#i think it's been a while since i've done any sort of pride thing...?

[keymintt]

diversity win! these two genetically modified organisms are trans, bisexual, and in love

[meidiary]

( 📁 ) THINGS THEY DO TO MAKE IT UP TO YOU

synopsis: they can't apologize like normal human beings, so they do their quirky acts to make you forgive them

characters: sanji (shocker), zoro & luffy!

warnings: swearing, (unintentional) angst for luffy..

a/n: my new hobby is making cute character banners oops 🫢 banner inspired by @sixosix <3! happy ending for luffy here !!

☆ whenever you and SANJI have had a fight or disagreement of any sort, he folds first. he is always the first one to give the 'cold-shoulder' act up.

☆ usually, he wouldn't ever stop talking about how much he loves you and how absolutely drop-dead gorgeous you are, but the moment he should talk about all that, he doesn't.

☆ he knows he fucked up.. but he can't bring himself to charm you up like usual.. so- he decides to bake his way out of this problem!

☆ your favorite cake, fruits, drinks, chocolate, and anything you ever mentioned to enjoy will be made and presented to you by your truly apologetic sanji <3

☆ he'd be standing in the kitchen for hours on end. not taking a break because he feels like it's 'his responsibility' to make you forgive him the hard way.

☆ eventually, after being presented more than a month's worth of desserts.. you got worried about the state your charming blonde lover was in.

"not that i forgot our fight.. but you should take a break, sanji.. you've been overworking yourself since this morning!" you tell him, trying your hardest not to sound worried. he gives you an exhausted smile, dropping the cutlery he had in his one hand and the spatula he had in the other one. "you talked to me," he spoke, barely louder than a whisper, before he let out a sigh of relief.

you felt your heart ache, seeing him in his current condition; sweat dripping from his forehead, hands cramped up from all the work he had done, and his apron splattered with a mixture of flower and melted chocolate.

your eyes met his almost immediately, which resulted in him instinctively noticing your sorrowful eyes. "what's wrong, darling? you alright?" he dusts his hands off with the kitchen towel before making his way to you swiftly. "my love why are you giving me your sad puppy eyes right now?" he chuckles as he cups your face in his cold hands, caressing your cheeks with his thumbs.

"because you overworked yourself because of me.. your hands are all cramped up because i was too stubborn to forgive you right away! i don't deserve you sanji.." he gasps, almost offended. "now that is the bullest crap i've ever heard. darling, i've gone way longer with way more pressure on me to complete dishes for a full-house back at baratie." he chuckles yet again, this time more relaxed. "what i did today was a mere exercise to make sure i was still able to perform under some pressure," a big smile growing on his face.

"sweetheart, if anything i don't deserve you.. i'm sorry for upsetting you earlier.. i was deep in the wrong, yet i'm only apologizing now. forgive me, my love." sanji gives kisses your forehead while grabbing your hands, interlocking them with his. "then let's say we're even now.." you two make up and after forcing sanji to let you help clean up the kitchen, you do just that.

☆ sanji tells you he won't 'bake his way out of a fight' anymore, but knowing him, you didn't believe that statement one bit. you told him to "just make sure you don't overwork yourself anymore.. wouldn't want your pretty hands to hurt.." ~ which ended with him teasing you the whole afternoon.. "you think i have pretty hands~? how very endearing, my love."

☆ now anytime you and ZORO fight, with him being in the wrong, his pride always gets in the way of him owning up to his shit and apologizing. that's all you need from him, an apology. you don't expect him to bake you desserts or write you a poem declaring his live for you, no you just want an apology that isn't forced out of zoro by sanji or nami, or even usopp!

☆ you ignore him because he messed up big time and won't even acknowledge it? ha, child's play, he ignores you. you don't even know how this petty fight escalated so far that both of you haven't talked for a good couple days.

☆ usopp is basically begging you two to make up. considering he had been forced given the role to communicate things between the two of you. zoro needed to clean his sword but didn't know which cleaning agent to use, because you always gave him the right cleaning agent? ⟶ usopp is sent to you asking you which cleaning agent is best to clean zoro's swords with. receiving the dirtiest glance from you, you tell him to tell zoro "he should pay attention more to what others say, instead of staring at his reflection off of his sword 24/7!" ⟶ usopp goes to zoro and delivers the message. zoro scoffs and chuckles lightly before angrily giving usopp yet another message to deliver to you. ⟶ after a while usopp started hiding from the both of you, not wanting to get sent to other anymore.

☆ nami is on your side, of course, sending dirty glances to zoro any chance she gets. she doesn't give him the silent treatment, but instead aggressively tries to let him acknowledge his faults so he could own up to his shit and just apologize!

"y'know zoro, i'm not even in this relationship, yet your ego still somehow found a way to suffocate me! fucking realize you've been acting like a child and just own up to the fact that you messed up, damn it." nami blurts out, all in one breath, before she walks off annoyed.

zoro let's out yet another scuff before sanji makes his way to the moss head. "don't you even start-" zoro sends him an angry glance which has sanji raising his hands in defense, chuckling slightly. "i just can't stand seeing my beloved y/n in distress like this. i don't know the details, i don't want to know the details. all i know is that if you don't want to lose her, i'd act fast if i were you.." he just as quickly turned away and resumed his kitchen activities.

out of all the things the crew told him, hoping to convince the stubborn moss head to apologize to you, this stuck with him for the rest of the day.

after having a rather silent diner with the crew, the same as the past few days, you finished first, leaving the table immediately. "thank you, sanji, the soup was delicious, as expected," you tried to smile at him which resulted in your lips becoming a wobbly line.

"anytime, darling, i'm glad you enjoyed.." sanji noticed your sorrowful expression, as did the rest of the crew. you sent him a forced smile again before leaving the kitchen, heading for your and nami's room.

zoro sighed before standing up from his spot, leaving the kitchen to follow you. reaching your room's door, he notices you locked it. "hey! open the door," zoro leans against the handle, his forehead against the door. "come on now, just open the door for me baby.." his voice softens, realizing how fucking stupid he's been acting, neglecting you in so many ways. "listen.. i'm sorry for being such an ass- you didn't deserve my shitty attitude, i shouldn't have acted so stubborn, i'm sorry. i- i just can't lose you okay? please open the door and talk to me, yell at me, scream your lungs out, just please let me see you baby.. " with that he balled his hand that was leaning on the door into a fist, remorse dripping out of his mouth as he finally realizes how wrong he has been acting, how bad he's been treating you, how much more you deserved.

what surprised him was that the moment you opened the door, you weren't carrying an annoyed expression. no, your eyes were teary, your upper lip was trembling, cheeks a red shade, and your eyebrows furrowed. "h-hey, don't cry now.." zoro wrapped his arms around you, whispering endearments into your ear whilst caressing your back.

you two ended up cuddling on you small framed bed, that barely kept the two of you on it. not a word communicated between the two of you. just you laying on his chest, playing with his fingers while his chin rests on top of your head, still caressing your back.

"i'll do better for you.." zoro breaks the silent, planting a kiss on your head. "i can't lose you, i won't lose you.." you look up at his last statement, putting your hand on his cheek. "you won't lose me.. you'll never lose me."

☆ yeah, fights with this man sure are extreme.. but you two make it work

☆ every once in a while, on a full moon, you and LUFFY experience a disagreement lead to a big fight. of course your relationship isn't always all rainbows and butterflies. but considering luffy's nature of not taking most things serious, lots of fights were prevented. you thought luffy was flirting with a waitress when you left? he laughed so hard, getting cramps in his stomach, because he thought it was the most stupid thing ever that you believed he would flirt with someone other than you. he made you feel ridiculous, thinking of such a thing! ⟶ fight prevented!

☆but sometimes, this very nature of his was what lead to some of the most dreadful moments of your life.

☆ anytime such an event would take place, luffy would be the furthest away from it, the furthest away from you.. it's not that he's angry at you, per se. he just needs his time alone to review all his actions leading up to the fight that may have caused for it to get this big. most of the time he'll be dozing off, too tired to look back on his actions. he doesn't even know himself why he always ends up avoiding you for a couple hours after a fight. all he knows is that he, somehow, always ends up understanding what went wrong between the two of you.

☆ but this routine action of his doesn't always receive a positive reaction from you..

there he went, yet again, neglecting his responsibility in this fight. it was petty, you knew it was, still you wanted him to own up to it! it wasn't fair that he'd leave you shaking, crying, screaming at the top of your lungs, out of nowhere. you were talking, well actually arguing, about how luffy had been avoiding you lately, how he'd turn around once he'd see you, sit at the other side of the table, leave the room the second he saw you enter it, but what hurt the most was that he'd shake off your touches..

you finally confronted him about this, not wanting to bottle up your emotions any longer. luffy reacted as usual, disregarding the issue jokingly, he assured, "it's not a big deal~ you're just seeing things." and then you snapped, everything you bottled up 'till this moment, unleashed. you were a sobbing mess. he had never seen you in this state, shit even you have never seen yourself like this.

you asked him what happened, what you did wrongfully. why was he ignoring you? why did he act like he was allergic to your touches, your voice, your conversations, to you? why all of a sudden? what changed between you? you wanted, no, needed him to answer; you hoped he would realize how stupid he was acting, how neglecting he had been. you needed him to take you in his arms and assure you he still loved you, that he still cared, that he always will..

as if all your sobs were disregarded. instead of talking to you, he stood up wordlessly and walked out of your room, gently closing the door behind him. which resulted in your cries escalating as you tried muffling your sounds with a pillow.

where did he go? why did he leave all of a sudden? does he not care about you? all of these thoughts were racing in your mind, overwhelming you to the point you were gasping for air. at this point, nami came sprinting to your shared room, worried about your condition. "what did that boy do?!" she questions with a mix of distress and anger.

all the while, luffy was sat on the figurehead of the going merry, the sheep. he was enjoying the cold breeze as he kept breathing in and out, trying to understand what had just happened. he soon realized he walked out on you the moment you needed him most. and oh how it should've hurt him, how his heart should be aching right now. instead, he feels nothing except the subtle chilly breeze flowing against his skin, through his hair, moving his flip-flops. he knows he should care, he knows he should run back to you, embrace you in his arms, and tell you he loves you. but he doesn't because as much as he wants you to feel loved and cared for, he can't be the one to make you feel that way. it's not fair to you, you deserve someone that means it when he tells you he loves you and always will be there for you.

he can't put on this facade anymore. he stopped caring a while back, but he believed it to be a decent thing to have you believe he was still the guy that would comfort you when you had a nightmare, the guy that would give you his last piece of meat to show you he cares, the guy that would cuddle you to sleep whenever it was too cold..

he thought it'd be easier for you. oh, how it turned out to be quite the opposite. because he faked your relationship this long, and it had come to an end like this; you didn't only lose your lover tonight, you lost your friend.

