#though everything else is pretty accurate yea

[duskneko]

"What animal would you feed" "The tiger-" "You like older guys"

[br333]

Considering I joined the RS fandom..HELLA late, I was wondering what the basic lore of your Pam is like in terms of personality, motivations, hobbies, etc. I've only been able to see some of your art recently (and a few things you posted when I was lurking years ago), so I'd like to educate myself more on the Pamage. Also if you feel like it, I'm curious to know the gist with Pamson (and maybe their kids too if you want!) If you decide to answer this ask (though I understand not wanting to considering low motivation), you can be brief or detailed with it.

(BTW I find it fun that we've both decided to interpret Pam, but differ in execution. You seem to have kept it WAY more canon and generally accurate to the later season continuity compared to me lol. Which is cool to see, it's like a look into what Pam could've been if RS..tried to make her a character 😞 (and also wasn't afraid to make her silly silly!))

Ahh yea! It's just so awesome to have someone else here making content involving Pam! I don't feel so lonely anymore 😭✨ Yeaa, I tried to have everything blend in with RS canon as much as possible loll

And yess, we love her being a silly silly dork girl! 💕

And I'm always up for talking about my Pam lore, the kiddos, her and Benson etc ! So buckle up, this gon' be a loooong ride xD (A lot of this is mainly just jotting things down, probs will get more into details of some things later :>)

Sooo Pam! General personality:

*Usually very chill and patient

*Intelligent and quick-thinking

*Extremely optimistic and always trying to find a good solution to a problem. Even if something bad is happening, she'll be realistic, but gentle

*Kind, compassionate

*A decently capable fighter

*Has a great sense of humor

*Tends to be a bit emotional lol

*Very affectionate (both verbally and physically, but mostly physically), just very loving and devoted to her fam

*An extremely hard worker and is the type of person who when she starts something, she CANNOT stop or be distracted until it's finished. With how dedicated she is to her work, she sometimes drives herself to exhaustion with her tasks

*Doesn't like to keep people waiting, and tries to get wherever she needs to be as fast as possible

*I like to think that she was always the microwave dinner-type or would just order off of DoorDash, as actually cooking something was too much of a hassle, but she grew out of that after Benson and the kiddos entered her life, as she now actually enjoys cooking marvelous and healthy meals for both them and herself 😌

Mom personality (pretty much her general personality but with a dash of mom sprinkled in):

*At first when baby Justin and Sammie arrived, she found herself feeling the pressure and anxiety of being a first time mom, worried about things like if they're crawling at the right time and such, and wondering if she's doing anything right, and if she's a bad mom. She'd then go to Starla and Eileen for advice, since they've already been moms by this point, with them reassuring her that she's doing great <:')

*Tho pretty much she's like. the dorkiest, most fun and loving mom you'll ever find. Engaging in playtime with them and seeing them happy is what brings her the most joy.

*I imagine she's super embarrassing too, doin things like giving them kisses/calling them cute nicknames in front of their friends, or blabbing out mom joke after mom joke.

*She also holds boundaries firmly and lovingly, but once in a while will lose her cool when the occasion calls for it x)

*A bit protective too. like anyone that fucks with them will face her wrath (and Benson too of course, like he will pretty much go Super Saiyan on a mf who dares try and hurt his babies.. which I intend to show in a comic idea that's been brewing in my mind for a while), as all she wants is to keep her beloved fam safe, knowing the insane events that happen in RS all the time.

*She's always extremely proud of the kiddos, no matter what amazing things they accomplish, big or small.

*She's gotten better at maintaining balance too (something she often struggled with), navigating her (exhausting) role as mom while also working her scientist job, able to make time for self-care and hobbies.

Speaking of her hobbies, let's see...those would be:

*Collecting records of 80's/90's singers/bands she really likes

*I get the feeling she'd like gardening (possibly somethin that the kiddos join in on helping her do too 😊)

*Possibly writes songs/sings a bit (as I've heard Ali Hillis sing before and she got a gorgeous singing voice soo yea <:))

*Would be cool if she wanted to learn to play an instrument. Maybe the saxophone 🤔

*Bowling

*Engaging in martial arts

*Hanging out with the girlies (Starla, Eileen, Celia etc), as well as her colleagues (the same ones that are seen in the dome episodes)

*Adores traveling and adventuring with Benson and the kiddies :> (Just loves traveling in general...takes night drives down the highway to just chill, clear her mind or whatevs, doesn't care where she's going, just cranks up the music and enjoys the ride✨)

Now about Pamson! Where do I begin lmao.. Yea they're deep in love. Like anytime they're together somewhere they're either holding hands, arms around one another or whatevs, especially after the park gang returned to earth. I imagine them not wanting to be not wanting to be away from each other at all for some time after the space thing.. always holding hands, kisses, cuddles, standing right next to each other in group situations, hands resting on shoulders/waists, just because they don't want to be separated like that ever again.

(I've always figured that I guess they could count as "enemies to lovers" ?? Since in the beginning, she was part of the antagonists, and her and Benson's sides were trying to take each other down x))

When the park crew was being welcomed home by family and friends, after Benson hugged Applesauce, he saw a familiar, beautiful face emerging from the crowd, tears in her eyes, hands over her mouth in shock. Could this really be her man? Here on earth with her after all this time? In this AU of mine, they never broke up during Benson's time in space 😤 they made things work and called each other as often as they could. After hearing that the space tree got attacked by Anti-Pops and crew, and that the whereabouts of Benson and the park crew were unknown after that, she couldn't help but fear that something horrible had happened to him, nights of lost sleep over the dreaded thought that she likely would never see him again. And now, here he was, standing right in front of her, safe and sound. Here's a dumb lil comic from 2 years back that showcases this reunion lol

Soo yea, they pretty much pick up where they left off from before the dome blasted off. When it comes to like. date ideas, Pam's not very good at coming up with ideas, so Benson usually picks most of what they do, or sometimes they'll experiment with trying new things (which I could see escalating into some classic wacky RS shenanigans, where like. they have to). With both of them being workaholics, this post feels very much like things they'd say/do to each other 💖 https://www.tumblr.com/scealaiscoite/762806875681144832/taking-care-of-a-tired-lover-%F0%9D%9C%97%F0%9D%9C%9A?source=share

Got married close to 3 years later. I imagine Benson prob cried most of the time during it lol, bc of this being like. the happiest day of his life. Something he longed for, for the longest time but didn't think would ever happen to a guy like him... and it finally did. He found someone that loved him for who he was, and vibed and complimented just what he had going on, as she, too, was workaholic, so of course, she was down for the heavy work-life balance he had going on. Someone who understood his frustrations and knew what it was like working with a team. Someone who just brought him happiness, eased his mind, made his day better every time he saw her face. For Pam, her life, as she said, was just ''work, work, work'', and her being so busy that close relationships were barely a thing in her life, until meeting Benson, someone who could relate to that. Him being that someone who helped her to just chill and have fun, and better her work-life balance, just as much as she helped him. That's what's so nice about their first date, them both just taking a step back from their constant working to just let loose and have some fun together. They pretty much improved each other's lives in a way ig is how I see it.

When she was preg with Justin and Sammie closely afterward, she at first felt insecure and unsure if she's even cut out to be a mom, of not just one baby, but two. He comforts her, saying she's the sweetest, caring person he knows, and that she's got this <:') He couldn't help but rattle about this exiting news to his fellow park employees. They all happily congratulated him ofc✨ When she tries to get up and do some work, like laundry or somthin, he insists/demands that she relaxes and takes it easy, (like how he was with Skips in Skip's Stress) where he'd be like "NO, honey, you just lay back and relax, let me take care of that :V 😌'' Pam went through the dreaded morning sickness. Benson always helped her out of course uu.. He talked to/smooched her belly like, all the darn time, even when she was asleep.. such a soft/cheesy dork. Benson already loved Pam with all his heart and soul, but after finding out she was preg, his love for her intensified by 100, Like damn, he fell in love with her all over again ;w; People always thought Benson didn't like children, or want to ever become a father, but actually, he fell in love with the idea, especially being a father of his and Pam's children 💖 Benson loved pampering his beloved queen (teehee pampering), like massaging her back/ legs/shoulders, fetching foods she craved, bringing her robe and slippers. Benson was a sobbing mess when he got to hold little bby Justin and Sam for the first time. Pam found shopping for baby supplies to be enjoyable, plus she loved seeing Benson's cute and goofy reactions to all the adorable baby outfits n stuff x')

Now on to the kiddos: Justin, Sammie, and Ben-Ben:

So, Justin and Sam, twinsies of course, though Justin's the older one by a few minutes. They, along with little bro Ben-Ben, share a close and supportive sibling relationship, characterized by both affection and playful teasing, as well as sharing inside jokes and enjoying making each other laugh. Of course they have their disagreements, they ultimately have each other's backs and love each other unconditionally, supporting each other when in the face of danger. They all often refer to each other as "bro" and "sis'', and Justin and Sammie refer to him as ''Ben-Ben". They enjoy spending hours listening to Benson tell stories of his past adventures with the park crew, and how he was a famous drummer, how he helped save the universe. So they think of him as the coolest on the planet, their excitement gets the best of them and they blurt out when they're in public "Our dad helped save the universe!!" to which he thinks "Ahah, yep, I.. certainly was there.. 😬"

So! How these two came to be:

Soo, Benson and Pam, newly married, are having this lingering feeling of emptiness inside, like something's missing in their little world, this now new life of theirs... the main factor of this is Benson still dealing with the loss of Pops. So like, that night, they're just talking about the things that once were, and he pulls out a special item that Pops gave him: a butterscotch ripple. He explains of how Pops paid him this butterscotch ripple on his first day as park manager as his first salary, and how disappointed and confused he was by this, but now makes him laugh remembering it, and is ever so glad he kept it, wiping a tear from his eye. So they just snuggle a bit, trying to comfort each other. So, since this butterscotch ripple still has some of Pop's residual energy, this ig drew his spirit to where it's at, which is of course with Benson and Pam. Pops then senses that they're feeling this way (as well as sensing that Benson still misses him dearly), he decides to gift them these two little babs (as I feel like he would believe that adorable and innocent creatures like these is what they could be needing, and having two to bring both of them happiness is even better than just only one), tho I feel like not only to bring his dearest friend and his wife the special thing that they desire, but also as a way to be more connected to him through a living being (''beings'' in this case BD) on earth. And because Pops was the embodiment of pure good, that would now make them twin forces of pure good as well, being connected to him (Which two forces of good is of course better and possibly more effective than just one), and bc there needs to be evil to balance out the good (like right when they're born, pure good forces were put back into the universe), twin embodiments of evil were born as well, that of course want to destroy good/og Justin and Sammie. And at the end after these evil twins lose (to a way that I still haven't figured out yet) they say they'll be back to destroy them in a certain number of years from then (maybe by the time of the 25 years later park reunion ? 🤔) . Along with this, he's spiritually connected to them, and acts as their guardian angel. As well as this, they're connected to each other as well through some psychic twin link...

What's up with their psychic twin link:

I kinda like to think these are hidden powers that didn't 100% surface until they reached their teen years, but maybe similar to what happened to Pops, these powers made themselves known little by little wayy before their teen years, like in their toddler+kid years, they'd have these moments where they would sense danger, or see a faint vision in their mind of what either of them are doing at a random moment. As they reached their teen+young adult years, these visions became clearer and more specific, often showing an event (good and bad) before it was going to happen, involving not just either of them, but their mom, dad, and brother as well. There'd be some nights when either of them is having a dream, they'd be having the same dream. And in the mornings following those nights, when they're getting ready for school or somethin, they'd end up dressing the same without even knowing it. leading to some dialogue like:

J & S: *Discovering that they dressed the same* "Stop thinking like me!! >:V >:V"

P: ''Awww, I think it's cute when my little twinsies dress alike! ^w^~💕''

J & S: ''Maa! >:U >:[''

(now the events of their birth where the park crew is more involved, I'll post at another time x'))

They inherited their mom's intelligence, and this trait made itself known when they were around 7 years old. Due to mom being a scientist, they also possess a huge amount of scientific-related knowledge from a young age as well (this being due to them often accompanying her when she goes to work in her lab) They also inherited dad's rageful nature, even though rage bursts from them are quite rare, due to the more chill and tranquil nature they gained from their mom, so it takes a lil more to piss them off (Compared to Bendad's short fuse) they're far more powerful and dangerous, when they are pushed to the edge, turning into something possibly worse than Benson's Super Saiyan-like state in Think Positive (due to the high compatibility of human and gumball machine DNA when combined (says who? >:V myself ofc 😎), as well as their origin from being gifted by/connected to Pops, making them more capable of possessing above normal human abilities, like their psychic twin link)

Now for the more general individual info~

Sammie:

*Kind, independent, sophisticated young lady

*Outgoing, fun

*Silly silly

*Caring

*Most of the time the more responsible one of the two, and serves as the voice of reason

*Was the more well-behaved child (but at times whenever she gets bored, she too gets involved in Justin's antics)

*Usually very calm and chill who always tries to keep her composure and see the positive in any situation (including situations where Benson surely would have raged at x)), tho at a rare time where she enters a state of rage, it'd be a limiting situation that she'd try to handle the best she could, however wouldn't succeed and makes her panic, making her feel this way.

*A bit emotional (like her momma) x')

*Afraid to suck at any task she does and strives to be perfect in any way possible

*Loves horses, elephants (big animal lover in general, but these two are her favorites), flowers, old school RnB, walks through nature

*When she's older, works at animal shelter, and later as the new park manager when Benson and Pam retire in their later years

Justin:

*Usually a pretty chill, laid-back dude, but is not hesitant to go apeshit if someone like. really pisses him off, or if someone hurts a loved one

*Highly protective of his siblings (like any big bro would of course), especially if he feels like some devious dude is getting a little too close to his sis

*Very competitive

*Was quite the troublemaker as a child, and mischievous. Though still gets himself into trouble in his older years, this being caused from him not being the best at making good decisions

*Used to be a bit lazy, but has grown to be more hard-working

*Compassionate

*Sarcastic

*Overly confident

*Has a pet cockatoo

*Skilled dancer, takes choreography classes

*Loves pulling pranks on just about anyone. Gets pranking tips/lessons from uncle Muscle Man

*Really into horror movies

*Enjoys riding motorbikes and similar things, even pulling daredevil stunts

*Even though both him and Sammie enjoy spending time with and assisting mom in her lab at work, and possess her intelligence, he's taken more of an interest in the scientific field than Sammie. He mostly enjoys working with robotics n such in particular (Similar to Pam as well, as she's seen repairing a robotic hand in Pam I Am x)). Becomes a mechanical engineer when he's older

Ben-Ben:

*I uhh.. still have yet to come up with an interesting origin for him aghhfff

*When he was born, (Justin and Sam being about 8 years old at this time) Justin thought it was awesome to have a little brother and became attached to him. Sammie, however, wasn't super thrilled, have another brother, and wanted nothing to do with him.

(While including the fact that she now owes Justin 10 bucks after they made a bet on what the gender would be, like:

S: "If it's a girl, you owe me 5 bucks! >:D''

J: "Oh yeah? Well if it's a boy, you owe me 10 bucks! >:D"

S: "Aww what!? 10 whole bucks!? 😭"

*The two of them and dad visit mom in the hospital room and see the new baby, discovering that it is in fact a boy*

J: ''Ooooooohh, yeaa boii! 🤩 Well, better pay up, sis 😎"

Even going as far as trying to stick him in a box and into the mailbox to attempt to mail him to possibly another country. Benson and Pam discover this and note that this is very out of the ordinary behavior from her usual kind and well-behaved self. Though, she eventually has a change of heart after discovering he's in danger (when said box is mistaken for trash and is hauled away in the garbage truck). Furious and terrified Benson and Pam, along with Justin and herself chase down the garbage truck in Benson's car all the way to the landfill. With her being the one that saves his life. (from maybe a shredder or somethin x')) On her knees crying, while holding him tightly to her chest, and him clinging to her as well. Regretting having acted like such a terrible big sister to him, promising to love and protect him from that day onward. Benson, Pam, and Justin catch up to where the two are, relieved to see that they're both safe and mostly unscathed, besides a few cuts and scratches, and all engage in a group hug ;; (And of course ending up with Sammie being grounded for a few weeks lol.. or maybe even a month x'D)

*I imagine that after these events, he would get easily upset/scared if of someone in the fam isn't around, especially Sammie.

*An energetic little guy

*Thrives best when playing around other kids

*Outgoing

*Fun-loving, kind hearted

*Loves being outside, as well as bug-catching, and getting dirty

*Fond of all kinds of reptiles, though mostly lizards. Wants to work at a reptile sanctuary when older.

