#trying to assert himself

[transmascutena]

i love how in episode 34 when akio tries to get utena to distrust anthy it straight up just does not work on her at all. he (presumably) sets up that play to imply anthy as a witch and himself as a victim and utena's like "well that was fun :) didn't know we had a drama club" and then afterward he directly asks her "doesn't anthy suck" and her response is just "um. no." everything he's done to manipulate her backfires on him this episode it's great. especially because this is also the episode that reveals that none of her arc or motivation was ever about him in the first place

#he's trying sooo hard to assert himself in the narrative but he can't because he doesn't matter and he never did #revolutionary girl utena #akio #utena #m #akio and utena

[vani-ash]

KP X DFF AU (Takes place around events of ep 7 DFF and end of Kinnporsche)

(inspired by I re-watched ep6 of DFF and somehow missed that they sing TSICY on their way to Pors house on my first watch)

Somehow Non and Chay run into each other and they look identical. Chay, wanting to have some time away from the mafia he's become apart of, comes up with the idea after hearing Nons story to switch places. Non is reluctant at first but when Chay promises he can help solve Nons problems he agrees (Non doesn't fully trust Chay and leaves out some details like Mr Keng and Phee).

Chay has a Theerapanyakul mafia ring that he uses when the mafia guys come after him to get them to leave him alone, he also has access to mafia money that he tries to use to help Nons family as much as he can without causing suspicion. Chay is disgusted by how Nons 'friends’ treat him but Non had said he wanted to finish his movie so Chay plays along with them for now.

And Then whatever happens causing Non to disappear happens to Chay instead.

Non was told by Chay that if he went to the compound he’d be able to just walk in, he’s nervous but he does and when he’s engulfed in a hug by a stranger he feels a little better. He recognizes the man from a photo Chay had shown him, Porsche, who was worried because Chay disappeared and lost his bodyguards for a few hours.

Chay had told Non that he wasn’t speaking to his brother or anyone else really so if he did nothing but stay in Chays room the whole time he’d be fine and no one would question or really bother him.

Then Non gets a knock on his door, it’s Kim, he was trying to apologize to Chay about his song being stolen and that it wasn't him that released it and he didn’t mean for it to happen.

(Someone on Kims team finds a demo Kim made of Chays song (tsicy) when he was helping Chay record it, and releases it under Wiks name without Kim’s consent. Because Kim hasn’t released any new music since his break up with Chay and his company wants new music from him.)

Non feels bad about how distraught Kim sounds, and lets him in. Kim hadn’t expected for Chay to actually let him in, it’s been a month since Kim had been this close to Chay and so the first thing he does on impulse is hugs him. Non, currently still processing the worst week of his life, doesn’t push Kim away causing Kim to kiss him.

Anyway Kim somehow finds out that it wasn’t Chay who forgave him and that Non isn't Chay and demands Non tell him where Chay actually is and when they show back up everyone is confused (because they killed him like 3 weeks ago or something) and is like WTF?! But when Non just acts like nothing happened they don’t bring it up, and so now Non and Kim have to figure out what happened to Chay.

#might add to this when dff is finished and we know more #i just really want to see non be happy and okay for a little😭 #porsche adopts his brothers imposter easily #when chay starts being friendly to everyone again randomly they dont question it they are just happy hes 'back to normal' #when non starts being assertive and not tolerating anyones bullying it gets SO much worse and Chay doesn't think that they'd actually #kill him. so hes a little unprepared to try and protect himself #idk its kinda hard to write an ending to this when idk where the shows going #where is phee in all of this your asking? #idk i assume he disappeared for a little while until he stops being mad at non and concerned about his disappearance #phee and macau do not look similar in this cause idk what to do with that #dff #kpts #dead friend forever #kinnporsche the series #porchay kittsawasd #kim theerapanyakul #Non #kimchay

[tibtew]

*clutching head* rodya and meursault would have such a good dynamic actually

I wonder if rodya would initially see meursault's indifference as like. a simpler version of her own feigned carefreeness and as a deliberate attempt to place himself as an outsider... only to realise that No, he really Is just Like That. and then she gets annoyed because it turns out that people who don't care about anything don't seem to be any fun.

