#and that he apparently has 4 dolls made of him

[airconditioning123]

when i was younger, most of my barbie’s were my moms old ones. so i had totally hair barbie, superstar ken, and one other one.

now something u need to know about my mom is that she LOVED michael jackson. like she was him for halloween one year kinda loved. handmade sequin glove and everything.

so the other ken doll i had was a michael jackson barbie. here’s what he looked like, except the glove, sash, and microphone got lost over the years.

this doll scared the SHIT out of 6 year old me, so he stayed at the bottom of the bin with all the clothes i had piled on top. and if i needed another ken, he was an ex boyfriend exclusively lmao

[toxicanonymity]

Cargo. Silence can never be bought, only rented (pt. 4)

3.1k / dbf!Joel x f!Reader 18+ / pt 1 / master list

His arms loosen and you turn around to face him.  Bedhead is unreasonably sexy on him.   You try to kiss him and he dodges you again, going for your neck instead. . . He starts giving you a light hickey.  "You're evil," you say, pulling away to look at him.  He smiles wickedly, then it fades.  | next: part 5

Thank you @dark-scape for the mood board (and sounding board).

CONTENT WARNINGS/NOTES: NSFW 18+ Noncon somnophilia just the tip (don't get too excited) dry humping, vaginal fingering, oral (M receiving), alcohol, reader wears his shirt, excessive dialogue, elvis reference, sex work references, NO HOG BBQ YET SORRY- It took on a life of its own, needed its own part (next Sunday) and I think you'll see why the pacing is better that way.

Tags - This story: @jbcalway @daddy-din @angelmenace @silkiers @axshadows @legs0pen4dilfs @fan-fiction-floozy @grnherbs @icuminurbutt @lokanda @not-a-unique-snowflakewflake89 @likeanimagepassingby2 @witchy-jadda @mxtokko @missannwinchester @cannolighost @anxiousankylosaurus @montenegroisr @97cityy @lillyrob @billyloomiswhore4 @cloudroomblog @boysddontcry @blackvelveteen1339 @twsssmlmaa @call-me-doll-face All Joel: @ethanhoewke @silkiers @eiviea. @evyiione Lmk if i missed you. Idk why some are buggy.

-

The hotel shampoo and body wash smell like Joel after his shower, which makes you want to take the bottles with you.  After your bath, you lounge on your bed in a towel, air-drying, finishing the movie, and replaying the night in your mind.  Mainly how hot Joel looked between your legs.  You also dwell on the fact that he wouldn’t really kiss you.  Apparently, he won't sleep in the same bed with you either.  It hurts.  Like, it's physically painful.  

You go across the suite to Joel's room for a shirt to sleep in.  His door is cracked open and there's a green flannel folded on top of his luggage.  It’s not weather-appropriate and you wonder if he brought it for you.   He's tucked in, already asleep on his stomach with his shirt off, a massive arm sticking out over the white comforter and another under his pillow.   You drop your towel to put the shirt on – leisurely, hoping he wakes up to the tempting sight – but he's already sleeping soundly.   You've never seen his face so relaxed, but his brow is still somewhat furrowed.  

You sit down on his bed to fasten a couple of buttons.  He doesn't  wake up.  The irony doesn't escape you that you're watching him sleep when he's supposed to be the creep.  Why doesn't he try to fuck you, you wonder.  His words to Chad echo in your mind: If she told her father, you wouldn't be breathing.  But that's obviously different, you think. That was about someone breaking your heart and physically intimidating you.   

-

The hotel bed is tightly made, with the comforter tucked under the mattress on the side Joel isn't using.  You wonder if you could slip inside without waking him up.  You move the pillows out of the way, then slowly, inch by inch, wedge yourself under the sheets. When you're almost settled, he stirs.  He blinks a few times, squints at you, then sighs, "Trouble . . ."  He moves one of his pillows and hugs it, effectively putting something between you.  It stings.  You try to sleep but you end up sniffling.  

He hears you and wakes up again.  "C'mere, damnit," he half-whispers, half-asleep.  His gruff bedroom whisper makes you wet.  He lifts up his arm but doesn't turn on his side or move the pillow.  You rotate the pillow slightly and rest your head on it with his arm over your chest.  You drift off sooner than you expect.  

-

At some point in your sleep, you roll over facing away from him.  You wake up in the fetal position with Joel’s arm draped over you.  Joel has turned onto his side, too.  Your upper back is just barely against his chest.  You scoot your lower body backwards to spoon with him, and your naked ass meets the tip of his cock.  Arousal shoots through you like a bolt of lightning.  It's the first time you've actually had contact with it.  You didn't even realize he was naked. 

At the first contact, his hips instinctively press his cock up against you, sending all the blood in your body to your core.  You stifle a moan, not stopping to wonder why you don't want to wake him up.  You carefully maneuver your ass to nestle his cock between your thighs.  He thrusts in his sleep, gliding firm and wet against your folds, reaching your clit, sending a jolt of pleasure through you. 

You unbutton your shirt then nudge his hand into it. His hand twitches and so does his cock. It pulls back a little and the tip is right at your entrance. Your hips tilt, nestling it there, the top curve of the head resting just inside without truly breaching you.  You could sink onto him right now.  It would be so easy.  But you want him to do it himself.  

You're absolutely throbbing, aching for him.  He pulls back again with a sigh, then his hard tip bypasses your tight, dripping hole and glides to your clit again and you softly moan.  You adjust your chest, wanting the movement of your breast to prompt his hand to cup around it.  But instead of cupping your breast, his hand drifts up your chest.  Then, it wraps loosely around your throat.

His voice is quiet but stern as his cock retreats then slides firmly against your clit with an aggressive thrust.  His hand applies light pressure around your throat.  “What’d I tell ya last night?”  

You remember it well, how you foolishly claimed you weren't gonna fuck him and he replied, oh, I'm not gonna let ya, sugar.  Blood drains from your face and your heart races. You scoff but don't say anything.  Having made his point, his hand goes slack again.  Humiliation drowns out your arousal and you begin to scoot away, but he follows you, effortlessly restraining you with one enormous arm.  

“Calm down," he says into your hair, then half-whispers under your ear, "I’m still gonna take care of ya,” as he palms your breast.  His hard cock nestles against your crack. 

"Lucky me," you say sarcastically and begin to squirm away, but both his arms wrap around you.  In a mocking tone, you parrot, "Take care of me," and add, "you're an actual whore, aren't you?"  A veiny hand slowly works your breast then trails down your torso and digs between your legs.  That’s all it takes for your arousal to return.  

He gathers your ample wetness and uses his middle and ring fingers in a way he must have been perfecting since before you were born.   You gasp and your back arches with tension building rapidly in your core.  His bicep flexes under your neck as his other hand slowly gropes your breasts.  His stiff cock slowly ruts against your ass while he touches you like you've never been touched before.  

He grunts and you gasp on the edge of your climax.  He softly bites your neck, and it sends you.  He sucks your neck as you come.   When your body finishes convulsing into his, his arms loosen and you turn around to face him. 

-

Bedhead is unreasonably sexy on him.   You can't resist. You try to kiss him.  

He fucking dodges you again, going for your neck instead.   "Haven't you seen Pretty woman?" Yeah, the one where a sex worker won’t kiss johns on the mouth because it’s too emotional . . .Joel starts giving you a light hickey.  

"You're evil," you say, pulling away to look at him.  

He smiles wickedly, then it fades.  He opens his mouth to say something but stops short when you reach down and grab his cock.  Your mouth falls open at its hardness and the fact that his hand is already around it. 

He winces at your icy fingers. 

You get up on your knees and straddle his legs, pushing the plush luxury comforter behind you.  You fold at the hips and take a moment to admire his cock in your fist and breathe in his musk.  Your thumb lightly traces a vein, and he exhales with a soft grunt.  You look up and are greeted with a twinkle in his eye and a barely perceptible smirk.  You want to wipe that smirk off his face.  

You quickly succeed by holding eye contact while you wrap your lips around his swollen tip and tongue the slit.  It’s already salty with pre-cum.  He takes a deep breath and his lips part just barely.   He puts another pillow behind his head for a better view. His face falls into a trance.  When you begin to suck, he swallows and his jaw clenches.    His eyes darken. You bob your head on his cock, taking as much of his shaft as you can without gagging, stroking the rest with your hand. 

“Fuck,” he pants.  His quads tense under you and his breathing changes. His hips rock gently into your mouth.  Your eyes water as you keep blowing him.  Then, his hand joins yours.  

“Where ya want it?” he asks somewhat urgently.  What a gentleman. 

You don’t answer, you simply take his hand off his cock and place it on his stomach.  You slow your sucking and relax your tongue.  His hips thrust gently into your mouth and his  hand floats to your head, but you send it back to his stomach again  

“God almighty,” he groans.  “Fuck me.”  It’s a turn-on seeing him so desperate.  

You edge him until you’re ready to see him come. Then, you suck with your whole mouth, your cheeks caving in as you firmly tongue the underside.  Within seconds, his hips lift and stay lifted as he erupts in your mouth with a groan.  His warm load hits the roof of your mouth first, and it’s so many ropes you lose count.  You swallow, then return to the head of the bed. 

-

You put your head on his chest and he strokes your shoulder.  

“You’re the evil one,” he says, and you bask in self-satisfaction for a minute.  “Nah, you’re right.  You don’t wanna believe it, but you’re right.” 

“About what?” 

He sits up and your eyes glue to his inner bicep flexing as he reaches for his phone.  His brow furrows as he reads something then dismisses it.  Then he puts on the song Trouble by Elvis.  He meant you’re right that he’s evil.  

You hold out your arm and say, “I’m cringing so hard I have goosebumps.”  

“Just for that, I’m gonna play DJ allll mornin’,” he says.  He sings along as he walks to the shower, “well I’m evil, so don’t you mess around with me. . .” 

. . .

Before Joel takes you back to your apartment, you have brunch at a restaurant overlooking the riverwalk.  In the absence of other options, you wear your leather pants with the lacy top.  You both get bloody marys. He wears his Ray-Bans and a white t-shirt, jeans as tight as always, and sits back lazily with one elbow over the back of his chair and his knees spread wide.  

Your phone dings with a text from another family friend, Frank, asking if you’re coming home for the Independence Day barbecue, and it gets you thinking.

“Dad’s back this week,” you say to Joel.  You instantly regret it for killing the mood, but it’s the elephant in the room.  “Y’all still gonna barbecue?” 

He takes a sip of his drink, then puts it back down.  He looks at the river and furrows his brow, then his eyes return to you.  “Why wouldn’t we?  You gonna talk to him?”

“I dunno,” you say, not wanting to show your hand, but you’re leaning against snitching any time soon.  

Joel tenses and his nose twitches. “What are you gonna tell’m?”  He rubs one side of his beard.  A waiter approaches from behind, but Joel doesn’t see him.  “Gonna tell’m you climbed into my bed?  Tried to fuck yourself on my cock?"  There’s a bite to his words.  The waiter stops in his tracks and awkwardly tries to pretend he wasn’t coming to your table.  You look at the waiter and shrug and he gulps before nodding at you in acknowledgement.  Joel looks over his shoulder then shakes his head at you and smirks as the waiter walks away. 

Climbed into his bed. . . tried to fuck yourself on his cock. . . It sounds so bad when he puts it that way.  Maybe it was.  Your cheeks burn.

You sigh.  "I wasn't -” 

Joel raises his eyebrows at you. 

“Just the tip," you protest. 

Joel nods thoughtfully. 

“I dunno what I was thinking,” you admit.  You cross your arms and slouch down in your seat. 

"It's never just the tip,"  Joel says. 

"Why didn't you want it?" You ask pathetically 

He sighs.  "Nothin' to do with want.”  He takes a deep breath and leans back.  He looks at the river, exhales, then adds, "Trust me. . .Fuck."  He takes a sip of his bloody mary and looks back at you. 

"What then?”

The way he looks like he’s racking his brain, you wonder if he’s holding back just to drive you crazy.  It certainly has your attention. In fact, you didn’t know how badly you needed to fuck him until last night . . .just minutes after he said he wasn’t going to let you. 

Finally, he says, "It's bad for you, sugar."

“What is? Your evil cock?”

He smirks then shifts uncomfortably in his seat and looks at the river again.  “I dunno what to tell ya. I've seen a lot.  Don't wanna put ya through it.  Shoot, look at your stepmom, she's damn near lost her mind.”

“You're just that good,” you roll your eyes.  You have every reason to believe he is. 

Joel sighs.  “Nothin' to do with good. Shit, I’m not good, I'm just grown."  He takes a sip of his bloody mary.  "Don't you know any hot professors? Take 'em for a spin, you'll see."

You brush it off as his crude way of being modest.  He could probably make bank as an actual gigolo from what you’ve seen. 

"Then what is it?" you wonder.  He gives it some thought.  

"Reckon it’s ‘cause ya can't have me.  No one can. I'm un-have-able."  

“Why don’t you ever settle down?” 

“Shoot, I dunno.  When I was your age, I was already a father.  Maybe I went backwards.”

You nod, appreciative of his effort to give a real answer. 

He continues, “But ya know, monogamy just ain’t right for some people.  Hell, even in a marriage.  You’d be surprised how many are open.” 

“How many what? Marriages?” You suspect his sample is skewed. 

“Yeah. Relationships, marriages.”  He crosses his legs.  “Alright, my turn to ask you somethin’.”

Your heart rate spikes, hoping he won’t revisit the just-the-tip incident.  

“Why'd you stand there and watch that night, hmm?" He cocks an eyebrow.  It’s the first time either of you bring up the moment that started all of this.  Sometimes, when you’re with him, you forget about it entirely. 

You laugh at his audacity, then counter with, "Why'd you stand there and finish?"

"Easy. So I could nut.”  He flashes his eyebrows with a casual smirk, then downs the rest of his drink. 

"You did not just say nut.  God, you're such a boomer."

"Alright, let's get outta here ‘fore we traumatize another waiter."  He throws more than enough cash on the table then stands up and pulls up his jeans.  He puts his hands on his hips and cocks a leg out, looking out over the river while you chug the rest of your drink.

-

When you get in the truck, Joel puts his phone on bluetooth and “Call Me,” the theme to American Gigolo, blasts on.  He’s so lame.  You shake your head at him and he has that subtle Dad joke smirk.  His bicep stretches that t-shirt so nicely. 

