chantry try to distance themselves from each other, and once Garrett knows that Cullen is in charge of its military? Fuuuuuuck. Varric warns him of that, too, but that tidbit just adds to why Garrett sees that letter as a threat.

Garrett's involvement with the Inquisition marks the end of his and Varric’s relationship. He doesn't even offer to sacrifice himself in the Fade; it's simply not an option for him. He was up against Stroud, so why not let the Wardens clean up the mess they'd made? He's got maybe another good fifteen, maybe twenty years with Anders, and he's not going to waste them trying to fix a problem he didn't cause and doesn't have any power over.

Varric doesn't really understand the end is coming, though, because he saw the letter as he'd intended it: as a last-ditch effort to get more firepower against Corypheus. Though Garrett isn't an expert in how Corypheus operates, he at least has some experience with him and can relay that to the Inquisition. He's upset but not really surprised when Garrett cuts him out, and his bitterness toward Anders only grows. He definitely sees him as a, if not *the*, reason why he and Garrett aren't close anymore. If not for Anders' zeal, Garrett wouldn't have been so involved in Kirkwall, and maybe he wouldn't have been so quick to ally himself in Anders' plans. Varric doesn't really understand the depths of Garrett's resentment and outright hatred for the Chantry and its treatment of the mages, though he tries. He just can't relate to it. If Anders hadn't been so set on bloody revolution at the end, he thinks Garrett wouldn't have been, either.

I mean, he's wrong, but he hopes it, anyway.

So yeah. Garrett only works with the Inquisition under duress and aligns himself with the conscripted mages all the while. I imagine this particular worldstate would probably lean more pro-Chantry/Templar than my usual approaches, so this doesn't fit into an established playthrough, and I'm thinking this is probably gonna have a Trevelyan Inquisitor. There would be an interest in keeping Starkhaven from annexing Kirkwall, so there's also the political machinations happening behind the scenes there. The Chantry is going to be invested in having another pro-Chantry viscount in Kirkwall, and so they're gonna try to find a suitable person there. Starkhaven taking Kirkwall would potentially destabilize the region by throwing it into more internal political turmoil (can't have the Prince trying to take over sovereign states, after all, else the others would stand against him and go to war over it), so it's in the Chantry’s interest to keep things calm there and reestablish its foothold in the city. It wants to eventually rebuild the Circle to make up for the loss of both itself and the one at Ostwick (and since Starkhaven's own burnt to the ground in 9:31). Finding and executing Anders would drum up even more fervor and support for the multi-pronged efforts the Chantry and the Inquisition are trying to pull off.

So yeah. Anders is the only reason Garrett would go, and they'd pull up stakes and torch the safe house before going to ground again immediately after Garrett escapes and gets home.

hi general, passing by to send you some kisses /p

im handing you blankets (if the weather is cold where you are) and your favourite drink <3

might I ask you to tell us about any random hc you have about ayato? (for example, that he has lots of moles or that he has calloused hands because of how much paperwork he does) If not it's completely ok!

Hiya Lucas! It's great to see you in my inbox !! thank you for the blankets and drink, feeling very cozy right about now :> !!!!

This has been sitting in my inbox for a hot minute because I just haven't had much motivation to write, so sorry about that!

But Ayato headcanons, hooh, I certainly have a few!!!! I'll toss them below the cut :3

He's ambidextrous - with both writing and weaponry. He can seamlessly switch and tends to just use whichever hand is convenient (though he favours his right when he's doing calligraphy so he wont accidentally smudge the ink).

He tends to hyperfocus on things (especially work-related things) and will often forget to look after himself entirely, only realising that he has been sitting hunched over his desk for hours on end when Thoma tells him.

Speaking of, I really love the idea of Thoma and Ayato having a QPP-type relationship, they're really casual behind closed doors and just act like best friends when others aren't watching.

Ayato is really good with kids, though he isn't particularly fond of them (as in he won't go out of his way to interact with them). He got a lot of experience growing up with Ayaka and always knows how to deescalate situations or play along with silly little games and the like.

He shares a study with Ayaka, so they can keep each other company! They have two big desks in one room, though Ayaka tends to be out and about more often than not.

He gets really irritated if anyone moves anything on his desk - he's always able to tell right away, even if everything has been put back in its rightful place. His desk is often a horrifically chaotic mess, but he has a system in place and archons help the poor new hire who tries to neaten it up a little.

Terrified of insects. Gets super grossed out and may actually shriek if he comes face-to-face with a creepy crawly unexpectedly. Thoma is also afraid of them, leaving Ayaka or another housekeeper to have to scoop them up to take outside.

Had a bit of a rebellious phase growing up, though after his parents passed he matured quickly, though sometimes his defiant streak may shine through, especially when dealing with uppity nobles.

Can and will bitch and moan endlessly about all the stuck up idiots he has to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Ayaka and Thoma often get an earful of this - sometimes his gripes become super petty and specific (for instance, he hates the way that the Guuji Yae smacks her lips when she eats).

Speaking of bad noises, he totally has misophonia - he's extraordinarily good at masking his negative responses to things (especially around others) but certain noises just trigger the rage response - Thoma and Ayaka have learned to keep an eye out for that slight twitch in his eye and the tense way he holds himself when he's close to snapping - not that he'd ever do anything outright rude or bad, but he may try something a little underhanded or not ideal for the current situation just to get out of it.

Ayato is a bit of a pessimist too, he calls it 'realism' and cites the fact that it's good that he's always "either correct or pleasantly surprised" as an excuse to continue being vaguely negative about things.

He twirls his hair a lot - I like to imagine his hair as being longer than in canon (more like how people theorised it when he was first revealed) and so often he'll just absently fidget with it.

He's awful when it comes to music. He cant carry a tune or hold a rhythm to save his life. If he's heard a song enough, he may be able to sing it presentably well, but ... not amazingly.

He likes to play silly little practical jokes on people when he gets the opportunity. I'm imagining this scene from mlp when it's in a situation where he needs to be polite and well put together, but there's definitely been times when he's had a bit of extra time on his hands and pulled together a pretty crazy and elaborate scheme (such as making poor Thoma think the entire household had been replaced by yokai after he'd been out to purchase some things)

Oh also !! I like to think that Ayato and Kokomi would get along pretty well and have a lot to talk about. I think Ayaka would also get along really well with her, but there's just an unspoken bond between Ayato and Kokomi as heirs to large important families who were burdened with their duties at too young of an age. They often correspond through letters and the like.

His expensive taste is not optional. He will literally break out in a rash if he has to use cheap soap or crappy sheets.