*Gained a fascination for drumming thanks to dad introducing it to him. Dreams of following in dad's footsteps and becoming a talented and famous drummer himself one day (And possibly get Hair To The Throne to accept him as their new drummer)

-Deep inhale- HOOooo, my brain is on fire after writing all this -faints- Anywayy hope all this makes some bit of sense eheh, as I stayed awake till 4 a.m writing the rest of this out, so my brain prob turned off at some point loll

There was also some art I intended to add in in this, but I've kept you waiting for this to be answered wayy longer than I wanted to, and I haven't even drawn the art yet, didn't want to keep you waiting for like. a zillion more years, so i'll just add it in at a later time loll x')

[minesweeping]

okayyyy finished pkmn y (first time through kalos yippeeeeee) and it was okay. little mini review under the cut. just for fun :)

honestly imo the kalos dex sucks. in my first playthrough of any region i try to use pokemon that were introduced in that gen but it was a struggle for me to find good ones to use. the gen 1 pandering was insane and the amount of gifted pokemon too. ik you don't have to use them but for my first playthrough i like doing it """"lore accurate"""" so i did and i ended up with only 1 gen 6 pkmn on my team (delphox <3)

but i feel like i didn't see many kalos pokemon in other trainer's teams either. but then again i don't remember many of the teams bc i was insanely overleveled and defeated everything rlly quickly

(EXCEPT for the water e4 member his clawitzer kept killing my ampharos and i had no other way to deal with water types lol)

THE STORY ummmm. umm. it was okay. the pacing was a bit weird but there were some good concepts and there are some interesting characters. wasn't a fan of any of the rivals though i would take 1 good rival over having a friend group

also for how much people hype up mega evolutions i found how they were incorporated really disappointing? like it had barely any significance to the plot and only like 3 other trainers use it?? yea korrina lysander and diantha were the only ones who used it against me. i barely used it either i didn't really see the need for it

anyway. i feel like oras did a better job of incorporating megas somehow. probably bc your starters got one which. WHY DID THE KALOS ONES NOT. come on

AESTHETICALLY SPEAKING. nice enough. i will always prefer pixel art in these games but there were some nice environments

highlights for me were the route before snowbelle city with the bridge, couriway town, and reflection cave

to me oras looked nicer, but that might just be because hoenn is generally better designed imo

WHAT I DID LIKE is the rollerskates. movement in general was good in this game it was fast and fluid and you don't need too many hms

unfortunately the 3ds soundtracks don't hit for me usually ☹️. i don't know what it is but i don't love the soundfont and most of the kalos songs sounded very similar to me. but my favourite is the boutique theme honestly that one is a banger. diantha's battle theme was pretty good too

what else is there......... umm

THE CUSTOMIZATION WAS PRETTY GOOD i liked the outfits but i wish there were more hair options and that the clothes weren't genderlocked. still there were some cute outfits and the default trainer designs look really nice to me as well

also sycamore is officially my least favourite professor i don't likehim. the vibes are off and i didn't like how he was like "oh lysander was just a bit disillusioned but he had some valid points we should have met him halfway" BRO HE TRIED TO KILL EVERYONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD. the dick can NOT be that good please change your ways

wtf happened to that guy anyway. did he die or get arrested or escape or what.

[cleaning-has-its-benefits]

Section three: Stranger's depictions in the fandom

So, I like to classify things, but trying to classify the different depictions I’ve seen has been a challenge, since they can be so varied, they often overlap and they depend a lot of each person’s headcanons and likes, but it also would be a mess to try and list every stranger I have seen!

But after a lot of thinking, I finally thought of a way to classify them! And that’s with this thing that I have called The Emotion-aligned Classification Model! Sounds fancy and everything!

so this is essentially (or an attempt of) a ternary plot! Primer taught me about it!

The way the model works is that this isn’t so much about emotions but rather personality traits associated with a given emotion and its more about a general behavior rather than an emotion stranger might be expressing at a given moment.

As a brief example: if stranger is shown to be exasperated and irritated at Sunny’s choices, frustrated at not being listened to in all this time, then he will lean towards the angry-aligned side. Instead, if he’s someone pragmatic that simply does what he’s meant to do and keeps a professional distance, then he will lean towards the neutral not-so-side of things. (this is more of a pyramid than a triangle but beside the name there’s nothing scientific in this model I invented)

I’ll get into more details in each one, but this in any case isn’t super well described and relies more on my memory and impressions rather than on actual analysis… but its all in fun, yea? If anything, this section serves more as promotion for different fanfics and fanarts, or so it was going to be but I got lazy so I still talk mostly of well-known stuff, or at least that I think is well-know, because I don't really pay that much attention.

Oh yeah I also have to mention the methodology or smth.

Well- I was going to be more methodological at first but since lately I’ve been going through some certificated RUFF TIMES! then I decided to just half-ass this section. This wasn't a study focused on the depictions of the fandom specifically anyways, so, like I said, whats written here mostly relies on my memory of stuff I had already read, tho classifying fanarts is easier. Theres no less than 30 pages in the stranger tag on ao3! I cant go through all of that! But it makes me remember the days when there were exactly 4 pages, take or leave it! So I guess I mostly go with older stuff since that’s what I remember best. (in other words, I didn’t reread stuff so what I say here surely wont be 100% accurate, or 90%, or 80%…)

Dunno if its relevant, but Im mostly staying in tumblr and ao3 for these depictions since that’s were Im usually at for fandom stuff. Maybe things are different somewhere else, maybe not.

(oh yeah, if any of the artist or writers mentioned here see this and want their work removed from the examples, just let me know and I'll take it out asap!)

anyways, I’ll start with

→ANGRY ALIGNEd

because this is one one of the most common, at least from what I see.

So, an angry-aligned stranger refers to one where he is more exasperated or irritated/frustrated than actually angry. In general, he is dedicated to his mission but also very opinionated about the whole deal. What will characterize this stranger the most is how he’s pretty outspoken and very done with Sunny’s bullshit, though to what degree that will depend on how much it leans into this corner of the triangle. In more extreme depictions, he might even go around swearing like a rowan! Tho I think that’s more for crackfics. Still, a swear or two here and there won’t be a rare thing with this depiction. He might sometimes also have an attitude of ‘Im surrounded by idiots’ and believe himself to know better than everyone else, which depending of how accurate this belief is will make him seem pretty arrogant.

Examples of anger-aligned stranger:

eh… I guess is rather funny that I said this is one of the most common depictions and now I can’t think of any example. I admit this isn’t usually the characterization that pulls me, so thats why…

in fanfiction:

but as compensation here you can have a fic of omori and stranger fighting to the death!

an tentatively I could put here the one from endless dreaming too? That fic is really long so it would take me a lot to even just skim, but at least from what I remember stranger could be pretty snarky and aggressive. Oh yeah wasnt there a popular mod about that? Maybe I should check it out someday.

in fanart:

eh… here’s one? Op deleted their tumblr so I cant link to the original but the signature is there.

→ NEUTRAL ALIGNEd

This is the second most common type of stranger… or the most common. Eh these two are pretty even in presence.

This stranger will be very dedicated to his mission, but unlike the previous one, he generally keeps his thoughts to himself. The best word to describe this type would be ‘professionalism.’ If this type of stranger is present, is very probable he will be a secondary character, mostly there to deliver useful information to the main cast, but he might not take direct action. When he speaks, he simply states the facts and doesn’t show any opinion regarding them. He keeps a professional distance, though in more extreme cases he can be cold-hearted, uncaring and even cruel, following a belief of ‘the end justifies the means.’

Here I also will place anytime stranger is given some sort of leadership role, or any time he’s portrayed as… damn I don’t remember the word, not exactly wise but he does know a thing or two and is responsible and reliable.

examples of neutral-aligned stranger:

in fanfiction: in it’s a long way down, stranger appears a few times to give advice to the gang about the trials ahead, thus fulfilling this role of being an informant but never actually participating in the story (at least from what I remember). He generally doesn’t show emotion, even when others thank him for his help, but he does find amusing the irony of having to advice omori as well.

in A rose of many thorns, stranger too appears mostly to tell the protagonists what they need to do an a bit of what’s going on in the world, though I would say this stranger leans a bit towards the angry side because he can seem exasperated at times. He also has a bit more of a role to play, either helping people escape or asking other to help out, but is more of a thing behind the scenes.

in the bridge I would say there’s too a neutral-aligned stranger, since when keeps a cold head when dealing with omori to help Sunny, never antagonizing him or loosing his patience and he rebates him with facts to calm him down. For that matter, he also doesn’t show any resent towards Sunny. Stranger simply aims to help whoever needs it for the best outcome, without judgment of what they have done. I also really like how he’s described as being like a guardian angel or a vengeful wraith, that line is really cool!

in my first friend, humphrey too he has a very small role of being an informant. Even when being antagonized, stranger gives advice on whats the right thing to do, but in this case his own perspective on what’s best differs a lot from that of the protagonist. Not completely related but I really like this concept of like, the knowledgeable ones not agreeing with each other, as daddy longlegs later expresses disagreement with stranger’s attempt to involve humphrey.

in A home for flowers (forget-me-not) stranger is shown as a leader figure!… at least from what I remember, which isnt much, but I remember enjoying this one, and stranger being afraid of becoming dictatorial like omori I think?This also goes with the idea of blackspace characters forming communities. Though my favorite scene is the one where everyone is at the church and certain someone shows up. Hey I should give this one a reread someday.

and here seems a good place to put one of my favorite, if not my favorite, stranger-centric fics out there! Which is chapter 25 from this whumptober challenge. Its a short one, but is so good on so many levels, but you know what gets me more than anything? What I love more than angst? Adoption. I guess deep down Im a softy… But This line here? “The Characters had been too malleable, had adapted, not that he could blame them. He wouldn’t have trusted most of them with his children even if they had not changed anyway.” that’s when this became one of my favs. If you only read 1 fic from this list, it has to be this one. Choosing compassion in a cruel world is also a theme I like, its all about balance yknow?

in fanart: … I guess any fanart where he just kinda neutral can apply here.

So I’ll mention first this one first! (og post) where stranger is seen with a friendly fella! Social butterfly meets stoic loner is always a fun dynamic.

in this one here he looks somewhat ominous. Its pretty common to have him look directly at the camera, isn’t it? I think is fitting, considering his deal is seeing beyond the illusions of the world.

I specially like this one here! Im not sure how to describe the vibe but I like it. The dead basils give it a nice touch.

this one is also pretty good! Because this time stranger is reacting to what omori is doing to Sunny, or maybe to how low Omori has sunk in order to keep Sunny in check, even if that means going against his wishes and hurting him into submission. Neutral-aligned strangers speak with the facts rather than personal opinion, so

and here’s another nice stranger looking at the camera! Even with the limited expressions a silhouette can have, theres a good range of vibes here.

→ HAPPY-ALIGNEd

Now here’s one of the rarest depictions! If not the most rare. You know how hard it is to find happy strangers??

anyways, so among the rare instances where stranger is smiling, there’s a depiction that most common so I’ll talk about that one first.

I would call this the vengeful or sadistic stranger, because the reason of his happiness is the suffering of another. His missions seems to be a secondary thing for him, if he even cares about that anymore. More than anything, he wants to get a kick out of making his enemies suffer, sometimes omori but more often Sunny. I guess then this depiction might be more common in post-hiki scenarios…?

But then theres the maniacal type of stranger! Which I would describe as having Basil’s issues but on steroids. Obsessive, possessive, you name it! This is a stranger with a lot of issues. I guess here he’s pretty desperate to get through Sunny and so resorts to extreme measures. The difference between a sadistic stranger and a maniacal stranger is that the sadistic is perfectly aware of what he’s doing while the maniacal has lost his mind.

But on the happy aligned we can also find some very wholesome strangers! And here’s for the strangers that are healing, at peace, and experiencing true happiness perhaps for the first time in their lives… tho these are extremely rare to find. But here I would put the post-good ending strangers that, after completing their mission, they go on a metaphorical journey to learn to enjoy life. Many decide to go with a ‘be your own person’ type of arc for these, but I tend to prefer the ‘recover what was taken away’, but that’s a different subject.

Funny how varied the happy-aligned types are! A bit of everything here!

Examples of happy-aligned stranger:

in fanfiction:

… I think I have never read a fic where stranger is happy. They exist, right?

in fanart:

I wanted to start with this lil comic first, because its a good example of how these three classifications can overlap a lot. Here, stranger is smiling amused at Sunny’s anger after having pushed him into the darkness. However, this would count as a very mild sadistic (not really sadistic, in truth) because he did this more to mess with Sunny a bit rather than to cause actual harm. This stranger overall is shown to lean more towards the neutral aligned, because despite him liking to mess with Sunny, he’s reliable in helping Sunny, but I place him here because a smiling stranger is a smiling stranger.

but here’s an example of an actual sadistic stranger, even if its still a pretty mild one. Here stranger looks very amused with himself while Sunny looks less than pleased with the current situation. Stranger surely notices Sunny’s discomfort and if anything that’s what he wants to see.

now here’s a manic stranger… as in, literally. He laughs, he cries, and he’s a mess.

but you wanna see my jam? Here it is. And here. Those scenarios where stranger gets to recover his identity as basil? Yes. Theyre rather niche though, but not as niche as herosaurusxbs!pluto so I can manage. After so much hard work, stranger finally gets back what he lost. I love angst but sometimes is also good to give some respite to the guy yknow?

and for last here’s one of the most wholesome strangers I have ever seen. Precious. Must be protected.

→ Sad-ALIGNEd

and here’s my fave! Though it isnt super common either and its a bit more tricky to describe.

But basically I’ll group here all instances were Stranger acts very similarly to Basil. More than anything, he looks tired, he’s visibly crying, his voice is weak and pleading, and at this point he has no idea of what to do to convince Sunny to change his ways before its too late. This stranger doesn’t have that much of a presence, and in certain way could be seen as the opposite of some neutral-aligned portrayal. He definitely isn’t a leader, he isn't intimidating, he doesn’t seem sure about anything, and he can seem quite pitiful. I’ll also put here those where he looks scared because I dont know where else to put those.

Examples of sad-aligned stranger:

fanfic:

in world of memories there’s a very nice sad stranger. This one leans a bit towards neutral too, but whenever he appears, he’s described as mournful, even after becoming hostile. Is always fun to read te perspective of outsiders about the story, so I’ve enjoyed this fic a lot even if I know nothing of kingdom hearts, except that it has a very convoluted story, apparently. Not related but I also really like Omori’s characterization here. I tend to gravitate towards the cold and calculating type so seeing this innocent and childish depiction is very fun!

in Blooming daisies stranger is shown to be lonely and longing, birthday sad hours! But he gets to have a nickname! And for once… things aren’t so bad. Overall a pretty wholesome fic.

in you opened the door for an apex predator, omori and stranger fight to the death again!!!!… but this time stranger is perfectly aware of how overpowered omori is and he really, really doesn’t want to be here, like, in general. In turns out as you might expect from sending a scared twelve-years-old to fight against a beast. But this fic is all about stranger’s lack of options and existential angst for being an imaginary being and thus ‘mattering less’ than a real being like Sunny. Hey maybe I should add to this type this idea of ‘although Im imaginary I still feel real feelings.’ at least he gets to have a breakdown but finally taken into consideration. A bit wordy but still a pretty good fic with some refreshing ideas, good angst and the power of communication!

Fanart:

here’s a perfect sad stranger, in tears trying to reach out to Sunny but to no success.

this one isnt tagged stranger but is still a sad image with Basil seeking repentance…or being forced to?

now this picture could be seen as more scary than anything, but to me stranger here is the one who looks more scared than anyone, curled up in a corner like that. Makes me wanna ask him what’s wrong. Poor thing. (warning for possible derealization!)

here you can have a very tired stranger as well as a stressed basil. Not too often you get to see stranger with eyebags! (op also deleted their tumblr)

and lastly, a video with stranger praying! A brief stranger but one of my favorites. (warning for some flashing lights)

→ OTHER dEPICTIONS

Now my emotion-aligned classification model goes mostly for characterization, but it won’t do to encompass all the strangers out there… so I’ll just talk about those here. More excuses to talk about fanart!

This will also be the lest organized part of this because im tired of writing this. A true fan could talk to hell and back about stranger but I just long for release

• Role-swap strangers and real-world aus

As you might guess, these correspond to the aus where the implications and not-implications of the main cast regarding the incident are switched around. Stranger then will have the appearance of whoever is the accomplice in the given au. Otherwise, there’s no much difference in behavior with the standard stranger, though swap aus aren’t really my thing so I don’t know any in dept…

but its the closest thing I can get to stranger variants so, here’s some strange friends I found!

Fanart:

… and I couldn’t even find that many. Who would say that my general lack of interest for aus would one day come back to bite me in the ass? I was going to try luck at just searching images in my buggy search engine… but I wasn’t brave enough.

tho here’s a stranger mari (og post)

and here’s a stranger aubrey and her friends!

speaking of friends, here and here (og post)are pictures of the whole stranger gang!

but I know a decent chunk of strangers Sunnys! And you know why? Because those can manifest in a more varied amount of aus, many related to being from Basil’s perspective.

The one I like the most are those post-good ending. Basil has many things to come to terms with so it makes sense that a stranger appears to him, specially because he also has to accept that there was nothing behind Sunny that day. This video here is a nice example of a stranger Sunny which is shown with a missing eye.

but there are also the ones that seemingly take place within the timeline of events, or at least that’s the impression I get. Here I was going to put a link to a nice fanart where there was a bright Basil accompanied by a stranger Sunny with bloody hands… but I couldn’t find it. Except on a second edit I found it by chance.

And then there’s the swap au outright! Like in the hikicomic when a stranger Sunny appears sporting a very nice red flower! (and later a horrible posture!)… though I don’t know if this is an actual swap au because I have never read it completely, maybe I’ll do it someday, I remember liking the expressions a lot.

Now the real-world aus are a separated kind of thing from swap aus, but I didn’t know where to put them so I put them together.

So for real-world aus, these are of when stranger somehow end ups roaming in the real world. Generally this is due to a ‘headspace bleeds into the real world scenario’ where among other characters and places of hs that end up in the real world, stranger is one of them. In these cases he doesn’t seem to act too differently from before.