Halfway to your apartment, some kind of restricted call pops up and his phone automatically answers it.  You swear it’s your father’s voice on the line that says, “You’re offline.  What’s your 20?”  Joel’s face changes entirely, and something tightens in your chest.  

He scrambles to turn off bluetooth and puts the phone to his ear.  You can still somewhat hear the other end of the line.  

Joel glances at you and says, “Uhhh-”

“We’ve gotta move,” your dad says. 

“It’s broad daylight,” Joel counters. 

“The Bureau tracked down his number two and he’s on the move.” 

Joel seems frustrated.  “Why don’t you get Jesse?”

Your dad says, “He’s comin’ but they’re rollin’ deep.  We need our best shot or it’s gonna be a shitshow.”  Your heart is a mile a minute.

“Dad?” you ask meekly, too nervous to fully commit to asking.

“What was that?” your Dad asks. “Who was that?” You don't say anything else. You feel weak.

Joel glances at you regretfully.  “Damnit, gimme ten and I’ll call you.”

“We gotta move, Miller. I need you back online.”

Joel sighs  “Working on it.  I’ve got cargo, k?” 

There’s a pause on the other end of the line.  "What kind of cargo?”

Joel looks at you again and answers, "precious.”  He hangs up.

Joel hits the steering wheel angrily.  He speeds back toward your apartment, clenching his jaw as his driving intensifies.   You’re shaking.  That was almost certainly your father, and it didn’t sound anything like a military training exercise, or a construction project of Joel’s, for that matter.  

Joel silently fumes.  

“Was that my dad?” you ask with watery eyes.   He takes a deep breath and puffs his cheeks out as he exhales.  Before he can answer, you foolishly let him off the hook with another question.  “Did you just call me cargo?"

“Sorry sugar, no time right now.”  You ride in silence, bracing yourself as he careens around a corner. 

The tears in your eyes threaten to overflow, then one does.  

-

Joel pulls up to your apartment.  He waits with one hand still on the steering wheel for you to get out, but when he looks at you, he sees that big fat tear run down your cheek and his face softens. 

“Aw, shoot,” he says, and unbuckles. “I’m an asshole.”  He gets out and jogs over to the passenger side.  He opens the door for you and you slide out of the chair lazily, numbly, not quite wanting to meet his eyes.  

“Hey,” he says, and tilts your chin up.  Suddenly, it seems like he’s in no hurry at all.  He takes off his Ray-Bans and looks at you like he’s trying to heal you with his eyes.  You finally make eye contact and take a shaky breath, trying not to full-on sob.  His thumb brushes away your tears, then the same hand cradles the back of your head.   You stand there reading each other’s eyes.  Slowly, your head begins to pull like a magnet toward his lips.  You almost feel like his hand is ever so subtly pulling you that way.  You steel yourself for rejection anyway.  But then, Joel’s head drifts toward yours.   

His beard lightly prickles your skin as your lips lock and his free arm wraps around you.  You’re caught off guard, but in less than a second, you don’t care about anything else in the world.  Joel’s tongue parts your lips and you accept it hungrily.  His lips are soft but strong as they suck you into him.  Your mouths are needy for each other.  His hand behind your head pulls you further into him.  You kiss like you’re sharing a last breath of air.  Then, he seals the moment on your upper lip and pulls away.  The whole kiss can’t be more than ten seconds, tops. 

“Gotta go, Trouble.” he whispers, then swallows solemnly, looking down.   “I’m sorry.”  

He jumps in his truck and peels off.  

-

next: part 5

-

thank you all so much for reading and engaging. y'all are the best ILY!!!

[theerurishipper]

Could you please explain why Cat Noir is no longer healing for Adrien after season 4? I technically know the answer but I love your metas <3

Thank you so much for your compliment!

Anyway, about your question. The short version? They made Ladybug treat Chat Noir like Gabriel treats Adrien.

Let me explain. The Ladynoir conflict was about how Ladybug and Chat Noir were experiencing a shift in their dynamic because of Ladybug’s new role as the guardian. Ladybug starts to keep secrets from Chat Noir and leave him out of the loop. She replaces him with Rena Rouge as her primary partner in all but name. And Chat Noir understandably feels neglected and ignored by someone who is supposed to be his partner. His home life is shit, and Ladybug and his life as Chat Noir have always been his escape. Ladybug has been the one who accepted him unconditionally and cared for him with no need for him to change himself to please her. He trusts her with his life and heart, and suddenly, she doesn’t do the same for him. Instead, she’s keeping secrets from him, she’s leaving him out of things and more or less treats him as “just another holder.” And yeah, this is because of her new responsibilities as the Guardian and her trauma from Chat Blanc. But the fact remains that even if she wants to make these changes, she should tell him.

It's pretty obvious now that Marinette has a controlling side to her, and that shows itself more than ever. She wants to control everything, she admits it herself in Strikeback. And that includes Chat Noir. She controls what he knows and what he can do, and denies him information he actually needs. She lashes out at him and dismisses him when he does try to talk to her, like in Kuro Neko. And this behavior is, how do I say it, very much like what Gabriel is. Of course it is more understandable than Gabe and it is certainly nowhere close to the level of Gabriel’s treatment of Adrien, which is abuse plain and simple, but there are some… similarities. They both keep him at a distance, they both start making decisions for him, they both want to have control over everything, and that includes him. They both take advantage of his trust and forgiveness and they both take him for granted.

Again, Ladybug doesn’t go anywhere near the levels Gabe has reached with his treatment of Adrien, but she does in fact take advantage of his trust. Ephemeral is the worst offender here, with Ladybug actively deciding to trick Chat Noir into an identity reveal without his consent. I think it’s awful to do that to someone. And what’s worse is that the episode ends with her not even realizing that she was wrong to do something like that.

Anyway, she’s treating him not unlike the way he’s treated at home. And while her actions are obviously not as severe and not as malicious as Gabe… it doesn’t change the fact that Chat Noir feels suddenly less like an escape, and Ladybug becomes not much different from the people who only like to see him as an object or a perfect little doll. He used to mean something to her as her partner, and now he doesn’t. He’s just another tool in her toolbox. He’s just someone who’s in the way. Ladybug doesn’t care for him anymore. He’s a bother.

She used to roll her eyes at his flirtations, but now she flips out and throws him in a trashcan for them. She used to treat him like an equal partner, but now she yells at him if he tries to talk to her or help her. He’s bothering her. He’s in the way. And he’s not good enough.

So he quits.

And then he decides that he wants to be the partner Ladybug wants. Not Chat Noir, who is his escape and the only way he can be free. No he’s going to be the Adrien side of himself, the perfect doll who wants for nothing except to cater to Ladybug’s needs.

Now, here is where the show loses the plot. Kuro Neko is supposed to be the resolution to the Ladynoir conflict, apparently. And the way it happens is… Adrien putting aside his valid concerns and emotions because Ladybug needs help, and apologizing to her for wanting to be treated with respect. Which is what Gabe taught him. That his feelings don’t matter, and that he should be perfect and cater to everybody’s desires for how he should be. That he shouldn’t have emotional needs because he’s too emotional and he’s a burden on others for having them. He literally says, “the boy who was Chat Noir was probably too sensitive,” which is what Gabe taught him! That Adrien was too emotional to be able to make his own decisions, and so Gabriel had to protect him and keep him in control. He had to be perfect for everyone because in reality, he was too emotional, and no one wanted to see that.

And Ladybug accepts this! She also thinks that Chat Noir is being a bother, and she starts crushing on Catwalker so quickly. And this isn’t salt on her for crushing on Catwalker, but it is so bad from a narrative standpoint and when you consider the implications of that. You see, what Adrien is doing with this whole Catwalker thing is something called fawning. It’s a trauma response because of Gabe's abuse. He pushes aside his own needs and desires to please Ladybug. He assumes responsibility for her mistakes and blames it on himself. At the end of the episode, he apologizes to her! And she just says some things about how he’s irreplaceable to her and how she needs him and all that.

And what is tells me is that Ladybug doesn’t like when Chat Noir has emotional needs and expectations of her in their partnership, and that she likes only boys who take care of her emotional needs without expecting anything in return. Adrien just seems so perfect and unbothered by anything, and he’s always praising and encouraging her. Luka always put her emotional needs first and was always in her corner even when she didn’t pay as much attention to their relationship. And now Catwalker, who says he’ll take care of her. And considering the Love Square from a writing standpoint is supposed to have Ladybug fall for both sides of Chat Noir, seeing her fall so quickly for him when he denies himself his needs and accepts being her emotional support partner is not the best look.

And what’s worse is that this reaction from Adrien is because he is an abuse victim. He is once again, putting on a mask to make himself into the person Ladybug wants. And they specifically say that he should act like the “perfect son” side of himself, so Adrien is acting the way for Ladybug the way he usually acts for Gabriel. And he ends the episode by apologizing for having emotions and for inconveniencing her. And since Adrien pushing aside his own desires is a trauma response, and Ladybug likes people who don’t inconvenience her with their emotions, it comes across as Ladybug benefitting from Chat Noir being traumatized, and it’s so great for her that Chat Noir comes pre-abused and ready to supress his emotional needs and cater to hers while demanding nothing from her.

Yikes.

But let’s move on to Strikeback, where Ladybug admits her mistakes. She admits she wanted to control things, that she pushed him away and left him in the dark. He hugs and reassures her he’s always here, and it’s beautiful and sweet. The Ladynoir conflict was not resolved, but surely, they would address it next season, right? Surely, we would get episodes of Ladybug apologizing and working to make up for her mistakes, right? Surely Chat Noir wouldn’t just forget this treatment, right?

It's never brought up again in Season 5. In fact, Season 5, where the Gabriel-Marinette parallels are really hammered down onto us, ends with Marinette siding with Gabriel and lying to Adrien about his entire existence. So, the entire conflict ends with Chat Noir putting aside his own emotional needs because Ladybug is sad, and he just accepts that he’ll never be treated with the respect that he wanted. Ladybug doesn’t learn squat, and she just does the same things again, but even worse this time.

At this point, they have their own toxic cycle. Ladybug does something to Chat, he puts his own needs aside to forgive and support her instead/accepts the blame onto himself, she does it again. All the while, he’s offering her emotional support while pushing away any of his feelings so that he doesn’t inconvenience her with them. When he does seem at the end of his rope, she says something along the lines of “I need you,” or “you’re irreplaceable to me,” and he comes right back to her, ready to continue being her emotional support partner even though she never actually fixes her mistakes. And while she obviously does mean what she says to him, her actions prove otherwise, and they end up coming across as similar to those little concessions Gabe gives Adrien so that he won’t get away from him. And this is never resolved. Season 5 ignored it, but it was never resolved, and the finale just brings it back full throttle with Marinette literally siding with Gabriel and doing what he wants.

This should have been an arc showing how Ladybug’s and Gabriel’s treatment of Adrien is ultimately different. They both make the same mistakes, though Gabriel is worse. But what’s different is that Ladybug actually does love and value Chat Noir, and she would never go as far as that because learns and grows, and because she is a good person. But instead, they had the protagonist act like the love interest’s abuser, established a bunch of parallels between them, and had her literally follow his request on how to treat his victim. They flat out went beyond it being a coincidental parallel. She’s literally doing what he wants at his own request. Not a good look for the abuse victim’s girlfriend to be behaving like the abuser.

But that was a long tangent. Anyway, to sum it up, Chat Noir was supposed to be Adrien’s escape from a toxic, controlling environment into one where he could be free. But everything changed when Season 4 attacked. And Adrien goes back to his trauma responses that he tries to escape from as Chat Noir, and this is treated as good and correct by the narrative. His hero life is also now being controlled, and Ladybug is behaving like Gabriel. His life where he once felt free is just another prison.

I hope this answers your question. Thank you for your ask!

[arimiaromage]

Strange house - DGM doujin fangame guide book scans

so in January I found a physical copy of a 2010 d.gray-man doujin visual novel called Strange house by the doujin group MOONLIGHT CAFE. the game is a romance visual novel where you play as Lavi and can date Kanda while out on a mission with him to, you guessed it, a strange house.

the game is completely in Japanese and almost all mention of it online has gone away as it's a 14 year old game, so suffice to say finding anything about this game has been difficult. it won't be a complete mystery now though as I have the game and the guide book!

so... let's look inside this guide book!

before we crack it open, here's the scans of the DVD cover slip. the outside is similar to the guide book (see above) but the inside is an adorable collection of chibis.

now let's look at the guide book! all of these scans are at a high dpi so open them up in a new tab if you'd like to see them up close. also, most of this is in Japanese and I won't be able to translate a majority of it. if you'd like to translate it, please feel free to and add it to the post!

D.Gray-man LaviYu Only

Windows only sound novel type adventure game

(side note- visual novels are usually called adventure games in Japan. sound novel is another term for them that was more popular to use years ago)

The next two pages go over the system menus- the main menu, the CG gallery (where you can view cut scene artwork), in game menu, save & load, and the options menus.

Now that we've gone over the system, it's on to the character bios! Lavi is up first as he's the player character followed by Kanda and the finder Doma.

