#otherwise i've honestly just never had any interest...... but maybe....

[blastburnt]

maybe trying out some eye makeup will be good for me

[pilfappreciator]

ATTENTION TROLLS FANDOM!!

This is very important. Mostly to me but maybe you guys have been wondering this too idk but anyways:

How does troll reproduction work exactly?

Cuz I'm genuinely curious. I dont think anyone on the series production team has said anything and so far I've seen absolutely no one touch on this subject but as someone who's always had an interest in the habits of creatures (both fictional or otherwise), I kinda sorta maybe NEED to know this otherwise I'll never be able to sleep peacefully again

Full disclaimer that I'm specifically talking about the whole egg situation, I am NOT ASKING HOW THEY GET IT ON IF I WANTED THAT ANSWER I'D GO TO DEVIANT ART OR TWITTER OR WHATEVER LAWLESS PLATFORM GOD STEERS CLEAR OF. This discussion shall remain STRICTLY educational, thank you very much

But anywho. Let's dive in

So trolls come from eggs. This is basic knowledge. First instance of this phenomenon (as far as I know, I've only seen the movies) is from World Tour.

Egg pops out of Guy Diamond's hair, egg hatches and BOOM, (literal) baby. Now I understand that this whole sequence was probably just a gag and a way for DreamWorks to implement another (merchandisable) addition to the cast HOWEVER this sequence also raises a few questions

First off, as far as I know Guy Diamond has no partner (again: I haven't watched any of the spinoff shows). Either that or maybe the other troll was a sorta one-night-stand/no-longer-in-his-life kinda situation? Which is great either way cuz its shown he obviously cares for his son and we at Tumblr appreciate a loving single father no matter the circumstances, but if my former theory is correct than that would imply that trolls are capable of reproducing asexually. Like onions.

Now if that hypothesis is, as they call it, "cap" then that would mean that some sorta hanky panky has to go down before an egg comes into question. And if that's the case, does this mean that male trolls are traditionally the ones who carry the eggs?

But that can't be right, can it? Afterall, World Tour gave us yet ANOTHER egg scene later on in the movie

In Cooper's flashback, we clearly see Queen Essence being the one carrying the eggs meanwhile King Quincy is eggless. Now, as far as i see it, this could be explained either one of four ways:

1) Quincy was the one who actually produced the eggs and Essence is merely holding them for her husband (since her hair seems more fitting to be a makeshift nest compared to Quincy's)

2) Female trolls are the ones who produce the eggs. Guy Diamond is just a trans icon

3) Troll reproduction differs from genre to genre

4) There is a... *sighs* a/b/o type of dynamic among troll kind where certain trolls are capable of giving birth/siring children depending on a secondary gender

In regards to theory #3, this could also explain why Guy Diamond seems to reproduce and hatch an egg in such a short amount of time (like 5 seconds I'm pretty sure) as opposed to Queen Essence/King Quincy who's eggs presumably went a while longer before actually hatching.

Actually, speaking off eggs, are trolls the only species in their world that reproduce that way?

Because now that Band Together has officially been released, we now know for certain that it's possible for different species to crossbreed. Biggest example? Resident DILF Bruce and his giant muppet wife

(Credit to @captainunderkrupp )

When I saw these two... I swear...

And these two already have a shit ton of kids okay so like... either Brandi was the one giving birth or trollsona Daveed Digs was over here pumpin out eggs, which I mean-

DO YOU SEE HOW BIG THESE THINGS ARE COMPARED TO BRANCH AND POPPY?? Believe me I am PRAYING that Bruce gave himself some serious maternity/paternity leave because my guy is honestly a trooper

But yeah any thoughts? :))

[idontplaytrack]

Hello, I've been reading your fics since I found them recently and I love your writing sm!! I've been wanting to request some smut for AJ Campos, maybe with a strap, possibly during that track race where instead of Paige, AJ is rooming with reader instead at the hotel

Watch You Sleep

AJ Campos x fem!reader

Warnings: MDNI, smut. Oral, fingering, toy use, pet names. Coarse language, drinking

In which reader’s had a lack of sleep lately and when finally alone with her in a room at an away meet, AJ gets creative

“Are you nervous?” AJ asks you quietly, a hand on your thigh.

“Coach says I’d better perform better today otherwise we can say goodbye to placing. How’d Paige get better than me?” You were looking out the window while the bus was driving to the destination.

“Excuse me?” She turned around, startling you.

“I was just saying how you’ve become better than I am at track. Maybe I should quit.”

“What? Ay, no, no, no.” Dylan chimed in, “You love track.”

“Things change, Dylan.” You exhaled harshly.

“Oh.” Paige’s face fell.

“Yeah, oh.” You snapped, “I haven’t been able to sleep in over a week. I cannot wait for this to be over. I’ve got other things to worry about.”

“Like what?”

“Are we not in the same classes, Evans? We have two essays due in two weeks.”

