#its been humbling to say the least. To be honest

[freyito]

Can you do the type of dates Mk1 guys will take you on?

idk if yall caught on but i absolutely love making these big ass drabbles for everyone... takes so long but its always so worth it. i got like 3 more in the drafts el oh el

cw: gn reader, juuuust fluff, bonus characters!, proofread

ᴛʏᴘᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋᴏᴍʙᴀᴛ ʙᴏʏꜱ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴏɴ

⎯ Liu Kang

Need I say it? I'll say it anyways. Stargazing. Liu Kang loves taking you stargazing. He'll take you absolutely anywhere in the world. It does not matter that he's lived under these stars for ages and ages. He enjoys seeing Earthrealm's natural beauty. And the stars, of course.

⎯ Bi-Han

Bi-Han prefers private moments with you, so his favorite date is simply a nice stroll. Sure, he could be lavish and drop a whole bunch of money on you, but he feels like that does not display his love properly. He just likes quality time with you, really. A nice, private dinner with you doesn't sound bad, either... or even ice skating. As cheesy as that is for someone like him.

⎯ Kuai Liang

As much as Kuai tries to be simple, he really loves taking you to festivals. As often as he can, of course that kind of amounts to like eight a year. But he loves them, he loves every single aspect of them. Mainly pampering you and buying you all the food you could want. His favorite festival is actually the Lantern Festival, he loves sending off lanterns with you.

⎯ Johnny Cage

Johnny sets up the most fancy, frivolous, and expensive dates for you, always. Truth be told, however, he really just likes a night in with you. Ordering your favorite take-out, cuddling up on the couch, watching one of his favorite movies- which, surprisingly, isn't one of his! He really loves horror movie nights, too. He chooses the corniest movies, and gets kind of disappointed if you don't AT LEAST squeeze his bicep during the scary parts.

⎯ Kenshi Takahashi

I like to think Kenshi is a good ol' fashioned lover boy. He loves extending the date through the whole day. He starts off with surprising you with flowers in the morning, maybe going on for a nice little stroll, have lunch at a quaint little café, and finish it all off with some dancing. Perhaps in the kitchen, or at a club, whichever you choose. Kenshi is actually terrifyingly good at dancing, he's just smooth like that.

⎯ Kung Lao

Madam Bo's. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Are you surprised? No. I know you aren't. Kung Lao loves any date that involves food, but enjoying something as simple and humble as a meal at Madam Bo's specifically has been and always will be his favorite.

⎯ Raiden

Raiden loves picnics! Somewhere in the secluded country-side, just enjoying your time with him. A myriad of home-made appetizers and what not. He believes it's one of the most intimate ways to spend time with you. He also loves to admire the way the sun compliments your figure, as well.

⎯ Zeffeero

Zeffeero seems particularly excited when it rains. Of course. It's in the job description. He urges you in the most nonchalant way for a quick stroll in the rain. Which inevitably leads to dancing in the rain. He tries to keep his composure around you, to look like that respectable wizard all the damn time. But you make him crumble, and he just can't help but giving in to breaking that façade with you.

⎯ Tomas Vrbada

Tomas also loves taking you out for dinner at Madam Bo's. Partially because he still feels guilty. But he loves the food there, and he hopes you do, too. To be honest, any time spent with you is worth it. So when it comes to dates, he doesn't exactly have a go-to or a favorite.

⎯ Baraka

Stargazing. The wastes provide a great space away from any sort of light pollution, and truth be told, Baraka prefers any time away from any populated places with you. He's afraid of the backlash you could get, as well as just the overall fear of spreading Tarkat. He knows his place, really. But those moments, deep in the night, where the stars are the brightest make up for all the worry.

⎯ Geras

Geras kind of has... no concept on dates. Like, none. He's a construct, and he doesn't really know much of the human connection. He's content simply by seeing you- which is kind of all your dates amount to. He's busy regardless, he has to watch over the hourglass.

⎯ Syzoth

Would it sound weird if I said Syzoth really liked hiking...? Aside from just cuddling up with you, he likes to explore. Especially with Earthrealm being so new to him. Being all sort of tucked away in the mountains, just with you, where he's free to transform and explore and enjoy his new-found life and freedom just... sparks something within him.

⎯ Havik

Oh boy. Havik also SUCKS at dates. Given his rowdy and anarchist nature, it's really hard for him to find a proper way to settle down and enjoy the day with you. Aside from naps, he genuinely would like you to tag along with him on all his... excursions. Extreme they may be, dismantling some sort of order with you really makes his heart burn for you.

⎯ Shao Kahn

With his status, it's kind of hard to find proper time to take you out. However, when he does, it's always a stereotypical quiet dinner. He's got some pretty damn connections, and somehow always manages to land the right table. Under the moonlight, just talking about your days. He enjoys those quiet, mundane moments.

⎯ Shang Tsung

A day AND night out shopping is really what Shang Tsung loves. He spoils you (and himself), and he's all chatty while you two walk down the market. He's very observant, actually. Any little thing you so much as spend more than 2 seconds looking at is now in your hands. He loves buying you the little things.

⎯ Reiko

Being second in command to Shao, Reiko kind of knows his way around dancing. He's a soldier, yeah, but especially when he's close to the royalty I imagine there's some sort of luxury he has to uphold. Reiko's not the best at dancing by all means, but whenever some sort of ball event starts in Sun Do, he's bringing you. And he gets better, each time.

⎯ Bonus Points! Takeda Takahashi

KARAOKE. Takeda SUCKS at singing, but it's not about that. It is so fun with him. Getting a break from the Shirai Ryu, his father, the special forces, pulling you to some dive, screaming his heart out to some white girl pop, he loves it. And he loves it when you two do those silly little duets. He could care less about how bad he sings, it's just those moments he gets to let loose with you.

⎯ Bonus Points! Hanzo Hasashi

It may come as a surprise, but Hanzo loves little pottery dates. For a man like him, it seems so unlikely. But it's quiet, and actually needs a lot of focus. That's what he likes about it. It's something calming to do, with his love. And he likes to see what you come up with, especially. He kind of sucks at painting, though. So he'll pass off the bowls or cups he makes for you to paint.

© freyito, 2023 | masterlist | queue | kofi DO NOT REPOST AS YOUR OWN OR USE FOR AI/AI CHATBOTS.

[toxicyeuriii]

Hello friend, may I humbly request, pretty please, a boothill×reader fic? The condiments matter not, for I need sustenance, food to feed myself. Please, oh great weaver of words, make me a tapestry of delectables, all in the image of our beloved boothill.

Hello anon! Thanks for the ask >///< first time writing for a hsr character and tbh I was bluffed with how the fic was gonna be but eventually I thought of something! I was going for a sorta fluff type, though you can interpret the type lmao. But honestly Boothill is such a fun character to read/write! Thanks again for the ask! I hope you aren't hungry after the fic ^^

Before you start reading though, reader is gender neutral and works as like a hardcore hacker/mechanic kinda (silver wolf and vill-v inspired) but honestly the hacker part isnt that noticable, you and boothill are in a relationship (ofc) and he calls you darlin and sugarplum.

☆ -------------------------------------------- ☆

"And then that son of a nice lady came up to me and went pow-pow!"

Boothill exclaimed while you were working on a commission. The commission in mind was a gun repair for guess who? Boothill. His gun got knocked out of his hands during a bounty and got broken on the slide and muzzle, which is being a pain in the ass for you.

"Mhm...."

You said while getting a screwdriver and unscrewing some of the screws that are on the gun.

Boothill apparently thinks that he needs to explain how his gun got damaged, which he doesnt honestly. Though you dont say anything, it's better than silence if you're being honest. And, you know he wont shut up anyways.

"And then when I went to grab my gun, an' then that lil' shirt bag shot the gun outa my dang hand! Ha! But lil' did he know my other hand was a gun too"

"Wait so your gun was shot out of your hand?"

"Yeah, anyways I turned in that mother forker, hehe"

"Huh... Is your hand okay? Do I also have to fix that?"

You said with a little scoff.

"Bingo!"

He said while shooting a finger gun at you.

"You're paying me"

"Wait huh?, but darlin' seriously?"

"Well you shouldn't had been a idiot!"

You said while turning to stare at him, he looked baffled. He was getting a free gun repair while he got to just chill out on the workshops couch.

"Well I thought that you were gonna like, include it was gonna be free, sugarplum"

Sometimes you think he doesnt common sense. Which makes sense, no way you're going to give out a free gun repair to him because you felt nice and hes your boyfriend....

"Yeah well, you can give me some credits, thats the least you owe me"

You said with a little smile, you also like messing with him. You dont have a good poker face to he honest...

He crosses his arms and lays back.

"Fine, whatever"

He was silent for a moment.

"Also quit that smirkin' "

He also said with a little smile, to to which he just covered up with his hat.

You also couldn't keep your 'annoyed' facade up, which you just started to chuckle.

"Stop acting like you aren't! Heh"

"Nuh uh, you seein' things darlin"

"Mhm, sure"

After a little silence his gun was finally done, which you took off your goggles to inspect further, and in your eyes it looked brand spankin new.

"Your gun is donee~"

"Finally, ha. With other mechanics it'd prolly take forever, good thing my sugarplum is the best"

He said while sitting up and coming behind you, while putting his arm over your shoulder.

"Thanks, darlin' "

"Yeah yeah, get on that table, gotta fix your hand now"

You said while getting up and pushing him over to the fixing table, it was mainly for him incase he needed a charge or a fix up. You put back on your goggles and then accessed the damage on his hand.

"Doesnt look too bad"

You said while getting the blowtorch.

"I'll just melt it and mold it back in its shape, good thing the bullet didnt go to deep and into your wires"

You said while also getting some metal scraps from the junk drawer.

"Make sure not to mess up my arm any more, darlin' "

"Trust meee, you know I'm good at what I do!"

"True, do ya thang"

With that you began to get to work, surprisingly it was easier to fix than that gun, which now, that gun is your number one enemy to fix. Though it did save you alot whenever you tagged along boothill in his bounty hunting, you occasionally did to get some data and neat stuff from whoever's yall were hunting for. Sometimes boothill would ask you to hack into security systems for he can get in there without any extra work, but mainly whenever he was feeling lazy.

After some melting and molding, his arm was like new.

"Done"

You said while rolling your chair around to where you put your blowtorch at. You sat up and stretched while taking off your goggles.

"Awe, ya such a sweetheart"

He said while standing up and stretching his metal limbs.

"Dontcha worry, I'll give ya those credits soon sugarplum"

"You better, 'sugarplum' "

"Hey!, that's my nickname for ya"

You chuckle while he comes up to you and ruffle your already messy hair.

"Yeah, sureeee"

He chuckles a little also while bowing his hat.

"Well i gotta get goin' see ya?"

"See you, dont get anything broken again.."

You teased while he hugged you goodbye and talking his departure.

"No promises!"

☆ ------------------------------------------- ☆

Hope you all liked the fic! First time writing him so it might not be in character much, if not then sorry! Anyways have a good day and bye! ^^

[anxiousdreamcore]

May I humbly asks for your interpretation/opinion/view of the Spider & Quaritch as well as the Spider & Sullies relationships/dynamics ?

Sure! I’ve complained about how my opinion of the characters changed throughout the year of being engaged in the fandom so I might as well share! 🤭

Spider: An audacious, frat-boy-ish teen who stinks of dirt, sweat and will eat a live bug to gross you out. Kiri said that he bites and she was 100% honest because this kid will fling his mask off and tear into your throat if you mess with his baby siblings 😤 at the same time, he’s more than capable of being responsible and gentle, especially when it comes to Pandora, its wildlife and cultures, all of which are clearly very important to him. A menace with a heart of gold and an iron fucking will, untameable. Unbreakable. No authority scares him.

Quaritch: A man so damaged he can’t be repaired. He’s seen too many horrors, killed too many people, watched too many comrades die, has been infected with too much poison. It runs in his veins and destroys everything he touches…which is precisely why he is only likeable as a father. He has never been one before and that part of him is completely new, not yet damaged. The only part of him not yet tainted by the rotten creature that is the rest of him. A mangy, old army dog that will burn Pandora to the ground if its chain is broken, but will lie down and wag its tail for his child, and only him.

Oh, and he’s mentally ill too, at least to some extent, canonically. It’s not to say that his mental illness makes him a bad guy. No. It’s the lack of care he puts into coping with it that contributes to the dumpster fire that is Miles Quaritch. My personal headcannon is that he needs mood-stabilisers yet regularly skips them.