(ofc he does actually care about a lot of things, just not necessarily his grander place in the world lol)

idk. nihilism vs absurdism. fun duo 👍 rodya would find meursault's genuine comfort with being a speck of dust in the universe baffling, while he would probably find her desire to assert her own importance pointless, but they could probably bond over little things like their shared desire to live in the present and appreciation of/indulgence in earthly joys. and meursault would probably listen if rodya wants to rant about anything without asking any uncomfortable questions. I think they could appreciate each other's presence.

#slamming my conspiracy board #listen it's not my fault meursault vibes with literally the entire female cast #rodya enjoyers help me out here please I haven't read crime and punishment am I talking out of my ass #I just think it'd be kind of interesting if like. rodya kills someone for a very specific reason (to assert herself as special) #while meursault kills someone for seemingly no good reason #but because of time place circumstance etc #meursault is the one made out to be the outsider to society #while rodya goes unacknowledged and all her motives backfire #like I'm not saying that meursault has Exactly what rodya wants or anything #but I think he Does possess a level of guiltlessness that she was trying to achieve through her self-confidence #also I find it interesting how pride is like. a big thing for both of them #like they both have excessive belief in themselves and their own abilities. in rodya it manifests as self-confidence or I guess. an ego #while in meursault it's more about. a belief in his own interpretation of the world rather than himself as a person? I hope that makes sens #also they both reject collectivist ideas which is. fun #neither of them perform to what a society would expect from them but for rodya it's an active effort to assert her individuality #while meursault just Doesn't Get societal conventions from the get-go unless they're explained to him #I think they also both tend to project a lot 💀 meursault expects his own indifference from others while rodya projects her own #experiences onto others' and makes assumptions based on that before knowing the full details #txt #limbus company #I feel too embarrassed to add more specific tags ngl 💀 💀 💀 #lcb meursault #lcb rodion #lcb rodya #nvm. feelings of cringe are for Losers I am Strong

[whetstonefires]

Weirdly efficacious to give wwx that phobia of dogs for childhood trauma reasons, because there's a level on which he absolutely has the personality of a domestic dog that has never learned to do as it's told and doesn't mean to start now.

#hoc est meum #one of those very smart very energetic breeds #that needs SO much enrichment #the kind they tell you do not try to keep this creature in a house #it needs so much space and ideally a job #but it ALSO wants to be a member of a family and live in a house and have everyone like it #unfortunately it was feral as a puppy and knows how to open doors #and you have to basically sit on it to keep it from involving itself in every single interesting thing that happens anywhere nearby #mdzs #like the way wwx is doglike as opposed to the dog in question being personlike is like #his record of being in families he does not in any normal sense belong to #his preference for being attached to one specific person #who may or may not be his Very Favorite person #and who he may or may not obey but will listen to first #and build his routines around #the...way he was in some ways the replacement for jiang cheng's puppies #and this bleeds into his role in jc's life among jc's peers #he's extremely assertive without actually wanting to be the boss of other people #or even of himself #yeah that's a key element: he wants someone to be the boss of him #he just doesn't actually have much interest in doing what they say #they're just in charge for emotional security reasons #this is a much more common personality for dogs than for humans lmao #though even with humans it's not THAT rare #he's just extreme about it #wei wuxian #but his anti-dog stance both draws attention to this sameness #and takes it off the table so it can't be read into too hard #see also the wen zhuliu parallels and where they break down #weird status subtext

[feline-evil]

Dick or no dick confirmation Pickles was always going to be trans to me anyways; if he's swingin' somethin that's phallo babes, if he's not then his t-dick fat. What's not to get.

