#but the writing does what it wants and goes where it will

[yuurei20]

I heard from someone that Azul is actually very strong although he's not very athletic because he's an octo merman he's mostly muscle they said that Floyd has talked about it in bean fest I wanted to know if Azul being insanely strong was just a headcannon or cannon cause its kinda funny to me azul could carry professor vargas that one event on his own when prof vargas is pure muscle

Hello hello! Thank you for this question! 🐙

Yes yes! The first information we receive about Azul being stronger than he looks is from Floyd during Beanfest, who explains,

"Who said anything about Azul bein' weak without his magic? He's real strong. He's slow on land and in water, and he's got lousy athletic reflexes, but that doesn't mean he's weak."

"Azul's bigger than me in the water, and he's got eight huge, heavy limbs. His submission holds are bad news, and he's got crazy grip strength. If he so much as snags you, he can snare you with your arms pinned.

Octopi are, like, all muscle. Seems to me like that wouldn't go poof just 'cause he took a potion to turn himself human.

I'm just spitballin' here, obviously. But all I'm saying is that writing Azul off is a bad idea."

(All of the above dialogue is 100% accurate to the original game! Floyd's "I'm just spitballin' here" line might make it seems like he is just guessing and doesn't actually know, but his original line is closer to, "I don't know all the details," and sounds more like he knows this information is fact, he just can't give a physiology lesson on how it all works.)

But Floyd's information is a little vague: he says Azul has "crazy grip strength" and his "submission holds are bad news," but that is the same line where he talks about Azul in his merform--so is he talking about mer-Azul or human-Azul? Or is he not making a distinction because there isn't one?

Can Azul snare people and pin them down on land, or was Floyd half-relating an anecdote from when they lived underwater?

But then came Book 6 and a line from Azul himself saying that his "arms are quite powerful," unlike Riddle's.

This seems to confirm that Azul is physically stronger than most people, but then comes the thunder spear:

Riddle asks for help lifting it and Azul struggles under its weight, despite how this would have been the ideal opportunity to illustrate how physically capable Azul really is.

But maybe the thunder spears are a tall order for anyone to lift? They're weapons from the age of the gods--maybe they just weren't designed for humans (or creatures in human form) to lift on their own?

Except:

There is Leona, who both lifts and wields the thunder spear entirely on his own, twice (he gets help from Jamil the third time).

But the rules of the thunder spears are unclear: after Team-OctaHearts' spear goes into energy-saving mode Riddle says, "I should be able to handle it now on my own," insinuating that when they are not in attack-mode they are easier to wield.

Azul carries it at first but, due to his infamously poor stamina, he does eventually give it up to Riddle.

When Azul comments on how easy RIddle makes carrying the spear look Riddle explains, "I spend most of my time learning magic. I have ever since I was born," insinuating that he is using a form of magic (perhaps levitation) to carry it and maybe does not have it physically in his arms at all.

(Vil explains that the spears are difficult to control in attack-mode due to the amount of energy they give off.)

And that asks questions about levitation that I have always wondered about!

During Glorious Masquerade Epel is only capable of carrying one crate of apples at a time.

When Malleus levitates an entire apple truck Epel comments, "I'm pretty sure only Malleus could pull off a feat like that…"

Are levitation and physical strength connected? Malleus says that he is physically stronger than humans even without his magic, so he does not serve as a good example.

Is Epel only capable of levitating one crate of apples because that is the limit of what he would be able to accomplish physically? Or do his magical limitations mirror his physical limitations by coincidence?

We know that Leona is extremely powerful (re: Leona's Power). Is Leona both physically stronger than an octopus mermaid and magically stronger than Azul, or is Azul physically stronger than Leona, but his magic wasn't enough for the spear?

And then there is the fact that Azul is, magically, extremely strong:

Jade comments that Azul's unique magic is too strong for even him to control (which is why he designed the golden contracts--to artificially rein himself in). Does that apply to all of Azul's magic, or is it just his UM?

Someone with the muscle of an octopus and a magic too strong to be wielded by its own user seems like they should be able to control a thunder spear on their own--but maybe Leona is just that strong? 🦁

To the original question:

Yes! It is canon that Floyd has said that Azul is insanely strong, and Azul himself has repeated it, but--

edit:

Ahhh thank you very much to the anonymous asker who mentioned Azul's Tapis Rouge vignette! 🥳 In-game example of Azul flexing his physical strength!!📝

And thank you to @basuralindo for the reference to Azul prying Stitch off of the prefect! 🐙 (Azul: "You might've thwarted my efforts entirely if we hadn't been underwater.")

And thank you again to @basuralindo and @mellosdrawings for the Vargas Camp references!! 📝

In a vignette we have Azul volunteering to carry a load of wood for Kalim. He pretends to be struggling under the weight in order to leave a lasting impression of his efforts, but as we cannot tell how much wood there is that he is hauling it can be difficult to tell how heavy it truly is--but then there is Vargas👀

At Trey's request, Jade and Azul are assigned the task of evacuating a bound Grim and Vargas from the mine. Jade takes Grim and runs away, leaving Azul behind alone with the prefect to handle Vargas--did he know that Azul would not struggle with carrying him?💪

Azul does ask for the prefect's help, but only because he is worried about bumping Vargas' head against the rocks--he does not say anything about struggling to carry him!

And this sounds very similar to a comment from Malleus on carrying Idia and Azul through the narrow stairwells of the bell tower during Glorious Masquerade! 🐉🐙

[reidishh]

Have ya'll seen the tiktok where the guy learns Chinese so that he could propose to his girlfriend in her native language? And he gets super nervous, and his hands start shaking, so his girlfriend holds his hands to keep them steady so he could read the translations he wrote down?

Yeah, I just watched that video, and my immediate thought was of jegulus.

Can you imagine James wanting to propose to Regulus, but he wants to make it super special, so he decides to propose in French???

James asks Sirius to tutor him in the language, and when Sirius is curious about his sudden interest in it, James blushes and stutters out some bullshit excuse because Sirius is Regulus' brother (and they're not on the best terms - never have been, really) and James isn't certain how Sirius will react to the news that James is going to be proposing to his best friends little brother. But Sirius knows. Of course he knows. This is obviously important to James, and nothing is as important to him as Reggie.

James spends months learning French with the help of Sirius. Months. By the time Sirius deems James competent in the language, James is certain he knows more French than he does English. Still, James translates all the things he wants to say to Reggie during the proposal and writes it on a piece of notebook paper because he's certain he's going to mess it up somehow.

When he finally gets down on one knee, James is hoping that it goes off without a hitch. But, of course, nothing really ever goes his way.

He gets through the first few sentences without having to use the paper, his hands clutching Regulus' as the words roll off of his tongue with practiced ease. But then the weight of the moment catches up with him, and all of the nerves he'd managed to keep suppressed finally bubble over because 'oh Merlin, this is the man I love. What if I fuck it up? What if I fuck it up and he says no?'

