#oh not to go on a tangent in the tags but another thing that keeps me up at night is if rimmer got back intentionally or not

[a-literal-toaster-wtf]

anyone ever think about how collectively the aces ultimate goal is to die because . boy do i

[taasgirl]

blame - driver!reader x grid

summary: driver!reader goes to war protecting her teammate and best friend, max verstappen.

a/n: this is NOT a romance smau!!

liked by user76, user98, and 6, 872, 014 others f1 Following a breach of conditions set by the FIA, Max Verstappen will serve a mandatory community service period.

tagged: maxverstappen1

ynusername just say ya'll can't handle him and move on!!!

user27 be careful y/n, they'll send you too user46 HAHA SHE'S SO REAL

user51 this is so stupid

user90 who decided this???

user75 Okay I understand him getting community service for the Ocon incident, but for swearing?

user21 they're treating max like he's a child

liked by oscarpiastri, redbullracing, and 2, 379, 918 others ynusername unbothered, moisturised, and definitely plotting to overthrow the fia!

tagged: maxverstappen1

user59 My dreams 5 minutes before my alarm:

user61 y/n and max are never beating the platonic soulmates allegations

user87 Get yourself a teammate that fights the FIA on your behalf @/estebanocon

maxverstappen1 I was going to say something nice then I saw the last photo.

ynusername pls still compliment me x

oscarpiastri I agree with the caption

landonorris ur too ashy to be moisturised

view ynusername's story...

caption only the FIA could ruin a beautiful flight @/alex_albon

liked by carlossainz55, alex_albon, and 1, 256, 280 others ynusername me and bro suiting up to destroy the FIA

tagged: carlossainz55, landonorris

lewishamilton This is why you're my favourite on the grid

ynusername this is why you're the 🐐

oscarpiastri Hey I hope you were joking when you said you'd be turning into a grid terror haha (please be joking)

ynusername don't worry ur safe xx

landonorris WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS Y/N???

landonorris If me and my gang pull up ahh post

ynusername yup you're now my number one target for unironically using 'ahh'

maxverstappen1 I hope I am bro

ynusername there's no one i'd rather serve community service with

liked by fernandoalo_oficial, lewishamilton, and 3, 287, 3389 others ynusername don't worry I won't actually replicate crashgate. however, please know that I have free reign over my radio xx

landonorris Thank god u had me scared for a minute

user49 y/n is taking this too far 😭

ynusername oh i can go further if needed

lewishamilton HAHA this is gold y/n

ynusername when I have the praise of sir lewis hamilton then I know that I'm doing something right

user20 OMG Y/N GOING INSANE ON RADIO IS A NEEEED

user91 y/n is the only reason i'm tuning in this weekend

view ynusername's story...

caption: I have some business to attend to this sunday afternoon

liked by user62, user87, and 209, 557 others f1updates Not shy on the radio so far! Y/N on the formation lap, and she'd already quizzing her engineer.

user83 she's so unserious i love her

user90 This is my sign to strictly watch her onboard today

user41 y/n really is going to put on a show huh

liked by user 34, user75, and 1, 722, 981 others f1updates A few of the unhinged thing's Y/N was saying during today's race. Safe to say that she may be sporting a ban for the next race.

user38 her engineer replying with 'affirm' is so fucking funny to me

user92 And ya'll still wonder why she's my fave driver

user47 THE WAY THIS ISN'T EVEN EVERYTHING SHE SAID

user28 what else did she say??

user47 @/user28 she went on a whole tangent about how stroll is a prick that shouldn't be in f1 😭😭

liked by charlesleclerc, landonorris, and 3, 615, 248 others ynusername FIA knew I'd be too powerful for another race (hey at least bestie doesn't have to do community service).

maxverstappen1 You're insane I love you

ynusername dinner is still on you right?

landonorris NOOOOOO RIP Y/N

ynusername bitch i'm still alive

oscarpiastri Welcome back Kevin Magnussen liked by ynusername

redbullracing She might be crazy, but she's our kind of crazy!

ynusername pls keep me employed ya'll

view landonorris's story...

caption Yes, she still has the helmet on

view maxverstappen1's story...

caption Okay time for us to get to work

eeee i hope you guys liked this, please let me know if you did!

[graveyardcuddles]

Breakfast in Bed

A/N: just a dadstarion drabble. feeding as a love language. mdni.

word count: ~ 3000

tags/warnings: sfw, shameless fluff, soft spawn astarion, baby fic, mentions of reader being pregnant in past tense, breastfeeding, soft blood-drinking (? lol), tav reader, mom reader, soft vampire romance, hints of angst, just lots of sweetness, playing fast and loose with dnd lore about dhampirs and vampires.

You're enjoying a rare deep sleep when a small yet powerful sound jolts you into a state of semi-consciousness with alarming urgency. You can barely register your own body around you, attempting to roll and shift. Suddenly, you feel a familiar cool hand touch your shoulder. "Shhh, it's alright, love. I've got her."

Astarion. He must have sensed your panic at your daughter's cries before he even had the chance to grab her himself. You sigh in relief as he quickly moves to soothe her.

"Gods below, whatever could be making that absolutely hideous sound? Has a little gremishka gotten into our home?" He says with a heavy dose of sarcasm as he pads over to her cot.

Untangling yourself from the bedding, you open your eyes just in time to see Astarion gently lifting your tiny daughter out of her bassinet.

"Darling, waking up your mother so early?" He tuts. "And here I was hoping to make this a peaceful morning."

Despite his mock scolding, his expression betrays the softness of his eyes, wide with adoration. His lips curl upwards in a carefree way that you've never quite seen from him with anyone else. A secret smile that only she can pull from him. She scruches her little legs, and he places a gentle kiss to the top of her head, his hand covering almost her entire back. He coos to her as her cries taper out into little whines. Nestling her close to his chest, Astarion tucks her tiny head under his chin. Rocks her gently while shushing her until she goes quiet.

You watch as her tiny scrunched body relaxes as she calms in his hold. So enchanted you are by the two of them that it takes a moment for you to notice the aroma of food coming from behind you. You turn around and see a small tray on your nightstand with a bowl of porridge, two hard-boiled eggs, toast, and some blackberries.

Once again, you find yourself struck by how much he's changed in the years since the Nautaloid. He never used to cook for you before, and you never resented him for it. You couldn't expect him to be enthusiastic about cooking when he couldn't even taste what he made for you.

All of that changed after the news of your impending little one broke. He had quietly taken to practicing a few basic meals for you. They often lacked the amount of seasoning you normally preferred, but with your overly tender stomach, the bland meals ended up being a blessing on days you could barely keep things down.

As you eat your breakfast, you watch the two of them. Somehow, he's always had a remarkable talent for calming her. Something else you never imagined. You used to tease him about it frequently: "Oh sure, I go through all the hard work only for you to be the favorite, then?" He had simply smirked, barely able to contain his triumphant aura.

He's talking to her now; always talking with her about anything: one tangent will lead to another story and then another. He carries on conversation with her as he would any adult, despite the fact she can't even babble yet.

Even before she was born, he would speak to her in the womb. He knew your heartbeat would be a source of comfort for her when she was born, just as it was for him. She would recognize you from it, know you. He lacked the ability to provide that same comfort but hoped his voice would make up for his lack of heartbeat.

In truth, you were awed every day by how naturally Astarion had taken to caring for her, and how much she in turned seemed to take such comfort from him. You remembered how he refused to believe it at first. How something so small and innocent and precious could possibly come from him, an undead creature. Him, with his red eyes and fangs and cold skin. He had been so afraid of frightening her with his appearance at first. You had reassured him constantly, and he had seen his own likeness in the form of portraits over the years. But he could never be sure you weren't just placating him. Could never be sure those artists weren't simply flattering him.

The first time she opened her little eyes and peered up at him, Astarion let out a sigh of relief that her irises weren't a vampiric red. As her tiny eyes bore into his, he tried to discern what their true color was. You were half-delirious from exhaustion as you watched the two of them become acquainted. Barely thinking, you sleepily suggested to him that perhaps her eye color took after his original shade from before he was turned.

Astarion grew quiet and still for a long moment, something inside of him seemingly triggered by your words. A memory locked away long ago, lost to time. For the second time that same day, his body was hit with deep racking sobs. As he cried quietly into your shoulder, he clung to the little bundle in his arms, a part of himself thought long lost now given back to him.

He brings her to you now, settling down next to you in bed. You cuddle up next to your husband and baby. He's still too enthralled with her to pass her off to you, as he often is. He kisses her little hands and cheek. He smiles radiantly, far past his fears of scaring her. You're more than content to let him hold her as you eat.

She's calmed down now, her soft delicate features smoothed and her big bright eyes looking up at you both. Those captivating eyes are like faceted gemstones, a rare shade even amongst High Elves. Her skintone is similar to yours in color but with an unsettling washed-out, pale undertone that would be alarming on any other child who wasn't a dhampir. Branches of veins show through her semi-translucent skin. Her soft, silky miniature curls were the color of milkglass.

Your little one is deceptively fragile-looking, sickly even. It's easy to forget sometimes how powerful they could potentially be one day. Even at her tender young age of eight weeks, she's a formidable one. Eating and crying with equal fervor. Small and mighty. Just as opinionated as her father.

She wastes no time in letting you know both know she has needs that must be met. Rolling towards Astarion in his arms, she presses her tiny face into his chest. Her little mouth opens up as her face nudges around his shirt, seeking nourishment. You both giggle at her frustrated attempt.

"I think that's my cue, love." You place the tray back on the nightstand and gently take her from him to nestle her in your arms. Pulling down one strap of your nightgown, you begin feeding your babe in a peaceful ritual you had mastered weeks ago with her. Astarion settles in behind you with his chin resting on your shoulder. For a few minutes, he simply watches the two of you. When he takes note of your unfinished breakfast, he grabs a handful of blackberries from the tray and holds out for you to eat at your leisure as you cradle her.

It isn't lost on him, the way in which you were the first person to ever feed him. Truly feed and nourish his body, with the very blood from your own body nonetheless. Never in a million years did he ever think he would one day witness you feeding his child with that same body. An entirely brand new soul, somehow born of your union. Innocent, beautiful and alive. A part of Astarion was alive again, and he could hardly believe it even as he faced each new challenge head-on.

Since she was born, he would sometimes go without feeding for days at a time. Though the elk, deer and boars that populated the nearby woods provided ample prey for him, you knew he hated leaving you two behind even for a few hours of time that it typically took for him to hunt.

He was trying to hide it, but you could tell he was starving now. His face was a little more hollow than usual, eyes a bit more sunken, skin paler and colder. It was truly a testament to how much he adored your daughter that despite his sickly appearance, he still radiated with joy in her presence.

The blackberries run out. You tilt your head to look at him. "You should feed," eyes fixed on his. He blinks at you, obviously surprised at your suggestion. "Just a bit of my blood before you go hunting."

It takes more than a bit of willpower to stifle your giggle at his reaction. Astarion had never been one to hesitate accepting your blood.

"I- Darling, come now. You're sweet to offer, but we shouldn't. Not when you're already expending yourself," his arms snake around your waist, and his cool fingers knead into the softness of your belly comfortingly.

"Ha, trust me, this is nothing compared to feeding you while traveling and fighting for our lives in the wilderness," you assure him.

"Besides," you gesture at the jewelry around your neck. "That's what this is for."

The Amulet of Silvanus, which had already been more than useful to both of you during your time traveling, had come to have many more beneficial properties than you could have imagined at the time. It restored your blood levels, allowing Astarion to feed on you regularly. And even though he had abstained from feeding on your blood while you were with child, it had been found to also be useful in keeping your milk supply up, giving it a second use once your baby had arrived.

"It's alright," you insisted, eyes and voice soft. "I feel strong enough for this again, my love. Truly. And I trust you," your daughter continues to nurse peacefully, blissfully unaware of the conversation between her parents.