#metalocalypse #jay talkin #I'm sorry they wrote that awful gross little man far too likeable and relatable to on a trans level #for me not to hoot and holler and cheer for the trans pickles agenda #changes nothing about his character arc or any of the show anyone is capable of being the kind of person he is #don't make the mistake of thinking thats exclusive to cis men #his transness wouldnt change that #only adds on an extra layer to him that i think works fantastically. #Listen that dude was rejected by his family driven to drink and drugs young to escape that ran away to be in a band #is called fucking Pickles of all things and refuses to tell anyone his real last name; #over the span of four seasons and two movies he slowly starts to learn to be for others what he never had #he becomes more caring more supportive #it's not a stretch to say he undoes some of the toxic masculinity he's been keeping himself shielded behind #and learns how to be a kinder man. #all of which have no contradictions with him being trans! #In fact it doesn't take much extra thought to find ways a lot of this can line up with some trans masculine experiences #i mean. Did no one else have a younger phase where they swung as far as they could into crass rude and uncaring ways #to try and assert their masculinity only to grow and realise that you can be a man and be more caring. #Did no one else have father issues. 1 800 come on now i know those are both shared experiences a lot of us have had LOL. #at the end of the day this show aired nearly 20 years ago and is finished. we're not getting more of it #so nothing is altered nor changed if pickles is canonically trans or not ok. its fine #i mean hell i dont even need canon confirmation hes trans to me and thats all i care abt #but i think if yr getting suuuuuper weird abt needing him not to be canonically trans you have some issues #and bio essentialist ideals of gender if you think only a cis man can act like he does #again. anyone can be like that. its not exclusive. him being trans would not change him in any way shape or form lol #AND ALSO GODDDUUUGH for once i love getting to see a guy pushing 50 whos depicted as trans #do you have any idea how dire and barren it is out here. we never get to see a trans guy older than 30 and whos not a pristine model #I WANT MORE OLD SHLUBBY SHITHEAD TRANS GUYS IN MEDIA

[fishnchip3011]

everytime i actually open up sdv to play i get flashbanged with sebastian's white ass sprites because i always forget not everyone sees him as wasian💔 my current hc for him is half chinese (liable to change... but ik for sure he's half asian) but he is Not bilingual he can't rly speak or write the other language he can only understand it when listening but even then he's not very fluent LOL this is just turning into a sebastian hc post might as well go full out. to me sebastian Does have relationship experience but has been thru shitty ones in the past which is part of the reason why he's so pessimistic & brooding </3 and he'd hook up with ppl in zuzu city for a night for a while but it just made him feel shittier so he's stopped since ☝️ also people make him out to be way cooler than he actually is like yea sure he's kinda cool but he's also a Massive Loser especially when he tells you how he hates "seasonal fads" like pumpkin spice and that one line about the potluck soup where he's like "Why ruin the potluck? Hmm... I guess some people feel liberated when the rigid structures of society break down a little. Maybe I'm weird.” WHO ASKED😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 his ass also can NOT cook he can make spaghetti but it's mid. he probably has low ass stamina and yeah he's tall and lanky (rn i see him as around 5'9-5'10) but you could snap him in half over your knee. when he's in an actually healthy relationship he gets really flustered over certain romantic gestures cuz he's not used to feeling valued or being considered someone's #1. he picks up on little things and does acts of service but i also think he can be really callous and insensitive at times because while he can be pretty perceptive he is also Very Emotionally Stunted. he unlearns lots of unhealthy behaviors & mindsets with the help of his partner & family & friends ^__^

#i almost popped a vein trying not to mention rowan in all of this so this post is more. consumable i guess #but rowan to me is soooooo perfect for him to me because rowan's whole thing is empathy and warmth #where it's a strength but also a weakness for him because he's also a chronic people pleaser and a doormat #out of the need he feels to make people feel valued which is a good thing but not when its to the point of self negligence #rowan gives rly good advice but overburdens himself cuz he feels responsible for ppl&doesnt give himself the same treatment he gives others #when he's with sebastian he helps him feel valued and sebastian learns to trust people more and not to immediately assume the worst of ppl #and seb is sooooooo perfect for rowan bc seb is vocal about what he dislikes and when hes not happy w something/one #and is good at setting boundaries whereas rowan is Not. he helps rowan learn how to say no to ppl and be more assertive #& think abt his own feelings more! they both help e/o vocalize their feelings #for rowan its vocalizing his opinions more and valuing himself more & for seb its vocalizing more for the sake of better communication #w other ppl so he can establish better trust & relations w ppl. and stop being so closed off/unapproachable LOL #their differences match up well but it also leads to arguments/tension cuz seb doesnt communicate and resorts to avoidance #and rowan is too pliant sometimes to the point where it hurts not just himself but the ppl around him including seb #also fun fact rowan is the type to cry when he gets really angry/upset & when seb resorts to avoidance instead of reassurance #(which is what rowan wants) rowan sometimes ends up catastrophizing & also bottles up his emotions similarly to seb #they always reconcile in the end tho even if it takes a while </3 they r both learning ok!!!!!!!! #not perfect to the point where they dont argue bc thats Impossible but they suit each other well. they r good for each other qwq #eon babbles #stardew valley #farmer rowan #<- i talk about him in tags. hehehe