MEI'S NOTE: uhm.. yeah idk what happened at luffy's part- but I hope you enjoyed ☺️💓

[slxsherwriter]

Not to say I told you so

Fandom: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Pairing: Thomas Hewitt x reader

Word count: 1,908

Warning: Canon typical violence, Hoyt being Hoyt, injury, cannibalism (mentioned in passing), blood, minor character death

Author's note: It's been a year since I've been around? Jeez. I hadn't meant to up and disappear. Life happened, as it often does and not only pulled me away but also stomped on any muse. It's been a while since I've written, but I received a burst of inspiration to finish this last evening. Hope everyone enjoys. There are some more things coming. The character list is also going to be revamped. As always, not beta read and mistakes are my own. Likes always appreciated but reblogs and comments help keep muse alive.

Tags: Uh, not sure if anyone would want to be tagged. Let me know.

Deep, slow breaths. In and out. The action was calming, and calming was just what you needed right now. Lord save you from the stubbornness of southern men. Now, did Hoyt and you always see eye to eye? Hardly. But, you also understood that, for the most part, his intentions were good when it came to protecting and helping the family. Sure, that would be very different from what most would accept as protecting and helping, but no one else was going to give a shit about any of you, so you all did what it took to survive. But, there were times, just like right now, that the man made you want to pull out every last strand of hair on your head.

Though, if it was any sort of consolation, the man looked like he was about ready to do the same. Or reach across the table and throttle you. If you weren't family and weren't important to Thomas, there wasn't a doubt in the world that he would be doing just that. Maybe it was because you had known him and the family for years that made it easier and more comfortable for you to challenge and not worry about being harmed.

“Listen,” you started slowly, your voice far more steady than before and far more calm. “I'm not saying that you are wrong or that it can't be done. I'm just saying how we go about doing this is the problem. Someone is going to get hurt. And as good as we've become patching up wounds, there are things that are beyond our skill. And I don't think anyone wants a repeat of what happened with Monte.” A small light of recognition flitted in his eyes, but the man was too prideful and stubborn.

“Well, it's a good thing I didn't ask for your opinion, sweetheart. Why don't you and Tommy just go to the basement and leave it all up to me, like it always is.” A frustrated groan escaped you before the sound could be stopped, and you looked to the ceiling as if asking God himself for some help. Not that any would come your way.

“No, you didn't. So, don't be a grouch when things don't work out the way that you want them to.” It was a nice way of saying don't be an asshole since as much as you wanted to say it, you couldn't bring yourself to do so.

You could feel Tommy’s presence not far behind you. No doubt he watched the exchange. He trusted Hoyt, but sometimes, he got a little overprotective of you when you and Hoyt went at it. Shoulders slumped and defeat conceded as much as your pride would allow. You walked over to the mountain of a man, whose eyes slipped to you almost as soon as you turned. A smile was quickly given to assure him that everything was fine. There wasn't any sure fire way to guarantee that. If the feeling in your gut was anything to go by, things were going to get messy. Quickly. It wouldn't just be Hoyt dealing with the consequences of his decision either. You all would. There was nothing to be done about that now. All you could do was be as prepared as one possible could be. Those thoughts temporarily slipped away when Thomas reached out, his large hand engulfing yours.

“It's okay, Tommy,” you soothed, voice not above a whisper. There was a sound akin to a grunt that came from him, but the issue wasn't pressed anymore. You both headed upstairs to your room instead, knowing that chaos would likely start soon.

********************************************************

Screams filled the night. The loud roar of the chainsaw rumbled out, attempting to overpower both physically and figuratively. The heavy, copper scent of blood tinged the air that entered your lungs. Not all from the prey that was meant to fill the freezer.

You had told Hoyt. Repeatedly. The couple he had set eyes on weren't a good choice. They had been looking at land not far from the Hewitt property. Lord only knew the reason that they were coming to a desolate town. You hadn't been too bothered listening to the story. The polite smiling and appropriate responses back had been muscle memory, an act that felt as mindless as breathing by now. He had been worried about them being too close. You had been worried about the military background of the man.

Then he had mentioned the friends that would be joining them. A little commune of sorts of veterans. The sort of shit that Hoyt wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole. That stubbornness had saved your lives. There was no doubt about that. But, that stubbornness would be what caused problems.

Oh, how right you were to be worried. This one wasn't going down without a fight. Nor were his two friends. In the explosion of violence that overtook the home, you had lost track of almost everyone. It had broken down so quickly that your head had spun. The first concern in your mind was getting Luda Mae out of dodge. Tommy and Hoyt would have to be the ones who handled the men, even if they were at a numbers disadvantage. You had managed to grab the older woman and just pull her out of the grasp of one of the men. It put you in the direct line of fire.

Luda had whacked at him with a frying pan, knocking him upside the head, but the blow had come too late. The men weren't looking to take hostages and escape. They were looking to kill. The shard of glass he had picked up from the basement dug deep into your side. Pain erupted and panic immediately welled up in your chest. No. Not like this.

The chainsaw roar reached your ears, and you hoped against hope that Tommy was making out better than you. He had to have at least one of them dealt with by now. Hoyt? Hopefully, he was on the other one.

The man was dazed from the hit to the head but not knocked out. He drew the glass back and went for your throat this time. It was only because you lunched forward to throw him off balance, did the strike miss, and cause the glass to be embedded in your shoulder. It was your own blood that lingered in the air this time. Another blow from Luda and survival instinct that caused you to latch onto the man's neck, hard, biting down with all of your might. The man struggled, but he was far more disoriented. Luda kept whacking away while you refused to ease the pressure of your jaw. Even as spots began to dance before your eyes. When you pulled back, flesh came with it, and blood sprayed.

The room spun, and your legs gave out, refusing to support your weight as the body in front of you dropped to the floor. You could hear the exclamation that came from Luda, but it was muffled. It took a lot of energy for you to push yourself back into the wall. Blood seeped from the wound on your shoulder but was more of a steady flow from the stab wound to your side. Tommy. The only thing in that moment that you so desperately wanted was the one man who brought peace to your world, who mattered more than anything else.

“Ah, shit. What happened, ma?” Hoyt appeared in the doorway, bloodied with a gash to his right arm but appearing overall none the worse for wear. He stepped towards you immediately, knowing that Tommy was still preoccupied with the last of the meat.

You glanced upward in time to see a worried look cross the face of Hoyt. Then he was scooping you up off of the floor. No matter how hard you tried in that moment, you couldn't stop the pained yelp that came.

“On the couch, now.” Muscles twitched and spasmed out of control, pain invading every sense and being the sole thing you were aware of right then and there. Everything else faded to the background before going black.

**********************************************

A warmth pressed to your forehead. Heavy and present. It was the first thing that you felt aware of as consciously filtered back. As you went to move it away, your hand found that it wasn't any cloth. A hand was pressed to your skin. Not just any hand. Large, calloused, scarred. Tommy. A small whimper came from your left. The pain. Every breath brought a screaming sense of agony to your side and your right arm.

“Tommy?” Another soft sound, halfway between a whimper and a grunt. His hand moved from your forehead to your cheek. His skin felt cool against yours. That never happened. Tommy was practically a human fireplace. He was always warmer than you.

“Tommy, ya gotta let ma change those bandages.” You could feel the way that his arm tensed, even as his touch remained soft. It was your signal to open your eyes. The room was bathed in the waning light of the day. You didn't know which day. Hoyt stood in the doorway, and Tommy was glaring daggers in his direction.

“It's okay…” A shiver wracked your frame before you could reach up. The movement brought his attention back to you. “Tommy, it's okay.” He looked so sad. The sort of sad that you hadn't seen on his face in years. Haunted and terrified. Nothing made Tommy look like that. It had to be bad.

“Glad to see you up, sweetheart.” Hoyt's voice was soft, and you couldn't quite make out his expression, only quickly glancing at him before refocusing on Tommy. He didn't say another word before silently leaving.

Tommy leaned down and pressed his forehead to yours. The soft sounds that came from him practically broke your heart. You tried your best to reassure him softly, but nothing seemed to ease that fear and sadness. He was blaming himself for you being hurt. There was no doubt in your mind. It wasn't his fault. You knew that. Logically, he couldn't be everywhere at once, dealing with the group.

“I'm here. I'm gonna be okay. None of this is your fault, Tommy.” A huff came from him. No, he wouldn't believe you. “I promise. I couldn't ask for anyone better to look after me than you. I love you.” His free hand took yours and carefully pressed it to his chest, over his heart. A returned sentiment without words.

“Honey, you're up.” Luda appeared, interrupting the soft moment. Just how long she had been standing there was a mystery. You were not going to ask about it. “I have some medicine you'll have to take for that fever. And we have to change those bandages. Tommy's gonna need to help get you moved around for it.”

“Okay.” You felt tired. Agreeing to what needed to be done, dutifully, you took the medication that was handed to you while Tommy helped you hold the glass of water. Your mind wandered, trying not to focus on the pain as your frame was shifted and Luda inspected and cleaned the wounds. You were alive. That was what mattered. Once you could get out of this bed, you were going to give Hoyt hell over the decisions. Maybe next time, he would listen to you.