And, suddenly, every bit of French Sirius taught him is gone. But, Regulus is there, and he's holding James' hands, and there are tears in his eyes, and he's sending James the most comforting smile, and James knows he has nothing to worry about.

So, James lets go of Regulus in favor of digging the folded sheet of paper out of his pocket. His voice is shaky as he tries to read from it, but his hands are even shakier than his voice, and he can barely make out what he wrote. He's close to just giving up and switching over to English. Then, without warning, Regulus has his hands back on James', holding them steady.

James pauses his speech to look at Regulus, only for a moment, before continuing when Regulus whispers, "Keep going."

By the end, Regulus is sobbing, and James is worried he said something wrong. But before James can ask, Regulus is throwing his arms around him, saying that he just can't believe anyone would do something like that for him.

Regulus says yes btw.

[atiianeishaunted]

blue writing is lance's notes fyi anyway uhh character bios below !! long ass writing warning but worth it i promise chat pspsp | no notes version AND the transparent PNGS down at the end!

character bios:

Allura [???] | A lone princess who is burnt out and stressed out her mind, her only solace/stress relief being the garden she has where she can have peace and quiet, shutting her brain off while she does the tasks of tending to her precious plants and bugs. She tries her best to remain as friendly and optimistic as possible, if not for her own sanity, however thanks to the stress and pressure put on her, she has a tendency to lose her cool and sometimes shut down entirely. She has a passion for commanding and loves honing her fighting skills as that was one of the ways she bonded with her father. She more often than not can be seen in comfortable clothes, she doesnt mind dresses and does enjoy dressing up but will only do it when shes going out the castle or theres a meeting. | this gal couldve been an burnt out autistic queen DREAMWORKS, YOU COUDLVE MADE HER ICONIC .... let her be a dorky nerd whos a hater sometimes, pretty please

Takashi Shirogane | A garrison commander (no one is really sure of his job title to be honest with you..) who's insanely passionate about his job, to the point where hes willing to sacrifice it all if the garrison wills it. Anything to serve. He tries his best to fit in and be hip with the kids, he tries to come across as the 'chill' teacher, but students of his have reported that after a few months, any amount of chillness is thrown out the window. If not that, hes often not even in class, too busy doing missions he wasnt assigned to. He's intense. Very intense. Knows his way around words though for the most part, can be very convincing and a bit maniuplative, very goal driven. He means well though? Thats what he says. He always throws a quick sorry if someone brings it up with him, so that must mean something. | sorry in advance if you follow along with Sonder's story... unrelated but dreamworks wrote a banger antagonist without even realizing!

"Keith" Kogane / "Morse" | Unknown origins. He was a talented garrison pilot who could practically fly with his eyes closed, a jack of all trades, short tempered and prone to losing it but all things considered, the perfect cadet for the garrison's goals, he came out of nowhere practically, just poofed in like a ghost and wiped the floor with everyone. He really just needed a good guiding hand. No one is quite sure what gender he is, his androgynous appearance and tendency to respond to anything besides being called a girl have people baffled to say the least. He's very clearly not all there in the head either which goes hand in hand with his odd bursts of ego and then odd bursts of whining, these bursts often include talks that could only be described as cult-ish. People have their theories. Beyond those bursts, hes mostly very deadpan and quiet. But despite his strength and that intense feeling of fear and dread people get when they're around him, he's.. popular, somehow. Admired greatly for his devilish good looks. A universal appeal if you will. He doesn't seem to notice. Or perhaps doesnt care. Either way he's far too busy following Shiro around and treating him like the second coming of god to really indulge in romance for now. Lance's self proclaimed rival, Keith is also unaware of this. | also sorry in advance for this one if you follow sonder's storyline Lance McClain | A former Garrison cargo pilot who moved up in rank when Keith got kicked out. Keith is his rival and also all that Lance can talk about, even after the guy got kicked out and left for dead (Lance overheard some things while sneaking out past the teacher's lounge). He has a very noticable personality and loves to be the center of attention, hes still finding his footing and figuring out what he wants to do with his life and who he wants to be. Despite his many claims, hes not all that popular. He can't really flirt with girls all too well. His general goal is to be so well known so he won't ever be forgotten, hence why he begged his mom to let him dye his hair and get piercings (if he used Keith as an argument, thats none of your business.) (he saw keith dying his hair once or twice and instantly wanted to copy, its a bad habit.). He loves LOVES taking care of his appearance and is fairly vain, he has extensive routines and will freak out if he can't follow them. His ego and overbearing confidence is all to drown out his deep insecurities and fears. He tries his best to come across as a suave, cool, charming, awesome, any positive adjective really, person but in all reality he's a mama's boy, a dork, a loser if you will who has a love for the retro and is a huge gamer. If he must admit, he and Keith'd get along great actually, Keith ticks alot of boxes and honestly Lance deeply admires him and wants to be like him. | dreamworks dropped that lance was a gamer and loved retro stuff and then never talked about it again. sigh. Hunk Garrett | Hunk has many passions, mainly inspired by parents, he mainly specializes in cooking and mechanics, he enjoys tinkering with things, taking them apart to see how they work and working from there to see if he can rebuild it with 0 instruction, hes gotten good at it. He's Lance's childhood best friend, they're extremely close and are often seen constantly poking fun at eachother. Its all in good fun though. Hunk struggles extremely with anxiety and has a service dog back home that he left at home when heading to the Garrison as he worried he couldn't take care of it while studying. Despite his anxiety, he quite enjoys talking to people and sharing things he enjoys with them, he often tries to get over his fears by branching out and | I looked up his name from the old show because he deserves an 'actual' name, free my boy, he was done so dirty, also i remember when we all thought hunk had two moms (or was that just me ..) and i live by it tbh, two moms and a dad whos still active in his life, 3 whole parents for the greatest fella ever

Pidge Holt | Not much can be said about Pidge, they keep to themselves and don't share much about themselves. Just like Keith, their gender is often up to debate and when asked, Pidge will never give a consistent answer. They're a major tech wiz and with their talents, they're a complete menace. Pidge is prone to being mischevious and pranking others, often taking jokes a bit too far. They're egotistical and find that robots are their preferred companions in comparison to humans. | loser chronically online 13 year old who would tell you to kys, matt probably has to take away their electronics all the time LMFAO purposely made their outfit look a bit strange bc , theyre a kid whos a NERD /aff let them dress a bit stupid and let them cringe at it 5 years later ty

No notes version and PNGS below :-)

im insane about this reboot!! please reblog and im willing to elaborate if anyone wants me to <333 hrgfhrfg i really want this to take off bwaa

[copper-16]

Chapter 8 has been posted - but before everyone goes to read, a little bit of an announcement on my end:

This is going to be my last longer Mapi/Ingrid story, and probably the end of me being super active/posting on ao3 and tumblr. I might write the occasional story here and there, but writing is not bringing me the same joy it once was and I want to dedicate my time to other things. I’ll still be around reading on ao3 and somewhat on Tumblr, but I just won’t be posting a whole ton on either. I’ve been so incredibly lucky to get to know all of you guys on here, and to receive so much love for my work. It means the absolute world to me - and thank you all so much for welcoming me into this little community so wonderfully! I hope the stories I wrote were able to bring just a little bit of happiness when you guys needed it (even if I constantly left everyone on cliffhangers - I truly am sorry about that).

