#in particular the final verse is.. too much right now

[doctorwhoisadhd]

kindly tell me a lie / will you look me in the eye and say it'll all be alright in the end? / kindly tell me a lie / will you cross your heart and hope to die, cross your heart and hope to die, cross your heart and hope to die?

[crispywaffles2]

Hi I have a request! How about macaque and wukong (separate) acting over protective after if finding out their (female) s/o is pregnant? And how would they act throughout the whole pregnancy?

Please and thank you!

Hi! Of course I can, thank you so much for requesting! I'm not really versed in this particular field of romance or the struggles that it comes with, so I apologize if a lot of these seem out of character or unbearably tropey!

Overprotective Macaque & Wukong with a Pregnant!S/O

Macaque:

The moment it's revealed that you're pregnant he's tweaking out

He doesn't know how to be a dad what the heck

But he also can't deny that he is kind of excited at the prospect of being able to take care of your child!

Or children?

Oh my gosh what if it's twins-

He's seen mortal babies and toddlers walking about in the streets with their parents, and he's well aware of how.. tiny... and stupid... and vulnerable they are

He never much cared for it, thinking that mortal children were weak for not immediately coming into the world with powers or some sense of right and wrong

But it's different with his child! He can't let the tiny, stupid, vulnerable kid in your stomach get hurt!

Rest assured that he's rearranging furniture to make it easier for you to maneuver around

He insists on going out with you everywhere, and if you were to ever voice that you were getting tired of it, then he'd eventually relent...

Maybe send a clone or two to watch you in the shadows without your knowledge, but other than that he'll leave you alone!

He will glare at anyone who's eyes linger on your growing belly bump for too long, giving them a silent warning not to come to close

He'll throw down his cape over a small puddle, gesturing for you to safely cross. He says it's a joke, but really he wants to look like a gentleman in front of you

Despite his overprotective nature, he will not fulfill your cravings without question

"A what?? Why on Earth would our baby need to eat that?? They probably don't even like it!"

Other than your strange food requests, he's happy, eager even to help fulfill anything else

Worried about the stretch marks forming in your stomach? He'll tell you about how they remind him of battle scars and shows off his scars to you to make you feel better

"See? We're both warriors."

In pain from bad cramps? He's secretly panicking and making bad jokes while tending to you because he's nervous.

Stays by your side all the time just in case you start feeling pain. He wants to be there for you

Secretly reads books and looks up videos for first time dads when he thinks no one is looking

He's a warrior! A master of the shadows!

Sly, cunning, teasing, playful, sure!

But a father?

He couldn't even picture himself holding a baby

When the delivery finally happens he is such a Karen

Might as well hire him as a doctor, considering how he practically tried to deliver the baby himself

Eventually though he composes himself and stands in the corner fidgeting nervously

He's never been one to cry, not even in his brotherhood days, but the tears that welled up in his eyes when he held your child couldn't be helped

Instinctively starts trying to groom the baby

It's all over now. You're not pregnant, and the baby is finally here

He's still pretty protective of you, and his child even moreso

All that he could think as he looked into the eyes of your writhing, still slightly damp, baby was those nine months of making frankly disgusting foods were worth it

Wukong:

Absolutely flips when the bomb is dropped that you're pregnant

He genuinely doesn't know what to do

He's not sure if he should be excited that he's going to be a dad or worried that he's going to be a dad

We all know Wukong is protective of those he loves and carries a guilty conscience about including them in his messes

He knows that pretending he knows what he's doing won't get him out of every situation. He knows how many messes he pulls people into. He knows that his lingering 'do now ask questions later' mentality can put those he loves in danger

And now he has a baby too??

It takes a bit, but he eventually starts to warm up to the idea

He's the monkey king! And he'll teach his child to be better than him. Stronger, smarter! Well, not that much stronger because then he wouldn't really hold the crown the one of the strongest beings and he would not be able to handle that

Still though, he'll raise this baby and change his ways doing so

He's cartwheeling all over the place after a while just from pure excitement

Trust and believe this man is NOT reading any baby books or watching any videos. He doesn't need some mortal telling him how to raise his kid. He's the Great Sage

Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to interpretation

He'll rant to his monkeys about all of the things he'll teach the child, and he does it with so much excitement that even they get pumped up

Will try to speculate it's gender and appearance with you

"Maybe it'll have your pretty eyes and my handsome jawline! Or maybe it'll have your hair and a little tail like it's dad!"

Makes little baby toys out of sticks and leafs

He is actually super overprotective of you, but tries to pretend he's just being casual

"Where are you going? Not that I care or anything... You're trying to go to the store?? Babe, you should totally just.. stay here with me. I can make one of my clones do the shopping."

Will furiously stammer and insist that he's not worried about you if you ask

He knows you can handle yourself! It's just... You're all pregnant and vulnerable and round and he's such a worrywart about you!

He thinks that if anything even gently bumps your tummy the baby won't grow or something, so he's constantly paranoid

Rearranges furniture so it's easier for you to get around

He even cleans up just to lighten your load a bit! He must really love you!

He's actually super eager about people looking at your belly bump in public and will absolutely go off on a tangent about how his beautiful partner is about to have a beautiful baby and it's going to be beautiful

But if someone gets a little too close to you he will not hesitate to push them down or maybe accidentally give them a broken wrist if they reach out to touch your stomach

Is confused about why everyone isn't literally bowing to you while you're walking the streets

Genuinely got upset when you two were walking through a crowd and he had to hold you because people wouldn't just part for the pregnant woman walking through

"What?? Ten dollars for this? You do know my partner is pregnant right? This should be free for her! Everyday is a struggle for her! You'd have no idea what she's been through and you're charging her ten dollars-"

He's an absolute Karen

Suggests putting a pillow over your stomach

"That way you won't bump into anything and our child can be cozy!"

Because Wukong is an absolute hazard in the kitchen, he's concocted a crazy amount of different foods

He has no problem fulfilling your strange food requests and even eats them with you

"Oh my goodness! I love crab cakes with syrup!! I'll make some for both of us bud."

Has like three different emergency plans for when you're in pain

The moment you lurch forward or let out a groan he's on it

With a snap of his fingers his monkeys are all marching over to help you sit down in a single file line

He sits there and soothes you as best as he can while his monkeys scamper around trying to get anything you request

When it's finally time Wukong is genuinely confused, thinking that it's just contractions or something, but you keep yelling at him and saying "IT'S TIME!!"

Time for what?? Lunch or...?

Thinking the baby is talking to him through you, he hoists you up on his somersault cloud and zips off

When the doctor gives him a strange look and tells him you're just about to have your baby he freaks out

He tries to help in any way he can, holding your hand, breathing with you

Offers to help with the delivery of the baby

"Oh, looks like it's a bit stuck. Need a little help there bud?"

Losing his mind in the corner of the room but trying to play it cool for you and the doctors.

"Why is it slimy?" Are quite literally the first words that come out of his mouth when the baby is delivered

When he finally has his child in his arms he's all over it

Kisses, cooing, holding, hugging or even just staring at it

He may not know much about being a father, but he will try his best to teach his child not to go down the path he did because he already loves it to the moon and back

[decafbat]

i really like how much depth your art has, do you think you could show how you break down bodies when sketching if that makes sense? it’s something i struggle with a lot in my art! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

ok apologies in advance, this is probably going to be a really long and tangential rant about art that may or may not actually help you in learning how to construct bodies. im just gonna put it under a cut to save everyone from seeing this huge text wall.

i dont think its gonna be possible for you to replicate my methods here, because theyre mostly just really specific shortcuts for finding certain proportions and reference points for anatomy, which i'm fairly versed in, but not as much as i'd like to be. the shortcuts you'll need will be different from mine. im glad you think my art has depth, that is something i am trying to seek very intentionally right now, and i dont think im even close to the depth of form i am actually aiming for. so like. this makes making a tutorial kind of inherently hard. nevertheless, i threw this quick sketch together after like 3 failed attempts. (i was doing those attempts digitally, ended up giving up on that and going back to traditional because its what im most comfortable with rn)

i didnt get all the steps i took to get here because scanning that much would be cumbersome but ill try to explain how i got here. i start with the head almost every time.

i use a lot of symbolic/graphic shapes when drawing heads and dont stick to using forms very often besides the circle at the center of the head, which i use as the base to form these graphic shapes around. think of it like "wrapping" the ball in various textures and masses. the eyes are usually "textured" onto the head, notice how the her left eye looks narrower then her right. of course i try to make sure her bangs sit along the curve of the sphere and her ears look like they sit on opposite sides of the head. its easy to forget that part, making the head look unsymmetrical. the particular masses of leica's head would be her snout, which is just a curve extended slightly outside the diameter of the ball, and her hair, which are two strange organic shapes that are quite hard to draw, two hair sprig anime antennae things (forgive me, i forgot the word for them,) and the back of the head, which i usually need to extend slightly. its a little too extended here, needs more on the top, i fix this in the final pass. this was a quick sketch, so i didnt focus too hard on the forms of the head beyond the most essential ones for her design, but i sometimes highlight the form of cheeks with curved hatching, or try to make the eyes appear more sunken-in as they are on human faces. i dont know how to proportion the neck and torso correctly until i draw the head, so i always do it first. next, i did the torso.

so heres why i said that you probably wont be able to replicate this approach. you do kind of just have to practice anatomy, i cant just make it make sense because im not very good at explaining this stuff, but ill try to go through what i did here. so, i generally use simplified bone shapes to find proportions and reference points, as well as more complicated shapes like those of elbows and knees. i try to study fairly often because im not satisfied with here im at with this stuff yet. of course, i dont think i'll ever be. so i'll usually start with the ribcage, add a shoulderblade out the back to find the shoulder, the armbones come out of that, the bone in the upper arm connects to the ulna with a sort of three-pronged attachment, one big knurl in the middle, which forms the thrust of the elbow, two little ones on the side. i think those are part of the ulna but i dont remember. see, you dont really have to know what exactly they do as long as you know what they look like. the ulna does some goofy rotation shit i dont understand, connects to the wrist, and then we have a hand, which, i mean, im not good enough at hands to even be telling you how to do it, but i just have a big squarish mass and some little hotdog fingers coming out of that. you can see on her left hand that ill have a big circle forming the the area on the hand where the thumb attaches... theres more depth to the hands, i think you can easily find better tutorials then i could offer. anyway, under the ribcage theres the pelvis, represented with a box. ill get into that when i talk about the legs. i wanna briefly talk about the way i add the flesh and fat to the bones.

so, i really can't give a comprehensive crash course on anatomy, but i can point you towards the morpho series, which is where i get most of this stuff from. you can get very far with the volumes Simplified Forms, Fat and Skin, and Skeleton and Bone Reference Points. moving on, i just kind of have a feel for where the masses attach by now. the important thing to remember when drawing fat characters like this is that the fat should "hang" from the bones and flesh, drooping down slightly. leicas fat hangs substantially, so she's not very wide despite her weight. this is important to her character design i feel. i almost always draw characters naked first when doing serious drawings because it will come in handy knowing where the forms of the body are when i add the clothing. by focusing on the way her body looks naked, i can modify the impression of those forms when adding clothes, and when i add them later on in this drawing, leica will take on the distinctive boxy look i try to draw her with.

if you look at the arm, youll see that the place the line of bone sits is very high compared to the whole mass of the arm, the flesh and fat of the arm "hang" from the bone, and then the upper arm squishes against the bent forearm too. even if the anatomy in the arm is indistinct, it can still look convincing when the forms act realistically against one another. the elbow has much less fat connected to it, so its more bony then the rest. this isnt actually consistent on all people so like, think about that kind of thing when designing characters, like i was talking about before, fat can sit in infinite different ways. maybe if i was doing a more objective anatomy lesson i'd draw cath, because i do have a sort of vague understanding of muscle placement that doesnt come through here, but probably would if i was drawing a scrawnier character. let me know if you want that.

a word on the breasts too: they hang a bit lower then you'd expect, keep that in mind. the attachment point is also angled, as the line shows. the line starts roughly in the middle of the torso and ends around the armpit, but the form of the breast can go underneath the armpit or even connect around the fold of fat in the back. many things to think about. i love boob shapes. ok lets finally get on with it and talk about the legs.

so, the really specific shape of the pelvis doesnt matter that much unless youre drawing a really thin character, so its just a box here. out from the sides of the pelvis, extending out more then you'd expect, is the femur, which ends in a similar joint to the arm. this shape helps me figure out the form of the knee. two masses on each side with a bunch of complex and weirdly shaped bones forming the kneecap, which i have omitted because i dont yet know shit enough to include them. i am learning though. so, obviously the feet are just scribbles here because im just gonna put her feet in socks anyway. you really dont have to do more then you have to. a few tips i can offer here, the butt should hang a bit too when drawing fat characters, i think the butt is supposed to start just below the pelvis if i remember, but take that with a grain of salt. i also didnt really do that here but its hard to tell because she's facing mostly forward. again, i dont think i can really communicate what's going on here. morpho has a lot of great drawings explaining the shapes and muscles of the legs, all things i might focus on more when drawing a scrawnier character. for this case, i regrettably don't go too hard on the legs. also i should note that legs would usually be much longer, leica is really short so ive exaggerated the proportions to communicate that. i may change my mind on that front in the future and give her more grounded proportions. the important thing to remember with legs is just getting a nice hierarchy of forms going. bigger thigh going into smaller calf going into smaller foot. it mostly comes automatically now.

i added the clothing, shaped up her head a bit, added a bit of fur. i put her in her classic outfit, just a sweater and jeans. i enjoy the big thick folds that come out of these clothes, and big areas of white space too. its nice. i try my best to form all the folds around the forms of the body i drew earlier. thats one case where i really really have no idea what im doing and could never explain it in words. its just some fun intuitive play with loops and lines. this is at around the stage for a sketch where i'd do inks, or if it was going to be a finished pencil drawing i'd erase out parts piece by piece and replace them with nicer and more defined lines and tones.

i guess that's all i can offer , i hope that halped.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I Gave a 10/10 to a BL... me!