Spider & Quaritch dynamic: Two outcasts who bond over being isolated by their respective groups. Also, Lima and Stockholm syndrome duo! Quaritch gets an instant liking to Spider that soon grows into fatherly love, as Spider brings out the best in him; his most pure, childish and kind traits. Does the rest of him, the rotten, the poisoned, hate it? Oh, absolutely. But he can’t, won’t stop the wild-child from worming his way deep into his decaying heart. Spider meanwhile battles his own platonic feelings and holds onto his resentment as much as he can. He wants to love Miles but he doesn’t. He loves him but he wishes him an agonising death. He wants to be hugged by him and sink a blade into his chest. He wants Miles to prove him that not all grown ups are rotten and he can still be loved. He wants Miles to love him.

Spider & Sully siblings dynamic: “A family disappointment and local cool stoner to his siblings, who are more than happy to take after him because they think his utter freedom and lack of care for authority is cool” kinda vibe. Will play fight with his siblings and bite their noses before kissing them better and shoving them away. Calls Tuk a little gremlin affectionately. Brings Lo’ak back down to Pandora when he spirals into his insecurities or gets too bold and self-sacrificial. Is platonic soulmates with Kiri and feels a profound connection to her, as she does to him. Resents Neteyam for abandoning their little group to become a "respectable warrior". Wants him back. Wishes things could be like when they were kids.

Spider & Neytiri dynamic: She she sees him as a pesky, dangerous demon child that…that didn’t do anything but stay loyal, through all the torture and horrors. A lot of guilt is present between them after the final battle, and they will definitely have a horrible, explosive argument about it sooner or later, but for now they are content at silently sharing space, at time quipping and taking light jabs at each other, because that is their cycle. Playfulness, fear, resentment, until it all explodes and they scream at each other, then the cycle repeats, fuelled by guilt. Is there a chance to stop it? Will they ever be okay?

Spider & Jake dynamic: Hero worship turned disappointment. Spider idolised him for his status and incredible feats as a child but as he grew, and Jake consistently kept him at an arms length without establishing clear boundaries, the constant pining to have him as a father became a never-ending, aching pain in Socorro’s chest. Jake gave him an empty hope that they might one day be a family, without ever clarifying that it’ll never be true, confusing the boy until he was proved not once, not twice, but thrice, that he isn’t needed, isn’t missed, or loved by Jake. He’s a stray animal, and that is all he’ll ever be to him. He knows better now than to wish for something that can never be…doesn’t even want to. Quaritch might be a horrific monster, but at least he genuinely loves him. He doesn’t need Jake’s pathetic scraps of affection anymore. He doesn’t need him anymore.

•

[anxious-lee]

A Sudden Diversion - A Lackadaisy Tickle Fic

Lee: Freckle

Lers: Ivy and Rocky

----

Evidently, plowing an automobile through several thickets and insisting it is a "short-cut" is dangerous.

This may have been a revelation to Rocky, but Freckle could have told him that from the beginning. In fact, he tried.

Yet, here they were: in the Lackadaisy's cluttered garage, mending the battering inflicted on their poor vehicle. The car was nicked and scratched from the shrubbery, not unlike its occupants. The engine compartment would have been just fine had the frenzied tom Rocky not rammed it into a tree's trunk. All in all, the damages were unnecessary and very expensive. To say that Miss Mitzi was peeved at the three stooges would be an understatement. Due to the speakeasy's lack of adequate funds, the car's repairs would need to be done by Rocky, Ivy, and Freckle, as reparations for ruining the car in the first place. Freckle supposed that being placed on mechanic duty wasn't the worst punishment Miss Mitzi could have dealt. Although, if anyone should have to be saddled with this chore, it should be Rocky. He's the one who made the mess in the first place.

But, perhaps it was for the best. It was safer in the garage than it was out there on the liquor-lined battlefield.

All three colleagues sat, working away silently. Or rather, almost silently, as Rocky could only take the deafening quiet for so long before he broke out into a hum. Some tune that neither Freckle nor Ives recognized. The musician himself was made useful by patching up the old paint job, while the two lovers dug through their toolbox, looking for the appropriate equipment to repair the engine.

Freckle had seen plenty of danger in his lifetime with his cousin. Hell, toughing through peril was practically his best trait as an officer in training. But each adventure wore down a little bit more of his psyche. And some nights, like tonight, there was nothing left to wear.

He was exhausted, both from the team's little excursion and the mental power it took not to have a panic attack.

Ivy, who sat at his right, learned over time to recognize these feelings through observation. Because odds were, Freckle wouldn't say it directly. She could pretty much discern and dissect every Freckle frown.

She was gonna make him smile.

She began with a little smirk of her own.

"Car maintenance isn't the peachiest job in the world, but at least we get some quality time together," Ivy said, batting her eyelids.

Brought out of his daze by the sudden sound of her voice, Freckle glanced up at Ivy quickly. He couldn't help but smile sheepishly at her flirtatious remarks.

But Ivy wasn't going to stop there.

"Y'know, I hardly ever get to witness you in your element. Tinkering away with your gadgets, and gizmos, and... whosiwhatsits, " she finished with a flippant backhand toward the toolbox.

Freckle seemed bashful to turn bashful at that.

"Oh. I'm no professional. My mum taught me everything I know, and when it became just me and her in that house, I had to step in and help with the maintenance. If I'm being honest, I'm more familiar with the back-end of a kitchen sink than I am with motor vehicle repair," he cringed.

"Relentlessly humble, as always," Rocky piped in suddenly, "Ol' Freckle Face never could take a compliment, however deserved or warranted."

"Yeah! C'mon McMurray, you're doing most of the heavy lifting here! Little did Miss M. know that when she hired a gunman, she also hired a handyman," said Ivy.

The extra attention was getting to Freckle, so much so that he hadn't noticed when his cheeks began to burn hot.

"It's really not a big deal-"

"I'll say it is, and no take-backsies!" Ivy declared. For emphasis, she burrowed a single claw into his armpit.

Freckle tittered softly and tilted his body away from his attacker.

"Kheehehe, quit it," he near-whispered.

"What will you do if I dont?" Ivy dared playfully.

What to answer with, Freckle hadn't the faintest. His upturned mouth opened and shut a few times, hoping that the perfect reasoning would spring from his lips at any moment. Finally, he spoke.

"We're not gohonna finish our wohork," he retorted lamely.

"Oh yeah? Is that what it is you're scared of? The job?" purred Ivy. She once again buried her pointer claw into the crook of his underarm. It took some more digging than the first time due to Freckle's attempts to keep his arm flat against his side. When she settled into her target, she scritched everywhere she could reach.

"Yehes!" Freckle said, much louder and desperate than he intended. He was squirming a little more now, bent in a seventy-degree angle, but still holding down his position. The first giggle, he couldn't control. The second, third, and fourth, however, he was determined to swallow down. His lips pressed into a wobbly smile, hoping that if he didn't laugh, she wouldn't continue.

That only made her tickle harder.

"You trying to hold it in? Good luck, 'cause my little brothers tried the same trick, and it did not last long," warned Ivy.

And it was true. Before long, his firmly shut lips did nothing to prevent his giggles from escaping. They sounded more like pleaful whimpers.

It wasn't that Freckle hated her little games, but succumbing to something so childish as tickling was easier said than done. Not to mention the fact that they were in public, where any one of the speakeasy's employees could walk in on them.

Within a matter of seconds, Ivy brought both claws into both armpits and was tickling away.

Freckle gave a laugh of surprise, a notch louder than before. He knew there was no fighting her now. The tingly electricity on both sides of his body overtook him, and he slid to the floor, with his back pressed against it. Ivy followed, now hooked by his incredible laughter.

"You crazy kids ought to keep your hands off of each other. Otherwise, people might get the idea that you two are les amoureux," Rocky called from his place at the car, voice shining with sarcasm. He was watching them now and smirking unsympathetically at his troubled cousin.

"We are les amoureux, Rocky," Ivy called back.

For some reason, Ivy holding a conversation with Rocky while Freckle was underneath her laughing pitifully was making the sensation worse. As his face burned brighter, Freckle turned his head away from her in an attempt to save himself the embarrassment of having her look upon his cheesy face.

"Awh~! Poor boy is embarrassed!" Ivy cooed, taking one hand away from his arm and cupping his cheek with it, pulling his face back to her.

"You are practically burning up!" she gasped, "Are you blushing~?"

The saints above could not help poor Freckle now.

He didn't grace that question with an answer and instead whined through his laughter. This could not get more humiliating.

"I missed that big smile! And that laugh. I love it when you laugh. It's so cute!" the feisty woman squealed.

"Nohoho, it's nohohot!" Freckle squealed louder. His paws, which had been tucked in like T-Rex arms to his chest, were now covering everywhere on his face he could reach.

"It's a shame that me admiring you flusters you so terribly, because I'm not going to stop any time soon. You're all mine to adore, Calvin McMurray~"

Holy hell.

The teasing's subject cried out in ticklish agony and released a new wave of laughter.

"This would be easier if- you know- I'll think I'll just- there we go!" Ivy maneuvered herself to sit behind Freckle's head while she pinned his hands under her knees. Now he was on full display, with no hope of saving his dignity.

"Tickle, tickle, tickle~" she teased as both hands came back down to lightly skitter over and across his belly. Freckle laughed uproariously, unable to hold anything back, his pure-hearted cackle ringing out throughout the garage.

It was almost more than he could bear.

Almost.

"DOHOHONT SAHAY THAT!"

"Why not?"

"IT MAHAKES IT WOHORSE!"

"Ah, good tip! Definitely will be making use out of this. Kitchee kitchee kitchee kitchee coo~!"

Ivy moved her paws towards his hips, squeezing them faster than was merciful.

Freckle's laugh deepened in pitch immediately, sounding more like a maniacal cackle.

"Pretty good targets, Miss Pepper, but you're neglecting some key players in this game of torture!" said Rocky.

"It's not torture! He's fine! Aren't you, sweetie?"

Freckle almost said no, but he was too busy laughing. Laughing from an attack he let happen. If he really detested it, he could have ended this from the beginning, and he knew that. But there was no real danger here. Not with Ivy. Not with Rocky, either. He knew they would never hurt him.

Nevertheless, when one is being pinned down and tickled stupid, the only thought your mind will allow is 'STOP'.

Rocky strode over to Ivy's side and looked down at his cousin.

"Me and Freckle used to get into many a battle such as these when we were little tykes. I triumphed them all, naturally, and I still remember his spots," the tomcat gave Ivy a wink and planted himself on Freckle's legs. "You go for the neck, I'll go for the knees."

"ROHOCKY!!" cried Freckle, betrayed.

"Ooo! Those are good ones!" cheered Ivy.

"ISN'T AHANYONE GOING TO WOHORK ON THE CAHAHAR?!"

"No", they both replied.

They began their double team attack on Freckle's tickle spots. Ivy went to work fluttering in every crevice of his neck, while Rocky rubbed and squeezed his kneecaps, occasionally giving a swift scribble to the undersides.

Freckle couldn't believe how absurd this scenario was. Here he was, now shrieking and giggling shrilly like a small child, while his two closest teammates were tickling him to pieces. He didn't bother to question it any more, simply surrendering to his silly fate and taking the opportunity to let everything go. He had been harboring so much guilt and anxiety over the past few days. Over the past few weeks even. What better time to abandon all sensible thought, what better time to look away from his reality of crime and war, what better time to simply be with his friends, safe and at peace, then now?

But he still needed to breathe, so Ivy let up and released his hands from her hold. Rocky dismounted from his legs and backed away cheerily to give the man some space.

Freckle immediately wrapped his arms around his waist and tucked his legs into himself, tail swishing wildly as he let out his remaining chuckles. As he caught his breath, he looked up at Ivy.

Ivy's expression was kind. "You feeling ok?"

Freckle couldn't stop grinning, and it wasn't from the tickles.

"Y-yeah," he sighed in relief.

"Yes, good man, laughing yourself up a storm, now come on, let's take a break from the car and head to the bar downstairs!" said Rocky.

"You mean after the break we just took from our work?" Ivy smirked.

"I don't know about you two, but all this horseplay has worked up my thirst. Whadd'ya say, Baby Face? Want to grab a beer?" Rocky reached a hand down to help him up.

Freckle was repulsed by the idea of drinking alcohol himself, but Rocky knew that as well, using it as a conversational turn of phrase.

The orange cat softened in agreement.

"Sure."

Rock wasted no time in trotting out the door, hungry for an ice cold scotch.

