#((avoid actually having to come up with explanations. LMAO

[turtle-seance]

@naturally-naive nah ur good - i mean thats kiiinda what the body is gonna end up being? i think? like - im gonna be honest i really dont understand how it works but donnie seems to have enough of an idea to work with so

its smth about like... output vs input i think?? he could probably explain it better than me but yknow

[cazshmere]

12th House Synastry and the Blockages Faced in the Relationship (Planet Overlays)

materialist🔖

DISCLAIMER‼️: This explanation is mainly from the perspective of the planet person, but the feelings and experiences described might also resonate with the house person. Both sides may find some relevance in these observations. Please note that this focus is solely on the negative outcomes of these synastry placements. There are undoubtedly beautiful and positive elements that can arise from these connections as well so take these with a grain of salt. These are just my personal observations and are meant for entertainment purposes only; it may not resonate with everyone due to the nuances of astrology. Please respect my work and avoid copying or stealing it. Enjoy reading!!

Sun ☀️ : With this synastry, the Sun person feels that their true personality is restricted or blocked. They don’t understand why or how the house person perceives them in a way that is far from who they actually are. Sensing the house person’s apprehension towards them, they might try “switching personalities” to appeal to or be accepted by the house person, driven by a need to please them. The Sun person feels misunderstood and is unsure why the house person doesn’t see them the way they want to be seen. The sun person could also be some sort of enemy disguised as a friend to the house person.

Moon 🌙 : With this synastry, the Moon person’s true feelings and intentions may seem hidden or concealed for various reasons. The Moon person might feel the need to put up a front to appeal to the house person and gain their acceptance. This can also manifest as the Moon person harboring negative feelings towards the house person but pretending to enjoy their company, reflecting the restriction of their true emotions. This dynamic can lead to a lack of genuine emotional connection and increase misunderstandings. A lot of jealousy also comes into play with this synastry

Mercury 🗣️ : As I'm focusing more on the negative side of this synastry, I have to point out that this is a major red flag placement 💀💀. Communication, which is crucial in any relationship, is significantly blocked here. The Mercury person might withhold their thoughts and intentions due to fear of how the house person will react. This could also involve the Mercury person bad-mouthing the house person or even snitching on them, while putting up a front and pretending to be all buddy-buddy with them. With communication being a barrier, this can also manifest as a language barrier or misunderstandings between the two, leading to further communication problems.

Venus 🩵 : Ahh, the planet of love being in the 12th house 😭—very iffy. With this placement, love is literally blocked in this synastry due to unfortunate circumstances. This could mean that the Venus person doesn't know how to be lovey-dovey with the house person and ends up being rude, though in a more playful way, as Venus tends to be gentler. The Venus person might feel that the house person won’t accept their love and as a result starts “teasing” or “playfully bullying” them as a subtler way of expressing themselves. Since the Venus person can’t externally express their love, they turn these feelings inward, leading to the creation of fake scenarios. In these scenarios, they are genuinely expressing their love for the house person, and what plays out in these fake scenarios is what they actually want to portray in real life but are somehow unable to. The venus person also feels that the house person might not understand the way they love and that’s why they end up not expressing themselves openly and that’s where unrequited feelings and love occurs. You will never know unless you try right?

Mars ❤���‍🔥 : Lmao, this one is the most interesting! As we know, Mars is the planet of initiation and motivation. When Mars falls in the 12th house, it blocks any chance for progression - be it physically, mentally or emotionally. Mars is a very instinctual planet, and being placed in the 12th house can lead to confusion about their true instincts. The Mars person might doubt themselves and try to pull back to avoid overstepping any “boundaries”but the mars person often takes the idea of "overstepping boundaries" a bit too literally and ends up not making any move at all. Contact is blocked. This has to be one of the worst synastries because if contact itself is blocked, how can a relationship even be formed? It blocks all the areas such as the development of love, feelings, communication, etc.

Jupiter 🧿 : This placement is comparatively easygoing, but as we focus on the hindrances in this synastry, it can present some challenges. Jupiter represents expansion and abundance, but when it falls into the 12th house, it amplifies themes related to spirituality, mysticism, spirituality, etc. While one of Jupiter’s natural traits is the art of bringing joy and luck into wherever it lands, this can manifest as the Jupiter person bringing immense joy and luck to the house person. However, the Jupiter person might come across as excessively optimistic, which the house person may find confusing or overwhelming. This difference in outlook can leave the Jupiter person feeling let down because the house person doesn’t share their perspective or beliefs. As a result, the Jupiter person might hold back their optimism and viewpoints to better ‘connect’ with the house person on a higher level.

Saturn 🪐 : With this synastry, discipline and structure are blocked. The Saturn person may feel off balance and unstable when they’re with the house person. The house person might have a very fluid and mutable way of living, which is probably something the Saturn person struggles with or entirely opposes. However, with 12th house synastry, there is often a need for pleasing and acceptance from both parties. As a result, the Saturn person might bend their own rules and try to go with the house person's “flow,” but they won’t feel comfortable doing so because it creates a sense of imbalance in their life.

Neptune 🧜🏼‍♀️ : This placement is quite tricky and can be confusing. Neptune, the planet of dreams and illusions, falls in the 12th house, which can block a clear sense of reality. The Neptune person might find their ability to perceive the house person’s true nature clouded, leading to misunderstandings or unrealistic expectations. The house person may feel like their true self is hidden or misunderstood, and the Neptune person could struggle with setting clear boundaries or distinguishing between fantasy and reality. This can create a foggy dynamic where both parties have a hard time grasping the other’s true intentions and feelings.

Pluto ⚡️: This placement can be intense and transformative, but it also comes with its hurdles. Pluto is all about transformation and power, and in the 12th house, it blocks the ability to fully experience or enact personal change. The Pluto person may find it difficult to navigate deep transformations within the relationship, leading to feelings of being stuck or unable to evolve. This can manifest as unresolved issues or hidden power struggles. The house person might struggle to understand or support the Pluto person's need for transformation, leading to a dynamic where growth feels obstructed and hidden tensions simmer beneath the surface.

Uranus 🛸 : This placement brings a unique set of challenges. Uranus represents uniqueness and innovation, but when it falls in the 12th house, it blocks the ability to fully express or embrace individuality. The Uranus person might feel stifled or unable to showcase their unique qualities in the relationship, leading to feelings of frustration or alienation. They might struggle with feeling accepted for who they truly are, and their innovative ideas or unconventional traits could be suppressed. This can cause the Uranus person to feel disconnected from the house person, who may not fully appreciate or understand their uniqueness.

banner/pic credit : @/crisscreen and @/only-ranpo

© cazshmere 2024 [All Rights Reserved]

[worriedvision]

Hey can I req a Seth x reader hc

he so underrated help (T^T)

Honestly I'm gutted by the lack of Seth fics so more than happy to provide lmao! Gender neutral reader, miscommunication that gets resolved. Based on one of his trust quests.

--

"Hey _, want to catch up over ramen?" Seth would call you, hopeful that you could catch up.

"Oh, sorry! I'm busy." You reply, and you can swear you hear Seth's ears droop.

"Oh...well, how about-" Seth begins to look at his calendar for availability.

"Sorry, I have a lot going on." You cut him off, hanging up before he can confront you.

Truth be told, you had caught feelings for him. At first you felt really happy about it, until you hear whispers from a group of girls about Seth and his famous family. Honestly, you didn't know much about Seth's family and you never felt the need to pry into his life that quickly.

You hear one of the girls plans to get with him, thinking his family name trumped the fact she actually didn't like him that much, and you think it's stupid until you think harder about it.

You heard all the time about couples who got together for monetary reasons. It wouldn't be the most surprising thing to happen, but this was Seth you were thinking of. Surely he wouldn't fall for such an obvious honey trap.

But then you think... What is his family like? Are you too cheap to be in his life? Maybe you couldn't have him as anything other than a friend, or maybe you need to learn more etiquette on how to be "rich presenting" as some people would state.

So, you try what you can. Learning posh dialect, learning family dynamics in famous families, ensuring your digital footprint wouldn't be diminished.

Nothing felt right for you, though. All of these cringeworthy changes did not strike you as something Seth would be wanting in anyone associating with him.

But maybe you just don't know Seth as much as you thought. Perhaps you did live in a delusional world.

With a heavy heart, you look at the selfies you took with Seth. You go to delete them, but you can't bring yourself to do it. You can't bring yourself to delete happy memories, they were nice to look back on.

Going to your contacts, you block Seth before you can back yourself out.

--

The next week, you're getting ramen at the shop you used to catch Seth at - in hindsight, a rookie error. You're about to order before you hear a girl gasp about Seth, and you run off to avoid being seen by him.

Seth chases after you, hoping to iron out any issues or problems he has caused. You hold your breath as you turn a few corners, into a somewhat hidden alley. Closing your eyes, you hope Seth runs past you.

"_, can we talk?" Seth asks, not out of breath in the slightest.

Opening your eyes, you look at a concerned Seth.

"I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry." Seth begins. "But you haven't spoken to me about any problems we've had. You just block me and think I'm going to just move on."

"I'm not fit to be in your life." You explain. "With your family, you being around me will look bad."

