#(dog food was the outlier)

[eddis-not-eeddis]

I had a major blond moment the other day. My coworker and I were talking about what we were going to do after we got off shift and I handed him my shopping list. He looked down at it and went “what the heck is this?” and it took me a moment to clock that the list I’d handed him was written in Korean, and your average American can’t read Hangul.

[wickjump]

Not exactly hurt comfort but I am enjoying the idea that every time Cross reveals something about his past/childhood it slowly but surely makes the team angry. Like he happens to share a "funny story" or mention how he was treated and one by one the gang is horrified to the point where if xgaster actually showed up in the same au as them they would all be gunning for him immediately.

Also the stars showing up during this fight and like Dream: Nightmare stop this!! What are you doing to- Nightmare: (goops over and whispers something in Dream's ear) Dream: WHAT?? No fuck that (starts aiming his arrows at xgaster)

IVE SPOKEN ABOUT THIS SO MANY TIMES WITH FRIENDS/MUTUALS I AGREE SO MYCH HE HAS SO MANY TRAUMATIZING CHILDHOOD STORIES HE INTERNALLY NORMALIZED GOD. HE DOESNT REALIZE HOW BAD IT WAS AND THE REACTIONS HE GETS ARE UNNERVING. THANK YOU FOR THIS AND OTHER CROSS RELATED ASKS YOURE SO GOOD WITH THEM THEYRE MY FAVORITE

ok ya this is just plain whump warning for lotsa child abuse including physical. like beating the shit out of an 8 year old physical. also I’m so tired right now

chances are that’s not even the worst of it because you know his seven year old ass was told ‘don’t tell anyone about me beating you to near death’ and he still sticks to that. but he speaks about abuse he doesn’t even grasp counts as abuse.

withholding food. sleeping in the yard. eating food on the floor while the others sat at the dinner table as punishment (or to eat out of a dog bowl on the ground i had to do that once lol). as a kid still scared of the dark he was locked in dark rooms until he got over his fear (he’s still scared to this day but he won’t seek help because he doesn’t want to be punished again). cross touched something he wasn’t supposed to? put your hand on the burning hot stove for however many seconds that item was worth in G (maybe divided by 5/10), or until he cried.

cruel and unusual punishments were xgaster’s forte but he tells them like funny stories to the horror of literally everyone around him.

cross is not coping well with figuring out that no that’s not normal and no that’s fucked up. most of his scars are probably from xgaster (excluding the red one on his face obv). and when he delves into the traditional abuse it gets worse somehow?? anyway xgaster is on THE multiversal hitlist. star sanses and bad sanses all want his head on a wall. even ink because ink didn’t know about the abuse because xgaster never told him for obvious reasons and it’s not like cross was willing to share.

i think that once he starts talking about the abuse he can’t stop (same) and he’s just. slowly crying and eventually hyperventilating and oh he’s been holding onto that for SO long. and then he hates that he told people because he wasn’t supposed to and is scared that they’ll see him less or punish him for some reason or hate him now, but he isn’t expecting to be comforted after? wtf? he doesn’t grasp that saying ‘yeah i got in trouble at school so my dad beat me until i lost two of my baby teeth and got a temporary crack in my skull’ normally results in being hugged or something. like dude you were 8 wtf. and he’s so scared but he just wants to feel safe AUGH HE MAKES MY HEART HURT. like dude, he almost beat papyrus at a time he was so young he had to use a step-stool to reach the sink to brush his teeth :( dude…

anyway ya cross is me fr (the burning hand stove happened once/twice to me actually idk i was like 5 lol. my grandfather is not the best man) and he deserves to go through hell on earth and be tortured in his childhood i think. oh and experience comfort or whatever after idk. kross maybe because their dynamic is ‘my childhood was ruined’ x ‘my adulthood was ruined’ and i think that’s sweet. or mtt + cross poly with nightmare as the outlier wondering why they’re so affectionate all of a sudden (he’s aroace…)

BUT THATS SELF INDULGENT LMAO what really matters is how much we torture the poor lad that is cross 🥰

also make him trans because abuse isn’t enough he needs extreme dysphoria all of the time. xgaster isn’t transphobic btw this is independent from everything else

[pain-in-the-butler]

How was the rest of the Kuroshitsuji panel? I'm curious lol

I'm so glad you asked! I was actually planning to make a post on this regardless of interest, so it's convenient that someone will actually already be curious to hear lol. Here is the long version of what happened at the panel:

Before CDawgVA, the directors, and Daisuke Ono came out onstage, they had a hype man going around and interviewing cosplayers in the audience/giving them random Crunchyroll prizes. He would ask the cosplayers to tell him something about their costume. My favorites were the Sebastian who cut their wig just that morning and the Ciel who left their neck bow at home, so they improvised one out of tissues and it actually looked pretty good. Here's my picture of it on the big screen:

I guess I'm an outlier who never watched a CDawgVA video, so seeing him in person was actually my first time seeing him ever. He seemed like a nice guy and happy to be there, I can see why people like him. He did a pretty good job inviting the guests onstage and asking them questions -

Producer Yoshito Ito and director Kenjirou Okada both received applause when they came out, but the crowd fuckin exploded for Daisuke Ono. He clearly has a lot of experience in working a room, he did a little theatrical bow when he walked out, and I think he said "yes, my lord" or something like that, I don't remember exactly. I'm actually not much of a fan of his, but I still joined everyone else in cheering loudly for him -

All the guests spoke Japanese and as far as I could tell the translator did a really good job up there, he was quick on the draw every time. I could tell the fan next to me spoke some Japanese and he seemed to think it was accurate -

To break the ice, CDawg asked the three panelists about what they thought of Los Angeles. I can't remember what the director and producer said, but Ono went to see a Lakers game and had a good time even though they lost -

Then CDawg (do people call him that or Connor? I actually don't know, sorry if I sound like a pleb) said that because Sebastian likes cats so much, he wonders if any of the panelists would like to have a cat. I believe it was Okada who said he had a cat two years ago when he lived with his parents, but when he moved out, his mother told him "The cat is staying here." Ito said he would rather have a dog, and Ono said he would also prefer a dog, but he would definitely name the dog "Sebastian" -

The panel was scheduled to be under an hour, so I was kind of glad when CDawg moved on from the goofy questions and asked about the anime. Ito and Okada talked about location scouting a little bit in England. They said the oddest thing for them was how there weren't mountains and that they could see the horizon even when they weren't near water. They said if they hadn't actually visited England, they probably would have put mountains around Weston...... -

CDawg also asked them about the food (and apologized for its taste before they could answer lol). Ito and Okada said that they enjoyed the fish and chips, but were surprised that afternoon tea did not live up to the hype. They didn't like the scones with clotted cream, which surprised CDawg, who said "clotted cream is the only good food we have" lmao -

Ito and Okada also talked about how they initially turned down an offer to make a new season, supposedly because they didn't think they could hold a candle to the earlier seasons. They said they later changed their minds when they realized that there were still fans of the series who wanted to see what came next. I personally don't buy that answer, but not for any reason other than it sounds fake. Maybe there's some truth to it (maybe) -

They also talked about how they really went into the Public School arc hoping to create something that felt different from the previous seasons. That was interesting to me, because it didn't really feel like that's what they were going for when I watched it, but okay I guess they were -

