#before this scene i hadnt even considered them

[coldgpa]

Ok but I just wanna say Joseph Quinn's acting here... I feel like I can literally see Eddie's nervousness at interacting with steve. How he messes with his hands and keeps glancing over to gauge steves reactions.

You can literally see his character THINKING and contemplating about getting into Steve's face before he commits to it

And I just love that we see him just give a satisfied full blown smile at making steve get nervous, like he got the reaction he wanted to. Like...? This is what's happening in this scene and people still dont think eddie had some kind of a crush on steve?

#stranger things #steddie #like god this scene alone was enough to make me completely reevaluate all their other scenes together #before this scene i hadnt even considered them #and then i was like... holy shit #stranger things 4 #eddie munson #like i dont get how someone could watch this scene and not immediately think it gave gay vibes #joseph quinn was playing for romance #the guy is gay. just is #the proof is jist the goddamn show #also the fact that steve is straight up giggling about another man getting up in his space? no str8 nan is reacting like that #analysis

[densewentz]

I have a lot of feelings about season 2 obviously, mostly that it was brutally fantastic, but it really serves to highlight the main difference between Crowley and Aziraphale's understanding of loss. long angsty analysis under cut

Because Crowley already knows what it is to lose Aziraphale. I mean really lose him. He fell to the floor in the burning heart of the bookshop thinking Aziraphale was dead and gone. We get to see in fantastic living color how broken it leaves him. He's forced to spend time wallowing in the hopelessness of it before Aziraphale is miraculously back. Then cut to heaven during their ruse, where Crowley is standing there in the flames with Gabriel grinning maliciously in his face, telling the love Crowley just got back to shut up and die. If that scrap of prophecy hadnt found them, if they hadn't been quick enough, clever enough, Crowley would have lost him again. For Good. For Ever. That entire scene, from the cropped cut of Crowley twisting Aziraphale's wrists in their bonds all the way through to the end, Crowley is in a visibly barely contained rage. He's quiet, and still. These are the beings that have been tormenting his love for centuries, who tried to take him away once already and want to take him away from Crowley again. And it boils in him in the same combination that makes terrified dogs Bite. And we see the lasting effect that fear has on him throughout season 2. It drives almost every interaction Crowley has with other characters, particularly in his vehemence that Jim!Gabriel not be anywhere near Aziraphale. Crowley is able to word for word quote that moment back to Jim!Gabriel mostly unprompted because I guarantee its just been repeating in his head since the archangel showed up in the bookshop. He needs Aziraphale safe in that desperate and agonized way you can only feel if you already know what its like to lose them. And the entire season he's combating the fact that the biggest threat to Crowley's love is sitting in his livingroom and Aziraphale keeps handwaving Crowley's trauma away.

Which brings us to Aziraphale. Aziraphale who has never had to experience losing Crowley. His demon is always there just on time, always at his shoulder and on-call. Aziraphale has no concept of the depth of Crowley's grief during the time Crowley thought he'd died in the bookshop, and no idea the damage Crowley's incognito trip to heaven had on him. And then parallel Aziraphale's part in the ruse. Yes, he's playing at being cheeky Crowley, but I'd bet all my money most of that was just Aziraphale relishing in doing what he loves to do: Dramatizing. Watch his scene in hell compared to Crowley's in heaven. Aziraphale is having a blast. To him its a stage production, a clever trick he gets to play. Michael pours 'Crowley' a holy water death bath and it just makes Aziraphale grin because he knows it wont work. He plays it up, wings the water at the demons, makes silly demands, asks the angel who would have killed Crowley to bring him a towel. It's a joke to Aziraphale, because he never even seems to consider (as Crowley obviously does) the reality that if they hadn't swapped places Crowley would be dead. That Michael came grinning down to hell to destroy him. Forever destroy him. And Aziraphale even giggles about it to Crowley on the bench. Aziraphale has no reference or context of what it would be like to actually lose Crowley, it'd be unheard of, so he never processes what could have happened in the way Crowley does. And we continue to see that ignorance crop up in season 2. His dismissal of Crowley's fears as being silly, the way he never once seems to worry for Crowley's safety even with the other angels and hell minions in the room. Michael and Beelzebub are right there. The two who would have seen Crowley turned into nothing. But there's just not the awareness of the threat to Crowley (or himself, but thats another problem) that Crowley inversely possesses. And it all boils down to the simple fact that Aziraphale has never ever lost Crowley. Until now. And you can see it beginning to process post-kiss. You can see it in Aziraphale's face as Crowley dons his glasses and turns his back on Aziraphale for real. This is going to be the beginning of Aziraphale learning what it is to lose his love, and its going to be absolutely heartbreaking yes, but also completely necessary to his growth.

There's that wretched little saying "you don't know what you've got until its gone". Crowley's learned that lesson the hard way already. I guess now its Aziraphale's turn.

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens spoilers #good omens meta #anthony j crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #aziracrow #crowley's trauma arc #dense's ramblings

[too-much-sunshine]

Finished the most recent chapter, and as an aroacespec person myself, I was so comforted by the slow and natural progression you've given Scar and Grians relationship in this. I'm inclined to physical affection myself, and that's something frequently excluded in pairings that people write as aroace/qpr adjacent. A lot of times they're always considered strictly romantic, but the way you've written this feels so right in the sense of Queerplatonic, as you mentioned you intended originally in the notes. I just wanted to say thank you for that! Reading how they hold each other and comfort one another (wont go into detail, as to not spoil ch26 for anyone reading this) just clicks in a way that's Their Connection, and it doesn't feel like it's trying to or needs to be anything else. It's so content, and it makes me feel so warm to see that in a fic with two characters I resonate with a lot.

Not to mention the plot- omg, I've been fawning over it all week! My favorite moment I think is definitely the kitchen scene with Iskall and Scars little standoff- the visual was so sassy and queer from Scars end, it just made me cackle to no end I absolutely loved the attitude. But really, I try not to theorize too much when reading stories that way every turn feels like a huge shock, and this fic keeps my attention so well I didn't even have the chance to, I was far too busy enjoying every little flair of dialogue and fluid change of scenario. I literally gasped and yelled "OH /SHIT/" aloud multiple times, I'm not embarassed to say it. There are so many details you kept so quaint and innocent at the beginning, I never even questioned them until their importance later on!

This story has been absolutely, insanely, phenomenally fun to read, and I can't wait to see where you take things next. I've been planning my own fic for ages, and reading something like this has really inspired me to pick up my pages and keep going. I hope you have a wonderful day, and that you have a lot of fun working on the rest of the story! I know I'm dying to read the next chapter whenever you feel it's right to show, and others will be too :).

Much love!

- minecraft-cake

OH MY GODS IM GONNA CRYYYY (/pos) TOO LATE I AM CRYINGGGG TTTTTTT AAAaaaa this means so much to me TTTT ASDFGHJK

Ive said it before, and I'll say it again: I started writing WOftL because I wanted to read something like it, but it hadnt been written. Not only in the superhero space (even tho I am a bit a whore for superhero fics UuU) but also just aspec wise. Im arospec/ace, and I just felt it wasnt being represented in a way the resonated with me!! So I wrote it myself <3

Im so glad that it resonates with others as well! I really hope that deciding to change the relationship romantic doesnt takes away from that! I feel like, personally, it doesnt change their background and their connection for each other. I certainly dont plan to have them act much differently then they do now lmaooo

Ommffggg you are so nicceee TTTTTT If Im forced to say one thing I'm proud of for this fic, i'd say the foreshadowing turned out much better then I expected lmaooo This is my first looongg fic, so I really happy with that turned out!! I have so much I can say about specific scenes and how they came to be in my brain!!! But for specifically Iskall and Scar, I loved how their little plot came out! Those two have History UuU

Thank you so much for reading and the kind wordsss!! This seriously made my whole week and its only monday!! Im so happy to have inspired you, and if your willing to share I would love to read your fic when you write it! I hoep you have a phenonial day, week, month, year and life bestie <3<3<3<3

#woftl #sunshinetalks #woftl spoilers #kinda? #Idk bestieee #Ugh everytime I worry abt a chapter it turns out being #fav so i think its time i start trusting myself #I say #knowing I wont #UuU #ASDfghjk you are still so nice #Im never getting over this ask #Im a gonner UuU

[away-ward]

this michaelrika kaibanks just ruined everything for me. especially considering banks is my favorite character and i only continued with the series so i could get crumbs of her(which didn happen thanks to pd always favouring rika and thrusting her into situations where she is not needed). honestly, that bonus scene does not sound like banks AT ALL. her worrying about how her how "family" doesnt love her enough after 10 damn years made me want to break something especially since pd made it out like they all adore and love Rika while making banks feel like she was not part of the inner circle. moreover if emory would have become good friends with any one in that weird-ass grp it would have been with banks but NO pd has to make it all about rika..in a bonus scene... about Banks. idk why no one is talking abt that. and this is so against the found family theme pd set up in the books.

kai kai kai what do i even say abt this guy. past kai was such a gem. like i will fight anyone who says otherwise. him and banks were SO DAMN CUTE but the present one.. not so much. in the bonus scene banks asks rika did she go around walking knowing that she could have had kai again and again if banks didnt come into the picture. i think kai WOULD HAVE had rika again if he hadnt found banks and i cant just ignore it no matter how much i try. also why is kai ALWAYS going "rika this rika that" even after he found banks. ik everything and every character in the dn universe is about rika coz pd created them but it is just disturbing kai is like this even though he knows that makes banks uncomfortable.

i was so excited when pd said she was gonna write a bonus scene for dn but MY GOD I WISH I DIDNT READ WHATEVER THE HELL THAT WAS IN HER FACEBOOK. and to think this might be the last kai banks scene we ever get... makes me wanna cry. they deserve so much more. there might be more bonus scenes in that universe but it sure as hell wont be abt kaibanks knowing pd (i mean she did them dirty in their own book making the main focus damon and rika)

ohhh i almost forget about the conclave scene where kai knows about rikas situation before michael. i mean wtf is this even. and when banks get upset rika had the audacity to feel betrayed. after everything kai said to banks in hideaway abt how she is the one he looks for every morning, this scene in conclave just ruined that closure. AND we didnt get to see kai and banks talk about it. of course we didnt because they are just side characters in this series right.

in my opinion, pd should rewrite the bonus and quit making Kai so 'rika-centric' and actually concentrate on how HIS OWN wife feels.

ik this is a lot kai banks but this is years of pent-up frustration over how my best girl and kai were done dirty.

and i feel like i would have liked rika so much more if pd didnt shove her down our throats like that throughout the series

pt 2 of the ask:

by the same person who wrote the kai banks rant will you ever write a fanfic on kai banks coz i have searched the internet and i couldn't find one story abt them. which is really sad since they are the only other couple who made sense apart from will and emmy. and abt my previous rant kai ONLY belongs with banks and we all know it. i mean they belong with each other no one can say otherwise. kai might have been attracted to rika but he will choose banks no matter what so that is why it is frustrating when he is made out to be like he cares abt rika as more than just a friend and more than he should.  what is your thoughts on all this

Honestly, I think you hit the nail on the head why this doesn’t sit right with a lot of us.

One, the time period. I could possibly buy this if it were set within the original series. Maybe before NF or very soon after. But ten years later makes Banks seem very insecure and childish. She’s just been living for ten years thinking that her husband is secretly lusting over what is perceivable her best friend. Or at least her closest female friendship. That doesn’t feel like Banks to me. My understanding of Banks character is that she would have addressed any issue much sooner.

And two, this was supposed to be about Banks. But what we have is Banks making Rika feel better. First, confronting her over the young girl and reminding Rika that she has nothing to feel shamed over. Then, realizing how Rika feels, confirming those feelings. And in a way, Banks realizing that her feelings around Rika were not insecurities but were in fact attraction, is about Banks. But it’s still really about how amazing Rika is, and everyone agrees.

No one is immune to Rika Fane is the point of the scene. But it's the same message we've been getting since Corrupt.

It’s frustrating because it doesn’t give found/chosen family vibes. It’s all about Rika.

And now I feel like this about her:

kai kai kai what do i even say abt this guy. past kai was such a gem. like i will fight anyone who says otherwise.

Okay, okay. I’ll keep my fighting words to myself...

But anyway, Kai alone frustrates me (which is super disappointing because from other’s POVs, he’s delightful and interesting). Banks makes him better. I love the two of them together. The fact that he’s given any room for Banks to develop feelings of doubt about him and Rika is so odd. There’s no argument for it.

the conclave scene where kai knows about rikas situation before michael. i mean wtf is this even. and when banks get upset rika had the audacity to feel betrayed.

See, Rika confiding in Kai didn’t bother me, because it made sense to me that she’d confide in him. At this point, Kai is one of her closest friends and I (maybe erroneously) thought of Kai as the most reasonable and comforting of the group, which is something Rika needed. It’s the jealousy and the doubt about their relationship that comes after that ruined it for me. Either Rika and Kai can be friends and nothing else, or they can’t. And PD is really pushing this “they can’t” idea with every update and bonus they post. Which is so weird.

Do you think we could challenge PD to write a couple-centric scene where none of the other couples show up, if only for us to get quality couple content?

ik this is a lot kai banks but this is years of pent-up frustration over how  my best girl and kai were done dirty.

Hey, I get it. I’m here for some kaibanks conversation. As much as Kai in the series frustrates me, Kaibanks in my head sit in the same boat as Willemmy, which is that they are cute and deserve better.

And didn’t feel like didn’t would have liked rika so much more if pd didn’t shove her down our throats like that throughout the series

Very true.

will you ever write a fanfic on kai banks coz i have searched the internet and i couldn't find one story abt them. which is really sad since they are the only other couple who made sense apart from will and emmy.

It's not that I don’t want to, but I haven’t been able to wrap my head around Kai and Banks as characters. This scene helped with Banks a little, but now Kai is harder to understand. I know there were some oneshots over on Wattpad if you have access. If I were to ever break from Willemmy, Kaibanks would probably be the next one I'm inclinded towards, though. Sorry I can’t promise anything.

kai ONLY belongs with banks and we all know it. i mean they belong with each other no one can say otherwise. kai might have been attracted to rika but he will choose banks no matter what so that is why it is frustrating when he is made out to be like he cares abt rika as more than just a friend and more than he should. 

I completely agree. I think with the way the family is set up, there would be nothing wrong with Kai thinking Rika or any of the other girls are attractive, but it should be clear that he doesn’t have the same bond/connection/relationship to them as he does with Banks. I still think back to Michael openly declaring that Rika was everything to him, and it’s strange that none of the other guys have similar moments where they remove any doubt that they want no one else.

Like, I don’t think Michael wants Banks. Or Winter. Or Em. He wants Rika and Rika’s happiness. He might think Banks is hot, but that’s probably as far as it goes.

That’s Banks. Kai’s wife, Damon’s sister. Pain in his neck.

If somebody gave Kai an ounce of that energy towards Rika, we’d have a completely different vibe.

I'm not sure what can be done to protect our sanity. I, for one, usually hate to ignore canon, but sometimes it's just... not worth acknowledging in favor of your own HC.

That might be the case here.

Let me know your kaibanks HC if you're up for it. Anyway, have a great day. Hope you forget all about the bonus scene soon!