Does NOT know how to deal with animals at all. Has been chased around by the estate's chickens multiple times (mostly because Thoma babies them too much and they think every person is a friend)

Ayato's sense of personal space is really ... weird, too. With people he doesn't know well or doesn't care for, he stands several paces away (probably a little more than what's considered socially acceptable), but for his close friends and family, he's practically shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

Is super prone to misplacing or losing his things - others (read: thoma) usually have to keep track of important things for him or else they'll just disappear forever in his eight billion pockets.

Wears lots and lots of layers because he likes the comfort that the extra weight and pressure brings.

Please don't repost, steal, copy or otherwise plagiarise my writing! I do not consent for my works to be translated and posted elsewhere, or used to teach bots!

WAIT i was the vacation dream kanoshin anon but i just remembered an actual one i thought of myself not my subconcious but i somehow forgot about it-

in my delusions a route similar to the novel route is what gives us str (not mekakucity actors shh- canon isn't real if it's from mca), meaning Kano has his weird ass traumadumping session with ene and whatnot and ends up having to spill the beans to the rest of the dan INCLUDING shintaro not just shintaro casually vanishing-

anyways so this ends up with the same vibe as novel-route kano and shintaro which is like. i mean. kano literally describes shintaro as looking at him the same way he looked at ayano and that kano "can't win against him" like. 🤨

Yada yada everything w/ clearing eyes, similar fight to mca ish ( i like the idea of marry draining her friends of their life to save their lives it's interesting to me-) and wahoo ayano. hi. she exists now (with ofc haruka and hiyori too-) and obviously everyone's like HOLY SHIT. especially the mekutrio. and ESPECIALLY kano.

Like I imagine Kano has a much harder time wrapping his head around the fact Ayano's back since while the other two just saw her death as suicide, he knew what caused it / all the clearing eyes stuff so he couldn't really accept her death and move on, while the others (obviously heartbroken over it though) were able to accept it and grow, yea?

Well we get those feelings of "holy shit my sister is alive" but also mixed with these feelings of "oh fuck. i (very unfortunately) might have a thing for my sister's crush." and IMMEDITELY backs the fuck off from both of them. He doesn't ignore ayano obviously but he doesn't seek her out, and he just actively avoids shintaro. ayano's concerned but meanwhile shintaro's just kinda like. what the fuck did i do to you???

Anyways dunno how that gets resolved i never thought past just the idea that kano can barely handle these two facts alone (ayano is alive now and he might maybe like shintaro a little bit (ew)) but together? Fuck. He is Not thinking on that he is backing Way the fuck up. Nope. Not his circus not his monkeys (he is actually just the entire circus).

Anyways long story short when Ayano comes back and everything is resolved kano's unresolved grief over her death but also the budding crush he's developing on shintaro hit him with the force of a truck (haha) and he does Not know how to handle that so he just Doesn't

DUDE. YOU AND I. SAME BRAIN. LIKE THIS IS SO SPECTACULARLY ALL MY SAME FEELINGS RIGHT FROM DELUSIONALLY IMAGINING NOVEL ROUTE WITH A GOOD END AS MY IDEAL ROUTE AND MARY TAKING THE SNAKES HERSELF AND ALMOST KILLING EVERYONE AND KANO LIKING SHINTARO AND BEING SO FREAKED OUT HE BACKS OUT LEAVING SHINTARO CONFUSED BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THEY HAD WORKED EVERYTHING OUT IN THAT CONVO WHERE KANO COMES CLEAN TO KIDO AND HIM(AND TAKANE HERE TOO) sorry for yelling. i just get excited when i get same brain with someone. like exactly. EXAAAACTLY.

but for ayano i think kano is super close with her and he's constantly trying to go back the same relationship they had where ayano relied so heavily on him, especially bc kano wants to distract himself FROM himself so he wants to focus on how she's doing but ayano isn't gonna do what she did. she realised just how messed up it was putting kano through all that and she feels so responsible. ayano and kano are on this weird YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. NO U CAN COUNT ON ME. NO NOT ME COUNTING ON YOU, YOU COUNTING ON ME!!! constantly... imagine kano sitting through ayano go on and on about shintaro bc ayano can see kano wants her to rely on him so she's like well it doesnt hurt anyone if i just talk abt my crush. like its a thing she can stand talking abt and from her perspective kano will be satisfied just hearing her talk about anything she doesnt talk to anyone else. and kano sits through it like 😁😁😁(wants to explode into a million pieces)

also god the bit u mentioned abt kano saying shintaro smiled at him like how he used to smile at ayano. sorry like allow me to attach the whole thing because

☝️☝️☝️⁉️⁉️⁉️like what the fuck is this. WHAT WAS JIN THINKING WHEN HE WROTE THIS LIKE THIS IS SOOOO. homo. kano is so insanely homosexual for shintaro in the seventh novel like there are several examples it's amazing. anyways the "he's invincible" line i am particularly obsessed with and it's why i always insist kano has this weird thing where he's constantly trying to have the upper hand with shintaro while shintaro unknowingly and effortlessly outsmarts him just by being himself.

kano's feelings for shintaro are so complicated and full of resentment and he always wanted shintaro to be entirely horrible just to justify how he feels, but shintaro keeps proving he's a good person and kano keeps being unable to deny not only that but also that he LIKES him and even admires him. and it drives him so crazy.

meanwhile shintaro's feelings for kano are complicated bc 1. wtf does he hate me or not. 2. augh he's a guy im not gay. 3. my girlfriend(?)'s brother. like shintaro hating kano's guts back is funny but it's not the move like it's not true. shintaro wants nothing more than to get along with kano!!! everyone gets on shintaro's nerves and kano gets on everyone's nerves, so bc of this i understand the common misconception of shintaro hating kano back.

anyways shintaro is so clueless bc he thought they were ok?? they talked it out so it's fine?? he can't ever figure out kano's inconsistent behaviour. he decides that it's probably bc he's protective of ayano but he knows that's not all of it.

ugh ugh ugh. KANOSHIN FIRST KISS WHERE SHINTARO'S LIKE genuinely sad and confused and finally confronts kano like seriously what's the matter?? i thought we were cool already?? and kano's super dismissive like whaaa nothing omg of course we're best friends❤️ but shintaro isn't letting it go and kano is getting rly fed up bc his patience is SO short when it comes to shintaro which also pisses him off like why is he making me feel so out of my element like the best i do is LIE why does he drive me SO CRAZY. and then shintaro's like i just wanna know what can i do to make things ok!!!!! and its so genuine and he is just so earnest and pathetic looking kano kisses him impulsively.

anyways. kanoshin.

