#and you have no good way to tell them that it's been 'just a papercut' over and over and over again for *years*

[here-there-were-dragons]

just read the new hatchling skin rules and am having Some Type Of Initial Emotional Reaction and am now writing down said Initial Emotional Reaction uncensored as i currently Strongly Feel A Type Of Way and Require Venting. i cannot word this more politely. i do not have the capability to render this rage into polite borderline corporate-speak for the sake of the damn rules that act like anything short of apologizing for being alive to make up for having even the most constructive understanding friendly criticism or even personal mild non-critical dislike of something like a color or a breed is tantamount to personal targeted hatemail. i cannot wait until i cool into calm bitterness later because if i think about this enough to write about it again i will just go right back to being furious and the fact that everyone ielse who's complaining is focusing entirely on the lolita fashion thing and not on in my opinion the far more significant and offensive part is pissing me off even more. extremely angry unedited ranting ahead

fr having it's own "female presenting nipples" moment right now, not that i'm particularly surprised, they've been a prime example of "conservative protestantism in a lefty-language veneer" for a long while now.

"don't adultify" is such a fucking vague and easily selectively interpreted rule, not to mention insulting for a number of reasons,

but putting that part aside the whole idea of "nothing that suggests that the dragon is an adult in a young body" is. look, i'm not exactly fond of the "adult who looks like an anime schoolgirl" trope myself, but i fail to see how in the absolute FUCK having it be canon in-universe that it is both possible and legal for someone to be forced to stay as a child permanently, is somehow LESS creepy than just saying eternal youth dragons have dwarfism. also, fuck you to anyone with dwarfism apparently i guess?

and "no zombie baby dragons" is just stupid. even fucking minecraft has baby zombies, and microsoft has steadily butchered that game into one of the most t for toddler babymode things on earth this side of cocomelon.

and "no scars on hatchlings" so fuck you to any kids with scars too apparently, even though that's way more common than anyone seems to realize. you hear that, kids? if you're under 18 and have scars your very existence is too obscene for public view. 13+ year olds will be irreparably traumatized if they have to know you exist at all! fuck you disabled kids and fuck you amputee kids and fuck you any kids that have suffered anything ever at all for not appearing as a perfect unspoiled image of conservative christian child-doll innocent purity. flight rising staff says your body and existence is inherently too nsfw to even be acknowledged as existing much less visually seen. everyone knows REAL children don't get damaged at all, and if they do then they're too horrifying and defective at their job of Being A Child Properly to exist in public spaces! how dare ugly things that might make us uncomfortable with their existence by contradicting out ideals about aesthetic moral purity be allowed where good respectable normal people can see them!

i don't say any of these words lightly, and i'm very much not the type to go around calling people whatever-ists and in fact find that kind of thing extremely annoying, useless, reductive, and more or less only ever see it used as a blunt cudgel to shame people into line so they don't question you, and have historically found it especially annoying when people pull out the accusations-of-ism card on fr staff over things that are far more likely just completely understandable (if dubiously competent) issues of certain things simply not occurring to someone on code and design level due to lack of sufficient exposure to the idea, and have always been of the belief of giving them the benefit of doubt (even if often that just means i think they either most likely made an understandable mistake that i would likely also make, or, when i'm feeling less kind, that they're simply not particularly competent rather than actively hostile) so understand how much it means coming from me when i say- flight rising staff, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, fuck you, you ableist batch of pricks, so far up your own asses with your performative veneer of vaguely lefty-flavored language that you don't realize how fundamentally extremely conservative all of your actual beliefs underlying them are. for every update you make that i approve of there's another that does twice as much damage as the good update fixed (and i'm starting to wonder if you maybe know what you're doing with that too-always batching the fucked up shit on the tail end of some big thing you know people will be excited about, always hiding these controversial moderation changes under something shiny and new, to the point that now i dread any new good update that genuinely seems a step in the right direction and/or is something we've been wanting for awhile because i'm just constantly expecting the knife hidden behind the footnotes afterwards, the fucking "ban tiktok/gay marriage/strip rights from this population/end net neutrality/whatever/ect" clause stapled onto the end of a bill about something entirely unrelated functionally holding a change people want hostage until they allow the fucked up part through. i've been here most of the site's 10+ years and i've seen this sort of thing happen far, far too often.) and every year the shit that gets pulled on the management and moderation end of things makes me more and more almost glad i've never had an income to spend on this, and the fact that apparently the moderation behind every single other petsite in existence is somehow significantly worse fucking astounds me. the only reason i stay around here is because It's Free Dragon Pictures, because it's literally the only actually good petsite game i've ever played and not gotten sick of within a week or so (and really the only good low-energy game i've ever played in general, which i'm increasingly convinced is in spite of it's management), and because somehow, despite all of this shit, i still genuinely love the game itself, because unfortunately by some accident of creation it seems they apparently stumbled purely by coincidence into making an actually good game idea no one else quite has. and after all the fuckery that gets constantly pulled, i refuse to believe the game being good is anything other than, much like many of the of the incidents i think they're unfairly accused of malice and -ism over, an accident.

Disabled children too obscene to fucking exist. fuck you. good to know half the child population's existence requires a trigger warning to even be allowed to be acknowledged as existing to you. good to know if the heart surgery i had when i was 11 had left any visible external scars i would be considered inherently too obscene to exist to you. good to know if the overhealed and benignly potentially cancerous scar on my back from whatever actually happened when i was a toddler (i don't trust either of my parents to ever be accurate about something like that) was in a more visible spot you would demand i have a trigger warning to post selfies online. good to know if any of the shit that's broken me emotionally left visible physical marks you would think it was good and right for me to be forcibly hidden from good normal people's view and considered too taboo for even the slightest discussion without hiding it with makeup and lies, just so i don't make good, lucky, undamaged, normal people uncomfortable, god fucking forbid. should we hide the gays too, since they also make so many people uncomfy? i imagine it won't be long before disabled adults are too obscene for your polite societytm sensibilities too. i've had the feeling for a long time that amputee and disabled skins were living on borrowed time with your rules, kept technically not explicitly dissalowed where all other forms of injury and ""body horror"" are banned simply out of fear of the backlash it would cause to include them, and well. the doomsday clock on that one just got a little bit closer to midnight, huh?

the only reason i wasn't a (physically, visibly, externally) scarred kid was pure sheer fucking luck. the only reason you weren't a physically scarred kid too is pure sheer fucking luck. the only reason you're not some type of disfigured or ugly or amputated or visibly injured or whatnot is pure sheer fucking luck. you're lucky. nothing more. if having to contend with that fact-the fact of how easily it could have gone a different way and there is nothing they would be able to do about it- makes good normal tm people uncomfortable, then well, get the fuck used to it, other people children very much fucking included don't exist to cater to the aesthetic sensibilities of a lucky perfect few. the only thing that separates you from the damaged ones you find too obscene is a bad day and an unlucky hand. and one day, even if you were lucky enough to escape being damaged when you were young, you and i will both be just like them too.

more festival skin winners slots is good. elemental swords sound fun.

[thatdeadaquarius]

SAGAU / Isekai Genshin:

You can still use your characters! ... as in possessing them 👻

(all art by me down below, hope its decent lol - did it for u guys and myself i mean what )

Edit 9/7/23: 1,500+ NOTES??? BRO WHAT!! THABK YOU <3

Edit 12/24/23 + 4/5/24:

☆

My dumbass forgot to put this here .-.

Anywya this is a full length fanfic now ;)

PART 1 (you're here!) / Part 2

So.

You got sucked into a video game. 

Crazy, but it happens ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

yknow how it issss

...you very quickly discover that unfortunately video game rules still apply...

which wouldn't normally be an issue! like, needing to use the bathroom in the middle of a fight? Nope! minor cuts and bruises like papercuts, only actual enemies or fall damage counting? hell yeah that'd be great (theoretically no chronic pains if you got that?? hmmmm unsure)

see the issue comes when you realize, you as a player, don't have a "character" that's all your own

there's aether/lumine yeah.. but bc the game's real now, they're their own people, and you didn't wake up to find yourself as a blonde twin...

the closest you can describe your form as is .. like a seelie?

or like the way ghosts look in game?

but a lot more "starry"

like your specterlike, but you look like you got filled up with stars and the milky way, maybe a reference of you being from another universe/world? (aether/lumine/dainsleif/khaenriah star symbol reference secret thEORY-)

but yah.

you also got just, white eyes.

like, not iris, not pupil. like your pupil and iris got erased

you gotta admit, at least you look really aesthetic now.

(u also got a little cape and hood on at all times, and you cant take it off to see your starrified hair >:/ ,very Blue Diamond-esque, look up Steven Universe, Blue Diamond if you dont know who im talking about)

so needless to say, as soon as you sort of glitched your way into existence you were HYPE

i mean ur ACTUALLY IN TEYVAT WITH THE BOYSSSS

...then you realize your a spooky-no-character-to-pilot-around-thus-no-character-model-body-for-you thingy

and that you cant touch stuff!! >:(

like wth!!!

thats just downright unfair.

so, you figure if you got no body to be.... you gotta find a new "character" to pilot >:)

...

I choose you, yellow fungi!

...

....

you're in the fucking woods (Sumeru somewhere obv, u knew that the moment you opened ur eyes),

what'd you expect?? an archon??

..wait a minute. can you possess an archon-

these kinda thoughts plague your first few days of irl genshin impact playing

a rishabold tiger? yep.

a sumpter beast? kinda slow and heavy feeling but yeah.

...you also try a ruin machine LOL

by far, the fungi and ruin machines are the best to possess, mostly because you can remain upright with those

(tho u did find some type of flying monkey that wasnt in game, but its like,, a real world and jungle now so that makes sense there'd be more complexity + stuff)

you do eventually think you should try and possess a person at this point... but ur kinda nervous 👉👈

its ur first time doin this okay nobody explained the basics to you youve been winging for a week now!

will your mind be replaced with theirs? it hasn't been so far with the creatures/bots

and as far as you can tell, they kinda just-

forget what happened or "wake up" after you possess them

(the tiger you were for a day looked confused as hell when it realized that there was a new pile of fruit next to it when it "woke up", it was your way of saying thank you to the animals of the jungle, u left them little piles of food you collected running around as them)

so THEORHETICALLY-

you should be good to go and possess a random poor eremite

... you figure you want to possess something human-like eventually even if you get a puppet body like wanderer/raiden so...

here goes nothing...

♤

so it's been 2 weeks since you've been forcefully yanked into teyvat, and by the second week, you were trying to possess eremites

which! worked out!

mostly..!

you kinda convinced the entirety of two eremite camps that a certain part one of sumeru's forests is hella haunted bc ppl keep "blacking out" and doing things they don't remember doing, yknow... like possesssion LMAO

they kinda ran off to escape you but, hey!

experiment #2: people possession, success!!

now you were kinda convinced of this when you realized no matter the angle the animals and machines of sumeru didnt react to you getting super close to them (you dont have to touch something to posses it, just look at it really, but you wanted to test limits, so you walked up to sumpter beasts and fungi and ruin machines)

but no one can see you.

you don't have a "character" most of the time, you can float and glide around the ground like scaramouche lol

you cant touch stuff bc of this, you cant smell stuff (u saw the eremites campfires & couldnt smell the smoke until you were them)

you cant eat stuff w/o a body, so.. it makes sense that the eremites and passing merchants, cant see you when you float around, trying to reorient yourself after 2 weeks of experimenting

:( ur only a lil sad about it... but mostly not bc lol u got possession powers so trade off u guess

the first time you see a vision-bearer you literally scream

LMAO

ur so lucky u cant be seen or heard

bc Collei would have def screamed back lol

needless to say u stalk the forest ranger- ALL DAY.

Collei goes on patrol around the woods? you go on a patrol.

collei goes to visit other forest rangers? you "visit" other forest rangers at base (lol u def possess a guy who was asleep on a bench nearby & wake up to go talk to Collei "in-person", poor guy was so worried he sleep walked/talked so hard he went to see Tighnari an hour later lmao)

welp, you decide this is your life now, follow Collei everywhere, talk one-sided to Collei until you can possess a forest ranger w/o it being suspicious (dont wanna turn the poor rangers into the terrified eremites from a week or two ago...)

then, after you get the courage and erase the paranoia that tighnari can just... somehow hear your ghostly bullshit-

u do the same to Tighnari (then Cyno when he visits! no u didnt squeal, so what, nobody can hear you- )

♧

Tighnari begins to get suspicious about 3 weeks into this routine.

he's been starting to collect and start a file on all the rangers or nearby villagers that've started randomly "blacking out/sleep walking" in the evenings usually

(u possess as close to nighttime as u can so it seems like sleepwalking)

So when Cyno comes back from a mission gone wrong,

having nearly been decapitated by a rogue flying ruin machine, only to black out and come to standing calmly 10 feet further than he remembered being 1 minute ago...

Tighnari's suspicions are confirmed, and he launches into researching this phenomenon.

his first thought is something like the aranara, but that doesn't account for the effect this thing is having on people

after all, what little forest spirit is strong enough to-

-control humans??

Tighnari begins to get the sense he's in over his head after he finds himself pushed into going into Sumeru City in order to collect more library books or ask around if the blackouts have spread to the city people

he answer is negative, on both accounts.

and he spends about one half of the day walking around, and the other reading up all he can on mythical creatures or ailments

Tighnari gives up for the day, and as he makes his way back to Ghandarvaville, he almost gets ambushed by some particularly nasty muggers

...and then he wakes up 20 feet away, his denro vision thrumming with power, full of worry and fondness for himself??, (just like Cyno said he felt happen to him..)