Seth looks at you blankly, waiting for something else. Surely you weren't just avoiding him because of some stupid idea that he couldn't associate himself with 'lowly commoners'!

"And what about how I feel about that?" Seth spots out, unable to hold his frustration. "I really missed you. I wanted to talk to you. You kept avoiding me, giving me no explanation."

You don't respond, feeling incredibly guilty at the fact he was starting to tear up.

"Being apart from you has made me realise I have feelings more intense than friendship, and I hate that you trust other people more than myself." He cries out, wiping away his tears.

You instinctively pull him in, beginning to cry.

"I'm sorry, I felt guilty about the idea of dragging you down. I just come from a normal family." You explain. "I felt selfish for wanting you to myself, and I couldn't make myself good enough for your family."

"You're good enough for me, that's what matters to me." Seth sniffles, wrapping his arms tighter around you.

You both stay silent, just indulging in each others warmth as if you were catching up on any missed hugs.

"No more of these spirals, got it?" Seth pulls away, holding you as you nod, pulling out your phone and unblocking him.

Your stomach growls, reminding you of your reason for going to that ramen bar. Seth laughs with his chest, holding you by his side as he goes to take you on your first date.

[tawked]

So I know Arkham Knight is going for a whole thing where Batman realizes Arkham Knight is Red Hood is Jason Todd pretty much immediately, but he's in denial, so he can have a bunch of back-and-forths with... um... blood transfusion psychosis Joker (lol, lmao even)

but he really does seem like a fucking stupe in this version.

I think it comes down to interactivity. If we the audience are supposed to be Batman, then theoretically we the audience should be doubtful or anticipating some late game twist where it's not Jason Todd, reflecting Batman's doubt or denial.

Except, he's a detective, and if we as the detective can piece this together first - HOURS before he does - it builds a real animosity between audience and art, imo.

The way this worked in the comics was that he was provided the Clayface-as-Jason explanation, which made the most obvious direct sense, and thus played on his detective impulse (the simplest answer is often the correct one) vs. the gnawing doubt Jason stoked (crowbar in the Batmobile).

In AK, the only possibility Batman ever actually proposes via his hallucinations, rumination, paranoia about Barbara and Tim, blah blah blah, is Jason. There's no red herring or other explanation. It's just "Alfred search batmanwiki for a list of white guys between 20 and 30 who could kick my ass" and Alfred's like "that's a long list" and Batman's like "fuck off." Incidentally, this is the closest thing Alfred gets to a real sarcastic comment in this game - this is the worst Alfred, imo.

So the whole time it's like...

If you don't know who Jason Todd is, this probably doesn't land. They have to backfill so much of his narrative which they do through the flashbacks, sure, but it's all presented in such a distorted way and contradicts other themes. Scarecrow is telling Batman he wants to destroy the hope Batman symbolizes but we've just spent like six hours being told Batman let one of the Robins be tortured by the Joker for six months or whatever.

And as backfill to an existing universe that has not mentioned Jason before, no less. Maybe they did in a codex entry or something but I consider codex storytelling fundamentally unserious because 90% of players do not engage with it.

I don't know how connected a new audience member would feel. I know I, in 2015, did not know who Jason Todd was or care, because I had yet to absolutely lose my mind (literally I started reading comics to pass time after my schizophrenia diagnosis, this is all a labour of severe life-ruining mental illness) and decide to read comics published after 1980, and so the whole time I was like "wait there's like three Robins? What? That's stupid," not knowing there were actually six Robins, seven if you count the robot Robin from that one shit Elseworlds no one likes, probably more lol.

So maybe they avoided a red herring because they assume, as evidenced by the overall design of Asylum and City, that no one actually reads the comics and our primary point of cultural connection is the 90s DCAU (a safe assumption in 2009, three years after Justice League Unlimited finished up).

Worth noting: I didn't finish Knight the first time around because I didn't like the batmobile and didn't know / care about any of the characters; Asylum, City and Origins felt like all I needed to know was the DCAU, Knight feels like I need to know the 90s comics to appreciate.

If you do know who Jason Todd is, as I do this time around, it feels insanely condescending. Like, Bruce, it's Jason. It's Jason. Bruce the Junkstlin is telling you it's Jason because it's Jason. Please stop wasting my fucking time and engage with the OBVIOUS reveal drama that's coming. My GOD just dial him up on the batphone and be like "okay Jason, let's have it out, what's the fucking deal," maybe before he blankets Gotham in turbo deluxe fart gas. Bro we can literally see your subconscious this time and know you know that it knows that you know it's Jason.

This kind of denial narrative only really works, imo, as an Act 1, or in the context of a short comic arc. Stretching it out for between 10 - 20 hours (depending on side content) is a crazy choice and I cannot imagine the guy who was nailbiting throughout this.

[mio-actuallywrites]

Dorm leaders reacting to their s/o having extremely bad phantom pains and trying to hide it from them?

Dorm leaders reacting to you having very bad phantom pain and you trying to hide it. 

Hopefully headcannons are good for you anon!

Phantom Pain= if you get amputated you may feel pain from the part of the body you got amputated. 

(Tell me if I’m wrong please, I did some research but not alot)

Sorry if this is horrible hopefully I didn’t let you down anon! And if you do go through phantom pain please feel better!

RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS

Riddle could sense something was wrong, but couldn’t figure out what. He noticed you were avoiding him, but once he did see you he noticed you flinching sometimes. 

When he could get caught up with you he had finally asked what was wrong when you finally told him what you were experiencing. 

He probably knew a little bit by his parents (forcing) teaching him about medical stuff. 

He probably would just be their to comfort you, and get you some medicine. 

Depending how long you would get it, he would give you the work you missed if you left class during the pain. 

And he was a little hurt you didnt tell him about it but it’s fine he there now. 

LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

Leona probably was sleeping when you first experienced it, but once he’s awake, boy is very observant. 

He probably wanted to nap with you but couldn’t find you, so he actually went up and tried looking for you. 

Once he did find you, his lion or animal reflexes ig just also sensed something was wrong, when he did ask though you just shrugged it off. 

However once he did figure it out, sorry Leona lovers but I feel like he would kinda shrug it off, and probably wouldn’t know what to do . 

I mean there’s nothing you can really do, so I guess he just sleeps (or sits) next to you and hope you feel better? 

( gives you his card if you wanted to buy anything to relieve you pain.)

Like Riddle his pride was hurt because you didn’t want to tell him. 

AZUL ASHENGROTTO

Azul was curious where you were, usually after classes you would come find him, yet you weren’t there, he think he hasn’t even saw you most of the day so now he’s really curious where you were. 

Once he does find you however he might’ve not noticed right away, but he does eventually. 

And once he asked what’s wrong you probably just brushed it off. 

However once he does find out, poor boy probably doesn’t even know what phantom pain even is so he probably has to research it or you tell him about it. 

Once he does find out however, he probably would do anything to make you feel comfortable, cook you food lend you a place at the Mostro. (You probably would find yourself in a contract with him about it after ngl.)

Wait there’s medicine that can help it? Count him in for the business side. 

He probably didnt act like he cared that you didn’t tell him, but in the inside he would be sad. 

KALIM AL ASIM

Let’s be honest, Kalim probably would not notice. 

You could probably easyily hide it from him, but let’s just say you told him when the pain got to much. 

Like Azul, he probably needed to get an explanation on what it was, but once he does find out he’ll probably spoiler you. 

You want that? He would get it for you, anything that makes you feel better!!

I feel like he would cry idk tho. 

He probably wouldn’t care you were hiding it from him ngl. 

VIL SCHOENHEIT

(I spent a whole while thinking what he would do so this is probably short)

Vil probably thought something was wrong so he sent out Rook to find out lmao. 

After Rook came back and found out Vil immediately went to find you. And before you could even come up with an excuse he already knew what to do. 

He would do skincare with you. 

(Sorry if this was super short!)

IDIA SHROUD

Since Idia games often he is very observant - when he’s not playing games. 

However if your both hanging out in his room, he will notice… eventually. 

And if Ortho was with you… then hiding the pain would be useless. Bro would literally just blurt out something like: are you feeling phantom pain rn prefect?

Bro would probably freak out but since Ortho was right there he would be able to find out what to do through him. 

He trying his best! So he might not be the best person when the phantom pain happens but he’s not the worst. 

MALLEUS DRACONIA 

I feel like this is a 50/50, Malleus knows what it is or doesn’t even know it. 

Where ever you meet, he can tell something’s wrong with his dragon or fae senses. So there’s like no point of hiding it. 

Like I said it’s a 50/50 so he might be the best at helping you or just doesn’t know until you explain to him. 

Probably would NOT leave your side until you assure him the pain went away!

And if Sebeks yelling is bothering you he’d probably tell him to shut up. (But in a very polite way.)

[otakusheep15]

OMG FRUITS BASJET?!

Could you do a kyo x male reader?

I have had the fattest crush on him since elementary school LMAO

Anyways could it be like reader never knew kyo could turn into a cat, so when he sees kyo turn into a cat and just instantly feels his heartstrings tug. He starts cuddling with kyo's cat from till he turns back into his human form, but reader didn't know he becomes naked when he turns back so he starts freaking out about it lol.

