#clicked in that annoying way things have of Clicking where its just so perfect and satisfying i worry nothing will ever feel right

[hatsunemitskislobotomy]

˚◞♡ ⃗ ❝ 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙚 ❞* ೃ༄

↳ ♡₊˚. ❝ ¡love and deepspace sorta kinda spicy! eluding headcanons lolz! ❞

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙

something about those boys and ripping pantyhose’s… sigh

sure it’s attractive, quite attractive actually but more often than not the boys seem to miss the mark as to why you’re wearing them (and why it’s not okay to suddenly come back not wearing them) until one day you overhear tara and some of your other female colleagues discussing a durable pair of pantyhose’s perfect for the summertime where the typical deepspace hunter pants tend to be a little bit on the heavier side.

however your interest was piqued either way— might as well do the girls a favor and test how really durable they are

xavier

you two are so in sync with once another, gentle touches and heightened breathing— your reactions from each other drove each other crazy, it was perfect

which is why he looked like a kicked puppy when he realizes that the pantyhose’s you were wearing were NOT coming off with the hook of his finger

“i… i dont understand…”

oh poor thing they never do

you explain to him that the other female deepspace hunters wanted to test out their durability— you just happened to know a good test for them

he understands, but he still doesn’t know why you’re wearing it with him

you sigh, the initial test was a success but now he was really trying to make you spell it out for him

you pull out the small dagger out of its sheath that rested on your thigh

he looks at you in confusion as you wrap his fingers around the hilt

“i’m sure you can figure out your way around this obstacle.”

and then it clicks and his face of confusion is no more

it’s safe to say, the same trick won’t work on him twice

rafayel

this man takes it as a personal attack— like you might as well have had called him a lemurian slur

“so you want me to die?”

you loved him, but this man was always doing the absolute most but he won’t admit it

if anything you’re getting ALL the blame, you got him all worked up and then you stroll up wearing the indestructible pantyhose’s from hell

he flickers a flame in between his fingers

talking about some “i wonder if they’re fireproof”

you was not about to let him find out— YOU WERE STILL WEARING THEM

“what? can’t handle a little fire?”

and he had the nerve to act like you did an attempt on his life meanwhile this man was scheming as he poked and prodded the thick mesh around your thighs

you two practically start wrestling until he has you pinned

“fine we’ll do things your way, but promise to let me burn them after they’re off.”

zayne

you had been a brat obnoxious all evening it was no wonder he was itching to put you in your place

as per usual it was attractive how he’d reach over your body to pin your arms against the bed as face to face with your torso looking absolutely starved

but right when he was about to tear into you (figuratively and literally), that pesky pair of mesh you always sported were NOT budging

he had to pause and take a minute to reflect

my man was ready to ravish you like how a predator would to their prey but he was being bested by fabric

you were trying so hard not to laugh because you can see the cogs turning in his head

“it seems that i’ve played into your hands.”

you chuckle, innocently claiming that you were getting a tad bit tired of all the pantyhose’s that he’d tear into, it was a lot of money wasted

he insures that it’s never a waste he keeps a collection of all the ones he’s torn

the entire situation is too funny to you, you really can’t help but giggle at him

he really can’t stay annoyed at you, he also did find it a lot funnier than it should’ve been

he still wanted to have his way with you

“it’s no matter, all this is to show that i’ll have to be the gentleman you deserve.”

sure your pantyhose’s were spared that night but you weren’t

❀° ┄───╮

a/n: y’all this idea literally fell from the damn sky— well actually i just saw those instagram promo stories about those hella thick and durable pantyhose’s soooo thank instagram ig?

it’s nothing crazy— i can’t write smut without having a visceral reaction sooo uh… i salute the girlies on here who can bc PHEW 🫡🫡🫡

also i wrote this on the bus lolz, thank god for privacy screen protectors

okay love you all mwah mwah MWAHHHH

╰───┄ °❀

[winwintea]

stop posting about BALLER - zhong chenle

PAIRING ↬ boyfriend!zhong chenle x reader

GENRES ↬ pure crack idk... fluff, romance, some angst if you look in between the lines, chenle loves basketball more than you. unfortunately.

AUTHOR'S NOTE ↬ inspired by a fic i read on ao3, a tiktok i watched where op got mad at their boyfriend for having headphones in while making out, plus my post here. and also chenle's recent fanboying activity in la. ignore the title its a placeholder for now, in honor of my dear friend @syatchy london stop writing for chenle challenge

WORD COUNT ↬ 1.3K

Everyone had their hobbies. You knew your boyfriend liked basketball, you just didn’t realize he liked it that much. 

Making it your life’s goal to win over the heart of Zhong Chenle, you spent countless hours studying quizlet flashcards, watching a couple of basketball games, even trying to learn the sport as well. Although you were surprised when it didn’t take more than a few dates for you to begin dating. 

Your best friend Ning Yizhuo, on the other hand, had other ideas. 

“I just think he’s a big red flag. Who the hell puts “I’m always ballin’” as their twitter bio?” She’s sprawled across your bed, mindlessly stalking your boyfriend’s social media accounts. “What if your man loves another man more than he loves you?” 

You’re paying her no mind, working on a basketball basics test on your laptop. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams play each other in the conference finals, to determine the Conference Champions from each side. The winners then play in the NBA Finals. 

Yizhuo suddenly stands up, “Hello? Earth to Y/N? Are you ignoring me?” You’re about to answer your next question, until she starts waving her hands in your face.

“What the hell, Yizhuo?” You turn around annoyed. “I was locked in!”

“Studying for basketball is crazy… Just warning you Y/N. Don’t come crying to me when your boyfriend calls you Stephen Curry’s name instead of your own.” 

You punch her in the shoulder, “I swear to god-” 

But Yizhuo seemed unfazed by your attacks, continuing on, “I’m just saying from experience hon. Sports guys like him will never love you as much as he loves his balls.”

“Um.. that’s what she said.”

—

Despite Yizhuo’s warnings and what she seemed so sure of, you and Chenle clicked in a way that none of your exes ever did. If he invited you to the gym, you’d show up with a yoga mat, pretending to do Pilates while sneaking glances at him bench pressing. If Chenle said he was hungry, you’d learn how do use a frying pan, determined to whip up something edible. And if he asked you to come over, you’d throw on your best outfit, adding an extra touch of appeal, and never forget to bring a treat for Daegal.

Spending time with Chenle was easy. It seemed almost too easy, that you began to slightly question why everything seemed so perfect. 

If there were any red flags like Yizhuo pointed out, it was probably too small to see in the mix of fun times you spent together.

Times spent together usually and often ended with the two of you cuddling or making out on his couch. 

Unsurprisingly, Chenle was a really good kisser. Plus, he was good at cuddling. You had no doubts in that moment you laid eyes on him, but everything was certainly up to expectations. He knew exactly how to hold you in his arms and make you feel like you were on top of the whole damn world. 

As you leaned in closer for another this time, your hands running through his hair, you took notice of his features. His incredibly sharp jawline (mewing tutorial when?), the flushed pink splashed across his collarbones up to his cheeks, and now that he grew out his hair longer, it was much harder to see the shape of his ears-

Hold on.

You blink and then squint your eyes for a couple of seconds, hoping you’re just imagining things.

“Chenle. Are those Airpods?”

Chenle immediately pushes you off of him and then freezes.

You see every single emotion flash through Chenle’s eyes, but he’s still speechless. You’d honestly thought you’d been through the entire spectrum of men in your life, from guys who had memes tattooed on their chest to guys who brought their mother to dates to guys with an extremely interesting savior complex, but nothing could’ve prepared you for this.

Relax. You still had your dignity to protect. “What… are you listening to?” Maybe he was into listening to music while making out, maybe some relaxing sounds people used to cope with traumatic intimate experiences??? You were thinking of anything at this point, trying to brace yourself for the absolute worse. 

“Highlights” Chenle begins, looking at you nervously, “For uh, for the Warriors game.” Before you can even process the info, Chenle rambles on, “We’re so so close to a wild card spot and I wanted to turn the game on earlier, but you were talking about your project you were working on and I really wanted to listen, and right now it’s not like we’re talking about anything important, so I figured it might be alright if I-“

what the fuck… yeah shut the hell up right now please, you think as he keeps rambling, and turn around to grab a pillow behind to smack this big headed shit right in the head. 

“Ow-“ Chenle throws his hands up in defense, trying to block the pillow that comes crashing down. “What? Hey!”

“Zhong Chenle. I’m going to chop your fucking dick off.”

—

In the end, Chenle’s dick remains intact. 

After letting himself get beaten up by a pillow, he manages to get you to calm down, taking the airpods out, which makes you a little bit happier than you were before. 

Chenle leaves you on the couch to take a shower, allowing you to ponder for a bit. Were you being too restricting this way? Chenle seemed to still care about you, and didn’t want to take away time from your own interests as well. I mean… maybe you needed to get into basketball as well to fully understand. 

As you lounge on the couch, scrolling aimlessly through Pinterest, you hear the faint sound of the shower turning off. Before you know it, Chenle slips onto the couch beside you, his presence warm and comforting. In one smooth motion, he curls himself around you, arms gently wrapping around your waist as his head nestles into the crook of your neck. The familiar scent of the shampoo you gifted him lingers in the air, blending with the soft warmth of his skin. 

Your mind's racing, caught between conflicting emotions. And damn, Chenle smells incredible, which really isn’t helping right now.

A minute of silence passes before he finally speaks, his voice soft but serious. “Look, I get if you’re uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to push any boundaries. If that was too much, I won’t do it again. And if this is something that’s going to be a dealbreaker for us, I get it—we can end things here.”

“No, wait—no,” you cut in, setting your phone aside to face him. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”

Okay, it was weird. You’ll give him that. Maybe his “casual” obsession with basketball wasn’t as casual as you thought. And sure, that might be a red flag for some.

But Yizhuo’s wrong. Maybe Chenle’s got a deeper connection with his basketballs than you or whoever she’s comparing him to, but at least he’s never moaned or called you Stephen Curry in the heat of the moment.

That’s gotta count for something, right?

Yeah, maybe this wasn’t so bad. You could get used to this. Besides, he already promised he wouldn’t do it again.

Your thoughts bounce back and forth, but after a while, you break the silence with a quiet, “Did you win?”

His head lifts from your shoulder instantly, excitement buzzing in his voice. “Yeah, we did! Secured our spot in the conference finals.”

Conference finals. Oh, right. You recognize that term—studied it on Quizlet like the good, supportive partner you are.

You take a deep breath, bracing yourself, swallowing down the nervous lump in your throat. Chenle might be a bit obsessed with the sport, but he was supportive of your own goals and actually a really nice boyfriend. 

“Tell me about it.”

PERM TAGLIST ↬ @lyvhie @aquaphoenixz @galacticnct @ldh0000

[phant0mth1ef]

you wanna be one of them? yeah.

-

being born with a villainous quirk wasn’t for the weak, after all quirks were just something that couldn’t be changed. nor could parents, and that’s how you found yourself running around with all for one at the young age of 4. because by 4, society had already turned its’ back on you.

the ability to destroy anything you touched was something that all for one knew he could use in his quest to turn shigaraki into the perfect fighting machine. and you, you were just so gullible.

the first time you’d watched a ua sports’ festival was when you were 15, and you were in awe as you watched what everyone could do. everyone who didn’t have villainous quirks.

it made you angry. because why were they accepted by society and you weren’t?

so there you sat, angry as you got to the fighting portion of the sports’ festival. you’d clicked the tv off with an annoyed push onto the little button, nearly destroying the remote in the process.

when you’d been face to face with them for the first time, some green haired kid looked at you with pity in his eyes, as if he believed you could be saved.

you’d wanted to kill him right then and there, wanted to make him eat his words as you nearly destroyed the ground beneath him.

during the attack on the training camp, you’d found yourself standing in front of some blonde kid with anger issues. he’d just looked at you, rage in his eyes.

“the hell are you doing?! with a quirk like that, you’d be great.” oh he was just so condescending it irked you.

“shut up. you know people used to look at me funny? i was 4, getting looked at funny by grown adults because of how destructive my quirk was. you’re looking at me funny right now. tenko was right, you’re all just so… lame.” the way you spoke, it was just so evident that you’d been under his control for so long. too long.

after he’d been captured, he couldn’t take his eyes off you as you sat down with the league, you were the youngest member of such a monstrous organization. and yet, you were shigaraki’s right hand man. well. woman.

come to think of it, you and shigaraki didn’t look all that different. no, you had his blue hair and his red eyes.

once he’d been rescued, he hadn’t seen you again until you found yourself being teleported into coffin in the sky, shigaraki right by your side as you fought to the very end.

“you won’t be leaving here, shigaraki family. we won’t allow it!” best jeanist spoke.

“tenko, i’m scared.” shigaraki looked over at you, tears brimming in your eyes as your core begun to shake your entire body, you were frozen in fear.

when they looked at you, all they saw was a war criminal and a cold blooded murderer.

and when tenko looked at you, he saw his 4 year old sister, crying because nobody liked her.

shigaraki went down on one condition, you were to live. because you still had so much more that you had to do.

the first people to have a conversation with you were the students of class 1a of all people, who sat across you.

your arms and legs were bound by handcuffs as you scowled.

“i just wanna know one thing, why?” bakugou asked, sincerity in his voice as he looked at you. he knew what it was like to be messed up and he wanted to fix you.