Ono said the most exciting thing for him about working on the Public School arc was that he was granted permission to give a more emotional performance this time. He believes that Ciel and Sebastian's experience fighting Undertaker on the Campania was a turning point in their relationship and that it changed the way he voiced Sebastian. He really did seem pleased with this fact, though it seemed to me that he could not remember Book of Atlantic very well lol—but that could have simply been due to the way the translator referred to it as "that cruise ship" -

I think that was when they took another little break to play a game CDawg came up with where the panelists had to guess what a few words in British slang meant. The first was the Welsh word "cwtch". We weren't supposed to take pictures but your girl took one anyway

"Cwtch" is pronounced "cootch" and CDawg said "Here's a hint: when you see Ciel, you want to give him a cwtch." Through no fault of the Welsh, CDawg clearly picked this word to sound like an innuendo, and some people in the audience were shouting "Kiss? Kiss?" I can't remember who, but either Ito or Okada's guess was something the translator apparently "Couldn't say out loud" with the impression that their guess was sexually inappropriate? Ono and the remaining director/producer guessed the word "hug" which was close: "cwtch" means "cuddle." It was such a bizarre moment, I stg when will we stop making sexual jokes about this child character. That includes you, Yana 🫵 -

The next word CDawg had everyone guess was "chuffed", with a picture of young Vincent celebrating his cricket victory. The hint was "you feel this after you win a cricket match." Both Ito and Okada correctly guessed "happy" and Ono guessed "like you want to drink a beer." CDawg said that that was truly in the spirit of English culture -

After that we got the Green Witch trailer, which was another bizarre moment, this time for the reason that we saw no new animation and we basically knew it was coming. Still, the audience went wild and it was fun to experience it together. We also got the 2025 release date so I guess that's cool -

Next, Ito and Okada talked about the upcoming season a little bit. The only thing of note that I can recall is that they said they weren't going location scouting this time because Sieglinde's village wasn't a real place. However, they said they planned to take a lot of inspiration from the manga itself. These points struck me as disheartening and obvious in turn, but I guess at least they were honest -

Ono said he was excited to give a darker performance this time around. He also said, mostly likely to drum up the crowd, that he was a little nervous but that he could do anything with "Ciel" (Maaya Sakamoto) by his side, and yes the audience did eat it up with more applause -

After that, CDawg raffled off what looked to be a drawing of Sebastian, possibly by Yumi Shimizu, signed by Daisuke Ono. They had given us these tickets before the panel started and the person with the winning number got the prize. Shockingly, I did not win -

Next someone came and took a picture of the panelists and the audience in the background, then Daisuke Ono did this thing where he waved at everyone and got us to wave with him, and finally the panel ended after roughly fifty minutes

Overall, I give the event a 6/10. We didn't have a lot of time, so I understood that they couldn't go too in-depth and that they wanted to keep it lighthearted too, but I personally would have appreciated some more interesting information on season 4 or something juicy about season 5. As it was, it felt like a lot of what we learned was entirely unsurprising. But it was nice of everyone to come all the way from Japan and the UK, and I guess it's kind of cool to say I've seen Daisuke Ono live now, even though he's only my third favorite Sebastian. My expectations were low, I went just to say I was there, and what I mainly gained was a bit of whimsical joy at being in a room full of Kuro fans, which is no bad prize at all.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Why DO Pythons have such cute faces? Is it just luck that such gentle faces happen to be on snakes suitable for living with humans or is there like a known evolutionary advantage to their faces being all soft, rounded shapes?

Python faces are so adorable and rounded in part because that's just a really great head shape if you wanna swallow big food items. Pythons have similar head shapes to boas, but they're noticeably longer and more rounded because pythons have an extra bone in their skull and a few extra teeth compared to boas. The rounded lip shape is also a great position for the heat pits on their lips.

Not every member of the python family is a good pet, but they are all adorable.

And not every python has the typical "puppy-dog" python face shape!

Australian pythons in particular tend to have much chunkier heads - they have heat pits on their lower lips instead of or in addition to upper lips, so that bigger head shape helps there.

And, of course, the big outliers in the python family are woma and black-headed pythons, who lack heat pits entirely! Without the need to accomodate for heat pits, these two have evolved for shorter, pointer heads.

[stormy-caffeine]

Love the pfp and… if you can, (sorry 🙏🏻 I’m just really desperate to know how I feel towards this person online…)

queerplatonic vs alterous vs alteraffectis

Thank you! And that's totally fine, I'll explain my interpretation of the difference between these labels. Hopefully this helps.

Alterous and queerplatonic are very similar and due to this are sometimes used interchangeably. The way that I understand the difference is this:

Alterous attraction is a desire for emotional closeness that is not necessarily platonic nor romantic in nature. It could be as simple as a desire for more exclusivity or responsibility/recognition than what is expected in a casual platonic relationship (such as being BFFs, becoming someone's confidant/support system or being found family (but not feeling familial attraction towards them)), or as complex as wanting an emotionally intimate relationship with someone but excluding certain behaviors/titles that feel traditionally romantic. It's very broad this way, but if you experience alterous attraction with someone, sometimes being in a queerplatonic relationship is the best solution for you to have your needs met, sometimes its not. Because of this, I actually see queerplatonic as a subset of alterous.

Queerplatonic attraction, on the other hand, is the specific desire for that emotionally-intimate (and sometimes other kinds of intimate) relationship with someone. Not as a compromise or anything, that's just exactly what you want with someone in particular. One example: wanting to be in a labeled, "official" relationship with someone, such as their spouse/partner/soulmate etc, or have some priority/exclusivity in their attention/time/decision-making but not actually having a desire to do anything different or "extra" compared to how you've interacted with them platonically. Another example (which is equally as common in my experience): Desiring to do traditionally romantic or intimate things with someone, but not wanting to be/not feeling comfortable being labeled as their spouse/partner/soulmate etc, despite feeling like you wouldn't want to do those same things with those you only have platonic attraction towards. These examples are, technically, exact opposites but both apply equally to queerplatonic attraction. The common denominator that I've seen is the desire for certain levels of exclusivity and priority in someone's life, and reciprocating that intensity, but having no desire to be in a "traditional" partnership with that person. Please note: exclusivity does not equal being monogamous; plenty of people experience this in terms of polyfidelity or wanting to be in an open or polyaffectionate QPR. Some people experience this in place of romantic attraction, most commonly a-spec folks, but anyone can feel it and/or be in a QPR (queerplatonic relationship).