"At least let me take the edge off of your hunger, Astarion. I know you won't go too far. Besides," a smile forms on your face, unable to hold back your enthusiasm any longer. "You know I've missed it, too."

He stared at you for a moment before breaking into a smile that made your heart ache so much you swear it could have killed you.

"My love," he kisses you on the forehead, then on your lips, then both of your cheeks and your lips again. It's soft and reverent, gentle and loving.

"Always so good to me." He strokes your hair and kisses you some more before pulling away gently. His maroon eyes broke from your gaze and locked onto your little one.

"Are you sure about this, though?" There was a hint of hesitancy in his voice despite his previous enthusiasm. "I don't want to do anything that would hurt you around her," he whispered, conflict clear on his face. You considered his words carefully.

"Well..." You start with a hint of playfulness. "I don't know if you remember, dear husband, but this?" You gestured at your nursing infant. "Feeding her? It was painful at first. And we don't even know if she'll need blood one day. But if she does, I'll be providing it for you both." He looks guilty already, so before he could respond, you followed up. "But even so," you cup his cheek, gently forcing him to look you in the eye. "No matter what happens, she can't hurt me." His eyebrows raised, and he smirked at you with obvious skepticism.

"When we first found out about her, we vowed we would love her, no matter what. Even if her hunger drove her one day to drain innocent people dry." You gaze down on your little dhampir, your precious 'baby monster,' as she fed. "At the time, I was scared, but now... my love for her is so deep. I know nothing will ever change it. Nothing could ever possibly change it."

You look to him and see his eyes were round with wonder. "You don't have to if you're not comfortable, my heart. But just know you don't have to worry about hurting me. You could never hurt me, my love."

He sighed, looking at you with a sort of incredulous amusement that would normally be followed up with a statement about how nothing you say ever makes sense. Instead, he takes the hand that had been caressing his cheek and kisses it longingly.

"I'll never understand what I've done to deserve you, my dear," his nose runs along your inner wrist, savoring your scent.

"Hmm, besides helping me save the world? Well, making me laugh and being adorable definitely doesn't hurt."

"Our daughter is adorable. I am enigmatic and alluring, NOT adorable," he rolls his eyes dramatically.

"Hmm. Sorry love, but I'm afraid all evidence points to the contrary. Our daughter gets her looks from somewhere, and you know who she takes after." Astarion can't hold back his grin he looks down at her and strokes her silvery curls. The semblance between father and daughter was no small point of pride for him.

"Alright, my love. I know better than to argue with the mother of my child." He slips in behind both of you easily, pulling you up so your back is flushed to his chest, allowing yourself to lean back into him.

His arms come up under where both of yours are supporting your babe. He cradles the both of you protectively. "I've got you. I've got you both," he reassures. Your little girl continues to nurse peacefully, both parents holding her tight.

Astarion noses at the base of your neck and inhales deeply. Soft kisses pepper up and down your neck before his lips hold still in place, silently asking permission once more.

You tilt your head back against his shoulder in answer, giving him greater access. Taking a deep breath, you feel the familiar sting of his fangs breaking your skin. He was so gentle, sinking his teeth in fast enough so as not to make the sting linger, but also slow enough so as not to bruise the skin. His fangs work back and forth tenderly, taking great care to keep the bite bleeding while not opening the wound further.

You find yourself easily relaxing. "You're still gentler than she is most of the time," you joke.

His lips attach around the bite wound, gently latched just enough to keep them sealed around it. The flow of blood stayed slow and steady this way, trickling gently from you to him. In your arms, your little one is also feeding eagerly. For a moment, you can't help but giggle at how the sound of Astarion's suckling at your neck joins in with her own precious little eating noises. Her tiny ears wiggle adorably with each drink, and while he refuses to acknowledge it, you can feel Astarion's own ears make miniscule twitches when he feeds on you.

Sighing happily, you sink deeper in his embrace. You had truly missed being able to provide this for him. Time seems to slow down to a hazy crawl as you savor this moment. In the warmth of your bed, surrounded by your little family, you feel as though you could spend an eternity here. You wish you could. It wasn't easy to sacrifice so much. Give so much of yourself over to caring for your babe. But it was moments like this that had made your many sacrifices worth it.

Your undead love at your back and your tiny, half-undead infant in your arms. The feeling of his cool chest and her not-quite-warm-enough little form were somehow the most natural thing in the world. The steady beating of your heart sustaining the both of them. They were both supposed to be impossible, wrong, and profane to everything sacred and divine. And somehow, they were perfect. And you were lucky enough to have them both.

Though you're more than prepared to supplement your daughter's diet with blood the moment the need arises, you feel grateful in this moment that she's still satisfied with your milk. Melancholy borders on the edge of your warm and blissful feelings. Astarion has spoken often of how painful the blood hunger can be for him. You try to keep it to yourself, but guilt squeezes your heart when you think of her with those same hunger pains. Astarion has already sworn he will guide her through them, teach her to hunt on animals when she's strong enough. As you look upon your daughter, you can only hope to yourself that she and Astarion keep each other close, even if you one day leave them behind. There had been talks of ways the two of you could extend your lifespan, and you invested every hour you could spare into researching life-extending magic.

Yet if your endeavors failed or you died prematurely, after some time, perhaps decades, perhaps centuries in the future, you will be the one who leaves first. Astarion will remain unliving and physically unchanging, and while dhampirs were said to be more alive than undead, they were exceptionally long-lived creatures. Sources the two of you researched varied greatly, but all accounts agreed that dhampirs could outlive High Elves by centuries, possibly thousands of years if they renewed themselves with blood. Two ancient souls, undead and half-undead, largely unchanging in an ever changing world. Astarion and her would need each other.

Just as you begin to feel lightheaded, he pulls away, licking and kissing your bite to seal the wound and carefully collecting any stray strands of blood. "Easy," his arms are diligently wrapped around your babe, keeping her supported and snug. "Restore yourself, darling," he encouraged.

You nod sleepily and bring your hand up to touch the amulet. "Te Absolvo," with a soft flash of healing magic, your dizziness was instantly gone, the buzz in your head replaced with Astarion's sweet praises in your ear.

"Thank you, my love," he whispers. He presses a deep kiss into your neck, where your fresh bite mark heals. Your daughter has finished her meal now as well, and you pull your gown back up to tuck her closer to you. She snuggles up on your chest, and you stroke her back softly. She's fast asleep again already, her schedule leaning more and more each into the nocturnal with each passing day. Another early manifestion of her dhampirism.

Nocturnal sleep schedules, blood hunger, spider-climbing, shape-shifting. It didn't matter what new challenges the two of you might face with her. You trusted Astarion would be there for her. He would struggle. He would make mistakes, you know. But he has you both.

As you hum sleepily to your baby girl, Astarion nestles into your neck tenderly. He mumbles unto your skin quietly, just barely loud enough to be heard.

"You have given me everything. Thank you."

[sovasleepy]

books and bonsai

[ omen x gn!reader ] - you both have your separate hobbies, but omen seems to love yours just as much as you do

tags: just fluff. reader loves books and reading (implied that the current book is fiction but i tried to keep it ambiguous)

notes: requested by @krokrux ! i hope you enjoy :)

“eccentric” and “extroverted” were probably not the best words to describe omen. he was a man of few words, and often times simply a man of several low growling noises.

not to say that you hated those things about him. not even remotely. it was refreshing, really.

it’s no secret that the hustle and bustle of days spent living at kingdom headquarters were… a lot. someone was always awake, whether that be a guard or simply a coworker fighting sleep. training was hard and tensions were tight most days. missions were tiring and often ended with several injuries. even the slow days where you could sleep in and training was minimal weren’t easy. there was something about the cold, metal environment of the headquarters that took away the “home” feeling of it.

one place that did make you feel better was the nearest comfy spot to read a book. today, that just so happened to be a sofa in a lounge room. the pillows and cushions were soft, but the back support good and the blankets cozy.

omen sat at a nearby table. he had a little bonsai tree situated in front of him and small pair of pruning scissors in his hand. normally, if someone was already occupying the space, you would have left.

however, omen was quiet and the sofa looked a little too inviting. you could enjoy each others company without disturbing each other, right?

you had been reading for a while whenever omen finally stood from his chair. you’d been a little too engrossed in what you were reading, and it took you a second to blink back to what was actually happening. the phantom took a few tentative steps toward you. he was quiet for a few beats before he finally spoke.

“can i sit?” he asked. one hand made the slightest inclination toward the seat next to you on the sofa.

you nodded and pulled your feet in a little to give him space. “oh, sure. how’s your tree?”

“good. your book?”

“it’s going good, i like this book. although the main character is kinda pissing me off. i know it’s supposed to be a personality trait or whatever but— yeah, it’s a good book.” you stopped before letting yourself go off on a tangent.

there were another few beats of silence. he tilted his head ever so slightly, as if asking for you to elaborate. when you didn’t, he leaned slightly closer and pretended to read the words on the page, although he wasn’t paying much attention.

“tell me.” he said, leaning back to where he had been before and looking over to you expectantly.

“tell you what? about the character?”

“the book.” omen said. “you seem to like it.”

you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face. you would jump at any chance to tell someone about whatever book you had read or read about that day, but the offer being laid out to you sparked a warmth in your chest.

you weren’t sure how long you had been talking, but it had to have been a while. your mouth was dry, but you had managed to spill out every single coherent (and some incoherent) thought you’d had about the book thus far. and you couldn’t be happier about it, either.

omen hummed when you finished. he didn’t say anything, except mutter a small “thank you,” before collecting his bonsai and leaving the room. you settled back into the spot you had been before, and continued reading.

the interaction had been strange to you, but you tried not to think too hard about it. of all people, omen was one of the last you expected to hold a conversation with, although was it even a conversation? had he even enjoyed it? or did he grow tired halfway through?

in all honesty, you had presumed the latter.

that was until the next afternoon, anyway. you heard a small knock on your bedroom door, and padded over to open it. in the hallway stood omen, bonsai tree and pruning scissors in tow.

“hey,” you smiled. “what’s up?”

“can i…” he trailed off for a moment while he thought of what to say. then, he held up his bonsai tree and nodded towards it, indicating he was referring to it. “…and you tell me about your book?”

it would be a while before you realized that he wasn’t actually pruning his bonsai most of the time. you weren’t sure how often they needed to be trimmed, but it definitely wasn’t every day, and not for that long. you wondered if he give up the farce and just admit that he liked listening to you talk about something you enjoyed, but you supposed it didn’t really matter. if he wanted to pretend to prune his tree just to listen to you, you weren’t going to complain.

[lopposting]

guys.

I think I did it.

I think I cracked Lies of P.

(me rn)

i keep going back and forth on carlo's death.

i know i was adamant before, on him dying from the petrification disease. i think logically he would have to have had it because of ergo.

but here's another weird point about his death,

i just realized why we intrinsically think he was killed.

Carlo is wearing his school uniform when his stalker finds him, and on the floor at that. That's quite odd. Maybe not being on the floor, but the uniform. Why the uniform?

"He didn't even come to your graduation?"

For the son of an aristocratic family, would this be the image of a deathly ill son in care? Did Geppetto know? Wouldn't he be in palliative care, as Lady Antonia could afford?

Why wear the uniform after graduating?

"Oh, she's here! Grab her!"

"...Gemini, get rid of them! I'm off!"

Was his death literally right after his graduation, on the same day?

And also, Gemini is a little lamp guy. (She doesn't look to be carrying the lamp.) Why does she tell him to take care of the boys? What can he even do? Tell them off?

Here's another funny thing... We NEVER see Carlo outside of his school uniform. (at least, in the "past", "real" Carlo time line).

And as we know, the school uniform has a prominent Sailor collar, the type that is associated with nautical outfits [down to the three stripes, supposedly called a "naval collar"]. The Graduation pendant that he gives to Romeo is of an anchor. [I know that these are all artifacts of the charity house. but they are nonetheless associated in tangent with Carlo]

When we find Carlo's painting, it's right next to this one of a ship. [also, two bottles on the counter, perhaps representing the "two lives" of Carlo and Pino]

also... when Carlo's memories materialize... it's in the sand. Only on the seaside.

