#i'm letting my favorite quotes speak for themselves

[risingfire17-the-weeb-trash]

40 Day Anime Challenge Day 15: Favorite Canon Couple: Yuzuriha Inori and Ouma Shu from Guilty Crown (I’m sure this surprises absolutely no one who knows me) See my Day 1 post for synopsis

She was only ever supposed to be used as a tool to resurrect someone else. Shu gave her a world of her own.

Because of him, Inori fought against her fate.

Shu lost the ability to believe in himself after a traumatic childhood, and then he was thrust into a power he couldn’t handle. Inori believed in him.

They made each other better, and learned to truly live.

[imsoquarky]

Hi, Hello, I need to talk about Bruce

This beautiful man right here <3

IDK how much of this to consider spoilers for Trolls Band Together, so I'm doing all of it!

♠️ - ♣️ - ♥️ - ♦️ SPOILERS FOR BAND TOGETHER ♠️ - ♣️ - ♥️ - ♦️

Y'know, Branch's purple haired brother who's my favorite of his brothers for a few different reasons that I'm about to spew onto Tumblr at an unreasonable hour?

Okay so, Bruce is my favorite, and I think it's bullshit that the wiki calls him Spruce despite that not being his name anymore.

Trans headcanon? Maybe. Anyways!

I love how Bruce is written for many different reasons, I also love how he's handled when it comes to his body type.

1 minute before going on stage, JD says he expects 100 more crunches before show-time, which is insane considering Bruce (I know that's not his name at this point, but that is what we're calling him) has already done over 500, and 100 crunches in 60 seconds? I don't think that's even possible.

Ofc this is who JD is as a character, BUT THIS POST ISN'T ABOUT HIM, he's just a walking ick.

I can't imagine this kind of treatment, which is implied to have gone on for quite some time...

...would give anybody a positive view of their body. I'm not going to add things on to make JD a worse person, even if I don't like him, but from what bits and pieces we do see, he puts more emphasis on Bruce's physical body than any of his other brothers.

For his other brothers, it's more about their clothing and personality presentation. Bruce? The emphasis was his body, abs specifically.

It's not like he wasn't proud of them, but I feel as if they were another thing that still connected him to JD. All the brothers changed things about themselves that JD put emphasis on (Except Floyd, ig?).

But I'm straying away from the point I was trying to get to.

By the time we see Bruce again, he's lost the abs and put on some weight. However, this is not treated as a bad thing. Which I absolutely adore.

He's still perceived as attractive!! No jokes about "letting himself go" or even any jokes about putting on weight because he got married or whatever.

He's not muscular anymore, he's more laid-back and lives on VACATION ISLAND FOR FUCKS SAKE! He doesn't appear to have such a rigorous work-out routine anymore... Except his kids. I'd say having children 3 times your size would be intense.

Speaking of his children...

THIS MAN HAD THIRTEEN CHILDREN??? My man, why

But I digress.

Also, not only is him being plus-size not treated as a joke or a negative thing, but

HE STAYS THAT WAY!

Genuinely he makes me so happy, you guys have no idea. I love him.

Anyways, some smaller tid bits that I love about Bruce~

THIS MAN'S HAIR <3 <3 <3 <3 I will explode. ALSO THOSE BANGS AAAA

Him and his wife ughhhh <3 They're so goddamn cute.

Also we have a similar taste in women, which is "tall".

There are too many screenshots of his kids I could share, but I love dad Bruce.

This fucking quote.

It lives rent free in my brain and I laugh like a child every time I hear it.

Probably my #1 favorite quote from the entire movie I laughed so hard

Look at how cute he is here

Him looking so proud of his baby brother

Anyways it's 1 am and my alarm is set for 7 so ima go to bed. I have negative points about Bruce too that I do wanna touch on at some point, but I just needed to dump all my love for him.

This is my coping mechanism for finals week.

[luaspersona]

hey y’all, how have you been?

i know it’s been a while, and i know i promised a fic that was supposed to be posted earlier this month and that it’s been some time since i dropped a review. but a lot of stuff happened and i realized that i needed some time off. during that time, i reflected a lot and considered not returning, maybe only posting the seoul town road story and going offline for good. eventually tho, i understood how much i missed reading and how much i couldn’t really stop coming up with ideas and outlining some stories — i like this and for the most part, it makes me really happy.

but i wanted to talk a bit about the stuff that made me second-thought coming back. i wanted to be open about stuff that’s depressing and demotivating in this community, especially because i’ll change a lot of things about how i interact here.

this will be a long text, but it’s really important if you follow me. i wanna make it clear tho, before anything, that i’m speaking for myself here, and myself only.

⇢ the first thing i wanna say is that i’ll be generally less active. i used to think that in order to become a popular blog or whatever i had to be chronically online, posting all the time and all. after giving it some thought, i can't really tell if that's true or not, but the thing is: i don’t have the mental health for it. so i won't push myself. but also, if you write something and want me to read it, please send it to me! shamelessly and guiltlessly promote your work! i probably won’t see it on the feed, but i’m always open for recommendations, i just don't have the time to look for it anymore.

⇢ i’ll also go through my followers and block anyone who doesn’t have their age displayed or looks like a bot. no questions asked. this isn’t a blog for minors, and i wanna protect myself. understand how tumblr works if y’all wanna be here.

⇢ i will finish and post seoul town road soon. please be patient. 

⇢ lately, i’ve seen a lot of wonderful writers deactivate due to lack of interaction and support. i understand we’re here working, writing and sharing for free because we *chose to*, but it's hard to speak to the void. so please, don’t let this become a place where authors are talking to themselves while feeling unsafe due to plagiarism or hate. i understand the reasons why someone might be a silent reader, but... just don't make the authors you like feel alone, y'all (i can write some tips and general guides for reviewing and interacting with writing blogs if y’all are interested).

⇢ ok, so… i thought a lot about whether or not to talk about it. it was already super messy, even if i wasn’t online at the time and didn’t see it happening (i'm sorry if this is just repetition, and i bet y'all are sick of it). but ultimately, the main reason why i hesitated to come back was because of what happened to M, so i kinda need to vent about that.

M was one of the oldest blogs here, always open to chat and interact and doing god's work for our horny and sentimental souls (shape of your body is actually one of my favorite stories ever and made me realize a bunch of stuff about myself to the point where i quoted some of it to my therapist at the time), and y’all came for them in such a nasty, violent way, misgendering and attacking a person that, upon first being called out for writing something insensitive, was immediately open to discussion and hearing what y’all had to say (regardless if it really was insensitive or not, the discussion was more than welcomed by them).

what shocks me the most, is that y’all are supposedly from a fandom of a bunch of dudes who once wrote problematic stuff, but educated themselves after accepting criticism and changed. if y’all understand that our oppressions are systematic, y’all have to understand that everyone has stuff to learn and stuff to let go. i say that as a black woman, who once used to perpetrate racist shit because that was how i was raised and taught. i say that as a bi woman, who once used to perpetrate biphobic and queerphobic rhetoric because that was how i was raised and taught. i say that as a human being, who once used (and probably still do to some capacity) to perpetrate prejudice and problematic behavior because that was how i was raised and taught.

this is not to say we should forgive and forget whenever someone says stuff that’s wrong or suspicious, but sometimes people really don’t understand that what they’ve said is offensive or from a place of unfamiliarity (not sure if that's a real word), and if we gave the boys the benefit of the doubt and still supported them (and are now being rewarded with their care and attention) why can’t we do the same for ourselves? not to mention how transphobic most of y’all were, all while calling someone out for doing something you deemed problematic, like ??? fuck y’all tbh. seeing how they were treated, and learning about the tea blog made me physically sick. someone who has always been such a light in this community being dragged from one (debatable) mistake — which they acknowledged and apologized for — made me depressed af.

it all made this look like stan twitter, where every interaction feels like an attempt to expose someone and draw hate towards them. this makes me feel unsafe as hell. and i don’t know… this whole environment is not as it used to be. there were a bunch of nice projects i wanted to share, i was working on jade’s profile for a nice little thing i wanted to do to support the writing community, i was working on monthly recs, but… idk. i’m not saying i won’t do them, just saying it might take longer for me to feel comfortable here again.