[lady-of-ithilien]

Mundane facts character-building challenge!

Thank you so much for originating this idea and for tagging me, @ridingforrohan! I've been on vacation this week and haven't had time to sit down and write properly, but I've been really enjoying using the these sorts of headcanon and ask games as a way to more intentionally think about the characters I write for. Since I'm currently trying to get deep into Faramir's head for my WIP and for some of the sensory asks, I'll do him for this challenge.

1.) If your character had a go-to coffee order, what would it be? In the context of the setting their story takes place in, do they have a go-to morning drink? I don't think Faramir is a coffee (or even a tea) drinker, at least not consistently. If he can resist the temptation of the ring, he can also resist caffeine addiction; indeed, I think he wouldn't like to be dependent on any substance to bring him to full alertness and readiness in the morning (couldn't be me). Besides, I think he is semi-canonically a morning person, based on Sam and Frodo's interactions with him at Henneth Annûn, so I doubt he needs the energy boost anyways. I also imagine him as being rather practical and sparing, so with all of that said, I think he probably starts his day with a full, cold glass of water for the health and hydration benefits. If he had to choose a non-water beverage, for some reason I think he'd be into a V8-type vegetable or tomato juice on occasion; he says its because its full of vitamins, but I think he also just likes that it's very flavorful and a little bit different than the norm.

2.) Do they have a hair and skincare routine? If so are they consistent about it? I imagine Faramir does just the basics, but does them well so that he is always neatly groomed (at least, when his circumstances allow for it). He doesn't give much thought to his appearance beyond wanting to feel clean and put together; and indeed his grooming habits are first and foremost for his own comfort, rather than to impress anyone else. He washes his face morning and evening (when circumstances allow) and combs his hair at the same time. Given his Númenorian background, he never really grows much facial hair, but I imagine he'd neatly shave any stubble that does happen to grow. I think he is very consistent about all of this, as he is about most things.

3.) Does your character have a hobby or pastime?

Well, we know he loves to read and study. When he has the time for it, I think he enjoys reading obscure history texts, especially biographies of leaders he admires in Gondor and Númenor's past. He also reads a fair bit about military history, but not from a love of warfare or glory; rather from an abiding interest in tactics and strategy, and how he can learn from the past. I also think he enjoys poetry, particularly epic poems, and he memorizes portions of the lays that tell the history of the First Age. He recites them seldom, as he is not really one for performance, but a select few (Éowyn, on occasion; perhaps Beregond, and Boromir while he lived) have been able to cajole him into doing so (Éowyn secretly finds this habit of his very endearing, given the tradition of oral history among the Rohirrim). I also think Faramir is someone who takes pride in knowing nautral history (I've written about this in a previous headcanon ask); I think he knows the identities of most flora and fauna in Ithilien, and in the Fourth Age, I think he enjoys caring for the gardens of Emyn Arnen alongside Éowyn. Finally, I think he is one who prides himself on practical knowledge and self-sufficiency, and so despite his high station, I think he has picked up bits of trades such as mending, equipment repair, the care of horses, etc. He likes being able to apply these skills if he ever finds himself in need of them in the field; and he also takes pride in knowing how things are done. Alright, I think that's where I'm going to cut myself off for now, though I could keep going. Once more, thank you so much for the tag!! I will tag @frodosrings, @eodred, @dilettantefeminist, @hobbitwrangler, and @hobbitinnumenor (no pressure tags, if this interests you!)

[geekgirles]

Even though we all know it's eventually going to bring disastrous consequences for Amalia, I'm so glad she didn't just control her fight with Aurora since the very beginning, but that she got to call her out on her foolishness and undeserved arrogance. I was really getting ready to call bullshit had Aurora at some point gained the upperhand by some sort of "legitimate" skill of hers.

Because Amalia is absolutely right! She never stood a chance because, realistically speaking, she never should have!

Ever since she was first introduced in season 3, there has never been any indication that Aurora knows how to fight. In fact, I'd say there's never even been any indication that anyone in her family is actually skilled at combat. Ashdur seriously looked more like a bodybuilder or circus strongman than a warrior, for example.

(See?)

But Aurora especially seems to have been raised to be married off to some other nation's heir to act as his arm candy rather than an actual queen and partner capable of running a kingdom in her husband's absence. During the entire time we've known her, she's never displayed any leadership, diplomacy, or tactical skills, let alone battle prowress. We all know it; for the entirety of season 4 and the webtoon, she's done nothing but quietly and passively follow Armand around and then act snide towards Amalia alongside her father.

And how could we forget the one time she took proactive action, she immediately had to retreat because she was lightly struck by lightening, which, and I cannot stress this enough, amounted to a small burn on her hand?

(Most dramatic bird I've ever seen, I swear to God...)

Not to mention that at the first sign of things not going her way or taking a direction she doesn't approve of, her first instinct is either to stand powerless and cry about it or throw a tantrum and recklessly and impulsively throw herself headfirst into things without thinking about the possible consequences.

All the while treating Amalia like nothing but a spoiled brat that is beneath her and who she can easily dispose of. But as Amalia pointed out, due to her complete and utter lack of experience in the real world and inability to let go of her self-perceived importance and worth or even acknowledge her own mistakes and privileges, the only spoiled brat here is Aurora.

Meanwhile, Amalia's adventures have allowed her to grow in ways no other royal can even fathom. She learned to let go of her prejudices when she worked with Pandiego; learned to refuse to be cowed into submission and fight for what she believes in when she went against Armand's orders; aside from the ocassional tantrum that is mostly played for laughs, she values the people around her as much more than mere servants or how she can benefit from them; she's fought wars, faced monsters, dragons, and demigods, and an undead, unbeatable army of Wakfu-vampires; and, if that weren't enough, her position as Sadida Princess and later Queen, hence protector of the Tree of Life and Sadida Kingdom, already implies the entirety of the Sheran Sharms are taught the art of combat in order to fulfill their duties to their kingdom.

Which can be seen when Armand and King Oakheart were the first in line during the war against Nox back in season 1, and again against the Nécromes (in Armand's case). As opposed to the Osamodas King, who didn't just neglect to send troops to help the supposed allied nation his daughter ruled over, but said daughter went as far as confirming he barely ever leaves his cave, always delegating everything on members of his court.

In other words, even before she met Yugo, Amalia already was a Warrior Princess by virtue of her family and their devotion to their kingdom, while Aurora never evolved from spoiled princess. And the fact that she failed to take Amalia's real world experience into account, besides how vastly she overpowers her and her father, only highlights how her own ego and pride blind her to reason: she really never stood a chance.

In short? Will Amalia's bludgeoning of the Osamodas bring unfortunate consequences? Yes, most definitely. Did they deserve it? Abso-fucking-lutely.

[pokemontherapy]

I think I sort of get what the first anon was saying, there's a lot of lkdt compared to other horizons ships to the point where it sometimes feels overwhelming and inescapable and like no one cares about anything in hz but lkdt, I haven't seen many posts on Tumblr talking about wanting lkdt back but I have seen some so they definitely are out there, I mostly just scroll past and ignore them though

but in general, lkdt is kind of unavoidable now, when looking for fics on ao3 I've found lkdt fics in the tags for other pairings involving Liko and Dot - and I haven't checked in a while but there's barely any character study fics for Liko or Dot that aren't shipping them together. I've also seen lkdt shippers on here and on twitter post ship hate in the tags of other Liko or Dot ships, and again, I haven't checked in a while so I don't know if it's changed since mega voltage but last I looked it was impossible to find a Roy character study fic too because his only fics were as a supporting or background character in lkdt fics

I think it'd be nice to see some friendship fics or character study fics without there needing to be romance involved but that might just be my aroace ass talking

That’s honestly how I interpreted things as well!! Likodot is a great dynamic and it’s queer, which is Tumblr’s bread and butter, so it makes sense it would be popular. Honestly, with how little Horizons posts there are on Tumblr and how, for a time, every 3/4 posts were Likodot, I could see someone getting oversaturated with it. Heck, I did for a while.

It’s more on AO3; Liko/Dot is the most popular tag in Horizons, having 199 fics, and Liko & Dot has 46 fics, with only 17 of them not being crosstagged as Liko/Dot. Friede becomes the most tagged character if you remove Likodot from your search, and Dot goes from second to fifth. Likodot takes up ~ 2/5 of Liko’s fics (197/505 fics in total) and over half of Dot’s fics (190/341 fics in total), as of Jun 1 2025. For reference, Liko & Roy (the forth most popular dynamic and second most popular platonic one, after Liko & Dot) has 43 works, a little more than 1/8 of romantic Likodot. For someone who dislikes or is even neutral to/not searching for Likodot, this can make it insanely frustrating, especially if you’re looking for platonic fics.

I’ve actually had a pretty good run with Likodotters, in the sense that all I’ve met have been kind and respectful to me :D maybe it’s because I stay out of ship tags though.

A reason for the saturation in romantic content, at least for sites like Tumblr and Twitter, could be that there’s no real platonic duo / trio tags, so sometimes for organization purposes people will put fairly ambiguous art under their romantic tags; I’ve done that before, admittedly. The closest I’ve seen to platonic tags has once again been in the Ameliko fandom, with the tag #Liko and Amethio and the blog @liko-and-amethio. Maybe that could be a solution? I do agree there should be more platonic / friendship fics and character studies, as a fellow aroace (happy Pride Month btw!). AO3 has NO excuse though, that’s just amatonormativity / shipping culture at work.

Either way, the first step to change is doing something yourself. Write a character study! Draw the characters hanging out as friends! If you need to brainstorm, feel free to shoot an ask or DM me, even :D I love brainstorming. Also, I’m curious; what’s your favorite element of the Horizons dynamics (e.g. the RTV, Liko Roy and Dot, the trainers and Pokémon, etc.)?

[tellmegoodbye]

Hello everyone,

Happy LONE STAR DAY!!

