#like i developed a sense of self that can survive being constantly crushed and at this stage is fucking diamond.
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There are theories that Mor and Azriel are mates, but since she prefers females nothing ever happened (because of how protective he gets, for example when he choked Eris) and that Elain & Azriel have mates, however, end up choosing each other./forbidden romance. What do you think of this theory? I like Elain, but I don’t want her with Az. I prefer Elucien (I feel like since Elain is a seer, gifted with sight, her powers are connected with Lucien since his dad is Helion, who SJM based on Greek god Helion, who is the god of sight) and I just don’t like the three sisters for three brothers. It feels to predictable. I kind of feel like Azriel is someone who self sabotages. He crushes on Mor for 500 knowing he can’t have her and I’m sure his shadows can pick up on feelings and emotions, so wouldn’t he be able to sense that Mor genuinely wasn’t interested in him romantically? I like Azriel and Gwyn, but some people think she might be evil since his shadows play with her. People bring up that his shadows hide from Elain and they do with Mor as well, so they’re meant to be together. I really want Elain and Lucien together. I just don’t like the idea of Elriel. What do you personally think? Do you think Azriel purposely self sabotages/goes after ladies he knows he can’t or won’t be able to have? I’m sorry if I cause any trouble, I don’t mean to!💜
you didn't cause any trouble, and I'm not afraid to say with my whole fucking chest that I HATE ELRIEL. everyone is entitled to their own choices and ships and whatnot but there's not one single az/elain idea or theory or trope that could make me like it.
breakdown below the cut because the elriel stans out there don't deserve to have their day ruined by my lil opinion lol. however, don't open it if you're curious but stan elriel because it'll just make you mad.
I like elain with lucien, I think they'd be perfect for one another. elain has always been caged and babied by her sisters for being a soft girl, she needs some freedom. she's proven she's not some breakable little object, she deserves to have a life of her own. she deserves to be free from that cage and to see the world. lucien can take her to do that, he's a courtier, he has friends all over and would be such a good guide. lucien deserves some light in his life, he's spent his whole life stuck and fighting, he and elain could just be happy together.
az and gywn is okay. if it was between gywn and elain, my obvious choice is gwyn. solidly, I am still waiting for a love interest for him other than eris that actually viable and matches him so perfectly.
anyways.
elriel makes me sick for numerous reasons. first of all, it's toxic. that whole "the girl who never got to choose and the boy who never got picked" thing. ew. ew ew ew. azriel would spend his entire life then feeling like he was constantly having to keep on proving he was good enough to be picked, and he's already fragile enough like that as it is. elain would end up feeling stuck, like she just chose the first person who as there, and they'd end up hating one another anyway.
also, azriel treats every other woman like a strong, powerful warrior. he treats elain like she needs sheltering and protection. he canon does this, all the way through ACOSF. he treats her like a child. let's just leave that there.
next, as you said, his shadows hide from her. a part of himself, the darkness he used to survive won't go near her. how could he bear any part of his soul to her when the most obvious part won't even be shown? he'd never be able to truly be himself. gwyn has her own troubles, her own trauma, and they'd heal together.
also, three sisters for three brothers is sickening. the elriel ship makes azriel into some toxic man who feels like he's entitled to women? if they got together based on that philosophy it would quite literally undo every single part of his character development. attacking for mor's honour? "be careful how you speak about my high lady"? "you just passed the blood rite qualifier"? all that peak feminism undone because suddenly azriel feels like he's owed some pussy. no fucking way.
lastly, if elain didn't end up with lucien, what's the fucking point of the mating bond being there anyway? it's served NO plot point so far unless they end up being mates. the whole "maybe the cauldron made a mistake" thing could have happened without it. az could have just been "maybe the bond just hasn't snapped yet". like? if they don't end up together, it's just a useless plot thread? sarah don't do that to us.
now, onto this whole mor and az thing. personally, I don't see it. I can understand where that has come from, but I don't see it. I just don't think they're at all equal or alike, and considering the other mating pairs and their similarities, it wouldn't make sense. basically, I just don't think so. I think he just hyper fixated because deep down he knows he can never have her and always goes for unattainable love because he's always felt like love was just outside of his reach. he's always wanted it and never had it (childhood trauma, not cass and rhys), and so he's permanently looking for where he can't have love, not where he can.
so, yeah, that's my breakdown, lol.
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I wanna write about my Fazbear Estate AU for a minute, okay, ready, go!
The Glamrock animatronics show up at the Estate about a week after I start working there. Like I mentioned before, the Pizza Plex got burned to the ground by an angry ex-employee in this universe, so the animatronics are homeless and jobless for the time being. They're also traumatized by the fire because they witnessed the "deaths" of many STAFF bots and Glamrock Endos they were unable to save.
In fact, the only STAFF bot that made it out unscathed was Map Bot, who only managed to survive because he followed the security guard outside to hand a map to them.
Just like in Security Breach, Glamrock Chica has an eating disorder, Monty has anger issues, and Roxanne has self-esteem issues. The fire only served to make these issues worse.
Not only that, but Monty secretly has a crush on Glamrock Freddy, but he pretends to hate him as part of his tough guy act. And he's always been super jealous of Glamrock Bonnie... who was decomissioned in this universe after suffering an accident in Monty Golf. There are rumors that Monty killed him, but the truth is that he was crushed by the Hurricane Bucket, and Monty had actually tried to save him, only to lose his legs in the process. Monty himself started the rumors, as he didn't want his tough guy reputation ruined. Plus, he didn't want pity from anyone for failing to save Bonnie. The guilt is eating at him.
The other Glamrocks know Monty didn't actually kill Bonnie, as the incident happened during work hours and was impossible to ignore the details of. But they are confused and concerned as to why Monty would tell people otherwise. They'd talk to him about it, but Chica and Roxanne are too self-involved with their own problems, and Freddy? Well...
Glamrock Freddy's mental health isn't doing so great in this universe. He loved Glamrock Bonnie, and losing him so suddenly traumatized him. He barely had any time to grieve because the band was always working. Not to mention, Fazbear Entertainment was trying to make customers forget about Bonnie even in this universe, which was painful. Not to mention, the rest of the band is constantly bickering with each other, and Freddy is the glue holding their friendships together. And Monty seems to hate him for some reason. And he lost his home and job all due to the fire, where he'd seen other robots DIE.
Yeah, Glam Fred is ready to permanently retire. He does NOT want to go back to the Pizza Plex. The rest of the band? They want to go back. They bitch and moan about the rules of Fazbear Estate, and constantly go on about how it was so much cooler at the Pizza Plex... though they do slowly learn to appreciate their new surroundings and what new freedoms they DO have. Not to mention all the amazing friends they end up making.
Oh, I just remembered: Monty is a huge jealous bitch towards me because Glamrock Freddy develops a crush on me. What the poor gator fails to realize, however, is that I happen to find him very attractive. So the whole time he's a jealous bitch, I'm too busy drooling over him to care. It takes a while for him to notice, and when he does... well, once he gets over the shock, he finds it amusing.
"You already got the attention of two Freddys, cher... and you still ain't satisfied? Heh..." He pulls down his shades. "Makes sense you'd come to Monty instead. We all know who the real star is around here... don't we?"
After I'm done yelling at him that it's NOT like that, he continues to be this huge aggressive flirt. Basically trying to take something Freddy wants in order to get Freddy's attention. But over time, Monty does come to genuinely like me, in more ways than one.
Look, if I wanna date Glam Fred, Fun Fred, and Monty, I'll fucking do it. (And yeah, Monty can date Glam Fred too.)
Oh, and one last thing: Glamrock Bonnie will come back at some point in this AU because I want the animatronics to cry.
#fnaf#fazbear estate au#glamrock freddy#montgomery gator#roxanne wolf#glamrock chica#self ship#shipping#polyamory#monteddy#glamrock bonnie#fronnie#self indulgence#i am cringe but i am free
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hey there! i wondered what are your thoughts on akane and how the destroying no.1 yorishiro would affect him? because i had been thinking of how it might've been the final blow considering how much he dodged death😭
Hey there yourself!
Sorry for the late reply... my original response was going to be longer but it got deleted...
Anyway... you see, I think it could go either way- I can easily see Akane living after the destruction of No. 1's yorishiro, but I could just as easily see him dying. Both possibilities have their merit.
If it was just about the fact that Akane's been severely injuried I... honestly wouldn't bat an eye at it. After all, he survived getting stabbed through the chest:
And between the Severance and the chapter where he, Teru and Nene go out, I think only one day passed, two at most.
He looks fine physically, so I don't think he requires much time to heal when he's in his supernatural form. So, if he died after the destruction of No. 1's yorishiro seal, as a consequence of his wounds, it would have to be done in less than a day.
(On a side note, I don't know if he still has his clock with him. Last we saw it, Hakubo took it away from him. But then, Natsuhiko knocked him out and took him to his boundary. So... does Hakubo still have Akane's clock? Did Natsuhiko take it from him? If Natsuhiko took it from him, did he keep it or did he give it back to Akane's unconscious self? If Akane doesn't have his clock with him anymore, does that mean he's stuck in his supernatural form, or does it automatically turn him into human again? Much to think about.)
That said, I think we should address the elephant in the room:
We don't know why Akane was choosen by Kako and Mirai to be one of them.
Was he destined to die young like Nene is? What role does he have in this whole Seven Mysteries business?
I ask this not only due to chapter's 95 reveal about Nene's death being linked to the Seven Mysteries, but also because... well, as I see it, Akane and Nene share a few similarities and story beats.
Akane, like Nene did in the beginning, has constantly tried to change himself into what he believes would be his crush's ideal lover.
And, although he's can be very rude and prickly, I believe Akane is a rather kind boy at his core. His rigid, and perhaps, unforgiving sense of justice, added to the rage he feels towards supernaturals because he belives them to be uncaring and apathetic to life, make me think he's a person who cares a lot.
Even his patience and persistence towards Aoi (and even Teru!) can mirror Nene's own devotion towards Hanako at times, moreso when we consider how similar Aoi and Hanako are (and also Teru).
Akane and Nene have significant similarities and we should pay attention to that, is all I'm saying.
But back to the question at hand, whether Akane 'dies' or not, I don't think it would be last we would see of him, or even the end permanently. This is a manga that deals a lot with the afterlife and ghosts, after all.
So, I think it would be more interesting to think where Akane's character would be headed, if he did 'die' or was in danger of dying.
There are a few ways I could see it going, but basically, I think Aoi could be involved in further developments.
If... Akane died, or was in danger of dying an early death, I think Aoi would try to bring him back.
Like, it could almost be a repeat of the Orpheus/Eurydice parallel we got with them in previous chapters, but this time, Aoi would take the role of Orpheus, and Akane, the role of Eurydice.
It... wouldn't surprise me if Aidairo did that role reversal, keeping in mind that their full names are Akane Aoi and Aoi Akane. Their names reflecting their situation... would be such an Aidairo thing to do, they're cheeky like that.
Besides, Aoi has often been compared to Hanako, so I wouldn't be surprised if she... went to some extremes to save Akane. Even in AUs she's often compared to the supernaturals, a human with similar dispositions.
I mean... in the Ghost AU she became a fairy and part of the staff, in the Monster Nursery Kamome she was a monster, she's been compared more than once to Hanako and supernarturals in general... The parallels are there, it's only a question if they 'll be explored further and if they'll become more literal or not.
Also, there's this from the latest AU:
The fear is real, but at least they look cute
So, it could lead to Aoi whether becoming, or simply behaving like Hanako and the other Seven Mysteries (you know, going horrifying extremes to save her beloved).
This... would tie, I think, into what believe Akane's future development could be headed. Which is, his strict belief that all supernaturals are evil and don't value life would be challenged in the form of the person he loves most.
Other than that... I don't know, maybe Akane could turn into a full supernatural this time... maybe Teru will be the one to become a supernatural. Teru will probably be involved with Akane's development too.
Another possibility is the use of the Clock Keepers' time powers to... rewind time, in case something happens to Akane.
In short, I... don't think you need to worry too much about Akane? Whether he dies or not, I'm pretty sure we're still gonna see plenty of him and... even if he does die, there's a chance it won't be permanent. At very least, I expect him and Aoi to remain together, regardless of what happens.
Besides, I think that, given Aidairo's definition of JSHK as a "heartwarming toilet comedy", I don't think Akane will have a sad end.
(somehow I also talked a lot about what I think can happen to Aoi but... the characters in this story are so connected I don't think I could talk where someone's character arc is headed without talking about another character)
And... I don't think we'll see the Clock Keepers until chapter 100. So... I think you can stay relaxed about Akane's fate until next year's...March?
We'll probably see Akane and Aoi in this month's chapter, though, judging by the promo drawing and chapter number.
I hope I managed to answer you question...
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Every Single Issue I Have With S*lki (It’s Not Just The Selfcest)
Here goes. I threatened to post this a few days ago and never did, but I just saw a s*lki stan Twitter account claim that Loki caring about Sylvie more than the whole multiverse was a Good And Romantic thing and it pushed me over the fucking edge, so now you all have to read this. I’ve divided it into categories cause there’s just THAT much.
OOC Bullshit
• First and foremost, no amount of mental gymnastics you do will ever make me believe that this specific Loki- the one that just invaded New York, that just came off a year of Thanos Torture, that just got done being influenced by the sceptre, that was literally in the middle of a crisis already, and then on top of that went through all the trauma of Ep 1- would even be worried about a romantic relationship. That would be the furthest thing from his mind. Go back and watch how he acted in Avengers- you think that guy would abandon his previous mission to become a snivelling simp for a girl he’d just met 3 days prior? Yeah, there’s no universe in which that makes sense.
• “It’s very in character for Loki to fall in love with himself lololol-“ NO, it’s literally not. Out of all the characters in the mcu, I don’t think I can think of anyone that genuinely hates themselves more than Loki. He even referred to all his other male variants as “monsters” and said meeting them was “a nightmare” in this series. He’s got so much self-loathing, plus the fact that he genuinely thinks himself to be an evil backstabbing scourge- so there’s no evidence at all suggesting that he would ever develop a fondness for, or even be inclined to trust, another version of himself, after only knowing them for 3 days.
• Building on that, the whole concept of Loki falling in love with a version of himself just feeds into the annoying ass misconception that he’s a narcissist. No matter which way you stack it, he’s not. If you’re referring to NPD, he doesn’t fit the criteria, and if you’re saying “narcissist” just as a slang term meaning “selfish and arrogant”, that still doesn’t accurately describe him. But when creators like Waldron and Herron do things like having him fall in love with himself, it makes it so much easier for casual viewers to think that he is.
Shitty LGBT Rep
• It’s kinda sus that Loki’s are allegedly genderfluid and yet the only female-presenting variant we see (and apparently the only female-presenting variant there is, cause the male Loki’s all seemed unfamiliar with the concept) is treated as some kind of mind-bogglingly special paradox. Also very sus that, out of all the Loki variants, the one our Loki falls in love with just so happens to be the only female one. What a coincidence.
• The fact that the creators of the show went around bragging about Loki’s bisexuality and Marvel purposefully (lbr) allowed stories about Loki possibly having a male love interest to circulate, specifically enticing queer viewers to watch the show (you know, the definition of queerbaiting), and then instead of having a male love interest (Loki was the first queer main character, so it was the perfect opportunity) they gave us *gestures to this dumpster fire* this… it’s just a middle finger to LGBT fans. The fact that they would rather have this relationship with all its myriad of problems than have a gay relationship is just……. Very telling.
• While him being with a woman obviously doesn’t refute his bisexuality, the fact that they showed/talked about him being interested in 3 different women (flight attendant, Sylvie, Sif) and never even hinted at him being attracted to a man, definitely makes it seem like they were trying to cover up his bisexuality to smooth things over with the more homophobic viewers. You know? It’s like “I know you’re pissed that we sorta confirmed Loki as bi, so we promise we’ll never mention it again! Or even hint at it! As a matter of fact, we’ll give him lots of female lovies and make him seem as straight as possible! That’ll take your mind off of that horrible crumb of queer rep, right? Please please please keep giving us your money!!!”
• Aside from all the other issues, at its core, the biggest reason why I think I’m so irritated with s*lki is that it took one of the most interesting, complex, and diverse characters in cinema atm and squished him into a tired ass unnecessary heteronormative subplot…. Like literally every. single. other. protagonist. ever. Loki is such a unique character, and it’s so so so incredibly disappointing that they stuck him into that same boring cookie cutter romance that happens to every other character in every other movie I’ve ever seen. It’s a disservice, and it’s honestly just not compelling or entertaining at all.
Thematic Issues Galore
• His arc didn’t need a romance. With anyone. It was unnecessary and it didn’t make sense plot-wise. In fact, one of the reasons he was my fav prior to this was because he was the only big-name mcu character whose story wasn’t muddied-up by a romance that didn’t need to be there. So much for that.