Alteraffectis attraction is the outlier here; this attraction doesn't feel platonic or romantic in nature because those are human concepts, and wouldn't apply to any other species. While you don't have to be otherkin, therian, a pet regressor or anything similar to feel alteraffectis attraction, it's actually a lot easier to understand if you think of it as they would. Alternatively, I find it easier to describe this attraction as the "xenogender of attractions", it's not actually this relationship between you and the person you're attracted to but it is most emotionally similar to your relation/attraction to this person. Example: As humans, we have no way of knowing how a dog experiences attraction towards their owner, but we know how they express attraction towards their owner! It's clear from how they act when their owner comes home that they're excited, they enjoy their company, they want to spend time together, they feel grateful for their owners presence because they give them joy, toys, food, enrichment, and care for their health, they want to protect their owner, they feel like their owner would protect them, etc etc etc etc etc. We do not have a name for this attraction, scientifically, but it's assumed that it wouldn't be a one-to-one comparison with platonic attraction because "friends", as humans understand the concept, doesn't really translate in the animal kingdom. The same with romantic attraction, animals don't date or marry in the same context that humans do, but they do experience intense social bonds that could be similar to it; ie. animals pair-bonding or keeping one mate throughout their life (even in cases where actual mating is not a possibility or ever initiated). The examples go on, since technically alteraffectis doesn't have to be positive at all, given the definition. As much as everyone focuses on the good, alteraffectis attraction could also include "the way that a predator feels towards prey that they are hunting" or something equally troubling when put into a human context. Regardless, because these aren't platonic or romantic feelings but are clearly distinct, important, and recognizable, they must be something else entirely. And from that point, we interpret those emotions to the best of our understanding and label them as Alteraffectis. The easiest examples are with house-pets, since people are generally aware of them or can very easily search them and their behavior up online for context, but it can apply to ANY being that is not human. Just as we can't make an exact human-to-animal comparison of emotions, we wouldn't be able to equate the direct emotions of aliens, biblical entities, celestial bodies, thematic archetypes, etc etc etc. It can feel spiritual, natural, mechanical, artificial, or anything in between really. Possibly even a combination of them.

Alteraffectis attraction is very hard to make concise while including any amount of nuance, so sorry about that.

Buuut yeah, I hope that helped even a little bit. Thanks for the opportunity to talk at length about queer attractions ^-^

[itsbenedict]

From the beginning | Previously | Coin standings | 5/18 | 7/7

You find what must be CHERRY BEATS' equivalent of an emergency station, including a Defrag Point you should be able to use to GRAND DAD THEME: FRISK DEFRAGMENT your HARD DISK. It was disguised as a clockwork whirligig, but now that you're looking out for it, you're pretty sure you can use this thing to restore some of your STINGY OUTLIER. You locate its repair radius and you both sit down to be refreshed.

...This is taking forever. You can rest here to recover 5% per unit of hunger, but your food supplies are limited. And more limited than that is the time it takes before that ODD TAIL AVATAR DATA VALIDATOR catches up and tries to rip Walter to shreds. You've got the DENIAL OF SERVICE gun that can stun that thing up to five more times, which could buy you a little time to heal- but whoever's fending that thing off wouldn't get to heal.

(You would, however, be free to examine the NETTLE SPECIMEN or let the FILIAL TWINS do their work while someone is sitting back and healing at the Defrag Point.)

It feels as though you're at the edge of the world- at the LAST LAND. The LAST LAND has a few inhabitants, besides the NETTLE SPECIMEN and FILIAL TWINS:

A small LEATHER AWL hung up on a rack, which is a terrible material to make an awl out of even though you're bound to have plenty on hand if you're in need of an awl. Not hard or pointy.

AHA! EEL AD! There's a billboard advertising the many benefits of hanging out with eels at the local aquarium. It promises to be an electrifying experience that can set the mood for amoré.

MS. OVEREAGER is excited to help you out with- well, with anything! Let's just get to it! Let's do it right now! Whatever it is, it doesn't matter! Hurry up already!

Not everyone's hanging out at the LAST LAND, though- it seems like someone had to go to the hospital because they had ankle swelling and tried to FEED GOUT TO DOG, which really didn't help.

Continued

[v-anrouge]

You’ve opened the flood gates of me and my love of dogs, so I’m giving EVERYONE a dog breed!

Riddle: bichon frisé, à very cutie small white puffball of a dog, but are high maintenance with their coats and mental stimulation. One of the smarter dog breeds, but also with a need to please. One of the healthiest dog breeds I know of (they never die! Like ever!), but with a need for schedules. Because of the need for mental stimulation, they are a breed that needs strict rules, and strict schedules or they get confused and frustrated.

Trey: some sort of Rottweiler. Laid back, family loving, happy to sit in the presence of others. Not overly large, but still needing exercise, but also happy to just sit on the couch. Also, I feel their stockier build best fits Trey

Cater: shih tzu or Pekingese, both are one of the most ancient breeds, once only allowed to only be owned by the royal Chinese family, some where even given standings in courts! They adore attention, and affection, but tend to only listen to a select few, if any. Cater is a difficult character to get to trust, much like a shih tzu, but I feel once he does trust you he’s attached at the hip much like a Pekingese

Deuce: pit bull. There is no other dog breed I can think of for Deuce that fits as well as a pittie! Tough and aggressive? Yes. Also a loving big baby? Yes. When trained properly, pits are great dogs, but because they can have short tempers, it’s best to not leave them unaccompanied around children. They’re STRONG, so people who can’t wrestle one to the ground if needed shouldnt own one.

Ace: Affenpincher, sassy brats of dogs who would die for their people but refuse to listen to them. One of the more “human like” dogs as they will hold a grudge, and they’ve got an attitude to rival a sassy toddler!

Leona: basset hound, stubborn, can be lazy, but when they put their minds (or noses) to something nothing gets them off track! While bassets aren’t the smartest breeds, I think they fit enough for Leona to be an outlier (nearly said Rhodesian ridgeback because they were breed to hunt lions! Lol)

Ruggie: (hyenas are closer related to cats than they are dogs! But they actually have their own class so whatever) I struggled! But I think lab fits best. They’re basically walking stomachs, and will do anything for food! They are easy to train when given treats, but also have a tendency to just start doing tricks if you’re eating something they want. Intelligent, and friendly reminds me of Ruggie.

Jack: dogo Argentino. A dog if more popular would give pits a run for their money with the villianization! STRONG dogs, we’re originally bread to hunt wild boars, they’re tough dogs! And while extremely loyal, they have a tendency to refuse to attack who they deem as friends. Super courageous (that word took me four tries to spell) they’re high energy with a need to please their people!

Azul: Japanese Akita, loyal but reserved around strangers, these are smart dogs! They tend to be more socially difficult when around other dogs, tending to snap and resource guard, but with their people they are ready to share, sometimes… they’re more reserved with affection, but if you get down they won’t refuse some love and kisses

Jade: Basenji, also known as Africa’s “backless dog” is a silent but intelligent hunting breed! They tend to hide in the shadows before striking, but also love their few people they allow in their circle. NOT family dogs as they don’t like many people, but great for a small household.

Floyd: Central Asian Shepard, NOT FOR MOST DOG OWNERS! I’ve got my gripes! CSA are dogs that NEED jobs, they’re breed to protect livestock in Mangolia and Northern China. These dogs are powerful, and known to hunt down wolves nearby! But they’re babies with their owners, even if they prefer staying outdoors, they won’t turn down a snack or cuddle. But also indépendant where they’ll find their own food

Kalim: golden retriever, loving, friendly, though not the smartest, just a ball of sunshine.

Jamil: Chinese crested (one of my favorite breeds!) are smart, sassy dogs who LIVE for praise. They tend to be picky eaters, and don’t always do well with other dogs as they can be attention hogs, but they are also breed to hunt rats on Chinese trading shops, so they need a lot of exercise

Vil: standard poodle, OR a doberman (partly cause dobies are one of my favorite breed!) both are extremely intelligent, but also can be aggressive when around new dogs as they like being incharge.

Rook: borzoi coonhound mix. Originally I said fox hound, but coonhounds have a sleeker look, and a friendlier personality. Borzois are gorgeous and would die for their people, but are dumb as a box of rocks. Coonhounds are not as pretty, but not ugly either, and known to live for praise. Both are hunting breeds and need their exercise, or they will find some way to exercise (coonhounds are also escape artists)

Epel: i can only see Epel as a yorkie. Big personality, underestimated, super pretty, need of mental and physical stimulation. It just fits him perfectly!

