#i have no clue whatsoever how to do all that stuff or even like how much furniture costs or how to choose a mattress or anything

[deeisace]

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[birbtails]

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[sexlapis]

[◉°] … toji & y/n being a couple for 10 minutes straight pt.3

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ｡˚ 𓂋 ❄﹒✦﹒✿ ˚

꩜ actor!toji x actress!reader

⤷ synopsis : just toji & reader being idiots in luv…

꩜ content : crazy fans, very mild physical violence (toji pushing ppl lol), toji being a little ooc again. this is really not as wack as the warnings are making it sound.

- a/n : loads of people seem to be enjoying this & i enjoy making them, so here you go! :D

. . . part 1, part 2, part 4

masterlists

౨ৎ first clip

(recorded by your fansite) - you & toji are at the airport and it is packed. there are fans swarming you, practically suffocating you & toji, along with paparazzi taking pictures of you, flashing lights in your face. your bodyguards are literally at war trying to guard you and you have to cling onto toji’s arm to even get past the sea of people.

all of a sudden one fan somehow gets way too close, and grabs a hold of your shirt, trying to drag you towards him. you jerk forward and without even hesitating, toji just grabs the face of the crazy fan and pushes him away like it’s nothing, causing a domino effect having other fans falling over as well.

toji puts an arm around you and guides you to check your tickets, ignoring all the chaos he caused behind him.

(this got a lot of mixed reactions, some people siding with toji saying he was just protecting you & others criticising him for his rash actions that could’ve caused people to get injured 💀)

౨ৎ second clip

you & toji were doing a video for WIRED, taking part in their popular series, “Web’s Most Searched Questions” about yourselves.

“okay third question..” you say, and peel off the paper. “are _____ and toji..dating?”

you & toji look at the camera and then at each other, faces hot and you’re both awkwardly smiling before looking at the camera again. you & toji speak. “yeah, i dunno.” “nooo idea.” “literally no clue whatsoever.” “why even ask that like-like we’d know the answer?”

you peel the next question and it’s even worse. “are _____ and toji having- A BABY?!” you shout and cover your face laughing, both in shock and amusement. “what?!”

toji just facepalms, hiding his pink cheeks and sighs tiredly. “christ…”

౨ৎ third clip

you’re at a press conference for the series you and toji are in, all the cast members are gathered on a long table with microphones but it’s a pretty informal gathering and the fans are being very interactive with the cast!

a crew members hands the microphone to a fan who has a question. “hi! hi, i’m sarah and uhm..i have a question for toji. and _____ too! do you think that your characters have a chance of..like..getting together? like romantically-?”

“yeah we’re getting together,” toji responds bluntly, reeling in the loud cheers from the crowd & he decides to add fuel to the fire. “and we’re gonna have a make-out scene too.”

the audiences goes crazy with applause and whistles, while you pinch the bridge of your nose, shaking your head in embarrassment as the cast look to see your reaction.

then the director of the show pitches in, holding her finger up. “just to clarify, we did not discuss this..”

there’s a chorus of laughs and sad ‘awws’ among the pool of fans which only makes you giggle. you didn’t even know what to say to toji’s brashness.

gojo chimes in with his loud mouth while everyone is still buzzing from toji’s unexpected words. “talking about kisses and stuff like. this guy’s just saying what he wants to hear!”

everyone starts creasing up again and you & toji lean your heads to look at each other on opposing ends of the table, and he just smirks at you while you just shake your head and try not to look so obvious..

౨ৎ fourth clip

vogue did a video with you getting ready for a fashion show you were invited to, by the designer herself.

the makeup artists had just finished your shimmery, fairy-like makeup and now the stylists were accessorising you with jewellery and fixing your hair.

“yeah i really like how the hair is done,” you say, referring to the baby pink ribbon tied cutely around your bun. “it’s really cute! and the dress is just so-”

the door to the dressing room opens and toji pokes his head in, the camera zooming in on him. “‘ya done yet?”

“toji?” you ask, exasperated. “toji get out! we’re not finished yet..”

toji looks you up and down in confusion. “ya look done to me. we gotta leave in like-”

“toji i am clearly not finished. we have to go through which jewellery looks the best with the neckline of the dress and..my whole look altogether so it doesn’t drown me out! and then we have to pick the correct shoes and make sure i’m comfortable with them and that they look pretty but also don’t take attention away from the dress. and then for the perfume-”

“yeah, yeah, alright, i get it.” toji totes. “but we have to be there in 30 minutes so-”

“oh toji’.” you sigh, looking in the mirror while the stylist fuss around you. “it’s okay if we’re late. i’m the main event. the designer invented me personally. they won’t even start the show if i’m not there. it’ll be fine, trust me.”

toji looks at you for a moment and then simply shrugs, nodding and accepting your words.

౨ৎ fifth clip

“so yeah, this is the book i’m reading.” you hold up ‘pride & prejudice’ to the camera for your fans to see. you were on a livestream, which you don’t usually do, and many fans were watching. “i just love this book. the characters are-”

loud, thudding footsteps can be heard in the background and you pause. a deep, clearly a man’s voice can be heard and then a shirtless toji walks into frame (as identified by his tattoos bc his face is not on camera). he reaches out of frame.

“sorry, jus’ forgot my shirt.”

he puts his shirt on, not even realising what he just did in front of 50,000 people and walks out of the room

it all happened so fast, you sit with your jaw open like a fish, holding your now forgotten book in your hand while the chat goes wild, spamming questions of “who is that?” “is that toji?” “you and toji are together?” in a frantic, chaotic fashion.

you just look at the camera and reach forward, abruptly ending the live. fans did not stop talking about this moment for months and they most certainly did not believe you when you said toji was just at your house for a little ‘visit’.

౨ৎ

tag list: @tiredslepz | @hayatslife | @shxyxyxxxx | @snowprincesa1 | @laylasbunbunny | @mimiemie

a/n: yk how hard it is to think of ideas for this omg 😭💔

[youronlylie]

hello people in my phone

BOONE head cannon list, just a mix of stuff that'll probably change later ( THERE WILL BE MORE ) 1/?

• He undoubtedly was ripped/heavily worked out being in the ncr, after moving to novac and loosing his wife he undoubtedly lost a lot of muscle but...guys he still is literally like beefed.

• He cannot fucking cook for shit, he understands what shouldn't be put in your body but from there he has no clue.

• Going off of cooking, he has strict times where he eats, like routine from the ncr.

• For some reason he strikes me as a guy who really enjoys fruit whenever he can get his hands on it.

• Cannot tolerate any sort of spice.

• Smells very mettalic, sweaty, like man must.

• Has a soft spot for cats.

• 1000% is not bald, just shaves his head as he probably prefers the look.

• I feel like with a romantic partner, since he isn't one much for talking his love language would be physical touch or gift giving, I could imagine him seeing stuff he knows they'd like and saving it for later, excited to see how they'd react.

• He would definitely have a special place in his heart for fantasy movies, he doesn't seem to be able to express himself well and I feel like the creativity of something like lord of the rings would get him going.

• I seriously cannot pick so I'll include both, he is either an extreme cuddler with a romantic partner or on very rare occasions, he's just terrible at expressing emotion.

• If the courier and him are something like romantic partners he'd definitely never be able to sleep, often awake staring and listening for noises, waiting for the next cascade of legionares but it never happens and he eventually learns that.

• I don't think he'd ever get married again unless it'd be over 20 or so years in the future, it's a type of commitment that I don't think he could mentally handle whatsoever unless he is totally over Carla.

• I definitely do think boone could find love again in another person, he's scared and alone, fearful for any sort of attachment.

• 10000% has really really nice man hands, like large hands with nice fingers.

• Is definitely tall but not close to arcade tall, 6' ish at MOST, I just feel like looking at his build and concept art that he is definitely a tall man.