[hyperfixation-hideout]

My favorite canon RWBY slowburn is Oscar x Confidence

#took him awhile but he got there #oscar pine #rwby #quinpost #atlas oscar my beloved #v7 really pushed him to start speaking/standing up for himself and his opinions #and then in v8 when it all comes to fruition and he stops second guessing himself so much? #CHEF'S FJCKING KISS BABY #LOOK AT THE BOY GO #standing up to Ironwood 4 times in v7 and voicing dissent against ruby's decision? #(not to mention the 3rd time was in front of the ENTIRE ATLAS COUNCIL) #getting ruby AND unintentionally ozpin to reconsider their secrecy? #emboldening oz to come back and stay back this time after learning from Oscar a new kind of bravery & wisdom? #standing out against Ruby AGAIN but this time in front of all the others to say they're still united even when apart? #(cough v9 foreshadowing? perchance?) #sassing SALEM?? #taking the lead and asserting authority over ozpin? being in charge of their actions? #(side note bravo to oz for learning how to step back and trust oscar's judgment after seeing how he handles things) #not letting oz take over/try to escape bc 'this is our chance' & plotting sabotage against salem instead of running?? #freakin taking the risk of TELLING HAZEL THE PASSWORD BC HE KNOWS HE WON'T LISTEN TO OZ??? #TURNING HAZEL & EMERALD AND HELPING EM ESCAPE? #advocating for emerald SEVERAL TIMES even when she & the others pushed back? Getting her to join them?? #same with reintegrating ozpin despite pushback?? #fostering unity and cooperation btwn those who feel like opposition? Stopping yang/jaune/weiss from attacking emerald? #the way he was in the tunnels and the dining room was like 'oh dang oscar could be a great leader actually?' #and not just cause of merging - his leadership style is vastly different from ozpin's but carries a similar gravitas #this bit may be bc of the merge but he has such a PRESENCE now. when he talks you want to listen. #the others are taking him seriously. following his advice. valuing his input. listening to him. #all the things they never used to do. maybe bc they bonded but at least in part bc of his demeanor & newfound confidence. #he's developed this air of quiet authority even when not in charge. likely due to oz but it's unique in key ways and I'm so proud of our boy

[lady-harrowhark]

Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir / A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle

#this was all i could think about the first time i read that scene in htn #thinking about the contrast in their reactions drives me absolutely bonkers #especially after ntn this is very strikingly another time where he's trying to play both sides and claim the moral high ground #how he both admits to wrongdoing but then also sort of concedes that he still sees himself as worthy of worship #it's not 'don't kneel to me'; it's 'not until you know what it means' #he's skinning this obfuscation over by presenting the somewhat illusory opportunity to choose #illusory because he was never planning on her having 'the full story' so any choice would be predicated on incomplete information #he can justify it to himself that he voiced his objection; that he acknowledged that quandary; that it would be her choice #but in the end he would have accepted her worship #as opposed to Mrs. Whatsit taking the Abigail Pent approach of 'Absolutely Not' #that she might have the trappings of what the kids would consider Divine but she won't assert that position over anyone #and neither will she let anyone assume it of her #also Calvin O'Keefe is Best Boy #harrow the ninth #the locked tomb #a wrinkle in time #htn #tlt #tlt parallels #my tlt thoughts #nona the ninth spoilers #(?)