(somehow Kanda ends up in a bridal gown in this game)

(she has doll arms and legs? it says she's the other guy's sister)

(I have no clue what her name is suppose to be. Yuno Moreta? Yunoo Moreeta?? I'm guessing it's trying to be like Yu Kanda??? Allen's bio here mentions him being the 14th and that he doesn't appear much as he wasn't assigned to this mission)

(Lenalee's basically says that she's an exorcist and Komui's younger sister, but mentions that she might be seen on the mission in front of Lavi? the guy on the right was apparently meant to be something like a love rival in the MVP [think beta build] for the game)

after the character bios is the route guides!

while not every visual novel has choices or multiple endings, visual novels that do have multiple endings refer to them as "routes" or "scenarios", i.e. the series of choices you make to reach each ending. this game has 4 routes, each with a different artist.

scenario A is called Dolly and written by 響夜 and illustrated by Guriko.

scenario B is called Coming Home and written by 響夜 and illustrated by Seiko and others.

scenario C is.... something about a bracelet? it's written by 秋吉 and illustrated by Bonnu.

scenario D is called lonely travels / loneliness while traveling and is written by 木花 and illustrated by ネコ科ノコ.

to be honest this is a lot more than I was expecting! we're already at 7 team members and haven't touched the programming or music aspects. I also have no clue how long this game is - there's only a few choices listed here to get each route so each ending could be 5k words (short) or over 50k words (long).

now onto staff!

sadly, I won't be able to translate these as it's a majority kanji, but here they are.

and that's it! there's a lot of cute art here that I hope will be saved on the internet now that the sites for MOONLIGHT CAFE's games are mostly defunct.

personally as a visual novel developer I find it amazing that they were able to not only make such a good looking fan visual novel in 2010 with multiple endings but to get so many people on board and make it all work out. and then to make a physical release of it! (side note- I'm still unsure what engine this was made in! I'm thinking kirikiri but I'm not sure)

I have the game set up and am able to play it, so at some point I'll share some footage of it on this tag on my blog. I'm hesitant to put the exe online as this was a paid game at one point and the doujin circle seems to be disbanded, but I might if there's interest (is this considered a no-no for doujins? I'm unfamiliar on etiquette for doujins, so some advice on that would be appreciated if you have any)

[it-was-too-cold-always]

We're Not in CW Anymore - 5

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

The reader gets blasted into another universe - one where Sam and Dean Winchester are real people, real hunters, and really fucked up. To her surprise (or horror), Dean has been getting glimpses of her life in his dreams and is completely enamored with her. It's nothing like the cable-friendly CW show that she knows and loves.

Reader x Dean Winchester

Warnings: language, violence

Chapter 5: RIP Buster

Perhaps it was the comfort of the Impala, or the craziness of your Target experience, but you were quickly snoozing in the backseat. The hum of the engine on the highway was incredibly relaxing. As you slowly made your way back into consciousness, you could hear Sam’s voice.

“All I’m saying is we don’t know anything about her. I’m not saying she can’t be trusted, just that we need to keep in mind that she’s a complete stranger.”

“Sam, I’m not an idiot. But you don’t get it. It’s wild, man. It’s like I’ve known her my entire life,” Dean replied.

Hearing them talk about you made you flustered, and you couldn’t pretend to be asleep any longer. You let out a groan as you stretched, letting them know you were up now.

“Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Dean teased.

“Where are we?” you asked, ignoring Dean’s comment. You weren’t awake enough for a witty response.

“Stratton, Nebraska. A man was brutally murdered in a locked room, in a locked house. No signs of forced entry. Definitely a ghost,” Sam replied.

You hummed in response. A ghost – this was actually happening. You were going to work a case with Sam and Dean Winchester. Anxiety fluttered in your stomach as you thought about it – you were never the horror type. Gore, you could handle. But jump scares? You were a wimp. Hopefully they weren’t expecting you to hunt with them.

Your thoughts were interrupted as the car pulled up to a large farmhouse. You thought you saw movement in one of the second-floor windows, but your mind was probably making things up. You were already scared. This was going to be a long day.

Dean picked the lock on the front door with quick precision, and the three of you walked inside. The interior was actually quite charming. You could smell the fresh coat of paint on the walls. It was hard to imagine such a brutal murder occurred in here not that long ago.

The boys surveyed the house room by room. Sam was holding an EMF reader that was beeping almost continuously.

“EMF is going wild,” Sam observed.

“Yeah, but look – power lines,” Dean said, motioning out the window. “EMF means jack squat.”

Moving upstairs, you decided to check out the rooms for yourself. Out of pure curiosity, you opened one of the closet doors. Sitting in the smack middle of the floor, there was a doll’s head, hair practically all gone, covered in dirt. Fuck that. You were too focused on the disturbing doll to notice Dean walking up behind you.

“That’s not creepy,” he said sarcastically, making you jump out of your skin. You turned around and smacked his arm.

“Dude!” you yelled, your heart racing.

“C’mon sweetheart, it’s just a doll,” he chuckled. “It’s not going to hurt you.” Apparently he thought this was funny. He softly grabbed your arm, rubbing his thumb on your bare skin. You crossed your arms and glared at him.

“We got a fucking problem,” Sam said as he jogged into the room. The three of you peered out the window as you saw a car and a U-Haul pull up to the house. A boy and his dog jump out of the car and start running around in the front yard. “We gotta get them out of here,” Sam says, pulling out a fake badge from his inside coat pocket. Dean nods his head and turns to you.

“Keep close and play along,” he warns. “This shouldn’t be a problem, but you never know.”

Walking down the porch steps, Sam hollers to the family in the yard. “Sorry folks, but this house isn’t livable. You’re gonna have to pack it up and stay somewhere else tonight.”

“Not livable? We just had it inspected last week! Who exactly are you?” one of the men exclaims.

“I’m Mr. Stanwyk, this is Mr. Babar, and our intern Ms. Fogerty,” Dean says as he and Sam whip out their badges. “We’re with County Code Enforcement. We have evidence of asbestos and a gas leak. Nothing you want to mess with. I suggest you stay at a motel tonight.”

The teen girl groans, “Dad, you can’t be serious!” The dad sighs and complies with Sam and Dean’s request.

“One night. One. Then we’re coming back in the morning and moving in,” he says.

The three of you jump in the Impala to talk to the longtime housekeeper. Surely if there’s a ghost in that house, she’ll give the boys a lead on whose body needs to be burned. You waited in the car as they spoke with her on her porch. Your thoughts wandered towards the moment in the bedroom after Dean scared you. It was like he was trying to comfort you. You wondered if he felt bad about it. The memory of his hand on your arm sent shivers down your spine. His touch was intoxicating. You wanted more.

The boys got back in the car, settling in their seats with a frustrated sigh.

“How’d it go?” you asked.

“The wife died in childbirth, and the daughter hung herself. Both were cremated. So either someone else is haunting that house, or one of them is hanging onto something in that house. We’re gonna have to go back and take a look. Maybe the attic or under the house there’s something sentimental they’re stuck to,” Sam explained. Great. Back to the creepy old house, right as the sun was setting.

~

Dean cussed as he pulled up to the farmhouse – the family was back. The car and U-Haul were back in the driveway, and light shined through the upstairs windows. They had moved into the haunted murder house.

“Fuck!” Dean cursed as he slammed his hand against the steering wheel, “What are we gonna do?”

“We could tell them the truth,” Sam replied.

“Really?” Dean asked, shocked.

“No, not really.” Sam shot Dean a look for even considering that he was being serious.

Screams came from the house, and quickly Sam and Dean jumped into action. Busting the front door open, the boys took a moment to assess the situation. You ran up to the house and immediately saw “GO” written in red crayon on the wall. The teenager was shrieking and crying.

“What’s wrong, what happened?” Dean demanded.

“What’s wrong is the girl in the walls LICKED me!” the teen yelled, gesturing to her hand.

Before Dean could even try to process that statement, you heard the dog yelping loudly outside.

“Buster!” the dad yelled, running out the front door to find his dog. Sam, Dean, and you followed him out, finding a highly disturbing message – “TOO LATE” was written in blood on the side of the U-Haul.

“There goes Buster,” you muttered to yourself, not quietly enough though. Dean snorted, then tried to play it off as a cough. Sam glared at both of you, then turned to the dad.

“You need to get your family and get the hell out of here. Go into town, find a motel, and let us handle this.” The dad nodded and went inside to gather his family. Dean turned around to grab supplies from the trunk of the Impala. That’s when you noticed something off.

“Um…guys?” you said, pointing to the tires. All of them were slashed: the Impala, the car, and the U-Haul.

“Seriously?! What kind of ghost messes with a man’s wheels?!” Dean yelled, assessing the damage done. Sam opened up the trunk, finding it completely empty.

“Be honest with me,” you whispered, “how fucked are we?”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Dean swore. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.” His promise sent chills down your spine. He seemed so protective, it was making your knees weak. Of course you were swooning when you might not live to see tomorrow.

Sam gathered everyone back inside the house and rummaged around for salt and iron. While he drew out the salt circle on the living room floor, something was eating at you. And no, it wasn’t the intense fear that a ghost could pop out at any moment and kill you. There was something about this that was so…familiar. You’ve seen this before, but you can’t remember how it ends.

The sound of the closet door squeaking grabs everyone’s attention. A dirty, demented-looking little girl slowly creeps out of the darkness of the closet. The family screams.

“Everyone stay calm! As long as you stay inside the circle, she can’t hurt you,” Dean said. But that’s when it clicks for you – this is Family Remains. That’s not a fucking ghost.

Chapter 6

Tags 💛

@5tud10-54r4h  @deans-spinster-witch @nelachu2423 @nancymcl @nelachu2423 @ghxul-x @foxyjwls007 @ladysparkles78 @verypostcrown @thej2report @lyarr24 @kazsrm67 @lino-se

[valiantstarlights]

[Dreamling Week Day 4: Fake Dating] Fidelity

This is from the Comic!Hob x Show!Dream and Comic!Dream x Show!Hob AU, inspired by @alexxuun 's art. I'm interpreting 'fake dating' to mean miscommunication between 3 parties, where one thinks that the other two are dating, but they're really not.

This is the continuation of (and the actual happy ending I imagined for) The Burning House (AO3 | tumblr).

CW: Comic!Hob being mean, angst (heartache) with a happy ending.

Dream watches Hob, his Hob, the one he has been in love with for a long time, walk away and close the door behind him.

And he cannot, he cannot...

Dream of the Endless does not need to breathe, but he thinks he might be hyperventilating.

"You okay, sweetheart?"

He flinches and shakes off the hand that the other Hob has placed upon his shoulder. "Do not call me that."

"Do not call you--" This Hob, the other, more arrogant one, who does not look like his Hob at all, laughs in his face. "So, what, now that your Hob is back, you're just throwing me away?"

Dream raises his chin. "It was your decision to stay. Not mine."

And it was. He had said and done nothing to convince this Hob to stay or leave. He had still been reeling from the feeling of his Hob suddenly disappearing from this universe, and he had been waiting by the portal that appeared, hoping against hope that his Hob would return to him.

And every second the portal remained open and his Hob isn't stepping through made him think, 'Have I not suffered enough? Am I fated to lose everyone I love?'

Hob, the one constant in his life for 600 years, suddenly taken from him. Not by his sister, but by the universe itself. He had been unable to withstand it.

And then this Hob came and swooped him up. Promising to stay. And Dream, heartbroken beyond fixing, allowed him to touch and to do to him what he wanted his Hob to do to him. He had been held and kissed, and he had received the other Hob's touches like a lifeless doll.

And then his Hob returned.

Returned and seen, misunderstood and left.

Dream cannot take any more heartbreak. He doesn't think he has enough of his heart left to break, but apparently, there are still large enough shards to be crushed under a heel and ground to dust.

This Hob, the other one, the one he does not even love, has a cruel smile on his face. "Fucking typical behavior from a Dream of the Endless," he says, his even teeth bared like fangs. "You're a real piece of work, you know that? You, and the one from my universe."

"You should leave," Dream says.

"And go where?" This Hob asks. "Do you see a portal back to my universe anywhere, sweetheart? Can you conjure one up? You seem pretty helpless awhile ago, looking at the portal like a heartsick maiden waiting for her one true love to come back from the sea."

"The rest of the world is wide enough, is it not?" Dream says. "And if you and my Hob have a similar history, then you must have also sailed around the world in the 1700s."

This Hob snorts. "'My Hob,'" he repeats mockingly. "He's not yours, Dream. Weren't you paying attention? He thinks we're together now."

"And yet we are not."

"You know, this reminds me of when we met in the 1800s, when you claimed you weren't lonely. Well, newsflash, Dream of the Endless, you're so fucking lonely that any Hob would do for you. If my counterpart had not returned, you would have happily spread your legs for me and wept so prettily while crying my name."

Never. Dream would have wept, but he would not have accepted another Hob that isn't his into his body. "An eventuality that will not happen," he says, "since my Hob has returned to me."

This Hob shakes his head, chuckling. "Again with the 'my Hob.' He's not yours, darling. And having seen him for myself, seeing how he looked at us, I know he's never going to take you back. I wouldn't, if I were him. And," this Hob pretends to think about it before he snaps his fingers as if he just remembered something. "Oh yeah. I am him."

"He is not you," Dream says, though he feels himself wavering. The two Hobs might not be the same person, but they still have a similar enough history. Would Dream be able to claim he knows his Hob better than Hob's own counterpart in another universe? "I will...I will talk to him." He will do anything for Hob to look at him again without heartbreak clear in his beloved brown eyes.

This Hob looks at him derisively. "You? Talk about feelings? Not exactly your strong suit, but alright. I'll wish you luck with that, sweetheart." He smiles savagely. "You'll need it."

Dream looks away from him and stands up, not bothering to smooth out his wrinkled clothes and instead just uses his sand to do it for him. A second later, his clothes looked impeccable once more. "You should go, Robert."

"You sure you don't want me to stay and offer you a pity fuck when my counterpart eventually throws your feelings back in your face?"

Dream ignores him and walks down the same path his Hob took and goes down to the Inn.

--

"That was quick," was what his Hob says the moment he spots Dream sit down on one of the barstools. He says nothing else and goes back to repairing the beer tap.

"Hob."

"Hold on, I need to concentrate on this for a bit or it's gonna spew beer all over the counter."

Dream obeys and watches him fiddle and tinker with the thing in silence. It looks pretty old by modern standards, but Hob still handles it with care.

Just like he handles everything with care.

Dream watches Hob's handsome features, brows furrowed in deep concentration, his rough, capable hands and the muscles on his forearms, the width of his chest and the lock of hair falling down his face...

Hob does not see, but Dream's hands are slightly shaking. He is terrified that anything he says will push Hob further away from him.

That he has all the words in the English language available to him would mean nothing if he cannot put them in the right order to make Hob understand that it's only him for Dream.

He needs to be honest. State his feelings clearly and earnestly so that when his words reach Hob, he will feel the sincerity in Dream's words.

He needs to be brave, even when he's fucking terrified. He thinks inanely that walking through hell isn't half as difficult compared to this.

Hob is sticking his tongue out a little as he concentrates on turning a bolt, spanner in hand, and it draws Dream's eyes to his tongue, then to his lips.

It looks redder than usual.

Dream's nostrils flare in anger as he catches the feeling of something other that clings to Hob's lips like a miasma.