...Tighnari decides he needs reinforcements.

YOU GUYS-

UR LOCAL ZODIAC SIGN OBSESSED W/GENSHIN HIT A CHARACTER LIMIT ON A POST FINALLY. 😦

??? THIS WOULDVE BEEN LONGER BUT I BARELY GOT SPACE FOR THIS- I- EVEN THE QIQI POST DIDNT HIT LIMIT-

uh cya ig!!

Safe travels lmao,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist @revonie / @hat-on-a-cat / @takottai / @sickly-falling (?) / @iruiji

(Sorry about the late tag! I forgot to update my taglist before i posted this 💀 my bad guys)

Also if the people who got put there who i couldnt find a blog for see this, idk what went wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - maybe check and see if ur setting for "being able to be searched/looked up" is turned on?? Idk man

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #27

The Battle of Big Wand

Part 2 of reacting to this episode (spoiler-free)!

Cosmo talking about the Big Wand going down: Better check with I.T. Hazel: Just I.T.? No fancy fairy name?

why is this so funny to me

Y'know... I've have a post in my drafts for ages that mocks Anti-Cosmo's castle entrance for not being wheelchair-friendly (because the road is covered in spikes). If he took over and then put spikes on this new road, I'm gonna lose it.

OH, I NAILED my "After thinking about it, this is my final answer" prediction. Dev is in the house! oh, good gravy.

This is the second time he's tried to be a king, and I think it's funny he hasn't tried to be a company president or anything. Not fantasy enough for him.

It's stupid funny to me that Dev just turned 10 and he's got impressive muscles when he flexes. what is this child doing- bench pressing solid gold??

We've been robbed of Dev wishing himself into one of the puzzle games he likes and getting buried under, like... Tetris blocks and having to claw his way out.

That might make a good 'fic; I feel like "wishing to be inside an app" is very correct for him.

??? whaaat does he have? He's got portable wishes of some kind? Is it a shooting star? oh, goodness. Let me think, let me think...

!! Crocker has these in the finale of Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 1. He throws them at the ground near fairy guards to poof them into animals. They're grenades. lmao, Dev got into the Fairy Armory.

Canonically, the Fairy Armory is the only place in Fairy World that still has power during outages, so... epic magic fight with weapons?? Ooooh, I hope so!

Irep is back, I knew it!! Part of me suspected he wouldn't be here because he's not really known for being a team player, but I'm glad he is :) Let's go Anti-Fairies!!

I'm delighted Anti-Cosmo isn't taking lead. Also, for some reason it's hilarious to me that Irep is focused on Hazel and not interested in addressing Cosmo or Wanda. He used to greet them as Auntie and Uncle, and now he's like "I don't need their approval or love."

Uh-oh... Has he sorted out his needy issues? If he's too old for naps and we can't bribe him with hugs, how will we defeat him??

I wanted to see if he uses their honoraries in "Fairly Odd Fairy Tales" (since he does it when he's being polite and I knew he was offering food). He doesn't, but I like how Wanda straight-up fed her nephew an apple that puts him to sleep until his true love kisses him, then looks dead at the viewer and says "And then we all lived happily ever after." Is the implication that no one will ever love him, so he's unconscious forever?? omg. Wanda's very black and white view of things is so incredibly funny to me, especially since she grew up in a mob family.

I'm excited to see Dev and the Anti-Fairies. Who would win: the species that invented papercuts, or a little boy who longs for lemonade?

Are you telling me Cosmo and Anti-Cosmo are BOTH intimidated by Irep now? Either this is about to be super funny, or they've switched.

Did Anti-Cosmo finally step up his parenting? Not out of the question; in Season 10, Foop was in time-out for putting spiders in his spaghetti.

(How ironic, considering Foop liked eating spiders).

I rewound and Cosmo jumps when the magic hits, before he sees Irep, so he's not necessarily afraid of him. Also, keeping my fingers crossed for anti-family interactions. I'm really looking forward to a face-off between Irep and Peri; their banter is my favorite and we didn't get much in "Best of Luck."

I'm so glad that despite changing his name, Irep presents himself with the same flair he always did. He is the same person...

omg, his little cufflinks. He's adorable.

For some reason, I've called him "posh British boy" in two previous posts, but... idk why, because he's literally never been posh and I know that. I'm glad he looks like his aesthetic is "bad boy with the tiniest detail of fancy."

I hope he's still friends with Sammy Sweetsparkle :) Maybe they're in a gang. I know there's 0 chance of Sammy being in this episode, but can you just imagine if Foop took out his wallet and there's a picture of Sammy in it.

Actually... if he's got a little metal circle there, I think that implies his jacket is closer to denim than leather. Lemme check......

OH, interesting... Yeah, he and Sammy don't match.

I don't say it enough, but it's really freakin' funny to me that Foop spends a distressing amount of "Certifiable Super Sitter" following Sammy or spying on Sammy and/or reacting to everything Sammy says. He's just Like That... Like, I enjoy the implication that of all the places Foop could go when his parents canonically left him unsupervised for the week, he likely chose to hit up the Turner place in spite of his hatred for Poof because Sammy is there. Silly.

Anyway...

Dev: Yeah, yeah, yeah... and Irep. Joint conquerors of Fairy World.

OMFG, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Was I RIGHT that Anti-Cosmo isn't even at the takeover!? Local introvert hates leaving his house and never wanted Fairy World anyway; more at 11. I'll be there!!

Plot twist, Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda don't actually show up in this episode because they're busy flirting while Irep's away.

I clocked the design aesthetic of the taken-over Fairy World as "This is Irep and Dev as partners; Anti-Cosmo wouldn't do this" so hard. crying. how did I do that. it's not getting better than this.

"Let's get DEV-ious!!"

dlkfgm, once again losing it at Dev using his first name rather than the "Dimm" part of his surname when he makes puns. He's a Dimmadome, but... he's kind of his own twig on the tree.

It is unreasonably funny to me that Irep's wand is so heavy considering he had massive muscles as a child after his Abracatraz imprisonment ("Spellementary School" & "Timmy's Secret Wish").

Also, I am FASCINATED by the decision to give Irep one little zipper tab that hangs off his jacket. Impeccable.

I love this team already. These are two people who are both known for:

- Coming from upper class families - Having parent-related abandonment issues - Not showing a lot of restraint - Only showing restraint when they've REALLY gone too far

Hmm... Oh boy, let me think. We know Dev's [previous] line was that he didn't like his dad shocking people's brains for money, with Dev having strained feelings even when he was trying to convince himself the shocks could be good ("You can help kids!") And he did feel bad about fighting with Hazel, though he's definitely Going Through the Wringer right now.

And Irep's line in the OG series is that he was totally down for:

- Tormenting his parents - Annihilating Crocker for not inviting him to his house party (whom he hilariously calls Denzel when he's mad at him) - Pointing his school's playground slide into the void - Sending Cosmo and Wanda on a dinner date to a black hole - Poof dying (despite the fact their lives were tied together)

- but he wouldn't allow anyone to harm Chloe, who finally introduced him to hugs.

He made it very clear he wasn't willing to face Vicky to save his own life, even on the verge of death, but he'd do it for her or for chicken cordon bleu. And she's not here, and we're all out of chicken cordon bleu. Uh-oh…

- Would Irep rate Hazel hugs 10/10? Inquiring minds need to know. - Is Dev bribing Irep with hugs? Or is Irep just here for the chaos and assurances that Dev's having more fun with him than Peri? - Is Irep bribing Dev with hugs? Are they pumping each other up with positive affirmations?? Go king; continue the healing cycle!

If Irep's parents show up, I hope he's on good terms with his mom, who used to pack chicken nuggets and anti-venom in his lunch box :)

Dev's faith in his ability to not fall off his O-pairs makes me nervous every time he's ever been onscreen.

His dad might let him down, but the O-pairs never have.

[ cnt'd - #Long post ]

All I've been thinking about for ages is an AU where Dev and Mikey Munroe (Bunsen Is a Beast) switch drones for a day, so Mikey's parents freak out that they can't monitor their son 24/7 and meanwhile, Dev just... can't get his dad's attention despite the two-way microphone and camera screen. Also, Mikey spends most of his time making noises into the O-pairs' fans. It's always been my headcanon that Mikey's parents installed the Buxaplenty's and Leadly's security systems (hence the buttons releasing different dogs & the lethal lightning bolts) since I think "ooh, rich people want us" helps justify why his parents are gone for months or years at a time when we know their job is designing home security, so basically... all the cool rich people use them. I actually have a WIP of Mikey and Remy playing near the Buxaplenty train tracks when they were little, but I never found a plot point strong enough to carry it to the end. Anyway, I've been waiting to see what the Dimmadomes have in terms of security, but it's... nothing yet. Plot twist, Dale has trust issues even with the people installing security?? ... I think he'd be friends with Mikey's parents. Maybe. Actually, I might need a 'fic about Dale having a meltdown when he goes home for the first time in 7 years and doesn't trust that Vicky won't sneak in to get him. He needs the world's best security team. It's two terrible parents afraid of literally everything. Yes, they ditched their kid for this. Don't worry about it. y'know... It's really messed up that Mikey's parents are terrified of everything, but they leave their 12-year-old home alone with the pets for months or years at a time, "but it's fine because they're spying on him 24/7 and sometimes give him gifts (like medicated wipes)." His dad is implied to have a fear of germs and I've always wondered if that plays into them not being anywhere near Mikey... Plot twist- We pull a "My Gym Partner's a Monkey" (where the reason we don't see Adam Lyon's parents is because they're severely allergic to animal hair and Adam has to thoroughly wash when he's home and they can't go to school events), but it's Mikey's parents fleeing Muckledunk because they're either allergic or afraid of Beasts. They left their son... Okay, I just checked my notes and I have a line here that says "Mikey's obsession with soft things like animals, beards, and blankets is probably because his parents never touch him." help??

Anyway, I think an AU where Dale hovers over Dev 24/7 and is still a terrible dad would be funny. Instead of neglect, it's obsession... Especially at this age since Dev's as old as Dale was when his trauma started.

... Is Dale putting distance between himself and Dev on purpose because Dev looks exactly like him and is now the age when Dale's life came crashing down? idk if Dale had access to mirrors back then, but that's gotta be weird.

crying at Irep waiting for his cue to pull Dev's flashbacks down from the top of the screen. They rehearsed this. Painfully in-character (In "Secret Wish," Foop claims he waited 10 minutes outside so he could burst in at a dramatic moment).

The way Irep twists his legs gives me Anti-Cosmo vibes.

Rare "Winn without cap" spotted in the wild.

Dev has the room oriented the wrong direction and in doing so, he forgot to include the door. Emotionally, he's stuck in this room. lmao.

Maybe it's a class that's not Guzman's since we know from "Multiverse of Jenkins" that these kids do attend other classes. But... Dev, what's goin' on, buddy?

INCREDIBLY funny to me that Bev sits directly in front of Dev? I gotta go back and fact-check that sometime. Has he been harboring his crush on her because she's right there? That's great!

??? If she DOESN'T sit there then I have to assume Dev is just so Bev-centric that he WANTS her to be there, and that's very funny. Go chase your sporty crush, rich boy. I support you.

Okay, I went back, and it seems his canon seat is between Bev and Kev (with Kev behind Hazel), but Kev vaporizes when we need to center Hazel and Dev onscreen at the same time (such as Dev faking sick and Hazel glaring at him). Oh my glob, he's another witch... Dev, embrace your ancestral witch-hunting for me, plz and ty. It would be funny... /checks my witch notes as a joke and screeches to a halt. Oh my goodness, I could finally get a Soil Tribe child in my roster... I have their magic down as "causes host to fade unnoticed into the background," and it would be very funny to do something magical with the child model. ??? On my first watch of "28 Puddings Later," I don't think I saw that scene of Dev falling over and losing his shades when the pudding throne collapses. Must've missed it while taking notes. That's cute.

I like how Dev's memories are 2D like the photos we've seen throughout the series. Also, Hazel's so dang cute.

I'm glad Dale's pants look the same in both the New Wish and old 2D style despite no FOP character ever wearing anything with that many dots.

I like that Dev's hair is much shinier than his dad's, implying Dale still has the dullness that comes with being soft instead of slick.

- I'm assuming this means either Dev's hair is gelled or he gets that from the maternal side of his family? - idk man, this is very in line with my "Dev's mom is a Leadly" headcanon... At this point, I can't NOT torment him with two very rich and extremely messed-up sides of his family... They both have extreme branding and weird fixations and funky buildings and run big businesses that have brought in incredible amounts of money and they like tech and call people the wrong names... do you see what I see...

I'm DELIGHTED Dale's hair curls up in the back. I've been so sad that he lost his tuft when he grew up. This is clever.

!!! oh yeah, Dale has his dad's stripe! Technically he and Dev both have the stripe, but I love the subtle differences in their hair. While collecting screenshots for an earlier post, I noticed the hair above their ears is combed in different directions, like this:

- with Dale showing the stripe much more clearly than Dev does. I like the implication that Dev's stripe is gold. That's really cute.

I checked, and the gold streak does seem to be in the place he has the Dimmadome family stripes in his 2D form (Eyebrow level). Neat!!

Aw, Irep's a big boy! And his hair grew out blue!! Parents' genes came out kickin'. I did wonder. I think it's funny his mustache and goatee are still black.

Despite losing the black hair, he's not yet immune from "Irep, are you sure one of your parents wasn't actually pixie?" allegations. This is stupid funny to me... In my Cloudlands AU, the Anti-Fairies are always dunking on him for having black hair like Anti-Cosmo's ex-wife, but no one can say anything because unlike Anti-Cosmo's first heir (Talon), Foop was born with the iris virus (colored eyes), so he's "been accepted by the nature spirits" and is heir apparent.