[smokeys-house]

Jerma talks like he's constantly pretending to be on a phone call

#smokey talks #jerma #im watching him play elden ring and hes like #'i wanna go to the middle. i wanna go in the middle. yeah. theres an item there. yeah in the middle im trying to go the middle. yeah.uh huh #he is infuriating 2 watch sometimes actually bc he just... does not pay attention and chat likes 2 lead him astray intentionally #he perpetually ignores things he himself says out loud seconds after saying it #hes funny tho #silly fella. i like his videos #hes also prone to just. confidently asserting wrong things based on almost nothing and then being surprises when its wrong #but i think thats. at least partially a shtick

[bonebabbles]

with the disclaimer that I don't know all the context since I haven't read it, how WAS he supposed to handle a contagious illness in a society that doesn't have any form of masks or sanitation? Temporarily quarantining contagiously sick cats away from healthy ones just seems like a completely different and much more reasonable thing than kicking out cats permanently for a disability because they would be a "burden".

@halogenwarrior

Ok, going with you having no context for this, he wasn't suggesting a 'temporary quarantine' for sick cats. There is already a quarantine, with only the medics approaching the sick. Following everyone having a Hearty Chuckle that Clear Sky 'cares about other people' now by saying we're "all in it together," Clear Sky shares his full plan;

He nonsensically believes that no sick prey is living in the burnt part of his woods and the fire "cleansed it", so all of the healthy cats will abandon the sick to die in their camps and come live on his territory and 'wait it out.'

His plan is that all the cats who become sick will die. It's not quarantine in the sense that they will 'help the sick but keep a distance', he is essentially suggesting a reverse leper colony where everyone who displays symptoms gets kicked out to fend for themselves.

And, in the past, illness was always part of his talking points for throwing cats out of his clan. It was why he tried to throw Frost out, where he would die alone. I went back to Thunder Rising to grab the passage,

This is after he shoves Thunder's face into it and tells him to lick it.

So, it's wholly inappropriate, imo, that Thunder essentially does a little eye roll and a cutesy sigh at this suggestion. "Ohh that's my dad and his ruthless streak." His dad has historically been a monster towards the sick and infirm when they "stop being useful" with this rhetoric. Burdens, disease, weakness. In this moment, he is proposing that they do to an unknown number of cats exactly what he commanded Thunder do to Frost.

Additionally, at this point in time, they don't know how the illness spreads. They're guessing that it's via contact with sick prey, and using leaves as rudimentary tissues/gloves. Clear Sky DOES know, though, these two things;

One Eye knows how it spreads and is not telling.

Many of his cats have been exposed.

He has no idea which cats have been exposed, or how many, or even how long it takes between infection and first symptoms. All they DO know is that symptoms are rapid onset and debilitating. By the time you know a cat is sick, they're covered in sores, have a bloated stomach, and are unable to hunt for themselves. The only thing that is for sure is that turning them out is a death sentence.

And yet he is confused at the idea that Thunder has an objection about leaving Morning Whisker, Wind Runner's kitten who isn't older than a month or two, alone to die.

The solution that the groups eventually come up with is that the clans will remain isolated from each other as to not spread illness, though it doesn't seem to work because infected prey still moves around freely.

Also note that the first time Clear Sky actually gives a damn about an infected person is when Jagged Peak's pregnant wife catches it (After Jagged Peak 'proves' he's useful now by leading a medicine-seeking patrol thanks to Gray Wing). Wind Runner's an "ex-rogue," a group Clear Sky has disdain for, and he doesn't think to have compassion about her baby.

So to answer your question directly, he was 'supposed' to handle it the way the Moor cats did and were, with some basic safety precautions. Not regress to trying to use the illness to get all the cats into a single Clan in his own territory where he could continue to throw "useless/dangerously ill/disabled" out into the wilderness "where the maggots will find them".