• He wasn’t emotionally ready for a romantic relationship with anyone. Hell, just a genuine friendship would’ve been pushing it for him at this point. He was in such a bad state that any relationship he got into would’ve been toxic and unhealthy for both him and the other person, and it doesn’t make sense why the writers would want to put him in one when there were so many cons and essentially no pros (other than “Uwu aren’t they cute together”).
• Sylvie’s character in general was unnecessary and Loki’s character was robbed just by her being there. The whole show became about her post-Ep 2. They spent most of the time giving her backstory, building her up, telling us how awesome she is, trying to convince us to like her, etc when what they really needed to be doing was building Loki up- cause I gotta say, if I had to describe TVA!Loki in a few words, they would be Flat, Boring, and Weak.
• The romance overtakes the plot. They spend time portraying their supposed connection that could’ve been spent adding depth and complexity to literally any of the characters. They make the big Nexus Event them giving each other googly eyes on Lamentis when it could’ve been so many other way more profound things that speak to the fundamental nature of Loki’s. They have the climax of the finale be “oh no she betrayed him to kill He Who Remains” when it could’ve been something way more compelling (Loki having a moral crisis over whether or not to kill HWR, Loki contemplating the state of the multiverse and weighing the pros and cons of freedom vs order, Loki looking into some What If situations and getting emotional about what could’ve been regarding his family, Loki realising the gravity of HWR’s offer and finally coming to terms with how important he is to the universal cycle, etc etc). The entire plot suffered in favour of a romance that half of us didn’t even want.
• It essentially reduced all of Loki’s potential character growth down to “He did it for his crush.” He seemed to at least have some motivations of his own in Ep 1-2 (feeble as they were) but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, literally every action he took was just him being a simp for her. Why did he lie in the interrogation? To try to protect Sylvie. Why did he fight the minutemen and Timekeepers? To survive kinda, but mostly cause it was important to Sylvie. Why did he get pruned? Cause he got distracted trying to confess his crush to Sylvie. Why did he try to get out of The Void? Cause he thought Sylvie needed him. Why did he stay in The Void? Cause Sylvie was staying. Why did he try to enchant Alioth? Cause Sylvie told him to. Why did the multiverse get cracked open, leading to an infinite number of Kangs waging war on all of existence? Cause Loki didn’t wanna hurt Sylvie in their fight at the Citadel and then get distracted by her kissing him. It’s uninteresting and honestly pretty embarrassing.
• Throughout their “relationship arc” the writers do their absolute damndest to convince us that we should like Sylvie more than Loki. And you know what? It’s the most hypocritical shit I’ve ever seen. They preach and preach about how Sylvie’s life has been so difficult/we should feel bad for her/she had it so bad/poor poor sylvie/she had it SO much worse than pampered prince Loki…. But then they never even touch on any of Loki’s trauma of hardships (the ones that have been ignored for literally 3 movies now). They frame Sylvie as a good person and a Freedom Fighter after she spent literal decades/centuries mass-murdering brainwashed TVA agents and showing exactly zero remorse for it….. but then they make it their mission to constantly remind us that Loki is a terrible person and constantly put him in situations where he’s forced to acknowledge his wrongdoings/show remorse/admit to how “evil” he is for being a mass murderer for like 2 years. They show him on-screen having a wider range of powers than her, and perpetuate his whole shtick of being a “master manipulator” or whatever….. But then they make Sylvie “the brawn” more competent, intelligent, and physically capable than him. Tell me how it’s a good thing for a ship to be so narratively biased toward one character.
Missed Opportunities
• If they absolutely had to have a romance subplot, then they could’ve paired Loki with one of the characters that have already been established OR one of the characters that were a big part of the whole TVA storyline anyway. It would’ve been so interesting if they’d revealed that Loki had a history with some of the players from previous films (Sif and Fandral both come to mind). It also would’ve been really interesting if they’d given Loki a love interest that actually had some allegiance to the TVA as a whole (Mobius maybe, but not necessarily. It also could’ve been Renslayer or B-15). Hell, imo it would’ve been cool if they’d followed through with that “See you again someday” line that he said to the flight attendant in Ep 1. ALL of these characters have way more chemistry with him than Sylvie, and they were also already relevant to the plot without wasting half the show to give background info on them.
• If they absolutely had to have a hetero-presenting love story involving an enchantress-type figure, then there’s a whole Enchantress (Amora) that was actually Loki’s love interest in the comics. Plus, fans have been screaming for Amora to appear in the mcu for years. Plus, Tom literally pitched an Amora/Loki storyline way back in 2012-13. Also, Lorelei (another enchantress) is also one of Loki’s love interests in the comics, and she already exists in the mcu (she was on Agents of SHIELD). There were several different established characters for them to choose from. Creating a whole knew amalgamation of a character and going with the “she’s a Loki variant” storyline was just completely unnecessary and made no sense.
• They completely robbed us of a Chaos Twins dynamic. Had they handled Sylvie better and not forced her and Loki to smooch, the two of them could’ve had a really really complex and interesting sibling relationship. Loki could’ve stepped into Thor’s shoes and sort of used that new role to gain some self importance, and Sylvie could’ve finally had somebody to look out for her/teach her magic/be there for her. It would’ve been very aesthetically pleasing, the vibes would’ve been out of this world, it would’ve been way more profound than this bs, and frankly it would’ve been much more entertaining to watch.
• Loki’s relationship (read: obsession) with Sylvie completely overshadows all Loki’s other relationships in the show. Loki and Mobius were literally the focal point of the series in Ep 1-2, but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, they barely had any interactions with each other, and Mobius pretty much faded to the background entirely. Loki had the beginnings of a pretty interesting antagonistic relationship with Renslayer (with her wanting him pruned, then arguing with Mobius that he couldn’t be trusted), but after Sylvie showed up the dynamic shifted to focus on the history between her and Ravonna. Loki and B-15 started off very badly and openly disliked each other throughout Ep 1-2, and then in the end of Ep 2, Loki showed a little bit of concern for her when she was possessed, hinting that they might be inching toward a reconciliation- especially considering how obvious it was that Loki was gonna uncover the TVA’s sins eventually. There was so much potential for him to be the one to give her her memories back and convince her to change sides, but no, of course that honor went to Sylvie. In fact, after Sylvie showed up, Loki and B-15 never even spoke to each other again.
Various S*lki Fails
• If they were trying to convince us that this affection was mutual, they completely failed. There’s nothing I’ve seen that even hints at Sylvie feeling the same way about Loki that he does about her. At most, I’d say she has a slight endearment to him. She finds him likeable and she’s grudgingly fond of him, but she definitely isn’t in love with the guy. Maybe she thinks he’s cute and hopes that he gets out of this mess alright, but her mission obviously comes before him- whereas, it’s been confirmed multiple times that Loki cares about her above anything else. She doesn’t trust him, she looks at him like he’s an incompetent fool half the time, she shows little to no reaction during most of his confession moments, and she kissed him as a means to distract him so that she could get him out of her way. Look, all I’m saying is, when you get into a relationship where one of you is way more invested than the other, it never ends well.
• This goes without saying for a lot of us, but the selfcest is just straight up odd and cringey. If you’re cool with that sort of thing, fine! People can ship what they want! But don’t pretend it’s not at least a little bit uncomfortable. Yes, I know they’re not technically siblings so it’s not technically incest, and they’re also not technically the exact same person, but they’re similar enough that it makes things weird. And yes I know selfcest can’t happen in real life, so there’s no way to judge it morally, but neither can most of the other stuff that happens in these shows/movies (the Snap, Loki destroying jotunheim, superhero with powers being held accountable, mind control) and yet we still find ways to judge their morality, because they all mirror real-world events. (The snap= genocide; Loki destroying Jotunheim= bombing other countries; superhero accountability= weapons accountability; mind control= grooming and coercion). And lbr the closest real-world mirror to two versions of the same person (who may or may not share DNA, family, backgrounds, physical and emotion characteristics) being romantically involved with one another is incest. And you can be ok with that if you want- that’s your prerogative- but don’t get pissy just cause a lot of us are squicked out by it.
• The whole mirror metaphor (learning self love via each other) thing just fell completely flat. First of all, having Loki learn to love himself by looking at someone who mirrors him did not, in any way shape or form, require them to be romantically involved. But they were. Of course. Secondly, the creators have contradicted themselves so many times on whether Loki and Sylvie are the same or not, that it doesn’t even really register to the viewer that the mirroring thing was what they were going for. Finally, Loki and Sylvie are shown to have so little in common- and to have only the most bare minimum of similarities personality-wise- that it doesn’t even make sense that Loki would “learn to love himself through loving her”. Like? They’re nothing alike. So how would he make the connection that he himself is actually pretty cool, based on her alone? There’s virtually nothing in her that reflects him.
• I know the objective of the entire show was to convince us of how awesome and unique Sylvie is, but honestly her relationship with Loki just did the opposite. A hallmark of a Mary Sue is having her constantly upstage the male lead, and then having him instantly fall madly in love with her anyway. And that’s.. exactly what happened here. Everything they’re doing to try to force her character to be more stan-able is really just forcing her to look more like their self-insert OC. Which is exactly what she is. It would’ve been so much more satisfying if she didn’t have to try so hard to look cool, if they didn’t have to try so hard to make her backstory tear-inducing, if they didn’t have to turn our protagonist into a snivelling simp just to prove how incredible she supposedly is. Very much #GirlBoss energy and we all know how performative and cheap that is.
• The entire thing was too rushed, there was too little build-up, and it was nowhere near believable. As stated above, it’s ridiculously unlikely that Loki would canonically even be interested in Sylvie, and this show did nothing to explain why he was. He just suddenly was. There was nothing they showed us as viewers that would justify a guy as closed-off and preoccupied as Loki falling head-over-heels for a girl he just met. Their was no explanation, no big revelation, no reasoning, it just… kinda happened. And I’m also severely skeptical of any love story that has the characters go in this deep after only 3 45-minute episodes of exposition.
I’m sure there’s other stuff, so if anyone thinks of anything, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to add it. Tagging @janetsnakehole02 @raifenlf @natures-marvel and @brightredsunset800 for expressing interest. This is all your faults.
#antisylki#loki meta#kinda#loki series critical#loki series negativity#anti loki x sylvie#anti loki series#anti sylvie#frosty bby#loki deserved better#I don’t even like TVA!Loki tho so I guess it doesn’t matter with him lmao#tva loki#loki laufeyson
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I Want to Write a Mikayuu Series
Okay.
So um.
If you're reading this, HELLO. All of you long time ONS fans probably don't know me, but I'm Alison and I'm a hardcore Mikayuu, Mitsunoa, Gureshin, etc shipper. I've been in the ONS fandom for almost a year and dear god. The amount of people telling me that Mikayuu is queerbait is just making me really sad 😅 I'm a writer, and I'm the type of person who honestly feels like the author of a series should have the ability to choose how a story ends without influence of their readers. I mean, if it's their story, then it should be their ending, right? However, I also do have some qualms when it comes to how this "love triangle" between Yu, Mika, and Shinoa is being portrayed. This is entirely my personal opinion, but I feel like Shinoa seems to be forcing herself to love Yu. I honestly don't think she cares for him in a romantic way, but more of a very deep-rooted admiration or even envy that she's trying to convince herself to be romantic love. And Yu has said multiple times that he values Mika's life above his own, that he doesn't know what he would do without him if he were to die again (I mean the fact that he suffered seeing his best friend and potential lover die a first time was definitely scarring enough, PLEASE STOP TORTURING OUR POOR BABIES). And it's basically confirmed by now that when Mika said I love you in the manga, it was in the romantic sense. Even though I wish, I hope, I dream, and I pray that Mikayuu will become canon, I honestly can't say for certain what I think will happen. I think it could sway any way, with Mikayuu becoming canon, Yu and Shinoa becoming canon, or it being one of those ambiguous endings where it's heavily implied but nothing actually happens. And in order to make myself feel better when stuff like this happens, I tend to rewrite the entire story with the ending that I would have liked to see ;)
You're probably wondering where the hell this stranger is going with this. Well, I want to write a book. A series, actually.
One that's inspired by Seraph of the End.
Now, if you're interested in hearing me out, then feel free to keep reading. But if not, continue on with your scrolling, no hard feelings. But if you do, and I really hope that you do, give me a chance to explain.
I want to write a series inspired by Seraph of the End called Bloodsucker (working title, obviously). And this series is going to be a reimagination of ONS with an ending that I would have loved to see in the anime and manga. I plan to have three main characters (please keep in mind that I'm going to have name changes): Yuichiro, Mikaela, and a brand new character, Epic.
Now, I would begin this series a bit before the anime and I'm assuming the manga begins. I'd start with introducing our main three characters as they meet in the orphanage (yes, Epic would be a part of this orphanage as well) and how Epic and Yu try to make moves to run away only to be stopped by Mika and Akane.
I plan to include a scene between Epic and Akane where Epic tries to run out in the middle of the night only to be stopped by Akane, and this is what caused Epic to develop a crush on her (Epic is a girl btw). Then I would begin the whole shit with the vampires and how they set the world on fire and shit, but instead of the apocolypse, I'd make it so that most of the adults died in the fire while the kids were taken alive (because young blood is better and whatnot). This includes our little Hyakuya family. The directors would have tried to trade the kids lives for their own, and due to their selfishness, the vamps killed them and took the kids anyway.
This would begin my first story arc: the prewar.
Epic, Akane, Mika, and Yu would all be living under the vampires at this point along with the rest of the kids in their orphanage. I plan to include lots of moments of bonding that heavily imply Epic loves Akane even though she doesn't know it yet and Mika loves Yu, but Yu is fucking oblivious. The four begin to plot their escape, but while Mika and Akane (yes Akane too) are making deals with the vampires to help out with their family, Epic is constantly finding herself getting dragged along to visit Queen Krul. The pink haired vamp has a soft spot for her for some reason and often tells her that Epic and her family are "special" or sum shit. And she's super confused and semi grossed out. But none of the vamps ever dare to hurt her so she thinks it's fine. Then one day they all plot their escape and it's much more planned out and lengthy and less rushed than it is in the anime. Things almost seem to work out until the vampires stop them
And Mika and Akane DIE.
I know. I'm horrid.
Epic is standing here in shock as she watches the love of her life die before her and Mika BEGS for Yu to take Epic and run while they can. So while in the series only Yu survives, he obeys Mika and both him and Epic survive this. They're found by Guren (a new character I haven't come up with yet lol) and Yu is super protective over Epic, not wanting anyone to take the only piece of his family he has left (he's a fucking mess without Mika let's just be honest) and Guren ends up taking them under his wing.
Now we hit the second arc. Still with me?
The War.
Hold onto your hats everyone because this is where shit is about to get complicated. So I do plan to have a bit of a time skip into the current spot where Yu and Epic are attending school with Guren as their father figure and they've become very close. So close that Yu refuses to work with anyone else but her. They end up getting onto Shinoa Squad (obviously going to be completely different in my version) and they get put onto the battlefield. But here's the catch. Well, two catches.
Yu and Epic do have demon weapons. I do plan to try to incorporate that into this. BUT the backstory is different. I plan to make it so that the vampires obviously see the humans as fies. Insignificant things that are more playthings than threats. And they didn't want to have to deal with killing all of them, so they sent demons in their place to handle it. But the humans were able to form deals or "contracts" with the demons and therefore turned the vampires' own secret weapon against them.
Now, catch no. 2
So, Epic, Mika, and Yu aren't seraphs in this. But they are something else. I'm going to try to explain this as simply as I can, but each of them (besides Mika since he doesn't have a demon) have 3 souls inside their body:
Soul 1 is their current soul, the one that identifies as Mika or Epic or Yu.
Soul 2 is their demon soul, like what Asuramaru is to Yu.
And soul 3 is their archangel soul (I might change that name later on).
So I'm just going to come right out and say it. In this series, Epic is the villain.
Yes.
You read that right.
Epic is the villain. But she doesn't know that she is. These Soul 3s were reincarnated into the current bodies of Mika, Epic, and Ari (and I know that's not exactly how it works but screw logic this is just a fucking concept) from their lives centuries ago.
These souls existed way before vampires existed and Epic (or Essie) was very close friends with Yu (or Aytigin). Aytigin was in love with Haru (Mika) but for one reason or another, they couldn't be together. Essie wanted to do something, willing to do anything to make the two of them happy. So she made a deal that brought the vampires into creation so that Haru and Aytigin could be happy. She was willing to sacrifice everything that they stood for so that the two of them could be in love together.
She had good intentions, but of course Haru and Aytigin were furious because now the vampires were turning against the humans and they all basically died. Until they were reborn respectively, but unknowingly.
Now picking back up in the present, Yu and Epic are fighting in one of the main battles and the two are very confused when the vampires make a very deliberate attempt not to hurt Epic. They're unsure as to why, but Guren tells them not to worry about it.
Suspicious bastard.
