#doomed to have everyone judge them without knowing them

[tubchunk]

seeing q!phil talk about sunny was so interesting cuz of how he described her, how every islander so far has described her.

spoilt.

material girl.

she loves "stealing".

beyond that, they don't really say much about her (this excludes morning crew cuz they joke but also always bolster her) and they always fall back on those jokes to poke fun at her, not expecting much more from her.

i mean, are any of us surprised that people judge sunny based on one trait? they assume who she is and how she acts from one impression and don't really let it go? already have an assumption about her that they always use to poke fun?

after all, isn't that just how they treat q!tubbo?

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Malleus Draconia: Made Up

… Why does Malleus continue to have some of the most “hey are u lost bbg” facial expressions + poses ever on his initial birthday card artworks… 💀

He really looks like his mom when his hair is all pinned back like in his alt and Groovy look. xbjsbsjww The makeup products he’s using… They look like Giorgio Armani 💰

Rise and Shine!

Humans were blessed with two hands with which to do all of their work. Malleus Draconia had no need for either of his.

Lipstick, liquid eyeshadow, and finishing powder lifted into the air, glowing an eerie green. They uncapped and began applying themselves, gliding easily across his lips, painting his lids, and patting down his pale skin. Already, a cloth was busy polishing his horns, and a brush ran through his hair. A mirror, magically suspended before him, displayed his regal visage--a work of art slowly coming into its peak form.

You had heard Scarabia's vice dorm leader mention that he used magic to do his hair--a complex, precise process--but had never in your life witnessed a show like this. You clapped for Malleus, as if a spectator that had just seen a most wonderous trick.

He cut you a curious look. "May I ask why the applause, child of man?"

"It's just so cool seeing you use your magic," you replied truthfully. "There's so many things happening at once, it's hard to know where to keep my eyes. You're really amazing!"

There was a sound akin to a stifled chortle. These, you had grown accustomed to.

"You never cease to surprise. This is but a modicum of what I am capable of." He almost seemed to pout as he said it, as if itching to demonstrate the full extent of his powers. Wanting praise for something more.

"Oh, trust me. I know you are--but it's nice to see the Malleus Draconia using his magic to do normal, everyday stuff too." You grinned, ducking behind him to peek into his mirror. Your gazes met in the sparkling glass. "I wish everyone could see this."

"It is hardly a matter of importance to share the details of my morning routine with the masses. Besides, Grandmother would no doubt grant me a thorough scolding for allowing myself to be seen in such an improper state.”

He yawned, and a hand moved to cover his mouth, where you caught a glimpse of pointed canines. A rare moment of cuteness, of vulnerability. A side of himself kept private. Such a mundane thing--it reminded you that he, too, was but a student, preparing to tackle another day.

"Maybe not, but then again… maybe they'd see what I see too."

You quirked a brow. "And what is it that you see?"

"That you're not as scary as whatever scary made-up version of yourself they have in their heads. It's not all doom and gloom, wrath and lightning. You're someone that laughs and cries too."

"... Do they have that impression of me?" Malleus brought a hand to his chin. "Odd. When I last conversed with a peer of mine, they were so elated to be in my presence that they fainted on the spot. Lilia commended me for making such a strong impression on them."

"Erm... Lilia might not be the best judge for that." You poked at the corners of your mouth. "You have a nice smile, so how about showing it more? That might draw people to you."

"Hmmm. Like this, perhaps?"

He attempted to imitate you. The result was an awkward facsimile of your smile. Not quite the same curve, and with the tips of his fangs poking out. His eyes, still ominous.

Clumsy, but a little dangerous.

Your heart sprouted wings and fluttered. “It’s a good start! You’ll get the hang of it with more practice.”

Malleus sighed, and at once, the items that had been hovering around him collapsed along with his breath. “This is a conundrum. As a public figure and representative of my country, it’s imperative that I maintain my reputation.”

The fluttering in your chest settled like a stone sinking into the bottom of a lake. A sudden weight, a sadness, sitting in your stomach. He cut a gallant figure--but without the fairy lights and fire, he was but a pitiful creature trapped within stone walls.

Lonely and misunderstood.

Without a word, you slipped a hand into his. Malleus felt cold to the touch, like some long-forgotten relic dug up from some ruins.

His eyes shot wide open with alarm. "What are you..."

"Let's walk to class like this," you suggested softly. "I know you wouldn't harm me. If everyone else can see that... they'd understand, right?"

Shock flooded Malleus's face. Then, like a flash of lightning and a fleeting bellow of thunder, it was over, replaced by the faintest chuckle.

"... Very well." He squeezed your hand, the motion sending sparks of electricity through you. "I would not be opposed to this. If they are to weave tall tales, then all we must do is flip the script and write a story of our own to combat theirs."

[sparrowlucero]

thoughts on thasmin?

I find it (and a lot of the era) both pretty fascinating and kind of miserable and also not very good. I think enough has been said about how it goes basically unacknowledged until the last 3 episodes and how it feels queerbaity and how the main episode grappling with it is pretty bad, so let me throw something else into the ring: I think it thematically works, it's just that the themes are fucking nuts. In my opinion, the Chibnall era and especially its finale is, at the end of the day, trying to reconcile something it finds emotionally unsatisfying about the classic show - mainly that characters will leave the show suddenly and never really be mentioned again - by characterizing the Doctor as a person who habitually shuts people out before ultimately dropping contact with them and leaving them to emotionally deal with that. Dan, on day one of returning home, is immediately left with the impression that the Doctor is angry with him. After that, you see 80s characters Tegan and Ace on year 30, who have spent a sizeable amount of their lives under a similar impression. The Doctor, the show is saying, is someone who can never cease abandoning people and leaving them with this strife. Time will always run out, a production fact reimagined as a deepset anxiety for the characters. Everyone she knows will be doomed to the same fate of lost contact no matter what, and Yaz is next on the chopping block:

even though the doctor is the one rejecting her (and will ultimately leave her) by what's seemingly her own volition, she expresses that she doesn't actually want that at all. It's just, to her mind, unavoidable:

So you know theoretically I like this, there's something heady and despairing and metafictional about it. "I'm sorry Yaz, I'm fucked, I know for a fact that this season is gonna end and I'm gonna move on to the next person because that's how the casting works on this show so we might as well just cut it here." I feel like the obvious payoff to this would be the character going against this thought process in some way at the end, love is more important than inevitable loss, or whatever. But it actually comes to much weirder conclusion: It absolves the Doctor entirely. Her viewpoint is, in the end, truly objective and justified. She's positioned as someone who genuinely lacks agency, and the harm caused by these relationships suddenly ending and her never contacting again is simply an inevitable fact of the universe; even when she herself seems to be at fault, it's not a thing she herself actually does to people with any intent to harm. Most interestingly, I think, the emotional turmoil of the companions is characterized as basically being their own fault. Yaz tells Dan, for instance, that he's misinterpreting the Doctor being upset at him; she's acting that way because simply because she "doesn't like goodbyes" rather than out of anger:

Any assumption Tegan has made about why she never heard from him again is negated; he always cared, she just didn't get him:

Most pointedly, Ace's emotional resolution involves her acknowledging that she was entirely wrong in judging him for anything, as she was simply failing to grasp his personal burden:

TLDR; I think the thesis statement at the end of the chibnall era is basically "The Doctor leaves everyone, that's how the show works, and the only way the characters can find resolution is to move forward and just accept that it's not the Doctor's fault and no bad feelings were ever involved." (I think this is, again, the result of attempting to recontextualize the doctor losing contact with characters suddenly and with little or no resolution in the classic show as an entirely intentional character beat for her, without coming to any overly nasty conclusions about her being in the wrong)

So on that note, there's a lot of confusion over Yaz's ending; the doctor, dying, is like "well, that's it then, I'd rather be alone now" and Yaz accepts this without further pushback. It's not made especially clear why she has to leave or why she doesn't argue the point, and a lot of people have struggled to explain why she actually leaves (as they've never sent anyone away when they've died before)

I don't think this is quite as random as it's usually taken, though; Yaz here leaves the show when subject to the same inevitable abandonment the story has been exploring the entire time, but unlike the other characters, she actually gets the doctor. She's connected to them on a deep enough level to understand that they're not actually leaving on bad terms. She's accepted her role in this cycle and the doctor's lack of fault in it and will therefore never be tegan or ace or dan wondering what went wrong. She, unlike the doctor, holds all the agency here. It's her actions going forward that will determine if this is tragedy or merely bittersweet. And we know it's the latter, because she knows not to say goodbye. genuinely batshit and i kind of have to respect it. anyways I also just have to say it's wild that they have a set up where the doctor pressures yaz into taking a gun against her better judgement and then later gets shot and it's 1) not yaz who shoots her, 2) not the same gun and 3) not what kills her. my god they were so close to some insane tragically ironic gay drama there and they fucked it up. unforgivable. think of the fanart.

