#also...they're all very young still so they try their best but for all intents and purposes they're all still figuring stuff out

[missingexaltation]

Alternative 'Steve coming to terms with being Bi' idea:

(The queer community isn't perfect, there's a lot of infighting that's not obvious on the surface level. A lot of bi/pan/ace people get sneered at by gay/lesbian people even now, and in the 80s it was worse.)

After Vecna, Eddie tells Steve he had and still has a crush on him, but as he's aware that Steve's straight, he's going to stop flirting with him because he doesn't want to make Steve uncomfortable. Eddie will get over it eventually, but he wants 'to be friends so please don't hate me, Stevie, I'm trying to stop'. For some reason that hurts Steve and he can't stop thinking about it. For a few weeks, while Eddie's being his usual boisterous self, Steve just watches and thinks.

Eventually, he tells Robin how he feels, that he thinks he likes Eddie and wants to try being with him because they get on great, and he's nice, and kind of good looking, and why not? He's not used to being subtle about asking people out, so figures he might as well see if Eddie wants to actually date him.

Robin is shocked but then SO happy that he's gay too. But when Steve says that he's not, that he still likes women, she gets annoyed. Being gay is a big deal to her, and she feels like Steve would rather date someone he's not attracted to, just so that he's not single/lonely. 'Maybe I just like Eddie, he has long hair, I dunno?' 'That's not a thing, Steve!'

Steve has no idea, and after his shift, when he's alone, he melts down about it and genuinely wonders if he's deluding himself. Maybe he is 'fully gay', maybe he's desperate for love from anyone. He thinks he likes Eddie, so was he lying to himself before? Did he love Nancy, or did he just want to love her? It doesn't quite fit, and it takes him a long time to get to grips with who he is, and he spirals a bit because he realises that actually he has no real sense of identity in general. He doesn't know what he wants in the future in ANY capacity.

During a movie night with the older teens, it's Argyle (bizarrely) that vaguely states that he finds both the make/female lead actors hot, and it's the catalyst for Steve actually figuring himself out. He doesn't talk to anyone at all about it. He thinks and thinks and thinks, and just comes to terms with it. He did love Nancy, he does find girls attractive, but he also wants to make out with Eddie. (He also thinks that guy in that labyrinth film is kinda hot.)

So he bites the bullet and does what he wanted to do originally. He asks Eddie out, and Eddie's immediately like 'uh HELL yes', feeling like he's won the jackpot. And after a few weeks of vaguely secretive dating (ie making out at Eddie's new house), Steve settles into 'liking both', and tells Robin. He's much more confident this time, now that he's tried and knows he likes both.

Turns out Robin's been thinking about it too, and when Steve tells her about him and Eddie, she's apologetic for trying to tell him who he is. She points out that she'd have hated it, if it was the other way around. She's been looking into it, and come to the same conclusion. Steve was right, he can 'like both'. They have another soft little moment before she brutally mocks him for his taste in men.

(Eddie, meanwhile, has no idea how much soul searching Steve and Robin have been through. He's walking on air, just ecstatic that The Steve Harrington is his boyfriend.)

[inkskinned]

crows use tools and like to slide down snowy hills. today we saw a goose with a hurt foot who was kept safe by his flock - before taking off, they waited for him to catch up. there are colors only butterflies see. reindeer are matriarchical. cows have best friends and 4 stomachs and like jazz music. i watched a video recently of an octopus making himself a door out of a coconut shell.

i am a little soft, okay. but sometimes i can't talk either. the world is like fractal light to me, and passes through my skin in tendrils. i feel certain small things like a catapult; i skirt around the big things and somehow arrive in crisis without ever realizing i'm in pain.

in 5th grade we read The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-time, which is about a young autistic boy. it is how they introduced us to empathy about neurotypes, which was well-timed: around 10 years old was when i started having my life fully ruined by symptoms. people started noticing.

i wonder if birds can tell if another bird is odd. like the phrase odd duck. i have to believe that all odd ducks are still very much loved by the other normal ducks. i have to believe that, or i will cry.

i remember my 5th grade teacher holding the curious incident up, dazzled by the language written by someone who is neurotypical. my teacher said: "sometimes i want to cut open their mind to know exactly how autistics are thinking. it's just so different! they must see the world so strangely!" later, at 22, in my education classes, we were taught to say a person with autism or a person on the spectrum or neurodivergent. i actually personally kind of like person-first language - it implies the other person is trying to protect me from myself. i know they had to teach themselves that pattern of speech, is all, and it shows they're at least trying. and i was a person first, even if i wasn't good at it.

plants learn information. they must encode data somehow, but where would they store it? when you cut open a sapling, you cannot find the how they think - if they "think" at all. they learn, but do not think. i want to paint that process - i think it would be mostly purple and blue.

the book was not about me, it was about a young boy. his life was patterned into a different set of categories. he did not cry about the tag on his shirt. i remember reading it and saying to myself: i am wrong, and broken, but it isn't in this way. something else is wrong with me instead. later, in that same person-first education class, my teacher would bring up the curious incident and mention that it is now widely panned as being inaccurate and stereotypical. she frowned and said we might not know how a person with autism thinks, but it is unlikely to be expressed in that way. this book was written with the best intentions by a special-ed teacher, but there's some debate as to if somebody who was on the spectrum would be even able to write something like this.

we might not understand it, but crows and ravens have developed their own language. this is also true of whales, dolphins, and many other species. i do not know how a crow thinks, but we do know they can problem solve. (is "thinking" equal to "problem solving"? or is "thinking" data processing? data management?) i do not know how my dog thinks, either, but we "talk" all the same - i know what he is asking for, even if he only asks once.

i am not a dolphin or reindeer or a dog in the nighttime, but i am an odd duck. in the ugly duckling, she grows up and comes home and is beautiful and finds her soulmate. all that ugliness she experienced lives in downy feathers inside of her, staining everything a muted grey. she is beautiful eventually, though, so she is loved. they do not want to cut her open to see how she thinks.

a while ago i got into an argument with a classmate about that weird sia music video about autism. my classmate said she thought it was good to raise awareness. i told her they should have just hired someone else to do it. she said it's not fair to an autistic person to expect them to be able to handle that kind of a thing.

today i saw a goose, and he was limping. i want to be loved like a flock loves a wounded creature: the phrase taken under a wing. which is to say i have always known i am not normal. desperate, mewling - i want to be loved beyond words.

loved beyond thinking.

[luffington]

OMG im obsessed with the fic with Cora and Doffy X Reader! i was wondering if i could request just Corazon X Reader? im absolutely crazy about the idea of sweet Cora having those repressed sadistic urges, and his struggle with wanting to be soft and kind, but cant help liking the darker and meaner, its just. UGH SO GOOD

Maybe the reader could have picked up on that a bit and is teasing him into giving in to those urges (which they're totally into lol)

Also i love your fics sm! keep up the great work <3

✧.* art credit!

➤ pairing: donquixote rosinante (corazon) x gn!reader

➤ word count: 1.3k

➤ warnings: dom!corazon, possessive!corazon, dacryphilia, oral (m receiving), praise kink, established relationship, fem reader

RIGHT ITS SUCH A GOOD CONCEPT!!! we barely know anything about cora outside of what law experienced and we'll probably never find out more so.... character interpretation!

my first draft of this had a paragraph where the reader acted bratty to try to coax out his mean side and he almost starting crying.... i took it out because i couldn't do that to him (ㅠ‸ㅠ)

this ended up being pretty similar to the other fic (read here) but i hope you like it!

NSFW under the break! minors dni thank uuu

Corazon was the sweetest man you’d ever met. Sure, he was a master of deception – hiding his Devil Fruit powers and tricking his brother into trusting him was definitely not an easy feat. His anger issues could use some work, even though the reasons behind his outrage were always justified. But his loving personality and strong sense of morality were very real.

He never doubted your kind heart, either. You had joined the Donquixote Family simply because you had no other options, and dealing with his crazy older brother was better than starving on the streets. Corazon was able to relax around you, be silly and affectionate without being judged by his cold-hearted coworkers, and finally speak after long stretches of staying silent.

But there was more to him.