“i don’t know why. honestly, the last few years have been a blur. i just went whenever tenko went. i dunno. i wanted to be one of you guys. with the hero like quirks that’ll get you all far in the world. wish i could’ve gotten that opportunity.” you smiled, the bags under your eyes were ironically bright.

“so you don’t remember killing all those people?” mineta snapped at you.

“no, i don’t. i just remember watching your sports’ festival and being amazed. made me mad that you guys got to live good lives like that. especially you two.” you pointed two fingers at bakugou and midoriya.

“you. you’re destined for greatness.” you pointed to bakugou.

“unfortunately, i wasn’t.” you frowned as the cops picked you up from where you sat, leading you out.

[thewritetofreespeech]

Could I request Gojo and his wife being all cuddly and couple-y while their in the middle of a fight?

You punch yet another cursed spirit in its presumed face and it falls down instantly before evaporating.

These guys weren’t strong. There were just a lot of them. Which was more annoying than anything. Give you one good grade 1 curse to fight all out over a horde of weaklings any day. It made you think of the riddle Satoru asked you once of ‘would you rather fight 10 80-year-olds, or 80 10-year-olds’. Sure, they were weak, but 80 10-year-olds (or grade 3s) was exhausting.

“Oy! [Y/N]-chan!” You turn to look across the ‘battlefield’, where Gojo was fighting his own batch of presumed weaklings, to find him perched on some rock in a deep lunge, calling out to you with both hands. “You’re doing great sweetie!”

You snicker a little at his comment, just as another curse tried to attack you. Only to be swatted down like its colleagues. “This is boring!” You shout back.

Gojo straightened, then seemed to almost click his heels together before appearing beside you. “Wanna dance then?”

The cheeky grin on his face sent invisible shivers down your spine. “What about your brood?”

“Eh, they’ll come over here eventually when they figure it out. Along with being weak, they seem pretty dumb.” His hand reached out to you. The large palms and long fingers sliding over yours before interlocking your fingers. “Come on. Dance with me?”

You smile at Gojo. Understanding what he was asking, and play along.

With your hands together the two of you ‘dance’ around the battlefield. Making waste of the curse spirits left & right as you twirl and spin around the floor. “You’re always so graceful, my dearest one.”

“As are you Satoru.” You giggle, as the metaphorical ashes of another curse spirit flits through your hair. It almost tickled.

“This has been fun. Dancing with you, that is. But I’d like to go home now and spend the rest of the evening together properly.” Gojo then pulled you close to him. Cheek to cheek essentially. You can’t see it from this position, but you can feel the air change drastically behind you with cursed energy. The whisper of the word ‘red’ by your ear. Then suddenly all the curse spirits were gone in a flash.

“You could have done that this whole time?” You ask Gojo when you pull back from him, but not out of his arms.

“Of course I could have.” He confirmed. “But what would have been the fun in that? We would have finished the mission in like 2 minutes and the old men would have found something else for us to do. This way, we got to spend time together. And wasting theirs.” His grin said that he was quite proud.

You hum as you think of all the things you could have been going other than this tedious chore. Still, you supposed it was nice to ‘dance’ with Gojo from time to time. “So, what do you want to do now?”

“Ooo! Let’s go get éclairs at the bakery downtown. They have a new apricot one that has apricot preserves right in the cream.”

“I thought you didn’t like apricots?” Or any fruit, for that matter.

“Well…maybe I like them more if they are in an éclair.”

You smile at him. It sounded like the perfect evening to you.

[indigos-stardust]

Violet and Blue Bruises: Bitterness (aka the lead up to their fight)

Part 1 / Part 2 /part 3/ part 4(click to open the links)

Blue has issues. He knows that he does. He knew he could come off as a jerk. Blue is from the protective and defensive side of Link. The part who flared up his ego and rebutted against his dad to protect vulnerable insecurity filled storm inside. The part that decided if anyone was gonna mess with Zelda, that he'd be the one to deal with 'em. And the rage, the type you get when you try to explain and you try your best but everyone assumes the worst of you. *cough autistic cough*

Red was the one that stopped the worst of it though. Humbled him, really. Blue was stupid and brash and shoved everything in him telling him he had to go back and kept going. Until he got frozen anyways. He spent a long time like that, utterly helpless and realizing all his regrets in the magical ice. Red saved him, with his cheeky mischievous little grin. He'd protect that. Even if Red would occasionally joke that the incident was "what cooled him down" he figured that just made them even.

Then the temple happened. Where he and Red were alone, they were tricked by the darkness to believe that Green and Vio were dead. Where Red lost all hope. And Blue was the one to keep him going, even if it was just for themselves, because they were still alive. He very "lovingly" snapped Red into reality. Red might still have nightmares about Blue being swallowed alive.

So yeah, Blue, if there's one thing he's doing right, its protecting his family! Even if he kinda has to look like the angry stupid problematic bad unwanted one sometimes. And well, okay maybe he is still bad at expressing his emotions and definitely blows up sometimes-

(He doesn't hit anymore though... he hates that he ever did but its so hard to stop it he just can't he tries so hard and-)

But Red and Blue support each other. Blue keeps Red from letting his kindness hurt him (AKA being too kind with second chances and gullible, and taking every single bit of criticism and judgment of strangers to heart) while Red helps Blue learn nuance in conversations, how to express his feelings in a way that doesn't sounds accusatory, and even how to be a bit more vulnerable. It's good. They work well together.

Red's a teaser and and sweetheart and the strongest person Blue's ever known.

Green's great. Sure, he was kinda annoyed at him at first but you know what? Green actually is a lot better at leading them than Blue would've ever been. He's honestly glad, he'd take the quiet protector role over "leader of the rainbow circus" anyday. Sure the dudes actually come out to be a little weird- Okay, "passionate" he can use nice words! He challenges Blue! Descretely punches him to shut him up, (its their love language.) Makes the most heinous dad jokes and puns he'd ever heard. Their dad loves them. They knit together, its cool. They're cool.

But then there's the nerd. Vio.

He doesn't know what's up with that guy! "oH bUt YU UsEd To Be ThE sAmE pErsOn" Yeah no. That guy is a little freaky???

He always acts like he's SO PERFECT, just being sarcastic and reading and getting ON HIS NERVES ALL THE TIME?! His stupid sly comments always make his blood boil. He'd never admit how much they got under his skin. The smug bastard's "logic" didn't even make sense.

Vio did a bunch of stupid idiotic heart attacking including crap on their adventure and he's supposed to be the smart one?! He's terrible at any organization and cleanliness TOO. He just knows Vio does it on purpose to rile him up and get him mad too! He keeps poking and prodding and making all those stupid little digs all the time and when Blue blows up he's the one who gets in trouble every time! He acts so condescending afterwards too!

Then. The worst thing of all?His ROOM. It's Blue's actual worst nightmare. He can't even look, the glimpses of the ink puddle, the papers and trash, the mugs and mugs of filthy drying teas and thrown laundry wrinkling in the corner with shelves of dust and- uengh-

Everything about them clashes. Their logic, their perspectives. Their fighting styles even. Maybe even worse than his room though, is when Vio is Right. Vio is just-

He's warmed up to the weird little nerd. He sees how Vio's joked with the others and always had a soft spot to Red, letting Red's overwhelming presence be excused in his space. You cna't be that bad of a person if you have a soft spot for Red.

But still... he's so cold. And confusing. Sorta like the Ice. But then... Over time? During the rebuilding of Hyrule he became... colder and colder. More a douche. The sarcasm starts to cut deeper. Less and less warm. Unforgiving and solid. Pragmatic. Distant.

Vio starts snapping back at him. He starts snapping back harder. Joking rude banter becomes petty arguments and disagreements full of blame. Resentment, dripping down into a dam that threatens to break. Drip by drip. Those arguments never get resolved either, there is no flow and tide of in and out. Just more and more until the damn bursts.

Green tried to get them to "understand each other."

It went just about as well as the monster hunting mission that ended up with them stranded for nearly a week. They found them covered in mud and glaring daggers into the other. Sure, it hadn't necessarily escalated, but it only drove them further apart no matter how hard Green tried to push them together.

Blue doesn't know what Red sees in Vio. Red's so sensitive to fights, so he tries to keep as much as the bitterness away from him as possible.

Blue doesn't realize that Vio seems him in a very similar light. They encounter an issue, they try to solve it their ways, it backfires and it gets worse. That's their pathetic tango. And then at home its just petty spat over petty spat about chores and the others intelligence or abilities.

Then it escalates.

[onskepa]

Hello Halo Hello! I have returned bleh, bleh bleh! I saw a sequel request things is open and I've been thinking. Can I request a part 2 of the one shot Vopey? Where the Sully's react to stranger things? Only in this one, Jake, neytiri, Tonowari, ronal and the Metakiyan kids join in on the reaction too? Like the kids are just about to start up season 2 and the rest are curious about it.

If that's okay of course!

Hello cutie <3

I see where you are going with the idea. Hope this is to yours and everyone's satisfaction! Enjoy!

Also big ass help from my good friend @corhyeline helping me with this!

Vopey

---------------------------------

Vopey: Far away monsters

“Alright kids, time to come home” Jake calls out to his kids just as vopey was about to insert the season 2 disc of stranger things. 

There was a collective choir of disappointed sounds. Followed by many begings from the kids, desiring to watch more of their new interest. 

“Come on, its getting late and tomorrow we have to wake up extra early” Jake tries to reason with his kids. Only for another wave of moans and groans. 

“Why? What is going to happen tomorrow?” Vopey asks. 

“Skxaw’nung and his family are coming tomorrow. They are staying with us for a few weeks” Lo’ak says. His whole body lying down on the floor as his way of protest. 

“That means we won't be able to watch season 2 for a looooooong time” Spider comments, sounding disappointed. This caught Jake's interest. “Season 2? What were you all watching?” he asks. 

“Stranger things” All of them said in unison. 

Oh how a wave of memories and nostalgia hit him like a pack of bricks. 

“Stranger things? Damn, I remember watching it for the first time. I was about tuk’s age” Jake remenices back on his childhood. Quickly all the kids huddled around him, surprised and curious wanting to know more. 

“Did you watch the whole thing?” Kiri asks, eager to know more of her new favorite subject. 

Jake scratches his head, trying to remember, “last I watched was season 4 I think, I could be wrong. It has been such a long time, I barely remember some things”. But in his mind it clicked, he knew what the kids were trying to do. With a playful smirk, he says “But that is for some other time. The longer I talk, the more I stall and the more late you will be in bed. Come on”. 

The kids gave, telling spider and vopey good night as they all left to their home back at the village. 

“You think the metkayina kids will like the show?” Spider asks as he and vopey clean up the place. Vopey hums at the thought. 

“I should be the one asking you that since you know a bit more about them than me” Vopey replies as she stacks up the pillows. 

They continue to clean up before bed. Thinking about how it will be when the reef na’vi arrive. Would they be allowed to be near the sully kids? Or stay away? It would be nice to invite them and show them some cool things they dont know about. 

“And these are our friends, Spider and Vopey” Neteyam introduced to the metkayina kids. Tsireya looked to be more excited, seeing spider again and seeing a new face. Ao’nung was more hesitant, he barely tolerated spider back at his home. And meeting another sky demon was annoying. Roxto on the other hand was just as excited as trsireya, 

“Hello, it is so nice to meet you!” Tsireya speaks to vopey in loud, slow ,broken english. This made vopey blink a few times. 

“Don't torture yourself, I can speak na’vi just fine” Vopey replies in perfect fluent na’vi like it was her first language. Which in a way, it is. 

“Oh” Was all tsireya said. Her ears lowered down a bir and her tail stopped moving. Feeling a bit sad. It didn't go unnoticed by vopey. Immediately feeling guilty, she adds, “It is ok, I thought it would be easier for you if we spoke in your mother tongue”. 

It made tsireya ease up more. 

Spider and vopey join the sully kids as they take the reef kids around their forest. Showing them the plants, animals, and areas they often visit. 

“And that is pretty much it, from the east to the west, and from north to south. Any questions?” Lo’ak says as he and the others finished touring the reef kids around. There was a lot to show and no shortage of activities to do. 

“Yeah, what do you demons do for fun?” Ao’nung asks a bit snarky. His sister and friend tries to shush him. The sully kids were ready to defend their friends should any insult come out of ao’nung’s mouth. 

Spider and vopey looked at each other and muttered some stuff in english. The sully kids placed their input in English as well. The metkayina kids who do not understand much are left confused and hate being left out. 

“Hey, you can speak in na’vi! What are you saying?” Ao’nung asks/demands. Both human kids turned to him and grinned. 

“Well, on days that are not suitable for adventure like rainy or cold days, the sully kids and us stay inside the human base to watch human entertainment” Spider explains. This caught Tsireya’s and Rotxo’s interest. 

“What kind of entertainment?” Rotxo asked. This made spider and vopey grin. 

“No” Ronal said sternly. All of the children groaned in misery. The metkayina children asked if they could partake in human entertainment activities only to be shut down immediately. Even with Spider and vopey explaining what it will be, still shut down. Ronal was glaring at the two with no hate but certainly not taking a good liking to them. 

“We have come to make ties with the Omatikaya, not with sky demons” Ronal states as she slightly glares at the two humans. While ao’nung was settled with her response, rotxo and tsireya were not. 

“Please sa’nok? These sky people are part of omatikaya. See? The way they are dressed is identical to the na’vi here” Tsireya pleads. Before ronal can respond, Jake beat her to it as he walks up to the group. 