#tw medical gore #It's worse than I mentioned but I was trying to be brief about it #Because if I dove into every little thing that is SHOCKINGLY bad about Clear Sky I wouldn't be able to get through the book #I swear im trying to be charitable about the fact his first suggestion was just... #''Kill your sick friends and children and join a brand new camp in MY territory'' #''I totally won't assert myself as your leader and make you throw out your friends and family For The Greater Good this time'' #''I've been thinking it's a great idea to gather all of the cats in one spot as a contagious illness ravages the forest'' #''Don't worry we won't get sick because we'll leave all the weak people behind'' #You can think about this for more than 30 seconds and see it fall apart #So isn't it very very convenient that his ''i've been Thinking'' idea involves consolidating power under HIMSELF??? AGAIN????? #At *best* he is so stupid he is inventing a superspreader event #At minimum his plan involves killing a LOT of people via abandonment #And at worst it's actually just another ploy to gain power. But I have to rule that out even though it's the most interesting idea #Because it's Clear Sky Redemption Arc Time and the writers are dead set on not letting him be an interesting character

[paintedkinzy-88]

Crescent acting like a Kelpie and luring (or taking) the gang into the water and almost drowning them

He's just like "sorry didn't mean to almost kill you i just wanted a buddy to play with" and making puppy dog eyes so they won't get mad

FHSKFBJSNFK

Nah that’s lowkey demon child right there. Playing the innocent “oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I don’t know my own strength ówò” card cuz he kNOWS THEY’LL TAKE IT.

They probably won’t believe it, they’re all smarter than that, but they’ll take it. XD They love this brat too much to be too mad.

Just fuckin see Killer, dripping wet, “Don’t worryyyy Night, it’s just a phase, he’ll get over it, it’s fine—“

#i don’t think Crecsent would ACTUALLY want to kill them #freak them out yes #try to assert his strength and dominance #but he sees himself as better than them he’s never ”stoop to their level” #… so still a brat but not a murderous one at least— #asks #undertale #undertale multiverse #dragon balance au #crescent sans #killermare ship child #killermare #nightmare sans #killer sans

[rubbertplant]

I feel like I have a headache from being in the vicinity of my new coworker who was being such a Guy Man

#idk if he's trying to assert himself and find his place or if he's just like that

[softquietsteadylove]

Declaration of War

For @oldtvserieslover 's birthday, after asking about something for the Gladiator AU!

"My name is Eros," the newcomer smiled in a way that made both the queen and her daughter bristle. "And you, Princess, are as beautiful as the legends say."

His statement was accompanied by an up-and-down of her with his hungry eyes.

"Prince Eros," Ajak addressed him directly, and rather kindly, given the way he was looking at her daughter. "We welcome you to the tournament of Champions. You have come to challenge?"

"Indeed I have," the Prince grinned at them, bowing his mane of hair slightly to them. "I believe my selected champions will stand a great chance of beating you this time around, my Lady."

"Hm," Thena vocalised, mostly to herself. Her eyes drifted from the challenger in title to the actual fighters accompanying him.

They were lined up, facing their own gladiators. There was one who was clearly their first pick to win. He stood like a beast, massive in height and still heavily muscled. His face hardly even seemed human.

He was staring down Gilgamesh.

"We shall see," Ajak offered diplomatically, offering a polite sort of smile to the visiting Prince. "We have yet to be bested in the past years."

"Actually, I was hoping to propose," the Prince stepped back into proximity with the ladies, "higher stakes."

"Such as," Ajak frowned, backing up a step, incidentally pushing Thena further back as well.

"Such as a proposal," he tipped his chin up, his eyes shifting to Thena as if Ajak had disappeared from his line of sight. "I propose that my prize is the hand of the Lady herself."

"What?" Gilgamesh spoke up from his end of the line, although no one but Thena even looked at him as he spoke.

"That is hardly-" Ajak blinked as the Prince swooped down in a deep bow.

"I ask that if my chosen gladiators win, that I win the hand of the princess," he spoke downward, expressing a humility that he completely lacked just a moment ago. "The treasury I'm offering as a bet on my warriors is triple that of our other competitors."

Indeed, the funds offered by the brazen prince would provide for their coffers very nicely.

"And if we win?" Thena challenged, although something about the Prince's sly gaze and the presence of that beast of a man made her skin crawl.