... Seeing this many colored eyes is giving me incredible amounts of anxiety, but it would not be appropriate to clarify why out of context. I like the guy with hair over his eyes and a big hat.

Is Irep leading the charge these days? Do the Anti-Fairies take orders from him?

Did Anti-Cosmo step down!? Because considering how much he hates conflict, I wouldn't be slightly surprised, omg...

I think it's funny that if Dev uncovers any official documents or watches memory clips that flashback to Irep's past crimes, he'd probably be like "Why is there no paper trail for this Irep guy? who tf is Foop?"

WAS that his experience of browsing the anti-web? I have to assume it was- I can't imagine Anti-Fairy World would cross his path without Foop's name coming up.

?? Considering that in my previous post, I said I couldn't think of any reason for Anti-Cosmo to desire taking over Fairy World unless he managed to score the earth and/or godkids out of it...

I'm so glad Dev just dropped "They have to take over Fairy World so they can rule Earth." slkdfj?? okay...

Irep: Now we can rule BOTH! Anti-Cosmo: That just sounds like scoring godkids with extra work.

THEM!! I am once again so intrigued by the lore that A.J. went into parascience and is following in Crocker's footsteps?? You've no idea how much I need to know what the A.J.-Crocker relationship is.

crying at Irep making a peace sign when he gets in front of the camera with Dev. Doesn't he do that in his profile pic on Dark Laser's phone? He's literally the same person he's always been. I missed him so much.

PLEASE do not tell me Dev's full name is Development "Devin" Dimmadome. The quote marks Dale puts around "Devin" are making me lose it.

Dale's partner: Honey, can you stop thinking about business for 5 minutes so we can pick a name for our son? Dale, who comes from a family that usually just slaps their name on things: I got this.

?? I'd LOVE to know what's going on with Dev's mom. Did she die in childbirth and had no say in naming her son, and Dale took over from there? Is she alive, but divorced from and/or passive around him?

Like... I have to assume she had the most exquisite prenatal care through a rich family like this, especially if we assume she also came from a wealthy family cough- Leadlys.

Holy flipping plot twist, does Dev not have a mom at all? He looks exactly like his extraordinarily wealthy dad. Was he just cloned so Dale could pass the business on someday? Did Dale just kinda buy him and wait for the surrogate to hand him over, and he never formed any attachment to him as a baby because he had the O-Pairs / au pairs raise him? lmao!!!

Traumatized beyond belief for 7 years by a girl his age so he trusts absolutely no one and never learned what a healthy relationship was like even with a partner, let alone his son. smh.

Actually, it's very funny to think of him and Vicky splitting up. Like, it was extremely toxic and not romantic in the slightest, but she straight-up identified him when she saw his face in "Operation: Birthday Takeback" even though logically, that would have been 70 years since she was last close to him. She probably knew him pretty well, especially since his hair has changed.

Timmy can't have frozen the timestream any earlier than Channel Chasers in Season 4 when he learns he'll lose Cosmo, Wanda, and his memories when he grows up, which is the reason he cites for freezing time in "Timmy's Secret Wish," and that was 50+ years. It's been 20 more on top of that for Dale to grow up and his son to turn 10. We know Vicky and Doug Dimmadome very, very occasionally crossed paths in later seasons (Vicky tries to sell him the Stryker Z in Season 3's "Engine Blocked").

If anyone cares, this (Season 3) is presumably where Dale grew up unless Doug took him to Dimmadelphia.

Like?? Something about the fact that Vicky and Dale are the same age is funny as heck to me. New Wish canon heavily implies Vicky's been taking advantage of Dale since they were 9, and they might've been friends once upon a time (despite the fact that in both New Wish and the OG series, she can never remember who the Dimmadomes are, lol).

There's no way Doug did a good job of looking for him, or Vicky would've turned him in for reward money. I wonder if Dale had a history of sneaking off to play with Vicky and just never came home one day.

Do you think that after her bossing him around for 7 years, Dale was really messed up and didn't know how to make choices for himself?

Oh, that's awful!! Who would write a 'fic about him running away to look for Vicky and beg her to take him back because he doesn't know how to be a person anymore and needs schedules and instruction? Who would do that?? I'm fascinated by their dark, twisted, and incredibly under-explained vibe. Haha, I'm in danger...

oh no, and Dev even told us his father relies on algorithms over his own thoughts, and we KNOW Dale was upset his publicity team said he should talk to people face to face instead of sending the O-Pairs or hiding behind holograms... A snarky Dev told us he thinks "talking to people isn't [Dale's] thing..." I'm connecting the dots...

hey wtf. does Dale have issues with scraping by in the dirt and dark with limited food and water and nothing to his name for 7 years and that's why he freaks out when he loses money? He can't handle the thought of not having a house??

Holy flip, I wish he'd communicate his trauma to his son, but I'm yelling that we keep seeing hints that he's withholding things from Dev. Like ?? Dale explains his thoughts all the time (in monologue fashion), but he's clearly keeping some things under wraps since Dev didn't have any concept for who Vicky was or why she knew his dad.

I genuinely think Dale doesn't want Dev to know the details. Dev didn't even seem to have a good grasp of why he isn't allowed lemonade, or at least that was my read considering how grumpy he was about it.

omg, this is horrible. who would write a 'fic about Dale taking his son camping and then slipping off to have a total meltdown where Dev won't see. who would do that.

Like, I think at this point they're so rich, you'd have to assume they're not at risk of losing everything if Dale took time off work, but we KNOW he's stuck on that schedule Vicky raised him with (working on Saturdays, which we see him do multiple times), and we KNOW he's always trying to claw his way up despite having the money to buy literally anything he could ever want.

And we KNOW Dale's big thing is that he loses his entire flippin' mind when the money slows down ("You still making sales?" / "Yes, but they're dropping, Dev!") and he's willing to stalk and hurt people to keep it coming in.

Y'know, this is continuing my theory that Doug Dimmadome is probably dead. I legit think Dale lost his support system (possibly around Dev's birthday considering how clingy he is about boots and says they came into his life on that day, plus the golden boots with the "In honor" plaque he has in his house). Daddy's not bailing him out of this one...

Lovely that Dale's first words to Dev after finding out he's taken over Fairy World are "My son." Oh, NOW he wants to talk...

I also find out my son is working with the fey and immediately drop his full legal name.

Why is Dale both the worst person alive and the only dad ever? I need to flatten him with a cruise liner (carnally).

Happy boy... (Dev, don't trust him.)

omfg, Irep's not buying this for a second.

?? I feel like it makes things WORSE that Dale seems at least a little aware of how upset Dev is about the boots? "I'm so proud of my son; it almost makes me want to throw away my boots." - There's no way he doesn't know he's been screwing with Dev's head for the last 5 months. omg.

- Hey, does Dale treat Dev this way because Doug made Dale feel like he was playing second fiddle to his giant hats?? I can't help but notice this whole city has a hat theme, yet Dale doesn't seem to care for hats at all... which is interesting, because we know Dimmadelphia existed way before Doug got here. Doug in my theory: /died 10 years ago Dale: If I touch Dad's hats or add boot statues around the city, he'll totally kill me. - ?? I guess the alt theory is that Dale put all the hat stuff up as memorials to his dad, which doesn't sound far-fetched since again... he keeps THIS in his house:

... Huh. I guess it could be a trophy for Dale instead of a memorial. That's another relevant time to use "In honor." What does it say about me that "omg his dad is dead and he bronzed his boots as a keepsake" was my first thought when I saw this in "Operation: Birthday Takeback" and not "Dale is successful of his own merit"? Obsessed with the implication that Dev's brand image is his sunglasses... Three Dimmadomes go down in history: The Hat, The Boots, and The Shades.

I still think Dale should have a gun. Not to be helpful; just to keep things spicy...

Please go to the Fairy Armory: the one place in Fairy World that canonically keeps power during blackouts. I am begging. I feel like his Southern daddy would want this for him. Doug had a flamethrower.

Is Dev still holding those magic grenades, and what would happen if someone tackled him in a hug?

SDLJKFSDKLFJSDF I'm on the floor. Did I call it? No way... But is Anti-Cosmo only going to show up now that Dev's giving godkids to Anti-Fairies??

Irep: Yo, I'm going to take over Fairy World; anyone want anything? Anti-Cosmo: The same thing I always want: a new child. Irep: wtf

Oh, all that time I spent speculating instead of actually watching the episode the night I started was so worth it. I was really nervous people would grump at me for how I see Anti-Cosmo, but now I feel like I was set up for a slam dunk.

Also, I like how Dev's taken over Jorgen's office. I didn't notice at first, but that's clever.

Dale is so proud despite the fact Dev taped his mouth shut and tossed him aside. That's so funny...

omg, this pit looks dark.

Will Dev torment his dad with lemonade? Is Dale going into the dark torture pit that swings open from the top like a trapdoor, which parallels his underground trauma to a T, or is that going too far?? Is Dev going to dump on his dad about Vicky? Will Dale freak out when he realizes he accidentally hired his abuser of 7 years to babysit his son? Will Dale be joining Club Redheads Who Didn't Get Mindwiped? (I hope not, because Vicky's in it). Will Dev bully his father while he has all this power and then wipe his mind?? So many questions. Find out next time...

[alittlebitofloveliness]

PLEASE write more mini fics about ponyboy and curly i love them together

Hi anon! This is the first of the PaperCut asks I'm cooking up, so I hope you like it. Sorry it took so long!

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

Curly Shepard knows he’s the hottest person alive, which is good, because he needs this to go well. 

He’s got a pair of Tim’s jeans on- they’re a bit long, but unlike his own they don’t have any stains- and he might pay for that later but right now it doesn’t matter. His muscle shirt might’ve belonged to Tim at one point or another too, but right now the important thing is that it shows off his arms. Gotta show off his gains if he’s gonna get a date for the rodeo this weekend. 

He really needs a date for the rodeo this weekend. Angela had bet him three dollars and a pack of kools he couldn’t find one and he was determined to prove her wrong. Also, he doesn’t have the scratch to spare if he loses- he’s trying to save up for a nail gun. Dally Winston told him a week ago about a guy in New York who used a modified nail gun as a weapon, and Curly wants to try it.

So, the date. He’d considered asking Catalina Perez- she’s been making eyes at him for weeks, and despite what Angela thinks he isn’t completely clueless- but he doesn’t really want to take a girl out. Girls are fine, but he’s gotta be like…nice and gentlemanly and shit and it's so boring. Besides, Angela just said he had to find a date. She didn’t say it had to be with a girl. 

There’s only one person he actually wants to ask out. Of course, Ponyboy will probably tell him to fuck off, but he tells Curly to fuck off a lot and only means it like a third of the time, so it’ll probably be fine. 

Curly flexes once more in front of the mirror (for confidence) and sticks his switchblade in his pocket. Momentarily he considers grabbing a jacket, but he didn’t spend the last three months beefing up his arms just to cover them with sleeves. Besides, it’s not that cold yet.

Angela’s in the living room with Sylvia, and he promptly decides he does not want to hear them rip him to shreds for his very cool outfit, so he climbs out his bedroom window instead. It’s good practice for gang stuff, he tells himself, because saying he doesn’t want to feel the sting of Angel’s judgemental gaze feels a lot like cowardice.

Once he’s outside he runs into a problem: he’s finally psyched himself up enough to ask Ponyboy out, but unfortunately he doesn’t have any idea where to find him.

Ok, that’s not completely true. Truth is, the guy is pretty predictable on account of his grumpy ass older brother keeping him on a leash shorter than Angel’s temper. Tim didn’t keep half so close an eye on him, and he’d done things Ponyboy probably hadn’t even dreamed of.

It wasn’t like Pony was any sort of goody two shoes. No, Curly didn’t like teacher’s pets and he liked Pony something awful. Pony just…wasn’t as dumb as him, that was all. And he had more to lose, with the state breathing down his neck and all. Curly could respect that.

He’d try the movie house first, he decided. Shit Ponkid liked movies, and anytime he went with him Ponyboy would get all pissy if he said anything about Paul Newman. (What did Pony like so much about that guy anyway? He wasn’t even that tuff looking and he talked like a soc.)

When he shows up, the movie house is empty except for a pair of socs getting handsy in the back row, so he makes his way to the library instead, hoping the old lady behind the desk has forgiven him for time he spilled Pepsi over half the books in the history section (it's not his fault ok? He got distracted.)

This time, his detective skills are as flawless as his face, and he spots a familiar head of reddish hair in the back corner near the biology section, Pony’s shoulders curled in his familiar slouch. The sight of it makes a familiar warm feeling start in his chest, like how good whiskey goes down, a feeling Angela had explained to him two days ago was ‘what a crush feels like, dumbass’ with an eye roll and a not so gentle swat on the head. Much as he hates to admit it, it’s a fairly common occurrence. He’s good at describing feelings but not naming them. Angela feels nothing, but knows what things are supposed to feel like. It works for them, even though Tim calls them weird for it. 

“Hey Ponykid!” His voice is too loud for the library and he knows it, but what’s the old bitch behind the desk gonna do? Kick him out? He could kick her ass.

Ponyboy scowls. “Shut up!” 

“You goin’ to the rodeo this weekend?” Shit. Curly had meant to build up to that, honestly he did, but Ponyboy Curtis has a way of getting him to act like a prize idiot instead of his usual cool, suave self. He hates what this crush is doing to him, and also never wants it to stop.

“No.” 

He goes back to his book. 

Rude.