Remember, Romeo seems to be associated with a fire element, and Pino with water, the same seems to go with Carlo. The original novel of Pinocchio itself seems to have a strange fixation on the ocean.

And now, might I present to you:

The DLC images are also of a ship and some kind of water turbine.

Director Choi (in pre-release interview): "I'll put it this way: there are more stories I want to tell in Lies of P, so I hope [it] does well."

Also: "There sure are stories we could not introduce in the game" (talking about the story being adapted into another form)

[basically, that there was more to the story than what was really present in the final game.] I'll leave all this to your consideration without adding my own just yet. (I'll add it in a reblog on my own blog without tagging it) Just kidding I want to keep wasting everyone's time

Perhaps after the events of the game,

This is some sort of effort by Pino to either learn more about the deceased Carlo or try to remember his "previous life" as Carlo, by taking to the sea.

Maybe even after the game, Pino will STILL attempt to "awaken" as him so to speak [:(].

[Maybe he actually will.]

Again, Carlo is strongly associated with nautical elements. Again, he is never seen outside of a sailor suit, basically. Also, when we gain the memories of Carlo, they materialize on the sand, at the seaside. Remember, he DIED in the sailor outfit

Maybe we are to take the "sand memories" more "literally" as they are in the sand?

Did Carlo drown and his body wash ashore, which is why these memories materialize in the sand? Why is he so associated with ships?

Pino is also depicted in the water, remember, including what looks to be concept art that was used for the OST? Maybe it isn't "just" a motif? [even simple things like his "official" coat and his eyes being blue, blue blood's tailcoat, and him being associated with the colour blue in general]

Which is why Pino is pictured in the water, since he was "born" from Carlo's death... He was birthed in the water the same way Carlo died in it?

[more notes in reblog]

[codename-adler]

Oohhh a French speaking AFTG fan!

Can I ask what’s the general opinion on the Marseille accent? What do Canadians think of it? Is it fancy? Or rough?

ouhh what a question anon! i'm tagging @givemethedamnflowers so she can help me out too if u want to <3

also i don't speak for all Franco Canadians / Québécois. fiy. ya know.

as a Québécoise first and foremost (Canadian comes 2nd in how i view my identity), and as someone WHO HAS A MOREAU FROM MARSEILLES in my close family, i love the accent. to me it's somehow much less grating than the Parisian accent (not the international French accent, that one's ok) despite being much more pronounced and how do you say... quirky? not weird, but like it's definitely peculiar. special! i like it a lot. it also makes me love Jean Moreau even more because it adds character, an edge, another area of fondness. i personally think it's very easy to spot, but contrary to the north of France, it's easier to understand.

i would say the most northern accents are much rougher, more difficult to understand than Marseilles or Paris, also because of the disparity in colloquialisms and regional expressions. but i do love them so. Bourgogne?? Normandie?? oh how lovely. and then down down down down south, neighbor to Marseilles, l'Occitanie (a fave)!!! oh and la Corse!!! so so beautiful to me. music to my ears. maybe bc, as Québécoise, like i said, i feel a little kinship with those regions' accents, bc the Paris/Île-de-France spit upon our accents as shitty, ridiculous, "not real French" or generally make fun of us, like we're somehow less smart bc of the way we pronounce things and speak with our accent. in my experience! and trust me, i've had a lottttttt of 'em. so the little scene where Jean keeps being annoyed by Thea calling him 'Paris' when he's from Marseilles? ACCURATE & GOLDEN! made me smile.

that being said, as it has been discussed many many times in the fandom, characters like Neil, Kevin and Jean, and even Andrew and Nicky, have such wild backgrounds, with how much they move around geographically + their mixed heritage, that all of them must have unique accents you can't really pin down. Jean left Marseilles at 14, was homeschooled, then forced to learn Japanese then English, in West Virginia, from native Japanese speakers. he doesn't have the Marseilles slang, the refs; his French is stuck at that level and it can't progress, and he also probably loses a lot of it, breaking down over time. finding his words must be a a nightmare. imagine trying to translate a word that isn't even considered French nor translatable outside of Marseilles' region!!! also, how old were his parents? what generation of slang has he picked up by default? or was he, sadly, taught international French?

SO MANY QUESTIONS! UGH! aftg & languages, French specifically, give me a headache (and heartache) every time.

i would say, watch films and series! please! from every part of the Francophonie around the world! Belgium, Louisiana Cajun, Acadia, Québec, Marseilles, Niger... it's a beautiful language, despite his devastating shameful hand in colonization and racism. the way the people forced to learn and speak it to survive have all found ways to make it theirs in infinite ways that help the language evolve and become richer. French is as much theirs now, if not more. French is much more that than the Republic. French is not Paris.

thank you again anon for allowing me to go off on a tangent, and apologies if there are any mistakes, misinformation or harmful things. please let me know kindly and i'll own to it and correct anything that needs correcting!

[weirdmageddon]

long meditation on jade and dave's relationship - part 1

here's a three-part heavy homestuck meta. took me about 3 days to scrobble together and format and everything

part 2 part 3 cooking

i apologize in advance for the disorganization of my thoughts. after writing it i realized this is probably one of the clearest glances into how my mind thinks associatively so everything relates in some way to something else in here. the foundations for my thoughts might be invisible to others because they can’t see the connections ive built upon but you can probably see them here, and that strong foundation is also why i care so much about them and why i chose to lay it all out. sometimes i feel like i have Got to get this tangled associative web out of my head and into some form of writing so other people can be like, “oh so This is why you have so much to say” and can just. see into my head and where it all comes from for me. people have expressed interest and the general opinion tends to be that people like hearing my thoughts a lot so yeah. pov you are in my brainwebs. seatbelts everyone get on the magic school bus in that bitch

some time ago i saw this post i saw as i was going through florals jade tag again. my homestuck hyperfixation flared up again and ive been hyperfocused on dave and jade and particular just absolutely entering these monotropic black holes over them and turning them around at different angles and looking at discussions and what people thought both now and in the past and now that im older i can appreciate them even more. ive always been a fan of dave and jade both, but i cant even lie dave has my whole heart so maybe im biased as well. but i like to believe that regardless of my liking for dave and interest in not even x-ray scanning him just straight up 3D mri scanning him and rotating him in my head that my argument is still very reasonable. i just understand his psychology a lot

i want to preface this by saying i absolutely love floral and im so glad she’s on the hsbc team because i know she can do jade harley justice. one of the best jadesters fr. we all come into media analysis with different personal experiences and perspectives, and i understand this was from her perspective as someone who had run ins with dumb boys and relates a lot to jade which is why she can put so much love into her <3 i just found myself disagreeing with some of the arguments that she presented in that post just as a peer who also read the comic from my own perspective. keep in mind i also love jade to bits and want the best for her

so yea this isn’t a targeted post at all. it just got the juices flowing and inspired me to actually write my pre-existing thoughts down and i used it as a springboard for them

i think it ended up being pretty insightful overall especially because i was stoned as fuck writing it and ive come to realize being stoned amplifies and improves the output of my deeply inwardly associative thought processes tenfold. or maybe weed just changes how significant it feels. maybe a little of both

part 1: on using davesprite as a basis for interpreting jade's relationship with all daves

i love what hussie does with alternate versions of characters and. it’s one of the coolest things about homestuck’s characterization. like floral quoted:

… we see that Jack is a simple man, no matter what name he goes by. He is, if not much else (and he’s not), impatient and violent. We only got the briefest glimpse into these qualities when we were first introduced to him on Derse. But now we get to spend much more time with him, albeit in the form of a completely different character. This is another bit of sneaky utility provided by this intermission tangent. It serves as an arc to help indirectly characterize the villain of the early acts. Having multiple copies of a character operating in totally different circumstances turns out to be a great stealth characterization tactic, and it gets used much more aggressively later in the story. In fact, it proves to be inseparable from one of the story’s most essential themes. (Hussie’s Intermission commentary)

so i agree in principle and think the alt self thing is fucking brilliant

however, i disagree with the argument it’s supporting.

So, not the same character, but if switched, I would go out on a limb and say that Dave would experience all the same issues as Davesprite did, but without the “bird” part acting as an easy explanation. That doesn’t make Dave responsible but it does speak volumes to how their personalities respond to each other, insinuates that a relationship involving any Dave would end badly for Jade and that “Real” Dave indeed has Some Issues To Deal With.

i don't agree that dave and davesprite should be compared in this context. yes they are splinters of the same character and floral is right on the money in that canon deflecting the relationship failing on "bird issues" doesn't really explain anything meaningful, but i do not think its the case that all of jade’s relationships with dave are doomed to fail because of what we saw with jade and davesprite.

yes, if switched, dave strider would be practically identical to davesprite since they were the same exact person until a branch in the timeline

however, it's the unique things davesprite has been through that made him like this. davesprite has baggage that dave doesn't. a timeline where john was tricked into fighting his denizen early and died and jade couldn't get in on time and was presumably wiped out dinosaur style on earth. with alt future dave's year-worth of knowledge, gear, loot, and experience, he rescinded his player status and "realness" as a human person to be a game guide for his naive past self right before the timeline split in order for himself and his friends to continue existing.

that would mess anyone up mentally. it's no wonder he's jaded, no pun intended. he's depressed as shit and bitter and probably has trauma issues unrelated to his bro, though they do compound on it. yes they both experienced bro's abuse but i'm talking about the differences between alpha timeline dave and davesprite; right now im not going to talk about things that are the same about them prior to the timeline split because it applies to them both so it's redundant.

essentially what's setting them apart is their experiences playing sburb, their chronological age (alt future dave/davesprite had been making timeloops over a span of four months and he says that in total the time from his chronological perspective is close to a YEAR in sburb grinding shit out before he goes back), their relationship to their friends and how their friends see them and how they see themselves, their ontological natures as beings, what their purposes are.

davesprite had his ontological status as a person and purpose changed. he assumed he'd be the one playing and doing important main shit in the alpha timeline with all his friends but then it turns out that wasn't the case due to the events that went down in his timeline. and becoming a sprite solidly changed his degree of existence. davesprite's best friend john asking if he can talk to "the real dave" is when i think he realized just how fucked up his existence as a person has become despite him doing pretty much everything for everyone for nearly a YEAR before the alpha timeline was even able to get properly started. if davesprite didn’t exist, nobody would have (john needed to live to do ectobiology). davesprite knew this and weaponized it against john who john treated as a secondary, lesser dave. so of course he’s kind of an asshole. it’s like his efforts and sacrifices meant squat to the people he considered his best friends because they didn’t experience it. to john he just suddenly appeared from the future and became a sprite.

this is heavy shit for davesprite that alpha timeline dave does NOT have to go through and it did change him in ways that cannot be said about alpha timeline dave. this is not a universal dave experience. so while it’s true that dave has the capacity of act like davesprite under those exact circumstances, alpha timeline dave didn’t undergo those that led to davesprite’s more miserable traits. therefore i don’t think it’s fair to conflate jade’s failed relationship with davesprite in particular as informing of how most of jade and dave’s relationships would unfold, because davesprite has been in exceptionally tragic circumstances, coming to terms with the state of his own existence. the last thing davesprite needs is romance. alpha timeline dave does not carry this burden.