-KO

#asked and answered #devil's night series stuff #kaibanks #kai mori #nikova banks #asked and answered 114

[luxsea]

so i finally beat bg3 for the first time last night :))

also hap halloweenie :]

(not all but some) thoughts dump

im honestly so glad i got spoiled for karlachs ending back at the start of act 2 so i had time to go thru the stages of grief, make sad playlists, etc bc my tav/karlach really hit me like a truck. i knew i was going to romance her before i even got the game bc she literally is the reason i started playing to begin with but doing her route feels very right for a first playthrough bc imo despite how devastating and lacking her story can be it sure does shine when its good. her introspective moments you can only get if you romance her are everything to me. knowing she cant be saved in the end lead me to choose more accepting dialogue options which lead to infinitely more satisfying and at times inspiring scenes than if i pushed the "what if"

as for the very end, in a way karlachs dying scene and/or going to avernus scene is a lot more than what most characters get even if theyre youre romanced character... despite her ending being shafted to begin with?? which is ridiculous. (correct me if im wrong. most of them had nothing to say and what ive seen uploaded ie shadowhearts romanced ending is so meh) lae'zels orpheus ending did make me tear up, everyone else was just kinda standing there wearing ridiculous armor bc i forgot.......

despite everything im really happy with karlachs scenes? and idk if thats just bc they were the romanced versions and bc i didnt have my hopes up for her (if i hadnt been spoiled i wouldve been LIVID) but it rlly was one of the most touching moments for me. the "how'd i do?" "you were spectacular in every way" "for you. and for the city, and for myself, and blah blah. but most of all for you" caressing tavs face and her repeating back to herself that she was spectacular like shes at peace just by those words alone. "it's the one thing i can't beat, isn't it? same below as above. i love. you." and the blue flames of all her love for them searing hot white and killing her engine faster?!? ough "you more than anything. i saw- ...goodbye, sun. goodbye, sea. goodbye" I FEEL SICK I FEEL UNWELL. i should be crying but my heart just aches she's just everything to me okay!!

and the avernus scene is better than i thought it would be, the music is so sweet and badass, sharing cigars!!, lots of gay fuel for my fire, the feeling that its just the start of a new journey and not the end, charging together into the hells its so mwah mwah as long as you ignore the trauma and the fact that we couldve solved this any other way!! (do wish wyll wasnt treated like an awkward third wheel if the three of you go considering he's the one who advocates for her and going to avernus is part of his ending too. but ofc im also going she's my wife and the interaction is rlly touching)

as far as the rest of the game the emperors writing was so flimsy and uh they did a really good job making it feel like your choices didnt matter much in the end considering the praise its gotten and how the game was marketed. rip it needs some serious work but i didnt hate it. karlach brain worms take a lot of credit

my highest praises overall are that ive never felt this attached to a player character that i've made before and ive never seen a more memorable cast of npcs. there's too many stand out moments to count that it makes the insane amount of lag and bugs i had worth powering thru

BUT IM FINALLY FREE I CAN FINALLY REPLAY AND DO IT ALL AGAIN BUT BETTER

#olive.txt #bg3 spoilers

[hexcryingwolf]

you know, the floraverse roleplay servers are the worst roleplay servers i've ever seen. aside from the Abuses, the DMs have no concept of separating OOC from IC and blend their feelings in with their characters. There aren't any rules against blending in general, from what I can tell, and none of them adhere to roleplaying etiquette.

It's damaging as fuck, and I am so, so sorry that you went through Floraverse's heinousness.

i left before the full on rp stuff was a thing, but even before then we were encouraged to like, embody our characters, especially angels. Like it wasnt a rule that you had to or anything, its something Glip did a ton and other people started doing it and it was part of the culture of the space one time i put on a pfp and changed my nickname to my angel who embodied my contradictory feelings of both being self-loathing and self-centered, because i was actively spiraling over that stuff. i seem to remember at least one person reaching out excited to see me doing that? and it felt really weird because i think i knew i it was a cry for help but trying to do it in flora language and it was just really weird. i dont even remember what exactly they were excited or happy about? one time i had written a "callout" about how i was feeling mistreated by the mods, and instead of just talking about it we did a scene where they all played angels and they cast me as my vassal character. so i assumed i was meant to fight them off? because to me i had been mistreated, intentionally or not, and i didnt wanna submit to that treatment yanno? which i find out later was Not the intention and they considered the scene to be a disaster because i didnt listen to their pain or something? like nevermind that the pain i was feeling that led me to writing the callout in the first place was never addressed (afaik Glip at least hadnt even read it at the time), how was i supposed to know they wanted to talk about their genuine feelings through the mask of these characters?

also looking back at logs im reminded of a member who i guess said my "shitty self image and hating my physical body" angel was hot and fuck this horny sex cult for making that kind of behaviour normal

#floraverse #glitchedpuppet

[viilpstick]

The sound of Pandora's heels clicking echoed through the halls. Stopping before the large entrance to a room, she pushed the wooden doors open.

In the centre, set upon a marble pedestal was her scale. Taking careful steps, she walked over to it. Upon closer inspection, the scale appeared deflected from its equilibrium towards the right. At that realization, Pandora's brows simply furrowed.

The "purpose" of the scale was ensuring Pandora remained fit for her duty but she knew better. The Seraphims never liked the idea of defiance and once met with it, she was their solution to the problem. For the most part, they didnt care what she did and she valued that freedom but once something happened that didn't even remotely fit their tastes, they would be quick to put her on a leash once more. After all, she really wasn't any different from a mere tool.

Lost in her train of thought, Pandora had failed to realize she had company. She hadnt noticed them, not until they gasped. Pandora turned to them quickly, her face now appearing more troubled than necessary.

If the angel reported back to the Seraphims, there was no possible way of it ending out well for her. So when they turn to exit the room, her body acted upon impulse.

.

.

Staring at the scene in utter horror, Pandora took shaky steps back from the corpse at her feet. Her sword slipped out of her trembling fingers as the blade clanked against the floor. Her dress was dyed crimson as blood pooled around the body. Peering back at the scale, this time the left plate far outweighed the right one.

Looking back at the dead body infront of her, she couldnt help but feel disgusting. Less of the fact that she killed someone and more of her selfish ness. Infact taking someone's life was something she had done more often than she'd like to admit but it was always justified by law. This time however, even with the motionless remains of a fellow angel lying infront of her the thing she worried about was herself. This would surely not remain unknown by the Seraphims and she feared the punishment she'd face. The scale was the least of her problems now.

.

.

"To play God by taking someone's life like that, you have some nerve."

The judge being brought accountable by the laws she upheld, *the pure irony.* Pandora would have laughed at the situation had it not been against her.

She could only stare at the Seraphims as they discussed what should be done regarding the circumstances. A certain empty spot, however, didn't remain unnoticed by Pandora. *Ofcourse Xion wasn't present.* The verdict against her would have been entirely different if he had been here.

"Your awfully quiet for someone who is about to get penalized. You don't plan on defending your case?"

"I see no reason to. Even if i chose to justify my actions, the result would remain the same. Infact, some could consider this as an act of resistant and that will do nothing but worsen my fate. "

"*Smart*. But moving on, destroying *it* seems far too merciful. As Seraphims, it is our duty to ensure peace and order. Ending *it* hardly seems fair since *it* doesn't feel the way we do it. Besides, justice must be served. "

With the constant emphasis on "it", Pandora didn't even need to look at the Seraphim to know who she has been talking to. Aine always seemed much more agitated by her existence than the others. Maybe the reason was her rocky relations with Xion.

"Well, what alternative do you suggest then? "

*"Explusion, ofcourse."*

Pandora couldn't help the fact that her body tensed at that. Death was a more welcomed fate. A quick end she would rather come imto terms with than be casted out, unable to fulfill her purpose.

Her face morphed into panic once Seraphims more seemed on board with that idea.

Surely this wasn't going to her fate, right? It couldnt be.

.

.

Pandora could feel each individual tissue beeing ripped apart, the tendons beings torn as the sound of the bones cracking filled her ears. On top of that, the blood trickling down her back naturally made this worse as her form began cracking.

Her wings lay infront of her, piled over one another. The pure white color of them now stained by her blood. A sign of her now being an outcast. How pathetic.

.

.

She wasnt sure who long it had been since she was banished. It could very well have been days or a mere hour. She couldnt perceive time in her dimension all that well after all. Her train of thought, however, was interrupted by the sound of faint footsteps. She was certain who they belonged to since no one but that person had free access to this space like she does.

"Apologies for the delay, my dear. The other Seraphims seemed keen on keeping me blissfully unaware who what occurred. "

Sure enough when she turned to look back, Xion was standing a few feet away from her.

"It's quite alright. The peace and quiet was a nice change. "

"Glad to here it but I'm afraid it won't last long. After all, we have to get you your place in heaven back. "

Pandora was stunned for a fraction of a second before curiously peering back at Xion.

"... You think thats possible? "

"You underestimate my influence, my dear. I can pull a fair share of strings to ensure that it happens. The Seraphims are far more predictable and easy to manipulate than you think. "

"I see...but why did you come here? "

Circling her form, Xion simply hummed in response. Coming to a halt behind her, his fingers traced the remaining part of her wings. His hamd wraped around the bone, twisting it and yanking it out.

"You know you can warn me next time? "

"I could but i wont."

With that Xion threw the bones aside, and began walking away. But just before he left, he stopped.

"Oh and before i forget. Be a good girl for me and make sure this doesnt happen again, will you? I hate errors in the system."

With that Xion disappeared. It was a few seconds after that did Pandora understand the meanibg behind his words, smiling to herself at the realization.

"But ofcourse."

.

.

"How long do you intend on following me, Pandora?"

"As long as i please, Aine. Though for someone like you i am suprised it took you this long to become aware of my presence. "

"Yea whatever. "

With that, Aine looked back at Pandora, the irritation evident in her eyes.

"I see your wings have grown back."

"They are more beautiful than the last, dont you agree? "

Aine could only grow more frustrated at the interaction.

"You know, just because the others let you back in doesnt mean you're forgiven. "

"Not in yours eyes atleast. Not that it matters to me. Im not answerable for my actions to you. "

"I think you're forgetting my rank is higher than yours so you very much are. "

"Not anymore. "

Before Aine could question the meaning of those words, she noticed the swords in Pandora's hand. One undoubtedly Xions. The metal plates of the blade seperated taking on a much more flexible form.

Aine could only take a careful step back before the weapon wraped itself around her body.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"You see Aine, im simply carrying out my duty and removing the cause of the lapse in my case. Besides, you said it yourself that as a seraphim it is your duty to ensure peace and order is maintained in heaven."

With that pandora, pulled her arm back, bringing Aine closer as she pierced her body wiyh her own sword.

"So in a way im helping you carry out your job as well. You understand, dont you?"

i am actually speechless

like omg

i

chills

literal chills

#inbox 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ✧ #𐙚 moots ♡ #♡ ! addie #Addie #my dear friend #THIS SHIT IS FIRE #OMG #YOU WROTE HER SO WELL #I #I DONT KNOW WHAT TO SAY

[angstics]

interesting how the overlapping relationships in design for living (film) are discussed by censors in what is deemed appropriate... i thought the "no sex" = platonic ending was weird. the ending lip kisses are a direct subversion of when earlier in the film they first brokered the agreement and gilda refused to kiss the boys on the lips, only their foreheads. it is a logical conclusion that forehead kiss = platonic, lip kiss = sexual; beginning = platonic, ending = sexual. so the "no sex" line makes no sense, unless outside forces are considered. maybe it was a cheap way to circumvent censorship of overlapping (polyamorous) relationships. i didnt think i was right until i read the prod code office (no indication who wrote this) saying the same thing: "In earlier sequence, script indicated that the three live together on a gentleman’s agreement of no sex, but the portrayal is very likely to indicate loose sex relationship which may become inadmissible under the Code." (jul 29, 1933) albeit they refer to the FIRST "no sex" agreement, which i hadnt considered because it made sense in the context of the film theyd try a platonic relationship first... in fact that is the late act 1 tension lol.

these overlapping relationships are talked about a few times by the film's censor, james wingate. it seemed like affections were fineee as long as she wasnt having sex with both of them. which is hilarious considering the whole point is they have overlapping affairs. 1. in a letter to paramount about the script, according to context i assume to be the morning-after scene when gilda cheats on cooper with march -- "Page G-8: We believe that the dialogue along here indicated too specifically that the girl has been having an affair with both men." (jun 19) in the same letter, wingate says that a key thing they have to be careful with is placing march in bedroom separate to gilda's, in order to avoid the implication she slept with him. 2. in a letter to hays -- "The basic story - three people who find, there is something more important in life than sex - should be satisfactory under the Code..." (jun 26) funniest thing you can say about a sex comedy.

there was also a related note from the BRITISH censors (feb 27, 1935 -- which is wayy later than when the film debuted in the uk mid 1934, so idk what the discrepancy is about), that reads: "Reel 1 -- Eliminate dialogue suggesting Tom and Gilda are already lovers" which in context suggests the scenes before the first agreement... my point is censors and filmmakers anticipated and reacted, so who's to say what IS subtext EVEN in a pre code film

#movies #media research #? i dont have a tag #im sure this is talked about in research a lot but i like this film and want to make my own connections lol #even the pre code wikipedia holds interesting info about how filmmakers made things extra explict to run what they actually #wanted to

[demadogs]

I know, i know 😭 (30% anon here). It's not that i think the idea is absurd at all, like you listed so many good things!! I'm just trying to actively lower my own expectations because i'm the type who gets really invested and then consequently really disappointed (though i guess since this is tumblr most of us are that type lmao). I'm just used to shows not following through with subtext, and i'm not only talking about gay subtext, but all different kinds of plots. I hear you though, trust me!

Since i'm already in your inbox, i have a question: have you been around for a while? What's the history of the byler ship? Was it always popular? Did people always think there might be a serious chance or was it more of a crackship? Were there any popular theories that came true or that were completely false? Since i'm super new to the show myself i'm curious!

yeah i totally get it. my brain is just not wired to be able to have lower expectations for something that his this much evidence for. im either 100% confident in something in a show or i have absolutely no idea whats gonna happen lmao.

i only started being active in this fandom a few months ago but ive shipped byler and followed lots of byler blogs for years. people started shipping byler after s2 came out. i didnt see anything about it during s1 because they literally had two scenes together and there was almost nothing really to work with. but when i watched s2 when it first came out i distinctly remember thinking “….is anybody else seeing this?? am i crazy orrr?” and then i went on here and found a small fandom of people who shipped them too so i was like “ok cool nice”. at this point it was mostly gifsets of their scenes together and maybe some edits and we hadnt established whether we were gonna spell it byeler or byler yet lmao. then i found @kaypeace21 and she was the first person i saw ever actually analyze it and really start to believe that everything might be intentional.

before i followed her, i never even considered that they might actually go through with byler. i think that was the case for most people during s2. i shipped it in the same way i currently ship ronance and steveddie. i thought they were cute and had good chemistry but i never believed it would go anywhere because of mlvn and also just the doubt that an insanely popular 80s scifi show would put their main characters in a gay relationship. i still loved reading kaypeace’s analyses but i wasnt convinced yet. then s3 came out and that changed everything for me and a lot of other people.

i watched s3 the day it came out hoping for some crumbs of byler but again, not at all expecting anything evident of them actually going through with it. it was kinda just in the back of my mind bc i love this show mostly for the supernatural plot. but during their fight scene when mike said “its not my fault you dont like girls” i was shocked. that convinced me that at least will would have a crush on mike but i still wasnt sure about mike until that painfully awkward kiss on the last episode. it wasnt until a few months later i rewatched that season and went back to kaypeace and found SO many things that i missed!! mike not letting el touch him when they kissed, the drastic tone and aesthetic difference between the break up and the byler fight, the frame of mike perfectly in a closet when they kissed!! i was completely sold then and so were a lot of people. i also think it was around this time that finn liked some byler art that had the quote “im not gonna fall in love” on it so that made a lot of people like 👀.

then everything the cast and duffers have said leading up to volume one only increased my confidence. i went into volume one completely expecting more obvious queer coding and i was right to. i was already overly confident but the biggest thing from volume one that made me more confident wasnt even a byler scene, it was mike and el’s fight. im glad they had her explicitly call him out for not saying he loves her. they kinda had to spell it out for the general audience. that was a really good scene and the fact that they played eulogy over it!!!?? insane. i lost my mind when i watched that episode a second time and realized that. that is 10000% intentional and the only explanation could be that that fight was the death of their relationship.

anywho yeah ive shipped them almost since the beginning and its been so fun slowly realizing that theyre actually going to do this and watching it build up and seeing the general audience start to catch on. it added a whole other layer to a show that already would have been my favorite either way just because of the plot alone.