Doflamingo seemed to be the black sheep based on what little you knew about the biological Donquixotes. A rare case of madness in an otherwise well-intentioned family. However, the brothers still shared the same genes and the same horrific childhood. And even though Corazon never discussed his experiences in the Navy, he certainly witnessed terrible things that still weighed on his mind.

Your boyfriend tried his best to keep any deep-rooted darkness away from you, but it was unhealthy for him to repress every negative emotion. You wanted him to feel comfortable around you. He didn’t need to be an angel all the time.

One time, the eternally clumsy blonde almost fell trying to hover above you in bed. Not wanting to crush you with his ten-foot tall body, he caught himself by grabbing your arm. Hard. You squeaked in surprise and he immediately apologized, but dark blue fingerprint-shaped bruises stained your skin by the end of the night.

Early the next morning, when he thought you were still asleep, he lightly traced the marks over and over. You caught him staring at them throughout the day, too, looking more intrigued than upset. He littered your neck, chest, and thighs with hickies the next time you fucked, and you realized inflicting pain wasn’t what turned him on – he didn’t want to hurt you, he wanted to mark you. Those were his fingerprints on your arm.

So much was taken away from him at a young age that of course he wanted to claim you as his own. Hickies were more conventionally sexy than bruises, so he was less ashamed about admiring them in front of you and telling you how pretty you look. Even gently rubbing a large one on your neck during a Family meeting, which made his brother huff and tell you to get a room. Corazon did get a room after that – pulled you aside into a private bathroom and fucked you against the sink while making you stare at yourself in the mirror. Whispering in a deep voice about how the color of your hickies matched his plum-colored lipstick.

A few weeks later, he came home in the middle of the night after being away on a mission with Diamante and Trebol for nearly a week. Thunder boomed outside the window and his feathery black coat left behind a trail of rainwater as he stumbled into your shared room. His tall frame visibly shook with anger, his dark sunglasses barely covered the fury burning in his eyes. You got out of bed to greet him and asked how the operation went, but he just pulled you into a very wet hug and mumbled, “I don’t want to think about it ever again.” 

You blinked slowly and whispered, “I can help you forget.”

The blonde threw his half-burned cigarette to the floor then smashed his lips against yours. He didn’t bother taking the time to build up to a heated kiss. Immediately biting your lower lip raw before pushing his long tongue inside your mouth. Your eyes fluttered shut, easily submitting and letting him take whatever he wanted from you. The smell of smoke caught both of your attention. Corazon instinctively stomped out the cigarette ashes smoldering on the throw rug without tearing away from the kiss for even a moment. 

“Let me use you.” He looked as desperate as he sounded. “Just for tonight, can you be my little doll? I’ll make it up to you later, I promise, I’ll be so good to you.” Heat shot straight to your core and you nodded fervently, clutching onto his drenched clothes like your life depended on it.

Which is how you ended up with his lengthy cock down your throat, your bare ass in the air and body wedged between his sprawled-out legs. Calloused fingers tangled in your hair to firmly guide you up and down. Graciously giving you time to relax by letting you swirl your tongue around the swollen tip, though he never pulled you entirely off his dick. He looked so pretty like this – damp hair clinging to his forehead, pale cheeks turned pretty pink, subtly squirming on the mattress, pupils fully blown out with lust. 

Corazon suddenly thrust upwards to hear you gag, several inches of his cock forcing their way into your tight throat. Tiny teardrops reflexively lined your eyes as your gag reflex kicked in. You expected the blonde to panic and immediately stop – even though it was just your body’s natural reaction and you were enjoying every second. But instead, he licked his lips like he wanted to devour you. 

There were those Doflamingo genes.

But unlike his selfish brother, Corazon asked if you were comfortable with everything happening for the second time that night. You gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up, obviously unable to verbally confirm with his dick stretching your mouth to its limit. His cock drooled salty precum onto your tongue as thick globs of your drool dripped down to his balls. 

You used both hands to stroke the rest of his length that couldn’t fit in your mouth – the huge man had a huge dick to match. Corazon swatted them away, held your wrists in one giant hand then pushed down hard until every inch of him was deep in your throat, messy blonde pubes tickling your nose. He was glad he set up a sound barrier, otherwise the entire Family would’ve heard the debauched moan that spilled from his lips.

After a few moments of admiring you and the prominent bulge in your throat, your boyfriend released you just before it became too much. “Good girl,” Corazon panted with a dazed smile. “Such a good girl, taking it all like you’re supposed to.”

He gave up trying to hold back after that, bucking his hips against your face and rambling about how pretty and perfect you looked like this. He pressed your head all the way down again just before he hit his peak, shooting a large load of cum directly into your stomach. When he saw your ruined state, a dark pit formed in his stomach. Tears stained your cheeks and spit dripped down your chin as you gasped for air, and he was turned on by it. 

Corazon quickly pulled you close to press soft kisses against your cheek and make sure you were okay. Nothing you said seemed to convince him, so you brought his hand between your thighs. When he swiped a finger through your folds, his eyes widened at how wet you were. He admired the way your sticky juices webbed between his digits, then immediately began toying with your cunt.

“I would’ve stopped you if you didn’t like it,” you grinned, shamelessly rutting against the palm of his hand. “Ruin me with your cock more. I’ll be a good toy for you.”

Corazon gulped, stomach fluttering with sinful excitement. “O-Okay, if… if you’re sure that’s what you want.”

Both of you knew he wanted it more than anything.

[eightyonekilograms]

Obviously, JD Vance's proposal to give parents additional votes stirred up a furor from progressives saying it's anti-feminist, reactionary, trying to keep women in the kitcen, etc.

And I agree with them. Frankly I wouldn't shed a single tear if Trump "who will rid me of this meddlesome running mate"-d a second VP in a row and I never had to hear from Vance or his 2010!NRx ideas ever again. But I have a more prosaic objection also: if implemented, I don't think this plan would actually work?

Like, as I understand it, there are two proposed justifications for how this might be a good idea, but I don't think either of them stand up to scrutiny.

The first (and less plausible) one is, people who selfishly want more votes will have more children in order to get more political leverage for [whatever they want]. Even though they're doing it for selfish reasons, children are a public good, and so on net this is good for society.

I think this theory can be dispensed with pretty easily. It sounds just like one of those $1000 payments for having another child that budges the birth rate not at all because it's way too small a reward for the expense involved. Even speaking as someone intensely annoyed by trendy anti-electoralist cynicism, I know the EV of an additional vote is microscopic compared to the expense of having children. It won't move anyone except at the very bleeding edge of the margin.

But that's the easy case. The much more interesting theory of the Vance Plan is that of fixing broken incentives. The story goes like this: one feature of democracy, for better or worse, is that it rewards those who show up. If you have no vote (or don't use your vote), you are invisible to democracy, so your wants will be systematically underrepresented. This is why wealthy first-world countries are increasingly gerontocratic in both legislative makeup and resulting policy: old people reliably vote, young people don't, so even with no conspiracy involved, democracy gravitates to favoring the wants of the old. Vance says, hey, children cannot vote, so just as you'd predict, their interests (as a class!) get ignored, so we end up with a legislative landscape that doesn't favor children and makes it harder to raise them.

It makes perfect sense on paper! But I think in the real world it falls apart.

What are the actual bits of legislation and policy which discourage people from having more children? I mean, people can and do argue furiously over this question, but IMO three of the most significant ones are:

NIMBY localist housing policy locking young potential parents out of the housing market

More localist tax and education policy making competition for "good schools" a Red Queen Race which drives up house prices still further, requiring two working parents

Safetyist legislation which, while well-intentioned, is making everything from cars to child care more expensive than it necessarily needs to be

In order to believe that giving parents additional votes will cause a more child-friendly society to emerge via electoral pressure, you have to believe that parents are more likely than non-parents to oppose 1, 2 and 3. And that just... doesn't seem true? At best there's no difference, and to be blunt, I think as a class parents tend to be worse than non-parents on all three. #NotAllParents, of course, there are plenty of people with kids who still want good abundance policy, but averaged over everybody I think it's hard to deny that parenthood tends to push people toward defensive, loss-averting "protect the children" mentalities which, on a global scale, fuck everyone else over. That talking point you constantly see among the Very Online Right that parents are more likely than non-parents to think Beyond Themselves and want to build a stable world for the long term, just seems obviously false to me. Or at least if it is true, it's true in a way which is mostly irrelevant, since these "long-view parents" don't know how to turn those wants into policy which actually achieves them.

