I Am Laughing So Hard About This

I am laughing so hard about this 😂

I can already see the two coffe shops in a barista battle 😅

Tumblr informing me against my will (I never click on 'Explore'! But again and again there it is instead of my dashboard...) that it's National Coffee Day today so I'm taking that as a sign to share ArSen Coffee Shop AU bullet points.

As an ex-cafe worker I am so not into this as a setting (and not generally into modern AUs for this series at all) but the idea of Zandeh totally failing at his job as barista is both amusing and cute

I don't know what Don Ricardo drinks, probably whatever flavoured-syrup concoction is being promoted at the time (so yeah, pumpkin spice latte right now) but even though his Lusitanian co-workers tell him he should complain he can see Zandeh is trying his best and doesn't think it would be fair to ask for the manager

(The manager is Sam, btw)

Hilmes owns the shop. Zandeh still has a massive crush on him and gets really flustered when he's around

Gurgin's order is the only one Zandeh gets right because it's just black coffee and he's honestly not that fussy as long as it's strong

Kharlan is an accountant who oversees the finances of both the shop where Zandeh works and the rival coffee shop across the road which is staffed by Team Arslan. He's the one who got Zandeh the job (it's his first).

I don't know what this place is called, Cafe Rukhnabad maybe

I'm sure if I thought about this for long enough it would feature a developing Zandeh/Gurgin relationship because of course it would, they are the OTP (hmm let's say maybe Gurgin used to work in a fancy coffee shop but he quit, he's seen enough of Zandeh's misadventures in the background while he's working to know that he is struggling, so one night when Zandeh is closing up and he and Gurgin are the only ones there, he shows him how to do latte art. Zandeh: "Wow, it's like magic!")

Yeah that's it. I will never write this.

Isfan Screencaps (Part 1/2)

The Turanian arc well and truly fed my little Isfan-loving heart :D

3.10

←2021 l 2023→ proving that someome can work hard for years and still be bad

Prince Arslan is the one character I've never been able to write properly in fanworks. I always seem to reduce him down to a cute l'il bean.

And he IS a cute l'il bean, he lights up when his friends appear and he talks to animals as if they're people, he wears his joy openly and unashamedly it's adorable.

But he's also mature, he actively works to find and fix his flaws and he puts the wellbeing of his people before his own wants and needs.

But he's also a child shouldering the weight of a war while also struggling with personal crises about his family and identity, and it keeps him awake at night.

But he's also gentle even when he's hurting, to the point that he reads Lusitanian scripture so he can understand them as people and not just as enemies.

But he's also unyielding, he is responsible for the safety of the Parsians and he will fulfill that responsibility even when it means wielding a sword when he'd rather extend a hand.

But he's also softhearted even towards his enemies, he'll make naive decisions and acknowledge that they're naive but will stand by them anyway because he'd rather be foolish than be cruel.

But he's also extremely insightful, and humble, and stubborn, and open-minded, and pragmatic, and forgiving--and because he is all these things and more, he has gained the loyalty of the strongest people in Pars. Not because he's cute, but because he's a leader worth following.

I may never write him correctly, but I'll read him again and again, because his story and his character are beautiful.

tw: animal death (?) Emma, are you still there? WEBTOON - INSTAGRAM