Everyone believed that what was creating the dissonance wasn’t a central part to Dave’s character but an aftereffect of Bird Syndrome. Which you can’t blame them for because there’s nothing that would lead them to think differently. Every character besides Dirk is completely in the dark about Bro’s abuse and Dave stated he’d probably never tell any of the Betas. Which is fine, no one’s owed to know somebody’s baggage. But when you don’t give people a means to understand what you’re going through, especially when it leads you to hurt them, its only inevitable everyone’s going to be confused and going to come to conclusions using what they do know.

rebuttal to this: as i said earlier i don’t buy the whole bird issues thing and i get the handwaviness about being fused with a bird being john’s explanation for davesprite’s bullshittery. however i think it’s important to mention that john and jade both question if becoming a sprite might have had something to do with his change.

being fused with a bird never bothered him, as jade says. it was all the other baggage that came with the prototyping.

this includes playing the game for way longer than anyone else and mindlessly grinding from the ground up for about a year, then turning himself into a game construct and having his ontological level of existence as the platonic ideal form of dave strider lowered in the eyes of his friends.

JOHN: like what? JADE: its hard to explain JADE: just some slight differences in personality i guess JOHN: he still raps sometimes. JADE: yes... JADE: so? JOHN: i just thought i would mention that. JADE: ok i will admit i cant really tell if his rapping style has changed JOHN: trust me, it hasn't. JADE: i dont know if the differences are because he is a sprite JADE: or because he lived for a while in a different timeline... (p.4733)

JOHN: why is he such a basket case? he's like regular dave, but like, aloof enigma edition. JOHN: maybe it's because he's part bird? i think becoming a bird and a sprite did something weird to him. JADE: i dont think being a bird ever bothered him JADE: like i said... its all more complicated than that JOHN: normal dave was so much more level headed. JOHN: i have to admit, i spend a lot of time wondering what he and rose are up to. JADE: me too JOHN: ehh... JOHN: maybe it's for the best he broke up with you. JADE: why? JOHN: well, what kind of future do you think you would have with him? JOHN: he's a sprite. like really, what even is a sprite? how long do they live? will he still be around if we win the new game we are allegedly trying to get to? JADE: i dont know (p.5294)

as for the bro abuse thing, i can’t tell if floral’s position here is that davesprite is fucked up and had a failed relationship with jade because of bro’s abuse, and that dave would also necessarily have failed relationships with jade because he had the same experiences and also doesn’t tell anybody? the wording there is kind of vague and can be interpreted in different ways but that’s how i interpreted it.

they are right that bro’s abuse is something dave keeps to himself. but remember that dave has also deluded himself about it to cope. he doesn’t know what to think of it himself. both alpha timeline dave and davesprite have this baggage, but we explore it more with alpha timeline dave.

i know dave said in the post-retcon timeline when having a conversation with dirk that he could never tell karkat all of this or any of the betas about his abuse. but i still find this pesterlog interesting and i want to put a spotlight on it. even while dave was still chugging that copium, jade was the person he was closest to opening up about the nature of his relationship to his bro at this point. remember this is quite early on in the comic and he didn’t have 3 years on the meteor to contemplate it yet when he said this to her, his bro had just died at this point

GG: anyway dave im really sorry about your bro/dad GG: you were pretty close with him right? TG: meh it was a pretty bizarre relationship by any standard TG: fightin off wave after wave of face pumicing puppet ass every day TG: always being on guard for stealth attacks in the middle of the night while getting up to go to the fucking bathroom GG: heheh TG: but i guess it all sorta amounted to some vague unspoken semblance of kinship TG: if thats a thing TG: like if honor among thieves is something then lets call it camaraderie among ironic rapping roof ninjas TG: but thanks GG: sure TG: i thought about taking his sword TG: when i was there TG: but i couldnt TG: couldnt really bring myself to try to pull it out it was too weird GG: dave we have to stop him!!!!! TG: what GG: jack! GG: he shouldnt get away with this TG: you think (p.3204)

even if he’s in denial about it, deciding to point out the positivity he can rationalize about it to avoid spending too much time thinking deeply about it (it makes him uncomfortable), he’s getting closer to acknowledging the truth here that shit wasn’t normal, about it being “bizarre” and you can tell hes being genuine here when he thanks jade for her concern about his loss

dave then continues talking about his thoughts/feelings on the situation after jade says “sure”, as if he took her concern as an invite to open up about his thoughts even when it’s something vulnerable for him that he tried putting on false bravado in front of terezi about. jade then abruptly changes topic to what’s to be practically done about these tragedies—dave was still on the topic of his bro and she changed the topic to jack noir without clarifying, hence he goes “what”

this is interesting because terezi tried to get something out of him about this and was met by riddly puzzlecock and false bravado but he’s pretty straight up about his current feelings with jade. basically it really depends on the person dave is talking to.

in this specific argument, floral approaches grimbark jade solely from the position of her being uninhibited which is true in many ways, but grimbark jade is also quite nefarious and not in her right mind. i think that even if jade were unihibited and spoke her mind, she wouldn’t have it in her push the mayor into lava to get dave to fight her. thats the evil. floral does acknowledge this in a separate post though, but it’s not really touched on in her argument im discussing. i also want to reiterate that even though it might seem like im violently ripping this post limb from limb its really just something to bounce my pre-existing thoughts off of. this is all written with civility towards and respect for floral

even roxy says something about this—that the schtick doesnt suit her. like it doesnt feel like something she’d have the natural capacity to really be without some external influence

ROXY: so alt grannydaughter english ROXY: whyre u part dog + evil lookin JADE: DO NOT CALL ME THAT!!! ROXY: what JADE: my surname is harley not english JADE: but you may refer to me as jade, or ma'am if you are feeling especially nervous and deferential JADE: which as it turns out is the way you should be feeling about me, ALWAYS >:B ROXY: LOL!!! JADE: lol WHAT ROXY: jade i am in no way buying that ur normally this pompous and tyrannical ROXY: the shtick rly doesnt suit you its so obvious (p.6291)

so i don’t think everything jade says here should be taken to heart about her real feelings or how she would express them if she was being genuine as her normal self. we know jade can get mad but i think we’re giving her evil possession a little too much credit

that’s why i was personally disappointed in grimbark jade when homestuck was ongoing, is it felt like it didnt really give us anything? it was like empty calories while just waiting for the regular jade to come back which she never did. it is interesting to look at in retrospect to see if there’s anything there but…grimbark jade isn't exactly a reliable narrator. i guess none of them are but like, especially not grimbark jade. if i can’t separate what’s genuinely jade under this mess from what isn’t then what’s the point?

like for example this was left out of floral’s argument when showing this part, but in the comic grimbark jade tells dave that he’s “more messed up inside than davesprite” …. right after dave wouldnt comply with her demands to fight her and doesnt want to fight lord english. that’s…not really telling about anything at all for either of them. jade is evil and if things dont go the way she’s programmed to get them to go she’s gonna flip her lid. this is what i mean about her not being in her right mind

JADE: the fact is youre going to have to rely on those powers if you want to stand any chance against a lord of time JADE: it is safe to expect he can only be challenged by someone with a similar command over the aspect DAVE: why is that safe to expect DAVE: where are all these presumptions coming from DAVE: if you can use swords why dont you take the welsh cueball sword and fight him yourself DAVE: i bet you could fuck him up DAVE: youre probably even more extra strong now that youve succumbed to the bark side DAVE: did you ever think about that JADE: dave i am perfectly aware of the awesome powers granted to me by the bark side JADE: it does not matter JADE: i cant be the one to wield your sword against english JADE: it has to be you JADE: it is the will of the empress, and thats final DAVE: the empress can suck it DAVE: i have no intention of fighting him DAVE: and this isnt even me pulling more lame self aware reluctant hero junk DAVE: i am just straight up not going to do it DAVE: see thats not reluctance its just petulant refusal on my part DAVE: reluctant hero shit is when the guys like aw shucks i dunno if i wanna but deep down we all know he really does DAVE: but i really dont DAVE: why should i DAVE: i dont give a damn about lord english or his nebulous atrocities out in nowherespace DAVE: what kind of villain is someone you never met who hardly did anything evil to you or your friends directly DAVE: or even to anyone in your universe for that matter other than through some vague insidious influence DAVE: who even is this guy and why should i hate him DAVE: am i really supposed to be pissed off at a green muscle monster i never met DAVE: cause i aint pissed off at no muscle monster DAVE: hell wasnt he in some ass backwards way responsible for us existing in the first place? DAVE: or all of humanity for that matter?? DAVE: maybe i should thank him before chopping him up via welshscalibur JADE: jeez you sure have some issues JADE: honestly it has become very tiresome listening to this sort of thing JADE: i thought davesprite had problems JADE: his issues i could kind of understand JADE: i thought you might be different, being the alpha dave and all JADE: but no JADE: you might be even more messed up inside than he was! DAVE: what DAVE: why are you dragging that guy into this (p.6385 / 6386)

part 2

[devisopod]

Levity Creek!

Chapter 3

I keep forgetting to post these as I work on little pieces.

If you ask me, we were lucky this place even had a bathroom. I was met by the sight of a small group of guys, who were all hanging on the counter as they chatted with one another. Their laughter practically shook the place, only serving to make me all the more insistent on getting in and getting out. Thankfully enough, they ignored us.

The bathroom was a mess, of course. Paper towels scattered on the floor, puddles of water in unsuspecting places, the works. While I'm not entirely sure, I think I saw a rat scramble for cover when the automatic light switched on. It was clear enough that no one was actually doing their job around here. Then again, it didn't appear like they were doing much business in the first place.

Before I even let Tate into the stall, I must have wiped off the toilet seat three times.

"You've used a toilet, right?" I ask awkwardly. "You don't need my help or nothin'?"

Tate simply shakes his head.

"... No you ain't used a toilet, or no you don't need my help?"

He doesn't even bother answering me, but I can't say I expected anything more than a stiff reply on his part. No, instead, he hobbles into the stall and closes the door behind him, but he doesn't seem to be able to reach the latch. After listening to him struggle to reach it for a couple of seconds, I just opt to hold it closed for him, which he must have decided was good enough.

I waited in silence for a good two or three minutes before he finally finished. I lifted him up to the sink so he could wash his hands and then let him grab on again as I lead him out the door. Oh, but was I ever the sucker. In my peripheral, I could see him eyeing the rack with snacks on it. Neither of us had eaten anything in the past few hours, so I had no doubt he was hungry.

Hell, I was hungry.

"Pick some stuff out for the road," I offer, nodding toward the shelf.

This was probably the most child-like I'd seen him yet. As if given permission to do the most exciting thing on the planet, his body language lights up and he's checking out his options with no lack of enthusiasm. Every so often, he stops and compares two items, obviously thinking it through somewhat rationally. Or, at least, as rationally as a kid his age can manage.

His nose scrunches and twitches when he thinks — just like Fiddleford.

It's sweet to watch. Once he had his selection in his arms, which ends up being about four things in total, he looks up at me for approval.

Naturally, I'm not about to tell him no. I just nod and scoop it all up to add to the couple of snacks I'd picked out. I even compliment his choice of candy bar as we make our way to the counter. He seems pleased with that because he finally smiles.

The gaggle of men at the counter don't disperse to my dismay. Instead, they go off on a side tangent when the cashier reluctantly returns to doing his job. He doesn't even truly acknowledge me until he's punched half of my items into the register.

"You're a long way out," the man notes, his gaze moving to the window briefly. "I saw your tag. Where you headed to?"

"Gravity Falls," I answer idly, digging through my wallet.

At that, he straightens his back and looks down at me a little more seriously. The way he seems to be studying me nearly makes me wonder if I've just insulted him somehow — like I've spoken some kind of curse word. Instead of acknowledging it, I just pull out some cash and clear my throat, hoping to avoid any kind of conversation that might put me off. I'm having enough trouble justifying this move as it is. The last thing I truly need is some gas station clerk telling me something I don't wanna know.

To my surprise, and I suppose my relief, the man just grunts and says, "Careful on the roads up that way. The animals don't scare easy."

"Noted," I acknowledge before handing Tate his bag of snacks, which he looks down into eagerly.

Ushering him gently toward the door, I briefly watch the men huddle up again. They're all casting glances and talking real low by the time I reach the door. I swear I saw a hint of pity in the expressions of a few. The rest of the ride, I thought about it.