I'm sorry if I butcher this shit up and if my English is bad and you don't understand my point. English is my first language but I get very nervous with sending in request so I feel like I butcher shit up lol.

Hi! I am so sorry for how long it took me to answer this!! I'll make it extra long just to make up for it. Thanks for being patient! ^^

Kyo Sohma x Male Reader

Okay, so, I actually love the thought of queer relationships between the zodiac. It's always been very cute to me, plus it would save them from turning into an animal when they want affection.

Also, for these headcanons, let's just say that trans men/transmascs don't have any effect so that it stays inclusive! (I know Fruits Basket isn't the most trans-inclusive, but we're ignoring that)

Anyway, this would most likely take place before you two start dating. I doubt he'd be the type to commit to a relationship before revealing this part of himself. He's not good at this sort of thing.

So, right now, y'all are just friends. Most likely, you met at school. You're in the same class, or you met through one of his cousins/Tohru.

At first, he avoided you. It had nothing to do with you in particular - he just hates being social. Eventually, you do manage to interact with him, and he decides you're chill enough to be around. So you two become friends.

One day, you, Kyo, Tohru, and Yuki are hanging out outside of school. This is the first time you've hung out with them outside of school, so this is new territory for you. Specifically, the four of you went to the library to study for an upcoming test.

You sat in a back corner, away from everyone else. Tohru had gotten up to go grab a book, but she tripped over the leg of the chair. Kyo was sitting next to her, and he's the one she falls into. Suddenly, there's a puff of smoke, and when it clears, you see Tohru holding an orange cat, and Kyo is nowhere to be seen.

Tohru and Yuki look panicked, and you're confused. The two of them scramble to come up with some kind of explanation, but all you can think about is how adorable the cat is. You assume it's Kyo, although you couldn't explain what happened.

Tohru had put Kyo down by this point, and he walks across the table to get to you. His eyes have the same deadpan look they usually do, which is funnier in his cat form. Sensing no hostility from you, Yuki and Tohru are able to calm down a little bit, and Yuki is able to get a proper explanation out. You process only some of his words, too focused on how cute Kyo looks.

Without much thought, you scoop him up in your arms, gently holding him close. Kyo makes a startled noise, but doesn't struggle too much. Yuki looks amused as he ushers Tohru away, intent on giving you two some alone time.

Kyo asks you what you think you're doing, and you're shocked he can still speak in this form. You shyly explain that you just thought he looked cute, and your body kind of just moved on its own. You go to put him down, but he doesn't budge from your arms. It's barely audible, but you swear you heard him say something about him enjoying the embrace. You chuckle at that as you hold him tighter. If you listen closely, you can almost hear him purring softly.

Then, another puff of smoke appears. When it dissipates, you see Kyo standing in front of you, back to his regular human form. Except for the fact that he's completely naked. You turn away, flustered that you saw him in such a state. Kyo also turns around, tripping over himself as he looks for his clothes. Neither of you speak a word, and it's around this time that Yuki and Tohru make their return.

Yuki still looks amused by the situation, choosing to tease Kyo. Tohru is immediately flustered, still not used to seeing the boys after they transform back. As the boys continue fighting, Tohru comes up to you, asking if you're okay. She knows from personal experience that this kind of situation can be startling, so she wants to make sure that you're feeling alright. When you respond in the affirmative, she smiles.

Kyo and Yuki stop bickering, and Kyo is fully dressed once again. He can't quite make eye contact with you, but he does apologize for what happened, if in his own tsundere way. You laugh a bit, explaining that you're fine, just a bit shocked at what just happened. The three nod, as they can all understand how you feel.

By this point, none of you are in the mood for studying anymore, so you decide to pack up for the night. As you walk out of the library, you turn away from them, as your home is in the opposite direction of where they live. However, you feel something grab your hand, and when you turn to look, you see Kyo. He's still not making eye contact, and his face is a little red, but his grip on your hand is strong.

Quietly, he asks if he can walk you home. You're shocked, and you can hear Tohru cheering in the background as Yuki tries to silence her. After a moment to recover from the shock, you smile and him and squeeze his hand, accepting his offer. He makes eye contact with you for the first time since the incident, and you can see a small smile appear on his face. He tells the others that he'll meet them at home, and you're on the way to your house.

As you walk, Kyo explains everything in as much detail as he can. He leaves out all of his family drama, as that's a story for another day, but he does bring up his curse and how it works. You jokingly remark that he wouldn't transform with you, since you're both boys, and he laughs a bit at that. He gestures to your hands, still interlocked, and states that even holding hands with a girl would cause him to transform. That makes you laugh as well.

Soon you're back home, and he drops you off at your door. He squeezes your hand one last time before letting it go, and he asks if you'd like to hang out again, to which your agree. You do make one more sly comment about wanting to see him as a cat again, telling him that he looked oh so adorable. He groans, but it's all in good humor. He leaves, already thinking of plans for next time.

The two of you don't start dating right away. It takes more time, but this is the first major step. Also, he's willing to be more affectionate with you because he knows he won't transform. It's nothing more than hand-holding on leaning against you for right now, but when you do start dating, he gets very clingy, especially in public.

You don't get to see him transform that often since you don't cause any of his transformations, but when you do get to see it, it's always a treat. He gets so flustered when he transforms, and it worsens when he transforms back to human. You've gotten used to the nakedness after the first few times, but he never quite does, especially when you're around. It's cute.

[spiralhigh]

hi again! On an earlier post, you listed Dependent personality disorder as one of your diagnoses for Matsuda and that you would write a post on it if anyone asked. I would love to see it since I agree with that headcanon (and most of your thoughts on him in general honestly). Have a nice day!

okie dokie artichokie!

first off, i think it’d take a lot for matsuda to actually get diagnosed. he doesn’t match the “stereotypical” presentation of dpd because his standoffishness and tendency to hole himself up make him look more independent than he actually is.

dr0 is a good point in time to analyze him from because it’s a situation where he would be actively triggered pretty much 100% of the time due to being unable to rely on otonashi/enoshima

symptoms of dependent personality disorder include:

trouble making everyday decisions without support. matsuda has difficulty with basic hygiene, dressing himself, socializing, etc.

fear of not being able to take care of themselves. for matsuda, this presents as an extreme drive to protect the people who could take care of him, even if it means doing something he thinks is morally wrong. it started with his mother, obviously, and then it moved to enoshima.

doing uncomfortable tasks to get support or nurturance from others. literally everything he does in dr0 is in service of this. he doesn’t know how to live without enoshima, so he’ll throw his life away to make sure she never leaves him.

avoiding conflict in relationships due to fear of losing them. this symptom is often misunderstood — friends of mine with dpd have explained this as being an instinctive manipulation tactic. matsuda takes this to a fantastical extreme, literally erasing the conflict from otonashi’s mind and constantly lying to her to keep her in line. “you didn’t see a dead body. who do you trust? me or the notebook?”

feeling uncomfortable when alone. we rarely see matsuda on his own outside of very stressful situations, but i think it’s fair to assume this applies. he’s shy and introverted so he needs his alone time, but he’ll freak out if he doesn’t have the option to see enoshima/if he doesn’t know where she is.

fear of abandonment. i don’t think i need to explain this one

tendency to only interact with the people they depend on. this one also feels obvious to me LOL

behaving submissively. this is a criteria that he only half-fits. he can stand up for himself in situations where it’s necessary in order to prevent being abandoned (e.g. talking back to the steering committee on behalf of enoshima), but he has trouble asserting himself in a meaningful way otherwise. his bratty schoolyard bully behavior is permissible only because enoshima/otonashi is the kind of freak who likes that sort of thing

oversensitivity to criticism. this isn’t something we get to see much of over the course of dr0, but i do think it’s reasonable to assume given the fact that matsuda is implied to be a very sensitive person behind the aloof mask he puts on. it runs so deeply in him that otonashi can clearly see the loneliness in his eyes even when he’s trying to keep his cool…

pessimism and a lack of self-confidence. another thing that half-fits. matsuda is confident in his abilities… but only when it comes to his talent. he’s otherwise a pretty big raincloud of a guy. this is especially reflected in his view on the situation with the reserve course’s parade.

willingness to tolerate abuse and mistreatment from others. this one… also needs no explanation, LMAO

dependent personality disorder can be caused by childhood trauma and neglect, so matsuda’s history would make him prone to developing it. obviously there are other things i’m probably missing but this is the gist of why i think he has dpd <3

[a-sad-mage]

That’s true, but still. There’s a point where you start going so out of character it feels more like OC territory lol. Got some more headcannons for your enjoyment!

Ironically, Eli isn’t very expressive by Terran standards because he’s so used to articulating his body language with a tail and wings. Internally he thinks he’s being so obvious about things wagging a tail and stimming with flappy wings. Externally, he’s just staring at people lol. It has led to some unfortunate situations :( (can relate cause autism lol)

He has hissed at one of Stocker’s slughounds

He has swatted at a protoform ghoul (not like squished it, more like pushed it away on instinct because of how rancid their vibes are)

I like to think that, after Dana’s come to tolerate/like Eli as a person, she and the gang get into trouble together, leading to Eli getting injured, and in an act of goodwill she uses Doc on him, causing her to find out.