“Much to your dismay Tsahik Ronal, these two sky people are part of the omatikaya clan. As they were born and raised in the clan” Jake informs the metkayina tsahik. Mo’at and neytiri who were beside him confirmed his statement. 

Tonowari soon joins his wife as he takes in the information. 

Vopey then quickly flashes them a smile, “Tsahik ronal, if I may. Despite the terrible experiences and stories you have heard of sky people, me, spider and the others that live here are not evil. Yes many were evil and cruel. But I assure you we see this world as our home. Allow us to show you the type of entertainment we have. Nothing will hurt you I assure you”. 

Tonowari and ronal were thinking it over in their silent conversation. Their children secretly hoping they would say yes. 

“Very well”. 

To give everyone a seat to see the stranger things show, a movie night took place outside. Using one of the massive caves to fit everyone, the kids and science guys were quick to set up the massive screen, speakers and the projector. 

Ronal, Tonorwari, and everyone else had the best seat in the caves as the rest of the clan got settled. 

Jake and Neytiri snuggled with each other as they got comfortable near their kids. The sully kids themselves having a body pile with snacks around, and the metkayina kids being in the center of the body pile. 

“So we just sit and watch a white sheet?” Rotxo asks, a bit confused. Kiri chuckles lowly and replies, “You could say that. It is what we will see on the white sheet that will be fun”. 

Norm prepares the dvd player and presses play. Letting the projector display bright colors as sounds echo around the cave giving it a surround sound effect. 

"8?!" All the kids shouted in unison as a new character enters the screen. The power of illusions and running from the police was a perfect way to capture everyone's attention.

"I knew there were more! I knew it!" lo'ak grins happy as he now knows his small theory was confirmed.

"Screw vopey, you should be called Vol '' spider suggests playfully. Vopey cackels and shakes her head, "no it doesn't hit the same". 

"Madmax? Who is that turd?" Tuk asks when her favorite character, dustin, lost his record some someone else at the arcade.

"Language tuk '' Neytiri gently scolds, as she too is invested in the new show. "Who is madmax?" Neytiri asks quietly to jake. He leans closer to her ear, “long story” Jake answered. 

“Damn I bet I would love to play one of those arcade games” lo’ak says woefully. It looked a lot of fun as the kids play different kinds of games and so do the background characters, Spider pats his back in comfort, sharing the same sentiment. “Same here bro, same here”. 

Tonowari was still a little confused but oddly enjoys seeing how human children were like. Free of doing what they like, not thinking twice and seems as they are siblings at arms. Was oddly cute in his mind. 

Ronal on the other hand was still trying to comprehend that is what humans were like a long time ago. The style of clothing, language, the behavior, so vastly different then what she remembered. 

“Im betting on lucas” kiri says, “Dustin, right tuk?” rotxo says, tuk nodding rapidly. “Let the shipping war begin” Vopey whispers to tsireya as they giggle. Neteyam however made a face of discomfort, “Billy doesn't seem to be a good brother however” he comments. And while ao’nung so far hasnt voiced his opinions, he secretly agrees with neteyam,

“That Joy woman, she is amusing somewhat” Ronal comments, neytiri took notice of that. “Indeed, a protective mother she is” she adds. 

From what Jake notices, both his mate and ronal seem to be more attached to older characters who are parents as well. And Jake is no different, he can see himself a bit in Jim Hopper. Perhaps as more episodes go on, things will get more interesting. 

“Will you big ass simp!” Ao’nung groaned but was quickly shushed by his friends. Tonowari heard him and blinked a few times, was his son learning how to speak like the sky people? That could be a problem, but that is a problem for later. 

“So he can somehow connect to another world?” Ronal asks. The more scenes of will having flashes of the upside down world, the more she is curious of the darker side. It was a whole new concept, how can one world function alongside another? It was so strange and unheard of. 

“I don't like that demon” Tonowari speaks his thoughts as Dr. Owens made a few appearances. Jake chuckled, “There will be many that you might not like”.

On screen when the four main boys appeared in the ghostbusters costumes, Jake felt an immense hit of nostalgia. There were so many references in the show, memories just keep coming back to him. And tuk can't help but love the costumes. 

“They look so cute~!” she squeals. Bobbing her head to the classic theme song and muttering a bit of the lyrics. Tsireya can't help but laugh at how silly the boys looked. In her mind she imagines lo’ak, ao’nung, neteyam and rotxo wearing those similar outfits. It was a funny thought. 

“What has got you laughing?” Lo’ak asks, a giggle escapes tsireya’s lips. “Oh nothing, just had a funny idea” she answers with an honest smile. 

Neytiri was brought back to her time at the school she attended. Remembering the time when Grace explained the holidays from Earth, one of them she liked was halloween. To see the boys and the overall environment of people decorating and seeing how it really is like. It became her new favorite scenes.

“Uggghhh how much more kid drama do we have to see?” Spider groans, lo’ak and ao’nung agree. “I want to see the monsters” Ao’nung says, almost in a whiney manner. Kiri shushed them again, slightly glaring at the boys, “come on guys, you will see them”. 

“What was that?” Tonowari asks as Will's drawing of a monster was shown. It spooked him a bit. While the drawing was black, it gave a creepy aura and the mood music didn't help it. 

Ronal however was more annoyed when Billy tried to run over the four boys and screaming at the top of his lungs. “Has he lost his mind?” Ronal says, mostly to herself. Billy’s behavior was now more familiar to her version of how humans behave. 

Tuk had a small frown, “poor max, having to deal with an idiot like him”. Neteyam rubs her small back, “I am sure it will get better”. He won't say it, but Billy is someone he wishes he will never be like. A young adult acting like some lunatic with what seems like murder in his mind. A terrifying combination.

“Now we are getting somewhere” Lo’ak says, grunting. Hopper was connecting the dots of the odd drawing with the VHS recording of Will staring into the sky with an odd outline of the same monster. Tsireya was shocked and soaking in the new revelation. 

“Is he also connected to the other world?” She asks, getting more excited, “it seems like it with his moments being frequent” Lo’ak answers. “It would make sense since he stayed in that world for a bit didnt he?” Neteyam adds in. 

A little theory was beginning to form with ideas and remembering certain moments from season 1. But later on, a collective gasp was heard when Dustin puts a small creature into his turtle tank. 

“That motherf-” 

“Tuk” 

“Sorry” 

Vopey and the others were freaking out in silence, “Wait wait! Its not a poliwog, it's a bit different” she points out. “What is a poliwog?” rotxo asks, “watch” was all he got. 

“Either way, he is an idiot. What if it gets bigger and tries to eat him?” Spider says, feeling more and more annoyed of Dustin making one dumb choice after another. “And look, he brought it to the others. He is either going to die or become brain dead”. 

Tuk heard spider and silently protested that her favorite character won't.

Once dart grew his legs, a few were ready to gag at the horrid display. “What is that thing?!” Ronal shouts, feeling utter disgust by the new form of the small thing. It was a horror in her eyes, and to know it was only a baby, she can only imagine what its final form would be like. 

Kiri was paying close attention to the new episode will was having. The sky being wider, and the shadow monster doesn't look all that far from where Will is at.``It looks like it is daunting him. Or almost as if it wants Will to see it..” she mutters. 

When the monster inserted a piece of itself into Will’s mouth, dread followed. “Oh no! What is it doing to him!?” tsireya shouts, hiding her face on lo’ak’s chest, not wanting to see the rest of the scene. 

Ronal does the same, feeling sorry for the young boy. Tonowari felt scared. Such a massive thing, and the poor boy has no chance to run away. “Hasn't he been through enough?”

“Ooooooohh he is so dead” Spider teases, the reveal of the tank bring broken from most likely dart. “That thing is growing without stopping” Vopey adds. “Not the kitty-AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!” Tuk screams when dart shrieks while expanding its head. “A baby demigorgon?!” Vopey shouts rather excitedly. 

“Such a horrid thing!” Tonorwari glares in disgust. Yet also relieved he doesn't share a planet with that thing. 

“I find it intriguing,” Neytiri comments, admiring the little thing. Which Jake turns to her, questioning what she views as cute. “It ate an innocent animal” he says, neytiri shrugs, “it is an animal itself no?”

“Will is either possessed or part of a hive mind” Tsireya theorizes. Took a moment of silence, everyone including herself were surprised that she concluded something like that. She carries on, “think about it, he hates the heat, prefers the cold. Explains of odd memories that don't belong to him. And he is walking around chest naked. It makes sense to me”. 

Lo’ak whistles out impressed, which tsireya blushes a bit. “You are catching on very quick tsireya” Vopey compliments. 

As it goes on. Hopper and joy piece together the odd drawings Will made. And tsireya quickly catched on. “They are underground, the roots. It is what is causing the plants to rot in an awful way. Will is telling them the answer!” Tsireya explains. Clapping her hands, understanding more of the situation. 

“Nah, what if it is part of something else?” Ao’nung was quick to deny his sisters expanding theory. 

“I dunno ao’nung, look '' Spider points to the screen where hopper was digging a big hole, discovering some gross goo and a tunnel underground. Lo’ak gave tsireya a high five/four as her guess was correct. 

“Well he is dead” Ao’nung says deadpanned, looking at hopper being tied by the wines of the upside down world. But his statement didnt land very well when Will and others went to rescue hopper from his near death experience. 

The scene continues when the Hawkins yellow jackets burning the vines but at the same time Will began to shake and feel the burning pain. “I knew it!” Tsireya squeals. Good she was right, but bad because she is witnessing the poor boy’s pain.

“Weird how I am hating him less and less” Kiri comments as she sees Dustin and Steve bond while throwing meat in a train track to look for dart. “It is call character development, some people go through it, and others dont” Lo’ak grins knowing the subtle message he meant to ao’nung. 

“Yeah yeah shush I’m taking notes' ' spider interrupts lo’ak as he writes down steve’s secret to his hair being L’oreal quality. 

As the scene goes on, kiri can't help but grin, “sorry rotxo, but it seems lucas is winning” she whispers a bit smugly. “Anything can happen, it is not confirmed yet” Rotxo hold out hope for his new favorite character. 

“Whatever you say,” Kiri shrugs. 

As the show proceeds, tsireya grins non stop, “I was correct! Again!”. Owns explains Will's connection to the creature and other organisms of the upside down world. The pain they feel, the child feels it too. 

“I swear! You catch on so quickly!” Spider says, not in a mean way, but in an amazed way. “Maybe we should show you other things tsireya” Vopey says. 

"YEAAAAHH!" The sully and human kids all cheered as eight and eleven showed on screen together. "I almost forgotten about her" Tuk says, vopey nodding in agreement.

Vopey, kiri, tsireya and tuk were leaning forward. Unknowns to them, so was ronal and neytiri. All of them paying extra attention to the sisterly themed episode.

“They are most likely going to work together” Tsireya silent shrieks, her tail swaying while not meaning to but was hitting lo’ak in the face. 

“Oh no doubt” Vopey replies, her eyes never leaving the screen 

Jake couldnt help but chuckle as Neytiri was also doing a similar manner. Hey eyes wide and tail moving. It was a cute site he doesnt get to see so often. 

Tonowari huffed in an amusing way, while Ronal’s tail isn't moving, her ears definitely were, giving away how invested she was. 

“I can't look '' Ronal hides behind tonowari after seeing the bloodshed the now called demidogs are creating. Death left and right from the creatures Ronal has come to hate. And Tonowari, who had come to favor Bob, was distraught to see his death come so soon. 

The creature's shredding and killing bob was an unholy sight for their eyes. Sadness was all they felt. Sorry for the poor man who was innocent and finding love. 

“He might-” 

“Tsireya, you know we love you but ssssshhh, because at this point, anything you say comes true” Ao’nung kindly shuts his sister up. Lo’ak scratched the back of his neck, not really defending nor denying the truth. 

Pouting, tsireya stays silent as she watches the rest of the episode

The last episode. Everyone was getting anxious, the final battle between the massive monsters and the humans. Who else will die? Who will live? Will everything be the same? 

“Who cares about Mike and eleven shipping!! Get over it!” Vopey shouts in anger as the scene dragged on too much for her liking. 

“Screw them, that billy guy needs to DIE” neteyam frowns in disgust as bill was shown flirting with an older woman who was also a mother to one of the main boys. What goes on in bill’s head is beyond him. 

“Huh, madmax is starting to make sense now” Jake mutters as he sees the max girl stand up for herself. 

“Eeeeeewww!!” Tuk feeling grossed out as the misty shadow leaves will’s body and out into the open world. “At least he is free from it, right?” Rotxo asks but no one answers him. All eyes glued to the screen. 

While dustin was saying goodbye to dart, really no one cared as they wished for that monster dead. 

“CLOSE IT!! CLOSE IT!! END IT!!” Everyone was cheering for eleven. Screaming at the top of her lungs, everyone felt what she was feeling. Seeing the gate to the upside down world close. The cheering rising as it intensifies. 

“He looks so cuuuuute!” Tuk gushes as she sees Dustin rocking a new hairstyle. Kiri slammed her hands down, “YES! Rotxo you owe me now!”. The scene of lucas and max kiss made rotxo shed a tear of his debunked shipping. 

“Elven looks so pretty” Vopey admires how feminine the girl looks at the dance. Wearing a pretty dress and styling her hair. But quickly she and tisreya gasped in unison as eleven and mike kissed. Squealing like pre-teens. 

It seemed like it would be a nice happy ending. Ready to close the chapter. But silence was the only sound as everyone saw the last few seconds of the show, The view turning upside down to see the upside down world. And close and above was the giant monster. And the credits rolled in. 