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Nov 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - I love this show. I adore Tew's the simple backstory. No frills. No fuss. He got dragged in the way many do and he can kill so they kept him. They aren’t trying to make it needlessly complicated (which is rare for Thailand). That said, the pacing is way tf off, the emotional arc is rushed and then sappy out of absolutely nowhere. Before you ask, the kiss is not at issue, we halfway through they should be kissing, but the romantic life changes - too soon. But I don’t care. Finally, they left us this ep reminded of 2 v important things,

this pair kisses beautifully

in BL all mafia be gay

Fun fun!

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - It's official, I love this. It’s a classic caregiver/bodyguard trope where one of them is opening the other one up to the world, but sweetly. I’m enjoying the softness of JimmySea's take and I hope GMM TV takes its cues from the success of My School President and doesn’t push this particular show into rough or edgy territory. Stay on target GMMTV. Don't mess with my bias again!

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 3 of 10 - Finally, our adorable side couple has emerged! This show remains engaging without losing pace (despite the main couple being slow burn), which is all I want from a Thai pulp, and more I could ask for currently from a sports BL. 

(Note: when I dictate the computer always puts "Thai pope" instead of Thai pulp - this is hilarious to me.)

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 14 - I guess they didn’t strip the omegaverse out of this. Unfortunately, I’m not an omegaverse fan, so I find its presence extremely off putting. (But it’s kind of amazing that somebody finally put one on our screen.) Unsurprisingly, it’s a lot of alpha posturing and hyper masculinity, because that’s what this kind of worldbuilding is an excuse for (lazy writing and lazier characterization). This means I don’t like Babe AT ALL except that he’s smell orientated and a bit verse. Way is lovely tho, because Nut is a great soft screen presence amongst the testosterone haze. 

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 2 of 8 - I’m not gonna lie (when have I ever bothered to lie to you all?) I’m struggling with this show. The sound effects are getting worse. That is not allowed. Still I found this installment slightly more bearable than the last last, probably because there was more of the cast in play and less of Jade being too cringe to live. 

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - AKA temporal paradox of pain.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Friends Forever ep 13 of 24 - Ooo it’s a bit of a teacher/student (coach/player) thing. Linguistic negotiation and kinkification of phi. Also actually kinky. But not consensually. Gonna get dark. Bummer. 

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 1 of 14(!) eps - Whines. Must I? Gaga doesn’t have a skip ahead button. Sad sack main characters really do not work for me. But this was better than I expected. I wasn’t expecting much. 

Look: This is helmed by Cheewin (shudder) with screenplay by Den (Only Friends - shudder the second) under Copy A Bangkok (they deserve not my shuddders). It's gonna be a shizz show people. It's Thai dark War of Y style - my least favorites. Apparently, there is meant to be a "plot" but when has Cheewin ever bothered with plot?

On a completely different note does the blond look like that Korean actor/idol from At a Distance Spring is Green & Wanna One to anyone else? Or is it just me? (Park Ji Hoon)

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - I like it a lot. Dongwook is so obtuse and socially awkward and reserved and needy and Dohyun is so gay over and simultaneously wildly confused by this behavior. Fantastic. A bit stiff, even for Korea, btu I'm okay with it since everything else I'm watching right now is decidedly NOT stiff.

I finished it!

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo - Japan BL movie 1.5 hr

Best friends life together during university - cheerful sunshine loves to cook, grumpy tsundere loves to eat. Aki is a bit manic pixie dream boy for me (not my favorite archetype) but they’re cute and it’s one of those Japanese slice of life pieces like Our Dining Table that isn’t really a romance in fact it’s barely a drama. This isn’t friends to lovers because they’re basically already in a relationship (which everyone around them knows) they just aren’t fucking. I did spend a lot of time worrying that they weren’t eating any green things whatsoever. In the end this isn’t my thing when there’s no kissing at all, and this was a bit too dull even for JBL. Sorry Japan, one cannot trade on cute and cheese alone. I know, you want to. But that's not a BL or a personality. 6/10 

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan, maybe coming to Netflix) 8 eps - This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS. IT'S SO GOOD.

10/10

Let me be perfectly clear: I have watched 646 BLs and only handed out nine 10/10s.

I talk more about why this one made the cut, here.

It's Airing But...

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) 6 eps - adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like) about a clerk who's stabbed, nearly dies, and returns home to find an angel waiting for him. With only 5 eps and a good chance this won’t end happy, I'm gonna wait and let you tell me how it goes.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off on this one and if told it's good I'll binge later.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

Next Week Looks Like This

STARTING

11/20 Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - trailer here, stars Ohm (of OhmFluke) opposite Guide (bestie from IFYLITA). This looks like an actually gay version of Antique Bakery (play it again, BL). I'm intrigued, it looks HELLA pretty.

11/22 7 Days Before Valentine (Weds ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk. Adapted from y-novel of the same name, directed by Tu (180 Degree) stars Jet (Why You… Y Me?). When you want your old love again, but fate sends you a reaper instead. All he can do for you is kill people. I'll likely give this a pass and wait to binge if safe.

11/24 VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Screenplay by Lin Pei Yu (WBL) about a chef who courts a shy writer with spicy beef noodles.

11/25 The Sign (Sat ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk, but with a suspense and adult characters. Special investigators who loved each other in previous lives reunite in new bodies. Stars Billy Patchanon (BillySeng) & Babe Tanatat (new). Includes other SCOY favorites as a special investigation team. I may give this a try (depending on distribution) because I'm into the non-horror bits.

11/26 The Whisperer (Sun ????) 1 of 10 - trailer here. Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even that gives me the will. You can tell me how this goes.

11/26 Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - OffGun are back, trailer here. Adapted from the novel “Love Course! เสื้อกาวน์รุกเสื้อกุ๊กรับ” by iJune4S this is about Prem who runs a not-so-popular restaurant with 2 friends. About to go on a cooking competition with a huge reward, Prem gets involved with Ten, a stressed-out med student who wants Prem to teach him to cook.

Still Coming November BL

11/30 For Him (Thurs ????) ep 1 of 10 - high heat trailer, I suspect iQIYI will scoop this one up. From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night (please no) based on a y-novel, man nursing a heartbreak has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. It looks terribly trashy so I'm in! Maybe I'll do a trash watch?

Nov 2023 line up with screen caps here. Not kept updated.

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

To be fair this was last week but I did get the screen shot until now. (You are Mine)

I Cannot Reach You serving all Japan's favorite tropes plus some very un-Japan decent kisses.

(Last week)

[gloomysoup]

another edition to the nickelback chronicles, brought to you by my missing chad kroeger hours (i promise i'm bringing you other content soon). this is also set in the secrets universe, so i think that's just what these are gonna be from now on. oh, and the song today is far away from all the right reasons (2005). enjoy !

when eddie left, he knew he was going to write a song. well, he knew he was going to write a lot of songs, but he had one in particular brewing in his brain. It would be a slow ballad; something dedicated to steve just like everything else he wrote in those days after leaving. this song was a little different though. this one took him months to finish, which wasn't like any of the other songs he'd written to that point. he wanted to apologize. he wanted steve to know how sorry he was, how much he loved him. it took him a long time to find the right words. the melody came easily, strumming chords on the beat-up old acoustic in the back of the van while one of the others drove for a while.

when the song was finally released, eddie took a chance. he didn't send it to steve directly. he didn't think he deserved to do that, since he's the one that walked away. he sent it to wayne, hoping maybe he could get it to steve, or anyone. he sent it to dustin too, with slightly less hope in him. he knew he didn't deserve anything from them. he wouldn't have blamed anyone if they ignored him.

he never knows if anything came of it. he just goes about his career like it was nothing, like he wasn't putting his entire heart out there for everyone to hear. part of him could never let it go. he needed steve to hear the words, even if he wasn't actually there. they put it on the setlist of almost every tour. eddie fights tears every time, wanting nothing more than to go back to steve. maybe that's why he wrote the second verse of that song, promising to give it all up just to hold steve one last time.

he didn't know that steve listened to that song all the time. every day. later in his pregnancy with their pups, he would sit on the living room floor while robin was out and play the song over and over. the tears always roll down his face as he listens to eddie singing through the speakers, singing to him about their love and how much he misses him. and every time, without fail, the twins follow the sound. they move and kick and push to get closer. after their born, steve stills plays it. it always calmed them down when nothing else worked. as toddlers, he'd sing it or play it when they had nightmares, or weren't feeling well. it was a comfort for them, and for steve. he always told them their dad wrote it for them, even though eddie didn't even know they existed.

when eddie comes back, when he learns that he has pups, when he and steve finally work things out, steve still doesn't tell him about the song. he tries to stop playing it. he doesn't want eddie to know, but he doesn't really know why. it shouldn't be a secret, but for some reason, he keeps it that way. but that all changes early one morning, when gracie crawls into their bed with a stomach ache and a fever. it's around 3am, and she creeps into their room on quiet feet. she climbs in on steve's side, and then crawls over him to get to the middle. she burrows into his chest, her little face pressed into his neck. it wakes steve up. he asks what's wrong, and then he notices the tear tracks on her pale cheeks.

"gracie, baby, what's wrong?" he asks softly, thumbing away her tears and brushing back her sweat-soaked curls. her face was burning up.

"don't feel good," she murmured, pressing herself deeper into steve's chest.

"i'm sorry, honey." he wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her head.

eddie groaned softly beside them, his eyes fluttering open. "wh's goin' on?" he muttered hoarsely. "everything okay?"

"gracie doesn't feel good. i think she has a fever."

eddie sat up quickly, suddenly much more awake. it was his first experience with sick kids, but steves done this song and dance several times before. the pups are like disease magnets, and when one of them gets sick, the other is never far behind.

"what? a fever?"

"ed, she should be fine. it's probably just a stomach bug."

"but she's sick, steve."

"i promise it will be fine. it should hopefully break in a few hours, and even if it doesn't, she'll be back to normal in just a few days. they're kids, eddie, they've been sick before."

eddie sighed and looked down at gracie, who was still crying and shaking softly in steve's arms. "what can i do to help?"

"uh, can you get a bottle of water, the kids tylenol, and a, um, damp washcloth? oh, and check on oliver while you're up? if she's sick, i doubt he'll be far behind."

eddie nodded and started pushing the covers back to retrieve what steve asked for. he was only gone for a few minutes, and neither steve nor gracie had moved. steve was brushing his fingers through her hair, shushing her softly. when eddie came back, he sat up against the headboard and pulled gracie into his lap. she refused to take the medicine. steve was trying his best to convince her.

"come on, gracie, please? i promise you'll feel better if you take it."

"i want the song."

"which song, honey?" eddie asked, leaning over and rubbing her back. "maybe i know it? i can sing it for you."

steve sighed, knowing he had to tell him. it was probably the only way gracie would take the medicine. it would be the only way they'd get her back to sleep.

"it's one of your songs, eddie," steve whispered. "i used to play it for them all the time."

eddie frowned. "you did? which one?"

steve looked down at gracie, playing with her hair to avoid looking at eddie. "far away. i've been playing it for them their whole lives. i wanted them to know you loved them, even if you didn't really know."

"i never knew you even got that song."

steve glanced at him with a smile. "you gave it to wayne. of course i got it."

"well, that's easy, then." eddie grinned at gracie, brushing back her hair. "why don't i just sing it for you, honey? will that help you feel better?"

gracie nodded, so of course eddie did just that. he sang softly, the whole song, while steve fed her the medicine. then he let her curl up into his chest, rocking back forth as he kept singing. he didn't stop until she was fast asleep again, snoring softly against his bare chest. steve leaned over to kiss eddie's cheek with a smile.

"i love you," he whispered.

eddie smiled back. "i love you too."

"i'm gonna go check on ollie again. you okay here?"

he nodded, reassuring steve they'd be fine. steve came back in several minutes later, carrying oliver in his arms.

from then on, eddie took every chance he could to sing that song for his family. if the band was on tour, eddie would sing it to them on the phone every night before they went on stage. it was one of his favorite parts about being their dad. he loved to sing to them. he loved singing his songs to them. he thanked the universe every day that he got this chance. he wouldn't give it up for anything.

[elfdragon12]

So I like Epic the Musical and Transformers. I have mixed feelings about the 2005 IDW Transformers adaptation, in particular how it handled Prowl in terms of characterization, consistency, and all that. However, I do like how the chorus and the second verse of Poseidon's song "Ruthlessness" fits late stage Prowl's perspective.

"You are the worst kind of good 'cause you're not even great A Greek who reeks of false righteousness, that's what I hate 'Cause you fight to save lives, but won't kill and don't get the job done I mean, you totally could have avoided all this had you just killed my son But no

You are far too nice, mercy has a price It's the final crack, we're bound to break the ice now You reveal your name, then you let him live Unlike you, I've got no mercy left to give 'cause

Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves (Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves) Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves Ourselves"

As I was thinking about it though... I would say that Prowl's whole character arc in the IDW 2005 story could be compared to Odysseus's arc within the the Epic story. (At least... Ideally, in a world where there was more communication and agreement/collaboration on Prowl's character arc within the adaptation because the writers definitely did not have the same view on him.) There is goodness and conviction in Prowl's early days, however, as the war drags on, well, as the chorus sings throughout the Epic story...

"When does a comet become a meteor When does a candle become a flame When does a man become a monster When does a ripple become a tidal wave When does a reason become the blame When does a man become a monster"

As for what other Transformers characters would be who in Epic... I think perhaps Megatron would be Poseidon (Overlord as the Cyclops?) and Sentinel Prime would be Zeus. I think the Autobots would be the crew. Tarantulas as Calypso (her saga has not been released yet, but there are teasers on Jorge Rivera-Herrans' tiktok, including her singer wearing a Odysseus/Calypso shipping shirt).

It's not all one-to-one, of course (I'm not sure who I would compare to Athena right now), but I think the similarities and general arc are very much there.