Idia: Carolina, shy and suspicious little buggers who prefer quiet homes, with little activity’s around. But they need their mental stimulation as well. Not the smartest breed, but not the dumbest, they’re independence can get them into trouble though.

Ortho: English Cocker Spaniel (Lady from Lady and the Tramp) are friendly, sweet and loving dogs. They will bend over backwards for their people, and are just some of the sweetest dogs I have ever met!

Malleus: Komodor, the dog that looks like a mop. They’re strong sheepdogs who are willing to die to protect their flock. Soft and docile around their people, but reserved around strangers, they can even come off as agressive when you’re just starting to know them.

Lilia: Icelandic Sheepdog, the only breed from Iceland! Friendly, faithful and charming, their such sweeties! They do their job then come trotting back for a pat.

Silver: German Shepard, strong, sturdy, and protective. One of the best guard dog breeds I can think of, and amazing to train! Ready to please, and ready to play!

Sebek: bull terrier, head strong, loyal, and can be downright aggressive in their love! Their the dog to bowl you over when you get home! They’re hard working dogs who need exercise!

I really love dogs man!

How does it feel to be 100% correct and right 🎤

[princess-of-the-corner]

K, so just. Random Assortment of thoughts.

(This got long so I’m yeeting it under the readmore)

1) CC!NextGen - how about, the fewer kids these couples/groups have, the less likely they’ll ALL want to be Heroes. Like, Say for Umi, Miku, Miyuki, & random kid 4 (Nitaru’s here somewhere, but we aren’t counting him, he’s an outlier). Like, LM wants to be a hero. Umi might, specifically in sea rescue, but otherwise, I don’t see her being THAT into it? I … Honestly can’t say I see Miku wanting to be a HERO-Hero - like, I can see her wanting to be a cop, or a detective, but I could equally see her wanting to be a historian, or a hairdresser. Then Adoption4/ LM’s baby brother (I’m arbitrarily deciding Deku randomly adopts a little toddler boy, they have three girls[?]) he DOESN’T want to be a hero, he’s, like … an analyst. One of the Iida kids becomes a movie producer, or set designer, he ends up with like, 5 or 6, not ALL of them want to be Heroes. Neither of Mina’s kids become heroes, but (if we do the Mimic Kid, and the Blood Drinker Power-Up) both Tooru/Himi(/Sato) kids do. Akiko does, but neither of the twins (if we give them twins) do. Someone wants to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a scientist. One of the Kyoka kids starts a band.

2) CC - Mimi made the joke that Koda’s future husband is just Goliath from Disney’s Gargoyles, so that’s what I’m more or less imagining now. Big, impossibly beefy guy with wings. Has skin like stone, though he can be cut and bleed, though it is really hard to do. Doesn’t actually turn to Stone, but can hold himself stupidly still for HOURS. He prefers signing over talking most of the time, because he thinks his voice is scary (it’s DEEP, and when he’s mad, it can be TERRIFYING).

3) MHA-Monsters - think I sent the ask, but given Shoji is often associated with Octopi, you could make him a Cthulhu-esqe creature from the Deep. He doesn’t necessarily HAVE to be an Eldritch horror (I’m imagining something a bit closer to Octolings from Splatoon mixed with Monster High), but he could be. Or, if it’s funnier, he’s constantly annoyed by people assuming he’s some kind of Eldritch Horror, because whatever species he is, is NOT RELATED, the only reason people think that shit is because of Lovecraft, which is really just insulting-

4) MHA-Monsters - because they weren’t mentioned, I’m guessing; Hound Dog’s a werewolf, Ectoplasm is a poltergeist, Lunch Rush is actually a completely normal human who is just really good at making large quantities of food, Power Loader is a Gremlin, Cementoss is basically a Goron (Legend of Zelda).

5) MHA-Monsters - if Hagakure is a ghost, are we doing, like, recent ghost? Older? Is she straight up dead, or is it more of a Danny Phantom situation?

6) CC - How/when to Shoji and Tokoyami start dating? (I mean, how do ANY of these kids start their relationships, but that seems like a lot, this is already long enough, those two annd Tooru/Himi are who I’m currently most interested in, but Shoji/Toko, let’s start there. If you want to do any of the others, feel free, but yikes, this is getting long)

7) CC/Suggestion - I know you said you wanted to do more with Ojiro, so Mimi suggested submitting her version of his backstory? Anyway, Ojiro backstory, Mimi Version: Ojiro was mostly raised by his grandparents, with assistance from some aunts and uncles. His mom is pretty flighty, doing whatever takes her fancy. She likes to live fast, free, and fancy, something that is hard to do with a kid. So, she decided he could “visit” with his grandparents - she just dropped him off one day, and never came back. His grandparents are somewhat gruff, but kind people, who love Ojiro a lot, and try to teach him practicality and common sense. They are very “we have no idea where we went wrong” about Ojiro’s mom. His uncle owns a martial arts dojo, where Ojiro spent a lot of his childhood. His aunt travels a lot, which is why she Didn’t take Ojiro in, while his uncle is married and has eight kids, which is why he didn’t take Ojiro (to be clear, they both would have, but they all thought the grandparents would give him a more stable childhood). Ojiro has very few memories of his mom, and in fact hadn’t talked to her in years … until shortly after the Sports Festival, when all of a sudden, she was calling to reconnect “because [she] missed [him] so much!” (The whole family is giving her a bit of the side-eye here. Oh, you want to reconnect with your son? After you dumped him for a decade? Right after seeing him on live tv in a very prestigious hero school? Hmmmmmm…….) 

(Ok, Mimi now wants to know how Kendou/Ojiro would go - material artists with very simple Quirks)

Final note for Ojiro: the one thing most of the family hasn’t really forgiven Ojiro’s mom for, even beyond just dumping him off and leaving, is that she has never told anyone who Ojiro’s dad is. None of them know, and they’re pretty sure SHE doesn’t know either.

Again, mostly just sharing to get the thoughts out, you may pick, choose, alter, and discard at your leisure!

-

1.) Oh yeah it’s. Umi I debate between her being a Hero or her doing stage shows and the like. Maybe both tbh. Miku I don’t think she’d be a Hero but she has some great like, paleontology vibes. But yeah there’s just all sorts of kids and some don’t end up Heroes but a good chunk do.

2.) Now I’m straight up imagining Goliath. Voice and all. Holy fuck.

3.) I answered this one in the other ask!

4.) On one hand Hounddog as a Werewolf makes sense, but then I’d probably have him more relevant to the plot given Katsuki so I’ll swing back. For Ectoplasm yeah with a name like that gotta be some kinda Ghost. Lunch Rush being Human is great. Not even a Witch just full on Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School applied for the job and got it not knowing. For Power Loader I already have Mei as a Gremlin, and I while there’s some allowance for repeat creatures I don’t think havig them repeat is what I want. On the other hand since I already hit my classic monster movie quota, let’s work on the high fantasy with some Dwarves because they’re craftsmen who dig underground(maybe make him more a Dwarf/Elf considering the lack of beard and burlyness. I know I likened the harpies to the Rito, but that wasn’t quite a ‘I have Zelda creatures thing. I’m swinging away from that for a moment.