I have a few housekeeping things to talk about before I return to our usual Music Monday format, but I know we're all excited for tonight so I will try to keep this brief.

If you would like to check out our playlist for the countdown event you can find that here.

Since we are getting new episodes now, I thought it would be a cool idea for a new way to participate in the tag. If you have a song that you relate to the new episodes, share them with us!

Please continue to refer to this post for any new Music Monday info, or if you just need a refresher on how the tag works.

Here's a quick overview of what Music Monday is for those of you who are new here. You share your songs that you relate to the show, its characters, storylines, fanfics, etc. All songs are added to their respective playlists and your explanations are added to the docs I have created for each playlist.

Reminder: Make sure to either tag me in your posts OR you can use the 911ls music mondays tag so that I can find and reblog your contributions.

Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, onto my songs for the week!

---

Leave Out All The Rest - Linkin Park

I dreamed I was missing You were so scared But no one would listen Cause no one else cared After my dreaming I woke with this fear What am I leaving When I'm done here?

Don't be afraid I've taken my beating I've shared what I've made I'm strong on the surface Not all the way through I've never been perfect But neither have you So, if you're asking me, I want you to know

When my time comes Forget the wrong that I've done Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed And don't resent me And when you're feeling empty Keep me in your memory Leave out all the rest

This song is a reflection on the way we live our lives and how we will be remembered when we're gone. When I think about these lyrics in the context of Lone Star, they could really apply to any character, but Gabriel is who specifically comes to my mind for this song.

To me, this is Gabriel's message to Carlos. He's spent a lot of time reflecting on his own mistakes and has struggled to express the love he has for his son, but he hopes that Carlos will remember him as someone who never stopped trying and who always strived to be better. He didn't always get it right, but he looks at Carlos and feels so much love and pride, and he wants Carlos to know that and to see that.

Zzyzx Rd. - Stone Sour

Propped up by lies and promises Saving my place as life forgets Maybe it's time I saw the world

I'm only here for a while But patience is not my style And I'm so tired that I gotta go

What am I supposed to hide now? What am I suppose to do? Did you really think I wouldn't see this through Tell me I should stick around for you Tell me I could have it all I'm still too tired to care and I gotta go

I'm over existing in limbo I'm over the myths and placebos I don't really mind if I just fade away

I'm ready to live with my family I'm ready to die in obscurity 'Cause I'm so tired that I gotta go

This is a song written from the perspective of someone struggling with addiction. The narrator addresses his loved ones with a sort of brutal honesty about his feelings towards life, but it's also a song about love and support at the same time. It's about someone who is there for you even when you're in your worst moments and can't see a way out.

This song reminds me of TK and Owen in s1. Owen is ready to do whatever he has to do in order to help TK, and TK lets him in as much as he can, but these lyrics are also an realistic viewpoint on the state of his mental health in the aftermath of his suicide attempt. He knows Owen loves him and is there for him, but he still needs to find that healing outside of that support.

Impossible - Nothing But Thieves

Love, it stings and then it laughs At every beat of my battered heart A sudden jolt, a tender kiss I know I'm gonna die of this And that's because

I could drown myself in someone like you I could dive so deep I never come out I thought it was impossible But you make it possible

I'll take the smooth with the rough Feels so fucked up to be in love Another day, another night Stuck in my own head but you pull me out You pull me out

I really hit y'all with a couple angsty gems today, so I should probably round this post out with a more upbeat song. This song screams Tarlos to me, and reminds me of the early days of their relationship where everything is new and overwhelming, but it also just feels right at the same time. They've come to that realization that what they have is something special, and that they might have found their soulmate. Before they met, such a notion felt impossible to them.

@strandnreyes @lemonlyman-dotcom @bonheur-cafe @heartstringsduet @herefortarlos

Tags!

@eclectic-sassycoweyes @literateowl @carlos-tk @paperstorm @guardian-angle22

@ironheartwriter @emsprovisions @sapphic--kiwi @whatsintheboxmh @firstprince-history-huh

@nancys-braids @captain-gillian @alrightbuckaroo @theghostofashton @sweettkstrand

@toomanycupsoftea @corsage @certifiedflower @goldenskykaysani @reeeallygood

+ open tag

please tell me if you would like to be added/removed from my tag list

[mysteriawrites]

Hi miss ma'am❗️❗️ I'm gonna ask for a Arcane matchup so get ready❤️❤️❤️❤️

for a run down; my names Luna, AFAB girlie and bisexual.

Personality wise, I'm a ISFP if that helps, I'm genuinely more quiet and observant but I warm up to people pretty quick, I like making people laugh and have an almost mom/wine aunt quality to me (witty much? Its all out if love), I'd say I'm a pretty optimistic person overall- I'm willing to listen to everyone and get an idea of other people's pov :)

For appearance, frame wise I'm pretty short (5'1") but plenty of muscle with added lean-curves, with that I do have chubby cheeks, dark brown eyes, pale skin, medium length wavy/curly black hair, i love wearing false lashes and ive got plenty of piercings (most of which I've all done myself), I'd dress pretty casual (I feel like I'd be from zaun) but I love any kind of jewelry (go to: hoop earrings+dangy ones, layered star and hamsa necklace) i thrift a lot of my clothes so I end up with a lot of 2000's-2010's pieces.

hobbies/likes i got; i love pot, if I'm gonna learn to cook/bake you better I can make mean edibles, I like drawing (getting into tattooing soon), i thrift like a menace, listening to music (I like everything but rn I'm really into bôa, jack off Jill, kali uchis, Bjork and Tyler the creator), knitting & crochet, and I used to do sparring/boxing (haven't had much time now).

Hope that's enough info, and remember 2 take your time mama. Xoxo

Hello thx for the request! I got a little carried away lol. Enjoy!

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

JINX!!!

You and Jinx have a sort of opposite attracts kind of thing going on. You may be more on the quiet side, but that’s what attracted her to you.

She feels as if you won’t judge her for being who she is and can have an actual conversation with you.

Ever since Jinx came to live with Silco, you and her have been inseparable. Best friends and rulers of the under city.

You protected her whenever Sevika would get mad at her, you would get into hi-jinx (hehe pun) and shenanigans together, you would hold her when the nightmares were too real or the voices were too loud.

However, eventually she started to push you away and shut you out. She was afraid you would leave her old family did and the thought of losing you hurt her more than anything.

And when her sister came back with a strange woman she didn’t know what to think.

You tried so hard to patch things up with her, but you couldn’t seem to reach her. Until the night she almost died.

You screamed and cried and held her in your arms until Silco arrived. When the doctor operated to save her it made you sick to see her through all that pain but you stayed and held her hand.

The first thing she saw when she woke up was you. And that’s how she knew you were the one and vowed to never leave you again.

It was also what gave into part of her decision to lay low after the attack on piltover. She didn’t want to jeopardize your relationship and just wanted a quiet life with you.

After the events of season 2 (we’re gonna pretend no one died) you two start a quiet life in the under city and try your best to make things better.

You, her, and echo work on inventions and fundraisers to help the people of Zaun.

You guys adopted Isha and now she’s your daughter.

You braid and color each other’s hair and isha’s too.

The three you have family baking days. Sometimes you bake edibles but only when Isha’s out with her god mother Sevika or her Aunts Vi and Caitlyn

Yes Sevika is the godmother fight me

You guys get high together on dates sometimes.

Make out while being high.

You spar together which sometimes end in make out sessions.

You teach Isha some self defense moves to protect herself.

You make crochet gifts for your little family and they wear them with pride.

You all go thrifting together and play dress up pretending to be royalty.

You have little dance parties in the street blasting your favorite songs.

You and your wife Jinx shall lead Zaun to a brighter future.

[hallowpen]

The plan was to start watching The Sign by divvying up the series into two episodes per day until I could finish. Well…that plan went completely out the window and I ended up binge watching the entire thing in one go. So, as I try to gather my thoughts, I wanted to sort of get my feelings out there on what I thought was an incredible show before I finally unfilter the tags (as to avoid any outside influence on my opinion).

Let me preface this by saying that this is going to be an incredibly bias opinion given my cultural upbringing and background (I'm half-Thai and I've spent almost half of my life living in Thailand), so please take that into account before reading any further. I metaphorically removed my western-lensed glasses while watching this series and preferred to watch as a Thai viewer, which probably made the more confusing or difficult parts of the show a lot easier to swallow. So, yes, I will admit that the show was not perfect by any means, but I was able to overlook a lot of its shortcomings given the parts that had been done so well and what this series could mean for Thai QL media going forward.

My goddess, where do I even start…

I'm a sucker for the reincarnated/fated lovers trope, so the show had me before it even started. What I absolutely loved the most about the romance and the A+ chemistry was that it didn't dominate or singularly drive the story, which was refreshing to see. It gave room to explore the fantasy/mythological elements of the show, the investigatory plotlines (which we'll get to later), and the relationships of the characters surrounding the "main leads".

Episode 3, my beloved, was what solidified my trust in this series and served as the foundation for the personalized experience I curated in my continued viewing. First off (and a bit of a side note), seeing Yoshi show up as Sand just made my heart super happy. I've been following her off and on since 2018, and she was one of the only things I actually liked about หมอ มือ ใหม่… but I digress. Behind the main story (and maybe even because of it), this episode was, for all intents and purposes, a love letter to Thai culture and its religious mythology. Which, when you consider how much international draw a BL series can hold, is truly momentous. International viewers got to experience the Bang Fai Phayanak (the naga fireball festival) that occurs every Wan Ok Phansa (the last day of what is considered Buddhist Lent) and the significance it holds over Thai history and culture. Using this as the stepping stone to establish the importance of the series' reliance on naga folklore…brilliant! The episode was also the viewers' introduction to the Buddhist idea of the cyclical intermingling of karmic fates. How the implications of an interdependence on one fate more than the others would later define the relationship between Phaya, Tharn, and Chalothorn…genius! All of this!? In one episode…of a BL!? I was overwhelmed by a sense of cultural gratitude and pride, that I still can't quite shake. I think Saint knew exactly what he was doing when he chose to adapt this series and I love him even more for it.