Had the other Dream..? Had he dared--

But of course he did. Dream could not think of anyone who would let his Hob go unkissed. And were he braver and more honest, he himself would not have let Hob depart in 1789 without kissing him senseless. He should have. He had thought of little else ever since Hob came to his defense. It had rained flower petals in the Dreaming for an entire decade. Jessamy had said nothing, but if ravens could smile, she would have worn a shit-eating grin on her face. Mervyn certainly did, while Lucienne had the best poker face of them all.

"Alright," Hob says, a few minutes later, when the beer tap looks in a slightly better condition and he had asked the bartender to call for an actual professional to either do longer lasting repair work, or advise them on the technicalities were they to upgrade to something more modern. "You wanted to talk?" Like his counterpart, his Hob sounds dubious about Dream's conversational skills.

"I will try," Dream says honestly. At least Hob knows not to expect much from him. It's a little disheartening, but Dream hopes it would mean that Hob would forgive him if he comes across like a bumbling fool rather than the actual Prince of Stories. "But before anything else, I would like you to know that you are the one I am in love with."

Hob trips a little on his way to sit on the barstool next to Dream's. It would have been funny had Dream not felt so desperate. "What? But...but you and the other me..."

Dream shakes his head. "I thought you were never coming back," he says, tears once again brimming from his eyes at the thought of Hob being gone from him forever. "I thought...The other you said..."

Hob clenches his fists. "What did he say? That I'm never coming back for you? Is that what he said?"

Dream hesitates, then nods miserably. "He said that you would not want to return because of how I treated you, and that you would pick any other Dream other than me. That I had been too cruel."

The other Hob said many other things, but that was the one that stings the most. The one that hits too close to home.

But Hob is seething in his seat, a coiled snake about to strike. "I'll kill him," he says. "I'll fucking kill him for saying that shit to you." He looks like he's going to get up and leave Dream to do just that to the other Hob, so Dream darts a hand out and squeezes Hob's hand in his.

Hob freezes at the touch, and Dream realizes that this is the first time in 600 years that the two of them had skin-to-skin contact. Hob is looking at their joined hands in shock and wonder. "Dream..."

"Stay with me," Dream says. Pleads.

"Alright," Hob says easily. He sits back down and intertwines their fingers, as if he's afraid that now that Dream has gotten him to stay, he's going to let go of Hob's hand. If it were up to Dream, he'll hold Hob's hand forever and never let go again. "Alright," Hob repeats. "He can live for one more day."

Dream huffs a laugh at the unexpected statement. "You should not kill yourself."

Hob scrunches his nose at how strange the sentence sounds in this context. "Trust me, Dream, if it's that bastard, I'm sure killing myself would feel cathartic."

Dream looks down and huffs a laugh again. He'd laugh a full-bellied laugh if it were just him and Hob in the room, but as it was, he'd rather not frighten both the employees and the customers of the New Inn.

Hob is smiling fondly at him when he looks back up, then clears his throat awkwardly when their eyes meet. "So. Just to be absolutely, perfectly clear on this, you definitely, definitely prefer me over that asshole?"

Dream nods shyly. His heart feels like it's beating too loudly that Hob must hear it. Or at least feel its frantic beat against their intertwined fingers.

He must be courageous and speak his mind. Hob will appreciate it. Hob has always been truthful to him, even at his worst. "It's not just prefer, I'm afraid," he says, slowly and carefully. He wants his words to convey the depth of feeling he has for this man. "I have been in love with you since the 1600s, longed for you the entire time I was imprisoned, especially on the day we were supposed to meet in 1989, but I only realized that it was love I felt for you when I saw you again in 2022, beautiful and waiting for me."

"Fuck, Dream." Hob tightens his hold on his hand. "You can't say things like that and expect me not to kiss you."

Dream unconsciously licks his lips and sees Hob watch the flick of his tongue with avid interest. Fortune favors the bold. "Kiss me."

'Please. I long to feel your body against mine and bask in the warm sunlight of your soul.'

Hob sways forward, but hesitates at the last second. "You're absolutely sure it's me you want?"

"Hob," Dream says, already leaning forward himself to lessen the distance between them. "You, this you, are the only one I have ever loved."

Hob makes a wounded noise and leans the last bit forward to capture Dream's lips in a perfect kiss. Dream kisses him back with all the passion he feels, and perhaps it is a bit too desperate for their first kiss, but he cannot be expected to hold back now. He wants this, has needed this, ever since he saw Hob again after his imprisonment.

Someone wolf-whistles in the background, and Dream realizes that they are still in the Inn. Hob moves as if to break the kiss and Dream whines, gripping Hob's coat tighter.

Not yet. He can't let go of Hob's lips just yet.

Hob calms and returns to kissing him back, and pulls Dream closer to him until they're both just standing in between the two barstools, lips locked like a pair of lovers who have been separated for far too long.

They'll be fine. It's not like anyone would kick Hob out since he owns the place, and Dream doesn't think Hob would let anyone kick Dream out. And besides, they deserve this. It's been a long time coming.

They kiss until Hob has to lean away to take a much needed breath of air, and once that's done, he leans in to kiss Dream again.

They kiss until Dream is satisfied that the other Dream's taste is gone from Hob's lips, until the two of them are wholly each other's Dream and Hob again, as it should be.

"I love you," Dream says. He does not know how much time has passed since they started kissing, but his lips are tingling pleasantly, and his heart feels lighter than it ever has in centuries.

"And I you," Hob says against his lips. There are tears in his eyes as he says this, and Dream leans up to kiss them away. "Gods, Dream, I think I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you."

Dream knows he does not deserve this wonderful man, but he's working on becoming someone who does. He's going to make Hob the happiest person in the world. "I apologize if I took too long to return your regard. I--"

Hob laughs and interrupts him with a quick peck. "Hey, none of that. We both got here in the end, didn't we?"

"We did," Dream says. He could not bear to think otherwise. He kisses Hob again to banish any remaining negative thoughts and doubts, and Hob happily returns his kiss.

Hob, his Hob, has chosen to return and come back to him. And Dream chooses him as well. No other Hob would do.

They are both right where they should be.

[damagedintellect]

Dazai Osamu x reader

💌 Reading into the palms of isekai bullshit:

Chapter 7 💌  

Summary: You were no stranger to isekai bullshit. It’s not like you had a problem with it. The genre took over the anime scene for years now but you try to stay away from thinking about how you would handle the situation. The last time you thought about inserting yourself into your favorite show you wrote a 100k word xReader fic for your favorite characters and you didn’t want to spend all your time consumed by the brainrot again. Never again, you promised yourself that was the last time you’d let the devil on your shoulder win. You clicked on chapter 1 to start the adventure over again but when you opened your eyes and saw Dazai O-FUCKING-samu getting choked by Kunikida you honestly hoped it was a dream.  

Notes:   With Artfight slowing down on my end I have come to feed the hungry readers...also idk why this chapter turned out so angsty bc that wasn't the plan but yeah know what it sounds about right. Another isekai so I can play around with BSD like dolls.

★ Chapters [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] ★

💌 Word count: 2,286 💌 <= Previous Chapter | Next Chapter =>

A few days later was the day Kunikida had a very important schedule to uphold. Everyone was left to their own devices and it was a nice change of pace compared to the past few weeks. Kunikida had left a few minutes ago while Ranpo was still complaining about the lack of snacks. You had mostly finished up your tasks for the day and were acting like you were still busy so Ranpo wouldn't bother you. It's been weeks since you were relieved of your snack fetching duties but you could feel him practically directing all of his grievances at you specifically. There were other people in the office. Why did it always have to be you who gets the snacks? Aside from Kunikida and Yosano, everyone else was here. You observe Dazai as he agonizes over not being able to ruin Kunikida's day yet. You still don't know what the hell happened the other night.

All you know is that Ranpo made a suggestive comment about it which didn't help you piece anything together. Dazai had been acting weirder than normal too. It's like he was having more mood swings than usual and you’re not sure how much of it is an act. You are also not the only one who's noticed the brunette’s weird behavior, even Atsushi said something about it. Although he thought you and Dazai had an argument because apparently the brunette would tense up at the mention of your name. Even more puzzling was that the moment you were left alone with Dazai he would act one of two ways. One being that he would reluctantly cling to your side, hovering over you like he was expecting or waiting for you to do something or two he would scoff and make some excuse, no matter how stupid, to disappear. Like he actually made it a point to tell you instead of just leaving like he has in the past. Almost like he was reasoning more with himself then having the goal be informing you of his absences. As much as it was intriguing it was almost hard to watch but you didn’t want to ask him about it because who knows what can of worms that will open and you weren’t ready.

Speaking of can of worms, Ranpo has been calling your name trying to get your attention. You slammed your hands on the desk standing up to look at your senpai. "Okay I get it, what snacks do you want?"

"Chips, pocky, ramune and you know what it feels like a melon pan kind of a day!" He smiles wide, kicking his feet up on his desk. Cocky bastard.

You rolled your eyes "So the works then got it," you looked at Dazai who was still moping. "Anyone else need me to pick up anything?" The room filled with a chorus of "No"'s as you grabbed your wallet and made your way out the door. The agency would reimburse you for Ranpo’s snack habits later.

Dazai watched you leave. It's been infuriating that you refused to ask about that night and seemed to brush it off like it didn't matter. So much for that confession of yours. He was aware that, yes, technically he wasn't supposed to know that. He promised you he wouldn't tell, but you told him yourself. He can't get over the fact you haven't picked up his bitterness on the subject or that you are blatantly ignoring it all together. He doesn't understand what your play is and moreover he can't get over the irrational thought of wanting to touch you. It has been driving him insane. He doesn’t get these kinds of impulses but since you shared your feelings with him he wants to be close to you in any way you’ll have him. You were also the one who saw through and called him out on his bullshit, not many could do that so why has that stopped? Is it because you need to see his palm again? Did the alcohol mess with your talent that badly? All he has is more questions and really no way of getting answers out of you unless he talks to you like a normal person. Dazai was by no means a normal person and what was the point if he wasn't supposed to know this information to begin with. If it was anyone else he wouldn't care about the confrontation or lack thereof but he does now and he hates it.

The sound of an incoming text rang out through the office. He looked over at your desk. It was your phone, you forgot it since you stormed off. He sighed, reaching for it. You would be back soon but he was bored and all of his attempts to shake up Kunikida weren’t working either. Was he losing his touch? If he sent Kunikida a message from your phone he would probably have a better chance at fooling the blonde. When he opened up the messenger he nearly dropped the phone as he read who the incoming text was from. 

Chuuya<3

Hey, I have time today if you wanted to do the thing

Dazai gripped the phone tightly, his knuckles turning white. Why was Chuuya messaging you and what was with that contact photo! You were both naked in bed. You looked like an ethereal being while the smug redhead was holding you like he owned you, giving Dazai eyes that were taunting him. It made his blood boil. Was this why you didn’t care to find out about that night? Was this all really just a game to you and how could you betray him with Chuuya of all people! Dazai grit his teeth. Realistically he shouldn't care so why does he feel like this? He knows how demented his line of thought was but for the first time he let his jealousy cloud his judgment. You guys weren't exclusive, heck you guys weren't even anything to begin with. Just two coworkers who sometimes hung out outside of work but still he felt it was a low blow. He needs to stop his train of thought before he does something he'll regret. His emotions were already festering by the time you finally made it back to the office. He felt that itch again, the sudden urge to touch you. Why? He didn't understand it at all.

You dropped the bag of snacks on Ranpo's desk hoping that the ramune crushed a bunch of chips. This is the last time you’d be going on his snack run or else you were going to- you know what you don’t know what you could do as a counter. Ranpo kind of has you by the balls since he knows your secret. You deflated once you realized that he could actually make your life a living hell if he wanted. “Enjoy.” you sigh slouching as you turn around colliding with someone as you were grabbed by the arm and hastily pulled into the infirmary. 

Dazai had dragged you across the office without a word. It was unsettling for the others to witness. Atsushi was concerned he'd never seen such a grim expression on Dazai before. Could it be because he failed at tricking Kunikida and he needed to take it out on someone else? "Shouldn't we stop them?" He asked warily but no one made a move. Everyone continued on like this was an everyday occurrence.

Ranpo only kicked back further into his chair, opening the bag of chips "Leave 'em. You might get scarred for life if you try to intervene." Ranpo rolled his eyes. This is what you get for playing with fire. Although he doesn't exactly know what Dazai saw on your phone, he does know that the two of you were a ticking time bomb and have been the whole week since the fall of the guild. He only hopes you know what you’re doing because babysitting you was not his job unless you were getting him more snacks.

As soon as the door locked, Dazai pushed you against the wall, easily pinning your wrist so you couldn't escape. His tone was dark. It would have made you shake with terror if it wasn't so hot. Right now, the position you were in, was a sexual fantasy of yours for sure. 

"What happened to not being so easy? Huh?" He accused you, almost demanding an answer. It was jarring to hear him be this intense. 

“Um, ow! I don’t even know wha-” He cut you off with a messy kiss, aggressively biting your bottom lip as if to say don’t lie to him. You actually had no idea what he was talking about. In fact you almost thought this was all of his pent up emotions from the past few days.

 "Such a pathetic lie when you throw yourself at anyone who gives you the slightest bit of attention. Tell me was I not-"

"Who am I throwing myself at if not you?" You spat back not waiting for him to finish his monologue. You were furious because from your point of view you have no idea what the fuck he's going on about. He's the one who's been acting strange. If anything you should be the one yelling at him for not talking with you if he had an issue. Although you should have seen that coming. Technically it's what he was doing right now so you guess he did get there eventually but still you were mildly flustered and enraged with the delivery.

Dazai was silently scanning your eyes. You weren't lying to him. His fingers were digging into your wrist and your heart rate remained the same. Your eyes were clear and there were no obvious tells that your statement was false. He fucked up. He was wrong. He knew he was from the start but the impulses were too much for the rational part of his brain to stop while he was ahead. This is why he distanced himself. He wasn't capable of having nice things. He's spent so long waiting for the other shoe to drop he can't even trust that things could be different this time. As he loosened his grip on you the words cascaded from his mouth. "Then why did you sleep with Chuuya?" It shouldn't hurt him but it made his heart clench just the same. Dazai has had his fair share of one night stands. Sometimes it was nice to feel a human connection with another person. It should be no different but this was you. When did you become so important to him?