Anyway, it's revealed finally that MIKA IS ALIVE
BUT HE'S ALSO DEAD
Yes he is a vampire. And Yu falls in love all over again upon seeing him, and after a bunch of struggling, Epic gets kidnapped. At first she gets strangled by Lacus and then she gets kidnapped by Ferid who doesn't kill her surprisingly.
Oh and uh... Ferid is nice in this. He's still a fucking creep, but he's a lot nicer than he is in the series. I plan to make Queen Krul or whoever I turn her into be the villain.
Anyway, they take Epic back to the vampire palace or whatever and Queen Krul and Epic are reunited! And Krul is the one who reveals to Epic exactly who she, Mika, and Yu are and this is what sparks Epic's fall to insanity.
I mean, she's the killer. She's the one who brought them into this world. She's responsible for every death the vampires cause.
I would go crazy too.
So, she manages to escape (partially thanks to Mika) and the two join Yu and the others again and it's revealed a second time exactly what is going on. And while no one actually blames Epic on the Shinoa Squad, that doesn't stop people like Kureto and even herself from blaming.
And this causes her demon to go haywire.
She begins losing her marbles, almost killing her teammates and trying to kill herself, all while the three begin to experience dreams or visions of their Soul 3s.
While all this shit is going on, there's heavy romance between Mika and Yu because these two lovers just got reunited and FUCK did they have glow ups but yes -
Oh. And there is another spark for Epic, even though she doesn't think she's worthy of love.
Okay. I'm just gonna say it.
Lacus falls in love with Epic. Yes. You read that correctly too.
I plan to make the two of them get trapped together at some point and they have to work together to escape. It's during this time that Epic realizes he's not all that bad and has some form of self control and he realizes that she's the most interesting thing he's ever met in this disgusting and boring life and damn do her eyes look pretty-
But yes. She forms a permanent alliance with him that he jokes about as marriage and they meet on other occassions too, but lol yes.
Anyway, blah blah blah, more fall to insanity, the Soul 3s take over their bodies on multiple occasions and there's a lot of bonding and fighting and Epic and Mika somehow manage to get some of the vampires on the human side.
And in the end, Epic and Yu basically sacifice themselves to save the human race and kill Queen Krul. It's a very rough ending I haven't quite perfected yet, but Yu has a moment like he did with the King of Salt. But though he inflicted a lot of damage, it's not enough. So while the team is worried about him, Epic takes this opportunity to fix her and Essie's mistakes.
She allows both Essie and her demon to take control of her body and dies on the battlefield. Queen Krul is eliminated. Most of the vampires are gone. The humans won.
Horray.
Epic is dead.
Kinda. Yu and Mika take her back home and this is the preview to the last arc where everyone's in the hospital and Epic's in a coma. Mika and Yu barely ever leave her side and it's only when Lacus of all people comes to visit that she fucking wakes up.
Okay. Are you still with me? Now come with me to the final arc.
The Post-War.
No my friend. It doesn't end there. Because Mika and Lacus are still vamps and life still sucks and I drank too much coffee this morning.
No it's not over yet.
So flash forward a couple years and Kureto and Crew are working as the heads of this city. Stuff is being rebuilt, people are settling down in homes, Lacus and some of the other "good" vampires find jobs, and Mika, Yu, and Epic get a house together (in case I didn't mention before, Epic is pansexual. She loved Akane dearly and I plan to include scenes where she sees her in her mind and dreams like Mikayuu so she's never truly gone, but she falls for Lacus too when he's not being a sadistic asshole). Things are going strangely when
BAM. Epic and Yu come up with a cure for vampirism.
How, you may ask? I don't fucking know, I haven't read about it in the manga yet but before we come up with an idea for it, imma say they came up with it through a spell. They share their findings with Guren and soon all vampires are being cured, most notably Mika, Lacus, and even Rene.
BUT and there's always a but, Kureto passes a new law claiming all vampires to be property. That any vampire or previous vampire or even vampire supporter/owner that tries to disobey these new laws is to be killed immediately. Now Epic and Yu are in jeopardy because their ex-vampires are in danger (Epic and Lacus have been hanging out a lot more and he's proven himself to be a decent guy. Contrary to popular belief, I headcanon him as not really knowing what to do when he actually cares about someone since he's been a heartless vamp for so long. So when he turns to Mika and begrudgingly asks him for LOVE ADVICE of all fucking things, Mika is ready to die). So basically, Mika and Lacus end up getting locked up along with the other ex-vamps (including Ferid which was a pain in the ass) and did I forget to mention that there's a proposal?
Oh yeah, Yu proposes to Mika and the blond still has yet to give him an actual answer because poor baby is still having a hard time accepting that Yu can love a "monster" like him.
But anyways, now Epic and Yu are furious and SHINOA SQUAD IS BACK IN BUSINESS. With the help of Guren and Shinya and everyone, they form a sort of rebellion and blah blah blah they manage to get Mika and Lacus and everyone out and blah blah blah they all get separated and Lacus begins to get INSANELY protective of Epic and ends up confessing his feelings to her before he nearly dies and blah blah blah did I forget to mention that I'm making Mitsunnoa and Kimizuki x Yoichi canon and blah blah blah.
Epic kisses Lacus as an instinct. Lacus kisses her again. Mika accepts Yu's proposal then almost dies AGAIN. I kill off some characters for emotional tugs and after a ton of more fighting and revenge and psychological breakings later, Kureto is killed. And Guren (or someone else haven't decided yet) is the new head of their city.
Epic, Mika, and Yu finally let Akane and the kids go. There's a lot of Shinoa Squad bonding but this is a summary so I haven't included much besides the main three. Epic and Lacus becomes canon. Mika and Yu get married. Guren and Shinya get married. Shinoa gets pregnant.
And everyone gets the FUCKING HAPPY ENDING THAT THEY ALL FUCKING DESERVE BECAUSE FUCK
I do plan to be slightly ruthless like the creator and include a lot of heartbreaking scenes, but it's going to be much different than ONS but I still want it to hold on to some core relationships.
I just want them to be happy. And I just want to make other people happy because fuck I JUST WANT TO BE HAPPY
So. Yeah.
That's Bloodsucker...
So my question to you is... if I wrote this shit.
If I sat down and typed about 30 books roughly inspired by Seraph of the End and Mikayuu and Mitsunnoa and shit...
Would anyone read it?
♡ a.a.
#mikayuu#yuumika#mika x yuu#yuu x mika#owari no seraph#owari no straights#owari no serafu#seraph of the end#seraph of the gay#Mitsunnoa#i wanna write a book#reimagination#fml#send halp#lacus#new character#akane#what am i doing with my life
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Malevolency
A rant on psychology and wild speculation on the motives of the Dark Triad.
More under the cut.
(Trigger Warnings for trying to find good qualities of fictional mass-murderers)
The dark triad as Personality Traits, and the Dark Triad’s personality traits.
Part 1: Selfishness, Callousness, Button-Pushing.
I took no psychology classes whatsoever in school, and therefore was completely blindsided when I learned that the phrase ‘Dark Triad’ is a psych term. These three personality traits (self-centeredness, sociopathy, and manipulativeness) are called ‘dark’ because they are thought to be particularly malevolent.
Specifically, as the fandom has already deduced, Black Clover’s Dark Triad has Dante as Narcissism, Xenon as Psycopathy, and Vanica as Machiavellianism.
Like most things in psychology, this strikes me as complete and utter bullshit. Personality traits are just that: traits. A trait is merely a descriptor; it holds no moral value.
Narcissism, for example, means that someone is self-centered. This could mean that someone with this trait is monstrously selfish, since they might only care about their own desires. However, what of someone who cares primarily about their reputation? Or about their own adherence to a moral code? Or an artist who only cares about their art and how it reflects on themselves? Preoccupation with the self doesn’t necessarily equate to positive or negative behavior.
Sociopathy, as the second trait, primarily implies a lack of empathy. But, in all honestly, if someone is only a good person because they can mirror neurons to simulate the feelings of others… then they aren’t really a good person in the first place. Empathy as a morality chain fails when empathy fails, especially when combined with xenophobia. Would sociopathy potentially make it harder to learn helpful social habits? Perhaps. Or, a lack of empathy could lead to a more considered and logical approach in determining what is owed to other people, an approach which would not fail with faltering emotions. After all, Agape, the highest form of love as reckoned by the ancient Greeks, was characterized by the presence of caring and the lack of emotion.
The third trait, Manipulation, is probably the most neutral of the three. After all, being able to read people and predict and/or guide their behavior is a valuable skill for anyone. If a school principal, for example, is skilled at reigning in the behavior of their students, through positive and negative reinforcement, we would call them a ‘Good Leader’ rather than a ‘Manipulator’ but it mostly comes down to the same thing. A con man is a ‘Deceiver.’ A showman is merely ‘working the crowd.’ Social manipulation itself is merely a tool, and can be employed for any ends, moral or immoral.
So, to summarize, the so-called ‘Dark Triad’ of personality traits are not inherently moral or immoral, but rather descriptors of various personality styles found among characters of any given archetype.
Part 2: Dante, Xenon, Vanica.
Okay, so I’ve mentioned this before, but the Dark Triad have not met the expectations that I had for them as villains. Specifically, they show more heroic traits than I would have guessed.
That brief flash that we got of Yuno’s infancy in the Spade Kingdom offered a glimpse at the young Dark Trio. Dante, Vanica, and Xenon were high-ranking soldiers who worked together. They’re wildly unpopular, because of their violent methods. Yuno’s parents and those loyal to them hold the three siblings in contempt.
Honestly, I suspect that this might just be garden path foreshadowing. There is an incredibly strong possibility that the Spade Royals are evil. (They sent the Dark Triad to crush a rebellion. Why was there a rebellion? What policies were they rebelling against?)
Not evil in the sense that the King and Queen are outwardly malicious or unkind to most of their underlings, no. And, of course, they both love Yuno and are doting parents.
However, those traits say jack-shit about the Spade-King and -Queen’s moral character.
The fact that the Zogratis siblings are relatively young, that they work together at the same rank despite being related, doing a job they’re absolutely apathetic about with as much gratuitous violence as possible… to me, that hints at some sort of conscripted service.
Clearly the Spade Kingdom is aware of demons, as it mentions that two of the demons from the current arc used to be humans from the Spade kingdom. I would consider it a strong possibility that Nacht learned the Devil Binding ritual in the Spade Kingdom, or at least that the ritual itself is a Spade Kingdom technique.
I bring this up to say this: there is a strong possibility that the Zogratis Siblings were gang-pressed into becoming devil hosts for the benefit of their kingdom, with the threat of their siblings being killed if any one of them rebelled.
Because, while they certainly seem to have been twisted by their life experiences, the Zogratis siblings show far more compassion than I anticipated, towards each other, towards their enemies, and towards their devils.
When they form their plans to take over the continent, the siblings are able to do so without egos clashing or jealousy over power differentials among themselves (when Vanica, at least, could draw our fewer percentage points of Megicula’s power than Dante could of Lucifero’s). When Xenon saved Dante from Yami, he cradled him in a horrifying bone cage, instead of carrying him by impaling his limbs as he did to Yami and Vangeance. It’s subtle, but I don’t get that undercurrent of hostility towards each other that I expected to see before the time-skip.
When talking to their enemies, Vanica remains relatively hostile, but Dante and Xenon almost seem sympathetic, at times. Dante tells Asta that they should be able to understand each other because they’re both devil hosts, Xenon tells Yuno that he’s not weak, he’s just facing an overwhelmingly strong opponent.
In terms of their devils, we haven’t seen much of how Xenon operates, but Dante and Vanica seem much more cooperative and friendly than I ever would have guessed. For example, Vanica said that she cursed Loropechika ‘for Megicula,’ not in exchange for anything, or under threat, but presumably simply because the demon asked. Not only that, but Vanica doesn’t seem distressed in the least when Megicula possesses her. The two of them even have a friendly conversation, where Vanica explains her desire to change plans, Megicula asks clarifying questions, an accord is reached, and Megicula even throws out a parting compliment. The two of them are clearly drift-compatible, despite their obvious personality differences. In that same vein, Lucifero and Dante speak in a cordial, straightforward manner, though we only see a single conversation between them. (There is also the fact that Lucifero didn’t seek out a different host after Dante was defeated).
And so, this brings to my mind my current theory for why the Zogratis Siblings went berserk and massacred the spade royals and most of the palace guard:
The Dark Triad were considered sacrificial soldiers for the sake of the Spade Kingdom’s prosperity. Their colleagues and superiors viewed them as dead soldiers walking, and treated them with all the courtesy they were thought to deserve (ie none). The Zogratis siblings were isolated and kept under rigid control, to keep them in line.
However, the High Ranked Devils that they hosted reached out to them in genuine partnership, which possibly even turned into friendship.
Various members of the Dark Triad have stated that they’re enacting their plan because they want to fight whatever humans survive in a post-apocalyptic demon world, but I’d bet that a large part of their motives also involve freeing their friends from the afterworld.
Are the Zogratis siblings evil? Yes, I’d say so. After all, good qualities don’t erase their crimes: Dante slaughtered his liege Lord and most of his colleagues, Xenon massacred half the Golden Dawn, and Vanica cursed who knows how many people at Megicula’s behest.
But I expected the Dark Triad to be very different people than they are. I thought that they’d be siblings in name only, constantly fighting and jockeying for power, looking to usurp each other or push each other down.
Instead, they seem to care for each other.
I expected the Dark Triad to be constantly at odds with their demons, contracts held together by duct tape and spite, each only biding their time before stabbing each other in the back.
Instead, they seem to understand the value of teamwork.
And, it’s just, if this is what they look like, when they’ve fallen so far as to work for the virtual extinction of their own species. What were they like before the Spade Kingdom broke them?
I could very well be wrong, but we’ve gotten so little from the Dark Triad’s perspective that something horrific is almost certainly waiting in the wings.
Especially after Nacht said he didn’t care what their motives were. Nacht hates redemption arcs, and thinks anyone who has ever made a mistake deserves the harshest punishment possible. He seems to think that most of the Black Bulls are irredeemable, describing them in harsh, unforgiving terms, when we know them to be good people.
And the Dark Triad, while they most certainly aren’t good people... individuals like them don’t usually develop into misanthropic extremists in a vacuum. Something drove them to make the choices they did, and I’d bet that a large part of it had to do with Spade Kingdom Society as it functioned under the Royals.
We’ll see how the rest of the arc pans out, I guess.
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so your web!jon is amazing but what abt web!martin :0 (or do you have any other idea of that avatar he would fit/would be interesting to write?)
No, see that wouldn’t work, that makes too much sense askdfjasfd
I definitely always play Martin close to the web. One of my central character traits for Martin is ‘manipulative’, and I view him as being very good at reading people. I think there’s also a connection between the Web and theater, and I’m constantly connecting Martin and theater. He definitely did some work for the web in another story I wrote, Feste. So it’s definitely a direction I tend to lean him, and it’s a direction I find really interesting for his character.
The only other time I’ve written Martin with a strong connection to an Entity was my roleswap AU with Slaughter!Martin. It was 100%, entirely because it was funny to make Martin Melanie. Another part of my characterization for Martin is that he’s pretty much five minutes away from going apeshit at any particular time, so Slaughter was really very fun to write for him, and it let me do an exploration into his darker sides and create a really funny Jonmartin, but I wouldn’t have written that in a serious context. Similarly, I have another comedy story where he’s an arsonist, but Martin destroying shit is just funny.
So I guess both Web and Slaughter makes sense to me, and I could play him both those aways. However, that being said...I wouldn’t write Avatar Martin.
It just has to do with character arcs in the story. Which characters, thematically, are about being people, and which are about being monsters. I think Martin really hates being a person sometimes, and that he hates caring about other people because it never gets him anywhere, and that his self-concept relies heavily on feelings on powerlessness. He’s never really felt human. So being an Avatar just doesn’t work with his story at all - because Martin’s a monster struggling to be a man, and Jon’s a man struggling to be a monster. I could twist it into literalizing that and flipping this over, but I find it more interesting this way.
Even more than that, and this is more personal to my writing, is also narrative roles. I write Martin as a survivor. That’s another one of my central character tenets for him - that he’s a survivor, who will do whatever it takes to survive, and he survives through manipulation. Martin is impressively good at not dying. But part of acting as that survivor part is always remaining the underdog, and existing in a permanent state of powerlessness. Both in the stories I write, and in the way Martin thinks of himself, he’s the ‘NPC’. He’s the nothing. He’s the background character. I’m most explicit about this in Feste, but if you’ve read Web!Jon then you know what I’m talking about. Narrative role-wise, Jon’s cast as monster and Martin as the human, and the rest of the story erupts from that.