[ivys-garden]

Wild Life Spoilers: Session 2 Alliance Report:

Teams:

The Spanners - (Mumbo, Grian, Skizz) - formerly the Sub One Club, immediately forget their idea of using crawl mode and lament that they can't be sub one anymore. Mumbo then decides they are “The Floaters” due to them becoming obsessed with the levitation ability. Luckily this doesn't stick because I could not handle an alliance that changes name every session. Mumbo and Skizz built their “base” as a series of bridges, leading to Mumbo calling them “The Spanners” since “they span things”.

Speaking of levitation, they died from that. And starvation. This was not Mumbo or Skizzes session, with Mumbo losing two life's and Skizz losing 3, halfing his amount of lives in one session. If Skizz loses one next week he will be yellow. Seems Grian's curse of outlining his alliance has started early.

The Bam-Boozelers - (Scar, Lizzie, Jimmy)

I normally have a lot of faith in all life series teams. I think anyone can make it to the end. I think this so long as it is not abundantly clear that they're doomed. I never say someone is Doomed from the star-

This team is doomed from the start. Immediately they decide that the Wild Card is that he can't heal from hunger, now this is a good first thought and is shared by other teams, though those other teams immediately realised that if that were the Wild Card everyone would die of hunger and started looking for other options.

These 3? They stuck with that idea and started making boats to travel. When they realised that their hunger reduced passively, they panicked until Grian saved them by telling everyone in chat that they could eat anything. Now, armed with this knowledge they just have to find a good and easy to use food source.

They chose stone shovels. An item that cannot be stacked and required way more effort and resources to make than was worth it. And they stuck by this even as others told them about better foods. They only stopped using shovels because of the randomisation.

How is Jimmy the most confident member on his team?

In other news, they're theme park is going well and Lizzie's Parrot is cute. Jimmy also apparently has “Big Mascot Energy”.

Renwood - (Martyn, Ren)

These dogs are just vibing. They each lose a life each, no big deal. A far cry from previous seasons, Ren is just chilling, Not going after anyone unless they go after them first and trying to get Martyn to do the same. And he actually does, not attacking anyone this session at all. He even gives up going after Jimmy for stealing their cows (an action which was by every account deserved.)

The Tuff Guys (Tango, Etho, Bdubs) (not technically together (?))

Ah yes, Team B.E.S.T without Skizz …. Considering Skizz was the only person keeping Team B.E.S.T from imploding, this can only go well!

Yeah this team is not staying together. Technically they're already breaking up, with Bdubs saying they should only look out for themselves and insisting they live in different houses. Bdubs even cements this mentality by fully encouraging Scar to help kill Tango for no reason.

As for the “Tuff” part, Etho has decided that they need to be tougher and take what they want from people. You know, not to be nice or polite.

Luckily we can see how this works in practice, as Gem encourages him to go be tough to the Final Girls, let's see how Etho is an not being nice:

● he greets Scott and Cleo

● makes small talk

● politely asks for copper

● tries to stop Pearl stealing from them since he doesn't know she's on they're team

● takes more of the stuff he was told he could have

● gives them obsidian in return anyway

● and still feels bad about it.

Yeah not only was this the least tough Etho had ever been, the Girls almost certainly didn't notice and probably won't even care when they do. Great job Etho.

The Fast And The Furious (Gem, Joel)

This session, Gem announced her plan to make friends so people don't judge them based on 5 seasons worth of going insane every time they go red. This lasts for 3 minutes before other people arrive, Scar misunderstands instructions, Etho lets the cops out and the Final Girls partake in their favourite pastime of miscommunication and insisting their own teammates are doing something they aren't.

Other attempts to make friends do go better, with Gem arguably being on good terms with everyone except two people. So that's good.

Gem also builds a cute little Bard that I give a session before it's burnt down or has a Creeper hole in it. Joel spends all session building a car. Everyone on the server thinks it's hideous, mainly because it is hideous.

The Final Girls - (Scott, Pearl, Cleo, Impulse, Bigb)

Somehow the most stable team here, even if it is mostly out of spite. Yeah this team will stay together, the core four have never betrayed anyone unless an outside faction is involved. They're safe. Even if they continue the tradition of forgetting all the bad stuff they did and only reimbursing bad stuff their teammates did (what do you mean Pearl doesn't trust people based on what happened in previous seasons? That was you, Cleo!)

Oh Bigb also joined this session. Though I imagine this will be a Heart Foundation situation where he bases alone despite being on the team.

Scott and Cleo spend a lot of time this session fixing the mistakes Pearl and Impulse make by acting how they always do. A house and wall are built and Pearl and Impulse prepare revenge plans on Grian and Martyn. Pearl encourages Impulse not to tell the others, seemingly forgetting that Cleo and Bigb are addicted to revenge and would have no problem with this.

Alliances and Friendships:

Lizzie and Gem

these two agree to team up if their teammates die. Since their teammates are idiots.

Remember, Lizzie is the one who made the stone shovel plan.

Spanners Vs Bammers

The Bam-Boozelers still hate the Spanners, dropping their reputation all the way to zero. Mumbo and Skizz either don't realise this or don't care. Grian was gone almost all session mining so can't really say what his thoughts on the situation are.

The Family - (Joel, Etho, Gem)

Etho is indoctrinated into yet another family, though he seems more willing to be present for this one. When Tuff Guys breaks up like 5 minutes into session 3, we all know where he's going.

Also Scar might also be part of the family though every else seems to just ignore this.

Spanners Vs Tango

The Spanners are really angry at Tango for accidentally killing Skizz. They seem satisfied with manifesting his death through belief, but it seems they haven't let him off the hook yet. We all know Bdubs won't help him

Joel might also be mad at Tango since he ate the wheels of his ugly car.

Mumbo & Jimmy still hate Renwood

Mumbo still doesn't trust Martyn after the enchanter fiasco and Jimmy attempts to get revenge for the cow theft. Ren and Martyn have chosen to ignore this, Mumbo seems to have forgotten he was angry, and Jimmy is satisfied that he got revenge.

Ren buys his friends

Ren bought Gem and Tangos friendship through iron. Will this hold up? No.

Gem has beef with team oblivious

Gem hates Pearl and Impulse this season. They are at the top of her inevitable murder list.

● The Final Girls came round for a visit

● Impulse was accused of stealing

● He said he wouldt stela since he knows what it's like to be stolen from

● Gem took this as him amusing her of stealing

● Scott cut him off before he could explain himself by saying he was purposely antagonising them

● Gem cut both of them off by ranting about how much she doesn't trust them

Stellar miscommunication guys, great job as always. Please never change, the series would be way less funny if you did.

Pearl also made it worse by trying to Poison Gem 30 minutes later. Woopsie.

Neither Pearl nor Impulse notice that Gem hates them and the others refuse to tell them.