⇢ i know i'm no one. i'm a little blog from the corner of our community, and i barely have enough followers for all of this to mean anything. but this is still my blog, and it's still a place that was supposed to feel good. and i want to have some control over it, even if no one cares necessarily.

anyway. i’m depressed, and i’m saying stuff i might regret, but. yeah. that’s it ig. i'll return slowly and i missed y'all, especially on discord, and i'm sorry for vanishing. i'll also be rb this for the next days to make sure that i reaches everyone i want it to reach.

[serial-serializednovelreader]

Hmm, let's see...

Jonathon Harker, Mina Harker, Kate Wetherall, Mr. Benedict, Doug Eiffel, and/or Renée Minkowski!

Whichever one(s) you want to answer I'd be happy to see! I hope you're having a good day <3

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

12. Crack headcanon

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

20. Scars

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)

29. Eating habits

30. Sleeping habits

42. 3 comfort items

49. Favorite toy as a child

So many great choices, thank you Sophie!!! I'm having a great day, I hope you are too! <33

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on:

Jonathan Harker -- He was not properly warned about Dracula before going to the castle. Canonically, he was only warned against going to the castle *that night* because it was the eve of St. George's Day and that's when evil spirits hold sway. He did go, yes, because of his job, not because he wanted to. He was not told what the Count was (he DOES ask, but is met with silence and the innkeeper and his wife crossing themselves, or just pretending not to understand him). The innkeeper's wife does ask "Do you know where you're going and who you're going to" but again, does not elaborate further.

He does later hear the words "vampire"/"werewolf" and other disconcerting words in passing (not told to him) while he's in the carriage, but he doesn't get enough translation to know who they're speaking of, so he assumes they're talking about him (because they were looking at him and I think he needs more self-esteem lol).

Why is this my hill to die on? I'm getting a bit tired of seeing posts that are like "Jonathan: *gets told Dracula is a vampire by the villagers* Jonathan: haha you're wrong! What ridiculous superstitions *goes anyway*" and I want to be like uhhh at what point was he warned by anyone explicitly that Dracula was a vampire???? And he doesn't just brush off their warnings either -- he does get bad vibes and he says "goodbye" to Mina on day two!!! I will allow he does assume the villagers' odd behavior is due to superstition and tradition and that's not great, but due to his upbringing and them not elaborating, what else is he supposed to think? If it was me, I know I would be confused and nervous, but I would probably also go to the castle too, because nothing in those implicit warnings was more important than a job. I would likely also assume they were more worried about what day I was going on, rather than the man I was going to, honestly. If anyone was able to glean "the guy I'm going to is a vampire" from what the villagers did without our knowledge of hindsight on Dracula, well....good for you I guess??? You are truly built different. 😭😭

Quick note: I don't blame the villagers for not warning Jonathan explicitly of Dracula. I imagine he keeps them under a strict "keep my true nature quiet" rule. They did above and beyond their duty by giving him vampire-repellent gifts, trying to implicitly warn him/delay his trip, and trying to deliberately make Jonathan miss Dracula's carriage. My sticking point is more on people trying to say Jonathan was told Dracula was a blood-sucking vampire and he just didn't listen. I'm not for sure if Jonathan would've believed the villagers and turned around and gone home if he had been explicitly warned (after all, his job and boss's reputation is on the line here!), but in the canon, he wasn't. Also, I'm talking about the novel canon only, so if he was warned explicitly in adaptations and did this kind of brush off, that's on the directors, not on the original text.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character:

Jonathan Harker -- It's difficult for me to say exactly when I fell in love with this guy the first time around. There are so many good scenes with him!! I would say I definitely enjoyed his tenacity throughout his time at castle Dracula, but the first scene where I really really fell in love with him was when he reunites with Mina. He's a mess emotionally and physically (after all, he's just been through castle Dracula), but his love for Mina shows through it all! He immediately marries her!! And though he doesn't want to talk about his trauma, he does hand her his journal from the castle as a sign of trust. He tells her if she wants to open it and read it, she can. That's how I knew his trust and love for her was deep. Plus, being able to communicate his emotions in such a surprisingly healthy way (considering the time period) was all that was really needed to make me love him! I could talk about more but it would be basically the whole novel...

Mina Harker -- Mina, my beloved. A QUEEN. It did not take long for me to warm up to her. She's sweet, funny, and obviously cares about her fiancé and her friend, Lucy. However, the scene that first made me love her was also when she reunites with Jonathan. She is eager to marry him, of course, but beyond that she's sympathetic to his obvious trauma. She doesn't push for information he's not ready to give, and when he gives her his journal, she decides to seal it with wax (using their wedding ring to do so -- I'm so normal about this...not) rather than read it. Why? She can tell it obviously distresses him to think about it at all and it disturbs him to think he could read it without his knowledge, though he's given consent. The wax allows him to know if/when she reads it. This is her sign of love and trust back to him. She also promises him she won't read it "unless it's for his dear sake or some stern duty". Her combination of love, integrity and ingenuity really shows here and I LOVE her for it!!!!

Kate Wetherall -- Ah yes, Kate. Another character I'm totally normal about (if you can tell, I'm normal about none of these characters, lol) :D Let's see, I really loved her from the beginning of the first book (especially "The Great Kate Weather Machine" -- I died laughing at that nickname), but if I had to pick a particular scene...probably when she meets Milligan for the first time and refuses to do anything for the tests until they have proper introductions. Other than being lowkey funny, it introduces two new things about her character we haven't seen yet: 1) her stubborn streak and 2) her refusal to treat people as just random extras in her life not worthy of an introduction. Yes, she wants to know more about Milligan so he can answer her test questions, but she also wants to know so she can get to know him as a person. She's not content to just brush by him and forget he exists; he's just as important to her as anyone else she'll meet in her life. And she has no idea how much Milligan will actually come to mean to her until much later. It's a little thing, but I think it shows her willingness to treat everyone as important very well!

If we're talking show Kate, I already went in with the love for the book, but the VERY first scene where she runs in and introduces herself was like greeting an old friend. Her painful high fives. Asking them to call her the Great Kate Weather Machine. It makes me laugh every single time. Not to mention her saying "started a small fire. Easily containable. No injuries." ????? KATE???? The actor's way of having Kate talk in short bursts like that to show how fast she talks is just....*chef's kiss*. I love it!!!

Mr. Benedict -- Another character I loved from start to finish! Other than laughing at Constance's answers (as a kid, I was a stickler for rules, so I expected someone with so many test rules to be the same way too LOL, so seeing him laugh it off was...kind of nice and freeing), his "white knight" talk with Reynie is what made me love him. I loved how he knew it was Reynie right away -- a clear sign of his intuition. How he fell asleep after he told Reynie he couldn't contact Miss Perumal :( -- a clear sign of his empathy. Then, talking about Reynie's own inner fears through the test questions (aka the white knight and his doubts) was so cool to me: I loved his way of quiet empathy and helping Reynie learn more about himself! As a kid, I wondered if I had doubts like Reynie I needed to examine after reading that. He was like this steady rock for the kids throughout the series, though of course he had moments where he needed help too and I loved him for that!

As for show Benedict, they took an entirely different direction with him and I loved that too!! It took me slightly longer to warm up to him (mainly because the white knight story was a MESS in my eyes, I was like "what was THAT" lol), and because he almost seemed untrustworthy (which is kind of the point -- I would understand that purpose later). The first scene where I grew attached -- and you may have guessed it, I talk about it all the time -- is when he found out the Sender was his twin brother and, in response, goes “excuse me” before walking outside to scream for a bit. So relatable!!! I love him!!! I want the best for him!!! It really showed me that he was a bit of an anxious mess with obvious issues. And that was honestly refreshing to see. Yes, he's the kids' mentor, but he's not infallible. It also makes sense, considering what they add to his backstory.