You wished Paige wasn’t sitting so close by…just a couple days ago, she asked AJ out right in front of you.

AJ looked at you, concerned. “Okay, you guys.” AJ shooed them away, “Return to your own conversation.”

For the rest of the drive, you laid your head on AJ’s shoulder while eating the bag of gummy bears that you brought along. And all throughout the ride, you kept feeling eyes on you. And not from AJ- Paige. You looked away, staring out the window now.

“Girl, what the fuck are you doing? Stop being creepy.” Dylan huffed.

Once at the hotel, all the students started pairing up with their roommates according to Coach Murray’s list and went to their rooms. And you? You were supposed to be with Gabi but AJ asked to swap. “Thanks, Gabs.”

“No worries.” Gabi smiled.

AJ quickly takes you into the room, shutting and locking the door behind yourselves, “Are we going to the party?”

“Yes.” AJ decided, “They would definitely play a drinking game and it would be a great way to make it clear to Paige that I’m not interested,”

“Isn’t it random? Like, don’t they just draw phones out of a pile or something?”

“I was thinking more like we…get tipsy and just kiss in front of her.” AJ chuckles. You snorted, “Please. Knowing how fucking gutsy she is, she might actually shove me to the ground. Then, she’d kiss you.”

“There’ll be witnesses.” AJ points out.

“Yeah, a bunch of drunk teens staying up past lights out is real reliable.” You laughed.

“Then we should just…post something? Announce we’re together?” AJ stifles a laugh.

You shrug, “I dunno.”

“We don’t have to go to that party, you know?” She says, “I would honestly much rather just spend some time alone with you.”

“Oh, yeah? And do what?” You ask. “Never mind, we’ll go to their ‘party’ first. You’re right- it’s the perfect place to let her know. There are other students around- so if she pulls any crazy shit? Witnesses.”

After unpacking, you and AJ decided to head out for dinner at the diner down the block. “God, I’m so tired. Why is she everywhere?”

“Tired, tired or because-” AJ says, but you cut her off.

“Both.” You deadpan. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Okay.” She shrugged, the two of you went further down the block to a pizza place. But not before Paige saw you and AJ leaving- the girl did not look happy.

————

Later that night, you and AJ were in Stacey’s room to party with the rest of the team. “Oh, good. You guys are here!” Stacey gasped, “Come in, come in.”

The kicked the night right off with ‘seven minutes in the hotel bathroom’. The rounds went by rapidly and you weren’t even just a little bit hopeful that you and AJ’s phones would get drawn out of the pillow case for a round together. “y/n, you’re up.” Dylan showed your phone to the group. You looked at him then at Paige who was beside him. “Aaaand, AJ, this is your phone, right? Oh, yup. That’s y/n’s face right there. You’re up- chop chop.” The group started chattering about how surprised they were that AJ had been seeing someone all this time. Contented, you grabbed AJ’s hand, stood up and got shoved into the bathroom by Dylan and Stacey. “Timer starts once the door closes!” Dylan exclaimed.

“Did you see that look on her face?” AJ laughs, grabbing your face to kiss you.

You nod, “Oh, we’re doing that here?” You broke away from the kiss briefly.

“Of course- we’re gonna really give them a show.” AJ grins.

“Oh, hell no.” You gasped, “I am not going to purposely-” And just like that, your train of thought was gone as she kisses you even deeper, her lips trailing down your jaw and to your neck which easily draws out a moan. AJ chuckles, her breath tickles your neck making you squirm.

“To be fair she’s been purposely being a little bitch to you.” AJ raised a brow, “I doubt she couldn’t tell we have something going on at least.”

“Oh, just shut up and kiss me.” You exhaled, your hands began roaming her back, but she lifts you up to sit on the countertop. Without even taking your shorts off, she pushes the fabric of it, and your underwear aside, “Do you feel ready?”

“What?” You asked, confused for a second, “Yeah. Sure.”

AJ dips a finger into your folds, gliding it up and down, proving your point, “Of course you are.” Pushing it easily into your entrance, she quickly gains a momentum, not wanting to waste a single second of this quote-unquote ‘mandated’ make-out time. She grins, licking her lips as she watches your face contort, “Baby, you’re acting like I don’t eat you out every other night.” That smirk on AJ’s face made you feel you didn’t know what to do with yourself, then you were feeling a strangled yelp in your throat.

“Now you get shy?” She caresses your cheek with her free hand, her fingers ram into you to force a moan out of your mouth. Successfully.

“Fuck!” You whispered-shouted into her ear, “Fuck you. Oh, God.”

“Feisty.” She bit down on your neck, and you whimpered. AJ removes her fingers from you and started to kiss your face again.

“Time’s up! Get outta there.” Stacey knocks.

“You wanna go back?” AJ asks, tucking some hair behind your ear.

“Definitely.” You gave her one last kiss before straightening yourself up quickly then swung the door open.