Related to this, there’s this specific au where stranger is floating into nothingness when suddenly he’s tossed into reality and turned human. Yeah this is the faraway!stranger au which is pretty popular so it wouldn’t feel right to not mention it. It explores some neat themes! Of stranger having not been human before and then having a feeling of wrongness and that stuff.

And then there are the aus where stranger has always been human, though I don’t remember any that ever had a story and went beyond the basic concept, but in these aus is common for him to be related to Basil, as a brother for example, though other times he just kinda exists. I remember there was an au I liked where Basil and Sunny ran away and then by a chance of fate they ended up living with stranger and rowan, who were brothers, and that would be my example, but ever since I developed and allergy towards twt then I can’t get it. I wonder if it ever had an ending?

• stranger and his friends

speaking of friends, stranger might not interact with anyone in canon, and most of the time does the equivalent of talking to a wall, but in fanon he doesn’t get to be so lonely!

So here is where I would place the most common character interactions there are for stranger!… in a different world were I actually felt like it…. But I guess I can mention whatever I remember?

→ Stranger and Omori: this one is probably the most popular, or in any case, nightshade would be the most popular ship involving stranger, but I don’t have much to say about it since by now it should be obvious I don’t ship them so Im just kinda neutral to it. Whenever they’re depicted as a divorced couple fighting for custody is kinda funny though. Now from other perspectives, the stranger-omori business is a very complex subject that would warrant its own analysis, so that’s why I won’t get into it here, and probably never after this behemoth. But heres a drawing of them fighting to the death!!!!!!!

→ Stranger and Sunny: the closest to canon I guess? I don’t have much else to say beyond what I’ve mentioned previously, but from a shippy perspective it got some nice angst potential! Since a relationship would go against the whole point of stranger’s existence so there’s some nice conflict there

→ Stranger and Basil: all those times stranger is depicted as acting like and older sibling towards hs Basil got to be some of my favorite! This here? this is the shit!

→ Stranger and Mari: Now this is a more niche one, tho still pretty known, and also a wholesome one. It’ll be good for stranger to have someone to rely on while committing truth crimes. Here’s a nice drawing

→ Stranger and the other hs friends: here I will group Aubrey, Kel and Hero because I can’t think of anything in particular about them. This isnt a super common depiction. Mostly I guess is about these merry guys having fun while bringing along their awkward shadow friend. Here’s an example.

→ Stranger and other knowledgeable creatures: here goes anytime stranger is seen with other characters who know about the nature of the world and maybe even the truth, such as Abbi or daddy longlegs. Not a super common thing but I guess they then to be melancholic interactions.

→ Stranger and other blackspace characters: what it says on the thin. Any time stranger is shown with any npc from blackspace. This is a pretty broad category… and I can’t think of specifics for that.

→ Stranger and other strangers: this is also one of my favorites and one that has barely anything </3 this is mostly the interpretation where there isn’t a single stranger Basil, but rather there are many. This blog here has multiple strangers, but as of now this doesn’t seem to have much plot-relevance, but you don’t look a gifted horses’ teeth. Also here’s this neat fanart that takes a different approach.

• The cryptic cryptid strangers (or something)

I have no idea when this inclination started, but someone one day decided to draw stranger with a tail and nothing was ever the same.

Not necessarily within an overarching au, some people enjoy to give some fancy designs to stranger. From giving him a tail, some antlers or horns, hooves or scales, claws, fangs, wings even, one could make a telephone art game out of this! Or a doll game if they fancy that. And why do they do this? Well, until now there hasn’t been a argument of weight as to why stranger shouldn’t have a tail. Or I guess if I wanted to guess an actual reason, since stranger’s design its so simple then you can do a lot with it if you wanna.

But a variation that I like a bit more are the strangers made to look more like somethings! Many eyes, big jaws with many teeth, almost eldritch! That’s a real lot of fun! But both are fun.

There’s plenty of examples but here are some I picked:

This was the first one that I saw, so that’s why it goes first. This wasn’t the original drawing I saw back then, but it was on twt. A pretty nice design. I also really like this that, although they look monstrous, they are friendly. Isn’t that a nice trope?

I’ll try to go back and forth between cryptids and somethings, so here’s a eldritch stranger, and the first one of the eldritch strangers that I saw. Simple but effective.

now out of all, this is my favorite design! A true cryptid from the forest.

and here are some of my favorite eldritch strangers, specially the last one! Warning for body horror probably? (and flashing lights in the banner)

speaking of horror, most of these designs are done for the fun of it, but here’s an au where they have been done more for thematic reasons… and what thematic reason? Dehumanization!! and here’s another nice stranger that when injured turns more into a something, I also really like this one! (more body horror)

as for last, I decided to go with a fanart somewhat different from the others, because when I saw it the first time I was left in such state of bafflement that I knew I had to include it. I remember barely keeping my laughter as I thought something along the lines of ‘these really are the wonders of fandom!’ in where this miserable lad can be the same character as this.

And this seemed the perfect fanart to end this section with.

-------

next post

table of contents

previous post

[kafkaoftherubble]

HAAAHAHA!

Dude, my best friend texted me last week (which I haven't even replied her yet ahhahaha what is this life) about this exact Thai series and for the exact same reasons as you do:

Basically, "Sci-fi and Buddhism have come."

Nothing tells me what kind of reputation I enjoy more than the sort of things people tag and text me about, man. I have become a Buddhist Philosophy Dispenser-Yapper in the neighborhood!

I am definitely keeping an eye out for the series just for being a sci-fi telling of a society that isn't touched upon frequently just yet (I've seen plenty of UK, US, and Korean-based sci-fi socio-drama).

But... AHAHAH I AM SO JUMPING STRAIGHT TO THE BUDDHISM EPISODE BEFORE EVERYTHING ELSE AHAHAHHA!

----

Fine. There's a pretty big reason for it. It's not really because it's explicitly about Buddhism.

"AI as An Actor"

This is actually one of the topics Last Year Me and Last Last Year Me et al. had been interested in.

Last year, I remember reading an excerpt about training large language models (LLM, the type of AI that outputs sentences and paragraphs, i.e. ChatGPT) on Bible quotes, as well as teaching it through large data of commonly accepted history about Jesus and his personality, to basically re-create Jesus as accurately as possible to offer advice and support.

In other words: teaching AI to roleplay Jesus among other historical figures who might not be religious.

And yes, because this is Lyndis you're talking to, I did wonder about "bringing back the Buddha."

I asked a Catholic friend who happened to be in my vicinity while I was reading about it for her thoughts, and she was naturally rather apprehensive.

I think the mimicry of historical persons—especially those who are long past and can only be reconstructed through our best historical data—sounds instinctively bad for good reasons. History is incomplete and is written by parties with different agendas, sources, angles, and more. The most objective historical evidence is often artifacts, and yet even they are created from circumstantial subjectivity.

Just look at how many kinds of depictions of the Buddha from different periods and places! Bro's handsomeness is so diverse across depictions, in our times you'd think he's catfishing pictures with the search term "top knot, curly black hair, long eyelashes, blue eyes, [28 more characteristics]..."

He was allegedly handsome in his youth; I tend to believe this because if you're compassionate, that qualifies you as good-looking to me already. Also HEY, HANDSOME MONK TEACHES MORE PEOPLE (Shh I am definitely talking about Mxxx Dxx)! The blue eyes were described in one of the suttas, the Lakkhaṇa Sutta, in the Digha Nikaya though. Are you surprised?

Even the suttas' truthfulness in describing the Buddha can be reasonably questioned since we could never be able to go back then and verify it for ourselves. That's the same for all historical records no matter how much effort we put in, yea?

Who gets to choose which sutta, account, historical record, and interpretation to be a part of this AI Buddha/Jesus/Florence Nightingale/Lyndis roleplayer? Who gets to decide which piece of history is correct enough to be a part of the system?

Even scholars debate about certain points among themselves, and though consensus does form a lot of times, it rests on the notion that it is impermanent, and may very well be revised upon further excavation, evidence, and re-interpretation. It is necessarily a long, unsettled, alive process. But will these AIs' programmers and stakeholders care to reflect that in their programs?

If you say, "Well, you shouldn't actually see this AI version as the genuine article; it's just here to give you the best answers from compiling the sutta." Then... what makes it different from simply asking a monk, a learned Buddhist scholar, a Buddhist Philosophy professor, or a discussion with fellow Buddhists? Why do we need him?

That's not all. The Buddhist doctrine of anattā, "non-self", also states that there is no such thing as a permanent self. There is only a process we call a "person"—who changes all the time due to cause-and-effects from the interaction between the mental state/psychological conditions and the physical world/environmental conditions (the more Buddhist term for the "person" will be "the khandha;" while the term to describe these interactions will be "dependent co-arising/pratiyasammupada." I spelt it right... right?).

If you read all my diaries up till I was 14, your mimicry of me will be a static version of me who stopped growing by 14 years old. You can predict how I'd be by age 29, but your imitation of an aged-up me will be very different from the Actual Person Lyndis... because there was never an "essential self of Lyn" in those diary pages you used to predict who I'd become. There was no real Lyndis. Just a process named Lyndis.

So, how real is the AI actor gonna be, if its aggregate is formed from data of the past but not given the chance to interact and grow beyond that point?

As a Buddhist, how do you justify the recreation OR creation of a self through technology... when you understand that there is actually no self?

Maybe one will say, again, "Okay. Well, it's meant to be a facsimile. Not the real Buddha; not a real monk."

But if that's the case... If the AI version of the Buddha isn't meant to be seen as the real deal, then why do we need him?

---

If the AI version of the Buddha has its advantage, then what could they be?

For a philosophy/religion that lionizes practice and empiricism, can an AI Buddha—who does not and cannot practice the Noble Eightfold Path—be a sufficient teacher at all? And that's just me musing about Buddhism. I haven't even mentioned others like Socrates, Mengzi, Ibn Khaldun, Hume, etc.!

What do people who care about Buddhism etc. want from AI historical figure roleplayers? Is it akin to an interactive answering machine? All the boring text from the internet, but presented by an artificial actor?

Or are we looking for an AI who can simulate the thought processes of these figures such that we can ask them questions they never thought of in their time, so they can give us wisdom we aren't confident enough to reason out on our own?

The Buddha never gave his views on transgender rights! Time to ask AI Buddha to give me some dhamma, babe. Hey Buddha, are you actually aroace?

--

The point is, yes, one goddamn news excerpt and Lyndis started to think about all sorts of things—before even reading up on what other experts might have considered as well. I think my friend just left me on the couch and chilled with her newlywed husband in their room that day...

I'm sure there are even more exciting angles to explore on this topic. This is the fun of speculative fiction, after all! I love sci-fi!

I'm gonna drop you an ask stemming from this ramble because I'm curious about your thoughts too, but you probably don't wanna reblog this one because it will derail from the original post! Ahahhahaha!

.... Thank you for reading my ramble?

Sneak Peak of the Cutting-Edge Futuristic Netflix Thai Original ‘Tomorrow and I’

What happens when hyper-advanced technology collides with traditional Thai beliefs and customs? Discover the answers in Tomorrow and I, a four episode anthology series that takes viewers on a journey through a futuristic Thailand where technology has become an inescapable part of daily life.

The cast includes Pakorn Chatborrirak, Violette Wautier, Waruntorn Paonil, Treechada Hongsyok, Ray Macdonald, Timethai, Thongchai Thongkuntom, Aelm Thavornsiri, Pongsatorn Jongwilas, Chananticha Chaipa, and Wanichaya Pornpanarittichai.

This groundbreaking series is directed by Paween Purijitpanya a trailblazing filmmaker known for his genre-defying works such as Body, 4bia, and Phobia 2. Paween has also showcased his talents with the feel-good series Seven Something, the boundary-pushing film Ghost Lab, and his exceptional direction in the episode “Liberation” of Girl from Nowhere Season 2. In Tomorrow and I, Paween reimagines four everyday scenarios in intriguing ways, starting with…

Episode 1: Bringing your loved ones back from the dead. Imagine a future where innovation has reached its peak, testing the boundaries of life and death. In this world, the cycle of birth, death, and being reborn may become an everyday reality through the technology of cloning.

Episode 2: Welcome to a place where technology meets intimacy. Have you ever felt that your partner couldn't quite meet your desires, or felt uncertain because you're still new to relationships? What if there's a city where technology might provide the solution? Enter a world where intelligent sex robots are designed to cater to every emotional and physical need.

Episode 3: What if a Techno-Monk joined the Buddha and the Dharma in the Triple Gem, replacing the Sangha? Imagine AI continuing ancient teachings preserved and upheld for over 2,500 years, revolutionizing Buddhism. Could this challenge traditional faith, or signal the end of the monastic order?

Episode 4: And if an entire city were submerged underwater after years of relentless rainfall, how would humanity survive? Would people fall into despair as the waters rose, or would they have to rely on "octopuses," potentially the last hope for survival? When this moment arrives, everyone will face a crisis beyond our species' abilities.

Unveil the future in Tomorrow and I, the year-end series that will spark your imagination and challenge your perceptions of a world where technology seamlessly integrates into every facet of our lives. Coming soon, exclusively on Netflix.

[rotfics]

kin heidrich

kin heidrich is my 6′3′, happy-go-lucky, humanoid ray of sunshine, biker, metalhead, german, “undead” (theres no word for it and i’ll explain it later on her toyhouse i have not made yet) werekin/werewolf (werekin: she has wolf ears, paws, and a tail in humanoid form.) i dont wanna get into her past rn bc it’s.. bad. anyway.

has black eyelids just like most of the undead/smnelse/etc i can explain kinda later characters here idk why thats a thing. again, almost sunshine incarnate. she has some anger repression issues, but she never takes them out on anyone. for the most part. at worst, someone annoying her or someone she likes will get what is a weirdly polite, “crazy-eyed threat”, which is usually just to get lost for a while, but mostly that happens if someone bothers someone she cares about enough. she doesn’t really do that if she is herself bothered so much. but if it is someone else, she will tell them to get away from them very politely, with a... stare. it works. it also helps that all of her teeth are very, very sharp.

she got the “crazy eyes” nickname because her eye color is red, with small, slit shaped pupils. she’s totally aware of it, and finds it accurate/funny. if she feels out of options often when she is scaring someone into going away, she will tell them something along the lines of that it is very unlikely that she’d ever hurt anyone, but “never zero.” it almost never happens; unless someone really fucks up with someone she cares about, mostly. almost never when she is herself the target of torment. (one example: someone threatened one of her friends and she used the “crazy eyes”, got up in their face while telling them, in a very scary “nice” voice, if they kept it up, she would eat them alive; and to go away for at least a month. a scary (empty) threat, but hell it worked. patted them nicely and said “go away” in a nice voice just to kinda mess with them further. said person had no clue it was an empty threat).

she is a big optimist, (even with everything that’s happened); and is determined to stay that way. regardless of anything and everything that could possibly deter her from stopping. she always believes things can and will be better.

she works on her motorcycle quite a bit; and has her own underground metal band, wolfskull. she also hosts raves. her band has three types of concerts; metal, rave, and kinda solemn. she does sing about some sad stuff sometimes; she has to vent it at some point.

when she loves someone, she loves them a LOT. ( pick-you-up-and-whirl-you-around maybe if you’re okay with it). if it’s you, you’re gonna be treasured, a LOT. yea you can’t escape her affection, get used to it. anything you go through? she’s there at all times. also kind of really. energetic. unless you need a calmer presence. she can do that too. ...related: hyperactive ADHD. she knows when to calm down though; she’s not an idiot; and she is capable of controlling herself.

her only thing is that on her birthday, she turns into were-form, and is completely feral; but she always makes sure to secure herself two days before that, in an unknown, locked location. you will not know where. don’t ask. you won’t get an answer.

she has bandages wrapped around her arms from the elbow down; you can probably guess why, but do not bring it up or ask about it unless you are very close with her. she will get upset with you, quietly, and won’t speak to you for a while. which is very out of character for her. so if you do that you fuck up bad.

she has ptsd and pretty bad nightmares, but her husband (dredge) and her girlfriend (royce) always calm her down, even if it takes a while.

her battle type is “brawler”, if she has to. she uses unarmed most of the time but will use something else if she has to... while very annoyed. weapons for her are super annoying and she will use them if necessary but will whine about it the entire time, complaining that someone ELSE use them, not her.

again, she’s wolf-based; and has black wolf ears, a tail, and paws in humanoid form; but please do NOT call her a dog, or puppy. don’t do that. it’s rude.

to maybe summarize, she’s a huge sweetheart who can and will use any ability she has to scare off bad people if she absolutely has to; and generally just loves everything, and everyone, regardless of what happened. with a band she is very proud of.

doesn’t matter who you are btw, she’ll absolutely love you.. unless you turn out to be kinda bad which please dont do that. she really hates not liking people.

[pindl3]

I just spent the better half of an hour transcripting Tubbo and Ranboo's entire conversation from the burger van.

The entire thing.

As I was going through it I noticed that it allowed me a much better look what they're actually saying. To hone in on the words.

Also there's one bit of the conversation that I am 100% going to turn into ranboo angst. Anyway, here's the full transcript! Feel free to use ^-^ I know looking through 8 minutes of conversation is annoying. It's all as accurate as I could get it, including the stammering and extra bits.

Video to listen along to

Tubbo: hello!