Doug Eiffel — This is another one of those “I loved him from the first moment I heard him speak” scenarios, but I think what really sealed the deal was his toothpaste revolution speech. It’s so ridiculous and over-dramatic!! And for toothpaste? LOL, he is so funny. If you’ve read The Lunar Chronicles, it reminds me of Thorne and his soap rebellion (another one of my favorite characters, but I’m letting that series rest for now or else I won’t shut up about it). That’s how I knew I was going to love this guy and his ADHD vibes. Not to mention his near-incomprehensible references. I am *exactly* the same way with slang and vine references; sometimes it’s to the point where I have to explain full sentences I make, just like Eiffel. Love that guy <3

Renée Minkowski — As the one who has to reign in Doug’s…doug-ness (read: his ADHD), I definitely had to respect Renée for that alone. But I think I came to love her specifically in Cataracts and Hurricanoes. At the beginning of the episode, when Eiffel is making his “space — the final frontier” speech, Minkowski shuts it down, but I love the way she does it. She reminds him of the “strict no tomfoolery clause” she made which tells me that she knows him so well and is prepared for the silly he brings. Beyond that, it's the first time we see Eiffel put into actual danger and, as a result, see Minkowski go into Captain ModeTM. Her willingness to immediately put her life in danger for Doug, remain calm, and even humor his little quirks along the way ("yes, Eiffel, that's my jetpack thingy") really made me love her and want to see more of her! Plus, her shutting down Hilbert's "greater good" speech (it walked so Kepler's "big picture" speeches could run, change my mind) in a firm but professional way was awesome!! Love her so much!!!!

12. Crack headcanon:

Mr. Benedict -- This isn't my headcanon (I got it from this post), but I accept it as my own now: Mr. Benedict loves metal music. Expanding off of that, he enjoys going to live concerts in his free time (wearing earplugs to keep from getting overstimulated, of course!). He used to watch the mosh pits (namely, the "wall of death") with fascination, but could not participate due to the risk of getting too excited and falling asleep in the middle of one. After TPD, though? He definitely tried it at least once. Whether he did it more than once is up to you!

As for show Benedict, I got this from reading @nobodysdaydreams SOS AU fanfic (this is yet another plug from my to go read it if you haven't already, it's amazing). Remember in season 2 when Number Two and Nicholas are singing off-key at the top of their lungs? Well, Bods wrote it in as Milligan hearing their voices and feeling it "sounded familiar". Now, most people would take that as "he recognized their voices", which was almost certainly the intention. How did I take it? That Milligan has had to hear them sing before and immediately recognized their voices because he was like "ah yes, there's that off-key singing I know and...love?" So my headcanon is that Nicholas Benedict regularly sings in the shower and around the house when he thinks no one can hear him (I think Number Two does as well, just less so). As long as he doesn't get too excited, it doesn't trigger his narcolepsy!

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves:

Kate Wetherall -- In the first season and the first book, she can't admit to anyone -- not even herself -- that she needs help. She's been working on her own for so long that admitting this would be almost a weakness on her part. On a deeper level, I think another reason for guarding so hard against relying on anyone (and this is implied, though not really covered) is that she could lose that love and support again. A love and support she can't even really remember, save for one partial memory. To her, having it and losing it is probably more difficult than never having it in the first place and that's how she's determined to keep it, until she's finally forced to admit through drastic circumstances that she DOES need help. And that's when her father finally comes back into her life :''''')

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them:

Doug Eiffel -- I usually have trouble associating characters with songs, but once I though about it, this came quite easy to me!! I have a few:

First up, we have Mission Control by Normandie! I feel like this one really goes with Ep. 30 -- Mayday (and, if you go beyond that, literally any time Doug is in danger and his general feeling on the Hephaestus when things go wrong). A few lyrics to highlight:

System failure/ Calling mission control I've got a feeling we are heading/ for a black hole

I'm drifting to the light in the bitter end/ Cause there can be no life without oxygen/ The devil's at my door/ Cause I can hear him calling my name

I can't remember solid ground/ I'm losing my senses/ here in the silence/ Tell me that I'll be safe and sound

Next is Sirens by Imagine Dragons (no I can't make a song association without using Imagine Dragon songs -- sorry not sorry). I feel like this is a good one for describing Doug's anxiety and how he feels about failing Anne and succumbing to addiction when he shouldn't have. A few lyrics to highlight:

My heart bleeds/ I feel everything,/ I Drip, drop,/ drink out of the bottle/ Boy with a heart of gold/ Get run over/ by heaven knows what

Sometimes,/ I get a little bit scared at night/ I get a little preoccupied/ The sirens in my mind/ The sirens in my mind/ I just wanna be good again/ I wanna make it to the end

Last up is one of my all-time favorite songs by TWRP (feat. Dan Avidan): Starlight Brigade! I honestly want to make a separate post about how I see this song and Doug Eiffel (it's a WHOLE thing), but I think this song goes best with the series finale -- Ep. 61, Brave New World. It shows his courage in the face of great danger and his dedication to the friends he's made over the course of the podcast. Plus, it's also a certified bop. A few lyrics to highlight:

Halfway/ between the black and gray/ Is no place/ for a life to waste away/ I'll take/ the road with all the stakes

Arrays of enemies await,/ but fears allay/ We stand as one/ A bond beyond the vast wave,/ until the last grave

We have come so far/ Beyond the most distant star/ Starlight within will guide/ us to the other side

Lift off!/ The firestorm ignites/ Last thoughts of a life by candlelight/ Inside this speeding satellite

This fight is all I know that's right/ (whoa yeah)/ No fate/ but that of which we make/ Noble as the oath we undertake/ We are/ the great Starlight Brigade!

Bonus: can't forget one of his favorites -- the Mind Eraser (that really hits different after the finale, huh?) that is Canon in D Major by Pachelbel! I love that he enjoys this classical song because it's kind of unexpected for him! Since he's so against "nerdy stuff" (while simultaneously being a huge film nerd lolll), you wouldn't think it, but in a weird way I think this kind of balances him out :)

As for quotes, I don't have like, outside quotes I associate with Doug (except for maybe "Use the Force, Luke" lol), but some of my favorite Doug quotes are:

"Are you ready for a whirlwind road trip to Truth Town, USA? Population: Y'all!"

"but...Truth Town! 🥺"

"So the good doctor was all like, 'DIE!' And our heroes were all like, 'NOOO!' And he was all like, "Muahaha!" And they were all like, 'Boo-yah, nerd!'"

(to Lovelace) "thank you for talking to me. For helping me see the stuff I was getting wrong. It's not something you should've had to do, but… thanks for doing it." :)

(Minkowski: "I'm sorry Eiffel. You're going home.") "Not without you!...I'm not leaving you behind!"

(Hera: "You're going to have trust me") "With my life, darling. With my life…"

"I love you, Anne. Always and forever."

20. Scars:

Jonathan Harker -- This isn't so much a "scar", but definitely something I consider one. After Jonathan sees his wife being fed on by Dracula (and the aftermath where she's very obviously upset), his brown hair goes entirely white from the emotional stress it takes on him. If I wasn't already convinced this man loves his wife, this is a very obvious sign he does. (I am definitely normal about this fact. I do not go feral every time I think about it. /j)

Mina Harker -- After the aforementioned incident with Dracula, Van Helsing tries to help guard Mina against any more vampire attacks by touching her forehead with a Sacred Wafer. However, because Dracula has begun the process of turning her into a vampire, it leaves a burned cross mark on her forehead instead, which she wears until they defeat Dracula. This scar is a constant reminder of what she is slowly becoming and -- to her (the others reassure her otherwise) -- signifies she is "unclean" in the eyes of God. I believe it also reminds her of what she's fighting for -- to return to her humanity once more.

Kate Wetherall -- She has no canonical scars that I remember, but my headcanon is that she has some minor scars from her days in the circus, mostly on her legs and arms from some tricks gone wrong. I say minor because she's really agile and likely wouldn't get any major ones. I do think if I had to pick a Main ScarTM, I would say she has one across her left eyebrow that she got during her fight with the Executives in the first book.

As for show Kate, she definitely retained scars on her hands after hanging off a cliff for that many hours! I think she's a bit more careful than book Kate about what kind of scrapes she gets into (this is Disney, after all), but she has a scar or two from her time in the circus as well.

