#I just need some damn rivalry of skill

[jemzstuff]

I need Blaze and Wave as rivals sooooo baddddd (dunno how the tech vs pyrokenesis thing would work as a fair match up but damn i want it to WORK)

[existence-is-a-pain87]

HEYYY BESTIEE!!! (Someone help I'm at gunpoint 💔)

I NEED MY LOVELY BEAUTIFUL HATRED FULL SPOUSE RIGHT NOW! ORDER UP! 👅👅👅

Yes pookie bear.

I will also do some of the other skins, like Mafioso (it's your other spouse!!).

And you're held at gunpoint? Pookie I just told you to SUBMIT THE DAMN ASK BECAUSE NO ONE WILL CARE!!!!!! ALL FEELINGS SHALL ONLY BE POSITIVE.

TEAM!!!! THE PERSON WHO SENT IN THIS ASK IS MY POOKIE!!! GO FLOOD THEIR BLOG WITH POSITIVITY AND LOVE BECAUSE THEY ARE WONDERFUL!!!!!!!

Ok now onto me fufilling the ask!

Warnings: Swearing, because of course

Betrayed 1x1x1x1

- You were (naturally) startled when you found out alternate universes existed and had people who could just... appear instead of certain killers.

- Betrayed was the first one to show up and made you find out about this

- You honestly believed that 1x1x1x1 put on a wig at first and put on some chains to look cooler or something

- Then they started talking???

- Yeah you were even more confused, especially when this version of 1x1x1x1 had no idea who you were and just tried to kill you

- ...after one time were you were last man standing and you threw them through a window, they learned maybe you were kinda not something people want to mess with...

- Betrayed didn't care. They just didn't know why you weren't like that more. Where you were more capable. More powerful.

- So yeah, Betrayed wasn't too different from the original 1x1x1x1 outside of being more spiteful and... British.

- At least with Betrayed they responded when you talked to them. So yeah, you two bickered a ton.

- And eventually, you two almost became friends(?). It was weird. They were literally a personification of hatred but even more hateful and yet they seemed to almost get a soft-spot for you as they tried to force you into your Twisted form until you became comfortable in it.

- Was it a healthy relationship? Fuck no. But they seemed to tolerate you more than others.

- So it made sense Betrayed became yandere for you before the original 1x1x1x1 did.

Bluudud

- Bluudud already knew you existed due to c00lkidd bragging about his 'cool new friend'. So he wasn't really surprised when he met you.

- However, he didn't know about your Twisted form (since c00lkidd keeps your secrets) and nearly got a heart attack when he first saw it

- However, he ultimately didn't care too much. You were just another survivor who was... really hard to kill

- So he just didn't. Just asked if you watched streams and actually had a heart attack (not really) when you revealed you had no idea what streaming was (what? You existed in like the 2000s and had no idea what the internet really was since you never had access to it.)

- Yeah you were forcibly brought to watch Bluudud's streams like... immediately.

- Honestly you just felt bad for the kid so started watching the streams more consistently (how did it work? You had no clue)

- Literally became considered his number 1 supporter since you were there for every stream and donated consistently with only positive messages (when your paw hands didn't mess up when typing and you when you went sending messages like you were some kinda grandma)

- Eventually, he always was replying to anything you sent in the chat. Even when you weren't donating and stuff. He'd even go out of his way to message you a ton if you weren't there immediately

- It got weird after a bit, and Bluudud kept asking you to join him in streams and would get pissy when you said no

- He was acting like a clingy child (well, he was a child), and he'd throw fits when you tried to set boundaries

- And don't get me started on the rivalry between him and c00lkidd...

Pr3tyPriincess

- Compared to Bluudud or c00lkidd, Pr3tyPriincess genuinely did not care about you. Yeah, she knew you existed, but just thought you were a normal survivor

- Until she realized you knew how to do make-up super well despite rarely doing it

- Yeah okay then she got kinda pissed you weren't using these skills and started targeting you

- After the round ended you were covered in so many pink things it was terrifying

- Whenever Pr3tyPriincess was the Killer after that you started screaming and putting on a pink bow before Pr3tyPriincess could get to you. You also started carrying around makeup so you didn't have to deal with her using blood as makeshift makeup... again.

- Never again.

- She was rarely content with the bow though. So you'd still be chased down so she could make you "pretty".

- Mostly because she refused to let you join c00lkidd or Bluudud's teams. You had so much more potential than... that.

- Eventually it got to the point you were having literal tea parties instead of her chasing down the others or her making you wear makeup.

- It was weird. And she kept complaining about "the boys" and how she had a right over you since you were one of the only ones here she could relate to.

- Ultimately, though, she wasn't too bad. You just were a little more scared of pink things.

Mafioso

- You two really met eachother when you heard "You're mine!" before being attacked by a Gubby-version of Corrupt Nature.

- It was not fun

- However, surprisingly enough, he left you alone after you screeched out in a panic about not having any debts after you saw a sigh that read "Debth Verified" on 007n7's corpse after he unfortunately lost to Mafioso

- It took him a minute to believe you, but it's hard to think of the living cartoon as having debt so he left you be

- It got really awkward in the last man standing stuff though.

- He was really cold and stuff, but his goons were surprisingly nice after they were told to leave your debt-less ass alone. You even became friends with them

- Weirdly enough, you began to be considered an honorary member of the mafia. Specially by the goons since Mafioso rarely spoke to you

- However once he called you cute. Then he did it more often. But it wasn't necessarily a compliment. It was more like "You're stupid and you're lucky you're cute".

- You considered that as him liking you a little bit. Just a bit

- If only you knew...

[velocesainz]

Hii!

Could you possibly do a Percy Jackson smut with Percy fucking the brat out of reader, his rival? Rough sex with degrading and praise pls and ty 🫶🏼🫶🏼

A/n:This was quite an interesting request for me to write, thank you for the idea! All character have been aged up (19-20)

More than rivalry

Percy jackson masterlist | Main masterlist |

Summary: Percy gets jealous seeing you (his rival) with another boy and decides to fuck you to make sure you remember that you are his but you end up being too cocky for his liking

Warnings: smut, degradation

Pairing: Percy x daughter of Zeus! Reader

Reader pov:

I was practising my archery skills with some Apollo kids and we were actually having a lot of fun

Over the time I had spent Robert over the past few days perfecting my archery we both really grew close together

He was one of the very few people at camp who were actually friends with me for me and not because I was Zeus’s daughter.

While we were training I clumsily fell over a rock and was about to go crash into the ground but Robert caught me in time.

We stayed in the position for a little bit not knowing what to do.

We looked at each other with soft and gentle eyes, like how friends would rather than people who like each other though it seemed otherwise to most.

It was a sweet moment we both were trying to savour when a bellowing voice split us apart

“Oi thunder witch! What are you doing, let the poor guy out of his misery and do some practising on your own yea?” Yelled the voice that I really didn’t want to hear right now

Percy motherfucking Jackson

“Ocean ass how about you go bother someone else. He’s here with me at his own will for your kind information. Care more about your friends yea?” I retorted

I wanted to leave the arena as fast as possible so I bid Robert goodbye and left for my cabin

Percy pov:

Crisis averted.

I didn’t let Robert and y/n have their moment.

Why the fuck out of all the girls here does Robert have to go for y/n?

He has like a hundred girls dying for him.

Doesn’t he know she’s mine?

I know we seem like enemies but I wish to fuck like every second of the day at this point

She’s just so beautiful and that attitude damn.

I had a plan to get y/n away from every other guy, not just Robert.

Reader pov:

I was sitting in my cabin reading a book when I heard a knock on my door

That’s odd, I thought

Nobody was usually free at this hour in the evening

Everyone was too busy scheming for capture the flag except me of course

I wasn’t allowed to participate along with Percy since we were a tad bit overpowered

I walked over and opened the door and before I could figure out who it was they shoved me against the wall and started kissing me

I pushed the figure away and tried to run but they caught me

“Don’t try to run bitch. You need to be taught a lesson. Now be a good little slut and listen to what I say or the consequences will be severe for you” the figure whispered in my ear.

Then I realised who it was

Percy.

I was feeling cocky today so I decided to tease him a little

“You sure you can be intimidating and dominating seaweed brain? I don’t think you can even satisfy me forget punishing me”I replied with a smirk gracing my features

“Oh you asked for this whore. By the time I’m done with you you will be so dumb for my cock that you won’t even remember your name. Just you wait “ he said in a Husky voice which turned me on more than I would like to admit

He started removing my clothes as fast as he could and I couldn’t help but sneak in a cheeky comment

“Desperate are we?” Boy oh boy was this a bad decision

“I’m going to fuck that cocky attitude right out of you. You really just can’t keep your mouth shut can you whore?” Percy said and threw me in my bed

Undressing himself he got on the bed and made his way towards me like a predator approaching its prey

He moved my panties to the side and roughly shoved his cock inside me without any warning

“A-ah p-p-Percy that hurts sto-“ I was cut off by a slap I received

“Shut the fuck up slut. You were the one who was acting all cocky just a few minutes ago. Bitches like you don’t deserve to be cared for” Percy panted as he continued thrusting in and out

His pace was ungodly. He kept thrusting in and out of me letting my pussy drink up his cock

I felt like I was losing my mind as he hit my g-spot repeatedly completely abusing it

“O-oh fuck your pussy is tight. G-gods I’m going to come. Ah yea just like that” He whispered huskily

“I am going to cum too Percy” I told him

“No no. You don’t get to cum you little slut. You’ve been a really back whore for me. You don’t get to cum today, deal with it yourself” Percy said as he came in me

He got dressed quickly and left leaving me a panting and unsatisfied mess

Goddamit jackson.