The two stragglers, now alone, slowly followed behind. As they walked, Ivy stretched an experimental pinkie out to Freckle's. He wasted no time in linking his paw with hers and pulling her to his side.

Not the worst of punishments, indeed.

-------

You know what, I eventually got hungry enough for lackadaisy fic that I wrote one myself. I haven't completed a fic in well over a year, but this franchise is beyond inspiring enough to birth this fic ❤️

@veryblushyswitch @someone1348 @kasey-writes-stuff @ticklyfluffstuff

[rist-ix]

I have a question for you what do you think of the quote unquote age gap between Bloom and Valtor?

I had to do alot of research to understand Bloom age when I started to like this ship better than Mr cheater. So here's a brief information dump:

Bloom is 16 in the first episode and its confirm her bday is December 10 (we don't know the the exact year when each girl was born only the fact Stella is the oldest by that logic Bloom is the second youngest out of the group) when we get to season 3 it is confirmed that the girls is in their 3rd semester so that makes Bloom 19 at point. Valtor's age we do not know however I'm going to say at most early 20s from what we know Valtor working with a younger Griffin before he got Popsicled.

Here comes the tricky part. In s4 the girls just finished their semester and graduated making them 20-21. Up until s5 where Nicklodeon had to reboot their age making them 16 again. Flashforward to s8 and that makes Bloom age 19 if you are following the reboot or 23 if you do not follow the reboot. Since we don't know how long Valtor been frozen his mental age is up for debate.

For me personally I don't see Sparxshipping as an Edward and Bella situation as Edward was aging naturally during his years while Valtor was frozen and couldn't age naturally but only mentally.

Okay okay first of all! Your Bloom math checks out and I just realized that I for some reason always thought Bloom is 18 in s3. Which is still possible, I think, I just dont know why I assumed that. Actually no, it works, if she is 16 in s1 she is 17 in s2 and 18 in s3, but we dont know a lot about how the school years work in Magix so I'm gonna jot her down as 18-19 for the remainder of this post.

Still dont know how I passed math btw.

Anyway. Valtor's age is where the real mystery is at. We've got two possibilities in my opinion.

1. He's pulling the ageless immortal card.

My personal go-to for fics and discussions. Love me some 300 year old mommy issues. He has too much practice being a messy bitch, there's no fixing this man folks.

Evidence: There's a flashback showing him with Griffin as a tween: she looks MUCH younger, he looks exactly the same. Unless he also stole the secret magic of the world's most potent anti aging cream, or Griffin's proximity to Faragonda just aged her by three more decades, he does not age.

2. He is the age he looks.

Which, in my humble opinion, would not put him anywhere near twenty. That is a grown man. He's not college age, unless you count college professors under that word. Even if I were good at guessing ages the very stylized art style would throw me for a loop, but im gonna say 40s, give or take. Look at Avalon, look at Codatorta, look at King Radius if u must. That is the age range we're looking at.

Evidence: I dont have any. We're ballin'. I guess it's never explicitly stated he's immortal, which you'd think would be big enough of a deal to mention. If u got something feel free to let me know.

That being said, the Winx Club Wiki page for the canon timeline (ha, good one) puts the time of Valtor's creation in a rough time frame from "Over 17 years before season 1" to "Under 100 years before season 6". So he could technically be anywhere from 17-97, though I'm not sure the upper limit is as reliable as the lower one, given the check-list format of the website. So make of that what you will.

Now that we've got the question of age out of the way, lets get to the age gap. I have no idea what the situation in twilight was to be honest, so I cant compare that.

Realistically, there's at least a decade between Bloom and Valtor. Possibly two decades and change. And that is just from visible age, we can add a few centuries on top of that if we're sticking with the immortal bit. I'm gonna be gonest, I dont think being frozen for 17 years will make a whole lot of difference here.

If you find that icky, which is fair, you can always change that for fics tho! Either turn him into a twenty year old or put Bloom in her milf-era, the options are endless. Personally, I think the age difference is half the fun though, and also the least of their issues. When you're off making out with the objectively worst person in history, wether he's too old for her isnt gonna rank very high on people's list of concerns.

[w0w0zella]

um hello!!! im gonna be making a. bugbo murderstuck au Masterpost of sorts! I guess! ill format it like a q&a but im making up some of these questions myself. So lets get into it :3

this is a really long post! b careful :3

"what is murderstuck?" murderstuck is a Bugbo AU that made/am making (complicated wip status lol)! its a story that takes place a month and a bit after the events of familiar foe. Very long story short, gerbo ends up getting killed (on accident), joe then kills bugbo (On purpose) and joe seeks out thomas flyswatter for help. i have a post here that goes more into the story if you'd like to see it! vvv https://www.tumblr.com/w0w0zella/728157783124574208/ill-post-these-together-awawy-from-the-rest-of-the?source=share 

currently it is a well defined plot line that i and a couple other people have made art for,, and a work in progress fanfiction!

"why is it called "murderstuck"?"

murderstuck is actually (Believe it or not lol) a Homestuck thing! murderstuck is a specific part in act 5 act 2 of homestuck where one character kills someone and then someone else kills THEM, so i was like  Fuck yeah that makes total sense for this au. In all honesty, i just called it that cuz i needed a name to jump back to in discord for easy finding and it. Stuck i guess GIGGLES lol.

i am currently.  Semi looking for new name suggestions! so if anyone has any ideas !!!   Tell me !! Please !! I have No idea!! ((by the way, because murderstuck is already technically a thing, you need to tag murderstuck posts with #bugbo murderstuck or #bugbo murderstuck au or else it will be drowned out by all the homestuck art :3

(question by geluga on discord) "where did joe get his cleaver ? is it the same way he just happened to have an axe in episode 2 or is it from something else?"

yeah no i didnt really think out him having a meat cleaver lol. lets say thaat. umm. He got it becuase he was preparing bugbo a Yummy Meal (Steak is his Favourite or some  shit idk) !!!

i do NOT rmember why i gave him a meat cleaver aswell. If you want a Good answer, the reason i gave him a meat cleaver and not his Trusty Axe is because his axe would have been far too dull and bulky to slit bugbos throat. if you want the TRUE answer Its because i forgot he had an axe at all and thought the meat cleaver would look cool

(question by onyx on discord) "did gj feel bad after The thing or did he feel like totally justified"

AMAZING QUESTION !!!! Gradient Joe feels EXTREME remorse. of course when he looks back on it he knows why he did it, but if we're being completely honest; bugbo was immobilized. he did not need to kill bugbo. if he had killed him while bugbo was choking him, that would be a different story. but he killed him while he was backed up into a tree, immobilized and begging for his life.

he feels extremely bad ! Very extremely bad!

(question from ANON in my ASK BOX) "DUDE I LOVE YOUR AU SM RAUGHHHHH also question uhh where is hoppo in the au? we havent really heard about her"

So. During the events of this au. she is. away. like she usually is. Dont really know where! Shopping at grocery market. back at war. lost at sea. you decide. (More info on hoppo in the next question

(question by kets on discord) "uuhhmmmm what is the absolute WORST ending this au could have realistically?????????? like if it didn't end whene thomas was ocmforting joe idk :3333333"

OKAY i coudl see this one of a couple ways. First way is, bugbo wins. bugbo succeeds in choking joe to death, And now he is alone (til hoppo gets back) i said this one first cuz its probably not the worst possible thing, but i think it would be pretty terrible!

second worst would be if Joe waited for hoppo to come back instead of going to thomas for help. In my humble opinion, i think that hoppo is very stubborn and VERY loyal. so. (to me at least) it stands to reason that if hoppo came back, she would side with bugbo VERY hard. she would probably fucking hate joes guts, and that would be the worst  thing for him after everything he already went through. Maybe they would Fight too idk…

Very first worst would be if joe just straight up killed himself after killing bugbo. I could see this as a thing he contemplated, but if he actually went through with it?  Oh my god Fucking imagine. all of there corpses there for hoppo to find when she comes back. Thomas rotting away in his lair without anyone to talk to (and without knowledge of bugbos death) for years? Devastating.

other notable endings include Joe OR bugbo Killing themselves directly after gerbos death, hoppo ending up killing joe out of anger when she comes back, Or (In a silly alternate universe that We made on Disc Ord…) bugbo comes BACK to life and DRAGS himself to go kill joe HIMSELF!!!!!!

(question by DEMO on DISCORD) "is gradient joe book smart or money smart" i am going to kill myself and its your fault i think. never speak to me again (Joke)

NOTABLE INFORMATION:

as stated before, you need to tag murderstuck posts with #bugbo murderstuck or #bugbo murderstuck au or else it will be drowned out by Homestuck stuff !! i want to see all of your art and things!! Thank you!!

you are ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED to make stuff surrounding this au! Please Please Show It To Me!!!

if you are drawing During Fight or. During Murdering bugbo or joe, here are some things to note! - bugbo attempts to choke joe to death during a part in the fight, and he almost succeds! This causes Permanent scarring on gradient joes neck, and scratch marks all over bugbos arms from joe clawing at them!!!

- joe ends the fight with his shirt partially open and his tie missing!

- joe breaks bugbos right leg! there is a noticable gash on his inner right knee!

- joe kills bugbo by slitting his throat with a meat cleaver!- after joe is done, he drags bugbos body over to where gerbo died! (he was crushed by the fallen Stone Structure!)

thank you all so much for the love and support with this au It means so much to me. thank you from the botom of my hart.  IF YOU HAVE ANY COOL IDEAS, MORE QUESTIONS, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA SHOW/TELL ME, MY MESSAGES AND ASK BOX ARE ALWAYS OPEN!!!!!!

[thestobingirlie]

you understand my fave characters like no other before, are there any fic recs that you would want to bestow upon this humble ask??

this ask is about a month old lol, but here i am!!

in no particular order:

to have a friend

"Maybe life will be different soon. Now that I've been fully myself for a year, I know there's no going back. As it turns out, being a loner suits me beautifully. But there are times when I crash hard into the hope of finding my people. Friends who would stick with me through anything. A girl I can have a less hopeless crush on. There are adventures waiting for me. I know it." -Rebel Robin

Robin finds her people.

this fic is a must read!!!!! just beautiful. my favourite robin fic ever

the wine of life by littlearrows

After the Upside Down, Steve, Nancy, Robin and Vickie take the '90s to rest and grow up. Along the way, there's weddings, kids, a treehouse and one car breakdown.

(aka my stancy & rockie slice-of-life future fic)

theeee stobickancy future fic!!! it’s canon to me, no matter how the show ends lmao

honestly, all of littlearrows works are a must read, katie is a beautiful genius!!

the road goes ever on by MaryPSue

The Battle of Starcourt has been won, but its aftershocks are still rippling. Separated from the rest of the Party, Will struggles with feelings of abandonment, while El is trying to find her place with the Byers and come to terms with the loss of her powers - and the closest thing she's ever had to a father. Back in Hawkins, life is slowly returning to normal, or at least as normal as life ever is. The Party are starting to adjust to having two of their members at a distance, though everyone's still missing El and Will, Mike most of all.

But life in Hawkins never stays normal for long. Someone - or something - is following Steve and Robin, and they may not be the only ones under surveillance. A spectre from El's past makes an unexpected - and unwanted - reappearance. And an old enemy may turn out to be much more than meets the eye.

And sometimes, the bad guys are smart, too.

Separated by miles and misunderstandings, with communications failing and their enemies somehow always one step ahead, Hawkins' strange little fellowship find themselves caught between holding on and moving forward. If they want to survive to see another November, they'll have to face the past - and each other.

very fun body horror fic!!!! i just love fics that interact with the upside down outside of strict canon.

the very best people by scioscribe

“Why are you messing up my undercover operation, Steve?” Dustin said. “Do you want another tear to open up in the space-time continuum and suck us all into the Upside Down? Do you want the entire world to turn into squishy, mind-flayed zombies because you and Robin couldn’t get your shit together?”

(Or, the one where Steve and Robin go undercover in an evil suburb.)

stobin pretending to be a newly-wed married couple to go undercover. what more could i want from a fic?

minor falls, major lifts. by millcrs

“Steve.” Shiv lowers her voice an octave. “Steve. Calm down. Just let me see, okay?”

“I don’t want you to see.” He smacks her hands away, feels the cut of a modest rock nip at his knuckles. Wambsgans outdid himself.

“Where’d he get that?” Steve laughs, points, and Shiv’s eyes flicker to her finger like she forgot all about it. “Fuckin’ Macy’s?