Somewhere along the way, not long before the sun hid itself behind the trees, Tate finally dozed off. I knew he finally had when I look back to find him struggling to hold his head up. Truth be told, it was a relief for me to see him comfortable. I can't imagine how worn out he was after such a long day. Not to mention, how worn out I was. I didn't make it much further than the sign that welcomed us to Gravity Falls before I felt a wave of exhaustion.

Despite it, and the added lull of the rain, I press on for another mile or so. The place seems so empty — no cars passing, no significant structures — it isn't often I let an eerie feeling best me, but this time it was hard to ignore.

Where I come from, animals are bound to run out in front of cars. A lot. So, in hindsight, I probably should have taken it to heart when that clerk warned me. I'm hardly prepared when it actually happens, no matter how on edge I am.

Just about the biggest animal I've ever seen makes a mad dash across the road, not much more than a yard in front of the van, followed by what I swear was a man. Needless to say, I found out rather quickly that the breaks are in good shape. Or, rather, were before I made the sharpest stop in my life. In my fit of annoyance and fear, I shout a rather vulgar string of expletives after the pair and lean my head back against the seat.

For a long moment, I sit in silence, staring over the steering wheel at the headlight beams while the mist of rain floats through the night air. Then, I shove a hand back through my hair and sigh, turning to face Tate. He's gripping a bag of peanuts tight, obviously a little shaken. Otherwise, he seems just fine, but it doesn't stunt my guilt.

My shoulders drop, the tension leaving as I speak up, "You didn't learn that word from me. Understand?"

A very quick nod.

"Good... you okay?"

Another.

"Okay," I say through an exhale.

***

Making it the rest of the way was a slow, but tense ride. I found myself eyeing the sides of the road more often than I paid attention to the road signs. I'm almost convinced I found Fiddleford's motel with luck alone by the time I let the van wind down in the parking lot.

Gingerly, I lift Tate from his seat and hold him up against my shoulder while I look around for the right room number. Most of the doors have half the numbers they used to, the only real indication are the sun stains left behind to reveal what once was.

I only have time to knock twice before the door opens abruptly and I'm met by my wide-eyed friend. He looks a lot more worn down than I remember him. Tired. Maybe a little scared, even. We hardly look the same age anymore. These past few years must have been tougher on him than I originally anticipated.

Yet, he greets me with the warmest smile and nearly squishes Tate when he plucks him from my arms to give him a hug. I don't have much time to enjoy the sight before I'm pulled into the hug too. Ever the believer in personal space, it feels a tad awkward, but I can't help giving in. He's happy and maybe I should be too.

It sort of feels like a reward for all the stress.

FIRST | PREV | NEXT

[voidshrubsquared]

Ok so Candied Circuits amirite (banger title also I am very proud of it)

(I was talking to emi about it thru tags and I felt like rambling a little about it :3)

So it would have been very much a Scrollon-centric fic, though I've thought of a few iterations that added a character or two for some extra Thought Experimenting. I had two more or less concrete iterations in mind: Either one, a smaller one-shot based completely on the hemoglobin post scene, or two, a 2-3 chapter long fic involving Cinna's story in Scrollon's POV, somewhat.

Short summary on each!

Idea one: Scroll goes out at night to catch an unsuspecting addison, drags them back to his bakery, scraps them, preps and eats them. Pretty self-explanatory, haha.

The idea here though would be that you get to hear him think, plan methodically, ramble about his addi biology knowledge and see him cook! There would have been a recipe section with a list of ingredients, and the reader would be able to follow the whole baking process! The descriptions would be really appealing :)

And when it came to finally eating his bake, the reader would also be able to catch that glimpse of feeling he's been wanting to experience this entire time. Just this super short sense of... euphoria? This THING he keeps trying to reach and can almost grasp but it disappears JUST as he thinks he's finally getting it. Oh well, there's always next time.

This fic would be very descriptive :>

Pros and cons of this idea:

Pros: Someone gets fully scrapped, death cool. Cutesy baking scene with an eerie atmosphere.

Cons: Kinda short? No Cinna :(

Idea two: This one is admittedly a bit more vague for me, but it would follow Scrollon's thoughts during Cinna's disappearance right after he thought he killed her. And some other branching-out thoughts of consecuences if his actions are brought to light, what his next move should be, etc etc. I'm a firm believer that Scrollon planned to kill two birds with one stone by killing Cinna, to both have another addison in his stash for later and also to try throw off suspicion over his department in a 'oh dear! our darling cinna has gone missing too! who could be doing this, I hope everyone gets found soon!' Kind of way, yknow? And it would be really interesting to just have him think while he idly bakes about what he should do now and how to keep things in control.

So anyways Cinna escapes, many thoughts occur, something something about keeping her missing arm as a reminder that she's out there. But then Scrollon finds out Cinna is BACK and she's ALSO eating people and she has a CREW, and so he's kind of irritated, more thoughts, tasteless simulacrum reference.

Things get more vauge as I go, but the idea is that at the end, he finds out that Cinna is out to get him, and that... makes him uneasy.

Pros: Okay so I'm gonna go on a little side-tangent here. So you know that one buks art of Scroll and Everette cuddling and Scroll wonders "Am I prey..." "No..." "I'm poison :3" (which. Btw. Super cool way to see how he interprets love. Or whatever closest he feels to love.) I love that. Because it's a little glimpse of how he sees things, and I think it applies well to the 'takes metaphors literally' thing. Well there would have been more of that in this iteration of the fic, and would have had heavier predator vs. prey theming. At the beginning there would be some stuff along the lines of "Scrollon is predator, Cinnemon is prey." And it would turn around on him in the end with something along the lines of "Cinna has a pack. Cinna hunts. Cinnemon is *predator.*" and a pause, "Scrollon is prey." And you'd just get a little dread... at the very least you'd get the sense that Scrollon has to be very cautious, and careful about what he should do next.

Side-tangent over, this whole thing is the pro. OH and Cinna. Cinna is always a pro.

Cons: Still vague imo? No real scrapping scene... no fun baking a Man scene... :(

Both ideas had stuff I wanted to incorporate, so looking back at both, I think I'd combine them, honestly. It would be something like Cinna disappears -> Scrollon kills, bakes and eats a man -> Scroll finds out about the Rainbow Café (I REMEMBERED THE NAME WOOO) and ofc in between all of that, we'd get all that juicy character exploration mainly on Scrollon :)

I hope none of that was confusing and made Complete Sense my brain is now Air

Anyways if I remember something else about this I'll rb with the additional info, but I think that's it! I wish I got to develop this a little more before the motivation went away, but ey, what can ya do!

(@emiplayzmc @jevajoy tagging ya both cause you two really like the scrollman and I thought you might like this/get something out of it, as small/vauge as it is :3)

[yukidragon]

Since its almost Halloween can we get some yandere werewolf Joseph head canons, please?!

Ho, hoooo~ That sounds like a fun little AU right there. I hope you don’t mind if I specifically use my version of sunshine, Alice, for this answer. It might help me get inspired to make another AU short fic for her and Jack... or rather Joseph. ;3

Hmm... lots of ways to take this. For example, I could go with a similar angle I used for my Vampire AU, in that everything is basically the same, just Joseph was a werewolf before he died, which now makes him a werewolf ghost(?) who was released from this cursed VHS prison by Alice.

Buuuut that would be Jack and not Joseph wouldn’t it? After all, he would be in the persona of the character of Sunny Day Jack, so let’s go with the college AU as our basis, shall we? I’m sure that version of Joseph would make a fine yandere werewolf.

BTW, for those of you who haven’t seen it, here’s a picture of Joseph in the College AU that Jambeebot/Sauce drew and posted publicly on their twitter.

A tired but handsome lad, perfect for some wolfy shenanigans, don’t you think?

Just as a quick reminder, please don’t repost any of the pictures posted privately on the Snaccpop Studios Patreon. For just $3, you can get a peek of the good stuff, and that’s cheaper than a cup of coffee like the one Jojo here is holding. You could also consider joining the Something’s Wrong with Sunny Day Jack kickstarter. It recently hit $45,000, so the Nick route was just unlocked!

Oh, and while I’m plugging stuff, why not check out Sunshine in Hell or Sunshine in Another World, my Sunny Day Jack fanfics? I’d love it if you read them and let me know what you think.

Also, I want to remind everyone this series is an Adults Only game, and there’s probably going to be a smutty headcanon or two in the bunch. I mean, we are talking about a werewolf AU. I’m practically obligated to mention knotting at least once.

Oh, before I forget, here’s the obligatory tags for @channydraws and @earthgirlaesthetic.

Thanks for indulging my side-tangent, now back to the headcanons.

I haven’t really touched on the College AU before, but now’s as good of a time as any, just with a little supernatural twist to it. There’s not really any “canon” lore to this AU, just Joseph looking pretty stylish as a college student, so I’m just gonna go crazy and have fun with it. Okay? Okay!

First off, it’s modern day, with cell phones, super fancy coffee drink shops, and obscene student loan debts. Joseph’s family/school life has been shit like in the normal universe, with parents who don’t love him (and probably regret ever having him), but he didn’t run away from home (or if he did, he eventually went back). Instead, he doubled down on his education to get a college scholarship that’ll get him the hell away from his shitty home life and hometown.

Of course, being a student reliant on a scholarship for his funds, Joseph has to work his ass off to maintain high enough grades to keep it. This leads to a lot of late nights, dark circles under his eyes, and a rewards card at the local Sunbucks coffee shop that gets used more than his phone. He gets so much coffee there that the barista even learned how to spell his name right!

The college happens to be the same unnamed college that Alice(/MC), Shaun, and Ian attended. Joseph, being interested in acting, winds up in some of the same classes as the three.

Now, we could say things in this continuity are mostly the same as canon, with Alice and Ian dating at the start of college. This would be when Joseph gets to meet his sunshine while being an ordinary college student instead of a ghost(?) clown actor. Jealousy and love triangles ensue.

But, nah, let’s shake that timeline up little more with some of that werewolf spice, shall we? In fact, let’s rewind the timeline just a little to some events before college starts.

Joseph comes from a pack of werewolves. His parents are still unloving and don’t pay attention to him, but man does being a supernatural creature complicate matters even more. There’s the whole pack hierarchy with alphas and what not (which even Joseph knows is something real wolves don’t do, but then again real wolves don’t transform or have supernatural nonsense going on with them either). You have to be the biggest and strongest to get any power or attention, which is more reason for him to go through a rebellious stage... only this period of teenage angst involves fangs and claws instead of a pocket knife.

So why then, did Joseph not run away from home in this universe when things feel even more isolating for him? He did, but this time it was during a full moon after a particularly rough tumble with his pack. He made it to an area without local wolves of any variety, and on that moonlit night he found himself a ray of sunshine.

Alice’s childhood home has a large backyard that leads into a forest. Being familiar with these woods and with no dangerous wildlife to speak of in the area, it wasn’t at all out of the ordinary for her to take a late night stroll. When she heard a faint whimpering, she assumed it was one of the family dogs. What she found in the dim light of the moon and her cell phone’s flashlight app was a juvenile “dog” with dark chocolate colored fur that had a pretty blue shine where the light hit it.

The poor thing was all covered in cuts, and growled at the strange human approaching him when she got close. Alice felt sorry for it, but knew better than to get too close. Joseph wasn’t exactly happy about being found, and was relieved when she left, only to be surprised when she returned with a couple bowls, one filled with dogfood and the other water.

Joseph figured out her misunderstanding and found it kind of funny. This stranger was treating him as a dog more kindly than his parents or his teachers ever did, speaking soothingly and not getting too close. He snubbed the dogfood because he wasn’t that desperate yet, but he was thirsty after running away so far.

Alice smelled pretty nice to Joseph, really nice in fact. He got closer to her to get a better sniff of her scent underneath the artificial perfumes of her soap and deodorant. She knew better than to move when he got closer, lest she startle him, and he decided to be cheeky and lick her hand when he noticed some cookie crumbs still stuck to her fingers.