5.) While I am yoinking from my DP Lore a bit, I am letting her be like. Dead. ( (which my DP lore lets them be dead too lmao) Don’t worry she’s fine it happened a while ago she got over it and is moving on with her lack of life. It’s a funky thing of Ghosts /can/ age but I’ll come back to that later

6.) Ahahahaha. I need to hammer out who asks who but I do know that they’re gonna be dating soon because the Mall Arc is gonna have them on a date.

7.) God even the ‘default settings’ kid gets to have childhood trauma! But also I like this a lot. I am vibing with the Kendo ship though! I can see them talking!

[a-vctlan]

𝙃𝙀𝘼𝘿𝘾𝘼𝙉𝙊𝙉 𝘿𝙐𝙈𝙋 - 𝙁𝙁𝙑𝙄𝙄 tosses this out while i work on the actual bio / about pages for these guys! :)

angeal hewley:

a solid 6'2 / 188cm

comfort food is hearty and heavy stews

considers his plants his pets, as there's no responsible way of actually owning dogs without paying pet-sitting fees and then barely seeing the dog anyway since he's away on missions. if you have a dog he can interact with, use it as a means to break the ice. don't shove it into his face though… it has happened.

before finding out the truth about his genetically engineered existence, angeal grew up thinking he was a sickly child. a lot of his early memories involve being in "doctor's" offices with his mother, although the context at the time was lost on him. part of his SOLDIER propaganda story was how the procedures cured him of all his ails, fixing his "frail" immune system ( which was just his unstable genetic code beginning to show itself).

anan biggs:

5'9 / 175cm

comes from a village / town that was eventually annexed by wutai during the war, south of it's borders. his parents, in a bid to save him from being directly involved in the war, smuggled him to midgar. they end up dying in the conflict due to shinra's actions.

the reason he cares so deeply for the slums orphanage is because he grew up himself, when it was even more run down and held together by the hopes and dreams of the older caretakers. and while his parents would've wanted him to grow up free of conflict… growing up in midgar's slums neck deep in the unfairness of the systems at hand tipped him towards being radicalized.

around 16-17 years old he sets off on his own, traveling the world, where in he eventually makes his way over to cosmo canyon where he spent a couple years and eventually met barret.

barret wallace:

6'4 / 193cm

his whole family died in the corel incident: his father, his mother and aunts, and most aching for him, his younger brother

barret's joined the corel militia around 15/16 in order to help their family financially, his father beginning to show signs of suffering from black lung from being a coal miner, and couldn't keep working - all the while, barret wanted his younger brother to stay in school since he wanted him to get out of corel one day

although their militia is "unofficial" barret grows to be the highest ranking member in it, and he's a strongly respected member of their society

canon divergence: after the shinra incident, when barret returns to corel during their travels, barret ISN'T hated by the entire community. yes there are outliers who let their bitterness and need to blame someone win out, HOWEVER as a whole the town's just desolate and oppressed. it was a COMMUNITY decision to accept shinra's "help" with the mako reactors, and blaming solely him makes no sense. the man that attacks him when he enters the town is a belligerent drunk who also lost his family, and barret's self hatred and the guilt that he harbors makes him accept it ss his penance, even though the man is quickly dragged off to sit his outburst out.

cloud strife ( request only ):

5'7 / 170cm

cloud's suffered from genuine brain death during his time spent mako comatose, and it was the jenova cells in his body that effectively "fixed" him and revived him. this is why he has such a high affinity / attunement to jenova/sephiroth: he has a higher percentage of jenova cells that anyone that isn't sephiroth, as his half-alive state meant jenova cells could slowly reproduce in his body and take over his dying cells.

it is arguable whether he is the "real" cloud or not at this point, but he wants to be.

it is something entirely instinctual, the jenova cells in him doing what is necessary to maintain his delusion, but cloud can, quite literally, read people's mind when they're in close proximity. he learns things fast, freakily fast, because of this. choreographs, fighting styles, information… if he needs to know it, he will take it.

during the early parts of their adventures, he has a constant tremor he is not aware of, like a chihuahua, and it only goes away when he focuses - whether on a task or on a fight. he is also in pain outside of the migraines, wielding the buster sword taking more effort than he "remembers".

kunsel reis zantos:

woudln't you like to know, weather boy?

check his blog ;3c

rude of the turks ( request only ):

6'1 / 185cm

speaks multiple languagues: french (native), italian, german, english

illegitimate son of a kalm mafia leader

originates from the french part of upper junon, moved to kalm as a young adult to follow in the "family tradition" even if he was never made an "oficial" member due to his bastard status

operated as a hitman / chauffeur to the mafia ring that shinra sponsored before eventually taking them them down for good publicity once their usefulness ran out

spent some time incarcerated before his continuous silence and loyalty caught the turk's attention, and after lengthy "talks" with tseng he was eventually convinced to join a new "family" that would actually respect him

he really didn't like reno at first, but it was exactly that kind of attitude and personality that was needed to break down his walls… because he'd quite literally never had to deal with this kind of people back in his mafia days - if anything, he'd silenced plenty of loudmouths like reno before.

reno is now his pookie, and if anything happens to his emotional support walking disaster you're not going to like the outcome.

professor hojo torrez:

5'11 / 180cm

he actually has other, more "sensible" titles, as he has completed multiple courses of higher education, but he prefers the title of "professor" purely because it immediately puts him above you. he is your better, and he is teaching you. use other titles to your own discretion, lab assistants have been fired over this "disrespect".

knows how to wield firearms, and is actually quite proficient in them even at this point in time - he was drafted once upon a time as a military medic before his… "talents" caught certain people's attention.

he is armed, constantly, with a single handgun underneath his labcoat, something vincent is sharply aware of.

he does not respect life, or anyone's right to it. he kills with zero remorse, and finds macabre enjoyment in knowing he is purposefully making his subjects suffer in pursuit of his goals.

cares about things purely in an ownership angle. it affects everything in his life, from his studies to his relationships. he will not be satisfied until he has degraded you into something docile and desolate… and those that raise too much of a fuss he considers to be too much work to bother keeping (alive).

[shuttershocky]

It's funny because Type-Moon's "Age is power" is shown to exist in-universe as a belief system in both Fate and Tsukihime but not actually a hard rule of the universe.

For example, mages believe in older bloodlines being more powerful due to accumulated knowledge and its crest system while vampires (some of whom are former mages) tend to estimate each other's strength by their age, such as Arcueid attempting to guess at Vlov's raw strength by stating his age.

And for the most part, it SEEMS to make sense. Mystery as supernatural power canonically grows weaker into the modern age, and heroic spirits do tend to be more powerful the older they are, with Gilgamesh being the strongest of all as the oldest known heroic spirit. Older vampires like Nrvnqsr who have been around since before the first crusade are seen as the top of the food chain as well.

But then you have so many outliers. Arcueid herself is actually younger than many heroic spirits since she's "only" 800 years old and yet is considered the top dog of Type-Moon. Ciel and Shirou come from unknown origins, and while Shirou isn't powerful in terms of output, his abilities are so unique Rin hides him out of fear that he would be targeted by the Mages Association if discovered.

The most likely explanation is the usual "Nasu inconsistency lol" but it's fun to think about it as like, a belief in-universe that you can understand HOW it came to be because of trends, even if it isn't 100% correct.