“Why not?” Curly presses, leaning on the table in a way that makes his arms flex just the way he practiced. The moment is wasted though, because Pony doesn’t even glance up.

“Because.”

“Because why?” He should’ve known better than to come to the library. The only time Pony ever gets proper mad at him is this godforsaken hellhole.

“Because Angela told me you were gonna ask me out,” Pony shuts his book, a shit eating grin crossing his face, and fuck this was not part of the plan. Curly can feel his cheeks flushing and he’s not for the first time he’s glad his skin is dark enough it won’t be obvious. If Pony- or anyone else for that matter- had any idea how much he made Curly blush he’d never hear the end of it, “and she paid me a pack of kools not to say yes unless you ask again after this weekend.”

“She- she what?”

That had to be cheating. Even Tim would have to agree that was cheating, or racketeering or- or something. She was rigging their bet against him. Worse than that she’d told Ponyboy he was gonna ask him out, and now Ponyboy was prepared with his smirk and that face and whatever cologne he’s wearing which smelled so good it should probably be illegal.

“Sorry,” Ponyboy grins, not sounding sorry at all. He climbs to his feet, and Curly is suddenly acutely aware of how close they are, almost chest to chest. Pony’s maybe three inches taller, and Curly finds himself having to look up a bit into his eyes, “guess you’re gonna have to try again next week.”

Then he leans in and kisses Curly on the cheek. 

Curly’s brain melts. 

Pony must see it, because despite the slight flush on his pale cheeks, he manages to look completely smug as he turns away.

“Now fuck off, would ya Curls? I’m tryin’ to read.”

[sebastianswallows]

Tom Riddle Headcanons

— WARNINGS: none, just angst

— A/N: So, @esolean asked for some Tom headcanons. These are just very random and scattered ideas about our problematic fave.

Has exactly three emotions: anger, indifference, and obsession.

The latter is primarily exercised in the context of magical artefacts and you.

Because he grew up so unloved, he can’t really conceptualise himself as worthy of being loved, and the fact that girls fawn over him because of his looks just makes him despise them more.

Growing up under constant criticism has also made him a highly critical (and self-critical) person. He would tell you exactly what’s wrong with you, and it wouldn’t even be out of meanness, it would just be as normal as remarking about the weather.

When he actually hurts your feelings at one point, it is the first time he even notices that about himself and wonders whether he should correct it.

He decides that yes, he should, because it was the horrible muggle women at Wool’s Orphanage that made him that way and that his hyper-critical way of thinking is a parasite instilled by them rather than a natural characteristic of himself.

The more he thinks about this, the less he likes it, because what is his real self, after all? Can he even know anymore? What would’ve he been like if he had grown up like all his other peers?

But this just leads him to hate his useless Gaunt relatives and the callous muggle side of the family more.

If he’s remotely fond of anyone, it’s his Uncle Ominis.

Without getting sentimental, he finds more enjoyment in the company of animals than of people, wizards or not. Animals don’t judge, don’t complain, don’t make it painfully clear they’d rather be anywhere else but in his presence. Animals just accept him as he is.

Which means that he excels at Beasts class, being on par with Rubeus Hagrid in spite of being a skinny little city boy with delicate hands.

The girls take this as a sign that he’s such a gentle, caring person. They don’t realise he’d rather pet a Kneazle than spend time with them.

You would be an exception, of course, because his being good with animals would not surprise you at all. Of course Tom is good at everything.

Has encountered all the snakes on Hogwarts grounds by his second year and stays informed on snake society gossip.

He may or may not ask little grass snakes to follow you around and report back to him if you’re seeing any other boys.

He’s more than once fallen asleep while reading.

Keeps himself awake while studying at night by sucking on sour candies.

Doesn’t like mornings. Doesn’t like evenings. Hates every single day that he’s alive. Lives out of spite, mostly.

Likes night time though, because he can sneak into the Restricted Section.

Pretends he’s ignorant of most muggle devices, like cars and radios, in the hope that his Slytherin colleagues will be more accepting of him.

Physically, a very skinny boy. His elbows hurt after laying them on the desk for hours and hours while writing. His hip bones show. He can count his own ribs. He doesn’t feel very confident about his body, so he decides to pay no attention to it.

His hands and feet are always cold. His body can never muster up enough blood that he could blush. He gets papercuts easily and heals quite slowly.

It takes him months to realise — during a random moment while he’s pouring himself a cup of pumpkin juice — that your offering to “kiss it better” was actually flirting.

The first time he got sick was while he was at Hogwarts. While he was at the orphanage, he seemed to have subconsciously known that he couldn’t afford to get sick, so at the first opportunity, his body reacted against everything that had built up in him.

He’s good at maintaining his health once he gets it back, mainly for practical reasons: the healthier he is, the more he can spend time studying.

The first time he’s invited to a wealthy friend’s home for spring break, he realises he hates wizards almost as much as he hates muggles. The parents in turn admire him for his good grades, are envious of him for his bloodline, and talk down to him because of his mixed blood and his growing up poor.

For the first time, Tom doesn’t feel any more at home in the magical world than in the muggle world. He has a touch of an existential crisis over it for a few weeks before he just channels that into feeling more angry and determined to beat them all at their own game (magic)

He ignores your encouragement, along with everyone else’s, that he should be employed by the Ministry once he graduates because what he really wants is to teach DADA and “collect” students just like Professor Slughorn did.

And he’s kind of surprised that you stick by him anyway and move into a squalid flat on Knockturn Alley when he gets that soul-sucking job at Borgin and Burkes instead.

[pumpkinsy0]

PUMPKIN I NEED YOU TO GIVE ME AS MANY REASONS WHY PURLY IS THE BEST SHIP!! MY FRIEND IS TRYING TO CONVINCE ME THAT IT SUCKS AND I NEED TO PROVE HER WRONG

-🍵🧊

this feels like the equivalent of giving the bat signal in the sky for me to come

ANYWAYS LETS GO🚨🚨🚨

shipping papercut is like making a sandwich at subway, u can say it sucks all u want, but my brother in christ, U made it that way, this ship is like one of thee “u can do whatever the fuck u want w these two and u can make it make sense” ship u can possibly have in this fandom, if u dont like papercut, maybe its just UR rendition of it u dont like, pick it up n try it again w different things added to it to see if u like it🙄🙄

this ship is literally at the VERY BASE of it, opposites that compliment each other attracting and high school sweethearts and ur telling me ur not at least a lil interested🤨🤨AND I WASNT KISSING W THE ARTISTIC LIBERTY U CAN TAKE W THESE TWO, they can literally be enemies to lovers, that aloof couple trope, fake dating that turned real, u can even make ur own way on how they got together, u can pick and choose its like an all u can eat buffet, ur not rlly “trapped by canon” here

these r literally two dumbasses together like all the time, just imagine the dumb but sweet things they find themselves doin, and the ppl they annoy, just have a heart

if u like angst, curly was in the reformatory for 6 months after ponys life was quite literally changed forever, curly doesnt quite understand his own emotions, pony tries to see the good in the world while curlys always in trouble, AND THERES OTHERS IF U JUST DIP UR TOES INTO SHIPPING EM, the angst potential is RIGHT there🗣️🗣️

at the very base of this ship, theres nothing wrong w it, theres no weird age gap, they wouldnt be abusive towards each other, and ik some ppl have issues w this but also, but its a rare “not dating within the gang” ship, so u would HAVE to go out of ur WAY to make it weird, literally nothing wrong w this ship

if u love the relationship pony has w the gang, this ship can definitely help u expand on ponys relationship w everyone as a whole and u can show off just how protective the guys can become when it comes to pony in his own romantic relationships, what other ship u know is doin that🤨🤨BARELY ANY OF EM IF U DID NAME SOME🗣️🗣️🗣️

honestly same thing goes w the shepards, theres no other ship where u have angela and tim’s relationships w curly being explored through any other ship

while pony and curly r friends during the outsiders, its obvious they arent THAT close to each other, and so what i find interesting about this ship is that u can imagine their own little relationship actually building up and the trust in each other growing, as time goes on, i just think its cool to see them actually flourish, just make something entirely new because of the other and with each other, in a different way from other ships in this fandom

im a literal suckerrrr for cultural hcs so i love when theres cultural aspects actually shown with this ship i think its so cool bc it can get pretty intimate, like curly showing and introducing pony to parts of his culture???? so intimate actually SO underrated, and thats rlly only something i see done w the shepards and it rubs off on this ship as well and i love it 1000/10 (while we here can i convince u of haitian shepards🤔🤔 /lh)

they have shared experiences!!! yes they r opposites attract but they r also just some guys who r put in the same situation, trying to navigate life and protect each other, together, and even in their personal lives, theres things that should push them away from the other but it doesnt, they r this fandoms ship equivalent of the indomitable human spirit and thats all bc they r stupid lil dudes together

are u not a sucker for a guy whos pretty much been closed off emotionally a good chunk of his life finding someone to share his life w and finally finding learning to chillax once in a while w that person and that person alone cause theyre special to em?? boooooo🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱thats such a good trope

this is like the only ship where u actually have “rival” gangs interacting w each other,,,WHERE IS UR SENSE OF ADVENTURE

every shipper of them is literally so cool, like literally, ive never met a shitty shipper of these two, shipping them is like having a vip pass, and its not even like a huge group of ppl, its a small community, we r like a quiet village, unlike SOME SHIPS HERE🙄🙄

ANYWAYS i rest my case, ur just bein a lil haterrrr

if this aint convince ur friend that they arent at least a lil good, the problem isnt the ship,,,its ur friend,,,drop em immediately, but if this did??? welcome to the cool club

[yeosangs-horizon]

Kazuki Kurusu as Your Lover ❣

Genre: Headcanons | Fluff + Smut Word Count: 2k Content Warning(s): Mentions of somnophilia, light BDSM, intoxication, discussion of nsfw ideas/kinks

⊲ SFW HCs: [gn!reader] ⊳

➵ Kazuki is a dedicated man to his partner, when he dates you he imagines a future with you and would stop fooling around with anybody else he is seeing weeks before he asks you out. 

➵ Kazuki has to make sure you’re a good fit in the family with Rei and Miri before bringing you into their lives. He wants a lifelong romantic partner sure, but he puts his family as a priority as well. 

➵ Kazuki fell for you when he noticed you as a regular at Kyu’s cafe back in the day and as a regular at his new diner.

➵ You interacted with Miri back then before at the cafe and have been acquainted with them during their old life so she definitely remembers you which makes Kazuki smile.

➵ You fell for Kazuki’s humorous charm and his fatherly caring nature. 

➵ Kazuki loves to make sure you are pampered by him. Whatever you are craving he’ll make for you. Wherever you want to go, he’ll try his best to plan a trip with you there. 

➵ Kazuki appreciates you doing household chores with him, it’s a way the two of you bonded as Miri is always busy and Rei mans the front of the diner so things get pushed to the side in their own living space. 

➵ Kazuki loves to be open and communicate with you to avoid misunderstandings and fights. He’s very patient with you and will hear you out, even if you may be the one in the wrong. 

➵ Kazuki is a gentleman in the fact that he’ll hold doors open for you, take you to fancy places, and put your needs first when you’re in public. 

➵ Kazuki is really good with his mouth and tongue, not like that, well… he adores flirting with you and making you blush up a storm.

➵ At home, Kazuki is very domestic and loves just daily routine with you. He doesn’t find it boring tag teaming dishes with you or folder clothes together.

➵ Kazuki loves to cook new recipes for you. He asks for your opinion in a dish that he contemplates about adding to the diner and he appreciates your honest and critiques better than Rei and Miri because sometimes, they have a very specific opinions about taste.

➵ Kazuki is a very openly jealous lover. He hates it when people flirt with you and will make it a point to call them out for it and tell them that you are his. 

➵ Kazuki is also an overprotective lover, not a bad sense. He’ll always ask to make sure you’re doing okay or comfortable in a given situation. If you get a muscle twinge or an accidental papercut, he’ll treat it like you broke a bone but give you the upmost care to make sure you are not in pain or discomfort. 

➵ Kazuki loves your appearance, no matter what you wear or put on your body he’ll always compliment you and try to boost your confidence, because he means it like that.

➵ Kazuki would always try to impress you and take your opinions into his consideration. If you mention that you would rather go without his facial hair, he’d shave it immediately for you. If you mention that you wanted to match outfits, he’d change for you in a heartbeat. You’d always find him attractive or charming though. 

➵ Kazuki’s dream date with you is taking you out for a dance on a cruise ship with just the two of you to preserve that intimacy and privacy. 

➵ When Kazuki has the chance to, he loves traveling with you and exploring the world with you. Of course he’d love to bring Rei and Miri along, but he acknowledges that some journeys are reserved for the two of you. 

➵ Kazuki is a very physically clingy person and will show lots of PDA. You’re walking in public? Your hand is being held by him. You’re waiting in line? He’ll offer you his shoulder to lean on. He wouldn’t be obnoxious about this but he loves giving you small pecks on the forehead or cheek just to show you off to the world as his. 

➵ Kazuki loves your cuddles and spooning you. He loves how small your figure is next to him. He is also a sucker for your kisses.

➵ Something that makes Kazuki really melt is the times when you would just lovingly make out with him in bed. It doesn’t always lead to anything explicit but the times when he would just hold you and let his heart take over in pampering you with kisses and press your mouths together for minutes at a time. 

➵ Kazuki loves waking up to you still in his arms and sharing your warmth, especially in the winter. He saves on heater bills sometimes because of you. 

➵ Kazuki likes to be very cheesy with you, tell you that you’re his world and play with your fingers or hair while whispering sweet nothings to you. He blushes easily when in vulnerable moments like that with you. 