What Joseph didn’t expect was that Alice took that as a sign he wanted to be petted. It was startling, to say the least. No one had ever pet him before, not even his parents!

Then again, they didn’t hug him either.

It felt... nice. Far nicer than it had any right to feel, especially after he felt so shitty after getting roughed up by his shitty pack. Joseph melted under the touch and leaned into Alice as she used both hands to put him so gently, his tail wagging for the first time in forever.

Werewolves hid among humanity, but didn’t have much respect for them. Joseph didn’t see a reason to respect humans or werewolves, but this one... this one felt nice, really, really nice. Maybe it was just because of the full moon making him feel more wolf-like and instinctive, but he thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be this human’s pet... at least until he recovered from his injuries. He shouldn’t stay too long in case one of his pack decided to track him down to punish him for running away. 

Alice felt so warm, and Joseph wanted more of her touch. He could’ve cried when she hugged him and called him a good boy.

Unfortunately, such a beautiful moment didn’t last long, as Alice started to cough and she backed from Joseph while covering her mouth and nose. “I guess your owner’s a smoker, huh?”

Joseph never batted an eye whenever a teacher caught him with cigarettes. Their detentions, wagging fingers, and warnings of the danger of teenage smoking never reached him. If anything, their obnoxious lectures just made him want to cut class to light up another joint. It was only when Alice, the first person to hug him in forever, had to put some distance between them so she could breathe did he regret ever picking up the habit.

Even still, Alice brought Joseph back to her house with the intention of taking him to the vet to get him treated in the morning. The family dogs were wary of him, as was expected since they had a better sense of the danger a werewolf posed, but her human family were welcoming. Fortunately, acting friendly enough convinced them that he simply was a very wolf-like breed rather than an actual wolf, let alone a werewolf.

Still, they kept a more careful distance from Joseph than Alice did. They looked him over, and he allowed a few pets, but none of them smelled as appealing as Alice, or cuddled him like she did. Unfortunately, being indoors made it harder to avoid the smell of smoke, so she was forced to keep her distance.

It made Joseph feel a little lonely.

During the night when everyone was asleep, Joseph raided the fridge in a form that actually had opposable thumbs and prowled around the house. He found Alice in her room, but he couldn’t stay long when she started coughing in her sleep. He did linger long enough to notice that she had some fantasy romance novels, a couple of which involved supernatural creatures like werewolves.

Joseph wanted to stay and get to know Alice, but he was a danger to her. Not only would the pack find him if he didn’t keep going, but something as stupidly mundane as a smoking habit was keeping him away from the first person to make him feel warm and cared for in his life.

That night, Joseph reconsidered what he really wanted. He wanted to find a new life, a better life, one with actual love in it. Before he didn’t know how to do it besides forcing his parents, teachers, peers... just someone to finally look at him like a person and not a burden. Now... now there was a chance. He found a ray of sunshine in his dark life. He had a goal to work towards.

Joseph returned to the pack, but not before getting some information he could use, like Alice’s home address and phone number. He would sneak back to watch her from a distance, waiting until it would be safe for him to see her again. He quit smoking, but it would be a while until he stopped smelling of smoke.

One time when Joseph snuck by to see Alice, he saw a scrawny human boy by her side. It wasn’t unexpected - humans spent time with humans, though it did make him feel lonely to see her spending time with someone else when he couldn’t. Worse, was how much fun they were having, laughing, playing around and joking together. They were close.

Then Joseph caught wind of the boy’s pheromones... and hers as well.

The two of them were attracted to each other.

It irritated Joseph, which wasn’t helped by his nicotine withdrawal. Yes, humans were meant to be with humans, and he was supposed to mate with another werewolf and all that bullshit, but fuck that! He hadn’t even gotten the chance to talk to Alice yet, and here was this little toad daring to hug and lust after the first person to show him just the smallest scrap of warmth.

Joseph couldn’t handle it.

Ian had some incidents coming home from Alice’s house where he was stalked by a wild dog or a wolf that chased after him, snapping teeth and growling. However, it would mysteriously only go after him when he was alone and somehow always avoided his attempts at snapping a photo on his phone. On those nights, he wasn’t even truly safe at home, as he would hear scratching at his windows, only to find nothing there, and he thought he heard whispers warning him to stay away from Alice. It made him paranoid and afraid to walk alone when visiting her, and his mom twisted his experiences as being demonic in nature, a warning that he better not have any sinful thoughts about his friend...

It created some distance between Ian and Alice. They were still friends and still close, but he visited her house less often and felt more anxious about his romantic and spicy feelings towards her. This made it even harder for him to gather the courage to ask her out and try to go from friends to something more.

Which suited Joseph perfectly.

It was at least a year after that first encounter that Joseph arranged an ‘accidental’ first encounter with Alice in his human form while she was out and about in the city. Although she kept a greater distance from him as a human than she did as a “dog,” he managed to act cheerful and friendly enough to get her to lower her guard.

The time waiting to see Alice wasn’t spent idly. Joseph had been preparing for that “first” meeting with her, studying more about how to act than he ever did at school, though he did pull his grades up. He stopped acting out, ironically now trying not to attract anyone’s attention in his hometown, so that no one would realize he was sneaking off.

His pack might have hid among humans, but they kept their distance and felt humans were beneath them. They would never accept Joseph’s obsession with one, not unless he became the leader of the pack and changed the rules, or could earn the right to leave the pack, both of which would require him to battle and defeat the alpha.

It was an exhausting balancing act, but worth it to Joseph. He got stronger, pulled up his grades in school, and visited Alice whenever he could. They became friends, and got close enough they exchanged cell phone numbers. He was elated, and the more time he got to know her, the deeper he fell for her.

Joseph did intend to just befriend Alice, he really did, but when she gave him a hug while he was in his human form, he didn’t want to let her go. He wanted more.

He wanted her to be his mate for life.

You know, sometimes werewolf romances have mystical mate bonds, so let’s go with that. It’d be fitting since it’s similar to the connection between Jack and his sunshine in the main universe. Werewolves have one mate for life when they make the mark and all sorts of perks and all those fun tropes.

Joseph did his best to appeal to Alice, and he was thrilled the first time he caught scent of her interest in him - not Ian or someone else, but him! He nearly acted on it right there, but he knew her better by this point. She was shy, took things slowly, and when sneakily prying about her thoughts on romance, he found out that she’d only want to date someone she was friends with first.

Fine, fine, Joseph could wait. He had to take care of his pack’s potential interference anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to secure a good future too if he was going to start a family. Alice did admit she wanted a big family with a bunch of kids in the future, and he was quite happy to imagine having a whole litter of pups with her.

Joseph managed to defeat the alpha by the time he graduated high school. He could have taken over for the pack, but screw them all. He was free, more or less. He had a scholarship, he made sure to enroll in the same college Alice was attending, and he even managed to arrange it so that they would be staying in the same dorm. He wanted to be roommates with her, but the damn school decided that students of the same gender couldn’t stay on the same floor, let alone share a room.

Now that Joseph finally was free, he asked Alice out on the first day of classes, and she shyly accepted.

The fact that Ian just happened to be in earshot at the time really was a total coincidence. Really.

One date led to more, then a relationship. Joseph was the ideal boyfriend, kind, considerate, and very loving. Alice was wonderful to him as well, so cuddly and affectionate. She made him feel so loved and appreciated in a way no one else could.

Joseph swapped out his nicotine addiction for a caffeine addiction, but that was fine. Alice liked the smell of coffee, and although she didn’t really care to drink it, she didn’t mind the taste of it when he kissed her. After a while the smell of coffee would remind her of him, especially when they kissed.

Now that they had gotten this far, Joseph had to gently warm Alice up to the idea of werewolves. She enjoyed horror movies as well as gothic romances, so he had something to work with, getting familiar with some werewolf romance media to show her and talk to her about. It was so romantic how a human and a werewolf could make a relationship work despite all odds, wasn’t it?

Joseph would feel insecure when Alice made friends besides him, especially if he caught wind of any sort of attraction they had towards her. Shaun also had the annoying stink of cat on him. Joseph was quick to make it clear early on after meeting him who Alice wanted to be with, much to her embarrassment.

After all, she hadn’t been expecting Joseph to (gently) bite her neck while she was introducing Shaun and Joseph to one another.

“Joey!” Alice hissed breathlessly as she pushed Joseph back, her face cherry red. “Not here!”

Joseph chuckled, unrepentant as he admired the new mark he left behind on her skin along with the others that made it clear to everyone that Alice was his. “Sorry, sunshine, I just couldn’t resist.”

During a full moon, a werewolf’s instincts are much stronger, which made it that much harder for Joseph to hold back his urge to mate with Alice. He had to take it slowly with her, mindful of her comfort, but oh how she drove him so crazy sometimes. It seemed to get harder and harder to stop when she signaled an end to their make out sessions, but he would never, ever do anything she didn’t want, even if it left him with blue balls and with the urge to tear something apart in the woods to burn off the extra energy.

But all the waiting in the world is worth it for Alice, as far as Joseph is concerned, especially the night she finally, finally tells him that she loves him. He gently pried for it, not as forward or as confident as he would as Jack in the game, but he was absolutely just as giddy and relieved to hear it.

Needless to say, when Joseph reveals the truth about his werewolf nature to Alice, she’s very skeptical, thinking it’s a prank at first. He offers to prove it and shocks her when he manages to actually transform into a wolf, and a rather sizable one at that. Although intimidating and world changing, she quickly accepts this side of him, much to his delight.

Wolfy cuddles, petting, and tail wags follow... then Joseph reveals his hybrid form, with a human physique and wolf features. (It’s not too much different than Bo’s “feed me” form.)

It happens to be a full moon, and Joseph, high off of her love and acceptance of every side of him, gets very affectionate. Though intimidated and very nervous, Alice consents to going all the way with him for the first time. She marvels at how a big and dangerous werewolf like Joseph can be so gentle... and how many times he can keep going.

It was quite the learning experience for Alice. First she learned that her boyfriend was a werewolf, then just how big he is, and finally that she can handle someone of his size without pain with enough loving preparation beforehand. Joseph made sure to shower her with praise through the experience, especially when she managed to take his knot.

Needless to say, the two of them skip classes the next day. Joseph is only too happy to carry Alice around until she can walk properly again, much to her embarrassment.

The mate marking happens either during their first time or afterwards, but, in any case, Alice is consenting to it. After all, it means she and Joseph can be together forever. She’s never felt so happy and accepted before. How can she say no when he’s such a wonderful guy who loves her so much?

Sure, Joseph gets a bit territorial, and Alice always has kiss and bite marks that she can never quite hide when out in public, but that just shows how crazy he is about her. How can she not find it flattering?

Although Joseph’s size and werewolf nature can be intimidating, Alice isn’t afraid of him. How could she? He’s the sweetest, most gentle, friendly, and loving person she’s ever known. The idea that he could hurt anyone is completely absurd!

Joseph is the happiest he’s ever been in his life. He finally has his sunshine, and, someday, they’re going to have a nice home and a bunch of happy pups to call their own. As long as no one tries to get between them, everything will end happily ever after.

If they do, well... this wolf knows how to hunt.

[intertexts]

oh god i just realized I forgot to send you this. behold: the worst trivia ask out of all of them:

EPISODE 22 TRIVIA:

- they spend the first. 9 whole minutes talking about the logistics of snapping someones neck irl only to learn that its not actually possible and thats just something that was make up for movies

- "this is the most guy talk we've ever had at the beginning of a rolled. i feel like we need a trigger warning for boys"

- bizly wanted them seeing tide again to feel awkward and weird! like you're going back to your parents house after not seeing them for a really long time

- talking about how dakota has so many parental figures now and grizzly goes "except for ms. g. she has my whole heart" and WITHOUT missing a beat charlie goes "no. *i* have your whole heart"

- there was apparently a group of people on twitter who made a VERY long VERY well researched document about how all the medical stuff esp involving william would work and kept tagging bizly in posts asking how things would work and hes like "man i dont know!! i write a silly superhero show im not a doctor! it all comes down to his parents built a very strange machine that was designed to view worlds unseen!" (<< quoting the dp theme song in the most EXASPERATED voice possible.)