Everyone clapped and began to chatter about their favorite moments. 

Tsireya, ao’nung and roxto were sleeping peacefully in their hammocks, smiles and dreams fill their minds. 

On the bigger shared hammock, Tonowari and Ronal were wide awake. Sleep not reaching their eyes. “It is like Jake Sully said. It is not real, and it is very old. We shouldn't worry about it” Tonowari says to Ronal as a means to comfort her. But also comfort himself. 

Ronal couldn't help but cuddle into his broad chest, wanting to rid the monsters from her memory. “Yes but…they all looked terrifying. And many suffered from those disgusting monsters” Ronal whispers. Tonowari gently kissed her on the forehead and placed his arm over her. “Yes, but those monsters are far away. We are safe, and they are not real”. 

Safe to say, they didnt get a wink of sleep. 

Aaaaaaaand that concludes part 2! Hope you all enjoyed this one. Had to go a bit deeper to understand and implement the important stuff. Until next time! See ya!

-------

Vol = eight

[gloryy-vs]

Huntress’ Call

chapter 7 : between two

prompt: you’re an aggressive warrior, praised by the clan and close to the sully family. neteyam caught your eye but you’re convinced you’ll never be as mighty or honorable as he is. you also caught neteyams eye but he assumes he will never be as truly dedicated to the warrior life as you are. ao’nung slowly begins to fall for you, and you return the feeling. but you know that things between you and neteyam are not so simple as done.

ratings: sfw, violence, war, angsty, enemies to friends to lovers, warrior, aggression, not proof-read

characters: Neteyam x na’vi! reader, Ao’nung x na’vi! reader

Your head was bustling with anxious thoughts as you and neteyam made your way to the shore where Tsireya and her brother were. You glanced over at Ao’nung, and his eyes darkened when he saw Neteyam beside you, guiding you with a hand on your waist. Tsireya could sense the thickening tension between the three of you, deciding that it was for the best that she took on training you today. Girls with girls, boys with boys.

With a gentle smile she took your hands, “Come, you will be with me today.” Tsireya said, her voice like silk to your ears.

Both Neteyam and Ao’nung protested, reaching their hands out to you and causing them to touch. Both retracted their hands, glaring at each other with a strong hate. You looked back at both of them, your eyes stern and you mouthed.

“Behave.”

Neteyam grinned, nodding respectfully as his braids fell past his shoulders again. It earned a smile from you. Seeing this, Ao’nung stepped forward slightly giving you a big smile.

“Of course I will.” Ao’nung mouthed back.

Neteyams face dropped, side eyeing him with annoyance. Ao’nung sauntered to his ilu, clicking his tongue and whistling to draw its attention. They were both annoyed with being around each other.

“What do you intend to do with her?” Neteyam popped the question first.

The Metkayina man stiffened, his broad shoulders tensing to show off the muscles.

“I intend on making her my mate. She’d be a perfect tsahik. She’s a profound warrior, everyone will respect her. She learns quick, knows how to hold her own.” He kept going, hoping to get a rise out of Neteyam.

“But she doesn’t. She doesn’t want to be just a warrior to somebody-“ Neteyam was stopped, Ao’nung pushing against his chest.

“How would you know? You pushed her aside all these years and now that she’s happy you wanna take that from her?” His voice was laced with venom, Ao’nung was fighting back the urge to tackle Neteyam.

“I’m the one who grew up with her. I’m the one who watched her make a name for herself. I’m the one who triggered that change. You’re just a fish lipped asshole who knew her for two seconds before you wanted to get it in.” Neteyam was fuming by now, offended that Ao’nung would accuse him of wanting to make you unhappy.

Scoffing, Ao’nung turned his head to the side, popping his neck in the process before he looked back. “Get it in? Don’t be mad that I can do it in a week when it took you…what? 19 years to even reconcile.”

Neteyam didn’t even think twice like he usually would, and reeled his fist back to land a punch straight in Ao’nungs eye. The reef Na’vi didn’t take it too lightly, tossing himself at Neteyam and bringing them both down. Each boy throwing punches at one another in the sand, the tide occasionally hitting them as they fought.

You and Lo’ak on the other hand were fishing for shells that Tsireya threw down for you guys. a way to practice swimming quickly and breathe control. Her praise was genuinely the only thing keeping Lo’ak going. You were glad that the two shared an instant connection by the will of Eywa. You surfaced with the pink and green shell in hand, showing Tsireya you managed to catch it.

“You did it! Good job!” She said, a big smile forking on her face that showcased her defined dimples.

Tsireya looked up towards the sun, as if calculating the certain angle. “It is time to eat, I also have training I must complete with my mother.” She said hastily, taking Lo’aks had to swim out of the water with him.

You followed beside them, poking your head out as you neared the shore where you last left the two boys. Emerging from the water, your face dropped, mouth hanging wide open as concern flooded all senses. In front of you, you saw two badly bruised men, standing apart from each other to catch their breath. They looked like they would pounce on each other again. You ran through the sand as well as you could, hands going straight to Neteyams chest. Your childhood friend looked down, his eyes filled with shame as he looked at your disappointment.

He looked badly beaten, a bruise on his cheekbone already forking and a split lip. Turning your head, you reached out to Ao’nung, hand holding his. He looked even worse, cuts all over his face, a bruise forming around the eye he could now barely keep open. Tsireya ran over, seeing her brothers state.

“Ao’nung! What has happened?” Tsireya cried out, forcing Ao’nungs head to face her, but his eyes remained trained on you, then your hand holding his while the other was on Neteyams chest. Slowly, he made eye contact with his sister, putting a hand on her arm so she could lead them away.

“I am sorry for my brothers behavior. I shall go take care of this. I will see you all tonight and the feast.” She said, haste and hurry in her voice.

You hesitantly let go of Ao’nungs hand, seeing him turn his back to you and walk away with his younger sister. Your attention turned to Neteyam again, remembering he was still hurt.

“You skxawng! What is the matter with you!?” You yelled, raising your hand to slap, hit him or do something to take the anger you felt out. But you tensed your arm up, shifting in the air for a bit before dropping it down in defeat. You couldn’t hurt him. Lo’ak stood in silence, processing the fact that he beat the shit out of Ao’nung.

He lowkey wished he did it first.

Taking his ear, you yanked down, dragging him with you. He stumbled, wanting to protest to the pain but he knew better than to tell you off after you specifically told them both to behave with each other. Your own ears perked up at the sight of his parents. Letting go of his ear, you nudged him to the opposite side of you.

“Don’t let them see, just act natural. I don’t want you to get in trouble.” You said softly, holding onto his arm tightly as you two walked by them.

Jakes own attention turned to the two of you, he was about to call your names out until Neytiri slapped the back of his head. “Let them be. It’s been too long since I’ve seen them like that.” She said, her eyes glancing at you two with adoration. It reminded her of when she first mated with Jake.

You were thankful for being able to get by them without a glance in your direction. You shoved Neteyam into the Marui pod and rubbed your face angrily.

“Ma’ Teyam is this what you wanted? Look at you! Over what?” You paused, staring him dead in the eye with a frustrated expression showing through your cat-like eyes. “Why did you both start this?”

He wiped at his lip with his thumb, and your stomach grew tight. He did look enticing with a few marks and bruises on him. You mentally slapped yourself, knowing it wasn’t the time nor the place. Neteyam looked annoyed with himself, but decided to phrase it as nicely as possible.

“Inappropriate things were said about you. Things I didn’t want to hear coming from another man.” He said, staring down at your smaller frame.

His broad and muscular build tended up at the thought of what Ao’nung said. What hurt most was that he believed it was true. His golden eyes searched your face for any reaction.

“What did he say..?” You asked, not sure if you wanted to hear the answer or not. It was just difficult to believe that Ao’nung would say something so bizarre.

Neteyam shook his head, dramatic braids swaying back and forth before resting on his shoulders. “I cannot say.” He stepped forward wrapping his arms around your waist, resting his cheek on top of you head.

His heart ached for you, he was afraid all this time, all the miscommunication lead you into another man’s arms. You placed your hands on his upper arms, ready to protect because you were still upset that he got into a fight with the other na’vi in the first place. A silence swelled between you both, his arms tightening around you as horrid thoughts swirled in his head. Images of losing you to Ao’nung. Your happy smile, eventually mating with him and having children of your own.

You saw from behind him, his tail would pause, then swish around slowly. An obvious sign the Na’vi was agitated. You rubbed his arms soothingly, heartbeat slowing down as your breathing synced with his subconsciously.

“Neteyam, tell me. What is wrong? Speak to me.” You said softly, moving your head to look up at him.

“You must choose one of us. I cant live like this, I cant live not knowing wether you’ll take me as your mate or if you’ll take him.” He said, eyes void of any happiness or certainty.

You never imagined it would come to this.

[purefandomonium]

It's The Thought That Counts-Chapter II

***Thursday Afternoon, 3 weeks later***

What does this mean? 

As he sits in his office, a tray of freshly baked lemon squares atop his desk, Vincent Charbonneau ponders Rody’s recent devotion to bringing in baked goods. When the waiter had said he would keep bringing stuff in, Vince hadn’t fully expected him to mean it. The hug seemed more out of excitement than anything else and he really thought the cookies would be the end of it. There’d been a part of him that thought he was bluffing. Even now, three weeks after the fact and with each new dessert being better than the last, he still can’t quite believe Rody is the cause.

If his constant tiredness is anything to go by, Rody’s been spending a lot of sleepless nights trying to get the hang of baking. A part of him is annoyed at the waiter’s suffering performance, but—and perhaps it’s just an effect of his recently increased sugar intake—he simply can’t stay mad at the guy. For whatever reason, when he sees the messy-haired idiot whose eyes may as well have sleeping bags beneath them, the only emotion that arises is one he’d rather not acknowledge, let alone admit to feeling.

Dammit. Even thinking about him makes Vince’s stale heart stutter. Either that, or the cigarettes are finally catching up to him. He isn’t smoking as much now, the slew of lemony delights his new stress reliever. Absently, he picks one up and takes a bite, thoughtful.

He can’t deny the noticeable improvement in the waiter’s baking. It’s become something of a routine for them these past few weeks. Every Tuesday and Thursday Rody brings in a new tray of goodies. The first few are cookies, each better than their predecessors though still lacking refinement. The following week is muffins—a little underdone at first until he gets the hang of it. Then this week, with the lemon squares.

Unlike his past attempts, these are already perfect. Either Rody’s really got some hidden talent in the kitchen he’s just unlocked, or he’s pushing himself more and more to practice in his limited free time. Vince picks the latter because he’s pretty sure he knows Rody well enough to say the idiot would work himself to death on something so benign. And, well, the bags of bags under his eyes are a dead giveaway.

Vince nudges the tray aside and glances over some of the papers on his desk. Front and center is a review from a well-known critic whom he can’t stand. Fortunately, the asshole has nothing but good things to say about the restaurant and its food. Unfortunately, the man is still an asshole and takes extra time to mention Rody’s lackluster performance the day he visited, as well as his ‘disheveled appearance better suited to a local bum than a waiter.’

Vince clicks his tongue. As much as he enjoys Rody’s gifts of dessert he’ll never be able to taste, he’s going to have to do something about this. Glancing at the clock, he figures now is as good a time as any.

“Lamoree.” He observes the way the man in question loses balance for a moment upon turning and internally sighs. Why exactly did he not do something sooner?

“Yeah, Chef?” Rody holds back a yawn as he moves over to the kitchen door where Vince stands. He hasn’t forgotten to refer to him by his title while out on the floor after the tongue-lashing he got over it his first week there.

Vince knows he told the waiter to refer to him only as ‘Chef’ while in the presence of customers. He remembers the way he lit into him when he was still new for calling him by his nickname when he had to handle a disgruntled patron, the harshness of his tone that would ensure the warning would never be forgotten. Rody hasn’t forgotten, and Vince suddenly finds himself wishing he would’ve. While Chef normally would be fine, it somehow feels too formal given the events these past few weeks.

Does he… consider Rody to be a friend after all that’s happened?

At the lack of response Rody leans in, worry decorating his features. “Um… Vince?” He’s too late to correct himself.

The soft query snaps him out of his daze. He blinks, takes a look at how many customers are currently there and tries to guess how many will be there after before refocusing his attention on the waiter. “Sorry, I was just figuring some stuff out.” It isn’t anything to do with the restaurant, not that he plans to say that. “You should… head home for the day, Lamoree. You look exhausted.” He keeps his face neutral despite his concern for his employee.

Rody lets out a nervous laugh and internally freaks out at what this can mean. Is he in trouble or something?

Seeming to read his thoughts, Vince supplies, “You aren’t in any trouble. You just look like shit. I can see it, the cooks can see it, and the customers can see it.” He leaves out the fact that obnoxious food critics can see it too, and that they’ll write reviews about it. “Assuming you own a mirror, I’m sure you can see it as well.” A bit harsh perhaps, but he does still have a reputation to uphold. He can’t afford to show favoritism in front of the cooks and he certainly doesn’t want the public to notice.

Ah… Well, he supposes he can’t really argue with that. He feels like shit too, if he’s being honest. His back is stiff, his legs are tired, and his arm is sore from holding the damn wine tray. He’s yawned like a hundred times in a corner in the hopes no one would notice. Going home to crash on the couch sounds like a dream. Still, he feels like if he leaves now, he’ll be letting Vince down. “I can at least finish waiting on these tables…”

Vince is already shaking his head. Voice softer than before, he says, “Get some rest, Lamoree. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” He takes the tray from him just in time for the party of four to grab his attention. “If you can, come in the same time you did today. I need to discuss something with you.” With that, he takes swifts strides to the table, leaving the other man alone.

