a symbol of home
Vex is checking her reflection in the mirror when Percy bursts into their room with a loud groan. “Cassandra is so bloody stubborn!”
“That’s a trait you share,” Vex comments.
“If I have to answer one more question, I’m-” Percy gasps.
Vex whips around to look at him, thinking he's hurt himself. When she doesn’t discover anything amiss, she frowns.
“What is it, Percy?”
“That dress,” he whispers.
She looks down at herself. The black and gold cloth is vibrant. It has exquisite detailing and breathes like a dream. But then she remembers this is what she wore when Percy’s past came calling with violent force.
“I’m so sorry. It’s been a while, and I completely forgot. I can change-”
“Vex’ahlia, you misunderstand me,” he says as he comes to take her hands in his. “It’s not a bad thing.”
“Oh,” she sighs.
He caresses her knuckles with his thumb, sending a shiver down her spine. “The first time I saw you in it, I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
“You never told me that.”
“I was afraid to consider what it meant, so I pushed it aside.”
“Poor you.”
“Indeed,” he says with a rueful smile. “But I’m not that man anymore. I feel no hesitation telling you how utterly transcendent you are.”
“Oh, you flatter me,” she winks. “Don’t stop.”
“Never,” mischief twinkles in his eyes. “But I see you’ve forgotten something.”
“What?”
He goes over to her jewelry box and returns with a familiar necklace. “Do you remember this?”
“How could I forget?” She asks as she fastens it around her neck. “It’s as lovely now as it was then.”
“As are you.”
She gently shoves his hip with her palm. “Horrible man.”
“You love me.”
“I do,” she answers while brushing her fingers against the cool metal.
“What are you thinking, dear?” Percy asks as he kneels next to her.
“Why did you give it to me? I’ve often wondered.”
“I knew high society expected elegance, opulence, and refinement. We didn’t have much fitting that description, and I saw you admire something similar once. It wasn’t a stretch to conclude you might appreciate it.”
“I did! I was so afraid people would turn up their noses at me, or that they’d think I wasn’t good enough. But you gave me something beautiful, and it was like wearing armor.”
“I apologize for any pressure I put on you,” Percy says softly.
“There were times I wanted to punch you in the balls,” she laughs when he winces. “I’m glad I didn’t.”
“Me too,” he says. “Now, it’s my turn to ask a question.”
“Of course, darling.”
“Were you curious about the star?” Percy asks.
“Yes, but I didn’t think you’d answer my questions.”
“I probably wouldn’t have,” he admits. “Talking about Whitestone was like pouring salt into an open wound.”
“Oh, darling,” her voice is thick in her throat. “I hate that you were in so much pain, and I couldn’t see it.”
“You eventually did.”
“It took me longer than it should have.”
He kneels next to her and says, “You could not have known.”
“I know.”
“In retrospect, it’s rather amusing I gave you a symbol so closely associated with my home.”
“Because now it’s mine too.”
“Yes,” his voice is rough and husky. It makes her toes curl. “Exactly.”
Then he unexpectedly leans forward and kisses the star resting on her chest. His mouth is hot and insistent on her skin.
“Percy,” she breathes. “What are you doing?”
“I think that’s rather obvious,” he teases as he starts trailing kisses up the chain.
“We need to be downstairs soon,” she warns. “Our guests are waiting.”
“I don’t particularly care about them right now,” he says as his hands brush her shoulders. Vex has to grip her dress to stop herself from reaching for him.
Then her horrible, wonderful man nibbles her earlobe.
“Fuck,” she moans.
“I’m afraid we don’t have time for that.”
“Percival,” she feigns scandal. “Was that innuendo? I’m so proud.”
“What can I say? You bring out the best in me. Always have.”
This comment is the last straw. She grabs his coat and kisses him. For a while, she’s lost in the taste of mint on his tongue, the scent of his soap, and the warmth of his fingers.
When she finally pulls away, Percy’s face is flushed, and his hair is wild.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” she kisses him once more. Then she reaches up to fix his hair. “We should go.”
“I suppose we must,” he echoes.
“But darling,” she says. “Remember where we left off because I’ll expect to finish later.“
Percy laughs so loud the entire castle can probably hear.
-
A/N: Yes, the star is supposed to be the star of Pelor. Just go with it. Also, I’m just all about self indulgence now. I make a lot of mistakes, so if you read this, thank you! <3
For @burr-ell I hope this made you smile. Thanks for being AWESOME. <3
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do you ever think about how in the day i picked up dazai side b dazai had to lie emotionless and soulless—like a corpse, almost—beside the man that gently brought him in, nursed his injuries, held him while he was in pain? he had to keep those suffocating bandages around his entire face, lest this man gain some sort of recognition for the little boy he saved. he had to lay there curled in the fetal position, bleeding and in pain, perhaps thinking about how, in another life, this man cooked for him, tried to build up his strength. read to him to pass the time while he curled up against him like a child listening to a bedtime story. played cards with him. saw through the heartless mafioso. the ruthless killer. and instead saw a boy.
imagine knowing this man, the man who saved you in more ways than one, was going to die one day all because he knew you. because he reached his hand into the darkness and plaintively, like a small child wanting a parent's touch, you grasped back desperately. imagine thinking all of that while that man is just a stone's throw away, making coffee in the next room just like he used to for you in another life. the scent, although you've never been here before, is reminiscent of home. and the tune he's humming? it's the silent melody that plays through your mind seven years later, for the last time as you fall backward off the building with your arms out like an embrace. but, hey. that man is alive. he's happy, although he never knew you. you can die with no regrets.