—

“Look,” Connor says, palms up and placating. “We can point fingers at each other, or we can be honest with ourselves and blame the commies.”

st/succession crossover; steve as one of the roy siblings. i’m soooo obsessed with the entire series!!

in a strange land by MrsEvadneCake

Doom comes to Hawkins, Indiana. Population est. 30,000.

It’s cold, that’s all, and the breeze is kicking up. That’s why Steve feels the chill go up his spine like someone dropped an ice-cube down his back.

“Why wouldn’t I be real, El?”

“The Aboleth got you.”

i’ve absolutely rec’d this before, but i don’t even care because it’s literally one of the best st fics ever, and i need everyone in the fandom to read it.

nothing really sticks by rosie447

Steve cuts his hair with safety scissors in the bathroom of Family Video. Maybe he's less okay than he's been letting on.

steve trauma fic, everybody cheer!!!!!

[mysteriouslysaltypoetry]

Cold Breeze

Chapter 4 Raph x reader story A/N: Alrighty! Here we are with yet another chapter! Is it 5am yet again?? mayhaps but oh well, ill fix my sleeping schedule soon enough. Hope Yall enjoy this chapter as well. Chapter 1/ 2/ 3

The next few weeks went by in a flash, (Y/N) was added to their group and fit in perfectly, almost like a lost puzzle piece of theirs. Mikey took the liberty to add her to their groupchat and the shenanigans just kept going from there, hang out plans, coffee dates, rooftop nights (and sometimes days) and late night pizza hours at the girls’ apartment.

But even thought she got along wonderfully with all the brothers, it was clear to see that her and Raph were the closest, they just… fit together, their banter was great and their humour bounced off each other quick and easy. It was hard not to like (Y/N), she was just so nice, listened whenever he had to go on a rant about something that was bothering while also being able to bring him back down to reality… not to mention humbling him when he was getting too cocky (her own words) for his own good.

Today’s plan was for all of them to meet up at the roof again, they had starting to hang out there more often than not. It was quiet and cosy as well as far away from any wondering eyes, they had enough of those when they went out for coffee already. Raph and Donnie would be meeting them a bit later since they had to do a bit of patrol work, nothing too big if he’s honest. This last week just had a lot of small crimes happening and they thought it best to make some quick look outs for safety.

­Back at the girls’ apartment were the others, Mikey and Casey were talking about some movie that had come out while Leo, (Y/N) and April all chatted about their day Leo and (Y/N) had unknowingly started reading the same book and were bouncing off ideas while April nodded along and gave her own input.

Soft music played in the background as usual (thanks Mikey), and the air was comfortable. Soon enough, just as the sun started going down, they heard Raph and Donnie land right next to them.

“Hey guys! Everyone alright?” Donnie asks, plopping down next to April and immediately stealing the juice she had in her hands.

“Hey!” She makes a move to grab it but he just holds it out of her reach.

“Pay some respect to the working class, April” he smiles, as he sips at the box slowly which in turn makes Leo give him a light tap on head, Donnie laughs but returns the drink to its rightful owner.

“We didn’t grab anything, thought ya would have it covered.” Raph says, he goes to sit next to (Y/N) but a single touch to her shoulder is enough for him to see that she was already starting to get cold. So, he quickly grabs at her and lifts, sitting down and dropping her on his lap, pulling his jacket over her shoulders, his expression not really one that left open the possibility of her arguing to him about it.

(Y/N) sighs, not even surprised by this anymore and just makes herself comfortable at her new spot, which is pretty easy if she’s being completely honest. The jacket brings a familiar warmth and if she focuses enough she could fully fall asleep to it. As the evening went on they all just fell into their usual banter, making fun of each other and dodging fists (lovingly of course).

“Still can’t believe this guy told me knitting was easy, he is a big ass liar that’s what! I can’t even look at another tutorial for like at least a week!” (Y/N) says laughing, the group quickly joins her and  the brothers nod.

“I mean given the fact we have been doing training like that for years I think it’s safe for us to say that.” Donnie chuckles, not that he did much of that part of training much, since it was to teach patience but he could understand where his friend was coming from.

“I keep saying it takes practice but she doesn’t listen ta me.” Raph shrugs, and he can feel her retort coming even before she opens her mouth because his big hand just covers her mouth, which is to say it covered her face.

“Dude! Move it!” she says grabbing him to pull him off, Mikey laughing but no one really doing anything much to help besides Leo lightly telling his brother to let go. Raph decided to take mercy on (Y/N) tho, taking his hand from her face to just covering her mouth.

“I won’t have ya slandering my name, not in front a’ these nerds.” He whispers to her making her huff, but he can fell her smile forming behind his hand. She leans back down onto his chest and gives his hand a light kiss, resigning to just listening to the conversation their friends were having.

It had been like this for a while now, little soft touches here and there, smiles that very much felt reserved just for them as well as looks. Raph didn’t really know what was happening, but he also sure couldn’t complain much about it. It felt nice to have someone like this for himself, yeas he got along with April, but she had Donnie to be closer to, while Mikey had Leo to… well to annoy. And Casey was different, they were friends yes, but not like this. Not soft and calm, him and Jones was always more of a friendly wrestle match waiting to happen.

So he let himself relax, laugh with the people around him and enjoy the cold breeze on the terrace.

[alloutofgoddesses]

“Ashes Ashes” Live Blog

- Yay medal time

- BOBBY HAS A MEDAL OF VALOR!!!!!!!!!!!!

- He’s humble what can we say

- Ravi ily

- Get his ass Chim

- Karen you look amazing

- Councilwoman Ortiz I do not like you

(More under the cut)

- I would have loved to /see/ the moment they decided to adopt Mara

- WHAT

- BOBBY WHAT

- BOBBY WHATTTT

- Oh BOBBY

- OH NOOOOOOO BABEY

- Ew

- The theories about “Failed System” and its 13 episodes and only 7 aired I am going to go insane

- ABHHSNDK

- Do not kiss that woman Eddie

- I just know Amir is ACAB

- Nooooooooooo

- Not Buck and Eddie being Hen’s kids

- Oh they are so gonna start to suspect

- WHAT

- I feel crazy

- They’re gonna figure it out right

- Oh no

- This is not feelings realization

- Awww

- I’m glad we got a little bit of Bobby talking to Buck about his new relationship though

- Oh BOY OH NO

- HE TALKED ABOUT THE EXACT STATION HE WORKS

- EDDIE HOU ARE SO MESSY

- HE’S BEEN FACETIMING HER FROM WORK

- YOU SICK SICK MAN

- OHHHH MY GOD

- THE BACK DOOR OMG BUCKLEY

- He’s like “why am I being given brownies by your dead wife”

- Oop

- Yeah cause you TOLD HER WHERE YOU WORK

- Okay so she does look like Shannon there goes that theory

- Poor Buck honestly this situation is wild

- Karen let your child have another

- THEY’RE SIBLINGS I AM GONNA CRYYYYY

- Oh no

- Exactly Chim

- This motherfucker

- Yeah there’s interference for sure

- Which is just SOOOO 🤬

- I- I- this. Okay alright. At least he’s being honest.

- He looks so small

- About all of it? Are you also telling her about Marisol?

- Oof get his ass

- Oh boy oh boy oh boy

- BTW the acting is impeccable

- And Devin Kelley is gorgeous

- Oof

- Ouchie ouchie ouchie

- I do feel like I’m getting repeatedly punched in the stomach so @ that journalist you owe me money for therapy

- Bye Kim thanks for being here

- Hi Amir

- Did Athena just do a shoulder shimmy

- Oh nooo this is just gonna make Amir more mad

- Grant-Nash house is bones I’m so sorry it’s gonna be for real on fire

- Oh Athena is so real for this and the acting is so good and fhjvjhhkgfjkgdjkgg

- You know who he should talk to

- Chimney

- You ARE supposed to be here

- Give them EMMYS

- Hen as always looks so good

- Oh fuck you

- HE REFUSED CARE

- Oh my god

- Oh my god

- Girl the bank vault shit was resolved

- NOT EVELYN

- I’m gonna

- OH MY GOD

- THEY REVOKED THE FOSTER LICENSE

- THEY ARE TAKING MARA

- I’m crying for real this is so fucked up

- OH SHE DID NOT GO AND GET BANGS ANS CURL HER HAIR

- I am starting to believe that she is a plant from Ortiz because oh my GOD this is insane behaviour

- This is fucking crazy Kim

- This is not how you do therapy

- This is absolutely not how you help heal a man you just met

- I cannot lie I hate this

- rg is killing it tho

- so is devin

- AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHV

- NO NO NO NO NO MO

- CHRIS DID NOT JUST WALK THEOUGH THE DOOR

- KIM NOLASTNAME WHEN I FUCKING GET YOU

- OH BOY AND THEN WE IMMEDIATELY DO THIS

- maybe I shouldn’t have taken a shower before the ep because I need to go be in water for several minutes and the ability to stare at a blank wall

- I don’t think this is a second nightmare

- This is so fucked up

- OH NO BOBBY NO

- THIS IS THE WORST

- THE PROMOOOOOOO NOOO

- I can’t do this

[ggren-mainz]

Don't worry about the reblog, I think you were not offensive. Yeah I watched Gou and Sotsu in like 2021, I don't remember it at all, I remember I dropped it and I watched specific episodes other friends told me to watch because of *lore*... and like, no, no. It has so many errors in it, it's completely not a "shit" or some insult, because the tv series itself is an insult to the world of higurashi Now, I'm going with spoilers, so don't continue if you don't want them. Or avoid this if you don't want to suffer because a group of authors decided to ruin an entire saga because they have to capitalize on everything >Hanyuu's origin as a demiurge/homunculus of another goddess is completely made up and I think it's incoherent not only to Higurashi Rei where they explain Hanyuu's goddess origins, but also to the vns where we meet other goddesses >Rena in actual Higurashi continuosly deal with her past life, always having the trauma of her biological mother's behavior (I'm not divorcephobic, neither Rena I think, but being pregnant for another man meanwhile staying with your husband and husband-daughter is... bad, at least for me). But hey! Higurashi Gou and Sotsu isn't only about bullying Rika everyday in physical and psychological tortures, but also making Rena's father abusive! Yippy! My god Ryukishi... >Satoko as a villain. Let be honest: Satoko has nothing wrong, she's a protagonist, she has good intentions just like the other characters, she matures herself a lot after all the loops together with the others, she became independent af AS A KID, like can you ever imagine such strength? Losing parents, losing your beloved brother, suffering under an abusive family, but you still can take care of yourself, you still continue your life, but no Ryukishi needs a yuri yandere >as mentioned before, Rika being a punchbag. Guys, it's not funny at all, literally. After Higurashi Kai, after what we see also in Higurashi Rei were Rika was panicking because of another loop, you literally have the gut to say "Nuh huh, we have to infantilize Rika again, we have to loop them again". But also, most important thing: Rika already suffers for many things, so WHY THE HELL EVEN AKASAKA KILLS HER? IT'S NOT EVEN POSSIBLE THAT RIKA WOULD CONTINUE AFTER THAT EPISODE, I WOULD LOSE ANY WILL OF LIVING IF I WAS HER >Umineko isn't connected to Higurashi. I know this is a strong take, I understand that if 50% of people appreciate gou and sotsu, 80% or even 90% of when they cry fanbase thinks that all the universes are connected. My personal interpretation is that Bernkastel, in Higurashi, is a Rika's chuunibyou to cope about her condition as superhuman/not-human, considering she lives things no one understand until Answer Arc I growed up with Higurashi, I suffered too abusive adults and family so like I relate so much about Rena's behavior, but also I always felt love for every character. The horror of "friends killing you" is a thing that I think it would've been, narratively speaking, stopped as a topic in the Question Arc

AKASAKA DOES WHAT!?!? Oooo I'm getting mad, someone hold me down (figuratively). Yeah I heard that gou/sotsu were bad but glad to see its even worse. The fact that they made satoko the villain always irked me so bad because I just can't see the ingame satoko do those things. You mean to tell me the satoko whose most violent L5 symptoms were pushing people off places and that loved her friends dearly would just start torturing them?? In my humble opinion I think she'd just give into despari very early, but it is true that i dont know the whole context.

And also a thing that annoyed me about it (and an issue I had with the first season of the og anime too, although not as bad) is how it seems to depend a lot on the gore parts. And just seeing the edits I can tell these people never got the actual meaning of higurashi, which I don't even kmow if this anime is even trying to send anymore. They just got "Oh my gosh, cute anime girls but make them murderers!!! Wow gore gore, blood and psychos ☆⌒(≧▽​° ) so kawaaaiiii". The og anime isn't as bad on this, but I do feel like it fails at sending the actual message many times. Depends a lot on the arc, like I hated how they did meakashi but I thought that onikakushi was pretty ok.