Rody’s insides tighten as he clocks out and heads out back to get on his bike. Though nothing about his demeanor suggests it, he can’t help but think Vince is angry with him again. This feels just like the ‘discussion’ they had regarding his food theft. Only, as far as he knows, he hasn’t done anything wrong this time.

If he weren’t so damn exhausted, he’d be more upset at Vince for calling him out about it. Doesn’t he know how much time he’s spent practicing his baking? Can’t he see how difficult it is for him? Does he ever think about how many hours of the night he spends making attempt after attempt after attempt until he finally gets it right? Not to mention the money spent on ingredients that mostly go to waste on his screw ups…

What is he saying? Of course Vince doesn’t know. He only sees the successful batches of desserts, the ones that aren’t all burnt and gross. From Vince’s perspective, he’s just not taking good care of himself.

‘Well,’ he thinks as he pedals down the street, ‘I’ll just have to tell him. Vince is a pretty reasonable guy! Usually… If he hears why I’m so tired then maybe he won’t be so annoyed about it.’

***Early Friday Morning***

“Hey, Vince!” Rody calls as the door shuts behind him. Although he plans to argue about it, he’s still thankful he got sent home early yesterday. The extra shuteye was desperately needed.

Vince emerges from his office to find Rody standing ready near the back door. He looks much livelier today; his hair and clothes are neat and his eyes are bright. He nods in greeting. “You’re looking well-rested.”

“Yeah! I slept like a rock yesterday. I don’t even remember getting changed; one minute I’m walking through the front door and the next—bam! Out cold on the couch. I’m honestly surprised I woke up on time.”

Does he… not have a bed? Ah, no not the point. That can be a discussion for a different day. For now, “About this recent exhaustion of yours…”

“I know, I know! I can explain.” His hands subconsciously wave with his words.

He lifts a brow at the sudden burst of energy, wondering why he’s so worked up about it. “I’m sure you can, but that’s-”

“It’s not on purpose, I swear. I just haven’t been sleeping as much.”

“Yeah, I figured that-”

“It’s not because I don’t care about my job or anything, I just haven’t had a lot of time lately-”

“Lamoree!”

Rody shuts his mouth with a click of teeth. His eyes are wide and he wonders where he screwed up.

Vince lets out an exasperated sigh. “I can tell you haven’t been sleeping well. Or at all, as is the case. What I wanted to talk to you about was why.”

They stare at each other, surrounded by an uncomfortable silence.

“It wouldn’t happen to be because of all the baking you’ve been doing, would it?” The look he receives in response is the only answer he needs. Muttering a curse under his breath, he continues, “I… I appreciate all you’ve done. Truly.” No one has ever been so kind as to make him anything, let alone desserts so lemony it makes other people’s eyes water. Not to mention triggering their gag reflex, if the cook he allowed to try a lemon muffin is anything to go by.

Rody’s never been good at looking or thinking ahead, so the point Vince is trying to make is lost on him. “Glad you like them,” he says, although he feels anything but happy about the way this is all sounding.

The nervous look the waiter wears pulls on his heart. ‘What an oblivious fool,’ he thinks, fully aware Rody isn’t the only one present. “Lamoree, I’m not upset with you in any way so please stop looking like that.” He doesn’t think he can stand it anymore. “I just don’t want you ruining your health for me.” It isn’t like he’s particularly worth it; he’s simply Rody’s icy boss and the stuck up owner of the restaurant. He’s done nothing to deserve such kindness in the first place, much less from him.

Rody sputters at the statement. “I’m not… I wouldn’t say I’m ruining my health,” he argues, missing the true implication of the words.

Vince doesn’t let Rody’s ignorance get to him. Instead, “Not getting enough sleep is bad for you. That’s a fact. If it means you’re going to wear yourself out to such a degree, maybe you should quit baking for a while.” He moves around the waiter to begin getting the kitchen in order. It absolutely is not because he’s too afraid to see Rody’s sure-to-be-heartbroken expression.

“But I’ve made so much progress! I can’t quit now!” He turns to face Vince’s back, indignant. “Besides, who are you to talk about health? You smoke like a chimney all day.” Oops. Well, the words certainly aren’t going to come back into his mouth no matter how much he holds his breath.

Vince snorts out a half-assed chuckle before turning to glance at the offender. “I suppose that’s a fair point, Lamoree. Although these days I’d say my vice is sugar. I wonder whose fault that is.”

Rody finds himself grinning at the banter, relieved he’s not upset. If he were more self-aware, perhaps he’d stop and wonder why Vince lets him get away with things no one else can do. It’s not often one can steal from their job, show up looking like a zombie, and insult their boss without getting fired.

Despite all these glaring signs, Rody continues to tell himself it’s because Vince is secretly just a softie. It helps keep the awkward questions from bubbling up.

“Well, it seems to be keeping you in a good mood, so it must be working,” he laughs as he heads out front to get the dining area ready.

Rody’s smile is bright, pleasant, and good at hiding his true age. Vince often forgets that the waiter is older despite being his underling. He stares a moment too long as the older man takes easy strides to the dining area while he works in the kitchen, before he realizing he should just be working in the kitchen.

It doesn’t take him long to get the tables ready, so Rody heads back to see if his boss needs any help. He finds Vince staring at the pristine stove, frowning. “Everything alright?” he asks as he joins him in inspecting the appliance. It doesn’t seem to be broken, but then again it’s much nicer than the barely functioning one he has in his apartment, so what would he know?

Vince glances at the source of his troubling thoughts before humming an affirmative. “I’m fine. I’m just… thinking…”

“What about?”

It figures he’d be so inquisitive the one time he doesn’t want to talk. He needs to decide on what he wants to do in the next five seconds. Either he makes the offer or not, but he doesn’t have much time to decide. It’s risky and his cynical nature is telling him it’s stupid. Although it’s still just the two of them and it’s early; if things go wrong he’s got plenty of time to figure it out.

“Rody,” he begins, praying to whatever’s out there this isn’t a mistake, “I can tell you’ve come a long way with your baking.”

He blinks at the odd use of his first name, unsure where this is going. “Um, yeah. I’ve been practicing a lot.”

“At the cost of sleeping.”

“…Yeah, a bit.” He’s reluctant to admit just how much sleep he’s lost despite that being his original goal upon coming in.

Vince sighs, more at himself than anything else. “Since you seem so determined to get it right, I figure the least I can do is help you.” He suddenly finds the adjacent wall more interesting. “If you’d like, you can stick around after hours and I’ll teach you more complex recipes.”

He’s seriously offering his guidance on the matter? Vincent Charbonneau is actually willing to use his years of experience on someone like him? He can’t get too excited. He can’t let Vince see how thrilled he’d be to work alongside him. It would make things weird and he might even rescind the offer.

The disbelief soon overpowers him anyway. “But I’m just a lost cause,” Rody says, rubbing an arm. “I mean, yeah I guess I’ve learned a lot but I don’t think I’m good enough for you to waste your time on.” Because that’s surely what it would be: Vince wasting his time out of pity. He can’t seriously see any potential in the improperly cooked desserts he brings in. It takes him three to five tries to get a single recipe done right. They don’t look anything close to one of Vince’s desserts with the fancy toppings and stuff. Shouldn’t he be spending time working on his menus, or budgets, or something else more important?

“Trust me, Lamoree,” he says, hoping his face doesn’t betray him. “It’s no waste of time to me.”

“If… If you’re sure…?”

“I am,” he says, finding the strength to meet the waiter’s nervous gaze. “Just let me know which nights you’d like to stay and I’ll get things ready.” Needing something to do with himself lest he slip up from his nerves, Vince remembers the full ashtray in his office. He goes to empty it.

Rody’s isn’t sure he can contain his ecstatic joy. He tries his best anyway. “Well… Ok! If you really don’t mind I’d love to! Can we do something tonight?” He watches the chef’s movements, hopeful.

A startled cough escapes him at the fast agreement. He hadn’t fully expected Rody to say yes. Part of him figured the other man would laugh it off and decline before finding something else to do that didn’t involve speaking. He can’t help his smile as he taps the stubborn debris into the garbage. “Sure, why not?” he says as he straightens out his desk. The tray of lemon squares catches his eye. He takes one. “How about lemon pie?” He takes a healthy bite as he waits for Rody’s response.

His eyes widen and he loses what little hold he had on his excitement. “That’s the one thing I just can’t get right! I’d love to learn how!” He’s practically bouncing with glee.

“Then it’s settled,” he says as he finishes off the treat. “I’ll get some stuff prepped, and then after closing we can start.” He grins at Rody’s boyish excitement. Truth be told, he’s looking forward to it himself.

The two of them chat amicably about random topics as they continue the opening routine. Eventually, the cooks arrive and head to their stations. If they notice anything unusual about the chef’s and waiter’s demeanor, they keep it to themselves. One thing people are quick to learn working at La Gueule de Saturne is that gossip will get them the door. Despite the environment, they’re much too fond of their jobs to risk that.

[simstic-fairy]

Someone sent me an ask while I was on my hiatus about how to make recolors. It was so long ago they probably figured it out by now; but I figured I'd show how I do it anyway.

I'm making this in a extremely simple way with steps some people would think were obvious, so for those people that might get just a little annoying, but I wanted it to be as accessible as possible.

It's very helpful if you already know photo editing.

Bed recolor (not pattern) tutorial under cut

Warning: LONG AS HELL

To start, you need Sims 4 Studio and Krita

Open Studio

We're making a bed so click on "Object", standalone recolor should be automatically selected.

You'll be greeted with a list of every object you have in the game. Yikes! Good thing we can just search the kind of object we want. So we type in "bed"

Click on your preferred object, which will then be highlighted, and click "next"

You'll then get a "save document" pop up. Type whatever you want it to be called and save it in your Mods folder, preferably a subfolder (folder in folder)

Click "Save"

We have our bed! But now there's even more options, that's a little overwhelming! So how do we really start?

At the top there is all the swatches of the bed that are already in the game. We don't need all those so just selected all your undesired ones and click "Remove Swatch".

Then, with the swatch you want to change, (maybe pick one that is as close to the colors you want as possible. Like light or dark frame.) Click "Export"

You also probably notice what we're saving looks pretty weird... That's because all the sides of the bed are being spread flat. It's like 3D folding:

Anyway!

More file saving! This time we are saving a png (this is important, make sure png is chosen in "save as type" at the bottom)

For now, save it to where ever is easiest to get to. If you start to do this regularly you will probably want to get more organized.

Anyway, name it whatever, though preferably (dang I'm using that word a lot) something simple if you need to just search for it real quick.

Open Krita.

Dun, dun, dun! We're really in it now! Go up to "file" at the top and select "open" here just find your png and open it.

Well I don't want to change the color of ALL of the pieces! Let's start with the sheets (the white square). Go to the side and click the "rectangular selection tool"

Carefully (you can zoom in with scroll to get a closer look) drag the tool around the sheets and hit ctrl+X, this cuts the shape out of the rest of it. It disappeared! Don't worry just press ctrl+V. This pastes it back to the project.

Now it has its own layer separate from everything else.

Deselect it real quick (mostly just cuz right now)

Now to actually recolor it. Finally! With the correct layer selected (THIS IS IMPORTANT) go up to filter-adjust-color balance

This give you a pop up of primary color sliders.

You have three for different shades of the picture. Since there's quite a bit of shading in our sheets we'll need to use at least the bottom and middle options.

Fuck around. No really. I mean it helps (like a lot) if you know how certain colors mix. But really just start sliding! See what happens! Eventually you'll figure out what combo makes a pink-purple vs a blue-purple etc.

Ok, so we've fucked around and now our sheets are a gold-tan. Click "OK"

Well, that colors a little light for what I want. So we go back up to filter-adjust and click "Burn"

More sliders!

Fuck around!

Note: To get the PERFECT shading you're gonna need to go back and forth sliding different options. Like Burn-Midtones, then go Dodge-Highlights etc. it effects different areas like the color sliders do.

Well that color's pretty dull... Good thing we have cross channel adjustment curves (what a mouthful...)

Pulling the curve up from the middle makes the color more vibrant! This is especially helpful after going back and forth form Burn and Dodge which can REALLY dull the color.

We've made our changes! So go up to the top and file-save. Make sure it's still a png!!

Go back to Studio

To FINALLY change our object we click "Import" and select the image we just changed.

It's not to my standards, but it's good I can go back and edit what I already have and just save it again! And do this many, many, many times...

That's recoloring! Maybe I'll do a pattern tutorial idk...

[ralexsol]

Okay, so I just rewatched S1 of Loki. And since the last time I watched, so many opinions of mine have changed. Instead of focusing all on Lokius and their character arcs, I went into this viewing instead looking at Sylvie, completely throwing my initial dislike of her out the window to be unbiased.

And MAN, am I glad I did that. Because I connected to Sylvie on a WHOLE NOTHER LEVEL.

In my eyes, I see her as a trans allegory. Lokis are usually genderfluid, right? I mean, that's the impression I get - our main 2012 Loki, who's only difference from the Sacred Timeline was escaping with the Tesseract, is classified as genderfluid. And that makes perfect sense, he's a shapeshifter and all that, yadda yadda stuff that's already been said, love it.