I feel you've moved away from Mick slightly in the last few weeks. I also thought your comment about Laila being on a free trip to Japan was a bit cutting. Obviously they both want to spend time with one another. Lsila also has her own money and has acquired quite an amount of money too. Maybe I'm wrong but you're normally one of the first to post or tag Mick

hi best bud!!! thank you for giving me an opportunity to chat a little about where i'm at in my head and in my heart and honestly in my life in general. so for the last two race weekends i have been on a tropical vacation literally 8000 km away from my home with my best buds 🥰 girls trip!!! and on previous vacations i've tried to keep the posting going but honestly this time around it just felt super difficult and i really needed to disconnect cause i've got a lot going on in my life rn (under a read more not to bore you all)

tl;dr is that i still absolutely adore Mick, but the uncertainty over where he's going to end up is really tough for me to be dealing with on top of everything else in my life. i'm working through it!!!! for the last 6 races, they are also generally WAY easier for me to keep up with for posting cause they are in my timezone :) so you will see me back on your dash posting rather than reblogging real soon!!!!

really appreciate your concern and love buddy <3

1) my mom is going through chemo for stage 4 cancer and while i was away, ended up in the hospital for a fractured vertebrae, which is super stressful cause its just me and my dad around to help her and they were worried it was possible that the cancer had spread to her bones and etc etc etc. all good in the end and they have her on a pain management plan while it heals and finally gets to the end of her chemo plan (she can't get any further treatment until chemo is done) but obv that's been weighing on me really really heavily. i did most of my grieving earlier this year and have honestly been handling it pretty well since then, though there are weeks more overwhelming than others, but yeah, it sucks very very much.

2) remember boy that i was seeing who got deported? we've been doing really well keeping in touch with calls and texts and even all through my vacation he was sending me good morning texts, little check ins throughout the day, etc. until near the end he found out that his company was no longer going to sponsor his visa 🫠 and full credit to him, he was super upfront about it right away and we agreed we would deal with it when i got back and well. i got back. and we agreed that until he can know that canada is actually a real possibility, its best if we end things here ☹️ so yeah basically got the "it's not you, it's me" from him but i do agree that if he doesnt plan to be in canada im not doing short term long distance if there isn't going to be an end in sight.

3) there is soooooo much uncertainty surrounding both Mick & Callum right now and where they're going to be next year and that has been majorly stressing me out if i'm honest. like i had to totally disassociate from the whole social media fiasco Callum got pulled into cause im sincerely so worried we won't see him on the grid next year, that would actually possibly kill me. and similarly, Mick is being rumoured for WEC seats and the F1 door is closing and like. i can't do WEC. it's not that i don't love it, but i've been there for Callum and had a tough enough time just being able to find a place to watch them, nevermind that 8h-24h races are just not sustainable for me unless i drop another sport that i love. and quite honestly, i don't love that Mick has made most of his public persona his relationship right now. when was the last time he posted about racing? i LOVE a hard launch, it truly brought him back into the mainstream in terms of conversation, but then he didn't really capitalize on it to even do a throwback or even a post himself about Mick's Kart Race that DVB organized or a fucking training post. i totally understand where you're coming from in that they want to spend their time together as much as possible and like, alright go to japan amazing!!!! i just wish that we were SEEING more than her. momentum in this kind of job market is so easily influenced by perception, and right now my perception of Mick is that he has a girlfriend and no job prospects. ALL THAT TO SAY. i adore Mickolas. that will never ever change. i want to support him wherever he ends up. i've been there for Callum and done it before and i will absolutely do it again for Mick.

4) balancing having a life and work and friends and love, which was new for me, is fucking hard to do if you also want to post and write and edit and gif and watch racing. i'm having a tough time figuring it out. i've been grieving over the last month quite honestly, cause i love this community and i adore what i've built here and i still LOVE racing and sharing that love and passion with you guys. it's just really hard to figure out how to do without sacrificing things that mean more / have a higher priority in my life right now. but i'm missing it!!!!!!!!! so much. i wanna get back to gif'ing and posting and writing, truly.

this site is so sensitive when i mention tae and jk together. like i even saw a tiktok naming their fav pairings and for everyone it was fine but when it was taekook they had to disclaim it was (pLaToNiC) was that not implied by the rest of your list?? ppl are so scared to mention them at all but if he's with another member its fine. its annoying and ppl are so transparent

i actually don't think tumblr is a primary suspect among the list of platforms where people move weird about taekook,.. but i'm speaking as someone in a little bubble of mutuals who are normal people lol. i also have never ventured onto the hellscape that is the bts stan side of tiktok so i can't speak on that either (besides seeing screenshots of people on there calling normal behaviors from jungkook 'red flags'... oof.) most of the bullshit, in my experience, stems from twitter where, like you said, even a simple mention of them hanging out together can end up with people accusing you of being a 'shipper' or a 'diet solo.'

this is going to be rambly so i'm putting it under a read more for the sake of not clogging people's dashes, but here are some of my thoughts on fandom culture/shipping in general:

oh real quick for for transparency sake, i'll start this off by saying: 1. i don't care about the relationship status of any of the bts members. they're single to me unless they officially and publicly state otherwise without any privacy invading force involved. 2. i have no problem with fans thinking/implying bts members are queer. lgbt fans finding comfort and comradery in their favorite people isn't a bad thing. :)

now for the actual post~

the fan dynamics on twt are so different and if you even mention taehyung and jungkook in the same sentence or say that they're very obviously close friends, you might end up on some of those 'defend [insert member here]' accounts where they encourage people to block and report for the slightest of 'offenses.' and like you mentioned in your post, that's over people talking about them platonically!! or over people who simply read fic without ever insinuating they think they're actually dating.

the puritanical culture that exists in very large parts of the bts fandom (and was present in the 1d fandom as well) is so weird to witness. we can all have differing opinions on whether or not rpf is 'good' or not, but unless someone is sending fanfiction to bts personally... it is harmless. and it will always exist. you will never enter into a fan space where independent, 'non-canon' content isn't being created by fans... and why would you want to? so much of fandom culture and history is about creation (and is also super lgbt centric!!)