A/n: let me know if you guys liked this fic or if you have any feedback! Requests are still on hold unfortunately but they’ll be opened soon. Kissies ✨

[hankacadew]

A copy/paste of a very early morning Reddit essay on Hans’ influence in Henry, aka why I’m a die hard supporter of Hans despite his flaws. Please forgive all typos and grammar issues, it’s literally 3am for me.

Alrighty. Here you have Henry, a survivor fresh from Skalitz. A probable young teenager (I’m in my thirties, all teens are young) who just saw his parents, his girlfriend and his home all taken away from him in one horrible day. He’s fixated on revenge and THE SWORD (a representation of his dead Pa’s honor - getting it back to Sir Dadzig). At this point, his identity is wrapped up in all dead things - his dead family, dead home and people to make dead. Dead dead dead.

Enter a young noble brat who to Henry’s knowledge has suffered no real tragedy but is clearly in need of a good trouncing. His first encounter has Hans cast question on his honor and who he is as a man (see the meeting where Hans butts in). Still sore from this meeting and focused on his quest for the dead, Henry encounters the brat once again while training.

(I’ll be honest, I reloaded a save in my first playthrough just to make sure I beat Hans at bow and sword because my Henry was not gonna let some brat beat him regardless of the lack of player skill)

Hans taunts stir up a bunch of negative emotion targeted at the living - Henry may feel strongly but he doesn’t want Hans dead. He just wants to punch the stupid smirk off his face and after besting him at bow and sword (or after getting his ass kicked by the noble who’s been in training for both most of this life) he finally gets a chance to that evening.

Henry outright ignores what he’s been taught his entire life about the superiority of nobles. Here’s a chance to do something, to vent out all the emotions that are surely beating around in his head, finally a target! My Henry kicked Hans’ ass fair and square until Hanush spectacularly arrives on scene to address the madness and restore a semblance of normal standards.

Henry has no choice but to do what Hanush orders him and clearly the brat isn’t happy either. Cue Henry trotting behind Hans like a somewhat grumpy dog (I think it’s fair to argue canonically, Henry is poorly trained and lacking a horse). Amazingly, the good noble brat gives Henry an unprovoked apology that addresses the proper behavior of a peasant with a noble but has Hans admit his fault. The brat turns out to be someone who has a sense of honor, someone who treats Henry as a little more like an equal than every ounce of training has taught Hans about their relative status.

This is the first time ingame that Henry has a chance ti open up somewhat about Skalitz to someone without the same open wounds and how he feels and Hans is pretty decent about it (if still kind of a dick, classic Hans). They get drunk together and Henry has some real human contact.

Cue the next morning of a much more friendly rivalry, culminating in Hans being dead wrong about boar hunting. He disappears and Henry once again has lost someone….BUT he finds him again. THIS TIME he’s able to do something despite it being terrifying as fuck and he still has very little training. Henry is still bitterly angry and disappointed that he ran away at Skalitz and Hans is the first person he saves.

For the very first time since his world was torn apart, Henry has achieved something very real by himself and Hans is damn grateful. At this point, Hans becomes a living symbol that Henry has a very real impact on the world. Hans would likely be dead without Henry at this point.

I think it’s also worth noting that when Henry finds Hans again, Hans is being brave and defiant and quick witted (I absolutely adore the horrible insults he’s giving to the Cumans). This is the person that Henry rescues. My personal interpretation is that this is the moment that Henry imprints on Hans and the point where Henry is elevated above the rank of peasant in Hans’ eyes.

Henry gets Hans home and is recognized as a HERO by Hanush and the rest of Rattay for saving their bratty lord. He’s gone from being the coward of Skalitz (in his eyes, see how often he talks about not running again). This is a shift back towards the living being a reason for being.

This rescue marks the point where Henry stops being a passive object to be done unto and starts being an active participant influencing the world around him. He receives a horse, he embarks on missions to help people. He’s empowering himself and Hans is the springboard upon which he started this path. He’s still obsessed with revenge but it’s no longer the only thing in his life.

When Hans recovers, he pretty much immediately seeks out Henry for the bath shenanigans. Cue a night of fun and the first time in what will probably be a long series of times humoring Capon’s bullshit (I love all the eye rolling you can hear in Henry’s voice in both games). Next To Godliness is a FUN quest. It’s not about murder or revenge - it’s just you and Hans playing together and getting in trouble together.

This time in the meeting with Hanush, you and Hans were working together, not fighting against each other. It’s a whole shift from the first yelling session. Once again, Hanush assigns you to work together but both of you approach this very differently to the first time, you’re a team this time. It’s also another goal you’re set with Hans that isn’t all about Skalitz and the sword.

This is the quest that unlocks the Hans DLC and you know that’s a whole bunch of fun quests working with Hans that ends up with Henry, tooooootally coincidentally of course, getting a love letter from Hans. I do consider these main quests since you’re required to do them to complete the game (funny how it’s the only required DLC *coughcough* Hansry *coughcough*).

I forgot to mention Capon’s Champion but you can technically skip this one. I do see it as an important part of the relationship too - Henry represents Hans and also gives Hans the opportunity to look good to Hanush.

The next time you see Hans in an official main quest is Night Raid. Once again, you have a goal that is about the living and Hans is right there besides Henry. Once again, Henry saves his noble arse - reinforcing how important Henry is to him. Sure the mission is a failure but Henry gets Hans out alive, again. Henry is a real player on this stage.

Throughout the first game, Hans is a consistent and positive (if occasionally irritating) presence in Henry’s life. He plays a significant role in Henry taking the wounds of Skalitz and rebuilding himself into a real man, a warrior - someone in control of their fate. Hans is his friend, his lord - a living symbol of being alive and living life - it’s commented on in the interviews how Hans brings out the lighter side of Henry.

End the first game.

[asapfike]

bakugo katsuki x pro hero sister headcannons ♡

labels. she/her pronouns, y/n is used, reader resembles masaru’s personality.

warnings. light cursing, sibling rivalry/banter, mild violence (sparring), light angst, katsuki being katsuki, occasional soft!katsuki moments, ai used for quirk, light fluff. self indulgent as a older sister lol

as kids, katsuki was always trying to one-up you. if you learned a new move, he needed to master it ten times faster. it was exhausting for your parents, but you secretly loved it.

it started as rivalry—he wanted to beat you. but over time, he stopped comparing and started watching. you were sharp, confident, and strong as hell. and despite how much he grumbled about you being annoying, you were also the reason he never let himself fall behind.

now that you’re both older, katsuki’s picked up this habit of not liking people talking about you in any way that sounds remotely flirtatious. especially if it’s denki. katsuki hates how much denki likes you. it’s hilarious.

❝why the hell was sparky looking at you like that?!❞

❝katsuki. you’re being dramatic.❞

❝nah. he wants to die.❞

people would stop and stare when you two walked down the street. not just because of the familiar fierce expressions, perfect mix of mitsuki’s striking beauty and masaru’s soft features.

your mom teases that you both get that overprotective streak from her. your dad just sighs in the background and adjusts his glasses.

your mom is insanely proud of you. you’re her clone in all the best ways: attitude when necessary, but calculated grace when it matters. she calls you her ❝perfect little menace.❞

your dad is your soft spot. you’re a total daddy’s girl and katsuki pretends to gag whenever he sees you two reading together or fixing up old support gear in the garage.

sunday mornings in the bakugo household are sacred. you and katsuki make breakfast together—him handling the fire, you handling the precision. sometimes you both burn things on purpose just to irritate mitsuki.

your hero name is miststrike, and your costume is sleek, black and with accents of your favorite color, or just all black, with specialized fabric that helps concentrate your mist in high-pressure areas like your wrists and collarbone. katsuki thought it was badass and totally jacked some design elements for his own.

❝…tch. don’t flatter yourself. i didn’t steal that much.❞

❝your gauntlets are literally based on my fog-chambers.❞

❝shut up.❞

during katsuki’s internship with shoto and izuku, endeavor brought you up while training with him. katsuki nearly exploded on the spot. ❝your sister’s quirk is very controlled and calculated. you’re… emotionally driven.❞

❝don’t compare me to her!❞

he does compare himself to you. all the time.

ignition mist is terrifying up close. slippery terrain, no visibility, and then boom—you snap your fingers and light the whole room up.

your quirk has a strange synergy with katsuki’s. you can trap people in mist, and katsuki can blast them once they’re disoriented. in simulations, you two are basically a nightmare to face. one creates chaos, the other delivers the final blow.

katsuki lives for training with you. you don’t hold back, and he respects the hell out of that. even if it means getting sent flying across the training field.

❝i said go full out, dammit! don’t treat me like i’m weak!❞

❝you say that every time, and yet every time you end up with a concussion.❞

❝worth it.❞

sometimes you train at night, just the two of you. the city skyline in the background, the sharp scent of smoke and chemical mist in the air. no words needed—just shared movement and mutual respect.

there was one time you accidentally overdid it and katsuki slammed into a wall so hard he cracked it. you rushed to him, panicked, but he just laughed like a psycho. ❝you finally got serious. damn right.❞

you nearly cried. he still teases you about it.

izuku calls you ❝y/n-nii❞ and it drives katsuki insane. you’re everything izuku admires in a hero—smart, skilled, and kind to everyone, including him. katsuki gets jealous but pretends not to be.

izuku once made a passing comment like, ❝y/n-nii is so graceful and smart. i wish i could be like her.❞

katsuki almost set the common room couch on fire.