Mr. Benedict -- Mr. Benedict was in the navy and, while he wasn't in the field very much, I headcanon that he certainly was in a scrape or two which resulted in some scars. Before that, though, I think he retained a scars on his hands and possibly knees from when he dissembled and reassembled the drill on Violet's farm (I imagine it was quite uncomfortable). I also think that he has some scars from falling wrong on the ground (e.g. skinning his knees or elbows on a rock) with his narcolepsy when no one was there to prevent him from falling. :( Luckily, he has his family to protect him now!

As for show Benedict, I imagine Nathaniel being around prevented Nicholas from falling as a child (and vice versa, of course!), so I don't think he has any childhood scars. Nathaniel may have even "forbidden" scars because "how are we going to get adopted if we have imperfections like SCARS, Nicky??" If we want to dial up the angst, I headcanon his first scar came from when he came back to get his brother and found him gone. He had a narcoleptic seizure and, for the first time, his brother wasn't there to catch him. Unfortunately, there was some glass on the ground outside of the orphanage and he cut his right elbow on it when he fell. The scar is faint but still there, as a reminder from the day he didn't get his brother back and knew he had failed his promise. Just a thought. :)

Doug Eiffel -- This guy is always getting into trouble. I headcanon he has scars ALL over the place from various scrapes and injuries over the years. If you ask him, he will tell you the story of each individual one (he will not remember to update the star charts, but he will remember the one-inch-long scar on his knee he got falling from the jungle gym while trying to impress Jessica Perry in first grade). The one time he didn't get a scar? His accident with Anne. He searched for hours on his body trying to find a fresh one, hoping upon hope that he could at least have ONE permanent scar for all of the hurt he caused his daughter and the other driver but...no. Not a scratch. The fact he doesn't is almost a scar unto itself, though it's not physical. He used to brag about his scars with gusto. Now? Not so much. He'll talk about them, if you ask, but there's a bitter edge to his voice that doesn't quite match the lighthearted stories he tells.

Renée Minkowski -- Renée, like Eiffel, has numerous scars, though it's more from pushing herself rather than an inclination for trouble. Like Doug (pre-accident), she wears every scar with pride and remembers where she got each one. However, it's a quiet pride and she doesn't give out her "scar stories" easily. You need to be at least level 10 friendship to get that out of her. While Eiffel and scars are a touchy subject, he couldn't resist asking Minkowski about the slash on her cheek or the jagged scar running down her arm. After all, he can still enjoy a good story and they aren't HIS scars. Minkowski refused to tell him because -- well -- the guy can't even say her name right. No way is he at that level of friendship or trust yet. Eiffel, sensing this annoys her, proceeds to ask as often as he remembers (which is more often than you'd think). Then, Eiffel is rocketed into deep space. And somewhere along the line, she looks at the arm scar and remembers one of his annoying questions. It's such a small thing, but she has to run to her room to cry for a bit after that. Needless to say, Eiffel is told that arm scar story when he gets back to the Hephaestus. Minkowski told him more when he started saying her name right.

Quick note: there are 28 days between ep. 52 and 53, so I think that's when this last part would've happened.

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic):

Mina Harker -- I honestly don't remember if Mina has a canon drink of choice and I'm trying to keep myself "surprised" on my reread, so I don't want to comb through to check. So, in my headcanon, I believe she always enjoys a good cup of tea! Her favorite is what was most available to her at the time -- what's known as a "black tea", which is stronger and more bitter than the delicate teas of high society (source: this article). IIRC, Mina is an orphan like Jonathan, so she wouldn't always have had the luxury of the delicate, upper class blends which is more what we're used to today. She likely can afford those blends now, but I think she enjoys the stronger taste of the black tea blends.

29. Eating habits:

Renée Minkowski -- Renée was raised by a French diplomat so her eating habits are very precise. She has been trained in the table manners of several different countries. Also, in Poland, it's traditional to eat 5 smaller meals rather than three large meals, so Minkowski often prefers to eat smaller meals across the course of the day. Her exceptions are Thanksgiving and Christmas -- she loves getting together for these big dinners!

30. Sleeping habits:

Mina Harker -- She enjoys reading before bed (usually about train schedules, that Train Fiend lol) to relax her mind. Otherwise, she'll be thinking about everything under the sun and stay up all night! She's naturally inclined towards staying up later, but has restricted herself to going to bed at the same time -- 10:30 p.m. -- every night because she also has work to do as a schoolmistress and she knows Jonathan is a morning person. After their marriage, she is quite surprised to learn he likes staying up later too; she eases up on this rule a tad. She's also a stage five cuddler in her sleep, though she denies this (not because she doesn't like cuddling with her husband, but because it flusters her -- at first -- to think she'd cuddle him in her sleep. After that, it becomes amusing to act as if she's flustered because it makes Jonathan smile). Jonathan loves to tease her about it to no end (he knows very well she's not flustered anymore).

42. 3 comfort items:

Mr. Benedict -- His plaid shirts and blankets (of course!), a teacup with cute messages from his family he got for Christmas (Constance somehow fit a three-verse poem on there), and the picture Violet drew of him -- "The Boy on the Bluff".

As for show Benedict, he has the same comfort items as book Benedict, except for the last one. The last one is, instead, the photo of him and his brother, though it often brings more guilt than comfort. Bonus comfort item: a weighted blanket because he NEEDS one.

49. Favorite toy as a child:

Doug Eiffel -- Little Doug got a plush toy of Chewbacca for his birthday/Christmas one year and he LOVED it. He took that thing everywhere. He would play-pretend as Han Solo and Chewie would be right there as his co-pilot. While Eiffel was pretty destructive with his other toys, he was always careful with Chewie. He was encouraged to share this toy with his friends, but no. He vowed Chewie would be his and his alone. He kept that promise...until the day of Anne's first birthday. She immediately cuddled Chewie and Eiffel's heart melted. Now, he wonders if Chewie is in a trash bin somewhere because Anne doesn't want to be reminded of her dad :(

(spoiler alert: Chewie's fine. Kate wouldn't separate Anne from her favorite toy, especially because she cuddled it more than ever after the accident).

Thank you for the great ask, Sophie! This was so much fun to write. Hope you enjoyed :)

[conejita-canelita]

i really can't wait to see two of my favorite characters blossom and grow into the people they have the potential to be all along. I can't wait to see colin coming into being his own man and pursue his goals and ambitions because i want him to be happy!!! For too long he's placated himself as the agreeable one of the family to be seen- (and even then he's not really "seen" or allowed to be anything else but that) and how he looks to penelope to help him with that. I can't wait to see penelope finally shed her insecurities and become more confident in herself!!! I can't wait to see them grow and be happy together!!!

I really do hope we get the "isn't it better to see that we are more than who we thought we were?" quote from Lady Danbury, because I cannot stress enough how my own appeal to polin is exactly that. It's okay for Colin to express his anger, his negative emotions, to be reckless and raw because he is *human* and he has a lot he deserves to be negative/angry about! It's okay for Penelope to speak her mind and she *should* let go of her deep-rooted insecurities (which i'm not faulting her for those insecurities themselves, as they are the products of her environment) which not only hurt her, but end up hurting those around her too. RMB to me is seeing two individuals, both with their own sets of flaws and challenges, come together and let each other know that they are allowed to be more than what is expected of them; how they both make that safe space for each other to express who they truly are and to step into that through their love for one another.

[satancopilotsmytardis]

i haven't delved into bonded much, soulmate aus are hit or miss for me, but dabi and bakugo brought me to tears. Bakugo is so damn observant and always on edge, it's really comforting to see how dabi just gives and takes as the conversation demands. It was honestly a relief to see Baku withdrawing from the league, bc it meant he was prioritizing himself more. Letting himself have an out so he could try again when he felt like it.

oh god Bakugo hinting he wants to train to near-death against the league???? Maybe purposefully reliving trauma to make up his mind?? Fuck no

"Because I'm not going to let you hurt yourself!"