#that was a long ass answer #i like talking about my byler journey #stranger things #byler #eden answers

[ihaveastorminme]

I know it's been years but there's hope you'll ever finished "how ruthless..."? I've been needing to read that story's ending to have some closure for so long 😭

hi anon, thank you so much for the question and the love implied, because im so happy that you still like this story and want to see it finished.

i have been saying forever than i am still writing, and i have - but those have been mostly edits and re-writes of things that i had written before, to fit a different mood so theres not anything new. im going to add under the cut one scene that is completely new and the opening scene of the new chapter im working on.

[and also add here what has been stopping me this whole time from completing this story that i very much want to complete.]

warned, very long post follows.

at first i changed my mind on the very arc of the characters. it started with jon being this flamboyant character who used melodramatics to mask his true self. that part where sansa tells him that she doesnt think he really loves her, was actually true. he did not, but she had kinf of fulfilled a fantasy for him and he was heavily involved with his idea of her, rather than the real person. and as i kept writing him i also wanted to portray the reason why he is so closed off, and his differences between who he used to be and who he is - and all those led me to believe that i hadnt really SHOWN the way the vioelnce in his past affected him. and that led me to write a more serious character, one that would just as easily confuse his feelings for sansa but express that confusion differently.

and sansa herself - i wrote her as very emotionally open, very easily connecting with jon - which is still a thing in the current version of the story - but also admitting those feelings easily to herself. and THAT last part didnt then make sense with her character. or rather where i wanted to take her character. i needed her figuring out that littelfinger has been behind her isolation and paranoya and all of that, to hit harder than it did. and it coudlnt the way i had written her the first time, because she had admitted her feelings for jon at least to herself. in this version, she never does. she never even considers it a possibility. one of the reasons she - subconciously - doesnt want to be around him is because she feels this very strong affinity for him, and she has been brainwashed, so to speak, to completely distrust her feelings about people. coming out of that needs a lot more time.

even as it is i think that the 'conflict' is still king of flimsy, but i also dont think that really matters to me much.

SECOND THING - i needed to add to two themes that were either very underdeveloped or missing entirely. one, a scene where jon sees the way sansa is treated in court, and reacts to it by 'crowning' her. i 'told' that scene before, and it needed to be shown, because sansa's reaction to that was severe, and though in the new version it is not, it is still portrayed as a very stupid thing jon did, out of impulse, and not like, actual outright intent to push her as in the first time.

second, i needed to flesh out where this 'image' of sansa in the eyes of the dragoncourt comes from. its not something she fashioned. its something that she simply uses. in this new light, her opening up to jon in the riverlands makes more sense, because she doesnt really lie, in king's landing. she just... doesnt make a spectacle out of correcting people's assumptions and has chosen to use them - same as Jon does , really, but sansa uses the assumption of weakness that has been put on her, while Jon uses the assumption of heartlessness. and both kinda sortea believe they are what others say they are, even as they scorn it, even as they wear it as a mask. which is the more insidious part of this whole thing. for sansa - her relationship with Viserys was abusive, and HE was the one who shaped the idea of who sansa was, that other people parrot back. i have never said this in the fic, not even in the re-written version, but the hints are there. and they were not before. i felt it was needed to make her character more cohesive, more believable, and also to build that bomb that was supposed to be Sansa realizing that it was Petyr, and not Viserys, who took Beth from her. ... i still have my doubts that i have managed to make it have the intended weight but as it is , its good enough for me not to obsess about it.

oh i also fixed what i thought was a pacing issue. there is no more picnic feast, it all happens in one night, one feast in the great hall. most of the conversations stay teh same, i have added one or two lines here and there, or removed some without much consequence. i wanted it done this way because i kept thinking of the timing of these things happening, and through realistically, it might have worked out. aka, this happenign in real life - in the story, it dragged down a part of the story where things needed to happen very fast for the tension to build apropriately.]

scene 1. golden laurels

The throne room was alight with music and laughter, the scents of roasted meats and pies. The wine was flowing freely. The music was beautiful and for the most part there had hardly been any fighting. It was overpowering, like too tight of an embrace, but one you could not bear to part with. 

Not all celebrated the same thing or in the same way. This was Jon after all, that they were supposed to be honoring, and he was too distrusted and misliked for it to be any other way. But as she made her way through the hall, greeting people and indulging them with flattery and charm, Daenerys believed that the mood was positive enough. And either way, this was one of those rare times when she had decided she did not have to care, but rather could enough the feast and the joy of the occasion.    

“-But do you not think that such a dealing could potentially overstep your mandate?”

“I do not,” Jon said firmly. “If a lord passes a law which he then violates, claiming to do so to calm an angry populace, that is wrong enough. And he is twice to blame if that anger is one that he himself created. Daenerys! A word.”

Jon did not even apologise; he just strode in her direction the moment he caught sight of her, leaving his interlocutors behind. Dany barely contained her grin. 

“You don’t seem to be enjoying your celebration.” 

Jon only shrugged before downing his wine. “They grow tedious quickly. Everyone wants something.” 

“And this surprises you?”  

“No. Where is Lady Stark?”

Dany blinked at his abruptness. “I certainly have no idea. Why?”

“Why is she not here? Half of King’s Landing seems to be.” He looked impassive enough, but she could see the truth of it in his hard eyes: it was a wonder anyone had spoken to him so far without getting cut.

“I told you, Sansa doesn’t like to attend court-”

“Unless she must, I remember.” But even as he spoke he’d already looked away from her, searching for someone. He caught one of the serving girls as she passed him by.

“See that woman there, with the dark hair and the red Lyseni gown?” he said before even giving the startled girl the time to curtsey.

“Lady Shae, your grace?”

“Yes. Tell her to come to me.”

“Yes, your grace.”

The girl hurried away. Daenerys stared hard at Jon’s face, consciously preventing herself the frown that her confusion was trying to stamp on her face.   

“Jon, what on earth is the matter with you?”

“Nothing at all. Lady Shae, good evening. I don’t see my cousin. Is she not here?”

Shae had just risen from her usual awkward curtsey. She could do a perfectly good one when she felt like it, but there was a particular brand of insolence that ran strong in this girl and that she refused to surrender. Like the flat look she was giving Jon in that moment, for instance. There was nothing subtle about that.

“My lady is at prayer,” Shae said curtly. Jon’s grey eyes glinted with suppressed emotion.  

“I would like her to honor me by joining the celebrations.”

Shae did not give in an inch. “Lady Stark is indisposed.” 

“Indisposed…” It was as if the word left a bad taste in his mouth. “Well, that's a shame isn't it? She will have to change her disposition into one that is more favourable.” 

Shae did not know Jon enough to know that he only spoke this softly when he was well and truly furious, but she was smart enough to recognize a threat when she heard one. Dany saw her tighten her jaw as if she was biting back the insult that lit up her eyes.  

“I have news she will want to hear,” Jon pressed on. ”And she owes me a word or two of her own.”

“She owes you nothing.” 

Shae spoke without inflection or emotion, her gaze unflinching and unafraid. Daenerys felt a shiver crawl up her spine. It was not fear, for no matter how fierce his reputation, how black his moods or the stinging of his indifference, Dany could never bring herself to fear Jon. It was merely the memory of old fears; the many lessons her brother had taught her, that her flesh had not yet shed. 

Shae’s words seemed to have a curious effect on Jon too. His face darkened, yes, eyes flashing with a strong feeling that Dany knew was wrath. But then it cleared, like the sky after a flash storm. It looked as if he’d been given an answer to a question he did not even know he was asking.

“That is true,” Jon admitted. “But not for you to say.”

“Even so.” 

“Tell your lady I require her presence. She would not refuse me.” Jon repeated, sounding like his own self again and calmer than he’d had all day. Then he smiled and it was a fierce and mischievous thing. “But if she does, remind her that I am the man to come get her myself.” 

Shae arched one brow. “Truly? And which one of your many selves should my lady expect? The black prince, the black bastard, or her cousin?” 

“Shae!” Dany hissed, straining to keep her face impassive, but Jon laughed loud enough to turn heads. 

“All of them of course. It will not surprise her one bit to hear it,” Jon finally managed to say, a hand going over his face to help wipe the smile off his lips. “As i'm sure we both know, your lady believes everything.”

Shae was not amused nor did she seem reassured. She did not bother with the pretence of curtesy, simply giving them both her back and disappeared among the crowd. The moment she was out of sight, Dany turned to Jon. “What are you doing?”

“Inviting my cousin to my celebration.” He looked at her as if she was the strange one. “Why, what does it look like I am doing?”

Dany could not believe what she was seeing. “It looks like you’ve lost your senses.” 

“There are many who would debate you on whether or not I ever had any.” 

Dany huffed. “Spare me.” And her contempt must have shown because Jon laughed some more. He may not care a single whit about it but he was behaving in ways that were bound to fuel the idiotic rumors that had been swirling about the Red Keep for the past moon.

“Jon, I warn you, do not make a scene.”

“Of course not. Excuse me, my company is in high demand tonight.” 

He pulled away from her and walked towards the balconies, stopping only to speak with one of his men, no doubt to tell him to watch for Sansa’s arrival. Which would be never, of course. Sansa was not one to succumb to such clumsy manners or threats. She would not come… which was a problem of its own, because Jon was not one to issue idle threats either. 

What the fuck was the matter with him anyway? Sansa had not said anything to imply they had shared more words than politely necessary, which had been easy to believe: only a small handful of people could go further than that with lady Stark. Few bothered to presume it possible or necessary. Dany had simply assumed she would be that way with Jon as well. Worse even, because it had been obvious that he intended to use her for something, up there in the Riverlands. 

As she was contemplating her options, Daenerys heard the chatter of the hall momentarily rise, swelling like a wave and then crashing down, expanding its ripple throughout the hall. There was open laughter pattered throughout, thought quickly shushed. Dany turned then and saw Sansa entering the hall through its northern gate, flanked by Jeyne and Shae. Her temper heated to witness the side-along glances and the little smiles that followed her. Dany knew what they were sneering at: Shae had been true to her word, Sansa really had been at prayer and it was quite plain to see. Aside from the diamonds in her ears, she had no jewellery to adorn her. Intricate hairstyles were the rule in official celebrations like this, the more elaborate the better, to better show the opulence of those wearing it. Sansa had her veil on, it fluttered with her every step like a silver cloud trailing behind her. The copper curls beneath it were unbound, unstyled. Her luminous dove-grey dress was exquisite, but despite how it flattered the line of her body or the lovely way the straight neckline exposed her collarbones and the tops of her shoulders, it was a downright conservative choice for a royal feast. 

Of course, none of this had been accidental. Sansa built herself up layer by layer every day, wielding her many selves the same way knights did sword and armour. There was a reason for every piece; this hall was simply not her intended audience. And yet, even here, the meaning shone through: the fine silver sheen of her silk dress immediately traced it to the silkworm farms of northern Dorne, famous for the almost metallic shine of their fabrics and sole dominion of the queen, who from time to time bestowed bundles of the rare fabric as gifts, marking out those that had her favour. Sansa had embroidered the jaws of a snarling direwolf on the right half the bodice in white pearls, its open jaws framing her breast, its tail curling among her skirts. Her diamonds were from the mines of the Stony Shore, the pearls from the Trident. She was courting Hardying by reflecting back at him the narrow idea that his underdeveloped imagination fancied was the perfect highborn maiden, while inflating his pride with suggestions of the power he’d stand to gain by possessing her. It was such an elegant hunt, Dany admired it even if she scorned the prey. 

And he would fall, of course. For all of his gallivanting on horseback, Sansa had more practice hunting than Harrold Hardying, who, despite all his failings, was an altogether different beast from Sansa’s previous ones. She would have no trouble muzzling him, Dany knew. She had muzzled worse. But it was not Harry Hardying’s eye that she drew now.

Jon reached Sansa faster than Dany did. It was as if he had materialised in front of her, so sudden was his appearance. Dany’s dread heightened but she couldn’t very well run through the hall and draw even more eyes than were already on them. Daenerys had not even taken three steps in their direction however, when she was herself intercepted. Margery came towards her, with Garlan in tow and a handful of Tyrell cousins. They all curtsied for her and Garlan kissed her palm. 

“Princess, my congratulations. The feast is splendid.” Margery leaned in to kiss Dany’s cheeks, her smile brilliant. Dany’s answering one was small and it did not reach her eyes. She had not forgotten fat Tyrell’s insult to Elia during Blackamont’s hearing. Daenerys was not about to welcome them warmly.

“Thank you. I am glad you are enjoying the festivities.” 

“We certainly are.” One of the girls admitted, looking to the others for confirmation. “The music has been wonderful; we have hardly managed to sit down for one reel at a time.” 

Dany chuckled. “I will extend my compliments to the singers and the players.” 

“To organise all this in a week is truly a feat, your grace,” Garlan pointed out, his enthusiasm more subdued than his sister, and therefore more tolerable. “I daresay there will be no better managed keep in the realm than the one you chose to make your future home.” 

The allusion to her future marriage was one that would have sparked her ire, but she knew enough of Garlan to know that he only meant it as a compliment. That he was the Tyrell Rhaenys liked best, aside from her own husband, spoke highly of his character. “That is very kind.” 

“Not at all.” 

“And how is the prince enjoying his accolades?” 

“I have scarce had the chance to ask,” Dany said, glad that she could find a use for her current company. “Would you like to join me and find out?” 

“Why certainly,” Margery said, delighted. Garlan offered his right arm to Daenerys, his left to his sister and together they moved to Jon. He was still where Dany had last seen him: with Sansa just past the northern gates, where the dragon heads were of the height of a tall man. Tyrion had also found his way to them, standing next to his lady as was his custom. As they neared, they caught the tail end of their conversation.

“It was not common rain,” Dany heard Tyrion. “It lasted for two weeks. That may be seen in the stormlands but King’s Landing was simply not equipped for it. The deluge claimed homes and shops and people alike. Fleabottom was flooded, hundreds of people died. And the Citadel has already sent out warnings it may happen again at the break of summer. Princess, Lady Margery, good evening.” 

Tyrion managed to bow his neck an inch greeting them. Daenerys held back a snort. “Lord Tyrion. Nephew. I bring you well-wishers.” 

Daenerys came to stand at Sansa’s side, putting herself Garlan and Margery between Sansa and Jon, forcing them all into a wider circle. Margery curtsied, the emerald that pinned the crown of braids on top of her head catching the light. 

“My brother and I wished to offer congratulations on the behalf of my house. We are so very glad to see such honors being bestowed on one so worthy.”

Jon inclined his head to her. “Thank you, lady.” 

“I was told you brought great relief to the people of the riverlands.” Margery continued, and Jon’s attention, which had strayed from her to Tyron, was brought back around. 

“I made myself useful.” The side of his mouth curved upward slightly. “It’s one of my few good qualities.”

“Few, you say,” Margery teased. “Apparently modesty is among their number.” 

“No, that was never one of my ailments.” Jon denied swiftly. 

Margery’s laugh was like the chiming of silver bells. “I have all faith that you will put all your virtues and many gifts to good use, your grace.” 

And Dany knew then, just by looking at her, her manner, the way she looked at him and stood beside him, how she spoke and even the way she moved her hands that Margery Tyrell was trying to endear herself to Jon. One look at Jon’s face and she knew he’d understood the same thing. And though her anger was for the closest target first, Dany knew that it was Margery’s pug-faced father that was to blame for this new development. 

Was the Black Bastard good enough for the rose of Highgarden, now that he officially sat on the King’s council, Dany wondered bitterly. Now that they thought he finally had the king;s favour?

It could not be so easy. 

“Lady Sansa, you look lovely this evening.” One of the Tyrell cousins said softly. Her hair was arranged less conspicuously than her cousin and she wore a fainter shade of green and gold, but she was lovely, and not at all sincere. Dany disliked her immediately, as she disliked the slant of her smile and the glances the other two girls exchanged. But Sansa received the words as if they were most plainly meant. 

“Thank you, lady Gena. You all look lovely as well. You must tell me the name of your dressmaker.” 

“I gladly would, my lady but I fear you will be disappointed with her. She is far too frivolous a creature to suit your sober taste.” 

Sansa acknowledged this with a nod, choosing to not speak on the implied insult. 