➵ When the two of you have to do long distance, Kazuki would constantly be texting you asking how you are doing and that he misses you lots. 

➵ Kazuki would want to call you at any given time if the two of you are long distance for awhile. He is a sucker for sleeping on call too and hearing your voice. 

➵ The one thing Kazuki would not be open about is how much ‘wrong’ he did when he was doing ‘bad business’. He doesn’t like talking about that time with you, not because he’s afraid of your judgment, he doesn’t want you to get involved in any way just in case of the risk of the organization coming back to hurt him and god forbid, you.

➵ You are easy to talk to when it comes to Kazuki sharing the most painful parts of his life such as his time with Yuzuko and his lost child. You bring comfort to him very easily and even Karin has met you and loves you. 

➵ Kazuki loves watching you be silly when you think you’re alone in the house. He loves seeing you dance around to your music while you’re cleaning, you bring him so much joy.

➵ Kazuki loves switching clothes with you. The two of you share sweaters and hoodies all the time. You love his smell and if he’s away for awhile, you’ll sleep in his clothes to pretend he’s next to you. 

➵ Kazuki hates arguing with you and it rarely ever happens. He is reasonable and you are open to minded many ideas and situations. 

➵ The biggest argument the two of you would have is over rice, the one time you messed up by putting too much water in the rice and learned that Kazuki likes his rice overcooked and you hated the texture. 

➵ The two of you rely on each other for help equally. You need his assistance with certain chores like unclogging the sink sometimes whereas he needs your knowledge on how to sew certain loops or use a sewing machine. 

➵ Overall he is happy to share his life with you and he would absolutely be the one to ask for your hand in marriage a year or two after your domestic life with him starts. 

➵ Kazuki trusts you with his world and you are all that he’s ever wanted. When Miri goes off to college, he even thinks about having a kid of your own with him if that is what you so desired. 

➵ Kazuki puts up pictures of the two of you on his desk so he can stare at them every time he goes on his computer and treasures the ones that you are in with him, Rei, and Miri like a true family. 

⊲  NSFW HCs: [fem!reader] ⊳

➵ Kazuki loves sex with you. The two of you get freaky on most nights, especially in the start of your relationship with him. 

➵ You in general are a turn on for Kazuki so not much is needed for him to be aroused and ready for you. 

➵ Kazuki is very vocal with you in bed. He loves to dirty talk to you knowing that it is a turn on for you. 

➵ Kazuki focuses on your pleasure first before his own although he definitely feels good if you show that you’re enjoying what he’s doing.

➵ The two of you got spicy pretty early on in your relationship, it all went from a casual make out session on the couch when Rei and Miri were out to your first time together on his bed and he treated you like royalty.

➵ When Kazuki knows the two of you are about to get frisky and he makes out with you, he gets hard really fast and makes it known to you that he wants you.

➵ You know when Kazuki is horny in general just because he makes it known. In the morning if he wakes up with morning wood, he’ll grind on your ass if time permits and you are alone with him. If he’s needy when you’re lounging on the couch, he’ll be kissing up on you more than usual and letting his hands wander. 

➵ Kazuki loves your touch so much. He can easily finish if you just give him a handjob, but he usually prefers longer sessions than that. 

➵ Kazuki loves to be in control, he tries to top but a lot of the time ends up as a bottom but he doesn’t mind. He’s a switch and so are you when it comes to your relationship.

➵ Kazuki will suggest new ideas to spice things up in bed and run it by you before doing them obviously. You’ll also ask him to try new things too such as asphyxiation which he did not like or food play which he secretly enjoyed licking whipped cream off of your nude form. 

➵ You once suggested to bind Kazuki’s wrists together as a light attempt at BDSM and he enjoyed it more than he’d like to admit. He likes being in control sometimes but also at your wits when you have full control of teasing him and making him beg. 

➵ You enjoy Kazuki begging for your touch a lot more than you like to admit. 

➵ Kazuki loves consensual somnophilia with you. He loves the idea of waking you up with him inside of you. 

➵ Kazuki also really enjoyed intoxicated sex with you, consensually agreed upon before of course. Things get more heated when the two of you feel silly.

➵ Kazuki is too possessive for to fully enjoy exhibitionism but he loves to tease you in public and grind against you when the two of you are alone in a public setting or about to return home.

➵ Kazuki fucks himself to pictures of you a lot. You love sending him images of yourself in lingerie or full on nudes and every image of you being seductive goes into his spank bank.

➵ Kazuki has a couple toys of his own, nothing too fancy just a vibrator and a fleshlight, maybe the occasional dildo. Just for you though, he would allow you to buy a strap on to fuck him with if you were really into it. 

➵ Kazuki really loves to mark you as his with hickies where people can see them, just to show off that you’re his. He loves to make you feel effects of the night prior in a good way. You enjoy it too knowing that he was the one who was rough with you, making you moan.

➵ Kazuki loves penetration with you, feeling your walls and feeling that intimacy with you. 

➵ You also adore it when Kazuki eats you out, he’s really good with his mouth and his tongue, yes like that. 

➵ Kazuki has a very high libido, he can go for multiple rounds and realistically tire you out before he’s exhausted himself. 

➵ Kazuki may be rough during love making but he treats you with amazing aftercare. He will run a shower for you and clean you up and massage your body if you’re really sore. 

[apple-orchards-writings]

Rich kid Kylar whose parents hired you as a bodyguard

Gn! Kylar x Gn! Reader

TW: fake dating (kinda, reader is just mostly super oblivious), mentions of bullying, getting hurt, car crashes but really they’re just passing mentions

After one too many bullying incidents, Kylar’s parents , instead of letting them apply for online courses like they’ve been begging to, hire a bodyguard close to their age to let them go to school in peace. They resent you before even meeting you, reasoning that his parents will have employed a no-nonsense old guy who won’t even let them sneak out and hang at the arcade without alerting their parents, but imagine their surprise when you come in through the door, all polite and chipper (really you’re just nervous, this is your first job and you want to make a good first impression). You look radiant, like you’ve descended from heaven just to protect them, like a guardian angel.

They’re immediately taken with you, instantly dropping the sneer and snobby attitude they’d prepared for your arrival. Taken off guard, they stutter and blush through introducing themselves. You take the time to study them through their fast paced bumbling, and really, they’re not at all what you expected. They’re wearing baggy clothes, their hair looks greasy, and their neck and face are overwhelmingly red. You feel bad for them, that looks like a bad sunburn.

You’re tasked with following them from a distance at school and stepping in when necessary, but they’re so eager to show you off and introduce you as their partner to everyone in the general vicinity, they end up dragging you all over the school. You’re not sure if you should correct them, maybe they’re saying it on purpose to get their bullies to back off, you can be pretty intimidating after all. Either way, it seems to be working, as soon enough, the whole corridor is deserted and you’re left with Kylar hanging off your arm (maybe they were nervous?), eagerly leading you towards their first class of the day.

Here starts the weirdest job of your life (and if Kylar has anything to say about it, your first and last). They seem more eager to protect you than you are. God forbid you get the smallest of papercuts, they’re slapping a bandage on it as fast as they can, offering to kiss it better. Should you ever get hurt protecting them from something actually serious, like a car crash or a stalker (oh the irony), Kylar will make it their life’s mission to hunt down the person responsible and use their innumerable resources to make their life a living hell before eventually killing them off in an atrocious manner. Throughout all that, they’ll nurse you back to health lovingly and tenderly (and with the worst soup you’ve ever had, seriously what did they put in this?), whether you want/need it. Kylar will never tell you about the revenge they take in your name of course, you shouldn’t worry about them, even if it’s practically your job, just sit there and look pretty as they draw you with enthusiasm for the 12th time this week. They cannot wait for the day they can rework your contract in order to make you their sweet and loving spouse. After all, surely all your zeal towards protecting them so well has to mean something ?

(sorry this one's so short, work started up again, and uni will soon too... hope you enjoy!)

[fullmetalscullyy]

day 8 - the confession

12 days - 12 oneshots | a collection of oneshots to celebrate royai

rated: g | words: 1890

read on ao3

“They really weren’t kidding.”

Roy stiffened when he felt Riza’s breath on his neck as she leaned over his shoulder.

“You are hopeless at wrapping gifts.”

Despite her proximity doing unfair things to his heart and scrambling his thoughts, his defeat was still felt. It still tugged down his shoulders as they slumped.

“I’m trying.”

“I know,” she placated sympathetically. She patted his shoulder, and the unexpected contact sent a bolt of electricity across his skin.

Roy gritted his teeth while his back was turned and forced down his feelings.

They were strong. Incredibly so. He’d become a pro at masking them over the years to avoid making Riza uncomfortable. That was the last thing he wanted. They were good friends. Best friends. And he wouldn’t be the one to ruin it by blurting out that he loved her and had done so for as long as he could remember.

It was better to keep them buried deep within. He was fairly certain she didn’t feel the same way as him. There was nothing but platonic friendship between them, and there never would be an avenue for anything else, anything further.

And that suited Roy just fine. He would welcome it with open arms if it meant he even had a relationship with Riza. If friendship was all she was able to offer him, he wouldn’t hold it against her. He would still cherish it and hold it dear.

But it was getting worse. Getting harder to bury it all down deep and stop things from slipping out. Just a week ago he’d been compelled so strongly to reveal all that when he caught himself, when he realised where his mind had wandered, he’d been horrified.

Their friends told him to tell her.

He told them no.

They watched him suffer in silence but had been sworn to secrecy.

If he was going to do it, he’d do it his own way.

It wasn’t cowardly to keep it to himself. They’d been friends for forever and his feelings had blossomed and grew naturally. But Riza’s hadn’t. She showed no interest whatsoever, so Roy pined and suffered through it.

He’d rather have her friendship than nothing at all.

“I’m a lost cause.”

Riza rounded the table, shaking her head. “You’re not a lost cause,” she replied softly. “You just need some guidance. Some practice. Here.”

She placed her hands over his and began to move them.

Roy fumbled and gave himself a papercut.

“You okay?”

“Fine,” he managed to force out.

Roy knew she was staring at him in concern, but he kept his focus on the paper beneath his hands.

“What we need is some wine. I’ll get some. We can make a night of it.”

Riza wandered off into her kitchen and once he was out of view Roy gave up with the wrapping paper. His spine slumped and he pinched his eyes, bringing his fingers to meet at the bridge of his nose.

He was like a lovestruck teenager.

A hopeless fool.

His aunt told him he was stumbling now because it had been going on for so long. Emotionally, he was exhausted. He shouldn’t be putting himself under this stress, this fight.

He should just tell her or let her go. One or the other.

The latter physically pained him to think about.

Roy almost did tell her when Riza walked back into the room. She was stunning in the glow emitted by the twinkling lights which decorated her living room. An indulgent smile spread across her face as she approached, two full wine glasses in hand.

Red wine.

After taking a sip and thanking her, he realised it was his favourite wine.

She’d bought it just for him.

Roy’s heart clenched within his chest.

It was going to be a long night.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

When Riza suggested wine she hadn’t intended for them both to get tipsy. It was simply meant to loosen Roy up. He’d looked so tense and troubled she thought it might help. She’d scoured shop after shop that afternoon too for his favourite wine, ending up going into three different ones before finding one which stocked it. He’d been under a lot of stress recently from his job and looked run and worn down, so she’d wanted to do something nice for him. She’d wanted to treat him because he deserved it.

He deserved someone who would go through the effort to treat him like that.

They’d abandoned their present wrapping. It got sloppier and sloppier as time passed and they eventually ended up collapsing into a fit of giggles together.

Now, Riza was curled up on her couch while Roy lay flat on his back on the rug on her floor. Something in her mind urged her to tell him to get up so he wasn’t lying down, but it was fleeting.

Plus, he looked so good from this angle…

Hayate had eventually ventured over to him. Roy played with Riza’s pup, talking to him as if he were human and could understand him. Once Roy had fallen onto his elbows, then his back, Hayate had curled up tight against his side and started to snooze. It warmed her heart to know her pup trusted and liked him as much as she did. It was so important to her, but in her hazy thoughts she couldn’t really think why.

“I like this apartment,” he mumbled randomly to no one in particular.

“I like it too,” Riza agreed.

“I wish I could live here.” His eyes batted open, and he stared wistfully up at her ceiling. “It would be so good to live here.”

“Live here?”

He nodded emphatically. “I would love it. Living here with Hayate, with you. I would love it.”

The shock was slowly penetrating the hold alcohol had on her mind. What was he talking about?

“I would love it…” Roy trailed off and Riza thought he might have fallen asleep.

She swayed when she stood but took careful, measured steps over to him. Riza crouched by his side and peered over him. The urge to poke his cheek to check if he was awake was strong.

“Roy?” Fear started to creep into her voice, afraid he’d passed out on his back, and she’d have to move him.

His eyes blinked open when she gave into the urge and poked his cheek. A smile spread across his face. His eyes peered up into hers and although they were glassy, there was true, genuine emotion behind that.

It made Riza’s heart thunder within her chest.

“I’d love living here with you, just like I love you.”

The apartment was filled with a deafening silence as Roy peered earnestly up into her eyes, willing her to understand him. To reciprocate.

“We’d be so good together, Riza,” he slurred, but she could tell he meant it. There was honesty in his voice. He felt very passionately about this fact. “So, so good.”

His eyelids drooped and within moments he was asleep, snoring softly.

Unable to process his confession just yet, Riza turned him onto his side and sat down on the rug, facing him, dumbstruck.

She watched over his sleeping form, making sure he was okay, as she started to sort through her thoughts.