The rest of this is long, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to, you can just go ahead to the story now if you would like. I'm not known for my ability to keep concise, that is for certain. If brevity is the soul of wit - perhaps we know why my stories aren't very funny!

I’ve especially enjoyed joining tumblr and really finding a little community here. Getting to interact with so many people, both those who read my works and those who don’t, has been such a joy for me. I love getting to hear when people like the things I've written, even if it touches them in a small way. I love getting to interact with so many brilliant minds and am forever in awe of how much amazing talent there is in this little corner of the internet! I've made some incredible friends from getting to be on here, and it makes me so happy to have a little community of people I love. Thank you guys for letting me have space here even if I don’t write reader works or know how this app works most of the time.

I started writing seriously in September 2022 and I can't tell you how much joy it has brought me in the last two years. As someone who doesn't enjoy the college degree they are currently getting, this was such a fun creative outlet for me. It was so cool to have this blank canvas to work with, to weave things together, especially as I began to write longer stories. Writing was a place to destress for me and interact with other people who loved football as I was coming to love it. Every single kudos, comment, and bookmark meant so much to me. Even when it was something silly like someone dubbing the 'Copper Monologue,' it made me feel so seen. Someone cared enough to read enough of my works to pick out the fact that I do that? Absolutely mind blowing to me. It's crazy to hear that people cared about the silly little stories I wrote. When someone told me that I was one of the things to help inspire them to write their own stuff - I think I properly sobbed. It meant more to me than anything has in this entire world, and it still does! Writing has helped me to process, it's helped me to grow, it's helped me learn to identify my emotions and struggles and think through my own thought processes. I hope that maybe for someone out there, it could help them do that as well. It's a little strange for me not to want to do that anymore. Writing this last story solidified to me that for the most part it was time to be done, and HDITA was more of a goodbye than anything else. But even with that, it feels strange not to be thinking of my next idea, thinking of how I am going to create characters and relationships and plot lines.

I think for me right now, I'm just excited to be myself. Maybe this vessel of writing was what I needed to get myself through the last two years. I wrote la princesa when I was at my absolute worst in life, and as I've grown and matured as a person, I like to think that my writing has. I no longer find myself in a place where it fills a huge void in my own life that I once needed.

I've grown a lot as a writer these few years (those who read my earlier works will understand), and I'm excited to one day come back to it, maybe in a different sphere. I love the idea now of writing a real book. It always terrified me before - I didn't know where I would start or if I would be horrible at it. But you all have given me the confidence that maybe at least one person would like it, and maybe that's enough of a reason to try. So thank you all for holding my hand and encouraging me. I hope that if nothing else, everyone remembers that a little bit of kindness on here or ao3 or anywhere on the internet costs nothing, and yet can go a long way.

It did for me.

But enough of my sappy rambling, please enjoy this last chapter of mine. I hope it brings you as much joy as it brought me when I was writing it. Love you all so so much!

Chapter 8 of How Do I Trust Again?

[writers-potion]

Hi! How do I write a mafia novel?

How To Write A Mafia Novel

The term “mafia novel” makes me think of a few possibilities here. It could be (1) an action-thriller where our hero is either fighting the mafia or is a part of the mafia or (2) a mafia romance novel, where the love interest(s) come from rich mafia backgrounds.

If you’re writing an action/adventure story where mafia are the bad guys:

They need to have a cause – a twisted one. No matter how bloodthirsty these mafias might be, no one works so hard for fun. 

They’re struggling financially. This is a great motive for the bad guys to attack the hero, or use more cruel methods than usual. 

The ones who are going against the mafia would be independent investigative agencies or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not your typical cop or police. 

They’re allied with other crime groups, even with some backdoor government organizations. I don’t think the depiction of mafia groups as a self-sufficing group always exchanging insults with other groups in inaccurate. Also, this raises the story stakes when your back guys combine with other bad guys to get back at the hero.  

They can’t be threatened with just an incriminating recording or photo, especially if they’re obtained illegally – which means they’re unlikely to have power as evidence.

Mafia leaders realistically won’t force their children to take over – in fact, they’ll want to keep their family out of it altogether. 

If you’re writing an action/adventure story where mafia are the good guys:

Give them a motto that gives them a cause for the higher good. Like ‘manners maketh men’ in the Kingsmen movies. In a loose sense, the Kingsmen are mafia too – they’re a secret society with lots of money, etc. 

A running theme would be that you can afford to use questionable methods as long as the outcomes are good. The mafia would kill, steal, imprison and murder – but they always have a convincing reason. Plus, the bad guys are doing a lot worse. 

The mafia organization is flawed in a critical way. This can be anything – a newbie who starts to question the mafia’s practices, or a corrupt leader, etc. This flaw will cripple this apparently sturdy organization at the end of Act II, raising the stake sky high. 

Give them secret codes, special weapons, a quirky dress code, a tattoo? 

Show how the mafia are tightly networked among themselves, often in a good way. The senior mafia mentoring the newbies, colleagues struggling through their probation periods together, etc. The mafia are a tight-knit organization. 

For a mafia romance, what the mafia really does or how they’re structured, etc. isn’t that important. As long as you get the black suits, expensive Jaguars, and exclusive clubs/hotels vibe right, you have enough mafia worldbuilding. What’s important are the characters. 

If you’re writing a male mafia love interest:

They’re high-ranking, filthy rich, intelligent, and cold-minded individuals who are powerful beyond your usual realm of rationality. The absolute unrealness of these sexy competent men is what’s appealing. 

The mafia background becomes the “hurtful dark backstory”. One of the main selling points of dark mafia love interests is that on the inside, they’re fractured puppies in need of some sunshine to soften up. Give them a good reason why they’re assholes to your female love interest in the beginning. They’re repressed – high time.

They must be able to draw a line between being adorably overprotective and unreasonably controlling. The same goes for their use of violence. Sure, a male mafia love interest may kill that stalker who’s been bugging our heroine but don’t have him putting bullets in the heads of people who just mildly irritate him – that’s a huge turnoff. 

If you’re writing a female mafia love interest:

Your heroine is a clear-minded, physically fit, confident, and competitive mafia queen/princess with both eyes fixed on power and success – until the male love interest comes along, either as an enemy mafia or a clueless softball. 

Alternatively, they’re oppressed by their father/brother(s) who are hard-core, bloodless men. These heroines are capable in ways that are not approved by their mafia family (like a career in social services or running a bakery, whatever) and need someone to understand and remove them from their toxic family – our male love interest. 

Again, feel free to use the mafia background as a source for some juicy, traumatizing backstory.