❝shut the hell up about my sister in front of my friends, nerd!❞

❝but she’s so cool, kacchan!❞

❝i said shut up!❞

kirishima looks up to you the way katsuki refuses to say he does. he always asks for advice about hero work and battle ethics. you always tell him he’s already got what it takes. katsuki scowls every time.

shoto once compared you to fuyumi and katsuki nearly detonated. ❝my sister’s cooler.❞

you use glasses sometimes, usually while working late or reading hero reports. katsuki has a photo of you in them, but if anyone ever sees it, he will literally combust.

he got his love for loud and classical music from you. you used to blast your playlists in your room, and little katsuki would sit in the hallway pretending he wasn’t listening. now he copies your playlists and pretends they’re his.

you’ve got a soft spot for him, even if you act like you don’t. you’re always one step behind him at competitions, watching from the shadows just in case he needs you. he knows. he just never says it.

he still calls you ❝sis❞ when no one’s around.

katsuki doesn’t know how to say he appreciates you, so he shows it in little ways. like handing you cold drinks after training or silently plugging in your dead phone when you’re passed out on the couch.

he actually listens when you give him advice. he pretends not to. pretends to roll his eyes and scoff. but he hears everything you say. especially when it comes to hero strategy or emotional regulation (which he’ll never admit he struggles with)

you’re one of the only people who can tell when he’s having a bad day before he explodes about it. and you don’t ask questions. you just sit beside him, play his favorite songs, and wait. he always ends up muttering something like ❝…today was bullshit.❞ and that’s your cue to listen.

on your 19th birthday, katsuki didn’t say anything until after everyone left. you were sitting on the balcony alone when he joined you, dropped a wrapped box in your lap, and muttered,

❝you’re annoying. but… you’re the reason i’m where i’m at. don’t get sappy or anything. just open it.❞

it was a new set of gauntlets, upgraded and built to compress mist in smaller chambers. custom-made. you cried. safe to say he cried a little too.

[loppezz]

My be a bit ooc but I think UU!Loppezz probably thinks, that despite how horrible wemmbu makes her feel and how bad wemmbu treats her. She it technically speaking, the safest when shes with him, because for some god damn reason the purple freak still tries to defend loppezz in fights, even tho time and time again wemmbu acts like he hates her.

Also a bit more of a Wemmbu headcanon tbh but it ties to UU!Loppezz, but the fact that Loppezz doesn't see wemmbu for his mace, is probably why wemmbu defends her so much, but at the same time hates it.

Wemmbu is constantly called "the guy with the mace."

"What do you mean you're retired? You took out a bunch of invis guys- you have a mace man" - Theo

"Why didn't you go in there with you mace and just kill them like last time dude." - Egg

Wyll wanted to kill wemmbu for the reputation. To become the new mace wielder.

Constantly he's been told to just use his mace and that it would so much more simpler if he did. It's ingrained into his head that all he is good for, is the mace.

Only three people truly see wemmbu as something other than the mace.

Rejoice, who saw he had one then brushed it off like it was nothing, which I like to think is partly why his death changed Wemmbu so much.

Flame, who told him to fight him normally in a 1v1, he wanted to fight the true wemmbu, not the one with what was basically an unfair cheese, in a twisted way that made wemmbu feel seen as more than just a mace.

And finally, Loppezz, she sees wemmbu for who he truly is, a blood-thirsty psychotic killer, who needs some dude named Eggchan to hold him back half the time. And I think that partly irritates wemmbu. Shes seeing behind that mask, that power, and seeing a psycho killer whos only goal is to shower in blood and riches. It's partly why he dismisses her so easily and treats her and anything she owns horribly. He HATES that someone is see the real him, but at the same time, he's grateful, he's not just seen as some weapon in the eyes of loppezz, so despite how annoyed he gets at her, he still protects her and doesn't let her die.

For Rejoice he died to quickly for him to process that, and Flame is too skilled for him to do anything really.

I finally had some time to read through this and HOLY MOLY PEAK, i would agree with everything here, and heres some food for thought.

loppezz has no one who she can trust to not kill her other than wemmbu, although he is the single last person she would want to ask but in regards to her motivations he is the only option, because he wont kill her.

there have been times where she has tried to confide in him and be friends in hopes that maybe he'll take her under his wing but their history is destined to be a rivalry probably. Sky Civ is the best example of that. He has given her the cold shoulder many times, and many times when she didnt need him the most, he always took away what new found protection she had.

It always leads back to wemmbu being the source of her problems, and shes not sure how to escape. She knows exactly who he is, which brings her some anxiety at his unpredictability but can also count on it aswell! which is kind of a curse, but its a guranteed result.

[brittle-doughie]

Not gonna lie, this has been on my head for WEEKS now after I read Tales of Sweetness (Valentines Special) over and over again even though Valentines day is already over-

And I read the part where Pomegranate Cookie and Red Velvet Cookie are argueing if Y/n will like their Valentine Chocolates or not (anddd of course, Y/n likes it in the end), and it made me very interested on the title of Y/n Cookie if they join the Dark Cookies Team;

"Lord/Lady of Darkness"

So- I was thinking...

May I request of What is Licorice Cookie, Poison Mushroom Cookie, Dark Choco Cookie, Strawberry Crepe Cookie, Pomegranate Cookie, Red Velvet Cookie and Dark Enchantress Cookie Opinions or Reactions to Lord/Lady Y/n?

And how does these dark Cookies treat Lord/Lady Y/n Cookie, as well as what these Cookies respect obsess/love Y/n cookie?

Also, I won't forget that I read the part where Lord/Lady Y/n Cookie rides a frikin' Cake Dragon- add that part of how these cookies react that Y/n cookie can tame a Cake Dragon too.

I think some of them will go 😲 or 🤯 or 😱 at Lord/Lady Y/n taming AND riding a big Cake Dragon, of course- 🤣🤣🤣

Cookie Details - Lord/Lady Harbinger Cookie (Y/N Cookie) - (CoD Ver.)

“Am I a joke to you?”

In comparison to the other members of the CoD, Lord/Lady Harbinger Cookie is considered the strongest among them, acting as Dark Enchantress Cookie’s enforcer of her will.

They’re slightly larger then the average cookie, Dark Choco Cookie being able to reach up to where their neck is located. Their main weapon of choice is a halberd as they’re decked out in tough chocolate armor while wearing a dinosaur-like skull for a helmet.

One skill Lord/Lady Harbinger Cookie pertains to is their beastmaster capabilities, not too different to Red Velvet Cookie, but cranked up ten-fold. When given enough time will have Harbinger Cookie tame even large beasts such as Cake Dragons.

Dark Enchantress Cookie has complete faith in Harbinger Cookie carrying out her orders, something that the other members caught onto. Did the both of them perhaps remembered each other before?

Relationship Charts Amongst the CoD

Pomegranate Cookie

[Admiration] “I would gladly serve under their reign..”’

Pomegranate Cookie grew to admire Harbinger Cookie to the point where she treats them similarly to Dark Enchantress Cookie, never would any disrespect head their way with Pomegranate Cookie around.

Has a rivalry with Licorice Cookie over favorites, leading to arguments over who gets to do the tasks Harbinger Cookie brings up. It leads to Pomegranate having to be around them often to prevent Licorice from swiping them from under her. You’re often annoyed at their bickering.

Has a portion of her room dedicated to you. Photos, old weapons you won’t miss, the damn body pillow she keeps tucked in her bed. Others may find it a little creepy, but Pomegranate could care less, she was just showing the extent her devotion goes.

[Admiration] “You can depend on me, I’ll never fail you!”

Licorice Cookie is all about trying to be a better cookie then Pomegranate with whatever you want him to, getting your praise and approval is his main motivator!

You get Dark Choco to handle whatever you need, you’re tired of having Licorice and Pomegranate butting heads with frequent arguments over their perceived achievements over one another.

Will have his licorice servants be at your beck and call, ready to take any orders you would like to request. May or may not summon some of them to swipe things from your room.

Red Velvet Cookie

[Trust] “My Lord/Lady has plans for the new world, I’ll be behind them until the end.”

Harbinger Cookie is a valiant fighter in the eyes of Red Velvet Cookie, training him under their wing. It’s an added bonus that you’re considerate of the cake hounds and other critters that you come across.

Nothing gets him more happy then seeing you being a loving caretaker to the cakes, playing around with them and giving them their treats. Endearing these creatures has only made him endear you more in return.

There is this lingering hint of jealousy he has when you’re too busy playing with the cake hounds with not enough time spent for him, then it would be a situation where he has to shoo them away so he could get to you!

Dark Choco Cookie

[Trust] “Me and them are not so different..”

You’re the only cookie Dark Choco could confide in with the darkness that lurks within his very soul. That trust only goes deeper that you understood him with his past…since you used to be a hero yourself, now having your fate lie within darkness.

Like Red Velvet, he respects your strength, believing that any cookie who could challenge you were simply foolish in their efforts, either ending up being crumbs or utterly defeated.

When he eventually leaves the CoD, he feels a sense of sorrow, knowing that your once pure soul has been tainted and corrupted by the darkness all around you. He wants to believe that you can still be saved and be the Cookie you once were, but as time goes by, that hope diminishes…

Poison Mushroom Cookie

[Friendly] “Have shroomies, they’ll make you feel better…!”