in my opinion, the only people who still get up in arms about shipping discourse in 2023 are those under 18 or those who have no previous fandom experience. after stanning harry styles since 2012, i have heard the 'gay rumors made them drift apart!!!' argument so many times that it is genuinely nausea inducing. (and my opinion on that is... if you are that turned off by people possibly thinking you're queer to the point where it makes you end an important friendship, you either weren't very close to begin with or you're homophobic. likely a combination of the two. gay rumors are not, and never will be, offensive. they are not something you need to protect your fave from. why is this the argument so often touted by fans? why would you WANT your favorite person's self image to be so fragile that they end friendships over rumors? and that's not even getting into the fact that skinship and performance is built into the literal DNA - lol - of kpop...)

like. maybe i'm just too old to care now but i genuinely could not give less of a fuck if people think jk and taehyung are in a relationship. i do not care. they're both beautiful people who are clearly fond of each other. do any of us know how deep that fondness runs? nope! and we never will! and that's more than okay because these are grown men with personal, private relationships that we will never be privy to... as it should be. as long as boundaries are respected, i don't care what people think to be true.

can shippers get overzealous? for sure. do the people who analyze their every move need a new hobby? most definitely. but i think it's more than obvious now that the people who go to insane lengths to invade their privacy are stalkers or people trying to dredge up dating rumors between them and women.

it gets especially transparent when you have videos and rumors online about bts members dating people they've never interacted with publicly (using 'liskook' as an example, there are youtube videos with 10million views about them. one posted ten hours ago has 52k views) but i never see them condemned with the level of vitriol i see people using when it comes to jk and taehyung. is that not weird?

idk man. there's no concise ending to this post. fandom culture just intrigues me which is why i have so much to say about all this. it's especially interesting to me how it intersects with queer culture - or directly opposes it.

Stuckony for the domestic meme please?? 🥰🥰🥺

thanks for asking!!

big spoon/little spoon: it goes tony as the littlest spoon then bucky then steve

favorite non-sexual activity: eating breakfast together. tony gets up specifically so he can have breakfast with steve and bucky before he goes back to bed for another hour

who uses all the hot water: they shower together to "conserve water"

most trivial thing they fight over: whether or not showering together conserves water (who is on which side will surprise you ;))

who does most of the cleaning: bucky. he finds it soothing after the nightmare of the last 70 years and since he's the only one who isn't an avenger or the owner of a major company (having decided to retire instead of becoming a superhero), he likes that it fills his days

what has a season pass on their dvr/who controls the netflix queue: tony by default. bucky has bad taste and steve forgets that a queue is an option instead of asking jarvis to pick something

who calls up the super/landlord when the heat’s not working: tony

who steals the blankets: steve. he likes to be warm (tony says he doesn't need a blanket when he's got a supersoldier to cuddle with)

who leaves their stuff around: tony. he claims that he does it so the cleaning bots will have something to pick up, but really, he just forgot

who remembers to buy the milk steve. he picks up groceries on the way back from his run in the mornings

who remembers anniversaries: all of them remember them, but they haven't had a chance to celebrate a single one since villains have attacked every single year

Who cooks normally? they rotate. none of them knew how to cook anything other than boiling everything when they started dating, so tony set up a series of lessons for the three of them with a couple chefs from his favorite hole-in-the-wall places. he called it date night. steve and bucky called it desperation

How often do they fight? not as often as they did when it was just steve and tony. bucky is a good balancing act between the two of them

What do they do when they’re away from each other? for the most part, they're not. other than the very, very occasional radio silent mission, they travel with each other. sam once compared them to a puppy that can't be left alone while its owner is on vacation (bucky also once threw sam out the window but "no steve that had nothing to do with his comment, i don't know what you're talking about")

Nicknames for each other? bucky calls steve stevie and baby, he calls tony doll. tony calls bucky james and honey, he calls steve darling. steve calls tony sweetheart, he calls bucky bucky and his best guy

Who is more likely to pay for dinner? steve insisted that they either split the bill or rotate through one person paying. tony managed to finagle that into him being the only one to pay if they go somewhere expensive

Who steals the covers at night? it depends on whoever had the nightmare that night

What would they get each other for gifts? other than tony, none of them are really gift people, and tony's not allowed to give them gifts after pepper warned steve and bucky about the giant bunny

Who kissed who first? bucky did. pressed tony against the elevator before they even had their first date and kissed him silly cause he was so damn cute talking about the new modifications for steve's uniform

Who made the first move? tony asked the two of them out immediately following that first kiss

Who remembers things? steve. it gets really annoying for tony and bucky sometimes since neither of them are any good at remembering things

Who started the relationship? steve. he accidentally posted a picture of the three of them cuddled together on the couch to his instagram (he meant to send it to the avengers group chat... or so he says), which prompted a discussion about labels

Who cusses more? bucky, but tony is a close second

What would they do if the other was hurt? probably tear the world down - jk Director Fury, they wouldn't really do that ;)

Can you explain Glitchy Reds and Golds dynamic more from your interperetation?

YESYESYES of course.

starting off its something my partner would probably describe as "grumpy sunshine" bc he's a book nerd LOL but i'll obviously go more in depth.

starting out, they sort of began on kind of rough terms? red didn't really like gold much just because he was always insanely silent and constantly isolated, n red saw it as some sort of like??? personal attack of golds way of saying "nobody here is worth my time" or something, instead of seeing it for what it is- gold doesn't know how to talk to people and instead self isolates out of fear of being hurt.

onto their actual relationship though- gold sort of relies on red for a lot of things. before gold had prosthetics he'd rely on red to help him drink/eat/move/etc. red didn't mind doing any of this ofc bc this is the man he's so blatantly in love with. NOW though, gold relies on red helping him to get prosthetics on in the morning and yet again red minds none of it. they're super close and are almost never away from each other bc gold is Very Much Borderline (which totally isn't self projection at all) so they go everywhere together. reds sort of like his protector n is sort of like "grrrrrr i hate everyone (besides you)" and gold just kind of . "wow im special and he loves me!! :D" yk. 90% of the time gold cant talk and when he can its really really strained/quiet, so he either writes down things for red to speak for him or uses unowns. they're very in love and red would do anything for gold just to make sure he was happy and in a good state of mind <3 red likes to carry gold around randomly because he finds it as a way to prove that everyone else sucks besides him . idk they're really cute and i like to project onto them and make them go mwah mwah with each other

Roswell, New Mexico: Two Sparrows in a Hurricane (4x12)

The blue filter is defeated! Huzzah! This was a really good episode.

Cons:

I feel like I have a decent list of little nitpicks, things I didn't love, but the overall pacing of the episode worked so much in its favor that I don't weigh these negatives very heavily against the overall successes... but let's go over them really quickly.