And, secretly, Riza was inclined to agree with him. They really would be.

Riza… She’d never dreamed he’d feel that way about her. He was always… not exactly indifferent but shrugged any implications off. It caused Riza’s heart to yearn – though she’d never tell anyone, too terrified to be rejected by the one person she cherished most in this world – but he was her friend. He’d always been her friend, for as long as she could remember. Her best friend. They shared a bond others commented on and mentioned how close they were. She supposed it was only natural her feelings would grow deeper over time. And it was only recently she’d come to the realisation.

The only issue was telling him.

Riza hadn’t the faintest clue how.

Not to mention the potential of rejection. Riza knew Roy would be kind about it, understanding, but she didn’t think she could live with the sting or the embarrassment if it happened. She didn’t think she’d be able to hang out with him anymore and that thought terrified her most of all.

No, it was best to play it safe.

Bury her feelings and suffer alone in silence.

She’d rather have Roy in her life than out of it.

He was her rock. Her safe place. She didn’t know what she’d do without him.

She loved him too.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *  

When Roy awoke he tried to turn but his back protested painfully. He let out a grunt and whimpered as pain shot up his spine.

Movement to his left made him pause. He thought it was Hayate but the sigh which came from the warm body lying across his chest was feminine. It most certainly didn’t belong to a dog.

It was Riza.

She’d tucked her head beneath his chin so it lay directly atop his heart.

Roy’s mind emptied. It blanked.

“Roy?”

He froze. Like a deer caught in headlights. A feeling of dread washed over him, but he didn’t quite know why. He searched his mind desperately to try and remember the previous evening, but it was a struggle. The memories didn’t come to him when he called upon them. Then he turned frantic.

“I can hear you thinking.”

He glanced down at Riza, still lying in his arms, staring up at him with her gorgeous eyes and a smile.

If anyone were to ask him his favourite colour, it would be the colour of Riza Hawkeye’s eyes.

The hand which she’d rested on his chest patted it lightly and made his breath escape his lungs. His throat constricted as he tried to swallow.

“Good morning.” He attempted to sound casual, but it came out as a croak.

Riza didn’t reply to his greeting. Instead, she cocked her head to consider him. He felt like he was beneath the microscope, but he remained captured by her scrutiny. He’d let her stare at him like this for eternity if she wished.

He’d do anything for her.

“Do you remember last night? What you said?”

Oh… Oh No. No, no, no!

Oh god. Had he – Did she –

Panicked, he searched her gaze. Riza didn’t appear angry at him, but he couldn’t be certain what he’d said –

“Relax,” she urged softly. She ran her hand over his chest and down his stomach, causing his muscles to jump and bunch up at the contact. “It was nothing bad.”

Roy swallowed and finally managed to get the words out. “It wasn’t?”

Riza shook her head and a slow smile spread across her face. It grew wider and wider, causing her eyes to twinkle with pure joy.

“Nope.” She even popped the ‘p’. “But I want you to remember it. Do you remember it?”

Roy grimaced. “I don’t –”

Then the memory hit him like a two-tonne truck.

“I’d love living here with you, just like I love you.”

Oh…

“And just so you know, I would love it as well.” Her eyes fairly sparkled with mischief and glee.

Hope seized him, fizzling out the panic.

“Because I love you too.”

kudos and kind comments are always appreciated :)

read on ao3

feel free to send me an ask too!

[ghostficwriter]

Wrestlers as Types of Kisses: ii. Ace Austin - Kiss to the Wrist

Fandom: Impact Wrestling Pairing/Form: Ace Austin x Commentator!Reader / Blurb Warnings: N/A Word Count: 935 Plot: Part of your role as a commentator is being the biggest Bullet Club hater in Impact, but your offscreen relationship with Ace Austin is actually quite friendly. Just friendly as in just friends though, you definitely have no interest in him romantically, not even a little, not at all!

“1! 2! 3! And that’s another Inevitable win for Bullet Club’s Ace Austin!” 

You rolled your eyes as Matthew Rehwoldt raved. He playfully elbowed you, “Come on, aren’t you going to comment on that finish?” He was messing with you, playing up your well known on-screen distaste for all things Bullet Club.

“I’d be more excited about it if it wasn’t Ace Austin, and more impressed if he didn’t cheat.” 

Rehwoldt laughed. “Aw, come on, one little card, one little papercut, and what the ref doesn’t see, doesn’t count!”

“You’re not wrong on that last part, unfortunately, and I’m not wrong that it’s time to move onto our next match! If Ace ever stops his celebration and leaves the ring, that is.” 

Naturally, at that moment, the “Inevitable One” made eye contact with you, smirking when he saw your disdain, and blowing you a kiss for good measure. You rolled your eyes again as the crowd hooted and hollered.

While Ace eventually left the ring, you stayed under the lights for the rest of the show, manning the commentary desk with Renwoldt and Tom Hannifan. Doing commentary combined all the things you loved most - analysis, comedy, teamwork, and watching wrestling. The action in front of you and the antics of your co-commentators (including occasionally needing to wrangle them out of their arguments enough to call the action) drew you in and wiped the stain of Ace Austin and his Bullet Club shenanigans from your mind…mostly. Almost entirely. Absolutely entirely. 

Okay, so maybe your mind kept flickering back to his wink and to the way his lips looked when he blew you that kiss. Maybe. Just a couple times. 

Not that you would ever tell him that; his ego was bigger than his thighs (which you also never thought about) already, and that was saying something. 

Ace was so far from your thoughts that you nearly jumped when you heard him call your name backstage after the show. You’d been checking your email on your phone when he sidled up. 

He chuckled at your reaction, “You alright there, beautiful?”

You rolled your eyes but smiled and nodded. Your offscreen dynamic with Ace wasn’t nearly as hostile as your onscreen one. Really, you were friends. And that was all you wanted to be. Despite his flirtations. Just friends. 

“Good,” Ace grinned. “So Rehwoldt said you were saying all kinds of mean things about me on commentary again. So rude!” 

“Of course I was,” you grinned back at him, dramatically pointing at yourself, “Hello? Number one Bullet Club hater here!”

Ace playfully poked your arm, “You’re a great actress, pretending you hate us, pretending you hate me.” 

“And you’re a great actor, pretending to be a total douchebag. Of course, the part of your character that’s a total dork is all you.”

Ace laughed, “Is that supposed to hurt my feelings? Because I am proud of my nerdiness, thank you!” 

“As you should be,” you laughed too. Ace’s laughs, his smiles, they had that effect - they were contagious. 

“Well I know I’ve said it before, but I’m glad our beef is only on screen.” 

“Me too,” you playfully poked his arm. “I’m glad we’re friends.”

“Me too too!” He beamed, poking your arm in turn. “I hope we’re friends for a long time.”

You nodded, and the two of you lapsed into a comfortable silence. Well, it was mostly comfortable. Comfortable as in you felt safe, you felt secure. But you didn’t feel relaxed. He was much too close for you to feel relaxed. His pretty eyes kept glancing over at you. His broad shoulders flexed as he leaned against the wall. His hand nearly brushed against yours. 

“Hey,” There were those pretty eyes again, demanding your attention as he spoke to you. “Friends can hold hands, right?”

“Uh, sure?” You raised your eyebrows.

“So can I hold yours?” His glance flicked away for a moment before he met your eyes again.

“Uh, y-yeah,” you held your hand out, hoping it wasn’t shaking, and he took it, wrapping his fingers around your palm. You looked away, sure that you were blushing.

Ace stayed quiet for a few moments, but it wasn’t long before he squeezed your hand and said, “Hey, so friends can hold hands…can they give each other a kiss-”

Your eyes widened, but Ace finished off his sentence with, “-on the cheek? Or the hand?”

“O-oh,” you were so blushing, anyone would blush about that, right? “Sure, yeah, friends can do that.” 

Ace scooted closer to you, still leaning against the wall, his face now inches from your own. “You know, if I got this close to you on camera, I’m not sure you’d be able to pretend to hate me.”

You sputtered a bit and then rolled your eyes. “Of course I would. I’m a professional.”

“I don’t know,” Ace smiled, “your pulse is speeding up.”

“Wh-what?” A nervous laugh escaped before you could stop it.

“Yeah,” Ace wouldn’t look away from you. He smiled again before slowly, gently lifting the hand he held closer to his face, “I can feel it,” he pressed his lips to the inside of your wrist, “right here.” The last words were breathed against your skin as he lingered there. 

Your head was much too fuzzy at the moment to question if he could really feel your pulse, and you would only roll your eyes about that hours later; for now you simply looked up at him, caught in his eyes, blushing at his smile. Ace pressed his lips to your wrist once more before lowering your linked hands. 

[the-narwhals-awaken]

I'd like a treat featuring some dad!Halt, please :D

Apologies in advance- after reblogging, I got hit with several major assignments, tests, and quizzes all in a row, so that plus general shenaniganery meant that I had not enough time and motivation in combination to actually write out prose, so instead you get bullet-point fic so you'll actually get something. This is entirely stream-of-consciousness written around the time I took my sleep meds, apologies for any confusion. I'd love to elaborate more if you'd like!

The fic's under a readmore to try and aid in not clogging any tags. Enjoy!

This is in an AU where some people have powers- it's relatively normal, most people just get small things like good balance or a sense for weather or the ability to clean mud off of boots well. Almost all of them can't be weaponized, so while there's some discrimination- like there is for everything- it doesn't affect too many things.

There's a lot of legends about what powers the Rangers have- some people say they can dissolve into shadow or have supernatural sight or hearing or aim or never run out of arrows.

And true, a few do have enhanced senses, but what people never think about is that those senses are enhanced all the time, and are as much a detriment as a blessing.

Halt, incidentally, can tell whether plants are harmful or helpful, but nothing else. Not use, just whether it's harmful or helpful, and certainly not how- he learned, given time and motivation, but that was separate.

The Ward kids were normal, in the sense that they all had little gifts- perhaps ones more suited to their lives than normal, yes, but normal, little ones that would impact their lives hardly at all.

George couldn't get papercuts, Horace had perfect vision no matter what, Alyss had enhanced lung capacity, and Jenny had a good memory.

Will was the exception. The Recorder- one of the ones whose power was to tell what others' power was- looked incredibly sad when she saw him, and said his power was Clear Sight. She'd told Will a little more about it in private, of course, but she wouldn't say anything more like she usually would.

This didn't affect Will's life too much- he was a quiet child at times, staring at nothing, but then he'd be bright and cheery again and people would put it aside. Horace did torment him a little, as they both had vision-related talents and they could be pitted against each other, but most of the time he was a normal child.

The fact that he could see Ranger Halt whenever the man wasn't actively trying to stay hidden was never noticed, mostly because nobody else could see him and the Ranger did often try to go unseen around Redmont, whether for his own amusement or for practice nobody knew.

Regardless, nobody knew what Clear Sight entailed beyond Will until well after his graduation- all he'd said on the topic was 'it's not important and won't affect any of the skills needed to be a Ranger'.

Technically true, but not really.

Anyways, it remained a secret- one that nobody thought to ask- until he, Horace, and Halt stood in Dun Kilty in Clonmel.

Horace had left- looking for food, training, Will didn't know and he didn't care.

Normally he'd have tried to look for privacy for this, but it was too late and really, he'd been half waiting for something like this, something he couldn't hide, for years- a way to tell Halt, at least, what had happened.

The woman he could see was very similar to Halt, all things considered- they had the same hair color, the same face shape, although her hair was longer and worn in braids. She'd clearly been one for smiling more, though her face was still marked with stress like Halt's was.

He tilted his head slightly. Though his gift was called Clear Sight, sometimes- only sometimes, he still hadn't quite figured out exactly why, even if he could guess- he could hear as well.

The woman- she introduced herself as Caitlyn- had lit up when she'd realized he could see her, but had remained steadily waiting by Halt the entire time they'd been in the castle, only taking steps away when they'd met with Sean or when Halt was by Abelard- and even the latter had only been far enough away that the horses couldn't reach her.

She'd started talking when the pair had sat in silence, giving Will a message to pass on, then just chattering about things she'd seen and noticed.

When she'd finally finished talking, Will smiled faintly, finally looking away from her. Halt had been watching him, staying quiet while he looked to be paying attention, but speaking up when he looked to be done.

"Will, what are you looking at?"

Will kept smiling faintly. "Have you ever wondered about the nature of Clear Sight, Halt?"

Halt had, of course, but after the disaster of the first two years of Will's apprenticeship, he'd not asked- he didn't want to push Will away, and from how he'd reacted whenever asked about it before that was all that that would have done. Still, it had been an idle curiosity that had nestled in the back of his brain for a very long time.

"I can see the dead, sometimes. Hear them, too, if I'm lucky."

Halt sat there, frozen, staring at Will.

Will kept smiling, though it was even smaller, barely a ghost of one.

"Your sister's here, Halt. She wanted me to tell you she loved you always, and told your nephew about his uncle."

Will passed on the rest of the message, along with Caitlyn's commentary as Halt reacted, till she faded from view.

Halt smiled sadly, grieving but still content.

When they returned to the inn that night, he waited until Horace was asleep, then told Will more stories about Caitlyn. Good ones, bad ones, funny ones, sad ones. The stories kept coming through their entire stay in Clonmel, though generally they were when Horace was away- it was nothing against him, but this was something just for the two of them.

Even as they hunted Tennyson down, the stories kept coming- little ones, now, mostly just memories of what Caitlyn did, but ones that could brighten a mood slightly or make the next hours easier to pass through.