And also another thing I don't get...why? Why did ryukishii do this? I have heard that he apparently gave just an outline and other people refined the story and I hope that's true because otherwise I just don't get it. Did he really fall off that bad, or does he just suck at doing animes? Ig we'll see with silent Hill F/whatever new project he planned.

[fanfic-inator795]

WoY: A Decade Later (A personal retrospection)

Wander Over Yonder… for a time, it was - in my opinion - the best cartoon ever. It was my number one, and I wasn't sure that anything else could top it. While I don't necessarily feel the same way these days, it's still a cartoon that very much lives in my heart and I don't think I'll ever truly leave it behind.

From a personal perspective, it was probably the biggest and most active Fandom I had been in at that time. It wasn't my first fandom/hyperfixation - prior to WoY, there had been Cartoon Network's Chowder and Regular Show, as well as Disney's Phineas and Ferb. But Chowder was short-lived and RS and PnF were both shows I had lost interest in due to them beginning to dip in quality.

WoY, however, was new, fresh, exciting and growing rapidly. It inspired me to write probably at least a hundred fanfics. It was a blast live-reacting to new episodes with everyone and seeing all the art that would come afterwards. It brought me into the RP scene and, if not for that, I might have never met my best friend of 10 years (and counting! Love you, Tessa).

Looking back on it 10 years after the fact, I can't fully say that WoY is still my favorite cartoon (shows like Kid Cosmic, The Ghost and Molly McGee, Big City Greens and Craig of the Creek have all outshined it in one way or another), nor can I claim that it is/was a perfect show. But man… It sure was a hell of a ride.

(Keep reading for all my admittedly VERY LONG personal thoughts or opinions regarding this one of a kind show)

Humble Beginnings

Pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I actually didn't care for WoY at first. It was the summer right before college, and I remember watching the sneak peek - The Picnic - early one morning after not being able to go back to sleep. I remember not really laughing much or even seeing the appeal… and yet the episode stuck in my mind, to the point that I ended up watching it again during a free moment I had from Freshman Orientation Week. I had a similar reaction to the show's proper pilot, The Greatest - not loving it, but not hating it either.

The fact that people/friends from my RS and PnF days were also posting about it helped keep the show in my mind (shoutout to Taylor, Erin and Darkwing). But it wasn't until two specific episodes - The Fugitives and The Good Deed - that I managed to finally start to connect with the characters myself. 

I started to see the appeal in this little furry orange spoon who just wanted to do good and make others happy, even when it was a struggle. I really liked the show's core theme of not just optimism and positivity, but also just being kind. I also started to really enjoy the show's sci-fi and space aesthetic and grew to adore its animation and gorgeous backgrounds, as well as laugh at its wacky sense of humor (I still laugh at The Fugitives/Good Deed quite a bit, even though I probably have their entire scripts memorized at this point).

So, it was official. I was hooked. Whenever there were new eps, I'd either try to watch them on the basement TV in my college dorm or wait for a livestream or FreeCartoonsOnline upload. If we're being honest, the first half of season 1, while being much more low-key than the wackiness that the show would end up eventually shifting to, was probably when it was at its most consistent. Other eps later on would reach higher highs, but getting stuff like The Bad Guy, the Prisoner, the Troll, the Pet, the Box and The Little Guy back-to-back just made my love for the show grow more and more.

The Little Guy specifically is one that is just incredibly well-crafted in its dialogue, story-telling and pacing, being both enjoyable and heartfelt. (Also the last time I watched it the ending made me bawl so, there's that, lol). Shortly afterwards, The Hero was another ep that I distinctly remember sticking in my head for whatever reason (Dracor and Demurra are still adorable, ngl). Then we had another favorite of mine, The Nice Guy.

I know I may be in the minority on this one - I remember my parents being annoyed and frustrated when they watched it with me, haha - but I absolutely love this episode. I find the jokes funny enough - the cashier is one of my favorite minor characters tbh - and the space gas station appeals to my aesthetic. But what really sells this episode for me is how it handles and portrays its moral of "being nice isn't always easy, but it's still right and still worth doing". Its ending never fails to get an "awwww" out of me, and honestly I could probably go on for an hour about all the little details and things I like/appreciate. I've also grown to really like its sister episode, the Time Bomb.

But no show is perfect, and right around here is where the show, in my opinion, started having some misses. It was mostly just "meh" affairs like The Night, The Toddler and The Big Job (weird, since I usually like heist eps… though I haven't rewatched this one in a while so *shrugs*). Other eps like The Tourist and ESPECIALLY The Helper (which I consider to be the show's worst outing, the vibes are just SO WEIRD on this one) I just didn't care for at all. 

Nothing terrible (save for the Helper), just cases of the jokes not landing or the stories being boring. This was also when the show really started leaning into the wackiness - which wasn't BAD persay, since it led to some really funny jokes and memorable moments when it was used well - it's just that looking back, I sorta miss the simplicity of early s1.

Thankfully, the season put out some real bangers by its end, with my personal faves being The Epic Quest (that ending will never not make me cackle. Again, it's a case of the wackiness actually working incredibly well), the Halloween/Christmas special, and the Rider, which is a great adventure to cap off the season and also the Horse from Horsin’ Around guest stars in it! (and does a pretty good job too. Will Arnett is def one of my favorite celeb VAs at this point, ngl)

So yeah, between the two seasons, s1 is easily my favorite. Call it nostalgia or personal taste, but for me it's all about that consistency. Adding in the fact that s2 has some pretty notable flaws and is thus a lot harder to look back on without noticing those flaws, and it's really no contest for me. 

New season, New problems

I certainly remember the excitement - as well as the fandom's stir craziness - in the lead-up to s2. There were crackships that were invented, silly RP blogs were rampant, Craig McCracken and crew (back when they were still on Tumblr) kept us fed with cool behind the scenes info as well as sneak peeks of the new season, and while I can't recall when it specifically happened, I also vividly remember the 'Bad End to Episodes' phase that the fandom was in at one point. Ah, the joys of still being in your angst phase.

Come that year's Comic Con, and a new round of hype came from the reveal that our new villain of the season was going to be a girl! …yeahhh, it sorta sucks recalling how hyped we all were about Dominator now that we know that she didn't quite work out the way we were all hoping for…

But regardless, s2 had a very strong start. Outside of the premiere, my favorites of this first batch would easily be The Boy Wander and The It for both just being incredibly funny. Although, if you had asked me at the time though, I probably would have said the Skeleton Dance fueled eps that were The Big Day and the Fremergency Fronfract - and like, yeah those eps can still be funny and enjoyable, but I've definitely cooled on the Skeleton Dance ship since these eps first premiered. (Still love a lot of the cute fanon stuff though)

Skipping past the next tent-pole episode for right now, this season had two of my favorite episodes of the ENTIRE SERIES - these being The Cartoon and The Black Cube. The former is just hilarious while the latter has a unique visual presentation and feels like an early s1 ep, and I mean that in the best possible way. I also really enjoy the Eye on the Skullship as well as the Hole… 'Lotta Nuthin' (this one especially, as it's another instance where, for as good as the ep is as a whole, it's the heartwarming lesson and hilarious ending that makes it such a winner in my book).

But for as much as the show was still putting out hits, I'll admit that there were also quite a few meh or just okay eps, especially as the season goes on. Some eps I found funny when I first watched them, but that humor doesn't hit as well when I watch them now. I also feel like there were points where it tried to be TOO silly to the point where it inhibited the actual humor and made the characters flatter and a bit flanderized compared to how they were in s1 (Hater especially got hit bad with this, where it’s less about him ‘softening up’ to show that he has the potential to be a good guy, and more just him constantly leaning into him being a bratty teenager instead of having that mix of dumb/bratty teen boy and legit evil conqueror).

Other times, it was just another case of a story not being as good as it could have been - and by this point in the season, while there are still enjoyable eps with fun concepts/jokes in the latter half of the series, the only one to get near the peak of the show's typical high quality is the musical ep, and if we're being real, it's Andy Bean's impeccable songwriting that saves this ep and makes it so good to rewatch despite its connection to the season's flawed overall story.

And I think it's about time we talk about that…

Not Quite Ready for Serialization

Being a show that was made right after Gravity Falls but before stuff like Star VS, Amphibia, and Owl House, s2 of WoY felt like a show with one foot stuck in episodic stuff and one foot trying to step into serialization. Because of this, the season’s overarching plot feels incredibly underbaked.

Now… Am I saying that I’d want the show to be like ATLA where every episode had to relate back to either the overarching story or one of the side-arcs? No, absolutely not. We’d be missing out on some of my favorite one-shot episodes if they did that, and if I had to choose between the season we have now and the season we could have gotten had the WoY crew gotten more freedom and were allowed more serialization, I’m going with the former each and every time.

HOWEVER, I still have to acknowledge just how poorly done the structure of this season was when it came to the overarching story. Basically we got four tentpole episodes acting as the season’s beginning, arc shifts and ending. During the season’s second and third arcs, there would be certain episodes afterwards reacting to the change in the show’s status quo.

Now, I get what they were TRYING to do but in my opinion it just really didn’t work as well as it could have. I’ll talk more about this in a bit but the season’s second arc (the “romance” arc) definitely got tiring after a while, meanwhile the third “Stop Dominator” arc felt like it was sort of killing time given that it was mostly just the main 4 trying to find some sort of weapon/figure out some sort of plan that ultimately resulted in some ‘funny’ failures and some quick lessons, with the occasional character piece thrown in here or there.

Now, I didn’t hate these episodes. By this point, it should be evident that one of my favorite elements of WoY are its morals and lessons, so even if the episodes themselves didn’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things and were essentially filler, I can at least appreciate a message like “being sad doesn’t mean you’ve given up hope” or “allowing yourself to laugh even in the dark times can help a ton”. So yeah, not completely pointless.

Unfortunately, even with a few bright spots here and there, the overarching plot of s2 still feels underbaked somewhat - and that’s ultimately because of the new character its focused around.

Dominator’s Dilemma

Okay, fess up. Whose idea was it to completely exclude Dominator from the first six episodes of the season (after the s2 premiere)? Because WOW does this decision backfire a lot. I don’t even like Dom that much and I can still acknowledge that she needed much more screen time and focus than she got.

I don’t know if this was to build up the ‘mystery’ surrounding her or because they wanted to get back in the groove of writing the main 4, but this was the crew’s first crucial mistake. Hell, in the first two episodes she plays an active role in, she’s nearly silent in both of them, only having her little fangirl rant in The Greater Hater and a small handful of lines in The Battle Royals. (Which, if I’m being honest, is still a really fun episode for 90% of it, having both great action and absolutely hilarious jokes that still make me laugh, but I get the ending of it making people sour on the episode as a whole.)

Again, it felt like trying to build up this artificial mystery surrounding her when it really wasn’t necessary. Dominator was meant to be a MAIN MEMBER of the cast! Yet I’m pretty sure Emperor Awesome got more significant screen time than her in the end!

Things got a teeny bit better as the show went on, with Dom at the very least getting more lines and more moments to be both badass and totally villainous, but she still felt more like a goal/obstacle than an actual character. I’m not sure if the writers MEANT to do this persay, or if it was just an accident.

Ultimately, it wasn’t until The Night Out when Dom finally got a spotlight episode… which was a little over 3/4ths of the way through the season. You could argue that she also got a bit of characterization in the musical episode, but it was really more emphasizing what we already knew or could infer about her. 

The Night Out, meanwhile, gives us something new - that she’s lonely - and we get a teeny hint of this again in The Robomechabotatron before being told outright in the series finale. Ultimately, it truly does feel like too little too late - especially when her secretly desiring friends just sorta feels like it’s aping off Hater’s secret motivations of wanting to be liked/admired and to have friends/people who love him for who he is.

So yeah, the crew completely dropped the ball on Dom’s characterization, using her as just a goal/threat/obstacle/etc. for nearly all of her appearances. Not only does it make Dom feel like a shallow character, but it also just feels unfair in general. Practically everything we know about Dom is for the sake of other characters.

She’s a test for Wander, an enemy/temporary love interest for Hater, an obstacle for our main four to overcome, and a threat to the characters we already love. Again, there’s nothing wrong with having a character that’s only meant to serve a purpose in the narrative, nor is there anything wrong with a character being shallowly evil… it’s just that the WoY crew hyped her up so much and claimed that she was a fifth main character (implying that she would get about as much development as the main four), so it just felt all the more disappointing when we didn’t get that. Add in her character design - a mix of goth/punk girl energy with Hartman Hips - and it does feel just a tad misogynistic.