“Don’t be silly, Gena,” Margery said. “Can’t you tell lady Sansa has come from the sept? Is that not so, my lady?” 

“It is. I wished to congratulate his grace, before I retired.” Sansa explained, the lie so smooth on her lips that had Sany not known differently, she would have believed her.

“I am sorry to have disturbed your prayers, cousin.” 

He was a shameless liar and a villain, but Dany already knew this. She met his eye and Jon smiled as if he’d snatched the thought right out of her head and found it hilarious. 

Jon turned to Sansa. “Which gods were you praying to this time?” 

“The Seven, your grace.”

He did not smile, but Dany knew Jon enough to tell that something about Sansa’s answer amused him deeply. It danced in his eyes. 

“I am curious, what would a lady such as yourself pray for?” Tyrion interceded. 

“What do you care for prayer?” Shae asked, looking Tyrion over. “You don't believe in anything.” 

“Which is why I am so curious, my lady.” Tyrion explained, full of mirth for whatever reason.

“I pray for wisdom not to fear shadows, my lord,” Sansa answered softly. “And the courage to face them, when danger truly dawns.”

Jon’s lips curled upwards. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.” 

Sansa inclined her head. “As you say, your grace.”

It was strange, Dany thought, to see two people so important to her, speaking to one another for the first time from this close. They had spoken before of course, but the way they looked at each other now was different. And unlike the other times, their proximity in that moment highlighted how opposite they had always seemed to her: Jon, with his darkness and intensity that carried all before him, and Sansa, silver-bright with her glacial calm that moved for no one.  Like the two faces of the moon, it seemed impossible that they should share the same space at the same time. 

And share it they did: if before Jon had been standing too close, now he could no longer, but still, Sansa could not move an inch, without Jon mirroring her, whether it was shifting his body so it was facing her exactly or inclining his head if she looked away as if he was inching to put himself back into her line of vision. 

Daenerys knew these little tics about him. She had seen them before. She doubted he even noticed he was doing it. 

“Were you just now speaking of the great deluge of three years ago?” Dany asked, trying to divert attention. Perhaps if she distracted them with politics, she could give Sansa a chance to slip away. It was a game they had played so many times, but the way Jon ket looking at Sansa, as if he was convinced if he blinked too slow she might disappear, did not make her hope very likely. If she left, he would follow Dany was certain: Jon had the very bad habit of not thinking very well when he was in his temper. 

Dany did not want to stop and think what was making him act this way. She would need her calm undamaged.

“We were.” 

“We suffered in Highgarden too. Many lives were lost,” Margery said her tone softening as it should when she mentioned the loss. “But as I heart it was nowhere near as bad as the crownlands.” 

“The rain was bad enough, but the tales were worse.” 

“Tales?” Garlan turned to look at Dany.  

“A monster was apparently seen prowling the streets through the storms.” 

“What kind of monster?” Jon pressed. 

“A mule's head on the body of a whore, men said,” Dany began. “One human arm, the other's an elephant's trunk. On its back, the bearded face of an old man. A tail like a neck, ending with a snake's head. Scaly limbs. It's left foot like a hoof, the right an eagle's talon.” 

“Well that certainly sounds horrific.” Garlan pointed out. 

“It sounds like a fiction born of exhaustion, anxiety and too much wine.” Tyrion countered. 

Dany could not help but agree. The whole thing sounded ridiculous in her mind. She remembered those rains. Even when the tall was light, the wind was such that one could hardly see five feet in front of one’s hand, let alone have vision sharp enough to tell what was a hoof and if arms were scaled. 

“All the same, people were afraid,” Dany remembered their cries, how every time the curtain of rain eased, you could hear them shouting from behind the gates. “They came up the hills crowding against the doors of the castle, seeking safety.” 

“There were those that believed the deluge was sent by the gods as punishment,” Tyrion reminded her. 

Margery frowned at him. “Punishment for what?” 

“Oh, the usual: corruption, decay,” Tyrion smirked. “High lords safe behind their walls on their hills while common folk wade through mud up to their arse and see their children washed away.” He turned to Sansa then, quite unexpectedly. “You are the true believer among us, lady Stark. Do you think it was divine punishment?”

When all the others looked at Sansa, Dany looked to Jon. His eyes were fixed. And even if the intent in his eyes had not been plain enough, Dany would have still known that it was not a need to appear well-mannered in public that made him wait for Sansa’s answer, because he’d always distained such things, choosing to be openly provocatory, instead of submitting to falsity.  

“I believe in the power of faith, of course. But I also believe in hope and charity. In welcoming people in, when they’re in need, sharing one’s fire with them and the food of one’s table. Assuaging the fears of those who are frightened.” 

Gena chuckled. “There are the words of a true devotee.” 

“Are they?” Jon was not smiling. “They sound more like Stark words to me.” 

He was looking at Sansa as if he could hear exactly what thoughts were turning in her head, which would have been a gift indeed since Sansa’s face was the picture of blank serenity, with nothing at all moving behind her eyes.

“How do you mean, your grace?” Margery asked, and if Dany did not know better she would have thought her suspicious.

“Sharing food, hearth and home is the only way to survive the deep winter.” Jon explained, looking to Margery one more. “When the snows fall fifteen feet deep, Wintertown, Barrowtown and White Harbour welcome the whole of the north. Most of the time supplies from Winterfell’s glass gardens are the difference between life and death for a great many people that are hungry and cold and scared.” 

“Of course;” Margery’s eyes fell on the jaws of the direwolf on Sansa’s bodice and a small smile curved up her lips. “Our Sansa is such a gentle soul, one could be forgiven for forgetting the fierceness of her forebears.” 

That was a bold-faced lie; no one forgot. It had simply been a long time since anyone cared for what it truly meant.  There were some ideas, Dany thought, that once formed, took root deep. And the main ideas that had shaped who Sansa was to the court, had been moulded by hands that were not present tonight. Though he needn't be for how well people kept dancing to his tunes.

“An understandable mistake, considering.” Tyrion said. Dany pinned him with a sharp look that he answered with his own crooked smile. 

“I do not know about that, my lord,” Margery insisted, looking at Sansa again. “While the lady is devoted to the seven, I am quite sure she prays to the old gods too, do you not Sansa? And I still remember how aggrieved she was to lose her little northern wolf, years back. Why, I believe she wore mourning clothes for months.” 

Dany felt her blood run cold.  

“Did you?” Jon’s question was direct, spoken as if he and Sansa were alone. 

“A child’s fancy, your grace,” Sansa dismissed.  

The scorn lingered in the coldness of his eyes. His little smile could not quite conceal it. “That so?” 

Margery laughed at Jon’s softly spoken words. She did not understand him. Dany felt as if she’d stepped back in time, playing in a piece of theatre complete with the tittering of the ladies around them. But this was not Viserys’ company – the similarities were shallow at best; one look at Jon’s face, one true look and it would be known. Dany could not understand how Margery did not sense the danger. She was usually so perceptive. But Jon was unknown to so many, deliberately so, his passions so often misunderstood. And he had turned his body towards Margery Tyrell for the first time since she tried to get his attention, leaned into her space a little bit, interested, intent. He had scented the lurking filth the way beasts scent blood and he was after it. Dany knew this because she knew him. And she knew none of these people, save perhaps Tyrion, understood what they were stepping into, because she also remembered how easy it had been, once, in this very court, among these same fine people, to get the attention and favour of another prince by practising the games that he’d best enjoyed. 

Perhaps Margery was trying to do that now, but it would go badly for her. That was Dany’s one consolation. Because though she might have understood something of Viserys, Margery Tyrell knew nothing of Jon and could not see… could not see the similarities were skin deep. She could not get the truth of it, because ideas, Dany reminded herself, had roots deeper than a hundred-year-old oak. 

“Why yes, your grace. It went well within summer. But despite everyone pleading for her to shed her mourning and enjoy the renewal of the season, our lady refused. Even at the urging of the high septon. She turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to all. The picture of wilfulness indeed.” 

There was no expected surprise on Jon’s face. Only a thin smile. “And how was she dissuaded?” 

Margery bit her lip, coy. “She was not. The late prince Viserys and Princess Daenerys had to cut her out of them.” She laughed as she said it. “Then all the princess ladies got together, and we dressed her fit for summer once more.” 

She said it as if it was a funny jape. And there were those who laughed. Even Sansa smiled, as if she could see the humour and was indulging a good friend with their shared history. But Tyrion’s eyes were searching his cup, his lips twisted in a sneer. Jeyne was looking at the floor and Shae looked fit to cut Margery Tyrell a red smile of her own. And Jon… 

Jon’s eyes met Dany’s with the force of a hammer. 

“Sounds like a grand time,” he spoke so softly, it was a wonder Dany heard it. But she did, and heard the words beneath the words as clear as a bell too. His eyes shone like polished steel. “I would have liked to be there and see it myself.” 

Margery shrieked. “Ser, you are wicked. There would have been nothing at all for you to see, since we stole the lady away the moment her ribbons were cut.” Margery turned to Sansa with a brilliant smile. “But it was such wicked fun. By the time we reached the princess’ rooms I remember we were crying with laughter.”

“So. My fair cousin was stubborn once, many years ago,” Jon finally said, “Is that the only fault to be laid at lady Stark’s feet?”

“Oh, yes. The only one,” Margery smiled at Sansa, who mirrored her expression. Though the warmth had drained from her cheeks and made her look bone white against the flickering of the candles, her expression remained calm and unbothered. “Which of course I can only admire.” 

“We all do, of course.” Genna added. “One cannot help it.” 

Dany saw Shae take a breath as if she was about to speak, saw Jeyne move to grasp her wrist. Jon was faster than them both.  

“Which reminds me, I owe you my thanks, cousin.” 

The words themselves were plain enough. It was in his face that you could see the truth of it, the blistering feeling that animated him. It took just a glance for Dany to know he was about to do something stupid. 

Sansa’s brows twitched together, the only manifestation of her confusion. 

“Had it not been for insistence and prudent council, matters in the Riverlands might have been resolved very differently. And I daresay, quite more violently.” 

“You’re too kind, your grace.” 

Even Daenerys heard it. Do not. 

Jon was deaf to it.   

“I’m not. In fact, I say it would be only fair to share the day with you,” Jon said as if the thought had just occurred to him and Dany never knew that praise could be spoken so angrily, but there she stood and she heard it same as everyone else did. 

“I would never presume-” 

“You’re not presuming anything, though, are you?” and Jon did smile then, a true smile, which Sansa looked away from. 

He put his cup down and plucked the wreath of golden laurels from his head. Dany realized what he meant to do the moment Sansa - and just about everyone else who had been paying attention - did. Sansa’s composure cracked, her surprise palpable in her wide eyes and slightly parted lips. Even the music had stopped. 

Dany could not breathe. He might as well have just declared his intention to have her, right there for all to hear, for how unmistakable his actions were.

What was he doing?

Two steps ate the distance between the two of them. Sansa seemed frozen into marble, she did not even seem to be breathing. Jon unpinned her veil with one hand, letting it flutter to the floor, and settled the wreath on her head carefully. It was a touch too big for her, but Sansa’s curls kept it from falling to her ears. 

A pocket of silence had formed around them. Dany could already see heads further away from their small circle, starting to turn. 

“A royal gift for a lady worthy of it,” he stepped back, the look on his face fond. “I give it freely, along with my gratitude.”

Dany looked around, marking the stunned expressions that surrounded them. Margery’s eyes had narrowed, her cousins were already whispering. Garlan alone seemed to be wearing the ghost of a smile, which Tyrion grinned at her. If some version of this moment did not burn through King’s Landing within the end of the day, Daenerys would eat her favorite dress. 

Finally, Dany could no longer hold back her miserable doubts. She let them wash over her and they gave her terrible pause. Could it possibly be true?

“Forgive me, your grace. Any words I know are too feeble to express my feelings in this moment.” Sansa said then, words barely above a whisper. 

That was probably very true, Dany thought as she watched Sansa’s chest heaving with short, fast breaths. Nerves, most would think. Overcome with emotion. But then again, most people had not spent so much time in Sansa Stark’s company and would not be able to read anger in the stiff line of her shoulders, in her downturned eyes, so fixedly staring at the ground for fear they would give her away.  

Dany did not think Jon was aware of it either, until she saw that a small frown had made its way between his brows. “No need for any, then.” 

Congratulations and questions started pouring in. Sansa fended them off graciously, modestly. And as she watched, Dany wondered how it must feel for her, to receive smiles and praises from some of the very same people that had laughed at her before, who had abandoned her when she had been in need. People who, dany felt sure, would have not hesitated to mock her even now if Jon had given the slightest hint that it would have amused him. 

She turned to look at Margery, who was very jovially saying something Dany only caught the tail end of. 

“Indeed, to hear Lady Stark tell it, she did nothing but keep company with the ladies the entire time.” 

Jon did not seem overly impressed. “She did that too.” 

Margery laughed, her discerning eyes going from one to the other. “Well, aren’t the two of you a puzzle.” 

“My cousin gives good advice and asks the right questions. There is nothing more to puzzle out.”  

“Of course, a lady always needs to be very discerning in her daily duties,” Margery said with a nod. 

Sansa caught Dany’s eye over their conversation. Finally, in the ensuing confusion, Dany saw her chance. 

“Discerning and beautiful and modest,” Dany said as she took a step and put herself in front of Sansa, offering her hand with a grin. “Will the lady gift me with a dance, so that I may bask in her graces some more?” 

Sansa put her hand in Daenerys’ outstretched one. “I would be honoured.” 

Margery gasped. “Oh but you cannot deprive us of Lady Stark so soon. She has not even begun her story.” 

“I can and I shall,” Dany said haughtily. “Like all dragons, I guard my treasures jealously.” 

It caused laughter, which had been Dany’s intent: distract with charm and get Sansa away. They did dance and when Shae approached and abruptly told Sansa that Yohn Royce and Harry Hardyign awaited her, Daenerys let her go. Sansa left so quickly, it was a wonder she did not run. And, as Dany watched, she noticed that it was not anywhere in the hall that Shae led her, but outside into the gardens. A lie then. Good. Dany calmed further when she saw that Jon had had the wisdom not to follow but was rather having a conversation with some of Stannis’ men. 

Daenerys turned away. She could not even look at him without her temper rising.   

“Aunt.”

Dany startled to hear Aegon’s voice so close behind her.  She jutted her arm backwards, causing Aegon to grunt. 

“Gods you have sharp elbows.”  

“How many times must I tell you not to startle me like that?” 

“Well, then you should make such funny noises when i do, should you?” 

He put a cup in her hands and came to stand by her side. “Did I mishear, or did my brother just crown Sansa Stark for something or other, with the very wreath of laurels the king gave him?”  

“You did not mishear.” 

Aegon blinked as if he struggled to understand. “You mean - he did that here?” 

“He did.” She said through gritted teeth. He ahd done precisely what she’d told him not to do.   

Aegon’s laughter was shocked and disbelieving both. “What can he mean by it?” 

Fucked if I know, Dany thought. Outwardly, she shrugged.

Aegon took a long drink from his cup, thinking it over.  “Do you think it’s true?” he asked finally, voice low, before he grinned at her. “That the dreaded black prince has finally fallen in love and forgotten you?”

Dany gave Aegon a scathing look. “Court gossip is ridiculous, and you must be drunker than you look to believe it.”

In truth, she did not know what to think. Ever since he’d come back, Jon had been a mystery. He’d never been easy to read by any means, but at least before he would share his mind with her. 

She might have believed him in love, if this was five years ago and his true smiles were not rarer now than snow was in Dorne. He had been slow to trust before too, but never slow to love. Indeed, once, when he was still a boy, love had come so easily to him, it still broke her heart to remember it. He used to give armfuls of it to anyone who showed him the smallest kindness. 

They’d both been such sad children. 

But they were children no longer, Dany reminded herself sternly. And much had changed since then. The Jon Dany knew now could never fall in love in little more than a month, with a woman he’d hardly met before. The more she thought of it, the less possible it sounded. And then… then strange thoughts began clouding her mind. And more and more they darkened her judgment. 