“We’re gonna- go.” AJ stood behind you, a hand on your shoulder. “Message received. Good night- maybe you can finally get some sleep, y/n.” Dylan commented, earning a smack from his girlfriend. “Well, it’s true- she’s barely been sleeping lately.” Dylan reasoned.

“Good night, guys.” Stacey waved.

————

“Give me a minute- I just gotta get some from my bag.” She tells you while you plopped down on the bed. “Okay.” You responded while lying down. “They’re right- you haven’t been getting any good sleep recently.” AJ spoke up. “Yeah, well? I’ve been too stressed about performing well at the meet tomorrow.”

“It’s at 2pm- so we have plenty of time to get you some sleep.” She says, “Also- this might help.”

“What- oh, jesus fucking christ. How did you get that damn thing- okay, you know what? I’m not even gonna ask.” You eyes widened in shock when you turned onto your side and saw AJ putting on that harness.

“Thought you might need more to actually tire you out. And you’d probably wake up refreshed if you get some uninterrupted sleep- so you could actually perform better than Paige does.” She shrugs nonchalantly- as if she wasn’t going to impale you in the matter of minutes. “Think you can help yourself onto it?”

Her question snaps you out of your trance, “Okay.”

She chuckles, “If you say so.” AJ then laid down, waiting for you to straddle her. “Face me, okay?” You didn’t say anything else but just followed her order, legs bracketing either side of her as you knelt and positioned yourself to ease that shaft inside. AJ reflexively grabs your hips, giving you the support. “You okay, baby?” She watches you closely to make sure you weren’t in pain. You’d gotten yourself about halfway in, but you decided to get a rhythm going in order to make the rest of it easier.

“Baby?” She asks again.

“I’m okay, AJ.” You confirmed, biting your lower lip as you got used to the stretch. Watching her bare body, as she does yours, you felt yourself slipping further in by the minute. And with her words of encouragement, and a little push, you took the whole length. It was now poking you in the g-spot every time you came back down, making the moans fly out from your mouth every time.

“So pretty.” Her hands trailed upwards, kneading your breasts after unclipping your bra and tossing it aside, “You’re so pretty, my girl. Come on, give me a kiss, baby.” You leaned down, crashing her lips onto yours, content to be like this for awhile. She instinctively cups your cheeks with both hands, stroking them with her thumb. The kisses progress got heated, aiding in your little task of riding the strap. She was loving watching you and seeing your tits move along with your actions. That grin on her face? She was more than satisfied with your ability to take it. She pushes you off of her, you whine not liking the sudden emptiness. “Lay down, baby.” She pushes you down gently, her hands massaging your thighs. You complied, soon feeling her teasing you with the tip of the shaft. You squirmed, unable to keep your mouth shut. So she does- AJ crawled up to attack you with kisses, trailing down from your face all the way to your core. But of course, the lower she went, the louder you became. “You know I love hearing you, baby. Don’t hold back.” She says, her breath fanning against the juncture between your legs. “The walls are so thin.” You grumbled, “Do you not hear that?”

“So what? This whole level’s our team.” AJ shrugs, “Oh, my God- is that coach-”

“Don’t put that image in my head.” You interjected, laughing, “AJ, please.” Your hands grabbed her hair, pushing her closer to you.

“M’kay.” She grins, her tongue begins to circle your clit slowly. It made you seethe, trying to swallow the whine that was threatening to fall from your lips. “I want to hear you, babe. It’s alright.” She coos, barely breaking away long enough to speak.

You back arched more and more by the minute, and naturally, the faster she flicked her tongue, the more of a mess you were. And finally, the coil in your core started tightening, taking the place of the fluttering sensation. AJ asks if you were close, and you hadn’t even said a thing since many minutes ago- but instead your endless, whines, whimpers and moans have filled the room making AJ more eager to push you over the edge.

You could definitely feel yourself getting closer to the high, your hands clutching at the sheets beneath you. “My God. I’m so close.” You told her in a strained voice. She licks your clit one time before pulling away, much to your annoyance. “I got you, honey.” AJ grins, licking her lips to taste you, “Keep your legs open, we’re nowhere near done.”

You whined needily, feeling the ache and pulsing of your apex becoming increasingly unbearable by the second as she deprived you of the contact and stimulation- to the point where you were about to burst into tears because it was becoming too much to bear. As AJ pushes into you, she held her forearm under both your knees to keep your legs in place. And every single time she pounded into you, a sharp moan attacked her eardrums, sending shocks down her spine. “Keep going, keep going…fuck!” Your breath hitches as she retracts and pushes into you the hardest she’s had that night. Her pace became merciless as you felt the wetness dripping down you, the obscene sound from between your legs made you dizzy as did the pleasure from her fucking you with the strap. Her forearm moves away, she tells you to keep your legs in place. And, she looks right into your eyes as she continues to impale you repeatedly while profanities and high-pitched moans spewed from your mouth in an unending string. “Ah- ah! Fuck.” You cursed. AJ grins, watching you with pride as you looked back at her with hooded eyes that soon rolled to the back of your head. AJ kept going and going, watching your face at first. Then your body started trembling so she reflexively slowed down. “Oh, my God.” You cried, “Holy shit, oh my God. AJ, fuck. That feels so good, babe. Oh-”She was now holding onto one leg as she went at a languish pace to help you ride through your high. The pleasure slowly turned into a slight ache as overstimulation took over. You told her to stop and she pulls out, admiring the aftermath in the process.