There were things I liked about Dom - her cool lava powers and gadgets, her excitable personality, her villain spotlight moments, and her fun vocal performance provided by Noel Wells were all excellent. But unfortunately, these were all surface-level elements, and the crew just didn’t put in enough time to give her much else, essentially saving all her deeper character stuff for the never-made season 3…

A love-hate relationship (leaning towards hate)

Of course you can’t talk about Dom without discussing the season’s second arc, which many see as both a tumor on the plot and the absolute low point of the season. Admittedly when I was watching the season for the first time, I didn’t mind the romance arc all that much. I didn’t care if Dom was getting short-changed, I was too busy laughing at Hater falling all over himself like a dork and thought all the ‘critics’ of the arc were just focusing on the wrong thing and didn’t know how to have fun with a silly cartoon.

Obviously, this was the wrong perspective to have about this sort of thing (I was in the mindset of “I don’t want to accidentally make myself hate this thing I love so I’m going to ignore all criticism of it”. Definitely not the right approach), one that I still apologize for because the critics were totally in the right. From both an objective and a storytelling standpoint, this arc was just the worst - and for several reasons.

Leaning into the overall problem with Dom herself as mentioned previously, this arc was focused solely on Hater and Wander (and to an extent Syl and Peeps as they tried to talk some sense into their respective friends). Whenever Dom was brought in, she either used Hater’s crush to mess with him or just ignored it entirely, being obviously annoyed - and that was the extent of focus that her feelings got.

Outside of those moments, however, Dom’s feelings are relegated to the background, deemed as ‘unimportant’. Sure, in the climax of the arc, she gets this big whole musical number about how she’s “not the damsel” and isn’t interested in Hater’s affections - but again, it’s at the VERY END of the arc and the moment is less about Dom standing up for herself and more about emphasizing just how cruel she can be, as instead of simply rejecting Hater’s advances, she laughs in his face, continuing to mess with him to try and make the rejection as painful as possible before ultimately trying to kill Hater.

But while the arc ends in a showy (and admittedly still kinda fun, thank you Andy Bean and your musical talents) way, the way it starts sorta proves why this idea was so rotten to the core. The ONLY reason why Wander tries to get Hater and Dom together is ONLY because he knows Hater wants a GF and believes that a ‘positive’ thing like love could only ever result in the two villains finding happiness and no longer being evil. Nevermind the fact that Wander is shown only really caring about Hater’s perspective, not once considering Dom’s feelings or even asking if she wants a BF or romantic partner in general.

We get Syl calling him out on this a couple of times, but it’s in that ‘oh that Wander, always with the crazy ideas’ way. You’d think Sylvia, the icon that she is, would be just a bit more blunt and maybe even a bit harsh about how Wander’s treating Dominator - it’s not just a matter of it being a dumb and dangerous plan, but it’s essentially objectifying Dom, treating her like Hater’s missing piece. But hey, it’s fiiiiine, because Wander learns his lesson in the end, right? Except, no not really.

Because even when Wander FINALLY realizes this and feels guilty about causing so much trouble, Syl is more concerned with comforting Wander about it, because he TRIED to do what he thought was right and that “acknowledging you messed up is the first step towards making things right”. Like… yeah I guess but you could have let Wander actually acknowledge what he did was wrong and super messed up, focusing more on the personal aspect of how his whole romance scheme affected Dom AS WELL AS Hater (not JUST Hater) instead of how his scheme broke Hater’s heart and inadvertently made Dom more powerful.

(Also we see Wander shipping and actively pairing up the little Pikmin things in “The Sky Guy” soooooo no I don’t think he fully learned his lesson)

I also have to bring up how there are fans who view Dominator and her whole anti-love thing as aphobic. As someone who only recently figured out she was almost definitely aromantic, I’m certainly not the authority on this, but I can certainly understand the critiques.

What I THINK the WoY Crew was trying to go for was a ‘strong female villain who don’t need no man’, but between Dom constantly being described as ‘heartless’ and Peeps saying that he “doesn’t think she likes anybody” and her cruelty being turned up to 11 whenever someone expressed romantic feelings towards her, it does sorta imply “She can’t love and THAT’S why she’s a villainous monster” rather than simply “she’s a villainous monster”. And because we don’t get any real development or strong characterization with Dom, it’s hard to say where exactly her cruelty comes from, so it’s hard to really argue against these implications without simply inserting headcanons like “Dom is a lesbian”.

Now to be fair, I have seen some aromantics see Dom as good representation - I recall a month or so back when I saw people praising her after she was included in one of those Tumblr polls, with this one being focused on aromantic characters, saying that they liked how she didn’t sugarcoat her rejections and seeing her as this strong, cool, badass villainous who didn’t need romance. So yeah, obviously not every person who shares an identity is going to agree on representation and whether or not it's good, but considering all of Dom’s baggage and the inability to determine whether or not her heartlessness is the cause of her evil or simply a by-product of it, I personally feel like she’s just too messy of an example of a potential aro character.

(Honestly, Syl feels like a better example of an aromantic character to me, given that she and Ryder seemed just as platonic as she and Wander are, as well as her multiple rejections of Awesome and general disinterest/discomfort with romance. Buuut given that those latter examples are specifically with villains and thus it makes sense why she’d reject them regardless of her orientation, it’s still just a vibe/headcanon).

Before I close off this section, I do wanna acknowledge that beyond the potentially aphobic nature of Dominator, WoY’s LGBTQ+ rep isn’t nearly as great as I thought it was once upon a time as a young shipper. Some parts are still pretty okay, like Wander being coded as genderfluid/agender, but overall it still feels more like an old Looney Tunes cartoon than an episode of “The Owl House”, if you get what I’m saying.

In Craig’s defense, the man has never been all too interested in romance in his shows nor has he claimed otherwise - he either uses it as a joke while portraying it as a negative (see Ms.KeenexProf.Utonium, BlooxBerry or, obviously, DomxHater) or it’s a wholesome relationship that ultimately still stays in the background because it’s not all that important (see DracorxDemurra or Ramona and Carlos Flores from “Kid Cosmic”). 

BUT given that there were LGBTQ+ crew members working on the show in s2, such as N.D. Stevenson, as well as LGBTQ+ allies, it is a shame that no proper representation came of that. We got a whole episode where the joke was “oh, Wander and Hater are planning Wander’s execution like it’s a wedding”, an episode where Peeps and Hater essentially break up when Hater fires him, and an “I just can’t quit you” sort of moment from Peeps in the s2 finale when he goes all heart-eyed over Hater deciding to continue being a villain. That’s it, all jokes but nothing substantial. Even the show’s number one lesbian/wlw pairing of SylxDom got a quick Girls Night montage and one sweet moment between them, nothing else.

Again, it’s fine if you’re just looking for jokes, and yeah the WoY Crew never outright promised any romances… buuuut given how much they chose to lean into the Skeleton Dance and DeathGlare stuff while at the same time never outright confirming any of these characters as LGBTQ+ (they didn’t even have to make any ships canon, they just had to say whether or not Wander/Hater/Peeps were gay/bi/pan/etc), I’m not gonna invalidate people who feel just a bit queerbaited about the whole thing.

Bittersweet Goodbyes

As I said before, I was starting college when WoY first premiered. It’s the show that led me to my best friend and it’s the show that helped me through those first two years of college (easily the roughest part of college). It was a show that made me laugh and got me excited, even during the times where I was stressed out or worried. For all its flaws, it was one of the brightest lights in my life at that time.

So, needless to say, when I heard the show was canceled, I was devastated. I remember crying about it that night and even the day after, and I remember joining in as many online strategies as possible to try and get the show back, from letter writing to petition signing. Of course none of that worked, but as a bright side, going through this helped emotionally prepare me for the next time one of my favorite shows was suddenly canceled (looking at you Nickelodeon. Though considering how the RotTMNT movie turned out maaaaybe it was for the best…)

Honestly, for as much as I can look at the show through a critical lens nowadays and point out all the ways it could have been better, I think there will always be a small part of me that wishes we could have gotten some sort of continuation, whether it be through a special, a TV movie or a comic - or hell, I’d even take the plans for s3 leaking at this point. Now, given that the end of WoY brought about the creation of “Kid Cosmic”, I feel like this part has faded a bit, but I’m always gonna want closure on things like Hater’s arc as well as his origins given how much they were teased.

But that in itself is another critique I could give the show. Whether it be Wander facing a different type of threat that wasn’t just another villain, Hater’s transition into becoming a good guy, Peepers getting fed up with his boss and striking out on his own, or Dom’s true characterization that the crew kept insisting was there - the show simply saved a lot of it’s most interesting ideas for a potential Season 3. It was a gamble, and it was one they ultimately lost. It sucks, but it is what it is.

There’s a few more things I could critique about the show, such as its take on the idea of character redemption and Wander becoming a bit of a karma houdini that the show pretty much stopped calling out, and while these critiques are valid I feel like there are other fans who could do a better job talking about those points. But in the end, while season 2 was both a let down in some parts and a bit of a mess in others, I still feel like there were ultimately more good things to be found within the show than bad things.

It’s not a perfect show, far from it. Frankly, I don’t look down on anyone who fell out of love with this show or enjoyed s1 but hated s2. But for what it’s worth, the memories I got from the show are still ones I treasure, and episodes like “The Good Deed”, “The Little Guy”, “The Nice Guy”, “The Epic Quest”, “The Rider”, “The Boy Wander”, “The Black Cube”, “The Hole… Lotta’ Nuthin’” and “The Cartoon” are ones I still love to bits and will probably always love as I watch them over and over.

Disney Channel itself may not care all that much about this show these days save for an occasional rerun or a quick cameo in their Chibi-Verse shorts, but I’m always gonna remember it - for better and for worse. So here’s to 10 years, WoY. I may not always like you, but I still love you.

[tarnishedinquirer]

Stormveil Gate Courtyard

I went through the back walkways of the castle for a bit before I came out overlooking the entrance. There was a fog door here, but no imp statue in sight. So, there was only one way to go.

Now that I was above and behind them, it was easy to take out the ballistas. There were a good dozen soldiers in the yard, at least, but through careful use of chokepoints I was able to take them out one by one.

I'll be honest, standing on a mountain of dead soldiers like this was a little bit scary to me. I was never a master swordsman nor mage. Just a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Now, all of the sudden, I was cleaving through trained soldiers like it was nothing. I could justify that maybe they were weakened by whatever was covering their armor in thorns, but no... this was me. This is the strength of runes.

In the gatehouse, I found a commoner's garb, and the voice filled me in on something I'd already guessed.

Modest garb made of cloth. Standard wear for commoners of the Lands Between. The board hung from the neck depicts a sprawling tree, its roots and branches forming two holes. This is a self-imposed shackle, a voluntary display of allegiance to the Erdtree that increases faith.

All you have to do is look at the commoners to understand what this does. Over immortal decades, even centuries, it depresses the collarbone and makes it look like their neck is unnaturally extended. Even some of the skeletons I've fought have that long-neck look.

It says this is voluntary but the alternative must be death, exile, or worse to keep people wearing this shackle. And you don't put shackles on slaves. Are there any actual commoners in this land? No wonder you have brain-dead nobles digging in the dirt with their fingers.

Gostoc was directly below me, but I had no reason to talk to him right now.

There was just one thing left to clear in this courtyard, and that was a massive, sleeping beast in one corner. It seemed to be guarding the promenade leading to that giant bridge.

I didn't have to get very close for it to spring into action. An immense grey-skinned lion, it had an equally immense blade chained to its paw. At first I thought it was like the mutilations Godrick had inflicted on the hawks, but it didn't seem to be mutilated at all, just chained. There was also something almost human about the lion. It's proportions were just a bit off...and were those stubby horns poking out of its mane?

It was hard for me to get a good look at the thing as it was constantly moving. The thing had incredible speed and energy for a creature its size. It was all I could do to keep up. Fortunately, I had Aurelia to draw its attacks away. Once its attention was divided, its attacks became more manageable, and I was able to bring it down.

Just when I start getting concerned about the potential power-madness of runes, something like this appears to keep me humble.

The voice told me to pick up a strangely deformed fang that had been knocked loose from its mouth. It said

These multiple, overlapping fangs grow from a single root. Perhaps they're a vestige of the primordial crucible.

Interesting. So the crucible can also cause mutations like this, beyond just its incantations? Maybe the horns, grey skin, and odd body shape were also part of the Crucible?