[nyhti]

Brief and incomplete headcanons about Jonathan and Jervis

Okay, so, yeah. Like I said, there's a whole essay's worth of background info missing here, because it was too long and convoluted, so I've had to simplify things A LOT. Not everything will make sense without all that lost context, but I hope it's still enjoyable.

-So right off the bat, this is the spot where you'd really need all that background info, but here's a very very brief and dumbed down explanation for what was going on with Jonathan before he ever talked to Jervis: A. Jonathan didn't want to talk to people, because they might bully him. B. He still wanted friends. C. Out of everyone at Arkham, Jervis seemed the least likely to be a bully.

-And for Jervis it's: A. He had friends in the past, but lost them after becoming the Mad Hatter. B. Even when he was just Jervis and not a criminal, those friends were hard to come by so... C. He didn't think he'd have another friend again.

- At Arkham Jonathan starts to observe Jervis from a far to try and see if he's niceys or meanies. He sees that Jervis never acts in a threatening manner. Really, he's very polite and seems to avoid conflict. And not even Jonathan, who could be blown away by the slightest summer breeze, could find Jervis psychically intimidating. Jervis is 2/3 his size and clearly not fit. The fact that Jervis is conventionally unattractive also makes Jonathan feel more at ease. He feels Jervis might not judge him for his appearance, because Jervis must have faced struggles in his life due to his small size. He feels Jervis could understand him. And if all that wasn't enough, Jervis spends just as much time in the library as Jonathan and we all know how important books are to Jonathan.

-Jonathan gathers courage for weeks before he actually manages to start a conversation with Jervis. I think Jervis doesn't immediately understand why Jonathan is trying to talk to him. I think in relationships in the past he has always been the one to approach people, because people don't tend to approach him. No one's looked at him and thought: ”Oh, I'd like to get to know this guy!” No, he's always been the one to do the initiate. That's why he doesn't even know what to feel when he finally realizes Jonathan is trying to befriend him, that Jonathan looked at him and thought: ”Oh, I'd like to get to know this guy!”

-Their first conversations are very awkward. Jonathan is very behind on social skills due to being isolated as a child and while Jervis is a little better, he's not exactly great either. Lots of awkward silences, lots of stuttering, lots of blushing, lots of saying the wrong things. None of that really matters though, because they are both very excited to have someone to talk to. Jervis is the second friend Jonathan has ever had in his life and Jervis, like I said, never thought he'd have friends again.

-They both put a lot of work into this relationship. It's not something that just started one day and has been great ever since. No, there have definitely been some ups and downs. I don't feel like writing about any particular incidents, because that would take too long, but I think that you can understand that two people with very little regard for the well being of others might end up hurting each other as well. The only reason that they are best friends now, is that they both wanted this to work, they both wanted a friend and they were willing to put in the work to reach that goal.

-And through all their struggles they have somehow managed to build so much trust, that they are able to talk about even very painful things. They are able to open up about things they have never felt safe to open up about before. It's very healing.

-Jervis might seem childish at first, but at least in my verse, he's one of the most mature rogues. The apparent childishness is really just him not being afraid to be a little silly and also sometimes a guise to fool people. He's a lot more self-aware and intelligent than people assume. It's that maturity that attracts Jonathan. Talking with people like Joker and Eddie can sometimes feel like talking to toddlers with behavioral issues, so it's very relaxing for Jonathan to sit down with Jervis and really talk like an adult to another adult. There isn't a topic they can't discuss in civil terms. They can just sit and talk all night long and that is something they both enjoy.

-Both are well read and both appreciate that in each other. They both have a thirst for knowledge and learn a lot from one another. They definitely have a book club of sorts where they read a book and then meet at either Jervis' place or the Arkham library to discuss it.

-Jervis helps Jonathan out a lot in his financial struggles. Jonathan is always welcome at Jervis' if he doesn't have a roof over his head. Jervis will also pay him for helping out with gadgets and capers, but Jonathan is not particularly found of this type of work. Either he's breaking his back lifting heavy equipment for Jervis or he's breaking his mind being the test subject for his mind control headbands. Jervis pays well though and cooks for him too.

I think what I find appealing about this relationship is the maturity of it. A lot of friendships between rogues will make me feel like I'm reading about 9-year-olds, not 40-somethings, what with the near constant drama and friendship breakups. I like how chill Jon and Jerv are in comparison (at least in my verse). Though, I suppose that that's the exact reason I don't do a lot with this relationship and why it's so underdeveloped in my verse – nothing much happens in it. There isn't much to write about. They're just having tea and talking about literature.

[truemeg]

The Lost Potter extra scene: The Cousins

Originally posted on AO3

Read The Lost Potter on AO3

Albus’ reunion with the extended family isn’t so smooth-sailing. Rose can tell from a mile away. So she finally takes a chance to talk to him alone.

This one-shot is part of a series of one shots taking place in "The Lost Potter" verse. You will have to read the original fic to understand these.

This one is focused on Rose & Albus and mentions Scorbus in the background.

_____

Rose hadn’t really thought about how this wasn’t going to be a normal Christmas afternoon.

For years now, the tradition on Christmas day was that all of the Weasley families would gather at the Burrow for dinner all together. What would start as an exciting and energetic afternoon – filled with talking, celebrating, and lots of kids stumbling around the Burrow doing Merlin knew what – would wind down into a cozy evening with a fire in the hearth, a brisk cold outside, and family members with full bellies relaxing late into the night before finally going home. It was something everyone looked forward to every year.

Rose in particular liked bragging to her grandparents about how excellent school was going, playing and hanging out with her cousins, and eating all the delicious food. She only saw the Christmas tradition as something happy and cozy.

She was eager for that same feeling when she stepped up to the door of the Burrow and let herself in. But she wasn’t greeted with the usual hello and hug from Grandma Molly. Because Molly was too busy crying while she was crushing Albus in a fierce hug.

Oh, right. Albus was here now.

No one even noticed when Rose walked in the door. Her parents got a quick hello, but there was no other acknowledgement while their attention was taken up by Albus. The same thing happened when others started to arrive too. Quick greetings in passing from her aunts and uncles, all of them brushing past so they could see Albus again. In between it all, Rose did see Albus sneak her a wave before Grandma Molly enveloped him in a hug again.

This start to the event was a pretty good indicator about how the day ended up going. Albus got all sorts of questions before and during dinner, with the entire table going quiet to listen to his boring answer to their dull questions. Did Albus play Quidditch? What was his best class? Did he have a girlfriend? Rose rolled her eyes at that one, and she wasn’t surprised when Albus said no, and also didn’t mention that he was more likely to have a boyfriend instead, and a Malfoy at that.

At least her family had a little bit of tact regarding the elephant in the room. They didn’t ask him about any of the serious stuff. Rose was well aware that Albus was over having to talk about that.

She noticed very quickly how much quieter Albus was today compared to when they were, say, hanging out at school. Albus was still on the introverted side, but she and the gang had managed to pull him out of his shell once they got to know him. Because he really was just a normal kid like any of them. His best subject was Potions, he liked reading, was pretty good at drawing, he hadn’t lost a game of Gobstones yet, and had a bad habit of stealing things here and there.

Which was why it was so baffling for Rose to see Albus on this pedestal again. Albus was just a normal kid, just another Weasley cousin. And everyone was treating him like a shiny new toy instead. And Rose would see as the evening wore on that Albus was retreating into himself again. His answers were short, he stumbled over his words, ducked his eyes away, and fidgeted a lot.

For his sake and her own sake, Rose hoped that after dinner, the focus would shift to anything else.

“I’ve never been more scared in my life.”

No such luck.

Rose stopped in the threshold leading into the living room, where many of the adults had gathered. Everyone was circled around and watching Harry while he was talking. “And I’ve been scared plenty of times. But seeing my son again, and a few seconds later he’s unconscious on the ground…”

Rose immediately stepped away. The story of the night on the Quidditch pitch made her shiver. But what really made her skin crawl in that moment was seeing Harry just now. The fear in his expression, in his furrowed brows, his hunched shoulders. It was exactly the way Albus looked when he recounted that night to her and their friends. They had snuck up to the Astronomy Tower late one night, and it was Yann who was brave enough to ask Albus and Scorpius exactly what they’d gone through. Until then, none of them had known all the details. So Albus told them, gripping Scorpius’ hand like a lifeline, like he was reliving the night right then and there.

Like father, like son. Rose was happy to avoid that conversation tonight.

In the shuffle after dinner, all the cousins drifted off in different directions. The younger ones were playing some sort of game upstairs. Most of the older ones were in another room, and James, Freddie, and Louis had gone outside to go for a “walk.”

Albus was nowhere in sight.

Rose checked each room, and didn’t see him anywhere. He definitely hadn’t been involved in the game, and she was certain he hadn’t gone with James…

Until she got to the top floor and found Albus inside the last bedroom - her dad’s old bedroom, actually - leaning out the open window to the cold air outside.

“Are you finally getting some space up here?” Rose asked.

Albus jumped when he turned around. But Rose saw him visibly relax when he saw her. “Oh. Hey Rose.”

Rose crossed the room and joined Albus by the window. Both of them leaned against the sill, the chill of the cold air a stark contrast from the warmth inside the Burrow. Above, it was a clear night with stars peeking out from behind the clouds scattering the sky. Below, Rose could just make out the figures of a few cousins hanging out in the farm fields.

“How’s your first family Christmas dinner going?” Rose asked.

“It’s…good,” Albus replied.

Rose hadn’t any moments alone with Albus before. They didn’t interact at all before this whole thing came about, and after all that she only interacted with him when they were in their group. She knew when he was getting quiet and nervous, but she was never the one to deal with that. That became Scorpius’ forte.

The two of them were so close now, Rose had to wonder how that happened so fast. Fast enough that Rose could tell they had to be more than friends, at this point. And they were either dancing around the subject or they were being obtuse. Either one was a possibility.

But Rose set that aside. They’d figure it out sooner or later. If they hadn’t already.

“I would imagine tonight is overwhelming,” she continued. “Especially with this family. You know there’s so many of us.”

“Yeah…”Albus replied. Rose noticed his fidgeting fingers again. She was just thinking she may have to try harder to get something out of him, but surprisingly, Albus continued a moment later. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course.”

“The whole family downstairs…I don’t remember anyone’s name and at this point I’m too afraid to ask.”

Rose couldn’t stop herself from laughing at that. Albus smiled as well, and visibly relaxed a little bit. “You don’t remember any of them? It’s only been a couple hours, Albus.”

“The whole night’s been kind of a blur…” Albus glanced at her briefly. “I feel bad. They’re all family, you know? I should know them.”

Rose nudged him with her shoulder. “You barely remember your immediate family. I think you can have a free pass to forget your extended family. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Albus smiled and nodded.

“And since you’re being honest, I am going to be honest too.” Rose paused briefly while Albus glanced at her. “I forgot you were going to be here.”

Albus’ brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean Albus, “ Rose shifted to face him a little more. “We never, you know, admitted we were cousins. Or whatever we were supposed to do. Never mentioned it at all. You must have noticed that too. And maybe that was on me to say something but…when you came back to school and you were you , I never thought about how we are actually family. And you became my friend. I just treated you like everything was normal.”

Rose wondered if that was in big part due to how she treated this whole situation growing up. She vaguely remembered Albus before he went missing, but largely he was just the missing cousin they didn’t talk about much. Not at home, not at family gatherings like tonight. Not much, at least. She did remember over the years overhearing his name mentioned in a solemn tone over dinner, or walking in on a quiet conversation where he was mentioned, and inevitably someone’s eyes would always turn red and watery. The topic was always floating around the family. But she had never had any involvement in the topic. As a child, it was a thing she could ignore.

But staying un-involved wasn’t the right thing to do anymore.

“But it’s not normal. Not really. I never admitted you were my cousin who was missing.”

They lapsed into silence for a few moments. A few stories below, whatever game the kids were playing had gotten a little louder, and the group hanging out outside had wandered a little further away, not even visible in the dark anymore. Rose shivered a little when a gust of wind blew past.

It was Albus who broke the silence. “You know it’s okay that you treated me that way.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sometimes I need it,” Albus said. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted. And I’m over all this attention everyone’s giving me. I thought it was over by now but…” He shrugged. “I never wanted to be this…spectacle.”

Rose was looking at Albus. Though she had ignored the topic thus far, it really was fascinating that Albus had been through all he had been. All at once he looked like the shy kid she occasionally shared classes with at Hogwarts, the missing Potter child, a member of her family and her friend, and a young fifteen year old.

“That’s why you were quiet around everyone today. Because they treated you like a shiny new toy,” Rose said.

“Yeah,” Albus replied. “That and there’s so many of them…though I guess we’re all family now. I’ll get used to it or they’ll get used to me.”

“Everyone here means well. And we’re happy you’re home.” Rose put an arm across Albus’ shoulders. She smiled when she felt him lean into it too. It was good to have her cousin back.

She could now see a future with more Christmas dinners and Albus fitting right in to the family. Moments at school where she could confidently call Albus her cousin. More normalcy in the chaos around them.

“Albus,” Rose started. “Before we move on completely from the topic of you going missing and everything. I just want you to know that none of us ever believed the theory that Harry killed you and there was some sort of coverup.”

“Wait, what?”

Rose pulled away, clapping her hands together. “Okay. Now that that’s out of the way. Come on.”

Since no one lived in this room anymore, there wasn’t much to be found up here. But Rose did manage to find a quill and notebook to rip an empty page out of. She motioned Albus to the floor, where they both sat down and Rose started to write out names of her family members with lines drawn between them.

“Right. This is your mum, dad, and siblings. Your mum’s the youngest and only girl of seven kids. My dad’s the second youngest…”

Rose continued on, Albus watching with rapt attention. Wrapped in the warmth of the Burrow against the chilly winter's night, they settled in. The Christmas tradition was feeling like normal again. Now it would be even a little better than it had been in the past.

[huntershowl]

SHIPPING INFO // ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSES SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER(S)?

i don't have one particular otp — big ships change depending on the Era hellhound is in!