Harbinger Cookie can have their off days, this is where Poison Mushroom Cookie steps in. They never fail to put a smile on their face, offering shroomies to them to lighten up their attitude.

This is returned by Harbinger Cookie playing around Poison Mushroom, lifting them up and allowing them on their shoulder. It strikes the heartstrings of Pomegranate and Licorice Cookie watching Harbinger be a parent to Poison Mushroom!

Strawberry Crepe Cookie

[Friendly] “I can’t seem to pinpoint their ingredients, I’ll need further analysis on them!”

Harbinger Cookie was such an anomaly to Strawberry Crepe…and that’s what makes them so interesting to Crepe! The sheer mystery of what lies in Harbinger’s dough means Crepe is always ready for any opportunity to get a closer look.

You did find Strawberry’s shenanigans a little annoying, but you couldn’t fault the young cookie, they were only curious about what you’re made of, hell, you were to. Dark Enchantress wouldn’t allow it though and you couldn’t exactly go against her…

There’s also the squabbles between Crepe and Mushroom, both wanted your complete attention and neither were willing to cooperate with the other for your care. It leads to you and the others agreeing to never keep them in the same room for too long with you, a fight is the last thing you needed with the two cookies on your shoulders…

Dark Enchantress Cookie

[Friendly] “It’s good to welcome you home, my dear Y/N Cookie..”

Dark Enchantress Cookie, the cookie whom you’ve pledged your loyalty to, the cookie who’ll bring forth a new world, the cookie who brought you in when you were at your lowest..she gave you a second chance and you couldn’t have been more thankful for that.

The only cookie to know your “real name”, or at least she claimed it was. It made the interactions between you and her a lot more personal, as well as how touchy she could be with a hand on your arm or shoulder as she spoke to you.

The life you have now was better then the one you had, she’ll tell you. Just stick to her and she’ll give you the world and so much more, all you have to do is take her hand and never let go..

[nogu-d-reamers]

I'm hooked on Transformers, I've rewatched TF PRIME and I love it… but… I have a problem with KnockOut.

Don't get me wrong; I love KO, I love his character, I love his design (this damn racer-car makes women fall in love and caused a bi/gay panic in men without a doubt), I love his villainous actions, I love his comedy and quotes… but I don't like how he joined the Autobot team in the end. As if the creators had become so attached to him that they didn't have the courage to give him a dead or captured ending.

When you read between the lines, they could have gotten to that same point by making a redemption arc.

so.

HEAR ME OUT PLEASE.

Are you still here?

Perfect!

I don't know if this is considered a character rewrite or a "whT IF"; and I'm not a professional writer, just someone who, thanks to a friend, recently got me hooked on the TF fandom and grew fond of this villain, but not enough to forgive the inconsistencies, so consider this a disclaimer of OOC stuff and a canonical character rewrite.

Thanks~

The things I would change are:

Knockout is presented from the start as something "too out of place" for the Decepticons. Of all the vehicles, and being from a faction where aerial vehicles stand out above all else, he chooses a land-based sports car. He often says and cites that he enjoys certain human activities, such as going to the movies or competing in underground races, and if they tolerate him, it's because he was the only medical personnel trained before Shockwave's arrival.

He loves that appearance so much that it's a necessity to maintain it in good condition. I don't know if it was an unconscious idea to emphasize it or if it was always intended to show that he didn't quite fit in with the Decepticons.

Nerf his lab skills=Make him make more mistakes in the lab and be reprimanded. Knockout is a doctor, not a scientist; And even if he could rival Ratchet's abilities, Ratchet had more capability because, in his disadvantaged position, he had to be more resourceful in taking a scientific approach. This is something KO couldn't match, even if he tried. Doing things like stealing information about artificial energon would give him an even bigger chance of victory. Also, even if he didn't receive physical punishment, he'd be terrified knowing that if he doesn't end up like Starscream, it's because he's still useful, but the day someone more capable arrives, he'll already know his fate.

Intentionally ending the rivalries on an unfinished note= I noticed that KO tried to create several rivalries against him that didn't go very far in the end (Bumblebee being a sports car, Ratchet being a doctor, Arcee for… some reason) but that were either cut short or didn't go very far. Okay, I know the most logical thing would be to give him a fixed one and forget about the rest… but… what if we make this point on purpose? And no matter how hard he tries to antagonize someone on the opposing side, he simply can't muster anything but respect for the Autobots? You know… like Bulkhead and Breakdown.

More human fascination= KO is a weirdo because he loves many things of human use and authorship; but it's so easy to imagine that before torturing Jack, he wants to extract more information about human culture or extend the conversation when he kidnaps Agent Fowler or June, that it's a plot that writes itself. Even imagine that, in what begins as manipulation, he befriends a teenager from Jesper to get him up to speed, and in the end, the teenager runs away in fear when he realizes he's a robotic alien. That would make him resent them but also create a need to know more about them. Something that would give him more negative points (and please, someone introduce him to Miko; these two would destroy the world if they wanted to).

Failed escape attempts (aka. Why did he help Starscream assassinate Megatron?)= Okay, I've already included the points where he doesn't quite fit in. Doesn't ends up hating the Autobots and he doesn't end up hating humans. What's his best bet? that while Megatron is offline he tries to manipulate Starscream to be able to leave the ranks and take advantage of any weak point so that they leave him alone... something that didn't end up happening but he was able to manage to get out of it, but at the same time feeling envious of Starscream's expulsion.

Breakdown= okay, let's talk about the conjunx... and how it's a [___] that they gave us absolutely nothing about their reaction to those events!! I'll deliberately ignore the series' clear censorship of calling them conjux → patners because we all know this. I could indicate Breakdown as the indirect trigger for Knockout's change of attitude as light mentions; as the resignation of remaining in the nemesis to risk changing sides after some thoughts from the episode "Operation: Breakdown" and other events lead Breakdown to doubt out loud whether it's still worth it to continue on the side of the cons' at that point. and that the facts surrounding his death and the theft of his body by Sylas are deliberately omitted towards him by order of Megatron to avoid deteriorating his work. and his empty reaction is due to a set of mixed feelings = anguish over his death, anger at what they did to him, anger because his own side lied to him, an uncontrollable desire to harm everyone and especially Silas... etc. He starts sabotaging, damaging, hurting or doing anything without his tracks being discovered by applying a "fragged me, fragged everyone!". In his lowest and cruelest moments he mutters things that perhaps Breakdown would like that... but he knows that's not true.

Alliance and union with the Autobots = After many things and thinking about running away, he prefers to give up, already fed up with all that, unlike Starscream. With less hostility but with all his sarcasm, he helps the Autobots and ends up becoming one even though he doesn't really want to (in fact, he would joke that he thought he would have at least a couple of groons in jail). For a moment he considers that it would be better to stay on Earth than return to Cybertron, claiming that he had unfinished business in the earth and that he could avoid jail if he revealed all the information that the Decepticons had that he knew. He doesn't feel he deserves the badge or to be called that; but since he's switched sides, at least he'll do it by opening his mouth as wide as possible to even the odds.

And that's all~

I know it's not much or the most refined ideas; but it's what occurred to me. I also didn't want to include Airachnid or any revenge against her because... it actually makes sense that he doesn't know it was her but rather Sylas all along.

And as a bonus, that strange habit of admiring something beautiful only to immediately destroy it would disappear.

[saltynsassy31]

I see in the Magnus/Swerve/Burr ask you briefly mention Blurr/Skids

Tell me everything /lh

👁 👁

DFKJFKJDK

Oh god why do the eyes look so much creepier on my computer than my phone wth- Okay, okay. I actually had to sit down for this one cuz how I even got to shipping them needs explaining a little XD

Leaving it all under the cut cuz this got LONG baby

Just know that there is a short fic drabble at the end if anyone's curiouse <333

So I'm working on this AU for Blurr/Swerve, mainly focusing on their fan kid. And - without going into too much detail - Skids becomes their kid's surrogate's sire because Blurr doesn't become involved until MUCH later on in the story

Skids... doesn't like Blurr all that much for many reasons, and kinda fights him a lot. But also was the driving force to have Blurr be involved in the kid's life (DON'T COME AT ME!!! I have my reasons why I went this direction that will be revealed and make more sense when I finish the story)

Anyway, I'm talking with my friend about this au as she helps me figure things out. And we start to talk about "what ifs" scenarios. One of them was "what if Swerve died?" And for more important context, there are two points of which he could have died, one being before Blurr met their kid and one waaaay after they already became conjunx. Regardless, in both these scenarios, Skids ends up being a bit of a support system for Blurr (one more than the other though).

Skids comes to see Blurr as family, too. Ricky (the kid's nickname, btw) wanted Blurr in his life, and Skids was going to make that happen one way or another, or try at the very least. It takes a lot for Blurr to gain Skids trust, but he comes around to caring for him eventually. And when Blurr is struggling with the life of a single parent, just like Swerve did beforehand, Skids isn't going to just sit and watch (that is part of his trauma, after all whole ass other discussion focusing more on just Skids-). I could go on for hours about these two scenarios, but it requires context for the au, and I'd love to rant about it (and I'm weak and would totally answer questions about the au if prompted-), but then at that point I just gotta sit my ass down and finish the god damn fic gjsldlsd.

Anyway

Because of this conversation, we were sorta forced to talk about their relationship more. And it helped in the grand scheme of things because Skids is a permanent part of this family unit, and they have to get along for it to work in the end, you can't remove Skids from it. And he also would never budge.