But here's the thing. The thing that made Sylvie a Variant, to our knowledge, was that "she is a woman!" So, let's think about this for a second. She's different because she's STRICTLY a woman. Not genderfluid. She/her in her bio. And it finally clicked for me that she's... trans. Literally trans. AND THATS WHAT GETS HER ARRESTED BY THE TVA! She wasn't the right gender, she dared to do something nobody wanted her to. She was different, unexpected... a Variant. And she had to be annihilated because of that.

I know, I know, I'm just stating what all of us already know, we KNOW thats why she was arrested. But you have to actually think past the annoying "oohhh she's the only girl Loki great original idea Marvel" in order to sympathize with her character, because she is VERY sympathizable.

She's literally just a kid, living as her truest self. She's ripped from her family by essentially the government of the universe. She's taken to a trial that nobody walks away from innocent. But Sylvie is different. Lokis are the definition of chaos, the unexpected, defiance. And she's the most defiant of all, because she defied even the preset she was given as a physical person. Nah, she didn't want to be a man or even nonbinary. She was a woman, and they wouldn't let her be. That wasn't allowed. They would hunt her down just for fucking existing in a way that didn't match up with their perception of Lokis.

Her entire life was fighting against a system that wanted her dead. They would rather have order and their precious little clean, easy system (that in reality is harder to maintain than letting people be free) than to let her just fucking exist as she wanted to.

The resentment grows. Of course you want to take down the entire system. Of course you want to burn it all down. Because not only did the government hunt you down, they had already hunted down an infinite number of people just like you. People who didn't find happiness in what was force-fed to them. People who didn't want to tread down the only path provided.

Isn't that what all of us people in the LGBTQ+ community want? To tear the system to pieces, to start over anew? I mean, that's what I want. Because it's flawed right to the very core - at least, where I'm from (the USA), it is. It was made to keep rich, white cishet men in power. A system built from discrimination and power-hoarding cannot be reformed. And even if you tried, it would take too long. It HAS taken too long, and it's cost countless innocents their lives.

You can't undo all that trauma instantaneously. Of course Sylvie would burn it all down. Of course she would kill He Who Remains. Of course she wouldn't want the TVA to keep existing. Yes, there are people in the TVA now that want to change it for the better. Yes, she needs to open her heart and realize burning it down doesn't fix everything. Because you can't rip everything to shreds and not create something new in its place. Fighting tyranny doesn't just end with kicking the dictator out of power - you have to set fair rules to prevent the same thing or worse happening again.

I understand why she didn't want to come back. She had fulfilled what she thought was her only purpose, and finally settled down into the life she utterly deserves. But her story isn't over yet. She can be at peace with having created a new world in which the tyranny is over. In which everyone makes their own choices. In which she can be a woman and never fear time itself imploding. It's just hard to let go of something you've been holding onto for so long. You've been fighting to keep yourself alive and true, and it's hard to accept when maybe... you are winning.

You are not a Loki because you are Sylvie. You broke your guidelines so deeply that you are your own person. There is nobody like you because deep in your very soul, you are the truest Loki to ever exist. You defy. You survive. You and your glorious purpose, to smile and know you are a woman and nobody can tell you any differently. You are exactly whatever you choose to be.

THATS NOT EVEN ALL OF IT THOUGH. THERE'S MORE. And yes, it's about our main Loki and Sylvie's relationship.

I'll come right out of the gate: I've been a Lokius shipper since literal day 1, and nothing will ever change that. I don't ship Sylki and I never will, end of story. I don't see them as romantic at all. What I DO see, however, is looking yourself in the mirror and feeling love for yourself, having survived everything and still more. Let me explain what I mean.

The whole first season, Loki gets to know Sylvie and more of her backstory. And obviously they have the fun dynamic of being two "Lokis" (I hesitate calling Sylvie a Loki anymore) because they're both insanely arrogant and backstabby, yadda yadda. But Loki becomes fonder of Sylvie. Why?

Because they see this other version of themself that went through something so similar yet so incredibly different than them. They are still genderfluid - and bisexual - and they went through that journey of self discovery. They realized they didn't exactly fit the mold, classic trans story. But the difference is that while their family came to accept that and they got to live their life as themself, they see this distorted mirror of what could've been. They see a life where Odin and Frigga didn't accept them. They see the life they were lucky to escape, a life of hardship and a battle they never had to fight.

Sylvie was so brave. But she's been broken time and time again, and she's lonely, and she's never had anyone to care about her. It's you. She's alone and you've just been told by an old friend that you will be alone until the end of time. That you are unlovable. You are the same. You feel so much empathy and you realize something important.

You're looking at this beautiful person. A person who has endured so much pain, and she is beautiful because she is herself. She fought so hard to exist and she has never had a win and she's never had anyone who ever truly understood her. She is you but not you because she is herself.

It's a similar feeling to looking into a mirror and seeing yourseld as a child. Different but the same. Your lives as a whole are completely different. But you still face the same issues. You look in the mirror and the other you is broken. The other you, just like you, thinks they are unlovable.

But you know what they are going through. And you love them more than anyone ever could. You understand more than anyone ever could.

As someone who is on the aroace spectrum and struggles to parse if I'm feeling romantic or platonic feelings (I won't even get into that), I see the Sylki kiss as a complicated but understandable action. The idea of feeling romantic feelings towards yourself is something unfathomable as nothing really can equate to it in our world. I won't get into the morality of it, because honestly, the answer to that is completely based on subjective opinion, since it's an abstract concept. Anyways, my point.

My POINT is that Loki has a lot of feelings and doesn't really know how to express them. Also, like, I'm pretty sure Sylvie only kissed him because she wanted to trick him into letting his guard down to kick him back to the TVA lollll.

As for the end of S2? Well, after the incredible mind-boggling Ep4, I have no idea what way the plot will turn from here. But as for character arcs, I think Sylvie will come to realize that this new TVA can be a force for good. With a new code for keeping the timeline safe from multiverse jumpers who wish the conquer multiple planes - AHEM Kang or others -, and NO PRUNING INNOCENT TIMELINES, why not keep it around? It's a whole different system at that point. It's no longer forcing people to be exactly as intended. It let's them live out their lives however they want to, safe from existential threats.

Sylvie can sit in the back of her truck looking up at the stars in her McDonald's uniform, breathing in fresh air, and thinking about how good it is to be no longer the only one like her.

[stxrry-dxys]

alright i wanted to elaborate a little bit on this post i made here. i’ve been dying to do a proper analysis on hero’s character, but before we start i would like to make some things clear: i do not hate any of the kids, and i do not think any of them are bad or irredeemable people. while i do not think all of their actions were good or justified, i do believe that they had every right o feel upset, hurt, or overwhelmed in the scenarios i am about to analyze. i just want to clarify because i don’t want it to sound like i’m here to dogpile on hero, aubrey, or kel specifically. they’re kids, they’re going to be bad at handling things, and while i am going to criticize some of their actions i do NOT think that they are horrible people by any means. now let’s get into why i think hero is not the perfect responsible boy sunny or the fandom has built him up to be.

hero and mari are the oldest children in a group of friends with not many solid parental figures. kel is a glass child, something hero is shown to be aware of when he runs to kel after their argument when he sees he’s being ignored. as well, their mom is shown to be slightly manipulative and guilt trippy in the game. and while i don’t think this necessarily means she’s abusive i do think saying things like “your mean old brothers don’t want anything to do with us” can create a lot of guilt and stress within a household, especially when their dad just kind of sighs and lightly tries to talk with her. aubrey is in an abusive and neglectful household with her mom, and her dad is implied to be a bit controlling (“my dad would never let me dye my hair��). basil lives alone with an ailing grandmother and parents who are never around. sunny’s only solo memories of his father are the tree chopping incident and him yelling about lost remotes so much that everytime you even click on a remote sunny says not to touch it because “it might get lost”. (im going to exclude sunny’s mom from this section as i feel there’s lots of different ways to interpret her dynamic with the kids and i swing back and forth on these myself).

but all this to say, hero and mari are sort of forced into this parental role for all these kids, while they’re only teenagers themselves. and while the younger ones obviously look up to and admire them, there’s only so much they can do, and both of them are subject to bias as well. this is where i think the idea of them being “so responsible!” kind of fails, though it’s more obvious with hero than with mari.

in headspace, pretty much the first thing hero does is scold kel and aubrey for fighting, a very, very consistent theme for his character. and yes, i am aware that headspace is not 1:1 with the real world, but i do think a lot of the character moments between the main four are based off real events that may have happened. so yeah, hero scolds kel and aubrey a lot, but he also fails at scolding them a lot. often he plays the mediator (“cut it out you two” or “you two are in trouble now”) and while it gets kel and aubrey to drop their current fight, it doesn’t stop another one from coming in the next five minutes. and this failure to prevent their fights and getting more and more annoyed with them throughout headspace’s run culminates in hero’s biggest mistake in how he handles the two of them, that if we’re to believe is based off events that did likely happen, bleeds into the current day fight between kel and aubrey as well.

during the humphrey section of two day’s left, the main four find a lone flower crown lying on the ground. they forgot don’t know who it belongs to, but it’s crumpled and dirty. aubrey debates taking it to return to its owner, and hero says it may not be in a condition where they even want it anymore. and then kel kicks it off the edge, sparking aubrey to yell at him. now kel is slightly in the wrong here, as the best thing to do would be to just not touch it instead of kicking it into the void. and aubrey being frustrated is understandable, but ultimately it’s not a super big deal as it’s not any of their property, so she’s not really in the right for picking a fight here either. however when kel goes to defend himself and say “well hero said no one would even want it any more anyways!” hero snaps. (“that’s enough! kel, apologize to aubrey.”) and this is the biggest issue with hero playing parent for the group, he’s biased.

hero grew up with kel, he’s his brother so he gets to be a little mean or snappy at him and have it all be fine later, and the inverse is true as well. but as much as hero may see aubrey as a little sister, he is not related to her, and he will not feel as comfortable scolding her as harshly as he does kel. so when he reaches his limit with their fighting and snaps, he doesn’t snap at aubrey, he snaps at kel and demands he put a stop to it, even if kel doesn’t really need to. see, kel is in the wrong in this situation, but not with aubrey. the flower crown belonged to someone else, not her. he owes an apology to the person who’s property he just destroyed, not her. and while she is allowed to be frustrated that he did that, she has no right to be completely upset with him (she goes on to pout and ignore him after he apologizes which is absolutely unjustified as it was not her crown, and to her knowledge she does not know who it belonged to). but hero is a teenager, he’s about 15 here and he’s so tired of these 12 year olds fighting, and he just wants it to stop, so he tells kel to apologize to aubrey, even if she’s not the one owed an apology. he’s scolding kel, yes, but not in the right way. and this is a mistake that i think sticks around.

and while no, we do not have proof that this definitively happened in the real world, it’s such a specific scenario for sunny to include, and one i’ve seen happen among my own siblings and my friends siblings, i absolutely believe something similar happened. and i do think this is where mari gets a slight advantage playing neutral in kel and aubrey’s fights, as she’d only really have the familiarity to snap that way at sunny (like she’s implied to do during concert rehearsals) so she gets to play middle ground with the other two more than hero does. but i did mention that i think this had an impact on the real world as well.

kel and aubrey’s biggest issue in the real world is this: aubrey feels abandoned by kel and kel feels betrayed by aubrey. and i want to clarify, i think they’re both a little right and a little wrong. aubrey is absolutely right to be upset that kel never reached out to her (especially when we know he reached out to sunny and hero), but she is not right to be upset with how he handled his grieving process after mari’s death (she notes that she was upset at how quickly he moved on, and to her credit she does acknowledge that this was wrong of her). kel is absolutely right to feel betrayed by aubrey picking fights with him, sunny and basil and being upset that she’s just kind of a bully towards them now (she and the hooligans are noted by kel to be trouble before you properly meet them, they write kel smells outside his house, she refuses to give basil’s photo album back after four years of begging and says herself that she calls him a freak and lets others do it too, she tries to kick them out of a public area in a public park oh my god this part really annoys me about the hooligans wtf was this plotline) (also side note: yes kel is allowed to be upset about her holding basil’s property hostage as he both knows who it belongs to, and has been asked to retrieve it by said person while he was on the brink of tears) but he is not right to keep throwing mari in her face as a moral one-up card, nor is he right to blame her for basil almost drowning when she accidentally pushed him in (she IMMEDIATELY declares it was an accident and is visibly worried about him even though she’s upset with him).

i think ultimately this fight spawns from two things, aubrey has been taught that she is owed an apology when she feels she’s been wronged, without looking at both sides. and kel is tired of always having to be the one to apologize first when he feels he’s not in the wrong, without looking at both sides. again, they’re both a little right and a little wrong for these perceptions. after all, it’s what hero taught them when he broke up their old fights. and even when he finds out about this one, his solution is still ineffective even all these years later. because instead of suggesting they talk it out, which is what would really help them reach an understanding of the other’s feelings, he calls it “another classic kel and aubrey fight” and says they “just need to hug it out”. and while i think he’s trying his best, this is absolutely not what they need. there is a lot of deep seated anger here and it even shows on their faces after he suggests this (kel looks away awkwardly and aubrey is on the brink of tears).

in fact, they don’t even really make up until after kel tells her they dug through the trash in order to save the photo album and they all look through it together. it’s through aubrey realizing that kel does in fact care about their memories together, and kel remembering that even after all this time aubrey still is the same sweet girl he knew, that they finally understand each other’s perspective a bit more. kel can see how hurt aubrey is and aubrey starts to understand that kel had his own way of processing mari’s death.

but even though hero was brought over to fix the situation, he ultimately ends up failing to help the two reconcile, they do it all on their own. because at the end of the day, hero is not a parent. he is a brother, a friend, and a teenager. kel and aubrey don’t know how to process their emotions or fights any more than he does, and he makes a lot of mistakes in the process. and i think this is where a lot of his guilt over mari’s death comes from, and basil’s too in the neutral ending. he was supposed to be the responsible one, the parental one, the perfect balance. but he couldn’t be there for mari and basil, he couldn’t even be there for kel and aubrey. and while that is not his fault, and should never have been his responsibility, he is always going to hold that against himself, he is always going to see himself as a failure.

truth be told, he shouldn’t have been put in a position to believe that in the first place. he should have just been allowed to be a dumb teenager who makes mistakes and doesn’t have to take care of everyone around him. and that’s what i find so fascinating about hero’s character. he is a dumb teenager who makes mistakes, just one that was put on a pedestal and parentified, expected to take care of everyone and everything, when for a whole year he couldn’t even take care of himself. he’s bad at being responsible, and i wish he would’ve been told that’s okay, because it is.

tagging the person who asked to be notified about this post ( @skyisepic ) i’d also love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this analysis, if you have anything to add or if you feel i went too harsh on anyone throughout this please let me know!!