Your eyes widened in shock. He saw the photo. The trap you had set up weeks ago. Dazai was jealous, it worked. That's why he'd been acting weird. How long has he kept this to himself? Was that why he wanted you to ask about that night and the things you don't remember? Before you could register your actions your body moved on its own to close the distance between you with a tender kiss. Caressing his face you looked him in the eyes. It was now or never.  "Dazai, I am in love with you! Chuuya was only trying to help make you jealous so I could gauge if you even remotely liked me back." You blurted it out in a huff as you watched his expression drop and become unreadable. 

"Well it's a shame I don't feel the same because right now I think I hate you the most." There was no emotion to his words and he practically vanished out of thin air. Dazai needed space while he figured out what was going on in his head. Isolation was the only thing he knew that would bring him said clarity. He doesn’t regret his word choice but he also doesn’t think hate was the right word for it. He was irritated for sure but he didn’t exactly hate you. He definitely hated the situation though. The brunette was still wondering how you managed to get under his skin like this. Now that he wasn’t in the same room as you he understands the train of thought behind the picture and how Chuuya’s involvement led to the prank. It was partially his fault you even met to begin with. This also answered his questions about the redhead after the encounter. Looking back this must be how the others feel when he pulls one over on them. It was not a pleasant feeling.

 The room spun around you in a blur. It took you longer than you would have preferred to get yourself together and rush out of the infirmary. All the others pretended to mind their own business but you didn’t see Dazai so he probably bailed out of the office. You had to fix this before it was too late. Although something in the back of your mind wasn’t adding up. Why now? If he knew about the picture since that night why was it only today that he brought it up in a blind furry? There had to have been something to trigger this reaction. You don’t bother making an excuse to leave the office but you do grab your phone from Dazai’s desk. It didn’t click until you were halfway down the stairs that you had left your phone on your desk so how did it end up on Dazai’s. You frantically checked your messages and sure enough there was one from Chuuya. You frowned as you messaged him back blatantly lying about the other’s reaction to the prank. On one hand it did work as intended but how did it end up like this?

★ ★ ★ Pervious Chapters [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]  ★ ★ ★

[piratefishmama]

I got tagged in a questions thingy.

by: @w1ll0wtr33  thanks sweets!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope, my name was in fact a mistake made by a nurse! It was supposed to be a hyphenated combination of my first and middle name, but the person doing the birth certificate made an error.

2. when was the last time you cried?

Like… fully? Uhm. August? The day before my dad got out of the hospital I had a full blown panic attack cause I knew I’d be alone in taking care of his asshole self and wasn’t prepared to do that. There was crying involved in that.

3. do you have kids?

I would sooner rip my own uterus and womb out, Netflix Witcher style than have children.

Storytime: My mum once bought me a £75 stroller and doll, an this was years ago, like, single digits age range so that was EXPENSIVE for the time (fuck man, it’s expensive now lmao), I… left it out as far away from the house as I, at my age, could... in the rain. An it was all silk and satin material so it was well and truly fucked.

They stopped expecting eventual grandchildren from me very early on in my life.

4. What sports do you/have you play/played?

Does archery count? I feel like archery should count lmao I do archery, and I used to do ju-jitsu, I have medals somewhere for ju-jitsu, god knows where though my medals were never worth keeping track of apparently. My brother's are in his old room.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Fluently.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

That they’ve invaded my carefully curated alone time and thus have become my enemy.

7. what’s your eye colour?

Hazel, with more green than brown.

They're also my favourite eye colour too! there’s so many variations of it, do you have more green or brown in it? is there a ring of darker colour around your iris or not? Hazel has so many variations it’s such a pretty eye colour to have and it changes. Hazel eyes are magic.

8. scary movies or happy endings?

Thanks to my truly stellar vivid imagination and Childhood Trauma™️, I cannot watch scary movies. At least not ones that have plausibility. Like they could happen. Because for some reason, everytime I watch one of those, my brain ever so lovingly decides to recreate the movie in the form of a nightmare where all the starring cast are people I actually care about an I’m just. watching them all die.

It's never fun. And I can never escape it. Even waking up, if I go to sleep, I will go right back into that nightmare, there’s no escape.

9. any talents?

Many! i have ADHD and autism, I have so many random skills. The only one I can reliably do on command though is writing. I can draw, paint, sew, sing, dance, and many others… sometimes, but the only one I can reliably do without fail, is write.

10. where were you born?

Britain. You don’t get closer than that I ain’t about to dox myself.

11. what are your hobbies?

Writing, reading, video games, creating shit.

12. do you have any pets?

Hope and Shadow are my two dogs, you all know them by now I’m sure. I have a shitton of tropical fish in tanks both upstairs and down, I did have a very smol bird but I had to put him up for adoption as unfortunately he and Hope simply did not get along, she made him very anxious and he made her hungry for bird.

13. how tall are you?

I’m tiny, 4’11.

14. favourite subject in school?

English. I had a great teacher. It would have been art but unfortunately I hated my teacher, and my teacher hated me and that made the lessons very uncomfortable.

15. dream job?

I would love to work with animals. Animals are easier than people.

And no, i'm not tagging people.

[birindale]

Bow wanders by a tea party and is opportunistically kidnapped, SweetBee steals Glimmer's gimmick, and She-Ra obliquely threatens to cut off Entrapta's head.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “A Born Champion”.

Cover: SweetBee descends from the sky, her wings glowing and sparkling as She-Ra holds a welcoming hand out to her. At the top of the page, the Princess of Power (trademark symbol) logo sits on a flat purple sky. A fuzzy orange and magenta landscape in the foreground blends into a featureless mass behind the girls. Two lumps of hard material which are probably supposed to be cliffs or mountains or something but are colored like glaciers mark the skyline behind them. At the bottom of the page "A BORN CHAMPION" is stamped in dark blue and outlined in white. Below it, the copyright text reads, "Illustrations (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1985 Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc."

Page 1: A desaturated, pale pink caption box reads, "It was daybreak and SweetBee buzzed about her hive. Passing by, Bow stopped to chat. "I'm scouting Etheria for signs of trouble," he said. "Will you be back by sunset?" SweetBee asked. Bow nodded and SweetBee watched him go. "If only I could be a hero brave as he!" she sighed." Thanks for the feminism as always, Tina. The illustration shows Bow, who's toy-accurate except for having both hands, making conversation with a flying SweetBee. There's no hive around, but they do appear to be at the foot of the Crystal Castle. 

A yellow caption box reads, "PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MATTEL BY: WRITER — TINA HARRIS, PENCILER — JIM MITCHELL, INKER — TODD KUROSAWA, COLORIST — CHARLES SIMPSON, EDITOR — JOAN DUMBAULD & LEE NORDLING". God, how did I forget about Joan. Why would you keep the name "Dumb-old".

End Page 1. 

Page 2: Another desaturated pink caption box reads, "Meanwhile, inside her new tree-plex in the Valley of the Lost, Catra was busy entertaining. She and Entrapta sipped their tea while Clawdeen munched a crumpet. Suddenly, a twig snapped in the woods below." Entrapta lounges on a plush teal and amethyst bed, legs dangling over the edge, Catra lying prone beside her (and actually wearing her gloves for once! Good job, Skip!) They're both holding steaming cups of tea. The room appears to be a hollowed-out tree, a window showing several strangely shaped trees outside. Clawdeen, the pink lion, is watching Catra and Entrapta with a rather crudely-drawn crumpet in her mouth. She has a sparkling blue-and-yellow collar and some kind of garland draped over her mane for some reason. 

"What was that?" asks Clawdeen as she and Catra look around suspiciously. Damn, she ate that crumpet fast. 

"Look, it's Bow!" says Catra. She and Entrapta peer out the window, which is honestly just a tree hollow. Bow is indeed passing by beneath them, having made incredible time on circumnavigating Etheria, apparently. Look the Crystal Castle has been out for a full year now there's no reason they couldn't consult the map sticker. I'm just saying.

End Page 2.

Page 3: ""He can tell us the secret of She-Ra's power!" Catra cried. Entrapta called to Bow from the balcony. Bewitched by her golden glow, he stepped toward her. Letting loose her lovely hair, she trapped him in its tangles." So I guess there's a tree-balcony now. Entrapta wraps Bow in her hair, which is pink and purple, and can still move on its own. Her armor is gold, although it's not really colored to be as reflective as the plating on the toy is so it's—like that would hit better if you had the doll in front of you, I think. Catra just kind of stands there. Bow has his left hand behind his back, as though he'd gone to draw an arrow. 

"Ha! Ha! Good work, Entrapta!" says Catra, smiling wickedly with Clawdeen. Hm. No mask in sight I notice.

End Page 3. 

Page 4: A pale pink caption box reads, "The day passed quickly and SweetBee noticed it was getting dark. Bow was late and she began to worry." Sweetbee is tending to a small garden, trowel in hand, and looking over her shoulder with some concern. A climbing vine bearing some kind of fruit snakes its way up a climbing stick beside her. The sun is getting low in the sky, though it hasn't yet set.

"Bow could be in trouble. I must find him!" she says. 

End Page 4.

Page 5: A pale purple caption box reads, "SweetBee took to the air at once. She searched Etheria for many miles. Reaching the dark edge of the Valley of the Lost, she pressed on. Catra's tree-plex appeared suddenly below her." We see SweetBee soaring over a sprawling landscape, a huge forest bordered by steep mountains. Everything has an orange tint, which may indicate that it's now officially sunset, as the sky is too filled with beautifully-colored clouds to be sure, or just that Skip Simpson was really feeling orange this issue. A tree riddled with hollows stands out bright yellow in a clearing amongst the trees, in what must have been a discarded toyset, right? They're plugging it more than the Crystal Castle. Perhaps it was intended to adapt Justine Dantzer's proposed 'Topaz Tree Home' idea? But alas, it was never made.  

End Page 5. 

Page 6: A pale pink caption box reads, "SweetBee landed softly on the rooftop. She peered in through the skylight. Bow was trapped inside! Carefully she moved away and magically turned her wings from bright yellow into a powerful pink light…" Well, there's not really a roof, as it's a tree. But she is up above them. Entrapta has tied Bow to a tree with her hair, and Catra has one hand resting on his shoulder and the other balled up on her hip, literally talking down to him. Clawdeen looks on with a smile. There's an abstract painting hanging on the wall.

"... sending out a signal for help!" Seriously? THIS gets to be a dialogue balloon? Whatever. SweetBee is posing with her wings flared, as they flash bright pink. For context, her toy had reversible wings—one side gold glitter, the other pink and glow-in-the-dark. It's not super original, since Flutterina has wings and Glimmer glows in the dark, but they're… there. They are there. 

End Page 6. 

Page 7: A pale pink caption box reads, "From Crystal Castle's mighty throne, Princess Adora spotted the beacon light. Quickly, she decoded SweetBee's urgent message." Adora and Spirit are standing on top of the Crystal Castle. The throne (which is also an elevator) is up there with them, though it's gold instead of blue. If you really squint, the Crystal Castle's facade kind of looks like a skull. If skulls had big glass doors instead of teeth. And turrets. With shingles. It does seem to be getting later at least—the sky is beginning to turn this lovely indigo, and the clouds are a rosy orange. A sprite is whizzing around the castle, and Adora points at it as Spirit stands behind the throne. A slightly inaccurate flag is flying from the parapets. 

"Spirit, Bow's in terrible trouble!" says Adora. "We must leave at once!" 

End Page 7. 

Page 8: With a big dramatic burst of light, Adora and Spirit become Starburst She-Ra and Crystal Swift Wind, refracting all kinds of colors. The throne is still gold instead of blue, and it looks like they didn't realize the shield could be detached when drawing it.

"Fear not, SweetBee! Help is on the way!" says She-Ra, from Swift Wind's back. Skip did a great job coloring this one to make Swifty look like he was actually made of crystal and not just lit from below, everyone say thank you Skip.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: Another pale pink caption box reads, "Swift Wind sailed through the night. They circled Catra's tree-plex and landed with a gentle thud. SweetBee moved to greet them. Bow heard his friends up on the roof. Shuffling about noisily, he whispered to himself, "No one must know help has finally arrived."" Well, it's super not nighttime. Now I know what you're thinking, wouldn't making it dark out desaturate the bright colors which draw the children's eye? And yeah if it were realistic, but you can just make a dark blue sky and call it a night (heheh) in these things. They do it all the time in this very franchise. Anyway. We see Swift Wind landing, She-Ra on his back. SweetBee looks up from where she's evidently been hiding on the 'roof' of the tree-plex.

"Quiet, you!" says Entrapta, gripping Bow's shoulder where he's still tied to the chair. In the foreground, Catra and Clawdeen are curled up and napping on the big comfy bed. It's pretty adorable. 

"Disturb my friends' catnaps and they'll have both our heads!" says Entrapta. 

End Page 9. 

Page 10: A pale pink caption box reads, "Crashing through the skylight, She-ra took Entrapta by surprise. "And if you don't let go of Bow, I'll have yours—with all its lovely locks!" "No!" Entrapta cried. Clutching her braids, she fled into the night." 

Catra and Clawdeen are waking up, Catra angry and Clawdeen… disoriented, as She-Ra leaps down through the hole in the ceiling. Entrapta clutches her hair defensively. Her outfit is much more appropriately reflective this time, though it still doesn't scream 'metallic'. It's pretty. Bow smiles at She-Ra in apparent relief. 

"You think you've outsmarted me? Just try to find your way back to Crystal Castle!" says Catra, blasting us with some kind of pink sparkle. 

End Page 10.

Page 11: A pale pink caption box reads, "Catra sprang to Clawdeen's back and hissed a dire warning. "The Valley of the Lost's secrets are mine. Without them, you will remain trapped here forever!" Then, in a flurry of furry pink, she and Clawdeen disappeared." Catra sits on Clawdeen's back amidst a huge cloud of smoke and sparkles as Bow and She-Ra look on. Maybe the garland thing on Clawdeen's head is supposed to be her bow? It doesn't translate well to photograph so they may have misinterpreted it as a rope-crown thing or something. 

End Page 11.

Page 12: Whoa. Okay, everything is upside down now. A pale pink caption box reads, ""What a different forest this is!" Bow cried. "Catra has turned everything upside down!" Swift Wind shook his head. "She-Ra, I can't make hide nor hair of this. I've lost all sense of direction. How will we get home?"" She-Ra, Bow, SweetBee and Swift Wind all look around them in apprehensive confusion. 