• Secretly really has a thing for drawing whenever he can, especially when he was nested at novac, sitting up top the dinosaur scribbling stuff on old receipts or whatever else it helps him get his emotions and thoughts out.

• irl he would be so patriotic it's not even funny, like he'd go all out for fourth of July but is the somber type so he'd cook hot dogs and whatever else then sit in the corner and watch everyone else.

• Has a thing for memorizing features, very very very intuitive and will remember almost anything you tell him.

• He is so the type of guy to enjoy snow, like yeah he'd probably be kinda pissy for a bit but if you pushed his buttons enough I feel like he'd mess around with the courier.

• He absolutely like no doubt has nightmares, like the ones where you erupt in cold sweat and your throat is sore.

• If he does sleep like ever, along with nightmares he grips the sheets, rolls around a whole lot, mumbles. In the ncr he was the total opposite, stone faced, layed straight and slept some what peacefully until later on in his ncr years.

• Yearns for someone, even platonic, to just sit beside him, no words and scratch his back and kinda just touch him lightly. I don't think he'd cry but it's something I could imagine would bring him close to tears.

• He absolutely probably finds almost everyone annoying, like, he just is done with everything and doesn't give two shits about what anyone has to say unless the courier puts some sense into him.

• Really disagrees with gambling, just doesn't like it.

• Wishes he had a nice farm house, out somewhere away from everything, where it has everything he needs and could be away from absolutely everyone. ( of course after extracting revenge on the legion )

• He wants to learn how to play guitar, either he has tried and is horrible or has just never gotten the chance, I have a feeling he'd really be into (irl) like classic rock or something smooth.

• Cannot look at people with features his wife had the same, down to personality or looks.

• Absolutely dreads deep down without realizing going back to novac when the courier disbands him.

• He would like having books read to him, he's a listener not a reader, likes hearing people's voices just not his own.

• At a point probably had a nickname for his rifle, something like Beth or something that was a joke between him and Manny.

• Manny 1000% at a point tried hinting to boone or even confessing his love for him, either the point never got across or they got over it together. ( somewhat ish at a point )

• In all reality I play him out to be a really sweet guy, which I can imagine and he can somewhat tend to be but he ultimately really doesn't care, he'll kill in order to get what he wants ( so be it revenge or whatever else ) even if he isn't necessarily fond of it.

• At a point, consumed by guilt he forgets what Carla looks like and that eats him up inside, like the teeth gritting soul crushing ache for revenge, and a year or two leads him to completely forget her complexion.

[cherryobx]

hiiii here to help you procrastinate! I suck at requests but I’m gonna make one and you can just see if you want to use it or not :)) so since I can’t personally hug you since your 24 hours away by car and I don’t have a drivers licence I want something cozy 👉👈 I’ve recently been obsessed with someone and for the first time I followed a twitch live stream because of him and it was so comforting to just listen to him play a game that I could fall asleep. so maybe something like gamer bf/gf and a sleepy reader OR a bookish reader, they’re gaming and the other reading or something. I want the coziness. but I have no clue if this is information that you can do something with so do whatever you want :)) and if you want to use it you can choose the character ☺️

Company || J.M.

Summary: JJ, your gamer bf, comes over and you spend a cozy evening together, sort of.

Word count: 0.7k

Warnings: no knowledge of gaming whatsoever, other than that none

A/N: thank you babe for this request!!!!!! and thank you for supporting my procrastination haha, hope you enjoy whatever this is (don't judge i haven't written anything in soooo long)

JJ kept all of his gaming equipment at your place. He was scared of what his father might do if he ever got his hands on it in a fit of drunken rage. It was very expensive, he saved up for more than a year to afford all of it. You made space in your bedroom for another table so he could have his gaming station and his own little corner to game in. 

You loved when he was over at your place to play his video games you knew pretty much nothing about. It was a way for you to spend time together. Not in the sense that you were conversing or doing some activity together but just being in the same room with each other, enjoying each other’s company. It was so mundane but so sweet.

He had his headset on but only one of his ears was covered. When you asked about it one time he said he wanted to make sure he could still hear you if you needed anything. But in reality he also enjoyed the little sounds you made over at the other side of the room, whether it was blowing on your steaming tea, turning the pages of your book or the little laughs you let out when a character said something funny in your current read.

One evening he came over to game with his friends. He could tell you were tired just by the way you dragged your feet behind you and how you kept yawning every two seconds. You had a really long day behind you and all you wanted to do was curl up into a little ball under the warm covers in your bed and fall asleep.

He followed you into your bedroom and watched you flop face first onto the bed.

“Are you okay?” He took a seat next to you and placed his hand on your back, rubbing it in a relaxing motion making your eyelids fall closed.

“Yeah, just tired,” you mumbled into the duvet.

“I don’t have to play right now, I can just tell them I can’t tonight. I’ll cuddle with you instead.”

But you insisted. “No. Go game with your friends. I’ll be out like a light in two seconds. Don’t even worry about me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Just come to bed when you’re done.”

“Of course.” He smiled and gave you a small kiss on your temple. 

He helped you crawl under the covers and tucked you in, making your heart swell. He gave you another kiss but this time on the lips. “I love you,” he whispered against your lips before he stood up and sat down in his gaming chair behind the desk you had gotten him.

He turned everything on and logged into whatever game he was supposed to be playing with his friends that night.

His voice was quiet when speaking to his friends, he didn’t want to disturb you more than he already has. He kind of felt guilty about his situation although you had reassured him many times that you aren’t bothered by his stuff in your room. You actually liked that a piece of him was always in your personal space.

“Sorry, my girl’s sleeping,” he whispered into the microphone. It tugged the corners of your mouth upwards in your sleepy haze.

You didn’t really focus on his hushed conversations but the low tone of his voice was so calming and relaxing, it lulled you to sleep in no time.

When JJ finally finished up with his friends, he took the headphones off, placed them on the monitor and quietly made his way to your bed. Lifting the covers gently, he climbed underneath them and joined you in the warmth of your bed. 

He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you against him, stirring you from your sleep.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”

“‘S okay,” you slurred, already falling back asleep. JJ nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your familiar scent and feeling the sleep take him over as well.

[moongothic]

So a few weeks ago I ran into this, old, old Crocodile meta post from 2015, the OP of which hasn't been active on Tumbr (at least on that account) since 2018. And this post (along with some of the OP's other posts) has been living in my head rent free since then.

There was just something there about seeing these old meta posts, completely detached from the current state of the story, the fandom and the Crocodad Propaganda... It just made for a truly refreshing read, but they also had such great observations about Crocodile I hadn't even thought about or noticed*, and somewhat most importantly... validating my own feelings/observations about things I've been kind of afraid to vocalize myself lest I apper completely delulu. Like I dunno I do worry sometimes if I'm just reading into things too much just to make massive reaches to get The Reading of the character that happens to support the Crocodad theory specifically, instead of trying to get a more objective reading instead. So seeing someone else make either those exact same or similar observations nearly 10 years before I did is so validating, and really just made me want to discuss some of those things.

*(Like this whole post about how "DON!" is often used to add emphasis and show the true beliefs of characters, and how Crocodile doesn't really say things with a DON!, almost like his heart isn't in most of the things he does or says. I dunno it was such a good read)

Sidenote: I do want to quickly comment that I don't agree with the OP on some of their readings about stuff, and more importantly, due to the age of the both the original posts and the OP not being active anymore, I didn't want to, like... Treat them as if they just posted it recently and interact with the posts as such. (I dunno, when people go digging through my decade old main blog and start reblogging shit I posted in like 2014 it just. I dunno, it's just kind of uncomfortable. Like you're allowed to browse my past but I wished people let my ancient cringe stay in the past. But that's just me) Like for example I feel like OP has a fundamental misunderstanding what being "trans" really even means (thus I don't agree with their take on trans Croc), but again, OP's take is old and so I don't want to hold it against them. They could have grown since then and come to better understand what being trans means, and regardless of that they don't have to buy into the theory either. And I absolutely do not want anyone to start trying to pester them about it or anything (again, they posted these things nearly 10 years ago), regardless of if they're still active or not. But yeah, that's why this is a whole separate post rather than a reblog with commentary.