[zablionsea]

What is the kyraam lore 😯😯😯 now you have me interested

Sadly I don't have it written up in much detail. The most jotted down is on my (very unfinished) Neocities page. Which goes something like:

Kyraam graduated from high school isolated and burnt out. While she's been struggling to find her footing, she moves in with Vivian, a pink-haired mountain lion who she had previously hooked up with. Escaping from familial pressures immediately into living with a roommate, Kyraam is desperate for independence, but her chronic fatigue gets in the way. The path forward is unclear, but every day, it makes the choice to try her best anyway.

I suppose like me, she used to do well in lower grades but found herself unable to function in the real world particularly well.

Those two kind of have a pretty unhealthy relationship because Kyraam is very dependent on her for rent and struggles to keep up with her part-time job at the local university as a janitor.

I'm sure any story I'd write about her would, in a good timeline, end in her moving out from Vivian and finding a more emotionally healthy friendship with Tracy, an arcade technician she met while blowing money she should've contributed to the household budget on arcade games.

The lore more serves to function as framing for whatever daydreams I'm in the mood for, whether that be cathartic or happy or uncertain.

ooooooooo but I can get more into species lore.

Kyraam is a Fallenaire Pseudo-dragon. This is a particular subtype of psuedo-dragon, or non-reptilian "animal" with defining dragon characteristics like wings, horns, and a tail (in quotes because anthropomorphic). Her species in particular is characterized by feathery wings that can be shape-shifted into a more chibi form for daily convenience, markings on the cheeks of varying shapes, and magic blood.

The magic blood is especially wacky. Here is a list of associated baggage:

Fallenaires' entire body is based on raw magic coursing through their veins, unlike most other species.

Their food is digested through their stomachs into raw magical energy. This renders them immune to most poison and psychoactive substances (which was important as Fallenaires historically survived off of poisonous animals and plants that most other species could not eat).

This conversion process practically means that they also do not have effects from the majority of medication without special modification. They generally have worse access to healthcare than other species.

Fallenaire blood has different blood types: RGB. I thought this would be funny. But yeah, for a Fallenaire to have a blood transfusion, the color (representing magical essence) has to be close enough in color to the recipient. Light and Void-blooded Fallenaires typically have the least leniency in what they can receive.

Fallenaire blood glows and sparkles, resembling slime more than blood in some ways. As a result, blushing causes glowing, primarily seen on cheek spots and other areas where blood rushes and fur is thin.

Probably more that I forgot off the top of my head.

She even used to have eye-color changing with emotions, but I eventually scrapped that because it was a pain in the ass to remember and draw. Plus, didn't really fit with the muddied, unclear emotions she feels and the very otherwise hard to understand way her body language expresses them.

Finally, one extra quirk is body language disconnects from other mammalian species. Unlike with dogs, tail wagging for a Fallenaire is much like a snake's: a nervous/defensive response. This gets misconstrued a lot (I added this detail because I'm kind of used to having my facial expressions misconstrued when I don't wear a face mask). I'll probably add more outlier/unusual body language tendencies as I think of them.

[ruthlesslistener]

you eever think how pk and wl being together and their fondness for ogrim is like an agriculture (i think thats the right word) reference

No but that's really fucking cool and big brained of you anon, holy fucking shit. I figured that the union of Mind and Life was a sort of metaphor for eking out a balance between expansion and respecting the land, or some sort of metaphor for civilization booms (since innovation coexisting with nature is how you get big civilization booms historically), but that being a reference to agriculture?? Genius. Especially if we take the timeline of Hallownest to be a sort of mirror to the progression of time over a desolate area, with nothingness -> the Void Sea rising and forming caverns through erosion -> recession of the Abyss leaving behind blank rock and fossils -> Unn's mosses and other primary successors like lichen and fungi colonizing the bare rock and turning it into livable soil -> the coming of the White Lady and her rooted plants representing secondary succession. Radi and PK are kind of outliers to that unless we view them specifically as the evolution of the minds of bugs, in which the Radiance's era = blind religious devotion, and the Pale King succeeding her = the intellectual renaissance of the bug kingdoms, where religion still hasn't entirely phased out of having an extremely prominant role in life, but intellectal pursuits that would once be called blasphemy are now accepted and encouraged, and an age of learning and innovation has sprung forth (not unlike the European Dark Ages tbh). And Ghost's ascention to the Lord of Shades comes as a neat little tieoff to both these issues as well, with the Void being a very literal cleansing force, and the success of their character arc being based upon self-determination and personal innovation insted of being bogged down by the chains of the past and other's expectations.

(Which, all of this sounds presumptuous as hell when I actually sit back and look at it, but come on. You cannot tell me that the Radiance doesn't give off major 'pray to me and I will heal all wounds' vibes, while the Pale King is very much 'I gave you mind for a reason, learn to heal it yourself'. Granted, Radi probably DID actually tend directly to her people's wounds, and the Moth Tribe are certainly advanced in terms of essence-weaving and other aspects, but the beetle tribe was def. left in the dirt here, and I have to assume that the moths ditched Radi for a reason other than just 'pretty new light'. Increased independance without realizing that PK would leave them to fend for themselves was probably that reason.)

As for Ogrim, I legit just thought it was a joke about how plants and worms (wyrm and root) both love poop. WL is a rooted being whose success entirely depended on the nutrients in the soil around her before she became a god, while PK, gross as it is, probably was drawn to the smell of fresh dung because it either indicated that prey was close by, or because soil rich with nutrients provided by it often had a lot of food growing in or nearby it compared to the otherwise-barren sands of the Wastelands. So both would have their brains wired to find the pungent smell of mulch, rotting debris, and dung to = survival and good things, bc its important to both of their ecological niches. Which means that Ogrim probably smells great to them both and is why Ghost is fine tramping all over the Fungal Wastes and the Waterways without a care, as they have both those genes going for them. It's kinda like how dogs are wired to think rotting squirrels and cow poop smells super awesome and great to roll in, but thinks lilac perfumes are gross. They're just built different

(Granted, I made this assumption because PK straight-up gave Ogrim a charm to make him stinkier, and WL didn't seem to be at all bothered by his scent, but then again I usually think about the characters from a biological pov first and a societal pov second. For example, its very likely that most of the bugs in Hallownest hate the 'heroic odor' of Defender's Crest because they are creatures that normally feed on fresh meat and vegetation, and that the ones who like it are bugs who prefer rotting foods, or make their homes in decaying enviromments. So the concept of there being an agriculture metaphor somewhere in there with WL's plants, PK's innovation, and Ogrim's poop completely flew over my head there, shdheh.)

[thelampisaflashlight]

I'm not sure if it's been asked before (if so my apologies), but what do the imps eat? Do they have favorite foods, treats?

Most importantly, can I ply them with treats to eventually be able to pet them and/or give them scritches?

(I'm a simple potato, I see cute animals/things and want to pet said animals/things).

It varies across elements, but Rain's imp seems to like eating fish the most, whereas Dew's imp is more easily bribed with dog treats.

Aether's imp seems partial to meat, but Sunny's likes fruit.

And, once more, Mountain's imp is an outlier again and... no one is sure what he's eating out in the woods, but Mountain himself has confirmed that he's not a meat eater, so some relief was had.

But also, yes, scritches are necessary.

[astarab1aze]

➥ Modern Verse Trivia

The Night family is split down the middle politically, more as a means to maximize wins and maintain their social status; Half Red Hand (and/or Sanguinarian) sympathetizers, half ordinary traditionalist nightfolk, with a handful outliers.