[sunnie-angel]

I just can't get the idea of soulmate!jason where you share scars out of my head. Jason is a canvas of scars. We all find them beautiful and wouldn't judge him even if we were held at gun point. But imagine you were getting those scars at the same time he was... it would be hard. Of course you are worried about your soulmate, but when you wake up with a permanent, very purposeful J branded onto your face, can you really tell me you wouldn't be embarrassed to go outside? Afraid of meeting your soulmate who seems to be either a criminal or in a very dangerous victim situation? Would you not be even a little angry that now your face is ruined? (I know there is makeup, but we are ignoring that for a second) Yes, you share these scars with your soulmate and somewhere along the line you'd find peace with them. But in the moment when you look in the mirror and find an autopsy scar... I can only imagine what you would feel. Oh, and poor Jason. He would never be able to forgive himself. He probably wouldn't even realize he has a soulmate because if you get a scar he wouldn't notice it beside all of his. This isn't a request. I just wanted to share my thoughts and hear yours. I'm asking a few different creators as well, but might miss someone because I haven't discovered them yet! Please feel free to ask for someone else's opinion as well

so full disclosure, i did already read rae's (@/heavysighing-dreamyeyes) take on this so i'm going to consciously choose to go in a slightly different direction.

how do you know that they're your soulmate's scars, other than the fact that the injuries that caused them were never yours? are they the same colour as a regular scar? do people look at a person and struggle to tell who earned what scar?

it's fun at first, in middle school to tell people fantastical stories about what your soulmate must have done to earn a scar. fought off a bear, went skydiving without a parachute, invented a new kind of handsaw. the other kids all eat it up. none of them have a soulmate leading such an interesting life after all. you don't notice the worried titters of adults, the lingering eyes that don't look at a new scar that appeared overnight and think wicked but instead go abuse.

at what age do you start carrying around proof of your own medical history so the cops don't get called on your family, your caretakers? when do you realize everyone's started looking at you - at your soulmate - as a victim? is it when your sleeves don't cover the scars anymore, when you stop wearing shorts because of the pitying looks you always get?

there's so many of them - so many of their marks on your body - that even you start to lose track of any marks that you've earned. the scar on your knee from a scrape that didn't heal right, the burn scar on the pad of your thumb from a cooking experiment gone wrong. if even you forget that they're your own, how is jason supposed to tell the difference from the hundreds he's caused? jason not believing he ever had a soulmate because he would have at least one scar by now, right? jason who is so half-mad over the life he could have lived and the lives that weren't saved, who looks at his one-sided existence as further proof that he is unloveable.

puberty is cruel to almost everyone, but to go through it not only dealing with bad acne break outs, a body you still don't know the dimensions of, and intense facial scarring on top of that? it's hard not to look at all the people around you blooming into adults while you feel perpetually doomed to be the ugly duckling. you can tell yourself as many times as you need to that it's not your soulmate's fault, that whatever is happening to them is clearly horrific, but it doesn't soothe the sting of wanting to cut up every photo from your high school prom or the curl of revulsion when you catch sight of a new mark.

jason almost spirals into a panic attack the first time he catches sight of the j carved into his cheek mirrored on yours, a stranger in a crowd. it means that he's not alone, that he's never been alone. it also means that every wound he's ever had inflected on himself has been replicated on you and that sends him into another spiral of shame.

for you and him, loving each other would be a lesson in loving yourselves. the scars that jason can trace so tenderly along your ribs is also the one he refuses to look at on himself. the scars on his face you trace so tenderly are also the ones you work hardest to hide away. both of you have to learn to love these parts of yourself through loving them on each other, because otherwise your love starts to ring hollow.

[sfznyxio]

-ˋˏ I CHOOSE YOU! ˎˊ

SYNOPSIS. new year, new you, new school. you’re determined to be the greatest trainer in history, and it starts at a pokemon academy. you hope to finish your studies free of drama, if you can ignore the noise of many battles within the student body to see who will come on top.

CHARACTERS. sakura haruka, suo hayato, nirei akihiko, umemiya hajime, hiragi toma, tsubakino tasuku, kaji ren, tomiyama choji, togame jo

CONTENT. gn!reader. pokemon au. comedy, fluff. 0.8k wc. inspired by pokemon scarlet and violet and its teal mask dlc. everyone goes to legit school here, whoa. reader sometimes ditches class to explore the wild. electrocution, one bad pun intended (kaji). they/them pronouns for tsubaki.

VERA. yelling with @stunie about pokemon was really fun so why not combine the best of both worlds. for zevie, my fellow pokemon (mystery dungeon) enthusiast!

𝄞༉‧₊˚. SAKURA HARUKA

sakura wants to be the best in the world through unconventional means, to battle the strongest right away. you’ve seen how he fought off a group of students who were ridiculing you earlier, but there’s no way someone could become a trainer with punches and kicks and without a pokemon. by chance, a sprigatito steals the pastry he was holding to eat and sends him on a wild goose chase. those two are a lovely pair, when it’s time for it to stop eating his food and he stops yelling at it for being a “brat”.

𝄞༉‧₊˚. SUO HAYATO

if you need a teacher for your team on how to behave on the battlefield, suo is at the yard meditating with his mienfoo. it’s impressive how he’s by your stress filling their air like smokescreen. your pokemon partner suddenly stops listening to your commands, and now your wallet is dry. he says it's the rebellious teen phase, something he can easily deal with. whatever he did to make your pokemon shudder when he calls on it for lessons with mienfoo as his assistant, you dare not to pry.

𝄞༉‧₊˚. NIREI AKIHIKO

midterm season is around the corner, what you dread the most this year. luckily you have nirei, a walking encyclopedia that is very convenient to have as a study buddy and useful to a certain someone who skips classes to explore the wild. his abra will teleport you back on campus whenever you try to ditch. the one day you venture farther, a very strong pokemon has you running for your life. abra has the ability to sense danger so you manage to return safely, but not safe from his disappointment. 

𝄞༉‧₊˚. UMEMIYA HAJIME

major concerns of newbies are what type of supplies to stock up on and how to train pokemon teams efficiently. your problem is money, due to spending too much and losing too much against people. umemiya is an expert in said concerns, but his togekiss handles his budget to curb his spending impulses. for someone who advertised himself as dependable, you definitely can’t depend on him for monetary matters. even togekiss judges him for buying fake plants for his fake garden. 

𝄞༉‧₊˚. HIRAGI TOMA

the academy is a scary place. there are strong and promising trainers in the making, and a tournament is a great start to see what they’re worth. competition drives everyone nuts, tailing down anyone such as yourself in their line of sight to battle. hiragi shoos them away, swearing he’ll be like his annihilape if they keep this up. he mistakes you as one with the crowd because you’re staring at him for so long, his pokemon readies its rage fist to send you flying, stressing him out even more.

𝄞༉‧₊˚. TSUBAKINO TASUKU

as the end of the school term draws near, students become anxious. fear not, tsubaki knows how to turn the doom and gloom around - throwing a party. their checklist becomes so long they need a helping hand. their gardevoir chooses you through its future sight, determining that you’re good luck. while shopping with your upperclassman, there’s an ongoing sale for clothes they’ve been waiting for since forever. they’re so excited that they drag you along and practically buy out the whole boutique.

𝄞༉‧₊˚. KAJI REN

the stock of candies at the campus store is somehow almost empty every time you check it out. a salesclerk then tells you that they never heard of a luxio with a sweet tooth. the pokemon belongs to a student who wears headphones and a lollipop in his mouth, kaji. you and your partner look at each other with the same plan: ditch class to buy out the entire candy section before those two can. you and him grab a candy bag in sync, but luxio electrocutes you as he and your pokemon stare in shock.

𝄞༉‧₊˚. TOMIYAMA CHOJI

photography in the wilderness for a project is, in reality, easier said than done. your pictures come out blurry as many wild pokemon have tried to break your phone. just as things can’t get any worse, you get whacked by an ambipom from its double hit. your hands feel light, and you look at it with your device. its trainer tomiyama proposes to retake your photos as compensation. but instead of you in there, the entire gallery is full of his selfies. seems like this project will take forever to finish.

𝄞༉‧₊˚. TOGAME JO

you can’t afford to be late for school… again. rushing to campus on your bike, you almost crash into a dozing snorlax that is blocking your usual route. you and your pokemon have done what you can to wake it up, and it turns into a stream of light which went inside a pokeball belonging to an upperclassman. togame was napping at the side of the road, and now he is late going to school like you are. as he’s about to ask you for a ride, you completely vanish, pedaling furiously like your life depends on it.