"A bee's homing instinct is very strong. I can find Crystal Castle. Come on, we'll make a beeline for home," says SweetBee.

End Page 12. 

Page 13: A pale pink caption box reads, "And at their journey's end, the weary travelers found themselves at home once more." Swift Wind flies after a glowing SweetBee, Bow and She-Ra on his back. It is still not visibly nighttime, and the cliff under the Crystal Castle is much higher than it was in the beginning of the issue. I feel like this would have been fixed by some rescaling. Looking at you, Tim. 

"SweetBee! You saved the day!" says Bow, as they all land in front of the castle. 

"I never thought that just being myself would make a hero out of me!" says SweetBee. 

End Page 13. 

Page 14: SweetBee kneels before She-Ra, who holds the Sword of Protection to her shoulder as though knighting her. Bow and Swift Wind look on with big smiles. A pale pink caption box reads in the red 'moral' font, "She-Ra laughed and smiled. "Why, SweetBee! Everyone has some special talent to offer. It's when you put your talent to work that you become a champion. Helping others with your power is what makes you a true Princess of Power!"" Which like, I don't think that ALL needed to be in red. Also, Bow's stomach is blue. He wears a crop top, Skip. Get used to it. 

End Page 14.

End ID]

[nighttimeebony]

My reactions, thoughts, and predictions that I had while reading Percy Jackson: The Titan's Curse. At least the ones I bothered to write down. Spoilers below the cut. Also, fair warning, this one is way longer than either of my previous reaction posts. I had a lot of thoughts.

EDIT: part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5

I feel I should mention that the Percy Jackson books have objectively the best chapter titles

The mental image of Sally driving Percy and his friends to get their ass beat like it's just an after-school sports club is hilarious to me

Ooh, Thalia has hypnosis wind

So Thalia didn't age while she was in that tree? Because I remember she was much older than Annabeth at the time of her death, but now she, Annabeth and Percy are all the same age. Huh. Okay then.

NICO DI ANGELO!!! I've heard about you! You're gay! And he has a sister! Oh I am delighted and ready to love them!

Thalia insulting Grover's music taste.

ANNABETH IS TALLER THAN PERCY

Aww, Nico defending his sister.

OH SHIT, IS THORN A MANTICORE??!???!!

"They're not dolls! They're figurines!" Sure, sweetie.

CALLED IT

Bianca is great.

Oh my God, Nico, you beautiful nerd! XD

HUNTING HORN?!!?!!! SILVERY ARROWS?!!?!??? IS IT ARTEMIS?!!!! PLEASE TELL ME ITS ARTEMIS!!!!!

HOLY FUCK, ARTEMIS'S HUNTERS!!!!!!!

Zoë Nightshade is easily the most badass name I've ever heard in my life.

ARTEMIS!!!!!!!

Please tell me Annabeth is okay. I will not be okay until I know that she is

Oh my God, Nico! XD Also, chill, Percy, he's just a baby.

"Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down." Excuse me, what?!

Percy, leave Bianca be! Besides, you don't even know her! She can be a badass warrior hunter lady if she wants. What even are your hang-ups about Artemis's hunters? They saved your life.

Oh, wait, that's right. Camp Half-Blood needs more people to keep it protected. That's right.

Good for you, Bianca, but I can't say that I would ever leave my little brother to become an immortal virgin. No offense to them, but girl, your brother needs you. You may have a new family, but you're all he's got.

Oh, I love Artemis calling Apollo her annoying brother. Do we get to see them interact? I pray that we do.

Grover simping for Artemis is so valid.

Thalia thinking Apollo’s hot is so valid.

Apollo being an obnoxious kind-of hippy going through an anime phase is the greatest idea anyone has ever had. He's so stupid, I love him.

Apollo's comment about pretty girls turning into plants reminded me of the myth about the time where one of his boyfriends turned into a flower after he died. Hyacinthus. Because we cannot forget that Apollo is canonically bisexual. If Rick Riordan doesn't (at some point) acknowledge how gay ancient Greek mythology is, I'm going to riot.

Dating must be really weird at Camp Half-Blood. And between demi-gods in general, right? Because, technically speaking, they're all kind of related to each other. I guess it just works differently since the gods aren't human, so there's not the same case to be made about genetics and the potential for incest. Or maybe that only applies to kids who have the same god parent. Like how Percy sees Tyson as his brother. I’m wondering if the kids from other cabins feel the same way. Like, do kids from different cabins consider themselves siblings? Does Annabeth see the other kids from Athena’s cabin as her siblings? What does the dating scene even look like at Camp Half-Blood? Is it considered scandalous to date other members of your own cabin? Or do some people think it’s taboo or whatever to date other demigods in general? I don’t need sleep, I need answers!

Ohhh. Okay. So apparently Thalia has aged while she was in the tree, just very slowly. So if Percy is 14 and Thalia can pass as an 8th grader like him, and she should be somewhere between 12 and 19, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say she's about 15 or 16.

Oh, hey, I was right. Thanks, Apollo.

Aww, poor Thalia. Lol. I was the exact same way when I drove for the first time. Literally had a panic attack on the spot, and I wasn't even controlling the Earth's temperature.

Yay, Tyson! I was worried we wouldn’t see him again until, like, the last book or something.

Aww, it’s so sweet that Tyson wants to see Annabeth. And it’s adorable how cool he thinks she is.

Wow, Luke really is an unbelievable bastard. Annabeth is smart, she was smart to question him, but when the rocks started to fall, her instincts drove her to protect Luke, because even though he’s an unbelievable bastard, Annabeth still can’t help but harbor positive feelings for her. For the longest time, he was family to her and she loved him, so of course those feelings are still there, even if she knows it’s illogical.

Wait. Annabeth is holding up the ceiling of a cave, which Percy acknowledges that she shouldn’t be able to do. So… is the cave ceiling actually the sky? Like how, in Greek mythology, the sky is held up by the titan Atlas? In the mythology, Heracles trades places with Atlas holding up the sky while Atlas helps Heracles complete one of his twelve labors, and when Atlas is about to leave, Heracles tricks Atlas into taking back the sky before bolting. Like how Luke tricked Annabeth into holding up the cave ceiling before leaving her alone to hold it by herself.

Okay, Grover, chill out with the stalking, bud.

I guess Grover and Annabeth take turns getting damsel-ed. Last book was Grover’s turn and this book is Annabeth’s turn.

Don’t worry, Percy, I forgot about that scarf too.

Okay, not liking how the Hunters are portrayed. Because when Artemis says to give up love, she only means romantic love, which is clearly not the only kind of love. Greek mythology practically invented the concept of differentiating and identifying different kinds of love. The Hunters should know that, but the way they act towards the other campers is really… I dunno, gross? They act like their way of life is the only way that matters, which is super fucked up coming from the people that follow Artemis.

“I wondered if there was any way I’d looked that ridiculous when I’d first arrived.” Percy, that was literally only two years ago, get off your high fucking horse. XD

Thalia static-shocking people when she’s annoyed is golden and I love her.

Oh, fuck.

OH, FUCK!

Oh, we love the prophecies… Yayyyy.

Okay, guessing time. Artemis is chained to a rock, which immediately made me think of Prometheus, the titan that gifted fire to humanity and was punished by Zeus to be chained to a rock and have an eagle eat his liver every day for eternity. But then the Oracle mentioned that one must withstand “The Titan’s Curse,” which could be another reference to Prometheus, but I don’t think so. Because in the myth, Heracles killed the eagle and freed Prometheus from his punishment, so I’m pretty sure it’s not that, but you never know. Then I remembered Annabeth and my prediction that she’s currently holding up the sky like the titan Atlas, and the Oracle said that “one must withstand.” Admittedly, my knowledge of Atlas and his mythos is shaky at best, and I don't remember him ever having a "curse", but I guess holding up the entire sky is about as "cursed" as it's possible to be. And the Oracle saying that “one must withstand” makes me think that something happened to Atlas, so now someone needs to hold the sky in his place or else the sky will collapse to the earth and the world will end, or something like that. So that’s my prediction, that someone will need to hold up the sky in Atlas’s place for the rest of, well, forever. I don’t have a guess as to who it could be, though.

Also, someone is apparently going to die. And be killed by their god parent. Awesome… Super looking forward to that inevitable heartbreak… I hope it’s not either of the di Angelo kids, but they’re both new characters, and I know Nico becomes more important later (purely by accident and through pop culture osmosis), and since I had no idea that Biance even existed until I started reading this book, I am terrified that that means Bianca is going to die. I pray that I am wrong.

Wow, Thalia is petty and I’m kind of living for it.

I love that the Stoll brothers are basically Greek Fred and George Weasley.

Wow, Zoë’s kind of a bitch. She won’t travel with Percy because he’s a boy, and apparently Grover doesn’t count as a boy because he’s a satyr. Super fucked up.

You know, Artemis did have male Hunters. It didn’t happen often in the mythology, but there was a pretty famous male Hunter of Artemis named Hippolytus. The thing about Artemis’s Hunters isn’t that men weren’t allowed to be Hunters, it’s just that men typically didn’t choose to be Hunters, because one of the reasons why Artemis’s Hunters joined her in the first place is because Artemis protected the women in her care from the sexist constraints placed on them by Greek society at the time. The reason why men didn’t typically become Hunters is because they didn’t need the same kind of protection and escape from Greek society that women did. And Artemis didn’t hate men on principal, she hated the fact that men were the ones who used their positions of power to discriminate against and abuse the women in their society.

Aww. Grover’s such a sweetheart.

I love Sally.

Percy has so many damn Dreams™ and nightmares I have to wonder if this kid ever sleeps.

Apparently Percy knows the names of the pegasi, which is adorable to me. And this one is apparently Blackjack, which is a great name for a horse.

Aww, I want a baby serpent cow.

Aww, Nico. He's precious and I love him. Protect this child at all costs

Oh, I know about Ariadne. Theseus ditched her on an island after she helped him navigate the labyrinth and kill the minotaur. That's how she met Dionysus. I'm pretty sure they got married not too long after.

Aww, Dionysus and Ariadne are still married. That'd be kind of sweet if Dionysus wasn't such an asshole.

Yup, I know about Medea too.

Did they really just give Dionysus the Snape treatment? He hates all heroes on principle because one of them was cruel to his wife? He thinks he’s justified in harassing children because they’re training to be heroes, and he thinks that all heroes suck? Wow, dude. Get a life.

Oh, cool, Bianca’s forgetting things now. Nothing sketchy or sinister about that, I’m sure.

Is the General the titan Atlas? If my earlier theory was right, then he's gotta be.

Excuse me, teeth?! Plant them?!

Oh, wait! I think I know what that’s talking about. In Jason’s myth, he had to yoke a field with the teeth of (if memory serves) fire-breathing oxen. I don’t remember what planting the teeth did, but I’m guessing it wasn’t anything good.

HAH! Saber-toothed tiger kitties popped out

The General talks about mortals the same way I talk about fanfiction and anime

OH FUCK THE NEMEAN LION

“Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters.” Truth.

Wait… what’s going on with Bianca? There’s something fucky going on with her memory.

“‘Bianca,’ Zoë said. ‘How long ago…’ Her voice faltered.” FOR FUCK’S SAKE, RICK!

Ain’t no way this friendly homeless guy isn’t some kind of hell monster.

Oh. I stand corrected. Not a hell monster. Probably a god. The gods love disguising themselves as old people to test mortals

The Mountain of Despair. Sounds fun. I wonder if this is the mountain Prometheus was chained to, since it’s powered by titan magic and all that.

Ladon… I know that name. I recognize that, but I can’t for the life of me remember his myth or anything about him.

*in reference to one of Percy's dreams* Oh, wait. Is this Jason and Medea?

Oh, nope. It was Zoë. I figured she had some kind of bad break with a boyfriend or something, but I dismissed it at first because I figured she was too young. But I guess if she was around during ancient Greek times, that sort of thing doesn’t matter.

Oh, hey! I once visited Cloudcroft, New Mexico! It was a nice little place.

“I was never very comfortable talking one-on-one with girls anyway…” Okay, Percy, you and I both know that is a lie. Annabeth is, like, your best friend.

"'Bianca,' I said. 'That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?'" Oh no.

Seventy years?!

Oh, fuck.

99% sure Aphrodite is the one in the car.

WAIT, HOLD UP! IF BIANCA AND NICO WERE BORN MORE THAN 70 YEARS AGO, THAT MEANS THEY WERE BORN BEFORE THE BIG 3'S OATH, RIGHT?! SO DOES THAT MEAN MY THEORY ABOUT HADES BEING THEIR GOD PARENT IS RIGHT?!?!??!! OHHHHHHH, SHIIIIIITTTTT

"When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like Annabeth." AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Aphrodite is the patron goddess of shippers.

What the hell, Aphrodite, chill, lady.

"You act like it was real." Percy, this is Greek mythology. Every single star/constellation was either a person or an animal before this whole mess.

"It... it was for Nico. It was the only statue he didn't have." OH MY GOD!! ToT

"If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him... tell him I'm sorry." WHY??!!?!?? LITERALLY DON'T!!!!!

"Here we were in the desert. And Bianca di Angelo was gone." WHAT THE FUCK?!!??!!! WHY DO YOU HATE ME!???!!??

No, but please tell me she's not dead. The prophecy just said "lost", not dead. And there's no body, so she could still be alive. Rick hasn't killed anybody yet, Bianca cannot be the first. I refuse.

The Hesperides! That's why Ladon sounded so familiar! He was the dragon!

"'But--' Gurgle, gurgle, the naiad spoke in my mind." RICK!!!!!! FINISH YOUR GODDAMN SCENES FOR ONCE!!!!! THIS IS THE KIND OF STRESS AND ANTICIPATION THAT MAKES PEOPLE LOSE HAIR!!!!

I like that Grover, Percy and Thalia actually listened to Annabeth ramble about her special interest enough that they can just recall random facts like that. It's an adorable little friendship detail, but also fucking sad. I miss Annabeth.

Hah. "Dam". Let these kids swear. They deserve it.

"'Nah,' I said. 'Not that high.'" Aww, Percy's a good friend.

Hah. Statue fucking.