So OP in their post speculated how in this moment (chap 206), based on the face he makes and the serious look he gives to Luffy, Crocodile seems to find the idea of someone being willing to die for someone else's sake absolutely incomprehensible, as if he's trying to wrap his head around the mere concept. That, or he used to know what it was like to hold someone/something that dear to you, but has long forgotten what it was like

Rereading this arc a while back I couldn't help but to take notice of this panel too and that unusual, somber(?) look on Crocodile's face. But because I'm a Crocodad Truther, of course I couldn't help but to feel that this was a face of recognition, of Crocodile understanding Luffy exactly in this moment, that willingness to do anything for a loved one. Especially because I have been speculating Crocodile might've been doing all of this with the goal of nuking the World Government out of orbit to protect his long lost baby boy (it's just that he simply finds Luffy's insistence on protecting this random ass princess from a random ass country he has zero ties to ridiculous, as opposed to like, doing all of this to protect immidiate, close family)

So again, despite the different reading it is validating as hell to see someone else think this panel in particular was odd. But the more I thought about it, I did kind of start leaning towards OP's reading. Now this one was originally pointed out by opbackgrounds, how in this scene (chapter 196) while Crocodile is meant to be laughing and mocking the royal guard for "throwing their lives away" to protect Cobra, he isn't actually smiling. We don't even get to see his full face with his eyes blacked out, so we don't get to see Crocodile's true feelings in this scene

And that does kind of reframe what he says in the second panel. For a long time I wondered if the implication was that Crocodile does actually value people's lives more than he lets on (especially with his seeming willingness to blow up a million people in a violent, orchestraded coup), just having a "small sacrifice for the greater good" kinda outlook (as we know, casualties can't be avoided in war, Croco and Luffy both agree on that) (where as I would IMAGINE Dragon having a more "no sacrifices, we have to save as many people as possible" kinda principle)

But now, looking at these two moments together, and knowing Crocodile has trust issues for unknown reasons, there is also that option that, perhaps... No one has ever shown that kind of loyalty towards him, a willingness to follow him to the grave or support him, to stay by his side? And if so, maybe, in these two scenes, Crocodile does recognize that kind of deep loyalty and trust and love, and has to cope with the fact that he has and may never experience it himself, that he's doomed to be alone, surrounded only by people who "respect him" out of fear (something that could be extra painful while knowing someone had just recently betrayed him by leaking his info to ruin his plans/after figuring out it was Robin, his very literal partner in crime. Like talk about rubbing salt into a wound).

And y'know, that is an extremely sad reading and I feel so bad for my poor little meow meow (that man needs a hug so bad), but also that doesn't really add to pushing The Crocodad Agenda, which is very unfortunate. Especially because I feel like between the two readings, Crocodile recognizing loyalty no one will ever show him (and being hurt by the fact) feels like a more comprehensive and simple reading, than if one is about him showing he doesn't fully believe in what he's doing is right and the other about him relating to Luffy on a deeper level.

But then, as OP pointed out in their post, for the entirety of page 2 of Chapter 207 while Luffy is keeling over from the poison finally kicking in, Crocodile looks like he's fully letting down his walls to express genuine relief, as if the those beliefs Croc had carried and convinced himself were true were just confirmed

What're his beliefs again? That trust in others is worthless, and you can not afford to have ideals if you're weak, great strenght being the only thing that allows you, if not straight up justifies you, in doing whatever you please? Now, maybe it's just me, but if Crocodile was showing relief here over his belief that trusting others is worthless after being reminded time and time again of the love and loyalty the Strawhats have for each other and the Alabastan kingdom has for everyone in it (etc)... I dunno, I feel like that would be kind of weak, if that's where Crocodile's internalized beliefs were wavering. But if Crocodile's whole Utopia-plan had been about destroying the WG to protect his baby boy (and release the whole world from the WG's oppressive rule while he's at it) at whatever cost, while he deep inside knew what he was doing was fucked up beyond belief... Yeah, Crocodile trying to convince himself what he was doing was "justified" would make sense. Him having his beliefs potentially even waver a little bit through out this whole ordeal would make sense. Crocodile in this moment experiencing relief that what he had told himself was the righteous would make sense.

Everybody remember's Doflamingo's speech from Marineford, about how history is written by the victors and its them who decide what is right and what is wrong- the winner becomes "justice" itself. Vegapunk kind of called back to this concept during his broadcast too, and yeah, Crocodile did kind of introduce us to it back in Alabasta. If he had won, he would have been "justified" in what he had done, because it'd be him who'd be deciding what's right and what's wrong.

Now I don't really have anything else to add to that post in particular (though I absolutely love the reading on the Crocodile vs Robin part and now that I've read it I can't unsee nor disagree with it), but OP did make a separate post speculating about some of design decisions Oda made regarding Crocodile, starting with discussing the logo for Baroque Works. And they pointed this out

Bro wrote this in 2015, they have no idea, oh my god, dude had no clue whatsoever

So quickly looking that one up and yeah, wings have sometimes been used to represent the sun (most commonly with the sun, as a winged sun?) and yeah, that actually has a lot of meaning in the current state of the series re: God of Liberation the Sun God Nika. But what's more is that this is actually the SECOND time we're actually finding a way to link Crocodile to sun-symbolism, the other being Crocodile being a reference to the Egyptian god Sobek (protector god, god of military, go to Wikipedia), who has an alternative form (/fusion with Ra) called Sobek-Ra, where he is a sun god. And what was Crocodile trying to do in Alabasta if not falsely "liberate" the country from its original rule. Also worth noting is that seemingly the winged sun was most commonly used in Egyptian iconography, so if Oda ever did research Egyptian mythology for inspiration in Alabasta (which, considdering the sheer amount of Stuff in the story as a whole is more than likely), then it is very possible he could have read about the winged sun and used it intentionally.

But what I do find interesting is that, yeah, wings kinda are a symbol one would considder "heroic" or related to "freedom". And, as I have been going on and on about, if Crocodile's ultimate goal in creating his funny little "utopia" was to overthrow the World Government and "free" the whole world of their rule. Like. That really lines up with the whole symbolism with the sun and the liberation and the freedom and shit, like. Why does it line up so neatly good dear god

I dunno how to end this post, these were just a few little things that I had been thinking about after coming across OP's blog and, yeah, just wanted to discuss them.

Again, OP hasn't been active for years, but if they did suddenly come back please don't bother them or god forbid harrass them/try to get them to change their mind about trans Croco. Just don't start shit, please.

End of post byeeeeeeee

[shoezuki]

Theresbeen many a drunk headcanon and they be fun and funky but it got me thinking bout clumsiness outside of bein drunk.

Gepard seems very sure-footed. He's the captain of the guard, always leading, never showing hesitation lest it brings nerves upon his troops. I don't think he's some sorta balance god but I do think he's a steady guy that isn't really bumping into anything.

Sampo gives off cat vibes to me, I can imagine him scuttling up a wall jus to tiptoe across its top as if it was nothing. He's doin lil hops and skips just to show off a little. Whilst Geppie is strong in his stance and motion, Sampo is graceful but not really in a delicate way? He's got the smugness of a cat but his grace is more akin to an elk. It's got weight behind it but you can tell he's not fallin anytime soon.