Hope this helps :) 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

💎If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! Also, join my Tumblr writing community for some more fun.

💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 

[yourinnerdemon]

quench the Bruce Wayne x reader thirst... I need that man like I need water

BRUCE WAYNE/BATMAN HEADCANONS

𝔄/𝔑: I hope yall remember I write for other fandoms too. anyway I love this old man.

𝔓𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤'𝔰: Bruce wayne/Batman x Gn!reader

𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: none might be ooc but istg all my fics are.

•oh where do I begin anon…

•Princess treatment all the way (but that was expected). Even if its just lending you a hand to help you out of his car, buying you stuff you looked at for 2 seconds and just generally pampering you.

•You go to gallas with him all of the time, he says he looks better when a beautiful person like you is standing next to him. Its just a way to show you off and brag about how stunning you look. He will buy you jewellery just for the occasion, maybe even a suit/dress if you don’t have any that fit the event.

•with that all said he probably won’t spend as much time as he would like with you considering he’s got the biggest company in Gotham to run, but he will try to get you to just be in the same room as him. Just enjoying your company while he does his own work.

•Considering he is THE Batman he probably won’t be next to you most nights but at the morning? He is trying to make-up for the lost time with you, attempting to seem nonchalant while inside he feels guilty. He wants to spend more time with his significant other, but he just can’t. No matter how understanding you are he will just feel guiltier and guiltier as time goes on, because of this he makes sure that special events like your birthday, anniversary and holidays are spent with him. He will clear his calendar for that day so he can really just enjoy the day with you, no matter how important the meeting is he will spend the day with you.

•Just imagine him with a vigilante lover… THE THOUGTS BRO.

•He would totally share supplies with you, no doubt. He wants to make sure you’re as safe as you can be without him being there,  he doesn’t want to interfere with your fight and potentially make it worse so he will give you all the gadgets and gizmos you could ever need.

•he will talk to you in the morning about your or his patrol and if anything interesting happened. Its his own special way of connecting to you and getting to know what happened on your side of Gotham.

•Your shared mentality about justice just deepens your bond. It makes him consider new sides and more views while still keeping his view on justice and vengeance.

•He would celebrate successful missions with you. It could just be sharing drinks on the balcony, or just joking around and giggling with you. You anchor him but still let his softer side show.

•He would gift you a new suit with a few Batman references on it, even if its just small he knows it there. And it just brings a smile on his face to know that its there, knowing that even if your vigilante identities you still have a piece of him on you.

•he’s just so whipped to be with you, literal heart eyes. You kissed him? Blushing, You hugged him? Blushing you literally went out of your way to try to talk to him during the day? Blushing. Even if he presents himself as a confident man his knees still buckle when you give him affection. Knowing that you go out of your way to show him your love just shows him that you’re loyal, not that he thinks your unloyal it just warms his heart to know that you really care about your relationship with him

ℜ𝔢𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔦𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔡!

[alrightbuckaroo]

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Here's something not at all safe for work for something I'm working on in which Carlos gives TK a helping hand :) (If you don't want to be tagged in snippets like this, just let me know!)

“Does that feel good?” Carlos asks softly, looking up at TK but never once slowing his strokes.

“Yes,” TK’s breath hitches and his hips buck. Carlos grins, lecherously, and TK feels his heart grows three times in size. Even under pleasurable agony, his heart is hellbent on finding new ways to fall in love.

“Good,” Carlos replies, and his voice sounds deceptively dulcet. He looks down and TK’s heart falters at the lost connection.

Carlos sees a pearl of white starting to bead at the tip of TK’s dick, so he presses his thumb against it. He paints the head, grinning when he hears a violent gasp fall from TK’s lips.

TK, overwhelmed by the sensation, goes to step back, but Carlos wraps a hand around his clothed thigh, holding him still.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asks, increasing the speed of his strokes. Underneath his fingertips, Carlos can feel TK’s body go tense as he tries to stay motionless. Carlos’ touch is a live wire and he’s ensnared TK in his electric grip.

Before TK can apologize for his misstep, “Fuck,” spills out instead. His muscles constrict underneath Carlos’ caress, stuck between wanting to chase his orgasm and wanting to do what Carlos says.

Carlos makes the choice for him.

Thanks, as always, for the tags:

@paperstorm, @strandnreyes, @orchidscript, and @lemonlyman-dotcom!

No pressure tagging:

@bonheur-cafe, @heartstringsduet, @reyesstrand, @herefortarlos, @lightningboltreader

@carlos-in-glasses, @literateowl, @freneticfloetry, @fifthrideroftheapocalypse, @honeybee-taskforce

@ironheartwriter, @your-catfish-friend, @theghostofashton, @thisbuildinghasfeelings, @eclectic-sassycoweyes

@whatsintheboxmh, @welcometololaland, @rmd-writes, @basilsunrise, @captain-gillian

@cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @never-blooms, @mikibwrites, @emsprovisions, and here's an open tag :)

[fipindustries]

i was watching a review by genetically modified skeptic of a christian movie about an atheist psychologist interviewing a death row serial killer who is possesed by a demon.

the demon tells the doctor that he is a demon and he is very adamant in trying to make the doctor believe him. he also apparently hates atheists and goes on a huge rant about how atheist are stupid or whatever.

now, drew (genetically modified skeptic) rightfully points out that is silly for the demon to try to convince the atheist that he is a demon or for the demon to be angry that the doctor is an atheist, after all the demon would want people to not think he is a demon so its easier for him to corrupt them and spread lies and seed doubts about god, right?

so that got me thinking how i would write a good version of this story where the demon is interviewed by an atheist doctor and his goal is not to be discovered but then the atheist slowly comes to realize what he is truly dealing with by the end of it*. the premise sounds interesting, it would lend itself to some pretty good dialog between them, some interesting mindgames and there would be the constant ambiguity of "is he really a demon or not". similar to another horror movie that i really like "the autopsy of jane doe" where two scientifically minded doctors have to perform an autopsy on the body of a woman and they slowly come to realize she was a witch and her evil powers can still affect them even after death.

first we need to establish what is the goal of the demon here, probably he wants the doctor to diagnose him as insane so that he can do an insanity plea and not get killed. this is trickier than it sounds, getting an insanity plea can be hard and doctors will try hard to detect when someone is acting in bad faith. so that would be the first central tension of the movie, wether this guy is actually insane or not.

second we need something that would make even a skeptic start to suspect that the guy might actually be possesed by a demon, maybe the act of entering the body is extremely violent and traumatic to the point that the victim goes into epileptic, a fuge state and become extremely aggressive, maybe that is how he was trapped in the first place. maybe the killer tried to summon a demon and so he was found near the ritual site surrounded by sigils and diagrams and blood and candles and a victim that was sacrified or whatever.

afterwards we could make it so that a body that is possesed for long periods of time starts to slowly rot, maybe strange paranormal phenomena that the demon cannot control starts happening around him, like not being properly captured on camera or mirror reflections looking a little strange. all things that could make the doctor start asking questions that the demon has to find the way to answer convincingly while also selling the idea that he is insane.

the trick would be in making the external phenomena weird and notorious enough that even an atheist doctor would start to open his mind to the idea that he is dealing with something paranormal but also not make it so obvious that there isnt dramatic tension for the audience and there isnt a realistic possibility for the demon to get away with it.