She removes the harness and abandoned it. You hear it fall to the floor with a thud before she crawls into bed with you. “Hi, baby.” She cups your cheek, kissing you on the nose, “Do you feel okay?” You nodded silently, laying your head on her chest as her embrace tightens. “I wasn’t too rough, was I?” AJ asks.

“I’m a little sore, but it’ll be okay.” You admit.

AJ nods, “Think you can sleep?” She runs a hand through your hair, pressing yet another kiss onto your face.

“Mhm.” You snuggled closer, allowing her heartbeat and her warmth to lull you to sleep.

“Good night, my love.” AJ exhales softly, watching your sleepy figure in her arms, “Sweet dreams.”

[sparky-is-spiders]

Jonelias Week Day 1 (Which is definitely today I swear), for the prompt "No Powers AU"

This one... maybe got away from me. This is actually only the first half of what I've written so far, and probably the first third overall! I do plan to post this to Ao3 at some point (although I suspect I'll need to do a lengthy round of editing first lmao). It's some very self-indulgent nonsense, which is a lot of what I write, but now it's getting put in the main tags of a ship during said ship's event week. So. It may also be a little bit "aromantic dude tries to figure out what having a crush is supposed to be like." Also a lot of "dude who took Principals of Accounting once pretending it knows what office work is like." Anyway, quick warning before we begin, and the rest will be under the read-more:

Stalking (played for laughs) for most of the fic.

Just. A weird amount of obsession.

Ok that should be it I think. Fic under the cut.

Jon's new boss was, quite possibly, the most boring man in the world. He wore the same outfit every day (pale dress shirt with dark unpatterned tie and gray slacks and matching suit jacket). The only personal effect in his entire office was a potted plant on the windowsill (some sort of succulent, and definitely fake). He always arrived to work exactly half an hour early and left exactly half an hour late. The only hobby he appeared to show any interest in was scheduling, which he seemed to find both deeply engaging and remarkably irritating. In fact, he was apparently so opposed to the idea of mixing his work with his personal life that he might as well not have existed beyond the walls of their office. Jon had never been more fascinated by anyone else in his entire life.

It stared with the transfer to the accounting department. Elias had met with him personally to get him acclimated to his new role. He had been blandly polite, and blandly handsome, and Jon had stopped listening to him about five minutes into their conversation. It was probably bad form, really. The software Elias was droning on and on about sounded like it was about to become a central feature of his days. He really should've been paying attention to it. Instead, he pretended to make eye contact while zeroing in on the top of Bouchard's forehead (a very useful trick, really) and became inordinately focused on the small lock of hair that had fallen across it. It was terribly distracting, and Jon had wondered how he hadn't noticed it. And then he wondered how it had come to be there. And then he had built up an entire story involving a murder, an illicit affair with the assistant director of marketing, and the potted succulent. And then he had noticed Bouchard eying him with what could've been suspicion or amusement or irritation or nothing whatsoever, and had been forced to rapidly pretend to care about their company's bad debt expense policy. Bouchard had indulged him, and had spoken with the calm authority of someone who knew what they were talking about, and had even managed to avoid being overtly condescending (a feat forever out of Jon's reach). At the end he had shaken Jon's hand (with a nice, firm grip), and had told him "I'm looking forward to working with you, I'm sure you'll make a wonderful member of our team." Jon had left that meeting with a mind shrouded in a fog of boredom and a faint sensation of warmth which he decided was best attributed to curiosity and left otherwise unexamined. Over the next few weeks, Jon had tried to subtly inquire into Bouchard's life. At the time, he had been naively under the impression that surely he must have let slip something about his life; some odd quirk or funny story or harmless bit of information which could justify Jon's blooming curiosity. Unfortunately; "He lives in Chelsea, I'm pretty sure?" (Sasha) "He's currently in a meeting. Honestly Jon, you'll be better off just sending an email. Now can I please get back to work?" (Rosie, probably lying about the meeting) "He actually lives here in the office. Set up a cozy little home away from home in one of the storage closets and sneaks out at night to raid the canteen. And he's having an affair with the assistant director of marketing." (Tim, definitely lying (but maybe a mind reader? Also, full of brilliant ideas for places Jon could maybe set up a cot whenever he needs to stay overnight)) Clearly, Jon would have to take matters into his own hands if he wanted answers. That was fine. It could be his own private little research project.