Ranboo: oh- uh, hel- hello

Tubbo: hi!

Ranboo: how are- how are you doing.

Tubbo: I'm doing alright, uhh-

Ranboo: doing alright- what were- what were you up to?

Tubbo: I was just talking over with quackity, burger business, you know *laughs*

Ranboo: is- is- did everything go well? Is everything ok? With that?

Tubbo: uh, yeah, I assume it's- yeah! I'm pretty sure it's uh, fantastic

Ranboo: you sure?

Tubbo: uh, yea yeayeayea 100%. I think it's going really well! Can I come inside? I wanna have a look at all your- I wanted to have little look at all your place

Ranboo: um yeah, sure- it's not much right now but we're still- um, we're still- me and uhh, Wilbur are still working on it.

Tubbo: Why do you trust Wilbur so much?

Ranboo: hm?

Tubbo: why do you trust Wilbur?

Ranboo: well ok, here's- here's the thing. Basically, I don't like- trust trust Wilbur yet but I definitely do have more trust in him than you do. But um...

Tubbo: yeah.

Ranboo: I mean, thirteen years... I mean, thirteen years, a guy has got to change throughout all of that right? (Unsure)

Tubbo: yeah I suppose so- I mean I don't not believe that he's changed i just think that he has to have the opportunity to prove it.

Ranboo: yeah! And thats why im- that's why im here so that, when he does something that does redeem himself then someone can be there that's- that'll be able to see it and everything- and honestly I would rather have it be me, the person... um, id rather have the person that be there be me instead of maybe someone... else. So um...

Tubbo: yeah I guess that- that makes a lot of sense I guess. I.. I don't know I just- I'm not sure I feel prepared to put my life in his hands again if you know what i mean.

Ranboo: well this isn't- this isn't putting my life in his hands. This is just- this is just making a little burger shop and everythi- are- are you like, okay with all of this right?

Tubbo: oh yeaaah yeaahh it's fine it's fine. I think it's quite enjoyable.

Ranboo: *softly, to himself* ok that's- that's- that's good. Ok, yep...

Tubbo: yeah I understand it all it makes a lot of sense

Ranboo: you- you sure you understand? Because- like, if you need me to- to stop, then I'll stop, like-

Tubbo: no no, it's alright it's alright- is there a reason like, I noticed that you hadn't told Wilbur about the tax reasons marriage *laughs softly, self conscious*

Ranboo: yeah well that's- that's just because- from what I've heard from Tommy and everything the Wilbur that- thirteen years ago at least- might've- he used stuff against Tommy and everything, so, you know just in case, just in case. I mean I still trust Wilbur just not- you know not super fully but still, still at least a little bit.

Tubbo: yeah, o-oh I completely understand though that makes a lot of sense honestly

Ranboo: so I- I mean I like working with him as well- I mean it's nice to just- to do something. You know?

Tubbo: yeah fair enough. Like- yeah I think the competition will be *hesitation* good- yeah I mean I'm very excited, I haven't felt this happy in quite a while. It feels like I've finally got- you know, something under my belt, something I can, you know really sink my teeth into and be a part of- it feels like I'm part of- like a bigger cause now. Like-

Ranboo: so... so you're saying you're sure that this is- that you're all okay with- everything that's going on?

Tubbo: yeah yeah of course! It's just friendly competition man, it's gonna be awesome. If anything it'll just be better for consumers, it means we're gonna make better things for everyone.

Ranboo: *hesitance* yeah, yeah that makes- that makes um... that makes sense, at least. I mean...

Tubbo: I mean, are you alright?

Ranboo: how did you- how did you bury the hatchet with quackity though? That's what I don't get...

Tubbo: bury the hatchet? What do you mean by that?

Ranboo: cuz I mean- how did you make peace with him cuz the last time we spoke about him you were talking about he had a role in your... un- unfortunate removal of life...

Tubbo: yeaahh he did, but- it- I mean to be honest it's as much- well no I mean I'm not even sure it is as much quackitys fault as wilbur- but like- I don't- like- I mean I was gonna die no matter what that day... I mean, it just happened. I mean I don't... eh, I don't have much quarrel with him, I think it's a-okay. I mean, he seems to have... I mean look at what he's built, like, he seems good. I mean... yeah I managed to also, like, clean over all the ruckus that we had about the um, cookie outpost and stuff as well, so that's all past now.

Ranboo: oh really? So he's ok with that now? *relieved*

Tubbo: yeah, yeah he promised me a good life. Like-

Ranboo: what do you mean...? Was your- life not- good before?

Tubbo: no! Nonononono it was- he talked *hesitance* a lot about L'manburg... and like he- yeah.

Ranboo: well- that wasn't- that wasn't really that much of a good life for you though- was it?

Tubbo: oh no- you- you've only heard the bad bits of L'manburg- *confident* L'manburg was amazing. You've only-

Ranboo: he- he promised you like, the- the good bits

Tubbo: yeah, yeah basically, which is- it's awesome.

Ranboo: *softly, to himself* that's- that's good, that's good.

Tubbo: yeah, so I- I figured out how to- like um- get rid of the tension regarding the cookie outpost; we came to an agreement, signed a contract, dot the t's and the i's- you know, put the past in the past. Im excited to, you know, keep moving forward, it's exciting!

Ranboo: ... ok, a-awesome... so- *voice raises an octave* so he's okay with the cookie shop now?

Tubbo: oh yea! Yeah yeah he's 100% okay! Basically, we just came to the agreement- is- I wasn't acting myself, like before when I was working on the cookie shop- I wasn't being myself- I was, I was just upset, and sad, and like- I just wanted to have something to feel part of something bigger again. But then I realized instead of fighting the thing that would've given me that feeling, I tried to make my own. I dig my heels in- it wasn't really- the right thing to do. I-

Ranboo: mhm (of reassurance)

Tubbo: so we signed a contract, I- so the cookie shops still owned by me, but it just exists within Las Nevadas now. And um... yeah, it follows its laws and regulations.

Ranboo: ok- so is everything- is everything um... everything's- *pause* w-wait so how exactly again? Sorry- how did you- make quackity ok with it all?

Tubbo: so we went up to the needle, uhh, we just talked it out, we wrote up a contract and I just- basically agreed to have the cookie shop become part of Las Nevadas! Cuz I mean it doesn't make sense-

Ranboo: wait you- you gave away the cookie shop?

Tubbo: well I mean I didn't give it away- I still own it, it's just now part of Las Nevadas.

Ranboo: which is- owned by quacki- you gave away the cookie shop.

Tubbo: well... yeah, but not- entirely.

Ranboo: y- yeah, entirely.

Tubbo: no- thats not how it works at all. It's- it's still owned by me- it's just, it exists inside his territory.

Ranboo: wait- but it's property of Las Nevadas, which is owned by quackity.

Tubbo: no! It's not like that at all.

Ranboo: you gave it- it seems like you just...

Tubbo: no, there's a lot more to it than that, it's not just- it's not black and white and I just- gave it to him- I still own it, I still have full control over it. It's just- it just follows his laws- which is fine.

Ranboo: and his ru- awesome, cool- um, that's great! Oh would you look at that- the bread is- stale- I gotta go-

Tubbo: oh, ok

Ranboo: but it was nice um- it was nice- uh talking to you- im gonna go throw this bread in the river- alright!

Tubbo: okay

Ranboo: um, thanks for- thanks for stopping on by, um- I'll talk to you um... l- later. Alright buh bye-

Tubbo: ok, bye!

Tubbo: that was- that- that was um... uh, I wasn't expecting that to *laughs* go quite like that- I didn't think that mattered that much... uhh- that- I was not expecting that to um... he- he didn't seem- oh god. That was- that felt a little- awkward. I didn't, I mean- *defensive* it's mine to give away! I mean, I- I built the entire place! Like- I built all of it. That is so weird.

[sanstropfremir]

same anon (guess i’ll call myself kingdom anon) — and to be fair im also the same as u and can’t really watch competition shows. that’s why i only watched their youtube clips at the beginning. only watching it now because i need something to pass time. (though if u have any recs pls do share :)) but like i’m not paying extreme attention to it lol

i skip skz’s performances just because i am really not a fan. its v cringe for me…. whoever told them that they’re good rappers should maybe possibly be fired. but music is subjective so to each their own. i’m not going to subject myself to it. one thing that i am curious about is if skz genuinely believes that they did really well? it is a scripted show so i’m not too sure. but i really wished fan votes weren’t such a large percentage…. this was an opportunity for tbz/skz/atz to actually receive critical feedback and grow considering they’re younger groups (as opposed to btob/ikon who already established themselves). like for sf9, we saw their immediate growth from round 1 to round 2. but for skz, they’re stagnant.

on a more general topic, there’s something v unique w having large fan bases. recently i saw an article that skz’s new album reached 900,000+ preorder sales. but they didn’t actually rank on korean music charts. and in a way, the sales tell jyp that they’re successful because of the money they’re bringing in. and they’ll continue doing the same thing because it works. but also they’re relatively unknown by korea’s gp when u compare them to jyp’s other male groups (2pm, god, got7). i don’t know where i’m going w this lol sorry just finished a final. but this show was overall disappointing for me. and i d k if i’ll continue watching the episodes

you may be the only person left watching kingdom at this stage so i think the moniker is fitting!

obviously you've been around and reading my reviews so you know my thoughts on the show on the whole, but i don't think i ever really talked about what i thought skz themselves think about the outcome, which is.....i have to assume that they knew the results were gonna be skewed. i think maybe after that first ranking there could have been feasible deniability for them, but as the numbers kept coming in so drastically skewed, especially when mnet made the bizarre choice to show the individual rankings for expert/self/fan judging separately, there's no way they didn't clue in to what was going on. the general consensus from the skz fans i know is that even the fans knew this was not their best showing, and if i know anything about artists i know that we're never satisfied with anything deep down, even if its our best received work.

in terms of seeing if there was any payoff/growth post show, only three of the six groups have had comebacks so i cant really make any totally accurate judgements, but i can say that yea, overall there has been growth. we saw sf9's growth the most obviously during the show and then they cranked it up to 12 for teardrop and it paid off for them (they broke their own sales record, good job boys). we also know that even though the mv for teardrop was filmed pre-kingdom, they revamped the entire choreo after the show in order to capitalize on the feedback from move, and honestly it's the best direction for them to go in. not sure when their next comeback is gonna be because youngbin and inseong are going to have to enlist soon and because of the large age gap its probably gonna be a while before they're all together again. tbz i think has shown a pretty big improvement, at least with thrill ride (who's to say about other comebacks). they've ditched any kind of lore and although i don't like the song i think the majority of the styling is quite good and it's a good genre break for them.

as for skz, i do actually think there's been one or two lessons learned. thunderous isn't as good a song as god's menu or back door, but it's on par with their discography and consistency is key. i do however, think the choreography is excellent and the styling + general concept is interesting, even if a bit conservative. personally i think they should have leaned way more into the graphic elements of the mv, because the shapes and silhouettes of the clothing are good, but they're so monotone that it ends up being a little boring. if everything else was the same but there was more use of patterns and colour it'd pop a lot better. it's also possible that we may see that in the next stages they do, since they've only done three or four so far. i'm taking it as a win that the styling is at least related to the concept. as for the rest of them; the ateez comeback isn't for another two weeks and honestly i have NO clue what to expect, btob is tomorrow and it's gonna be fine obvs, and i dont think ikon is gonna have a comeback any time soon since bobby is apparently getting married next month (plus the baby), not that i was expecting kingdom to have any effect on them lol.

i think its reasonable that jyp front skz more as an international group, especially since they had that with got7 and then cocked it up so badly. i think we're definitely going to be seeing some interesting (if you like that kind of thing) numbers discrepancies in the next few years because of how different groups are being marketed and it's going to have some kind of effect on korean and international charts. personally i have exactly zero interest in charts and numbers and would prefer them to stay far away from me because it's just another way the music industry has been gamified by capitalism.

honestly if the show's not doing it for you than don't bother. it would have been a lot better if there were more group interactions; the sports/isac episode is cute and fun, but really the highlights of the rest of them are the stages.

[skvaderarts]

Devil May Cry OC Week Day 4!

I’m actually really excited for @dmc-oc-week day for because it gives me the opportunity to talk about Sirrus without delving into spoilers! Yay loopholes!

This contains slight spoilers, but nothing super important. Just keep that in mind. it won’t effect anything, but if you want to go in totally blind, tread carefully.

Dislikes:

Note: if your wondering why I did dislikes first, it’s because that’s just how Sirrus is lol! He’s not a downer, but he likes to think of himself as a realist, but he’s slightly closer to being a pragmatic nihilist, and that lack of optimism lingers in his day to day life because he’s naturally going to have his guard up at all times. He can’t be disappointed if his expectations are nonexistent. Big mood, Sirrus.

1. His father. As previously mentioned, Sirrus is not on good terms with his father. At all. In fact, he’s actively waiting for his father’s hubris to catch up to him along with some of the enemies he’s made along the way so that he himself doesn’t have to confront him and possible end him because he knows he has it coming, but he doesn’t have it in him to do it himself. He’s probably powerful enough, but he just doesn’t have the heart. Despite everything, he’s still got a small ounce of compassion in his heart towards his father that he can’t let go of, something that he loathes about himself. It’s pretty unhealthy.

2. People that abuse power, authority, or social standing. This is actually a large issue in his own immediate family, and that’s part of why his dislike for it is so powerful. He genuinely believes that you should positively contribute to the lives of others if you have the means to, and if nothing else, that you should not detract from them. As a result, he’s developed a dislike of a large portion of people in power because, I mean, fair enough. But his family does not escape this designation, and that’s a large part of why he does what he does. Not because he believes he has superior judgement or standing over others, but because he cannot solve a problem that he does not understand. So as a result, he has to go out into the field and learn from those his work effects. Assuming that he knows what’s best for everyone while simultaneously never having met those people is literally what he hates most about most people in positions of power, and he strives to not do the same. Being powerful doesn’t mean that your smart, and he knows that first hand. I feel like Sirrus would be into the “eat the rich” thing if it was a thing in the DMC universe. Very into it.

3. His mother. I feel like this one may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you who know more about him from the fic since he’s literally only mentioned her once, and doesn’t speak of her in any broad sense, but Sirrus isn’t on the best of terms with his mother, either. He doesn’t harbor any negativity towards them for splitting up when he was young. In fact, he considers it the best thing that either of them has probably ever done. But he has his reasons for not being on good terms with him mom. Day 6 will cover family and background, so I’ll get to go in depth on that day! For now, lets just put it under the broad but totally accurate category of “extremely toxic and codependent relationship” and go from there. Maybe I’ll make a family tree you you can see how messed up everything is! Yea, that would be fun! Would you like to see that?

4. Extreme heat and sun. In truth, while he does in fact become more powerful in bright sunlight, he still hates it. Why? Simple. It gives him migraines due to one of his existing (but not yet disclosed) abilities. And he just hates to be hot. He’s on the pale side (Ok, he almost makes V look like he has a tan.) so he gets sun burned. And because he’s used to a cooler climate, hot places drive him NUTS. I suppose you could say that “Discomfort” is a dislike of his, too.

5. Desk work. This one probably seems pretty random, but as an adjudicator, he actually has to occasionally file reports, and he ABSOLUTELY HATES EVERY SECOND OF IT. He’s good at what he does, no question there, but it’s kind of like being good at sending corporate emails when you hate the fake corporate politeness that you have to maintain, and you basically despise half of the company you work for. Why does he keep the job? Simple. Because no one can abuse the power of the position he’s in if he does it himself. And for him, that’s worth hating a large aspect of his job,

Likes:

1. V. Yup you read that right. Sirrus absolutely adores V, something that he himself is not used to. At this point, he’s not entirely sure what he feels towards him since they haven’t known one another for very long, but he does realize that he means quite a bit to him. After V saved his life in the fic, he really started to pay more attention to him. Before, they were friendly and he had to admit that he actually did find both V and Nero (and Nico, for that matter) really cute, but that was about it. And then as they started spending more time around one another, Sirrus realized that perhaps he liked being around V for a reason. He’s still working on understanding what he feels, but with everything going on in the fic, for now he’s just there to help and figure out what’s going on so that everything turns out alright. Then he can worry about everything else. But for now, he’s just working it out as he goes and trying to distract V from everything going on in the fic. He realizes that he’s got a lot going on, and he genuinely just wants him to be happy for a few damn minuets.

2. Being around equally strange people. Sirrus feels like an outcast most of the time, so as a general rule, he tries to associate with people as little as possible. That being said, the DMC crew makes him feel right at home, and the supreme otherness that he feels much of the time dissipates when he’s with them. It’s a welcome feeling to be sure.

3. Wine. Sirrus actually enjoys wine quite a bit! It’s something he likes the taste of, and due to his biological inability to drink, it’s something he can basically enjoy without consequence. That being said, his favorite wine is absolutely disgusting to basically everyone who’s ever tasted it (aside form V, much to his surprise) and that may be because of a certain added ingredient that was put into it for flavor. What can I say, he has unorthodox tastes!

4. Cooking good food. Sirrus doesn’t actually need to eat, but he does like to entertain those around him. If he likes you, he will cook for you. It’s that simple. It’s something from his own culture that’s been instilled in him; the idea of taking care of those that show kindness to you. And believe me, that doesn’t happen to him very often. He’s largely ostracized in most social interactions despite the fact that he says and does nothing to cause this. Its a key reason as to why he doesn't talk about what he is. It makes people... uncomfortable. And to add to that, he has a sort of aura to him that unnerves people. The way he tends to look at people at though he’s looking through them instead of at them doesn’t help.