Martin is that guy who slides into the background, who you don’t really notice, who’s not really that threatening, who you think would be pretty easy to push around...until he sets your Institute on fire lol. This is pretty web of him, but it creates a better sense of narrative tension and investment if this insane shit is just something Martin can do because he’s insane. Like, this is all the most entertaining if he’s Just Some Dude. Martin thinks of himself as Just Some Dude and he will continue thinking of himself as that as he undertakes an apocalyptic murder revenge tour.
There’s also just the narrative thing? The most interesting romantic relationship dynamics to me are ones where they’re foils. I always write Georgie & Jon as foils (my early characterization for Georgie was as simple as ‘everything Jon is not’) and I always write Martin & Jon as foils too. If I were to make Martin an Avatar, then Jon and Martin would be having the exact same character trajectories and problems, which is dull. Jon’s constant scrabble for power to keep himself safe and Martin weaponizing his lack of power to keep himself safe. Martin working hard to keep the team together and Jon being completely self-obsessed. Jon’s selfishness and Martin’s selflessness. Martin’s refusal to ever ask for help or admit he needs help and the way that Jon is always reaching out a hand. How Martin very purposefully tried to lose his humanity and how Jon was extremely forced into it. How they’re both empathetic, but Martin weaponizes that and Jon pretends that he isn’t until it’s crushing. How in S4 Jon becomes Martin and Martin becomes Jon, I like writing Monster!Jon, so a lot of the stories I have contrast them as a powerful monster out of touch with humanity vs a powerless guy who’s one of the most human guys you’ll ever meet. And as a powerful monster who is painfully human vs a powerless guy who can be as cold and monstrous as the best of them.
jalsdf did that answer your question?? I feel like I did not. I feel like I should have supplied headcanons. But I tend to think of these things as ‘how would they work in the narrative’, so that’s my lens. I never know if I’m answering these right dlkjsf
I’m pretty aware I write Martin really, really, different than most people do. So I could only give an answer with the Martin I have, which is not most people’s Martin, lol. But...I feel like people prioritize the development of the relationship over the development of the characters...and that people struggle to write romantic relationships where both characters are severely and sincerely flawed people...and really nobody in TMA is a great person and I hate making Martin the exception to that, and I think it’s great when he’s terrible just on his own merits as a dude...and -
jasklfd thanks for the really interesting ask, I enjoyed thinking about Martin in this context!
#my writing#I struggle with Martin which you can see in my early stuff#he was a character who was just so completely different than me I just couldn't get him#I ended up forcing myself to write a few Martin POVs so I can actually decide on what I wanted to do with his character#Martin is a useful character whose primary motivation is LOVE#but that just gets the story kicked off you know?#once LOVE sets him in motion then the rest of the character arc and the story can start churning#like legally blonde. exactly like legally blonde.#anyway I think the reason you got the answer you did is because I'm writing HR2#and good GOD Martin in this story is fucking great to write#Sasha: that creepy little psychopath martin with bad taste in men is plotting in the corner again#Martin in the corner plotting: how the fuck do I survive until 28 I'm too young and ugly to die
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I was wondering if you could do an analysis on Sansas and Daenerys interactions in 8x02?
Totes, because I think it’s an extremely interesting character interplay that needed more development and that was either actually rife with subtext and just written really poorly or it was just dumb. But while I wish there had been more development for literally everything in season 8, I think that the dynamic between Dany and Sansa needed far more room to breathe and grow given that their incredibly brief relationship is one of the main catalysts for the climax of the story.
Jaime’s whole “trial” scene is one that I really wish we had been able to see the lead up to, because while the drama of starting off the episode with it is certainly compelling, I’d honestly really like to know how everyone even got to that point in the first place. Like, Dany is furious that Cersei has betrayed her and lied to her about her intentions... except how exactly does that square up to someone who came to a truce with their enemy and then immediately arrests them and puts them on trial when they actually follow through on their end of the bargain?
However, looking beyond that there is not just Dany vs. Sansa, it’s kind of Dany vs. Team Stark. Dany lays out all of the reasons why Jaime deserves to be punished and Sansa actually completely agrees with her and says she completely understands how she feels, but then Brienne speaks in Jaime’s defense and Sansa immediately agrees that Jaime should stay. Now as viewers we understand what Sansa is doing here, but I think that Dany does not. I think that this may be a sort of crucial moment for what happens later, because someone who is unfamiliar with Sansa but sees that she is popular among the Northerners might come to the easiest conclusion, which is that Sansa is easily manipulated, weak willed, or likes to agree with people and thus everyone kind of likes her even though she’s the type of person who shouldn’t really be seen as important or authoritative.
But when Dany kind of ropes Jon into it I think it’s even more interesting, and once again could be an implication that she doesn’t understand people who put the interests of others before themselves. Because way back when Melisandre told Dany to invite Jon to Dragonstone, Tyrion tries to sell her on it by explaining that the Lannisters have treated the Starks even worse than they theoretically treated her, so they have even more reason to want to see their downfall. So I think she inquires about Jon’s thoughts expecting her to agree with him, because quite frankly it’s just not in her wheel house to put the needs of others before her own. But he winds up agreeing to let him stay, and she feels peer pressured into acquiescing when she really doesn’t want to. That really puts her on the back foot and makes her extremely uncomfortable because it’s something she never does, and it’s basically taking her whole fantasy of conquering Westeros and destroying her enemies and basically forces her to give it up for the sake of maintaining her own mystique.
So she’s super pissed and Jorah talks her down, and while once again the show cuts away from shit that we actually need to see, it’s fair to assume that he said something along the lines of Sansa is Regina George and you’re currently Janis Ian, so you need to go talk to her and charm her into liking you and the rest of the Northerners will fall in line. So, Dany follows his advice and tries to actually talk to Sansa and to get her to see her as the Enlightened Despot she imagines herself to be.
Frankly, the conversation between Sansa and Dany is extremely weird and vapid on the surface, but I think it makes sense within a certain context. Namely, that Sansa and Dany both have very clear preconceived notions about each other, however Sansa’s assumptions are generally correct while Dany’s assumptions are completely incorrect.
Obviously at this point, Sansa isn’t being fooled by charm, and Dany unfortunately reveals herself to Sansa in completely unintentional ways that she doesn’t realize are actually really hurting Sansa’s perception of her. Dany is here to conquer Westeros and force the North into submission, and maybe I’m overestimating Sansa’s political genius here, but what I find extremely interesting is that Dany asks Sansa why they’re at odds with each other but she doesn’t answer. She waits for Dany to answer, and Dany’s answer frankly gives Sansa an enormous political and manipulative advantage by letting her know that she assumes Sansa would not like an invader with dragons and an army the size of a city because she’s jealous that Dany has her brother’s attention.
And yes, of course, Sansa loves Jon and is likely extremely concerned, but I just cannot believe that Sansa is being genuine in this conversation. This is the woman who had to convince Jon to accept the inevitability of their baby brother dying because focusing on saving him was an existential threat to their family and the North. I cannot believe that she would have more issues with the potential safety and manipulation of her brother who was a king, Lord Commander, and survived with wildlings beyond the wall than she would over Rickon. Not to mention, the notion that at this very moment when the North is on the brink of destruction and everyone is facing down the apocalypse, but somehow Sansa is concerned about the person that Jon may or may not be smashing, is an incredibly condescending and childish assumption to make about her.
However, Dany does seem to make that assumption. Dany’s whole impression of Sansa seems to initially be that she’s just a catty and frivolous girl, and she seems to think that assuring Sansa that her super cute new crush is the one who really has her wrapped around his finger is enough to reassure her that everything’s fine and that that’s enough for Sansa to accept Dany as queen.
But then Sansa quickly flips the script and asks about Northern independence, which I honestly think was a mistake on her part. Dany initially saw Sansa just like Cersei and Joffrey and Tyrion and the Tyrells and every other person saw her, as just a superficial idiot who can be easily managed and bent to someone else’s will. I understand why Sansa would never want to play that game again, but it also left her in an enormously advantageous position, and letting Dany know that she was actually very politically minded was not the right move at that moment. But of course, because this is the season of constantly interrupted interesting conversations, as soon as the discussion turns political it’s interrupted.
Now, what I think is very interesting about Dany is her desire to essentially acquire special people. She wants Tyrion, the “most brilliant man in the kingdoms”, to be her hand. She knows he’s exceptional, and she wants to basically own him. And she goes through the same thing with Jon. She perceives her feelings towards him as love, but I think she really knows nothing about him and just thinks that he’s extraordinary enough to be worthy of her and therefore they must be in love with each other. Dany sees herself as a person unlike any other, with no equal in existence or history, so when people fawn all over her or give her unquestioned loyalty it’s nothing more than what she expects, but when literally anyone seems to care about or respect someone more than they do her, she doesn’t understand it and often sees it as some kind of a betrayal.
So when Theon shows up to fight for the Starks, she doesn’t necessarily seem mad, but she is clearly baffled, especially because she has already categorized Sansa as someone not special. If she thought Sansa were special or important enough to warrant her attention, Jorah wouldn’t have had to tell her to go try to be friends. But when Theon arrives and asks Sansa to fight for her, she doesn’t get it because in her mind Sansa is not worthy of that kind of devotion because she’s too ordinary, and the fact that someone is prioritizing Sansa over her right in front of her face really puts her off. And what seemingly makes this interchange dangerous is that Dany’s reaction to seeing this doesn’t seem to be a desire to actually understand where it stems from, but seems to result in the immediate conclusion that Sansa herself must be stopped (which is an idea that Dany toyed with in the season premiere as well, but I think it only solidified that idea for her further).
But I think that Sansa and Theon’s interaction here is obviously fascinating as well, both in relation to Dany and in general. Honestly, that kind of raw emotion and vulnerability is something that people in GoT rarely display around one another, and I can’t even think of another instance of Dany actually witnessing two people who genuinely love each other emotionally connect in that way. That’s not generally a way that she feels about a lot of people, and in her world, she is always the center of attention. So even if there are people in her orbit who love each other, she never really sees that. I actually think Emilia’s expression captures that perfectly as well, she both seems put off but unsure of how to react and borderline unsure of WTF it is that she’s actually seeing, because again, it’s pretty abnormal to see people be that emotionally open in public anyway and because it’s something that Dany is completely unaccustomed to seeing when it’s not directed towards her.
And of course, for Sansa and Theon as a pair, it’s extremely heartwarming and emotional to see how deeply they care for one another, and it’s even more touching to realize how powerfully they have had to repress their own emotions for so long and that they have now gotten to the point where they’re so completely unashamed and completely lacking in self consciousness that they’re willing to be that raw no matter who’s looking.
Overall, despite the massive flaws of season 8, I do have to say that the scenes between Dany and Sansa are some of my favorite and I wish we had gotten so much more out of them. I actually think the performance chemistry between Emilia and Sophie is better than nearly every other character that Dany was introduced to late in the game, and I think it was a huge mistake to not explore that more and to not fully clarify that these two literal queens are not bickering over a boy’s attention.
#Anonymous#sansa stark#anti daenerys targaryen#dark!daenerys#got#got meta#sansa stark meta#daenerys targaryen meta#meta
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1. Happy Mabon! Every autumn, I forget that the darkness comes clanging down in a great rush in the mornings. One day, I am greeted by a pinking sunrise. 48 hours later, it’s so dark on my run to the river that I have to stop a passing runner and check the time, in case my disturbed sleep sent me dressing and leaving the house at 2am. This summer may not have given us those mornings where it’s so hot I can barely get out of the water, where those early hours feel like full silent days carved out just for me to sit in the light and wait for everyone else to wake up, where the only extra thing I put on to run home is my trainers — I look at my waiting winter gear, neoprene socks and gloves, head torch, two more thickening jumpers, hat, thermal mittens — but every season, every day, is beautiful.
Today we go early for celebrations, and the water is silky, and Orion hangs over us with his phallic sword dangling and Betelgeuse winking on one shoulder. The near-full moon spotlights us and I feel almost ready for the shortening days.
2. Hilary Mantel continues to be a literary god. How does she write with that clarity? How can I ever speak with her calm good sense and wit?
3. We have two main problems at the moment, as far as I can see. a) What we’re doing (“curating” our lives; twitter spats; purity spirals; division and isolation; wanting ‘debates’ that can only be won or lost; encouraging people to buy more things; trying to buy our happiness; letting marketers tell us how we feel about the world rather than encouraging major moral lessons from throughout the ages to challenge us on our weaknesses; refusing to accept that life is suffering; asking self-care to be a plaster for everything we don’t have) and b) what we’re not doing (joining together to stand against those with more money and power; protecting the people who have even less power and voice than we do as a matter of course; learning from history; protecting nature above all else; prioritising going for walks; learning to repair things and campaigning to make things repairable; having a basic belief in human dignity for all, not just those with whom we agree; accepting that truly, we are all different and no amount of shaming or disgust will change that; working to shape our societies, culture, economies, production, food supplies and communications around improving — not just sustaining — the air, water and land, and fighting to ensure all of those new shapes protect women and children).
Individualism has morphed into something so completely self-destructive that we’ve forgotten we need nature more than anything — literally, more than anything — and we need to unionise and unite and put aside differences and work together even with people we don’t like.
Because when there are wicked people in power, when it’s genuinely exhausting to think about all the corrupt, venal, toxic, divisive, false, and cruel things they have done since coming to power, those people love to watch everyone below pointing their fingers at one another, saying, You, You’re The Enemy, You’re The Problem, while corrupt populist leaders rub their bellies and chuckle at another promise broken, another mass death on their hands, another building site on a protected forest. Do you understand the stakes here? Do you understand that it’s actual survival? It’s not about being right any more, it’s not about besting someone in the argument. It’s about having decision makers who can not only ensure there is still food to eat and air to breathe, but that relations both within a country and between countries are built on care, and support, and compassion, and believing in human dignity. And while it sounds wishy-washy and hands-clappy it’s the schmaltzy, sentimental truth. It’s the only one, really.
If we instead continue to believe every single day that my feelings are the most important, that my beliefs are the right ones, that I’ve got to prove those baddies there are evil and awful and wrong, then honestly, what the fuck? If we’re happy to live in a country where hostile architecture is the starting point for all public builds, where we send refugee boats away from our shores, where affiliate links are a career goal, where we haven’t stormed the Daily Mail offices with accounts of all our lovely immigrant friends and family and had a huge feast together and compared our long and tangled family trees, then come on. It’s only a race to the bottom if we all keep running.
Because, pressingly, whatever the spark of a major global conflict — assassination, fuel shortages, hyperinflation, invasion — the kindling is almost always a populace fed pure hatred for months, for years, until they can’t even taste it anymore but are ready to spew it out again, and are ready to use another populace as the receptacle. And hatred is brewed up in silence and isolation, and in the ashes of bridges burned between disparate groups.
And on that note, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, mainly because I don’t believe governments are generally competent enough to manage Grand Plans, but it’s annoying that technology and social trends and culture have developed in such a way that no one knocks on anyone’s door for a chat as a matter of course now, that it’s a given that a ringing phone triggers anxiety, that it’s not the norm for cups of tea with your neighbours, that we don’t know each other’s neighbourhoods, that we don’t even talk on the phone, with live words and intonation and synchronised laughter, but in text, in WhatsApp chats, in tapped out words and symbols that we know can be screen-grabbed and misinterpreted, that we know are kept, filtered and sold by the tech companies. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s just a reality that every single one of us can choose to do differently.
Sometimes exactly the right thing comes along at the right time. All of us here watched About a Boy at the weekend, a film which is so wonkily weighted and oddly rhythmed, but a perfect depiction of everything I’m banging on about here. Hugh Grant’s character likes being alone. He’s happy that way. It suits him. It’s his choice. Then, between one thing and another, he finds himself drawn into a world of a suicidal single mother, a duck-murdering young boy, more single mothers, more tricky teens, plus exes and mothers-in-law and awkward support groups. And it turns out that actually, being with people is better. Being uncomfortable often develops you as a person. Constantly prioritising only yourself produces a waxen, pointless baby. Making shared sacrifices might just be the point of being alive. Remember that to be human is to be flawed. That no one is ever completely right, and no one is ever completely wrong. That the boring stuff makes us feel good, and the glossy stuff, if all we strive for is gloss, doesn’t.
If you want anything practical, here are the things that have really helped me over the last few years:
Writing a letter or email regularly to my MP, to CEOs of organisations, to anyone I want to communicate my strong feelings and how I’d like things to be done better. Tweeting eats your soul. It’s a horrible myth the media pretends is important. It really, really isn’t.
Inviting people to go in front of me in queues, in traffic, getting on to buses and trains. It lowers my stress levels right down.
Learning the names of my neighbours and people I meet regularly on walks and letting them learn mine. (I definitely haven’t just decided I loathe a neighbour because they cut a bird-hatching tree down in their garden on the last day of the year it was legal to do so. It’s fine.)