Frankly, I think it's easy to envision a world where the Vance Plan makes all policy around child-rearing worse instead of better, and depresses the birth rate even further.

[the5thcellar]

I actually think Luke is serious about A. That age gap is typically what men marry these days. I think he's crazy about her and was taking it slow after a long term break up before going official. That shows intention, planning, and wanting her. I wouldn't be surprised the official IG couple post is coming soon.

I'm just upset that they took it this far with promo. Tom and Z were meeting each other's family outside of work early on, so to say you are officially brining him to meet the fame was a bit much. Closing your eyes when she touches your face? Grade A acting. I hate that it makes me believe he was never attracted to an amazing woman like Nicola. I feel dumb for falling for it all. I hope Nicola finds a handsome guy who will love her proudly.

that's a really interesting take tbh! ive actually never considered he was serious about her in the sense of marrying - but of course this is purely based off the vibes I get and is entirely my own view.

one of the reasons i say this is because luke doesn't seem too inclined to keep a completely friendly distance between himself and nic - i heard that the QC leads india and corey were shipped really hard by fans as well and he had a gf during the whole press run - and towards the end india and corey started posing separately on carpets (i.e. no touching, no friendly hand around shoulder even during photos etc) because they wanted to emphasise that they were really just friends.

luke in contrast seems to have no qualms about blurring lines - and one of the reasons the more rabid fans kept insulting Antonia was a direct result of the fact that he kept stating his "single" status to press. I think he could have helped Antonia avoid a lot of the flak she drew by just stating that he's seeing someone. but maybe he felt it would draw even more attention to his private life and her? idk. i don't want to puzzle over his motivations because I don't believe they are too complex - I've said this many times before and I'll keep saying it - no matter how good a man seems (and I do believe Luke is very good and sweet), trying to justify anything they do is still a sure path to disappointment.

more importantly: please don't feel dumb for falling for the hope that nic and luke could be together! i really don't think they were being deliberately disingenuous - i actually think the opposite - i think they themselves are often confused about what they really are and it's just easier to define it as being great friends. it's strange but i get the feeling that they see each other as a source of potential - it's simultaneously impossible and also the easiest thing in the world for them to envision a reality where they're together - there just seems to be many barriers to it happening for real. they're comfortable living in the liminal space between great friendship and great romantic love - it definitely explains why nic said she doesn't have a relationship in her life that's anything close to what she has with luke. I think there just needs to be a decisive push for them to ever move out of this grey area. it'll have to be something massive for it to ever happen... and it's not something I hold out hope for (again, just to avoid disappointment!)

this got really long; I wish nic and luke all the best and I think they have something very special with each other. I think life has many many stops along the way and I don't think luke has found a final stop in his romantic journey with antonia - they are both very young and they don't have the vibe of "together forever" couples - if they did (since luke is such a big believer in love at first sight) - he'd have laid down a commitment a lot sooner.

again I want to emphasise that this is all MY POV - it's the vibe I get. I'm WELL AWARE I don't know these people irl. There's always criticism of how parasocial fandom and stan behaviour are but I think most fans - myself included - are very conscious of the fact that the way we perceive and interact with celebs is completely one sided. I'm also not a psychic or clairvoyant or anything of the sort. i just strangely feel a lot of things all the time and ive never been chill a day in my life 😂

sending you lots of good feelings and healing - I feel your hurt and unease and disappointment because I feel the same, but it gets easier to accept with each day that passes.

[starry-eyed-lord]

Alright here's angsty Stanford headcanons because I need to cope

He really struggles to empathise with people, which is why he moved on so quickly from asking about Mabels emotions when he was "taking away" her closest friend for an apprenticeship. He can't comprehend people feeling, and he really struggles to empathise with them unless they remind him of himself.

He always needs to be the best, and he'll do any petty little thing to make sure he's better than the people around him. "Grammar, Stanley." He genuinely couldn't let himself give Stanley that win, he NEEDED to be better than him, no matter how petty it was. He saw an opportunity to correct Stanley, and didn't hesitate to take it. He didn't care how it affected Stanley, and he wouldn't understand his emotions anyway, but he just needed that little ego boost of "I'm still smarter than you" even after Stanley had finally gotten his win.

He'll just take constantly in relationships, he won't think of how it affects people. He'll use little manipulative tactics like "are you sure?" In a grateful tone to make people think he appreciates the gesture, but he really doesn't care. He doesn't recognise the value of gifts. "I love it when people give me gifts!" He says, but not for the emotional value of someone getting you a gift, but because he's a kleptomaniac that likes getting things.

Superiority complex!! He looks down on everyone, except Dipper. Because Dipper reminds him of himself when he was young, and because of that, he sees Dipper as a sort of equal.

He'll have ego crashes every now and then, where he's fully convinced he's just the worst. "[...] causing him to ride and endless see-saw between dizzying ego, and plummeting insecurity." Said Bill. So Ford will usually think of himself as better than most people, like, he really looks down on everyone, but there will be periods where he's just manically depressed and he hates everything about himself and views people as better than him.

He was genuinely confused when Dipper turned down his apprenticeship. 1, he views it as a tremendous honour to be able to work alongside such an intelligent man, and 2, he can't comprehend that Dipper turned down the opportunity to potentially go down in history. "Can you seriously tell me you don't feel you were destined for more than this?" That's both subtly trying to manipulate Dipper into saying yes, and also, him genuinely being confused about Dipper not feeling a need for greatness.

He's very quick to refuse blame for most things, and turn it around on other people. "I'm selfish, Stanley? How could you say that after costing me my dream school!!" He completely brushed off Stanley's points, and emotions, and turned the situation into one where he could be angry at something Stanley did, so that he was the "good" one in the situation.

He doesn't act honestly, like ever. He masks so much of his personality, and now it's not even intentional. He's just such a dick, and people used to point that out, that he's picked up subtle ways to manipulate people into believing he's nice, things to say, things to do, etc.

He constantly does favours for people and is such a handyman, but it's usually just because he likes it when people praise him, or, to make himself look better. Like when he made that new lightbulb, and Mabel said "Are you seeing this? This is what a hero looks like!" That's EXACTLY why he did that, not because he wanted to, he probably expected someone would buy new light bulbs. He just wanted the compliments. And, branching off of that, he noticed the light bulbs that Stanley was holding and immediately clocked where he had been, but he still said "So, where were you?" Less as a question, and much more as a taunt, because it boosted himself even more.

He apologises a lot when he doesn't mean it. He'll do something that made someone upset, and apologise, but he doesn't actually feel sorry at all, nor does he understand why they're upset. "I really am sorry, is there anything I can do?" And things of the sort, he doesn't mean it at all, but he's literally perfected his acting skills. He can act so so genuine.

One of the only times he ever genuinely felt sorry, was when he burned Stanley's back. Up until he was pushed through the portal, he viewed Stanley as someone he loved and respected. Not "on his level", not an equal to him, but it was his brother and he genuinely did love him. So when he kicked Stanley and scolded his back, that was one of the few times he's ever genuinely meant the words "I'm sorry".