But I like to think he's extremely used to having everything mapped out. He has places for everything and whilst it doesn't at all look neat, he knows exactly where everything is.

His coffee table is always crooked but he simply bends out of the way as he walks past, head in a stack of documents. There's stuff all over the floor but he's tiptoeing between them without hesitation. He has cabinets full of anything and everything, look in them and god knows what his file sorting system is but you ask for something specific and he makes a beeline for the bottom left drawer, stuffs his hand to the back and pulls it out instantly.

With Gep, he's also orderly. He knows where everything is but because it's neat. Even his pens are organised by colour and use. He's not a neat-freak, he's just grown up to always put things back where he found it when he's done and having shared sleepin spaces for so long with fellow soldiers, knows that keeping everything in its place makes things less stressful.

He knows better than to mess with Sampo's files or move any of his 'work' stuff but he's defo moving tidbits off the floor and pushing furniture back against the wall. Like, why is the sofa in the middle of the room??? How does someone do that in the first place???

So now Sampo, as aware and confident as he is, is now tripping over everything. He's knocked his shin on the coffee table 3 times in one day. He's stubbed his toe on the sofa and fully fallen to the ground, he's gone to grab something off the floor (where it usually is) only to realise it's no longer there and just stand in the middle of the room, looking lost, staring into space for 5 minutes.

He feels like he's been invaded. Never had to shrug off Natasha's questioning so often when she comments on a new bruise or scrape. He's not even getting them on the field!!!! That stool was perfectly fine in front of the cupboard. That's where he liked it.

But like hell is he gonna tell Gepard that. He's tried to some extent but it's only led to long circle talk. After all, it's unsurprisingly hard to explain that you like your furniture layout to look like someone's lost a fight in your home and having things not in the way is mildly disturbing.

This was meant to be about clumsiness. They're gettin away from me again XD

~ 🥃

YesyesyesYES SBGDV god they both have like. Theyre own sense of order. Like gepard's is the most blatant. Hes got a Schedule ok he has an order to how he does things and when he does things and where stuff goes.

But sampo seems Chaotic. Like his things seem to be a mess and all disjointed and over the place but To Him he has like. A System. He has no fucking clue what that system is and can Not explain it whatsoever but hes got it. Sure its a mess and no one knows how he can possible operate like this and especially concerning his bomb making its crazy he hasnt blown himself up yet but it Works.

Them living together is Hilarious cuz if this. Like gepard needs things where theyre 'supposed' to be, while sampo shifts his things n environment according to Him. Mfers in a silent war cuz they keep moving shit back to where They think its sposed to be. Like sampo keeps shifting the coffee table to the left and at a bit of an angle so that he can rest his feet on it from the sofa but gep keeps moving it back cuz its Supposed To Be Exactly 2 feet from the sofa and Right in the middle of the fucking rug, sampo. Every late night sampo moves the dishes around seemingly randomly so that his favourite bowls and mugs are easily reachable while he cooks and every morning gepard gets up and reorganizes the cupboards by size and type of dish while he makes coffee.

Theyre engaging in domestic psychological warfare

[scribble-brain-aced]

more sans au headcanons because if i do not share them, i mayhaps will explode into a million pieces

• i once broke my school computer (stay with me here) and the inside of it smelled like chemicals. like nail polish remove, but more hospital. that’s what the anti-void smells like, and by extension, error.

• getting the feeling that Killer is a bit obsessive with who he likes. like, he won’t straight-up stalk them because he knows that’s apparently terrifying for the victim, and he doesn’t want that. but he WILL watch them really carefully, hang out with them as much as possible, and probably write a list about them. generally, really toeing the line between ‘okay’ and ‘kinda creepy’.

• Dream and Nightmare have synesthesia. Dream can see emotions, Nightmare can taste and smell them. (Although, he thinks it’s weird, so he doesn’t talk about it at all.)

• dust is from a Handplates AU, Killer was homeless until 18, and Horror is part of Gaster’s split brain if you’ve seen Matpat’s theory.

• nightmare has about a million ways to pass the time because as a kid, he had like no social contact whatsoever, and instead read a lot, screamed into a forest, pondered the meaning of life, and made up several conspiracy theories. because he was bored.

• yknow how the Gang is portrayed in this awesome gothic castle/mansion? well, the Stars are permanently broke. they literally just share a tiny little hobbit-hole house in the omega timeline.

• Nightmare stole a money-printer from the government in a Mafiatale AU. that’s how he’s so rich.

• also Killer somehow got everyone to name it Jasper. like, if Dust ran out of money, Horror will just tell him “go talk to Jasper.” and everyone just accepts it.

• cross and epic have a thing where if either of them say the word corn, they chant the corn thing from Slimesccle. they have no clue where it came from.

• error, nightmare, cross, epic, and chino have started the Fresh Hate Club.

• Nightmare somehow keeps getting mistaken for Satan. He doesn’t know how. (and it definitely does not bring his already-low self esteem down.) But if there’s a satanic cult nearby, he won’t correct them, in case they can be useful.

• You know how gods have a ‘true form’ that’s ineffable to mortals? all of Reapertale, Ink, and Error. Reaper’s gonna teach Ink and Error how to access their true forms. Dream once saw Ink’s true form and fucking sobbed because he could barely handle it. he’s not a mortal, so he’ll live, but he can barely comprehend it.

• (inspired by The Stupid Chair on ao3). the gang has The Stupid Hat. it’s a horrible bright yellow neon construction hard hat that gets duct-taped to someone’s head if they’re dumb enough to make an easy mission complicated. ex, if Dust provokes the Stars into a fight during a supply run, he gets the hat.

• ccino is a licensed therapist, but he is still depressed

• dream and nightmare have a lot of insecurity around the auras they emit. ‘do they genuinely like me, or do they like my aura?’ ‘does my aura make them feel that negative? do they wish i weren’t here?’

• cross and killer impulsively started a band. They made the instrumentals for half of a song and that’s it. nothing else. they forgot to actually do stuff.

• Dust gets really nervous around medical, scientific places, and doesn’t trust any doctors or scientists except for Sci. but he still refuses to take anything from him, whether it be a shot, or a lollipop. he’s just not having it.

• killer sleeps on the floor because sleeping in a bed still feels strange to him. he also keeps the windows open because he used to sleep in the cold. gets really anxious about the price of something, money in general, so even if he can afford something, he just steals it.

• horror will get random flashbacks of the Core, or Gaster, and he’s not sure why, but on the rare occasion he meets a Gaster, he always ends up feeling “fake” afterwards. like he’s not supposed to be here, not supposed to do this.

[simp41ida]

hi :D. could u write (if possible pls dont feel pressured aha) iida and a reader who really loves the library. like the reader goes there randomly without telling iida and he looses his mind thinking reader has disappeared so he goes to look for them and when he gets back all worried and stuff about them but the reader is just sat there reading a library book. basically Iida is very much mother hen to them afterwards :)

warnings:

notes: sorry this took so long!! this one kind of sucks so I'm super sorry about that. it was a great request, but I think it has something to do with the execution of it

you and iida would always go to the library together

that's why he would've had no clue where you'd gone

because you go with him :(

but you like the library so much that you could go twice in a day without getting bored (honestly same)

either way, he'll get all panicky and tries to ask everyone else if they've seen you around, and they say no and brush it off

while they're busy not caring, he starts a one-man search party with himself

he texts you almost a hundred times, but you didn't answer it because your phone was silenced so you wouldn't disturb anyone in the library

he checks your location on Snapchat, which he normally doesn't do because he feels like it's an invasion of privacy

that was how he found you and he was so happy about it that he almost forgot the library rules were to not talk

so he was all like "Y/N!! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT RUNNING AWAY WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING!" and then he'd get quiet and apologize for yelling

he isn't really mad in all honesty

he's just super happy that he was able to find you and that you were okay

after this, he'll be checking where you are if you aren't with him

he loves having the security that you'll still be there when he wants to see you again (and that for any reason, you were not in any physical pain whatsoever)

he also just loves you in general

he'll say "tell me where you're going before you go somewhere so I know you're safe" right to your face even if it would be embarrassing for others to say so unbashfully.