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

nothing illegal obviously — other than that, aside from long-lifespan characters whose mental maturation is slower, i generally stay away from with 10+ year age gaps when the younger muse is under 20. just feels like a weird power dynamic i guess?

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

yes! ships on this blog cannot be pre-established — i tend to lose interest fast if they don't build up naturally, either through lots of ooc plotting or through writing. on top of that, seph is ... piiiiicky. she has very specific Types. generally, ships with very gentle, soft, mentally well-adjusted characters are possible, but transient — seph falls out of love after a point, but remains staunchly protective of them.

the long and short of the matter is she's a freak, and you kind of have to match that to be compatible as a long-term partner. but even then they don't always line up perfectly! idk. seph's weird. simultaneously very easy to ship with and very hard to ship with.

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

oh i've got lots of good ones going on right now!! pls forgive me for gushing. focusing on currently heavily-plotted and/or written ones for this bit bc otherwise it will be pages and pages!! if i forgot someone you have full permission to impale me on a pike i am SO SORRY. (aka i'll go back and add u in omg)

@vsagis' villain izuku— i had to put u first bc u kickstarted this shipping renaissance. seph and izuku clicked instantly and started a long-term trajectory that i don't think either of us writers expected. they're just freak enough to match each other, just soft enough to genuinely care. we're really putting these two through the horrors(tm) and watching them fall hopelessly, horribly in love. <3

@spiritcrown's pasha — how could i not mention pasha!! i was so happy to see you back, because pasha and seph's relationship was soooo formative for seph's development wrt romance. seph is absolutely, completely and utterly devoted to pasha. they worship at the altar of her. they would bend heaven and raise hell for her.

@crowshoots' jesper — UAHGHGBBHBH INCOHERENT CRYING NOISES. the first thing seph noticed about jesper was extremely respectable fighting skills, but even then they were definitely uhhhh touch and go for a while there before they started to simmer down and. pin each other down and — one thing led to another and jesper's being antagonized by her antagonists and they're too deeply in love to go back!! i love them. i l

@crowgreeds' kaz — HHHHHHHHH god. hi siri i know ur not around the dash much but idc im writing u into this. kaz and seph both have such a darkness in them that the other recognizes and not only feeds, but when necessary, balances. they're ruthless and violent and mean but at the same time, they have such a softness for each other that they both thought was dead. also, you're the recipient of probably the best rp reply i've ever written (that fucking. hellhound kill description. my GOD im feral for seph protecting him)

@tewwor.... goose is2g we really have the creatures ever. litho — FIRST SHIP!!!! FIRST SHIIIP i still cant believe it took 4 irl years for them to finally admit their stupid feelings. now they're soulmates and there's no turning back. he's the reason seph likes poetry in every verse. the softest snarkiest ship. probably the closest to a true YA-style soulmate seph has. she hasn't forgiven him for all the twilight jokes though tough luck jie & ricochet — the boys... the absolute chaos trio... i never expected seph and jie to fall for each other but honestly i should have. he falls so neatly into her "equally feral" type. ricochet is so calm and seph is kind of intoxicated by that. sheathed claws kind of vibe. just love these three their dynamic balances itself so well

@spungolden's dio — two femmes raised as weapons with deeply suppressed emotions, chillin in a murder alley, five feet apart cause theyre not g— (theyre gay. theyre so gay) these two are so sweet they sometimes make me tear up. they skipped the trauma stage and went straight into lesbian domestic fantasy with only occasional murder.

@chaoslulled oh boy(s). toji — brutally in love. they saw and embraced each other's monster, refused to shy away, and now they somehow revolve in this strange orbit of violent and incredibly soft with each other. i think he's the first of the current ship lineup that seph has in-thread said the L-word to. this ship was so easy to jump right into, the chemistry was like lightning in a bottle. satoru — one of the most genuinely unexpected slowburn ships i've stumbled into. these two read each other for filth INSTANTLY as lonely motherfuckers who, in some way or another, had loved and lost. they haven't even gotten to the oh-shit moment in the slowburn yet but i'm lookin forward to it yakuza sukuna — THE PAIN. THE SUFFERING. AUHHHGHGGGG HOL YOU'RE FUCKING KILLING MEEEE. these two are mirrors in the worst possible way. they've got their throats stuck under their boss' boot heels; they've been disfigured, they've had their siblings used as leverage, they've been made into muzzled dogs. despite hating each other at the start, they can't not recognize that, and it's led to this fierce protectiveness that isssss whoops evolving into feelings. i'm sure nothing will go wrong

@eraserisms' shota — AHHHHHHH god okay most of this ship has been pure plotting vibes and responses to memes, but i truly cannot wait to get into writing more of them because they own my heart and soul. i think they know each other to the marrow in a way that's not super common for seph, and the gentleness and caution with which they're starting to explore revisiting their care for each other is heartbreaking in the best way

@sasouken BEE!!!! ok chronologically(??): deku — so precious and wholesome from the start. your honor he's just a little guy with a big dumb crush. when i tell uuuuuu some of our plotting has literally made me tear up a little??? the absolute bleeding heart on this boy??? HURTS ME??? one day they'll hold hands casper — slated to be our angstiest dynamic, i just Know it. two motherfuckers who love their siblings, inextricably involved in a tangled web of crime and violence. two people who have lost so much and don't want to lose anyone ever again. i will die i WILL satoru — such... a different vibe than i was expecting in an amazing way?? his dynamic with seph is so fuckin sweet? so much physical touch born of trust and comfort. also again: her first ever fwb (for now), which is truly a wild thing to experience. sukuna — i .. . dont even know what to say about this one. (affectionate). he unlocked an entirely new dimension of freak in seph's psyche and attraction style that i couldn't comprehend before we started writing them but retrospectively makes so much sense. what the fuck is going on with these two i have no idea but i am OBSESSED with it. also writing them getting down nasty has been extremely fun, i'm enjoying it a lot

there are more sort of beginnings/potentials for ships that haven't been explored yet which i haven't included here, but i'm truly excited to see where each and every one of them goes!!!

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

yes absolutely hahaha — at least communicating ooc about it is necessary! i'm much more comfortable shipping with partners i mesh well with as a mun and have an easy time talking to.

ARE YOU SHIP-OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?

LOOK I. LISTEN. LISTEN... IM FERAL FOR SHIPS. FERAL. even though seph is picky about them — and i promise it's not personal if it doesnt work, it truly is just her dumb creature ass being unable to normal.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?

N/A for this blog, but as a fun trivia fact, i'm deep in satosugu hell rn

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?

it's all vibes babey. we just start writing their non-romantic dynamic buildup, and if it clicks (or even if u just think ur character would have a crush!) we talk about it ooc and plot some more, then plot some more and before u know it, the angst hammer looms over ur head

Tagged by: @bearratic (thank youuuu!!)

Tagging: (points) do it

[wariofranchisefanblog]

A new WarioWare has come out and I got enough playtime in to feel comfortable talking about it in full, so I’ll do just that.

Right off the bat I can say in short: this is a good game and a good WarioWare. Not up there with my favs, but it does a lot right. My experience did end up quite differently than anticipated and I’ll explain why soon enough.

First I want to talk about the presentation, which I think is an easy high point. Everything is vibrant and colorful, the art keeps showing the strengths of the current style and everything feels very much like it should. Microgames run that perfect mix of genuinely nice looking and deliberately cursed and the cutscenes are the best of both worlds, being smooth and lively, while returning to Gold’s full voice acting.

Speaking of cutscenes, that brings us to the story related stuff and that’s where the game shows some interesting tricks up its sleeves. In terms of structure it’s a return to the pre-Gold era, with the closest to an overarching theme being the vacation set-up.

I do think the Ware crew is in top form, likable, fun and full of life as always and two stories in particular even do something major.

Kat and Ana’s story marks the shocking return of Cractus, bringing a Wario Land character into WarioWare and Young Cricket’s story sees his Kung-Fu Ball partner finally brought into WarioWare properly. Both of those are really massive and show a willingness to more heavily utilize elements from other parts of the verse, which I find incredibly exciting.

Oddly enough, the weaker link of the story for me this time is Wario himself. Now don’t get me wrong, everything that happens here is usual Wario antics and I do like how non–english versions of the script like japanese and german, have him be actually be nice about bringing the others along. His confusion at the Crygor drawings and later ascending to godhood, with the cast roll confirming he got a happy end, are all good too, plenty of nice stuff here.

He just feels weirdly absent here. Having no presence in the Remix stages, no bonus mode in his image and even the final stage has him stuck being cursed to have his face be the avatar of an angry volcano. It doesn’t really feel like Wario and ends with him being the only one of the cast with no moment to shine during the climax, which I can’t help but find a little disappointing.

Still, it’s not a big deal, after so many games Wario taking a slight backseat isn’t a dealbreaker, it just stood out a little.

Moving away from that, there is the audio side of things. The music as usual is full of unapologetically catchy jingles and some major stand-out tracks such as MegaGame Muscles and the Form Guide theme.

We got full voice acting again and with it our first taste of Kevin Afghani as Wario. Pre-release stuff had me very on and off with how I felt about it, but having heard all of him in the game: yeah, I like him! He does have some wonky deliveries, but the overall voice still feels like Wario and has its own fun appeal. Certainly more noticeably different than Mario and Luigi, but I am optimistic Kevin will greatly grow into the role, as he gets to play him more and more.

Then we get to the big one, the gameplay and this is where I was thrown for a loop the most. With this being a direct Smooth Moves successor I thought I’d know what to expect, but was quite caught off-guard in many places.

This surprisingly ended up being the most difficult WarioWare for me by a long-shot, enough that I actually had to take advantage of the second chance mechanic, which I never had to do in Gold and GiT.

If I had to sum the game up in one word, it would be demanding, Wario commanding you to move it is not just a funny title, it’s the name of the game.

With the Wiimote, you could get away with just sorta doing the poses in a lot of cases, but Move It really demands you do the exact poses, down to holding the Joycon juuuust the right way. 

More than anything I was surprised how strict it could be in that regard, not following the form instructions is asking for trouble, but I have to say, at the same token I was amazed how well things worked once I got the hang of it.

I’ll admit, I was ill while playing the game, so maybe that caused me to be a little more daft than usual, but it took me a bit to really get into it and I had to consult the museum several times for some microgames to figure out what I even needed to do.

I do think the game is a touch more complicated than usual for WarioWare, since you have to take effectively two controllers and specific poses into account, on top of grasping what each microgame demands of you, but once it clicks everything feels well thought out and purposeful. Getting things down is immensely satisfying and shows some really stunning results of what the Joycon can do.

That said the game isn’t entirely without jank, Hand Model being a notable culprit of it. The game finds several fun applications for it, but anything regarding reading forms or how many fingers you hold up, can be really clunky in the heat of the moment. In general, the strictness of the forms also means you need to really be prepared for every microgame, since slouching with your form could lead to a bad desync

Still, even with some jank I do think stepping up to the challenge to get a feel of it and get better is very much worth it. I wasn’t sure how to feel at first, but my opinion on it only went up the more I played.

That covers it for the main stages, as for the side-content though, yeah, that is where the game shows a weaker side of itself.

Not so much in terms of what’s here though. You got your standard towers, as well as MegaGame Muscles, which no joke, may be my favorite stage in the game. It’s frantic, fun, the music slaps and the set-up of Mr. Sparkles having ascended to being a literal god of fitness, is pure WarioWare.

The new Pyoro game of the day is a fun, different take on it, much like the one in Smooth Moves was as well and Dirty Job is a cool bonus game expansion of a more stand-out microgame concept.

That is really it as far as the single player content is concerned though and it does feel a liiiittle on the meager side. No souvenirs, which Smooth Moves and GiT didn’t have either, but Smooth Moves had more bonus games and GiT had the final Pyoro stage, Penny Remix, more bonus games, unlockable art and the Wario Cup.

We do still have a decent variety of multiplayer modes to work with and I did get a friend to come on by to try them, save for the 4 player exclusive one.

I think it’s a good selection, in concept it has the best multiplayer mode offerings since Mega Party Games (though I did like GiT a lot too), but there is one issue I have with it and I think GiT was a little guilty of it too.

As I mentioned, I do think there is a learning curve on how to play this game most effectively and you feel that even more in multiplayer, where someone not as in the know, is naturally gonna accidentally grip his Joycon slightly wrong, despite doing the pose and need some extra instructions, much like the characters in GiT can take some learning.

It is something you can overcome and have a good time with, WarioWare is a very good ‘’don’t take me too seriously’’ kind of multiplayer experience, but on the whole, if they want a true party game WarioWare, I still think something simpler like Mega Party Games is in order and by all means, I wouldn’t mind them doing something like that again.

On a side note, I also find it a bit of a shame that the nice new models for the cast, updated to resemble their designs in this game, are ultimately watered down to sprites of their heads during multiplayer gameplay. With how much emphasis is being put on multiplayer to carry the game for longer, I think it would have been nice if they put in the work to fully animate GiT-style models for the multiplayer modes.

That small gripe aside, as I said, I think multiplayer is fine, but not quite the pick up and play experience for people new to the game, as I feel they wanted it to be and I do think a bit too much of the game is locked behind multiplayer.

But yeah, that’s WarioWare Move It. It’s good and if you like WarioWare, you’re getting what you wanted out of it. It’s not one of my top games in the series and feels a bit too lacking on the side content front, but on the whole, I had a good time and it gets a surprising amount out of a controller that I have an openly low opinion on.

[azems-familiar]

Omg this isn't even related to the ask game but the ask you just answered 😭 sorry bout that, I suddenly thought of more questions now.

Also THANK YOU SO MUCH to you and Davi for churning out so many writings these past few weeks holy crap, I've loved reading every one of them. Yall are spoiling us /pos

Okie question time: surviving Ancients building a New Amaurot?? Yes pls??? But also how do they survive???? I'm so glad Hyth and Elidibus are there though, they're unabashedly my favourites aside from G'raha and Emet Selch. I was also wondering if you guys have any plans on writing smth about how, after the Final Days, Emet, G'raha and Corrain (and maybe Lelesu) work to find some way to return to the first? This curiosity probably stemmed from you guys giving Lyna interactions with Uncle Emet, I could not stop smiling at those.