[cinnamon-bunni]

Give Me a Heart That Won't Break

Rating: T Pairing: Gen (Levi-centric) Word count: 2k Read it on Ao3!

look at me, finally getting around to posting this on tumblr! i was planning on doing it when i posted in ao3, but i just was too lazy to lmao ;;;

this fic, along with its title, is heavily based on the song Impatiens Balsamina, and I implore you to listen to it!! it's such a pretty yet heart-breaking song <33 and of course i had to inflict pain onto levi, who else would be perfect for this song? lol

anyway, i really hope you enjoy this!! it's in a different style than i usually write in (no dialogue, present tense), so i hope there aren't too many mistakes there (god knows how many times i had to rewrite parts because i instinctively went back into writing past tense lol) but yeah!! please enjoy <3

His headphones aren’t plugged to his phone. He still wears them, scrolling through his phone and acting like they are. Levi is not in the mood to listen to short, few second videos, nor did he want to listen to his classmates. So he instead scrolls through Devilgram, and uses his soundproof headphones to drown out everyone around him. His eyes flit around the room, where other demons chatted and laughed; class hadn’t started yet, and it would be a few minutes before it did. So of course, his peers took the chance to chat, all in their different groups and surrounding someone’s table to form a circle and excitedly spoke over another.

Levi closes his eyes with a sigh for a few seconds, before then going back onto his phone. He doesn’t care about them or whatever they were talking about–probably just about parties, or shopping, or their weekend plans, or whatever normies talked about. He is fine alone, thank you very much. He preferred it, actually. A loud laugh startles the demon, and his head shoots up to search for the source.

A jock, he thinks bitterly. Of course it was a jock who didn’t understand how to be quieter inside, and is impossibly loud enough to break through his headphones for him to listen clearly. They give a hearty laugh, outstretching their hand to give a few friendly pats on their friend's shoulder. Levi is quick to realize that the other demon there that is on the receiving end of the shoulder pats is Beel, who shares a smile just as wide as his friend. His eyes search, because if one twin is there, then–ah, there he is. Belphie is seated in a nearby desk, head down with his arms out to rest on. Unlike most days though, he is wide awake, a smile hidden by his arms, and Levi can see from how his eyes crinkle and how his mouth moves that he is participating in the friendly banter.

He watches for a short few seconds, before snapping back to his phone. He clicks it back on, and goes back to scrolling and pretending not to care or listen to the others around. Well, he isn’t pretending, not at all, he doesn’t care. He is fine with no one around him–hell, he’s happy that he’s alone, because they would just be too loud and annoying, and he doesn't have the patience to handle stupid normies.

Levi is fine doing his own thing, even if it does make him appear to be lonely. Which he isn’t, because he made the choice to be alone. Why would he want to be in cliques where they would just–just-

His hand grips the phone tighter as the screen dims. He isn’t lonely. He doesn’t care what others think. Because that would make him something to be pitied and he is the Avatar of Envy. Yes, he is a gross otaku, someone who plays video games all day, has too much useless trivia memorized, spends literal days watching anime, but he is still the general of Hell’s Navy. He is still very powerful, and has power that should be feared. It sorta sends a message, in a way, of his power, in a similar vein of how Lucifer lets very few people around him. Levi does not need them, nor their pity. He does not need their pity because he is powerful and loves to be independent, and that he is not lonely. He likes it this way–it was better for everyone, in the end.

Levi prefers it this way, anyway. Being alone. He revels in his alone time. Because, because if he doesn’t…

His eyes darts back to the twins. He watches as another demon enters the conversation, and the two nameless ones give a weird handshake as a greeting. He watches as Beel and Belphie laugh and talk.

…if he doesn’t, then there would be something wrong with him. Levi is the loner, afterall, and always would be. He is the one who failed in holding normal conversations, the one who is afraid of saying the wrong thing to someone, the one who rehearses what he says, the one who struggles to even come to classes in-person, the one who can’t even do a class presentation. He is the one that everyone knows wants to be alone, and it would always be like that. They will always seem him like that, and he will always stay in his shell. Alone. A win for both parties, really.

More noises catch Levi’s attention. He moves his phone around his hands like a fidget toy as he watches his younger and much prettier brother walk into the classroom. He takes his time walking, a joyful smile on his face as he laughs and gasps at whatever someone says. His groupies follow him, and suddenly they are all taking up too much room–all laughing and squealing and enjoying themselves. They are all so happy, he thinks absentmindedly, watching a few feet away from the circle. Everyone is engaged, all participating in one way or the other.

He wonders–a tiny, minuscule part wonders–if being labeled as the loner was something he could have escaped. That maybe if he had forced himself out of his comfort-zone, if he had gone to any of the meetings for the gaming or anime club, he could be in the same situation Asmo and Beel and Belphie all found themselves in. If he had been there from the start, maybe things would have been different for him. Maybe he would find himself in a group like them.

Asmo’s fans and friends all hang off of his brother’s every word, and all react accordingly. Levi shakes his head and snaps back down to his phone. He turns it back on. What a dumb thought–what would he do, anyway? Abruptly ask them if he could join them? Levi has pride, believe it or not, and knows not to waste his time doing something dumb like that.

Besides, he’s thinking as if he has no friends, which wasn’t true at all. He has his friends in the Navy, who only ever makes the time to talk to him when he comes around every blue moon for official business; along with that, he has his online friends–who he could only really just play video games with, discuss anime, and vent about surface-level problems. Hell, he even has friends in a few different classes! Sure, they were more just like acquaintances really, where he and the other exchange pleasantries and easy small talk because their usual friend groups were separated in different classes, but–but it counts. Levi counts it, even if it’s not anything real. It needs to count for something. 

His screen cracks a bit. Levi, surprised, blinks, as he stares at the cracks that were caused by his thumb pressing hard against the bottom of the screen. He sighs, and clicks it back on once more. Looks like he would need a new phone screen. Lucifer would give him a good scolding about being careful with his strength and handling phones again, he just knows it. 

The warning bell goes off. He can hear it vaguely ring, and more people start to filter in. Asmo’s group all start to give goodbye hugs as many of them leave the class in order to head off to their own classroom. Asmo waves and gives his own goodbyes to his friends, drawing out the whole thing. Hell, Asmo even hops off his desk, and lingers just out the doorway as the majority of them leave. 

Levi scoffs out loud. They act as if it's the end of the world; that they won’t ever be able to see each other again, or something. It’s like they all can’t live without one another, or without Asmo around with them, at the very least. It was all so dumb in Levi’s eyes. He certainly wasn’t missing out on much.

So he doesn’t envy them, not at all. Really, he doesn’t.

His eyes linger on them until most of them filter out, and the room becomes quieter. Not exactly the dead silent, but quiet enough around him and his area that he couldn’t hear anyone through his headphones. Just the way he likes it.

Asmo settles back down, going back on top of his desk and conversing with anyone left. Levi’s eyes look around the room mindlessly as he watches more friends greet each other and have a good time together. He then meets a pair of fiery green eyes staring at him.

The eye contact breaks just as soon as it begins. Levi, rightfully startled, calms a bit when he finds that it was just Satan, who had been apparently staring at him for an unknown amount of time. Why had he been staring at him? But his eyes were back on his book and he acted as if nothing happened. Levi supposes that he should do the same.

But he stares at his younger brother for a few more beats. He watches as Satan reads his book, sitting in his chosen desk, close to the wall and just about in the middle of the rows, not too far from Levi’s own desk. Levi watches as he basks in the silence; although his headphones work well, it mainly comes from the fact that no one is sitting around the fifth-born. He is alone, with all desks around him left empty and untouched. It forms a space of silence around him, where he is able to read his book in peace. He looks…Levi is unable to place the look he sees on Satan’s face. He isn’t sure how to read it.

More people take their places. Levi faintly registers Satan’s scowl as others sit next to him in order to talk to one another and act as if he isn’t there. The last few of the students enter the classroom, taking up the seats that were left open. They all talk over one another, making Levi grateful for his headphones. A group of friends took the open seats around Levi, and Levi pretends not to care as they are loud and have fun around him while he stares down at his desk. Having normies like that so close to him was…

It hurt, in a weird way. Which Levi hates, because he refuses to be seen as the loser in this situation. Well, he almost always was during most times, he could own up to that, but not a loser for not having a loud and annoying and obnoxious squad around him. He does not envy them, not at all–if he did, then it was just his Sin acting up. It happens to all of them–Satan’s Wrath made him angrier than most, Lucifer’s Pride made him a prick, and sometimes Levi’s envy made it hard to be around others who had something he didn’t have. 

Levi didn’t want what they all have; he didn’t want to have people around him to talk to about the things he enjoys, to go out with to all the anime cafés, to laugh and have fun with. He was fine being alone. He tells himself that time and time again because it was true and it’s as simple as that.

In truth, he just wants to rid his Envy. Or, perhaps, just simply be able to handle the small amount of heartache he feels every time he sees his brothers with their friends. He wishes for, maybe, a stronger heart that wouldn’t break at the thought of being alone after school and when he went home and when he would go back to R.A.D. the following day, week, year. He doesn’t know if he can stand it for that long.

But he will. Because there is nothing wrong, and Levi knows and accepts this. This is just the way things were, set up all by him. He’s the one who asked for his, to be left alone and not around anyone, and he was given what he asked for. He couldn’t possibly complain about it now, not after seeing how annoying everyone else and their friends were. He is happy where he stands.

If he wasn’t, Levi thinks to himself as class starts, then something inside of him was wrong. Wrong, and incredibly broken.

[aro-ortega]

since i went from a herald hater to his #1 fan literally overnight, it is now my duty to defend the herald romance route and recommend it for others. i am debating the points that were raised in this ask that i received a few weeks ago

-

"in my humble opinion, herald shouldn't have even been a romantic option in the first place. i'd take it a step further and say, the fact that he is an option undermines sidestep as a character. from a character standpoint, it doesn't make sense for sidestep to want to have anything to do with him- let alone pursue him romantically- because no matter how you've built your sidestep, it's always the case that they don't really like him by virtue of him being the picture perfect hero, full of idealism and naivety, and without constraints. he is, at once, what sidestep was and what they wish they could be. so there's going to be a lot of resentment there, so much so, that it's hard to see how sidestep could look past all of it and see herald as a possible romantic partner."

this is all valid and true and i do agree that if there were, say, a canon or default sidestep playthrough it would not include interacting much with herald, imo.

however, it is equally true that you can play a sidestep where it would make sense for them to agree to train herald; one of the routes for a hero hunter sidestep is that they are "training" the heroes because there are things bigger and badder than they are that they need to be ready for. a sidestep with this or a similar motive (i imagine there is something similar that would work for an anarchist sidestep) would have reason to agree to train herald.

yes, there is a lot about herald that sidestep can harbour hate for. but if they decide to spend more time with him it becomes clear that there is more to herald than they thought and there are actually parallels between themself and herald. also, sidestep, as a telepath and an addict, has plenty of incentive to want to spend more and more time with herald; how his mind feels is just another addiction for sidestep to fall in, which increases their time with herald and increases how much they learn about him and allows their feelings to shift from negative to positive (im not saying its healthy, but its sidestep so it was never going to be)

"i think it's very telling that the trigger for his romance is just sidestep thinking he's hot. (sidenote: the amount of times "oh no, he's hot" came up as an option in conversations with him annoyed me so much.) it feels incredibly superficial."

good news ! you can romance him without clicking any of those options ! (im not a fan of how often it's an option either tho) unless i am misremembering, i did not choose any of those options in my most recent playthrough and i successfully romanced him, and it was very sweet and fun to read/play

"and i know he was given a bit more depth in retribution, and maybe if given more time to develop, his romance would reveal some nuance, but this whole thing to me feels like a misstep from the author. or i don't know, maybe i'm just not seeing it the way it should be."

there is a lot more to herald than meets the eye. there is depth there and nuance i promise.

i played a herald romance route with a sidestep who initially hated herald and saw him as his number one enemy, agreed to train him bc the heros need to be better and then agreed to spend more time with him because he was chasing a high, and then accidentally fell in love and more importantly trust with the last person he expected. because he is genuine and he is kind and he does care. playing as a telepath and choosing to spend time with herald feels so good; it can rewire your brain from a herald hater to a herald fan.

also. i super recommend playing a route where you pursue herald romantically while ghosting/friendzoning ortega. reasons: 1. the parallel of the older, more experienced hero ("hero") falling for the rookie 2. ortegas reaction if you decide to confess that you're going on a date with herald 3. (ending dependent) ortegas reaction when they find out that herald knew what you were before they found out - that you told him but they just happened to stumble on the truth 4. (if ortega + sidestep had a thing back in the day) the ghost of that relationship hanging over sidestep + herald's; it is like ceasar haunting cleopatra + marc antony in the second half of cleopatra (1963)

anyway, cannot recommend at least trying to get to know/romance herald enough it is honestly surprising how good his route is, i had an immensely enjoyable time in that playthrough. i also recommend the series How Not to Fall on ao3 it is very good

[saltpepperbeard]

This isn't really directed at you, you were reasonable in you're tags. The Taika article is hugely out of context. There are no preceding or follow up questions so we don't know what was being asked. Unfortunately it's a reoccurring thing for sites to use misleading headlines and out of context quotes to get people mad at his and get clicks. Of course its not unique to him, but it happens SO OFTEN with him it's really annoying.