During this conversation, my friend started to point out a couple neat things.

Blurr is a Wrecker and Skids is Spec Ops, the two groups have been known to have some rivalry between them. Even though neither really hold these titles to much regard, it's still a neat little parallel for their rivalry;

Following that train of thought: Wreckers are usually seen as brutes, forceful in their ways of fighting. While Spec Ops are more calculated and tactile. The main reason they fight, really, they have too different of styles despite doing somewhat similar jobs. But, although both have their reasons and skills to be in each group, they still end up being the opposite of what you expect of them. Blurr is more calculated in the way he carries himself and doesn't (often) resort to violence first. Skids, on the other hand, seems to almost punch first, ask questions later, and becomes extremely violent when people he cares about are involved.

They kinda just mirror each other perfectly! Though this wasn't the final straw for me to start shipping them, it was the seeds plantet.

No, the thing that cracked me and made me start shipping them was thanks to a drabble I wrote on a whim to my friend when we were in a cuddling mood. We were discussing what would it take for Skids and Blurr to cuddle just the two of them, because by then, the only times they'd be involved together would be for Swerve and Ricky.

And my brain came up with said drabble, and by the end of it I was like "Awe shit, I ship them, don't I?"

They won't become canon in the AU, cuz I really want to focus on platonic love being just as important and as strong as romantic love. I need to spread my propaganda of friendship not being lesser than other relationships! Because it seems like you can't have a devoted friend without it being "siblinds" or "romantic" in stories, so I gotta fill my own agenda... But I'm not immune to ship propaganda either, and I totally see the potential of the two, even though they'd only ever interact in very specific scenarios because the two both die before even getting the chance of a proper interaction (seriously, they only even co-exist in the same space during issue 27, and that was when Blurr talked to Swerve and then dipped, Skids never once talked to the guy-).

But I guess that's crack ships for ya, born out of what ifs and roleplays. Take your pick XD.

Idk where else to add this in, but I just think they'd have the funniest dynamic too. They butt heads constantly, but unfortunetly are more similar than they bargain for, which causes them to fight more. But they also (annoyingly so) care for each other. I don't think they'd like each other at first and only tolerate each other if they were forced in a room together. But slowly grow accustomed to the other's presence and - dare I say - enjoy it.