"I have been there, kid." He pulls a staple, it lets him take a breath. "I have been desperate to be better, to be seen, and to not let the things that hurt me hold me back. I damn near died trying to move past that, and when I couldn't I decided I was going to take everything out in a blaze of glory with me. It wouldn't have been worth it."

"it wouldn't have been worth it" I am SOBBING what a conversation to have first thing in the morning. Felt so cathartic tho

speaking of cathartic. Dabis meltdown. Dabs asking his dad to meet him at sekoto again is fuckin melodramatic as hell and I love it, but WOW he needs to take his own advice about reliving shit

the cuddle party got me straight in the heart. I'm so glad the kings of repression finally got blunt and vulnerable confirmation that dabs cares for him, and Baku realizes he doesn't like seeing him hurting

"Doesn't stop him from being the first one up and making a traditional Japanese breakfast for them. With fish." motherfucker LMAO

fuck when baku didn't get a mark for Shoto I felt my stomach drop. Can't imagine how poorly that would've gone without dabi

"it's not very common for people their age to get romantic soulmarks like this. Usually takes longer for people to work themselves out enough to be ready to have a bond like this." Yeah that probably explains Baku's dilemma

I can't find the direct quote but it was something about how Bakugo has a sharper edge than his classmates, and the league doesn't even flinch at it. I fuckin melt over stuff like that. He's been called villainous way too much, and even though he'll probably never forget what they've done, I hope he finds a way to be comfortable with that part of himself through being pals with them

I'm feral, Bakugo is literally my favorite part of the Bonded series, his relationship with Dabi, the League, and Toga are so near and dear to my heart! There's just so much of people trying to be better and healing and how forgiveness and understanding look when there's so much baggage on either side of a dynamic I'm just

Concluding Bakugo's story is the major thing that keeps me invested in Bonded, he deserves the world! Thank you for commenting!

[grapenehifics]

Fic Rec Friday

Here's today's lesson in 'people can't actually read your mind, dumbass' (it's me, I'm the dumbass in this scenario). I was talking to @palfriendpatine66 and just, like, assumed that I'd already written a big long treatise about how much I love Center Stage? But, then, turns out, I guess I haven't. So, here one is now!

The flashbacks, and the way they're integrated into the plot. Maybe I'm just so impressed by this because it is so hard for me, personally, to do. But there's two stories going on here, and one of them isn't even told completely linearly, and they both feed off of each other and one gives you context for the other but instead of it just being 'plot info dump background information hope you remember this because it will be important later' (which is how I tend to do it), it's pieced out at the time that you need it and it leaves me hungry for MORE. I was just as, if not more, invested in the 'backstory' as I was in the present-day stuff.

Obi-Wan and Anakin feel like them. I mean, you know I love a good sports-as-Jedi metaphor, and the dancing works really well too. It's physical and mental at the same time, so you get those elements that you get from a good sparring scene: sexual tension, Anakin wanting to impress Obi-Wan (who is maybe less physically flashy but more experienced), determination to get it right, having to balance technical prowess with emotion...

It's a fun little peek into a world that I don't have a lot of experience in; one of my favorite things in the world is an AU where the person is clearly writing from personal experience and I get to learn stuff about dance competitions or coffee shops or someone's job or whatever

THE PINING

You know what the pining deserves a second bullet point because it's that good, there's just such LONGING and old hurts that they have to work through but the love is always there, they just have to let themselves be brave and take a chance

This is maybe just a more specific version of bullet point 2 but Obi-Wan is not only a performer but a teacher, too, and still in that transition period between the two so he's grappling with his feelings about aging and shifting to a different stage (ha) of his career, and as someone who is very much into the current Star Wars trend (on TV, anyway) of exploring middle age and what happens after these really monumental life events this speaks to me personally. Like, these are actual adults who are learning to grow into themselves and they're still who they are but they've let life change them, too.

Again I'm still stuck on the flashbacks but you get to watch Anakin's progression from needy, broke, angry teen to quitting the studio and leaving Obi-Wan behind for supposedly greener pastures all the way to coming home to him again and it feels exactly right and very Anakin

All in sub 14k words which just boggles my mind because I don't know if you've noticed but brevity is not my jam and I am deeply impressed anytime someone manages to pack so much emotion into a (to me) short wordcount

This quote: "He loved Anakin now and he had loved Anakin then. He had never known a time where he didn���t love Anakin, it had just grown and changed along with them" which sums up canon Obikin to me in, like, ten seconds

Also, it has a happy and romantic ending, so even when things get tough, never fear it'll work out

[aldbooks]

Hellooooo. how are you? I am very happy because you are completing the Elain and Lucien series.Is it too much to ask you for a drable? something sad like I know you like it 🤣🤣🤣 or something sweet 🍡 I'll settle for anything 😋

Hello again!

I'm doing pretty well. I'm about to take the next few days off of work for a much needed beach vacay 😎 How about you?

You're in luck my friend. I was actually just working on a cute little drabble for them. I sprinkled in a couple of my favorite movie/book quotes. Let me know if you catch them.

---

Lucien’s surprise was plain on his handsome face as Elain swung open the door, greeting him with a smile. She could feel his astonishment rippling through the bond and felt a pang of guilt that she had been so unwelcoming in the past that a simple smile shocked him so.

“Good evening.”

“Evening,” he replied automatically, bowing his head as though the motion were a reflex. 

He was a High Lord’s son, he had told her once. The fae equivalent of a prince, practically, and she could imagine that good manners had been drilled into him since birth and were deeply ingrained.

“Rhys and Feyre are in a meeting at the moment, they should be done soon, the others have not arrived yet.”

Lucien nodded vaguely as he obediently followed her to the living room, his brows raising in surprise as she sat across from him. Undoubtedly he had expected her to abandon him to hide away in the kitchen as she usually did.  Another wave of guilt washed over her. She was determined to do better.

Something had changed within her after watching Nesta narrowly escape the Blood Rite and Feyre cheat death again while giving birth to Nyx. She had realized that even with their new, prolonged lifespans, nothing was guaranteed. It had forced her to take a closer look at her life and she had decided it was time for some changes.

Starting with the male sitting across from her.

“How was your trip?

Lucien straightened, apparently swallowing his shock that she was actually speaking to him and replied, with a droll air. “Thankfully, uneventful.”

“You do not care for a bit of adventure?” She asked, genuinely curious.

He shrugged, relaxing back into his seat and crossing one leg over his knees in a casual pose. “Oh, I suppose I like adventure as much as the next fae… if the next fae likes adventure.” He smiled at her slight chuckle. “But, in my recent experience, more often than not, that adventure turns out to be rather dangerous. A bit of the mundane now and then does the body good. Especially at my age.”

“You are the youngest one here aside from my sisters and I,” she protested.

“And I’m sure the others would agree. Though they do seem to be a bit more fond of such- excitements.”

“You don’t enjoy battling your way across the continent?” She teased, thinking of the scrapes her sisters and their friends always seemed to find themselves in.

Lucien scoffed softly, shaking his head. “I prefer words to swords most days. There is a certain merit to diplomacy. Why have enemies when you can have friends?”

How diplomatic, she thought.

There was a beat of silence and he ventured, “And what of you? Do you wish for a bit of adventure?”

Elain cocked her head, considering. She loved her sisters but lately their efforts to keep her safe and protected had begun to feel… smothering. She knew they meant well, but they seemed intent on keeping her inside a glass bubble, safe from the outside world and entirely incapable of truly living. She was beginning to grow tired of feeling like a spectator to her own life.

But was adventure what she wanted? Or just freedom?

“Not the sort my sisters seem prone to…” She said slowly. “But- I have seen so little of the world…”

Lucien watched her intently, his gaze turning thoughtful. “Do you intend to travel then?”

Elain’s lips curled into a smile as she saw the makings of a plan begin to form in her mind. An opportunity she would be.a fool to pass up… if only she were brave enough. 

“Perhaps… After all, if adventure will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek it abroad.”

Lucien’s answering smile was filled with just enough mischievousness to make her heart begin hammering with excitement.

[everythingtoony]

MADE A TIRE LIST WITH LION KING CHARACTERS FROM THE ORIGINAL MOVIE AND THE SEQUEL LETS GO OVER MY CHOICES!!