People are so focused on panicking their not thinking things through. They ignore the part where he calls it a very special show. The reasons why he only discussed it with Leslie is because LESLIE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO ASKED ABOUT IT. And he was clearly happy to talk about it, he not only brought up fan art again, he had specific examples so it clearly wasn't lip service.

He's not promoting OFMD right now because A. The window is closed for that type of promo. B. He's on a promo tour for another film that facing an uphill battle due to resorts, being unfairly criticism purely because its his film etc.

Sorry to rant this has been annoying me

Oh for SURE. I know there are tons of publications and articles that love doing this very thing just to stir the pot for some attention/to get people talking/to get that engagement in any way, shape, or form. And yeah, with bigger names attached like Taika, I think it gets worse and worse. Like, articles love bending people's words around just to get that knee-jerk response from people, especially if it's someone recognizable and someone people subsequently have more of a parasocial attachment to.

But yeah. I think people are a little panicky because it's hard seeing such a suspicious looking article from one of our main guys after getting robbed of better promotion. Like, having to hear nothing from Taika fucking Waititi because of greedy studios, only to get dropped an article like THAT. I imagine it's just jarring for a lot of folks, especially when fandom tensions have already been high/off since the 6/7 drop.

And for myself personally, anything that doesn't shine a perfect light on season 3, be it its renewal or its premise, makes my stomach automatically drop. And yes, I'm right there with you; it was indeed taken severely out of context. But oOOAGGH IF THAT DOESN'T MAKE MY STOMACH SINK LIKE A STONE ANYWAY SHDKSDS LIKE PLEASE I'M SENSITIVE,,,

I think I'm just so on edge about the renewal and what season 3 could possibly look like because of my high distrust towards Max/studios in general. And I imagine a lot of folks are right there, too.

BUT yes; I had to walk myself on down because Taika did indeed show his love, and has shown his love. He was wearing his kraken ring for months and months and months. He wore that one Spanish Jackie'z shirt ~*~just because~*~. He got Ed's sPIDER TATTOOS??? And he just lights up so so much whenever anyone asks him about it. I think it's very special to him because of the premise, because of the opportunity to act in such a large role, and because of the people--particularly Rhys.

So I just...sdkshdkls I'M PASSING OUT PAPER BAGS TO BREATHE INTO, BITING THE ANKLES OF CLICK-BAITY POSTERS, AND WEEPING AT TAIKA'S FEET,,,

And I just hope he has the proper avenue to talk about it again soon. LIKE, VANITY FAIR INTERVIEW PART 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO WHEN???

[cavalierious-whim]

The Way of Trust (NeuWrioLette)

Part of 'by the strange pull'.

Wriothesley gives Neuvillette an unexpected gift.

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--

Neuvillette thumbs over the box delicately, considering its heft in his palm.

Wriothesley fidgets. He wrings his fingers with a sort of nervousness rarely seen from him. “I—well. Sedene told me that today is your birthday, which must not be public knowledge. I bet if the city knew, it’d be a holiday.”

Neuvillette cracks a soft grin at the thought. “Not everyone is as prone to theatrics when it comes to one’s day of birth as, perhaps, Lady Furina is. I, in particular, have never really celebrated it.”

“No?” Wriothesley blinks, tilting his head slightly. He smells—well, as he always does; leather, machine oil, and citrus. Quiet comfort like the tea and cream he enjoys at most hours of the day. Relaxed, he’s so relaxed. Wriothesley sits with his back to the door because he trusts Neuvillette.

And now, he’s brought him a gift. Warmth bleeds through his chest as his alpha squirms in delight.

“Ah, maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise. I know that you don’t really—” Wriothesley gestures vaguely. “In any case, there isn’t a need to think much of it—”

“Why not?”

Wriothesley blinks. He rubs at the back of his neck. “Well… I mean. Do you want to?”

What an absurd question. Neuvillette finally looks at him and finds that Wriothesley's face is pink with embarrassment. Endearing. Sweet. Not for the first time Neuvillette thinks, what a perfect ma—

“Are you not my beloved?” asks Neuvillette, cutting that thought short. “Am I to not enjoy a gift from my partner?”

Mate, his hindbrain corrects, the alpha in his blood annoyed by the strict line that’s been drawn. Wriothesley would be receptive. Wriothesley would crave it too, but there are too many things they haven’t discussed, and ignoring it is the best for Neuvillette’s sanity. 

But, Wriothesley brought him a gift, and that is something that makes his alpha purr deep in his chest. Sublime. Everything about this is sublime, from the messy wrapping of the box to the ill-hidden adoration that wracks Wriothesley's being. 

Neuvillette is… comforted. At first, it’d been mere interest, then it’d been an experiment. And now they complement each other in a way that cannot be described. There is a strange pull between them, like the moon tugging at the tide. Effortless, even when they bicker. Just right, even when they struggle with their instincts. 

He thumbs over the crumpled edge of the wrapping paper where it’s hastily taped. “I’m no artist,” mutters Wriothesley as Neuvillette inspects it. 

“Precisely why I love this. It reminds me of your—”

“Yeah, I’m a mess.”

Neuvillette clicks his tongue. “I was going to say mildly unrefined nature.”

“Oh, that’s definitely better.”

“It is what I enjoy most about you.”

Wriothesley looks away shyly. “I—look, are you going to open it?”

“After I finish enjoying the painstaking craftsmanship of the wrapping—”

“Fuck’s sake, enough of the teasing.” Wriothesley groans, dragging a hand down his face. “And don’t give me that look!”

Neuvillette’s expression is merely amused, his mouth curled into a grin. “A birthday gift,” he muses, slipping his finger into the paper to pull it open. “As I said earlier, my birthday is something of little consequence, merely a day that I picked out of convenience.”

Wriothesley stills at that. “Wait, it’s not really…”

“I know next to nothing about my beginnings, and while I’m curious about many things related, the day of my birth isn’t one of them.”

“I—” Wriothesley's throat bobs. “So, that’s something we share, then.”

Neuvillette quirks an eyebrow, pausing in his efforts to open the box. 

Wriothesley rubs his neck, suddenly put on the spot. “No, no, it’s… After my trial, I threw it all away, which you know. When filling out the paperwork for Meropide, I gave my admittance day as my birthday. Fresh start and all that.” He pauses, his face wrinkling—and suddenly, Wriothesley looks his age, a little weary and worn. So handsome. “Wow, this topic is a little ironic considering the gift.”

Neuvillette cannot fathom what that means but interest pricks his brain. And really, he’d rather comfort Wriothesley whose scent has been fouled by the acrid tang of anxiety. Neuvillette’s alpha begs for him to slip close and drown in his scent, but first—

He tugs the box free from its wrappings and pulls the lid away. Inside sits a card, and underneath that, a beautiful brush with a mother-of-pearl handle, and bristles of soft horsehair. The card is simple. Penned inside are sweet nothings that Neuvillette traces with the tips of his claws. 

And then he notices the signature.

“This is—”

“Yeah, don’t say that aloud. Please.” There’s that nervousness, that anxiety again, souring the air.

“Wriothesley—”

“It’s my name. My—well. I don’t prefer it. I’ll never prefer it, but I felt that you should at least… know.”

Neuvillette has never known. When Wriothesley was questioned at the hospital in his youth, he’d given his current name for trial paperwork. And Neuvillette has never asked, he’s never—he swallows around the lump in his throat. “This is… the gift,” he says quietly. Suddenly, the box in his hand feels quite heavy.

“The brush is a nice bonus.”

Neuvillette reaches out, fingers curling around Wriothesley's wrist. He leans close, thankful that Wriothesley took the seat next to his. “Beloved,” he says, “you’ve given me…”

“I trust you.” Wriothesley smells solid. Whatever anxiety he had has melted away and the only thing left is the unfettered, divine scent of his adoration. “I trust you, and to what extent is hard to articulate.” 

Neuvillette thinks, as he has a thousand times, that he loves this man. And when he sweeps close to kiss him, Wriothesley is quick to reciprocate. It is sweet and searching. Their alphas heel, far too pleased at the moment to worry about their differences. Oh, how they work together, perfectly paired as their lips meld into one and their tongues brush. 

When they part, Wriothesley asks, “Later, I want to brush your hair. We can sit out on the balcony and listen to the sounds of the city as I work out those tangles, and you can drink whatever fancy water Sedene gives you, and you can pretend to enjoy that cake Furina’s assistant picked out, and—”

Neuvillette leans close, his mouth near Wriothesley's ear. He murmurs something softly—so softly that no one else would hear, even if they weren’t alone.

Wriothesley's breath hitches. “That’s—”

Neuvillette’s name; his first name, his given name that not even their Archon knows, whispered so sweetly against Wriothesley's temple. “Be careful how you use it,” he says, pressing a kiss there. 

It is not often that Neuvillette acts on impulse. His actions are, typically, carefully calculated. But with Wriothesley, he indulges, allowing himself to be guided by instinct and want.

And oh, he wants this, whatever this is, this feeling in his chest that is warm and soft, and that comforts him on the cold nights. That makes his chest ache when they are too busy to see each other, and that compels him to not just take, but to give and give and give.

“A braid,” he says then, thumbing over Wriothesley's mouth as he does his best not to make a mess of it. “I would like for you to braid my hair, later.”

Neuvillette thinks that the warm smile Wriothesley gives him is the best gift of all.

[iratusmus]

😳🫡

*cue Katy Perry LOL*

😳 Hottest Sonic Take?

ok definitely not my hottest sonic take but some things are best left unsaid. regardless uhhh one of them . at least in the realm of scourge fans specifically is that m*ghtourge as a ship SUCKS it SUCKS its HORRIBLE and i cant even begin to bring myself to apologize for it. like i dont feel sorry at all like you take away scourge's tacky sunglasses and you take away the tacky flame and then you make him into a smol uwu bean housewife for some godforsaken reason (namely because you dont understand the character even a little bit like this is top ten fundamental misunderstandings ever of all time) for your bad yaoi. im not even going to call it m/m its YAOI. then you ship him with .... mighty ? mighty, a guy who has 1) Standards 2) absolutely no relation to scourge even a little bit 3) NO DYNAMIC THERE TO EXPLORE. THERES NOTHING INTERESTING HERE. its literally. ok sonourge is onecest (its not like . problematic i guess its just really weird) and i am notably not a fan but at least theres something to EXPLORE. the amount of character assassination you would have to do to get that to work is truly incredible but with m*ghtourge its literally character assassination but for the worlds most boring cardboard box bland instant gratification fanon crappy yaoi GARBAGE. theres NOTHING interesting here and none of these people even want to write a scourge redemption arc anyways they literally just want to make everything he ever did not his fault because a) moebius lead poisoning or something, which weirdly enough does not apply to any of the other moebians except for scourge b) his daddy issues c) his trauma or d) some combination of the above. so basically "he was never evil to begin with he was just really sad and lonely 😌✨" which is literal trash like i dont even know where to begin on this one. look. im a huge fan of redemption arcs but this is neither a redemption nor an arc this is an EXCUSE HEEL-FACE TURN. ITS TRASH. ITS TRASH. OHHHHH ITS JUST GARBAGE i actually have way more i could say on this but i will spare you the rest . this got a little out of hand. oh well

🫡 Coldest Sonic Take?

i dont like surge and kit all that much im SORRYYYYYYYYYY im sorry but its TRUEEEEEEEE. literally they have been redeemed so much in my eyes by the passion for them of my dear mutuals bunnymajo and cartoonrival so we're back to "decidedly neutral" but like . im sorry its not even their fault theyre just .... okay because the thing with me is that when characters who i feel decidedly neutral on get super popular and nobody will ever shut up about how amazing and perfect and poor uwu bean they are ... this is the quickest path to get me to dislike them.

added on top of the fact that they were literally like the entire idw focus for a year AND people (non-archie fans, specifically,) kept . bafflingly. beyond all reason and comprehension. comparing surge to scourge (which i have already ummmm written about my opinions on) it just. im sorry guys 💔 theyre okay. theyre Fine. they just never really clicked with me and then people were super annoying about them and particularly annoying in the direction of archie sonic, a series which i am aggressively defensive over in the face of idw fans 😭