No, she would have answers from him, be it the last thing she ever had from him. 

and the new scene - the opening scene of the next chapter, after the fight in the red keep between lannister and stark men, for Shae.

i. ambush

Rhaenys rode her horse inside the courtyard at breakneck speed, her guards far behind her. When she saw him, she urged her mound in his direction, making slow circles around him as she paced her stallion down.  

“Half brother.” 

She sounded studiously bored, which meant someone had thinned her patience quite a bit. An interesting feat considering it as so early in the morning. 

“Dear sister.” 

Rhaenys made a face at him. “Where are you coming from?” She asked as she dismounted, handing the reins to one of the stable boys. 

“The market.” 

“You mean the brothels?” 

“If you like.” Jon said with a shrug. 

“You should have come to prayer. You need it.” 

They started walking towards the Red Keep together. “I don’t hold with the seven.” Though he found it hilarious that she pretended to.

“Might give the septons praying for your soul’s salvation a crumb or two.” 

“I don't hold with giving people false hope either.” Jon said then. “It happens to be the reason i don't hold to the seven.” 

“Yes, yes you're very clever.”   

“You find my wit tedious, I know.” Jon looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Just like I know you don’t believe in the seven either.” 

“I have recently changed my mind on that account.” 

Jon’s laugh was dry. “You want me to believe your stay with the Tyrells has made you pious? Even Willas cannot have that power.”

“One might argue,” Ser Arthur suggested calmly as he reached them, “That the fact the princess has yet to strangle any of her good-family - or you - might be proof of divine intervention.” 

“You make a good point, ser.” Jon conceded.  “Though I have always thought my half sister to be more practical than to attempt murder by strangulation.” 

“I am indeed - and clever enough not to need to murder people, when i can simply persuade them to obey.”

“I do not think threats and coercion count as persuasion.” 

“They do if you do it right.” 

“Unlike me, you mean.” 

They passed beneath archways of the great hall. “Well, if you feel the burn of my words, that is no fault of mine.” 

“Come Rhaenys, no need to be shy.” 

She scoffed and looked at him with derision form the corner of her eye. “I haven’t been shy a day in my life.”  

Oh she wanted everyone to believe that, but he remembered differently. Yet, Jon smiled anyway. “If you keep rolling your eyes that hard, they will roll right out of your head.” 

“Yes, Pycelle used to tell me the same thing.” Her grin was all teeth. “You must be so proud to match the wit of a man whose balls brush his knees.” 

“Great age allows for great wisdom.” 

“Do not hold out hope for that. No matter how much time it spends trying to, wisdom will never penetrate through your thick skull.” 

Finally Jon laughed. “You’re in fine form this morning.” 

“She’s been practicing with the high septon.” 

Jon looked at his half sister with great perplexion. “What for?” 

“Yes, that was a question I asked myself too, about five blinks into the conversation with the man. Gods he’s dull.” 

Jon stopped abruptly, an icy shiver running down his spine. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood on its ends, responding to a danger that was nowhere near him, and as real as the walls about him.

Ghost. 

Rhaenys turned back to look at him, perplexed. “What is it?” 

“I don’t know.” But his heart was already speeding up, legs carrying him forward. Sansa would have taken the garden path back to the castle, Jon thought as he started taking the entrance stairs in front of him two at a time. It was not so far from here. 

“Where are you going? What is it?” Rhaenys grew more angry with each unanswered question. "Is it mother?” 

When he heard the sounds of clashing steel, Jon started running. Arthur ordered the guards at the entrance with him. 

“Jon, don’t!” Arthur warned. Jon did not heed him.   

Arthur dry his blade and stopped at the entrance of the hall just as Jon did. “By the all thundering gods…”

The scene appeared to him all at once, all the details entering his mind in the space it took him to draw his sword. He surged forward, disarming the first redcloak he saw, blood running cold at the sight of Sansa on the ground, painted gruesome red on one side. 

Please… 

“What are you- Stop this madness in the name of your king!” Rhaenys’s shout echoed over the sounds of clashing steel but the fight was so fierce and so close, none could stop without risking their own skin. 

Jon saw his half sister unsheathe the dagger from her belt, sharp and long as her forearm. She slashed at the thigh of the first redcloak she reached, twisted his wrist to steal his sword. 

Jon kneed him away from her. “Stay back.”  

“Fuck off!” 

“Drop your swords or I will see you all hang for treason!” ser Arthur’s voice managed to draw attention, but it was too late. The stroke was already falling. The blade catching skin, his uncle brought to his knees. Sansa’s scream was terrible enough to draw blood from stone. 

Ghost jumped. They tasted the man’s blood. They howled in rage and pain when the arrow bit into their shoulder. It was that red rage that propelled him to move, a measure of all the small cuts that had demanded his restraint for weeks in this place, the pent up fury of having to smile in the face of those who had earned meeting his fists, until he had to walk here and find his own people bloodied broken and- 

With a howl he cut the archer’s throat so deep, he reached bone. He stalked the two men to his left, who had stopped fighting yet met his look with wide frightened eyes of their own. And thought Jon knew it was fear that made them raise their sword against him, he still threw himself at them, fighting both at the same time until he kicked one against the wall and took the head clean off the other one. He did not turn to see it land with a metallic clang a foot away. He parried the blow of the second soldier who had recuperated his breath enough to defend himself, twisted his arm out of the way and got in close enough to knee the other man in the balls. He doubled over, sword falling  from his hand. Jon kneed him again in the face, felt the metal nose-protection cut into his knee and then out of sheer anger kneed him again before slashing at his throat. He fell and Jon would have taken his head too, had not something slammed against his side hard enough to make him lose his footing. 

Jon did not mind the breath being driven from his lungs or the stinging of his ribs. He turned with a growl, and his steel met the milky white of Dawn as Arthur parried his blow, scowling.

“I said enough!” Arthur bit out, face close enough to his that Jon knew he was keeping himself from grabbing Jon by the hair and shaking him. 

Jon lowered his blade. There was no one left to kill anyway. 

Arthur pushed him aside, kneeling down to see to the man whose throat Jon had opened before looking up at him with severe accusation and distain. Jon met the knight’s accusing stare without shame or regret. Were it up to him, it would be Cersei Lannister’s throat he’d open next. 

The quiet that came after seemed to echo, punctuated with groans, and far-away cries that were coming closer with every moment. 

“Send for the maesters, now!” Rhaenys’ voice vibrated with anger. Her glare turned to Sansa and Cersei with equal fierceness. “And you. How dare you break the king’s peace in his own halls!” 

“That beast attacked me!” 

Jon gripped his sword again, spinning his blade and turning his body to better face the Lannister woman. She looked at him then, drawn by the motion, and eyed his sword and then his eyes, and Jon knew that she could see it clear as day that the blood of her men had not even begun to quench his thirst and it was her own he would see painting the stones red. She saw it clear and she hated it and it frightened her as much as her pride did not allow her to take a single step back from him.

Rhaenys’ lips pulled back from her teeth in her anger, as if she was ready to growl. “By the gods, woman, you will not lie to my face!” 

Jon moved away to crouch by his uncle. He was not awake, but heartbeat was strong. He  turned to Sansa then, tried to catch her by the shoulders, but she resisted, pressing down on Benjen’s leg with all her weight. He took hold of her arm.

“Sansa!” 

She would not turn. She did not even seem to hear. Jon ripped the clasp of her cloak so that he could better see the state of her; traced his hands through the red on her neck, her face and hair, smearing the blood away, looking for a wound and, mercifully, finding none. 

Of course. As his temper cooled and his fear eased he started thinking clearly again. That was arterial blood she was smeared with; too much for her to have spilled and lived. Of course. 

More voices surrounded them. The thundering footsteps of guards and servants. Jon looked to Shae, the cut on her forehead, along her hairline. Searched along her body to find others. 

“Are you wounded anywhere?” 

Shae shook her head.  

“Do you you feel dizzy, nauseous?” 

“No.” 

“My lady, let us take him.” 

Jon looked up to see Pycelle standing over them. There were servants running about already, people speaking in all directions. He could hear Rhaenys just behind him, Arthur giving orders. Ghost limped towards them, an arrow sticking out of his right side, just at the shoulder. 

Jon took hold of Sansa’s wrists. Her pulse was flying. 

“Let go,” Jon urged gently. “Sansa, let them take him.” 

There was a wildness in her eyes when she looked at him, her breaths sharp and shallow, only a thin ring of blue remaining in her eyes the rest eaten up by the black pupils blown wide with shock. She looked from him to the maester and to Benjen again, before she unhooked her fingers from the fabric of her cloak one by one, slowly. She stared at her bloodied hands as Jon moved her aside to let the master do his work. 

The guards moved Benjen onto a stretcher. 

“Will he live?” Jon asked. 

Pycelle hummed. Looked beneath the tourniquet Sansa and Shae handmade. “It is not so deep that he should die. The belt was clever. Whether he will ever walk as he did, remains to be seen.” 

The old man got to his feet with the help of his steward. He looked at Sansa up and down then. “And you, my lady? Are you hurt?” 

Sansa also rose to her feet slowly. Jon reached for her, expecting her to stumble, afraid that she might, but she did not. Her hand fluttered to her middle as she stood, but it was only a nervous gesture she seemed to push down.

“I am well, thank you."

“I will see to your lady, then.” 

“My lady stays with me.”  

She spoke so bluntly, Pycelle was taken aback. But when she held out her hand, Shae went to Sansa immediately and they linked fingers together so tight it turned their knuckles white. 

“Get to your work maester,” Jon ordered. “Lady Stark will see to her own woman.” 

“I do not advise-“

“Get to it.” Jon barked, so harshly Pycelle took a step back. Jon spared not a look to his mutterings. He urged Ghost to sit and be still, lest the arrow hurt him more, and leaned in to take a closer look at the wound. It had pierced him shallowly on the side, shaft going through the skin and poking out the other side. 

Jon took out his knife.  

“What are you doing?” 

He looked to Sansa, who had spoken the question. She sounded strange. Too calm. 

Jon laid a hand on Ghost’s flank. Urged him to stillnes.  “I will cut him and take the arrow out. It has caught him sideways, so it's not deep. It will hurt him less this way.” 

With a murmured apology to his friend, slashed the couple of inches that the arrow had pierced. Ghost yelped, then growled but did not snap at him nor did he move. He bled freely, but the arrow came away whole.

“That will need sewing.” 

“I’ve done it before.” Jon admitted, patting Ghost’s head. 

When he turned to see her, Sansa was pressing a hand chief at the cut on Shae’s head. Shae pressed it against her own skin and kept it there. Sansa whispered something to her that Jon did not catch, before casting her eyes around, lingering on the headless corpse that was being taken away, on the man without an arm whose bleeding one of Pycelle’s helpers was trying to stop. She did not flinch nor look away. At the centre of the storm of movement and sound of the aftermath, Sansa Stark was completely still and silent. Jon knew she must be in a state of shock, but when she finally met her eyes, there was terrible awareness there.  

“Where are my men?” 

“To the nearest room that will take them.”  

She blinked at him. “Were any of them dead?” 

“I do not think so.” He stopped one of the servants. “Post one of your boys with the maesters. Have him take news to lady Stark of her men’s condition.”

“Yes, your grace.” 

“Then go to the barracks and find officer Grenn of my personal guard. Tell him he is to make his unit ready and meet me in the courtyard as soon as he is able.” 

“Yes, your grace.” 

“Ser.” 

Sansa’s voice stopped the young man, his brown eyes glancing quickly to the blood smeared on her before they found her face again.  

“You will find Sandor Clegane in the barracks as well. Tell him that Lady Stark requires his presence, as a matter of urgency.” 

“Yes, my lady.” 

“I will not be spoken to as if I were some common wench!”

“You will answer the questions asked, madam!” Rhaenys ordered, hand gripped right around the hilt of her sword as if it was taking all her patience not to raise it. “Or i will relinquish the courtesy of asking them and have you arrested this very moment as a woman of blood.” 

Cersei Lannister took a step towards the princess. If that was meant to be a threat, it had little effect. Jon saw a muscle twitch on Rhaenys’ face at the Lannister woman’s nerve and met her advance with stillness and a raised chin that dared her to come any closer. The Lannister woman did not. 

“I was robbed and attacked. My men were slain in this very hall, yet the Stark girl and her whore are allowed to go free while I am threatened?” Cersei Lannister’s lip curled back in disgust. “Has this kingdom fallen into into tyranny? Does Rheagar’s law no longer govern, even under his own roof?”

“As I informed your ladyship before you set your men upon us,” Sansa said then voice void of any feeling and deeper than her usual sweetened tone. “Whatever your accusation, it is against the king’s law to throw a noble lady in the black cells.” 

“She is a foreign whore!” 

“Enough!” Rhaenys’ face was set in harsh lines, eyes glinting with barely suppressed anger. “You will both be confined to your rooms. No one may be permitted in or out and you will leave your confinement only at the king’s order, and none other.  Ser Arthur, I charge you with lady Lannister.” She handed the sword to a passing man, looking to Sansa. “I will escort lady Stark to her apartments myself.” 

“I demand justice, princess.” 

Rhaenys turned the full force of her disdain on the Lannister woman. “And I pray that you have it, my lady. But only when the king’s law gives it to you and not a moment sooner. And you will certainly not take it with your own savage hands.”

Ser Arthur stepped in front of Cersei. “After you, lady.” 

“You do not command me, knight.” 

Arthur remained impassive. “You can walk. Or be made to walk. I leave the choice to you.”

Cersei smiled, and it was an ugly thing. “I will have blood for this.”  

When she’d turned the corner, Rhaenys came to stand in front of Sansa. 

“I will take her.” Jon offered. 

“You will not.” 

“The king will have questions, princess.” Jon insisted. “You are better equipped to answer them than I.” 

Rhaenys clenched her teeth. “Yes indeed, I am the one better equipped to explain to the king why you beheaded two men in his halls and opened the throat of a third when you could have easily disarmed them.” 

“I will arrange a guard and keep the post until the kingsguard arrives.” Jon went on in the face of her anger. He leaned in close to his half sister and lowered his voice a fraction. “Let me do what I am meant to do. You alert the king, before he hears half a dozen false accounts of what happened here.” 

“I do not know what happened here.” Rhaenys said through gritted teeth. She caught sight of something over his shoulder then and Jon did not have to turn to know she was looking at Sansa mostly because he knew she was just behind him, but also because of how his half sister’s downturned mouth twisted into a scowl. When she looked back to Jon her eyes were alight with renewed anger. Her words were a low hiss. “Keep her to her rooms and have her maids clean her. I will not have her appearing before the king like some slaughtered lamb.” 

Jon mirrored her expression. “And why would that displease you?” 

“Fuck you. There is no need for more of a spectacle. The carnage you left here will set the whole of king’s landing ablaze.” 

“You think i give a fuck about any of it?”

Jon towered over his half sister, yet she did not seem to see or sense the difference of their sizes when she met his outrage with her own. Jon opened his mouth but Sansa spoke sooner, drawing the attention of both dragons to her and away from each other. 

“If it please you, your grace, princess, I am ready to retire.”

--

so that is it. the action scene is choppy cause i havent edite yet, but that is where its going. this was a very long way of saying, i AM working on it, and very much want to finish it. its just been slow because ive gone back and edited so much.

thank you for still caring and for asking.