(His apology in Wierdmagedon was NOT genuine he just wanted Stanley to join in because they needed him)

Acts like he knew things he didn't know when people tell him about it, and acts like it was an obvious fact, solely to put them down

Some sick part of him takes pride in his history with Bill. No matter how much he hates Bill, there will forever be a section of his ego that's proud of the fact that he was the one to be chosen by Bill. Bill is one of the most powerful gods in the universe, in the MULTIVERSE, and he chose Stanford. Ignoring his intentions, it was still Stanford that he needed. And Ford takes slight pride in knowing he was needed by such a powerful god

He uses manipulation tactics without even realising he is

[spider-jaysart]

Okay soooo fun mash up idea that I've created recently, which is DC crosses over with The last of us part 1! (But the game version though with some parts of the show included)

So it would be like this:

Joel: Bruce (for many obvious reasons, like for example being the old grumpy, cold man who grows into the Father figure role once warming up to the kid that changes a part of his life, causing him to become more of a softy)

Tommy: Dick (the one who eventually became tired of Bruce's bull and went his own ways in the future, but reconciled after reuniting with him in their next meeting)

Sarah: Kid!Jason (the innocent kid who didn't deserve to die)

Ellie: Damian (has her attitude, stubbornness, fearless determination, shameless cussing, loyalty, humorous side but in his own way, artistic side, and stabbing skills, so he fits perfectly well. It would also be interesting that him and Bruce have no idea they're related to eachother at all, so they don't bond because of known shared blood, only because of the many things they've been through together that brang them closer overtime to being like a Father and Son, and then they find out this secret about themselves much, much later after the end of their very long journey)

Riley: Maya (not a love interest like in the game and show, but just the first good friend and a trusted sister figure to Damian who knew things well)

Tess: Diana (A well trusted and respected partner for Bruce in work)

Maria: Starfire as Dick's wife

Sam: Jon (shares that innocent vibe with Sam and just like him with Ellie, he'd be quick to want to befriend Damian and see him as the cool older kid he'd like to impress)

Henry: Kon (is young just like him and is just trying his best to keep his baby bro safe the way he believes is best, since he is the only one who can now)

Marlene: Amal (Talia's only known friend in comics, so she fits as Marlene who used to be close friends with Ellie's Mom and made the promise to always watch over Ellie for her, so here she does that for Talia with Damian)

David: Joker (both a total weird, creep that can secretly hide who they truly are whenever they felt like it for their own benefits and then reveal their horrible sides and true intentions by surprise)

Bill: Lucious Fox (because he makes Bruce's gadgets and vehicles in canon and since Bill has a skill of doing just that for himself and gives Joel a new gadget and also a needed car, he is fitted enough for the role in this way)

And then for some small details and also additional things that help make the au stand out a little more differently:

Chris will be included with Jon and Kon here just to have all the Superbros together

Mar'i and Jake exist here but are really young twins (6 years old)

When things were still normal, Bruce was married to Talia here and they both were raising Kid!Jason together. They both got separated during the event of the outbreak and never found eachother again after that

Instead of 20 years of the apocalypse, it's 14 years here instead, because Talia was already pregnant with Damian when things began going wild

Damian will be immune just like Ellie (well obviously loll), but just for a little bit of play, it's cause it actually has to do with mixed Lazarus blood in his body that saved him, which comes from a small, strange part of his brain that keeps creating and pumping it out into his veins. This was naturally passed down from Ra's always over using the pits so much for years, causing the body inside to develop and grow in becoming much stronger and different in unique ways. And Lazarus pits are gone now, so Damian is like the only source that holds it in him as the possibe cure of the world

Unlike Ellie's Mom, Talia survived the birth of Damian and lived until he was 7 after saving him from an attack in a herd of infected that they were both trying to outrun. Damian stayed always feeling heavily guilty about it ever since and blames himself, even though how it happened wasn't actually his fault (still kind of debating on this one just a little bit for small reasons though)

Jon won't be 8 like Sam from the show, he will be around his canon age from the game instead. He will also be Damian's first love instead in this au and they will both have crushes on eachother

Instead of the games original cities and other places as settings, things are set in Gotham and other known DC cities Instead

Instead of a switchblade, Damian was left with a dagger from Talia, and all collected comics in his backpack from his adventure are mangas. He also carries around old special photos of Talia and him to remember and cherishes them very much, since that's all he has left of her besides her dagger

All characters wear their own versions of the tlou outfits to fit their style better instead of just using the existing ones

One of the things Damian would never want is to get killed by a bloater the most, because they actually just kill kids with only a slap instead of tearing up their jaws like the adults, so he would feel SO humiliated if it ever happened to him too (based on how this actually happens to Ellie in the game whenever she gets caught by them because she's underage loll, which makes the bloaters look like a bully to children)

Despite killing in this au having to be done against all kinds of enemies in order to survive, Bruce never feels comfortable with it, but he does what he has to. He also has sympathy for all the infected people, usually seeing them more as victims who didn't ask to become what they are now instead of just harmful, angry creatures, but knows he can't be pity them too much, cause at the end of the day it's either him or them during encounters. He also tries taking the pacifist route whenever he sees he has the chance to in a situation where confrontations aren't actually nesscarry, allowing him to flee without notice instead, and during stealth he will choke human enemies in a way that he knows will only make them pass out and not die

Annnd I think that's probably it for now!

I also have a lot of drawings from this au that I really wanna make and also put out soon heheh and I'm also working on Damian outfits that replaces all of Ellie's, which I'm almost done with!! And if anyone maybe has questions for the au btw, feel free to ask anything!

@pin-crusher2000 @camo-wolf @paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 @dunkinsthings

[yandere-fics]

♡ How They Affirm Their Transfem Darling's Gender ♡

(I got this request in the dms, they aren't the best at it but my ocs are really trying, they're just all really stupid and all have their own ideas of what would be helpful, their intentions really are in the best place though! Anyways I hope this is what you wanted.)

♡ Despite Miriel being trans herself she really doesn't know much about what to do for a human, she takes special estrogen that was provided by the elves but she's unsure if that's even safe for you to take or if you even want to take her elf estrogen, she will be consulting the elders back home though because she really never checked if her elf estrogen is safe for human consumption or if it'll start elfing you, obviously even if you can't take it though she has enough money to pay for whatever you need or want to get done. Be warned that any notion of personal style is thrown out with her regardless of gender and if you want to wear clothes that fit your own style instead of the clothes Miriel is likely to dress her darling in, you will have to convince her. Also Miriel lacks ANY tact at all, if you haven;t come out or realized you're trans yet she'll realize it for you, since she was young she knew her mate would be a girl/fem leaning even if she didn't know many other details and she will come up to you and proclaim you are trans, she knows it. ♡

♡ Eliza shockingly has more tact that Miriel when it comes to this, she may be stupid but even she knows that such comments might be too pushy at first, once you do come out to her though then she's going to be a bit obnoxious with how hard she's trying, opening doors, carrying all your bags, she can't let her precious girlfriend do all that stuff, it's a bit infantilizing but she really wants to make you feel like she is your big strong wolf who will do everything you need and you can just be her petite girlfriend while she's your big butch wolf, though she doesn't really mind how you want to present, if you like to dress more masc she's not going to mind, just know she is always going to treat you like her little puppy. She has a very good care package working for the boss too so anything you want to get done will happen, just be warned you will have to sedate her during your surgeries otherwise she's going to be in the room growling at the doctors that they better not fuck up and making them all really nervous. Btw being trans is not going to stop her from getting you pregnant so do not think you're safe, she will find a way. ♡

♡ Selene has a harder time affirming your gender mostly because she lives out in the middle of nowhere wolf territory and so she'd need to take you to the city for any clothes or new things you need to get or want done, she'll act all moody about being in the city until she sees your happy face, though do expect her to ask for lots of affection for this, she won't ask for dick sucking, she'd feel bad asking for that in exchange for something this important, she is thinking it, she is willing to go to the city for you as many times as you need, though if you keep going for clothes, expect a "damn woman how many clothes do you need?", she's not seriously bothered though, she'll do it as many times as you want, eventually you may want to online shop or ask the temple dedicated to her mate to get you stuff from the city so you don't exhaust poor homebody Selene. Eventually she'll get so used to it that she'll be sad if you don't ask her to go to the city for new clothes or whatever it is you want at least once a year. ♡

♡ Likely the best of the bunch, she knows this is a very important thing and she'll be slow and patient with it, going at your pace and only pushing you when she knows you need a little bit of a push and courage to take the next step, she can also control herself in hospitals even though she's raging inside about them potential injuring you, still she manages to get through everything without you freaking out and she's amazing at aftercare, she memorized everything the surgeon said perfectly, though it can get a bit annoying when she's correcting you on what the surgeons said and making sure you do everything down to the letter. She's also in a very great place to be able to take care of your every want and desire, she's close to the boss and has priority on things, isn't afraid of being more in debt to the boss if it gives her more power to help her mate, and beyond that even without help she makes a lot of money and has a lot of time she is able to take off so she'd be able to spend entire weeks with you changing your wardrobe if that's what you want, it also affirms her cause she gets to be your big strong butch lesbian mate. ♡