Anyway, I'm not cruel, so I'm going to share the drabble I wrote that converted me and see if it changes anyone else's mind too, lol.

~~~

Basically they were at Blurr's place, getting the place ready for a surprise party for Ricky. Swerve was having a day out with Ricky while Skids and Blurr stayed back to set up the place. Blurr had called Skids to oversee what progress had been made, make sure it would be something to Ricky's enjoyment.

Before that, however, Blurr had been feverishly preparing things the day and night before wanting it to be perfect. And it showed.

After zipping across the livingroom area finishing up the finer details, he moved to the kitchen where he felt slightly dizzy and leaned on the counter while trying to rub away the exhaustion.

Skids had just been watching, unable to keep up fully with Blurr's speed and relegating to fixing his own corner. He walked in after Blurr in the kitchen. "Hey, you sure you need my help? Seems like you've got everything handled." He laughed slightly as he looked back, stopping once he gave a good once over at Blurr, smile dropping to a concerned frown. "Hey, you good, man? You don't look so hot."

Blurr jumped slightly, cursing to himself for not hearing Skids walk in and quickly straightened himself. "Oh yeah, I'm good. Just a little tired, is all. Might have overdone it." He waved at Skids dismissively, putting on a strained smile.

Skids wasn't reassured, his frown only deepening. He seemed to flick over a couple options in his mind before he strode over towards Blurr with new found determination. He took the speedster's rist in a firm, but gentle hold and tugged him forward.

"Uh, what are you-"

"We got 2 hours before the party actually starts, an hour and a half before guests arrive. I don't even know why you called me over when you have everything basically set up already. You can take a small break, no one wants a tired host."

Before Blurr could protest, he was being shoved towards the couch. He grumbled and made move to get up, but his efforts were thwarted by a heavy hand over his shoulder. "Rest."

"You can't seriously be asking I take a nap in the middle of preparations-"

"I am. And if you're not going to co-operate, then I'll have to use force."

"You wouldn't."

The smug smile on the superlearner's face told otherwise. "Try me."

Blurr glared and considered his options carefully. But it seems his hazy processor was slower than he would have liked or was comfortable with, because despite his fast movements, it lacked the coordination to accomplish his goal of freedom. And, before he knew it, he was being trapped by strong arms that pinned him against Broad chassis. The moment Blurr tried to make his escape, Skids had tighten his hold on his wrist as it slid away from Blurr's shoulder and pulled him back until he slammed against Skids.

With that, the larger mech, humming satisfied with his catch, sat back down oncthe couch with a squirming Blurr. "You're only making this harder on yourself, zippy."

"Don't call me that." Blurr huffed, but it lacked the usual bite.

Skids moved to a more comfortable position for the both of them without releasing his hold on Blurr. Tight, but not painful. It was almost reassuring.

"You really aren't letting me go, huh?"

"Not a chance. So do us both a favour and rest up. Don't worry, I'll wake you when it's time."

Blurr let out a dragged out, exasperated vent which soon followed up with suppressed exhaustion. He let his helm thunk against Skids chassis as he off-lined his optics, a small smile ghosting his lips.

Sure, he'll indulged Skids on this one.

[magixfairyix]

RIVALRY — BANTER

Let's throw something at Darmusa

"That's what, two… five points ahead of you?"

"Need some help picking yourself off the floor there?"

And Driven duh

"Glaring at me won't change the outcome."

Somehow, my brain for the last two went: Flirting and allusions to things. I let Darcy free, and this is what she chose to do. Blame her. Not me.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

"That's what, two... five points ahead of you?"

When Darcy told Musa she could choose the date, she decided to have some fun. One thing that drew the two of them together in the first place was the way they could banter with each other back and forth until, finally, one of them folded.

Musa chose karaoke.

Magix karaoke.

Bloom told her that Earth karaoke didn't have any point tracking and that I was just for fun, or a drunken night out. She soon learned that Magix karaoke was far more competitive because of its way of tracking how accurately the song is sung based on the notes and rhythm.

Darcy knew what game Musa was playing right when she walked into the karaoke bar. She had a slightly higher tolerance for people than Icy did—Icy simply hated people, while Darcy had a social battery that should have been recycled long ago—and so, she was looking forward to this date between her and her girlfriend.

The mission: distract Musa.

Distract her so that Darcy would win.

"That's what, two..." Darcy smirked, looking at the scoreboard. "Five points ahead of you?"

It took a lot of skill to distract a fairy of music from excelling in Karaoke, but Darcy knew people better than they knew themselves half the time. She knew that Musa was one to get flustered easily, and so, she had used that fact to her advantage.

She'd dressed a little nicer than usual. Of course, nothing scandalous by any means. But she took the time to do her hair—half up, half down—and did her makeup less in a 'whimsical cryptid' vibe and more like a 'woman ready to kill.'

More jewelry than usual.

A well-placed word here and there.

Musa frowned. "You..."

Darcy smiled. "Yes?"

"You distracted me," Musa said. "And you knew it would make you win. Not that I mind, but the least you could do was admit that—"

Yeah, yeah, Darcy knew what was coming. A lecture as if Musa was irritated when she was anything but, and the fact was that both of them enjoyed these moments.

Musa was suddenly quiet when Darcy lightly kissed her cheek.

"Admit what?" Darcy teased.

Musa chuckled. "Never mind."

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

"Need some help picking yourself off the floor there?"

'Your lack of agility is appalling,' had been the words uttered to Musa by Darcy during a fight between the Winx and the Trix. As usual, the witch and the fairy were fighting with venom and anger.

Musa was trying so hard to hit Darcy with any spells, but the witches kept on transporting, disappearing into the shadows, or simply dodging. It wasn't Musa's fault that she couldn't cast spells that could render her like that.

But Musa knew Darcy was toying with her.

Which sucked.

Because when Darcy casted that damned shadow hand spell and threw Musa across the concrete—because as usual, the Winx and Trix always ended up fighting in the city—she soon found a familiar purple heel pressed down into her stomach.

Darcy tilted her head. "Need some help picking yourself off the floor there?"

Musa glared. "Fuck you."

Those ended up being the wrong words to say, because Darcy had leaned down with her heel still pressing into Musa's stomach. She brushed a loose piece of Musa's hair behind her ear, thumb moving across the fairy's cheek.

Darcy smiled. "I just might."

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

"Glaring at me won't change the outcome."

Darcy didn't consider herself to be an irritable person. She got irritated at people who didn't give her space, annoying people, or if she was socially worn out and wanted to fucking leave whatever situation she was in.

Or maybe she was just in denial that she was irritable.

Along with that, she was clingy. Riven knew not to ditch her in social settings and never did. But after Saladin dragged him away, Darcy was stuck waiting in the hallways of Red Fountain, glaring at anyone who so much as looked at her.

Dragon, all she had wanted when she came to the damned school in the first place was to be in Riven's arms after a difficult day of classes.

And now he was gone.

Fuck Saladin.

Fuck that old man.

Fuck this.

Fuck Riven when he comes back.

Ten minutes later—ten minutes too long in Darcy's expert opinion—Riven had come back, looking almost irritated after his conversation with Saladin.

Riven paused, concerned. "Sorry about that. Are you—"

"We—" Darcy started, grabbing Riven's hand. "—are going to your bedroom, and if we're not there in the next five minutes, I am going to find a random closet and we will make it fucking work."

Riven's eyes widened.

Darcy pursed her lips, cheeks flushed because of what the hell she just said. Damnit. "What?"

Riven mock-glared at Darcy, smirking. "You are one frightening—"

"Glaring at me won't change the outcome," Darcy interrupted, unable to stop herself from fidgeting. She was able to bring herself to kiss Riven on the cheek. "Now, come on."

She just hoped she didn't embarrass herself.

[riteliso]

This is a Catra doodle I did a bit ago to make sure my drawing skills didn't COMPLETELY atrophy.

I think since this space is so alien to me I'm fine being up front with my experiences with this show, actually--

I watched the show because I was genuinely fervently rabid with need for lesbians fighting each-other. Rivalries are my favourite kind of romance, and when it's fictional, I'm a "the meaner the better" kinda gal.

I certainly felt an immediate emotional draw to Catra. My first watch through I was so tunnel-visioned on her and Adora's relationship that-- I wasn't checked OUT persay, but whenever Catra wasn't on screen, I was deep in the "where's poochie?" mud.

I am-- a very critical girl. Absolutely to a fault. So, really, I was watching it to fulfill that girlfight sim meter I had that was DANGEROUSLY low. I usually make it a point not to watch things that "get better later," because in my experience, people often LIE when they say that. I, as a published author, (yes I'm being a dickhead and pulling that card even though it means NOTHING,) am under the belief that the start of your story and the end of your story have to hit the hardest.

In this respect, I find myself very happy I was in such a manic and needy mood when I decided to watch spop. I wouldn't have stuck it through if it weren't for that-- the first season isn't BAD by any means, but it's much closer to AVERAGE compared to the rest of the series.

Princess Prom as an episode irreversibly affected my brain. It was so good and got me so hype that I truly, truly, fell in love with a show all at once that, before that point, I had found "overwhelmingly charming." I have plenty of praises for what the series does pre-princess prom, sure-- but that's mostly the extremely thick use of phrases such as "this is what you left me for," "she's just confused," et cetera.

From that point I was glued to the screen, leaning over my desk, watching intently, with a cloying desperation to see how everything would work out in the end. For those who don't know me-- ever since I sort of discovered my gender identity, my "kayfabe" or "persona" for lack of better wording has been very firmly "cartoonishly angry woman who has a taste for evil." I'm sure that already spells out where I'm going with this--

I related to Catra on a level I have truly never related to-- ANYTHING before. While watching I went from a joking "damn, she just like me fr" to a very serious "why is she so-- uncannily similar to me?" The answer I eventually landed on was just- a beautiful kinda accident. There's certainly some level of nature involved-- I do read Catra as extremely bi-polar, but that's heavily supported by my bias as a bi-polar woman who identifies so deeply with her. But the other thing is, we kinda share a lot of DNA when it comes to our, like- dark backstories.

I'm not gonna BORE you with every gory little DETAIL, but both me and Catra's traumatic histories can be simplified into "at the most vulnerable time in our lives, an older woman who we desperately sought praise, attention, and PROTECTION from tired to take away our personhood and domesticate us in the most literal way possible, not respecting us as an individual, but only as a tool, and at best, a pet."

The trauma and the scars that leaves on your soul are-- uniquely identifiable. I think if you take the core idea of "weird angry girl" and put them through that trauma, as long as you're good at character-directed writing, you will end up with something that looks like Catra and I.

And I'm sure you've all come to the conclusion long before I have that yes, I do kin Catra. I didn't know near enough about kinning after watching the show the first time-- or the SECOND time, where I watched it with my wonderful girlfriend-- but after seeing what felt like "prophetic" fan-art one too many times, I had a dream. As in, literally, I had a dream.

In this dream, I was watching the stream of a friend of mine who does not actually exist. However, this theoretical friend was a huge pngtuber who happened to also be a Snufkin Kinnie who was huge in the kinning community. At one point, in this dream, they mention me, not knowing I'm watching their stream. They say something along the lines of--

"Yeah, I have this friend-- and you know, I never push anyone to identify any way, I never diagnose other people, it's rude and unhelpful-- but she is VERY stuck on Catra. Yeah, from She-ra. And, like, again-- it's not my place, I'm not gonna say anything-- but it's so obvious that it's EMBARRASSING."

Waking up from that dream was frustrating for a number of reasons-- the chief of which being that if I didn't know enough about kinning to make a decision, how the FUCK did my brain know enough to make a LITERAL BRUTAL CALLOUT on TWITCH DOT FUCKING TV? But that's neither here nor there--