Eros cocked his head at her with a grin that she could only imagine would have his concubines melting. "Why, you may ask anything you like, my darling bride. Since I intend to win no matter the challenge posed."

"We haven't even fought yet."

At last, the other royals present looked at Gilgamesh, still speaking up with no regard for if it was considered insolent of him - a mere fighter for the crown - or not. He met their critical glares without fear, shrugging his wide shoulders. "You could at least let her set her own conditions."

Thena shook her head ever so faintly, urging him to stay silent on the matter. She had come to enjoy speaking with him, and her mother - having become aware of this rapport between them - tolerated it. But most who were part of royalty did not welcome interruptions by civilians.

Eros chuckled, giving Gilgamesh a different kind of smile. It was still a smile, and still meant to appear affable. But this one was sharper edged and colder--the tilt of his head was so...demeaning. "Did you say something, brute?"

"Yeah, I did," Gil continued, undeterred by Eros' obvious disgust with him. His fists clenched, "it's pretty ballsy of you to come in here and demand to marry the princess. The least you could do is accept the conditions if you lose."

"Well, I don't intend to lose, so by all means," the prince bared his teeth at Gil now, like a predator toying with prey it knew it could outrun. "Set any conditions you like."

"Gil," Thena whispered, but he stepped up to Eros (and in front of her).

Gil got right in the Prince's face, who happily let him, meeting his challenge with a manic delight. "Speak up, pleb."

"If I win," Gil started without even considering the other gladiators selected alongside him. It was always just him by the final rounds of the tournament anyway. "Thena gets to marry anyone she chooses."

"The Lady may select her own groom," Eros postulated, emphasising the proper title for her, in contrast to Gil's overly familiar use of her given name. "What a peculiar thought."

Gil stood firm on the spot, even with the beast of a challenger moving forward and breathing like a bull ready to charge. "She gets to make her own choice. And no one gets to say a damn thing about it--not you, or anyone else."

"Hm," Eros raised his brows at Gil's adamant proposal. He looked amused by the resolve he showed and stepped away from the shorter but significantly more strongly built man. "Fine, I accept your little wager."

Thena glared at him again. Her life and freedom was a 'little wager', apparently.

"But know this, Gilgamesh," Eros turned his eyes on him again, voice sharp and eyes cold. "I do not intend to leave this place empty handed."

"I don't care what you intend," Gil snarled at him, finally backing up but not moving away from Thena behind him as Eros walked off and beckoned for his chosen fighters to follow. "You're not coming anywhere near her."

Ajak let out a breath as the prince and his entourage descended the steps to their mezzanine. She looked at the guards, who were hovering with their weapons, waiting for the word to be given about how the lowly gladiator was standing inappropriately close to the princess. Ajak shook her head, "relax, all of you."

The guards stood back against the walls, although Gil was still glaring at where Eros and his gladiators had vanished. He huffed, crossing his arms, "the nerve of that guy."

"Gil," Thena cut in, glaring at him (and forgetting that she too was addressing him far too casually).

"What?" he shrank back at her obvious ire. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

"Y-You-!" Thena pinched her full lips together, pressing her fingers together before she could make a real fist with them. "That thing with him will be out for your blood, after that altercation!"

"Well," he shrugged at her as if he were talking with anyone else and not the crown princess herself. "He was going to be anyway, right?"

"That's not the point!"

"Thena," Ajak scolded, watching her daughter squabble with one of their own fighters.

"I'm sorry," Gilgamesh conceded, bowing his head to his monarchs. "To both of you, my Lady. But I couldn't just...I couldn't let him think-"

"You have issued a very serious challenge, Gilgamesh," Ajak addressed him firmly but not unkindly. "This cannot be taken lightly."

"It won't be," he assured his queen before turning to his princess. "I'll win."

Thena bit down on the inside of her lip, "you can't know that will happen."

"I can, I'll make it happen," he affirmed, stating it as boldly as he would state any fact about the ocean being deep or the sun being bright. He held her eyes, not letting her fear sway him at all. "I'll win, Thena."

Ajak cleared her throat. That was quite enough use of given names for now. She would have to address it later. "Come--you must prepare for the first round of fights."