The widely accepted age for retirement in the nightfolk world is an even 100-years-old, or dependent on location, at which point the standard varies and will include physicals, age verification, etc. in order to recieve benefits or an AARP membership.

Nightfolk do not pay property, city, or state taxes, only federal, sales, inheritance, and county. There are certain additional taxes regarding funerary rites, which they call a death tax, but it's largely used for the maintenance of burial grounds, sanctified grounds, and the charms and barriers surrounding nightfolk population centers.

Since the Nighthouse is on the very edge of Belle Valley, sitting at a sort of crossroads, it's not terribly unlikely that a human or person otherwise unfamiliar with the nightfolk world could find it.

Of the two, Salem's Crossing is much livelier and more dangerous than Belle's Hollow, serving as a home to several high profile criminals such as Loux Garo, Deadeye, the Red Hand terrorist cell Vanguard, and more; Belle's Hollow, however, is absolutely not without its problems.

Incantations are used to assist in casting, but are not themselves what make the cast, itself a catalyst no different than a wand, grimoire, or palmseal. Magic is innate, an extension of the universe through those that possess it - some are just more efficient in making use of it than others.

Black cats are seen as good luck, to contrast directly with the human Catholic belief they're the reverse, so they're a common sight in nightfolk towns - what luck that this is true!

Blackwyrms are by and large seen as dangerous pests in the same way gators and wild boar are - by everyone. Extermination companies and the sorcier class both have special units specific to managing the blackwyrm infestation crisis.

Why is there a blackwyrm infestation crisis? Illegal breeding, egg smuggling, poaching, illegal purchase and sale, some folks releasing them into the Mirewood or sewers, etc.

Fey are the rarest of all nightfolk, followed very closely by hapries and shapeshifters, having been subject to a number of vampire-driven genocides. Survivors were enslaved, forced into experimentation and breeding programs in an effort to create vampires capable of walking in the sun.

There are effectively 0 full-blooded Fey and most shifters are only half.

There is a special kind of sunscreen for vampires that gives temporary resistance to UV light - it lasts for only half an hour depending on how much is applied.

Literally All-Purpose SaltTM was invented by the Augur of South Ocala (yes, that's what he called himself) specifically for the consumption of scarbuncle cheese, but it later became a common household seasoning sold at exactly $1.99 since 1899.

Ramona Shank is still alive, but no one knows this for certain.

One very important rule of the Mirewood: Do NOT follow the lights. There are witchlights dotting the bayou and, should you follow them, you may be swallowed up by rogue brachio, eaten by gas adders or frogmen, killed by poachers, robbed by other criminals, or entirely cursed. It's a 1 in 1b chance you'll run into a red wolf or haint dog, so don't go looking for one.

There are sunflower seed brands that offer nightfolk-oriented flavors such as offal, leech, scarbuncle cheese, pickled eye stalk, barbamayo, salted gator paw, snap-trap, Literally All-Purpose, red kelp, and more.

Gretl's is the nightfolk equivalent to Willy Wonka and is considered The candy & snack food brand, having numerous partnerships with human companies across the globe.

Population addendum: There is closer to 250 million nightfolk, versus the prior population estimates at 100-125 million.

Vampires, witches, wizards, sorcerers, and weres are the most common nightfolk.

The last of the great gryphons, Crovita's father Ágrìfa, was killed by poachers in a vicious massacre in the 1800s.

Hearing voices and seeing things are about as stigmatized in the nightfolk realm as they are in the human, this being because all manners of vile and terrible things could be revealing themselves to you...like a Red Hand vampire or a petty goddess who wishes to lead you to your death. Still, most will refer you to a bloodweaver and leave it at that.

Tommy-knockers run the banks in tandem with the Gilde family, at least in the United States, and the partnership here is ridiculously iron-clad. Not even the government could tear the two apart, and it has tried several times to get rid of them and establish a central bank (and failed spectacularly every time).

Nightfolk drink alcohol for taste 96% of the time and have a much, much higher legal limit at 0.460.

Most of the nightfolk locations with distinctly Sunjatti names are 'tastes of home' to those who remember the Old World, and the cultures in each loosely resemble the Old World cultures.

Nightfolk ended up on earth through a magical rift caused by the first mage to ever get his hands on a Sanguine Star some 6,000 years ago, who then went on to rebuild their communities on each of the continents, steadily becoming more and more integrative isolationists into the modern era.

[amateurduhhh]

Selfish | Jodi x Reader

Everything in Jodi's life felt unbearably monotonous. That is, until the farmer arrived.

Reader is gender neutral

Content warnings: cheating

Disclaimer: I do not condone cheating be real💀

"You must be Kent!" you exclaim. A man stands on your doorstep with a sturdy stance and a square jaw. He is more intimidating than Jodi could have put into words.

He nods and extends out his hand to shake it. His handshake is even firmer than the frown indented into his mouth. "Yes. I stopped by to introduce myself. I was away during duty. You must be the new farmer. I take it may already know my son, Sam, he's around your age."

Your mind blanks for a moment until it clicks. Sam. Sam. Sam. "Ah! Jodi's son! Yes, I know him. Very charming boy."

Kent sadly sighs. "I'm sure you know that better than I do, I've been gone for so long..."

"Well it's great to finally meet you," you happily reply, whilst lying straight through your teeth.

"Likewise," he says. "I'll see you around?"

"Sure thing!"

As soon as he begins to turn around and walk home, you shut the door, a little harder than you mean to. Your dog wags its tail in excitement but then sits and turns its head in confusion.

That was a stressful interaction, you think to yourself, wiping the sweat that subtly collected on your brow. "I didn't think he'd be back!" you confess to your canine. It sneezes in response.

They say keeping secrets in small towns is nearly an impossible feat to accomplish. Stardew Valley was that oddball, the outlier of every bell curve. This means secrets are pretty competently sealed away from the rest of the dwindling population.

The people of Pelican Town just don't seem to open their eyes much. Nobody seems to notice Shane's depression, Mayor Lewis' corruption, or unexplainable features that Abagail exhibits.

Nobody noticed how you spent so much time with Jodi. In her room with only one full-sized bed. Or how Jodi would take walks in Cindersnap forest while the farmer was on break.

Before the farmer, Jodi was in the world of her own. Developing any coping skills she could to forget the youth she wasted. Instead of remembering how she rushed to marry her sweetheart, she occupied herself. As her hands worked on the dishes, scrubbing off the burnt food of the spinach Vincent never ate, her eyes were fixed out the window, pretending she was a little girl again.

Sparkles and magic, living life with high saturated color and grass-stained demin. Back when she didn't feel so tired and the world looked infinite. She missed the morning dew on her bare feet and the amazement of seeing the moon in the sky during the daytime. It felt okay to jump from the branch she climbed and run too fast with her shoes untied. As if the very notion of consequences was trivial and meaningless.

Then the dishwater went cold and she dried the pans, plates, and spoons. It was one daydream after another. Anything to make her stop feeling so trapped and caged in her life that is continuously devoted to ungrateful children and an absent husband. Of course, she knew it was selfish to think that way about the people she loved. At least she knew that it was selfish.

Jodi was glad her room was so far from her sleeping sons so they couldn't hear her crying every night. Being so deprived of hope, she sought it from every source.