he says a lot of things like that because he doesn't see the point in covering up the fact that he cares about you

everything aside, he just loves you so much that he will call the police if he doesn't know where you are (before remembers that he is an aspiring hero and he should probably be looking for you on his own.)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for complaining about a teacher?

context before i start: the class i'm in takes up 3 hours of the day, and was the only reason i came to this school in the first place. it's an art school and is supposed to be somewhat serious—like, you have to apply to get in. but the 2 years i've been here we've had like 4 teachers (+ there have been even more before that) and none of them have been qualified for the job whatsoever

our newest teacher just got out of college and doesn't know what she's doing. she doesn't assign work that's actually creatively challenging, 1 hour of class time is usually dedicated to a really bad prompt and the rest of the time is independent work, it's barely an actual art class. she also never talks to the class and doesn't really have a clue what's going on ever. supposedly she has a degree but she just seems so. confused. the reason i'm still at this school is because i know people here who live upwards of 40 minutes away who i'm very close with + along with that i'm also autistic so any kind of drastic change would be hell. unfortunately leaving, though it would be the best option for me, is just not an option at all

anyway, we're already a quarter of the way through the year and people are still saying to cut her some slack because she's... new. which is kind of exactly what the issue is? i went through something similar to this last year because one of our previous teachers gave me really bad vibes and just didn't really work, so i complained about her to my classmates, and then i went to the administration about some issues i was having and she ended up quitting a few weeks after. people thought i got her fired on purpose. i was a little bit overly angry looking back so idk i can't blame them

anyway, i recently went to the admin about this new teacher (unlike last time, i tried to "give her grace" and hope for improvement, even though... idk... i just don't see it happening) but haven't really held back in complaining about her to my classmates too. most of the time people will say i'm being overly negative, or they don't want her to get fired, and honestly it's just fucking wild to me. they've also made comments about how she's not a good teacher! like everyone agrees that she's just not ready for this position and they're really sick of not being able to learn things! when i do complain though it's like i'm messing up some kind of social contract there is to just not do anything about the problem we're having and it's really confusing and frustrating

but at the same time i do wonder if this is me being overly critical and nitpicky of a situation that i shouldn't be. to me, because of aforementioned autism, i have a really strong sense of justice. this kind of stuff seriously bothers me and it upsets me that nobody else is as affected by the unfairness as i am?? idk. i just want the class to actually be worthwhile because the academics are really good

so AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[angel-bruises]

Soooo, I've decided I must cosplay Lestat in his gettin' murdered outfit, after the ball. I'm not great at sewing but I've sewed a few historical undergarment pieces so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm literally just trying to figure shit out atm and I'm having some trouble.

Lestat's Breeches

They don't make any sense to me! I've been looking at all the reference photos I can of his costume in general and the breeches are so confusing. I *think* they're silver, as they look a lot cooler toned than Louis', though part of me winders if they could be a stark white.

Then the design itself. They're very plain, like super extra plain. They don't seem to have any sort of front closure, which is what is confusing me the most because every pattern I have found online has a lot of waistband details and closes at the front. It doesn't seem to be some secret hidden seam either, because Louis' has a subtle front closure but there is nothing on Lestat's whatsoever. If anyone knows of a pattern I can buy that matches them well I'd love to know!

As for whether there is detail at the leg, I couldn't tell you. All the reference images but a couple cut off before the pants end and the few that don't are too low res and from the direct front so idk if there's anything going on there. There is one image of him that shows there might be something at the bottom of the leg but it is not at a helpful angle. I'm going to rewatch soon so maybe my questions will be answered then.

Another problem is all the sewing patterns are for men, and I am too stupid to have a clue how to alter a pattern to fit me. Idk what to do about that.

Lestat's Cunty Little Bob

My next struggle is accurately representing Lestat's cunty little bob. I'm struggling to find lace front wigs in the right colour and similar length. Also, while I know how to style wigs into like, rococo styles and stuff like that, I have no experience cutting or styling a wig into a more natural style like this. I don't even know where to start

Seriously if anyone has any advice I would be more than happy to listen!

[themagnusprotocol-avaragerant]

Good evening listeners!

Episode 1.

This summary is going to include the theory that Elias, Jon and Martin are all voices in FR3DD1! I’m sure you all can do your research.

I’m going to start off with my general thoughts! This episode was long and I’m sorry for the rant, it’s supposed to be concise but I got distracted! Please let me know what you’d like me to focus on in future, I’d love to hear your ideas!

What are my thoughts?

- At the beginning, we seem to be listening to this episode from the recording of a PC. Maybe the very same PC that holds Jon and his friends? Who knows!

TEDDY: Teddy’s leaving party! That totally isn’t gonna bite him in the arse! I find it quite surprising as I thought institute workers couldn’t leave. Though, this is the OIAR. Not the institute. But I think we’ll be seeing our little friend quite soon!

COLIN: Colin is a little ray of sunshine, isn’t he? Can’t wait to see how he handles our little friends in the computer! He seems to be under the sort of “curse” that prevents him from leaving. Teddy seems to know it. Which begs the question, why can Teddy leave? He has been working on this program for 2 years, and has tried everything under the sun! At the end, he seems rather frenzied. He is frantically searching through drawers and talking to FR3DD1. He seems aware that Freddy can hear him, and determined to find out! I wonder how well that went for our past team, hmm?

GWEN: It seems Gwen’s anger is unfounded. Why? I haven’t a clue. Maybe we’ll find out why she hates Alice in later episodes? She also seems to want to be head of the OIAR badly. Maybe something to do with her being a Bouchard?

- “modified version of Windows NT 4.0” maybe that detail will be useful!

SAM: Sam on his paperwork ticked a box called “response 121”! I’m sure that’ll have 0 consequences later on whatsoever! Don’t you?

Our statement is read out by our good friend Norris! This I believe is Alexander, our voice actor for Martin!

The statement is an email. Here are the details!

To: Darla Winstead (dwinny@mailpod.com) 
From: Harriet Winstead (hpw332@mailpod.com)
Date: May 12, 2022
Subject: Re: Re: checking in

I won’t explain the whole statement, you’ve probably heard the episode! But i will link the transcripts for you who want to do a little digging!

A brief summary of it: a woman who is mourning the loss of a lover suddenly gets a call from a voice sounding suspiciously like the dead man himself! She goes to the cemetery only to be met with “some of him”, as the creature put it. This sends her into a panic!

And it turns out we get another statement too! This one seems to be read out by Chester, who I believe to be Jon, but it doesn’t give us a clear name! Here are the details!

Forums.lostcityurbex.com.

Board index. Spelunking. Sites.

New topic: Magnus Institute Ruins

By RedCanary on Sunday April 10, 2022. 3:31pm.

A brief summary: a spelunker called “RedCanary” goes to explore the Magnus institute ruins after some form of fire happened years ago. He seems spooked out, finding “symbols and stuff and some pretty suspicious stains on some floors.” Aswell as a sense of anxiety he didn’t have before! He ended up getting banned due to Gory images, something about eyes? Maybe it’s our good friend Jonah leaving his mark! Who knows?

Please let me know if iv missed anything at all! Feel free to mention any theories you may have. I want this to be an area where you can get those little cogs turning!

And as always…

Thankyou for listening.