[cephalofrog]

been playing rain world and thinking about saint again recently

full rain world spoilers below

I hate the "saint is the triple affirmative" interpretation. hate even more how it appears to have become the accepted truth in the fandom

first off, my dislike for this interpretation is not logical. it isn't something I can be convinced out of using canon evidence, because my reason for not interpreting the story this way is not evidence-based, it's because I don't find it to be a satisfying conclusion to the entire story of rain world.

but here's some rambling about logical reasons why it doesn't make sense anyway

if saint was created as the triple affirmative by sliver, that makes them extremely old - they came into existence LONG before spearmaster's campaign even started. if they came into existence with the purpose of ascending iterators, they sure took a long time to ascend any iterators - like okay, travel time and whatever, but you'd think they'd get at least one or two more before all the iterator comms break down entirely post-spearmaster. SM and hunter managed to get from SRS and NSH to the pebbs/moon area pretty quickly.

they also have fur, which seems to be an adaptation for the cold judging by the lizards in the campaign, despite the world not being cold at the point at which they were created. this could be easily explained by sliver just being very forward-thinking, but...

if sliver created saint, their entire triple affirmative thing comes across as incredibly thoughtless, which imo contrasts with sliver being forward-thinking enough to make saint immune to cold. like they finally created the magical rat that will ascend them all but didn't even think to send out a message beforehand like "hey guys I'm trying something new if I send out the triple affirmative and die right after this it worked and you should be visited by a flying green dude with an ascension beam at some point in the future"

there's also the thing of... wait so how does this whole iterator ascension work again? cause saint's timeline loops. after they ascend, they end up back in sky islands, with the iterators back where they were. this could be explained by "later playthrough loops aren't canon and pebbs and moon are ascended if you got em" but there's literally a specific gameplay mechanic - carrying stuff in your stomach between campaigns - meant to make it clear that the campaign is a loop.

anyway. the real reason I hate the theory isn't related to any of this - it's that it absolutely destroys pebbles and moon's story, thematically speaking.

sliver of straw's triple affirmative/death is a random event that could mean basically anything. the futility pebbles felt around trying to solve the great problem caused him to assign meaning to sliver's death that wasn't necessarily there - they found the solution, and it was self-destruction. that's what they were trying to tell everyone. it wasn't a random event, the triple affirmative was real. one of the bugs in the maze found the way out, and he's going to prove it to everyone by following them and escaping.

and that's what leads to the events of the main story. this random event - this horrible tragedy, the death of someone who seemed to mean so much to so many people - was assigned meaning by someone desperate to prove that his entire existence, and the existences of everyone around him, are not futile. the ancients created the iterators without knowing whether the answer to the great problem could ever be found, and this is the result of that.

a nihilistic, hopeless person, abandoned by his creators to work forever on an unsolvable problem, assigns meaning to a random tragedy, and tunnel visions on what he has to believe is what he's been looking for - because it is an unimaginable understatement to say that the alternative would be worse than death. and then, in his self-destructive desperation, he kills his sibling* and dooms himself to the slowest, most painful death imaginable. this is the legacy of the ancients' dead society, the result of all of their stupid ideals and obsession with karmic perfection. (*as far as he knows)

but saint being the triple affirmative undermines all of that. not only does it make sliver's death less of a tragedy and more of a noble sacrifice - like yeah, sure, they were loved, but solving the great problem was far more important - but it also makes pebbles look less desperate and more just kinda stupid. like you thought that the solution was self-destruction? nah, it's a magical flying rat. in this version of the story, pebbles wasn't striving for something that didn't exist, he was just not smart enough to figure out the real solution.

even outside of canon evidence, that sucks. it causes pebbles' story to go from being about how you should value the people around you over the impossible striving that life always seems to expect from you or you're gonna end up hurting them and yourself to how you should just be smarter to find the right solution to all of your problems.

anyway as for my own interpretation of saint, I think that the campaign is just a representation of what it's like to be an echo. reliving the moments that led up to your failed ascension over and over, reaching maximum karma and gaining superpowers because you're just that karmically pure - you are a saint, after all - and then letting your ego consume you at the crucial moment of ascension, over and over again, cycling into infinity. (I don't think they actually had superpowers prior to ascending, I just think that they kinda thought of themselves so highly that they thought they should have those powers.) then contrast this with the world as the age of the iterators and the rain finally ends, and you have an unchanging echo reliving the same few cycles over and over contrasted with a world that is, at last, changing and moving on.

yeah it doesn't make sense with the joint iterator dialogue in rubicon (at least, the final line doesn't make sense). I don't care. it's what makes me happy as an interpretation. you can pry my morally dubious hypocritical ego-driven saint from my cold dead hands

[plague-karm]

Minos Ultrakill Headcanons Because I’m Bored

•I like to believe that his and Gabriel’s character arcs are inverses of one another, Gabriel started off kind to others and slowly got weighed down by the authority that loomed over him while Minos started off matter of fact and reserved as the judge of hell until the Minotaur incident finally woke him up to his past regrets and his longing to help his people turned him into the kind man his people knew and loved.

•Minos didn’t look down upon other husks for looking less human than him, he saw the humanity that was buried deep down and wanted to show them that while those above may have forgotten them, they can make meaningful connections here as a new start.

•He’s still reserved, but he’s very sociable. His palace must’ve been HUGE so he liked visitors a lot.

•His snakes are called Ariadne and Deucalion.

•His people confided in him regarding their past sins and he often advised them on how to make a better path for themselves going forward.

•Was close friends with the husk who painted his and Sisyphus’ portraits.

•He died before machines even entered hell but if he had to converse with them he would be very confused (albeit welcoming as ever).

•Had a secret portrait done of Pasiphae that he keeps in the darkest depths of his palace as a permanent reminder of his previous sins as to not stray from this path he built for himself.

•He sometimes wonders if some of the husks were subjects of his when they were alive and they just can’t remember it.

•Is the only one who can understand his snakes’ language.

•Really likes plant life, he wanted his people to experience even the smallest of luxuries after all the work they put into rebuilding the city of lust as a paradise (grapes were plentiful).

•The only layers he didn’t travel to in person was Wrath and Violence. Wrath because of its raging waters and overall air of dread reminds him too much of Poseidon. Violence doesn’t need explaining.

•He didn’t feel any kind of dread regarding the return of heavens watchful eye, his heel turn made him believe that if someone who was once as cruel as himself could change, so could those in heaven

•Gabriel knew of the lust Renaissance prior to him being sent down to kill Minos. I like to think the two knew each other pretty well to an extent, meeting when they were at equal levels of whimsy. And when Gabriel began to grow more dower Minos would try and confront him about it but Gabriel would refuse to indulge him every single time (this would be when it’s getting drilled into Gabriel’s head that he’s above everyone around him).

•This is why Minos tried to reason with him without fighting back, he was genuinely caught off guard by his actions, someone who he once saw as a trusted confidant hurting him in this way, and so publicly as well…

•This is why there’s a defaced Gabriel picture in the Greed layer, they saw him as their saviour for so long only to be shown the ugly truth that he is carrying out the very will that keeps them all oppressed. The murder of Minos was THE key event that made most sinners open their eyes to this (except for those in Limbo who are doomed to toil in their delusions until their very bodies wither away to nothingness).

•His disdain of Gabriel isn’t because of how he betrayed him, its because of how he abandoned his once pure beliefs for the hollow words of an oligarchy who cares naught for the god he adored so much, only for the power his influence could give them. He knows Gabriel is better than this, or so he once thought, he made his death public intentionally, he purposefully inflicted horror and grief onto his people just to make a point. And that enraged him beyond belief.

•The Flesh Prison was very tiny haha tiny prison go brrrrr.

•His prime form isn’t very personal to him because his own desires weren’t the thing that pushed him to get this intense a level of determination beyond a physical form, it was his will to do right by his people regardless of the pit they were left in due to his own naivety and pacifism.

•Minos’ voice doesn’t just sound gravely because of his age, it’s because of the eons worth of screams and wails of pain and grief he let out in the flesh prison as he was forced to watch all he and his people worked so hard to build wither away to dust as if none of it mattered.

Case in point this old man deserved better and whatever second life he has it better be in a cottage where him and his snakes wear little hats and get to relax after the classic Greek tragedy that was his previous life.