#jon snow #sansa stark #jonsa #actuallyjonsa #dragoncourt au #how ruthless are the gentle #idk if actuallyjonsa is still a tag #but nevermind. #anonymous

[steel--fairy]

i want to ramble about characters so it is now kris time

under a cut because this got about 10x longer than i expected

kris here is daphnes older sister and daphne is my johto protag oc, though kris is still important. it's also important that they're both originally from sootopolis in hoenn and wallace's nieces.

so it took a while for beverly (and ex husband) to realize that kris had psychic powers similar to her little siblings. daphne and [redacted] both had very outward powers while kris' is very inwards.

whenever she rambled about people with strange names they chalked it up to imaginary friends. it was only once they realized 2 outta 3 had powers that they looked into kris and realized she did not have a small army of imaginary friends.

so, tangent. in my verse, the dream world is sort of the distortion world. its a part of the distortion world that human minds can reach and navigate, though not consciously. it's outside of normal space and time so those who can naturally reach it tend to get prophetic visions.

so kris' power is that she can see the past, and occasionally the future, in her dreams. she has no control over what she sees though she tries sooo hard to. the future flashes are also just that. flashes. she sees a flash of a scene and knows x will be at y at exactly 2 47pm, sunday march 30th 2028. and thats it. why are they there? how did they get there? why that spot? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

anyways this gave kris a strong interest in history for obvious reasons. related to the sootopolis thing, she was close with her uncle wallace as he was very well versed in history and myths and was always happy to tell them to her. little kris wanted nothing more than to join her uncle as a guardian of the cave of origin

and then her family moved to johto.

kris was Not Happy. at all. she was 10 and had a whole life in hoenn. friends, a goal, she was even planning on going on a pokemon journey soon. for reasons related to [redacted], beverly was Very Opposed to the idea of kris staying in hoenn while beverly and daphne left for johto. she forced an angy kris to move there with them.

as a parting gift, wallace gave her a feebas egg (which got the attention of recently moved in to mew bark professor elm) and when it hatched, the second feebas was considered old enough to battle kris yeeted herself out of new bark town to tour johto.

(kris and beverly had argued basically the entire time in between. beverly was against her going out while kris had a insatiable curiosity. kris didn't give beverly any notice before she left. just went yea im going on a journey now and walked out the door)

johto was not hoenn but it was nice. in azalea town, kris met ethan (who's grandparents ran a daycare near goldenrod) and the two quickly bonded. they both had 'useless' starters (feebas and abra) and met after being made fun of by the same chump.

neither really had any goal. they wanted to travel and experience johto. and they did! they went all over johto and kanto together. they even managed to find and revive matching fossil pairs.

when they were 13, they met lyra, a rather suspicious but sweet girl who was into contests. since lyra had more of a concrete goal than them, they let her take the lead. after finding out that kris was from hoenn and had multiple famous coordinators in her family, they hopped on a boat to a new region! kris was delighted to finally have her hoenn journey! especially with such good friends!

by the time they returned home, they were 15ish. ethan had kept in touch with his grandparents, kris.... not so much. there was some yelling when she got home. especially about going to a different region. beverly hadnt even known about that until wallace called her like 'kris is in my house and eating all my food.' it took a few months for them to get into a good spot because both are very stubborn women. but they did, eventually, sort of make up.

but kris came out of her journey with 2 goals. 1, hone her powers so she can purposefully visit specific pts in time in her dreams and 2, find suicune.

the first was a natural step up from just enjoying her powers. she knew from studying with morty that it would be difficult if not impossible, but she could try. specifically, she wanted to learn how to bring back old, extinct evolutions. she had a stantler and she wanted to evolve it into a wyrdeer.

the second was because of a chance encounter. while in kanto, she ran into the legendary beast suicune. it let her get close and even pet its mane before seemingly realizing something and running away. eusine ran in not too long after and the two became rivals in searching for the beast.

to help with those goals, she interned under professor elm. her interest was history and extinct pokemon evolutions, but it was a good opportunity.

it did, eventually, help her get a position under professor rowan, the expert in pokemon evolution. she studied under him for several years (including during the whole team galactic fiasco lol) before branching off into her own thing.

her, ethan and lyra are a Unit (romantically? platonically? qpr? who knows! they think its funny to be so mysterious) so when Lyra managed to get a spot in the hoenn contest circuit the other 2 went with.

that was fine with kris. now she could fulfill her childhood goal and study under her uncle. having access to ancient sootopolitan texts was also a boon to honing her powers (the suicune thing had been resolved by then. celebi time travel stuff).

aaand thats about it! ^.^ yay kris!

#pie has hcs #...... #trainer kris #(/°\) feels shy tagging that #verse posting

[upagainstthesunset]

Morning oc thought is a small one. Just a slapped together scene.

Early on Heartbeat's still trying to absorb as much info as she can as a reaction to losing her memory. She realizes she's asking Metron a lot of questions, which is probably tedious for him, especially since she's sure all her questions are dumb in comparison to his intellect. He reassures her that she should keep it up because the pursuit of knowledge is a worthy endeavor no matter what level you are at. He likes her natural curiosity. He encourages her by telling her very passionately

"Never stop asking 'why'!"

She looks up towards him and in that moment cant help but admire him.

Cut to much later when things between them are coming to a head during their falling out and she's preparing to leave. He wants her to stay but wont say it bc he hasnt even really admitted it to himself. but he's okay with telling her not to go, not to do something she feels she must. So shes like

"Why not? Why shouldn't i do this?"

And he dodges the question. "I forbid it."

"You cant forbid me from anything. Why do you care so much?"

"Because nothing good will come of it."

"Why do you think that??"

"Because you are far better off here."

"But why??!"

In his frustration he rounds on her. "STOP ASKING WHY!"

And thats it. That's what ive got for you this morning. Id write the dialog better in an actual fic, but thats the idea. It leaves her shocked and hurt, and it leaves him immediately wishing he hadnt said it. He isnt known for losing his temper, but she pushes his buttons, and before he could consider what he was saying, it was done.

#ocheartbeat #metron if i fits i sits

[estellamiraiauthor]

So, can someone help me figure out what I did wrong here? (Or not… I think it’ll make me feel better just to vent even if no one interacts but feel free to comment if you see something I could’ve done differently.)

So I’ve been reaching out to a couple of artists lately about commissions. Most have been great, and I’ve got one commission underway already and am considering a couple of others. But this one artist like… rejected me as a client and I don’t know why.

As a bit of background, this artist was one who had done Phantom-related stuff before, and the VERY first question I asked was whether they would be okay with drawing characters from MY retelling. Personally, I don’t see all the different retellings and reimaginings as “competition” because I think people who are interested in one version are MORE likely, not less likely, to seek out others… but I knew it COULD be an issue and asked, and they said it was fine. So at that point, when they had a super easy out, they were apparently interested in potentially taking my commission.

So I provided my character info files, which admittedly have more information than anyone needs for any one artwork, because they’re master files that I use for ALL commissions. They include some visual references including past commissions, some written physical descriptions, and stuff that may not be important like age and place of birth and personality, which is there for reference, and if an individual artist doesn’t care about it they don’t need to read it.

I also provided a file with a description of the specific scene I wanted. I gave a short description of what I wanted drawn, and maybe a 1.5 page excerpt from my actual book. Again, this is for reference… it seemed to me that having what happened immediately before and after the specific moment I wanted drawn might help with the emotional aspects like facial expressions and body language? But again, it was there for reference; i figured too much information was better than not enough, and it was a page and a half, not an entire chapter or anything. It also had a very rough sketch of the pose and props I had in mind… I’m not good at drawing, but I’ve provided similar sketches to artists before and been told they were more helpful than nothing?

I told the artist to tell me if they needed anything more, and the response felt a little cold, but I know you can’t always tell how a person really feels about something via text, with no intonation or facial expression. They basically said: 1. There is more than one scene here, which do you want? (It was only one SCENE, in a writing sense, but I guess they probably meant more than one pose), 2. Give me a pose reference, tell me what they LOOK like not just what they’re saying, 3. Tell me exactly what they’re wearing.

So I went back to the file and highlighted the specific part (about a paragraph) I wanted drawn and added a more specific note that the rest of the scene was provided for context and reference. I deleted an image I’d provided as an example of the kind of “vibe” I wanted but that was NOT the exact same physical pose. I told the artist that my sketch had been intended as a pose reference, but that I would try to find a photograph or existing art instead. I was trying very hard to find something but had not found it yet. As for clothing, I’m actually not super picky and would be 100% fine with the artist just making something up based on the previous art and references in my character files but since they asked me to choose, i was planning on finding some clothing references. I hadn’t gotten to it yet because i was stuck on the pose.

In other words, the file wasn’t ready yet. I hadn’t found all of the additional resources they had asked for, so I HADNT CONTACTED THE ARTIST ASKING THEM TO CHECK THE FILE AGAIN. It’s a Google Doc so they absolutely COULD go back and see the changes in real time, but I assumed they either wouldn’t check the file at all or would assume it was still in progress until I told them I’d updated it.

But then I got a DM this morning that said they would have to charge me FOUR TIMES their typical price for two characters because it was “full illustration” rather than a portrait. Now, I was expecting it to maybe be a LITTLE more because I’d asked for a couple of props. And it was a request for a specific scene, not just two characters looking straight at the “camera”. But four times the price on their commission sheet felt a little like they were trying to discourage me from actually commissioning them.

Now, I used to do freelance editing. I know all about the asshole surcharge…. But I don’t think anything I’d done up to that point was assholey? Maybe I included too much written information and not enough visual information but I was actively working on fixing that, and I wasn’t finished looking for everything they’d requested, which I explained. I asked if the higher price covered things like creating a pose based on the written description or if they still wanted me to keep looking for a visual reference, and how long it would take to complete if I agreed to the price…

And they responded with “I don’t know if it’s a language or cultural thing about communication” and I… JUST DONT KNOW? Like, I told them I was located in Japan so they’d know what I meant when I said “tonight” or “tomorrow,” but… English is my first language. I lived in the US until I was 19. Did they mean THEMSELVES? That THEY had a language issue? Did they mean that quoting me four times the listed price was supposed to mean “hell no” and that I should’ve understood that? Or did they just assume that because I live in Japan there would be a “language issue”??? I just don’t know.

Because again, former freelancer here, and there are other ways to reject a client you just don’t like. “I’m sorry, but this just doesn’t look like a good match for my skills.” “Actually, I just got offered another major job that’s going to keep me occupied for the next few months.” Etc?

So at that point I basically said “You really seem like you don’t want to do this so I’m going to pass at this point.” And they replied with “As a client I’m going to pass” (which kind of makes me think maybe it WAS a language issue on their part??? It was just such a weird way to say it, and like I HAD JUST SAID NO. I had already ended the potential working relationship, they didn’t need to pass too?)

It just… feels like they took one look at my characters and specific scene request and from that point just really didn’t want to do it, and it’s really hard not to take that personally. I actually kind of HOPE I committed some horrible faux pas that I’m just not seeing but I HAVE NO IDEA.

#random thoughts #what did I do #rejection #rejection sensitivity sucks #I’m super grateful to the people who can and do put up with me #interpersonal relationship fail

[ladydevoir]

Weiss coming out as trans to her team?

The halls of Beacon were quiet as Weiss walked through, though she was glad for the peace as her mind was swimming in thought. She was silently dreading returning to her dorms, knowing what was waiting for her. But, she had decided tonight was the night, and she would not cower away from what she had decided to do. Best to get it over with rather than continuing to let her dread grow. Soon a voice broke her train of thought. “Hey Weiss~!” She looked back as the owner of the voice caught up to her, a plastic bag in hand. “Hello Nora, It’s good to see you. I see your trip to Vale was productive.” Nora beamed back at her with her usual energy. “Good to see you too~ And heck yeah it was~ Me and Ren found that cute coffee shop you told us about, Jaune actually managed to not throw up on the ride there, though he was wasnt as lucky on the way back, and me and Pyrrha went shopping for our dresses for the dance~ Oh, and here’s the stuff you wanted~” Nora held up the back for Weiss who took it and looked through it, a set of razors and shaving cream along with some skin care for after. “Thank you very much Nora. Im afraid I was starting to run low, and our team won’t be free to travel to Vale for a few days. Please, what do I owe you?” As she began to sift through her bag for her purse, Nora held up her hand. “Nuh uh uh, you dont owe me anything. Girls like us gotta stick together after all, and you’d do the same for me~” Nora’s usual high energy voice had softened as she spoke, to which Weiss was grateful. Since coming to Beacon she had been nervous about the truth coming out about her, thankfully Nora had seen through her immediately and been a true pillar of support. Weiss had been surprised and rather relieved when Nora had revealed she was just like her, and in moments like this it was wonderful to have someone to talk to and help her without any worry about questions she was not particularly wanting to answer. As if sensing some unease, Nora gently squeezed her shoulder and nodded her head towards a small bench in the hall. As the two sat down, Nora spoke up. “Hey, you doing ok? You seem off.” Weiss sighed and nodded. “I am just...nervous. I promised myself that tonight would be the night I tell the rest of my team, the truth about me.” Nora watched Weiss’s expression, seeing the build up of worry on her face. “You know the others aren’t going to suddenly turn on you just because of this, right? I cant imagine this would be a big deal for Ruby or Yang, and I doubt Blake would mind really.” Weiss let out another sigh and leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes before responding. “I am fully aware that no one on my team will be upset or treat me any different.” “So...whats the problem then?” Weiss looked down, her eyes darting left and right to make sure there was no one else listening, before she spoke. “When Blake accidentally revealed that she was a Faunus, I….did not handle the news with grace. I accused her of having lied to us, keeping the truth hidden from us. And while I did apologise for it afterwards, I still cannot take back what I said. And that is why I am worried. I was so quick to accuse her of lying and hiding the truth and yet here I am, having done the very same thing since starting Beacon.” Her hands gripped one another as she looked down, shaking slightly. “My standing with Blake and the others is not exactly on stable terms, and I am afraid that revealing myself after all I said to Blake might cause more strife between us.” Nora listened quietly as she gave Weiss’s back a gentle rub. Thinking carefully before responding. “If you’re this worried, then why now? Why not wait?” Weiss took a deep breath and looked straight ahead, as if steeling herself for it. “Because I owe it to my team to be honest with them, especially after how I overreacted to Blake. I cannot allow myself to hide the truth any longer, even if…” She looked down at her hands, starting to tremble. Instantly Nora knelt down in front of her and gently cupped her face, speaking softly. “Hey hey, dont go working yourself

up over ifs and maybes. Sure, you said some things, but you said sorry, and they forgave you. Im sure they wont be bothered by this. And if things go south, hey you can always just join our team~! Though we’d need to work out how to include W to JNPR~” Weiss let out a sniffle and smiled, raising her head from Nora’s hands and slowly standing, Nora instantly hugging the girl, to which Weiss reciprocated. “Nora, thank you so much. You have been a wonderful friend to me and I cannot repay you enough.” Nora pulled back from the hug with a wide smile, her usual energy returning. “Hey come-on, thats what friends do, we look out for one another~” Weiss picked up the bag from the ground and nodded back, the two girls walking back to the dorms, idle chatter filling the time before they arrived, Nora giving a big thumbs up before entering her room, leaving Weiss with her hand on the handle, taking a deep breath before entering the room, barely having time to duck as a pillow came flying towards her, narrowly missing as she looked upon the scene. Ruby holding a pillow and swinging hazardly at Yang, who weaved out of the way and returned with her own swing, before the two registered Weiss and stopped. “Hey Weiss! You wanna join in~? Blake might join if its two on two~” Ruby chirped excitedly, her energy seemingly limitless. “Yeah come-on princess, I’ll be more than happy to whoop your butt as well as my little sis’s~” Yang said with a smirk on her face, before dodging a well timed throw from Ruby. Weiss sighed and picked up the pillow that had nearly hit her and closed the door, shaking her head. “Honestly it is a wonder how the two of you are considering becoming huntresses when you act like little children.” “Ah cmon Weiss-y, you gotta have a little fun now and then, whats the point of life if you stay ridged all the time~?” Weiss shook her head and made her way to her bed, placing the pillow onto it and sitting, restless as her worry was building up again. “Weiss? Are you..ok?” Weiss looked up startled at the last member of the team over on her bed, slowly closing her book and focusing her attention on her. “You seem….kinda tense.” Weiss took a breath to help calm her nerves as her other two teammates looked over, all showing a similar sign of concern. “Actually Blake, I need to talk to you. All of you, if that is ok?” Yang flopped down onto Blake’s bed and looked over at her, while Ruby sat down beside her, all eyes on her. “Whats wrong Weiss? Blake’s right, you’re looking real tense.” Weiss’s eyes focused on her hands as she fidgeted, trying to come up with the right words. She silently cursed herself, this should not be this hard. A hand coming to rest on her knee drew her from her thoughts as she looked over at her partner, a soft-yet warm smile on her face. “It’s ok Weiss, whatever’s wrong, you know we’re here for you, right?” Weiss felt herself relax slightly, thankful for her partner’s kind words. “Okay, I do not know how to properly say this, so please, be patient with me.” With a reaffirming nod from Ruby and an audible “Mhm” from Yang, she continued. “The truth is...I have not been entirely honest with the rest of you. And for that, I am sorry to all of you, but mostly, I am sorry to Blake.” Blake looked over, confused. “Weiss, what are you-” Weiss raised her hand to stop Blake, taking a breath. “I was not at all kind to you when you revealed the truth about yourself, despite the fact that in doing so, I was being extremely hypocritical myself. Ive been hiding a truth myself, and after all that has been said and done, I feel I owe it to all of you to be honest.” Weiss took a quick glance at her team, Yang’s expression was clear confusion, Ruby was still giving her the same calming smile, while Blake had become more focused on her. She took a deep breath and continued. “The truth is, I….was not born a girl.” Weiss waited for a response from the others, but when none came, she looked up at her three teammates. Yang looked somewhat shocked, Blake still had her focused look on her, though it was clear she hadnt