[lyrakanefanaticwriting]

The Grandest Game

Chapter 5

———————————————————

LYRA:

As we walked to my room, I felt oddly nervous and… well, surprised. I didn’t think Grayson would start freaking out once I told him that I was the girl who had called his phone, but telling him was also easier than I had expected. Suddenly, Grayson stops walking, which snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see the door to my room.

“This is your room. Avery’s is the last one right down the hall, so if you ever have any questions you can go to her.” He says. I open the door to my room and walk in, hauling my luggage and backpack into it. I couldn’t stop my mouth from shaping into an ‘o’ at the size of the room, because it was massive. Like the size of my living room, kitchen, and bathroom combined. I looked towards two doors, one for the bathroom and one for a walk in closet. What even is this place? I glanced back to Grayson, who was watching me in the doorway with an almost amused expression on his face.

“What, you’re just used to the richie life, Mr. Hawthorne?” I asked, raising a brow. He raised one back.

“Well, I can’t say that I’m not, Ms. Kane.” He says, using my last name to address me just like how I had used his to address him. Really looking at his face now, I just realized how well his eyes contrasted his suit. I looked away and put my stuff down near my bed.

“Does Avery want us to meet up again to discuss the rules of The Game, or are we unpacking first?” I asked, turned away from him.

“Just put your stuff down and we can head back to the foyer, she just needs to discuss a few more things.” He states. I nod before turning back to him, and walking out of my room. He gets out of my doorway and heads back the way we came from to the foyer.

——————————————————————————

Avery had finally finished explaining how it was all going to go down, and I basically knew as much as when I first got here. Weekends are free for family to visit or just to do whatever you want, breakfast, lunch, and dinner is at 8:30, 12:00, and 5:00, and we’ll get texts from Avery and the other game masters if we need to meet up anywhere to discuss clues.

“But that’s all. You all are free to head back to your rooms, explore, or do whatever you’d like in the house for today, since you just got here. And if you have any questions whatsoever, just send me a text!” She says, holding up her phone. All of us start to walk away, including me, when the girl with braids and glasses from earlier pops up in front of me.

“Hello!” She says, smiling. She had a perfect, toothpaste ad smile and a bubbly attitude.

“Oh, hi.” I say, caught off guard.

“My names Briana Maxford, but you can call me Bree. What’s yours?” She asks me. Oh, I just now realized, she’s trying to get to know the contestants, starting with me.

“Mines Lyra Kane.” I say. Her smile grows.

“Your names really pretty.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“I know this is random but… would you like to explore the house with me?” It was random. But, I had to get to know the other contestants better at some point, so I guess this was a good start. I smiled.

“Let’s do it.”

——————————————————————————

We had mainly been wandering through corridors and finding a gym, basketball court, bowling alley, and more rooms. I didn’t understand how this place was so big. It was like a 5 star hotel with everything you could ever dream of in it. Just then, we find a large entrance to.. something. I turned to Bree.

“Should we check it out?” I asked. She nodded, her eyes sparkling. We walked in and I gasped at the sight of it. It was a library, a giant one, with rows and rows of books. There were swirled staircases to reach the higher shelves, and giant windows to let the sunlight peek through. Finally, for the first time since I had arrived, a real, true smile shone on my face. I loved books. There’s not anything to not like about them, and I had a feeling that this is where I was going to be spending most of my time. Suddenly, I spotted a guy who was looking at the books himself, and spying us as well. It was the guy with the interesting stance from before, the one who had winked at me. Our eyes locked and my smile dropped as he started to walk towards us.

“Well, hello.” He says, with a sly smile. He had a British accent, and I just now realized that people from all around the world could be here.

“Hi.” I say in deadpan. Bree says the same thing, but in a much lighter tone.

“Do you two have names?” He asks us. No, I wanted to say, just be petty. Of course we had names.

“Her names Lyra, and mines Briana, but you can just call me Bree. What’s yours?” She asks.

“Rohan. What brings you to The Game?” He asks, raising a brow.

“The money, of course.” Bree replies, with a half shrug. He nods. Then, he turns to me, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“And what about you? Do you have any hobbies, or do you just brood and give people one word replies?” He asks me.

“I have hobbies. Do you, or do you just corner people in libraries and force them to answer random questions?” I shoot back. His eyebrows raise.

“Of course I do. I write, I fight, I gamble.” He says, a twinkle in his eyes. I narrow my eyes at him.

“Gamblings not a hobby.”

“Sure it is. You should try it out sometimes.” His hands go behind his back.

“If I wanted to watch men dig holes for themselves to roll into, I would have gone to a graveyard.” I say in deadpan. He grins, and even Bree smiles.

“Alrighty. You have fun brooding. And for you,” He says, turning his gaze to Bree, “I hope to see you around sometime.” He smiles at her. She smiles back.

“Same with you, Rohan.” She replies. He nods, before glancing back at me and turning to walk away.

“He seems nice.” Bree suggested. I make a face but nod. Suddenly, we both get texts from Avery. It read, “siNce tomorrow Is a saturday, family is allowed to visit and you Get tHe day To yourSelf. alThough i mAy waNt to have a few worDs with you then, but it won’t take too long.” At first glance, I could tell there was a code in the text. Seeing if she would notice, I show Bree the text, and she just reads it and shrugs.

“More relaxation time. Wanna head back to our rooms?” She asked, since we had already seen almost all of the house. I nodded and we headed back, hoping to not get lost.

——————————————————————————

Back in my room, I check the text again and make a word out of the uppercase letters. NIGHTSTAND. Well, that was easy. Easier than I expected. Going to my nightstand, I grabbed the letter off of it and read what was inside. “Hello Lyra Kane! Welcome to The Game. I am so glad to have you as one of our contestants, and I hope you enjoy your time here. Feel free to explore the house whenever you feel like it, as I’m sure there is always at least one thing that remains unseen. - The Game Masters.” I frowned and reread it. My brain couldn’t stop latching onto the last part, and I felt like I was missing something.

“Remains unseen.” I muttered. Then, a puzzle piece clicks into place in my brain as I realize what the note was trying to say. Remains unseen. A thought hits me as I go towards the desk in my room. I searched it to see if it had anything I needed, when my eyes fell on a small black light. I picked it up and placed it over the blank end of the envelope, to see if there was anything written there, when text starts to appear. I place the black light closer, and start to read it. “MEET IN THE LIBRARY ON FRIDAY, 9:30 PM” It read. So much for ‘having the day to ourselves’. But, if I was going to be here, I had to do something, right? I wonder what Eve would tell me to do. Probably tell me to get close to the Hawthornes, but there’s no possible way I could do that if I can’t even socialize with another contestant. It doesn’t matter. Once I find out what happened to my father, and Eve gives me my money, I can get my family out of this place and never look back. That’s what I’m working towards. And if I can make it happen, then it’ll be worth it.

——————————————————————————

THERES A SIX OF CROWS LINE IN HERE THAT I USED, AND IF U READ THE BOOK U MIGHT RECOGNIZE IT 😜😜

also I wanted this chapter to focus more on the game instead of just grayson and lyras (cough cough love story cough cough- who said that?) interactions so you won’t see much of that in this one unfortunately 😔😢

[hamofjustice]

I don't want to just painstakingly copypaste my triple-layered self-QRT thread about it on Twitter and any other ones floating around but

I am very emotionally invested in seeing Penny, Arven, and (personally) especially Nemona again in the Scarlet/Violet DLC, after GF followed up the best 3 hours of Pokemon game story ever by having to abruptly cut it off the second these lonely kids finish opening up to you and say you can hang out with them anytime. Which you never do. It was some pretty painful whiplash, and I was sure the main point of the DLC was to relieve that, especially when their arcs don't seem quite complete yet. Very clever, evil marketing! But uh... well... about that...