Joining a few political parties, and the closest thing I have to a union
Making something, anything — everything can be done with love, and learning to not get sucked into the capitalist conceit of having to make it perfect, sellable, exhibitable is a genuine gift to yourself; making a cake or a film or a coaster and not putting it on social media, letting it be ugly or serviceless and loving it anyway. I felt extremely overwhelmed the other evening, but instead of doom-scrolling I knitted a… I don’t know, something flat and woollen, and it helped to have my hands and eyes working on directionless introspective creation.
Trying to stop hating. Every time I want to tell a negative story in my head about someone, I attempt to turn it into something positive: how unhappy that person must be, what they must be missing out on. It’s so nauseatingly Pollyanna-ish, and of course it isn’t always successful, and of course every single day brings a hundred thousand examples of cruelty and injustice and wickedness, but the alternative only makes my life feel worse, so why would I indulge that?
Teaching myself the names of birds, trees, flowers, clouds and constellations. I’m still at the most basic levels on all of these, but the difference one feels in the world when you can name things — let alone use them and know their stories — is a very real sort of magic. (For that reason I hope to read this book very soon.) This episode of The Cut is also good on the wonder and power of learning the names of the weeds that grow in your nearest pavement crack.
4. Creating anything is always a gamble, isn’t it, but writing a book you actually like for once and seeing it slowly and beautifully sink to the bottom of a river never to be seen again is ever so slightly crushing. However, it turns out even Thom Yorke feels that way, so I am comforted.
5. I’m sure I’ve mentioned plenty of these before, but if you want some suggestions of where to find joy, here are my favourites from the last year or so:
I was given Lucy Easthope’s book, When the Dust Settles, for work recently, and I was surprised and delighted to discover the most uplifting, hopeful, human and rightfully angry book I’ve read in a long time. Do yourself a favour and preorder it. I bought this other book for my own birthday, gave it to a housemate to give to me, forgot about it, and was delighted to later unwrap He Used Thought As A Wife. Laughed a lot, cried twice. Marvellous.
Now even the youngest housemate here can recite John Finnemore sketches and sing the songs. Has also taught them various composers, gods, logical fallacies and gothic story tropes. Also v funny. Oh, Kate Beaton! Her two books (Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside Pops) are a bit like a comic-book version of Finnemore, but swearier and sexier and utterly unsuitable for all the housemates who have read it and been educated about the Brontes, Katherine Sui Fun Cheung, Tom Longboat, Nancy Drew, Ida B. Wells, Sacagawea, and the Borgias.
Had to give Inside a restraining order against me for the sake of us all, but Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade is a masterpiece of writing, acting, sound design and optimism. Spy is dumb action comedy polished to perfection, and Yasujirō Ozu’s Good Morning seems like the inspiration for almost all US arthouse films since 1990, and is also beautiful, funny, thoughtful, and good.
Taylor Swift’s Evermore, like all brilliant albums, isn’t completely perfect. But most of the songs are. And Hole’s classic Live Through This is still just ideal for turning up very, very loud after a tricky day, for the enjoyment of any neighbours who may have hacked down a bird-friendly tree on the last day of February.
Watched both series of Liam Williams’ Ladhood when I had a week off this summer, and really relished the location, the intention, and the writing. More please.
Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards continue to be my comforting bedtime listening in In and Out of the Kitchen. Has it ruined Nigel Slater for me? Well, a bit, but no more than any of us deserved.
I thought this would be a book I’d mumble through the first chapter of, then let get buried in my To Read pile, never to re-open. Instead, I found Whatever Happened to Margo? laugh-out-loud funny, drily written, and full of humanity. Excellent Women has made me want to read everything written by Barbara Pym, a goal I am slowly but surely working towards.
6. I’ve spent the last few years trying to find hazelnut trees, and finally found a copse between a car park and a play area, full of nuts the squirrels hadn’t noticed. Now I’ve found them, the spell has been cast and I see hazel trees everywhere, on walks and on pavements and running along motorway slip roads. A tray of green and brown frilled hazelnuts now dries with the laundry. They are so beautiful.
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If Only It Were That Simple
Summary: Ignis and Gladio go on a diplomatic trip together in place of Noct. They are alone and having to make do with what little amenities are available. Que some angst and a few misunderstandings, what else could happen?
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Unable to understand why Gladio still had a smile plastered on his face; Ignis tried his best to not scream out loud. First, they’d been drenched while waiting at the train station for a ride. Then, the car that had come to get them, suffered a flat tire. Gladio had of course offered to help the lone driver in switching to the spare, which meant Ignis felt the need to get out and help as well.
So, here they were, ninety minutes later, standing in what was most likely the town hall, waiting to meet with the man in charge. This was supposed to be a diplomatic mission to strengthen ties with an outlining village north of Insomnia. The nifs hadn’t made it out that far, so the place was left relatively untouched. Ignis suspected it was left alone simply due to the fact that it was so difficult to get to! Protected by mountains and only accessible via one poorly maintained road, this village was the epitome of off the beaten path.
Working to suppress his shivers Ignis tried not to pace the small space as they waited to be seen. The driver had shown them into the cramped space and promptly disappeared. Most likely to go find whoever was supposed to greet them.
Breathing deeply through his nose, Ignis attempted to calm his nerves. They’d been chosen to come out here on Noct’s behalf. The prince’s royal advisor and shield held some clout in certain places. It made sense why Regis had been reluctant to send Noct. They were in the middle of nowhere. Any visit from the crown was good, whether or not it featured an actual royal. Ignis was proud to serve his friend and prince in any way.
Despite this sentiment, he was struggling with his emotions. He should feel special that the king trusted him enough to handle this mission. However, as the rain continued to pour down outside with no other signs of life appearing, Ignis was beginning to wonder if they were being laughed at back in Insomnia. He could almost hear Regis and Clarus debating how they’d handle the trip ‘let’s send the two youngins’ out into the field and see how they do’. His daydream of their current nightmare ended soon enough, he had other things to worry about.
When he’d first been debriefed for the mission, it had sounded like the perfect escape, a far-away place, no prince to take care of, and pure unadulterated alone time with Gladio. Now, as he fought to keep his composure, he wasn’t so sure. The part of his brain that handled his ever-growing crush on his friend, and fellow crownsguard, wasn’t being very helpful either. Having to constantly tramp down on the barrage of ‘you’re finally alone with Gladio’ thoughts was a challenge. He was on a diplomatic trip, not in some romantic fueled fantasy land.
“I see why they didn’t want to send Noct,” Gladio offered quietly as they waited. “It’s a little rough n’ tumble out here.”
“Yes, well, I don’t see why they had to send us instead,” Ignis hissed under his breath, his self-doubt kicking in.
“Aw come on Iggy, it’s an adventure. No boring council meetings or pampering a grumpy princess for the next week. Relax and have some fun.”
Ignis tried desperately to cling to those words of encouragement. He managed to survive the introductory meeting with Bhanis, the man in charge. They sat in soaked clothing for nearly thirty minutes as Bhanis talked and talked. The guy either didn’t care that they were clearly uncomfortable or hadn’t noticed. Ignis was leaning on the side of hadn’t noticed, since Bhanis’ own appearance indicated that he’d also gotten soaked through with the rain. Perhaps it was a normal occurrence in this place. Sitting around and having meetings in damp clothing.
Though, Ignis’ patience was wearing dangerously thin as the leader of the small village showed them to their rooms. Or rather a room. Turns out when you call someone by their official title and fail to add more detail, misunderstandings can happen.
Staring at the lone bed in the space Ignis tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t come off as being rude. Thinking fast he blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Is the other room nearby? I’d like to have a debriefing meeting with my collogue before dinner.”
Bhanis furrowed his brow and frowned. “This is the only room, we only have one.”
Did that mean they’d only prepared one room and they had others, or this was literally the only guest room in the whole village? “I see; might there be another room available with two beds?” Ignis tried hoping he wasn’t sounding too dense. The man had just said it was their only room.
“No, sorry, we only have this space to house our guests. Your communication only mentioned one person coming so we thought it would be alright. I think it had noted an advisor and a shield.” Bhanis paused and looked over to their bags. “Though, that’s an awfully small shield if you’ve fit it in your pack.”
Realization dawned on Ignis. They’d thought he was talking about a thing, not a person. Vowing to go back and reread his letters to Bhanis, Ignis was sure he’d clearly mentioned two people. “No problem, we will make due,” he replied with a forced smile.
“Good, good, we’re all very excited to have someone from the crown visit. Not many people make it out this way.” Bhanis announced with a grin. “Rest until dinner if you’d like, I’ll send someone to fetch you when it’s ready.”
The moment the door closed Ignis began apologizing, “I’m so sorry this has happened, I didn’t think they’d misread what I’d sent over. I can sle--.”
“Iggy, calm down, I’m not complaining,” Gladio interjected. “This is fun, it’s a new place with new things to learn.”
Groaning by way of an answer, Ignis threw himself into a nearby chair and sulked. This was his first mission away from Insomnia and he’d already screwed it up. He was only nineteen and still working hard to earn the respect of those at the citadel. Did it matter that he’d been personally chosen by the king to stand by Noct? Not to everyone else it seemed. Lost in his own mental battle, Ignis missed Gladio walking over.
“Hey Iggy, you should take a hot shower and change, hanging out in these damp clothes for too long isn’t good.”
“Hrm, oh yes, quite right. Where’s my bag?” he asked looking around in a daze.
Gladio motioned with this thumb where the bags were but didn’t step away, “You okay? You seem a little frazzled.”
“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” he lied.
“Hey, I’m not one of the council members, you don’t have to lie to me,” Gladio replied with a reproachful tone.
“Apologies Gladio, I’m merely lost in my own thoughts, do forgive me.”
“Go, hop in the shower, I’ll see what’s on tv, and then maybe we can relax a little before dinner.”
Taking the opportunity to be alone, Ignis quickly got up and rushed into the bathroom. Praying for hot water Ignis turned the taps on and began getting ready. He needed to get a grip. Worrying about what everyone else thought wasn’t going to help. Ignis needed to have a successful trip and not act like a total idiot in front of Gladio. How hard could that be?
Ignis discovered that not acting like an idiot was in fact, very hard. Ten minutes later as he stood with nothing but a small towel wrapped around his waist, he realized his mistake. The bag with his clothes was still in the room. Why did the Eos hate him today? Before he could fret any longer a knock sounded at the door.
“Hey, you forgot your bag, do you want it now?” Gladio asked.
“Yes, please, and thank you.” If his voice cracked, Gladio didn’t comment. Soon the door opened and his bag was handed off. Ignis could feel his face burning from the embarrassment of it all. Thankfully, he stayed hidden behind the door and promptly snapped it shut when Gladio’s arm was clear.
What more would he have to endure before the night was over? Then, in a flash, Ignis remembered what his brain had so craftily pushed aside earlier. There was only one bed; they were going to have to share. Normally this wouldn’t have been an issue, they’d gone camping together before and shared a tent, but this was different. The camping trips had been a long time ago when they were younger before Ignis had developed his crush.
He was already feeling bad about the room mix up, the last thing he wanted to do was add to the misery by making things awkward between them. Nothing screams this is completely casual like accidentally dry humping your best friend in the middle of the night. Unsure of how to handle the situation, Ignis got dressed and put on his best ‘I’m totally fine’ face, and left the bathroom.
Surviving dinner was his first real challenge of the night. He’d weathered the aforementioned tv watching by sitting in the lone guest chair, while Gladio lounged on the bed. This place really was devoid of any luxury items, it was no wonder since they didn’t have many visitors.
Hoping that Gladio wouldn’t notice his odd mood, Ignis forged ahead and continued on with his normal duties. They were here on a diplomatic mission after all. He had to get something right before they left this six-forsaken place.
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Roundabout what would have been the dessert course in a fancy meal, Gladio began to worry about Ignis. His friend was acting very odd and almost giving him the cold shoulder. He could understand if Ignis was focused on making sure he paid attention to Bhanis and the few others in attendance. That still didn’t explain why he wouldn’t make eye contact with him.
Thinking back to when they started on their journey that morning, Gladio wondered if he’d done anything to upset Ignis. Resigned to waiting until later, after they’d retired for the night, Gladio forced a smile and kept quiet. He could at least let Ignis do his job without interruption.
Thankfully, their hosts assumed they were both tired from the long day of travel and ended dinner with little fanfare. Though, Gladio wasn’t sure he was looking forward to sharing the room with Ignis anymore. The advisor held his stone-faced expression the entire walk back to their room. The rain had stopped finally, but it had turned the village into a veritable mud pile.
Sighing heavily he trudged after Ignis; whose’s shoulders were squared, in a very unfriendly gesture. It was almost as if he was going to his own death sentence. The sooner Gladio climbed into bed and fell asleep the better.
Going for the bathroom first, he got ready for bed and decided to ignore Ignis. If his friend was bothered by something, then he better damn well tell him because Gladio had no clue what he’d done wrong. Looking only at the bed when he exited the bathroom, Gladio quickly got in under the covers and rolled on his side to face the wall. He’d left enough space for Ignis, there wasn’t much more to do.
He heard Ignis clear his throat once but didn’t bother to acknowledge it. If he had something to say to him it could wait until the morning. This was bullshit. This trip was supposed to be fun, not whatever this had turned into.
“I’m going to sleep on the floor, to keep from --.”
“Do whatever you want, I don’t care,” Gladio grumbled before he could stop himself. He was upset and not in the mood to hide his emotions.
“Oh,” was all Ignis weakly managed.
Tuning out the small noises Ignis made as he got ready, Gladio tried to force himself to fall asleep. He wanted to go home and forget this whole stupid trip had ever happened. Time drug on after that, his mind refusing to calm and give him peace. Every little breath or sigh from Ignis felt amplified in the tiny room. Gladio wasn’t even sure Ignis had lain down yet.
Gladio knew he wouldn’t be able to get a proper night's rest if he let whatever this was fester. Sighing loudly he flipped over and scooted closer to the other edge of the bed. “Hey, I can’t go to sleep when we’re mad at each other, think you cou--.”
“Mad?! What? Oh, astrals I’ve really screwed things up haven’t I,” Ignis spit out as he resituated himself on the floor. Gladio had been correct Ignis was still sitting up and leaning against the bedframe.
“What are you talking about? What did you screw up?”
“This whole trip is my first diplomatic endeavor and I’ve gone and screwed up the accommodations and I don’t think Bhanis likes me, and now you’re mad at me.”
“Whoa, wait a minute, what do you mean I’m mad at you? You started it.” Gladio huffed while waving his arms around frantically.
“I’m not mad at you,” Ignis replied sincerely.
“Then why the hell are you acting like a dolt, come on get up off the floor and get a proper night's rest.” Before Ignis could comment Gladio had reached out and grabbed his arm. “Come on, up you get.” Being strong helped when manhandling a slightly dazed person. Ignis tried to fight him but eventually gave up and allowed Gladio to drag him onto the bed.
Pulling the covers up with a quick pat on Ignis’ chest, Gladio smiled at his handy work. “There now you’ll sleep better.”
“I’m sorry I made you think I was mad at you.”
“Don’t sweat it, next time let’s talk sooner. I think I understand why you were freaking out earlier though. I didn’t get how upset you were about the room.”
“I don’t want everyone to laugh at me,” Ignis whispered after a moment. “I’m supposed to be Noct’s advisor and I can’t even handle simple room accommodations.”
“Seriously Iggy, that’s a load of bullshit, you are great at your job. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Are you actually worried about this, how the hell would anyone find out anyway?”
“You mean about the room?”
“Yeah, I doubt Bhanis is going to send a letter to the king about how you should’a booked two rooms. I mean they don’t even have more available. The only thing that would have changed is maybe bringing a sleeping bag or somethin’” Gladio paused and waited for Ignis to think about what he was saying. “I wouldn’t have let you go alone so don’t go assuming that outcome either.” When Ignis finally laughed, Gladio knew he’d broken through the fog that had consumed his friend most of the evening.
Even in the dim light from the night sky outside, Gladio could make out Ignis’ face clearly. He still had a smile on his lips and that made Gladio feel so much better. “So we good now, no more weird shit?”
“Oh yes, I’m sorry about making you feel like I was mad at you, it wasn’t my intention. I was simply lost in my own head.”
“I don’t like it when you’re angry, you have enough stuff to stress about in life as it is. Now, relax and get some sleep.”
Ignis hummed in response and let out a deep breath. It seemed he was starting to calm down in an attempt to sleep. Rolling back over himself, Gladio closed his eyes and promptly passed out.
--
For the first time in ages, Ignis awoke feeling well-rested and warm. The body pillow he usually used was very comfortable this morning. Not paying much attention to the improvement he slowly opened his eyes and froze. He was not at home in his own bed; he was hundreds of miles from Insomnia, currently draped over Gladio like a bloody blanket.
Why had he not slept on the damn floor?! Swallowing hard Ignis breathed in once and attempted to slowly pull away. This was when he became aware of Gladio’s muscled arm holding his shoulder. Six, was he actually using the shield’s arm as a freaking pillow? Figuring he could slide out from the bottom of the bed, Ignis began to wiggle ever so slightly.