- "WILLIAM WISP SHOULD HAVE FUCKIN WORMS IN HIM. if we were playing this realistically william would be fuckin LOCKED UP with rigor mortis and COVERED in worms and FULL OF GASSES. he should be FOUL. and FULL OF WORMS. and I DONT WANT THAT" << hes a coward for this. btw. i feel like william should be grosser

- they just keep saying more things about how william should be so grotesque. at one point charlie goes "please dont draw this. its so gross". me, looks at my 4/7 jrwi freak week canvases that are william wisp themed. um. well.

- WARM BODIES MENTION. i love that movie. charlies like "thats how i want william to work hes undead but hes like. pretty about it"

- bizly: "because we've already explored this plot thread of William Being Dead so much, i dont want him getting a heart to just automatically fix that. its not like hes just magically alive now. i havent thought of the exact consequences yet but i want there to be some drawbacks to this to keep things interesting"

charlie: "william is just thrilled right now to be feeling stuff. i dont think hes considering the possible drawbacks"

- "ive never been prouder of any of my characters than when william wisp dented drywall"

- "why didnt vyncent get a fun surgery too" "because I'm a coward"

- they were on some absolutely insane energy for this rolled they keep going on like 5-10 minute long tangents and BARELY talk about the episode other than to mention how william should be a rotting corpse. I REMEMBER NOW that this was a SIGNIFICANT factor in my being frustrated with the heart surgery thing LMAO

- THATS IT. THATS LITERALLY IT. THE ROLLED IS OVER NOW. THIS WAS NOTHING !!!!!

TERRIBLE rolled youre right!!!!! help!!! this is so funny. great rolled guys lets wrap it up. william should be wormy and u cant snap peoples necks. good job everybody. it is really funny to me that people were... expecting medical accuracy?? how do u really seriously research putting one guys heart and another guys blood inside a body that's been dead for several years. frankly i would love to see it i'm very curious.

LOWKEY I'M GLAD HE *ISN'T* A BLOATED LOCKED UP DECAYING CORPSE!!!!! PERSONALLY!!!! i fully respect ur rights and taste to think he should be rotting and worm filled and stinky but frankly i'm on charlies side w this one. hes undead and pretty about it <33

anyway. i still have many thoughts about wiwi's soul/body/wisp relationship that i will NOT start talking about now because it would get LONG. but. its always great hearing their thoughts on it. eyes emoji. but yeah i really don't want him to be just magically fixed and alive now.... we'll see!! we'll see how it goes!!!!

[halfagone]

Challenge! 20 Questions for Writers

Thank you both @oliveofvanders and @tathartiel for tagging me!! I don't know what the 20 questions are, but I'll try to work from Tathy's responses. XD

How many works do you have on Ao3?

Technically my Ao3 page says 88, but I personally count it as 87, since I became a co-author post-publishing to add a work into a series. It's complicated, alright?

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

Oh gosh, don't hate me for this- Right now my total stands at 1,936,874 words... Yeah. I may be just a smidge unhinged...

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now I currently write for the DPxDC crossover, although I'm hoping to branch out into DP-only, DC-only, and other crossover works!! I used to write for another fandom, but I've long since left that one behind.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

No. 1 goes to lex luthor's ascent from supervillainy to fatherhood with a whopping 14,759 kudos. It is currently 92 chapters long, I am working on chapter 93, and it is projected to finish at 150 chapters.

No. 2 goes to Two For One Special at 8,349 kudos!! It's a short one-shot, very light-hearted with Danny and Clark being mistaken as two Waynes.

No. 3 goes to what was lost, found again with 7,090 kudos. This story follows more introspection and character exploration, and we get to see a softer side of what things could be if Jason came home after being resurrected. It's 5 chapters long, already completed if you want to check it out!

No. 4 goes to Eldritch Toddler with 7,031 kudos, so a very close runner-up to No. 3. This is another one-shot for DPxDC crossover week (which will be reoccur this year, although sadly I'm not sure if I'll be able to write for it this time), and it's a little wild and goofy but I overall I tried for fluffy family feels.

We wrap up with No. 5, Off With [the Demon's] Head at 5,492 kudos!! It is currently 15 chapters long, who knows when it'll be done. Danny is Damian's older brother, with mommy and daddy issues a-plenty, and he's sorta kinda Ellie's father? It's complicated and I like to hurt the blorbos.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I definitely try to!! I am very behind on them unfortunately, but I try to respond when I have the spoons and time to. It'll be slow going to catch up to them all, but I try to give them the credit they deserve. <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh this one's hard... I tend to write a lot of angst, after all. Hmmm... I think I'll give this one to On a scale from 1-10, how would you rate your pain? just because that fic is so depressing and then I end it with a cliffhanger, so you don't get very much relief from the angst.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Ah... I think this one does go to what was lost, found again just because of the catharsis for the journey. There's plenty of angst and hard feelings in that fic, but I really loved being able to write that epilogue from Damian's POV and seeing so many people love it too.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've gotten some pretty rude comments, but I think I've only gotten outright hate one time. That comment has since been reported and deleted. There are many comments that seem to take a bad faith reading on the entire chapter, and then kinda go on a tangent about it? It's very strange to see but thankfully I have plenty of other wonderful readers who make up for it.

9. Do you write smut fic? If so, what kind?

Technically no. I've written some more mature fics, but I doubt I'll ever go for full-blown smut. And I'd like to keep it that way, thanks...

10. Do you write crossovers? If so, what's the craziest one you've written?

Oh boy do I write crossovers. Majority of my fics are crossovers now actually. lol lex luthor's ascent from supervillainy to fatherhood does take this cake once again, because it started off as a few responses to a Tumblr prompt, and then it became interconnected one-shots and back then I had planned out at least 20 chapters, and here we are now.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't believe so, and I really, really hope not.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have co-written a fic!! It's called Born to Make History and I write it with my lovely friend @nightshiftshenanigans. I do have some more plans for co-written fic and hopefully one day soon I'll get to unveil them. ;3

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Oh... that's hard... I don't think I have one all-time favorite? I guess Tim Drake/Danny Fenton would be the closest, since it's the ship I've written the most for. Much like Tathy, I really adore Danny Fenton/Valerie Gray, they are my canon babies. <333

14. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Probably weekend wonders. I have plenty of ideas for the fic, the problem is I have so many other WIPs that came as a higher priority that I don't know when this one will get to update. It's only meant to have 15 chapters, but other things get in the way.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Hmmm, now that's a hard one. I do enjoy writing many things, especially worldbuilding, but I think introspection and character study would probably be the top ones up there. It's always been very important to me to show a character's reasoning and motivations. Even if you don't relate to it, even if their reasoning is inherently baseless, it is always good to see that people do things for a reason even if it's a stupid one.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I am so bad at dialogue it physically pains me. TAT Occasionally I'll get scenes and bits of dialogue I am absolutely in love with but otherwise it's just- It's not my strong suit for sure. lol In other news, I get pretty good at monologues, though!! XD

17. First Fandom you wrote for?

Tower of God, Korean Manhwa from Webtoon. It's so freaking long and so freaking good, but I have sadly since left it (and the fandom at large) behind. :'(

18. Favorite Fic you've written?

I bounce between favorites, but my current one would probably be this is me trying. It is a birthday fic for a wonderful friend of mine, @disillusioneddanny but the idea itself has been something I've wanted to explore for a long time, and I am so proud that I could give them a gift they could enjoy.

Apologies if you get tagged twice here: @die-erlkonigin6083, @chromatographic, and @theredshirtsarecoming!! (You ain't getting out of this that easily, zia!! MUAHAHAH) No pressure if you're not up for it, but in case you were interested~ Have at it!!

[kiwibirdlafayette]

I’ve keep thinking about one of your tags, specifically the “self fulfilling prophecy a display of a true role of an ianitee” and I would love for you to go into that!

if I may, I’d like to give my understanding of that and you can tell me how far off base it is.

With Redbeard it’s him thinking something will always go wrong around him whether he causes it or not. He chalks it up to his “natural unluckiness” and puts little effort to fox said issues. If we go to Capsize’s death, she gets threatened and he stands and does little to stop it. He crashes the first airship and brushes it off, he actively heavily drinks during the mission, like he for some of it causes his own misfortune.

For Jordan, it’s being alone within his faith. (This one I’m a bit shakey on cause I don’t think I have a good footing when it comes to his character.) He wants community but he does not find it with the pirates. Specifically with Capsize. Back to Capsizes death, he also doesn’t jump in to stop Furia from killing Capsize. Both Andor and Capsize end up getting imprisoned in-front of the group, although the reason why is different (to my memory) he doesn’t jump in to save either. He does find community with Andor though! But he’s now separated from him, so once again he’s alone.

Idk what Spark or Capsizes problem is, wish I did though. They probably have tons.

OH ok im sorry Im so late in responding Im gonna be honest. I completely forgot initially what I was thinking about when I made that tag but its finally come back to me ok. ok.

Basically what I think I was referring to in the concept of a 'self fufilling propechy; filling the role of an ianitee" is the kind of idea that champions of Ianite, or gods in general are tied to their deity in not just a follower kind of way, but like in a metaphysical manner- like where the principle of whomever they end up following are somewhat built into their characterization, and in the way worked into the fibers of their soul. Its present with the other gods/followers but its really interesting with the ianitees I think.

It may not necessarily be intentional or conscious on the part of the follower but essentially their morals, actions and the foundations of relationships are centered around what aspects the god stands for, and sort of act like a compass for them. So like in Capsize's case, I had interpreted Cat's post as like even though Capsize was born the "luckier" of the twins- aside from her name being that of a literal disaster- a lot of her actions to me take on a very heavy kine selflessness, putting herself at risk for like Red, doing things that would put her in a place of misfortune almost as a protective maneuver for others which I could almost call to be her fatal flaw. She has to be balanced in nature somehow to counter feeling like she's stolen Red's luck (from Cat's post, that line is driving me nuts in the best way), and that's how she does it.

And like, what you were saying with Jordan, his seeking of balance comes in surface level playing mediator between Tom and Tucker but like in a subconscious way (at least how i interpret it haha) its more got to do with yeah, like community. Jordan, as a character to me is very tied to the idea of home/closeness/familiarity, which ties into the lighthouse metaphor I like to cite between him and Tom (essay for another day before I go on yet another tangent), and his evolving relationship with the others over the course of the series. He, by nature is really drawn to carving his own path (i mean the man fully invents his own ass god) and has like an ambition that tends to isolate him from others (I haven't forgotten jokes in other SMPs about his house always being so far away from everyone else) but what he really craves, in needing to adhere to some kind of balance is closeness, a safe familiar place to rest his head, a lack of separation that he always ends up wanting to fully lean towards, but because of this balance thing- he can't have all of one or the other.

Spark I think follows a similar pattern to Jordan, and as a result as do Andor and Martha (albeit in different ways I'll try to speak on but I don't spend much time with their characters aside from the fact that especially in Ruxomar where Ianitees are kind of othered (cough queer metaphor, this is not an original thought but it makes so much sense) that to counter this oppression of their beliefs they too seek out community which is why Andor and Jordan get on so well.

Because Spark grew up with something different and we don't get much canoncially of him, its a little harder to analyze him, but if I had to give it a guess, I think his is moreso like he falls between two worlds in being the s/o of a literal goddess, that he feels an obligation to act as a mediator (as Jordan is), but rather between his two brothers-in-law, but instead between that of the immortal and mortal worlds, where like Capsize carries with him a protective nature to make them feel more in alignment. Essentially, in someway or another, giving agency and power to the mortal world and making the immortal world feel less distant and understandable/attuned to those who they rule. But its less a burden he chooses to carry, like a i must take control to bring this balance, and more a internal kind of responsibility to maintain his connections between both worlds, to keep himself together.