It is very worrying that aside from a little "the story so far" montage, they have not been seen or mentioned in promotional material/footage whatsoever. Y'know, DLC for the game that's about how the real treasure was the friends you found along the way (literally, in Nemona's case), and even if your family and support systems fail you, you still have each other? Written from the heart by someone who said Arven's story is inspired by their own life? With the sappy Ed Sheeran song about reaching out for connection with others, that also seems to be named after Team Star? The game where one of the features the devs seemed most proud of was going on adventures and into boss fights with 3 of your friends? The game that ended with a fully functional and quite immersive bonding adventure with these characters you'd gotten to know and care about, that basically everyone thought was the best part of the game by a mile, and were left wishing the whole game was like that?

Yeah, I (and everyone else) have been driving around alone in that game for 8 months ever since finishing that story. 8 months of minor updates with a ton of the beloved characters functionally or literally gone, while we go around doing online stuff with nothing else to do in the world, with a single player postgame more barren than we had on Game Boy Color (thank god for mints and bottle caps though). I'm left just... wanting to go back to the way things were before I beat the game. Not to be overly dramatic, but this world I supposedly saved feels like one I failed to save. And I'm getting really frustrated. (The framerate hasn't gotten any better, either, but this isn't about that.)

It's like Game Freak (or whoever forced this thing out a year early, or both) never expected you to boot the game up again once you got bored of the Ace Academy Tournament, which the game acts like is the entire total of what you could want from being friends and "rivals for life" with your squad (I mean I'm the sicko that loves Tera Raids, so I'm not that bored, but still). It makes a bunch of implications that your adventure is just beginning, and then it totally just... isn't. Why is the E4 building closed? Why do you only rematch the gyms once? And most of all, for me personally: Why did we get access to our friends' rooms if there's nothing to do or talk about there? (Besides look for character study clues, which they have lots of)

All they could come up with when asked to write a newsletter email about what you can still do in S/V and why you should still be playing it was Raids. That was it. Remember when you had an endless challenge in the Tower/Maison that you could optionally take on with a bunch of story characters as your partners instead of alone, that motivated you to keep getting stronger bit by bit? Remember rematching gym leaders multiple times and watching their teams grow and evolve each time? Yeah, there's none of that here, because that would take more than a week to implement. If you want friends and you want battles, you'll have to do it yourself online now. They're not allocating any budget for that.

Your rival for life, who's so excited you're on her level now, who seems to have the passion and skill to be the your Battle Tower gameplay loop by herself if she wanted to, who battles you for hours offscreen with multiple teams, whose whole character arc is that she finally has someone she can do this with... is fully static, with one kinda mediocre team that never grows or changes. She can't keep up with you and doesn't know what items or EVs are. You have to get lucky to even see her at all. She is no more your rival than your Home Ec teacher is (no offense Saguaro, you're cool too). I think it's really, really sad.

I'm left nostalgic and pining to go back, having to cope through fanfic because my character can't spend the day with - or even so much as take a new trainer card photo with - the girl who said they might be her greatest treasure, without resetting my save, because she and the others are standing somewhere that the camera and internet features are both disabled.

Like, legitimately, I want to keep being friends with these kids the way we were before, and have the ability to do post-game stuff with them, like being able to go out and adventure together whenever in some basic, non-story capacity, or just, I don't know, maybe give them more than one line of dialogue in their rooms? I don't want a new region or new characters. Not yet, anyway.

I thought I was preordering the continuation of their story and rewarding the company for making me care about Pokemon so much again.

But, uh... I'm really worried that the people who own these characters do not care. And as I said on the trailer's comments before they turned them off (lol), I'll be pissed enough to not buy any more games if I'm right, and we're forced to abandon these poor kids. At the very least, it's some pretty garbage marketing to leave the possibility of that up in the air. If nothing else, that is a frustration that I'm going to keep talking about for a while, even if it ends up being fine.

I thought it was impossible, and I was being silly. Why not have our friends in cute new outfits as promo art when the DLC was first announced, and all they had was promo art? Seems like an easy slam dunk. Oh, they didn't yet? Well, I'm sure it'll happen eventually.

And then they weren't in the trailer either, months later. Are they trying to sell us on it or not?

The whole reason I want the DLCs. Still not a single word acknowledging them, just that little opening montage. Still no hints of how the DLCs have anything to do with Area Zero's ongoing story, either. How is a sea turtle linked with a landlocked crater?

So like... At this point I have to assume both DLCs start with you making your friends cry as they're left alone again, arbitrarily excluded from events they're more than qualified to be invited to, to make room for some new dweebs we don't need, who won't be given nearly enough time to be as compelling as Nemona, Arven, and Penny were, because that makes the trailer look more like a new game, and that's the only way they know how to advertise. More. New. Buy. Consume. Throw away. Buy. Consume. Throw away. I should assume this so that whatever we get can't be worse.

But they're probably not (self-aware enough / allowed / both) to write that. Your lonely / orphaned / anime-binging friends might just cheer you on for getting to go do something cool like being forced to train a new legendary because the story said so, then go back to being statues with as much relevance to your life as an NPC in a third story apartment that tells you what a hold item is.

Can't I just live in Paldea with my friends, in the version of the game we would have gotten if it was finished, instead of being pulled into these adventures for the sake of looking good in a trailer? (which it doesn't btw lol) It's not an unrealistic thing to want when that's what it briefly was, and I was so excited that it would keep being that I've been thinking about it this entire time.

...

I hope I'm wrong about all this, and next year I can look back on this post, happy that the DLC did actually allow us to continue to take care of these characters, conclude Area Zero's mysteries in a satisfying way, fix up some technical issues, let us relive some things that are currently once-only (including letting us see that photo album our character made but we had to screenshot ourselves), and make it fun to keep playing for years afterward, and let that be the model for games going forward, but uh...

They really are not showing me anything I care about in the game I desperately want to care about, that I saw - and wanted to defend - the heart in, despite the circumstances it was produced under, and that really worries and frustrates me. The surprisingly many great things about this game got my hopes up for an awesome postgame full of warm fuzzy feelings and cool things to do 8 months ago that just didn't deliver, and now, I'm not sure if they'll even let me pay for one, at this rate, because they're not advertising one.

Just throw us a scrap. If whoever's in charge here stops caring about this story, I won't care about the next one.

Anyone else feeling this?

[echotunes]

Flowers and Frights

pinch hit for @kaije224 for @mcyt-summer-of-yuri!! here's bagina taking a walk in a field of flowers yippee <3 with no incidents whatsoever

“This place is so pretty,” Tina marvels.

“Yeah!” Bagi grins, feline ears flicking. “Yeah, I thought it was cool, I thought you would like to see.”

They’re in a field of flowers, a meadow of colours stretching in all directions, further than Tina can see. She doesn’t even know what some of these flowers are! But they’re all pretty, and Bagi decided to take her here, and that’s so, so cool… There’s a bird singing somewhere, and sometimes a light breeze stirs the high grass. The scent of flowers is everywhere. It’s… peaceful. It’s nice.

And it’s not a date. It’s not! Bagi just asked Tina to go for a walk together. In this beautiful place that just so happens to be very far away from Spawn, so it’s unlikely they’ll run into anyone else. Just the two of them. But it’s not a date. Because neither of them said it was a date. And a date would be, like, a commitment, kind of! And this isn’t that. Not yet.

(Not that Tina doesn’t want to go on a date with her! She’d love to go on a date! But if this were a date, then that would involve thinking about the fact that Bagi doesn’t know about all of Tina’s… stuff, yet. Like the whole… demon thing. Stuff that she should probably really be aware of before they start moving towards any sort of relationship with each other, because that’s kind of important info.

But it’s fine! Tina will get to it, eventually. Once she’s got it all figured out herself. And has a way to tell Bagi about it. But since this isn’t a date, it’s okay! It’s just a walk. A beautiful walk, even. And—)

“Which way do you wanna go?” Bagi asks, startling Tina out of her thoughts.