5. Fine arts. Something that doesn’t come up much in the books is that Sirrus has hobbies. And a love for the fine arts. All of them. The more unorthodox, the better. Sirrus is that person who is dead inside and will stare at a piece of artwork for ridiculous amounts of time, pondering it’s meaning. Not in a pretensions way, but in a “what the hell am I doing with my life” sort of way. He’s a walking essential crisis, but he’s nothing if not self aware. But in regards to the arts, if it’s a form of expression, then he’s all for it. And he will probably ask you to teach it to him or become a financial patron to your work. He thinks that art and the people that make it are under appreciated, and the idea of art dying out genuinely scares him to death. He doesn’t think a world without art is worth living in. As an extension to this, he loves history. He considered much of it distasteful, but he recognizes it’s importance.

Bonus: Sirrus likes to send extravagant gifts. This is partially due to the fact that he has a very large sum of money and nothing to spend it on. It’s a regular occurrence that you will mention liking something in passing and then end up having it sent to your house out of nowhere. Sirrus did this to V with basically an entire house of furniture, and V is still trying to process it. But this isn’t the only time he’s going to do something like that. Not by a long shot.

Let me know if you have any questions! I love answering them :D And if you have any input, I’ve love to hear that, too!

[radishaur]

Hi! I love waking up in the morning to find my feed filled with your writing! You’re so good! I was wondering if you can write a zuko x female reader based on the song “Easy as all that” by Miniature Tigers? That song gives me major pining!zuko vibes. Hope your day/night is going well! :)

Oh my goodness, this literally melted my heart! 🥺 Thank you so so much! Also I would love to do a song request! I think that idea is so cool! I hope you enjoy!

- Zoe

•••

Crazy About You (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: none

Genre: Fluff

Part: 1/1

Summary: See request

•••

When Zuko invaded the Southern Water Tribe, he had expected to find the Avatar. What he did not expect to find was you.

You were absolutely fearless, not hesitating to attack him when he threatened you. You were also incredibly talented at fighting. Without even breaking a sweat, you were able to beat him in a fight. Your water bending was powerful. You were clearly a beginner, but that didn’t matter. Your sheer power was enough to knock him off his feet.

Not to mention you were undeniably beautiful. Of course, nothing could ever come of it. You were enemies. Destined to fight each other until the end of time. He had no choice but to repress the feelings you gave him down into oblivion.

Admittedly, he wasn’t very good at it though. Everytime you guys went head to head he would always be careful not to hurt you. He even purposefully let you escape sometimes. Not that you needed him to. He knew you were perfectly capable of taking care of yourself.

There had been multiple times he went back and forth about confessing his feelings for you. He knew they were wrong and that you would obviously be disgusted, which made him want to keep his mouth shut. But on the other hand, his Uncle had once told him that being honest about your feelings is better than hiding them. Maybe if he told you then he could finally get rid of them.

He shook his head. Right now was not the time to be thinking about you. His nerves about seeing you again made him distracted, but he needed to practice his speech. Not get flustered over a girl.

He straightened up and looked at the badger frog who was sitting on the log in front of him. He took a deep breath before starting.

“Hello, Zuko here. But I guess you probably already know me....sort of,” he trailed off, rubbing his head sheepishly.

This was not a good start.

“Uh, so, the thing is, I have a lot of firebending experience and I’m considered to be pretty good at it. Well, you’ve seen me....You know, when I was attacking you?” he asked, quickly realizing that was probably not the best thing to bring up, “Uh, yeah, I guess I should apologize for that.”

Not a good start at all.

“B-But anyway, I’m good now. I mean, I thought I was good before, but now I realize I was bad. But anyways...,” he sighed, realizing this was not going to be easy, “I think it’s time I joined your group and taught the Avatar firebending.”

There was a beat of silence as the badger frog croaked.

“That wasn’t bad, but I would probably tweak a few things.”

I spun around in shock to see her leaning against a tree behind me. She had a basket in her hand that was full of fish. She must have been hunting food down for the group. I looked at her cautiously, unsure if she was going to attack me or not.

“It’s a good infiltration plan I have to say, although none of us are stupid enough to believe it after everything you’ve put us through,” she continued, pushing herself up off the tree and coming closer.

“I-It’s not- I’m not-“ I tried to say, my words getting stuck in my mouth as she came closer.

“Why else would you be practicing your speech? Usually people who are genuine don’t need to rehearse what they’re saying,” she argued, standing a mere few inches away from me.

I blushed in embarrassment and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I’m not exactly a people person. It usually helps to practice beforehand,” I mumbled.

“Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation? Shy? I don’t believe it for a second. Although you’re a good actor,” she insisted, her glare so intense I felt like she was looking inside my soul.

“I didn’t even know you were there! Why would I be acting for myself?” I exclaimed, my blush growing as my embarrassment doubled.

She seemed to hesitate to take in my point. She took a step backwards and looked at me in shock.

“You’re being serious,” she said in disbelief.

“Yes. I’m being serious,” I huffed, finally looking back at her.

I immediately regretted it. She looked beautiful and I felt paralyzed to the spot as she looked at me. Her gaze had softened when she realized I wasn’t joking about joining the Avatar and her stance had relaxed significantly. The way the sun shone on her and glimmered in her eyes-

“What are you looking at?” she asked, looking over her shoulder for something that wasn’t there.

“Oh! Uh....nothing. I just uh- I thought I saw something,” I replied, my whole face going red in embarrassment at being caught staring.

She looked at me once more before sighing. She grabbed my arm and began dragging me behind her.

“Come on, then. If you’re really serious I can convince them to believe you,” she said.

“R-Really? You would do that? I’ve given you no reason to trust me,” I responded, shocked that she had believe me so easily.

“Because you’ve always let me go. You never really attacked me and I know you could have if you wanted to. There’s good in you somewhere,” she answered.

Her response made me more flustered that I was before. My stomach flipped as she spoke and I could feel my cheeks heat up. Did she really notice I was going easy on her? And did she know why?

I didn’t ask any of the questions I had. I just followed after her as she led me down to the group. They had all been horrified to see her dragging me behind her and they went to attack, but she held them off. She let me explain myself and, despite some rough patches, got them to accept me as a prisoner.

It was clear to me then how much trust the gaang had in her. She stood by my side even after I accidentally told them I sent an assassin after them and she had been able to convince them to let me stay. They clearly didn’t want me to, but they agreed because she asked them to. Even though she wasn’t related to any of them, they treated her like family. They trusted her with their lives.

She truly was special.

It wasn’t until after I saved the group from Combustion Man that they began to trust me on my own. Aang and Toph were almost immediately on board with me while Sokka and Katara were more hesitant. But Y/N was by far my #1 supporter and grew to be my best friend. She did everything in her power to help me gain the group’s trust.

She accompanied Aang and I to the ancient Sun Warrior’s temple. She helped me break Sokka’s dad and girlfriend out of prison. She even tracked down Katara and Sokka’s mom’s killer with me. All to get me to trust them.

And everything she did just made it harder for me to repress my feelings for her. Her laugh sent butterflies off in my stomach. Her smile made my heart ache. Her kindness made me feel things I had never felt before. And there were countless times I had been caught staring at her.

Pretty much everybody could see I was desperately head over heels for her. But I was still fighting myself over wether to tell her or not. I really wanted to tell her. Especially now that we had become friends, it could be possible. But there was always a tiny voice in my head that told me I would never be good enough for her. It told me that I wouldn’t be able to treat her the way she deserved. That she deserved someone worthy of her and that I clearly wasn’t.

That was the battle I had within myself everytime I saw her and now was not an exception to that.

Sokka had convinced us all to go see a play about ourselves. I had originally been against the idea until I saw how excited Y/N was to go. I immediately agreed after that. Now, she was sitting right next to me as we waited for the play to start.

My heart was pounding out of my chest. She was so close to me that if I moved even an inch to the right we would be touching. Her hand brushed against mind as she talked with Katara, spending sparks through my arm. She had no idea how crazy she drove me.

“Zuko, are you ok?” Aang asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Huh?...Oh! Y-Yea. Just nervous about the play,” I lied.

Luckily, Aang was gullible. That or he decided to spare me the embarrassment of pressing the issue. Either way, he let it go. Pretty soon, the play had started. Everybody was pissed with how their chatacter was portrayed except Y/N. She was displayed as head strong and independent, constantly shown beating stage me in our fights. To be fair, that part was incredibly accurate. Plus, her excitement over her portrayal was enough to make me forget my annoyance about how state me was portrayed.

The play itself was kind of terrible. The storyline was skewed and the relationships between everyone felt off. It was annoying, but bearable. At least she was happy. After a brief intermission, the play continued. I was thoroughly bored up until the scene in the crystal catacombs. At that point, I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating.

“I have to admit Prince Zuko, I really find you attractive,” Actress Katara said.

“You don’t have to make fun of me!” Actor Zuko snapped in response.

“But I mean it. I’ve had eyes for you since you first captured me,” Actress Katara cooed.

“Wait. I thought you were the Avatar’s girl?” Actor Zuko asked in confusion.

“The Avatar? Why he’s like a little brother to me,” Actress Katara said through fits of laughter, “I certainly don’t think of him in a romantic way.”

“Well, that’s too bad for you. I’ve only ever had eyes on Y/N,” Actor Zuko exclaimed, turning to face Actress Y/N who was watching from the side.

Everyone turned to look at me and I shrunk into my seat. Thank Agni the theatre was dark otherwise they would clearly see the blush covering my face.

“You like me?” Actress Y/N asked with a laugh.

“Your beauty and power is alluring. You’ve had my heart since the day I met you,” Actor Zuko said, taking Actress Y/N’a hands in his.

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as I hid my face in my hood. I desperately wanted this scene to be over.

Oh how I would soon regret that wish.

Actress Y/N laughed uncontrollably. She even wiped a fake tear from her eyes when she was done.

“I could never like you!” Actress Y/N exclaimed , pushing Actor Zuko away, “I’m much to powerful for you. You disgust me. You’re nothing but a monster. An obstacle in my way.”

I felt my heart sink. Even though she hadn’t actually said those things, it hurt like she did. I needed to leave. I saw Aang getting up to leave and mumbled something about going with him before bolting out of the theatre.

I walked outside the theatre as I thought over everything that had happened. I scolded myself for ever allowing myself to feel things for her. What Actress Y/N had said was probably true. How could she ever see me as anything other than a monster? She was much better than I ever could be, not to mention everything I’d put her and her friends through.

I sat down at the beach that was across from the theatre. I groaned as I let myself lean against the rocks. I cursed under my breath. How did I let myself get so worked up over a stupid play. A stupid play about stupid-

“Hey.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. I felt like I was going to be sick from nerves. I opened my eyes and looked to the side to see Y/N sitting next to me in the sand. I looked up at the stars to avoid her gaze.

“Hi,” I forced myself to say.

“You seemed upset when you stormed out of the theatre, so I wanted to come check on you,” she explained, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Her touch sent a shock across my whole body. Even just her touch drove me wild. I was properly and thoroughly whipped.

“I’m fine,” I insisted, still not looking at her.

“You wouldn’t have stormed off if something didn’t upset you,” she argued, scooting even closer to me.

Spirits, I wanted nothing more than to pull her close to me and never let go. To her over and over again. I forced myself to stop thinking about how close she was. I needed to forget about it. It would never happen. Ever.

“Is it because of what Actress Me said?” she asked.

“I...” I went to deny it, but couldn’t come up with something to say, so I simply sighed.

“Zuko, you know I don’t see you as a monster, right?” she assured me, squeezing my shoulder as she did.

“Why not?” I exclaimed, finally looking at her as I felt my heart breaking into a million pieces, “After everything I’ve done to you and your friends, why don’t you hate me?”

She seemed taken aback at my sudden outburst before her expression softened once more. She let her hand drop from my shoulder and instead took my hand in hers. She gave me a soft smile as she squeezed it.

“Because you’re a good person who got handed a terrible hand of cards to start your life with. I don’t blame you for struggling. I think that makes you an even better person, actually. It means you’re not afraid to work for what’s right, even if it’s hard,” she explained.

I couldn’t stop myself anymore. She looked radiant in the moonlight and her speech was enough to make my heart explode. I reacted before I could think twice about it. I let my free hand cup her face and pressed my lips onto hers. They were soft and warm and everything I had imagined and more.

But then the realization of what I had just done crashed down on me and I snapped myself back. I stared at her shocked face in horror. Oh Agni what had I done?

“I-I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. Oh spirits, I-“ I began apologizing before I was muffled by her lips crashing into mine.

I was surprised that she was kissing me, but that didn’t stop me from kissing back. My heart swelled with joy as I kissed her back, letting my hand cup her cheek softly. When she finally pulled away, she rested her forehead against mine.

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to do that,” she giggled.

“W-What?” I asked, clearly confused as to what she meant.

“Zuko, you’re not very good at hiding your feelings,” she teased, causing me to get flustered once again.

She laughed as I began to blush profusely. I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly as I pulled away from her. I felt her hand on my face and then a soft peck on my cheek.

“You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed,” she said, a huge grin plastered on her face.

I felt my face grow hotter as my blush grew more intense, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling back at her. She stood up and held a hand down for me to take.

“Come on. The intermission will be over soon and everyone will be wondering where we are,” she said.

I grabbed her hand and let her help me on to my feet. She laced her fingers with mine and walked beside me all the way back to the theatre.

The rest of the play sucked. It was probably one of the worst ones they had ever out on. And yet, despite that, I had never been happier. Y/N made me happier than I had ever been before. Looking back, I really should have just come clean about my feelings. But I wouldn’t change it. The way it went down was perfect to me.

Who knew it would be as easy as all that?

[fantastic-rambles]

Ahhh yaknow what you’re right. I just went back and looked over some of the rod, and I didn’t see Langa explicitly agree to not to skate with Adam. He promised that he wouldn’t quit skating with Reki, but he only acknowledged Reki’s warning to not be reckless. It actually makes a bunch of sense why Langa would be confused by the distancing and argument. I see now why you were upset with Reki’s behavior. It feels kind of like a ‘secret contract’ sorta thing where Reki got upset over a broken rule Langa never realized he was supposed to abide by. And not only is that unfair like you said, but it flipped the situation as if Langa was being untrustworthy to his word when really Reki didn’t trust Langa not to quit skating with him just because of danger/injury. And especially since I’ve seen people make solid arguments for Langa being neurodivergent or neurodivergent-coded, it’s really not a stretch at all for him to see the situation like you did. Langa most likely saw the issue as solely reckless behavior leading to quitting. But clearly Reki’s own jealousy/insecurities added Langa preferring better skaters as potentially leading to them not skating together without ever discussing it until Langa was blindsided during the argument. I would’ve looked a better apology from Reki where he fully explained why he was upset when they were making up. It’s human for his feelings on the issue to change, but that should’ve been better expressed to Langa. Although Langa did a great job of accurately smoothing over what was bothering Reki without that. Maybe that’ll be rectified if he apologizes to Miya. I think Miya deserves one especially since Reki physically shoved him after he opened up about why his actions were such a sore spot for him. I actually thought Miya’s words would help Reki see the other side of things so seeing Miya get pushed was like a “Bro wtf??” moment for me. Again it’s understandable that people act out when they’re angry and Reki was obviously already struggling with his emotions, but it should be acknowledged again how wrong that was. Boy are you opening my eyes to a lot of problematic stuff lol.

Also, I’m very curious as to why you hate Shadow. For me, it’s because I can’t move past that comment in ep 1. I know ppl brush it off as just an (unnecessarily misogynistic) act for his persona, but that woman literally didn’t say anything to him and he insulted her for no reason by using her body as trophy to be defaced if he won. Ew. And just because he’s super nice to the flower shop lady, he does not get a pass. If he’s only respectful to women he’s attracted to and jumps at any other the opportunity to degrade women, he’s still a misogynist. And I’m pretty sure that he already new flower shop lady when the series started, so I don’t think you can argue that his character developed to be better towards women as a whole because of her or that he wouldn’t do something like that again at this point in the story. Especially since the goal of proving yourself as a “strong man” has not historically worked out to men being compassionate with women. (Tho within a vacuum devoid of his other actions, I can appreciate his commitment to a makeup routine)

Oh! And I would totally wanna read that fanfic if you write it!! I’m not even as gung-ho about Adam going to jail as most fans and Adam-haters tbh. Mainly because it’d probably be for political corruption via money bribes which is already kinda common and I don’t think the show has stated him to be doing anything particularly bad with it I don’t think so?? Like it seems to be mainly for the purpose of keeping S secret which is indeed a waste of money and effort when he could just buy it, but on the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be any ill consequences on the citizens the politician represents. So yea, it’s illegal so the jail time is technically deserved. But also like... no harm no foul🤷‍♀️ If he would be getting charged for assaulting other skaters than I definitely think that’s fair, but I doubt that’ll happen in the show just because I feel like no one will actually say anything when the time comes partially due to the shock of his arrest if they’re even involved. And I mean, Cherry was pissed at Adam for getting skaters hurt but still rolled out the hospital and joked like he was fine, so I just don’t particularly see anyone calling him out on it to the point of it being apart of his sentencing. The end of ep 11 with Cherry and Joe arguing about one of them going against Adam just doesn’t sound like condemning him to battery charges to me XD

But yaknow I’ve been loving hurt/comfort type fics lately, so I’d be really interested in seeing Adam truly work and change himself for some type of redemption in that setting. I can see hitting rock bottom as being really good for him given it may provide a reprieve from having to manage his image. Adam is underrated in complexity so it’s always cool when people try to flesh him out more and dive into his inner world. And of course Tadashi is kind of my fave (if you couldn’t tell) so I love anything healing for him as well :)

Yep, I was majorly pissed at Reki for how he treated Langa and Miya. His behavior is absolutely problematic. Not as bad as Adam, obviously, but with everything I’ve said and you’ve realized... yeah. I’m glad he made up with Langa and will probably make up with Miya, but it doesn’t invalidate everything he’s done before. Yes, he’s still an immature teenager, but I don’t think he realizes how messed up his behavior was, even after making up with Langa (the resolution seems to be based on him accepting that he’s not an ace skater, rather than recognizing how toxic his behavior was), so I’m still not satisfied. But hey, it’s probably just me being hyperfixated on trivial details that nobody else even cares about. /shrug

(I’m glad to know that I wasn’t misinterpreting the “promise,” or lack thereof, though!)