(*) in re-reading this i have come to realize that this is actually more or less the plot of the exorcist, for most of the movie the people are desperatly trying to find out what is wrong with the girl by diagnosing her with mental illness and doing MRI scans and whatever, and the priest himself is very skeptic of the idea that an exorcism is needed, the exorcism doesnt happen until the very end

[whumpinthepot]

Hamster Interactive Story

Chapter 15. Photoshoot

Prev - Masterlist

Content: giant/tiny, nonsexual nudity, dressing/posing/handling like a doll, ptsd, fear, swearing, being kept against their will, pet trope, cages, dehumanization, power dynamics, baby talk, ableism, selective mutism, slight bullying, being filmed (lmk if i missed any)

Pov: Hamster

Poll Winner: Pirate and Mermaid

ART, WRITING, AND POLL UNDER THE CUT!!

—-

Today is the day Ashley wanted Soap to model with you. She didn’t mention what the theme would be yet, and when she puts you on the counter where the props are set up you can only gaze in wonder at the chest full of gold coins, silks, and jewels. It's as big as your cage, and you have to crane your neck to try to see the top of it.

There are wooden paneled walls put up around the set, presumably so Soap has nowhere to try to make a run for it. You look around while Ashley goes to retrieve Soap Scrub. The  costumes are there in two piles and you pick up a random scarf to look at while you wait. 

Ashley comes back and places Soap’s shaking frame in front of you. When he doesn’t move she nudges him in the back with her finger, causing a yelp from him.

She’s scaring him.

You have to protect him from her! she’s made her point already. You frown at her and put your arms around Soap protectively, looking up at her with disapproval. 

He’s warm, and still trembling. You tighten your grip and it's clear on Ashley’s face that she gets the message. Ashley bites her lip and looks away from you. That’s right, she would never upset you. You can stop her from scaring your friend. 

Soap doesn’t hug you back, nor does his shaking settle. You can feel him looking around for a place to run or hide. Of course Ashley blocked off all exits so you’re not worried about that. 

Slowly you let go of him, glance at Ashley who has backed off, and take his hand to guide him to his costume. He numbly and stiffly follows you. 

Now that you’re standing next to him you can see that he’s about a head taller than you. It makes your heart flutter for some reason. Not like the humans who tower in comparison, just a bit taller but still your size. You smile at him to reassure that you’ve got him. He’s safe with you. 

His nerve returns when you hand him his clothes, and his face twists up as if holding back a rude remark. His sour eyes say it all, and he doesn’t take them from you.

You push the fabrics into his arms, and when he pushes you back without a word Ashley clears her throat from above you both. 

Soap nearly jumps out of his skin, snatching the costume out of your hands at lightning speed. Suddenly it's like he’s racing a clock, keeping an eye on Ashley’s hands and face while he tries to figure out how this costume works. 

You’re ready to help him if he needs it, and wait patiently for him to get dressed, in what looks like a pirate costume. He struggles with some of the extra fabrics, unsure where they fit but so far he has baggy brown pants with rips above his ankles with a long shaggy grey jacket with no sleeves. 

When Ashley instructs him on what to do with the extra cloth he jumps and looks just about to cry. You want to go comfort him more, but Ashley scoops you in that second to help you get into your own costume. 

“You’re going to be the cutest tiny mermaid!” She kisses your face, and presents you with a shimmering orange and green mermaid tail that slips on over your legs. “You won’t be able to walk with this, so mummy has to help you with it, ‘kay?” 

You don’t answer because there's no need. She’s already helping you into it, along with tape to cover your bare chest. She shifts your hair over the tape to make it look like it's naturally covering any private areas, and mists your hair with water. 

She squeals at how cute you are and sets you down on top of the pile of treasure. Some of it tumbles down to the floor with a sharp clatter, and you don’t move in fear of falling. Ashley takes your glasses off, and the house is back to the familiar blurriness it always has been. You can still see where Soap Scrub is though, and you squint at him. 

Ashley is pointing and telling him to fix his costume, and before long he’s being guided towards the treasure chest to stand close to you. You can’t tell if he’s shaking but you can only assume he’s still on edge about the whole thing. Even if he got plenty of warning throughout the week. 

When Ashley shines lights on you two, you really become blinded, so you let her physically pose you how she wants for each photo. She doesn’t touch Soap at all which is a relief because you know that's what he’s really scared of. 

At one point Ashley tells Soap to climb up the coins towards you, and when he says he doesn’t want to she reaches for him as if to grab him. He scrambles away from her, and angrily shouts at her. “Alright! Alright. I’ll do it, don’t fucking touch me.” 

You’re flabbergasted and your jaw drops but he’s crawling towards you. He’s slowly getting clearer, and he looks so, so handsome. You lean towards him with a big smile, one that he doesn’t return, and then the coins slip from under his hand. 

The first coin causes the second to slip, then the one above that, and now you’re slipping off of the top of the pile with them. Everything falls with you, and kindly enough, Soap is the one that catches you when you fall towards him. 

Your breath hitches initially but once you’re able to suck air in you cry in fear. Even though it was a very slow, very anticlimactic, very short fall, it still made your heart skip a beat and your limbs freeze up. Your arm throbs with phantom pain from when it was broken, and you cling onto Soap for dear life, crying from shock. 

“Whoa, ugh. It's okay, Hamster. Stop crying,” Soap says, and pushes you off of him gently to sit up. He definitely looks uncomfortable but he lets you keep holding his hands. Until Ashley’s giant hand gets close, then he makes a break for it, and jumps a foot away from you. 

Ashley picks you up, and presses you close to her chest. “I’m so sorry honey bunny, was that scary? I would never let you get hurt again. You’re safe, it's okay. I got some good shots. How about we stop for today. How does that sound?” She completely ignores Soap Scrub and wipes your tears away with her soft finger. 

She puts you back into shorts and a tank top, but she keeps holding you against her chest while she cleans up. Her heart hammers against your cheek, and you close your eyes, relaxing until she puts you back into your cage for the night. By then you’re calm again, and thrilled to go talk to Soap Scrub once Ashley goes to bed. You want to know what he thought about the whole photoshoot. He probably hated it, but you’d like to hear his thoughts anyway. 

Ashley is watching the news, and you dully listen to it while laying on your back. Something about pet liberation, but you don’t care enough to understand it, it's boring. 

Ashley shows you some of the pictures before she goes to bed and you’re happy to see how beautifully they turned out. Soap’s grumpy demeanor actually played into the role quite well, and you do look beautiful with the shimmering tail. You’re excited to hear about the comments you get when Ashley posts them. 