However, when he went to untangle one of his legs that was wrapped around Gladio’s thigh, something terrible happened. Gladio moved.
“Oi, where do you think you’re going?” he grumbled before swiftly rolling over and pinning Ignis beneath him.
“For—forgive me I didn’t realize,” Ignis stammered.
“Is that why you wanted to sleep on the floor last night?” Gladio asked nonchalantly, his expression almost smug in nature.
“Shit,” was all Ignis’ brain could conjure, “shit, shit, shit.”
“Oh really, that bad huh?” Gladio replied with a smirk as he rolled his hips.
Ignis had been thinking of what he could say, but Gladio’s simple movement caused his brain to short circuit. What had been the start of morning wood, before the shield surprised him, came back full force. Unable to bite back the moan at the sensation, Ignis turned his head in embarrassment. Maybe if he closed his eyes he’d wake up from this nightmare.
“Iggy, Ignis, come on, look at me,” Gladio requested after a moment. “Get outta your own head, look at what I’m doin’ to you right now!”
“Hmmm.”
“I’ve got you pinned to a fucking bed and I’m enjoying it.”
That statement got Ignis’ attention, Gladio was enjoying it too. Feeling like a colossal idiot Ignis opened his eyes again and looked directly up into the two amber eyes staring at him with lust. “I’m afraid my skills of observation aren’t working as they should be,” he mumbled hoarsely.
Gladio barked out a laugh and grinned, “No shit Sherlock.”
Ignis watched as Gladio’s grin faded into something softer. The shield was slowly closing the gap between them. His eyes were darting up and down, most likely caught on Ignis’ lips. He could attest to that desire as his own gaze flickered between Gladio’s eyes and his mouth.
“Can I – can I kiss you?” Gladio breathed out, barely audible.
Ignis didn’t bother answering; he rushed up to meet Gladio’s mouth instead. It was like a dam breaking, he couldn’t get enough of the shields lips on his skin. They spent the next few minutes trading kisses like drowning men. All the while Gladio continued moving his hips around. It was almost too much to handle, but somehow not enough at the same time.
Reaching up to pull at Gladio’s hair, Ignis was working to remove his t-shirt when a knock sounded at the door. Freezing in place, Ignis waited. Whoever it was knocked again and announced that breakfast was ready. Listening intently to the sound of steps walking away, Ignis let out the breath he was holding. “We can’t, not right now. We can’t keep them waiting,” he rasped.
“That’s okay, I mean, we’ll be sharing the bed again tonight,” Gladio teased as he claimed one last kiss before breakfast.
--
Gladio couldn’t believe his luck. He’d always entertained the idea of liking Ignis as more than a friend. The time and place hadn’t come about to broach the subject until he’d woken up with Ignis clinging to him. Never having seen his friend look so peaceful before, Gladio had taken the time to enjoy the moment before Ignis woke up.
Even after he’d made his move Ignis still doubted the facts in front of his perfect face. Watching him practically melt into the bed was such a rush. Now, his only issue was how to act professionally in front of their hosts for the rest of the trip, when all he wanted to do was kiss Ignis silly.
Despite Ignis’ attempt to get them ready in a timely manner, they were still late for breakfast. Not by much, mind you, but enough to make Ignis glare at him across the table as they ate. This time Gladio could tell the look had no heat behind it. Most likely because the reason for their tardiness had to do with the mini make-out session they’d managed after brushing their teeth.
Gladio almost forgot they were here for other reasons when Bhanis started talking about their excursion for the day. They’d be visiting a farm in the mountains and not returning until later that evening. Curious as to what was so important that merited an all-day trip, Gladio easily listened to Bhanis as they all walked outside.
Grinning excitedly when he spotted a few motorcycles in their path, he turned to Ignis to comment but stopped dead when he noticed Ignis’ expression. Ignis was wide-eyed and looking at him imploringly. He knew Ignis knew how to drive a car among many other types of vehicles, why would a motorcycle freak him out.
Stalling so Ignis could catch up, he raised an eyebrow in hopes Ignis would spill the beans. “I don’t know how to ride!” he hissed quietly.
“Oh, that’s easy, start looking in your satchel, think like a nerdy professor,” Gladio offered before he strode away towards Bhanis. “I love to ride, which one do we get to use?” he asked happily.
“They are all the same, please choose anyone you like.”
“Great, I think Ignis and I will fit on that one alright,” Gladio announced while pointing to the nearest bike.
“Oh, you don’t have to share this time,” Bhanis laughed. “Bikes we have plenty of, just not extra rooms.”
“Nice, but I think Ignis really wanted to document the trip and he’d be better able to do that if he wasn’t driving.” Looking over to Ignis, Gladio waved his hand around to indicate the scene before them. Ignis picked up quickly and pulled out his phone and a notepad.
“Yes, I was hoping to get a good record of the trip, can the bike handle two riders?”
“Oh sure, that makes sense,” Bhanis replied easily. “We’re very excited to have more people know about our efforts here.”
Nothing more was discussed as they got on the bikes and started out. Gladio could tell that Ignis was relieved at not having to learn a new skill in less than five minutes. Though, he was sure the advisor would have picked up the basics in no time.
The ride was rough over the rocky terrain, which made handling the bike a little tricky. He knew things were getting bad when Ignis would squeeze his legs together slightly as if silently telling him to be careful. After about forty minutes a small building came into view, followed by a long wooden fence. Given how far out from civilization they were, nothing could have prepared Gladio for what lay on the other end of the fence.
“You breed chocobos?” he asked in disbelief when a whole herd of the birds crossed their path a few minutes later.
“There must be hundreds of them,” Ignis added as they took in the sight.
Bhanis smiled proudly as they looked over the landscape filled with the giant birds. “Yes, this is how we make our living.”
“Why don’t more people know about this?” Gladio asked in wonder.
“We use third-party sellers to broker deals, so that means not very many people make it out here.”
“Forgive my lack of understanding, but how do you manage to sell enough birds to make it profitable?” Ignis asked kindly.
“Ah, our birds are raised in the best conditions,” Bhanis announced. “The mountain air helps them gain a cold tolerance that other breeds don’t have, and we feed them nothing but the highest quality food.”
“I see, so that makes your birds desirable over other breeders.”
“Exactly, our birds are the best you can buy.”
“Hey, wait a minute, do you all specialize in anything, like race birds?”
Bhanis’ grin grew even bigger; it was all starting to make sense. They were visiting a premiere chocobo racing breeder. No wonder it paid the bills, racer birds went for thousands of gil.
“What other jobs can the birds do?” Ignis asked quickly, Gladio could tell his mind was working overtime.
“Oh they’re sturdy; if the crown were to ever need any good birds for the military we’d be happy to be your supplier. You can’t get a better chococbo than this.” Bhanis supplied as he looked out over the sea of feathers and yellow beaks.
“I would very much like to discuss this with you in greater detail,” Ignis added excitedly. “I can see us having an en excellent partnership in the future.”
The rest of the day flew by after that. Ignis spent their time at the farm taking pictures and talking to farmhands. They even had a chance to see a rare black chocobo, the bird was truly magnificent and seemed to like Ignis. It would follow him around as they toured the farm. The spunky bird even tried to steal his glasses at one point. The advisor ducked out of the way just in time and promptly put his glasses away for safekeeping.
They ate as the sun began to lower into the afternoon sky, Bhanis wanted to get back to the village before sundown so they’d have to leave soon.
Gladio was happy to see Ignis finally getting into the trip. It seemed the prospect of bringing back such a treasure trove of information to the king had made him feel better. The ride back was pleasant enough, despite the bumps and dust in the air. Thankfully, Bhanis had given them visors to wear during the ride, it kept most of the debris away. Though Gladio was sure his hair was one giant knot and Ignis looked really cute all windswept and rosy-cheeked.
He wanted to get back to their room and pick up where they’d left off that morning. They had so many things to catch up on and discover. Overall, this trip was a success; Gladio knew Ignis would get high praises for his efforts when they returned home. Brokering a deal for military stock chocobos would ensure a leg up if they went to war with Niflheim. He was proud of Ignis and how he handled everything. The advisor was a hard worker, and Gladio hoped he would be able to show him how much he admired him. They were at the beginning of a new adventure together, one that Gladio couldn’t wait to get started.
--
Thirteen Years Later
The sun glittered across the newly installed glass of the citadel as Ignis stood waiting for Gladio. He had a lunch packed for them and was ready to get going. They were exploring some of the outlining areas of Insomnia to check the damage level. Life was bustling again for most of the city, but some areas still hadn’t started rebuilding.
When the rumbling of a loud engine reached his ears, Ignis looked up and watched Gladio ride across the parking lot on a comfortable looking cruiser motorcycle. Smiling at his lover, Ignis then turned to wave goodbye to Noct. The king insisted on seeing them off since he was still a little clingy after being stuck in the crystal for ten years.
The king narrowed his eyes and pointed to the bike when it rolled to a stop in front of them. “Why only one bike, you know how to rid--,”
“Shhh,” Ignis interjected smoothly.
“What, excuse me, did you just shush me?!” Noct exclaimed. “I only wanted to know why you aren’t riding your own bi--.”
“Nahhhhhh Majesty, shhh.” Ignis could hear Gladio laughing behind him.
“Leave him alone princess, he wants to ride with me.”
“You too are so gross, don’t forget to take pictures,” Noct chided. “And I mean pictures of the city not of you two making out and being cuddly.”
“What, no pictures at all?”
“Nooooo, I’m already a nervous wreck when you two go out exploring without me, be safe, and have fun okay.”
“Will do majesty, don’t give Prompto too much of a hard time, he’s a good stand-in shield, let him do his job.”
“Yeah, yeah, heard, get outta here before it gets too late.”
With a simple nod, Gladio and he set off into the morning light, ready to explore their newly liberated city. Life had been rough, but they’d handled it the best way they knew how. Together.
Relaxing into the seat Ignis closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the wind in his hair and Gladio’s sturdy body between his thighs. This was going to be a fun day.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/27691978
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Some info about my Obey Me! MC from this headcanon prompt: relationships with the brothers and sides.
16 - What is their relationship with each of the brothers?
Upon being introduced to them and hearing they're Avatars of Sin, promptly assumes until and unless told otherwise that they can sense a human feeling their respective Sins.
/OhFuck.jpg/ Unsettled by Lucifer and mildly angry by this. Polite and formal, enjoys playing chess despite constantly losing. Intrigued by his personality and what makes him tick. ("You noticed the flicker of angry Pride when I talk to you? Too damn bad, you'll have to just deal.") Desperate for praise regarding her grades/schoolwork.
Slowly develops crush on Mammon, noticed his own crush right away, at a complete loss as to how to handle it. ("Am in literal Hell? One of the most powerful and high-ranking demons around has romantic and/or sexual interest in me? He cute and funny and somewhat nice? I think I might like him back? WHAT DO?!?") Sticks up for him when she can, but is afraid it will make them 'tease' ("abuse") him worse. Does what she can to help him with his homework (😉 excuse to spend time with him away from his brothers and he's a great source for information on Devildom culture(al norms) and history).
Gets up and leaves when Leviathan gets too intense with his depressive self-deprecation, feels guilty for it but knows her own mental health would take a dangerous dive. Still does what she can to reassure him he's valid and not icky. Accidentally spilled once her interest in aquatic life and now has a Deepsea Serpent buddy to gush about weird animals with. ("I'd put you down as a reference but you know they won't accept your credentials as The Leviathan. 😥")
/OhFuckV2.jpg/ Likes Satan but feels they're too similar for romance; spends most time with him reading or caring for cats. Radiates Envy at his anger management skills; eventually swallows her Pride to ask for advice. Asks for more detailed history past what Mammon tells her. (Upon seeing his bedroom, "There are not enough words in all the languages to even begin to approximate how indescribably jealous I am at your lifespans.")
Asmo... Makes her uncomfortable. Adores frustrating him by keeping her sexual preferences a secret. Mild arguments over fashion and outfit choices; once she gets him to dial down the sex comments, agrees to go on a clothes shopping spree. Doesn't trust him to keep secrets, but files away all his gossip as survival information.
Beel is running and food trip buddy. Thinks he's too soft for the Devildom and feels safe around him. Knows he's a deep thinker despite rarely talking about anything other than food or family. Seeks him out for when she wants company without conversation.
Belphegor... Least favorite person, after even Solomon and Asmo. Does not forgive him for using her murder to break his brothers; laughs in his face when he brings up concern she has nightmares about it; dares him to spy on her nightmares... Hoping it will hurt him, but subconsciously desiring that someone will finally understand her pain.
17 - What is their relationship with each of the side characters?
Diavolo is not what she thought the literal prince of Hell would be. Oh, his dad's the king? Willingly dormant for centuries? /Hmm.jpg/ Everything her subconscious tells her is to trust him and that he's a teddy bear, but that means she wants to trust him even less. More existential panic, but pastes her Customer Service Smile™ on and rolls with it. Wants to be angry at him for dragging her to Hell Demon School but 1, he's a prince and 2, she doesn't see him often; adds his portion of blame to Lucifer's, which she knows isn't fair to the eldest.
She doesn't see Barbatos as a person, more of a metaphysical entity. Is he even a demon and not an eldritch horror? She's overheard rumors and something about him just doesn't look right. Makes a strong effort to be cordial to him and add as little to his workload as possible harass a member of the waitstaff near her at your own risk.
Simeon - wait literal angels? Yeah, she'd been listening despite her shock those initial first hours but still... She was expecting Biblical angels, not Renaissance ones; demons looking human makes sense, for temptation purposes, but angels? WAIT IS THIS A TRICK? Why is he so friendly to the Lucifer? Existential crisis resumes. Wants to trust him, but his friendliness to Lucifer is suspect. Quickly warms to him and opens up about her struggles with the brothers however, after being "caught" praying during the retreat while Asmo was hogging the bathroom. Is confiding in a literal angel her fears about the state of her soul like theological cheating?
Luke - Aha! Squares more with her expectation of an angel being a visitor in Hell. Animosity between him and a confirmed demon makes her believe he's an angel like he says could still be a trick tho. Likes talking to him, but tries to avoid discussing the demons (Beel and Barbatos are fair game as Luke doesn't go into angry rants over them) and instead about how Hell is not quite what either of them expected. WAIT HE BAKES? One of the first to be on all her Trusted Lists. Reminds her a bit of her own brothers.
Solomon - at this point she is ready to believe he's the Solomon. As she's aware of various demonology texts (if only in brief summary), she's not willing to trust him. Also he's got 72 pacts and is actively trying for more? She's only wound up with hers for protection and to try and help patch the brothers' relationships, not risking her soul for power.
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long headcanon about the duality of love and the mahjarrat condition pertaining to it from his point of view. if you read all this babble i swear to god, i love you, i hope you have a good day.
cw: sex addiction, child neglect, unhealthy coping, unrequited pains.
reason for writing: hi i want to die bc of angst.
i think we all know even without playing medieval xp grind lore game, runescape, that sliske is old. very old. he tells us in endgame there's not much he hasn’t done with his life over thousands of years, even traveling to other planets and realms to just see what was out there and how far he could get. i’ve always projected his age as somewhere between more than 8,000 or even more than 10,000. we’re never given a timeline to how long the children of mah have lived. sliske has done a lot with his time; he’s killed a god, had quite a few elder relics in his grasp, SPOKEN to a elder god and managed not to die, mastered shadow magicks, has an excellent grasp on the shadow realm. he’s good with biology, chemistry, has a fair understanding of soul magic which is kind of a rare brand of knowledge, he’s tricked probably thousands into bad contracts to become wights in his army, understands the psychology and bad morals of people. he was a playwright, a high ranking officer, a spymaster. dude is just a determined polymath. you know what he hasn’t done? love. he’s never got to play with love.
mahjarrat are explained as having emotions, but dulled ones. they feel rage and pride apparently better than others. kharshai said after years of really believing he was a human, that when he came back to his true form he states “i feel raw power coursing through my veins. i don't feel pain like i used to, and i'm sure my intellect has increased. but somehow there is something missing. a capacity for emotion that i can't quite put my finger on.” they aren’t equipped for the same range of positive emotions as others are. they feel it, but they don’t understand it fully, it has been said by developers. this whole bit is sadly funny considering in canon, sliske catches feelings. he doesn’t realize he’s attracted to the player character. it’s stated many times, in his journals, in dialogue, etc. he believes their fates are tangled no matter what. and the saddest bit is he probably doesn’t understand these feelings and it confuses him to the point of anger.