MANY questions ensue

Number one being “shadow clan don’t have wings”

The lack of context to her saying that just grounds everyone into laughter because “what do the shadow clan have to do with this??”

Very awkward explanation about what she thought Will did ensues

Eli straight blue screens cause huh????

Eli’s just like “listen, I’ll explain if I can find/borrow a thugglet slug to hide this real quick

The gang and Dana quickly realise how expressive Eli has been this whole time cause his tail keeps knocking things over (and hitting people on accident lol).

Do not surprise or spook him like this! Jolt touch is now a full on electrical surge and spreading wings to take flight means that the ceiling and walls get scratched up

In flight he’s shockingly fast, definitely can keep up with a mecha beast or maybe even a train (Tad isn’t built for speed like Eli, instead having wings more adept at soaring for long periods of time)

He can actually loaf now

Kord feels very strange about this cause his little bro is now actually big bro (not by much, he’s still shorter than the average shadowclan)

He doesn’t have to avoid Doc like this so he absolutely dotes on him now that the fear is gone.

The gremlin behaviour is arguably worse like this because the new size means that most high up surfaces can’t hold him anymore causing him to go bat mode and sleep upside down until they can find a solution to this

Y’know that one video where a guy enters a room with a pigeon and goes “fuck ya life! Bing bong!”? Eli has definitely gone out slug catching, used his whole energy sensing ability to catch 3 hoverbug slugs, and released them as a prank. Upside, the gang all gets a hoverbug if they can catch one. Downside, if they can catch one. (Eventually he does have to catch pronto’s for him but the way he does it is pouncing from the couch like cats catching a bird but very gently lol)

On one occasion before a distant shore where he slipped into gremlin mode, Eli has mumbled to himself “Right, yeah, humans don’t do that.” Not realising that the gang could hear him. They don’t say anything because they are not opening that can of worms lmao

Gar keeps trying to catch Eli being weird and acts like it’s unrefutable proof he’s a burning worlder but since Eli’s built up a good rapport with people most of his “evidence” is met with “could you leave this literal 15 year old alone please? He’s a little odd but you’re being objectively worse.” (Literal little meow meow)

He’s fine with getting wet but he does that paw shake thing cats do and Kord hates being in the splash zone and after the first time it happens he immediately gets an emergency towel to dump on Eli just in case

Sometimes trills when happy. At this point the gang know he’s definitely not normal and probably not human either, but he’s a heartfelt kid and they know he’s not gonna start hurting people just cause he’s a little odd, so they keep it to themselves and try and cover for him if they think someone’s noticed

Up until a distant shore where Eli explains the spell he had to walk through to get down to the caverns, they thought he was some shapeshifter creature because aside from the jolt touch he is physically identical to a human

- 🦇

Understandable,

The main points for Eli's personality, from what I've observed;

He's kind, and willing to help those in need, but if need be, he can play dirty.

He can be an idiot sometimes, more so because he gets caught up in what's happening around him, and sometimes makes some, questionable choices- given his plan history lol

Eli is trusting, and is willing to give people the benefit of the doubt unless he's given a reason

As shown in The New Kid part 2, and Gentleman and the Thief, he can be perceptive.

Eli also enjoys a good prank, and is a sassy little sh!t, but he cares a lot about the people and slugs around him, to the point he would do almost anything for them.

All in all, Eli is what some might consider the ideal protagonist is some cases, but with the ability to be molded, and shaped to fit almost any narrative.

And the Surface Magic AU! Eli is honestly one of the more takes on Eli that line up to his Cannon self quite well, give or take him being feral at times lmao

-

[Undiagnosed neurodivergent here, so I can relate as well lmao]

Eli: *say's something very, VERY, odd* the Gang: okay bud, still want that coco?

haa, Dana must have been embarrassed as hell having that conversation-

and yaa, Doc get's pet's!

YES Eli being feral cat/bat is grate- I'm aways in favor of Eli being allowed to let lose in some way

IDK why but Gar trying to catch Eli being weird reminds me a lot of Mr. Crocker form the Fairly Odd Parents, Candace from Phineas and Ferb, and what's his face from The Owl House - JACOB HOPKINS! that human who was obsessed with like, Demons/Witch's I get thos vibes

also, get that man slapped with a restraining order he'll inevitably brake-

His tail knocking crap over because he's just so happy and excited a lot is everything THATS SO CTUE- Eli's eyes doing the cat thing where they go big or small depending on what he's looking at- but that's just me-

all in all, wonderful tid-bits about the Surface Magic AU Anon! honestly couldn't have come up with something better myself, especially since i'm still working on the Man-Down Au and the angst tied to it lmao

[avatar-legends-confessionblog]

idk why people think zukaang would be a good couple. Zuko is a high stress individual who admittedly is an attention whore and needs a lot of reassurance. Aang runs away whenever he gets too stressed out. Zuko is confrontational and Aang isn’t. Aang is flirty and Zuko has trust issues. They would be the kind of couple where one person is constantly avoiding problems, which leaves the other person feeling neglected and ultimately causes completely preventable blowouts when a conflict is no longer avoidable. Think beach Maiko fights but worse.

If you want a genuine explanation, you actually pointed out one of the reasons me (and many zukaang shippers) like zukaang and think it would work. The best relationships are ones where each partner balances out the other. Yes, one of Aang's main problems is hesitancy and being unsure, but we even directly see in The Firebending Masters that this is something Zuko, who is very direct and bold, helps him with. He pushes forward where Aang would rather hang back. And, of course, the opposite is true. Zuko's main flaw is running head first into things and letting his emotions rule him, which is part of why he comes to rely on Aang so much because Aang is better at keeping a calm head.

Yes, this could lead to what you said, but so could, as you pointed out, maiko or kataang or, you know, any relationship. But honestly, blow ups like that more often happen because of a lack of communication, which, again, can affect any relationship, but I also think this is a place both Zuko and Aang are actually pretty good at. In fact, the biggest conflicts they have with their respective love interests is Zuko and Aang wanting to communicate with Mai and Katara (for their own valid reasons) not being ready to.

Zuko's biggest dissconnect with Mai is not being able to read her and not knowing her standards or how to match them. Meanwhile, Aang is incredibly easy to read and his literal only standard is 'notice me'. Aang's biggest disconnect with Katara is the fact that he's very much an 'all-in' kind of person while Katara is not. Zuko is about as much 'all-in' as you can get in a person.

(Before ANYONE misconstrues what I just said, Mai is perfectly justified in having high standards, Aang should probably raise his tbh, and Katara is perfectly justified in being a little hesitant and having other things on her mind, Zuko could probably stand to have more than just his father's opinion and the location of Aang on his mind lmao)

Idk, I do think there would be issues they would face because there are issues all relationships face, period. Yes, if they were together there would probably be times where Aang ends up pulling too much into his shell and frusterating Zuko, or Zuko pressing too hard and chasing Aang off, but these things would probably also happen with any relationshop these two were in since it has to do with who they are as people.

When it comes to how they work together, Zuko is too direct to allow Aang to get away with much avoidance (we literally see this in the Finale) and Aang is patient enough to deal with Zuko pushing too much. They are equiped to deal with eachother's flaws, and I think that's what matters.

X

[pedroshotwifey]

Pickled Peña Challenge 2023

Good Impression

Pairing: Husband!Javier P. x GN!reader

Word count: 1.2k

Tags/Warnings: Nothing really, fluff, lil bit of angst (silly angst tho), reader and Javi have a dog, Chucho being hella cool, kissing, cussing, vivid descriptions of fried pickles, wifey being actually stupid

Summary: You really wanted to bring something for Chucho's new year's party...

A/N: Hey, y'all! This is my contribution to @goodwithcheese's Pickled Peña Resolutions Writing Challenge! It's kind of stupid but it's what I've got lmao. I can't wait to read everyone else's Peña stories (please feel free to tag me in them)! Unfamiliar with this challenge? Read more about it here! @pickled-pena

*****

“Shit!”

You curse as you watch a pickle slice splat wetly onto the kitchen floor, jumping back to avoid it landing on your bare foot. Max, your golden lab (who was oh-so-creatively named by your husband) is quick to clean it up not a second after it falls. 

“Goddammit, Max,” you scold as you watch him scarf it down without shame. “That’s your fifth pickle today.” 

Hell, it might be the sixth. You usually aren’t a super messy cook, but it’s a different story when you’re in a time crunch. You need to leave the house in about an hour, and the fried pickles you promised to bring for Chucho’s new year’s party are only half done. 

Javier walks in then, chuckling slightly at the interaction he just witnessed. You give him a pointed look before getting back to the task at hand, smothering pickle slices in the flour mixture you had made up. 

“Oh, come on now, sweetheart,” Javi says as he walks up behind you to glide his arms around your waist. “Don’t be like that, we have plenty of time.”

You roll your eyes and half-heartedly shove him off of you as you dip the first batch into the oil on the stove. 

“In case you haven’t noticed, Javi, I still have to fry every single one of these slices, and then let them dry and cool before we can leave. Plus, I still need to change my clothes, and we have to pick up a gift for Chucho on our way there.”