Oh no! Is Bessie the monster! No! But she's so cute!

PLEASE DON'T KILL THE BABY COW SNAKE

"'This is Atlas's mountain,' Zoë said." LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO

"'Yes,' Zoë said bleakly. 'Atlas is my father.'" THE GAME JUST FUCKING CHANGED

*after finishing chapter 18* ......... Fuck, man.

Wait, why isn't Hades a part of the Twelve Olympians? And why haven't we heard any mention of Demeter's demigod children? I can't remember the last time the Demeter Cabin was even mentioned, if it ever was.

Well, I guess Thalia joining the Hunters is a pretty roundabout way to have the prophecy be about Percy.

"But I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter." Well, then you're gonna hate what happens later.

Aww. Percy and Annabeth have matching battle scars. Sort of. Still sweet.

Oh, no, Nico.... Baby.....

"It was a statue of Hades, Lord of the Dead." OH FUCKING SHIT

"A son of Hades." OH FUCKING SHIT

HOLY SHIT, PAN HAS ENTERED THE CHAT

[p-r-art]

The Half Hashira Teil 1.2

I still didn't quite know how to react to him. He's really cute with his blond hair and yellow coat. He also seemed very nice like that, but I couldn't quite tell what he was like at the moment.

I noticed another drop of sweat forming on my forehead.

"Zensitsu, please stop! Your behavior is inappropriate."

Tanjiro tried to calm the other boy down.

"What?! without no I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you!"

now he started to cry.

"Um...yeah, never mind. To get back to your question. I'm human, but only half human. I'm also a demon at the same time."

I replied, just to steer the conversation in a different direction.

However, I still wanted to know the name of the boy with the boar's head. Even though I already knew it, I didn't want to reveal everything I already knew about them. So I just looked at him. But somehow he came across as depressed.

-This didn't come from the fight?-

I thought to myself.

"And who are you? You seem to be an incredible warrior?"

even though i'm not really a fan of flattery, especially when the skills weren't that special, but maybe it helps.

"I am the great Inoske! the king of the mountains!"

he made a victory pose?

-apparently it's easy to manipulate him hihihi-

"it's nice to meet you all. i'd like to travel with you, if it's okay with you, because i'd like to help you with your sister, Tanjiro."

Tanjiro seemed immediately enthusiastic and beamed from ear to ear. But he couldn't get a word out so he just nodded. I smiled back at him. The other two didn't say anything else, so I just assumed it was okay with them. A noise broke through the silence and pink eyes and black hair peeked out from behind Tanjiro.

She is small, very small, almost like a doll. I crouched down so that she wouldn't be so afraid of me. I knew exactly who she was, Nezuko, the little sister who is a demon but rebels against muzan. She has more in common with me than I would like.

"Hello little Nezuko, I'm (Y/N)."

I smiled and held out my hand to her. She came to me very carefully and took my hand. The pink coat and green kimono looked like a huge pile of fabric on her small body.Instead of holding out her hand to me, she put her head against it as if she wanted me to stroke her.

-How can you be so sweet-

It warmed my heart. It was almost as if lots of trees were blossoming around us. I just kept smiling and realized that my sharp canines were showing, but that didn't seem to deter any of them.

"Well, shall we go on? I know a place nearby with hot springs and very tasty food."

i wanted to get to know the others better, and the best way to do that is to eat.

"YES!!!"

everyone shouted at me. I hadn't expected so much enthusiasm.

I straightened up again and showed them the way I wanted to go with them. The four of them chatted animatedly while I stayed further back and kept an eye on everything. Of course I sensed that something was wrong, but I didn't let it show.

The person, or rather the creature, wasn't that far away, it was watching me rather than the others.I looked up to the left. In the top of a tree about 4 km away, red eyes were watching me. Inside I knew exactly who was watching me.

My full lips, painted a delicate shade of pink, formed a sentence that he could now understand. I just smiled at him and waved briefly.I turned my gaze forward again so that I wouldn't lose sight of the others.

"Tell me (Y/N). How did the Hashira accept you? After all, you are part demon."

sequel follows....

[theerurishipper]

Season 4 and 5 made it just so difficult to truly believe that Marinette really loves her Kitty. The Fandom and show can scream about vague soft eyes and "she loves her kitty so muuuuuuch! <3" however they want, but it says alot about Marinette's character that this vague "I love my kitty" never really gets any more specific.

Saying "I like you / I want you around" doesn't mean anything whne the actions themselves paint the picture of her basically taking Cat Noir for granted and not thinking a single second about his actual well being or his perspective in any of this.

It's like in Glaciator 2 where a good part of the episode Marinette spends either screaming at Cat, manhandling him however she pleases and even invalidating any of his emotions by screaming in his face that HIS emotions don't matter in any of this, this is about HER and her only when she used him not knowing Marinette is Ladybug against him by secretly forcing him to practice with her her confession for Adrien.

She's literally screaming at him that his emotions are irrelevant to her. She just wants him to do whatever she wants and however she wants it bc apparently thats the only way she can stand being around him. And that she got in season 5, how Lovely.

And then later when Cat voices that he thinks Ladybug can't stand him anymore because she screams at him and gets seriously physical Marinette is like "No, no, that doesn't mean she hates you <3"

When, like, yes Marinette. Under anything resembling to normal morality you constantly reducing him to a rag doll, screaming, insulting, replacing him, leaving him behind on the battle field for your own and your friends' benefit and brushing him off would be a perfectly reasonable thing for another person to view as a bad thing. Only YOU would demand of someone to view that as unparalleled depictions of fondness, and that hasn't changed much by Elation.

Her ignoring his discomfort in the kissing scene (closing her eyes again) and then almost turning into Cat's enemy for daring to tell her "no" one time is one unnerving sight to behold. She basically immediately went back to season 4 mode the moment she didn't get what she wanted. I don't even want to imagine what she would have done to him by impulse if that moment had happened in Ladynoir (I hate how CONSISTENT this is...)

and even by the end of the episode she's still only asking him to validate her when he brings her back.

And well, then she leaves.

It's difficult to actually believe that Marinette really values Cat Noir alot. It feels much more like she values and likes how little genuine efforts she has to make in their dynamics to reach a normal standard, and that he's just the most convenient person for her regarding any kind of ugly dirty work or her worst tendencies not coming with regular circumstances. So of course she would like that.

If I had an anger problem, I would probably like the person too who had to learn from me that that's "perfectly reasonable behavior" they should view as GOOD in a dynamic bc i like using them as rag doll, punching bag and tool.

But just because I personally would find comfort in a person accepting that I can do that to them as my way of "showing affection" doesn't it mean that that's a good thing to make soft eyes about.

But the show is not GIVING us much more to work with. Marinette only on rare occasions voices anything she even likes about him. It goes mostly unsaid so you can claim whatever you want about her feelings for him.

She likes that he's funny, only that the show isn't showing that alot. If at all. Marinette telling Alya in Hack-San to laugh at his jokes because he likes taht is kinda out of left field because Marinette herself honestly doesn't do it alot. The normal reaction is her being annoyed, shutting him up and even insulting him, down to any kind of "slapstick".

And the most I can remember her having SAID about being in love with him in season 5 was being thirsty about how hot he is. I don't wanna be mean but no wonder Alya basically disregarded Marinette's crush. It's not like she ever named anything serious, and tahts....honestly awful.

With Adrien as Cat Noir there was NEVER a question if he values her for more than her being pretty. He loves her brilliant mind, her determination, her drive to help people. Him complimenting her for being pretty was just the cherry on top.

But only towards Joan of Arc did she mention that she likes his loyalty, but that got ruined by her straight up AGREEING with her whne she insulted Cat and the "loyal" part was only to save her own face. She literally agreed with someone insulting Cat right in front of him and only said "yeah, but he's LOYAL" which of course made him insecure. He couldn't see Joan of Arc, how many people are there and what the insult was Ladybug just agreed with. He can't defend himself and saw that Ladybug literally WON'T.

So which one is it, Marinette? Is he hot or a runt who's lucky he's loyal? Why was Joan's opinion of you the whole episode the only thing you actually cared about to the point where you were fine with throwing the person you love oh so much to the dogs again? And Cat looking bad and humiliated again was barely an afterthought to you, as long as it wasn't YOU?

If she actually loves and value him then why is she still treating him as if he merely spawns into existence for akumas or her entertainment and benefit as her care taker? Why isn't Marinette trying to make up for how she used her civilian side to make him do whatever she wants several times by now, as if she never even conciders how this will look like once they reveal (I would loose sleep if I did that to a person!)?

Why was she still perfectly fine with him being completely isolated and having no one in a case of emergency, meaning she always continued letting him run the risk of ending up the way he did in the season 5 finale? Cat being found as a civilian by Hawkmoth was from day 1 one of the most obvious things that could happen and even after 2 what if episodes this fate of his was never actually avoided, because Marinette always just prioritized getting HERSELF out of the equation more than him truly being safe.

That's a risk she was apparently from start til the end perfectly willing to take.

5 entire seasons and the only safety thing she cared about in their dynamic is that if he gets caught and is at the villain's mercy, he does so as quietly as possible so she isn't bothered by it and can close her eyes, cover her ears and go "Lalala".

If Marinette in any of these 5 seasons thought Cat deserved help too than she sure never acted like it, and in fact demanded the complete opposite for her own comfort.

How am I supposed to believe that Marinette loves and values Cat Noir as a person when non of that or his entire personhood goes beyond what little she wants for her own comfort? If you love a person you would actually want them save and not remain in harms way but accept that you shouldn't be asked to care about that? Or remain completely isolated in the dangerous lives you lead without being allowed to ask muvb of anything from you support wise?

Or constantly ditched on the battle field, being done who knows what to so YOU and your friends are fine while you execute the actual plan with the others.

You would ask questions if they're okay and if they need help too, and not just take any half an indicator your being given to write off any concern because you apparently don't actually wanna think about any of that.

You would actually think about them in any decision you make because this is not just about you and their well being should mean something to you. You would tell them things so you don't risk them getting hurt by having to find out themselves the worst way (and here leading to akumatizations).

You would let them made their own choices, have agency and not just when you're forced to. You wouldn't casually execute a plan to trick them into revealing their important secret identitiy to two people without their consent or knowledge, and ESPECIALLY not when the god damn angry authority figure, who already doesn't lie your partner, would fucking use it to get rid of them behind YOUR BACK TOO.

You wouldn't want physical harm being done to them instead of even being a main source of it, and never taking accountability for that while demanding to never get touched and spoken to in a single wrong way. You wouldn't want that they accept that you don't owe them anything as their LEADER but they owe you EVERYTHING because you said so and can't handle anything else in a "partnership".

(Only to feel sorry about it for 2 minutes when you loose everyone else but, well, not really I guess? Or else she would have tried making up for it in season 5 more than just surface level stuff that was once again mostly for HER benefit anyway. But more than that never happened)

You wouldn't want to think they're stupid for not thinking like you and draw the line at any "back talking" you're being given bc you apparently concider anything else but absolut obedience and blind faith as your little puppet as you being "disrespected". So they must walk around you like on eggshells and only talk in soft compliments and supportive words cause who knows how you would react otherwise?

Dude, no wonder Ladynoir is fucking dead. Good for Adrien, and I hate that we've come THIS far. Such a thing is one of the last things I ever wanted to say when I started watching the show. Now I can't be angry taht Ladynoir is fucking dead and Cat Noir didn't made it out of the partnership for the finale, because wtf else was this supposed to result in??

I just cannot fathom the type of "Love" and fondness Marinette supposedly has for Cat Noir. Whatever fondness she feels for him gets drowned out by other 20 red flags about her not actual treating him like a real person.

And man, I HATE that...

Yeah, literally. This is probably harsher than what I think, but it's more or less my thoughts on the matter.

Thank you for your ask!

[cookierunauprompts]

Hi I'm still alive. School has just been beating me up recently. Anyways this ask is going to be long again, but don't worry, it's not about Golden Butter Cookie this time. (I still like drawing her and Arcane Egg a lot though)

This actually concerns about the dolls GBC makes, mainly the 3 you've mentioned. (I added a 4th, but I will explain that in a bit). This entire thing actually made me research a lot about dolls in a weird way. Honestly I didn't think I would get very invested in it very much but I did, so I think I should thank you for that.

So to get things started, and reviewing back to the last few long asks I've sent the past weeks, the Toybox Realm has 2 level sections (The main layout/landscape, and the Dollhouse). When Rosemary saves the gang, when you fight through the levels, you are mostly required to have her on your team, thus you can only pick 4 cookies from your roster to fight. Enemies that you fight are composed of dolls and toys that make up most of the population of the Toybox: - Poppets (Mostly does healing) - Toy Cars (Charges at the cookies at the front of your line up and stun them, flips over and explodes, damaging only cookies at the back of your team) - Teddy Bears (Toybox version of Bear Jellys. Act like big walls of defense) - Rag dolls (Acts as ambushes, aiming for cookies in the middle) - Apple Doll (Giant creature that acts as a midboss before reaching Salvation's Stitch) When you're in Salvation Stitch, there are dormant and passive versions of the dolls you fight that reside there. In the Dollhouse, they're more damaged and destroyed looking if anything. When you fight GBC as the final boss of the Dollhouse, you're still required to have Rosemary with you, however, she is removed from your team once the boss battle starts, leaving you with only 4 members to endure GBC's constant attacks until Goldie times out.

Alright, let's discuss the main 3: Rosemary, Basil, and Thyme. I wanted to find a way to distinguish them from the rest of the dolls and toys, not just from the name of their spices alone. Originally I wanted to just give them a specific type of doll body and be done with it but I thought that wasn't enough. So I ended up basing them off the 3 wise monkeys. Hear me out. The 3 Wise Monkeys is traced back mainly from a saying in Confucianism. Confucius lived in a chaotic time in China and yet he wished to see peace and harmony, thus he emphasized the importance of moral conduct and virtuous behavior. Comparing this to what was happening in the Toybox at the time, I like to think that these 3 embodied what each conduct was since they were practically the only ones keeping everything from falling apart. Let's start with Rosemary. (Rosemary Lemon Cake). One of Goldie's first living creations, a classic plush doll. She follows the concept, "See no Evil." Though she's lost one of her button eyes, she is still quite perceptive and observant. Despite such harsh conditions, she is still able to see the good in people and believes in second chances. Let's go to Basil. (Basil Mousse). He is based off a Corn husk doll and follows the concept, "Hear no Evil." While Rosemary is the one that goes off in order to scout out the hyperfocused toys, Basil stays behind in Salvation's Stitch, ensuring order and safety is well kept and observed. Though the other dolls may doubt Basil and question him, he doesn't let it bother him. Moving on to Thyme. (Blueberry Thyme Scone). Her body resembles one of a knight, being an action figure, following the concept, "Speak no Evil." Once the leading figure of the Defense Doll Squadron, was forced to leave the other members behind as they succumbed to becoming hyperfocused. They could not listen to her words of reason, to snap out of it... Now they stand silently... thinking to themselves in front of the door of the dollhouse. Making sure no one gets in... and NO ONE GETS OUT.