And I have two major problems with Shadow. My first--and biggest--problem is, as you’ve pointed out, that he’s an enormous misogynist. At “S,” people have the freedom to be exactly who they are beneath the facades that they show to the world. For example, Adam is someone desperately searching for someone who can understand him, not the perfectly put-together politician Shindo Ainosuke. Cherry and Joe are more true to their “real life” selves, but there are differences in their behavior on the track and off. And then there’s Shadow, the overcompensating “strong man” who threatens to make a guy tattoo “Dumpster Slut” over his girl’s name. So I 100% agree with everything you said about Shadow. He’s a chauvinistic pig.

The second problem is that I honestly think his actions when he’s racing are worse than Adam’s, and the only reason it’s not made out as such is because he’s the buttmonkey rather than the villain. I believe that, as problematic as Adam’s antics are, he does not intend to cause severe physical harm to his opponents. I’ve discussed this idea in more detail in other posts, but in short, even in the most extreme case--Cherry’s--his injuries were far lighter than they would have been if Adam had seriously wanted to hurt him. Death, coma, etc. were all highly probable outcomes of that situation, so the only reason they didn’t happen was because Adam was holding back. Or anime logic. But even anime logic can only stretch so far. And against lesser opponents like Reki, he generally holds onto them to ensure that they don’t accidentally hurt themselves when they’re panicking.

Of course, Shadow doesn’t intend to cause severe physical harm to his opponents either, but he does not exert any control over the situation after he throws fireworks at his opponent or shines a laser in their eyes. We’ve twice seen his opponents fall off the course as a direct result of his actions: Reki in the first race, Harry in the quarterfinals. They could have just as easily fallen off the cliff or slammed into a wall (at full speed) and been badly injured. If Shadow were an actual villain, I fully believe that he would have an actual body count of people who died racing against him (as opposed to Adam’s trail of injured opponents). So it bothers me that people shrug off what Shadow does while screaming for Adam’s death.

As for the scandal subplot... I’m *pretty* sure it’s a lot more serious than Adam bribing the police to leave “S” alone. I think he’s actually involved in some majorly shady/illegal activities politically. Like, in Episode 7, when the other Diet member gets pulled over, arrested, and has his house searched... there’s no way that has anything to do with “S.” At the very least, the two of them were collaborating on something really bad, something serious that Adam lied about under oath, and that’s enough for Adam’s staff to worry about what’s going to happen, especially Tadashi. We don’t know what it is specifically, but it’s definitely a lot more than just passing out bribes to hide “S.”

Lol, I’ll have to see how it goes. Probably won’t start it until after the anime finishes at the very least so I can see how it turns out for Adam and Tadashi, plus I have another half dozen WIPs at the moment and nowhere near enough time to work on them all. xD

[apdswims486]

violin emoji rating by a violinist

is this original? absolutely not but i wanted to do it so here you go

not bad, apple, not bad. the outline on it is weird af and the bow is way too thick, but everything else is nice. the scroll bothers me a little tho. its not closed off like that.

8/10 effort was given and (some) research was done. appreciate.

hey um the body is good and all, and the scroll has the same problem as apple's, but where the fuck are the strings?! they're kinda important you know!! and what happened to your bridge jc!! i will say the bow is better; less thick and more realistic.

1/10 you need strings fucker.

what am i looking at?! not a violin it looks like a fucking banjo. bridge? nonexistent. strings? vanished. chin rest is also gone which is unacceptable. even the f-holes are crap and you actually included them. the fingerboard is taking over the scroll. oh no. and where is the bow?!

0/10 a disgrace

alright better. the wood finish is a nice color, i like how the bow corresponds. but alas, the shoulder rest is missing once again. the scroll is probably the best one so far though, i have to say. still a little wonky though. other than that- wait a fucking second why are there only two strings?! you can't play with just an a and an e you need d and g!!! i was gonna give this one a decent grade too.

4/10 you need all the strings asshole

omg!!! THE SCROLL IS CORRECT HOLY SHIT AND THAT BOWWWW IS SO ACCURATE AND PRETTY!!! unnecessarily thicc and again missing a chin rest but like !!!! im so happy they got the scroll right. all the strings are there, the bridge is down a little too far but its there, the shading on this is actually really nice and yea. i like this one.

9/10 thank you thank you thank you

what is this, a fucking guitar?! only two strings, the bridge is not a bridge idk what the fuck that is, there aren't even f-holes!!, the pegs are just dots like wtf?! the scroll is a fucking BOX. chin rest has vanished no one can find her. i'm so mad at this.

-3/10 this needs to be erased IMMEDIATELY

oh shit facebook knows their shit!! they even have fine tuners! i couldn't be mad at the others for not having them bc a lot of violins don't, actually, but i'm glad they're being represented here! bow is weird ngl and the scroll looks like it had a fucking aneurysm, but they got the outline thingy right that not all violins have but mine does, and again its a beautiful stain color. the f-holes are really detailed and life like. appreciated!

7/10 not bad facebook not bad

first off shape is superrr wonky but like THE SCROLL IS RIGHT so i can't be too mad at it. the bow is really nice actually and everything seems right, chin rest is still missing tho. the a-string is like moved over too far though?? kinda bothers me but whatever. its nice!

8/10 would play

what- what- even? is that?! i cant even. the shading is bonkers and literally everything is missing except the endpiece, a semblence of a fingerboard, and like the scroll is not even attached?? i'm in awe of how bad this is. i can't even tell that it's supposed to be a violin.

-10/10 this is so sacrilegious my eyes are burned

oh dang!! THE CHIN REST HAS BEEN FOUND I REPEAT THE CHIN REST HAS BEEN FOUND, all the strings are there, the bridge, the pegs are not in the right spot and the scroll is back to square 1, and does the bow even have hair? the highlight at the bottom is unnecessary but i like the coloring otherwise. this is actually kinda good what the heck

7/10 effort was put in thank you

apprently theres an image limit but theres MORE so i will be back in the reblogs 😎

[imastrangeone98]

Lost and Found - Chapter 13: Dante

(A/N: chapter 12 took a while to write... sorry about that. this also took a while to write... again, I am sorry. midterm season is here and I need to get ready for all the shitty essays I'm about to pull out of my ass XD. I'm now simultaneously writing for two stories- this one and bnha... maybe three if I'm considering the mandalorian... yea I just love putting work on myself)

TRIGGER WARNING: brief description of murder and suicide. nothing graphic, but it’s mentioned. again, I cannot emphasize this enough- plz don’t hurt yourself. you’re worth more than you can imagine, and there are so many people who care and love you. faith loves you! <3

(ps this will follow the same key as the last chapter- italics for memories, bold for memory within the memory, and normal for present events)

I found this poem on Pinterest- I think it’s pretty accurate

It felt like hours.

Logically, Dante knew that it was probably shorter than that- maybe half an hour, at most.

But as he stared down at the three glimmering shards in his palm, he felt as if time had stood still as he remembered-

“Please don’t do this,” Faith pleaded to her friend, arms outstretched. “There’s nothing wrong with who you are!”

The boy just gave her a sad smile. “You’re wrong, Faith. Everything’s wrong with me. Everything.”

His feet slipped on the railing-

“Leave me and go,” Vergil spat, clutching his amulet to his chest, “if you don’t want to be trapped in the demon world.”

And Dante watched helplessly as his only family slipped through his fingers, watched as his twin sailed to his death with a smile on his face-

As if he was happy to leave him behind. As if he was happy to abandon him.

Dante flinched. The shards nearly spilled to the bone-laden ground, and he brought them close to his chest.

“You don’t understand anything.”

He gritted his teeth. His grip on the shards tightened.

“You know nothing of what I went through!”

His fists clenched, and he considered punching himself in the face.

He messed up.

Thoughts clouded his vision so heavily that he almost walked past the shard.

Almost.

The whispers caught his attention.

“...hide...”

He stumbled towards it.

“...don’t leave until...”

He reached out to grab it-

He was stuffed in a small cabinet, a little girl sitting next to him. The soft light above was blocked out by the tall figure squatting in front of them.

“Listen to me, 믿음아,” the man whispered, gently cradling the girl’s face in his hands. “You need to stay here and hide. Don’t leave until I come back to get you, okay? Promise?”

Dante looked at the little girl, and noted her unmistakeable golden eyes. He was surprised to see how animated they were.

“Where are you going, 아빠?” she asked as she reached out to grab his hand. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, honey,” he reassured her. “I just need to check that loud noise we heard earlier. I promise I’ll be back.”

“I need to find Vergil. I promise I’ll be back.”

Dante’s head ached.

“믿음아, listen very carefully to what I’m about to say,” her father said. “No matter what happens, don’t come out until I come to get you. And if I don’t come back, wait for 30 minutes- remember how to count time?- and run to Ms. Baxter’s as fast as you can. Don’t stop for anyone, understand?”

“You need to hide, Dante. No matter what happens, you mustn’t leave! Be a big boy... A man, huh? If I don’t return, you must run. By yourself, alone.”

His heart felt about as heavy as boulders.

“What do you mean, 아빠?”

“Promise me. Pinky promise.”

They linked their pinkies.

“Are you coming back?” Little Faith asked.

“...Yes, I will,” her father assured her. His voice trembled as he spoke.

Dante knew instantly that he was lying. He wouldn’t come back alive. He wouldn’t come back at all.

Just like his mother.

It was dark and quiet in the cabinet. Little Faith sat silently, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Though there was no smoke, Dante’s lungs felt like they were about to collapse.

And then they heard the screams. Muffled, full of pain, just like-

Just like his mother.

Little Faith tensed. “Daddy...” She pried open the cabinet door.

Dante froze. “No!” He reached out to grab her, but his hands phased through. “No, don’t!”

She would see the blood. The glassy eyes. The cold skin. The death.

Just like he did.

“Faith! Wait!” He phased through the cabinet door and ran after her, watched as she snuck out the door, watched as she carefully approached the shadowed lump on the floor-

His nose wrinkled. The air stank of death.

“아빠?” Little Faith nudged the body of her dead father. “Are you sleeping?”

Dante moved close to her and kneeled next to the body. Words bounced around his mind, but none of them went close to his mouth.

I understand, he wanted to say. I understand now.

I was wrong.

“아빠,” she repeated, nudging her father harder. “It’s cold outside, let’s go back in.”

The sound of fluttering wings grew louder in the background.

Dante’s hand phased through her back. “You need to go. The angels are coming.”

Naturally, Little Faith didn’t hear him. “아빠, you’re not feeling anything.” Her voice trembled. “You’re... you’re just sleeping, right?”

He didn’t respond.

“...Right?”

The beating wings began to grow even louder than before. Dante began to panic. “Faith! Come on, you need to get out of here!”

Little Faith must have noticed that it was no longer silent. She carefully rolled her father onto his back and closed his eyes. “I’ll go to Ms. Baxter’s now. I’ll be back, okay? Please start feeling again.”

“He didn’t.”

Dante blinked. Little Faith was still running down the road, but it was like the world had slowed to a standstill. The moonlight above moved like liquid silver. Technically, nothing should have moved, let alone speak.

But that voice...

He turned around to see-

“Faith?” he asked, bolting to his feet. “Is that you?”

She was silent as she drifted past him, and approached her father’s body. She kneeled beside him, lovingly patting his head.

“Faith... I-“

“My dad was a violinist,” she murmured, her fingers phasing through her father’s hair. “He taught me everything I know about playing. I... I think he knew I was a nephilim; that’s why he wanted me so close to him. He knew who my mom was.”

His tongue felt like lead. His mouth tasted like metal.

“I never got to see him again. I never got to say goodbye.”

His hands shook. In the darkest corners of his mind, he could see brief flashes of blond hair.

He never got to see his mother again. He never got to say goodbye.

“He died protecting me.” Her voice trembled. “He died because of me. It’s all my fault.”

“You don’t understand anything. You know nothing of what I went through!”

...It’s all my fault.

“No, it’s not.”

Faith stared down at her father’s body. When she spoke, her voice was hollow. “You don’t know that.”

“But I do.” He sat next to her. For a second, his hands reached out to hold her. He forced them back. “I do understand. We’re the same.”

Without realizing, his fingertips grazed the skin of her arm. She flinched away; her eyes burned with an emotion that was all too familiar to him- fear.

His heart ached.

“But we’re not the same! You said so yourself, didn’t you?!”

“...I did.”

“So how are we the same?! I’ve seen your past- you didn’t mean to hurt them! You didn’t know what was going to happen! I DID! Everyone I loved died because of me! I felt the bad things about to happen, and I didn’t do anything to stop it! You’re nothing like me, because YOU’RE NOT A MONSTER!”

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the floor. Loud, horrible sobs erupted from her throat.

Dante stared at her. His hands twitched at his sides. She was wrong; he knew she was wrong. But what could he say? That he didn’t know how that felt? That he didn’t know what it felt like to be a monster? A demon?

But he did know. He knew that feeling all too well.

He kept his mouth shut.

“I- I’m sorry,” she whispered, feebly wiping her tears. “I’m sorry.”

Dante sat next to her, and wrapped his arms around his knees. “Why? You have nothing to be sorry about.”

They sat there together. Little Faith had disappeared. The stars above them dimmed; the moonlight began to fade at the edges.

“Everything,” she croaked. “I have everything to be sorry about.” She wiped her tears again; more kept coming. He fought the urge to wipe them away. “The angels were right: I brought nothing but death and despair everywhere I went. I’m nothing more than a harbinger of misery to all the people I love.”

He bit his tongue.

Not to me.

She sniffled. “I see them everywhere. In the sunlight, in the dandelions, in the children playing in the park. And it hurts. It hurts to see them alive in so many different things, and not have them with me.” In the dim light, her gold eyes looked like tin. “I miss them. I miss my dad.”

He inhaled the fresh air. A slow breeze swept over them. “I miss my mom.”

She turned to look at him.

Dante swallowed. The lump in his throat disappeared quicker than he realized. “When she died, I thought I lost everything. I had no one to turn to- everyone I met was always trying to kill me. Demons, insane bank loaners... my own brother.” He ran a hand through his hair. “To be honest, I was scared through all of it. I do my best to try and block it out, and I look all apathetic and shit... but I miss her. I miss her everyday.”

The stars twinkled out of existence. In the distance, the horizon began to turn gray.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Faith murmured. Her fingers gently brushed over his hand. “Losing someone you love is the most painful thing in the world.”

“Yeah.” His hand turned upward and their palms connected. Their fingers laced together. “I’m sorry. At the office, when I said that you didn’t understand me... I was wrong. You’re probably one of the few people who understand me better than anyone else.” He gazed into her eyes; in the lightening sky, they were like amber.

He finally understood what bugs felt like before they were trapped in it for eternity- lost in their beauty, and unwilling to leave it.

“I’m sorry.” He gripped her hand a little tighter. “I hurt you. I was a horrible friend.”

Faith started to shake her head, but he kept going.

“The more I learn about you, the more I realize that I’m not good enough to be your friend; I’m not good enough for you. I’m not good like you are.” He pressed his forehead on their intertwined hands. Tears stained their skin. “I’ll be better. I’ll work hard every day to make myself a better person for you. I’m so sorry, Faith, I’m so sorry...”

A warm hand ran through his hair. It drifted down to his cheek, and gently nudged his chin upwards. It felt so comforting; he closed his eyes, unable to stop himself from leaning into her.

“You were always good enough for me,” she whispered. “Please don’t think otherwise.”

And when she hugged him, he didn’t think. How could he when he felt so much at home?

Surrounded by warmth. Surrounded by her scent.

His nose brushed against the skin of her jawline.

The urge itched.

Claim.

His teeth sank into her neck.

Shit.

But if she was upset, he couldn’t tell. Her warm hands continued to rub small circles on his back. A small song erupted from her throat, soft and sweet.

It felt like home.

The sky turned gold at the edges.

[...]

The three of them laid side by side. The bones underneath them shifted.

Faith’s eyelids twitched.

———————————————————————

A/N: IM FINALLY DONE! This thing has been kicking my ass for a while

Also finals are coming so updates are probably gonna be longer..... sorry 😅

Edit: read chapter 14! :D

[milfgritty]

prove me wrong | j. hughes

❀ ⇢ requested: yes | no ❀ ⇢ word count: 3.3k ❀ ⇢ a/n: so. this got long. to the anon who requested this, i ended up tweaking it a lot to fit the plot and draw things out more so hopefully you enjoy the changes! also let’s just pretend the matthews fam live in michigan lmao

⇢ posted: 01.17.19 . | . masterlist      prev. | next.