Aside from the cultural dependency and relevance, the show delivered so much beyond that as well. The production quality sailed high above previous BL standards and, in turn, lent itself to beautiful visuals and cinematography.

The casting! Billy and Babe's chemistry was just so *chef's kiss*. I knew Billy would absolutely smash it in the role of Phaya, but I often forgot that this was Babe's first ever acting role. It was an undertaking, that you could tell, he did not take lightly. Heng!? Wow! What a performance! He's been a staple in every Idol Factory series thus far, but he really nailed the purely villainous role of Chalothorn. Gap as Yai? No notes. He was able to flesh out what could have been a very one-dimensional character. Tack and Poom as Khem and Thongtai were a welcome levity inbetween, what was otherwise, a more weighty plot.

If I had to address any gripes I had with the series, there were only two that really stood out:

1) I wish the moments/conversations between Tharn and Chalothorn that eventually led to Tharn's return hadn't happened off-screen. There was a lot left to be resolved that could have been explored in that instance. But using my own inference based on Tharn as a character, his relationship with Chalothorn, and the core of his personality, I could kind of piece together how that ending came to be.

2)The lesser intriguing elements of the investigation storylines were shaky, at best. (If you were looking for the show to have a firm western-influenced ACAB agenda, then I'm sorry to say you were setting yourself up for disappointment. As much as I selfishly wanted it to be, this series was never going to be that show, it's a Thai drama.) From a Thai perspective, it made sense that the "copaganda" aspect of the series focused on the incompetency and inefficiency of a police force where justice is often informed by wealth and greed. I got an idea of what the show's stance on the matter was supposed to be but the overall plot and its consistency got lost somewhere within the final execution.

Other than that, I was left feeling satisfyingly content with where the series landed and I will continue to highly recommend it. It's easily one on my top five favorite Thai BL dramas and just Thai dramas in general! And…

There is such a rich history of mythology and folklore left for the show to still sink its teeth into: the garuda of it all, the pre-existing feud between the naga and garuda and why that is… Aside from a few minor specificities that were missing from naga folklore (their exclusion didn't really detract from anything, but it could have served to benefit non-Thai viewers), all of that could be addressed in a second season. Which, at this point, seems pretty likely 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾 and would be HUGE in the BL world.

PLEASE, LET IT HAPPEN! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[thestalkerbunny]

I’m so interested in your slashers! Do you have any more art or specifics for their stories?

I've got a Few unfinished works

KINDA LONG but it's got a lot of JUICY DETAILSSSS.

Plus a BONUS SLASHER I FORGOT TO MENTION.

-The Handler and Fursuiter have been known to spare victims, often time only taking what they need; that usually being a leg. Handler has gotten alarmingly skilled at amputation with a high success rate. Handler does the cutting, Fursuiter does the sewing. They'll often let the victim pick which one if they're feeling kindly.

-They travel cross country in a shitty van. They rarely settle in one place and their often choice to crash is seasonal cabin homes; places that have fully functional amenities such as showers, toilets, working stoves and fridges. If it's an off season for the area they may hang around for a month or two.

-They are both roughly in their 30s possibly approaching 40 in a few years. For Killer Cannibals, they're actually alarmingly smart about how they go about things and have an entire retirement contingency in plan should one of them get injured to the point where 'hunting' their food is no longer a viable choice.

-Calvin 'Prom King' Black's father is actually a well known boxer in the area who tours the country. Although estranged from the family-Calvin knows how to efficiently fight thanks to him. So imagine you think you've disarmed the revenant slasher by knocking their weapon away only to get squared up on by a guy who actually knows how to throw a very solid punch.

-According to the school's legend, The Prom King and Queen always inevitably shack up after prom and become a couple. This sort of tradition is almost like a point of pride. However, Calvin, being a homosexual, rebuffed these advances rather quickly.

-Calvin's nomination to Prom King was actually sort of rigged. The student council at the time was sick and tired of the same popular people getting voted in as Prom Royalty and decided to secretly promote 'one of the lesser known members of the student body'. That being Calvin whose hobbies included skipping gym to smoke behind the building, reading Syfy Novels and having bad skin. None of it was actually done in malice, they genuinely believed they were doing Calvin a kindness.

-Calvin was around 19 when he was murdered-20 if he had lived to see the next summer.

-Mortimer is Collage aged (around 19.) but has yet been able to go due to financial issues/his dad favoring his sister over him/his dad being a general ass hat. If he could, he'd study psychology or art.

-Mortimer is trans, AFAB. His transition was poorly received by his immediate family who insisted on dead naming him at every turn and it began to look more and more ridiculous on their part the more masc Mortimer gradually became over time.

-His favorite movies are The Craft, Jennifer's Body, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Ginger Snaps.

-Mortimer's mother currently resides at a psych hospital where she receives assisted care for her condition. Mortimer hasn't seen her in years.

-The Original concept for Ephriam was shortly after X was released where I wanted a more.....visually appealing killer to stumble on a porn set. (The Mormonism is non-canonical) And has the aspects most of the fandom loves in a Slasher. Built af, scuffed up, long hair, scary face, Tits to die for and often times a quiet disposition.

-Ephriam's family farm actually used to be a site for satanic sacrifices in the 60s and was abandoned in the 80s. This resulted in the area being a bit abnormal as well as Ephriam's sort of unconventional physical appearance and his survival of what should have been a fatal gunshot wound to the face. While it has no effect on his parents aside from them being in pretty good health for an older couple-Ephriam who has been drinking from the well water and eating the pigs they slaughtered on the property since he was born, resulting in a healing factor for him, enhanced strength and other perks.

-The area where they take the pigs for slaughter is abnormal as the pigs will willingly lay down on what appears to be a naturally occurring slab and fall into a slumber that they do not wake up from, making slaughter rather humane. Ephriam's family used this spot for slaughter because of the angle of the stone, the fact it was near the house and is a good wide surface to clean the pigs and carve them up. Invertedly-Ephriam and his family are sacrificing animals to hellish entities that reward them with good health (though they haven't made that connection yet, they just all chalk it up to luck and good clean country living.)

BONUS TIME:

These two don't have names yet.

-He's not really a slasher-though he does KILL Slashers. Mainly since his twin sister is often targeted by Slashers since she's a hot girl in a sorority at a big name collage.

-They were conjoined twins at birth. REALLY conjoined. And it was only sheer LUCK that the doner parts came through to keep them both alive at the time. They've both undergone numerous surgeries over the years to repair and replace parts. The Boy opted out of the surgeries eventually because he was so tired of it all while his sister doubled down and looks much more human thanks to plastic surgery.

-It's a concept of Killers always attack sororities; plot twist incel-There's already a 6'9 guy welding a knife ready to defend his sister to the death hanging out in the kitchen. You really gonna try your luck? Gonna try and kill these girls cause you have unresolved issues with women not liking you. Gotta get through THIS DUDE FIRST. (and he has put down QUITE a few. Not just for his sister's sorority.)

-He's actually good friends with his sister's sorority. They view having him around as having scary dog privileges. His unique face is a bit of a shock at first, but they've become very comfortable with him being around. Very much a 'NO BOYS ALLOWED.....except for him, he's very very polite to us.' vibe at this Sorority.

-She's studying fashion and design while he's opting for the trade course (Welding, car repair, etc. etc.) Though if he chose to, he could very easily make very high marks in any field he chooses.

[raayllum]

not sure if you've been asked this before, but do you think callum will do dark magic a third time or more? do you think his arc is in any way building towards him coming to terms with it as a concept or will he continue to reject it on principle?

I've talked a little bit about S6 specific predictions and I do think there will be something along the lines of Callum reconciling his dark magic use with his identity (aka that those things don't have to be opposing, as long as those aspects feel/become understood to him) but...

I think the tricky thing is that there's a lot of elements at play all wrapped up in each other. A few things to get out of the way:

Dark magic has two main purposes in the story. The first is as a literal magic source (practical, usable, more unlimited in comparison to primal magic in some ways). The second is what it represents theme wise (desperation, short term power and agency vs long term lack of agency and subsequent powerlessness, destruction and vulnerability).

For most of his life, all Viren saw was the short term power and gain. Obviously we know he did something awful to save Soren, but we don't get the indication that sort of thing happened... More? We see from Claudia that there's lots of casual uses for dark magic and that Viren likely did so as well (needing to use his butterflies on a semi-regular basis for spells off screen). The next time we see a "dark magic to save a personal loved one" is the soul switching gimmick for Harrow, which is part of why Harrow, I think, shows up in Viren's dreams:

But as Viren says, going to sacrifice himself for King Harrow is his attempts at returning to form, to "I need to be the man he once believed I was." A Viren who was more selfless if not also as idealistic as a dark mage can be. Because in the years since healing Soren, Viren steadily lost himself and lost sight of protecting his children ("You're going to be okay now, that's all that matters" / "But Dad, Soren could've died!" "That doesn't matter!"). That's not to say he was morally irrefutable before, but he genuinely cared for his children and prioritized them. Finding his way back in S5 is what his journey is all, ultimately, about. Coining Kpp'Ar and getting his job ("His death creates opportunity for you") was the inciting incident - seemingly? arguably? - that set him on the "I always knew you'd go far, but I didn't know how far you'd go to get there. [...] You made the same choice you always made: the one that gives you power." Because power, not family, is what poisoned Viren's head — and why only by removing it does it have clarity; only by choosing powerlessness does he have freedom from Aaravos (at least in theory).

V: My whole life I've been chasing after things I didn't have. Status, influence, power. Maybe I should stop.

While Viren rejecting dark magic is ultimately a good for him, I do wonder what he would've done if faced with "kill Sir Sparklepuff to spare Claudia's life" > "kill Sir Sparklepuff to save yourself". He may have indeed made the same choice, now being more cognizant and also fearful of the bloodprice Harrow had spoken of, how dark magic always tends to inevitably have Consequences no matter how delayed, but it definitely would've been a different sort of choice.