I had already kinda admitted to myself I saw her as an inspiration-- she was not only very-- ME, but where my frustration came from was that she was acting more ME than I was, because SHE wasn't afraid of people thinking she was a WEIRD FREAK.

And so-- I talked to some friends who knew more about kinning. One friend in particular said not only could she really see it, but that it had come up in her head before, and then when I told her I was considering it partially from the frustration of Catra acting more like me than I was, said--

"Only a Catra kinnie would find out they kin Catra out of spite."

Which is accurate, but jesus, sister, pump the fuckin breaks, let me get ACCLIMATED FIRST

And in classic Catra fashion the second I accepted what I had to and moved forward I was instantly slapped by every stair on the god damn way down-- Not in a cruel way, but I'll admit I woulda put up more resistance to the idea of kinning Catra if I knew the day I told my girlfriend about it we'd run into the information of her middle and last names being "Applesauce Meowmeow." Semi-canon is canon enough for my girl to make fun of me, and that's what matters.

Anyway-- I know that was all REALLY rambly and nothing-- but I felt like typing it all out. It's been a weird year. There was a piece of fanart in particular that I think sparked the dream I had-- where Catra goes to kiss Adora but then fakes her out and licks her nose. I had done that to my girlfriend just days prior to me seeing that for the first time, while we were WATCHING spop. And I'm sure that plenty of antagonistic bratty lesbians do the same, (or I'm entirely off base and it really is just me and Catra but let me cope here alright,) but it really did feel like something turning to me and going: "This is as you as it gets, girlie. People see Catra and they imagine her acting exactly as you do."

I'll end this post on this pearl of cute info about me and my girl:

I bite her and call her chew-toy

She tolerates that and calls me cat-nip

And we love each-other very much.

[sunthyme]

Okay, now is technically the last one before my prefect design lol. OOPS I FORGOR fuck well here they finally are lol...

😭Other Side Characters😭

I drew so many cutie patooties in this batch omg they're adorable. But first we'll kick off with the Royal Blade characters!

🐱Chenya🐱

Because I'm not spelling out his whole damn name 💀

(he/she/they/it/ whatever pronouns you can think of lol) Genderqueer - Pansexual

Teehee I forgot to colour in the damn hair clips... I'm gonna kms /j

- Genderqueer cat. Any character based on the Cheshire Cat is genderqueer to me istg. Chenya is no exception.

- I kept most of her design the same but added in some heterochromia for funsies and used those colours for the hair clips and earrings. Xe is also Hispanic, idk it just felt right.

- Totally has ADHD. The impulsive thoughts are obvious with this one and I think that Neige serves as its impulse control. They made like, a pact of sorts (after their Headmage yelled at Chenya for doing something) that Chenya tells Neige whatever the impulsive thought is and Neige either tell Chenya 'No, you can't do that' or 'We can do this instead'.

- Broke asf. I dunno but I feel like Chenya has like the worst habit of impulse buying you've ever seen so they never carry money on they to try and avoid it at Trey and Riddle's recommendation. It's mostly worked as Neige buys anything Chenya needs when they go out anyways.

Speaking so much of Neige,

🐦Neige LeBlanche🐦

(he/him) Transmasc - Biromantic Asexual

God I love how Neige came out, look at him!!! He's such a cutie patootie omgomg I love him sm

- Anyways, I was fighting my demons to not make him black and I lost. I dunno, we don't have enough sweet, cute black boys in media and that is a crime.

- I gave him some hairclips with cute lil charms on them and some of those silly little acne patches. Idk if he actually has acne, he totally could, but I think he'd wear them either way to like normalise not be ashamed of it, y'know?

- I gave him some cute little apple earrings which were a gift that Rook gave him after a concert with one of his letters lol. He wears most of the jewelry gifted to him at one point or another but he really likes the apple earrings.

- Has a crush on Vil. Idk how popular of a headcanon that is but as soon as they interacted, I felt like it made sense. I love the one-sided rivalry lmao with Vil hating his ass and he's just like, 'Omg, she's so pretty and cool and smart. Wow, I'm so glad we get to work together so much!' It's really funny ngl.k

- Loves to crochet, knit, and sew. All are kinda skills he picked up while caring for the dwarves but they're his favourite to do. He's made Chenya a few sets of mittens (because for some super mysterious reason, they always go missing) and a quilt at some point.

- Likes anything with apples in it, pies, drinks, you name it. Fall is his favourite season because of apple cider alone (otherwise it'd be spring).

Onto the Kingscholars!

🦁Cheka Kingscholar🦁

(he/him)

He's so cute!!! I love him omg I'd actually love to babysit him look at those eyes

- I kept his design also pretty on model, darken his skin a smidge and textured his hair to match Leona's. Smacked some dimples and birthmarks on as if he wasn't cute enough already.

- The gold eyeliner is like a royal thing, maybe be specific to the crown line or maybe Leona's just too fcking lazy, probably the later.

- He's actually really good at chess. He's played many games with Leona, even though he didn't get it at first, but now he can beat most people who play him (still not Leona lest he really screws up something). Most of his birthdays, he gets a new pretty chess set and he has a little display of them in his room.

Now for his dad! The only character here without a canon design (as far as I know... which I'm upset about).

👑Farena Kingscholar👑

(he/him) - Heterosexual

I woulda also made a design for his wife but I don' think she even has a name?? So maybe in the future.

- I based him more on Leona, trying to make sure that Cheka didn't just get his trait lmao. I think that he got his piercing actually after Leona got his because the palace staff were criticising him for it so Farena went and got one.

- I dunno, he's giving bi wife energy. It helps that the women of Sunset Savannah are buff and cool and I'm so mad we never saw them 😭😭😭 I wanna see Leona's sister-in-law so bad ;^;.

- He's not as much into the intellectual side of things like Leona is, would rather defeat people with strength which is why the two really don't get along super well. Though I think it's only perceived on Leona's side, I don't think Farena realises how much hurt Leona's had throughout his life.

- Angst aside, he doesn't get much in the way of free time what with all his royal duties and such. His favourite activities are spoiling his family and getting used as a weight for his wife's daily exercise!

We got even more other family characters incoming...

🐍Najima Viper🐍

(she/her) - Bicurious

Fair warning, I haven't encountered any of the last three characters lol.

- I didn't change much here either, just added some red streaks to her hair and matched her palette to Jamil's.

- I don't know if her age is ever implied but I think she'd be younger than him by like a year. She went to a different school with Kalim's cousin (who they're like besties).

- I feel like Najima didn't get the same set of exceptions set on her growing up and so her relationship with the Al-Asims, while still not necessarily healthy, was nowhere near as damaging. I think that while Jamil definitely envies that, he'd rather die than make her go through the same thing as him.

Up next,

🧢Mama Spade🧢

(she/her) - Bisexual

Never met her either 😭😭😭

- I based her off my Deuce design and really just added some more piercings. I actually toned down the blonde streaks but I think they'd both have just a few.

- I believe she has a small business??? Or something? I didn't read the wiki but her hat had a delivery service me thinks but I stan her having a small business.

- She loves her son very much and was super excited when she saw his new piercings. Also, super accepting when he came out, obvi and thinks that while Ace is a bit of a rascal, they do click together.

I don't have a ton for her but I want that event to come back pleaseeee 🙏🙏🙏

🐉Meleanor Draconia🐉

(she/they) Agender - Aromantic Pansexual

- I had so much fun with her horns. I made them more branchy and I think a full grown dragon (well, like an old one) would basically have a web of antlers. I added some purple to the tips for the 🌸aesthetic🌸.

- Also added some wave to her hair. Malleus looked in her spitting image so I figured I'd give Levan's genes a chance lmao. They're also super tall, probably even taller than Mal herself and especially with the horns.

- I think she'd have left some things that Malleus ended up growing up with not realising they were from her, like a hair clasp, some assorted jewelry, a couple toys and items that Lilia gave him when he was old enough. Pieces of her for him to grow up with, y'know?

Anyways, I'm so sorry for this posting without anything lmao I was real tired last night! Prefect is next on the chopping block!

[illuminatedquill]

Shin Hati vs Sabine Wren:

Sharpen the Blade

So.

Let’s talk about them.

Now, as a disclaimer: I’m firmly in favor for a Sabine and Ezra pairing.

Speaking from my POV as someone who did not ship them during Rebels, watching the trailers for Ahsoka and then seeing the actual show definitely gave me vibes that things had changed for both of them.

So, I am a convert and standing with the good ship Sabezra.

. . . But, I do see the appeal of Sabine and Shin. I’m not blind. I get it.

Filoni loves some good parallels in his Star Wars. I’ve posted before how Sabine is presented as very similar to Anakin in this series; she’s a huge emotional mess, absolutely driven to succeed at her goal, stubborn, loyal to a fault, loves fiercely and fights just the same. She’s a warrior, through and through.

And, also like Anakin, she damned the galaxy for a chance to save a loved one.

So, if Sabine is being set up to be Anakin, then what role will Shin be playing in her life?

Well, let’s look to the past and re-visit another female dark side user that frequently crossed blades with Anakin Skywalker - Asajj Ventress.

A brief history for her: Set up as a rival to Anakin, she gave him that infamous scar on his face. Ventress wasn’t quite a Sith, despite her desire to be one.

She was trained by a Jedi Master, who died at the hands of the criminals he was fighting. She succumbed to the dark side and ended up ruling over them for a time. That went sideways sometime later and then Count Dooku found her and started training Ventress in the dark side of the Force.

Count Dooku was a former Jedi. Baylan Skoll was a former Jedi. Do you see what I’m getting at?

Dooku later abandoned her and she sought revenge on her former master. She spent the rest of the Clone Wars trying to find her place, keeping ahead of Dooku, and sometimes helping Obi-Wan, Anakin, and even Ahsoka when their interests coincided.

Eventually, at the end of the Clone Wars, she met Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. They fell in love but, during an assassination attempt on Dooku, Vos was captured and tortured, resulting in his fall to the dark side. Ventress rescued him and redeemed him, only for Dooku to kill her while doing so.

Her redemption of Quinlan Vos and subsequent sacrifice in doing so led her to being honored by the Jedi as a true friend.

I’m sure after reading some of this, you can see similarities between Ventress and Shin. Both were initially power-hungry but, really, they were just looking for a place to belong.

Despite being a rival to Anakin, Ventress had a more interesting relationship with Obi-Wan. They had to pair up more than a few times during the Clone Wars.

Remember the scene where Ahsoka tells Shin that they can help her? How scared and confused she looks before running off. Baylon had just abandoned her and the enemy was offering her a place to stay.

My personal belief is that Shin is clearly being set up to be a more personal rival to Sabine, but I think if Filoni is really intent on giving a redemptive arc, then it should be the Ahsoka/Shin interactions we should be looking out for.

Not to say that Shin and Sabine wouldn’t be as interesting. Ahsoka replaces Baylon as a mentor, but she also needs a friend. I see them as maintaining the rivalry, but losing the “I want to murder you” edge from their battles.

Rivals are great foils for a protagonist. Ever since Sabine met Shin, her combat skills have improved dramatically. I feel like they could really push each other to greater heights in their abilities and understanding of one another.

Rivals can also teach you things about yourself that a mentor couldn’t. As a dark sided user, maybe Shin could recognize the growing signs of darkness in Sabine and maybe try to point it out to her. Which would be a great step in their journey towards becoming friends.

And . . . maybe something more.

Filoni would have to do it justice, though. It would be great to have a powerful recurring antagonist - not a villain, an antagonist - who slowly realizes over time that they’re fighting for the wrong side.

Or he could have Shin go full fledged dark, which would also be riveting to watch. I’ve already said that she could be an excellent foil for Sabine, but she could also serve as a dark mirror for the young Jedi.

He has to do it right, which means giving it the proper screen-time. Which, I don’t know if he can. He’s already got a lot of spinning plates in the air for a theoretical season two.

One thing’s for sure: Shin is the wild card for this show. Very excited to see what happens next and where she and Sabine take this rivalry.

[trans-peridot]

FFxivWrite Day 9: Lend an Ear