Being the younger sister of Auston Matthews definitely had its perks.

Along with those perks, however, came a few downfalls. One of which included the fact that most people that attempted to befriend you were most likely in it because of who your brother was.

Needless to say, you didn’t have many friends.

The one friend you did have was Beth, who’s known you since you were a child and has seen so many of the less than amazing things that Auston has done that it didn’t really matter to her that he was considered a phenomenal NHL player.

To her, he would always be her best friend’s older brother who once almost peed his pants when the two of you convinced him to take you to a haunted house when you were younger. And for that, you couldn’t be more grateful.

Of course, she also uses your love for her against you, like now.

“Come on, Y/N, what’s the big deal about going to a game with me?” Beth whined, trailing behind you down the aisle of your local corner store, ignoring the looks of the people around you.

“You barely like hockey, Beth,” you pointed out, grabbing a bag of chips off the shelf to add into your growing pile for movie night. “Well maybe I’ve changed my mind,” she shrugged, coming up next to you to lean on the shelf before quickly moving away when it started to tip over.

Resisting the urge to laugh, you passed by her to get something to drink, “Yea, because I totally believe that. What’s the real reason?”

She gave you an innocent look, giving in only when you looked pointedly at her. “Fine, okay,” she sighed, settling against the wall next to you, “I’ve been talking to one of the guys that play for them and he said that I should come.”

“Seriously, Beth?”

“What? He’s cute!” She exclaimed, her eyes widening.

“I’m not going to a hockey game with you because you think one of the guys are cute,” you told her, shaking your head and hauling your pile to the counter to pay.

Beth followed suit, continuing to badger you. “Why not?” She demanded, “You like hockey, remember?”

“Beth, do you know how many people will be there that’ll probably know who my brother is? You know how much I hate dealing with that kind of thing,” you placed everything down on the counter, pausing to smile at the cashier.

“Ple-eaaaaaase Y/N, I’m begging you. I’ll do anything,” Beth pleaded, pushing herself into your side and clasping her hands together, giving you her signature puppy dog look.

“Sorry, no,” you said, refusing to give in.

She stayed quiet and continued to stare at you, adding in a pout. The sight got a smile out of you and a breathy laugh as you shook her head. Opening your mouth to speak, you were cut off by the cashier handing you your bag.

“That’ll be 11.50,” he told you, resting his elbows down on the surface in front of him.

“Have a nice day, Y/N,” was his response after you paid. “Thanks. You too, Greg,” you replied, turning to leave. Eyes falling onto Beth, you held back another sigh at her persistence.

“Fine,” you finally gave in, “but only if you carry the bag,”

Laughing as she squealed excitedly, you braced yourself for her inevitable hug. She threw her arms around you and pressed an overzealous kiss to your cheek, yelling out a ‘thank you!’ before happily taking the bag. Smiling at her obvious joy, you admitted to yourself that going to the game wasn’t the worst thing if it made her so happy.

You changed your tune very quickly when you arrived at the game the next day.

Pulling your jacket closer to your body, you ignored the looks you were getting from some of the kids that went to school with you. Beth, oblivious to the attention, chatted away cheerily as she led you to your seats to watch the warm ups.

Eyeing the boys already out on the ice, you attempted to figure out which one was Beth’s guy. Your gaze roamed slowly over the various players, unable to pick out any that fit the kind of guy you knew Beth liked. It wasn’t until the goalie that was stretching stood up and took off his mask that you had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes.

“Beth,” you started, head rolling to the side to look at her, “Please don’t tell me the guy you’ve been talking to is Spencer Knight.”

At her sheepish expression, your head tipped back with a groan before falling forward into your hands as your shoulders shook with laughter.

“You’re ridiculous, Bethy,” you looked at her fondly, grinning when she shrugged and went back to staring at who you’ve dubbed her new boy toy.

As Beth managed to distract you, another exchange was taking place between the boys down on the ice.

Spencer skated over to where a few of his teammates were huddled up stickhandling and passing pucks to each other, among them being Jack and Alex.

“Hey,” he nodded at the guys, getting their attention, “The section over from the bench, a few rows up. Girl in the dark blue beanie.”

“That the girl you’ve been texting nonstop?” One of them teased, only succeeding in receiving a smug smile and nod.

Another bumped Spencer’s shoulder, going to make a comment when Alex cut him off.

“Isn’t that one of Auston Matthew’s younger sisters?” He asked, gesturing vaguely to the girl next to Spencer’s.

Jack, who had remained quietly amused up until then, found his eyes drawn to the girl in question. When his gaze fell on her he froze up automatically, his skate nearly coming out from under him as he mishandled a puck.

His reaction didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates, the likes of whom quickly ganged up on him.

“Ooh,” one began, laughing and poking at him, “Hughes has a crush, doesn’t he?”

“Shut up,” he responded, slapping his glove away. A wave of laughter rang through the group causing Jack to roll his eyes.

Alex reigned in his laughter first, “I mean, I can’t blame him. She is pretty hot.”

Agreements came from the rest before Spencer cut in.

“You know, I could probably set you up,” he hinted, smirking at the way Jack hesitated for a split second. “I don’t have a damn crush,” Jack insisted, though his words were ignored and replaced with more teasing as he skated away from them.

The attention went unnoticed by both you and Beth somehow. Beth was still successfully keeping your focus off the looks from the people around you that had persisted. You found your gaze being drawn back to the ice after a bit, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Beth.

“What are you looking at so much?” She asked, bumping your shoulder with hers as she tried to follow your gaze.

“Hmm?” You questioned absentmindedly, quickly snapping out of it and refocusing on her.

Beth grinned knowingly, her eyes narrowing and giving you a bad feeling. “You were staring at one of the guys, weren’t you?” She accused.

Your denial was contradicted by the light dusting of pink that was spreading across your cheeks.

“Oh my god, you totally were!” She laughed gleefully, returning to watching the guys on the ice with renewed vigor. “Who was it?” She questioned, before pausing and turning back to you with an evil smile.

“Was it Hughes?”

Sputtering in shock, you accidentally began choking on your own saliva. Her hand came down to thump you on the back while she began celebrating her accurate guessing skills.

“I knew it,” Beth giggled, “He’s so your type.”

“Beth!” You gasped out, placing your hands on your cheeks to get them to cool down. “Okay, fine. I was staring at Jack,” you confirmed, slumping down in your seat and choosing to just cover your entire face.

“That’s so cute,” Beth cooed, reaching out to pinch your cheeks before you batted her hands away. “I could totally try and get Spencer to help set you two up, you know,” she told you, rubbing her hands that you had hit. Her maniacal grin only grew when you looked back up at her in panic.

“Don’t you dare, Elizabeth,” you warned, rising back up to point a finger in her face.

Her nose crinkled at the use of her full name, rolling her eyes at your dramatics. “Fine,” she grumbled, slouching in her seat with a pout, her arms crossing over her chest.

The two of you sat in silence for the next few minutes until the game finally started. Reluctantly, you found yourself quickly being sucked into it. When the other team scored first to take the lead, you booed along with everyone else. And the next minute had you leaping to your feet and screaming when they tied it up.

The game continued like that, one team scoring and taking the lead only for the other to respond and tie it right back up. During intermission, you were subjected to Beth subtly pointing out every accomplishment of Jack’s because while she didn’t exactly like the sport, after years of being around you she at least knew the game. You tried to derail her by commenting on every good save Spencer had made that period, but it just didn’t stick.

The other team took the lead with five minutes left in the third and as the clock ticked down, it seemed like that was it.

That was, of course, until Jack scored with 13 seconds left on the clock to send it to OT.

Your throat was hoarse from yelling at that point, but that didn’t stop you from screaming once more with exuberance. Even Beth had jumped and pulled you into a hug, which was saying something.

Overtime started up quickly, and just as swift as it began, it ended.

Jack had scored again, and this time it was the game winning goal.

The crowd erupted with that last goal, just as the rest of the team skated onto the ice and piled up onto each other in celebration. The win left you with a high, feeling light with joy. Beth and you began to wander out, but she stopped you.

“I might have told Spencer that we would wait for him,” she winced, looking at you with a hopeful smile.

“Please don’t tell me we’re giving him a ride home, too,” you joked back, your good mood making you more cooperative. The two of you giggled as you continued on to where Beth said you would meet up with him at.

The wait didn’t take as long as you expected, you thought to yourself when you saw Beth light up. Your back was to where you assumed Spencer was and something about the way Beth was smiling at you was giving you a bad feeling. As you turned your head to peer back, you realized why.

Walking alongside Spencer was Jack.

Swallowing nervously, you became aware of your surroundings again when Beth nudged you. Snapping your head back to glare at her, you hissed, “Did you do this?”

“Nope,” she whispered back, but the unmistakable slyness tinging her expression was enough for you to doubt her.

“Hey,” her smile somehow widened as Spencer approached, springing into his arms when he came close enough. “Hey,” he parroted back, laughing and matching her smile. He caught her and hugged her tightly, leaving you feeling like a third wheel to the pair that were closer than you had previously assumed.

Well, you thought as you sneaked a glance at Jack, not exactly a third wheel.

“You had such a good game,” you overheard Beth tell Spencer, the two of them giggling while holding the other close. You averted your eyes as fast as possible, feeling like you were seeing something personal that you weren’t supposed to.

Eyes finding Jack again, you got the impression that he felt the same way.

Finally, it seemed like the lovebirds realized they weren’t alone and broke apart. They remained pressed closely together, but you supposed it was better than before.

“Spencer,” Beth began, pulling him by the hand over to where you and Jack were awkwardly standing, “This is my best friend, Y/N.”

Raising your hand in a half wave, you smiled up at him. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Beth always talks about you,” he laughed, glancing down at Beth with a grin as she playfully slapped his chest from her position nestled into his side.

“All good things I hope,” you grinned, gaze flitting between them and admiring the way Spencer seemed to be unable to keep his eyes off Beth. You were pleased to see that he seemed to actually like her a lot, just as much as Beth seemed to like him. It did confuse you a bit as to why Beth hadn’t really mentioned him before.

“Mostly,” Beth replied for Spencer, smiling cheekily back at you causing you to scoff.

“Great. Mostly,” you commented dryly, rolling your eyes without any heat behind it.

Your words sparked laughter amongst the group, the mood lightening up from a few minutes ago. “Oh yea, this is Jack by the way,” Spencer said after a second, remembering that he hadn’t introduced Jack yet.

You gave him the same half wave and smile you gave Spencer, your eyes lingering a bit longer on him. Jack mirrored you before shoving his hand back into his pocket and ducking his head. The lighting was dim enough that you could almost convince yourself that you were imagining the slight blush on his face.

After that, it seemed like Beth and Spencer had retreated back into their bubble. You wouldn’t have minded that much if that didn’t mean you were left in awkward silence with Jack.

The quiet stretched on for what felt like an eternity before Jack broke it.

“You’re Auston Matthews’ sister, right?” He asked.

And just like that, you retreated back into yourself.

“Yes,” you answered curtly, lips thinning out as you avoided his gaze.

Jack realized his mistake within a few seconds, apologizing soon after, “Shit, sorry. I didn’t realize that was something you didn’t like to talk about.”

Smiling tightly, you accepted his apology, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

The silence came back with a vengeance, neither of you wanting to talk afterward. Jack, in fear of saying something wrong again, and you, well, you just didn’t know what to say.

You caught Beth’s eye while looking around aimlessly, becoming confused before realizing that she was gesturing at Jack with her eyes. Giving an imperceptible shake of your head, you turned away. Noticing Spencer giving Jack a similar look, you furrowed your brows, puzzled.

“This is really weird, but can I maybe get your number?”

Startled, you nearly jumped as you snapped your head back to look at Jack. “What?” You squeaked out, shocked that he was asking until you realized it probably had something to do with you being Auston’s little sister.

Jack shifted his weight, shuffling his feet. He met your eyes after a beat, appearing to brace himself.

“Or you know, I can give you my number and you can decide where to go from there,” he continued, bouncing on his toes as he waited for your answer. A thought of how adorable he looked invaded your mind but you swiftly banished it.

Opening your mouth to respond, you noticed Beth glaring at you and nodding her head ever so slightly. Gritting your teeth, you jerkily nodded in agreement.

Unlocking your phone and handing it to him, you felt tingly as you watched him. Butterflies were fluttering around rapidly in your stomach and you could confidently say that you hated it.

When he went to hand it back, your fingers brushed. Sucking in a breath, you snatched your hand back to your side in a panic, clutching your phone tightly.

Next thing you knew, Beth was skidding to your side and laying a hand on your arm. “Calm down,” she hissed, her lips barely moving before she spoke louder. “We should actually get going,” she told the boys, “We have a bit of a drive.”

Goodbyes were exchanged, some more awkward than others, and then you were climbing into your car. Barely pulling out of the parking lot, Beth turned to you with a look of exasperation.

“What happened back there?” She nearly yelled, her hands flying about. Sparing her a glance while keeping your eyes on the road, you shrugged.

“Seriously, Y/N. Everything was going fine and then I look over and you’re practically glaring at the poor guy,” Beth exclaimed, falling back into the seat and throwing her hands up.

Opening and closing your mouth, you thought about it. “I don’t know, okay?” You finally responded, giving a more violent shrug than the last one. “He just, one minute it was quiet and then suddenly his first words were to ask me if I was Aus’s sister and I just freaked out, okay?” You rushed out, refusing to look at her.

Beth didn’t speak for awhile after that and when she did it was calmer than her outburst.

“Is that why? Because he immediately led in with the Auston thing?” She asked softly, and you could practically feel her sympathetic—or pitying, you weren’t entirely sure—gaze.

“You know the answer to that, Bethy,” you responded in a whisper.

Silence descended upon the car again, though it was more understanding than the previous ones.

“I don’t think he’s like who you’re thinking of, babe,” Beth told you. Stopping at the light you looked over at her. Her face was looking out the window, but even like that, you could see the sadness on her face, sadness that was for you. Her features were pulled together in a way that made your ache and you turned back around, unable to look any longer.

“You don’t know that,” your voice came out weaker than you wanted it to, putting more effort than you needed to as you made a turn. “He’s in a different position, Jack,” Beth started and out of the corner of your eye you saw her turn to face you, “He’s expected to be drafted first overall like Aus was, why would he focus on him like that?”

“You never know,” you said, though your argument wasn’t strong and you knew it.

Beth sighed and shook her head, sitting back. “Look, you have his number. Just give him a chance,” she tried, and just like before, you found it hard to deny her.

“I’ll think about it,” was your response.

The rest of the drive was spent without talking, the only noise being the radio playing almost silently in the background. Her words echoed in your head even after you dropped her off, especially with her parting words.

“Just think about it, okay?” She asked once more to remind you before pausing and adding, “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” you responded, nodding just barely.

She gave you one last sympathetic look, ducking out of the car and walking up to her house. You watched her until she got in, letting out a heavy breath as you drove off.

You couldn’t stop thinking about it when you got home, trapped in your head even as you said goodnight to your sister and parents. Going through the motions to get ready for bed, you kept glancing at your phone. Beth’s words playing in your head, you grabbed it and gave yourself little time to second guess yourself as you typed out a text and hit send before climbing into bed and willing sleep to come.

‘hey, it’s y/n’

[virmillion]

Ibytm - T minus 40 seconds

Masterpost - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter - ao3

Words: 2,470

As the weak light of the early morning filters through uncaring blinds to rest on peaceful eyes and worriless blankets, coating the world in a sheet of simplicity that could one day be, Logan scowls at his phone. Though he should be getting ready for the day, pulling on his work attire and preparing a mediocre breakfast for himself, a few sets of pixels on his screen say otherwise. Sebastian NASA office branch closed for the day, the email reads, due to conflicts regarding Roseland fumigation company. Katie-Lee Johnston. Logan suffocates the light of the screen in the mattress.

Beside him, Virgil rolls over and tosses a heavy arm around Logan’s waist, dragging him closer and burying his cold nose in Logan’s neck. There’s a brief pause where Logan allows himself to simply exist in the silence, before Virgil opens his mouth and talks into Logan’s skin. “Isn’t this supposed to be the part where you bug me to let go so you can run off to work?”

Logan feels the words more than he hears them, but he sort of forgets about them entirely when his eyes flick down to the ring around the finger holding his abdomen. It’s not until that finger starts drumming a rhythm on his ribcage that he remembers he’s supposed to say something now. “They closed the office for fumigation today. Micah probably forgot a tuna sandwich that started its own ecosystem in the fridge or something.”

“That’s awesome. Free day.” Logan curls into Virgil’s chest as he says this, admiring how the low rumble of his barely-awake voice vibrates through his body before he flips around to face him—ignoring Virgil’s protests. Virgil hugs him closer, tucking Logan’s head under his chin and buffeting some of his hair back with a contented sigh. Logan closes his eyes.

“So what do you want to do with your magical day off?”

Logan considers bringing up the idea of job hunting for a steadier career than art tours for Virgil, but decides he’d rather not stir that particular pot. Not today, anyway. “Wait for the world to stop turning?”

“That might take a little longer than a day. Maybe we would update your wardrobe.”

“What’s wrong with my wardrobe?”