With that in mind, I say all this to outline that Callum is starting from a fundamentally different place with dark magic and his loved ones. Like Viren he has pride, but Callum overall has very little ego. He doesn't crave notions of status (if anything he's typically uncomfortable with it) nor is just 'power' a desire for him. If he desires power, if he desires magic, then he does so out of a desire of agency, not self-importance or recognition. Callum doesn't want to be admired in an attempt to feedback-loop prove that he subsequently has worth. He wants to be tangibly useful; he wants to helpful.

One of the confines/constraints of the way arc 2 is structured is that we don't get much of Callum's feelings about dark magic use pre-the reveal it allows Aaravos to possess him. While he rejects it and mandates that it's wrong in S2, of course, he is still tempted by it and the potential 'good' it could do. He rejects being a Dark Mage™️ and refuses to have that as his primary form of magic > primal magic, but — as I've said before — that's different than ever rejecting doing dark magic ever again. That's different than swearing off this would ever be an option you turn to. I

A life with no dark magic is undeniably Callum's canonical preference, as far as usage and existence goes. That's clear to surmise even post-S2. But still, as soon as he used it, I always figured that if put into that kind of situation again — Ezran or Rayla's life on the line, and this was the only way to keep them safe — he'd do it. And then he does (5x08).

However, 5x08 does add important context to Callum's feelings about dark magic. Although I think he probably would've said everything he said to Finnegrin in 5x08 even without the possession bomb ("I'm not a dark mage. I don't do dark magic!" and his refusal even under torture), it's undeniable that learning his dark magic use allows Aaravos to possess him has rattled him. It's not clear how much of his staunch aversion is because now he knows the full consequences, compared to how he might behave if he didn't know it leaves him open to Aaravos, but I think the knowledge here, accordingly, is a burden and just makes all of it worse for him.

In 2x07, Callum didn't know the full potential consequences of his actions, if in fearful imagination and nothing else. But because of 4x04, he does:

C: I'm not afraid that he'll hurt me. I'm afraid that he'll use me to do awful things, or hurt people I care about. [...] I'm afraid, Rayla. What if I'm on a path of darkness?

(We'll return to the "path of darkness" concern in a moment, but pin in it for now.)

The tricky thing, though, is that if you have a character say they'll Never do something, and then they do it (and for a good reason), it's very hard to convince the audience that they'll really never do it again. There are ways to — Rayla said she'd never abandon or kill for her family (Bloodmoon Huntress), then she did abandon Callum (for an understandable but not a good reason, though, I might add), and now we're working on being convinced (painstakingly slowly) that she can learn how to stay — and this could be the route they take with Callum. But unlike Viren, I don't think Callum has as much of a lesson to learn surrounding dark magic because he's always used it for genuinely good reasons and with full awareness of his actions. He doesn't lie to himself over it (he doesn't have Viren's greater good schtick nor interest in it) and it was in literal life-or-death situations.

Viren needed to change because his dark magic use escalated in the de-prioritization of his kingdom but — more importantly to his interpersonal development — his immediate relationships and family bonds. Thus far, Callum's shown no hint of that, and I'm not sure that he will, given that interpersonal relationships — not glory or the greater good — are his primary motivations in all things, usually, but especially when it comes to dark magic.

Therefore, I don't think Callum's issue (as it stands now; S6 could make him start to go on a Viren "I can sacrifice my loved ones path by proxy of paranoia") is as much "I have to reject dark magic and subsequently de-prioritize my personal relationships" because... Him loving less is not the solution, to me. He should be prioritizing his personal relationships. Even, unfortunately, to these current extremes.

When Callum states he's scared that he's on a path of darkness in 4x07, it is a little odd, mostly because at that point there's not much to indicate — at least not as much interpersonally (because as an audience member I was screaming crying throwing up) with the knowledge we had at the time — as to why. He was obsessed with the mirror and Soren warned him not to be like his dad ("My father was obsessed with it. Callum, I know you love magic, but be careful. Cause it can change people") over it, but his primary concern seems to be from what Aaravos has told him: "Already tainted by darkness, and destined to play right into my hands." Those are all external forces/warnings, and they worry him. S5, specifically 5x08 I think, is when we see the big internal shift there.

But I do think the "What if I'm on a path of darkness" and his doubt when Rayla reaffirms otherwise is important, because it plays into his tendency to tunnel vision. He's afraid of the dark because in that moment, and in some ways in 5x08, it feels like it's all he can see.

With that in mind, I think Callum's arc will maybe not be a Relinquishing of dark magic entirely, but dismantling the systems/circumstances in place (through acquirement of more primal magic) so that he has less need of it, and a reminder that he Also has Light inside him, too. Dark and light reconciled — for worse and for better.

[readingoals]

A little while ago I had the idea to make a little tier list of all the Frankenstein books I've read. And since I'm intending to read a bunch of Frankenstein books over the next month, I thought now was a good time to actually post it!

The tiers go from Fearless and Therefore Powerful down to Nothing is so painful to the human mind. And I've included an explanation about where I put each book under the cut. As I read more I'll add to the graphic!

Fearless and therefore powerful

Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel

I put this one in the top tier because I think Kessel has done a really remarkable job blending two classic stories (Frankenstein and Pride and Prejudice). He manages to keep things within the same tone as Frankenstein but the Pride and Prej characters never feel out of place. It's also just a really interesting concept for a sequel of sorts to the two classics.

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

McGill fucking gets it! This gets into the top tier because they did such an incredible job taking the original concept of Frankenstein and then expanding it to explore women's roles and queer identities and other forms of prejudice. Also dinosaurs! Absolutely no notes, please read this if you get the chance.

A mind of moderate capacity

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

This book is good and plays with the Frankenstein mythology in a really interesting way to explore the Iraq war. I put in the second tier purely because I think the execution lacked something, though I could see myself potentially moving it up on a re-read.

Victoria Frankenstein's Monster Cock by Broken Arrow

It feels wrong for me to put this book beside Frankenstein in Baghdad but what else am I meant to do? This book achieves what it sets out to do, and that thing is monster smut. It's not deep, it's not particularly intricate, but it is fun and not badly written lmao. It would be disingenuous to put it lower.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

I've also put this one in the second tier. It plays with Mary Shelley and her contemporaries in a fun and interesting way, transporting them to the 70s and creating a murder mystery around them.

Spare Parts

Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson

Most people put this in an F tier which I think is fair - the main character is a trans man but the trans rep in this is offensive at least and kinda terfy at worst, and the one non-white character is a two-dimensional racist sterotype. Winterson (as far as I know, a white cis woman) is, at the very best, wildly misinformed. So, yes, absolutely do not give this book the time of day. However, there is something here. Beyond the shitty charactisations, there is something that could have been incredible.

This book is split in 2 parts. One part is from Mary Shelley's perspective as she writes Frankenstein and, from what I can recollect, they were the best parts. She captures Shelley in such a heart wrenching way. If it had been a novella of just Shelley's sections, it would have been at the top of this list. The second part is set in Brexit Britain and deals with AI. It's a fascinating concept, and I think in the hands of someone else this could have been incredible. The parallels drawn between creating life and AI could have been powerful. And, had the author bothered to talk to any trans men and do any real research, I think introducing these ideas from someone outside of the gender binary would only have enhanced the conversations. So it's going in the spare parts tier, because you could harvest this book for parts and create something incredible from them.

An Accumulation of Anguish

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorn

Monster fucker porn is one thing, but it's another when it's badly done and, apologies to Ms Thorn, but I think this is badly done. The story became over complicated and bogged down in unnecessary side plots that added nothing to the romance or the exploration of the Frankenstein story.

[emotional-support-demon-crowley]

Hello there

I really hope that you're having a great day and taking care of yourself. (Hugs)

Here are some requests for the ask game:

1 for "Is not that Strange?" (Newt or Anathema perspective, perhaps?); 2; 3; 7; 16; 17; 23; 28; 35: Are you working on anything at the moment?

Hello! I'm happy the weekend is here and I have plans to enjoy it. I hope you're doing well! Thank you so much for the lovely asks.

1. Write a scene from 'Is Not That Strange?' in Newt or Anathema's POV:

In the interest of time, I promise I will answer this, I've already got some ideas, but I'll need to slot it into my writing schedule, so it'll take me a hot minute. I'll reblog this post with the results when it's done.

2. Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

'Unfallen' is always going to have a very special place in my heart specifically because I didn't believe I could finish a story until I managed to write that one. Nothing else would have been possible if 'Unfallen' hadn't rattled around in my brain demanding to be let out.

After that, I think either 'Terminus' because I was really happy with how it came together and how well it was received, or 'Is Not That Strange?' for being something that was both playing with tropes but also new and interesting for me.

3. What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3?

So in checking on the answer for this one, I've had to come to terms (yet again) with the fact that I am really shit at tags. But here's some sort of an answer:

Mind Manipulation - when I first started out, most of my stories had some sort of memory shenanigans

Crowley Forgets Aziraphale in self-defense - this is entirely due to my post-season 2 series since each entry gets tagged with it

Fluff/Mostly Fluff - I've found that any time I dip a toe in angst I need to write an excess of fluff to reset my brain chemistry

7. Coffee or tea while you write?

Mountain Dew when I write, almost exclusively.

I do like tea but I tend to drink it at work where I can get it for free.

I'll drink coffee, but I like my coffee like I like my alcohol - I don't want to taste the base ingredient.

16. What do you struggle with most when writing?

The easy answer is focus. I have raging ADHD and whenever the words aren't flowing easily, my brain is seeking easier sources for dopamine without checking in with me first. To help avoid that, I do things like setting my phone out of reach and opening my writing in a separate window so I don't see all the other tabs with their notification counts, which... helps some.

There are parts of the actual writing that I feel like I'm not as skilled at as others, but I wouldn't call those struggles. They're just things that I'm working on challenging myself to improve.