At any rate, while the bridge looked interesting, I should save it for later. I have a job to do in this castle.

Was the lion a crucible creature?

Why did it have chains and blades attached?

Why was it guarding the bridge?

[easy-revenge]

we need more on the easy revenge and how himeno plays a role in aki’s development please i love her <3 give me the meta i love u thank u

the way y'all are enabling me to be insufferable on main? i love it. its me and my problematic fave against the world. buckle up.

honestly i cant believe i havent talked about easy revenge on here? its my favorite part from himeno's arc and one of my favs for aki as well. so... essay incoming.

gonna start a bit from further back and make some himeno haters mad right off the bat. himeno, in my humble (and correct) opinion, was the person who knew aki better than anyone else. and it has very little to do with how long they knew each other.

himeno knew. she knew that aki wouldn't make it. she knew since before we, as an audience, started observing this story. she knew the harsh but very realistic truth was that aki ultimately was just some guy, and i say that with the unimaginable love i have for him.

he was never special enough. he was never talented enough, strong enough and against popular belief, never driven enough either to kill the gun devil. he gave away his lifespan, he put his life on the line for others every day. he offered to use his sword to save denji, whom he allegedly despised at the time. that's not the behavior of someone who lives for a singular, selfish purpose.

himeno saw him and knew. she knew that if aki was to stand against the gun devil with a sword in hand, he wouldn't make it out alive. she saw him and knew that there were other things he wanted as well.

she was also selfish about it. she wanted him alive and close to her. she wanted them to leave public safety together. she wanted to cup her hands around the dancing little flame that was his shriveling life span and protect it with her life. but selfishness aside, she knew that ultimately it would be the best case scenario for aki as well.

she was proven right. multiple times. after her death. aki admitted to not looking at himself objectively shortly after he lost her, bc he wouldn't have been able to go on otherwise. aki had always been trapped. he'd been set up to fail by the narrative and by makima all along. and even though that was something himeno couldn't know, she was proven correct again when aki died before even getting to look at the gun devil and have a chance to go down fighting.

himeno never told aki that she didn't believe in him. it wasn't something he'd ever be ready to hear, especially while she was still alive. aki wouldn't be able to live without a goal to strive for. he'd clutched at that pipe dream and held on for dear life for too long, gave up too much on his way there. he didn't know how to exist without a finish line to run towards.

but himeno saw him stick gum to a woman's coat for her. she saw him being happy about it. she saw him taking care of power and denji, even though he was aki hayakawa, the devil hunter who hated devils the most. she saw him stare longingly at makima. she felt his breath against her own face as they shared cigarettes.

it rly isnt that hard to see, if u care enough to look. and himeno cared more than enough. aki thought he wanted revenge. it takes a lot of hate in a man's soul to dedicate his life to that. aki was kind. aki cried for his co-workers' deaths. aki wanted to be the big brother he never got to be. he wanted the family he lost. he wanted to save people from things similar to what he went through.

aki deserved to lead a life where his kindness wouldn't put him at a disadvantage.

and that's what himeno wanted for him. even if it wasn't a life he would live by her side, she wanted him to be fulfilled. with her dying breath, she herself left him with a wish he could make come true.

later she'd leave him with a wish he'd at least try to.

easy revenge. small victories. moments of fulfillment. she probably put that cigarette upside down in the packet she died with, for good luck. it's such an honest wish. such a caring one. maybe something himeno would've lived by too if she didn't find her brief fulfilment in addiction.

it seems utterly pointless now. bc aki did die in the hands of the gun devil. he didn't get to protect denji and power. he didn't get to protect angel either. he failed in every way a man can fail bc he didn't escape the narrative. would never have been able to.

personally though, i dont think he would've gotten as close as he did to taking something back if it wasn't for that cigarette. if it wasn't for the remnants of himeno, the mere essence of her having the power to give it to him before dying alongside ghost.

bc he did get a family. he got to be an older brother again. he gave two months he couldn't really spare to save a devil. took the same devil out to eat with him.

he ASKED to leave the gun devil mission to protect his family. to not lose anyone else the way he lost himeno. to not see another loved one of his go in the little time he had left.

he did everything in his power to honor both of himeno's dying wishes. he cried for her when she died and got his easy revenge. at least as much of it as he could.

to me, himeno was vital to aki's development and storyline, both alive and in death. aki deserved a person to know him. to see him. and himeno wasn't perfect, but she was that for him, even if it took him a bit too long to fully realize.

[softshuji]

omg hi i’ve been seeing ur account for the past few days and i love ur content honestly its pretty cool lol😻 and i’ve got something to ask… what do u think of hanma with kids yk.. i think it’d be wholesome even tho he hateess to admit 💀

hiiii!!!! thank you so much! welcome to my humble chaotic blog lol

hmmmmm hanma w kids? Thank you for this lol, I absolutely picking his brain apart lmao

I am so sorry for long this random analysis became

I think, if in all honesty, the idea of having kids scares him a bit at first. I think he's the type to say he doesn't want them, they're a distraction and he's not interested in what he calls 'brats' running around, but part of me feels like that comes from two things, and that is a) an awareness that there are many irresponsible parents out there and too many kids without parents too, and he is self aware enough to know (in his head) to believe that he can't be the type of parent that a child might need. Plus he likes the fast life and the concept of being a father terrifies him when he is very much a danger - or at least his lifestyle is. Besides, why give up what he likes? The cars, the danger of his lifestyle.

However I think the second reason he might be averse to kids at the start might have something to do with his own upbringing, or rather lack of. I have always hc'd him as the child of a mother who left him (this is something I minorly explored in my Coin Lockers fic here- it's a concept I absolutely adore thinking about and if you do get time please do go read Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami which is where I originally got the idea from) but to me, his aversion to kids might come from both of these reasons. I feel like he tells himself often that he doesn't need 'any of that shit' partly because it's just easier than to admit he holds resentment that he assumes he shouldn't. He has virtually no ties to anyone or anything- to me this has always been evident in him hanging out with Kisaki despite him not being so nice to him all the time, a willingness to let himself be used for what he can offer if it means experiencing something- being kept around for usefulness because it is better than being left. Of course this is just my own thoughts, and lmao I do have a reallllyyyy particular version of Shuji in my head. He plagues me daily lol.

I feel like this changes once he meets someone he loves though.I think it would take LONNNGG time for him to warm to the idea of family and if i'm honest I think the whole kids thing would come as an accident rather than something him and his partner talked about, I don't think he would plan something like that at all. And I do think it would freak him the hell out to find out his partner was pregnant, scare the daylights out of him to actually be responsible for a whole 'nother human. BuT, I think he'd actually make a good father, and I think his willingness to try is why. He's aware that he's a danger, that there's tonnes he has to learn and honestly, there are habits he's not going to change and many mistakes he's going to make- but I also think he has the tenacity to keep attempting to do things. I think he makes conscious efforts to be gentler even though he's so rough around the edges especially with his partner. He's learned how to be softer and a bit more attentive, being observant by nature definitely helps here but there's also a lot you have to teach him about both partnership and parenthood. But he tries and tries, and that's the best thing about him. But don't ever tell him he's softened up a bit or he'll just deny it. Cutie pie.

Plus the idea of him with kids and as a dilf makes me want to eat my own arm lol so there's that too.

[peterpparkrr]

Starlight (Pt. 2)

Series: Starlight

Pairing: Din Djarin x Jedi!Reader

Summary: You begin your travels with the Mandalorian.

A/N: I still believe that they blew up the Razor Crest in s2 because ppl were being too horny about it which is why I refuse to write in a universe where Din flies the new ship. How is he supposed to fuck in a one-seater???

You’d never been inside the Razor Crest before. You’d seen its exterior plenty of times, from a distance, but your familiarity stopped at the door. You took in its humble interior, the bare necessities. Mando leads you up the ladder to the cockpit and you set Grogu in your lap as you strapped yourself into the passenger seat.

You were tired of hiding. Of being alone. Grogu’s presence had made you keenly, painfully, aware of how it feels to be alone in the universe. 

But you’re not sure why you decided to ask this man of all people. No, that’s not true. You know why you asked him. You saw the way that Grogu was with him. The memories Grogu had shared with you as you’d grown closer had made one thing crystal clear. 

The Mandalorian would stop at nothing to protect Grogu. 

And that knowledge heartened you. You knew you would be safe with him. 

You’re all quiet as Mando takes off and you fly into space.

It’s all a bit overwhelming if you’re being completely honest. You feel like a child. Like you’ve never seen space before. Which isn’t true, but it’s been so long that you’d forgotten how it feels.

When Mando puts the ship into hyperdrive you gasp.

Mando’s head turns sharply to look at you. 

“We used to travel all the time, when I was a padawan, before the empire,” You explain as you continue to stare out in wonder. “But I’d forgotten…”

“Sit here,” Mando says as he stands from the chair.

Your eyes flicker to him for a moment. You hesitate as you glance at the pilot’s seat he’d vacated.

“We’re on autopilot in lightspeed,” Mando assures you when he sees you hesitate. “Sit,” He repeats.

You nod as you pull Grogu back into your arms and stand before shuffling awkwardly into the small space of the cockpit and taking the seat.

You sit in front of the windshield, your eyes wide as you stare out in unabashed wonder. Sitting in the pilot seat the windows surround you and movement through space surrounds you on all sides.

It’s perfect. 

Grogu seems to love it too. Or at least, appreciates your excitement as he coos happily. You finally pull your gaze away to smile down at Grogu.

Grogu reaches his arms out in the direction of his father and you happily pass him into Mando’s open arms. 

“Thank you,” You tell him as you look at him. Hoping your appreciation is clear on your face.

“I have a few bounties to pick up,” Mando tells you.

“Okay,” You reply. “Where are we starting?”

“I,” He emphasizes before he answers your question. “Need to go to Corellia. Then Tatooine.”

“Okay,” You reply.

“You won’t be able to leave the ship when we land on Corellia, it’s not safe. But Tatooine will be okay, you can explore a little.”

“Grogu and I will be just fine here on the ship,” You tell him with a nod. “Won’t we, Grogu?” You add as you look down at Grogu from where he’s sat in Mando’s lap. 

Grogu coos happily aloud.

Explore. 

He communicates to you through the force.

“Exactly, we’ll explore the Razor Crest,” You reply aloud so that Mando can get at least part of the conversation. Normally you wouldn’t need to speak to communicate with Grogu, but you figure it would be rude to leave Mando out. 

“Just leave the weapons cabinet locked,” Mando replies. “And don’t let him out of your sight.”

You want to be defensive, offended by the notion that you would put Grogu in danger. You’ve been caring for the child for months without issue - well, without any major issues. But something in Mando’s tone makes you think it’s less to do with you and more to do with Grogu’s penchant for getting himself into trouble. 

“Of course,” You reply with a nod.

The moment you land on Corellia, Mando disappears. He parks the ship in a hangar and repeats everything he said before about staying on the ship and not doing anything dangerous.

You open your mouth to remind him that you were trained as a Jedi but think better of it and hold your tongue. 

He pauses to say goodbye to Grogu and to tell you he’ll be back with the bounty in the next 36 hours.

You and Grogu pass the time with training. It’s easy to lose track of time while meditating but Grogu doesn’t have the patience for it so you can’t get any actual meditation done unless he’s sleeping or playing somewhere you don’t need to watch him so closely. 

You play games. Passing small toys back and forth using the force or chasing him around the cargo bay of the ship. A game of hide and seek goes on for hours even though Grogu never wants to be the seeker.

Grogu’s asleep in his cradle with Mando returns. 

You’re sitting on a box of cargo enjoying the piece of quiet when the airlock opens and your eyes snap open and you silently slip down from your seat and move back towards the wall of the ship.

It’s only been eleven hours since Mando left.

The bounty is still conscious as Mando drags him up the ramp and into the cargo hold.

You stand in the shadows of the bay, your back pressed against the hull of the ship. 

“Oh hello there,” The bounty greets you, causing Mando’s attention to snap to where you’re partially obscured from view. “Who are you?” The man asks with a wicked grin.

You know better than to reply. Simply staying where you are as your eyes silently track his movements. Not that he’ll get even close to you before Mando intervenes.

“I always had a feeling you Mandalorians were secretly freaky,” The man says with a glance over his shoulder at Mando. “You keep a little concubine on your ship? She’s just waiting for you to get back, isn’t she? Ready and willing? She certainly looks soft. Pliant. Do you ever let someone-”

The bounty’s taunting is cut off by their garbled shriek as Mando suddenly grabs him by the shoulders and pushes him into the cryo-freeze roughly before the blast of the chamber goes off.