Javi presses a kiss to the top of your head, humming in response to your explanation. 

“I think we’ll be okay. Chucho isn’t going to mind if we’re a little late.” 

“I know,” you whine. “But I still hate not being–”

“I promise you, baby. As long as I show up with ‘that pretty partner of mine’, there’s not going to be an issue.” He pinches your hip lightly as he quotes his father’s words from a few days earlier. 

You can’t help the faint smile that crawls across your face at that reminder. You had been so worried about Javier’s family not liking you, but it turns out that they adore you just as much as he does, just from what he’s said about you. It’s nice to know you’ll be welcomed so warmly even though they had never met you previously. 

The two of you had met in columbia by chance, hooked up, and things spiraled from there. As much as he tried, Javi just couldn’t tear himself away from you. A year later, the two of you were married, and a year after that, you both moved back to Javi’s hometown in Texas, where you’re now, finally, about to meet everyone you had heard so much about. 

You had told Javi that it’s your new year’s resolution to make a good impression, but you doubt that’s going to be very hard. You’ve already made a good impression in their book just by marrying the man.

“How about you go ahead and get changed, and I’ll do what I can here?” Javi suggests. 

You scoop out your pickles and lay them on a rack to dry before turning around and planting a kiss on Javi’s cheek. 

“Thank you, baby. That would help a lot.” 

“No problema, mi vida.”

He grabs your wrist to pull you in to press his lips against yours. You smile against him before pulling back and planting a final, light kiss on his lips. 

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” you tell him as you back out of the doorway. 

***

It doesn’t take too long for you to get dressed. Javi is just finishing the pickles as you walk back into the kitchen. 

“Should be all set,” he says as he wipes his hands down with a paper towel. You lean on your toes to kiss him again.

The two of you have everything cleaned and packed up within another few minutes. You glance at the clock, which tells you that you should be right on time by the time you’re walking out the door. You grab the container of pickles to take with you to the hall table by the front door. 

Javi mumbles something from behind you and then walks into your room, patting his pockets as he goes. You almost laugh under your breath at his forgetfulness until you realize you left your keys in the bathroom. 

You place the container down and walk down the hall, not noticing how precariously balanced the tub is left. You snatch your keys up at the same time you hear a crash. You gasp at the sound of what can only be a plastic lid breaking off to spill your hard work all over the floor. 

Your fears are confirmed as you quickly make your way back to where you left them, only to find Javi hovering over the mess. When looks up and immediately catches your stunned expression, his entire body freezing as he does so.

“Baby,” he starts slowly. I swear it wasn’t–”

“Javier. F. Peña,” you seethe, each name spat out as its own individual sentence. “You did not just knock that down,” you almost dare him to contradict you. There’s absolutely no way for you to make another batch right now. You don’t have the time nor the ingredients. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Javi retorts defensively, holding up his hands as he takes a step toward you. “What makes you so sure that it was me? I thought it was you until I got out here!”

“Me?” you gawk at him, offended. “Unlike some other people I know, I’m not that fucking clumsy!” 

“Woah, you stand there and accuse me, but where were you at the time?”

Just then, Max slinks into the hall, drawing both of your attention to his guilty movements. His tail wags hesitantly behind him, his head ducked. The fact that he’s not all over those damn pickles tells you all that you need to know. You sigh in frustration, pinching the bridge of your nose. 

You look back up at Javi, and you can’t miss the glint of amusement in his eye. A smile peaks out as you lean down to Max’s level. You don’t scold him, instead gently grabbing his collar to lead him to your room before shutting the door so you can clean the mess without interruption. 

Javi’s already on it, sweeping everything into a dustpan. You lean against the wall as he finishes up. 

“Guess we’re going to have to stop by that burger joint in town,” you say, sighing again. Javi watches you, sending you a sympathetic smile. He knows how much you wanted to bring something homemade, how much it meant to have something to offer, no matter how small. 

“I’m sorry sweetheart. Maybe next time we can invite Chucho over for dinner next week, make up a big meal for him.”

You smile back at him. He always knows what to say. He walks into the kitchen to dispose of the contents in the dustpan, and you to your room to release Max before rejoining each other in the hall.

“Ready to go, my little chef?” 

You roll your eyes at him with feigned annoyance as you take his hand. 

“Let’s go, Peña.”

[ivorydisciple]

some scribblings of my pc and a lil relationship chart for all the human LIs! my designs for the LIs are subject to change tbh explanations of the relationships below the cut

♂ROBIN - things were a lot simpler when they were kids. amari was always the stronger of the two, both physically and mentally, and as such naturally fell into the 'protector' role. she didnt mind (at first) as doing so gave her a sense of fulfillment. as they've grown however, amari has grown distant from him. while at one point in time she found his blind optimism inspiring, she now finds it dangerous (i mean, they do live in rapetown LMAO). she pays his rent and defends him in public but has been trying to gear him toward taking self defense classes and finding other revenue streams. robin has yet to act on her advice, resulting in amari's resentment growing and the gap between them growing larger. despite all this, amari doesn't actually have the heart to make him fend for himself. how long this lasts remains to be seen. ♂WHITNEY - it's on sight with whit every day, all day. she hates him and his dumb ass friends. she's begun to win a lot more of their fights than he has, helping her gain favor with her shallow fellow students. she sees no reason to tolerate him, as he's disgusting and she can fight her own battles. often spreads rumors about him online during her down time. not much to say tbh as her interactions with whitney are pretty much always hostile ♀SYDNEY - purely platonic on amari's part tho she gets the feeling syd wants more. she's put off by syd's religious background and occasionally goads her into 'sin' for shits and giggles (and a little out of spite). amari is privately jealous of syd's seemingly happy life. ♂KYLAR - openly finds him disgusting, yet surprisingly resourceful. once he showed his true creepy colors, amari had no qualms with bullying him at school or manipulating him in private to get things from him such as a lab in the orphanage loft and the weekly pepper spray charges. has somehow managed to avoid any form of penetration from kylar but has not avoided being abducted lol. ♂ALEX - she looks up to him and is very attracted to him. they bonded over their mutual dislike of remy, and things kind of just went from there. she found herself opening up to him over time, and things gradually escalated to casual hook ups. she respects and admires his ambition and honestly wants to see his vision come to fruition. probably the only person she knows that she trusts completely (and its funny that this person just so happens to NOT live in rapetown) ♂EDEN - slightly stockholmed to say the least. she is disturbed by him, yet finds him endearing at times (these feelings also disturb her). for amari, its something about someone so (seemingly) unstoppable who wants to keep her safe at all costs that makes resisting this obviously dangerous situation quite difficult for her. besides that, she REALLY has grown interested in owning a firearm of her own. eden has not indulged her, but does allow her to practice shooting with his rifle. when she's away from the cabin long enough, it becomes easier for her to resist him and even build up the courage to just fucking leave him in her dust. for whatever reason, however, she'll still find herself coming straight back to the cabin on particularly stressful days. ♂AVERY - amari finds him gross and creepy, but keeps it to herself to get that bag. the only time consensual sex becomes a chore for amari is when its done with avery. it's like... bro is looking for sugar babies at an orphanage, it doesnt get more transparent than that LMAO but she rather it be her with avery than any of the other orphans...

[dalniente]

Hello, I binged a bunch of your Megamind fics last night (best mistake of my life 🥲). But since I'm not an old Megamind fan, or even an old fan of yours, I don't really know how did you come up with the bird-like singsong language headcanon and not sure where to look for answers either. Megamind with gills headcanon is pretty intuitive, but this? Tell me more, please ~

Thank you for your work. Megamind is a masterpiece, but even DreamWorks couldn't begin to explore all the implications of the story.

Omg I love this question, thank you for asking! And I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed my writing 💙👽💙 I hope you can nap today!

The short explanation is simply that the way I see it, if Megamind's species can live underwater, the language spoken in his culture of origin cannot work the same way our languages do. The primary mechanics of human languages, air flowing out through our mouths, will not work for an aquatic species unless their language is bubbles. So I needed something else, and...I like birds a lot. When I wrote Swansong (I think Swansong was my first fic in which Megamind speaks any Punktsyk), I honestly wasn't thinking about it very much, except "birds whistle and chirp, and so do dolphins and whales, so Megamind sounds like birds and dolphins and whales."

The long explanation of how I got to the fully-developed headcanon for his language as I currently write it is below:

The long explanation is that Megamind's specific combination of birdsong+whalesong was developed over a long period of time. I like birds a LOT, lol. I've also always loved the idea of a Megamind who looks more or less human-shaped, but is otherwise very very alien. So (years & years before I started writing him with gills) I wrote him as making some bird-like sounds very early on in my writing. 2012, 2013 or so, I think. I also wrote him mentioning a syrinx, which is a vocal structure some birds have. Just for fun, because at that time I was avoiding writing very much about his homeworld. And I wrote Swansong, which...as far as I know is the first appearance of Megamind with gills, so I didn't have much inspiration other than "I like birds" lmao. But I needed him to speak to Minion underwater, and I have no idea how Minion manages aquatic English, so I gave Megamind a different voice and leaned into those bird noises I had mentioned in passing before, in other stories.