17. What is something you recently felt proud of in your writing?

This might seem odd, but I'm actually really proud of the fact that I'm taking the wonderful editing I get from @mythosandsuch and carrying his suggestions forward into my first draft work. Basically, as he's taken up the job of helping improve my stories, I noticed trends with some of his feedback. Specifically, there were things that I was doing pretty consistently and by working on changing those habits both in the first draft process and in my initial editing, it's making my writing stronger.

I know from experience that editing can be a really hard job and I will forever be grateful for the time and effort that @mythosandsuch puts into making my writing shine.

Seriously, beyond the regular mundane editing and invaluable feedback, at least once a chapter he finds a very silly mistake that I'm grateful got caught before the posting stage.

23. What's a story you'd love to write but haven't even started yet?

This is tough. I fall in and out of interest with stories in a way that I have almost no control over. I have small scene ideas that are really gripping, but if I haven't fleshed out a whole outline around it yet, the idea as a whole doesn't really get under my skin and demand to be written.

I have a time travel story that has some interesting elements. There's a vampire AU that I've been poking at an outline for, but the final battle and resolution is too vague for me to lock in on it. Truthfully, I have a bunch of folders of ideas and whenever I finish something I go poking around hoping one of them will catch my eye.

28. What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

I had one where Crowley was an incorporeal spirit who was drawn to places where people were about to die, but he had almost no ability to save them, which was such a horrible way to exist that he thought it must be some sort of punishment. No one who isn't deceased ever saw him until he met Aziraphale because someone was stabbed behind the bookshop. Since Aziraphale can see him, he convinces Crowley to let him help him try to save people. Crowley is hesitant from the start and though they do manage to save some of the people together. But as Crowley feared, Aziraphale ends up in harms way and badly injured a few times in the process. At one point, Aziraphale is hurt so bad it seems like he might die and he believes maybe this is a way they can finally be together. That was not the resolution of the situation because Crowley has been keeping secrets about who he used to be...

There was more to it than that, but the whole story was just angst and pining all the way down. Plus, you know, unknown strangers in mortal peril. I started writing the first chapter, but there really wasn't room for the type of humor I like to have in my stories and when I realized how far into the negative emotions I would need to wade to finish it, I concluded it would make me miserable to try to write it.

35. Are you working on anything at the moment?

I am! None of my big ideas caught my attention when I sat down to write again after I finished posting my last fic, so I decided to knock out the next entry in my series 'Till the Hurting is Done'. I figured those are usually a few thousand words, I could easily finish it in a few days-a couple of weeks at most! Now I'm watching the word count confidently approaching the 20k mark. But I'm happy to follow where the story needs to go.

In the series as a whole, after Season 2, Crowley decided to pull a Jim and get rid of his memories. He just decided to only forget the ones that included Aziraphale specifically. Problem is, the outcome is a little less stable than Crowley expected. In one of the earlier entries, Warlock showed up and Anthony, the name he prefers post memory dump, doesn't recognize the boy, but feels a strong desire to try to help him.

In the entry I'm working on now, Warlock has returned to Whickber Street. He's ready to accept the offer of help because he can't stop thinking about the man who is the spitting image of the nanny who disappeared with the family gardener the night before Warlock's eleventh birthday.

--

My thanks again for taking the time to engage. I enjoy taking a little break to write about my process. And I will get you the scene you requested as soon as I can.

[sinclair-wax-fan]

I’m thinking about how neither Bo nor Vincent is “the older twin”—because they would have been born via c-section.

I’m also thinking about what it must have been like to be Trudy—almost certainly doing a home birth and possibly not knowing she was having twins.

(The newspapers on the wall of the Wax Museum say “expecting first child” not children--despite Trudy being *heavily* pregnant in the photo.)

From what I can tell just from a quick google, ultrasound machines would have been pretty new technology in the early 1970’s and not widely available—certainly not available to a single doctor working independently of a hospital.

And if Victor was fool enough to preform the twins separation surgery himself, I have no doubt he was handling his wife’s pregnancy all on his lonesome. I think he did her c-section himself in the small operating room we see in the movie, although he must have had an anesthesiologist he regularly worked with on call--there's here’s no way he could have administered anesthetic and preformed the c-section at the same time.

I imagine they were originally planning your traditional "at home birth" when things went south. The anesthesiologist was originally only planning to administer an epidural, which were just gaining popularity at the time--so when Trudy began to crash badly enough, it must have been either "we operate now or risk losing her on the long drive to the hospital." Since c-sections were only used in like 10% of pregnancies at this time, with Trudy being in bad shape mentally and physically during the birth, and there only being two medical personnel on hand--I imagine they had to put Trudy all the way under for the c-section.

(I imagine typically only small surgeries that could be done under local anesthetic were preformed in Victor's office--always with a booked appointment—but they did keep the materials for general anesthetic on hand for emergency situations.)

I know Victor’s status as licensed doctor is circumspect due to Bo’s creative story telling. I think there's a kernal of truth in history but it's been hammed up because Bo is dramatique.

I've been playing with the idea of Trudy and Victor originally starting in the north, with Victor being from a wealthy family in New York state. He did loose his license—for preforming abortions under the table for women from other wealthy families. (And also at least one for his wife.) Being wealthy, he was able to avoid jail time—and when abortion was decriminalized in 1970 in New York State, he had enough influence to get his license restored and his record expunged.

Unfortunately, his reputation was in tatters. I image that his family was catholic and—while Victor wasn’t practicing—his parents were prominent members of their church. He had embarrassed them greatly, and his marriage to a poor uncouth midwestern Protestant woman (despite her converting in an effort to win their approval) know for being something of a bohemian didn’t help matters.

So, when Victor heard through the grape vine that the son of a friend of a friend was starting a new business venture in Louisiana—a sugar mill with an accompany town for the workers--and they were looking for a company doctor, well, who doesn’t like a new beginning?

So, by the time he got down to Ambrose he was fully licensed, operating a sort of dual "company doctor/private practice" roll in Ambrose, and was granted the ability to admit patients to the closest emergency hospital in Baton Rouge.

So the twins were born in their home--but pretty much immediately rushed to the hospital (along side Trudy) post birth.

It was several weeks of observation in the hospital for the twins. It ended with Victor insisting on being allowed to preform the twins' separation. He refused to give consent to allow any other surgeon to operate on them and convinced Trudy "no one else will do as good as job as I will because I'm their father."

But really it was just professional pride.

Still, Victor was good at his job and the twins were successfully separated.

Unfortunately, he was not nearly as competent a father as he was a surgeon.

[forsakenqueer]

Two things I wanna know! (feel free to ignore obviously ^^ )

What are your top 5 favorite characters and why are they your favorite? Could be current favorites, favorites over the years that you still like, favorites in general, etc. Also any media

And/or gimme 1-5 of your ocs - whether they're your favorite, most recent, the one you've been having fun with recently, etc. Tell me some fun facts about them, and why you picked them!

Hope you're having a great day/night - and remember to stay hydrated!

Sorry it took me so long to answer I got excited and thought about it really hard and then didn't do it lol

I'm just going to do off sort of the top of my head because if I try to do all time I really will never get this done.

Favorite characters:

1. Kon-El/Superboy

There's probably some recency bias here because I just finished his 90s run but anyway- The thing about Kon is that it would have been really easy for me to dislike or only tolerate him, mostly because when he was created the chauvinism and misogyny in comics was really on full display and his run in particular does NOT help with that. However, I actually ended up really loving Kon. The thing that won me over was that no matter what Kon always sets out to do what he thinks is the right thing. And it doesn't matter who's against him or what it is, he's going to go out and do it. Now obviously this hastiness and recklessness causes some issues, but it always stems from a place of good intentions. His pride and dignity mean a lot to him, but he's still willing to wound both in order to make up for mistakes he makes. Kon makes mistakes, but he always works his ass off to do better.

2. Leonard "Bones" McCoy

I always love a character who is willing to break the rules placed on them in order to follow their own moral code, and while a whole lot of characters do that in Star Trek, I like McCoy maybe the best. The grumpy guy who cares so so much about other people character is like prime blorbo to me. Bones is always having such a bad day out in space but he's still in it to help people. Plus him and Spock are always so fun to watch interact and try to out-bitch each other

3. Stephanie Brown

She's so much an example of wasted potential I would almost assume it was really good on purpose character writing if it weren't actually because she's a female character in DC comics. She is again and again acknowledged as talented and determined and driven. Cass acknowledges her potential and Bruce says she could be as good as or even better than Tim with proper training, but no one gives her a chance long enough to get there. She doesn't get to raise her daughter because of her father. She gets tortured by Black Mask, escapes, and dies. She has been beaten to hell by the narrative and had her characterization whipped all around and she's still hanging on. For every stupid sexist thing DC pulls on her I'm determined to love her twice as hard.

(It's been over two weeks since I typed the first half of this.)

4. Vash the Stampede

I again really love characters who can't catch a break and also characters who have a very strict moral or personal code they adhere to throughout everything. Vash's refusal to kill and his refusal to give up on believing in humanity paired with his horrible experiences and depression and struggles with his own existence make a story that really speaks to me. He's so goofy but he's also just permeated by this unshakeable sadness. Trigun, to me, as a series, has done one of the best jobs I've ever seen of portraying emotions in such a way that they feel real and that made me feel very connected with the characters.

Also side note: half the time whenever you reblog pictures of that guy from the tangled cartoon or whatever it is (Varian?) I tend to think it's a stylized Vash for a second before I'm like oh no wait it's that guy

5. Cissie King-Jones

I feel she's a very interesting character, and I like the way that how she's handled is very different from how you might expect it to go. I think it's very cool to have a character who quits superheroing as a result of sort of her own moral ideas and standards for what a hero should be and then sticks with it. Because like all the core four or whatever of Young Justice have at one point stopped heroing but they always come back. (And I'm ignoring whatever the hell was happening recently with her going back to being Arrowette with a bomb in her head or whatever I ignore most DC after 2011) I also love how integral Cissie remained even after quitting to her friends and the plot of yj. Like her competing in the Olympics, her being a a medic in our worlds at war, her being on Wendy the werewolf stalker, she doesn't stop being a main character just because she's a civilian now.