Thanks so much again!! Keep up the great work XD

okay SO. as to how each of the ancients survives is different; Hyth is the easiest, because in canon on Ultima Thule he and Emet choose to leave instead of using Hydaelyn's magicks to become corporeal again. so he just chooses to stay instead. Elidibus we're saving in the last tier of pandaemonium; between the last lingering fragments of Hydaelyn's gift and Emet's own magic. it will still take him a long time to recover and piece himself back together, but he will. Lahabrea is harder, but we've decided to go with a fan theory that his soul is stuck in Estinien's lance alongside Nidhogg, so once Hyth (who has the best soulsight) gets a look at it they're going to borrow the lance and just yoink him free. his multiple years stuck in a spear alongside an extremely angry dragon watching All That go down have chilled him out and forced him to think on his actions some, though that doesn't mean it'll be smooth sailing all the way through once he's freed.

as for returning to the First, right now we have this on our outline:

i'm headcanoning that the Ascians are capable of traversing the rift physically (even if that's not necessarily quite lore accurate, it's a little bit wibbly) and so Emet is able to take G'raha with him. the others will have to wait until Y'shtola finds a way across on her own, but i expect Elidibus will be willing to help her with that... we will see.

there are several plot points that since it's obviously setting up for future expansions and things, we're kind of waiting to see what the game does with them (like some of the stuff dawntrail introduced). of course we'll probably invent our own stuff eventually if we get to that point in writing and the game still hasn't given us any answers, but since this particular verse is sort of our "canon" we are trying to keep it as game-adjacent as possible so that we don't have to. do tons of wild work for it and it ends up not being related to the current stories being told at all.

i'll tag @sunderedazem in case there's anything he wants to add here, but thank you!! really glad to hear how much you're enjoying things. and the Emet and Lyna interactions are something we both super enjoy too - i actually have a half-done promptfic sitting around that's more of it, i just have to settle down and work on it. though unless something really changes the next thing to be posted will probably be the next bit of Ascian Azem :)

[skylarmoon71]

Miguel O' Hara (Across the Spider-Verse) AU- Extra

If he thought you were intolerable before, you’re insufferable now.

Now that you were aware of his feelings, you spent every free moment teasing him.

“Good morning Mr. O’Hara.”

You were smiling way too big at eight in the morning.

“Good morning,” 

His gruff tone replied.

You got to work shortly after the greeting, and he’d just glimpse at you ever now and then. At one point he caught your eyes and he scolded himself for getting distracted so easily.

“It must be hard working so closely with me when you’re head over heels in love sir.”

There it was

“I mean I know my beauty might be distracting, but try to hold yourself back. Unless you want to take me right here and now.”

You flipped off the little suit jacket on your shoulder dramatically, striking a pose with the back of your hand on the top of your forehead.

“Please be gentle sir.”

He snapped the pen he held in half.

“GET OUT!!”

You were giggling the whole way out and he dropped his head on the desk. Somehow you’d gotten the upper hand.

~

More often you found yourself watching little clips people have taken of Miguel fighting crime. This particular one he’d stopped four robbers. Successfully tying them against a pole with the cash for the police to take in. The video seems to zoom into him from behind and your eyes run over the comments. All of which seemed to be centered around his very nice booty. An idea sparked in your head and you grinned wickedly.

Later that afternoon most of the employees had already left. You’d completed most of your errands and you came back into Miguel's office. You weren’t surprised to see him browsing through his computer.

“Mr. O’ Hara, I think there was a mix up with the Truman project, would you mind grabbing it for me.”

He nods, heading over to the shelf to get it. When he gets there, his brows raise at the small speaker on his shelf that he had no recollection of putting there. He turns back to you in question, but you already have your phone out.

Hot in...

So hot in herre...

So hot in...

I was like, good gracious ass bodacious

Flirtatcious, tryin to show faces

Lookin for the right time to shoot my steam (you know)

You were bobbing your head to the song and he could feel his eyebrow twitch, clearly agitated. He wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that it’s clear you have no shame, or you seem to know all the lyrics to the song.

Lookin for the right time to flash them keys

Then um I'm leavin, please believin

Me and the rest of my heathens

Check it, got it locked at the top of the four seasons

Penthouse, roof top, birds I feedin

No deceivin, nothin up my sleeve, no teas-

He crushed the electronic in his palm and you stared.

“H-Hey that cost money you know!!”

“Maybe next time you’ll be more careful with your items. He dropped the shattered pieces on the floor, moving back to his seat.

That was the end of that.

It’s fun to mess with Miguel. It’s just so easy and his expressions are the cutest. Another part of you does it because you know the serious cases he deals with on a daily basis. If you could do just a little to lessen the load he carried, you would.

Much like your day, sometimes your nights would collide.

It’s not really that strange for him to drop by your place in his spider suit anymore.

The first few times it's like he was checking to make sure you were okay. So when you see his familiar silhouette on your balcony, you’re not that surprised. You keep flicking through the channels on your television set.

“How was your little night patrol? Did you catch any bad guys?”

No reply.

So you turn.

His head is hung low and when he finally removes his mask. He won’t really meet your eyes, and you drop the remote, rushing out of your bed. In seconds you're at his side.

“What’s wrong!?”

He looks physically fine, which is a relief. But his eyes hold so much sorrow.

“I was.. too late..”

He sounds so defeated. You can only imagine what he’s gone through. Miguel is not one to show his vulnerabilities or ask for help. So the fact that he’s standing here right now says a lot. If you could take away all that pain, you would in an instant. Your hands reach up and you wrap them around his torso, hugging him. This is all you can offer. It takes a moment, but he hugs back. You can feel how tense his muscles are. How they all seem to relax as he lets out a shaky breath.

He’s hurting.

This isn’t something your usual quick witted jokes can fix.

You pull away slowly to look up at him. You can feel the reluctance in his hold to fully part from you.

“Why don’t you stay over tonight. I bought a couple things the last time you came crash landing here. I’ll heat up the bath for you, how does that sound?”

He nods slowly.

“It sounds good, thank you.”

“Of course.”

You brush your hand along his cheek, smiling at him.

“I don’t know how, but it’ll be okay.”

He’d believe just about anything you say. He never thought you would become someone he’d bring his troubles to. It’s hard doing this everyday and pushing his pain to the side. He always lectured himself to be strong. Not to depend on anyone other than his late brother. People always did what was beneficial for themselves.

Yet here you are, offering him comfort. A place to lay his head. A shoulder to lean on. He feels like he’d robbed himself of this for so long.

You move to take a step to get the items he needs, but he grabs your hand. You can see that he hadn’t meant to do that. He looks as though he’s about to apologize, but you shake your head. Pushing unto your toes, you leave a kiss on his cheek. When you part, your smile has his heart hammering,

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Somehow that’s exactly what he needed to hear.

So he steps into your bathroom and cleans up. You’d taken his suit and threw it into the wash. He steps out maybe fifteen minutes later wearing a t-shirt and sweats. The towel is placed on the top of his head that’s still partially damp. You slide to the bottom of your bed, gesturing him over. He drops right next to your feet and you giggle as you take the towel and begin drying his hair. He’s so obedient and it’s endearing.

“He’s like a domesticated cat now.”

There’s a bit of a soft side that comes out when he’s around you. You’re grateful that he doesn’t always hide it. More than that, you like that he hadn’t gone home to be alone with his thoughts. Just the idea of him in the dark beating himself up for something that was obviously out of his control brings an uncomfortable feeling to your chest. Your motions stop and he turns his head. Your hands take his cheeks, and the towel slides to the floor. He means to question you, but you lean forward and the second he feels the warmth of your lips, his brain shuts down. He’s just sitting there a bit wide eyed. You hold him for one, two..three seconds. Then you pull back.

“Whenever you need someone, I’ll be here. No matter what happens, I have your back. Please don’t ever forget that.”

He’s not sure he can give a response that would truly express how he feels. He leans up, and you smile when his lips meet yours. He seems very eager. Your fingers get lost in his hair. It takes a moment for you to realize that he’s rising. You only register it when his body is hovering over you.

Your breathing is no longer steady, and he places you down against the pillows.

“M-Miguel..”

You sound a bit uncertain. It’s the first time he’s ever seen you like this. It's a welcomed change from your usual teasing tone.

“Sí, cariño.”

You’re not one for promiscuous relationships. This step is something you take very seriously. He can see it from your expression. He’s quite the same. It’s not that much of a shock. Trust issues tended to do that. The last girlfriend he recalls having was back in high school. Way before his abilities manifested.

“It’s okay, we don’t have to go any further if you’re not ready.”

You shake your head.

“I’m ready.”

You look so sure, so willing and he has to bite his bottom lip to hold himself back.

“You don’t have to force yourself because of me.” He turns his head, and you grab his cheeks before he can get lost in his own thoughts.

“I’m not forcing myself. I do want this.”

“Te deseo.”

He thinks.

His eyes move back to your waist. It’s then that he realized that you weren’t wearing any pants. He can see your panties that peek from under your oversized shirt. His nose catches a hint of an aroma and he licks his lips.

“What does she taste like..”

He can’t help but imagine it. Your scent is starting to filter through. He can just taste your desire in the air. You catch the subtle change of his irises and you gulp.

“I-Is everything okay.”

“Que maravilla.”

“A-Are you sure? Because you’re looking at me like a piece of steak.”

He just grins and it really doesn’t help. Your mouth is claimed by his soft ones, and your brows knit in satisfaction. His hand slides easily under your shirt and you barely hold back a moan when he goes straight for your underwear. His finger runs over your folds and you pull back with a gasp.

“M-Miguel!!”

Your back arches, because the slickness offers him a chance to guide his finger in.

“You’re all wet cariño,”

He tsked, and you sent him your best glare.

“W-What the hell do you expe-ah!”

You jolt when he adds another finger. You're gripping at his shoulders, and he welcomes the needy hold.

“Too much?” He questions softly.

You shake your head, and the second he moves his fingers inside you, your body reacts. He pushes them at an angle, and you’re honestly surprised that you haven’t cum yet. Miguel slides them out, only to force them back in. You cry out, and he leaves a light kiss on the base of your neck. Your thighs are squeezing tightly against his hand. He can’t help but imagine how they would feel around his neck.

“Spread your legs.”

You’re surprised at the demand, and you mean to call him out on the very arousing statement, but when he begins to move south, his intentions are clear. He slips your underwear off in record time.

“W-Wait Miguel!”

He’s already between your thighs and you fight back a moan when he slides your legs forward. They are basically on his shoulders and he dives in. His tongue slips between your folds and you sob at how incredible it all feels. His tongue is probing and so very hot. He’s licking and sucking as if he’s been starved. He was quite literally devouring you in the best way possible.

“Delicious..”

He mumbles out.

“D-Don’t talk while you’re down there!” You protest. It was as if he was trying to drive you crazy.

His tongue strokes you in a particular spot and you can’t stop your release. It rips through your body like a storm. You’re spasming for what feels like a full minute, and Miguel laps it up greedily. When you finally come down from your high, he’s drawing back, licking the edge of his fang. His eyes are almost glowing in the dull lit room.

He pulls his shirt over his head, and you watch from your spot, enjoying the show. You take in every ridge, each tight muscle. You’re a bit surprised that his shirt is able to cover so much. His sweats are next to follow and you take in the size of him.

“Shit..”

He lowers back to the bed and you sit up slowly, lifting your own shirt over your head. You’re a bit bashful. You can’t help but cover your chest. It’s not so much that you’re self conscious. You’re just not used to this. It’s been such a long time since you’ve been with anyone. You hadn’t realized until now just how much you’ve wanted this.

“I want to see you.” He urges.

Your hands slowly lower, and that hungry look returns to his eyes at the sight of you.

“Hermosa.”

You shiver at the drop in his voice.

“I should tie you up and make you scream for all the times you’ve driven me crazy..”

That excites you, and he presses you into the bed as begins leaving kisses at every spot of your body that he can.

He pulls back for a moment, just to admire you. When his eyes meet your own, he takes in the bashful look on your face. His body easily covers your own. He can see the blush on your cheeks, the anticipation in your eyes as you lay there so helpless to his touch. His fingers dance along your thighs as he parts your legs.

Breathing staggered, eyes glazed, you anticipate it all.

Your body trembles when you feel his member brush your thighs.

You can’t help but glance down.

“Oh my…”

You’re pretty much soaked. Just from the sight of him.

“Having second thoughts.” He teases.

“N-No!”

Miguel smirks, thumb massaging your skin.

When he finally enters, you let out a shaky moan. Miguel groans himself.

You’ve always assumed that Miguel is a pretty big guy. But seeing really is believing. You’re somewhat impressed that he actually fits.

For a second you weren’t sure.

When he finally settles, you both seem to pause, an attempt to catch your breath. His eyes reflect that ruby glow. His hand moves your face and he brushes your hair back.

There’s something much softer in his gaze. You’re not used to this. Seeing such a tender side to him.

He kisses you, and you lean into it happily. Miguel smiles against your lips and his hips thrust forward. You part, crying out. Miguel brows knits as his breathing increases.

“Couldn’t help myself..” He says softly.

Another thrust and you’re fighting to grab onto something. To anchor yourself as he drives you mad.

“Se siente tan bien..”

He mumbles into your ear.

You whimper, hands laying on his shoulders as he picks up the pace. Every time your hips meet a moan follows.

“M-Miguel!!”

He knows.

Your body has become so sensitive, so he’s not very surprised at your cries.

His attention is to elect more of those screams.

All night long.

~

Miguel is a man who delivers.

Because you wake at some time later the next afternoon.