[ilchulsoleil]

DO NOT TRY MANIFESTING A BEATLES BOYFRIEND!! PLEASE!!! YOU HAVE BEEN SEVERELY WARNED!!!

I HAVE ACCIDENTALLY MANIFESTED THREE JOHN LENNON LOVE INTERESTS IN THE PAST YEAR ALONE!!! I have learned my lesson.

(first and last ones are genuinely uncanny)

Each scenario and how it affected me:

Ok I lied, the first guy I've known for longer than when I first started liking John Lennon (I know. I KNOW.)

First guy, I highkey thought he was a girl when I met him (for a whole two months) and I was really intimidated by him at first but then we became friends and he got me into making music & I've wrote songs about him but he has no idea and he's kind of f-cked up by his youth & we've known each other since we were teenagers. We've tensed up our tight-knit friend group more times than I'd like to admit & the best I can describe our relationship is like enemies to something grander than lovers in a constant cycle only comparable to doomed yuri, but I love him & he loves me back even if things get between us.

This is literally Paul and John guys. He's my John. Like, my official one.

The second guy, my gosh, guys, (derogatory) I started becoming friends with this guy who is literally 1970 raggety, greasy ass John Lennon, and I swear to you I didn't know him for longer than a week and he asked me out without even remembering my name </3 Something's definitely up with this guy but after I ignored him for half a year we became friends again.

Guys. Honorable (or dishonorable) mention is actually this freak ass guy I hung out with ONCE at a volunteer thing for a stageshow and he wasn't even PART OF IT. He just WALKED IN AND SAT AROUND. And he was really bad at everything but he was funny and I guess that got to him cause I never spoke to him again but I saw him last month at a party and the weirdo was in HEAT 😒genuinely hate him. Looked like 1970 John, acted worse than what 1968 mutton chops looks like.

Sigh..

The last guy. Man. This was simmering in the pot of lore, man. I sort of knew this guy, and the first time any of my friends said anything about him, it was NEGATIVE. So naturally I just avoided him but also naturally to myself, I picked up on casual chats with him as I do with everyone, and I realised this guy wasn't as bad as he was put out to be. He was just sort of out there. He had a very distinct (and annoying) voice, and he just acted off. Definitely theatrical by some points. But I didn't judge, and he introduced me to his friends, and I even hung out with them when they all did their music stuff. I never spoke much when it was all of them, but I did when it was just the two of us (do you see where I'm going). This guy spoke more about his best friend more than he ever did anything else, and they were really close and touchy. Like, I thought they were the ones dating at some points. I didn't know him before his past relationships, but according to everyone they were pretty bad, and he wanted to be better than how he used to be with me. So I guess my manifestation of a later John guy was on its way to me. However, he was a little too much for me, and he cut me off because I wasn't romantic enough. Maybe this is his Lost Weekend & we'll meet some other time. I hope I never see him again, though, honestly.

I like being John-less. Even if I have my original still in my life. Love that guy.

I'm gonna start manifesting a Paul McCartney husband now I guess. Just kidding, I learned after the first four times. Leave me alone, Beatles.

[se-sissy-lina04]

Sissy’s Masterlist

CT-Casa – "Zee & Mephistopheles: The Battle for Attention Begins"

Welcome to the next level of CT-Casa-Chaos:

You have a pet.

But not just any.

You have Mephistopheles.

A black Tooka cat with the character of a Sith Lord, the pride of a Mandalore, and the softness of a night pillow – but only for you.

1. Zee adopts Mephistopheles (aka Mephi)

Found in an alley behind a caf shop during a rainstorm. Hissing at a rat twice his size. Zee respects that.

Jet black, gold eyes, absolute menace. Hates everything. Perfect.

When asked why she named him Mephistopheles, Zee answered:
“Because he’s got the soul of a disgraced Sith lord and the vibe of someone who knocks mugs off tables for fun.”

2. The Arrival: Fear and Fluff

You bring Mephisto home.

In a black transport box. With golden eyes inside. (He is mad because you took him to the vet first.)

The clones: "Ah, cute."

Mephisto: hisses like Darth Maul in the dentist's chair.

Kix wants to pet him –

Two scratches later, he diagnoses himself with emotional trauma.

3. Mephisto belongs to you. Period.

He lies on your lap, purring like a spaceship in idle mode.

You can pet him. He even blinks at you slowly.

But woe to anyone else who tries it.

Mephi HATES the clones. All of them.

Everyone else gets clawed ankles, hissed warnings, and hairballs in their boots.

Jesse: "I think I'm his type." Mephisto jumps on his back and screams dramatically.

Boil: "I gave him tuna!" Mephi took it. And then marked Boil’s shoes.

Fox? Tried it once. Never again. Now wears leather gloves. Always.

Fives tried to pet Mephi once. Mephi screamed, slapped him, and leapt off a wall.

Fives: “He looked me in the eye and judged my entire existence.”

Tech tried analyzing Mephi’s behavior. He got scratched across the nose.

4. The war begins: Petting rights & territory defense

The clones make lists. Tactics meetings.

Cody hangs up a schedule: "15 minutes of petting attempt per man per day."

Mephi tears it down at night and puts it on Jesse's head.

Result: The plan is dead. Jesse has cat hair on his face.

5. Tup is accepted. Maybe.

Tup is calm. Gentle. Smells like tea.

Mephi tolerates him. He is allowed to sit in the same room.

Once – ONCE – Mephi sat down next to him on the couch.

Tup almost cried.

The others have since called him "the Chosen One."

Mephisto tolerates and occasionally sleeps on him. Tup has no idea why, but he’s honored.

Tup brings him treats and calls him “sir”

Mephi accepts these offerings like a dark god.

Tup once knit him a tiny scarf. Mephi wore it. For 30 seconds. Then ate it. Tup still cried from happiness.

6. Mephi LOVES Crosshair.

No one knows why.

He climbs up on Crosshair’s shoulder like a pirate’s familiar, curls up, and purrs so loudly it sounds like a landspeeder.

Crosshair pretends he’s annoyed.

“I don’t like the cat. He’s just quiet and hates everyone. That’s… respectable.”

Mephi once attacked Wrecker for sneezing too close to Crosshair. Wrecker has a scar.

7. The Clones have a group chat called “Cat Threat Level: Red”

It’s all updates like:
“Mephi is in the hallway. Proceed with caution.”
“He stared at Cody for five minutes without blinking. Cody blinked first.”
“Boil stepped on his tail. Pray for Boil.”

8. Night Patrol with Mephisto

You go to bed late? Mephisto accompanies you.

– Hall quiet?

– Shadow moves?

–Fox has the night shift?

Mephi suddenly sits in the hallway, his eyes glowing like a holo-alarm.

Fox calls him "the little Sith."

Mephi hisses.

Fox nods. Respect.

9. Mephi has declared Zee’s apartment his Empire

He sits in the windowsill like a gargoyle.

Every time a clone walks by, he does the slow blink of doom.

He drinks only from Zee’s caf mugs, knocks over clone helmets, and hisses at broom handles.

Fox swears he heard Mephi growl “traitor” under his breath once.

10. Small creature, big emotions

When you're sad, Mephi knows it.

He comes, lies down on your chest, purring your heart back to health.

The clones: "Why YOU and not US?"

You: "Because I'm his mom."

Fives: "Tooka-nepotism."

11. The couch belongs to Mephi. And the bathroom. And the windowsill.

You share.

The clones ask, "May we sit down?"

You: "Ask him."

Jesse: "Come on, cat, don't be such a—"

Mephi strikes with his paw.

Rex murmurs, "Respect for the hierarchy."

12. One day… Mephi accepts someone.

No one knows why.

But one day, Mephisto lets Fives pet him. For exactly 4 seconds.

Fives freezes.

Boil screams: "IT HAPPENED!!"

Kix is filming it.

Fives is wearing a shirt with the screenshot on it:

"He chose me.”

13. Mephisto has a mini helmet.

Echo is crafting it.

Black, with little spikes.

You put it on him. He tolerates it.

Jesse: "Now he really is the Dark Lord."

Mephi: curls up and sleeps on the datapad.

He is terrifying.

He is fluffy.

He is yours.