expected that. Ruby however, didnt seem shocked or surprised in the slightest. “So, like Nora?” Weiss nodded, and to her surprise found herself being wrapped in her partner’s embrace. “Aww Weiss, you dont have to be nervous, its not like we’d think of you any diferent, ya know?” Yang looked over, shaking off her shocked look and sitting forward. “Yeah, Rubes is right, you’re still our icy princess after all, right Blake?” Blake looked over at Weiss, her expression no longer one of shock, but of understanding. “You were worried I’d be mad at you, werent you?” Ruby and Yang looked to one another as Weiss nodded slightly. “I acted like you lying to us about yourself was such a big deal when I have been lying this entire time.” Weiss continued to hang her head. “Its ok Weiss, really. You already apologised more than enough times for me to know you mean it. And I get it, really. Growing up where you did, I know that kind of thinking isnt easy to get rid of.” Blake shifted herself and stood up. “But, you’re wrong about something.” Weiss looked up hesitantly as Blake stepped over to her, kneeling down in front of her. “You haven’t lied to any of us.” Weiss looked taken aback, not sure what to make of that. It was far from what she had expected Blake to say. “I...I am not sure I follow.” Blake smiled at her softly, resting her hands gently over Weiss’s. “You havent lied to us, because you arent pretending to be something you arent. You’re a girl Weiss, even if you weren’t born one. You haven’t hidden anything from us. From day one, you have been honest to us.” Yang soon walked over, sitting on the other side of Weiss. “Blake’s right, ya know? You’ve always been honest with us about who you are, and you didnt have to feel like you owed us to tell us.” She felt her eyes begin to well up, she knew they would accept her but she had fully expected Blake to be mad at her. To find not only was she not mad, but giving Weiss words of kindness and understanding as she had, it felt overwhelming. Said team was quick to embrace her as she felt a few tears flow, a small smile on her face. “T-thank you, all of you. I-I suppose I should not have been worrying so much over this.” Ruby gave her a gentle squeeze. “Well, worrying about things too much is something you’re best at.” “Hey!” They all laughed as they remained in their embrace, Weiss giving a gentle chuckle. Of course Nora has been right, she shouldn’t have been worried about hypothetical ifs and maybes, especially not with her team. A team that, day by day, Weiss would consider more and more her real family. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whooo boy, this, this was a tough one. Im proud of how her talk with Nora went at the beginning, I felt like I wrote that well, and yeah I HC Nora as trans. But writing her coming out to her team, I kept erasing and redoing parts because I really did not know how to do it right. This is one I feel like I should come back to when ive gotten some more experience writing.

#rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #nora valkyrie

[nekoflame]

Please talk about Techno’s character on the dream smp if you want

dghksjdh ty anon for lettin me talk abt techno,, u didnt specify anything so uh, im gonna talk abt techno n ranboos relationship bc i just think that peer pressured gang is good

so obviously we know that techno and ranboo’s first canon interaction is the butcher army and that techno didnt really know much about the butcher army other than that they wanted him dead and that they arrested phil, but ranboo is the only one after the execution to go back up north and try and talk to techno and ranboo does give techno his stuff back (with a little bit of threatening but like, what really could techno have done to ranboo in that scene. he had a backup set of armor that he knew was bad and a pickaxe and ranboo had all of his stuff. techno was solely relying on being intimidating and he wouldnt have actually done anything, i think the only reason ranboo was so quick to be like “actually yea just take it” is because techno had just managed to kill quackity with a pick and quackity had full netherite and a diamond axe) and then the two get along fine because ranboo explained that “hey, i was just kinda dragged along and i didnt want to fight you at all”.

their relationship stays pretty positive afterwards, being boosted by ranboo giving techno four netherite ingots and not snitching on phil’s escape, and the first real conflict they run into is techno spawning a wither in l’manberg, and ranboo very quickly does what techno wants, getting technos items and handing them over (unluckily for technos deal punz was nearby n helped out but hey, ranboo later laughs it off with techno) because he realizes that techno literally just wanted a wither star and hey, this way he makes sure l’manberg knows where he stands with them. obviously then the festival happens and ranboo gets outted as a “traitor” and techno stands up for ranboo. techno rarely ever stands up for people (the only people he ever stands up for are himself, phil and tommy. you can make an argument for him trying to physically protect wilbur, but he doesnt ever try and use his words to defend wilbur like he does when phil is put under house arrest or dream accuses tommy of blowing up the community house), and ranboo is this kid hes barely talked to, came along with the people who tried to murder him, and then gave him back all his items AND four netherite ingots. outside of that they haven’t really interacted and techno still decides to say “i dont know this kid. ive never met him in my life” (and he says it before tommy does. tommy stood up for ranboo after georges house was burned down and techno beat him to saying “we have never talked to this kid. he hasnt been to my house since i was almost executed”)

and then doomsday takes place and ranboo is the only one to take techno and dreams threat seriously and try and move his stuff out of l’manberg and then during doomsday techno finds ranboos book (not knowing its his at first) and goes “whats do not read?” and ranboo INSTANTLY bolts for techno. ranboo goes “hey thats mine” and techno says “alright, take your book and go. i have no problems with you, and nobody will know if you leave”. he tells ranboo that its okay to run away, which nobody else was saying yesterday. everyone expected him to fight with l’manberg and then were mean to him after his speech about sides but techno looks at him, without even KNOWING about that speech and goes “you dont have to be involved. if you want to leave you really can”. techno, without knowing, actively supported ranboos beliefs. and then once doomsday is over, phil asks techno if hes okay with ranboo moving nearby and techno says “yeah, thats fine, he seems okay” but hes still wary of ranboo and ranboo tries his best to just not get on technos bad side.

n then ranboo gave him an axe and techno had to state that he doesnt care about this gift when it really affects him because nobody else ever gives him gifts (tommy gave him pigstep, but hes not sure how he feels about tommy right now because tommy hurt him a lot. all of his other items hes gotten himself) n then techno n phil go form the syndicate after ranboo drops the huge “hey i may have one of tommys discs and i may have blown up the community house” bomb and while techno laughs it off at first, he is genuinely worried about that fact and it makes him pull back a bit of the trust he had put in ranboo because in the week ranboo had been living there he hadnt destroyed anything and actually made him a gift and made a cow farm. despite what ranboo said, techno still also is considering him for the syndicate, even if he really is “just some guy” because he Does like ranboo. recently ranboos been the only one other than phil that can get techno to open up about things. techno admits, to ranboo--someone he doesnt know very well and doesnt really trust--that pogtopia holds lots of bad memories for him. theyve gone on multiple adventures together and they really are becoming friends even if techno wont say they are because hes still getting over the fact that tommy hurt him when he swapped sides.

technos opinions are conflicting when it comes to ranboo but i do think he really wants to be friends with ranboo and i think thats show by the whole “sensei” bit that they started and that whole stream in general. it really is setting up the base of their friendship and i really do think it can only go up from here

#mcyt #dream smp #technoblade #ranboo #al responds #anon #basically: their previous relationship is rocky but i do think they wanna put it behind them n just Be Friends

[ledamemangociana]

RANKING HAISUTE (or the ones i’ve seen so far)

not that anyone has asked me, but i’ve literally been so hyperfixated on these shows for MONTHS and although i’ve gotten my bestie into them now, it’s not like i can bombard them with all these deep-ish dives into these things and how much and why i love them, so i thought HEY why not just put it out into the ether coz DAMN i really wanna talk about them.

under the cut for length (HELLA LENGTH) and spoilers.

let me preface this first by saying i havent seen ALL the shows yet. i havent ever watched the first run of Itadaki No Keshiki, and i havent seen any of the new Karasuno cast shows yet, as by the time i had gotten hooked on these shows, the time to watch Strongest Challengers and Battle At The Garbage Dump on DMM.com had passed, and with my limited budget (i havent been able to work properly since literally mid-July last year), it’ll be a while before i can afford their twin pack DVD when it comes out next month. ALTHOUGH i am hoping to be able to download Fly High on DMM.com before the availability runs out in the middle of March, if i’ll actually have enough money for that.

additionally, i rank these from my least favorite to most favorite, but that does not mean that i hate or dislike any of them. in fact, i have little to zero negative things to say about any of these shows. i just happen to love some more than the others, and i think you’ll be able to tell by how long i go on about each show. i’ll TRY to keep things concise but im telling you now, i’ve already tried this once until an accidental button press erased everything i had written, and this will not be short. at all.

i’ll start first with the things i love about Haisute in general:

quite obviously, the projections. before i finally saw Haisute this year, i had only ever seen BNHA, KNY and Kuroshitsuji musicals, and while they have awesome set pieces, i had never seen video projections utilized the way Haisute does, and i think it’s so wonderful and creative, and so technically sound on everyone’s part. like, it has to be so precise with cast performance and blocking and sound and lights...like. dudes. shout-out to the tech staff of Haisute, y’all are amazing.

the acting performances in general. i dont think there’s a bad actor at all in any of these. some stiff-ish performances (Noah Ishikura as Lev, but mostly in SoE, which was his first time acting ever, so understandable), maybe, but even those actors do great when they’re having a pivotal moment, scene or dialogue. it’s hard to pick faves but somehow i do have them, lol - Kenta Suga as Hinata (obviously), Kentaro as Daichi, Hiroki Ino as Suga, Kousuke Asuma as Oikawa, literally ALL THREE BOKUTOS, literally BOTH AKAASHIS, Ami Saito as Yachi, Tatsunari Kimura as Kageyama, and my top two faves, Shori Kondo and Takato Nagata as KuroKen. for obvious reasons (see: my numerous gifsets that i still have so much to add to alkdjf).

the music is WONDERFUL. the varieties across shows, teams and characters while still maintaining the main themes are just so good. it’s easier for them to be highlighted to since there isnt any singing, and so many moments are told through the music rather than the music accompanying the moment imo.

the choreography is gold af. im sad we lose HIDALI after Tokyo Battle, but im sure the rest of the shows still keep that amazing spark. but i juST. HIDALI’s choreography is iconic. i’ll talk abt it a bit more in some of the entries in the list.

OKAY, now on to the rankings.

7. View from the Top (2nd Run) so again, I DONT HATE ANY OF THESE SHOWS. the reason this is at the bottom of my list is mostly because of what it doesnt have through no fault of its own, rather than anything that it does. i personally love watching character growth and evolution, so for the most part, the first story in anything that has multiple follow-ups tend to be my least favorite part, and i come to enjoy them more as a “look how far we’ve come” thing. that being said, i do think this was such an awesome show to kick-off what has become an iconic 2.5D franchise. so much of it feels like the transition from potential to kinetic energy. a little show that could, and then did. i do think i enjoy this more with a nostalgic sort of fondness than i do with a “look how cool this thing is!” feeling, but again, that’s coz i enjoy watching things changing rather than at the start. what definitely stands out to me here is that i came to it this as only my fourth 2.5D franchise, and the ones i’d watched before this were so different in staging and execution, and that really had me hooked. also, this franchise honestly is one of the best casting in any show i’ve ever seen in my life, like wtf, i havent seen a badly cast actor at all, even for the side characters i dont really pay that much attention to otherwise. you cant help but be sucked into the bright light that is Kenta Suga, and Kousuke Asuma has to be the most Oikawa Oikawa to ever Oikawa anything Oikawa. Tatsunari, Ryotaro and Justin absolutely jumped right out of the manga and anime and onto the stage as Kags, Tsukki and Asahi. and GAWD do i love me some Kentaro and Hiroki as DaiSuga. i went in a big fan and simp of Hiroki Ino and Sugawara, so for the first couple of watches, i was heavily focused on Ino!Suga, but by the third rewatch, Ken-chan came around a corner and smacked me in the face with a 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire. when that man smiles, i just get murdered.

6. Start of the Giant i honestly had a hard time picking between this and InK for the bottom spot, not because i hate this (AGAIN, I DONT HATE ANY OF THESE SHOWS), but because of how this show feels to me. ultimately, i picked this one to win over InK because of how much character progression is shown between these two shows. stating the obvious, KAZUMA KAWAHARA. HOO BOY. and big, BIG shout-outs to Kouhei Shiota for portraying Tanaka’s emotional roller-coaster so excellently to stride alongside Ennoshita’s big journey and Kazuma’s powerhouse performance. i also wanna spotlight how much more comfortable Tatsuya Kageyama was in his second go-around as Kags, and how well Keita Tanaka and Naoki Tanaka came in as new(old)!Daichi and new!Suga. it took me a while to get to this show because i was so sad to lose Ken-chan and Hiroki after SoE, and i thought i just would not be able to love DaiSuga the same way. turns out that that’s a good thing, because they do play similar but different DaiSugas to Kentaro and Hiroki. it possibly also helped to know that KT wasn’t entirely new, and to have known of Naoki from BNHA (with Hiroki!), although i hadnt known it was him until i started the show up at last, lol. Kentaro got to play a captain who was warm and very much one of the boys, someone who was growing into the role of a captain of a team that had a very real chance of going farther than it had in a while, while KT got to play a Daichi who, fittingly, was more established as a pillar of the group (and im sure the storytelling of this show helped with that), more of that Dadchi that we know and love. Hiroki got to play a gentle but mischeivous Suga who was all about watching over and taking care of the team, watching and waiting for his turn while understanding that Kags was their best chance, while Naoki got to play a more active, more athletic Suga who was becoming more active the closer the team got to Nationals. their performances stood out not just coz they were new, but because of the theme of this story in particular, about captains and leading, so i thought it was quite a nice way to welcome them into the fold. i also of course enjoyed Johzenji and Wakunan, maybe Johzenji more than Wakunan. i saw someone say they’re a bit like Fukurodani and Nekoma lite, and i can totally see and agree with that. this show also feels a bit like Revival lite, in that it’s got a fun first half and then a more action-packed second match with an emotional gutpunch at the end. but ultimately, this is lower on my list because, through no major fault of its own, it felt like a filler show, considering what was coming after this. it felt a bit like “lets’ get on with this story so we can get on to the last hurrah that everyone is looking forward to.” of all the side teams to have been portrayed in the Engeki story, i feel like i remember johzenji and wakunan less. again, that’s not really anyone’s fault, it’s just where this show was positioned in the timeline and what it was ultimately representing. as a parting thought tho, i just wanna shout-out the new lighting scheme they did for this show, especially coming from SoE where there was a lot of darkness or back-lighting. this show is brighter lit in general than most of the shows that came before it, and idky exactly but i do appreciate that a lot.