And Red, gods Red m8, I haven't dug too deep into him but I really like your take on him! Someone who I think is a really good example of how his unluckiness, rather than being something that unconsciously he wants to correct to find an internalized balance, instead has found a certain apathy to the notion that he was supposed to be the unlucky side of the twins, that i could almost say mans like found a neutral ground that way; sitting on a middle ground of having neither fortunate nor an unfortunate influence on the way things happen because either way he feels he'll only worsen it which. idk about you but Ouch That Hurts. Like he wants to strive for finding balance in having some type of influence of fortune, but its so out of reach he chooses instead to take a role of inaction

GAHHH theres so much brainrot that can come from this. I will be thinking about this forever. i hope i didnt fully just do the horribly misinterprets the characters LMAO any way. thank you for this

It eez what it eez TLDR; Ianitees come into the realm with an almost pre-determined alignment long before they consciously are aware of the goddess, a kind of self-fulflling that drives a lot of their emotional-moral compass in seeking a balance within them that gives them a role and purpose in the fabric of their characterization and relationships with others

[kasmis]

Thanks so much for posting your thoughts on Death Mark II, really informative and has made me even more excited for the game! I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what was the one line they changed for Mashita in Death Mark that you mentioned?

Hii of course I'm so glad you read and enjoyed!! I really enjoyed playing it so I'm super excited that more people get to play it soon.. Fall 2023 needs to come faster 😭😭

Oh my god.. I'm going to stick my answer under a read more just in case people are concerned about DM spoilers in 2023 (?) and also because I accidentally went off and wrote a super long response LMFAOOOO. But I realize this is something a lot of overseas fans don't know so I hope you don't mind that I'm tagging my response!!

So.. in Chapter 2 of Death Mark, it's possible to trigger the Live or Die where you close the beehives with any partner character. And every partner character get a unique line of dialogue as soon as it starts right. In the translation, Mashita says "(last name)! Get away from there!" But.. in the original.. he says "(first name)! Run away!"

Here are screenshots comparing the two with the default "Yashiki Kazuo / 八敷一男" name:

Trying to figure out the reason they changed this has like haunted me to this day LOLLLL I just don't understand it!! At first I thought it was because the localizer might be worried overseas audiences would get confused at the sudden name switch, but then in Chapter 6 Hiroo calls Yashiki by his first name when she's possessed. So I don't know why they kept her "Kazuo" while removing Mashita's!? Like it's possible they made the decision to keep Hiroo's after they had already finished translating and localizing the earlier chapters, but I still like. Idk. It makes me mad to be honest LOL I think it's such a good and cute Mashita moment and the change is truly unneeded.. I'm holding back from going off on another tangent but you get the idea 😭😭

In general I have several other issues with the quality of the translation and localization of DM overall but also like. IIRC the AKSYS team was literally just one translator and one localizer so I try to be understanding. I just really hope that for Death Mark II they give them more resources because there's plenty of stuff that I think will be difficult to carry over accurately and if the team is stretched thin it might not live up to its full potential. That's why I said before that I was a little nervous about how they'll approach some things in the new game looll..

Anyway. If it wasn't obvious I'm like very interested in comparing the differences between the JPN and ENG versions of the game and I have plenty to say but I feel like I've already made this way too long.. I'm always happy to discuss the other things they changed and my opinions on the changes tho so like. As an open invitation to anyone else reading ig if there's anything else ur curious about I'm happy to chat!! Thank you for asking this and allowing me to ramble 💖

[angelsrecs]

YOUR BEST AMERICAN BOY by hatsuna

Completed | T | 23k

Main tags: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi, Getting Together, Alternate Universe- Asian Americans, High School, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

“What unites both generations [OF ASIAN AMERICANS], Eng and Han suggest, is a kind of linguistic lack, a missing vocabulary—a paucity of stories that they might tell themselves about where they are going, and what it would mean to feel whole.”

Kiyoomi Sakusa has spent the last seventeen years believing he is boring. He has never met anyone inclined to challenge this belief.

c/w: self-harm, blood, implied child abuse

—

The main reason I love this fic so much is because sakusa is so relatable in this fic. One of the central themes of this fic is the “Asian American experience” and cultural dissonance. I’m a second (and 1/2 I guess? My mom moved when she was a kid, my dad was born here) generation Chinese Canadian and it was like sakusa was written just to remind me of my experiences.

This bring me into my first favourite scene:

“But when we were talking just now, you said Kiyomi, which is wrong. You're missing a vowel. You're missing the other 'o.'"

"Am I?" Kiyoomi asks, the shame returning, the pebble in his belly expanding into a stone.

"Yeah, you sure are." Atsumu's eyes are far away, but his voice reaches a hand down Kiyoomi's throat and tugs.

It comes up green.

I don’t know any Chinese—mandarin or cantonese—like I should. When I was a child I was put into Chinese school; my Saturday’s were spent learning mandarin (because my parents thought it would be more useful for my future) instead of the Cantonese my parents knew. When I was in grade 1, full of resentment of having an extra day of school unlike my other friends, when my mandarin homework was too difficult for my parents to help me with, I begged my parents to let me stop. As a last ditch effort they put me into the Cantonese equivalent of my grade level and I just remember being so confused and hopeless that class. I never had to go again after that. Now I can’t even write my own name anymore and during family gatherings I say hello and look to my parents to translate for me when they inevitably as the usual How old are you now? How’s school going? When the subject comes up on why I don’t know Chinese I tend to blame my parents Why didn’t you speak it at home when I was younger? Why did you put me in mandarin classes? but in all honesty it’s my fault for giving up. I think about that a lot. Back to the point, I had some other Chinese friends ask what my Chinese name and when I said it there were some laughs about what it sounded like (wash hair). I’m pretty sure it’s because of my pronunciation (because canto and mandarin shouldn’t be that different); anyways, this scene really struck home.

I don’t know anything about OCD other than what was put in a chapter of my into to psychology class, but I think hatsuna does an incredible writing Sakusa’s OCD. I appreciated how they included definitions in the diagnosis scene, as well as how we see his experience full frontal during the fic.

Also I’m a sucker for words as a motif so when humanity/being alive is repeated throughout this fic it felt a punch to the stomach (this is a good thing) every time.

Kiyoomi remembers the rush of heat he felt in his cheeks at this declaration—the unshakable understanding that he was human. It simmered in his stomach for a long, long time. 

Because a name means you are real. A name means you are real. 

[movies] are a form of proof that yes, we were human, and yes, we were here.

Another thing I loved in this fic is the way hatsuna writes relationships, platonic or romantic.

I loved how the author also explored sakusas relationship with his mother (oh god here comes another tangent). My mom is a 1st Gen immigrant and while she didn’t move on her own (let alone move for me like in this fic), if I think about her childhood too much I get kinda weepy. She moved because of the Vietnam war and to keep it short, I know I’m extremely privileged to be in the position I am. She doesn’t talk much about that time (to me or to my dad either I’m pretty sure), but I heard one story from my aunt is how she fell off the boat when travelling from Vietnam. My mom has always been afraid of water.

One of the things I get on my fyp the most on tiktok is clips of people’s podcasts (sorry they’re kinda good and I’ve found some nice ones this way) and I remember 2 clips really vividly; they were from 2nd gen immigrants talking about their parents and the sacrifices they made and the guilt & gratitude that comes with it. I think that’s more of the angle this fic takes.

She’s out cold before Kiyoomi can tell her that he knows. That he knows monsters and martyrs are two sides of the same coin, that perhaps mothers are the closest thing humans will ever get to angels. 

Regarding the relationship between sakusa & atsumu, I wouldn’t say this is a slow burn, but we get these wonderful snippets of their development with this snapshot style of writing which takes me to my other favourite parts of this fic

The chuckle his partner lets out flutters like butterfly wings; it kisses him on the cheek. And just like that—all liquid gold and lavender—it dawns on Kiyoomi that Atsumu embodies happiness. Miya Atsumu is joy itself.

“What word were you assigned for the project again?” Kiyoomi starts exporting his video. “Happiness,”

"Love," Maria repeats, her eyes still glued to her true-tone screen. She's rereading her script one last time, checking for spelling errors before she submits it. "I thought your word was love."

Note: I cut out a few section of this last scene so it’s more succinct

Author does such a good job balancing the romance aspect and the more.. character study aspect (not quite sure how to word it). Like I said this isn’t quite a slow burn because I don’t feel the type of tension that’s associated with the tag, their development is more like a flow of water that builds up to the confession scene between the two.

For anyone else who has felt like a part of them has been missing due to being raised outside of their home country, YOUR BEST AMERICAN BOY will lay you bare in the best way possible.

[crazywolf828]

I get finding early Jaune annoying, but tag-lurking for that purpose ain't healthy. 'Sides, V6-8 made leaps & bounds WRT his screentime balance & watchability (loved the 'hoverbikes OK for a dude who might've never seen one before' parts).

Oh for sure, I hated Jaune until like v6 really. However, just because I didn't like him or his character, doesn't mean it wasn't a good direction for his growth.

Which like, mini tangent, you can hate a character while still understanding their actions/development. Like just saying.

But yeah v1-v3 Jaune is this naive goofy dude who was told by his sister or dad or smth(I forget it was real early) that all he has to do is show confidence to get the girl. He tries that with Weiss, a lot, it doesn't work. It's a very irritating character trait, and then you see Pyrrha, a beloved character, pining after him while he doesn't notice her until near the end. Which is another mini gripe that was sorta forced in a sense but like time constraints I get it. So he finally gets more confident thanks to Pyrrha's training and reinforcement and then she's killed after he realizes his feelings.

I think v5-v6 is my favorite version of Jaune before I started liking him. He sort of stays strong in the first few eps we see, helps RNJR with plans, gets Pyrrha's head piece added to his shield and that moment of him, Nora, and Ren in the hotel room together, all their weapons against the wall, showing off her head piece for the first time like they're all back together? Fucking loved that scene. Anyway, then we see him training every night to the recording of Pyrrha, and y'know what they say about the definition of insanity.

But the real kicker is when Qrow comes in, when he starts saying more about the maidens, about all these things that were fairy tales. That's when Jaune really starts to get pissed off, all these adults they were supposed to trust have hidden all these things. Maybe if they told them, maybe if they knew they could have saved Pyrrha. So that's where we start getting serious angst Jaune.

Then we get to his sister's house. We see how he reacts to Oscar, slamming him against a wall, screaming at him because if only Oz had told them earlier maybe her destiny could have been different. He keeps blaming people for things that can't be changed anymore, he's got so much anger, so much rage about this.

There's also that moment he happens upon Pyrrha's statue, talks with her mom(or sister? I forget) then Ren and Nora round the corner and something clicks.

But nothings easy, because Then there's Haven. Cider's there, the person who killed Pyrrha and he lets that anger take over, he's sloppy, isn't thinking. Cider's the bad guy though, decides she could torture him just a bit more, stabs Weiss with that lance. It's like a repeat of beacon all over again and he can't. He can't handle doing that again. His desperation unlocks his semblance, saves Weiss.

There's more but like that's the gist, he accepts he can't change the past, but he can help now, he can keep his friends alive. (Well. Mostly. Rip penny)

Then we finally get v7-v8 and he gets his haircut (which I always liked better than the other one fight me)he's more at peace with himself, becomes that goofy dude again, but different. He's cracking good natured jokes, coming up with plans and just feels better about himself.

But then he watches one by one as his friends fall into, what he thinks is death, has to kill one of his friends (who's already died at the hands of his dead girlfriend so like at least they have that in common) and then he falls. That boy is going to be real fucked up during v9 and he's going to go backwards, that's a given, but I hope it's in a way that's... I dunno, he doesn't turn into a hated character again.

Anyway it's 2am there's more and I'm bad with words and rambled but like. Yeah.