♡ Much like the elves, angels have developed their own HRT, just be warned if this is the route you're going on, you're going to be so sleepy and you'll notice every part of you suddenly feels soft, squishy, and very cuddly, congrats, you have just become an optimal angel nap partner, you're not actually an angel but you will notice you act more meek towards her so if you don't want to have to listen to her and be tired very often this is not for you, she won't really understand if you don't want angel estrogen but she'll allow it. She's very scary in the operating room, no one can sedate her and every doctor in there is praying to escape with their life. If anyone even messes up a pronoun once, you'll have to convince her not to disintegrate them or don't honestly they really should be more careful in the city, they were begging to be killed by a supernatural one day. ♡

♡ Runa is a massive pervert and so she thinks the best way to affirm is to be so sexual and make it clear she thinks of you as a really really hot girl, making sure you know just how much she wants to fuck is her way of trying to be helpful even if it isn't the most helpful, she'll also force you to put on a million different cosplays and take pictures while giggling and being like "my adorable cat girlfriend!". Also she does not care about what you have going on, you're going to sit on her face because how could she have a girlfriend who has never sat on her face, if you don't have the right parts for it, you'd better get used to ass eating real fast, she's going to do it. If you want surgeries or new clothes she'll have to kidnap a doctor and have it done in her apartment, there are programs for cheap or free surgery in the city but she really just can't have you taken from her so it'll have to happen in her apartment, she'll steal HRT too even though that's free and easy to get ahold of in the city, any clothes will get purchased online, don't worry she'll take your measurements very thoroughly. ♡

♡ Nora actually is pretty confident about this for once, she has no reason to fear messing up because why would she? You're her reason for living and that's all that matters. She also has the method of making you feel petite next to her and I mean she's so fucking tall, she's very solid, and very strong so how can you not feel dainty next to her, unless you're somehow taller, if you don't like that method she will change it though, she just wants to do what will make you happy, even if that means pretending to be a bit more submissive and calling you mommy, she'll do it even if she really doesn't like it cause affirming your gender expression matters most of all to her. She's in a decent enough spot to get you what you need and though she hates having to interact with Sawyer, she will for this, she'll barely sleep too, she'll spend all her days getting a new wardrobe with you and then at night she'll do all her work. She has to be sedated for your surgeries so she doesn't have a anxiety attack. ♡

♡ Sawyer can just nap her finger and make what you want to happen, happen and she has an infinite amount of resources at her command for you so buy whatever you want honey, seriously buy it because it's how she shows love, she'll be sad if you don't buy a whole new wardrobe, she needs to adorn you with her cash. You'll also have to forgive her after she transforms you because she'll have to sit down and hide her boner, just using her powers on you so intimately and seeing your smile made her really turned on, she didn't mean to and she feels a bit ashamed that she got turned on even when it shouldn't have been sexual, just give her a bit to cool down then she'll be happy to take you out on a date so you can finally enjoy this new body you have. ♡

[juliart-107]

a LOT of genloss rgbtrio escape au headcannons, simply because these have been sitting in my notes app for a month now and if i don't share them then idk what i'll do with them.

as always, these will make barely any sense so apologies if it's incomprehensible.

gl! sneeg - he gets very quiet and emotionless, incredibly intent on protecting the three of them. when it's serious, he'll get up in the middle of the night and sit in the entryway with a weapon and block the front door with a chair, staying up the whole night unblinkingly staring, waiting for showfall's men to come barging in. though he knows it illogical and dangerous, he's motivated by the fact that wasn't able to protect charlie and ranboo before, and will do anything in his power to make sure that he can give back that favor. charlie (since he gets up first) or ranboo (since he will get up to get a midnight snack) will usually find him on guard, exhausted but determined. at first, it lowkey scared the shit outta them. but the two of them began drawing sneeg back into conversations when he started to withdraw, and made sure to constantly reassure him that that they're safe and he doesn't have to strain to prove himself deserving of their company. when they find him in the entryway anyway, without judgement, they will quietly lead him back to his bed.

gl! charlie - helps others before he helps himself. to a point where sneeg and ranboo thought that he was already over showfall shortly after their escape. since he was so vibrant, he cheered up sneeg and ranboo when they needed assistance, and they assumed that charlie simply wasn't effected by the fears unloaded onto him. unknowingly to them, charlie had been hiding the fact that he has been having nightmares. after episode 2, showfall haphazardly sewed up charlie, leaving a scar across his stomach which aches everytime he thinks about it. he flinches whenever someone accidentally presses against it, especially if it's ranboo, and will try to avoid the subject of hospitals/surgeries/gore. all these little things added up, but were overshadowed by his bright smile and the three's focus on not being found by showfall. once they learn of this, they make sure to meet a frightened-awake charlie with hot cocoa (sneeg) or a cold glass of water (ranboo), and lets him initiate the hugs when he needs it.

(hcs use he/him for ranboo to provide distinction between the individual and the collective rgbtrio :])

gl! ranboo - is lost. a lot of the time, he irrationally checks if the mask was still on his mouth and nose after charlie and sneeg helped him pry it off him. it leaves a phantom pressure on his face, so he wears a face mask gifted to him by sneeg (half to soothe the phantom feeling, half to hide the scars left from the mask). ranboo doesnt know his place in society now that he's free but he stays for the two of them. he remembers the people he had to leave behind often. sometimes, he'll go quiet, only to ask them what they think happened to the other characters - charlie tries to stay optimistic, saying that, one day, they'll meet them again, when they also escape. sneeg doesn't promise anything, instead he just reminisces with ranboo, focusing on their admirable resilience. they try their best for the young hero. (being so young but having seen so much, they try double as hard to give him the life he deserves.) they get into a routine when ranboo needs help, where he falls into charlie's arms to comfort him when the panic becomes too much, or leans on sneeg just to listen to him ramble to distract him.

unrelated, random hc quick fire:

gl! sneeg gets into criminology/law because he wants justice for all three of them. he likes to cover it up to by saying he just finds true crime interesting, but he is truly motivated by protecting them.

gl! sneeg finds cooking pretty easy too, like he used to do it for someone important a long time ago. he brushes it off, thinking he was just remembering the cabin.

gl! ranboo sets up a corkboard trying to find the secrets to showfall/how to help the other showfall characters. gl! sneeg and charlie remind him it's probably unhealthy but ranboo causes such a stir that they give in and let him keep it up since it gives him peace of mind. at some point, gl! sneeg begins to help him with his corkboard using his criminology knowledge. gl! charlie keeps them humble tho, making sure they don't go too deep into a spiral of detective-ing

gl! charlie is irrationally connected to his water bottle (idk why, he just is because actual charlie is lmao). he drew the slimestory design on :)

gl! ranboo is still able to solve a Rubik's cube without looking after escaping. he learns to actually enjoy leaving it unsolved, doing it for the love of it rather than just going from point a to point b like they programmed him to do.

gl! ranboo is extremely worried about being found by showfall again, so it's gl! charlie and sneeg who put up the sticky notes to remind themselves not to open the blinds unless ranboo is okay with it.

gl! rgbtrio start doing arts and crafts to pass the time in their little home. gl! sneeg paints a mug and gl! charlie embroiders a pillow.

connected to this one ^ gl! ranboo learns of pride flags and wants pins of his flags, so gl! charlie and sneeg collect bottle caps and bobby pins which ranboo uses to make his own pins. he puts them on the jacket that showfall assigned him to, personalizing the clothing that was meant to rip away his individuality/true self.

gl! charlie loves plants, and cares for them like pets. he's Very particular about them too, not allowing gl! sneeg or ranboo to touch them. (he swears he knew a person who loved plants as well, someone important to him, but the real and the fake blend into each other, so he tries to just move on and make a life with rgbtrio. he still wonders, though.)

gl! rgbtrio manage to find comfy pyjamas, because of course. wearing something other than showfall gave them, and being with people who truly care and see them for who they are, it starts to feel more like a home :').

aren't you glad you get these juliart_107 tumblr exclusives :'''') /s

btw, a lot of these small hcs can be spotted in this art i did (just a little plug lol) thanks for reading this far!!