Jon liked to think that the entire thing had actually been quite reasonable, and that he had acted within the bounds of their pre-established relationship as employee and supervisor. Surely any rational person had to realize that nobody could possibly be that uninteresting. Anyone would be curious as to what dark secrets Bouchard his behind his well-tailored suits and polite, professional demeanor. … perhaps most rational persons would not meticulously record the movements, behavior, and daily appearance of their colleague in a discreet notebook (with annotations, color-coding, and graphs where appropriate), but Jon had always prided himself on his dedication to research and understanding. So far Jon had collected frustratingly little data. If Bouchard was hiding anything, it wasn't apparent from his schedule (see pages 8-13, figure 2.b), his eating habits (see page 22), or his lone plant (see page five, figure 1.c). His breaks did seem specially timed to avoid other people (and he appeared not to engage in many social behaviors generally), but he never acted irritated or otherwise unhappy to encounter one of his subordinates, so Jon wasn't entirely sure if it was deliberate avoidance or simple coincidence. Really, the only truly odd thing about him was his inexplicable interest in Jon. That very morning, for example, Bouchard had stopped by his cubicle for a fifteen minute discussion on the upcoming Annual Team Luncheon, an event Jon had never attended before (due to an annual migraine which coincidentally always happened to occur on the exact date of the luncheon), which Jon did not plan to attend, and which honestly sounded like some sort of violation of the Geneva Convention. The topic itself was not especially odd (small talk was an archaic tradition which had stubbornly clung on in every workplace Jon had ever set foot in), but Bouchard's low propensity for inter-office socialization combined with the fact that he had both chosen Jon specifically as his conversational partner was… highly suspicious. Most people who encountered Jon inevitably concluded that he was more effort than he was worth (an attitude Jon mostly appreciated).

And of course, there had also been their interaction two days ago, when Elias had paused briefly to inquire as to whether Jon would be staying late, and what he was working on, and if he might perhaps consider heading home soon because there was only so much overtime they could pay him. Or on Friday, when he had managed to hold two separate conversations with Jon where very little was said. Honestly, Jon somewhat suspected that Elias had spoken to him more in the past few weeks than he had spoken to any of their colleagues for the entire time Jon had been there to observe him. Most of Jon's notes were now dedicated to their interactions. From his cot in the unused storage room (which was indeed a good place to stay overnight, thank you Tim), he could jot down everything he recalled about their interaction; it had begun at 8:32 and had concluded at 8:47; the weather was warm and slightly humid, although the office interior remained at a comfortable 21 °C. Bouchard's shirt had been a nice, cool gray, which complemented the silver of his eyes. Jon (who had been busy digging for his favorite pen (the ink was a lovely deep green color, and it was usually kept on the left side of the top desk drawer, and Jon had no idea where else it could have possibly gone)) had settled on "irritation" as his tone, which Bouchard either had not noticed or had not cared enough to acknowledge. He had easily dominated the conversation, and Jon could admit in the sanctity of his research journal that his voice had been soothing enough to cool away some of Jon's annoyance. He wrote his conclusion: Subject behaved near-identically in tone, posture, body language, and apparent mood as he has in all previous communications. Subject displayed no strong thoughts or opinions on subject of discussion nor conversational partner. Interaction was pleasant but slightly dull, no new information discovered. It was almost exactly the same as every previous conclusion. Jon had to admit, so many months with so little progress was… discouraging. He shifted on the narrow mattress and winced when his movements aggravated his backache (which was surely unrelated to his frequent occupancy of the cot). It was becoming more and more apparent that the only possible solution was to do some actual, direct investigation. His first idea (break into Bouchard's office) seemed a tad far (also, he didn't know how to pick locks). His second idea (follow him home) seemed a stretch further than the previous one, and was perhaps best saved as a last resort. His third idea (something something computers? (perhaps "idea" was a bit generous)) would almost certainly require Sasha, who would have questions Jon couldn't answer. He flipped idly through his notes, half-skimming, half-thinking. It was only when his gaze landed on figure 2.b, Weekly Schedule of E. Bouchard, that he actually came up with something reasonable. Something actionable.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for giving a random guy my friend's phone number?

(🍫📲 to find later)

I (22 NB/F) was working one day at my place of work by going around and putting various items for sale where they belong in the store, as well as taking out the recycling. As I was making my way up to the front of the store so I could go to break, this older gentleman needed help reaching something. I helped him pull it down, but before I continued I was stopped by this other kid. He had a healthy-looking emo haircut and wardrobe, so I didn't think too much about it at the time. I kid you not, his eyes were big and wide like some kind of bishounen anime (idk if I spelled that right). Literally looked straight out of one almost, he reminded me of an excited puppy too.

"Hello! Do you need help with something?"

"Uh- actually, I was wondering if I could have your Snapchat?"

I was completely gobsmacked.