Tina blinks. “Um! Uh…” She spins around. “I mean, do you wanna… go… in any direction? In particular?” They’re all the same, right? Is Bagi expecting her to decide? Is it rude of Tina to be asking Bagi for her opinion if Bagi already asked her for hers? Oh, she’s terrible at this, oh no.

“I don’t mind!” Bagi shrugs. “Ah… we can go this way!” She starts off in a random direction, sweeping her coat around her as she goes.

…Almost immediately, before Tina can even begin to catch up, Bagi steps into an unseen hole in the ground, yelping as she flails. Tina stops herself from sighing dreamily (because Bagi is the coolest person she’s ever met, but come on, that’s just cute), and instead laughs as she hurries forward to offer her her arm, and Bagi takes it to pull herself upright with an awkward little smile that Tina easily returns.

They walk for a little while – Tina mostly lets Bagi ramble, about the clues about the Federation and the mysteries of the island she’s been investigating recently (really, she’s so smart, how does she do it) and just about what she did yesterday, and Tina tells her about her own day in turn, and tries not to get too distracted by how much this feels like it could be a date. Because it’s not one. She’s established that.

And then—Tina doesn’t know how, maybe they just got distracted, maybe she was too intent on listening to Bagi and looking at the flowers to notice – but Bagi lets out a yelp of half-pain, half-surprise, and when Tina whirls around to look, there’s a zombie in a golden helmet right behind them, and it’s sunk its teeth into the shoulder of Bagi’s coat.

Bagi swears at it, something in Portuguese that Tina doesn’t understand and she doesn’t have time to look at her translator for, but she gets the gist of it well enough as she’s fumbling for her sword. She finally finds it (stupid not to have left it in her hotbar, why isn’t she being more careful, that’s so risky) and draws it in a flash; but before she can do anything, Bagi is whirling around, and then there’s a loud clang and the zombie is crumpling to the ground.

Adrenaline coursing through her veins, Tina thrusts the sword downwards, plunging it into the zombie’s chest – “leave her alone!” – and then the zombie is dissolving in a puff of smoke, leaving nothing but a pile of rotten flesh and a golden helmet, now dented with the vague shape of a frying pan, behind.

“Oh my god.” Now that Tina has time to look at her properly, she sees Bagi’s tail is bristled, white fur standing on end and making it look all puffy; and her ears were leaned back, though now they relax as the danger has passed, and Bagi takes a deep breath. “That—oh my god.”

She doubles over, and for a moment, Tina is worried that Bagi is injured somehow, and is going to need help; but then she straightens back up, or at least tries to, and Tina can see that she’s bent over with silent laughter, gasping for breath, so she lets herself relax.

“That was—oh my god, Tina—” Bagi is audibly giggling now, and Tina lets herself join in – because the way Bagi’s tail is all puffed up is kind of funny now that the adrenaline shock is over, and it was just a zombie, and it’s all okay, it’s fine, it’s okay.

“It was just a zombie.” Bagi pauses to wipes a tear of laughter from her eye. “That’s so embarrassing, what the hell. Thank you for saving me, Tina.”

“I didn’t do that much,” Tina protests, though something inside her is glowing at the praise. “I mean, you saved yourself, really, I just, like, finished it off.” The moment is replaying in her mind now – what if Bagi thinks it’s weird what she hissed at the zombie before killing it? She was just acting on instinct, her instinct to protect the people she loves because she has to be a good demon, but…

Wow, Tina is a mess today. Gosh. Being alone with Bagi will do that to her, she guesses.

“Thank you anyway.” Bagi grins, and fixes her frying pan back to her belt. “Let’s keep going?”

“Yeah!” Tina smiles, and now that the moment is over, she’s feeling a lot less nervous – so maybe it is okay. “Yeah, okay.”

Bagi holds out her hand, and Tina has to stop herself from actually squeaking out loud, because oh gosh, okay, okay, okay—

“Okay!” she bursts out, and Bagi laughs, and Tina inches her hand forward far enough to slip her fingers between hers, and then Bagi is pulling her along through the flowers, and this is so—so overwhelming, but in the best way, and Tina feels a little giddy as they go. She’s so lucky. Even if this isn't a date. Definitely not.

[backjustforberena]

How do you think Rhaenys will react to B&C?

You know what, I was thinking about this the other day because we've potentially got a very different set-up to the book. And that's because of Captain Problematic himself, Daemon Targaryen.

In the show, Daemon has yet to go to Harrenhal. He's the one who delivers the news about Lucerys's death to Rhaenyra in person. In the trailer, we see him still sat at the Painted Table, so we know he's there for a little bit of time at the start (and it's definitely the start), so he's not just packed up his stuff and legged it to get a strategic advantage, despite his war plans last episode.

In the book, he's already at Harrenhal. He's snatched the place up way before Luke ever dies and we have the iconic raven saying that Lucerys will be avenged. No specifics at all. It's a total wild card plan, no one on the Black Council is consulted, Daemon just seemingly does this on his own... which is the most Daemon thing ever, to be honest. There's no time, opportunity or authority to stop Daemon from enacting B&C. It's an act done for the Blacks' side but it is not sanctioned in any way whatsoever, so far as we can tell in the book.

But, if we have Daemon still at Dragonstone before, during or after B&C then that will force some confrontations and questions. We get the potential of either Daemon blatantly disobeying Rhaenyra and/or Rhaenyra being complicit and/or, at the very least, Daemon attending meetings where a response to the death of Prince Lucerys is argued and no one mentions killing another child as payment. What you get is less an act done in isolation, and more one done without consensus.

We don't have any specifics to go on in the book - we don't have any clue about how any Team Black members react to the act. Not even Daemon, I don't think. So that's got the potential to be very juicy. We don't have any evidence (although if someone finds a quote and wants to tell me I'm wrong, please do) about how Rhaenyra reacts, or Corlys, or Rhaenys, or Jace, or Baela and Rhaena. No one. It's just presented as another step in the escalation of the Dance as a whole, rather than something that has ramifications within a fledgeling faction. Which gives the show lots of room to play with.

For Rhaenys, specifically? Horror. I can only imagine horror. She's pretty much consistently been about the kids. All the kids. She's in it for her grandchildren, she warns against kinslaying and bloodshed in the trailer. She was shown to be a caring and involved mother and now fiercely protects the generation after them. She's putting aside a lot of pride to be of service to a woman who has shown her no kindness over the years, in order to keep them safe. If there is one thing she wants to preserve, it's the children - and that likely extends to those on the Green side as well.

Rhaenys isn't bloodthirsty or callous or clouded in her judgement. She's shown to be Daemon's opposite multiple times and, I believe, will represent such next season as well. So, no, she's not going to be clapping Daemon on the back for this one.

I have two more questions about it that I'm interested to know the answers to, when the episode comes out:

How much detail will the Black Council be made aware of? In other words, are they going to know EVERYTHING about the act, and how Helaena's son died and how Alicent and Helaena and all the children were made to suffer? Or will they only know that a child has been killed in recompense and Daemon did it? Will they even know Daemon did it - perhaps Rhaenyra will keep the information to herself? Where are they going to get the information from?

And, whilst Rhaenys will be horrified... I wonder if she'll be surprised or shocked. In Series 1, nothing much surprised her. Things frightened her, and took her aback, but she was never really surprised. I wonder if she'll have never thought Daemon capable of this. Or whether she feared he always was.

How afraid will this make them? Of Aegon's wrath? Now the bad blood is true between both. And we know what happens with the Cargyll Twins. Do the Black Council expect or fear for a similar, ruthless and clandestine mission as Daaemon did upon the Greens? Do they fear what eventually does happen?