You both wait for the machine to finish and stand in the silence of the ship for a moment before Mando turns around to face you.

“I’m-” Mando starts.

“It’s alright,” You tell Mando quickly. You step out from behind the cargo to step closer to him. “I knew he couldn’t hurt me. Not with you right there.”

“Right,” Mando’s voice comes through his vocoder roughly. “I’m sorry you had to hear those things. I would never…”

A huff of laughter burst from your throat.

“We both know I’m not your mistress,” You tell him with a small smile. “I’m not too concerned with the opinions of a criminal who is now frozen into a slab of carbon.”

“Good,” Mando replies with a nod.

“I’ll go chart our course to Tatooine,” He adds. “If you want to watch us take off.”

“I’d love to,” You reply with a grin. “I’ll see if Grogu is awake.”

You open the door to the cot to find Grogu awake and eagerly cooing at you from his cradle. 

“Your dad’s back,” You tell him softly. “We get to go back into space now.”

You pick him up as he coos and makes grabby hands upward so you carry him up to the cockpit.

The two of you quietly watch as Mando maneuvers out of the hangar and into the atmosphere.

The jump into hyperspace is less jarring for you this time, but equally delightful and you sit contently to watch the stars stream past you. 

Eventually, Grogu falls back asleep and you slowly stand up to take him back downstairs to sleep again.

Once he’s tucked back into his cradle you decide to stay down in the cargo hold and explore the rest of the ship more closely. This is the place that’s going to be your home now so you decide to get properly familiar with the space. 

You don’t even consider that this might be invasive until you press a button that opens up Mando’s weapons storage. 

You’re not surprised. Even when he had come to see you he’d been laddened down with as many weapons as he could strap to himself. It’s what you first noticed about him when he’d come looking for you. There was no chance to consider speaking first when someone comes looking for you covered in that much weaponry.

And he has a whole host of specialty blasters and other weapons in storage. They must be worth a small fortune which is crazy considering how many concerning noises you’ve heard the Razor Crest make since you’ve taken off.

You almost miss the small black hilt in the corner of the cache. 

But you sense it even as your eyes nearly pass right over it. 

You pull it out of its place before you can help yourself. Just like you ignite it before you can think better of it. 

You gasp when you see the black blade that extends itself out.

“What are you doing?” Mando’s voice cuts through your now-racing thoughts. 

You quickly extinguish the blade and turn around.

“Where did you get this?” You ask him. You try not to sound angry. And mostly you don’t, it’s almost all confusion. You know what this is. At least. You’re nearly certain you do. You’ve never seen it before. 

Obviously. 

But you’ve heard many stories about the Darksaber. “I won it,” Mando replies plainly. As if you’re just holding a normal blaster. Not a mythological weapon.

“I’m sorry,” You reply. Shaking your head from one side to the other in disbelief. “You’re the wielder of the Darksaber?” “I don’t want it,” He replies. 

As if that means anything. “But it is yours,” You protest. “You’re the rightful ruler of Mandalore?” You ask as you look down at the saber still held in your hand. 

You push it into his own hands, watching as he hooks it onto a loop on his waist that you hadn’t noticed before, hidden among his armor and cape.

“Who are you, Mando?” You ask, your brows furrowed as you study him curiously. A small smile turns up the corner of your mouth as you look at him in mild amusement. 

It really is a true wonder that you’ve found each other.

“Din,” Mando’s voice replies after a moment. “My name is Din Djarin.”

[littlemisssquiggles]

...So about the SIXTH episode of RWBY V9...

This is the episode where I think my general opinion will probably get me in trouble with a certain community within the FNDM. Already you can probably tell where I’m about to go with this knowing exactly what happened in today’s episode if you saw. But; since I’ve always did my best to remain honest in my remark posts, I’m just going to come right out and say what I have to say regarding this episode. Specifically a certain moment in it.

[SPOILERS AHEAD! NUFF SAID]

Something to be said about the Bees...

If you were expecting me to gush over the big Bumblebee confession and kiss that was dropped today then I’m going to have to disappoint some of you. I mean…I knew it was going to happen eventually given all the hints that were dropped this season and even prior to it even in the promotional material like the volume poster.

However; despite expecting it…I’m sorry ya'll but I didn't care for the major Bumblebee moment at all.

If anything, the moment left me rolling my eyes and feeling genuinely annoyed that the showrunners chose to dedicate a portion of the episode to this rather than anything else.

Outside of the setup, the visuals and the music (I really loved the little theme that was playing throughout the moment), if it were any other ship---a ship that was better developed, this moment would've had me over the moon. 

Being the hopeless romantic that I am with a shipping heart that’s bigger than I am tall, I should’ve loved this moment! I WANTED to love this moment because, not gonna lie, it got me a little bit during the build up bits. But only because it was such a ridiculously sweet, tender moment and as I said, the set up was fantastic.

It should be a crime to give me such a beautifully executed confession scene with all the fixings and waste it on a ship that I don’t care about.

The fact that this, compared to other shipping moments that came before, was wasted on the Bees---I just felt nothing for it.

And before anyone jumps down my throat and calls me names, let me just counter by saying this one thing:

My issue with Bumblebee as a romantic pairing has NEVER been the fact that it's LGBTQ (and I genuinely hate seeing this accusation used every time someone so much as criticize this ship).

Good writing is very, very important to me. It’s what I look for the most in every piece of media I consume from books to TV shows to movies, etc. In the case of stories with important character bonds and romantic subplots, the writing backing said relationships between characters is what matters foremost to this squiggle meister.

To put it bluntly, I could give two shits whether a character relationship is straight or queer. Just tell a goddamn good story because a good story will make any character or character connection---be it straight or LGBTQ---worth getting invested in.

This is my gripe with Yang and Blake’s so-called romantic journey. The development of these two leading ladies from strangers to friends to lovers has not been a good story or at least not a well-written one for me from the start.

There has been some noticeable bumps in the road to get us to the highlight of today’s episode where Yang and Blake profess their love for one another and then seal it with a kiss.

And while the more vocally passionate supporters of this ship would often like to disregard/flat out deny the humble beginnings of the Bees, I simply cannot because I pay too much attention to the writing in the story of RWBY.

My main gripe with the Bees has always been in its execution; the way the show chose to go about writing and portraying this pair. It never felt natural to me. It always felt forced because rather than actually backing the Bees with good writing, the writers felt that suddenly shoving them together after 5 seasons of focusing on another Blake ship and then shoehorning little nuggets of Bees into moments where the timing felt off was enough.

Spoilers. It wasn’t. Not everyone bought into the Bee romance. Myself included. 

This episode, sadly, only proved to further my point.

I was more invested in the other part of Episode 6---the part that focused on Jaune's story as the Rusted Knight.

I honestly was expecting this episode to be the one where Ruby finally has her breaking point. The way the CRWBY members were telling everyone to avoid spoilers prior to today’s episode over on Twitter, I felt like this was going to be the pinnacle episode where that happened.

But no. Turns out the highlight of episode 6 was the Bee kiss and…again, as I’ll reiterate, it did nothing for me.

The rest of the episode...

While the Bee shippers can have their fun gushing about the Bee moment and that alone, for me, I was more invested in the non-Bee related aspect of the episode.

The fact that Alyx's adventures in the Ever After were indeed true. The fact that Alyx wasn't entirely the “kind protagonist” as she was made out to be in her own story. The fact that she had a brother that she willingly sacrificed to the Tree as a means of returning home. The fact that the Tree is actually dangerous. The fact that the Curious Cat pulled a Kyube from Madoka Magica and is not the friendly ally we pegged it to be (Or at least that is what we're being led to believe)

All of these reveals interested me far more than the Bee kiss and I wanted more from that part of the episode.

Personally I'm still willing to put my fate in the Curious Cat. It did seem genuinely saddened after it parted ways with Ruby, Weiss and Jaune.

A part of me is still willing to believe that in the end, the Curious Cat will do something good for Ruby to get her and her friends home. I wish to hold out on that, mainly because I do like the Curious Cat as a character.

Another part I thought was interesting was the part in the beginning---the part where Jaune ended up on the beach and destroyed the strange clock-shaped fruit that he discovered on the strange tree.

While the episode didn’t say more about that part, it does make me wonder something most curious.

Did Jaune unknowingly mess up/turn back time in the Ever After by destroying the clock fruit?

I mean, it would explain how he was able to meet Alyx and her brother Luis in the past? Clearly Alyx's story took place in the past long before RWBYJ were born if her story was one they grew up with, right?

So interestingly enough…Jaune’s future is Alyx past? Because Jaune met Alyx and her brother in the past but Jaune is from the future after Alyx long completed her adventures in the Ever After and returned home?

I dunno bout ya’ll but I found that twist to be kind of cool. So basically Jaune lived on the Ever After for quite some time given his maturity. But again, Jaune is from the future but met a character from the past.

That makes me wonder something---the mysterious time fruit that Jaune found and destroyed---is there more of it? Could that be an alternative to helping RWBYJ return home safely to Remnant without needing to go to the Tree?

Because as we were made well aware of, the Tree is not quite a tree of life but more so a Tree of Death---another nice twist. However, there is one aspect of it that does remain to be true despite the Curious Cat’s trickery. It does seem like the Tree has the power to return non-Afterans to Remnant but through some kind of sacrifice.

It seems like in order to go back to Remnant, a sacrifice needs to be made?

If Alyx was required to possibly kill and offer her brother up to the Tree of Death to return home to Remant, what if...RWBYJ would have to do something similar?

Imagine if...in the end, Ruby is the one to remain back in the Ever After while her friends go home without her?

What if...Ruby is met with the same ultimatum from the Tree of Death as Alyx? Give up something precious to her in order to go home?

But unlike Alyx who was selfish in her final choice, what if...Ruby doesn't do this? Obviously Ruby would never give up her friends/loved ones the way Alyx did in her story.

What if...Ruby does the opposite of Alyx and sacrifices herself so that her friends may go home without her.

And unlike Alyx who was the lone survivor of the Ever After who wrote her own brother out of her story and her life essentially, what if…Weiss, Blake, Yang and Jaune all return to Remnant and are forced to carry on Ruby’s legacy because back home on Remnant, it would be as if Ruby never existed. Written out of the story.

This makes me think back to the last thing Cinder said to Ruby before leaving her to drop with Neo.

Cinder told Ruby that things would be better if she had never been born. So perhaps, this was a foreshadow to Ruby’s “death”.

Ruby’s existence will be erased, much like Luis.

Or..what if...and this is a big IF, there is another unknown twist to the story of Alyx.

What if…Alyx was never the author of “The Girl Who Fell Through the World”?

What if…the person who told Alyx’s story was in fact her brother Luis?

Hear me out on this one folks because I’m about to drop a big theory here.

What if…back on Remnant, Alyx always has a strained relationship with her brother from the jump and always secretly resented him in a way because as siblings, the two were constantly compared with Luis being the more favourable of the two children since he was the kinder of the two.

Imagine if...growing up Alyx suffered a childhood where she was always told be “more like her brother” and it was this resentment that Alyx brought with her into the Ever After.

What if...when Alyx tried to sacrifice Luis, the Tree of Death pulled a switcheroo, sending Luis back home instead while Alyx remained trapped in the Ever After forever.

It is said in the story that when Alyx returned to Remnant, she wasn't the same person anymore.

So what if... when Luis returned home to Remnant, he wasn’t Luis anymore. He had become Alyx, taking her place in the world while the real Alyx was written out of existence and replaced by Luis.

Or perhaps Luis remained as he was but he was left completely heartbroken by the events. Of losing his sister the way he did. Of leaving her behind the way he did. Perhaps Luis loved his sister dearly and being the kind person that he was depicted to be, Luis chose to carry on his sister’s legacy by writing a book about their adventures where she was the main hero---therefore, Alyx would forever be remembered as a good person because that’s how Luis---the brother she hated--- wanted her---the sister he loved---- to be remembered?

That’s my theory.

Luis became the true author of “The Girl Who Fell Through the World” while Alyx either was eaten by the Jabberwalker or became the Jabberwalker.

I feel the real Alyx was cursed to be forever trapped in the Ever After, becoming known as a monster amongst the inhabitants because that seems to be the type of person Alyx really was---

A monster who would give up her own loved ones to escape the imaginary fairytale world only to wind up becoming a prisoner of it.

That’s my hunch for now and my biggest takeway from this episode.

That being said, this is all I have to say on EP6.

~LMS (2023)