"Uh- I don't have a snap chat." A lie, but only because my snap is exclusively for my BFFEAE (Best Friend For Ever And Ever). I don't pass it out to my coworkers, family, or any other friends. Just her.

"Can I have your number then?"

Usually guys don't like. Spend this long on me. I'm Demiromantic and Asexual, and for those who don't know, that means I have no interest in having sex with anyone and have no interest in dating anyone but close friends. I never thought I'd be in this situation. Ever. The idea of anyone asking me out of the fucking blue for this is so far out of left field for my expectations that I was just staring awkwardly at him for a moment.

"... unless... age is an issue?"

"Ah- no, I am 22, but I'm just not interested in a relationship right now."

And it's the truth, honestly. My mental health has been a rollercoaster of emotions and schedules that I've been struggling to maintain for months. I did have one at the beginning of the year, but dropped it because I realized I couldn't trust my lover (he was extremely conservative, and I had to hide a lot of my life from him, but it was nice while it lasted honestly. Broke up on good terms).

"That's okay. Maybe we can just hang out sometime or something."

I'll be honest, I haven't been in good health to try a brand new friendship with a complete stranger either (I have horrid social anxiety to the point where I am basically a shit in hermit, and with everything going on in my life I don't think I can handle pushing my anxiety well).

Now, years ago, when me and my BFFEAE first moved to different states, we agreed that we could use each other's phone numbers to give out if we couldn't handle it or just wanted the guy to leave us alone. We have each other permission to pretend to be each other for it, that way they're more likely to listen thinking it's you saying "no thanks" instead of her friend saying "get off her back".

So in the span of ten seconds, because this kid was really sweet and I was still pretty shocked this was even happening, I was giving my friend's number to this sparkly-eyed kid (idk how old he was but I assumed he was younger than me, that's just my natural assumption honestly) and continued on with my work day. I told him a semi-common nickname of mine instead of my actual name bc my name is hard to spell and I didn't feel like putting much time into it.

Of course, immediately after I called my friend up and left her a message saying I passed her to this really sweet kid and to be kind with him (she's a protective mama bear kind of person) but that I simply wasn't interested and didn't have the right mindspace for a new anything.

Fast forward to when I get off work and check in with my friend, she and the kid had been chatting back and forth. Apparently he was into drugs (I have sensory issues and can't handle that kind of thing, so I feel like I've actually dodged a bullet) but was getting along really well with her otherwise. We got chatting about it when I confirmed that I'm not open to hanging out with him and that as long as she's kind and doesn't try to set me up with him or anything, I'm fine with her discussing whatever with him.

"I get it girl, we all get like that for a time. I'll keep it away from ya.

By the way, he thought you gave him a random number. He was SOO excited when I responded as you lol"

I felt absolutely sick and was horrified. I figured he would have been like "sick", but apparently he had been like "FUCK YEAH". I feel horrible for deceiving him like this, but I genuinely am in no spot where I can mentally handle picking up a new friendship, much less a romantic relationship. It doesn't help that he genuinely caught me off guard, and passing him her number was my first response to handling it.

Am I the asshole for doing this?

What are these acronyms?

[lunabug2004]

I watched The Eclipse (the series) and OMG I'm in Love?!?! ⚠️ SPOILERS ⚠️

Ya'll I watched The Eclipse the series over the last few days and... omg. I have so much to say so buckle up. Obv there will be spoilers! I also wanna mention that this will be full of very biased takes because I absolutely fell in love with Akk soooo imma be defending him.

Now that that's out of the way, first, can we talk about the couples? FirstKhao's chemistry?! I know I'm late to the game but man they blew me out of the water!!! They were so cute and wholesome (dw I've seen the OF edits, ik they're not always this way lol) and Akk and Ayan just pulled me all the way in! They both deserve the world and I will not hear otherwise! Now, the side couple, KanThua, were not my cuppa tea. I love Neo, I haven't seen anything with Louis in it but he's a good actor from what I've seen, and they look cute together, but they just didn't snatch me up unfortunately.

That leads me into the second topic, the plot (this is where it gets long, strap in). I believe this is the main reason the side didn't snatch me. They were definitely given the short end of the stick (this is before I found out that I hate Thua with a passion but we'll get to that). I would've loved so much more buildup than what we got from them. Thua's storyline just felt kinda off to me. We saw his stepdad say one or two messed up things to him, which ya eff him for that, but every other time he was pretty nice??? Maybe I'm just missing something but idk. Also the whole "Bruce Wayne" thing was eh to me. Kinda cute, kinda weird.

Now, Akk and Ayan's storyline???? Sign me uppppp! I love everything about it! I love that they are so there for eachother and literally picked eachother up off the ground mentally so many times. They need eachother and you can absolutely feel it. Then, also their individual storylines are just amazing. My poor babies. Ayan and dealing with his uncle's death and witnessing the terrible things at the school and getting bullied by the teachers and his declining mental health. Akk dealing with the manipulation of the teachers and his need to prove himself and his need to put everyone above himself and his declining mental health and ugh... sorry I could talk about Akk for ages, ya'll know how I get with my babies lol. All this to say I definitely came not knowing what to expect but stayed for Akk & Ayan.