14. Despite everything, he’s Zee’s baby

Sits on her notes, walks across her holoprojector during lectures, curls on her chest when she’s tired.

She calls him “the only man I trust.” (The boys are offended and pouty.)

Mephi accepts her affection like a royal tax.

15. You are Mephis' home. And they all are too. A little bit.

Mephisto remains your shadow.

But when you're away – at a conference, with family –

You later find holograms:

– Echo, as he quietly reads to him.

– Fox, bringing him food.

– Fives, how he fell asleep next to him.

Mephi is lying there. Like a king.

But his eyes are searching for the door. Waiting for you.

And when you come back – He jumps into your arms.

You are his person.

And the others? Are allowed to witness the happiness.

[roseforthethorns]

This season of Yellowjackets has me feral every week.

Seeing the building of trauma upon trauma in the past? Clearly seeing the teenage behaviors in the adult counterparts? Knowing death will come for them all and they can’t control it?

Seeing the survivors constantly haunted by the past? Psychically stuck at the ages they were when they crashed because the trauma was just too great to really move beyond, especially without extensive therapy, which would’ve sucked in the 90s?

I have so many theories, but also. Seeing connections again.

Of course Nat would help Shauna when it’s time to take Adam apart. Now we know how she even learned in the first place.

The relief of seeing Lisa and that she’s ok, from what we can tell. Where the 50K went that Lottie withdrew. Even Chinese food from the vision in the season 2 hunting competition.

Tai is trapped, and what/who even is Other Tai, and now I need to rewatch the whole damn show to try and track when she’s which one.

Of course Van would have a way to play the tape. And when was the recording made? Based on the end of the episode, it could still be around from their teen years, but is it in the wilderness or when they get back? She seemed to be looking up how long DAT tapes exist/can last after being made.

We also know whoever sent it to Shauna called her Shipman AND that the symbol was on the envelope.

We know some shit goes down when they return from the wilderness. Are we seeing that beginning to build?

Callie’s “I just wanted to be close to you” nearly broke me. Because of COURSE she does. She wants a relationship with her mother, one built on love and trust and honesty, and Shauna just. Can’t. She can’t love Callie or Jeff because she loved Jackie and her baby boy and they both died. Everyone Shauna Shipman loves dies. She blames herself for Jackie, hence her Jackicicle hallucinations. She turns her blame for her baby’s death on Ben, because somehow that’s easier than blaming herself again. And she also blames Lottie, hence the beatdown and Lottie now struggling to hear the wilderness.

What are the screams. Why are there fewer animals in the woods than we expect? How much of what they remember is real or accurate?

Every time Akilah goes in the cave, I’m terrified it’s going to be the time she will die. She’s too kind, too pure for the Wilderness. And Lottie the cult leader is in full development. We can see her drive, her trying to use other ppl in order to hear or connect with whatever is out there or that she thinks is out there.

But it’s Ben who had me fully crying before 8am on a Friday. Dogs checking to make sure I was okay crying. Snot and tissues and take my glasses off crying.

Misty. Misty he is gay. And even so, that was probably her first kiss. Can I truly judge her? Any of them?

We are doomed by the narrative. This week’s episode fucked me up.

[riicky-ye]

Do you know why I love “Focalors/Furina is Erinnyes” theory so much? Because it straight up gives us a perfect setup for Focalors and Furina’s already existing personality trait: their (verbal) hostility towards the other gods.

In Focalors’ case it’s more or less clear: as the god of Justice, she must not close her eyes to the way Heavens wronged the dragonkind. She explicitly states she would love to make a tribunal for Celestia (what a goat she is) and then entrusts Neuvillette with this very task.

But Furina is actually no better. In the end of her ascension speech, she just suddenly drops the bomb of an intent to judge the gods of other lands. You may say it’s just a random bluff to convince people she’s strong — but I’m saying her personality is intricately, inseparably intertwined with Focalors. Don’t forget: she is Focalors’ very own body, just amnesiac and powerless. She inherited the original Focalors’ selfless sense of justice. She may also inherit the dislike for godkind, get it carved deep in her gut.

So, long story short, both Focalors and Furina has some grudge against the Divine. And you know who, among the Fontaine crew, has the utmost motivation to feel the same way?

That’s right. Erinnyes.

Erinnyes was wronged by the godkind not once and not twice, but thrice. First: Heavenly Principles claiming fontainians guilty and bestowing a prophecy of inevitable doom upon them. Second: Remus, a foreign god with questionable ways of defeating the prophecy which led fontainians to the entrapment in the bodies of stone. And finally third: Egeria telling Erinnyes to give up and accept her fate when asked how to save her people.

And we all know well how damn determined Erinnyes was. I dare say that for her, failed and wronged by gods, it would be only natural to next seek help from their enemies. Anything for Fontaine, you know.

And the “Anything for Fontaine” mindset already feels kind of familiar, doesn’t it?

So, while Erinnyes’ whole ordeal may be just another mirror to show and reflect Furina’s journey, it would be extra cool of Hoyoverse to hide her backstory on the plain sight.

(Also, both Furina and Erinnyes are trusting to the point of being dumb and I’m all here for it. Furina had shown an immense amount of trust in Mirror-Her by pushing forward her act for 500 years without the knowledge of the possible outcome, though it’s not as bad as Erinnyes’ case because Furina could have a gut feeling about Focalors being reliable and trustworthy in a familiar way. Erinnyes on the other side spent her whole life chasing castles in the sky, dreaming about Egeria stepping up and saving everyone, only for Egeria to say there’s no way for Erinnyes and her people to be saved.)

[lemotmo]

Lots of people seem to not understand that fandom is not the entire viewing audience. Not all things are equal.

Q. I don't understand how Lab Rats could have done so well. The audience hated it. All anyone did was complain about it.

A. No fandom hated it. It was not a well conceived episode. There were too many nonsensical plot holes and it did not make any sense at this point in the season, but it was a gimmick episode and gimmick episodes attract viewers that's why shows do them. And people have to learn that not everyone who watches this show watches it through the prism of fandom. There are casual viewers. People who know the characters, and their history, and love them but only for one hour a week while watching the show. That's why all the 'he just got his own show cancelled' takes were ridiculous and wrong. Casual viewers follow the storylines as they come. They don't spend weeks speculating, raging, and dooming about what's coming or what just happened. Shows kill off characters. It happens. The audience has their moment of grief and then most of them move on as the show does. It happens all the time. None of what Tim is doing here is groundbreaking. He killed a main and got the attention he wanted. When that same main miraculously turns up alive he will get the attention he wanted again. That's the gimmick. Every show does it in one way or another. Most of the time the character really ends up being dead. Occasionally they don't. And most viewers go along with whatever way the storyline goes. That's television.

What upsets a fandom doesn't always upset the general audience. We discovered that the anger over Eddie's absence was audience wide. Everyone was upset about his absence. As they should have been because it was inexcusable. The only group who wasn't upset about Eddie not being there doesn't count because they don't watch or pay attention to the actual details of the show, so their opinion is completely invalid in all aspects of the actual show (send all the complaining that you want, your opinion is meaningless because you don't even understand what it is you're actually watching). The Bobby stuff seems to have intrigued the general audience though because it was unexpected for this show. I also think lots of people believe something is up though and re-watched the episode to see if their 'theory' is plausible. You could not pay me to rewatch that episode personally, but I'm not going to tell anyone else that they shouldn't. But people who exist within the bubble of fandom are not the best judge of what the actual opinion of the average viewer is that's why immediately jumping to 'Tim is sabotaging his own show', 'he just ruined everything', and 'no one will watch ever again' takes were so bizarre because those things simply aren't true. Yes if Bobby ends up really being dead (he's not) then the show would lose some viewers but not to the level fandom acted like. Grey's Anatomy killed off Derrick Shepard. E.R. killed off Mark Green. House killed off Lawrence Kutne. This is Us killed off Jack Pearson (this one is a bit different). All of those characters were major characters on their respective shows. And every single one of those shows survived the character's death. It happens. Period. The audience adapts. We all have individual things that would cause us to walk away so if Bobby dying (again he's probably not really dead though) is your breaking point that is absolutely your right, but it will not be the cumulative reaction for the audience as a whole. No one really wants him dead. The show would be different without him, and truthfully Tim is not the show runner who kills characters for kicks so that works in our favor here. But we as fandom will never be able to speak for the general audience and I think sometimes people mistakenly believe everyone consumes the show the same way we do and that's just not true. I have no idea how to be a casual viewer here, lol.