S tier: Timon, Pumbaa, Nuka, Rafiki, Scar

Timon and Pumbaa- I feel like this one is an obvious choice tbh, at least for me! I adore these two, they are extremely gay, and I just love the contrast between their two personalities. Timon is impulsive, reckless, and can be loud and rude at times. Meanwhile, Pumbaa is the literal definition of a sweetheart. He's kind, loving, and although he may be oblivious at times he can actually be quite smart in his own way.

Nuka- Ah, where to start with this loopy boi... he is such a dummy, and I mean that in the most affectionate way possible. He's got a few screws loose in his brain, and he can be very jealous of his younger brother Kovu. And while his selfishness ends up being the thing that kills him, he's got a very endearing personality, and I just adore how dumb he is!!

Rafiki- I'm just going to start by saying rest in peace to Rafiki's voice actor, he brought this character to life in the best way possible, and I am so glad he gave this monkey as much personality as he did. He is very wise, yet can come off as confusing to others. She can actually be quiet sarcastic when he wants to be, and he has outbursts that I find quite funny. I also love it when he just casually hit Simba on the head with a stick with no warning. And in the second movie, when Mufasa's spirit talks to Rafiki, suggesting that Kovu and Kiara should get together, Rafiki loses his mind, it is the funniest thing ever. I also quote him on a daily basis, he's actually one of my favorite characters!

Scar- he was actually my favorite character before I realized that I may like Timon and Pumbaa a little more... but! That does not mean I still don't love him. Scar is my favorite Disney villain ever! I just love his menacing personality, and I think Disney knew what they were doing with his design and voice, because come on, you can see it in the animation. Jeremy Irons voices Scar and I think he did an excellent job on the character. And at one point Jim Cummings had to take his place in the end of Be Prepared, and you can barely notice the difference. The only noticeable thing is that Scar's voice sounds more vicious and chaotic. I really love this character, and he is the last one to go in S tier.

A tier: Ed, Banzai, Shenzi, adult Simba, Zira, adult Nala, young Simba

The hyenas- I don't think I need to say too much about these guys, they pretty much speak for themselves. I think I tend to lean towards chaotic trios and Duos. The hyenas are actually extremely hilarious, and I find their Antics quite funny.. in fact, these hyenas are probably the reason why Timon and Pumbaa exist. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella originally auditioned for the hyenas, but they loved their dynamic so much that they created two characters just for them, Timon and Pumbaa! I adore the way the hyenas talk to one another, and I think that their dynamic is so cool to watch

Adult Simba- Okay, bear with me here. This list gave me young and adult versions of a lot of the characters, including Simba, Nala, Kiara, Vitani and Kovu. I mainly placed them on the list based on their personalities, because they have two very different personalities... I might like an adult version more than a younger version, or vice versa. With that out of the way, I'm going to talk about adult Simba. I actually really like the way his character was evolved in the first movie, and while he's kind of a jackass in the second movie, he gets better in the end. I think it might also have something to do with his voice, both speaking and singing. I just really like Simba.

Zira- Her obsession with Scar is actually so important to this movie, it's not even funny. In the deleted scene of her death, she says and does a little more than she does in the final scene. Either way, she chose death, because the only thing she wanted was to be with Scar. She would've rather died than be helped out by those she thought she had been hurt by. I think her whole motive is a little strange, but I understand where she's coming from. I think the only thing I don't like about her is how she treats Nuka. She only cared about him in the end when he died. My stupid baby boy did not deserve any of the treatment that came from that woman. Either way, I still think she's a great villain. Scar is way better, but Zira is second place

Adult Nala- This lioness is one of the best moms I've ever seen. I was unsure about where to place her at first, because of the way she reacted with Simba in the first movie...I don't like how pushy she was with her. But like Adult Simba in the 2nd movie, Adult Nala got better by the end of the first movie, and I think she was great in the 2nd one. She saw Kiara, and knee she wanted freedom. She understood that, and tried to help Simba understand as well.

Young Simba- Finally, this little shit is the last to be on the A tier. He's absolutely adorable, but he's constantly getting himself in trouble. He's energetic and just wants to be like his father, but JEEZ, SIMBA WHEN HE SAYS DONT GO TO THE SHADOWY PLACE IT MEANS DONT GO! I think his voice is adorable, and he was super close with Mufasa, which made Mufasa's death so much sadder. Either way, Young Simba is great. Not my favorite, but he's cute.

B tier: Adult Kovu, Zazu, Adult Kiara, young Nala, Mufasa

Adult Kovu- He's pretty nic

e looking, and I love how he's eventually taught how to let go and have fun. I also love how he decided to go against Zira's plan in the end, although he was going to do it at first. And of course, Scar was a heavy influence that he was taught to look up to as a cub, he didnt know about the blackness in his soul. Other than that...yeah, I think he's a meh character. I certainly don't hate him, but he's definitely nit my favorite.

Zazu- He's so snooty and I love him, but he played such a small role in the 2nd movie, and it made me sad when I didn't hear Mr. Beans voice. I think he's kinda in the middle because he's not really anything special. Yes, he's smart, witty, and can be rude at times, but he's also extremely overbearing and it kinda annoys me sometimes. Either way, he's a good character, just not my favorite.

Adult Kiara- Ehh...I like her voice, and the way she stops the war at the end of the 2nd movie by making Simba eat his own words was pretty good...but she's kinda meh. She was quite annoying sometimes, and Imma be honest, her laughing is fake as he'll. But I do like how she has the same energetic spark in her soul that Simba once had. I think that's cool.

Young Nala- Again...nothing really special...yeah, she's sassy and witty, but other than that...she doesn't really do a whole lot. Her adult self does way more than her younger self.

Mufasa- He's a really good dad, but he did let Simba go off on his own constantly. And I think he definitely deserved more screen time, because he's such a good father. But now he's dead, so oh well.

C tier: Sarabi, Adult Vitani, young Kiara, young Kovu

Sarabi- Okay, getting to the ones I'm really kinda "meh" about. Sarabi didn't do much...I do like jer personality, but the only thing exciting on screen was when Scar hit her across the cave. I don't really have a lot to say about her.

Adult Vitani- ehhh...she joined Simba's side in the end, but other than that, dhr really didn't do much, either. I do like her personality, and her and Nuka's dynamic was funny, but other than that, she's mid.

Young Kovu and Kiara- dislike these two but not enough to put it in D tier..they're just...there for story, I guess. They're eh.

D tier: Young Vitani

Don't come at me but I don't like Vitani that much. She's just there to be the "voice of reason" between her and Nuka. I don't have much to say on her.

Well, that's it, there's everything. I'm gonna take a nap.

[myrmica]

Whats your favourite bug? :O!! and why?

OH MAN. i think it comes down to either mantises or parasitoid wasps...

mantises are obviously very charismatic creatures and i am not immune. everything they do is cute and full of personality. they've got pseudopupils for coincidentally human-readible expression, and arms, and busy little mouths... i relate to the way they tilt their heads and stare at you, and groom themselves (all bugs do this cutely), and rock back and forth to appear as a leaf would. i also love the fact that they're closely related to cockroaches. you can really see the resemblence if you look for it, but it's hard to guess if you aren't told because the popular conceptions of the two are very different.

here is a modest collection of mantises i have had the pleasure of personal acquaintance with. some of them i raised myself when i was a teenager:

my favorite ones in particular are idolomantis, for being an absurd animal, and vespamantoida wherleyi for being a wasp mimic! just as all kinds of things independently evolve mantis-type claws for their sleek utility, mantises occasionally decide to be someone else entirely...