Once Ashley’s in bed you happily climb out of your cage, keeping well away from the counter ledge, and rush to where Soap lives. 

He’s expecting you, and already leaning against the bars to greet you. “Don’t you ever get sick of her talking to you like you’re a baby?” 

You shake your head with a smile, and give him a chocolate chip. He deserves a reward for participating today. 

“Thanks,” he says flatly. “Do you know what conditioning is? If you looked it up in a dictionary your face would be there.” 

You don’t really, but you do know he’s being rude so you roll your eyes. You don’t care about his questions. You want to know what he thought of the whole thing. 

You point at him. 

“Right, because I can totally understand what you’re asking right now,” he retorts. He bites his lip while looking down and gets more serious. “Were you listening to the news earlier? I wonder if it's real… You know, people breaking into places to ‘rescue’ pets. Maybe they’d help me, or maybe they’d just make things worse. Who knows…” 

You’re shocked at his dialogue and shake your head in horror. You do NOT want that to happen. 

“Hamster, if you let me out you could come with me you know. You don’t have to stay here with her… I know you love her, but it's messed up. People don’t belong in cages. I don’t belong in a cage. I don’t want to be someone's doll. I don’t want her touching me all the time. I don’t want her making money off me, and dressing me, and taking away my freedom. Fuck, she doesn’t even like me.” He laughs out of reflex, and says, “With you it’s different. She’s nice to you, but she’s using you.” 

You feel bad. He still hasn’t adjusted it seems, and besides, he had a point. Ashley isn’t as nice to him for some reason, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to lose your only friend. You can’t let him go, at least, not yet, not while you’re confused and conflicted. Besides, Ashley is nice to you, and Soap is usually a jerk, so really why would you want to go with him? 

You shake your head sadly and look away from him. You need time to think about all of this. Maybe someday you would like to explore the world, but not today. Not when Ashley still needs you. You couldn’t imagine breaking Ashley’s heart like that. Not in a million years. Still, the thought of people coming in to ‘rescue’ you has you a bit shaken. Especially if they wanted to hurt Ashley in the process. You will have to actually start paying attention to the news before making any sort of decision. 

“Alright then.” Soap sounds done with trying to convince you. One last thing he mumbles before you leave for bed is, “You looked good in your costume today by the way…” 

You absolutely beam at the compliment and wave goodbye at him for the night. You think about everything while you swing in your hammock. If Soap was around for so long before Ashley found him, you wonder if more tinies will ever show up. The thought both excites you and scares you. 

—

Tag list: @frogkingdom @verkja @whumpsday @octopus-reactivated @marvel-gt @rsitb-second-account @fallen-grace-smd @winged-wolf-s-collection-of-arts @kyp-the-spacekiwi @ilasknives @hollowgast1 @redd956 @zobodahobo @alittlewhump @blackrosesandwhump p @angst-after-dark @sandygarnelle @coppercoyoti i @kim-poce @mayisreallygay @smoll-stace @demondamage @vickytokio @whump-in-the-closet @shadowsnowdapple @whumpy-wyrms @re-whump @cypresscove @whumpninja @highlighterwhump @taters169

Clumping the tags together, Lmk if theres an issue with tagging! Also thank you @alittlewhump for helping me out with this chapter:))

[melkyt]

CW: Lawlu, Soulmates, Potential DofLaw mention

Soulmate au where the mark is ones destiny, ones fate & future

Luffy who refuses to read his, he doesnt want or needs to know his future, he will chose, even if that choice matches his mark when he finds out what it is, and wont care when and if it doesnt match then he doesn't care. Then it gets destroyed during one of the many battles off his life, covered with scar tissue, leaving the point moot

Law like in any soulmate fic i write for him, uses it as a lifeline, something to tell him that he does have a future, on those difficult days, he tries to believe there is something better for all of them

It reads 'Pirate God King' painted on top of sun, its vague enough that he is never sure who it could be.

Doflamingo, albeit self-proclaimed, matches all three words, especially after he takes the throne of Dressrosa.

With Law's fate until this point, maybe this is all he gets. He should forget about finding his soulmate. Perhaps that would be better, maybe he has been leaning on it too much, and should focus on taking down Doflamingo one way or another. It wont matter what he is to Law when the bastard is dead.

He has his crew, his friends and that is all he needs. Romantic Love is something he has lost enough times over the years, and a platonic soulmate barely crosses his mind, even if he would like that as much as a romantic partner

Then he meets Luffy and thinks for the first time in a long time start to make sense, a feeling that everything is right with the world, that whatever the universe, whatever fate has decided for him, is almost within reach, if he can just go a little longer.

Soon he will find the thing he was looking for in the darkest moments of his life. That the mark that sustains him, the sun that he would trace time and time again would reveal itself.

It's not so simple, maybe Luffy's mark remains unknown, or maybe those that knew Luffy as a child (Ace or Sabo) casually reveal that the mark he had matched Law's in one way or another, though it would be guess work on all their parts.

Luffy does not even mention which scar had covered it so Law can use his power to find out, as it goes under the skin, under the scar.

Luffy is determined to choose, but not until he is King of the Pirates, not until he achieves his dream.

Despite that, Law finds himself spending more and more time with the strawhats, finding little reasons to go in the same direction, and while they could go for months without seeing each other, once they meet again it is as if no time has passed whatsoever. It feels right.

[tennessoui]

#6, #20, and/or #38 for Road Trip AU my beloved!

ooo thank you for these road trip au (a/b/o dynamics within)!! i will answer them all and then just write a few paragraphs for one :D

6. Who would beg the other not to leave? Who has to leave to protect the other?

ok what an interesting question for road trip au cause you know they've probably thought loosely about how one of them should move out because they're too attached and this is gonna end in heartbreak

but like the moment the other one is like 'hey let's resign the lease together forever and ever', the first one is like 'yeah of ocurse lets do it. best friend roommates for life.'

but in the hypothetical next chapter for the fic, it's anakin that goes into rut and then refuses to let obi-wan be in the room with him for his safety and to try and respect obi-wan's wishes - and obi-wan definitely irrationally feels like this means anakin has left/doesn't want him at all anymore

20. Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

oooo the "you are my sunshine" song but when they hear it/sing it, they're both convinced the other one is the "you"

38. Who is more sexually experimental? Who’s more vanilla?

i think there's a moment in the fic/christmas fic where obi-wan mentions a hot professor flying into town and meeting up for some casual bdsm (which he never would have agreed to if he knew at the same time anakin was meeting jezebel) so i feel like obi-wan's more sexually experimental. he can separate his instincts from every day life super well (for everyone but anakin ofc). i'm sure anakin has done his own experimenting with kinks and such but you'd never know he likes to toss people around for how gently he places obi-wan in the bed lol

and for the writing! 20. what's their song (feat some post-get together fluff):

Obi-Wan wakes blearily to the feeling of the mattress shifting beneath him, the weighted blanket of Anakin's arm moving away. He lets out a noise of protest, though it's not nearly as indignant as he intends, residual sleepiness stealing the edge of his irritation.