“ love! a mahjarrat in love? ... i almost wish that were true. it would certainly make the universe a more interesting place. ”
“ so perhaps i have loved you. but that doesn’t mean i have to like you.”
sliske’s main goal started off as to take the players immortal, unable to be crushed by the divine, soul and give it to himself so he could live forever, as mahjarrats do not have afterlives, once they die they are done, evaporated into energy.
but in endgame we learn something from him hidden in masks that refutes that;
“I love you for more than your soul.”
you STUPID fucker, you’re in love.
the remainder of this is a lot of NON-CANON, personal headcanon interpretation that pretty much only works on this blog. as a rough summary: sliske’s ol’ mum was not fond of her kids, half-brother wahisietel or sliske since she did not see them as powerful as herself and was disappointed that's what her legacy came out to. a short, beefy, average at magic son, she had another go and was still disappointed with this spidery, scrawny, gifted but absolutely annoying stick underweight child. his father, saw him once or twice in his life and that was it. dyeosuthua wanted nothing more than to make them disappear and try again until she got offspring she didn’t want to throw into a lava pit in secrecy, infanticide was against tribal law due to population issues. sliske’s mother’s neglect was so severe, ( by the absolute boundless joys of rp development and mutual heacanons ♥ ) that wahi and nabor had an attempt at raising him and keeping him from freezing to death. why is all this jargon important? because while all mahjarrats are raised by tough love, sliske’s attention deprivation from his mother was so severe, he grew up and still has a slew of reactive attachment, psychological, and social issues he still carries as an adult. several times she threatened to kill him and almost made good on it more than twice. when wahisietel had proven he was a survivor of the first ritual of rejuvenation, sliske became dyeosuthua’s main target for abuse despite his gift for magic at a young age. nothing he did could impress her enough. and it left him constantly seeking approval and validation to an insecure mind.
the more he grew, the more confident he became mainly out of spite and to get attention. he’s loud, charming, makes you the only person in the room when he talks to you. he has an innate silver-tongued ability that persuades people to do just about anything. it was a front for his insecurities that he kept very very closed up. in the second age/senntisten capital, sliske had a pretty severe sex addiction as it was one of the few ways he felt validated and was able to get affection in a way he could digest. people with reactive attachment disorders often have sex addictions to fill the space of acceptance without having to commit.. easy, feel good intimacy without having to open up and let someone learn about your vulnerabilities and commit. it was pretty severe, considering mahjarrats find any kind of breeding or intimacies outside their ‘superior species’ as downright foul. sliske had always been the black sheep of the tribe and with his status as praefectus praetorio; head of secret police, really nothing put a damper on him trying to fill the void for affection he had. there wasn’t a species or individual he wouldn’t bed. he would easily take up propositions even for people who just wanted to fuck a mahjarrat because it was ‘exotic’ or because of his status as an officer, he now looks back on this and it bruises his insecurities even more that he allowed himself to do that. not out of pride for his species. but himself, being just a thing to be had because of rarity. azzanadra and his brother, wahisietel found out about it and while disgusted, partially understood what he was doing to negatively self soothe. at one point sliske and azzanadra, the champion of their god and head of the church, as well of one of the strongest living of their kin, had a lasting tryst for a few years and for awhile it made sliske feel very much self important in a way and alleviated his need to be needed so badly, this did not end well when sliske grew tired of their empire and wanted freedom. once childhood best friends and lovers had become absolute enemies once sliske became too unstable and azzanadra became too zealous.
sliske gave up his sexcapades for a long time, thousands of years, his libido dropped when he became interested in other projects and self healing when he was hit with the idea that he hasd essentially allowed himself to be an exotic fling and still burned over becoming his god, zaros, scapegoat after all he had done for him. love was a weird concept to him and still is. despite being adamant love doesn’t exist for his kind, and his belief that he is flawed, unstable, and embraced the idea of ‘you want a monster? fine! i’ll be the monster!’. he expects no pity, not be forgiven to things he has done and even in game when you sycophantically try to cozy to him, he straight up calls out your text choice was awful considering some of the shitty things he might have done to you.
to sliske, all attention to him is attention, whether you’re praising or insulting him. he’s on your mind, he exists, that’s all he wants.
backstory aside the real part of this headcanon is that sliske actually wants love. it’s the only thing aside from an immortal soul he hasn’t had. sliske actually has an attraction to humans because they are empathetic, curious, passionate, and determined. he has an easier time assimilating and being around them since he has ALWAYS had a better sense of humor, socializing, and happiness than his kin. he feels emotions a lot stronger than his fellow mahjarrats. it allows him to talk to and connect to humans and humanlike species better. others of his kind have told him there’s “something wrong” with him for that. he’s actually a romantic, even if he’s just mimicking romance stories, movies, and actions from others. he thinks the idea of settling with one person and loving them is both mortifying and interesting. opening yourself up to someone and giving them the hammer to smash your cherry-red painted porcelain heart and seeing if they do, to him might be the ultimate form of trust and biggest gamble of russian roulette. the stakes are so heavy he’s high on the idea. but it’s also horrifying. mahjarrat are prolific for not opening up, not allowing others in, vulnerability out in the open is a death sentence. they live in a kratocracy/meritocracy where they kill off the weakest link. it’s not pretty. being soft is a useless, unnecessary, weak gene to them. it dampers survival.
but yet sliske keeps reading romance novels, writing his own confused poetry, and getting into unrequited one sided loves but practicing a backstabbing betrayal when one gets too close. i have to hurt them before they hurt me, betray and cut them down before they can do it to me. i think he wants to be loved. i think he kinda wants to be taught to love, for the emotions and the sake of knowledge. ( brb james newton howard’s ‘true love’s kiss’ from maleficent just came on spotify and i think i’m going to die bc i did not ask for background music thanks!!! ) he wouldn’t be the best at it, maybe a little too possessive with you, codependent, but very nurturing and fun loving. will sepnd a whole week spooning you.. people who hurt you past, present, and future may end up dead in mysterious ways or turned into a wight for you to beat the shit out of. but he’d try. he’s still got a broken child sitting behind his third rib. i think he would snarl the first few times someone genuinely got close to him, it would terrify him, being known on such a skinned, raw level. having gentle touches that are real and not a come hither to the bedroom. being known for something other than the confident, ego he has is death. he could be taught to be gentle for a crumb of consistent attention. might even cut down the murders and god killing down by 15%. love is not going to fix him, it’s not going to forgive the actual shitty things he’s done. it should never do that. but it will turn the lights on in a dark house.
love could really break him. i think so.
i’d type more but this has gone on too long and i feel sad-happies.
#me @ me: die bitch#yell at me in an ask if i roasted both you and i at 450 deg f and basted you with butter and rosemary with a good wine too#// long post#✦ │ 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂 & 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙾𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 ––– i do hate parting with information.
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Should one treat one's self with compassion? What are the harms of the cruel voice inside us?
Self-Compassion is a new concept used in psychotherapy in the West. It is used in the sense that a person accepts himself, his body, spirit, character and past as they are, that is, without humiliating or judging. It also means that if the person makes mistakes and has flaws, he will think that they are human and will make an effort to correct them, but he will not punish himself for his mistake.
In short, self-compassion is a concept that wants a person to treat himself with compassion and affection, just as he treats a friend.
At the heart of the acceptance of this concept in Western culture is the new understanding of man, developed by the distorted Christian faith against the belief that man is inherently sinful and evil because the ideology of modernism and capitalism, together with the Enlightenment in the West, has produced a new superior human type in response to this human understanding of Christianity. This human type is a very hard working, very intelligent, very successful, constantly competing for success, high self-confidence, superior person; he will survive and be happy. The economic and social system has also been organized accordingly.
However, the Supreme Creator created everyone with different abilities and nature. The key to the happiness of the person in this world and the hereafter is that he recognizes his creator in the first place, obeys Him, carries out His orders, and acts within the circle He has drawn. In addition, it is possible for man to live peacefully in the world, with the consciousness of being sent to the world as a vicegerent of the world created in the most beautiful mold and showing the thousand names of Allah, and to consider himself valuable within this framework.
Because Western culture has shown happiness to be in success, financial opportunities, in mind, and in crushing other people, today's man who has not been able to reach them began to see himself as worthless, useless, incompetent and diffident.
We see the most concrete example of it in the work “Metamorphosis” by the German writer Franz Kafka. In the story, Gregor Samsa, who is only valued by those around him with a material eye, wakes up one morning and sees himself to have transformed into an insect. Interestingly, his family does not find this situation odd and sweeps him away so that the insect does not bother them any more.
The West swept, not man but, humanity's high values and threw them away. Now they are looking for solutions.
Today’s man who grew up with Western values, sees being valuable in success, wealth, high self-confidence even if he does not live in the West because he does not know the value of the divine art he has on himself. And without them, one sees himself as worthless, which makes him cruel to himself.
Sometimes, because man’s kith and kin make suggestions causing him to feel bad, that person can become overly critical of himself over time. For example, if a child’s father, mother or teacher told him in the face of a mistake, "You're an idiot; you've accomplished nothing; you're clumsy, you don't understand again, you're useless, you won’t be able to do it again", that person will make cruel criticisms of himself in the future, and he will regard himself as incompetent and worthless.
In that case, the person judges himself unfairly in an exaggerated way because of the negative memories and experiences he remembers from his past. For example, he says, "I am stupid, incompetent, unsuccessful, bad, deserve all kinds of insults, etc." He compares himself to others and even punishes himself.
Such a person is cruel to himself, while tolerant of the mistakes that someone else has made. For example, he consoles a friend who makes a mistake or fails an exam, or does not achieve the level he wants in business life, or even does not find peace in married life. However, when he is in the same situation, he criticizes himself mercilessly. He acts as if he is an enemy of himself, constantly making negative judgments about himself.
Some of the incidents he encounters in everyday life trigger such negative emotions and push the person back into incompatible behavior and disrupt his mood. Because he denies or does not see his own abilities given by Allah, he ultimately begins to act like a bad person, or really like an idiot. Or, these negative feelings will make him act negatively against his surroundings. This person becomes angry, aggressive, quick to react and too sensitive. He truly believes he cannot do anything, and he gets results as he believes.
There is a big gap between the reaction of such a person and what causes the reaction. For example, in the face of the smallest problem in traffic, he argues, fights and rages. Or he does not think he is worthy of being loved; he thinks he will not be loved by anybody. That is why he does not want to get in touch with people.
This is where the concept of self-compassion arises. Western psychologists clung to the concept of Compassion in Eastern culture and Islamic belief in order to save people from this impasse. In the past, people said that the superior person was a successful person but they now began to suggest that people should love and value themselves regardless of their ability, job, physics and economy.
As people of culture who say "We love the created because of the creator", we should never humiliate ourselves because of the socio-economic situation, the background of the family, personal talents, education, body structure, race, etc. We must not listen to our inner voice, which gives us negative emotions. We must act with the awareness that they are delusions from the devil because none of them make you worthless. A person gets his value primarily from his belief in Allah. For, “Belief makes man into man, indeed, it makes him into a king.” (Nursi, The Words, 23th Word)
If a person has belief, that person is the vicegerent of the earth and the king of the universe.
Here, a person should not consider his body as his property. It is something entrusted to him by of Allah. He should show the same compassion to himself as he shows compassion to all living things created by Allah.
Islam encourages self-compassion in this context more than other religions and teachings. It commands us to be good to ourselves.
In this regard, the Islamic scholar Shams Tabrizi states the following:
“If you expect respect, attention, or love from others, you owe them to yourself first. It is impossible for someone who does not love himself to be loved. When the world sends you thorns even though you love yourself, be happy. It means it will be sending roses soon.”
Since man is the most honorable creature, he must act dignifiedly and worthy of it, remembering that he is the vicegerent of Allah on earth in every step he takes, every breath he takes and every work he does. Even if a person is impoverished, slandered, imprisoned, or even taken prisoner, he must never stop acting like a high-headed, courageous and confident vicegerent.
#Allah#god#islam#quran#muslim#revert#convert#revert islam#convert islam#reverthelp#revert help#revert help team#help#islam help#converthelp#prayer#salah#muslimah#reminder#pray#dua#hijab#religion#mohammad#new muslim#new convert#new revert#how to convert to islam#convert to islam#welcome to islam
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Zenin Maki: Family or Strength
Zenin Maki is one of the most complex characters in the story of Jujutsu Kaisen, she’s also one whose motivations we know a great deal about already due to her being featured in the prequel, and her continued development in the main series. In her character she represents one of the main themes of the series, the conflict between defining yourself individually (by who you are and what standards you set) or by defining yourself by the people around you (conforming or going with the expectations of other people). Maki’s struggles to be an indivudual in a world that has already written her off as a failure is pretty central to the themes of the story. MORE UNDER THE CUT.
Maki is caught in a pretty classic Want/Need conflict. All stories are rooted in a character’s conflict. Maki’s conflict is with herself as much as it is with the Zenin clan.
A want is at its simplest, the Thing Your Characters Wants is the plot goal. [...] Whereas the Want is a direct equivalent of the plot goal, the Thing the Character Needs is a direct correlative of the thematic value. Whatever Truth your story is positing about reality, that is the ultimate Thing the Character Needs. [x].
A want is oftentimes something the character defines for themself. It’s what motivates them to move forward. Whereas, the need is what the story itself says they need in order to grow.
You don’t make a character change by giving them exactly what they want, which is why the want and need are often in conflict with one another. In most cases a character grows over the course of the story to realize their need in the end. The want motivates them, the need is their resolution.
What Maki wants is to be recognized as an individual. She wants to prove her family wrong. Her family has already defined her as a failure. Just like how Getou sees her, because she has no natural talent for jujutsu sorcery her own family has denied that she’s even a person. She’s constantly dehumanized by them. If she’s not useful for Jujutsu Sorcery, then she’s nothing at all. For Maki, being her own person, and living for herself, her own amibtions, is an act of rebellion against her family who want to deny her everything.
Maki’s want is an almost childish sense of revenge. An “I Told You So”. She wants to prove the people that dismissed her wrong, by proving she’s better than them. She wants to make the Zenin clan bow their heads to her.
Wants are not bad things. They are what motivates the character to move forward. Maki’s spiteful amibtion, the fact that what she wants is basically no better than revenge, is neither a good nor bad thing in the context of the story. It’s her driving force. Maki is allwoed to be spiteful and angry at the way herfamily treated her. Yuta, who is basically one of the most soft-hearted and understanding characters in the prequel completely approves of her ambitions.
The fact that she’s selfishly motivated. The fact that she wants to do all these things for herself. Her strong sense of individuality are not bad things. They are just the things that make Maki, Maki. In fact rebelling is basically the only way Maki can be an individual. Her urge to destroy her family is not presented to us as a bad thing, but rather something necessary for Maki to truly grow and be herself.
However, once again a want is not the entire answer. You don’t make characters change by giving them what they want.
Moron, this only works if I’m doing it by myself.
Maki wanting to be stronger than anyone in her family. Her focus on individual strength above all else. None of these are bad, however it’s not entirely what she needs either. Look at what she says don’t go feeling like you got accepted.
It’s almost like some part of Maki is afraid of those feelings of acceptance. She feels like family is something she has to throw away in order to be strong.
I do not mean in a sense that Maki will not work with people on her team. She clearly has the ability to form connections with people as friends, get along with others, and even cooperate owith them as a team and care for her comrades. However, she never lets her feelings go any deeper than that. She’s gone so long without unconditional love and acceptance that she feels like she has to destroy her own need for such a thing.
1. Maki vs Mai
Maki has two significant foils in the series who share this same conflict, choosing between your individual development and strength, and also your need to be accepted by the people around you.
Mai is presented to us first as someone who looks down on Maki like the rest of her family. This makes sense because at the time the story was telling it from Maki’s perspective mainly. Maki tends to see her whole family, even her own twin sister, as the other.
However, we’re presented with two different narratives. That of Maki who left the family and began to develop as her own person. That of Mai who stayed behind with the family, and had to continue living inside of an abusive household. The narrative becomes one of not Maki or Mai being the better sibling, but rather two siblings reacting to an abusive household in different ways.
Mai has never once thought her sister was weak. She’s just parroting what the rest of the clan says about Maki in order to get Maki’s attention after Maki left her. Mai has always thought Maki was the stronger one between the two of them, but the thing is Mai doesn’t care about strength at all.
What Mai wanted was a personal connection with her sister. That’s why she mentions not telling her who her first crush is. In order to become her own person Maki has distanced herself from everyone, but that also means as a consequence Maki has shut Mai out.
It’s clear Mai reads Maki’s declaration and decision to leave the family, to leave her behind in an absuive household to also mean that she’s rejecting her sister, the one family member who loves her for her.
Once again neither sister is wrong. Maki wanting to run away from an abusive household when she’s a teenager and can’t really take care of her sister, or maybe even did not have the ability to bring her sister with her is not something that should bee expected fo a cihld. Mai turning against Maki for bieng left behind in an abusive environment, and not knowing a healthy way to reach out to her sister is also what’s to be expected fo a child. It’s not Mai and Maki who started this conflict, it’s the adults that pitted them against each other.
Mai is not trying to put Maki down because she sees herself as superior or anything like that, she literally has always thought Maki was much better than her. It’s a pretty basic cry for attention.