Aaaand then I got depression and didn't publish anything for a couple years... and THEN I got on new meds and came roaring back to life with new inspiration, thinking, Fuck it! We've had no new information in years! I'm gonna do what I want! Gills! A new language! Let's go let's go let's go!

First, I needed a reason for Megamind to actually be fully fluent in his parents' language, so I gave Minion inherited memories. With the way I was writing Minion's biology, it made sense that his species might be able to do something like that. I thought, okay, Minion lives in an orb underwater, how long would it have taken him to learn any human languages? So Megamind is fully fluent in his parents' language because Minion could really ONLY speak that for a long time.

And THEN I sat down and started trying to actually figure out the language itself. I had already had the thought (several times, over the years) that if those bird noises I gave him are natural for him, there was no reason any of the languages on Megamind's homeworld would sound even remotely human. I was really sad about this, because I had hoped to write something Roxanne could eventually learn to speak, but...it just wouldn't work in my head. I was writing Dive and fully committing to Megamind as a fish-man, so his language needed to make equal sense in water and air, and for that, it needed to be something truly alien.

Like I said, I had written him singing already. This was just his language from Swansong, but more developed. I wanted a deeper song for him, too, like a whale, so I wrote long chambers along his spine, to run air back and forth and sing the emotion underlying the birdsong "words." I also gave him a kind of rolling "vocal loop" to keep air flowing through his syrinx without letting go of it through his nose or mouth, so he can sing underwater as well as in air. I think he probably also has structures he can work behind his nose, for clicking. He can make a LOT of noises, lol.

If I'm remembering correctly, I was still thinking maybe he had a different language out of the water while I was writing Dive. It wasn't until a couple months later when I wrote Wake Your Sleepy Soul that I decided it was a single language. I imagine it sounds a bit different underwater than in air, but the language itself is the same.

There is more I can tell you about Megamind's voice, but I think that's everything for why I wrote his language the way I do! and I must sleep. Thank you again!! If you (or anyone else reading this) have any other questions, please ask away, I LOVE talking about this stuff.

(Oh and go watch Megamind Rules if you haven't seen it yet! I think it is actually very cute and earnest. Wonderful show for kids, I really enjoyed it and hope they release the second half soon.)

[until-another-one-comes]

To The Right Person (Milkplane and Businessreport fic)

(A little short conversation between Francis and Izaack regarding their respective love interests I wrote at like... 1 am lmao)

(ships involved are Milkplane and Businessreport but they're not the focus)

Izaack sat back down on his seat next to Francis, loosening the collar on his shirt and catching his breath. The man was no stranger to an exciting night's out but even he needed to take a break after some time. The press of the people around him was starting to feel suffocating and he felt his body heating up. He ordered an iced drink from the bartender who nodded and went to prepare it. Izaack turned towards Francis, who was watching the people still dancing. His drink was right next to him, half-empty.

"Don't want to join them?" Izaack asked, pointing his thumb towards Steven and Angus still in the middle of the crowded room. Francis shook his head.

"No, I'm already tired," the other man replied, shaking his head. It was then that Izaack noticed the lack of red tint on his cheeks- Francis wasn't a heavy drinker, but at this point during their night outs the other man would already be slightly drunk, his face flushed and head nodding tiredly.

"I see you haven't been drinking," Izaack commented, moving slightly to see what was in Francis's cup. He wasn't sure what it was but judging by the other man's sober state it definitely wasn't alcohol. Francis shook his head again.

"Mmm, I want to cut down on drinking. Never really liked how being drunk makes me feel, you know?" Francis explained, finally tearing his eyes off the crowd and looking at Izaack. The reporter nodded, never being a huge fan of drinking himself, it was only ever a way to slightly cut loose and spend time with his friends.

"I understand. Why now, though?" Izaack asked, his usual curiosity peaking through. Francis went silent, fidgeting slightly with the sleeve of his shirt. He was silent for so long that Izaack almost took back his question until his friend finally spoke.

"Can you promise to keep a secret?" Francis said, looking at him with a strangely worried expression. Izaack blinked in surprise. Well, this was not the answer he expected.

"Asking a reporter to keep secrets probably isn't the smartest move, Francis. Our job is to uncover secrets," Izaack said, laughing slightly to ease the tension. Judging by the unimpressed look Francis was giving him, it didn't work. Izaack cleared his throat and tried again. "Of course, what is it?" he put on his usual charming smile to reassure him. Thankfully, it actually worked as Francis relaxed and spoke again.

"I never actually like drinking. It makes me feel miserable and I hate waking up hangover the next day," Francis avoided looking at Izaack as he said it, but the words were said in a hurried hushed tone as if he was worried everyone else in the bar would listen. For the second time tonight, Izaack looked surprised at him.

"Then why do you always drink when we go out?" He asked. A thought came to him. "You don't have to force yourself to drink with us, you know. We don't mind and I don't drink much either," was that the reason for this sudden change? Francis shook his head.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," he ran a hand over his hair. "I just..." his voice trailed off. Izaack put his hand on the other man's tense shoulder.

"Francis, you don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to. But just know I won't judge, alright?" He said, squeezing his shoulder in a reassuring way. Francis looked down on the floor but made no move to move aside Izaack's hand. He took that as a good sign.

"I drink because it makes me feel good, even for a moment. I get to forget about my problems. But then it all comes crashing down and then I regret drinking. And then I do it *again* because I couldn't think of how else to distract myself when I'm... feeling down,"

Izaack stayed silent the whole time. Francis remained silent after his explanation, eyes still on the floor and his shoulders slumped. After a while, a chuckle broke out of him.

"I'm sorry, forget I said anything," Francis said, turning his body away. He tried to look nonchalant but his tone gave it away, dripping with shame.

"What about now?"

"Hm?"

"You said you drink because you can't think of anything else to take your mind off your problems. So what about now? Did you find something else to do that?"

Francis didn't answer, but Izaack saw his dark brown eyes darting to the center of the bar. Steven was laughing and holding a mug in his hand, his face red and bright. Izaack smiled.

Not something, someone.

Francis looked back at him and realised Izaack saw who he was looking at. His face went redder than it was when he was drunk and Izaack laughed.

"So thats it," he chuckled. Francis ducked his head in embarassment but gave a small smile. At the moment, the bartender returned, handing Izaack his drink.

"I'm glad you found someone that makes you happy, Francis. I think you deserve it," Izaack said. Francis looked at him curiously.

"You do?"

"Of course, we all deserve that,"

"Thank you," Francis smiled. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Have you found someone like that? What with your, um..."

"Popularity? Charm? Well, I have some admirers, but none that catches my eyes,"

"None? Absolutely no one?"

Izaack gave a small smile but didn't answer. Suddenly, they both heard a loud crash and turned their heads once again to the sea of people on the other side of the bar. Angus was waving around a handful of cards, loudly exclaiming something that was drowned out by the rest of the crowd's noise. Izaack turned back to Francis.

"There is *one* person I might consider," he said, sipping his drink and grinning. Francis looked incredulously again at Angus's direction. He shook his head but decided not to comment any further. If that was what Izaack liked, who was he to judge?

"To the right person," Izaack said, lifting his mug towards Francis. The other man smiled slightly and tapped his mug against his.

"To the right person."

[shiraishi--kanade]

Any thoughts on the fact An starts the vivid bad squad story and not kohane (the actual leader)? Could An have become the leader of VBS?

I've been thinking about this a lot, and basically, when I approach it from a "what were they trying to do here?", my answer boils down to this:

Kohane is obviously an audience self-insert. I'm sorry to all Kohane lovers hurt by the statement, but it's just true from a writing perspective (it doesn't necessarily diminish a character unless done badly). She is the newbie that's a newcomer to both the culture we end up exploring on Vivid Street; while the same can be said for other characters, especially Minori, who is also in the same position, Kohane is more unique because of the nature of VBS's story.

The said nature is the fact that VBS centers RW to an absurd amount, and a lot of said story is characters discussing it's impact and analysing it. So, obviously, we need to actually see what the talk of the town about - and though we don't fully actually "see" RW until as late as LUtF, that little An flashback in the beginning gives the reader a rough idea of what's going on, as well as who An as a character is.

Both are important - it acts as a hook to the main story and gives us a connection with An, a very important character who we, a Kohane stand-in, need to connect with in order to cheer for them and against Akito and Touya, who initially act as an antagonistic force. And we need to cheer for Vivids vs Rad Dogs because that's the only way the reveal of Touya's inner conflict and Akito's "caring side" is going to be effective and make you go "ah, what's why these two were briefly assholes" instead of just always knowing they were good and sitting there bored until they all team up. Even in the very beginning, when Kohane wanders into WEG, we already know who An is and that she's a good person, so we also cheer for Kohane to get closer to her. It gets you emotionally invested in the main conflict of the story. You get the idea.

Therefore, showing us RW was a necessary writing choice. However, Kohane was... Absolutely not there. Also, it would have not worked well for the audience to just wander around aimlessly and lost with Kohane. Honestly, because Kohane doesn't even know what she's doing with herself pre-main story, she has nothing to tell the reader in the opening - remember that she... Basically doesn't have a backstory, unfortunately. Choosing An to narrate the scene instead is a very obvious choice to come from that.