"Hush," Anakin murmurs, hand carding gently through his hair as he pulls away. "I heard her shifting around on the monitor, she's about to wake up."

The worst part is, the alpha sounds downright chipper about it, as if their infant's fussy sleeps are like little tiny miracles or unexpected snow days that cancel school.

Obi-Wan grunts and rolls over into Anakin's warm spot. If Anakin wants to get up this time, then he's not going to complain. If Anakin wants to get up every time, in fact, Obi-Wan isn't going to complain. Obi-Wan's worked night shifts most of his adult life. On parental leave with a partner willing and eager to get up in the middle of the night to feed his daughter, to change his daughter, to cuddle his daughter back to sleep, Obi-Wan's not getting up for anything.

The apartment is quiet and still, the only sounds being the faint shifting noises coming from the baby monitor as his daughter fusses herself awake. Obi-Wan rolls his head to the side and squints at the digital clock on Anakin's side of the bed. 2:12.

Later than usual, but still far too damn early. He rolls back to look at the ceiling, trying to convince his body to relax back into the sleep he so desperately needs, even though he knows it's already a lost cause. After six months sleeping beside Anakin Skywalker, he can't sleep alone. He's forgotten how.

When the baby monitor crackles alive with the sound of Anakin's croons, just a moment before his daughter's first shrill cry, Obi-Wan sits up and slips his feet into the slippers by his bed. He knows what comes next, and suddenly he does not want to miss this.

By the time he convinces his old bones and sore body to walk from the warmth and comfort of Anakin's (and now his too) bedroom to the nursery--Obi-Wan's old room--Anakin has picked up his daughter and has begun to pace around the room. He's already on the second verse.

"When I awoke dear, I was mistaken," his alpha murmur-sings, large hand completely engulfing the back of her head as he sways in place. Her cries have dropped to steady whimpers. "So I hung my head and cried."

Obi-Wan leans against the open door and looks at them. It's with a kernel of satisfaction that he thinks that he'd been right. Anakin was made to be a father. He was so good at it. So beautiful with his baby in his arms, expression soft and open and vulnerable and so sweet that Obi-Wan almost thinks that perhaps he's not supposed to be looking at this. Even though she's his daughter, and he's his alpha.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," Anakin sings, with such wonder in his tone that Obi-Wan pushes off the doorway and enters the room just to be closer to him. His presence seems to take Anakin by surprise, because the alpha blinks at him before frowning lightly, running his hand over the top of her head as he takes in Obi-Wan's presence. "You're supposed to be asleep, baby."

"I named her after that song, you know," Obi-Wan murmurs, stepping forward until he can run a finger down her soft cheek. He rests his chin on Anakin's shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Rey, like ray of sunshine."

"Oh," Anakin says. "No, I didn't know that."

"Because you used to sing me that song," Obi-Wan adds, turning and pressing his lips to the bare skin of Anakin's neck. "When I was exhausted from work or sick or you thought I was asleep."

"I definitely thought you were asleep," Anakin says, eyes falling back to his baby. She's gone back to sleep. Little Rey Kenobi-Skywalker, curled up on her father's chest and fast asleep as if she'd never fussed at all.

"I used to hear that song and think about you," Obi-Wan admits. "You'll never know, dear, how much I love you..."

"That's funny, sweetheart," Anakin replies, turning towards him so that the baby is kept safely between their bodies and Anakin can look at him with dark eyes. "Cause I used to sing that to you and mean every word."

[ladykailitha]

WIP Wednesday Game

It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames or specific AUs your WIPs; not titles, filenames (eg werewolf AU, unnamed mafia omegaverse, or Steve's Rizz vs Eddie's Zero Filter.)

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write at least 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. If you tag me in your post, I will send you an ask request!

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

My only problem is that I tend to file name what the title is so I can find it easier, so...here’s what they were called before I titled them.

“File” Names

Nanny AU

Stripper AU

Sugar!Baby AU

Game Show AU

Olympic Swimmer AU

Snippet

From the game show AU! Can you tell this is on a streaming service like Max or Netflix lol?!

“Hey, everyone!” Bob said. “Welcome to a brand new season of ‘Love Connection’ where we help lonely people make that special connection. This season we will be focusing on getting all those fancy letters LGBTQ+ a chance at love. We have your gays, your lesbians, your non-binary folks, your trans people, and one very special ace lady just looking for love.”

The audience politely clapped.

“I’m your host Bob Newby and today we have one very lucky catch. Steve Harrington from Hawkins, IN. He’s a middle school teacher who recently became a cat dad, to the adorable Odie.” A picture of Odie sleeping on Steve’s chest under his chin is shown on the screen behind them. “He coaches basketball and the swim team. And yes he does look hot in a Speedo!” A picture of Steve in a blue Speedo and wearing a white jacket and his whistle.

Steve decided he was going to murder Robin and/or Chrissy for that photo alone. Especially when the crowd goes wild, complete with wolf whistles.

“He enjoys watching sports, swimming, and reading in his spare time,” Bob continued. “He has tried everything to get a partner in this hellscape we call modern life, apps, bars, clubs and not just the ones with a dance floor and sick beats. So he came to us, so let’s see if we can match him to any of our suitors.”

It's that great and wonderful time of the week again! WIP Wednesday!

The game runs from 8am-11pm EST.

Send in as many asks as you want as often as you want.

@mira-jadeamethyst @zerokrox-blog @forgottenkanji @w1ll0wtr33 @thesecondfate

@acingthecounts @beelze-the-bubkiss @just-a-tiny-void @kultiras @niniel-karenine

@dreamercec

[nail-art-no-jutsu]

🎶🌹 Rojuro 'Rose' Otoribashi headcanons 🌹🎶

Soundtrack: Alexis Ffrench - A Time of Wonder

Y'all I'm back on the bleachwagon and I can't stop thinking about this man, I especially love to imagine how he got to where he is, and finally I'm putting all my ideas in one place. So without further ado:

I don't think he grew up in Soul Society, but I definitely think he died at the worst possible time, when he was young and life was good and easy, and he had time to indulge in his hobbies, music in particular

like Toshiro, Rose heard the calling of Kinshara before he knew what it was, he just thought it was just something that happens to artists after they die

but unlike Toshiro, I imagine Rose told everyone, cause he just talks a lot in general lmao, and someone or other must have told him that what he's describing is called a zanpakuto

otherwise he wouldn't have gone and become a Shinigami at all

he was only interested in the training he needed in order to understand this creative force inside of him that he absolutely must express outwardly, and no instrument seems to be good enough

... except for a sword ...

he absolutely hated the Academy though, not enough room for creative freedom, too much structure, no composing daydreaming in class allowed, not to mention how he always got the best ideas for songs he wanted to write while he was in the middle of a training session

the only good thing about the Academy was meeting many of the people he would call friends for way over a hundred years