“It is woefully lacking in non-work clothes—street clothes, whatever you want to call them—and I cannot be engaged to a man that does not respect himself enough to have a cardigan of his own. I mean, it really is time you stopped stealing mine.”

Logan pouts stubbornly, ignoring the feeling of the cardigan he stole from Virgil burning a hole in the back of his head. “Okay, so wardrobe update day, but why would you propose to me if you already knew I didn’t have any cardigans?”

“You really thought I didn’t notice the box you’ve been carrying around, or how nervous you’ve been since you got it? I couldn’t just let you beat me to the punch like that.” Logan sticks his tongue out and curls up tighter against Virgil, who readjusts his arms to hold him closer. Beneath a mess of blankets and sunlight, they fall back asleep in each other’s embrace.

A few hours later, they wake up in the same position. Logan grumbles softly, more than a little disoriented from the extra sleep. He squints against the light, releasing something between a groan and a whine as he tries to ignore the giant ball of fire maintaining the capacity for life on the planet.

Once his eyes finally adjust, he looks up to see Virgil propped atop the pillow with an elbow supporting his weight. Virgil smiles down at him.

“What’s that face for?”

“What face?”

“That one, the one you’re smiling at me with. Why are you smiling like that?”

“I never get to beat you to being awake. It’s nice to see you all peaceful and asleep like that.”

Logan’s face is on fire. “Shut up.”

Virgil laughs, and it sends shivers down Logan’s spine. “And why would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, I’m not going cardigan shopping with you today.”

“Well hey hey hey, let’s not get too hasty here.” Virgil shoves up from the mattress and scrambles off the bed, jumping around the room to pull up his skinny jeans at the same time as he tugs a shirt over his head. Logan does not particularly care for how cold he suddenly feels without Virgil’s arms, but he begrudgingly rises as well. He grumbles the whole way through getting dressed and dragging his butt into the kitchen, where Virgil is already whispering forceful encouragement to the sputtering keurig.

Virgil turns as the keurig quiets down, handing Logan the mug with a Calvin and Hobbes strip along its face. “I think our best bet is probably just to hit up the place where I got my first few.”

“I’m really only along for the ride, but I support you.”

“Cool, because they’ve got this great selection there, and it’s a small enough store that no one else has really flooded it yet, and they’ve even got a few sections of vintage shirts and records and junk. Just hipster enough to be cool but not so hipster that it’s uncool.”

This stunning (and confusing) review is how Logan finds himself in a tiny little shop tucked away in the elbow corner of an ill-frequented strip mall. He stands uncomfortably off to the side, watching Virgil dig through racks of cardigans and hoodies and jackets and shirts and pretty much any other form of clothing that could go on a vaguely humanoid torso. The organization of this place leaves absolutely everything to be desired.

It crosses Logan’s mind that he might’ve lost Virgil for good when his boyfriend—no, fiance, he thinks with delight—disappears into the fabrics completely, and the only sign that he hasn’t literally been eaten by the clothing is the sides of his ratty sneakers peeking out from under the hems of the shorter tops.

Finally, Virgil emerges holding far more clothes than he should reasonably be able to carry, all of which add up to stack higher than his head. No, seriously, Logan is genuinely worried they might knock out a ceiling light or something. Virgil jerks his head for Logan to follow him to the far wall, which is completely covered in floor-to-ceiling mirrors and peppered with the odd bench or stool. Joining him beside one of the larger benches, Logan looks on as Virgil dumps everything in a disaster pile and digs through it for one particular piece. Several garments fall to the floor.

“Okay, try this one on first,” Virgil says, pressing a mustard yellow ball of fabric into Logan’s arms. He does.

“This looks horrible. It looks horrible, doesn’t it?”

“Haha, yeah.”

“Well, what the—why would you make me try it on, then?”

“I wanted to weed out the worst ones first, and I’d rather try them out and have them fail than never try them and find out later they would’ve been perfect, y’know?”

“Kind of a messy logic line, but I’ll take it,” Logan says, preparing himself for the onslaught of a fashion show montage of trying on one cardigan after another, complete with Virgil pitching in objectively more accurate opinions. He tosses out points regarding the hang, the hem, the colors, none of which Logan can even begin to follow. He simply allows himself to be shoved into each garment, watching the ‘definite no’ pile shrink to Virgil’s right as the ‘hard maybe’ pile grows very, very slowly.

Eventually, Logan’s discomfort reaches a breaking point, and he starts strutting around as if he’s on a catwalk with the ones he likes best. He even pretends to be a very inaccurate parody of a motorcycle gang winner (whatever that is) when he dons a fake leather jacket, to which Virgil buries his face in his hands like a scorned mentor in the training montage of a Disney Channel straight-to-tv movie. It all dissolves into giggles and guffaws when Logan pulls on a zip-up Hawaiian flower print hoodie.

“Wait, stop, don’t take that one off yet.” Logan freezes, glancing at himself in the mirror again. He wears a midnight blue cardigan that falls somewhere around his knees, and the rib stitching that crawls halfway up his forearms is inlaid with tiny white sparkles that almost make it look like the cloudless night sky. “Okay, hold still.” Virgil flits around Logan like a hummingbird, checking the drape of the fabric, the pull of the seams, and adjusts it all to his unknowable standards. Finally, he stops and stares, facing Logan and just holding his hands loosely between them.

Logan hesitates. “What?”

“I just—this is real.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Us. We’re real. This, you, me, all of it is real.” Virgil lifts their joined hands, looking at the gleaming bands around their fingers. “It’s really real.”

“It really is.”

Virgil shakes his head and snaps back into the moment, clearly trying to laugh off the awkward silence that managed to fall on the store. Logan busies himself pretending he doesn’t notice the cashier staring at them, instead twisting the ring up and down his knuckles and admiring how the engraving rubs against his skin. It’ll cost you the stars.

Ironic, perhaps, that the ring Logan had carried around promised Virgil the moon. Better, even, that Virgil opted to keep it. A matched set of harmonious rings that no one else could have quite the thrill of understanding that they would.

Or Logan is reading too deep into jewelry again.

Probably that second one.

“Right,” Virgil says suddenly, looking up from his own ring. His eyes look a tad bit more watery than usual. “Yes. Okay, right, let’s go buy that one, then. Good starter cardigan. Good star-digan.” Logan follows Virgil to the checkout counter, where a changing of the guard is apparently in progress. The cashier that definitely wasn’t staring at them pulls out their till and vanishes into a back room as the new person slots in their own. Logan freezes.

“Micah?”

“Hey, Logan! What’s pop rockin’?” Micah glances between Logan and Virgil, then down at the jeweled hand pulling out a credit card. “Is this that guy you would never shut up about? Viagra something or other?”

“Virgil Sandovall,” Virgil corrects with a light laugh. “And who might you be?”

“Just the guy that had to endure Logan droning on for years and years about how amazing and cute his Cadmium boyfriend is, no one important.” Micah messes with something on the register, and the price drops a few bucks. “Also the guy giving you a free employee discount, just ’cause I’m so nice, so there’s also that. Primarily, though, the intern subjected to Logan’s incessant gushing. That’s me.”

“I, uh, I don’t know that I was all that bad about it,” Logan lies. “And, hey, they’re fumigating the office today for some bugs or something. Did you forget your sprouting tuna sandwich in the fridge again?”

“Yeah, yeah, tall skinny guy,” Micah continues, completely ignoring Logan’s feeble attempt at changing the subject. “You were always talking about what your plans over the next weekend were gonna be, how exciting it would be to go on whatever odd adventure he had planned.” Micah nods at Virgil, who’s barely holding back his own laughter. “Y’know, he hardly ever said a word before meeting you. Then, bam, he comes in one day, ranting about this tour guide from some museum a couple blocks away. I’m pretty sure he almost, like, combusted on the spot when you showed up with coffee for our floor.”

“Oh, I believe it,” Virgil says with what Logan would call an objectively evil grin. “I have never once seen him not raving about space or riddles or whatever quantum something or other, but I am pretty amazing, so what else would he talk about with people who already know everything about space and stuff?”

“Yes, great, can we maybe be going now?” Logan asks. More like pleads.

Micah steamrolls right over him. “I wouldn’t say we know everything about space. To be honest, he never missed a chance to talk our ears off about the latest project he had. You showing up was the conversation change that absolutely everyone on our floor was dying for. Ooh, good couplet, let me write that down—I’m a bludgeoning poet, you know.”

“I believe the word you’re looking for is burgeoning, and no, you’re not,” Logan mutters.

Micah ignores him, instead handing over a bag with the cardigan and receipt as he nods at Virgil. “Not to be a weird cashier barging in on the lives of a couple random customers, but I really do think you’re just about the best thing that could’ve happened to him.”

“Besides his promotion, you mean.”

“What! Logan, you got the job? Dude, that’s awesome!” Micah punches the air a few times as Logan debates the merits of literally being launched into space and landing at terminal velocity on Neptune right this very second. “Hey, Virgil, do you do anything besides fetch quests and museum—”

“We’re engaged,” Logan says loudly. Micah blinks at him as Virgil raises an eyebrow. “Engaged. Me and him. Him and I. He and I. He and me. Are engaged. To be married, I mean. To each other.”

“Right, so I think that’s our cue to head on out,” Virgil says, rocking on his toes. “It was great to meet you. Micah, was it?”

“Yeah, um, yes. Great meeting you, too. Besides when we met on your fetch quest, but—y’know what, never mind.” Micah waves them toward the door, nodding at Logan. “Congratulations, by the way. On the engagement, I mean. And the promotion. On everything, I guess. Oh, on the cardigan purchase, too. Thanks for shopping with us, and all that fun stuff.”

Logan cannot get out the door fast enough.

“That was exciting,” Virgil says brightly. He waves to Micah as the door clicks shut behind them. “He the one that left?”

“Yeah, yes, he just didn’t see any upward movement for himself, and he had an interview set up for this place, anyway. Really good benefits, I think he mentioned. Decent hours.” Logan hefts the shopping bag in his hand, half tempted to do a little spin step right there on the concrete. Engaged. It still doesn’t feel real. He wonders if it ever will.

“Here, give me that,” Virgil says, taking the bag and pulling out the cardigan. He settles it over Logan’s shoulders and takes a step back, poking his tongue out as Logan fulfills his spin step temptation.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah,” Virgil murmurs, his eyes catching on the peculiar glint of the sparkling stars. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s really, really good.”

[cosmicmoved]

IT’S TIME FOR MIN’S OFFICIAL INTRO... a mintro, if you will. KIM MINWOO, KNOWN AS MIN; 24 YEAR OLD POPSTAR, MEMBER OF POP DUO SO:DA. this is a muse i made back in march for a closed rpg that didn’t open so i wanted to give him a second chance! (:< i’ll write a proper bio for him soon, one that makes him sound like less of a moron, but this is just a basic rundown of his basic situation & some extra facts about him! sorry if this sucks, i can’t introduce a new muse without getting nervous for the life of me asdfghgfdfg anyway !! this gets pretty lengthy, even though it’s all just bullet points, so i threw it under a cut to save the dash. please click the read more to learn about min! if you have any trouble reading the theme, please refer to the mobile version of this post!

FIRST!! I want to be clear that Min is not a K-Pop idol, he’s a popstar. Technically, he started off in the K-Pop industry, is still ‘owned’ by a Korean company and was trained under that system but to describe him that way is no longer accurate. (i’m also very aware there’s already a k-pop idol called min but as he’s fictional, a man and, again, not a k-pop idol, it doesn’t really matter that much but m!ss a deserved better anyway)

BASICS

min is tomo’s best friend. tomo, having a lifetime of awful hollywood experience on min, was one of the first friends he made after moving to LA and they were both around the same age. they’re a chaotic combo and i love them... (i know the fc choice seems a bit too easy but i actually made both of these characters totally separately & making tomo made me want to give min another shot so i decided to lump them together)

full name is kim minwoo (김민우 / 金玟雨 / kim min-u) but he goes by MIN, both as a stage name and a nickname. call him either min or minwoo, he doesn’t really care either way. (he’s fed up with people pronouncing the W...it’s silent...)

birthday: 12th June 1995. he’s 24 years old.

nobody can tell whether or not he’s a jerk because he’s essentially a nice person. is it false bravado or does he just lack tact? is he just a part-time bastard? like.....he’s not mean, he’s a good person, he cares about other people!! ...but he’s also kind of a brat & he’s VERY stroppy. he gets upset if stuff doesn’t work out the way he wants it to.

he’s a member of the pop duo, SO:DA; an okay singer, more of a rapper, but a solid dancer. also very much known for his look, something about which he’s more bitter than he lets on. (he pretends to eat it up but he actually finds it pretty frustrating, a direct contrast to tomo who loves being the designated Pretty Boy so long as it’s not in clean, shiny way; if ur gonna call min pretty a bunch of times, compliment him somewhere else too at least once if u don’t want to end up on his list of enemies)

SO:DA debuted in south korea back in 2014 but the company made the decision to move it abroad a year later in an attempt to globalise their output. it’s hard to consider them as a k-pop group as they’ve been based in LA for 4 years now and they release music entirely in english. (pls don’t mention super m to me, i made this character in MARCH asdfghgfdfh)

the group’s name was originally short for SOL & DAL, taken from the french word for sun (soleil) and the korean word for moon, but they dropped it after the move abroad. min was the member who represented the moon while his partner in the group was the sun. they’ve sort of kept the concept in terms of visuals and all the rest but they mostly don’t speak about it.

min actually grew up in the UK. born in seoul, moved to a london when he was four and then moved back to seoul when he was thirteen and then to LA when he was eighteen.

EXTRA TRIVIA

min’s not as into partying as tomo so like...he’ll go along with it and go to clubs with tomo but usually doesn’t drink as much & often ends up in charge of dealing with the aftermath of tomo being an idiot. min doesn’t really mind bc he’s used to people trying to chase after him & being treated like an irresponsible child so he likes being the responsible one for once. (actually, he’s just a much tamer character than tomo in general. i think the same heavier topics will come up by virtue of him being a big part of tomo’s plotline but, in isolation, min’s less intense. min doesn’t take any drugs, for one thing; it’s part lack of interest, part he’d never get away with it like tomo does)

min isn’t allowed to do wild shit in public or else his management will come down on him like a tonne of bricks but he likes the idea of the Bad Boy image so he kinda...mooches off of tomo for the street cred. like they’re genuinely best friends and he’s not using tomo or anything shitty like that but i can’t say that min doesn’t enjoy being seen as trouble by proxy.

got banned from club penguin when he was ten for saying fuck. (more than once bc saying it once only gets you banned for 24hrs.) it was his first experience with resenting authority for enforcing their rules on him 😔

he likes to keep this sort of...mysterious, tortured image but his upbringing was actually fairly ordinary. he gets on with his family and loves them a lot. nobody’s dead, there’s no awkward relationships.

he has two siamese cats, both aged about 3 years. they have their own instagram account that’s about 40% run by min and 60% run by his manager when they have nothing better to do (usually after min has spammed them with pictures he’s taken). in conclusion, they are baby.

this has actually resulted in them having to separate their channels of contact by purpose; one messaging service will be used for important stuff, one will be used for casual stuff, one will be used exclusively for social media (cat pics & selfies), so on and so forth.

his management won’t let him get tattoos and he’s mad about it. like to the point that he’s been known to wear fake tattoos occasionally. do NOT clown him for it. he won’t take it.

actually, min’s management is just very controlling and overbearing & he’s totally overworked but hahaha we’re just going to ignore that bc arguing with the people in charge means risking your dream career in music & potentially losing it all, esp bc you skipped out on uni and fucked up a lot of high school just to pursue this job hahaha let’s just internalise that shit and get on with it

owns the cherry coke aesthetic. actually thinks classic coke is better. shhh, don’t tell. his favourite sweet is basset’s cherry drops though hehehe (not that he gets to eat them very often, given i can’t imagine they’re easy to find outside of the uk)

actually drinks too much coca cola. that probably explains the stroppiness, as well as his awful sleeping patterns.

pepsi can get fucked

min claims to be a vegetarian.

min is not a vegetarian.

the backstory there is pretty simple; min’s fussy. he has particular tastes. most kinds of meat, esp red meat, do not fall into his OK Zone. instead of having to suffer through important, fancy meeting dinners with posh steaks and not being allowed to use his fussiness as an excuse, he started claiming he was a vegetarian. people seemed to be more accepting of that. the only trouble is that he’s now widely known as a vegetarian when he doesn’t actually give a shit. the only people who know he’s bullshitting are his friends. he just wants a mcdonald’s double cheeseburger.

min lives on a diet of utter shit. he’s contractually obliged to eat healthily when preparing for promotions so he doesn’t just fuckin collapse on stage from malnutrition. pls eat a vegetable.

o yea he’s petty as fuck. wrong him like...once...and it’s fuck u city.

also he currently has silver hair. he’s icy...u see that he’s icy......i know the graphic is pink hair but i made it as a sidebar for smth like a year ago and i wanted to reuse it (:<

ALSO !! uhhhhhh, if anybody’s interested in rping the other half of SO:DA.........pls let me know asdfgfdf i’d literally LOVE for someone to take that role hehehe! p much everything is up to you besides a few requirements; he has to be close enough in age to min, probs not too different in build (duos always kind of have?? a sorta physical symmetry??) and he's a vocalist. the personality is totally your call but there has to be that sunny image. fc and everything else is your choice too but i’d have to be chill w/it & agree that it works asdfghdd!!