SPEAKING of wasps. there are a lot of incredibly striking and flashy parasitoid wasps with memorable gimmicks, like dear old ichneumon, or the emerald cockroach wasp:

but the thing that really gets me about parasitoid wasps is the sheer number, and what they reveal about the ubiquity of parasitism as a strategy. to quote wikipedia, it is estimated that there are more species in (the ichneumon) family than there are species of birds and mammals combined. it's been suggested before (though not necessarily proven) that parasitoid wasps are the most speciose animal on the planet, despite having gone wildly underrecognized for most of entomological history.

that's because most of them are miniscule and mysterious. as parasites, they spend a notable portion of their lives hiding inside of other things, and to hide inside of something else, you have to be small. really small. the smallest, in fact. amoeba sized!

and let's say, hypothetically, that for every unique insect, at least one unique parasite evolves to match... well, even the parasitoid wasps have their own, smaller parasitoid wasps.

i'm so compelled by parasitism in large part because of the emotion it evokes in a human audience, how easily people borrow it as a metaphor for our relationships and social dynamics, and then project that emotional signifigance back onto parasitic animals; the parasitic wasp is confounded too with the perception of wasps as scary, dangerous, or pests. and yet, unseen, these things are everywhere! a huge (small) part of the world.

[vivalavillain]

{I have been writing Archer since 2013, back in the days of him having only a handful of written lines of dialogue in HG/SS. If you wanted to look a little harder at FR/LG and Stadium 2, you could technically add another handful of lines to that count but you were still left with barely anything to draw inspiration from. You could also go a little further and look at the AI for his NPC in the HG/SS games (wherein he is coded to be as tough a fight as a same-level gym leader, giving him a higher difficulty count than all previous Rocket encounters with Ariana coming in as a close second with gym-trainer-level AI) to get an idea of what the developers wanted you to think about his character and how they wanted you to come away from his encounter but, again, there still wasn't much in the way of official inspiration (which, to be clear, there's no complaint there; it meant there was a door left wide open for anyone to interpret him as they would like to and heaven knows I've taken every ounce of advantage of that as I could over the years).

{Then he comes back in Let's Go, Pikachu!/Eevee! and we get all this additional dialogue and can I just say how much I absolutely adore every single line of his in those games? It's so easy for Game Freak to take a character, especially a very little-known and often forgotten character like Archer, and just absolutely ruin them by just completely forgetting/disregarding what they had established for them originally and going in a completely different direction or by shafting them entirely in some other form or fashion (by, say, giving them a poorly accented voiceline in PokeMas, for instance, which I'm grateful to say is not the case for Archer) and yet it feels genuine to Archer's character and what little is established to be his personality/manner of speaking when he makes his appearance in LGPE.

{I was, briefly, absolutely devastated by the quote in LGPE where he writes the player-character a letter, waxing poetic about how happy he was for them and how much he didn't hold a grudge and all this sappy nonsense that was not in keeping with his character at all. Having read the quote online (but not having experienced it in game yet), I was convinced Game Freak had ruined my favorite character and I was resolute to not even go through with facing him a third time in game. Then, bored and frustrated and giving in because it was a chance to see him on screen one last time, I decided to give it a go and just... he's grinning the entire time he reads that letter. You don't see anything of him on screen besides that wicked, snarky grin and by the gods it. was. perfect. I had never been more happy to be wrong in my life. It's not often a game franchise writes a character and keeps them true to themselves as much as they did with Archer in this case but good gods I am delighted they did.}

[moonlightmile12]

Hiiii! So sorry to disturb you but I just want to express my sincerely thanks to you, for posting much content about my favorite guitarist Mick.T. It's difficult to find much interview or stories about him cause u know he isn't the show-off one. I just wonder, where did you find his interviews or those comments about him, from other people?

Last days I watched a documentary about him, and he says actually he isn't that shy and quiet when in Stones. This is much different from the impression that most people have. I wonder if there are any anecdotes which can prove that. Did you see anything like this when you read those things about him?

Hi,

Aw thanks :) It's just from reading a lot of books about The Stones and old interviews that I've been able to find. Everyone says that he was shy. It seems that he had fights with Rose and Mick Jagger, here are some quotes -

"[Keith] was shy, that’s why he got into heroin — which was probably true for me..." - Mick Taylor

"I heard Taylor's girlfriend, Rose Millar, having a screaming row with him one day about the closeness of his friendship with the head Stone." - Tony Sanchez

"Leaving London was especially disastrous for Mick Taylor. Cooped up in a hotel room, he and Rose fought all the time." - Janie Villiers

"His relationship with Mick, particularly, was strange and strained. At times the two Micks seemed to be the closest of friends. They would lock themselves up in Jagger’s house in Cheyne Walk, talking together for hours. But then there would be rows and the two men would not speak to one another for days. It was a curious friendship." - Tony Sanchez

"I’ll tell you what really, really made me angry, it was that Mick told me I would get credit. So when you say “you worked really hard, I’m gonna give you credit for this” and then you don’t, that does hurt, that makes you angry, it’s best not to say anything at all. That’s really the end of that, I don’t wanna say anything negative you know." - Mick Taylor

"I had a reputation on stage of being quiet, but off it I wasn’t. We used to fight and argue all the time. And one of the things I got angry about was that Mick had promised to give me some credit for some of the songs – and he didn’t. I believed I’d contributed enough. Let’s put it this way – without my contribution those songs would not have existed. There’s not many but enough, things like Sway and Moonlight Mile on Sticky Fingers and a couple of others. I took offence and that was a contributory factor in my departure." - Mick Taylor

"I was only a bit miffed because there were a couple of items for which not only did I feel I should have got a credit, but I was actually assured that I would. Mick and I did Hide Your Love on Goat’s Head Soup on our own. Keith had become difficult to get on with for everybody by then. He slowed down the recording process, and it became hard for Mick – with whom I was much more friendly." - Mick Taylor

Interviewer: "There's a note on the Stones' album about 'It's Only Rock'N'Roll': "inspiration by Ron Wood". But no royalty?" Ronnie: "No. That happened on a few songs including 'Hey Negrita' which I totally wrote. I couldn't blast into the Jagger-Richards songwriting team." Interviewer: "You decided, "I'm going to swallow this for now"?" Ronnie: "A lot of that goes on. If you don't you're gonna get... hurt. Lots of people get a bit belligerent – that's when it all collapses. Mick Taylor did that, Bill Wyman did that.With the Stones you have to have a lot of... give. Then it'll work. Cos they're gonna take (laughs). They established it. Go with it. For the sake of the music. But it's hard work at times."

Oh then there's this from Anita Pallenberg, lol: "But then I thought that, out of all of them, Mick Taylor was like the most open-minded one, you know? I remember one morning going into his room and he was lying there in bed with Rosie and he said "Oh, Anita, why don't you jump into bed with us?" Which was something that none of the others would have ever...[laughter] I mean, nothing happened, but...it kind of impressed me at the time!"

[bylertruther]

31 ,42, n 52 <3

thirty-one: 3 random facts.

i take things very literally and don't realize it until the second after i've already responded. d'oh 🤡

i have a birth mark (?) on the side of my knee that's white and in the shape of a goldfish cracker.

frogs, toads, and i have a very special connection that shan't ever be broken, explained, or replicated. 💚

forty-two: favourite book(s).

i'll spice it up and give you one of my fave underappreciated quotes/excerpts from sharp objects, aka the book that gave me brain damage [self-harm mention]:

He rolled my sleeve up, squinted his eyes. Trying to understand the lines in my skin. I don’t know why I let him. He had a searching, sweet look on his face. I was weak from the day. And I was so damned tired of hiding. More than a decade devoted to concealment, never an interaction—a friend, a source, the checkout girl at the supermarket—in which I wasn’t distracted anticipating which scar was going to reveal itself. Let John look. Please let him look. I didn’t need to hide from someone courting oblivion as ardently as I was.

fifty-two: something i’m talented at.

i think i'm really talented at making people feel safe. for example, i've never been on a first date with someone that didn't spill their guts out to me and give me their life story. i never had a problem with patients that were previously labeled problematic, no matter their age, how super scared they were when walking in, or the fact that this was their first time meeting me. i'm the person people look to when they're in an argument, and the one they focus on when they're presenting something or speaking in a group. when people ask themselves, "where am i supposed to put this down? who will help me carry it?" the answer is usually me. idk. even when they're nervous, i typically manage to get some kind of a breakthrough regardless of that fact. i ask people questions about themselves, i listen, i offer no judgement. i don't know if that's an uncommon thing, or if it's just the way i come off, but witnessing people's kind of split-second taken aback, bashful "!!! / oh." face when they realize and drop their defenses is a favorite of mine. call me the nutcracker the way i be cracking everyone's shells 💪

[magpiefngrl]

Hello! 💫 and 🌿 if you feel like it, please! ❤

Hello, my sweet!