[itsdeniini]

How do Stray Kids Hyunjin and ENHYPEN Ni-ki feel about each other? ⋆𖦹 °.🪽⋆❀˖° 𐦍

𑁍 Hyunjin about Ni-ki 𓇢𓆸 🀦

The Magician, Knight of Wands, Page of Swords

Hyunjin thinks that Ni-ki is full of adrenaline! He's impressed that he succeeded in grabbing this amount of attention for his persona at such a young age, not only because of his title as one of the dance machines of the 4th generation but also because of his other talents and natural charm. And also the way he behaves—it's not giving 18 years old; during their dialogs, Hyunjin felt like he's talking to his peer—that much of a sharp mind he has. Also, he thinks that he's quick-paced in everything he does, like he's in a rush. He thinks he likes to do his thing in one try, and it should come out perfectly so he can move on to the next activity. Moreover, he appreciates how creative Ni-ki is! He can come up with an idea in 10 seconds, and shortly after, it will be brought to reality in his signature style. Another thing that I can point out is that Hyunjin would really like Ni-ki to teach him how to keep up with everything. Yeah, Hyunjin may be in the industry for a bit longer and have more experience, but seeing Ni-ki's ambitiousness, he gets the idea, "Wow, this youngster can give me a tip or two; I wouldn't complain." Briefly, Hyunjin thinks Ni-ki's charisma is one of the main components of his recipe for success.

𑁍 Ni-ki about Hyunjin 𓇢𓆸 🀦

The Sun, The King of Wands, 3 of Cups

Ni-ki likes Hyunjin energy! The first time he saw him, he thought he's a cocky guy who puts himself first and enjoys the attention he's getting from everyone, but when they got closer and engaged in a conversation, Ni-ki understood that Hyunjin is not the bad guy that he pictured in his mind; he's actually pretty funny and approachable. Ni-ki as well relates to his passion and the internal fire he's exuding, like, yeah, boy, give us everything! Ni-ki thinks that every idol that calls themselves an idol should be like Hyunjin, driven and focused on showcasing their best abilities. During their LALALALA Tiktok Challenge, they had so much fun interacting with each other and having their inside jokes as well, by the way! I think they had or have a meeting planned with the intention to hang up, but the schedules are too tight, and there's no time or good opportunity, but they still have this planned. At least Ni-ki is very excited about this chance to get to know him better. Also, something happened between them in an offline interaction during the winter and early spring; it boosted up their friendship and left them on a very good note. Maybe it's something like a collab for fans that they're planning in the future, and that idea lightened Ni-ki up! He enjoys cooperating with truly talented people who can match his freak. 😜

❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。˓˓ ⍥⃝⃝ ˒˒=

In conclusion, those dudes are a good fit for each other—in a friendly way! They're both so energetic and pumped up, and they're also both connected by the fact that they love their fans so much. I like it so much! We can expect them to practice something together that will come out sooner than we think. They're willing to invent a new ramification of dancing together if it's needed, and all that to impress ENGENE and STAY.

[mercless]

indulgently , but what would talon's impressions of rell be if the three of them travelled together ? and even more indulgently , does talon ever get used to yone's humming or whistling ?

Once they learn why Rell is also out for the harbingers Talon will settle with it, maybe shake their head and remark on how they were forming a crew to fight the inevitable. Without a history of family or even a place of belonging, there ain't much empathy they can share with her, only understanding for her search. Maybe be a little too pushy of a voice telling her seeking revenge will be good, actually. If Yone glares at them hard enough, they'll relent though. Nothing to the young witch personally, but Talon already doesn't handle company too well. If all three of them were to take up travelling, Talon would probably try and be ahead of the others, work as a scout. But this won't work during long trails of horseback. (getting a horse for them is also gonna be a problem with the beasts scaring so easily...) They'd ask Rell questions now and then on her powers, and what her trickery with metal and fire is capable of. Knowing a thing or two with their own magic of summoning brimstone weapons, they might even offer her pointers or help with her training. They'd also share stories of all kinds if asked, they might have one or two about other witches. This would all depend on if Rell even let them talk to her much, let alone tolerated their existence near her. Talon's very much on the same page of 'I would rather the demon-thing was anywhere but here.'

Noticeably, Talon would be standoffish and cruel when all three begin travelling together, making pointed remarks especially at Yone's expense. But as they went on, seeing both the gunslinger and witch's prowess, they'd become far less loose of tongue, and their avoidance would be more from something troubling them, than unfriendliness. No matter the outcome of their little venture, and if the harbingers can be stopped at all, Talon knows very well how both of them feel on hellspawn. And nothing can sway them that the second they're finished, their alliance will no longer be in place. And against both of them, Talon knows they don't have much of a chance. While I'm side-tangent-ing here I'll also say that Talon would try to keep their affliction to themself as much as possible. Any questions about their feathers will be blocked, sidelined, ignored, or they would provide an ill-omen and say nothing else. They'd try to keep any coughs out of sight or ear of both of them - there's no sympathy for their plight, and they ain't looking for it.

With both Yone and Rell around, Talon's nature would simmer far quicker, which would be conflicting to them; both unnerving, and welcome. When they hear Yone hum or sing for the first time, mostly likely after being in his company a while, they'd watch with a quizzical look and ask why he was doing that without an instrument accompaniment - whistling would be given a grimace and the question would be to interrupt it after a short while. Even if he were to explain to the best of his ability, Talon would still find it odd, but with future tunes they would ask him what particular ones are when he finishes, or if they're repeated, ask if it was this or that. Maybe while around a fire one night, they'd ask if they could hear a full song, and what it meant or the history behind it. Talon has no intent on joining in or complimenting how Yone carries a tune, but they'll learn one in return for having to listen to it. Whistling will still be unwelcome, but they'd give an excuse like 'it'll disturb the horses' rather then say it's irritating them, or even suggest he hums instead; accidentally said along the lines of, 'it sounds better when you hum.'

[blacklegsanjiii]

Okay uh- the same anon from Warlord!Sanji+Ichiji, but this time for a Good!Niji and Good!Yonji au.

Good!Niji is pretty much the same as Good!Ichiji, he never beat Sanji up and always intent to subtly stop the other two. He runs away with his young brother and is saved not by Mihawk from the rock, but for the Whitebeards. So this turns into a Shirohige!Sanji+Niji thing.

Good!Yonji is similar too, instaed Sanji is his older brother. He is saved alongside his sibling from the rock for Jinbei. So y'know, Fishman!Sanji+Yonji.

(All if them have Acesan, though. And obvisiously they're protective as hell with Sanji)

I love the Good!124ji. I love Sanji having good siblings. Also Shirohige!Niji coming back like in the blue! series.

Niji and Sanji being brought to the Shirohige and Sanji is still the baby because he's a few minutes younger and Niji is modified. I personally headcanon that Niji has poor eyesight hence the goggles so he is given real glasses while Sanji is stuck in sunglasses from the glare of the ocean. They are both the last brats and the last babies aboard and everyone is smitten with having them around. Marco is of course giving them the best care he can White Beard does carry them around a lot. Like an absurd amount truthfully. This does however encourage the others to also do this but it's really fun when they're in Marco's talons and being flown around.

When Ace joins Niji isn't particularly fond of the new guy calling his little brother 'blondie' or how flustered it made Sanji. Despite them both already having hefty bounties for new pirates, Ace is still relatively green and when he comes up as a commander Niji and Sanji join the Second Division and when Teach kills Thatch they're all off on the hunt. Niji understands that Ace and Sanji are dating but refuses to acknowledge it most of the time. Except at Marineford when they all think Sanji died.

When the three of them officially join the Strawhat Pirates and Ace and Sanji are given their own room again Niji full cocks Sanji for the dead thing. After Niji is calmed down about that Sanji is like 'wanna see a new trick' and starts sky walking. Niji immediately tries to shock his little brother. Ace is laughing so hard he's choking and wheezing. When they meet Jinbei for real Ace is like 'this is my husband, Sanji. This is his older brother, Niji. Sanji can set himself on fire without a fruit and Niji has electric powers without a fruit.' and Niji thumps Ace so fucking hard for that.

Good!Yonji who finds his older brother and gets him out without Judge finding them but he can't get the helmet off of Sanji. Sanji keeps telling him not to worry about it because Sanji is his older brother and he's supposed to be protecting Yonji. Then they're found by the fishmen and brought to Fishman Island. Jinbei is of course startled by them but does quickly take to the boys and raises them. They're introduced to the royals and are welcomed to Fishman Island officially.