Tezca's death was the biggest negative for me in this episode. It was played up in a super dramatic fashion and I feel really bad but it just did absolutely nothing for me. Isobel and Tezca didn't get the time to really develop much of a relationship; her redemption felt half-baked to me. I think part of what made it less impactful was that she didn't really do anything in the pocket dimension, so what was the point of her sacrifice? In the end, it was Michael creating the fuel, Max able to hold off the storm, and Dallas using his water powers, that got the portal back open when Clyde closed it. So Tezca just came along in time to... die? I also wish, considering that's the last of Tezca, that she could have explained why she shoved Alex in the quicksand to begin with. Was it really just to get him out of the way? Or did she know that Michael would end up following him, and that since he has Jones's DNA, he'd thus destroy the pocket world, and that's what she wanted? I don't know, I'm super unclear on this, and I also don't really care, which isn't the best sign.

Eduardo's daughter appearing again felt like a waste of time, I'm sorry to say. A lot of watching this last season has been seeing things I wish they could have trimmed away to tighten the story, and this character is definitely one of those things.

While I'm really happy about the Isobel and Kyle development, I do want to say that their scene highlights once again the bonkers ridiculousness of this season's timeline... when Isobel said "it's been a long time coming" all I could think was... she and Anatsa broke up like five days ago or something. Lol.

I'm totally on board for the Dallas/Maria potential, although I do wish Maria would mention my boy Gregory Manes. And it did kind of annoy me that Maria considers herself closer to Dallas than to anyone else on the other side. Not just Alex, her childhood best friend, or Michael, a man she was in love with just a couple years ago and still considers a close friend, but Isobel too... all three of them are people she has longer and more complex relationships with. I wish the episode had complicated this a bit. Instead of "who are you closest to" make it more ambiguous, like Maria needed to reach out to the person who's been her recent touchstone, the person helping her the most with her powers and her current journey. Then, it would make sense that it would be Dallas! This is probably a nitpick, though. It's fine. Dallas/Maria is fine.

Seeing a banner that said "Malex" on it, and hearing Dallas actually say the word out loud... gave me so much psychic damage. Can we not, y'all? Please spare me. So glad Michael shut that shit down, Malex deserves a better and less fourth-wall-breaking wedding!

Pros:

So as I said, the above section looks long, but the overall pacing and strength of this episode means that my qualms were way, way, outweighed by the positives.

To start with, I was incredibly moved by Liz's arc in this episode! She realizes that her actions might have lasting consequences, and that she might have to reckon with brain damage when her intellect is something she prizes so deeply. I think that works so well as a conflict for Liz to face, something where she can't be at fault for becoming addicted to the alien mist, of course, but she still needs to reckon with the choices she's made that have led her on this path.

And we had so much good theming about individual accomplishment vs. working together. Liz is distraught over her failing memory, but she has Rosa and Kyle by her side. I loved the detail about Rosa locking up the mist. Liz says that this means her sister knew she was weak and would fail, but Rosa says no, it's okay to need help. In the end, Liz gets help from Michael, from Maria, from Kyle, from all sorts, in order to create the fuel that opens the portal. Liz is capable of great things, but she needs the love of those around her!

I could be annoyed at all the flip-flopping and unnecessary drama in Max and Liz's relationship this season, but ultimately I'm just happy to watch them be happy and cute together... I loved Max getting his powers back, and Liz's concern for him as he went into the pocket dimension after his brother and their friends. Echo has such good energy together when they're not failing at basic communication, so it was nice to see a bit of that here in the penultimate episode of the show.

Kyle and Isobel's awkward interrupted conversation, and then their kiss just before Isobel marches into danger, were both really cute. Cuter still were Liz and Max's reactions, where Liz drops her mouth open in astonished delight, and Max cringes away from the sight of his sister making out with Kyle Valenti. I loved it so much, and I'm happy these two get to exit the show with some measure of happiness, hopefully with the finale next week solidifying that they're going to give their relationship a real chance.

Maria played a more utilitarian role in this one, there wasn't a ton of time for her to have character moments, but I did like how this episode was really an all-hands-on-deck situation. She gets the info that Liz needs in order to open the portal from their end, and she also helps with the bait and switch, keeping the real console away from Shivani and thus having it in place and ready when Michael and the others are ready to use it.

So, aside from the accursed blue filter, what did I think of our last episode spent in the pocket dimension? Well... this was some premium Malex content, y'all, what can I say? Alex wants to marry Michael before he dies, and Dallas is there to help make that happen... but Michael backs out, saying that his vow is to make sure Alex doesn't die at all. This is more or less exactly what I was hoping would happen. I like how the bulk of the episode is Alex despairing, because he really does feel that his own life is forfeit, and Michael gently and at times insistently cajoling him to keep going.

The scenes at the Crashdown (or I suppose it was the Atomic Café back then) were particularly moving. One of my favorite line deliveries from Vlamis ever is when he says that being in this world is like being in a microwave for Alex. He says it with such gentle tenderness, his hand cradling the side of Alex's face and neck. Later, we get the moment where Alex encourages Michael to go on without him, and Michael's reaction was another real highlight for me. I feel like usually in similar situations the person who is being asked to leave someone behind will react with emphatic indignance, like "No! Never!" But this was a lot softer. Michael basically just gives him an indulgent head-tilt and is like "don't be ridiculous." Which I loved so, so much. Also, the line "my heart is about to explode"... like, Michael is keeping his cool, seemingly keeping it together for Alex's sake, but everything is on the line for him here. If he loses Alex, it will destroy him, and Michael makes that very clear. Alex seems more or less resigned to the fact that Michael won't abandon him. He wants Michael and the others to escape, he think his life is already lost, and yet he knows there's no arguing with Michael on this one.

One of the through lines in the Michael and Alex scenes is that Alex tells Michael to stop thinking with his heart, and making emotion-based decisions that aren't based in reality. At the wedding, Alex is basically like: "I'm a dead man walking, here, and it's literally my dying wish to marry you, please don't be delusional about our chances." And then later, he tries to get Michael to see that sometimes the best way to cope with reality is to meet it head-on, instead of living in the fantasy of how things might have been different. And what I love so much about this, is that Alex is... wrong. It all comes to a head in the excellent final scene between them in the episode, when Michael, the one who has been carrying the torch for the both of them, finally loses his hope, and Alex tells him he was right to keep fighting, and to not give up now.