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

I love and appreciate most comments. I love the keysmashes, the squealing, the kind words, the incoherence, the "loved it!", the emojis, the comments in Spanish/Italian/Russian.

My favourite kind, though, would be when a reader quotes lines back to me or comments on particular scenes/moments/dialogue etc. It's lovely praise as well as being invaluable feedback to me about what worked in the story. Often these lines/moments were those I had the most fun with and so they become another thing the reader and I share, which contributes to the feeling of community and shared joy.

🌿how does creating make you feel?

I feel full and alive. Coming up with ideas, new characters and a new world; describing setting; tackling a craft issue; tweaking dialogue and my prose: these are all things I enjoy, even when they're challenging and a struggle. Some people think and express themselves visually or musically or what-have-you, but for me it's words. I speak a few foreign languages, I'm a linguist, I love words. I'm also a fan of storytelling. I've been an avid reader my whole life and I find huge comfort in reading. The idea of creating something similar for others gives me profound joy and it's incredibly fulfilling.

let's get real fic writer asks

[fox-daddy]

Incorrect quotes now with my MC's because nobody can stop me.

TW: swearing, mild nsfw jokes

Hunter: You know Julian, because of pregnant people the average number of skeletons inside a person is never one

Julian: what the f-

valdemar: no, let them speak

~~~

Asra: your future self is watching you through your memor-

Julian: not if I drink enough alcohol. Take that you prying creep!

~~~

Asra: for some reason people are scared of staring into the vast depths of the ocean that is actually only a few miles deep. Yet find comfort staring into the endless abyss that is the sky above us

Kyle: that's because gravity doesn't drag you into the abyss

The Magician: not yet :)

Kyle: And what the fuck does that mean?

~~~

Bluebell: someone has drunk more alcohol than anyone else in the world and they don't even know it.

Lucio: of course I know him, he's me

~~~

Asra: what is C for?

Hunter dressed up as cookie monster: C4 is a fucking explosive

Asra: No, what is, C, for?

Hunter:... C is for Cock

Asra: what's your costume?

Hunter: cookie monster

~~~

Hunter holding a gun to a mushroom: tell me- tell me the name of god you fungal piece of shit!

Mushroom: can you feel your heat burning? can you feel the struggle within? the fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make. You cannot kill me in a way that matters

Hunter cocks gun tears streaming down their face: I'M NOT FUCKING SCARED OF YOU

Julian: hey, Hunter, what the fuck does this mean?

Hunter: decay exists as an extant form of life

Julian: That's a- that's a terrifying answer, have a nice day

~~~

Hunter: I love cheating, if you don't cheat what the hell is wrong with you?

Nadia: have you ever been cheated on?

Hunter: Oh shit, I forgot some people are in relationships. To clarify I love to violate academic integrity on exams

~~~

Bluebell: top hats imply the existence of a bottom hat

Kyle: cat ears

Hunter: why would you say something so controversial yet so brave?

~~~

Kyle: how to start discourse. 'insert favorite person' is a 'insert favorite Hogwarts house'

Hunter: Julian is a power-bottom and not enough people talk about it

Kyle: I don't think that sentence starts discourse so much as ends any conversation before it even starts

~~~

Hunter: nature documentary but the narration is just weird enough to make you question it

Bluebell: Some fish can walk out of water, so remember that next time

Kyle: you might think your safe, but horses are omnivores

~~~

Hunter: standing up and blacking out for a few seconds is just transitioning from a cutscene to the actual gameplay

Julian: you need to eat some salt is what that means

~~~

Hunter: the cis are all like 'but won't children be confused' but every interaction I've ever had with a child who didn't know what to call me has gone verbatim like this

"why are you wearing a dress"

"because I can"

"Okay. Do you like animals?"

Bluebell: kids are very busy and have got much more important things to think about, such as their favorite animals

~~~

Hunter: okay, brain, don't freak out, but we've come across a minor inconvenience

Hunter's brain already dousing itself in gasoline: that's unfortunate

~~~

Kyle with ADHD, ASD and mild dyspraxia/Dislexia: I'll stop making jokes about mental illness, when mental illness stops making a joke out of me *laugh slowly turns into pained chuckle*

~~~

Kyle: isn't it crazy how depending on your mental state you can either spill a glass of water and be like 'HAHAHA OOPS CLUMBSY ME' or spill a glass or water and be like 'MY LIFE IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE, I DESTORY EVERYTHING I TOUCH, NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE ME AND MY WET FUCKING FLOOR'

~~~

Kyle: It's Halloween let's do something REALLY SCARY

Hunter: we could go to bed early and be alone with our thoughts

~~~

Kyle when trying to force themselves to learn something they have no care about nor interest in;

~~~

Hunter: why do I feel terrible?

hunter's body: coffee is not a meal, eat a vegetable, sleep, PLEASE!!!

Hunter: guess I'll never know

Hunter's body screaming internally: Oh my god!!!

~~~

Kyle: checking the clock before starting something*

Kyle's ADHD: well it's 9:14 which might as well be 9:30 and that's basically 10 which is almost 11 and I have to be in bed by 11 so I don't have time to start anything

~~~

Kyle: everyone is so much taller than me, I get to be picked up so often, just whenever I want! I just have to ask and it's GREAT! Now if only I could actually see where I was going through this stupid crowd.

Portia: I will make them pay for the way I was treated. The streets will run red with the blood of those who mocked me. All shall perish before the rage of the opressed. My vengeance draws near-

[jinsai-ish]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

I'm SO late in responding to this ask! This is going to be more of a 5 + 1 though, because I chose five Hetalia, but there's one non-Hetalia I love that I added in.

Genbu: Anowarakowa, America, Canada "first meeting prompt. It actually inspired the next work I'm listing here.

The Longest Road:

In the future, North Korea launches a war that will re-shape the world. The United States and Canada, wrecked by nuclear attacks and plague, fall into chaos. Now, almost two decades later, people have started to turn to some of the few governmental institutions to have survived – those of the native peoples of those lands. Led by the boy from a 400-year old prophecy, they will need to carve out a new future for themselves. And Matthew and Alfred, the nations of Canada and the United States of America, will need to do the same.

First multi chapter fic I had succeeded in writing. My other works were either one-shots or companions. (CanAme)

“Going home must be like going to render an account.” -- Joseph Conrad

Speaking of companion fics, the next two are part of a collection set more or less in the same 'verse, heavily Fitzgerald and Hemingway-influenced. Can be read together or as stand-alones.

The Sun Also Sets: I stole a bunch of quotes and tried to make a story. But honestly -- America spends some time in Paris in the 1920s, trying to get away from himself. (France/America)

Blue, Kind of: Russia isn’t the only one who doesn’t want children who won’t play nice. Spain, soon after the second Spanish Civil War. (Implied Spain/S. Italy if you squint)

Odoru (踊る): At Japan’s invitation, Greece attends one of his summer festivals. Awa Odori brings out a side of Japan he isn’t used to seeing, but likes anyways. (Greece/Japan, highly influenced by an actual experience)

And one non-Hetalia! Gundam Wing, Duo, Solo, Duo/non-specified

Let Me Also Wear Such Deliberate Disguises: Post-series. I left the identity of the 2nd pairing ambiguous because it doesn't really matter whom it is to the story but if you wish, you may substitute your favorite. This has had very few readers, but it's a personal favorite of mine nonetheless.

When Joseph Conrad died, Ernest Hemingway, by way of an obituary notice, wrote a little piece in the TRANSATLANTIC REVIEW, in October 1924, and what he said was that if it could be shown that by grinding T. S. Eliot down to a fine powder, and by sprinkling the powder upon Conrad's grave, then Conrad would immediately jump out of his grave and commence to write, then he, Hemingway, would leave for London immediately with a sausage grinder in his luggage.