Thank you Nonny!

Yeah, I have to agree with Ali here.

Lab Rats was not a good episode. Safe to say I won't ever watch it again unless it is absolutely necessary. However, for the casual viewer this was an exciting twist they didn't see coming. People are intrigued and they want to know what will happen next with all the other characters as well. They'll tune in to see how everyone deals with the grief and pain of losing one of their own.

And to be fair, so will I and many other people in this fandom. I might have hated the episode because of the whole Bobby thing and the complete lack of Eddie, but that doesn't mean the show ends here. It will go on, whether Bobby is there or not and I'll be sat again, watching every week, grieving and moving on with my favourite characters.

There are still so many untold stories there. So much untapped potential.

But yeah... I'm still fully convinced that Bobby is alive. That would be an ever bigger twist and the GA will eat it up. No doubt about it.

But still... just in case: 🤞🤞🤞

😂

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If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[shotoyami]

Could do gambit x f reader basically f reader is a normal person working and is saved one day by gambit in a fight and offers to take her home and basically gets to know her and take her out on a date’s <33

prenotes: Gambit beloved <33 !!! The silly little Cajun man, he has my heart… I loved writing this sm, super cute, might make a part two if anyone would like to see that!!!

Thank you so much for the request, anon<3

pairing: Remy LeBeau/Gambit + female reader

warnings: none, yet again!

genre: fluff, that’s all to be seen here

notes: so please ignore the jokes I make in here if anyone doesn’t like them, I had to make them as a retail worker and the usual daily struggles of retail. but if anyone laughs, I’m glad! (please respect your retail workers, they don’t get paid enough or appreciated enough)

word count: 900+

Sir, this is a Walmart…

Work. Mediocre, stressful, annoying. At least, that’s a normal day on the job. Another day at some high end grocery store that cannot be named here, just dealing with the same customers to expect every day. The entitled old people, the crass young people that shouldn't be without adult supervision, crying babies that the mother literally is not even a foot away from and doesn’t care about, and so much more stupidity. 

“You young kids and not respecting their elders. I swear, it’s like I always talk to the same person no matter where I go unless it’s a machine!” Like now, where an older woman is harassing me.

I force a civil smile onto my face, knowing everything is both on video and on audio, and that anything against store policy could get me fired. “I’m sorry to hear that, ma’am. Unfortunately, I can’t bend the rules for anyone. If I change the price for you, I’d have to change the price for everyone in the store- which can’t happen, of course.” I try to explain to the woman– which is stupid, because when do entitled people ever listen to reason? She starts shouting, which is to be expected, and of course a supervisor comes over, trying to gauge what’s happening, and now she’s screaming at them too. The supervisor gives me a glance and I just put my hands up defensively and turn and walk away– because I don’t get paid anywhere near enough to deal with this crap.

I fall into the breakroom’s couch with a long sigh, making one of my coworkers giggle. “Gosh (y/n), tell us all how you really feel girl.” I groan, but let out a small laugh, finding humor in my coworker’s words. “Was it Sharon again? Or Beth?”

I sat up as I respond, “Neither, it was Martha.” My coworker grimaces at the name, before she sighs.

“Yikes. I’m sorry girl, she’s a pain.” I snicker, nodding in agreement. “But have you seen that new looker that’s been coming in recently?” That sparks my attention, and I sit fully toward her, attentively. “No? Okay, so there’s this guy that’s been coming in, right? And he’s got weird eyes and a southern accent, and he flirts with everyone.” I nod along as she speaks, humming afterward in thought.

“No, I haven’t seen or met him yet. He sounds interesting?” She nods in agreement, but we’re interrupted as our supervisor comes in, rolling his eyes.

“Martha.” Is all he says, making both of us giggle. “You’re good to go back on the floor, (y/n).” I nod and hop up, making my way back out onto the sales floor.

Of course, my luck willing, there’s some weird looking people (hey, we’re not trying to judge here, but just imagine this the same kinda way as describing your neighborhood crackhead) getting into a fight on the sales floor. I stand there, awkwardly, because I’m not trying to get into the middle of all of that. 

As I go to shuffle on by, because I don’t get paid enough to care, some kind of metal comes flying at me. My survival instincts aren’t survivaling because I just stare at my impending doom for a moment, accepting my fate and all, until a card with a purple looking hue just flies in front of me and blows up the metal??????

Whilst pondering my existence and how I didn’t just die, I get grabbed and my snatcher???? savior???? just kind of runs, cursing in some other language – french? Once again accepting my fate, I don’t exactly struggle or anything because this is all on camera and surely  someone will clock me out for this or just give me extended pay time for dealing with this crap.

The person finally stops and sets me down in the back of the parking lot, and I find that it’s my coworker’s deemed ‘new looker’. “Ya’ alri’, cher?” I slowly nod, probably looking like a big eyed fish or a barn owl or something. He chuckles, offering a hand, “The name’s Remy LeBeau, ya’ welcome fa’ the save. How’s ‘bout yous make it up ta’ me by lettin’ me walk ya’ on home? Ya’ off the clock?” Again, I just nod stupidly – my coworkers can clock me out, it should be fine. Fortunately, I use public transportation anyway, so it all works out.

Of course, everyone’s staring at the man next to me. Not so much for his “good looks,” but moreso for his odd appearing eyes – red on black. The entire subway is…rather quiet for once. It’s a nice change, a welcome change. He’s the one that breaks the silence as we get off of the subway, “Ya’ from ‘round these parts?” He sort of leans over me, smirking but still being quite respectful. He’s probably fishing for something in common, given his thick southern accent.

“No, I’m from the next state over.” He slowly nods, humming and keeping the conversation going similarly until we arrive at my front door. “So, I be seein’ ya’ again? Here, le’mme give ya’ my fone number.” He quickly comes up with a way to scribble down his digits, handing the paper to me. “An’ maybe we can go on a nice little date or somethin’ soon, cher?”

A goofy smile comes onto my face at this words, a bit shocked that all it took was a bit of small took to charade this man, but I nod in agreement nonetheless. “I’d appreciate if it involved me not being in immediate danger next time?” He chuckles and nods.

“See ya’ then, darlin’.”

[hoetachi]

TRAPPED IN BLISS — D. BRANDO

part3! dio x blk! reader

➠ mulan’s input; he’s a yandere without trying. thank you sinners for giving me motivation to finish my old fics that been waiting for the light of day & also trying out darker themes

➠synopsis; you finally see through the illusion of your ‘lover’

➠ cw; manipulation, fear, s*icide

based off of alicia keys “illusion of bliss”

heavily recommend listening whilst reading

YOU THOUGHT he was a good man based off his mannerisms and little romantic acts he would do for you at first. they were always so exciting, so refreshing and most of all endearing to your touch starved heart

you talk yourself, tell yourself, baby, “i’m better than this"

that what he made you believe in the beginning. you should’ve known something about him was off, especially by his aura. his energy consisted of raw darkness, pure evil, disgustingly malicious intent, yet he manage to put your soul at ease with the alluring sound of his voice

all that i’m fightin', i don't wanna resist

you were doomed before you knew it. you were doomed once the pretty facade was beginning to reveal the many cracks in its exterior. those “kind” eyes, sunrises captured in golden irises now were setting once they lingered on you more than a few seconds. warmth in all of your acts of passion, but once the high comes down— coldness pressed against your cheek and empty cave beyond his chest against your ear. a heart has a music of your love, yet your lover had not even a melody in him.