5. Winners And Losers objectively, this is probably one of the top 3 shows in all of Haisute’s history. but it’s lower on my list because it is the most taxing to watch and rewatch, not because it’s too slow or anything like that, but because it really just is such a tiring story, and i think that’s deliberate on the part of the writers and directors. this was Karasuno’s first major loss, and it was against an opponent they thought they knew, so of course the lead-up had to be a big deal. it’s also a story that revolves quite a bit around kageyama reaching a turning point and learning a few lessons that would ultimately change him, so the story had to also execute that change happening not just in Kageyama but around him. add to that the fact that this was Tatsunari’s goodbye performance (as well as Shohei’s as Noya, but then he doesn’t really get a big emotional moment here) and it’s just heavy on the emotions all around. the comedic distraction of ShoriTaka as Tetsuko and Kenko was honestly quite welcome, lmao. quick little shout-out to Kousuke Asuma and Allen Kohatsu as IwaOi, since they got to really show off the different sides to both those characters in this, and they just are stellar in general. that bit at the end of one of their flashbacks where Iwa-chan tells Oikawa that he’s not the only one fighting, there’s six people in that team, and Oikawa breaks into laughter as Kousuke strips off the flashback jacket, and Iwa’s like “uuuhhh did i hit you too hard, or?” UGH, i love that bit, that almost creepy laugh from Kousuke and the way he comes out of it to say “suddenly im not so upset” is just SO good. im also so happy to see Hiroki get his due as Suga when he finally gets to step up to the plate - or net, as it were - and basically pinch-hit for Kags. he plays senpai!Suga so sweetly, like you really can’t help but love him coz he’s so caring. i also did not expect to be hit right in the feels with the switch back from him to Kageyama, but that bit where he says “it’s frustrating, but hinata’s expression when he’s hitting my sets is different from when it’s yours” really got me. and then when he had to leave the court, asahi and daichi send a fist bump his way, and he gives just this tiny fist bump wave that’s both tired and disappointed and sad, and it’s juST! it hurts me everytime. and before this gets long, im gonna just spotlight the last 10-15 minutes of the show, right after Karasuno loses. Kenta absolutely nails Hinata’s expression in the manga, that wide-eyed disbelief and shock. and then when Daichi tells him not to apologize because he didn’t miss, when Daichi just walks over and hugs him, good gawd. (sidebar, but i’m so glad i got to see that bit with both Ken-chan here and KT in Strongest Team.) and the way Hinata couldn’t move after thanking the audience, not even after Ukai called him back, so Daichi had to actually go get him? my heart was in PIECES. and then the fuggin dinner scene. LORD ABOVE. like, if you dont love Kenta Suga as Hinata, this is the scene that should convince you you’re wrong.

4. The Strongest Team this is right smack dab in the middle of the list because it’s probably the best staged show of all the seven that i’ve seen, but it also hurts me so much for all the obvious reasons. this is the one i’ve rewatched the least, and everytime i rewatch it, i cry as if it’s the first time im watching it. the whole show absolutely feels like a tribute to the Karasuno cast and all the growth they’ve had and contributed to Haisute over their three years with the show, and the entire thing feels so fond, if that makes any sense. everyone on the team gets a big emotional moment, and it’s so sweet to see them each paid tribute. aside from them, i gotta AGAIN shout-out kousuke as oikawa. i like aoba josai enough, i like oikawa enough as a character, but that moment when kousuke absolutely broke down in the locker room after losing to karasuno broke my heart, even more so knowing that he absolutely felt all that gratitude because he wasnt sure he’d be able to come back to the show coz of his hip injury. i think one little moment that doesnt get as talked about as it should is just after he and Iwaizumi have that short convo of always being each other’s partners even after they’ve moved on to different schools. they do their fist bump, and then Iwa walks away, but Kousuke/Oikawa is still absolutely in tears, and as Iwa walks off, he just kind of reaches out and lets out a pained “Iwa-chan!” that’s just barely audible, and that jUST. GETS ME EVERYTIME. hell, im feeling a little heartstring pull right now just thinking about it. i also wanna shout-out Shiratorizawa because Engeki made me actually care about them. like, okay - i dont hate Shiratorizawa, at all. but watching the anime, despite having an entire season be around them, i just never really latched onto them. i like Ushiwaka enough, and i just...dont like Tendou (sue me). but Engeki Haikyuu has a habit of spotlighting other teams and characters enough to make you actually think about them and care about them, and Shiratorizawa was the biggest example of that for me. their theme is awesome, it’s this big, deep, heavy thing that feels as big and broad as the players look. and i could feel their almost militaristic teamwork when the coach is on them, and it’s so good. speaking of Coach Washijo, shout-out to that flashback scene to his younger days. Kenta looked absolutely risible in the wig and giant eyebrows, but i think it was an important touch to have the person playing Hinata be the person playing younger Washijo, because their inner conflicts are basically the same, and Washijo comes to appreciate Hinata’s efforts because of it, so i thought that was a nice touch. (still dont like Tendou tho, sue me.) i gotta end this entry coz it’s getting long, so im just gonna quickly list my favorite scenes/moments:

Yamaguchi’s pinch serve, and bringing out the spear. Kairi Miura wields that spear like he’s been doing it all his life.

Tsukki’s big “GODDAMMIT I THINK I LOVE VOLLEYBALL NOW” moment. the expression on ryotaro’s face right at the end of that scene, where he’s basically saying “it’s just a club, AND YET!” uuuggggghhhh, please i love it. also, shout-out to when Hinata pointed at him and just said “...nice.” like...that always feels like only half Hinata and Tsukki, and more half-Kenta and his best friend Ryotaro, just like the “Tsukki! that one was worth a 100 points!” line that absolutely gets Ryotaro so that on the live cam he had to turn his head away before he meant to for the next bit.

that moment in the last-ish set of the match where everyone is just DESPERATE to win, so it becomes this frantic rally and volley where everyone just starts to grunt and yell louder and louder, and people are running back and forth and jumping and diving, and it’s just this cacophony of sound and blur of movement that just seems to stretch on and on, until finally Shiratorizawa just yells “SHUT UP! WE’RE STRONGER!” and knocks all of Karasuno down. WHEW. that bit is just. WHEW. i almost always forget to breathe at that point. and then the waterworks get turned on as Ukai tearfully tells them to get back up, because volleyball is a sport where you HAVE to look up. LORDDDDD.

the bit towards the end of the match, after tsukki returns from his injury, where they absolutely acted out Ushiwaka pushing Hinata and Tsukki to the floor and holding their heads down. when i first watched it, i gasped because that is straight out of the anime and manga, and then when the rest of Karasuno came in to pull Ushi off, i just turned into a giant sobbing mess.

the graduation curtain call, obviously, but in particular, the bit that will ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL, destroy me is when Kenta says “this show was so tiring and tough sometimes, but when i look back, all i can remember are the good times, the best times.” GODDAMMIT IM TEARING UP BADLY RN JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT BIT.

3. Summer Of Evolution this is where the lines between the rankings get a little bit blurred, because i love these top three equally for the most part, but i had to choose a number two (i absolutely know what my number one is), and when i really think about it, SoE just gets edged out by my number two, but barely. i think what i love the most about this show is that this, more than any of the other shows, really portrays these characters as high school kids. and that’s not just because part of the story is set in the school and it’s actually showing the school sometimes, but coz they’re going through and portraying teenage experiences and emotions. most of the other shows portray the team in matches, so we’re seeing them more as volleyball players than teenagers or students, but we get to finally see that here, and it’s really refreshing. other than that, im gonna try to just list some of my highlights and favorites again coz i dont wanna keep going too long:

im so glad to finally have girls on the show, and not just in a “YAY FEMINISM! GIRL POWER! WHOO!” kind of way. kiyoko has always felt like an inextricable part of the team for me, so it was bittersweet to have such a great Karasuno cast but without a Kiyoko, so i was REALLY happy to finally get her here! and for a first time actor ever, Shizune was so awesome! she absolutely has that gentle strength that Kiyoko has, and the way she’s been written in absolutely does feel like she’s always been there. i do wish she got more to do with the third year boys, but all in all, it’s SO good to have an actual Kiyoko who absolutely looks like she came out of the manga.

im also just so DAMN happy about Yachi and her portrayal here. i think ami saito is so dang perfect, and yachi is such a fun addition that fits right in with the chaotic fun of Karasuno. one thing that i REALLY love, though, is how she gets to just act. before Haisute, my only experience of female characters and actors on a 2.5D stage is with Uraraka (and two or three other female students) in BNHA and Elizabeth in Kuroshitsuji, and those characters are your typical cutesy girls, and their movements and body language are so typically girly, you know what i mean, those softer arms and smaller movements, looser fingers, these little “Kyaa~” things, those things. but Kiyoko, Yachi and Saeko arent like that, so that’s not how they’re portrayed here. Ami as Yachi is just as loud and expressive and active as the Karasuno boys, bar actually playing in a match. also, her chemistry with Kenta is SO GOOD. i dont really ship YachiHina, i think they’re cute friends, but BOY DID THESE TWO MAKE ME RETHINK THAT. ami’s Yachi with Kenta’s Hinata made me think “YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THESE TWO GO ON A CHAPERONED DATE.” they’re adorable. a particular fave of mine is when hinata climbs a tree to help a baby bird back into its nest and he asks Yachi if she wants to climb up too, and also after Yachi finishes making the Hinata poster, she jumps onto the back of Hinata’s bike and they ride off-stage together. PLEASE IT’S SO CUTE.

also: SAEKO NEE-SAN PLEASE STEP ON ME.

OH HI FUKURODANI. they are such good chaos boys, i love them. i dont have much to say about them here just yet, but WOW im so glad to have them onstage at last.  

NEKOMA IS BACK THANK GAWD I LOVE NEKOMA. of all the teams portrayed, i think nekoma is the one that feels the most connected together (AHA!). like, even when they have a new character and/or cast member, the new ones never really stand out as new, they feel like they’ve always been there. this play really showcases the teams at their most casual so we dont get to see as much of their excellent teamwork and connection as we do in past and future shows, but you really get a sense of their family dynamic and just GOD I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, and honestly dont get me started on ShoriTaka, i will literally never stop

shout-out to Tatsuya Kageyama, he had big shoes to fill not just in terms of character but also as an actor, since this is his first show ever. much like with KT and Naoki as DaiSuga, it does feel like he plays a similar enough Kageyama without just mimicing Tacchu. this is also the right Kags arc to introduce a new Kageyama actor with as well, since there’s a big change after that loss to Aoba Josai and Oikawa, so i think the writing of the show also absolutely helped Kage-chan ease into his role, and helped the audience ease into this new Kageyama. overall, i think he did an awesome job, and we’re really fortunate to have had two awesome Kageyamas before gen 1/1.5 changed to gen 2.

i also just noticed/realized that the backstage video for SoE starts with the introduction of Kage-chan and Fucchi as new cast members, and ends with the farewell to Ken-chan and Hiroki as graduating members, and i know that’s just natural coz the first time the Karasuno cast met the two new members was at the photoshoot for visuals, but also what a nice little circle of life there.

COMING INTO THE HOMESTRETCH NOW, if you’ve made it this far, thank you SO MUCH, im sorry, i really just have a tendency to ramble, and like i said, i dont really have anyone or an opportunity to talk this deep about these shows to, so thanks so much for your time.

2. Karasuno, Revival! WHEW okay, so idk if this is Unpopular Opinion or controversial coz objectively it is the best show so far, and i’ve put it only at number 2. BUT LISTEN: before i saw Tokyo Battle, this was absolutely my number 1 favorite. the Dateko match is so good and so fun to watch, and honestly, that rap battle gives me so much life im almost immortal now. i LOVE that they also got to show ikejiri (THANK YOU KENTA SUGA) and ken-chan as daichi got his moments because of it, and it gave us “katou tou shinakya, katenai!” as an iconic quote and theme for the show, we got a fantastic moment for Asahi that was paid off from the previous show, also honestly “otchita kyougo, tobenai garasu” is just gonna be stuck in your head forever for a while. we also got Kousuke and Allen’s excellent IwaOi back, bringing with them their “Iwa-chan, are you my mom” dynamic (and gawd the cackle i let out when Iwa yeets a volleyball at Oikawa, or that turn and yell that makes Oikawa yelp as he exits off stage lkasdjf), which is always a plus. but! BUT!! best thING FOR ME???? NEKOMA, BABY!! like im sorry, im biased, but i fuggin LOVE nekoma, kuroo is my favorite character in the entire series, and Haisute really gave them a fantastic story and dynamic, because again, there’s so much you can do on stage that you sometimes cant do in anime or manga, so they were really able to highlight Nekoma’s famous teamwork, especially when centered around Kenma. more on that later, but like. it was just such a JOY to watch Karasuno, still kind of scattered puzzle pieces at this point trying to figure out how to best go together to create one big picture, go up against the smooth teamwork of Nekoma, and learn and grow from it. also they honestly have the best team theme music and team dance, fite me. also thank you Haisute for making KuroDai so painfully real lakdsfj

1. Tokyo Battle okay okaY OKAY OKAY OKAY. i think there are some people who actually like this the least coz it’s just too different from the rest of the shows that came before it - no Karasuno, less projections, different music style, aesthetically different stage, etc. B U T. aside from me just being biased because Nekoma are my favorite team, i actually think many of those differences are what makes this show my favorite one. first of all, the music is LIT AF. the themes for each team are so distinct, they really help play up the animal motifs that are played up the most in this show than in any of the others. secondly, THAT CHOREOGRAPHY THO. good gawd. HIDALI said “it’s our last Haisute, let’s go out with a bang” and they really fuggin did. Fukurodani absolutely is TOKYO PARTY TIME, they got to really play up their party birds schtick and i love it. Nohebi i cannot HELP but love because i love snakes, but also, with Nohebi’s cast, you can tell the choreographers were so happy to finally have an actual technical dancer. they had yuu fukuzawa doing the most and then some in playing up the snake theme, and it’s literally so hypnotic to watch his pops, locks and isolations. he’s also just such an AWESOME daisho, and it helps that nohebi are written to be cunning and sneaky. i also love that he and Kuroo seem to actually have a lot of untold history, and i kind of wish we could get a bit more elaboration on that, coz Yuu’s and Shori’s chemistry as frenemy team captains is SO GOOD. and then of course. NEKOMA, BABY!! so okay. kenma absolutely should be the lead of this show, and he is, BUT he’s also, to a certain extent, inextricable from Kuroo and the rest of the team, so that you dont always get that feeling of Kenma being in the spotlight the same way Hinata is (for understandable reasons since Nekoma arent even really the main characters of the story as a whole), and i think that’s important because, again, Nekoma is all about that teamwork and connection. like, Kenma is the lead because he thinks for Nekoma, and Nekoma acts accordingly, instead of how it is usually where the story is showing Hinata’s perspective alone. it also feels like that in terms of the actors. like, technically Takato is zachou, and he is, but also several times in the curtain call speeches, the cast members refer to or mention both Takato and Shori together. even Takato says that when he had spoken to Kenta about how nervous he was about taking up the zachou mantle from him, Kenta had said “if it’s you and shori, you’ll be fine.” they are a unit, and it really comes across in their portrayals of Kuroo and Kenma as well, and even if you love nothing else about this show, you literally cannot help but love that about them. i think the show does a great job revolving the Nekoma team dynamic around that too without making it the ONLY thing that keeps Nekoma together. the star of the show is absolutely the theme of “connection” (more than the other theme of promises), and if you’ve seen the show and you dont cry at the “Tsunage” section as Nekoma wins the match against Nohebi, then are you really watching the show lmao.

OKAY OKAY I’VE REALLY RAMBLED ON, and if you made it all the way here, THANK YOU AND IM SORRY. but also, there’s still a lot of things i wanna talk about that i didnt talk about here coz im mostly a scatterbrain and live half my life radiating BDE - Bokuto Dumbass Energy. so if you’re also ridiculously obsessed with these shows and wanna talk about it, my inbox is open. someone come hyperfixate with me while i make SO MANY MORE GIFSETS OHMYGOD ALL THE GIFSETS geezas crust when i get to Tokyo Battle i will be insufferable.

#engeki haikyuu #haikyuu #haisute #hyper projection engeki haikyuu #haikyuu stage play #long post #REALLY LONG POST IM SO SORRY #Mango Goes To Jail #NO REALLY IT'S LONG