Both sisters want and chose different things. Maki wanted to be herself, Mai wanted a family. Neiter of their desires are wrong or better than the other. Mai is not wrong for wanting a normal life, Maki is not wrong for wanting to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
However, because Maki has to draw such a clear line between herself and other people. She can’t accept or understand Mai’s feelings. The conflict between the two of them goes completely unresolved. Because, Maki doesn’t have to leave those connections of unconditional love and acceptance behind to be an individual, she just thinks she does. That is the point where her want clashes with her need.
2. Maki vs Toji
Maki and Fushigoro Toji were both born into the Zenin clan, and both suffer from the same inability to see cursed spirits. While at first the comparison may look like a positive one for Maki, Maki is choosing to stay inside the system and work to prove herself better than what her family told her she was then going completely rogue and living as a mercenary for money like Toji did.
However, eseentially both of them made the same choice. They chose power, and their own personal ambitions over their family. The first thing we learn about Toji in story is that he left his son behind, and practically forgot about him.
While Maki is not responsible for her twin sister the same way that Toji is responsible for his son, they still both believe they have to throw away those kind of family connections in order to survive as an individual. They don’t allow themselves to feel that connection.
Toji seems to live entirely for himself, and to prove others wrong about him. He has the same want as as Maki, to be stronger that the Jujutsu Sorcerers who dismissed him. They just chose different paths, Maki works from inside, whereas Megumi this late in his life has gone completely outside of the system.
Toji s a lot more spiteful than Maki towards talented people. Maki’s more self directed and doesn’t blame everybody around her for her circumstances, so much. She’s a lot more focused on herself and her own sense of self improvement. However, both of them have an extreme amount of self awareness and use that to push themselves to develop their bodies to their absolute limit.
Toji is someone who is incredibly aware of his own limits, and rather than that making him unmotivated it causes him to be an extremely strategic thinker, and also push his body beyond even what most Jujutsu sorcerers are capable of. He makes excuses for his own violent behavior because he’s nothing but a reject and a monkey, but he doesn’t let other people’s talents be an excuse for him to be weak. When he sees Gojou fighting him at full power, he doesn’t hesitate or run away, he literally approaches the situation with an extreme amount of determination that believing he can overcome it.
As a person he’s practically a disaster, always eating fast food, gambling, leaving his son behind, and acting immature and irresponsible with his business partner. Whereas Maki is much more cold and composed. However, this behavior stems from the fact that Toji, like Maki, has focused his entire life around fighting and therefore everywhere else he’s underdeveloped as a person. He’s the extreme result of Maki’s belief that if she’s stronger than her family, that will somehow fix what is missing inside of her.
Toji even says he believed the only way to go against his family and continue being himself, was to twist his personality like this. That he had no choice but to become this way in order to deny what his family said about him.
However, what Toji regrets as he’s dying is not that he wasn’t strong enough. He doesn’t even regret becoming a crimminal, or rebelling against the Jujutsu world. What he regrets is that he threw away his family in the process.
What he wanted was to be strong. What he needed was a family. Maki and Toji are not exactly the same, but Toji is a cautionary tale that shows us that Maki’s choice to reject understanding and acceptance is unhealthy behavior. It’s what she wants and not what she needs. And these things are not mutually exclusive, Maki can both pursue her own individual strength and at the same time accept others around her. The manga has always advocated finding a balance, and a reconciliation between the two, rather than one as being more important than the other. Just like her conflict with her sister, beating her sister in a fight proves nothing. What Maki needs is reconciliation, the ability to understand her sister’s feelings and also have her sister be able to understand her own.
She needs those connections to be an individual. We are defined by ourselves, we are defined by the people around us. It’s not either or, it’s both at the same time. Maki’s choice isn’t even a choice she necessarily needs to make, she’s allowed to choose both.
#jjk meta#zenin maki#maki zenin#toji fushigoro#fushigoro toji#zenin mai#jujutsu kaisen#jujutsu kaisen theory#jujutsu kaisen meta#meta
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𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕌𝕡♡
Hi! Can I have a male KNB matchup? She/Her. I have a small body and even smaller chest which I used to be fine with but now frustrates me. My butt makes up for it though. I also have wide hips so even though I’m skinny I still have some shape which could pass off as slim-sexy.
I’m introverted and reserved. I prefer to spend time by myself just reading. To most, I’m unassuming, shy, and incapable of carrying myself out there or doing assigned task. That’s because I’m easily flustered and embarrassed. It’s not like I can’t talk to guys at all, but I’m very conscious of them particularly if it’s someone I like. I’m not a pushover though. I’m actually very unlike what outsiders think of me as (kind & sweet). Although I’m those things too, I’m really a strong-headed person and very opinionated. I’m not one to take shit from anybody. I try to hold my feelings in for the sake of others, but I’m not a patient person by any means. So I say what’s on my mind, not often guilty that it makes me seem like a warfreak or disrespectful. I don’t give chances easily. I don’t trust someone again who committed a serious mistake knowing that once that person has done it once, he could do it again.
I’m a harsh critique on a variety of things like fictions, arts, movies. I don’t like wasting time by lingering on badly written/drawn ones. I’m also a harsh judge of people. Maybe because I have inferiority complex that’s why sometimes I can’t help but bring people down. I’m a selfish and spiteful person. Sometimes I’m incorrigible to the point that I toy around with people if they pissed me off enough. Maybe it’s because I’ve always felt like I don’t matter as much simply because I’m younger than everybody which makes me act out. You could say I’m the black sheep of the family. I feel like I’m not good enough and I’m so bothered that I haven’t accomplished anything at all in life. I’m jealous of other people when they’re better than I am. I think of myself as a dark person due to my personality and my thoughts. I have lots of insecurities and could really get in a slump for weeks. I can’t talk to anybody about these things which is why I get depressed and lonely sometimes.
I’m lazy and sloppy and disorganized, but when I put my mind to it I’m actually a harder worker than anybody which makes me happy when I get acknowledgement for it. I’m quite ambitious. On good days, I’m quite normal and actually amenable and pleasant. My dad and I are often not on good terms, but I’m happy when I get to spend some time with my other family members since those moments are rare. I get happy when I get to buy a good book, or a notebook because I keep a diary and also write a few things. I like survival games. I can be an airhead most of the time.
When it comes to my sexuality, I’m into guys but I admit I’ve admired a woman’s body and have fantasized about women too. But it’s all physical attraction since I’ve never liked a female romantically. I crush on guys easily. I’m drawn to bad boys (both the street-smart a**holes and the calculating, manipulative ones), but I also like cold and brooding tsundere guys. Romance is good too but I’m a closet pervert and quite adventurous with these things that’s why I prefer someone who’s dominating, a little arrogant (as long as they have something to be arrogant for) and can make me feel desirable.
I hope that’s okay and thank you!
»»————- ♡ ————-««
Hello sweetie~! Thanks so much for requesting with us and I hope you’re doing okay~! I can most definitely do this match-up for you~! I hope you enjoy who I’ve paired you with~!
» » Admin Ko
𝕀 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙…
ʜɪᴍᴜʀᴏ ᴛᴀᴛꜱᴜʏᴀ
Quiet and reserved, Himuro mixes well with your introverted self. He has a decent understanding of how you think and feel when it comes to crowds of people, and enjoys the simple times with one’s self. Despite the assumptions of being shy with a lack of spark in initial meetings, Himuro has a knack for picking out individuals who aren’t exactly who they may seem to be from first glance.
He finds it endearing how you can be flustered and easily embarrassed when talking to someone of interest. Though of course he won’t admit it, but he does tend to get a tad jealous when your attention is anywhere but on him. As stated previously, Himuro has a knack for having a keen sense for the unexpected attitudes from people, and isn’t all too surprised to see the strong and opinionated person that comes forth from you. If anything, he’s able to combat that in his own calm and factual self. Though make no mistake, he can be wound up tightly in his own emotions as well.
With opinions and ideals, he’ll listen to what you have to say with respect, even if he happens to not agree with them, but there may be times where ideals and opinions clash and collide. Though of course a proper sit down and calm talk with one another will usually alleviate the situation. When it comes to mistakes, or wrong doings, Himuro-- in a sense-- is similar to you. Mainly in aspects of having a hard time trusting others, but being a touch more lenient on giving a second chance.
After all, he knows that individuals can gradually change and learn from their mistakes through time. Especially after witnessing the GoM being brought back to reality. As for critiquing works, Himuro is very much similar to you in those aspects. He won’t waste time on anything that doesn’t have a good or well developed plot with nicely written characters, but tends to hold back on judging others. Mainly because he understands that not all can achieve perfection on the first try.
With that, he tries to help ease and work with your inferiority complex. With his manipulative and cunning tactics, he’ll most definitely weave emotions into his facts that he gives you in hopes of helping you understand that there’s no point in bringing others down, when so many can help bring you up. He personally dislikes the toying of other people; mainly because it reminds him of his own past and others that he’s met while playing basketball, and doesn’t want you to be painted as a villain in others’ eyes.
It’s without a doubt that Himuro will constantly be complimenting you or giving you genuine compliments in hopes of helping your self hate. The destruction and pain of that path being familiar to him, and he doesn’t want you to fall even further into it.
As for affection, he can be a bit of a taunting asshole. He most definitely enjoys seeing you riled up, and doesn’t mind indulging in giving you the affection you desire. Though a majority of the time, he can be a touch aloof and nonchalant when you try to gain his attention. Though trust he won’t really let you out of his sight. He’s more than clever enough to keep a game of cat and mouse going for as long as he’d like.
#match-ups#matchup#submissions#anime matchup#submission#knb matchup#knb x reader#tatsuya himuro x reader
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Yandere Friendships
Hello again! I’m a little late on analysis things since my life has been a bit more hectic, so my analyses are going to be a bit late. Yandere friendships are something that is talked about surprisingly sparingly, even among female yanderes, and they’re rarely represented in any sort of media with yanderes, much less male yanderes. So today, I’ll be talking about yandere and the friends who stand by them, whether willingly or not. @thatyanderecritic also talks about it a bit in their Yandere Relationship Analysis, which is a good read.
It’s no surprise that yanderes tend to not have that many friends if any at all. It’s incredibly rare for a yandere to have friends, as either they’ve become so anti-social that they only care solely about the s/o and interact with nobody else, or they interact with people on a daily basis and has “friends”, but don’t really care about them or believe that they’re lower than trash compared to them and their s/o. In the rare cases that the yandere does have friends, it’s often only one person that ends up either being ignored for the most part or they are being used by the yandere for some means or another. In a lot of cases, this does make sense. One of a yandere’s biggest appeal is their undying love to their s/o and the fact that, for many yanderes, the s/o is the only person that they trust or even care about remotely. Logically, it would make sense that a lot of yandere stories would focus mostly or solely on the yandere and the s/o and would simply cut out other characters that are not relevant or wouldn’t be relevant. However, I feel like yandere friendships are relationships that are yet to be unexplored, which is unfortunate just simply because of the potential that they have in terms of storytelling.
Yandere friendships bring in the idea that the yandere has character outside of the standard troupe. One of the things that yanderes often have a difficult time doing is having a life outside of being a yandere. Basically what this means is that the yandere really doesn’t have a character outside of the basic yandere tropes, of things like stalking, being possessive, obsessive behavior, and similar actions. I find that this is pretty common with a lot of yanderes, which while understandable given the character’s one-track mind of the s/o, often can make the yanderes seem the same and almost indistinguishable in terms of personalities. A more well-rounded yandere, with various other hobbies and friends, would make them a lot more memorable as a character and far more interesting. Even just having a yandere interact with another character in a genuinely friendly manner would immediately make them a lot more interesting in terms of the yandere’s personality, as it shows that even outside of their s/o, they can still have good relations with those around them. It also would show that a yandere is actually able to maintain relationships with others, making them look more “healthy” as a character, even if it is just a front and they really are much more obsessive than they let off to be. Generally, a yandere that does have friends more often shows up in more slice-of-life styles of stories, meaning that the characters are likely to be more harmless yanderes, which is fine, however, it can also be utilized in other situations as well, like for instance a survival genre, where making friends with others becomes a natural way of staying alive, or in an adventure story, where making friends helps to move towards the goal of the stories. No matter the genre, letting the yandere have friends with others will give them a lot more character.
One thing that I would be interested in seeing is a very close friend to a character who eventually becomes a yandere. By this, I mean a friend that the yandere would hesitate to kill or cares about enough that they might listen to them. This idea might seem a bit counterintuitive to a yandere’s character since in most cases, the friendships that they have are not genuine at all, however, in this case, the friendship between these two characters are so close that they have each other’s back, even if one of them ends up killing or hurting someone very severely. As a more side character, the yandere would trust the friend in decisions when it came to the s/o, similarly to a wingman, like for instance, what kind of date they should go on, or what kind of gift to get them. In the same sense, the yandere might attempt to wingman for the s/o as well, if they needed to, trying to help the person that helped them. This would make the yandere a much more rounded and kinder character, even if he might have some more... shady ways of getting his friend a date. It’s still completely possible for this character to help his friend if it’s in his character, especially since his friend did help him with the most important thing in his life, his s/o. If the yandere is a reluctant yandere, where they have intense feelings of obsession or possession, but has enough self-control to realize what he’s doing. If the friend is a person who cares about the yandere, they might attempt to figure out how to prevent the character from turning too obsessive or getting to close to the s/o in general. Perhaps the friend might try to help the yandere be more sensible or even get help from the s/o to stop the yandere from rampaging, or from finding a way to turn him back to where he was. It would be a very dramatic scene if the yandere ends up trying to kill his friend because of how close they would be to getting to their s/o. It could be a very interesting tragedy that would occur.
On the other hand, if the friend is not really much of a friend, they could cause the character to become a yandere. For instance, if the so-called “friend” wanted revenge for instance, for taking away the person they had a crush on, they might attempt to manipulate the yandere into believing that the s/o is the only real thing they can have in their lives. For instance, if the yandere is a reluctant yandere, the friend might, instead of making it easier to revert back to normal, the friend might try to make it much harder. It would be a really dramatic and perhaps tragic story as we would follow the friend and see how they ended up making a yandere out of his own friend. It would probably be a kind of story that is very meticulously planned, like how Death Note or Tomodachi Game is created. Of course, it could also be something where the character unintentionally makes the wrong decisions, which ends up making the yandere go insane, like for instance in something like An Uncomfortable Truth, where the story becomes tragic because of the eventual build-up for the yandere character that ends up causing problems. It could also be something the friend has to do because of another scenario like, for instance, a destiny that has to be changed and the person that must be sacrificed in terms of mentality must be the yandere. The friend can be a very huge influencer for the yandere’s development into the obsessive or the possessive type, perhaps ruining his entire life: his relationships, his reputation, and his sanity.
It doesn’t have to be the yandere’s friend either, it could be the s/o’s friend. If the yandere wants to be friends with the s/o’s friend, either so that he could be closer to the s/o, or have them help the two get together, or even because the s/o tells the yandere that they have to be friends. For the first scenario, the yandere might have to humble themselves towards the friend, either very begrudgingly or behind the mask that they hide from. Obviously, the yandere will constantly be looking for chances to be with the s/o as much as possible, but their own shortcomings (like being nervous) or some exterior force (like people constantly coming up to the yandere and blocking their way), might be things that make it harder for the yandere to actually get to the goal. I could see this as a very comedic series, where the yandere tries and fails to be with the s/o and be dragged around by the s/o’s friend, or some sort of shoujo Esque type of story, where the yandere has such a hard time talking to the s/o that the s/o’s friend and them become very close. In the other scenario, the s/o would have already been close to or dating the yandere, and wants him to get along with their friends. The yandere will then attempt to befriend the other friends, though probably in a very annoyed fashion, while still trailing behind the s/o like a little puppy. This would likely be more focused on the yandere’s character development, as the yandere would try to befriend the s/o’s friend, allowing him to become a lot more stable and sociable.
The final thought is a yandere who joins a group of people and eventually befriends them. In this case, the yandere joins the group either because it would help them with the s/o (like for instance, joining a group that is traveling the land, which would help the yandere find the missing s/o) or because the yandere was forced to (like a yandere who gets captured and dragged around by a group of kids). In either scenario, the idea is that the yandere will eventually get close to the group, becoming close friends, or at least acquaintances. There’s also the possibility that the yandere would end up betraying the group, even if he had really close relations to people within the group. Depending on the yandere’s personality, they might have different roles within the group, like perhaps they are very chaotic and don’t really care about other people, even within their group. Or they might be a lot more charismatic, where they are very good at talking to people and using them to their advantage. Really, there are a lot of possibilities in terms of yanderes and how they could be written.
Yanderes have a lot of possibilities in making friendships, and it’s unfortunate that these aspects are not explored. Hopefully, in future stories, yanderes are able to have more complex stories with friends involved.
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