Afterwards, when they'd made it home, Will asked why Halt had told those stories- some of those were truly embarrassing, some had held things that perhaps might not have been meant to be shared out of the Hibernian royal families, some of them he'd only been able to tell in Hibernian and it was only the lessons Will had had with Halt during his apprenticeship that had let him keep up.

Halt had given a slow, sad smile.

"Since you couldn't meet her in person, I thought I'd tell you of your aunt. Your uncle was a terrible person, after all, and you deserve at least one decent family member."

Will, of course, claimed Halt was far more than decent on his own.

Still, the admission was nice, warming him from the inside out. He and Halt were family, of course, that didn't need to be said, but the fact remained that it was rare that Halt admitted it, let alone labelling it like he did.

The fact that he did so, and brought in the extended truth of what that would mean, touched Will deeply.

That night he made cranachan from the recipe Caitlyn told him as she hovered, far more immaterial than she'd been in Dun Kilty, over his shoulder.

And there you go! Thanks for the ask, it's nice to write something that, by the nature of this format, is short. I'd love to elaborate more or do other story snippets in this world- I've got a few churning around, most involving a younger Will. Thanks for your ask and hope you enjoyed it!

[wolves-etc]

thoughts on The Last Of Us episode nine - the finale - largely in the order I had them:

[thoughts on: 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | X ]

— "actively about to give birth and running from zombies" is a fucking horrible situation to be in what the fuck

— the fucking RUNNING UP THE STAIRS NOISES I DON'T LIKE THIS

— we had a whole episode without infected where ellie was the only infected, why did they have to do this to me

— honestly kudos to the supreme fucking terror of "the thing you can't see, only hear, that the characters are fucking terrified of," I forgot how effective that can be

— and here's the countdown. she's infected and she needs to get her kid somewhere safe.

…feeding that baby is gonna be difficult in this setting.

— "yeah, you tell 'em." <3 <3

— "you fuckin' tell 'em, ellie." !!!!!!!

— I MEAN YEAH THAT'S ELLIE ALRIGHT! yeah that sounds like a person who'd be ellie's mother alright!!

— this must be why ellie's immune. either some cordyceps went through the umbilical cord before it was cut (I notice it was cut with the knife that was used on the infected, too) or if she breastfeeds, through the milk maybe? would it be different if it's in milk?

— they found a very tiny angry baby for this and it's perfect

— whatever difficulties I experience in my life I'll never run for my life, fight for my life, give birth, realise I'm doomed, save my baby then realise I need to find a way to keep her safe all within ten minutes. she must be experiencing emotions only known to shrimp right now.

— (…is it stem cells in umbilical cords that are a little bit magic, biologically speaking? I'm not sure why else infection via that could be different.)

(that or it's that she only got the teeniest bit infected - it depends whether we think ellie's actually the first, or whether others have, for instance, touched infected with a papercut and ended up immune. maybe never found out, or maybe got bitten after and assumed they were doomed and got killed before they would turn. maybe a few, like ellie, realised and kept it quiet - or maybe they told people and that's how the rumours of potential cures started.)

— I'm told that ellie's mother voiced ellie in the video games and marlene voiced marlene (HI MARLENE <3) which is SO cool. she looks and sounds so much like someone ellie might grow up to be, it hurts a bit.

— holy shit she's made of steel. singing and holding a knife to her own neck and, what, planning to kill herself when she starts slurring? when she almost can't hold the knife steady anymore?

— "I cut it before I was bit," and marlene just tilts her head a little, and anna says again "before."

that's really good acting to subtly convey a thing - that marlene suspects she's lying, that anna maybe knows she suspects it but reckons she can safely stick to that story for now.

— anna having to beg to be killed. fuck.

— this fucking long pause here

— honest to goodness the emotional impact of "cover her ears."

— BUT THEN HE DIDN'T EVEN COVER HER EARS. did he think cloth tucked loosely around her was enough. is he already deaf from gunshots himself. has he never been around a baby before.

— CHEF BOYARDEE, HECK YEAH

— his grin there. he is such a dad.

— "if you wanna beat me at something, it would be this." <3

— "take this for me" and he trusts her with the gun!!! growth!!

— "do you wanna learn how to play guitar?"

he's- fuck. fuck. he's offering to stay with her after all this. THAT'S what he's doing. right there as they're approaching the hospital where she'll hopefully be the source of a miracle cure, he's finding a way to say "I'm gonna stick with you after this, I'm not gonna say it but I will make it clear."

mister "not good at this [talking about feelings]" finding another way.

— (bad screenshot because that unhappy face graffiti struck me as SO video game, I couldn't explain why)

— ellie correctly guessing joel's modus operandi, joel straight-facedly joking about using dynamite instead <3 <3

— joel trying the feelings talk, ellie apologising, joel really softly saying "no, it's fine," AUGH

— ellie you'll give the old man a heart attack.

— OKAY THAT'S A FAIR REASON TO RUN OFF ACTUALLY

— ellie's whispered "don't scare it," joel's promise that he won't. this is so unspeakably tender.

— sometimes it's so clear that ellie's a child, you know?

— I've heard this comment about studio ghibli films, that they have a lot of… empty space for things not happening, just space for wonder and beauty and peace, and it's something I really appreciate. I never thought to see it in a zombie show.

— I want to cradle this moment in my hands like a baby bird.

— joel just resigning himself to the fact that they're following a giraffe now

— offering her that option of just, leaving and living a life, fuck. and it's her choice to keep at it. that's so good.

— "it was me. I was the guy who shot and missed." joel

— "so time heals all wounds I guess." "it wasn't time that did it." they're really not beating around the bush with this father-daughter thing, huh

— they talked about their feelings I'm so proud of them both

— PEOPLE ARE MAKING APOCALYPSE JOKES LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW

I cackled <3

— ...okay. the moment we saw marlene I knew this wasn't going to be good and, well, she proved it.

— the awful thing is I believe that she does understand what joel's feeling right now. and I don't know what's right in this situation. but this is joel and ellie's story and I care about them both and the fireflies are sacrificing a child on a possibility of a cure based on one doctor's theory. no smaller measures first, no biopsy that she'd probably survive, she gets put under immediately to have her entire brain removed.

excuse me for being very callous for a moment (I am also very angry don't you worry) but that is an awful use of resources. if they're wrong they won't have any more chances. if they lose this lab like they lost the others they won't have any more chances - and nor will anyone else with the ability to work on this, as much as I wouldn't trust fedra to distribute the cure to everyone they can. the fireflies are gambling with the death of a child, and if they lose, well, they're doomed anyway.

maybe I'm being overly harsh. I really shouldn't keep the show paused for twenty minutes just to feel things.

— honestly cannot tell if giving joel ellie's knife is meant to be kind or cruel. (okay, probably kind. but fuck.)

— joel yes

— this quiet, grim, inevitable music while joel's just going around shooting people, fuck. he's gonna wipe out the last of the fireflies to save her.

— using ellie's knife to kill one of them. shit.

— tragic musc as befits a tragedy - all the deaths, of course, but also the death of the goal he and ellie set out to achieve.

— and the vibe to all of this, really, but especially the moment the presumably-doctor picks up a scalpel and refuses to let ellie go, it's that the doctor's bravely facing a villain, it's that joel has changed just a little in this decision to get ellie out no matter the cost (was it even a decision?) and now he's something else, something awful, that he has been all along.

— (during that murder spree scene, though, he sure moves like he had formal training. I'm not sure what to think about that tbh.)

— marlene you're saying ellie would want to do what's right but you didn't even fucking ask. you were unwilling to ask her and risk having to actually overpower and murder a scared teenager instead of an unconscious one. you didn't know, so you'll never know, so don't imply it's ellie's call and then pretend you didn't have to bother with asking.

this is tapping into a mess of IRL stuff for me, feel free to skip, where I think that people who kill other people from a distance with deniability and respectability could do with facing their victims more often. for an easier example: someone who wants to launch nuclear missiles should have to face someone they know and cut into their heart to get the launch codes.

and the clean and mannerly murder of a sedated teenager by people who honestly looked a bit guilty when joel stopped them is just too easy.

...but still, I could justify it if I were sure about the results.

— oh. oh, joel.

— she's fourteen. it wouldn't have been fair to ask this of her. it isn't fair to hide this from her. but I don't know which one's less fair and this one leads to her alive and not blaming herself, so long as he does this right.

— but the way ellie's eyes just snapped to him when she said "were people hurt?" and he said "yes," I… do wonder if she suspects something.

— this is selfish of him though. as selfish as killing dozens and potentially dooming so many more just to save one.

— "I'm taking us home." now I'm the one having emotions only known to shrimp

— "well, she was a lot more… I wanna say girly, and I'm not sayin' that you're not girly…" "I'm not." "yeah, you're not." good display of tact from the father of two daughters, here.

— "she had a killer smile. again, I'm not saying that you don't." <3

— it's nice to hear him talking about sarah, but it's strange. I think it's the high of finally getting ellie safe. I think he's talking to cover the awkwardness, ellie's quietness, the big secret being kept from her, not spoken but still partly felt.

...I think he's taken the last step in his mind towards accepting and keeping her as family, and she didn't see it happen, so she's kind of a step behind.

— I figured riley was the first one ellie killed, but it doesn't make it any easier to hear.

— there are a lot of moments in this that I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into or not, but they've all seemed solid so far, so I'm gonna go ahead and guess ellie knows joel is lying to her, she's just… not gonna call him out on it.

— maybe it's a trust thing. maybe she's sensing that whatever it is is so much bigger and worse than what she's faced before - and joel knows that - that she doesn't want to face it. not if it means going against joel. not now they're safely together again. maybe it's just wanting to keep him and sensing this might drive them apart.

— yeah. okay. yeah. that "okay" on the end, that's an agreement to let it go for now.

hoo boy.

so my friend tells me that the ongoing debates in the community are a) whether the fireflies were right to try to do what they did and b) whether joel was right to do what he did then lie to her. I've already reached as much of a conclusion as I can about the first, without knowing more about the situation.

the second? I don't think there were any right decisions to make there. I don't like, on reflection, that joel's motives were probably more selfish than about trying to do right by ellie, and I almost wish the chance of a cure had been a certainty just so this would be simpler. I kinda wish that the fireflies had given ellie the choice, even if they'd planned to kill her anyway, which is making me think I'm not being entirely rational about this.

and what a moment to end on. it's uncomfortable - what I've largely been watching for is the relationship between joel and ellie, and that's been strange and strained for this entire episode, with them finally approaching ellie's goal and then joel keeping things from her after. I think things between them are going to return to some sort of normal now. I think ellie at the end was willing and planning to set this down and stop dwelling on it so much, if joel didn't budge at all.

and I don't like the tacit betrayal in that, the fact that ellie didn't at any point get a choice, and maybe joel could have safely ensured it once he'd gotten to her but maybe not, and it's not like I don't respect a character who leans into salt-the-earth vengeance in defence of a child...

it does feel like by the time he and ellie were taken by the fireflies, the story had pushed them onto a path they couldn't escape from. joel wouldn't have done anything but what he did, except perhaps fail. I don't know for sure what ellie would have chosen - my friend's in slight disagreement with me about that, but he's drawing on the game canon too, and I haven't seen enough of ellie yet. not with how much she clearly cares at the end, and not with her being so angry and so much a survivor.

I'm wrapping these thoughts up four days after finishing the episode and reaching absolutely no firm conclusions, folks. just the faint and horrible suspicion that I might have preferred joel as a character when he was still twitchy and uncertain, when he hadn't yet committed to protecting ellie tooth and nail, no matter what it took.

maybe I'm struggling to see where all that trauma went. maybe I'm not entirely comfortable with the sheer and total starkness of his morality. maybe I wanted to see the comfortable, sassing-back-and-forth joel and ellie just once before the end.

this show was a rollercoaster.

[queenofbaws]

(im sending this So late in the day, but i hope ur havin a good one queenie ;w;) i imagine that the hacketeers are both too polite to ask but also nosy enough to theorise amongst themselves about why jessica is covered in what looks like a concerning amount of scratch and bite marks... but i also feel like if she Was asked, jess would just come up with more and more insane stories

definitely more than six sentence sat(or)sunday!!!

It was something she’d gotten used to over the years, people asking about the scars. She couldn’t blame them, really…not when it was something she’d do in their place. Lots of people had scars after all, tiny little nicks or pale shapes standing out here and there, but very few people had scars like hers. Or quite as many.

She had to hand it to the Hacketteers, though…it took two and a half weeks for the first person to ask.

“Hey, so like, super personal question, feel free to ignore it or tell me to shut up or whatever,” Emma had said, and Jess had never been much of a mind-reader, but she’d almost been able to mouth along with what came next: “But how did you get those?”

They’d snuck away while the campers were at lunch, her and Emily lounging on the dock with their shirts rolled up to let their bellies tan, and though she’d stayed flat on her back with her hands behind her head, she’d known Emily had sat up by the sound of the wood creaking beneath them.

Jess, however, had kept her feet dangling, letting her toes skim the water of Lake Septimus, and she’d pointed to the indents on her stomach instead. “These?” she’d asked before heaving a long, exasperated sigh. “Ohmigod, you wouldn’t even believe it…I fell into a tanning booth once. The glass broke and just went everywhere, it was this whole mess.” She’d heard the wood creak again, and known without looking that Emily’d set herself back down. “Sued the shit out of them, though. The tanning place. Then Em and I went out and bought these killer shoes. I’ll have to show you them sometime.”

And Emma had been quiet, then, the same way people always went; there’d been a look on her face that suggested she didn’t know whether to believe her or not. “Oh,” was all she’d said. Then she’d rolled onto her stomach to let her back get some sun, and that had been the end of that.