The light is peaking through the curtains. You turn, the faint soreness of your body registers, and you take notice of the hulk of the man lying beside you. His hair is adorable ruffled against the pillow, face relaxed. There’s no sight of that permanent frown. Just the beautiful auburn color of his skin. You can’t stop yourself from sliding your fingers into his thick hair. It’s so soft. His brows furrow for a second, and he lets out a soft breath.

“(Y/N)...”

His little whisper of your name makes your cheeks red. You leave a kiss on his shoulder, then another on his forehead, the side of his jaw. He lulls awake, that ruby stare catching you by surprise.

“Cariño..?”

His head turns and you kiss him happily. He groaned in the back of his throat. Clearly not expecting you to attack him as soon as he woke up. You climb on top, and he finds his hands settling on the curve of your waist. 

Your body pressed this closely, it’s hard for him not to get excited. You finally part, and you can see his fangs peeking out. You grin at his lapse in control.Your lips drift to his neck, and his eyes close. When you sink your teeth into his skin lightly he lets out a startled little moan. You brush your tongue against the mark.

“You’re not the only one who gets to be possessive.”

You coo, nibbling on his ear. Miguel shivers at the pleasured sparks that rush through his body.

He can’t deny he likes being marked by you. 

[snickerdoodlles]

Macau&Chay you got mail AU? Please tell us more!

lil late to answering but!! YES!! time for some good ol' AU nostalgia, which is really funny to me because what I know about that movie I learned exclusively through this being a really popular fandom AU like 10 years ago or whatever. anywho!!! the fic:

Macau and Chay know each other vaguely as "that guy (derogatory) from my school"

they don't actually dislike each other. there's no reason for it. this isn't even a rivalry, just that somehow, somewhere in their years of overlapping schooling, they rubbed some shoulders somewhere and went "ugh nope, wrong vibes."

'fuktong1' and 'free waifuuu'* meet on videogame chat boards. it started as a need for an extra player to round out a team, but they like each other best out of the group and soon start coordinating to play together regularly.

its a solid friendship!! neither has any particular desire to bring their friendship out of the videogame/chatroom context yet, but Macau does once send Chay a bundle of games for his old system that Chay wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise.

this changes after Yok's bar.

Chay is…not so fond of shooting games now. being slapped in the face with his lack of awareness is a large part of it, but learning Porsche was literally in a shoot-out while he was tucked away ignorant and oblivious is similarly bad for him. it's a rough time to be Chay basically :(

luckily for him, fuktong1 has never been overly fond of shooting games and has so many recommendations that are much more palatable for Chay's current tastes. they play together more and more, and naturally chat more and more, and overall get much closer.

Macau and Chay's relationship also change. for the worse specifically.

Chay's really going through shit right now -- loansharks and low grade mafia thugs have been beating down his door all his life, and now Porsche is running a mafia branch. (the branch that specifically deals with shaking down people and cleaning up the main family's mess, no less.) he's isolated in the family compound and cut off from everything he's known. somehow his mother's back from the dead (kind of). he's still barely seeing Porsche. Kim's giving him mixed messages. he's really fucking pissed at everything, and Vegas (Macau's brother) was also responsible for (or at least tied to) his kidnapping, second attempted kidnapping, and Porsche's new injuries. Chay has zero sympathy to spare for ANY mafia-related people, and Macau is part of mafia-related people.

Macau is ALSO going through shit right now -- Vegas was shot up and is now bedridden in the hospital. the father who never cared for them is dead. the uncle who cared even less took away their men and home to give to Porsche. the same uncle may or may not being looking after him and Vegas to either kill or use them later. Macau, who was also iced out of the mafia business by a protective brother, has absolutely no idea what's happening as everything spirals out of control. his only support is his (bedridden!) brother's maybe boyfriend, who was previously only known to Macau as his eldest cousin's head bodyguard. he probably has finals to deal with too. it's a rough fucking time to be Macau, ex-fucking-cuse him if he doesn't give a shit about Chay suddenly getting what was previously his and Vegas's wealth and security.

someone more well versed in videogames will have to give me suggestions for what games they play, idk enough about those because ultimately this whole situation is just to force Chay and Macau to see each other in a new light. because they don't have any reason to like each other in or after canon! Vegas and Porsche have their weird friend-enemy dance, because they're bros and like each other, and Porsche can't hold a grudge to save his life and Vegas's relationships are so fucked up that anyone who genuinely likes him bypasses any other complications, but their relationship doesn't translate to Macau or Chay. at all. Macau and Chay both have only ever had their older brother as their support their entire lives and absolutely hold grudges against intruders (for themselves and their brothers).

Chay figures out who fuktong1 is first. (how? no clue! maybe they planned to meet up and it went bust, maybe one of Macau's usernames gives a clue? idk.) initially, Chay's outraged, because he keeps dealing with his life suddenly going "and it's mafia!" for fucking everything, and Chay's so, so angry about it all. but he also can't help but put the puzzle pieces together. suddenly realizing his friend fuktong1 has also had to dance around the mafia issues every time they talk and the general recontextualizing of everything his friend ever told him with what Chay now knows about the Theerapanyakul family takes almost all the heat out of Chay's anger towards everything and all he can feel is sad. sad about the circumstances forced on him and Porsche and Macau (and Kim and Khun and Kinn and even Vegas), sad about their loneliness, sad about the trials and burdens the mafia (Korn, Korn and Gun) have put all of them through. it's…a lot to deal with.

(whether this realization happens before his reconciliation with Kim and facilitates it, or happens after it and he has Kim's shoulder to cry on is tbd. depends on which one is the more emotional spin cycle really, it could go either way.)

on Macau's end, he has a brief spike of anxiety and self-pity when his friend free waifuuu abruptly disappeared on him, but he doesn't think anything more on it after he pops up again (he doesn't). their friendship grows deeper as they both open up to each other about more of their personal lives and they're both very sympathetic to each other without ever falling into pity. idk how Macau and Chay's relationship progresses after Chay's discovery or how the 'free waifuuu is Chay' revelation comes about yet, except that there are a lot of tears, a lot of yelling, and ultimately they become proper friends both on and off the chat boards, weird mafia family relationships and that time Chay called Macau 'daddy' for a week after he gave him a bunch of turnips in Animal Crossing aside.

*usernames are a work-in-progress, as usernames are NOT my specialty, esp not in a different language. Macau is playing with 'fuk'--he actually learned 'fuck' from Vegas before he learned the thai 'fuk' (gourd), and he's been having fun with it since. Chay's is a play off the phrase "sleep with me, free wifi" which i am told is slang more or less equivalent to 'netflix and chill' (i think? someone might be playing with me, idk). anyways, Chay greets Macau with "hey pumpkin~" when he's feeling flirty. they have so many husband/wife in-jokes.

[imakemywings]

Reading through the Beren and Luthien novel and finished The Tale of Tinuviel last night. Although it differs quite a bit from the final story of Beren and Luthien that makes it into The Silmarillion (Beren is a Noldo in this version!), there are a lot of connections. Some quotes in particular which I enjoyed:

"'Why! wed my Tinuviel fairest of the maidens of the world, and become a prince of the woodland Elves- 'tis but a little boon for a stranger to ask,' quoth Tinwelint [Thingol]. 'Haply I may with right ask somewhat in return. Nothing great shall it be, only a token of thy esteem. Bring me a Silmaril from the Crown of Melko, and that day Tinuviel weds thee, an she will.' Then all in that place knew that the king treated the matter as an uncouth jest, having pity on the Gnome, and they smiled..."

The first exchange between Beren and Tinwelint stands out to me because it echoes the sentiment I got reading "Of Beren and Luthien" for the first time--that is, that Thingol was not seriously asking Beren to return with a Silmaril, but telling him to fuck off. Here it's much more explicit: the court recognizes Tinwelint is viewing Beren's demand for Luthien's hand as a bad joke, and Tinwelint responds in kind.

Beren sees it too, and this is when he gets angry.

"This indeed did Beren know, and he guessed the meaning of their mocking smiles, and aflame with anger he cried; 'Nay, but 'tis too small a gift to the father of so sweet a bride...I Beren, a huntsman of the Noldoli, will fulfill thy small desire,' and with that he burst from the hall while all stood astonished..."

Beren's pride comes up now and again and it's when he perceives he's being laughed at by Tinwelint and his court that he makes his promise to go and get the Silmaril.

"...but Tinuviel wept suddenly. ''Twas ill done, O my father,' she cried, 'to send one to his death with thy sorry jesting - for now methinks he will attempt the deed, being maddened by thy scorn...'"

Luthien also voices the sentiment that it was all intended as a joke, which Beren has decided to take seriously out of wounded pride.

It makes the whole exchange, to me, feel very differently from some interpretations I've seen where Thingol's demand is seen as a genuine request.

There's also this when Beren is first brought before Melko:

"Flattery savoured ever sweet in the nostrils of that Ainu, and for all his unfathomed wisdom many a lie of those whom he despised deceived him, were they clothed sweetly in words of praise."

This seems to fit pretty well with what we see of Melkor in The Silmarillion. He desires to be worshipped as a god, so it fits decently that the best way to lie to him is through praise.

This is also the version where Tevildo, prince of cats, plays the role that eventually goes to Sauron. I don't know how much of Tevildo's character can be said to translate to Sauron, but I thought this was interesting:

"But those who led Beren said: 'Nay, 'twas the word of Melko that this unhappy Elf wear out his life as a catcher of beasts and birds in Tevildo's employ.' Then indeed did Tevildo screech in scorn and said: 'Then in sooth was my lord asleep or his thoughts were settled elsewhere, for what use think ye is a child of the Eldar to aid the Prince of Cats...'"

Sauron talking shit about Melkor tracks.

"Tevildo however, himself a great and skilled liar, was so deeply versed in the lies and subtleties of all the beasts and creatures that he seldom knew whether to believe what was said to him or not, and was wont to disbelieve all things save those he wished to believe true, and so was he often deceived by the more honest."

Tevildo being such a liar that the best way to deceive him is with the truth also feels like it tracks pretty well with Sauron later on. I think it's interesting that both Melko and Tevildo are indicated to be quite intelligent, but their own pride and overconfidence tends to muddle their actual abilities.

"...but Tinuviel had at first much pleasure in her house among the leaves, and would gaze out of her little window while Dairon made his sweetest melodies beneath."

Luthien's attitudes about the events of the story are both far more explicit and somewhat different than in The Silmarillion. Here is where she's been set in the treehouse to prevent her from pursuing Beren in Tevildo's dungeons. Yet apparently she was not very troubled about the situation initially and it wasn't until she had a dream of Beren that she started planning her escape.

She and Beren also live out in the wilds together for a while during the quest, but Luthien grieves her exile from her home and wants to return. That theme comes up a few times when Beren suggests they simply never go back.

As Daeron does in The Silmarillion, Dairon follows Luthien on her escape, but becomes lost from her.

"Yet ere long as Tinuviel went forward a sudden dread overtook her at the thought of what she had dared to do, and what lay before; then did she turn back for a while, and she wept, wishing Dairon were with her, and it is said that indeed he was not far off, but was wandering lost in the great pines..." (emphasis added)

Further emphasis here on the reconciliation between Dairon and Luthien. This is an explicit part of The Silmarillion where Daeron's revealing of Luthien's activities to Thingol is weighed even more heavily and has a much clearer impact on their relationship, but in The Tale of Tinuviel Luthien even continues to think of Dairon after her escape. Both stories, though, make it clear there was no lingering bitterness or anger on Luthien's part and that she still considered Daeron/Dairon a friend and ally.

The story obviously went through a lot of changes between The Tale of Tinuviel and The Silmarillion but it is interesting to see what stuck around and what was left behind, and since The Silmarillion is often characterized by a very economic style, I think it's possible to draw some of the intent out of the additional Legendarium materials.

[writingrenna]

Jacq x GN!Reader

"Learn to Love (Pt. 4)"

Continuity: Part 3.5 is here, finale Pt. 1 of this particular story, and some lore from "May I Have A Word With You?" remains, setup for (???)

_\V/_

Sitting quietly in the back of the classroom as he tutors a duo of younger students, you stare at some algae samples under a microscope. You don't know exactly what you're looking for, but maybe there's something about their structure that is perhaps related to how grass-types evolved. Maybe.

Pulling up images of both ancient bacteria and algae, you try to find a connection between the two, but you just... aren't well versed in the microscopic side of Pokémon evolution. Still, you're here to learn. You know for sure that with his guidance, you'll become an expert on grass-type biology. But for now, your endless curiosity and fascination in all-things paleo would have to guide you for now.

You keep switching between the multiple petri dishes, hoping that at one point, everything will just... click. But it doesn't. You'll definitely need some courses that'll help you put the pieces together. You aren't exactly sure how to test your theories out in a way that won't get you laughed out of the room at a convention or something, but that's part of why you take this class.

You get rather sucked up in your work, feeling mesmerized by the funky little patterns and microorganisms swimming about. You kinda want to bring Cap out so he can see as well, but you also aren't sure if that'd be a distraction to the two kids, so you don't.

Well, that's what you thought, anyway.

"Hehe, I'd be careful if I were you. You might get eyestrain."

You clutch the microscope a little tighter before looking up. Your neck is craned at a slightly awkward angle before you remember you can sit up now, so you do, staring at Jacq. You peek around him to see that the kids are gone.

"Oh! Hey, tutoring done?"

A part of you was hoping he'd say yes so he could join you, but you also knew students would occasionally leave for a moment. Plus, again, he is your TEACHER-

"Yep! I'm done for now. More people might come by, but nobody else scheduled ahead of time."

You let out a breath, unconsciously, before looking down at the samples. You want to spend time with him of course, but you're also legitimately interested in looking at these samples some more, even if you aren't sure how to uncover their secrets. Leaning in to look at them through the microscope itself again, you speak up.

"I... do not know what I'm looking for." You say out of the blue, laughing a little to yourself as you remember how often you've just been... lost during your time here.

"Oh yeah? Why?"

You shrug, awkward as it is at this angle.

"I dunno, I've been trying to see if I could notice something about these structures, but..."

You sit up and turn your body towards him. You wouldn't get much done at this rate, but it was nice being able to use a microscope again.