Rose didn't acquire shikai or even bankai in order to advance in his career or to become more powerful, he did so because it would have been impossible not to

Kinshara is very insistent and when it has something to show him, he has no choice, not that he doesn't absolutely love the experience, it's so magnificent that it moves him to tears of joy, it's ecstatic, it's sensory heaven

Rose: look at this thing I just learned to do, isn't this wonderful? Any of his friends: my dude, that's called a shikai, go apply for the position of Lieutenant. right now!!!!

he goes through a phase where he's uncomfortable with the fact that Kinshara doesn't just entertain, it kills

he'd be a lover not a fighter if it wasn't for how much farther he got artistically after learning to use his love for music for fighting

he overcomes this dilemma by telling himself that it's fine actually because he's one of the good guys, and promising that he'll only blur the line between creation and destruction against opponents who really deserve it

how do you identify that? he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it. don't worry about it

Rose didn't have a good time as a Lieutentant, again, too much structure, but he actually did apply for the position of Captain himself, at least that way he'd get to make the rules and he could take breaks whenever he wanted and procrastinate with his paperwork until he found the perfect background music for it and so on

this did not work out that great, because he had a very hard time working with Iba's mother as his Lieutenant, she had no patience for *gestures towards all of this*, and I also suspect she might have been resentful that someone so carefree ended up as her superior

and to fast forward just for a bit, Izuru is not like that at all, and it's one of the first things that Rose appreciates about him, Izuru does respect structure, but he's not above doing the work in all kinds of unusual ways as long as it gets done

a thing that Rose shares with Shinji is that he's always been interested in what's going on in the world of the living, especially when it comes to music, and then he branched out to literature, philosophy, pop culture, and other things that are referenced in lyrics, that's how he learns about things, even if after that he starts enjoying them for their own sake

I can see them both taking trips to music stores or to concerts on Earth, separately or together, especially when they were supposed to be doing something else

Rose just really needs a lot of enrichment in his enclosure or else he absolutely will wilt and perish, most gracefully, of course~

he is in fact not a snob when it comes to music, he knows the lyrics to songs you'd least expect, and he can appreciate the artistic value of artists or genres that he doesn't really listen to

you wanna rickroll him? nice try, he loves that song

and yeah, this is getting so long someone pls take my keyboard away from me

just kidding, this is way too much fun 💖

[yallthemwitches]

First, I want to say that you are an incredible writer and I love how you write James and Lily. It’s so clear from how you portray them that there is this absolute love and connection between them.

Looking over your post yesterday lamenting how Harry never got to see his parents happy and in love has me wondering. Harry goes to such a low point after seeing SWM that he questions his parents relationship to the point of thinking that James forced Lily into marriage (which by extension could imply rape). It seems odd to go that low and then only say “nah, she didn’t.” Do you think the author intended to go this far in unsettling James and Lily’s relationship?

It feels like in an effort to make Snape more sympathetic she undermined James and Lily’s relationship. Do you think she meant for James and Lily happy and in love in their marriage? (I mean, you make it work so effortlessly and perfectly in your stories but I feel like you’re not trying to sacrifice them to make Snape a hero.) What are your thoughts on their portrayal in original series?

First of all, thank you so much for the compliment! It really means a lot!

I agree with you on the frustration around the "Nah, she didn't" line and it being not very effective. It feels like a way to very quickly wrap up Harry's worry just so they could get back to the main plot. It's a shame because that's kinda a big deal to feel like your parent's ( who you idolized) fell from grace and I'm sure Sirius and Lupin had 100x examples of good time Jily to relieve Harry's worry.

I don't think I need to express that I do think Jily were happy and truly in love canonically. There is proof in the text. But, I do think asshole author tried (and failed) in a lot of ways to try to make Snape sympathetic and unfortunately that probably cut a lot of scenes we could have gotten of happy Jily because seeing them in love would have handicapped Snape's emotional end goal.

Honestly, I would love someone who is a Snape sympathist to make it make sense for me because every way I turn it, I can not condone any of the choices Snape makes even though he was in love. I don't necessarily think asshole author intended to "bash" jily, but I think she really needed to get the audience to a place where we felt for Snape by the end of the series and maybe glossed over things in order to make us forget that maybe Snape was actually just a creepy racist who was obsessed with his childhood crush.

Honestly, I could rant about the many implications that Snape wanted to buy/rape/otherwise possess Lily by asking for Voldemort to spare her and kill James/Harry (like what does Voldy think he wants her for? A pal???) and how the James being worse than Snape argument is dumb and stupid, but I'll save that for another post.

Thanks for asking xxx

[greenerteacups]

Hi GT! Congratulations on the last chapter, as always! Lately my brain has been fixated on a detail that I find very interesting. I can't help but think that any adult in LH who is preparing for war has at least once thought while looking at Draco "ok, this could definitely help us in the future". And I find it almost hilarious because I love the way you characterize Artur and Molly and their protective instinct towards the kids... but let's be honest, Hermione, Ron and Harry have ensured the heir of the greatest house in the wizarding world to the cause.

One of the interesting parts about the Harry Potter series is that both sides of the conflict use child soldiers, and you get to see a realistic range of reactions to that from the adults around them. There's Molly, who's reasonably unconditionally opposed to it on the grounds that They're Children, and then Sirius, who unreasonably supports it on the grounds of being himself a stunted teenager, and then Mad-Eye, who reasonably supports it on the grounds of "they're going to have to fight anyway," and Dumbledore, who is some combination of these viewpoints depending on the situation — most protective of Harry when the danger is real, but perhaps necessarily the most realistic about Harry's role in ending the war. Lionheart has a slightly different cast of adults, because it's a different POV, but you still see a range of opinions from Narcissa ("you'll harm my son over my dead body, but also he needs to be able to defend myself") to Snape ("careful, Draco") to Moody (the same, arguably more so, because he's thinking of the long game) and Dumbledore (again, some situation-dependent combination of viewpoints). The kids are often so caught up in their own part of the conflict that it doesn't occur to them the strategic decisions that are happening over their heads — when you're a teen and an adult tells you you're too young for something, the kneejerk reaction is "fuck off" — but there are always conversations happening in other rooms, especially in Grimmauld Place.

[lunar-years]

obviously Jamie not being in season 4 would suck mostly because I simply want Jamie to be there and to get more of his story and get to enjoy more interactions between Jamie and the other characters. At the end of the day though, I can just not watch s4, which I'm perfectly okay with.

what sucks EVEN MORE to me, and is far harder to avoid, is that not having Jamie in the show totally changes the *canon* of the character in a way that will inevitably bleed over into fan spaces, regardless of whether or not I'm actively watching. However they write him out (I assume it would just be having him go to another team) becomes the new "Jamie Tartt canon." And that small thing totally changes his story and we don't even get to see it play out! When i was perfectly happy playing in my sandbox of a million equally valid possibilities.