That's my explanation for this situation as a writer. As a fan, however, I find the idea of leader An to be very fun. I think she both has the potential to become one, narratively, in the same way Honami did - she, along with Akito, has served as VBS's "public face" for a long time, and was also the one who offered them to team up - and I also think that the idea for An to be a unit leader was on the writer's mind and then ended up being scrapped is also possible (likely to follow the Shounen formula and/or trying to avoid outright repeating personality archetypes for leaders, in which case An would resemble Tsukasa too much on the first glance, in contrast to timid Kohane). I'm honestly happy that scene exists either way, so as much as An being the leader would be very cool for me personally, as an An oshi, I'm absolutely content with her not being one lmao.

Thanks for the ask!

[bonefall]

First off, obviously this is a WC blog so I won't go further but THANKS for the brief dunk of The Lion Guard, that's one of my biggest problems with the show. Second off, are you seeing this shit Elder Bones?! * Points at the Thunder Spoiler Thread at WCRPForums * Do try to avoid reading the posts that aren't chapters though, they're bad as usual for that site lol.

Maybe one day I'll grumble about Lion King on the side blog lmao.

Anyway... that spoiler thread. I try to take these threads with a pinch of salt, but... overall feelings are really getting negative. If I had a Vibes Barometer, the needle would be dipping out of positive right now.

We're 2 books away from the conclusion and I don't know if they have time to turn this around... and they chose to spend time traveling. It's partially a travel book, guys. Several chapters of pointless bullshit.

(Spoilers under the cut-- remember we are getting this secondhand from a spoiler thread. Some of this may turn out to be misrepresentation.)

NIGHTHEART STUFF

We start off where the preview left off. They jerk the shit out of your chain with Squirrelstar teasing but spoiler we DO got her

(CELEBRATORY SQUIRRELSTAR MUSIC)

We get a BrambleSquirrel screaming match. Please for the love of god divorce these characters, this is fucking insufferable

They also had to give Bramblestar a smug little gotcha moment where he's right about his argument, Squilf accidentally walks to SkyClan camp for the plot and it turns out that Bramblestar, the guy who was apparently supposed to have memory issues and brain fog, was right that Squilf forgot how to navigate her own territory

Im dead serious she like... accidentally walked to SkyClan.

This is a clever literary trick called bad writing <3

While they're there, Nightheart says, "HEY WASNT THERE A MEDIATOR THINGY? ISNT HE SUPPOSED TO SOLVE DISPUTES?"

*I look directly into the camera. Right at you. Reader I am glimpsing across the magical threads of the internet, directly into your soul.*

Leafstar

says

"I Forgor"

if this thread is to be believed. Then the canonical explanation for why Tree was not mediating up to this point. Is because every single cat around the lake. Including the geniuses who came up with a unique role JUST for the specialest little boy. Just fucking forgot about him.

(bestselling young adult series)

Do I laugh? Do I cry?

I think im unlocking the emotion that those lizards who shoot blood from their eyes feel just before a squirt

Anyway

There is also an absurd amount of Bramblestar winking at Nightheart and teasing him about his new mate and reminding the audience about how much Nightheart wuvs him. This is probably supposed to be charming?

it just feels unsettling, ngl.

It's even more Bramble Worship than normal, like the writer is trying really hard to stress how cool and awesome their special boy is :D and how dumb and mean his wife is >:( and it's so fucking forced.

They pad the book by having it be cloudy so that StarClan doesn't show up the first time they try to do the Squirrelstar thing

I kept thinking, "What if this wasn't a willing abdication?? What if the Clan didn't have a second chance to do this?? What if this was Nightstar 2 all over again and she died of plot convenience before coming back?! This dumbfuck system has fixed NOTHING"

Plumstone and Dewnose have a moment where they antagonize Nightheart over the fact he was chosen to accompany Squilf and Bramble to the Moonpool, because he just got back and it's not fair

And you know what? They're right actually

Nightheart huffs that Squilf was giving him a Chance To Prove Himself but he doesn't fucking get it! His whole life's been nothing but chances he threw tantrums about being offered or blew up through wrecklessness, like a spoiled brat nepobaby, and he keeps getting more and more

Meanwhile Plumstone here has been in the background just being this consistently steady warrior, and has never gotten a chance to shine

He also has a moment where he whines about Sparkpelt and Finchlight being mean to him in the past when Sunbeam shares they've been super nice to her.

Sunbeam offers that they're probably trying to make up for it and he agrees.

Folks. I REALLY. REALLY HOPE. That this ends with Sunbeam telling him, "Nightheart, you are the problem. They've treated me like Kin, and they treat their Kin well. Do YOU?"

Anyway something happens and suddenly Nightheart's on the trip with Frostpaw.

The rest of his chapters so far (at time of writing the spoiler thread is at chapter 14-ish) are traveling chapters.

The traveling chapters suck diet discount dick. They look like they were rejected submissions for the various travel shenanigans that happened in Riverstar's Home.

For me, this is the most disappointing part of the Thunder Spoiler Thread. I love Nightheart because I really like the idea of him learning to grow, consider his actions, and realize that he's actually been very loved in his life.

I like the impulsive Nightheart from Book 1 who doesn't know what's wrong with himself, shooting down every attempt others make to bond with him, making shocking descisions that frustrate the entire Clan and not realizing how much he gets away with. I hoped that maybe, just maybe, the writing could be a little clever for once.

But, no. On this trip he's still whining to Frostpaw about how his family "wanted him to be like Firestar" and this is treated as something Frostpaw is able to bond with him about, somehow, because Curlfeather wanted her to be a Medcat??? And now she's choosing to be a Medcat again anyway????

FROSTPAW STUFF

WC Writing Team: "Everyone is super invested in Frostpaw's story where she learns to choose her own path! Especially the idea that she chose to not be a medcat of her own will and made a brave choice for herself! Lets fix that"

Literally, I guess lol

Smoky Cameo. Fuck Smoky. I hate this character and I hate seeing his deadbeat ass.

Gotta love how Daisy's one major role in ASC so far has been to be a source of negative emotions for Nightheart, but Smoky gets to be the new Barley with a cutesy barn rest stop.

He calls for a human to come get Frostpaw because she's got wounds.

Like. Cat MEOW MEOW calling. And this summons... a magic vet?

She has the world's fastest field surgery, as if she's some kind of endangered wild leopard and a top-notch vet staff rolled out of a research truck.

They even inject her, by hand, with tranquilizer. Who the fuck carries cat tranquilizer around?

Is this barn in the back of a fucking vet office???

Does this universe have roving surgical vans that drive around and play music like an ice cream truck, waiting for cats to call them over?????

Frostpaw wakes up back in the barn

But now her neck wound is fixed and she's spayed.

She looks down at the fresh cut on her abdomen and is like "what's this"

Smoky: "dont worry abt it"

If Frostpaw is okay with being sterilized, this will be the first time in the series that a cat being fixed will be seen as a good thing

Which, irl, it is. To be clear. Spay and neuter your animals

But dudes, this is really massively unsettling me. It seems like she doesn't know what has been done to her. This has never been treated as a positive thing in this series before. In the last book she was talking about the sort of life she would like to live

Once again she has been stripped of her own choices in a massive way

And if Smoky apparently lives so close to a vet that they just come when he calls,

I have so many questions im losing my marbles

Why is Smoky not neutered

Why were none of his 3, possibly 4 wives spayed

Why are his kids not fixed

Why were his kits with Floss taken "when they were too young to even open their eyes" back in TNP if their humans are so loving and educated

SO EDUCATED THEY WALK AROUND WITH CAT TRANQUILIZER

Anyway through the power of the writers not caring anymore, Frostpaw can now talk to StarClan whenever she wants.

They have magically bestowed a connection onto her.

This is apparently something they can just do now. Maybe it's tied to near-death experiences or the vet or something

Remember Shadowsight having a whole thing about this at the end of TBC?

Remember Mothwing and how upsetting it was to have no connection to them and how finding Willowpaw was a big thing in TNP?

Yeah apparently they could just do this whenever. Sorry.

Frostpaw is just cool with this because fuck the last book where she found out she likes being a warrior

Agency? What's THAT

It's not ok if your mom encourages you to be a doctor nun, but StarClan rips your organs out and forces you to be their mouthpiece and that's peachy-fucking-keen.

Then she goes traveling for several chapters i want to commit crime

Riverstar does the usual alarmist moaning, "ooooouuugh this newest crisis could destroy riverclan!!! Oooooooooooooouuououou it's for real this time!!!!"

Everything's gonna destroy the clans. A light breeze has just reduced ThunderClan to rubble. A beetle has landed gently upon Harestar's nose, 34 dead 25,430 injured

Girl help frostpaw is being followed by clickbait headline ghosts

And, also, for no good reason, the ghosts can't just answer a question. Why? Who fucking knows. Never explained. They can summon Frostpaw into a Ghost Zoom Call whenever they want now, but they're forbidden from revealing anything useful.

Average autistic experience with zoom calls though, can confirm, that is what every zoom call ive ever been in was like.