The general storyline is... a doozy. The whole curse thing was so interesting and then it just... wasn't. But at the same time it was??? Idk it's so hard to place how I feel about this part of the plot. I don't understand the whole thing with Teacher Chadock's confession and that somehow affecting what was going on? Like sir, you still manipulated kids (specifically Akk) into doing awful things, I don't think all that happened is an excuse for that at all? Yes, it sucks and never shoulda happened but like... why act like that towards the students this whole time? And he didn't seem to show much, if any, remorse for his behavior either so... idk.

Now... let's get into ep 11 and Thua's whole thing. I will never ever ever forgive the character of Thua for what he did. I don't care how right he was (which he mostly wasn't), I don't care if he was speaking some facts, you don't ever out somebody like that!!! Esp as a character who we know has faced such bad discrimination and bullying for the same effing thing!!! It makes absolutely no sense and there are no excuses! The fear in Akk's eyes... ugh I wanted to punch Thua so bad ngl. The way that he also isn't even right about Akk 'creating the curse' and doesn't mention that he himself continued it after Akk saw the error of his ways and stopped. He made himself out to be squeaky clean when he honestly had the most blood on his hands after this whole thing. When he was cheering the episode before about finding the "one responsible for the curse" IT WAS HIM! AKK HAD STOPPED AT THAT POINT SO IT WAS ALL HIM! He also wasn't telling the truth when he said Aye was covering for Akk using their love as a cover! At first Ayan wanted Akk to tell everyone what he did... but then he saw what a fragile state of mind Akk was in and decided to try a different approach. Thua should've gone to Akk and Aye himself, he had no right to say anything he said without knowing the full story!!! THEN HE JUST IS FORGIVEN!!! NOO! I know that it's because of the cuts they had to make that we don't get to see the characters forgive him and whatnot but I don't care. He. did. not. deserve. to. be. forgiven. No one is changing my mind!

I could go on forever tbh so let's move onto the third topic... the pacing. I know this is the main complaint for this show and rightfully so. I really really wish they would've gotten the 14 episodes they were hoping for instead of the 12 they got. The pacing is just out of wack. The first half-ish is beautiful.... then it drags (slightly).... then it's rushed. Just disappointing, but not anyone's fault. The crew apparently thought they were working with 14 eps, we can't blame them, and we definitely cannot blame the actors.

Fourth, and final, topic: the acting!!! Uuuugh, ya'll! I'd seen Khao in a couple things and First in Not Me, but this is by far the best I've seen of them! They showed all the emotions and omg these dudes are professional criers, how are they both so good at it?! Btw, I see people talk about Khao's acting more than First's I feel like (could just be what I see idk), but First snatched me up! He killed every single scene, give me chills multiple times (Khao too obv) and showed Akk's character development flawlessly! All the supporting actors were obviously amazing too (special shoutout to my boy AJ cuz I love the twins)!

Anyways, if you sat through this half-rant, half-review, congrats! I honestly love this show and it's for sure going to be one I rewatch all the time and try to dig deeper into Akk's mind every time lol. Also if you read all of this and I didn't touch on something you wanted or you're just curious about my thoughts on anything (seriously anything at all), feel free to comment or repost or send me an ask, I don't mind!

[kitsune-oji]

Hi! Nice to find your blog! I just read your "There is no guarantee you will be different", and I loved it! I was wondering if I could request the same thing for Lucifer? And/Or Satan? Especially as these two have anger issues. And I think it could be interesting?

I especially loved to finally find a prompt/story where it's relatable for this type of trust issues. Thank you!

There's No Guarantee You will be Different

Mc who has been hurt a lot in the past (betrayed, lied to, used) even by those that promised otherwise and were nice at first and struggles to trust others because of it. Not understanding why someone would actually like/love them or not believing them, being scared of getting hurt again and again like in the past.

Of course! Sorry this took so long but I hope you like it :)

Characters: Lucifer, Satan

Other: Barbatos & Beel, Mammon

-> feel free to request this with other obey me characters too

Warnings/tags: hurt/comfort-y, implied intimate actions (Lucifer), implied violence against third parties (Satan)

"You keep saying you love me, you keep promising that you will never leave, that you'll never hurt me... How do you know that? There's no guarantee. In the past, I've trusted those who told me all that and in the end, they ended up breaking all their promises anyway. Please, don't promise me things you can't keep. Even if you think you can keep them now, you don't know how it will be in the future. Maybe you'll get sick of me too, just like everyone else. I love you too but... I'm just scared. I'm sorry."