OCs! I'm just going to go with some from the WIP I've been working on most recently

1. Carmen

Carmen is a werewolf who is going on a journey of self discovery of sorts. Being adopted by human parents, she never really had a pack or did any of the normal stuff a werewolf might do growing up, like lessons about controlling her more wolfish impulses and her transformations. Carmen is deathly afraid of conflict, and needs to learn that asserting herself and differences of opinion are not the end of the world. She is big-hearted and a little clueless, and very anxious most of the time.

Fun facts about her!

She loves cats. Cats do not love her.

She's a big film buff.

She knocked out her two front teeth as a kid falling at a splash park.

She mains monty mole in Mario party

2. Marsh

Marsh is by all accounts a fledgeling vampire (he's only just coming up on his fifth vamp-iversery) but has the control and demeanor of a much older vampire. The fact that he has achieved this through his fear of not being in control instead of through hard work and confidence in his abilities is definitely not going to bite him in the ass soon (it will). If he was in a self-flagellation contest, he would take second place because he would feel he hadn't earned first. He lives his life through an elaborate and painstaking persona that is so stifling and punishing to him. (Because his story is not finished) he's a very unhappy person in general, with his main solace in his afterlife being that he really, really loves his friends.

Fun facts about him!

His favorite shirt is an old band tee he stole from Cole which is two sizes two big and old and soft. He only ever wears it as pajamas and it's one of his most prized possessions.

His most common emotional response to things is to cry, which he hates.

3. Cole

I was just gonna do Carmen and Marsh but if I do Marsh I feel like I gotta do Cole and then if I do Cole I feel like I have to do Marion. Anyways, Cole is sort of the token human of his friend group. He has an affinity for creating codependent relationships with all his friends. Cole often feels unmoored and like he's fighting just to want to exist in the world, let alone have a place in it, so he throws himself at any chance to be useful. He can't handle change, and feels like he can never stop having the rug pulled out from under him, but he's still fighting and scrapping, hanging on by the skin of his nails.

Fun facts about him!

He is a seamster. Dresses are his favorite thing to make, and Marion is his favorite model.

His friends are always stealing his clothes, because he's got the most simple and cozy style of them and he's the tallest.

4. Marion

Last but not least, my girl! Marion is in a new chapter of her life where she is completely, uncompromisingly, being true to herself after an adolescence of self-repression. A witch, Marion finds a lot of joy in her magic and connection with her family, who she's close to (unlike all the other ocs on here somehow). While she may be mostly comfortable with herself again, Marion still doesn't know herself very well. She's working hard to find her ambition in life. (Perhaps a bit too hard and perhaps she's looking in the wrong places)

Fun facts about her!

She and her sister have matching flower tattoos.

She is allergic to pistachios and cashews.

Her familiar is a rat.

It's been like well over a month since you sent this ask so I'm sorry about that and I'm just gonna end it here. Thanks for the ask! I love to ramble about characters even if it takes a stupid amount of time for me to finish

[shall-we-imagine]

Cookies and sleep (Klaus Goldstein AU)

A/N: literally ever since I saw this ask I've been wanting to write it the feeling I get from it is just aahh 💞💞💞

Genre: ?

(Third person point of view)

8:04 AM

"Shit." The blond mutters, realizing he'd overslept. Yes, indeed, it is his day off, but that doesn't make it any less busy than a work day..

He practically falls off the bed in an attempt to sprint to the bathroom, silently cursing his phone for the missing alarm all the way.

He skips his morning shower, knowing he'll come back sweaty and gross in an hour or so after he goes running.

Yes, the perfect time for a run would've been around 6 am, but this damned phone decided it was okay to let Klaus have an extra two hours, which he probably needed after staying up late working on a PowerPoint, but still: Klaus wasn't very thankful. He now has to push all his plans 2 hours back.

Grabbing his phone and earphones along with his jacket, he runs into the street madman style. A very late madman.

The cold air stings his skin like a thousand invisible needles. "Fuck." He breathes out, attempting to wear his jacket without really slowing down, which he's almost sure looks absolutely ridiculous, but he doesn't have time to waste, so if he needs to make a fool out of himself to get things done then so be it.

He eventually reaches the park where he usually goes for a run; it had a huge running track surrounding it, making it both challenging and fun. However, at this moment, Klaus could only view it as challenging, seeing as he's already panting after all the rush he was in ever since he woke up.

"No time for breaks." He mutters, forcing himself to push through the exhaustion while continuing to pant like a dog on a hot day.

He passes by another runner who just gives Klaus a sympathetic smile, as she proceeds with her routine, keeping her breathing steady. Klaus wanted to yell that he wasn't normally this pitiful and that he's actually fairly athletic, but he didn't have it in him to even speak, so he just displays a pained smile on his face instead, letting the random stranger think of him as pitiable.

10:23 AM

Klaus sighs. He knows he shouldn't hold onto the clouds of gloom surrounding him ever since he woke up, but it was very unlike him to be late. In fact, he's scolded countless people for being late, assuring them this could never be him.

Life is funny like that.

"No one will know. We'll take it to the grave." He assures himself, as he reaches for his keys.

His keys.

His keys?

Where are his keys?!

Did he drop them while running? No way; he would've known!

Did he even grab them before leaving?

"Fuck me." Klaus curses.

There's simply no way for him to open his door from outside except with the keys. He basically locked himself outside.

Elias has a spare key, but calling him would expose an unorderly, late, uncomposed Klaus. A version of him that should never see the light of day.

Klaus is not dramatic about this or anything.

10:37 AM

Klaus wonders if he needs a shower more or hisdignity and pride.

His stomach growls.

Klaus wonders if he needs a shower and food more or his dignity and pride.

He pushes himself off his front porch and circulates his house, sort of like a burglar tryna find his way in.

A miracle.

A thought shone through his misery, possibly saving the day.

Who would've known that delaying getting a window's broken lock fixed would bring such happiness to a perfectionist like him?

Klaus pushes the window open with one swift movement and kicks his leg up, hooking it on the window sill and pulling himself up.

The excitement had erased the dimensions of the window from Klaus's memory, but he was to be reminded immediately with a loud bang once his head collides with the top if the window.

He grumbles in pain and annoyance but pushes himself inside anyway.

He rubs his head and moans in pain, "Today's just not my day." he mumbles.

Klaus drags himself into the hot shower, relieved bythe only relaxing thing he's experienced this morning.

10:58 AM

Klaus isn't a fan of brunch, but he was too hungry to complain.

Hey, at least the waffles taste as good as they would've at 6 AM. He smiles to himself.

Meow

Klaus stiffens.

Would it be too farfetched to assume Elias came over with his kitten?

The source of the noise reveals itself. Lo and behold it is, in fact, not Elias's tiny black kitten. Instead, struts in a chubby orange cat that Klaus has never ever seen before.

"Rude." Klaus mumbles.

The cat meows back as if to object to his insult.

"Come on you invited yourself in! How did you even get in here?" His gaze pans over to the broken window. Aha.

"Well, whatever." He had no energy left to argue with the entitled feline. He wanted to eat his breakfast and relax.

11:14 AM

"You really shouldn't be eating so much; you're already a bit chubbier than you should be." His fingers lovingly rub the top of the stray's head, heavily contrasting his words. Thankfully, cats don't speak human.

Occupied with the tuna, Little Stalker -as Klaus called her- ignores Klaus's health advice and stuffs her face.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" The blonde rolls his eyes, before proceeding to shower the cat with physical affection.

He almost melts when she purrs in response, but no, he must play hard to get.

12:03 PM

"Yes you're a good girl; you're the best girl! Good job!" He squeezes the towel-wrapped cat into his arms.

Hmm...how's 49 mins for hard to get?

At least he found it in him to force her into a bath, right?

The cat hisses at him, clearly unhappy with the progression of events, perhaps reconsidering its choices of houses to break into.

3:45 PM

Klaus groans at the doorbell, willing his sibling (probably) to go away. Not because he didn't miss him, but simply because he was comfortable in bed. So was Cookie, who'd gotten comfortable on his chest.

He admires his new furry friend, spotted with brown "chocolate chips" that inspired ber new more appropriate name. Alfonse or Elias better have have something worth moving the cat and getting up for.

He sighs and forces himself towards the noise of possibly the third or fourth round of knocks and bell rings.

"Why are you so persistent?" Klaus rolls his eyes.

"I missed you too, Klaus." Elias pushes past his older brother, tentatively followed by a giggly Alfonse.

Klaus glares at his older brother, scaring him into giving a better performance of totally not finding this funny.

Alfonse isn't very good at this role.

"W-when did you get a cat?" As confused as Elias is, that doesn't stop him from pulling the furball into his arms.

"Today. I also didn't get it; it sort of forced itself onto me, really." He shrugs.

"Explains a lot" The youngest retorts sarcastically but moves on nonetheless, practically adopting Cookie for the time being.

7:36 PM

"I told you I won't forget; now leave!"

"Okay, okay, you're so pushy, jeez."

Klaus practically shoves his younger brothers out the door.

"See you later; have a safe ride home; bye!" Door slam.

Klaus sigh, resting his back on the front door.

Cookie curiously approaches him, meowing in the process, earning herself a smile from the tall blond.

She rubs her head against his legs, so Klaus gives in and pulls her into his arms. "You're such a lil manipulator, y'know that?"

Klaus takes his new companion and goes back to his room.

9:49 PM

Cookie buries her face in the crook of a sleeping Klaus's neck, not very keen on making sure he doesn't wake up.

Alas, the blond was too far gone to be woken up by the furball.

After all, he'd had a pretty long day.

And even though he'd swear to never be able to sleep except in complete darkness, Klaus was now in deep sleep while the light from the tv screen illuminates his sharp features.

Well, not like that was the only out of character thing to happen today, huh?