"...eh, guess that's what staying enrolled is for."

He smiles.

"Yeah! You'll learn a lot here."

You smirk, before that smirks falls as you stare out into space. He takes notice of this, smile also fading just the tiniest bit.

"You all right?" he asks.

"Heh, yeah, sorry, just..." you turn away. "...got a lot on my mind."

He nods, humming in response.

"I see. Well, you can talk about it, if you like."

And that's exactly the problem. Why is he so accommodating to you specifically? He helps everyone he can, sure, but something felt personal here, for some reason. Isn't he too busy to invest so much time into one specific student...?

"Eh, it's nothing major, I'm just being weird..." you say as you jam the tips of your pointer fingers together, avoiding his gaze despite still being turned towards him. He nods, slowly, hesitantly in response, before finally replying.

"That's... okay. Everyone's a bit weird. I'm really weird, actually. Besides! Your feelings matter."

Hah. You turn away, too embarrassed to even see his eyes on you despite still sensing them.

"...I dunno, I guess I kinda wanna thank you... for being so supportive. Even though I'm kind of a mess and clueless and also kinda the worst student and-"

"-what? Slow down, huh??"

You feel a hand on your shoulder, a feeling that sends a jolt through your stomach.

"S-sorry, I said that wrong," you concede before closing your eyes, trying to think of what you were actually trying to say. He's quite patient, grip loosening as he awaits your true response.

"Okay, um... what I meant to say was, you didn't have to invest in me as much as you do, but you did, and I'm thankful for that? And I guess you still being excited that I want to stay made me think about that?"

He's... confused still.

"What do you mean 'still excited that you want to stay'? Why wouldn't I be?"

You can just barely make out his small, reassuring smile. Blech. You refuse to tell him the full extent of what you're feeling.

"I dunno, I'm just a random student, I guess. A student that had to be told what's up for the most basic things, and uh... I feel bad, taking up so much of your time."

"Hm." He looks down for a moment before looking back up at you. You can sorta tell he did this, anyway. You couldn't take your full attention off him, after all.

"You know, you..." He looks away, rubbing the back of his neck as if he wasn't sure how to say this. "...you seem very unsure of yourself..."

Huh.

"What do you mean?"

He shrugs, still not looking at you head-on, but his eyes drift towards you again. You can feel it yet again, thanks to the fact that your hyper-awareness helps you (rather accurately) sense what the people around you are doing, an ability you both loved and loathed.

"Eh, I don't know. But what I DO know is that you're better company than you think you are."

Oh. Your stomach does a weird thing at that comment, heat rising to your face as you flinch just the tiniest bit. You're honestly somewhat lost for words... but you still try finding some. Turning to him, you reply.

"Why?"

Nice one.

He chuckles a little, avoiding your gaze again.

"I don't know, you're just nice to be around."

"How come?"

'You've always been quite the wordsmith,' you think to yourself as you awkwardly prolong this conversation. Instead of being put-off by your insistence on elaboration, however, his eyes widen a little, staring out as if he were seriously thinking over his answer.

"...well, you have a lot of positive qualities," he begins, still not looking at you. Your heart skips a beat when you notice the light blush on his face. What is he going to say...?

"...that, and you sure did make an entrance. It's hard not to think about someone when they come in your room screaming your name, hehe. I guess me noticing more things about you came naturally."

'Oh yeah, I did do that...' you think to yourself, laughing a little under your breath as you finally loosen up. He continues, which you don't expect, but you force yourself to keep facing him (even if your eyes drift somewhere else. It's a start.)

"And so I noticed how determined, and kind you are. How you turned yourself around when you realized you were hard on Cap. How you took Mimi in and treated her like family without hesitation. How you try so hard for the both of them in everything you do..."

He really is going at it, a soft smile on his face, as if reminiscing about times long-gone.

"...and, your unflinching dedication to those you care about, no matter how frustrating they may be, that's very admirable."

He puts his elbow on the desk, resting his head in his hand, still not looking at you. Actually, he closes his eyes. You catch yourself almost doing the same, but you stop before you do.

"...oh yeah...?"

He lets out a small 'hm'.

"...yeah.... I think..."

You start trembling, just a little. You want to put an end to your fantastical thinking. 'Stop it, he's your teacher. Besides, would you WANT him to incriminate himself...?'

"...I think you really caught my eye when I heard how you say my name."

Oh? Oh.

...oh? That threw you for a loop. Does he mean that in the [insert cursed thoughts here] sorta way, or...?

The normal way, of course.

"The way I say your name? What do you mean?"

He laughs under his breath.

"You say my name correctly, with a little bit of a Kalosian accent. You'd be surprised how often it's said wrong," he starts, lightheartedly musing a little. "I've heard Jack, I've heard Jock- heck, I even heard an investor call me 'Jake', if you can believe that..." He finally turns to you, smiling wide, eyes crinkling with genuine amusement.

You smile in return, holding back a small laugh.

"Oh really?"

"Yep! I had no idea he was talking about me. The Director got my attention and apologized on my behalf, but he later took me aside and said he understood why I didn't assume it was me. He seemed to start saying my name a little more often around that guy... probably so he could correct himself without being called out..."

You can imagine a younger Jacq all dressed up for some event looking absolutely bewildered by the situation. You catch yourself laughing in real life, however, so you force yourself to stop.

"Sorry."

He shakes his head.

"No, no, it's okay to laugh. I find it funny, too! It was a liiittle mortifying in the moment, though." He did a little gesture with his fingers to signify the amount of terror he felt, which was WAY less than you would've felt in his shoes... sandals... whatever he had on in that moment, to be fair.

The mood is back to being jovial. He really helped the vibe go back to being tolerable despite your 'maybe obvious oh my gods what if he knows' crush on him, which you were thankful for. He just had a very easy-going aura to him, which only made him more endearing.

For now, maybe even forever, you'd have to keep your feelings under wraps. It's Ok, though. You like your dynamic, and you like him how he is. If this is all you get out of your relationship with him, you'd still be happy.

That... that's cheesy, hah.

"Blehhh..." you absent-mindedly think to yourself, sticking your tongue out. He blinks at you.

"Bleh?"

You jump a bit, not realizing you made the noise in real life.

"Hah! Yeah, just bein' weird 'ol me..."

He nods, lips pursed a little, mild confusion evident on his face. He really was adorable, without even trying.

"But, um- yeah! I can imagine. Sorry it happens so often, though..."

He tilts his head with a smile, closing his eyes again before turning away in deep thought, elbows back on the desk.

"It's fine, you get used to it with a name like mine. But in the same vein, you also tend to notice when someone says it right." He sends a little side glance your way, a look that makes you melt.

'I just felt okay with not pursuing things, brain!'

You nod absent-mindedly, wishing you could sink into your chair, but you're on a stool. You grab the seat as if anchoring yourself, however.

"But- yeah! I noticed you saying my name right, and your sense of humor caught me off-guard. Then, after a while, I got to know your plight, as well as you personally, so I- got..."

It seems like he's trying to find the right words, although he also looks panicked. Just a little, though. Hm.

"...I got invested in your journey. It's been nice, following along. You've come so far already!"

Yeah, you have, haven't you? From not even knowing Pokémon won't listen if they're too strong to figuring out Mimi loves bitter snacks the best. You've come quite a long way, and you'd love to go further! Your Pokémon were individuals, with their own little personalities. The future is yours, and you want to take this team as far as you can go.

Ok, calm down...

"Heh, yeah, you're right. I'm really happy Cap and I get along now, I can't imagine not having him around..."

You feel like being corny, so you turn away to speak.

"...just like I can't imagine getting this far without your help-"

You glance at him. He's still facing away from you, but he's smiling, your compliment painting his face a nice shade of red. Hah, he's so cute, you kinda wanna vomit. But you don't, of course. You just enjoy the moment for a while before going back to staring into the microscope, pretending to act all casual.

"Hmm..."

You stay glued to the eyepiece for a moment before sitting up and sliding it over to him.

"What do you think about these samples, Jacq?"

_\V/_

The two of you are sitting outside as your Pokémon run around. Watching Cap and Mimi playfully chase and leap over each other is making you think about life a lot more than you probably should, but it also reminds you of something. Turning to Jacq, you ask him a question.

"You know how people often have a Pokémon or two that they ride around?"

He nods, not looking up from his notebook.

"Yep, there are plenty of solid options here in Paldea, too. Why? Thinking of getting one?"

"Uh-huh! I have an idea for one I'd want, actually."

"And what would that be?"

"Klawf!"

He pauses, eyebrows furrowing a little before finally sitting up from his hunched-over position. He stares at you, perplexed.

"Really, a Klawf?"

You're (mostly) undeterred.

"Yeah! I think it'd be pretty fun, I've seen some really big ones in the desert near Mesagoza, sooo, I wouldn't need to go very far."

He seems kind of unsure. Well, very unsure.

"Are you sure Klawf is the best option? They can be pretty brash, it might be hard to train one..."

You nod.

"Oh yeah, it'd be fun, like a nice challenge."

He lets out a small hum. He knows you're pretty good at the "persistent trainer" thing, but... he doesn't want you to get hurt.

"Well, uh... I can't stop you, but please, don't do it alone."

You nod, although you aren't quite sure what he means. Find a trainer who teaches ride Pokémon, get advice along the way, teach it with someone else watching nearby? That's a hurdle you'll cross later, you still want to see if you and Cap are on the same page first.

...

"...trauma is weird, right?"

His face flashes with an expression you can't quite recognize on the spot. It's something broody and full of worry, as if thinking about something specific, before finally replying.

"Yes, very."

Your mind wanders to your therapy sessions. He was serious when he suggested you go, as he had actually gone out of his way to arrange for the academy's counselor to reach out to you sometime, with permission of course. And so, you went every Sunday for about an hour. Not gonna lie, it was a bit boring and tense, especially at first, but after you got to the main reason why you signed up, she seemed particularly worried about one part.

She said you downplay your trauma for Cap's sake. Which is weird, you aren't super bothered by what happened yet, you think. You feel absolutely terrible when you remember how scared Cap was, and you occasionally wonder if you really got him back or if you just imagined it, but that was more your imagination running wild, right?

...right...?

...

"Why is the brain so weird?"

Jacq shrugs out the corner of your eye. You didn't even realize you started pacing until then, so you turn to the man.

"I'm not sure, I wish I knew. Sometimes it just... does things."

Which is true! You've always had mild anxiety, often feeling on-edge with no provocation and in the oddest situations. Not to mention feeling pretty timid in social situations in general. It's a miracle you were so driven to understand Cap that you could actually talk to Jacq in the first place.

You turn to the man.

"I... like, I don't know. What if I'm... okay-ish?"

He raises an eyebrow.

"Okay-ish?"

You nod, hands on your hips.

"Yup! Okay-ish. Like fine, for the most part. Functional even," you cross your arms and look away. "I don't know if I'm like, traumatized-traumatized. I feel like me with a little more weirdness than usual, that's all."

"Well, people deal with trauma in different ways. It is a bit early, though. Just be sure not to ignore it if something is roused up, okay?"

You nod, letting out an affirmative little hum.

"I won't..." You look down. "It feels weird. I dunno, I feel like I'm not sad enough? Or I don't think about it enough, maybe?"

He walks up to you.

"Hey, you don't have to meet some threshold for whatever you feel to be valid, you know..."

You know he's right, you just feel bad for... some reason.

"Yeah, I know..."

You're silent for a moment before letting out a long, drawn out sigh, tilting your head back and closing your eyes.

"Feelings are so complicated!"

He lets out a laugh.

"Hah! Tell me about it."

You smile a little bit. Talking to Jacq really did make you feel better...

The fuzzy feelings inside suddenly flush out of your system when you hear a weird noise. You both turn to see Cap is currently gagging, Mimi standing next to him with one paw on his back and the other on her cheek, slowly rubbing a circle into it as if resisting the urge to send off an electric shock. She looks up at you, but he hacks up a strange orangey-red substance before you can help him. He stares at it for a few seconds before walking away like it's nothing.

You turn to Jacq, panic evident on your face, but he looks oddly unconcerned, even pulling his notebook out and writing something down instead of directly addressing it.

Huh. That's... certainly a response.

"Is he... okay?"

He nods.

"Yeah, he..."

He looks up.

"That just means he had to get rid of an excessive amount of spicy chemicals he was storing up. If anything, he probably feels better now."

Interesting. There was so much about this kid you didn't know of yet, and you're glad you're getting a chance to learn more about him.

_\V/_

[How's fieldwork going?]>

The notification comes in pretty fast.

<[Good! Very productive. How's your club been?]

You were about to answer when the guy who usually sits on the couch interrupts your thoughts.

"Woooah, you do that?"

You jump a litte before calming yourself down. Glancing down at the Arcanine you were finishing up on your phone, you respond.

"Oh, yeah! I, uh, doodle some... times..."

The last few words were barely audible over the sounds of the movie the group was watching together. He still hears you loud and clear, however.

"Oh, nice. That looks really good!"

You nervously chuckle.

"I- I dunno, I didn't really do a sketch first, just some blocking in and trying my best, heh..."

Something about the drawing was slightly off to you, but it was your first time drawing the dog in a good long while, so it was... acceptable. He doesn't seem to think the same, however.

"I think it's cool. Nice work!"

He gives you a thumbs up before turning back to the movie. Looking back on the conversation, nothing about him or his responses screamed "DO NOT ENGAGE" to you, so you felt kinda bad being so distant and dismissive. If you ever talked again, you'd be a bit more open.

Pulling up your conversation with Jacq, you respond.

[Good as well, watching a movie. I talked to another human, too]>

<[Oooh, progress. I'm happy for you 😊/gen]

You smile. You aren't sure what to say, but it was Jacq, so you wanted to continue the conversation.

[Thanks! Still terrifying, but I'm trying not to back away from interacting with people]>

You had hoped that wasn't too weird of a reveal. You came to the academy to cheat the system and get Jacq's help, but he ended up being personally invested in your growth, which includes your mental health, apparently. It was nice, having someone here that's looking out for you.