I love everything about this, what it says about how the two of them work as partners, the ways in which they hold each other in check and also push each other to be better. The not-so-subtle truth of the matter is that Alex chastising Michael to stop being so emotional is a patently empty and false criticism, since Alex is the one who has given in to his despair. And yet of course you can't blame him, Michael can't blame him, he'll just keep going, holding him, doing everything in his power to bring him back home. Excellent performances from Vlamis and Blackburn as always... I'm going to be thinking about the way Michael's voice breaks when he says he wanted to build a home with Alex for a long, long time..... let them build that home, Roswell! We're so close!

Some cute moments I want to mention before I finish this up: Michael and Alex flirting about Michael's horticultural interests, and taking long showers together... I was giggling so much at the fact that Bonnie and Dallas have just had to put up with all their couple-y energy together. I've had an agenda for a long time that was "let Alex and Michael be a couple around other people", because we don't get to see much of that at all, and finally, this episode hit the spot! In a similar vein, Isobel coming in and holding Alex's hands, saying it's so good to see him... theirs is a friendship that I firmly believe in, even though it's happened entirely offscreen. I just got so many warm and fuzzies to see a little hint of it here. I also loved the sibling feels of Max and Isobel holding hands and going into the quicksand in order to rescue Michael, Dallas, Alex, and Bonnie. We got an Isobel and Michael hug, too!

I can't believe next week is the finale, I am already getting a little emotional about it although it also doesn't feel quite real? Six months ago I was just starting this show for the first time, and since then I've written well over 100,000 words of fanfiction about it, along with tracking my general thoughts per episode on season four... it's been a wild ride, everyone.

8.5/10

The Making of: Boxes & Baubles

Normally, I have a clear idea of where I'm going before I begin any story. But for Boxes & Baubles, things played out a bit differently.

In 2021, the holiday spirit had its hold on me, but I was feeling rather aimless. I knew I wanted to write more Christmas fics. I had flashes of images and scenes in my head, but nothing clear, nothing cohesive. I turned to De-Stress December and 25 Days of Kinkmas for clues. I jotted down which prompts stuck out most. I made notes expanding on what I could do with the prompts, but still, not much stuck.

I think I was in a haze of too much excitement to actually focus.

But I'm nothing if not stubborn, so I sat with my Scrivener file open. I moved between prompts, adding what notes I could. I mulled over the idea of combining prompts. So on, and so on.

Prompt 9 for De-stress December was "Christmas Tree." I had a vision in my head of Harry and Severus decorating a tree together. It could be a drabble. I wasn't sure how to make it much of anything.

Here's where we get a bit personal. I love Christmas trees. There's so much tied to them, for me. They're a nice decoration, for one. They add character wherever they are, and they're like big neon signs proclaiming it Christmastime. They can be so individual. You can have simple, aesthetic trees. You can have chaotic, colorful trees.

There's the bonding time of decorating with friends and family. Choosing new ornaments each year. Standing around and figuring out where each piece will go. It can be a family-wide art project. That's how it was in my house, anyway. You can put candycanes on them, and rush over for your daily dose of sugar. You wrap up your presents and surround the tree with them. That's where we gathered around on Christmas morning to open presents.

When I was very young, we bought real trees. My parents were still married, and I only had one sibling. We'd bundle up in my dad's pickup truck and drive to the tree lot. My brother and I would ride back home in the bed of the truck with the tree. I won't say it was comfortable, being stuck by branches or the burn of cold wind on our faces. But it was tradition. And it was fun all the same. My brother and I would giggle. And it was such a treat, riding in the bed of the truck!

And the smell! God, the smell of a tree. That's half the magic right there.

Nowadays, I live with my partner. We have a small, fake tree and a handful of ornaments. My partner isn't big on holidays. He's no Grinch, but he doesn't have the same zest for celebrations I do. And the holidays are peak season at his job. Little time or energy to spare for projects he's not as keen on. He joins in what traditions mean most to me, but it's not quite the same, is it?

My childhood wasn't happy, really. And I'm not super close to my family. Life now with my partner is much better, even without the holiday spirit. But maybe it's the fact that Christmastime hold what happy memories I have. A not so happy life felt like pure magic around Christmas. Everyone was happy, and together. There was love. There was fun. It was so, so special.

Family matters make the holidays a complicated time for many people. For me, I clung to my joy, both because of, and in spite of, my family.

So I mulled over Christmas trees and my own connection to them. And I thought of Severus, and his not-so-happy childhood. I kept that image of "Snarry tree decorating" in my head while considering Severus' POV. With his background, how must he feel about the holidays? Not so Grinch-like with Harry, I imagined. But the holidays were probably sad affairs.

Or were they?

So I thought more on Severus' background. I had existing headcanons about Tobias and Eileen. And I've always been a fervid lover of flawed characters and imperfect relationships. How Tobias was a bad father and a bad husband, but he wasn't pure evil. And if all Severus associates with his father are bad memories, doesn't mean there were never good ones.

Doesn't that make it worse? The virtues in the people who hurt us. The good times we shared with them. It's easier to hate people when they don't feel human at all. When we are blissfully unaware of any redeeming qualities. We can hate them in peace.

And I do so love to torment my boys, don't I?

Keeping Severus' history in mind was important, but I never meant to actually write it. I opened a word document, meaning to type up a brief summary. But instead, I began my story.

Severus is five.

The tree they get is small and scraggly. Severus is small and scraggly, too.

Dad is in festive spirits. He kisses Mum while she cooks breakfast and he ruffles Severus’ hair. They load up into the car after and drive to the tree lot.

I'm a monster, really.

Once I had the opening down, I paused, and set about outlining the rest. It would begin with Young Severus, and end with Snarry, but I'd need to fill in the blanks. Lily, as an obvious choice. And I love when Severus has a romantic history with Regulus, so I made room for him, as well.

Then I went back, and continued writing.

I couldn't ignore the horrors of Severus' life, but I didn't want to linger on them, either. It really was meant to be a happy story, though looking back I guess bits of it were sad. Ah well, pure fluff rarely works for me, anyway.

Funnily enough, at the end, I squeezed in an extra scene. That's a bit unusual for me to do. I go in with a plan. And if scenes are added, I add them as I go. I always write chronologically. But while editing, I noticed a timeline error. And then...well, I was still missing something. So on a whim during edits, I added the scene with Dumbledore.

There. That was much better!

(Except, apparently, I forgot to fix a detail after adding said scene, but my friend Shera was quick to read and point it out. Oops.)

This story happened so unexpectedly. There was little purpose, little planned, just silly ole me rummaging around for something, anything to write. All I wanted were more Christmas stories. I was content to write fluffy drabbles! And in my search, I found a story that I quite loved.