They both train in Fishman Karate and haki and everything become prodigies in their own right. They are pretty inseperable but Sanji insists he's going to find the All Blue and Yonji is more than happy to stay with Jinbei and help with the relations and politics. Yonji is doesn't know what to do when Jinbei is in prison and then he watches his brother's captain lose his brother without knowing where any of the crew is. When the Strawhats come by a couple years later Yonji rips Sanji to him with his winch hands and the crew is ready to fight despite Sanji trying to calm his younger brother down. Jinbei is trying to calm them down and Sanji is threatening to kick Yonji with fire.

It's a whole thing. The crew is very confused as Sanji is explaining to them that this is his little brother, yes he's taller, that's not something they're going to talk about. When they're done on the island and leaving they're waving and promising to see each other again. THen they find out about Sanji and the promise to help Luffy that Jinbei has they decide fuck it and go. When they arrive to help get them out the Vinsmokes are staring at them because unlike Niji, Yonji does not have a wanted poster and has stayed out of the news. So the other Vinsmokes are confused that he's there with Jinbei and calling him 'dad' with Sanji.

They join the crew and in Wano Sanji jokes that he has two moss patches to take care of now which makes both Zoro and Yonji go for him.

[thesonicpunk]

youre so right that the way kishimoto limits sakura bc of his own misogyny reflects the things girls often face irl. based on what ive seen from interviews, kishimoto is the kind of male writer who thinks women need inherently be written differently from and have different types of stories than men, and it creates this weird self-fulfilling prophecy whereby believing he's not good at writing girls, he ends up being bad at writing girls. but somehow it sometimes circles back around to making him good at it? the struggle of always feeling like you're second-best to the men in your life...but by focusing only on trying to surpass them you just end up centering yourself around them even when you've forged your own path...shes so girlhood to me

aaaa anon ur egging me on ahah (i love it, let's discuss euehuhehu, or not u can just ignore me lol) I'm sorry it took me so long to reply, I had a deadline and halfway through writing this i realised i wanted to do it properly and so I had to come back when I had time It does kinda circle around to Kishimoto crafting a portrayal of aspects of girlhood that's, well, maybe not good since its not intentional or well explored/resolved, but definitely accurate in a lot of ways.

I've always thought Sakura's crush on Sasuke being a big chunk of her focus in life is a great example of this. Kishimoto writes it in because that's how he sees women: what else could they want other than a man? And he needs to show how desirable Sasuke is because his audience wants to see it, they're teenage boys after all and Sasuke's the cool anti-hero (Naruto's too goofy and the underdog at this point in the story for her to like him) so of course Sakura's in love with him. But, at the same time, Sakura's crush being so central in her life is quite accurate because, as a girl, you're socialised since you're very young to desire a certain type of man: the man all men want to be, because men want you to desire them. In this case, this is Sasuke: the cool, aloof, powerful shinobi from a prestigious clan, the strongest, top of the class guy.* You're told by all the media you consume, the stories you read, the comments your family makes and the relationships that are modelled for you in society in general that you exist to love a guy, to take care of him, that your biggest dream should be being worthy of that guy's love, because what else is there for a girl to aspire to? And as a girl you don't just accept it, because it's deeper and more ingrained than that: you actually want your life to look like that. Because all the other girls who already have that are so pretty, and when you smile people compliment you, and you're told that's where your worth lies, and you want to have worth and you want people to pay attention because it feels good. (That's why going after a guy like Sasuke, who is emotionally unavailable, is also very realistic: it feels better when it's hard won. it's like, "he isn't affectionate with anyone, so if he is affectionate with me, i've really got worth!" which is something we see Sakura feeling well into her marriage with Sasuke in Boruto, and it's very sad that she still accept such a behaviour after growing up.)

Even when you have other aspirations (becoming a ninja, in this case) you are just confronted with the idea that you will never be as strong/good/powerful as the men in your life (like you pointed out). The system has it in for you in the first place: it hasn't been designed for you to thrive. Your teacher doesn't push you as hard as he pushes the boys, he doesn't pay as much attention to you as he pays to the boys, and everyone always acts like you're defenceless in the batter field, not giving you a chance to prove yourself. So why shouldn't you feel like you maybe are less than the guys? If your teachers and your teammates see you that way, then maybe that's what you are. Can you really fault Sakura for believing that when so many women irl struggle with this immensely too? You're already taking a caretaker/disciplinarian role within your team because you're the girl, and you're only 13, so maybe you should stick to that, because that you're good at, and Kakashi praises you for not being difficult like the boys, because "boys will be boys" but Sakura-chan you're so easy to deal with!!! And then you find your niche, something you're good at (tho, ofc, it's not by coincidence that kishi's strongest women in Naruto are healers - tsunade and sakura - that in itself is already an essentialisation of female nature, but i won't get into it here, even tho it adds to everything) , and you work your ass off at that: you're not from a special clan, you have no special powers like Naruto or Sasuke, but you've become the strongest medic ninja and yet. That doesn't seem enough for the fandom to see your worth, you routinely get called weak and useless because subpar writing didn't give you enough chances to shine (even tho you have all the potential) exactly because your writer is misogynistic. yay When Sakura goes after Naruto to convince him to back down so they can kill Sasuke, of course she uses her womanhood as her weapon. Of course she tells him she likes him instead. It's desperate, it's flawed, it's even misguided, but she's been told all her life that's all she's got to offer, she's been told all her life that's what men will respond to and she's tried to keep up with them but she feels like she can't on her own terms (tho she can!!! she can she can she can), so she succumbs to the default way society tells her she has value. And Naruto defies a lot of things by saying no here, he defies even the patriarchy/comphetness he himself partook in as a child (by crushing on her, by wanting to be like Sasuke), and further solidifies himself as an extremely compelling male protagonist IMO (Kishimoto misses a lot but he didn't miss here, but anyways i'm not analysing naruto rn ahah);

This is just another way Boruto (the show) actively tarnishes Naruto's characters. Unfortunately, there was space for things to be resolved differently. With the ending of Naruto, we could have imagined something else for Sakura: she could have grown out of her crush on Sasuke, realised her worth, that her life doesn't need to revolve around him and invested her time in becoming whatever it is that she wants to become, but instead..... Sakura becomes a housewife who abandons her own aspirations as a ninja to be a sometimes-useful-prop in a narrative about another boy, she's gotten married to an emotionally unavailable man that doesn't really love her and is never around, and yet she still pines over him after years of neglect and pretends to be satisfied (but isn't really, who would be?) by the tiniest slither of affection and of course, A CHILD. Because that's all women are for, and all that they should aspire to in the next stage of their lives: why wouldn't she be happy now that she has a kid with Sasuke? She even says it herself.

Tbh it's all a bit gross! But in a way, realistic, since unfortunately this is the life of a lot of women out there. Also don't come for me for this take, the things i'm saying are informed by my own experiences growing up as a girl. Ofc there's nothing wrong with choosing a more domestic life as a woman, that's clearly not what i'm critiquing here.

TL;DR; She is so girlhood !!!!

*this is damaging to Sasuke too, as we know, because it incentivises a flat, superficial, unkind view of who he is as a person that overlooks his traumas, pressures him to play a role and limits who he is/what he needs and deserves in a friend/partner too. That patriarchy is damaging to men themselves is not news tho, it's the same for men in real life.

[fintan-pyren]

I've been thinking about Alden recently, and I think I'm doing a 180 on my interpretation of him.

I know he's fairly widely hated, but I don't think he's actually at all intentionally malicious. I wholeheartedly believe that he's a kindhearted man who genuinely cares about his family, Sophie, and Keefe. Rereading the Flashback short story, I don't think he has bad intentions. I think he legitimately is trying to help all three of them—not just Fitz. His wording isn't the best, but I do think he's right. Continuing to pursue your crush when you know they like someone else (someone who likes them back) is only ever going to lead to resentment and losing friendships. I don't think Alden wants to see that happen to any of them. And I don't think he intends for Keefe to be Fitz's "punching bag", as Ro says. I think his intention is only for Keefe to be there as his best friend. Alden knows them both well. He knows how Keefe's humor can make things better, and how his empathy only improves that talent. I don't think asking Keefe to consider being there for moral support for Fitz is an unreasonable thing for Alden to do.