Im serious though, she tries to ask Reed who killed him, he just says no i cant :(

She tries to ask where her mom is. They don't tell her she's downstairs.

Riverstar says nothing useful

I have never been more frustrated with StarClan as a plot device. This is actually fucking insufferable.

They're annoying enough when they send vague signs and prophecies that amount to nothing, but now they can pop up like shitty unskippable cutscenes and STILL add nothing of value to the plot

Something I was ENJOYING was how much more grounded ASC was compared to previous arcs, and that StarClan was back to being difficult to access directly. Gone. Goodbye.

SUNBEAM STUFF

The highlight of the book everyone leave me alone i need to speak directly to sunbeam

I like how she's finding more reasons than just Nightheart to stay in ThunderClan, but is also struggling with the shift in culture

It's in a Sunbeam chapter that we FINALLY get Squilfstar. Everyone say Thank You Sunbeam

If you even LOOK at the Sunbeam wrong I will smash you to death with my hooves

For once it actually feels like we're using the cast in ThunderClan. Cherryfall, Dewnose, Plumstone, Myrtlebloom, Bayshine, Finchlight, Sparkpelt, and Lionblaze all get some significant little lines to add to this.

In particular I like Cherryfall throwing a bit of a fit about being a senior warrior and acting high and mighty, which Sunbeam immediately dislikes because ShadowClan doesn't do as much posturing. It's fun to see how she percieves ThunderClan cats.

I have a softness for these sorts of stories though, to be fair. The idea of moving to a new place and having to adjust.

It's also neat that she's growing frustrated with how Nightheart has now ditched her THRICE.

Girl please steal his family and dump him.

Be a legend. Marry his sister. It would make you the queen of pettiness you would become my favorite forever

Ivypool's exams are also pretty neat, they all test teamwork abilities. I'm going to be happy when I finally get to read them in full, if nothing else, these trials have been delightful to see.

Anyway the next emergency gathering comes up and it descends into an argument

Dovewing gets to yell at Ivypool and tell her to back off <3 "You're not going to manipulate my mate through me, screw you"

Tigerheartstar and the other leaders eventually agree to meet with the mediator off-screen because the writers don't feel like showing us Tree's madd skillz which definitely justify having this unique role that we completely forgot about until just now

It doesn't accomplish anything meaningful because they only acknowledged the mediator role to make the fans stop complaining

Tigerheartstar agrees to not station more warriors in RiverClan territory but nothing else. Waow.

aaand Berryheart's planning something and Sparrowtail, Sunbeam's father, accidentally spills the beans to his daughter. I like this because I have always imagined him as a himbo

so... yeah. It's not looking great. I'm not having a good time in this spoiler thread. I am hoping that a fair amount of it is misrepresentation, because if it's what the leaker says it is, I'm not going to be a happy camper

[reality-of-woes]

💐, 🌼, and 🌻? (I know you’ll like 💐 bc your partners are nerds)

A/N: AUGH Dahlia I'm sooooo sorry this took so long to answer,, I literally had it finished and clicked off of it by mistake and lost. Everything I was writing so I had to do it all over again :'( BUT WE PERSEVERE!! Thank you sooo much for the ask as always,, and the nerd callout lmao

-I'll be answering all of these for my thg dr!!! Full names have been avoided tho bcs. I'm not trying to show up on ppls dashes & get put in a reddit cringe comp yk </3

💐: Do your s/os have a certain interest or hobby that they gush about? How long have they been enraptured by it? Have they tried to get you interested too?

H- There's the obvious poetry, and the eventual looking after geese, but those hobbies are very personal and I don't think I'd want to encroach on them too much. He does read a lot though, when hes sober, brings books to games control and stuff- genre doesn't seem to matter so much but he leans toward histories, biographies, collections of geographical information or short stories. Its always interesting to walk in and see whatever he's picked up on a given day, and I like to ask about them on his better days because hearing him give terrible abridged explanations of serious capitol history or legacy or whatever is pretty funny.

B- Invention is again the obvious, but I think given the workload the Capitol give him and the influence it has on the rebellion, building some new machine for the workforce or coding is much more of a job for him than a hobby. In terms of actual hobbies, he collects a lot of really old stuff. Most of it is unusable or scrap tech parts, but he has a good deal of pre-panem records and complicated machines that he works on repairing in his spare time. I'm hopeless with tech and mechanical stuff, but I think I'd enjoy getting to hear him talk over the phone about some ancient computer element he managed to get his hands on. The process of putting it back together might not make sense to me, but I'm still invested in it.

C- Cooking! He doesn't do it very often because, again, he isn't usually sober, but getting to test recipes and intricate techniques and just sort of. Learn how to make good food without any monetary strings attached is very enjoyable for him. He can't bake so well, but the savory stuff he's made that I've been able to taste has been phenomenal. Of everybody hes also the most encouraging and spontaneous with his bursts of inspiration- most of our calls are ridiculously late at night, spurred on by an outlandish flavor combination he thought of on the spot and now wants my opinion on. I've shared a lot of traditional D10 recipes with him to reportedly good results, and it makes me happy to know he takes my thoughts on it all so seriously.

W-Her biggest hobby really is inventing- I don't think she talks about it as much, not unless somebody asks or shes actively bouncing new ideas off of someone like Bee, but she definitely gets into a zone when shes drawing up some plan or strategy to build a new machine that is very interesting to watch from an outsiders perspective. I think for her it sort of comes naturally, the desire to build things that better peoples lives and then the execution of that idea in the however-many-stages it goes through, and shes always in her element when shes being challenged by what shes building, which is nice to see. It really is like the world melts away when she has a final concept in mind to work towards, and I'm happy it makes her so happy.

🌼: What do you find the most beautiful about your s/os? What about that aspect of them is so beautiful to you? In turn, what do they think the most beautiful thing about you is?

H- The most beautiful thing about him to me is how hopeful he is. It might sound kinda cliche or dumb but the rare moments of genuine hope I've seen from him- they're always there, just buried most of the time- are so beautiful and raw and I really love that about him, how even through his outward cynicism he always carries that internal sweetness. I also think he has a very beautiful way of thinking- miserable, and dark, but I think there's a lot of merit and poetic quality to that. In terms of physical attributes alone though? 100% his hair. Black curls are just really pretty idk what to tell you

B- His hands. I've dedicated posts to them before and I'll do it again,, his hands,, so pretty,,,, whats that one post um. "If a woman tells you you have nice hands it means shes sending her friends the kind of texts serial killers would send. Free her" its that its that. ASIDE from the hands, his most beautiful quality is his intelligence & dedication. I could literally fill notebooks writing about how deeply touched I am by his meticulous care for everything & in fact I probably will.

C- His humor. Are the jokes terrible? Yes. Does anyone really laugh at them? Not really! But me personally I think the self-deprecating humor and big smile and earnest everything-ness that he exudes is sooooo charming so pleasing so wonderful,,, I love a very genuinely awkward but sweet person I really do and he just. Encapsulates that so completely & I think its beautiful. Again, in terms of just physical attributes, I'd say his smile (obv) aaand maybe his height. I usually go for shorter guys but hes much taller than me and theres something doubly charming about someone so tall being so like. Open and awkward !! I think its cute!!!!!!

W- Her eyes. She stares a lot, and some people find that kind of off-putting (cough cough Hay describing her in the new book as 'unnerving',,,) but they're beautiful to me because they're so expressive and clear that it makes them super easy to capture in drawings or describe. I also think her voice is absolutely lovely, even if she doesn't speak so much. Its quiet but so pretty, and listening to her describe a recent invention? Listening to her sing?? I'm charmed I'm enamored I'm down astronomically bad. Then of course there's her intelligence, which just like,,,,, the capacity to understand everything she does, and to do it so effortlessly, is really brilliant to me. Like its incomprehensible but so cool and I love that about her

///

As for what they think of me? I really don't know!!! I think I'm pretty enough, so maybe my face? My sarcasm? My knowledge- not so much in academics or machines, but in medicine and plants? My singing? My loyalty?? Genuinely who's to say. Maybe none of those things!!! I'll have to ask sometime lol

🌻: How do your friends describe you and your s/os relationship? Do you and your s/os share a lot about your relationship or do you keep a lot of it secret?

Though our relationship is very secret (It isn't even legal to be queer, so we can hardly get away with a public 5 person inter-district polycule) my close friends know, or have inferred, that I'm dating other victors by the time we hit our late thirties. Naturally my brother Fleece found out first when he discovered the back section of my music notebook was entirely dedicated to songs about them, which meant his wife found out about 20 minutes later. He probably sees it as sweet, or maybe tragic- but Bovie is much more pessimistic about it. I think she would describe us as irresponsible for letting it get to that point, both because of the danger it poses to us and possible bias against helping our own district. She isn't wrong in fairness, but I can already tell its going to cause some sort of argument in future. As for my other friends- Fleeces bandmates & Celio, whos mother ran the apothecary I worked in before the games, I think they would mind their business to a point, or share Fleeces sentiment about it being nice but tragic. Overall, I don't think they would pay it too much mind unless I actively brought it up- which I probably wouldn't do.