<[That's great! And if you ever need to take some time to yourself, don't be afraid to do so.]

You stare at the message, rereading it a few times over before holding your phone close to your heart, making a weird little chuckling noise without actually opening your mouth. This guy...

Mimi silently squeals in delight as Cap giggles a little. You shoot them a glare before reluctantly smiling. They see how happy Jacq makes you. You really can't hide much from them, but especially not that.

_\V/_

The next morning, you did something bold.

"WHAAAAAAAAA?"

He looked genuinely surprised as his eyes flitted over the drawing you held out to him on your phone, even readjusting those darn glasses of his. You couldn't look at him, because the little mistakes you noticed had been eating away at you, and showing a Pokémon biologist an inaccurate drawing of one of his own 'mons was... not what you wanted to do that day to be honest. But you really wanted to take the few minutes your heart allowed you to put on a brave face to just show him and get it over with.

"I-it's not the be-"

"Can I hold it?"

You look up.

"Hold my... phone?"

"Yeah!"

You nod, letting him hold it. He looks over the drawing some more, an uncontrollable grin plastered on his face. He... didn't seem to notice the mistakes you made. That, or he didn't care. Either way, he seemed to be happy.

"Can you text it to me? It's really cool!"

You felt heat flash over your face. He really liked it? No catch, no nothing? You were planning on sending it at some point anyway, so you do, pulling out your Rotom Phone. You send it over, prompting his own phone to fly up to show him.

"Haha, thanks!"

He takes a moment to do something. You aren't sure what until you get a notification.

<[Thanks! This is 🔥!/gen]

You snort before looking up at the guy.

"Jacq, I'm right here."

He simply smiles and shrugs.

"I usually reply to things if I can."

You nod, looking away from him with a smile on your face.

"But yeah! What else have you done?"

You're so freaking nervous, your entire torso is at war with itself, organs responding in different ways to get you OUT. But yet, your brain is telling you to show him. It seems... safe. So you do. Pulling up your gallery, you quietly look for and show him the Capsakid drawing you did.

"Oooooh, that one's really good, too!"

"What-?"

You swear he's just being nice.

"B-but I made the body too long, and the middle leaf isn't this long, either-" you suddenly see so many faults in it, calling them all out. "-A-and the mouth is too round even for the angle, plus I forgot to round off the sh-"

He puts a hand on your shoulder.

"Hey? It's still a nice drawing. I can see just how passionate you are about capturing the essence of your Capsakid correctly."

"But it's..."

You're actively shaking, which is something that worries him for a moment.

"...wrong!"

He tilts his head.

"Wrong?"

"Yeah, like the anatomy and... stuff."

He chuckles.

"You know I can still tell it's him, right?"

You frown, just a little.

"I... maybe? What do you-"

"I can tell, because it feels like him, even if it isn't a one-to-one copy. I can just imagine him doing something like this."

You huff.

"Oh, he does. Every morning in fact, always looking down at me and laughing..."

"See? It's him, it doesn't need to be an exact copy. You didn't change who he is as an individual, and that's the most important part in a piece like this."

You think this over and smile a little. Maybe he's right...

"Heh, thanks, Jacq... sorry, got a bit stuck in my own head there..."

He smiles, just the lightest dusting of pink rising on his face.

"Of course! Everyone needs encouragement sometimes. You're an artist, but don't worry about it being perfect!"

_\V/_

"Soooo, yeah! That's how I got into paleo stuff, I guess," you say into your phone.

Jacq nods on the other end of the video call. You're walking your Pokémon, letting them get some sunlight and exercise as you stand there talking to him.

"Do you think you still have that book?"

You grin.

"Oh yeah, for sure, it's probably in an old box of mine. In fact, I think I remember which one..."

You absent-mindedly scratch the side of your head as you think about the book. The green and blue one with a smiling Amaura on the cover. You can almost feel the dust that had collected on it when you first picked it up at that thrift store as a kid...

"Yeah... next time I'm able to go home, I might check and see if it's still there."

"Hey, sounds like a plan. I wish I still had some of my childhood stuff..."

Huh. Does that mean he doesn't have... anything from his childhood, or is he just missing specific things? You wish you felt close enough to ask.

Looking at your phone, you see him typing something out on a laptop. He has a conference coming up that he's preparing for, but he still wanted to make sure you were doing OK out in the world on your own.

"...do you have a favorite childhood memory?"

His fingers come to an abrupt halt, seemingly not expecting that question (which, fair enough.) His head lowers slightly as he stares at his keyboard, the corner of his mouth somewhat downturned.

"Hm. Do I...?"

He's actually thinking pretty hard about this, so you start walking a little as he does, paying close attention so you don't end up spacing out and missing his response. You start to wonder what his childhood was like, only to suddenly realize you aren't exactly sure how old he is, and thus can't imagine the era.

It's a strange realization, one that makes you pause again. He doesn't look that old. In fact, he looks fairly young. But now that you think about it, he's already had a very successful career, as well as found the time to develop an app 'way before he started teaching'. He could be old enough to be your dad and you wouldn't know, but you'd be far too mortified to just straight-up ask.

"-well, I don't really know if I can label any as a 'favorite', but back then, I already enjoyed the type of stuff I do today."

"Oh yeah? Like anime and Pokémon biology and whatnot?"

"Yeah! I also liked video games, but I don't play many nowadays."

You nod, letting out an affirmative little hum.

"Yeah, I bet. You're always so busy with your research and stuff..."

That sounds bad.

"N-not that that's a bad thing, it's just, I get it, y'know? Not much time to really sit down and enjoy them."

He doesn't seem bothered by your little stumble.

"Yeah, exactly! I just don't have the time to, usually. I still enjoy them when I do get to play, though."

"Oh yeah? What type of games do you play?"

This answer is a lot easier.

"I mostly play the games I grew up on, but I never really stuck to one genre, so that still leaves a pretty fun variety I think. I was a Nintendo kid growing up, actually!"

Hmm, let's see. How do we do this...?

"Really? What's your favorite console?"

He squints, deep in thought.

"That answer constantly changes, but I've been extra fond of the GameCube lately. It hits that sweet spot between nostalgia and modern flare for me."

You nod. His response doesn't exactly answer how old he is, so you'd need to change tactics just a liiittle bit.

"I see. So, like, did you ever play the older consoles? Newer ones, too?"

"Yep! I got every major console release as they came out after my first. Well- except the Gameboy Advance, I think my mom was sick of the concept of 'new Gameboys', but she let me get it like a year or so later when she saw the games coming out for it."

Ah, typical mom behavior. Being annoyed by a console that just sounds like "the thing, but you buy it again!"

Wait. Did he get the first Gameboy? That had a long lifespan...

"Did you play the original? Th- the Gameboy, I mean?"

He grins.

"Yep! But uh, I kinda had to borrow my dad's, it came out when I was a toddler."

You can't quite remember when the line actually debuted, but you know it was at LEAST out in the early 90's, considering a game you really like came out for it in '92...

Man, even though it's literally just his age (and you aren't even sure what year he was born yet, late 80's, maybe?), you feel like you're already getting forbidden knowledge... so, you back out while you still can.

"Oh, I see. Was he a big gamer, too?"

You start walking again in order to keep an eye on your duo.

"Heh, yeah. Well, technically? He seemed to start gaming less as the years went on, but... he never really stopped."

You hum, kind of wondering what his parents were like. Or, are like? He doesn't seem to shy away from talking about them for any reason, everything said of them so far was volunteered on his own terms, so-

Mimi suddenly stops running mid-sprint, standing up straight and chirping in surprise. Cap stops running, too, looking up at her before jumping back as she suddenly starts emitting light.

"WHAT!? MIMI?!"

You drop your phone, running over to make sure she was OK. Her silhouette starts morphing little by little, growing taller, fluffier, bulkier, until...

...she lets out a triumphant, warbling cry.

"Mimi! Mimi WHAT!?"

She doesn't even get to answer. You scoop her up, running over to the phone you dropped.

"Jacq, JACQ, LOOK! LOOK AT HER!! THIS IS A HUUUGE GIRL, A MEGA MOUSE! LOOK!!"

Mimi has her eyes closed in contentment, letting you freak out for a moment over her new form. She's now a Pawmot, and you wanted to show off to EVERYONE, even to people who wouldn't know you OR have any reason to care, you were just that proud of her.

A shaky voice is heard on the other end. You can't see him due to holding Mimi right above the phone, but the crack is very, VERY audible.

"Y- eah? Great, that's g-great! Congratulations!"

Both you and Mimi are confused, looking at each other for a moment. You sit down, cradling her in one arm and picking your phone up with the other dominant hand. At this point, Cap has rejoined you, getting up to stand on your knee.

Now that you can see him again, Jacq looks... not ok. He's trying to control himself, but he's trembling, face slightly pale and smile more of a tight wince than an expression of joy. What... what happened?

"Hey, Jacq, you alright?"

He seems a bit surprised you could tell something was off, but he quickly clears his throat and answers.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just got a bit worried when you yelled and dropped your phone like that, hehe..."

Oh. Oh, yikes. Oh GODS-

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to-"

"-no, it's okay, I know you were excited. As you should be, honestly!"

He seems to feel a little better.

"I'm still sorry, I'd never scare you like that on purpose!"

He chuckles.

"I know, why wouldn't I know that?"

You let out a little laugh yourself.

"Heheh, I dunno, it's just..."

You suddenly blow a small raspberry, causing Mimi to put a hand over her mouth as she stifles a giggle and Cap to stare, mouth agape before laughing. Jacq himself laughs, too.

"Ah, looks like we're both sort of freaking out right now. Let's start over, okay? Oh! And uh..." He rubs the back of his neck a little. "I didn't want to say anything before, but you don't have to hold your phone for everything anymore, remember?"

Oh yeah, you turned off the auto-float thing when it startled you and almost made you fall out of your chair once. You thought it'd be Ok since it'd still save you if you fell, but maybe it'd be more convenient keeping it on in the long run? Life with these two can be chaotic, it'd be like an extra set of hands.

"You don't have to change it, but it might be convenient."

"Oh, definitely!" You nod enthusiastically. "Gimme a sec..."

You start changing the settings. You're in the zone, almost as if on auto-pilot, when Jacq starts giggling on the other end. You assume he's doing something, but when you finally exit your settings and watch your phone hover in place, you look at him, only to see he was already looking at you.

"Hm? What happened?" You ask as you look around, seeing nothing going on around you.

"Hehe, nothing... So! Where to begin?"

You think for a moment before getting an idea.

"Ah, here!"

You pick Mimi back up with both arms.

"Wow, look! A baby!"

He puts a hand over his mouth and gasps dramatically.

"Oh my, she sure grew!"

Mimi giggles a bit as you squeeze her tight.

"Yeah, but she's still my little thunder bolt..."

You loosen your grip before picking Cap up to place him in her arms, both to accentuate how small he is, as well as show how large she is now, the two of them being on the opposite ends of the average size spectrum. Mii's a bit bigger, Cap's quite a bit smaller, but they're still your perfect bundles of joy.

"Look at them! They're so different, but they're so beauuutifuuul!"

And they really are the most beautiful beings in the world to you. You loved every little thing about them, even the parts you didn't really understand before.

_\V/_

Part 3.75? This is longer than I thought, LMAO

[sinkableruby]

the shiori ED in owarimonogatari ge kills me, but theres a very specific part of it that really gets my attention

right before the first verse there's a little flash in this box that shows an object relating to the arc character

its interesting to see the items for each of them. mayoi's bag is there, and the first thing you notice is that she's not. her bag feels almost synonymous with her, so it almost gives the impression she's left it behind, possibly for a new stage in her life (as it were). hitagi's apartment building is shown, and what i think might be araragi's house next to it. but they're so small that they look like models more than anything, which i feel relates to how these homes are things that are precious to her, they are things she wants to protect. maybe theres something to be said about the home as it relates to family too, and family being very much a big thing to her arc. and maybe theres something to be said about mayoi's thing being "something to protect" too

whats the object in ougi dark, then?

oh. hi ougi

guys im so not normal about this. putting ougi in the same room where the other two had objects that were important/synonymous with them. its because ougi darks ED is for ougi BUT its also for araragi (and shinobu, its about all 3 of them), so its araragis "thing to protect/that is important to/synonymous with him."

but also like. this is also like the only time in the show that we see ougi in any state even approaching nudity, and not just that, ougi is actually naked here (except for the sleeves). and that coupled with the kind of huddled pose really makes this feel like a very vulnerable moment, and a very very significant thing. its saying many things at once. it's saying conception, it's showing you the big bad but not so big and not so bad, its showing you the weakness in a character who has rarely shown anything like vulnerability or weakness, who is still haunting araragi (see the sleeves and the like "gonna get you" hands lol) to the bitter end.

and like if you look closely you can see a little smile which is standard for ougi but like. the hollowed eyes (more ghastly now when theyre white). the inward hunch. the lack of clothes besides the sleeves, that are stylized to look jagged like claws. this is a creature born with a purpose, a creature born to hurt. but this is also obviously a creature who is alone and feeble and Should Be Helped Not Killed for fucks sake lol.

and not just a creature but a person! ougi is armored in layers of separating clothes all the time but this shot is kind of groundbreaking bc it showing that like. she is really just like anyone else. the fronting is very much a front. she, the fake, has Substance. there's a very real person underneath those big sleeves.

and also since the shot is really only for half a second, ougi fades away very quickly. its very much a blink and youll miss it. but that fading away really feels like a flash of vulnerability before she fades away Forever. as in, it's a parallel to her almost final moments. but the fading away in particular feels ghost-ish. not to mention later in the ED shes even wearing like a ghost outfit.

and. god. if that isn't just.

idk. something about. being alive but not really. being a ghost. not long for this world and resigned to it. being so resigned to it you wear it and use that to represent yourself. making it a part of you. and then later being given a life. becoming able to live. idk yk. idk its just , yk its just ,