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so guess what they released more interviews and i think given what a writing shitshow totk was and what they have been saying in all these interviews is actually painting a really bad picture; i dont have the time, nor the energy to go over every detail
but they were commenting on people wanting the more linear format back and aonuma himself basically said that he thinks people who feel like that do so only bc of nostalgia and "Why do you want to go back to a type of game where you're more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play?"
what .. the fuck, more freedom DOESNT automatically mean better??? like ... restriction can be a GOOD thing just as tooo much freedom can be BAD?? like in totk??? are you fukcing shitting me- what the hell are games even for then, has he had an awakening to the fact that he actually just loves sandbox games without realizing it???? im not playing fucking zelda for a sandbox, especially not when its advertised as a somethign else
its pretty clear that they want to keep this format going with everything they say there, ... maybe it really is over huh
also i hate how they kept talking around answering anything about story/lore; they go asked how ganondorf even connects to ganon since theres nothign about it in game, and all they got out was welllll we dont wanna say anything bc its up to the player; about every question you got the answer of "make somethign up yourself" which is just ... its really clear they dont actually care but dont want to say everything is meaningless actually, so they try to be vague about it and with doing that really just confirm they didnt think about it and they dont care- so no lore actually matters, nothing thats been said or established has any meaning bc they will get rid of it the second it crosses paths with their new -more freedom equals better- philosophy, they say its bc they want you to be "free" to think up anything but apparently dont realize that when there are no rules, no consistent lore or anything that it ROBS it, it stops having meaning, its fun to connect dots only when there are rules you need to work with and dots to connect in the first place, when you have an established world with its restrictions it drives you to think more creatively about things- but when there are no rules?? its fucking boring!! thats what it is!!
when you discard all rules i wont care to get invested into anything bc i know it will not be considered again, be done away with without any reason and wont have influence on coming or previous games ... bc there are no rules, anything is possible and everything can be changed any second, so nothing matters
(they also talked about the many viral videos of those very few dedicated people that make godzilla mechs in totk and how happy they are about that- i get that to some extent, but the way they kept talkign about it really just felt like it confirmed my suspicion that that whole mechanic was mainly implemented to let people do that since that gets shared around en masse making it seem like that is why people enjoy it while neither the game nor the narrative are build around it in any way ..)
it just makes all the time i spend thinking, feeling and theorizing about zelda like a true waste of time, bc nothing matters and there are no rules-
i am someone who greatly enjoys working with and around established lore/rules, its fun to me to recontextulize things by being smart or creative with it all without breaking anything or as little as possible of the established things!
if i wanted to do just do anything i want I COULD HAVE ALREADY DONE THAT bc theres nothing actually stopping anyone to just make up what they want! i DONT need canon to lose all rules for that??!!
maybe ill have to make myself believe the franchise ended with botw on a good note ... ono
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"Stop saying Crowley won't help Aziraphale in S3 he'd go back to him in a HEARTBEAT and nothing would stop him" I get it no one likes the idea of Crowley being bitter after what happened for a long period of time but like can we at least acknowledge that he's currently going through probably the most emotional pain in his life since falling? Can we agree that he's opened his heart entirely - something you couldn't pay him to do unless the world is literally ending and he's desperate - to Aziraphale, and got shot down? Can we understand that he did it AGAIN only to lose Aziraphale again? Not that what Aziraphale did isn't without Crowley's own shortcomings (hiding the truth of Heaven's cruelty from him) but like,,,,
The appeal here isn't Scorned Crowley Doesn't Love Aziraphale Anymore, or Never Wants To Help Him Again, the appeal here is Crowley learning enough self respect to not just walk back right to Aziraphale like nothing happened after Aziraphale has had a pattern of consistently refusing him. Going years ping-ponging between "We're not friends I don't even know him" to "That's what friends are for right?" and "We're friends, why would you even say anything?" and "Friends? We're not friends. We are an angel and a demon!"
Like I get it, Crowley is a heartbreakingly forgiving person. Of course he's gonna forgive Aziraphale, I'll be surprised if he didn't forgive him by the time he walked out the bookshop door, but gdi he could at least grant himself the luxury of being at least a little irritated for longer than however long it takes to make a globe and some books float and angrily cry out to God in his flat. But due to the change of pace and dynamic that is establishing part of the conflict for Season 3, I just really like the idea of him for ONCE prioritizing himself and being like "Okay, fine. We'll get back at it when you're ready, then," instead of just taking Aziraphale back like his words and actions meant nothing to him, when clearly they have an effect on him.
What is Aziraphale going to learn if Crowley just accepts what he did so quickly, like he always has the entire time they've been friends? Idk maybe I'm just projecting too much darkness on their dynamic but I mean, if the pattern of Aziraphale pushing Crowley away/disrespecting him one day and then being fine with his friendship the next + Crowley never stopping to be like "Hey, that's not cool, at least give me a little credit" or smth was fine all along and will continue to be fine in the future, then why, after 6,000 years of being friends and loving this demon, can Aziraphale still not accept that Crowley is just fine the way he is, and instead got excited to promote him to an angel in a heartbeat once the opportunity presented itself? You can't blame all of it on Heaven when Aziraphale has demonstrated his free will/defiance to Heaven so many times. Or, I don't know, I guess maybe we can? Maybe I'm just craving too much angst to the point where I'm letting it cloud my analysis of canon. Idk.
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