"Yes," Gil bowed, stepping back into the line, where his fellow competitors were staring slack jawed at him for yet again speaking with the princess audaciously.

"And you," Ajak turned to Thena, whose face betrayed her nervousness for just a second. "Come with me."

"Yes, mother," Thena murmured, indeed following Ajak up the stairs to the shaded platform for their respective thrones. She looked behind her.

Gil offered a faint smile and a little wave, same as he did every time he saw her, no matter the distance between them.

Thena's eyes were drawn and her frown was heavy, but she still managed to wave back at him as they drifted apart.

#Thenamesh Gladiator AU #for you my dear!!! #I hope you had a great day! #I do have other asks for this au! #there's more to come I promise! #if that is a concern you #if not...then there's nothing to worry about #this is a missing chapter per se #how we got into this mess in the first place #I know you love Gil asserting himself #and royalty has to play by a certain set of rules #there is diplomacy involved they have to watch what they say #not Gil #he's here to tell Eros he's being a prick and that he can't just throw Thena over his shoulder and walk off #Gil would sooner die #not that he's going to... #also I guess this is a fine time to say #yeah...I do birthday requests #if it's your birthday...send me an ask #and I will reeeeaaalllly try to get it out on the day #if not then soon after #because you're all so supportive #and you deserve to feel special! #also if it's belated and after the fact #even if we've never spoken a single word to each other #if it's your birthday and you have something in particular you want to read #I'll give it a shot!

[waterfall-ambience]

slight change to dialogue on page 3 and im suddenly very excited about damien's character. im ignoring the fact that im just on the sketching stage

#auri rambles #perpetua progress notes #he gets to be a silly little guy for all of 2 seconds before he starts pendulum swinging between that and expressing a lot of angst #if he reads as unstable in the first couple pages thats intentional. #yes he had a monolgue planned but its falling apart and he's improvising (+ trying to assert himself) #because actually confronting luna makes him almost too nervous and angry to function. he's a mess.

[godsbox-a]

kenny you dumb bitch

#anyway i just thought it was cute that in the season where we're gonna get this assertation about gojou being hindered by others #the first OP suggests for the first time that this might not have been so cut and dry or immovably true #and enforces further implications that illustrating this point with an image of getou the day he walked away from gojou is probably #an influence by getou's memories as he saw them #in his depressive state and how quickly he chose to just remove himself from the equation and how little faith he had #that anybody would understand his side of the story. so much so that he declines to even *try* #of course to him he wouldn't remember it as being gojou's treasured other half or his partner or his equal #he'd just see the progressive distance between their capabilities and their tolerance for the world and cut *himself* down #. ☁️☁️ 〃 ⋯ 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥. : psd.

[agnesandhilda]

I didn’t know him super well but in high school I had a strong rapport with this trans guy on the basis of, like, our shared experiences holding onto masculinity in a world that can be hostile to that? which isn’t to say that we were the same by any means but there was definitely some sense of camaraderie between us. we didn’t talk personally often but we always greeted each other very warmly.

when prom season came around I mentioned how it’s hard finding a tuxedo that both fits someone with my build and isn’t some rich-man-at-the-met-gala bland nonsense, and he completely knew what I was talking about and we exchanged ideas for a while. we ended up wearing tuxes with a similar victorian ruffle-sleeves-and-cravat design by coincidence---it was just the sort of thing we both individually found appealing, which is funny. I wished him and his boyfriend well on our graduation night and he’s one of two people from high school I follow on facebook now. it’s nice

#bolo speaks #prom suit shopping was an ORDEAL for me I went to men's wearhouse first and it was humiliating #just so keenly alienating to try to assert your masculinity in such a cis male space #the employees were nice to me but I still felt I stuck out like a sore thumb the entire time #I almost started crying in the dressing room because I felt so freakish #I eventually ended up wearing a dress shirt from amazon + a suit jacket I thrifted + actual cosplay ruffles and it looked so much better #than what I was planning on getting there. which could be one of those irl metaphors if you think about it #anyway yeah we're facebook friends now and every few months he posts pics of himself doing college student shit and I always like them #you kill em king!!