That seems to be it, but wait, I added a 4th one. Apparently, there is another saying, the concept of "Do no Evil." Lavender. (Honey Lavender Posset). The very first marionette puppet to be created. Unfortunately, they were created during the time Shadow Milk had 'abandoned' Goldie, so she was made in the heat of the moment as a venting process of sorts. A little bit of Goldie placed into Lavender... literally. Being one of the last things Goldie had created before falling into slumber, Lavender craved attention from their creator, dedicated to stay by GBC's side and attend to their needs when necessary. However, sometimes when she isn't busy with Goldie, Lavender spends time with Rosemary who taught her how to do certain things. Think Big Sister dynamic. However, not everything good lasts. Lavender broke, seeing Goldie, her creator inside of that glass coffin. Sleeping their life away, not responding to their calls to wake up, or to eat... or anything at all. Having little to no sense of free will, especially after being created so recently, Goldie was literally her whole life up to this point, and yet in that short amount of time, she never got the chance to thank her for giving her life... All of this spiraled into one single question. "What was she going to do with herself now?" Fear started to rise among a... certain population of dolls... and it wasn't stopping from there. No, it can't be, Mistress isn't in an eternal slumber, she will wake up soon. We just need to wait... Don't you see? For now, all we have to do is focus on the simple task she left with... Defend the Toybox. Years, and I mean many years later... As Gingerbrave and Co. with Rosemary return to find and wake up Golden Butter Cookie, they explore deeper and deeper into the dollhouse. Strung up dolls across the ceiling in a sticky and chaotic manner as strawberry jam stained and dripped down the walls... Being ambushed left and right by disfigured dolls that have gone haywired... Stuffing all over the floor... It was a sight to behold that the weak could not handle. But that overhanging feeling of dread didn't last long as Rosemary stepped out into that hallway first, the scent of burnt butter overshadowed by the overwhelming scent of lavender wafting through the corridor. The pure terror reflected upon her one button eye as she stared back into at the figure across the hall, illuminated by the faint light that shone through the window, petals scattered about all over the floor. ______________________________________________________________

Yee, okay that's it. I wanted to make designs for everyone but I had no idea how you imagined Rosemary, Basil, and Thyme to look like so I only have old concept sketches I made of Lavender.

ooooo... I really like the concepts for the dolls you're proposing here! And I also love Lavender! Her design in the second image reminds me of Mimi's true form from Super Paper Mario and I think that's very cool!/pos

As for concepts I planed for the doll-trio (Rosemary, Thyme and Basil) I imagine them looking almost like cookies but there are slight differences (button eyes, stitchlines, the fabric texture of their bodies) that let's you know that they're dolls.

For starters, I imagine them all in sort of like... cottage-core medieval outfits if that makes sense? Maybe like these but maybe a bit more simplified? And more yellow of course in some of their cases

now onto more specifics, Starting with Rosemary!

I imagine that Rosemary has blond hair with her bangs barely concealing her missing eye. And speaking of her eyes they're made with green buttons(or well, now just one button). She looks quite similar to Goldie herself as Golden Butter imagined her as her successor of sorts.

Now onto Basil, despite their usually composed demeanor their anger is certainly a force to be reckoned with (for example, them telling Shadow Milk to grovel at Goldie's feet). I think their Plum hair would be neat at the beginning but more frayed at the ends to represent this.

Now onto Thyme, the solitary Knight. I imagine them looking a bit like mercurial knight and Silverbell in terms of clothing style with a few yellows thrown in. Their hair would be tied up, probably into a bun. Their eyes would be a shining yellow and their hair would probably be more of an off-white. They're definitely the more roughed up of the dolls so they have a few scars(as in repair stitches) than the others.

But overall, I love your concepts for them and I hope to see more from you soon! And don't worry i completely understand School has been kicking my but as well. I hope you have a lovely day!

[blood-and-pizza]

These are all of the FNAF2 phone calls from Phone Guy.

The first night, there is mention of another security guard who worked at that location during the nightshift. He was moved to the dayshift after complaining about the animatronics coming into his office. There is also mention of the Toy animatronics being tied to a criminal database in order to recognize predators.

The third night, there are mentions of "tragic rumors" surrounding the restaurant. The dayshift guard from before reports nothing unusual happening during the day, and apparently he is on watch from opening until closing...

Night four mentions an investigation going on at the restaurant. Fazbear Entertainment denies any wrong-doing. Phone Guy notes that the animatronics' facial recognition software has been tampered with, as they are giving death stares towards any adults they encounter.

Night five mentions the restaurant being on lockdown with no employees (especially previous ones) being allowed in or out, and Phone Guy mentions the dayshift guard position suddenly being available. Fredbear's Family Diner is also briefly mentioned, and that the original owner hasn't been heard from in ages.

Night six mentions that someone used a yellow animatronic suit for something, and now none of the animatronics are acting "right".

So, for those who don't know, allow me to sum it up for you:

William Afton - who was only known as Purple Guy when this game was first released - disguised himself as a security guard and worked the night shift at the new Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, which opened in 1987. He used a spare Spring Bonnie suit to kill five children, just like he did at the previous Freddy's two years prior. He stuffed these five kids into Toy Freddy, Toy Chica, Toy Bonnie, Funtime Foxy (who I assume became Mangle AFTER this incident), and Balloon Boy. He also altered the facial recognition software of the animatronics so they wouldn't recognize him as a criminal. When this wouldn't stop the animatronics from attacking him at night, he complained, and was moved to the dayshift. Then Fazbear Entertainment discovered what he did and, instead of cleaning up their mess, they covered it up and essentially banned Purple Guy from their establishments. The new Freddy's was closed, and they decided to refurbish the Withered animatronics and open in a smaller location, presumably the original location of the old Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

This was the second Missing Children's Incident. The problem is, it's not made very clear in later games what became of the second set of missing children, so they get overlooked easily in favor of the first set of missing children. We don't even know the names of the kids from the second group.

Also these two kids from the FNAF 4 minigame might have been the kids who became Toy Chica and Balloon Boy... look at what they have with them:

A balloon for the boy, and a Toy Chica doll without a beak for the girl...

Before you all wonder why I'm posting this, it's because at least one person asked. I'm answering to the best of my ability.

[cauldronofmorning]

need a shovel to love them

I... don’t really know what this is? DeeDennis fic/meme thing of that poetry/ship ask game going around. Trigger warning for all sorts, rape, extremely dubious consent, mentions of Barbara and her various abuse, self harm, addiction and obviously incest.

1 Who would be first to to bite down anc consume the flesh of the other, euphoric in the taste and the heft and the slide of the blood 

Dennis has fantasies about it, but Dee is the first one to do it, sinking her teeth into his wrist after he threatens to rape her dead body if she doesn’t shut up. Dennis keeps the bloodstained flannel.

2. who is the ant and who is the ophiocordyceps fungus?

Dee completely thinks that she might be a good person if Dennis hadn’t infected everything about her.

3. who is the dog and who is the master?

Dennis gets off on the thought of having Dee on a leash and parading her around, but something in him likes when he gets upset and her hands trail his skin, a mix of comfort and objectifying, like mom used to.

 4 when the roles are blurred or reversed who would be first to die and how? would it be by bulletwound? the phallic blade? strangulation?

Dennis has this plan in ten years of shooting Dee in a place where she would take a while to die, and then shooting himself in the same place, so they both have the same hole and they can expire in each other’s arms.

 5. Cocaine or Heroin? 

they’ve watched each other get dicked down by some random drug dealer (never Cricket, Dennis would gouge out the other eye if the fucker touched what has always been his) in order to get crack again. Their little secret... amongst all the other ones.

6. who licks up the other’s cigarette ash?

Sometimes Dennis’s God Hole feels like it’s growing with rot, and he needs some kind of punishment to centre himself and take his rightful place as ruler of Paddys. Dee doesn’t even like smoking, but she likes him crawling.

 7 who is julius caesar and who is brutus?

If Dee stabbed Dennis, finally having enough of... everything, she would keep the body in her flat. Not as a trophy, she’s not like him, but to see him go soft and blue and finally melt away. She would then leave Paddys, and do something, anything with her life, as there was no more reason to stick around.

 8. who is jesus and who is judas? 

When she’s on top, Dee will dig her nails into the palms of Dennis’s hands, and think about the sex doll where the skin would always smooth out no matter what they did to it.

9. did jesus want it? did julius caesar know it was coming? are the betrayed ever proud?

Dennis always wants it, even when he zones out during sex and Dee will drag him to watch cartoons instead. Dee on the other hand has said no when she means yes, and yes when she means no. If the tears come when she’s drinking beer later, she’ll know what she meant.

 10. who is irrumatus and who is irrumans? who is pedicatus and who is pedicans?

Seeing the other one choke and drool and their make-up get ruined as they gag on dick or strap is always so fucking funny. Dee has to beg for anal because Dennis likes her begging, and Dee has pegged Dennis exactly once because he got small and compliant after in a way that just made her feel shitty instead of powerful.

 11. did they ever kiss and why not?

Dee kissed Dennis under the Jersey Shore boardwalk when they were nine, had this small feeling like she finally won against him and her mom. She’ll do everything with him but that in Philly, no matter how much he digs her tongue into her mouth.

 12 if they are two sides of the same coin who is heads and who is tails

They’ll both say heads.

13. and if the coin was the holey dollar?

Dennis has a giant gaping hole inside him, Dee still sees the gaping scar on her wrist she promised to make if mom wouldn’t stop telling any friend they deserved better than Deandra. The only way to get Barbara to back down was to damage her trophies. Apparently.

 14. And if the dog bit back? 15 and if the dog bit back? 16 and if the dog bit back? 17 and if the dog bit back? 18 and if the dog bit back? 19 and if the dog bit back? 

Dennis is going to torture Dee some more so next Dee Day will be totally concentrated on breaking him again.

20. Who buys the other flowers?

After finding out Dennis wanted something for Valentine’s, Dee gets fancy flowers and steals rat skins from Charlie so she can scatter them in the box. Makes her gag, and they don’t talk about it, but he always kisses her after like she’s the only person in the world.

[primelight]

Concerning Seluvis (and Pidia)

Ok, I completely understand where the ‘Pidia is the puppet master’ theory came from (Vaati, alternate interpretations of lore etc.). However, all the evidence in favor of that is circumstantial, AND can be countered.

1. We already know that puppets can be given (or loaned) to someone who isn’t the original creator. After all, the player can get a few.

2. The Raya Lucaria soldier puppets are being used to guard the rooftops of Caria Manor. Pidia is a servant of Caria Manor, and looks to be the only sane Albinauric sorcerer left. It makes sense for him to tasked to use the puppets to protect the Manor.

3. This also explains why he says ‘You!’ when you first come down the ladder; he saw you on the rooftops.

4. There’s no law that there can’t be two perverted dolly-botherers. And Pidia is absolutely a perverted dolly-botherer.

5. You can hear the soldier puppets kill him after you find Seluvis’ body. If we’re talking ‘real’ puppet master, that’s an interesting coincidence.

6. Yes, he has the map to the amber starlight shard. However, he runs a storeroom. It makes sense that there’d be old, forgotten things in there.

7. From a meta perspective, you, the player, are just browsing the shelves when you buy stuff from Pidia.

8. Gideon has beef with Seluvis. It’s clearly mutual. Seluvis chose Nepheli, Gideon’s adopted daughter, as his target for the puppetizing potion. Why would Pidia, an Albinauric sorcerer with no apparent connection to the Roundtable Hold, order something like that?

9. Puppetry is specifically called out as a Night Sorcery/Nox thing. Carians in general are connected to the night, and the stars. Seluvis was one of Ranni’s father’s Preceptors, and a master sorceror. Seluvis’ bell bearing indicates a clear visual connection to Carian and/or Night sorcery....and that’s an entirely different post, stay tuned.

11. We’ve seen a non-summoned remote-controlled puppet in action: Finger Maiden Therolina. She shows up at the Radahn festival, and is utterly silent. She bows and...that’s it. You can buy her from Seluvis, too, or get her as a free puppet. And you see her in his chambers, so, yeah, she’s a puppet. And Seluvis himself has an awful lot of personality for a remote-controlled doll, doesn’t he? So...I speculate that he isn’t.

12. The biggest one IMHO is that Ranni knows that Seluvis puts you up to giving her the amber starlight draught. Either she is...spectacularly stupid, or Seluvis is the puppetmaster. And she knows it.

And, finally...Seluvis’ puppet body...This is a stretch, sure, but there are a few explanations:

13. We already know that sorcerers can body-surf. Sellen does it, using a body that Seluvis made. Jerren himself says, when he finds her ‘dead,’ that she’s doubtlessly got another body stashed somewhere. We help her upload her consciousness with that primal glintstone.

14. The merchant note on ‘the Preceptor’s Secret’ claims that Sellen visits (of visited) him quite frequently. Circumstantial, but it is not out of the question that they were both in on her backup plan. Why wouldn’t he have a backup plan?

15. ...He was totally being a pervy dolly-botherer with her new, empty body though.

16. So one explanation is that he somehow ditched his body for another. Or shut it down for future use. But we’ll never get that proven one way or another.

17. Another explanation is that Ranni made him drink one of his potions. He gets puppetized after you give her the fingerslayer blade....so he’s outlived his usefulness to her. And since she absolutely did know what he was up to, maybe she thought it was time for some justice?

Anyway...This is also all circumstantial. We’ll likely never get a confirmation of any of this. I think you can run with either theory...Fanfic fuel either way!

(Image credit to Fextralife for Sellen)