I think Alisaie's relationship with the WoL is something really special, the way she takes them as her motivation to get stronger but also demands they slow down for their own well-being. So I just had to write something about Tayfun and Alisaie. Takes place during Stormblood but pretty spoiler-light aside from mention of some people and places.

Tayfun was getting ready for bed, finally settling into the inn after their arrival in Kugane, when she heard a knock on the door. “Tayfun...” Ah, it was Alisaie.

“Alisaie! Just one moment!” Tayfun scrambled to shove everything she had yet to unpack under her bed. Truly, she carried so much useless garbage everywhere with her. She still had the knives from her brief stint with the Rogues’ Guild, assorted fishing bait which had miraculously not rotted yet, and a dozen circles of different sorts of animal hide in case she got back into leatherworking one of these days. Why she had brought all of these with her across the sea was lost on her. But here she was, shoving a dozen old rings and a replica of the legendary spear Gae Bolg under her bed. Hadn’t she sworn never to bear a spear again after what happened to Estinien? No matter. She scrambled to the door and opened it for her guest. “Alisaie, hello. What brings you in at this hour?”

“This hour? The sun is up, I woke up an hour ago.” Alisaie looked up at Tayfun with scathing judgment. “Don’t tell me you’re only now getting to sleep! I know for a fact you were bone tired after what happened on the Sirensong Sea. Why do you push yourself like this?” Alisaie sighed and sat down on Tayfun’s bed. “I had come here hoping you’d lend an ear to a request of mine. It wasn't lost on me that you've been using a Red Mage's foil since we fought the Warriors of Darkness. Greatsword is less your speed now, is it?”

“I just wanted to try something new, I suppose.” Tayfun could feel Fray writhe in indignation within her.

“Yes, and while you've already risen past the skill of an amateur, your spellcasting is still sloppy. Your fencing, however... You have the arm for it.”

“You said you have a request? Or are you truly just here to revel in outdoing me at something? I know you see us as having this rivalry pushing you to ever-greater heights, so I am glad that you finally have a win.”

“Yes, Tayfun, I have a request. A request and on offer. I only know of the one Red Mage skilled enough to teach, so I presume you learned the same man as me. Now that we're overseas, I suppose neither of us can keep up with our training. Unless...”

“My casting is sloppy while yours is as picture-perfect as your arcanist days. My blade skills draw from my time as a lancer, while I presume you only did play-fencing at home in Sharlayan. You want us to teach each other our respective strengths.”

“Well, not so much lending an ear as placing words to it yourself.” Alisaie scoffed and hopped back off the bed. “But yes, you've hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head. And I shan't take no for an answer. Tomorrow we'll begin, understand? I will take your refusal to take lessons as an admission of defeat.”

“Excellent! As you yourself have said, today is already tomorrow, so we can start immediately!” Tayfun motioned for her foil.

“Oh no you don't! Until you get some damned sleep it's still yesterday for you! You may seek me out when you don't have bags under your eyes big enough to carry all the garbage you brought with you from Eorzea.” Alisaie grabbed Tayfun's foil before she could protest and marched out with it. “Sleep, Tayfun. Or need I remind you how to cast that spell?” Alisaie left with a little giggle.

[captainschmoe]

I love the little headcanons you made up about the Awakening Men’s children! I actually thought about the potential chemistry they would have with the siblings from my awakening game and mothers (complied with most of the ships I got attached to, with Chrobin obviously but now for the others)

- Frederick/Sumia: Cynthia would probably influenced quite a bit by her brother’s antics while her brother likely grew rebellious due to Frederick unintentionally being softer on Cynthia than him. Sumia would probably be trying to bond with her son but being clumsy too, though their son is likely a mama’s boy and gets along with her better than his father

- Ricken/Nowi: Nah definitely feels small in this sibling relationship, especially if she’s the older child. She would probably try to act more mature to make up for this. Nowi likely teases her son who might be self conscious about how big he is compared to the rest of his family

- Stahl/Miriel: the potion interest would definitely make her and Laurent research buddies. Laurent’s sister likely also feels more insecure due to her brother being as smart as he is and she would try to study hard to catch up to him, only for him to reassure her that she doesn’t need to measure up to him in any way. Miriel might be caught up in her research but also reassure her daughter than it’s okay to be average

- Kellam/Cordelia: sibling rivalry at its finest. Severa is a daddy’s girl and so is her sister. They would compete over his attention nonstop. Cordelia has to play the bad cop and discipline her daughters, though she respects her second daughter’s stealth skills

- Henry/Tharja: Naga help his poor son he’s the only normal member of his family. Probably constantly trying to remove Noire’s amulet and telling her she doesn’t need it. Likely a Guinea pig to Tharja but she would care for him in her own Tharja way

- Libra/Sully: like mother like daughter, Sully would bond with her over being boyish. Probably is workout buddies with her sister Kjelle.

- Lon’qu/Olivia: Olivia would be happy to have a daughter and teach her dance, though she would feel similarly insecure about their daughter’s skill with a blade, as she similarly doesn’t feel she measures up. Inigo’s sister would be very much done with his flirting antics and often break them up. Inigo might similarly have insecurity about his sister’s blade skills especially if his father brings it up.

- Gaius ended up alone because of how the pairings fell together but we can imagine him with Anna or Say’ri

- Virion/Cherche: Cherche would definitely support her son’s poetic passion and adores reading them to Minerva. Gerome would act aloof but be fiercely protective of his brother.

- Donnel/Lissa: Owain’s sister would probably be constantly confused by his dramatics but might fall influence to them. Lissa would be a supportive mother in her daughter’s studies and help teach, even if there are some challenges.

- Vaike/Maribelle: Brady and his brother would be birds of a feather. Sensitive souls but Brady still puts a brave face because his brother is even softer than him. Maribelle would probably run the poor boy ragged with all the propriety training.

- Gregor/Panne: Yarne likely hides behind his sister because she has more courage than him but similarly worries for her safety because they’re the last taguels! Panne would likely help teach her about what the warren was like and let her get in touch with her taguel roots

Oh damn, this is quite the epic essay. Thank you, your thoughts are very well-thought and made me happy <3

I don’t have extra added notes on everyone, but here’s a few:

- You nailed it with Frederick’s son being a mama’s boy. He’s very doting on and protective over his mother, especially since he feels guilty that he couldn’t keep her safe in the future, even though he was still just a young boy when she died.

- Now I wondering how huge Ricken’s son would be as a mankete or taguel lol. Would his beefiness as a human translate over?

- Yeah, that dynamic between Severa and her sister sounds about right. You know that if Kellam instead fathered Owain, Cynthia, or Morgan, even more nonsense will 1000% ensue. (Yes I know Sumia can’t marry Kellam but early 10’s IntSys was wrong)

- Henry’s son ABSOLUTELY has to ask his mother at least once what it is she saw in Henry. Even Tharja. Because while they may both be Plegian dark mages, they are VERY DIFFERENT Plegian dark mages.

- Oh no. You’re right about Lon’qu comparing his son to his daughter. God damn Inigo can’t catch a break.

- Poor Gaius lol. I did figure out early on that you wouldn’t be able to have all the children at once unless you either made the Robinsexual characters not be Robinsexual anymore, or chose f!Robin and then marry Chrom/Maiden. (Incidentally, I’ve been thinking of giving them an extra child, too.) Though I am VERY curious how a petty thief would manage to hook up with a devout capitalist lmao.

- Vaike’s son is absolutely softer than Brady. My idea is actually that he suffered a back injury at some point that makes physical fighting even more difficult for him than it does for Brady, so the latter does look after his brother a lot.

- Oh, Yarne is completely freaked out by his sister’s compulsive need to stir up trouble and mischief lol.

[what-gs-watching]

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”

So I’m settling into this job and being a person again and I’m trying to pull myself slowly out of my comfort watch hole. My brain is starting to handle things again. 

And apparently I thought it was a good idea to finally finish Barry. Because I’m an absolute fucking idiot. Like, girl, why would you jump into the deep end like this?!

It’s because I love Bill Hader, of course. And because I’d watched the first two seasons awhile ago and was totally enthralled with NoHo Hank and I thought it was kind of fun and it fed my murder bloodlust but holy SHIT you guys.

Wherein, an ex-Marine gets talked into becoming an assassin and that’s fine for a while but then he decides maybe he wants to be an actor and become an actual person instead of just a killing machine. And it gets fucking horrible. 

Like, I’m really trying to figure out why seasons one and two I was kind of okay with, but I just finished the whole thing and jesus fuck, what the fuck? Ripping my heart out of my chest, goddamn.

WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH. 

I’m gonna be honest, I’m not sure my brain actually is ready to process all of this. Y’all are forcing me to think about what we’re all capable of as humans, and I kind of hate that. We’re not inherently evil, we’re not inherently good. We do fucked up shit but we can also love and be great friends and be kind but we’re also selfish as hell and scared all the time and honestly we just need positive reinforcement and fucking support and when we don’t get it, horrible things happen.

Barry becomes a killer because the guy who was basically an uncle to him, Fuches,  saw that he was good at it and figured out they could make some money and he used him and convinced him it would give him a purpose but then he meets Gene Cousineau (and oh my GOD Henry freakin’ Winkler in this, wowwwwww he’s incredible) an acting teacher running a ragtag class, that gives him a bit of encouragement, and it occurs to him that maybe he can be something else. So he tries. 

But he’s also still a fucking assassin and his old life and his new life gets intertwined and a lot of it is absolutely ridiculous. We see Chechen gangsters bumbling their way through trying to get a foothold in LA and that’s how we meet NoHo Hank, who I’ve decided is actually the star of the show, for me. He’s chill, he’s kind, he’s trying to bring some class to being a thug, and he takes an instant liking to Barry. He truly wants to be friends, while utilizing Barry’s specific set of skills. It's cute.

I’m not going to outline the entire plot because there is a ton going on, but after digesting some of this I have to say that Sally Reed, Barry’s love interest, is my least favorite character. She’s a great actress, and she’s fake as hell, but she’s also trying to be weirdly virtuous like she’s truly an artist and not out for the fame of it. But she absolutely is. And when she finds out what Barry is she’s so disgusted, but baby girl, you don’t really have a leg to stand on. What she does while they’re in hiding? I can’t. 

And really, she and everyone else does end up getting their comeuppance. Over and over again we see people making the worst decisions they can because of their selfishness, their drive to be something they’re not, reaching for something maybe they shouldn’t. Crazy fucking rivalries that end in insane amounts of murder for no reason other than feeling slighted or proving themselves. 

Cousineau is a dick as well, but he doesn’t necessarily deserve what happens to him. He had tried to change, but he was weak. And we all are. We are all all of these characters in one way or another, and it’s the fucking choices we make that damn us. Which is gross and true and frustrating and horrible and hard to accept. Most of the time, it’s hard to directly look at this show head on. Why did I do this, again? 

But then there’s real moments of levity and humanity. The relationship Hank ends up forming with Cristobal, the head of the Bolivian syndicate - it’s pure and it’s sweet (and eventually, absolutely fucking devastating - Hank’s last scene, good lord). The few moments where you can see Fuches does care about Barry as more than just an asset. The scene where Hank and Cristobal pitch an alliance between two rival gangs in a Dave & Buster’s of all places, seeing the guys they’ve come together to pitch clutching stuffed animals and prizes they won. Barry and Sally’s early relationship and their excitement at putting on a production together. 

Basically, this show ends up saying a lot and I hate most of it, but it’s all something that people should probably hear. This was NOT the show to get back into new content with, that’s absolutely clear, I 100% need a palette cleanser, but it’ll stay with me for a good long time. 

Do you want to feel ways about a lot of things all at once and find yourself screaming at the TV for a few weeks? Barry’s gotchu. You’ve been warned.