hey, living in prison of blood and flesh an easy way out is this high, i confess

you can’t say your fate snuck up on you. oh no baby, you ignored it. continuously invited that darkness in, pushing aside your discernment and disarming your common sense for the taste of his lips. he was otherworldly— his taste was of thousands of years of purified sweetness. addicted. his words became cruel, yet sweetness that covered them made the ache to swallow them whole was overpowering. the sweet consumed you in a way nothing of this earth did. how could anything even try? this was not physical, this binding— souls intertwined like vines. veiny, thick and soft; so surprisingly soft

is it my life? ain't no easy road

you tried so hard to come back. back to your senses, back to who you were before him yet you were already his. already apart of him in every sense

i don't know which way to go

won't somebody see me when I can't see myself

you’re his. his plaything. his puppet, guiding you in every direction. you think he’s not aware of you crawling back to your old self? you’re too adorable. you don’t even see how pathetically cute you are trying to rid him of yourself. the power he possesses can’t simply be undone, especially by your doing.

won't somebody listen before I need help

you were helpless once you tasted him. there was no rescuing you from this fate— you entered the lion’s den long before you realized you were the main feast.

i'm sick of being judged

i’m sick of being sick

you begged everyone. praying someone could get you far from him before he had you whole. his sweetness made you sick now. goosebumps becoming permanent on your skin at the thought of him. his touch still cruelly embraces you with intent of despair and deception. “i would never hurt you, my beloved” lies so deeply disfigured, you can’t believe if you still have the sense of hearing. words so comforting with memories so nostalgic, how can you still escape from this trap alive

sick of being high, sick of being low

sick of all the lies putting on the show

you’re cornered. mentally, but knowing dio, soon physically. he just needs to lull you back into the reality you two were so far in. it was going to be a lot of work. repeating his performance of comforting you to be with him again was irritating him. you shouldn’t sober up when the high of his love was all you needed to stay up and running. “you deserved to be worshipped for what you are, y/n”

what you are? you were y/n. a woman with the spirit of a saint. a woman never went without busting a sweat for her passions. you weren’t above anyone to be worshipped. the rays of the new day began to dance away the shadows of the dark room. “i can’t be what you are, dio” you lip quivered as your lids burned as if your tears were last thing left on you that was holy. you walked slowly towards the balcony, decisions pounding your brain. you toed the shadow of the darkness as you stared at the brighten sky. to feel the warmth you long lost.. to be loved by sun like it always did to your bronze skin. “wait! y/n think about what the future has for us?” he continued his attempts to seduce you back, to bring you back to his twisted love. you were set on what your future was going to be and it final that dio couldn’t be apart of it. “there’s no future for the damned” you whispered, a singular tear marking your flesh before you stepped into the sun’s embrace

i don't wanna be a fallen angel

[belivinginyourselfistherealmagic]

So you have a demon living inside of you?

A Jasminka centric fanfic 🍩✨️

Jasminka finally reveals she has a demonic spirit inside of her that she keeps at bay with snacks

Warnings: Ukraine famine mentioned (I have made the fic before the war) maybe medical neglect tw over eating tw

So you have a demon living inside of you? Amanda asked to make sure she heard right

Yep

Actually demons but yes

But if I feed them its all right

Wait so that time I lost the race cause of that donut was because of that

Im sorry I remembered that for you for too long...

Yes I always eat extra just in case

I promise I didnt mean to lose it back then

Im sure there is a cure Diana says in a serious tone while sounding a bit more worried than usual but still keeping her composure

No she raised a hand to stop her

I already made peace with them

We actually become kind of friends

I give them snacks to not destroy the world and they keep me company

She smiled her usual sweet smile

Like she was when she was offering some chocolate chip cookies

Just this matter was quite more serious

They are actually really misunderstood spirits

Sits down to start to tell the story

Many years ago back in Ukraine there was a human made Great Famine

And these spirits are all thats left

Lotte covered her mouth Diana looked shocked and all could Akko do is gasp

But Jasminka continued before seeing anymore reactions

She kept it to herself for too long

And she didnt know if she could continue if she would look everyone in the eye

They were so angry that they wanted to destroy all that pain and the only way they thought they could is to just destroy everything

For many years that was their plan

But they couldnt cause they were too weak

not without a body

Not without a host

And one day they found me

I was a lonely child I was using my summer days in Ukraine to lay outside on the grass and eating chips

And then they found me

At the start I didnt know what got into me I felt great pain and hunger

That 3 meals a day couldnt cover anymore I became angry and explosive

And had powers too big for my age

I got food from every place I could get my hand on and stole if I didnt

At the start my parents thought it was just emotions from starting to become a teenager

But when I blew up the kitchen at 11 which was too much power for an 11 year old and "my favorite place" as they liked to call it

they realized maybe there was something more to it they realized maybe there was something wrong

So they took me to see many witch doctors in many professions

That all didnt know what to do

Till I reached a spirit magic witch

Like Lotte

All eyes were turned to Lotte

Like me?

Yes How they found out what was wrong was they took me to a spirit magic user

And they talked to my spirits and told my parents what was wrong

I was very young so I dont remember very much

Just the whole if you wont eat enough the world might end

But all I remember after that trip I was allowed to eat a lot more snacks

And I finally felt like myself again

She posed cause she heard a small voice starting to speak

By the way I know Im not as good as those witches in spirit magic

But just know that if you ever need help with trying to communicate with them Im here said Lotte

And if you need help stealing some food Im here too Akko blurted

Sucy looked judging Akko's interruption and was about to make a snarky comment

But before she could say anything Jasminka said

Thanks I appreciate all the support I could get smiling her usual smile but a bit less worry free this time

Wait back to the all the world is ending bit Amanda said

Might she pointed

Thats what she worried that all they would see her is as a threat

Everyone else she had let close in the past has left

She needs to keep it together they are her friends after all

How do you handle the stress of complete doom over everything above your head?

When you are afraid of something for so long you start to barely notice it

And so do you want to have my number as an emergency contact for if you need food

Yes I would love to

Amanda is right you should have a safety plan

And I know you dont want to banish your spirits

And I respect that but I believe you need a plan b for if you somehow fail Diana said

She didnt like to think about that she usually thought about it only before she went to sleep a space where she knew she was helpless to do anything if everything turned wrong

And wonder if the next time she would wake in the morning everything would be gone

Diana continued Thats why we need to find something to protect you

Protect you she liked that

Usually others made it always sound like it was to prevent the whole world doom

They made it sound like only she is the problem that needs to be stopped

And wouldnt at all be in forever misery and pain or even gone too if it were to happen

Now she just realized that never heard that as a child hurt

A pain she didnt know she had

Um thank you she said while taking another bite of her chips and hoped no one will notice

Its the least I could d-

Diana got cut off by Jasminka crying bout

But the doctors said was no way

Maybe there wasent back then but since then the amount of magic we have and advancements we have made could be enough Diana retorted

But they said the magic was too strong she felt desperate

Thats what she knew for so long it pained her for so long and there might be a way?

She knew not to let her hopes up

But she also knew since then cause it seemed fixed her parents just kinda left it

They didnt know the anxiety she had felt each night

And they didnt know how her stomach hurt a lot of the time cause she couldnt take any chances and overate

But Diana is right

There might be new solutions

Diana continued again The thing is we dont need to contain it we just need to redirect it

Till you get something to eat which at max could be a few hours

If its with teleportation magic or converting the energy

We are lucky to be in a school with the number 1 expert in magic conversions

Professor Croix

And Im not sure if you are aware but she owes us

And I will accompany you Akko raised her hand clearly trying to be there for her even if her biggest experty is Shiny Chariot

You cant you are already failing your classes Diana replied immediately

Akko's face had fallen and looked like a sad puppy

Diana coughed you cant all the time

We will take turns in accompanying you

I will come most of the time for the technicalities and Lotte will come too

Me??

Yes since you have more knowledge of the technicalities of spirits and how they work

Lotte nodded

And other will come for emotional support since Im not always the best at it I admit

And I need Lotte's full attention

Did everyone understood Diana exclaimed

Everyone nodded in unity

Good

A weight had lifted off her chest they are really by her side

Not just for their own safety but for her

Now I will later make you a list of all the things we need to do to figure out a permanent solution

You dont need to carry that weight on your shoulders alone anymore

Diana gaze softened

She already stopped feeling that way

But still she was starving for any reassurance she could get

Talking about starving she noticed she reached the crums of the bag and opened some toffee

And she thought maybe she could be eating more for herself

And not just out of fear

Maybe this will be one of the last times she will have to