Of course, there's one more bit to this story. I posted it on December 9th. People were so kind to it! And I was so very glad. And I had no idea that anyone would love it so much as to record it.

And on Christmas Day that year, my dear friend Nina posted the podfic. I cried! It was such a surprising gift, and I was so touched. And best of all, it returned to me all of the love and magic I've always associated with Christmas.

Finally had time to sit down and red The Royals Quests, and oh boy did I love it.

A few thoughts and theories I had along the way:

I love how Mumbo and Scar bicker in this AU. You can tell that they have known each other forever, and that they 1) care about each other 2) know exactly how annoying (affectionate) the other can be. They are like an old married couple and I love that for them so so much.

Special shoutout to Mumbo's ears reacting to his emotions. It's just so good. I can't decide if I hope he knows about it, or if I hope he is completely oblivious.

Having a lot of fun trying to piece together the mystery of Grian's past. The references to him feeling fresh air under his wings for the first time and not being able to fly nearly as much as he would have liked in the cave seems self-explanatory, but there being several references to him keeping his wings tugged closely to his back makes me wonder if there might be more to it.

The reveal that Grian isn't a "proper" Avian has me even more curious. Could it be a Watcher!Grian thing where he is from a colony of Watchers pretending to be/believing themselves to be Avians? Or is he perhaps from a parallel universe? I am eyeing all of this very much.

The fact that no one seemed to notice before Impulse pointed it out too. I wonder if it's some kind of misdirection magic that is keeping people from paying too close attention to him? And in that case, what makes Impulse immune to it? In short: worldbuilding good, brain go brrrrrr.

"Grian had come to learn that Scar kept that shelving unit there for the sole purpose of creating a shadowy space for Mumbo to retreat to" Also? I adore this line. Obviously, it's for vampire reasons, but I also love that Scar was like "Gotta get my husband bestie a dark corner to stand in and look menacing. It'll add to the aesthetic of the place, and the dramatics of our not-so-secret resistance meetings." Just. Gotta love him.

I love how it's like. Here is a fantasy world of magic and mystery. And also there's guns.

14/10 A++ highly recommend. Really, really enjoying the Rift AU a lot :D

Thank you for reading royal quests!! It’s nice that the king arc has wrapped up so now I don’t have to worry about them doing something and contradicting what I had planned lol.

I too love how Scar and Mumbo bicker in this. What’s funny is I honestly don’t think they bicker super often – its just that there is a lot to bicker about rn for them lol. But also yeeees – given how long they’ve been on HC together, I wanted to reflect that by having their relationship be pretty long [Relatedly, Bdubs and Etho have had a VERY long relationship]. They ARE like an old married couple and frankly everyone who sees them is shocked they aren’t married – I know Grian is sort of dealing with that confusion now.

ALSO!!!! I *LOVE* WIGGLING EARS DSKLAGSDKL. I think Mumbo’s ears are longer and swivel around and THAT is left over from my skyrim fanfiction days bc I headcanon that the skyrim elves can move their ears around. Scar's ears are much shorter so they don’t move. I also definitely think Mumbo USED to be oblivious to it but unfortunately the man’s been alive for centuries and I can’t imagine no one has pointed it out to him. Unless.

Hehehehehehehehehehe. Obviously I can’t reveal too too much about Grian’s past since, you know, spoilers, but I will tell you this – you are on the right track. I will tell you this in relation to the watcher thing – its NOT the watchers, actually. 👀👀I used to have rift AU tagged as Watcher Grian but I changed it early on because I decided to do something…different. With it. Hehehe. I definitely will be doing something with the watchers at SOME point, but not necessarily in this au – I think they’re more like an ancient religion no one really follows anymore. BUT you do have me thinking about Watchers-Pretending-To-Be-Human hm hm hm that WOULD work for one of my AU ideas hehehehe

Is it misdirection or is it obliviousness? Who knows. But also Impulse has some interesting stuff going on with himself too so he could totally be immune to it 👀 Or is it just that Scar and Mumbo have been too busy with bigger fish to fry to notice their new avian friend looks decidedly different from how Avians are supposed to. Hm hm hm.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEES Scar being like ‘Mumbo needs Shadows for his magic to work obviously regular shadows are boring I need to give my vampire bestie the best shadows” feels like such a Scar thing to do tbh. The aesthetics, the menace factor, the dramatics of it all. But also the fact that he thought about Mumbo and designed a part of his office with Mumbo in mind sfkjgfj I love them. There’s definitely like a light aimed at making the shadow be really strong.

You know the old joke of like ‘harry potter would’ve been shorter if he had a gun’ I disagree. It would have made things EVEN MORE COMPLICATED LGFKWDFH think about it. Magic evolving to deal with guns. Bullet Time/matrix-y bullet things. Magic infused bullets. But also I think the guns in rift au aren’t proper modern guns. They’re slow, a little clunky – think like guns of the late 1800s. Cowboy guns. Bullets are expensive, a little hard to come by, and King Ren is limiting the supply of them in an attempt to bottleneck Scar and Mumbo on top of that. I love fantasy guns.

Thank yoooooooooooooou!!! It means the world to me that people like rift au.

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In watching the Netflix "Lover, Stalker, Killer" it is one of those gems that has a ton of twists and turns. The stories plot is about a mechanic that recently gets divorced and tries to find relationships on a dating site. Just coming out of a marriage he tells the woman up front that he doesn't want a serious commitment.

The many reasons that I liked this "documovie" is that it gives you the nexus from David Kroupa's point of view. He moved to Omaha, Nebraska because his ex-wife had family there and wanted to be close to his children. As a mechanic, he had little trouble finding another job; he did want to meet new people which led to him to the dating site.

Kroupa readily admits that he was kind of a geek when he was younger. He asked out his wife who worked at the same place he did. What led to the couples downfall was that his wife began working at nights. They would eventually grow apart more and more leading to there separating.

David Kroupa for the most part is a likeable person; at other times he comes off as selfish, other times he comes off as uncertain about how his life is changing. What is always apparent during the performance is that he just wants his life to be smooth with little confrontation.

Where the documentary/movie gets real good is when a woman (Farver) he starts dating... it doesn't really work out and he moves on to another woman, Liz Golyer. What seems like reality is fiction, and fiction is reality. The plot twists, and it is based on a true story, are incredible. The realization that it is true what happened to everybody involved makes it better than any Hollywood written screenplay.