And I'm looking back at all the other scenes with Alden, and

She glanced at Fitz and he nodded, trying to reassure her, but it was the kindness in Alden’s eyes that made her agree.

Alden leaned closer, so he could whisper. “It’s going to be okay, Sophie. If you need anything—anytime—I’m here.

“Lord Cassius,” Keefe’s father corrected. “And yes. Keefe needs to study.” “Tonight?” Alden asked. “I think he’s earned a night off, don’t you? To test so high—and at his age—”

“Fine. Thirteen. That’s still too young to be wrapped up in a conspiracy. I want you to make me a new promise.” He waited until she met his eyes. “I want you to promise you will just be a normal, happy, thirteen-year-old girl. Go to school. Make friends. Get crushes on boys. Have fun. No more worrying about secret messages or plots or rebellions. Leave that to boring grown-ups like me.”

Alden squeezed Sophie’s hand and she jumped. She’d forgotten he was still next to her. “Della and I want you to be happy. Wherever you decide to live won’t change anything.”

Alden stood and made his way closer, wrapping an arm around Keefe’s shoulders. “You may not be my genetic son,” he said quietly, “but I’ve long considered you part of my family.”

“This was not your fault, Fitz,” Sophie promised. “Nor was it yours,” Alden said firmly. “No matter what you think. No matter what happens in the coming days. I want you both to know this, and hold to it, and believe it. This. Wasn’t. Your. Fault. Remember that. And remember what happened to me when I tried to hold on to guilt and blame.”

“Perhaps another time.” Lord Cassius turned to pull Keefe away. But Alden grabbed Keefe’s shoulder and leaned down to whisper, “I’m very proud of you, Keefe. I want you to know that.”

He's not a bad person. He's always been kind and caring to everyone, whether or not they're his own children. He's doing his best to keep Sophie from getting mixed up in a rebellion, and to help her adjust to her new life.

I know Alden's actions can be interpreted in a negative way. His kindness can be interpreted as manipulation or a ploy to make others think better of him. But I also think taking his kindness and warmth at face value and believing that he's a good person is an interpretation of equal validity. We really don't have enough insight into his thoughts to definitively say that one or the other is correct. And I've decided that I believe that he's genuinely a good person who wants what's best for all the Keeper kids.

[goldenheart-supremacy]

After reading this post, I've unlocked a new headcanon. It's...

Naturally!Gifted Ambrosius Goldenloin and Fast!Learner Ballister Boldheart

Ambrosius is literally good at everything he does, on the first try and even if he just has basic and fundamental knowledge of the thing. He messes around a bit, just for fun, and somehow it still works out. They called him a miraculous Golden boy because, by some miracle, even if he's goofing around while giving a go with something new, it works out and surpasses expectations. Very rarely does he fail when it's his first time trying something.

Maybe flirting. The first time he attempted to flirt with Ballister, he ended up backtracking, turning on his heels, and running off in embarrassment before falling face flat into the ground. Ballister still found it cute. So, in a way, he still sort of succeeded and again, it worked out.

As for Ballister, despite not starting his knight training as young as Ambrosius and the others (speculating, I think that was the case anyway), he still managed to breeze through the training menu, catch up with them, then quickly surpass all of them. Ambrosius probably got inspired and motivated so that helped him match Ballister the best that he could. By the time Todd and the others acknowledged that he was the one to beat, it was far too late and the only one close enough to matching him was Ambrosius.

This is because they spent a lot of time together and sometimes did extra training during free periods. Plus, both their intentions were pure and they definitely wanted to protect the Realm.

Also, they're in love and are both motivated by each other and if that's not a good enough reason to surpass everyone else, I don't know what is.

Literally, love wins.

[lounaticm]

OK, I have to ask... do you have any headcanons - any at all - for Married!Captain x Darkiplier?

Yes, this is definitely inspired by that one piece you did a while back (and the series of pieces you'd done of them before). I know you said that the ring just *happened*, but it spawned so many brainworms for me, and I have to ask if it did for you, too. I need to know from the source himself.

Well, considering I view the Captain as some form of reincarnated or relocated DA, removed from the mirror in some way or another and ending up in a separate universe, putting Dark back into the equation like I have done was rather inevitable, being how I am. 😂😅 (Though I will confess that my using the Captain version of the viewer character in those pieces was more for the ease of allowing anyone to view it as themself, what with the identifiable gloves and not showing anything else and whatnot.)

So far as I have in terms of a timeline of events regarding these pieces, Dark first shows up sometime around when the Captain is hitting a low point in trying to fix the paradox, feelings of despair and hopelessness growing, exhaustion setting in. To the Captain - their memories of that prior life locked away at that point - it simply seemed like this bizarre yet somehow familiar stranger showed up, offering reassurances, at the best possible moment by sheer happenstance. But Dark had been watching for a while, just in case this was another of the Actor's little 'games'.

When he saw how that former DA was starting to wilt under the pressure of it all, he had to step in, despite his own worries on the possibilities of his interference having any sort of negative consequences. He found it something of a relief - as well as a disappointment - when he wasn't recognized... though the glimmer of familiarity in their eyes didn't escape his notice.

He soothed and assured the Captain, urged them back to their feet (whether literally and/or metaphorically) and then disappeared just as quickly as he had arrived, with no sign that he'd even been there at all. After a while, the Captain almost starts to think that they'd simply imagined that oddly grey man. But, as they began to bump into others that also seemed so familiar, they began to rethink that stance.

Dark appears again to give the Captain a white rose during one of the few moments of calm in the Wormhole Incident, the date the Captain had ended up in being, ironically, Valentine's Day. Despite it having been quite a long time from the Captain's side since they last saw the grey man, they still remembered that last encounter with crystal clarity... and overwhelming gratitude, for they're very certain that they wouldn't have ever made it this far without his kind words.

They could swear they almost remembered something else, though. A different appearance, a different attire, a different place, but still the same feelings of comfort and safety just being near him provided.

And then he'd handed them a white rose, the thorns clipped off, and all thoughts about that had been replaced with encompassing fluster... and the sudden, seemingly sourceless thought - brimming with certainty of its truth - that giving someone a single white rose was a means of expressing an intent to court them. Almost rapid fire afterwards came more. White symbolizing purity, young love, eternal loyalty, a lack of thorns denoting love at first sight, a single rose in full bloom proclaiming 'I love you'.

They didn't know where such thoughts were coming from, but something in the back of their mind was saying it had something to do with the man in front of them. They found it a wonder that they could even stutter out a thank you, so consuming was their fluster.

They managed to hold onto the rose for a few abrupt trips through more wormholes, but they did eventually lose it, the devastation of such more than they'd been prepared for.

Once the paradox was resolved, and everything had settled enough for the Captain to return to their cabin... they found a small vase sitting on their dresser... with a familiar, thornless white rose placed inside.

Even before the multiverse snapped back to the pre-paradox way of things, the Captain had started to remember things. Things they shouldn't be able to, for it wasn't them who had experienced them... and yet, it was. But having everything collapse in on them and Mark in the Warp Core... something about that just made all those memories more clear, dragging ever more to the surface, clicking into place like missing pieces they hadn't ever known were gone in the first place until they were finally back.

The vast majority of them were filled with a man that every ounce of their being was saying was the grey-skinned man. Damien, as he was called in their memories.

By the time they'd finally set foot on their new planet, they were starting to think they weren't going to be seeing him again. But they recalled the rose, recalled how it hadn't been 'necessary' to keep them going. If he was only trying to keep them on track to fixing the paradox, why bother with that? So, first chance they got, they took a walk off by themself, into the woods or down by the coast. They're moments away from simply speaking aloud to ask if he's coming back - hoping that he might somehow be watching - when he finally shows up.

And the first thing the Captain does is smile and call him by that old nickname they'd given him back at university.

Whether the proposal happens in this interaction or later on, not even I know because, well, it had just happened, lol. And I can see either being the case, because it's really just continuing the feelings they'd both had in their prior, stolen lives. (Whether they ever told each other or not, though I'm of the mind that they're both oblivious fucking idiots lol)

I... don't really have anything for Cap x Dark married life or anything like that. All that came to mind was this (effectively) synopsis of what led up to it. I hope that's alright. 😅 Sorry this took so long to get to, lot of shit getting in the way of me being able to properly sit down and ponder this.

@kiwibubbles5