She bought a few books on how to parent, how to battle depression and how to cope with an absent partner, but nothing worked. Dread was a constant feeling besides the few moments when Vincent came home from Penny's tutoring to tell her about what he learned. Or when Sam would say a small "thanks, mom" before scurrying into his room or out to his friends. Even then, it always came right back. Nothing ever changed.

Until the farmer came.

At first, she didn't pay much mind to it. The farmer before you was nice, but not a big figure in her life. You introduced yourself to her and if she was honest, you were nothing like she expected. Which filled her with excitement.

How neat, a new addition to the Valley. She noticed your handshake was firm, a lot like his. She smiled back at you and welcomed you to Stardew Valley. A new farmer, squeaky clean and uncharted for Jodi. An adventure of sorts.

Every so often, you'd pass by her house on the way to the beach, just to greet her. On occasion, you gifted her something from your crops or animals. It became something she had to look forward to. After a while, the kindness felt foreign but she welcomed it. Years of giving, she realized how nice it was to recieve.

When you stopped by, you'd greet Vincent and Sam, before placing a fat bushel of rhubarb in Jodi's hands. There'd be time for a quick chat and nothing more than a brief conversation. Even so, you learned a lot about Jodi. Including the stuff she never said. Though she seemed more alive with you around, it wasn't enough to wash away the perpetual fatigue that creased the underside of her eyes.

"Morning, Jodi, I brought you some apples," you began. She gratefully accepted the gift with a smile. She stood outside her door, as Vincent walked out with a stack of books in his arms.

"Good morning," she sighed, bending down to tie Vincent's shoe. He scurried off to greet Penny down the street. She pushed a few strands of hair from her face and beamed at you. "These look delicious, I can't thank you enough."

She went in for a friendly hug and held the bag against her hip. You accepted her hug and spoke. "It's no problem! Giving 'em away keeps the prices high. Besides, I like to help wherever I can."

Her cheeks reddened. "That reminds me! About the rhubarb you gave me! Wait here!" Jodi excitedly hurried inside and trotted out, her teeth shining framed by a wide smile. "Ta-da, here you go."

A smile spread wide over your face. Her arms held out a warm, homebaked rhubarb pie. "No way, Jodi, this looks fantastic."

"Just returning the favor!" Jodi couldn't stop smiling at your praise. She crossed her arms with a lovely expression. "I'm just so thankful for your contributions to the community, it's been great having you here." Which was a neighborly version of saying you were her first breath of fresh air since her wedding day.

It was fall, two months had passed since you arrived and you stood on her doorstep, handling a bottle of wine you had prepared yourself. "Good evening," you greeted her when the door opened.

Jodi felt her heart beat quicken. "(Y/N), oh my goodness, hello!"

"I brought you by some wine from my cellar, drinking alone isn't my thing."

Jodi had you seated in the living room. You sat on her red sofa, while she fetched some old wine glasses that hadn't been used in decades. With a corkscrew you brought yourself, you popped open the wine bottle and poured a glass for Jodi and a glass for you.

At first, she was flattered and to your chagrin, covered her smile with her hands. "Oh, (Y/N), you shouldn't have!" Jodi's voice hadn't rang so joyously in decades.

Like a flick of a switch, her lips dropped. She looked behind her with a hesitant look. You noticed she was still wearing an apron from when she was doing the dishes. Jodi shook her head and smiled, her face gleefully looked at yours. "Come on in, I just put Vincent to bed."

"This wine is so good" she said, sipping it liberally. She took a seat adjacent to you on the sofa, your legs almost touching as you sat.

"I appreciate it," you replied bashfully. "I, uh, made it myself."

"No way," she gaped. "You're really good at this farming gig then, huh?"

You shrugged. "I guess so. Honestly, I wasn't sure how successful I was going to be before I took the job."

"What made you take it, then?" she curiously inquired.

"I hate to say, I know how you feel," she sighed. She poured her glass half full. "I have no time for myself anymore. Its laundry, dishes, housework, children. I haven't had a nice glass of wine since... I can't even remember."

"My old life was... incredibly taxing." You swirled the wine in your glass and then gulped it. "I worked an office job, nine to five. It was like a neverending vacuum of working for no reward. All take and no give. Like that Dolly Parton song."

As Jodi listened, she nodded, taking the information in. It sounded all too familiar.

She buried her face from the shame and embarrassment. She never admitted her misery to anyone else. It was secret. A dirty, bitter, horrid secret she shoved deep down inside her.

"You regret having kids?" Instead of disgust in her self pity, you inquired.

"I love Sam and Vincent more than anything. I just miss my youth. I whisked away with Kent after high school, got married young, and now... now I..."

"Wish you would've waited?"

"Exactly!" she said. "Everything I've ever done was for Kent. I married him too soon, I had his children, I take care of his home and he just... left me..."

"You deserve better, Jodi," you said, eyes fixated on the wine. You meant what you said, then, but didn't really pay attention to the implications.

She leaned sideways, resting her head on your shoulder. You were silent. The only thing you wanted was for her to be happy, although, you knew she wouldn't believe you if you told her. A little bit of company goes a long way. A light in the tunnel of solitude is so bright.

Jodi looked up at you and gave you a solemn smile. "Thanks for being here."

Like a magnet, it felt like you and Jodi leaned into each other. Your lips caught hers, your fingers tracing her jaw.

Scandal, betrayal. You both knew what you had done.

Still, she smiled in her kiss with her hands cupping the back of your head. Suddenly, Jodi felt like she was twenty again. Her entire future was still in store and her decisions leading up to now were completely erased. Jodi had never felt so free.

Maybe in another world, when Jodi had the courage to stay single until her 20s, she would be a happy farmer's wife. In this world though, she was doomed to give– only for an occasional ounce of compensation when the farmer offered it.

[grimweathers]

tag 9 people you want to get to know better - tagged by @highkingpenny!

3 ships: quentin/eliot (the magicians), steve/eddie (stranger things), robin/chrissy (stranger things - i have never been into a rarepair or a ship that's never interacted in canon before so i don't know how i got here lmao. maybe it's the band geek/cheerleader thing! idk!!)

first ship ever: i'm not totally sure which was the very first, but i think it might've been sango/miroku from inuyasha, or kakashi/iruka from naruto? i got into them around the same time. but i think the first fic i ever encountered on the internet was for ranma 1/2 but i can't recall the ship! i was just blown away that random people were writing stories for FREE about my favorite characters lmao

last movie: big eden. it had been on my list for a long time. very sweet :')

last song: my girl by the temptations lol. i like to sing this to my dog!

currently reading: siren queen by nghi vo. i like it so far! it's very easy to get into.

currently watching: dimension 20: a starstruck odyssey. i loooove this campaign so far, it might overtake fantasy high as my favorite (but i can't say for sure yet)

currently consuming: puppy chow/muddy buddies! i think there was a tumblr poll that went around about "weird" american foods and it reminded me that i hadn't had puppy chow/muddy buddies in forever so i've been making and eating A Lot. (i used to just call it puppy chow but now that i have an actual dog i feel like i need to clarify lol)

currently craving: i feel v satisfied with my current snack so i don't know that i'm craving anything else!

tagging (if you want/also sorry if you've already been tagged!): @breadbirdlives @spiders-hth-is-an-outlier @leguin @asofterhibou @impossibletruths @yourtinseltinkerbell @allegria23 @sparklyslug @televisionforwhales