As time moves on, Kroupa becomes worried not only about his ex girlfriends well being, but his and his families as well. After all, houses are being burnt down, the culprit isn't even seen, only heard from via texts and emails. She seems to have a beat on David's life, however. She knows when he is eating, knows when his ex wife has their kids (she let's her know through texts that she sees her and can get to her).

Unable for the police to actively move against the woman that they believe is the culprit is when this show gets at its best. As a "sitting duck" Kroupa and everyone in his inner circle are under siege and little can legally be done to protect them. As GPS's are used and observance, everyone starts to become in question. We start to believe that the culprit could be anyone. The police question everybody and they feel everyone is a suspect including David Kroupa.

The music, the cinematography and the direction are all very well done. The camera angels, the tense music and the interaction between people makes it well worth your time to view this documentary. Trying to guess the ending is useless, it can't be done; it is just that incredible of a story. More effective in that if it was done in movie form, people would be disappointed with the ending because they would think that it is not believable. The other thing that adds value to it is that it takes place in the Midwest; the police really struggle to put the pieces together and at many times they are dumbfounded over stranger and stranger things happening.

As breaks begin to happen we start to see what happened and who did it. Up until the last fifteen minutes or so, the fault laid on one main character. As it it unfolds, the viewer can only look on in disbelief.

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, Hollywood, Apple, Super Bowl, CBS, Vocal Media, Medium, Broadway Bob Massimi, www.triviscompany.com, www.broadwayworld.com.

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spamming questions bc it's fun 🔺, 🎄, 🍎, 🤍, 🍰, 😊, 🤔 !!

yayayyaya more questions abt aaaaaron :3c thank u for sending! 🔺 RED TRIANGLE POINTED UP — does your oc know how to use any weapons? omg no. like, technically he has great knife skills but like. kitchen knife. he could probably not defend himself very well. the only thing he's ever punched in earnest is the Wall and that doesn't tend to fight back very hard. 🎄 CHRISTMAS TREE — what is your oc's favorite holiday? HALLOWEEN! his bday is the day b4 halloween, so him and the gang usually do a combined halloween/bday party. he absolutely loves it. scary movies + getting drunk + costumes ... it has it all. valentines day is close second because he loves love and loses the idgaf war every day 🍎 RED APPLE — where was your oc born? do they still live in/around their place of birth or do they live somewhere else? how do they feel about their birthplace? aaron was born and raised in boston! DEPENDING on what i finalize for my succ insert lore... he either lives there still (as he does in his original ocverse) OR he has since moved to NYC. he loooves boston and really really would miss it if he moved away. his housemates rent a nice place in cambridge and spend a lot of time in harvard square. aarons fave bagel place is black sheep bagels and if he did move he would bitch Every Single Day that no bagel could ever be that good (not true, nyc bagels ovi slam hard as well) 🤍 WHITE HEART — what are three of your oc's neutral/questionable traits? ooh questionable traits... + he gets bored easily. he's definitely a fun guy and likes to try new stuff, which is good. but he definitely gets under-stimulated easily. guilty of sometimes starting shit just for something to do. + aaron is veeeeery flirty. regardless of his relationship status he craves attention so so badly. he definitely likes to chat people up for fun and then hit them with the "...anyway me and my BOYFRIEND..." beam and then walk away + aaron has a very obsessive personality (outside of the ocd, which he also has). this can be good bc he is SO SO passionate about the things and people he loves. but ovi this isn't always a positive thing.

🍰 SHORTCAKE — what is/are your oc's favorite sweet(s)/dessert(s)? aaron isnt a Huge sweets guy despite his love of baking (he moreso does it for other people). he loves bitter flavors (dark chocolate) and fruity flavors, so something like black forest cake would def appeal to him. he LOVES sour stuff, and can absolute demolish a bag of sour gummy worms at any time.

😊 SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES — what are your oc's career/general life desires? what do they want to get the most out of life? career goals? he's not /super/ career motivated though. as far as goals, he just wants to have Fun. he is not a serious person, to a point. he wants to travel, try new things, live a life that leaves him with a lot of fun anecdotes to bring home to his friends. he really chases pleasure wherever he can find it, even if its fleeting

🤔 THINKING FACE — what are some of your oc's quirks/mannerisms? + constantly fidgeting w his septum piercing, always scrunching his face up to mess w it + very fidgety in general, always messing with Something + incredibly sentimental. keeps all kinds of keepsakes like concert tickets, museum brochures, flyers (etc etc) in showboxes in his closet. + always has an airpod in listening to music. literally almost always + talks to his cat like hes a human and can understand him. gus knows all of his secrets...

🕰️🗣️ for both chili and mint !!

🕰️ Has there been an event that happened in your OCs past that affects their future or one that they think about still? Is this a bad event or a good one? What are a few of their childhood memories they can recall?

The thing that made Chili's life completely butterfly effect snowball into what it is today being an agent and meeting Mint n all was the fact his adoptive family up and left one day and just never came back. He still thinks about it and although it was a shitty move, he so terribly wishes he could hear from them again, even if to jump punch them in the face tbh. He just wants closure.

For Mint it's just the fact they cannot remember anything in their past. Sure they've had new events happen after the metro tests but its not *the past*, you know? X Even if they more or less find out through the comic here, it doesn't really change the fact they don't have any memory on friendships, relationships, their feelings and thoughts or any of the substance in between the 'major' events of their life. Like what was home life like? What did they like to do in their spare time? Its a mystery that Tai coudl potentially help with- except that Mint isn't ready to fully find out yet of rmultiple reasons.

🗣️ What are the most painful words that can be said to your OC to utterly break them? What are the words that you could tell them to cheer them up? Maybe some advice to give them the boost they need!

THIS IS A TOUGH ONE WHAT THE HELL. Is this ammunition for future stabbings? Perhaps

For Chili... it's very hard to break him with words. Easy to rile up, but break? It'd probably have to come from someone very close, and something fairly generic like 'i always hated you' or that all this time his real fear was in fact true; that people are just pretending to tolerate his presence and that all the buddy buddy stuff was fake.

BUT TO CHEER HIM UP literally any sort of compliment will get him flushed and stumbling tbh. Though he's more of a 'actions speak louder than words' kinda guy.

Painful words for Mint are... a lot? The bean is a little sensitive and they have such a strong sense of morals that it's Very Easy to make them Super Upset and maybe even broken if you manipulate and push their buttons enough ;;)

As for cheering up honestly any pep talk will get them back up on their feet. Sometimes they forget to believe in themselves and second guess everything, forget their confidence. So a quick slew of 'you got this' is honestly enough most of the time fdkjghjkdf