A few days later and most of them had been milling inside the lodge, hanging the week’s art projects where all the kids could see them. She’d picked up a papercutting and stretched it out, the single shape spreading and spreading to reveal the abstract snowflake shape that’d been cut into it, and to either side of her, Abi and Dylan had gone strangely still.

“Gnarly scars,” Dylan had said, sounding a little too off-handed to be believable.

Hardly loud enough to hear, Abi had breathed, “Oh my God,” and though Jess hadn’t looked, she’d felt her cringe into herself.

“What, these?” Jess had asked, still holding the snowflake out wide, but nodding towards her arms with an innocent smile. “Yeah, I guess they sort of are, huh? Go figure.”

“How’d you get ‘em? Fighting a bear? Slow dancing with a lawnmower?”

“Dylan,” Abi had hissed, and when Jess had glanced her way, she’d seen her ears and cheeks and neck had gone cherry-red. “You don’t just ask that stuff, oh my God…”

Jess had stuck a sliver of her tongue out then, just enough to make it look like she was concentrating, and she’d hung the snowflake on the wall. “Huh? Oh, don’t even sweat it, I don’t mind! It’s really sort of an embarrassing story, but it’s not like…bad. I got chickenpox really, really bad when I was a kid, and you know how the doctor tells you not to scratch? Well.” She’d allowed herself a little laugh, then pointed to the series of scars that were most obviously slash marks. “They tell you that for a reason, okay? I learned that the hard way.”

“You…scratched yourself. That deep.” Despite Abi’s obvious mortification, Dylan hadn’t been able to let it go, bending a bit to peer closer at the marks. “How itchy were you?”

And because she’d had years and years to practice, Jess held her hand out so her fingernails lined up with the jagged marks. More or less. “Really itchy,” she’d laughed.

“And you…didn’t get stitches for that or anything?”

“Oh no, I did,” she’d beamed, shrugging her shoulders and rolling her eyes and acting for all the world like she was the dumbest person alive. “Scratched them open too. Chickenpox, man…” She’d glanced Abi’s way and shook her head before grabbing the next art project to hang. “Serious shit.”

The questions had become less subtle as time went on – which she’d expected – and by the time the kids had been sent to bed and it was only counselors around the dying embers of the firepit, Jacob hadn’t pulled any sort of punch.

“Jess! Level with me, wouldya?”

“Wuh-oh,” Mike had groaned. “This spells trouble.”

“Ah, shuddup dude. Look, everyone’s thinking it but no one’s got the stones to ask – is that a fuckin’ bite you got there on your shoulder?” He’d been laughing, but even in the low light of the fire, she’d watched Mike and Matt’s expressions go stony. “How’d that happen?”

Before either of them had been able to leap to her defense, she’d raised her eyebrows and stood from her seat, sauntering over to take the half-eaten s’more out of Jacob’s hand. She’d finished it, chewing thoughtfully, and then carefully sucked the marshmallow fluff from each of her fingers in turn. “What can I say,” she’d smiled, patting his shoulder before heading back to her seat. “Em’s kind of an aggressive kisser.”

There’d been some laughs at that, and a wolf-whistle or two, but it’d passed as quickly as it’d come on. Even if Mike and Matt had made a point to bookend her for the rest of the night, letting her rest her head against them and rubbing her back where no one else could see.

It wasn’t until the end of the summer that she ran out of stories. They’d been packing up pool toys, the pool house stiflingly hot and reeking of chlorine, and she’d been tired enough that Kaitlyn had caught her completely off guard.

“Hey,” she’d said, helping her secure the last of the floaties in the closet before taking her by the arms in a gentle, worried-mother hold. “This is rude. I know it’s rude. Buuut I heard the guys saying some stuff the other night, and I just…look, they’re all idiots and I know there’s no way they’re telling the truth. I know you didn’t let a snapping turtle near your face, okay? You can play ditzy-doo all you want, but I’m not buying it honey, not for one second, nuh-uh. So…can I ask how…?”

“I think we should head back to the lodge,” Sam had said, clapping her hands together with a smile so perfectly warm on the outside no one would’ve ever been able to guess at the discomfort it was covering up. “You guys know how Mr. Hackett gets if we – ”

But Jess had just met Kaitlyn’s look with a smile of her own, tired and resigned, and she’d mimicked the hold by setting her own hands on Kaitlyn’s shoulders. “We had this friend named Hannah, once. I played a really mean prank on her, and because of that, she turned into a monster and tried to kill me. All of us, really, but…well, she was sort of maddest at me. She pulled me through a window and dragged me through a forest, and when none of that killed me, she dropped me down a mineshaft. I got cut up pretty much…everywhere. And most of them didn’t heal right because of the frostbite. And because apparently there’s a lot of weird stuff in monster-spit, so I got a few infections too.”

From over Kaitlyn’s shoulder, she’d watched Sam’s shoulders go lower and lower until they seemed weighted down by anvils. Her smile had remained, but Jess hadn’t been able to remember a time where her eyes had looked so sad. Not in years, anyway.

Kaitlyn had watched her for a moment, then snorted so hard that she covered her mouth and nose. “Uh huh,” she’d laughed. “Oookay, you got me. Super rude thing to ask, I deserve that. But seriously, if you ever do want to talk about what really happened, I’m a girl who loves a good story!”

Jess had smiled, and Jess had nodded, and in the end, Jess had said what she always did: “Oh, for sure! But I’m warning you now…you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

[msommers]

🤥🎂🕷️🙈👑 for riya and aphrodite!

thank youuuu xxx even if it was a hate crime to send me a spider i'll forgive it // oc emoji asks

🤥 LYING - are they good liars? do they have tells to show they're lying?

RIYA — i think she can be a decent liar when she sets her mind to it, but usually she just can't be bothered as she's never had much reason to deceive others. the biggest tell would be her eyes, depending on the severity of the lie she doesn't have that level of deception in her to fake what she's feeling through her gaze very well.

APHRODITE — incredibly good liar, started off very young. her tells would come down to those small details you hear body language analysts point out in videos breaking down true crime aka the things most people don't notice because why the fuck would you unless you're analyzing every movement and word

🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE - when is their birthday? do they like celebrating it?

RIYA — 18th of cloudreach! it should come as no surprise that she loves to celebrate it, because it usually comes along with some grand party arranged by her parents with no expense spared. maybe she should waste the last of her money splurging on frivolous things to make up for the fact she had to spend her most recent birthday traveling near the orlesian marshes smh

APHRODITE — i believe i gave her an april 18th birthday for the initial vibecheck. she has mixed feelings on birthdays. loves spending them with her friends because they know how to make her happy, but there's always a hot minute spent lamenting the fact her parents have little to no interest in celebrating with her. can't count the years she's assumed they fully forgot or didn't care what day it was tbh

🕷️ SPIDER - what is their biggest fear? do they have any irrational / mundane fears?

RIYA — has the looming worry that her new status as a grey warden won’t be enough to protect her from the murder accusations thrown her way, which would mean all bash sacrificed to keep her safe and alive would have been for nothing :// super super dramatic about her fear of insects and rodents. does a fear of getting a papercut count as irrational or mundane?? she’d surely have one of those

APHRODITE — irrelevance lmao. gonna assign her with the irrational fear of escalators. victim of the classic “bitch i fuckin KNOW this thing is gonna start eating my coat and i’m gone get me OFF of this”

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

RIYA — well for her entire life up until about a month ago it was her being truly upset, but that’s been a thoroughly obliterated defense because she couldn’t even begin to attempt masking her misery after bash. it's been a deeply humiliating experience and i can't wait to see how she moves on from it

APHRODITE — it’s probably been about 4 years since anybody has seen aphrodite be anything but….Aphrodite™. seven’s departure signaled the building of a significant wall for her, bricking people out from seeing the vulnerable moments. those few minutes that come every few days or so where she grapples with just how well and truly miserable she is when she’s not performing or indulging.

👑 CROWN - what does your oc want to be remembered as? why?

RIYA — she has absolutely no idea anymore. her mother's ambitions of grandeur and success definitely influenced her growing up, she had lofty dreams of becoming a renowned figure for her participation in the grand tourneys. she at least got to entertain that fantasy for a single night before her life blew up 😬 i imagine that now she only wishes she won’t be remembered as the mage who defeated her lover in a tourney then proceeded to murder him that very same night. hasn’t really had time to develop any other type of aspiration tbh

APHRODITE — the next queen of pop. the hottest bitch. the top girly. she wants to be a household name! she wants to be everywhere!! all the time, for as long as she can!!! her dreams are imposing, incredibly difficult to reach things because she’s had a need for attention and recognition that’s grown with each passing year. something snaps in a bitch when you’re told that your talent won’t get you anywhere, y’know

[perpetual-fool]

Logically Gullible

Context, I'm made significant progress with my mental state, using the 'contrarian' strategy. I've refuted the beliefs that I'm innately bad, should be suffering, and shouldn't be allowed any understanding. And I've come up with an explanation as to how people seem too genuine to be as dishonest as they are, which also underpinned the aforementioned beliefs. I'm simply gullible. But I'm gullible in a 'framing the situation' kind of way. Like someone would tell me "if you really loved me you would have rotated your onions", I just kind of accept that, and then struggle to figure out how I was supposed to know to do that.

The problem, I don't know how to decide how to think about things. In principle, I can now catch the 'piece of shit/kill yourself' thoughts. But I don't know how to replace the thought patterns that create them, and I don't know how to feel good about anything. So like, I've been running across skits of corporate shenanigans that are like "we want you to come in fifteen minutes early but not pay you for it, because preparing for work isn't 'work'" and I legitimately do not know how to process something like that. Ostensibly that's like saying "'cooking' means applying heat to the food, so peeling and chopping vegetables isn't 'cooking'". And you know, if someone paid you to be a cook but expected you to peel the potatoes for free, you'd be upset. But if that's part of cooking, then isn't buying and transporting the food also 'cooking'? Why wouldn't eating and sleeping so you have the physical and mental energy to do the work also be 'cooking'? Is watching a video of a guy making cookie lasagna also 'cooking' because it's contributing to your knowledge of how food works and might ultimately have an effect on your work?

I don't know, I'm missing something critical.

I would guess that what I need is the inverse of what's causing the negative thoughts. Say, there's the thought that what I do isn't good enough and I should feel bad about it. For instance, sharpening the kitchen knives, it's easy to think they're not sharp enough. But I've done sharper, for a while I made them just as keen as the straight razor I had been shaving with. The result was that they went dull faster, weren't actually any easier to use, and I'd end up with papercuts all over my hands from the incidental contact of handling them. If the 'not sharp enough' sentiment was true, I should have felt fulfilled for making them too sharp. But no, it shifted to something else. They're not at the level of sharpness perfectly suited to their use case instead. (Except they are, and the bad thoughts don't recognize trade-offs.)

So hypothetically, I'm missing whatever would tell me that what I've done is good enough.

How does that work? ya' know, when people aren't manipulating you?

[augment-techs]

Song Lyric/Spoken Word Poetry Writing Prompts IV

-It's not your body that I need, but that's what sleeps next to me//And you're killing it; Please Eat by Nicole Dollanganger -Paranoias all I've got left; Papercut by Linkin Park -Sir was blinking at me//Is this because your date is a freak?; Red Flags by Tom Cardy -I am too young to be cast in porn//And you are too young to buy alcohol; Letter to a New Crush by Sean Patrick Mulroy -I'm in control (I'm in Control) I'm in control (I'm in Control)//I Hate Control//HERE//Take all of my power; Letter to a New Crush by Sean Patrick Mulroy -'Cause I'm losing my sight, losing my mind//Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine; Last Resort by Papa Roach -Baby, you can find me under the lights//Diamonds under my eyes//Turn the rhythm up, don't you wanna just come along for the ride?//Oh, my outfit so tight//You can see my heartbeat tonight//I can take the heat, baby, best believe--That's the moment I shine; Dance the Night Away by Dua Lipa -I will always be waiting//And I'll always be watching//We are one breath apart, my love//And I'll be holding it in 'till we're together; Speak to Me by Amy Lee -Fight so dirty, but you love so sweet//Talk so pretty, but your heart got teeth//Late night devil, put your hands on me//And never, never, never ever let go; Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer -I guess, I guess I got what I wanted//I never knew what I needed//Leave it up to me to fuck it up without a good reason; Me Myself & I by 5 Seconds of Summer -"Tell him that, like him, I choose to burn out rather than fade away!"; Noel's Lament from Ride the Cyclone -Remember when I told you, "No matter where I go//I'll never leave your side//You will never be alone"; Way Back Home by SHAUN Sometimes I feel like I'm all the pigeons//Trapped in all the subway tunnels//In all the major cities of America; Some Things You Should Know Before Dating Me by Jamie Mortara -I love the word "Fuck"//"Fuck" is such a good word//I love that it doesn't have a definition//It's a shapeshifter; Fuck by Nora Cooper -Once I thought that love was meant for anyone else but me//Once I thought you'd never come my way//Now it only goes to show how wrong we all can be//For now I have to tell you everyday; My Love by Petula Clark -You don't care what I've been through//'Cause you had it harder; You're Exhausting by Beth Crowley -Hold her down while her gate is open//Hold her down while I get a taste//Hold her down while I share her spoils//I will not let any part go to waste; Hold Them Down from Epic: The Musical -I'll take "Fast Forward Two Years" for 200 Alex//Because I can't wait to see who I'm crying over then; Love is a Game (Show) by Naomi Haag -I want you to be happy//But I don't wanna watch; Love is a Game (Show) by Naomi Haag -Don't say what I want to hear//Make your intentions clear; Spare Me by PrinceWhateverer