Lucifer

"...no, I guess I don't know that. You're right but you're also wrong. I love you right now and that is the truth. I can't see myself not loving you in the future and you can't expect me to act the way others have before me. ...their actions say nothing about your worth, even if it may be hard to recognize that. I'll make sure you will understand your worth. You should be proud to be yourself."

Lucifer is upset over the fact that you would hold him to the same standards as those who have hurt you in the past but after the initial displeasure, he understands that that isn't what he should be focusing on

He's convinced that the main problem is the fact that your confidence and self image has been damaged from your prior experience and that helping you build yourself back up will make you less anxious about the relationship you two have

Honestly, he's not wrong

Lucifer pays attention to verbally recognize any achievements you make and praise you for them

Sometimes, he asks you to tell him good things about yourself and will reward you for every thing you can list with confidence. Your rewards depend on what you like, obviously ;)

It's incredibly sweet when someone like Lucifer makes an effort to voice and show you how much he thinks of you. Not just the affection he as for you, which is plenty, but also how he appreciates you as another person. The skills you have, how much you do for him and his brothers, the effort he sees you put into your self-betterment and anything else positive he sees

You're an amazing person and in his eyes, everyone who has hurt and left you in the past are downright dumb and not worth your time anyway

Satan

In the first moment, it pisses Satan off so badly to hear those words that he has to go outside and search out the street cars he regularly goes to just to clear his head

Once he isn't so angry anymore, he feels bad over the fact he just stormed out like that

"I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you, just at the fact that you feel this way. They had no right to hurt you like that and I can't understand how they couldn't see how wonderful you are. You weren't appreciated by those you loved in the past but I'll make sure not to make the same mistake. I know it's hard for you to trust me but please, give me a chance to show you I'm different."

Satan regrets his initial reaction and wants to make it up to you even more

Honestly, there's a part of him that wants to make the people who hurt you pay and if you let him, he will. You won't have to hear about it if you don't want to, everything is up to you

He tries to find romance stories where the main character has gone through similar pain as you did and find love in the progress of the book with the intent that it may show you that there is always hope

If you want, he can read them to you as well

Little notes of poems and anecdotes are scattered everywhere from your school books to your lunchboxes talking about Satan's love for you and what makes you so lovable in his eyes

He makes a list of all the romantic dates he has heard or read about and wants to try with you. You can rank them with him and then Satan will do his best to make everything come true one by one

Yet the most touching and convincing situation for you were the times when Satan was so lost in his rage that he couldn't see clearly and yet the mere sound of your voice calmed him so quickly that you almost go whiplash from the way he switched around

Even cats didn't always work to make Satan get out of his blinding wrath but every time you manage to do just that, it makes you feel that you truly mean as much to him as he claims and it reassures you that maybe, this time will be different after all

[coeluvr]

As much as I would love for Alistair to be alive, I've honestly started wondering if it would actually be better that he did die. Both for his and Mc's sake. I know its sad, but otherwise I could see him and mc facing a lot of heartbreak over it.

And its been 10 years, a whole decade. Mc may have had a hard life, but they didn't have to worry about survival/money etc. They lived in relative peace and safety. (Though I'm sure mc got food poisoning at least once..) And they did have people that tried to be there for them. Even mc's that discounted Lance and Hunter's company, they still had Fadiya and Neima. And some mc's are still super messed up. Who knows what Alistair would have had to go through. And how would that have shape him. And the agony of having his twin kidnapped and married off to the same man that killed his family.

So supposing he did survive. Its possible he's off living a relatively peaceful life, albeit still with the trama of losing his familly and nearly dieing. And he would probably be working hard to find a way to rescue Mc. Training and studying and whatnot. Best case scenario, his personality has dulled but still retained a bit of sunshine. Mellowed but still hopeful. Still a recognizable older version of himself, even if sadder overall. I think that would definitely hinge on him being rescued and taken in by a kind and loving person/family and got properly cared for emotionally and all. And I feel that is unfortunately not going to be the case if he lived. (Because of course you wouldn't let something so nice happen 😒)

Otherwise, what would have happened? Who would it have been to save him then? Would he have just layed low, gotten a lowkey job, had to steal to survive? Would he have joined some rebel/mercenary group? I feel like some groups would have seen a good oportunity for a royal in their fold. Would the people around him be kind and nurturing, or not? Would he retain his current personality?

Maybe he'd be colder, cinical. Would he have seen and lived the harsh reality of the world and turned into a bitter, cruel, and merciless version of himself, intent on revenge?

What happens when he and Mc finally reunite? Would it be the joyful occasion everyone expects? If the first case, then yes. He and Mc finally get to have a happy life together. The End. Well…maybe. Even if Alistair is still the same as Mc remembers, what about the Mc? What if they've change so drastically, caught up in their hatred and revenge, so unwilling to back down even if it destroys everyone around them? Would they still be someone Alistair could love?

But if he and Mc want revenge just as much, maybe things would work out. Would mc be able to see the change in him reflected back on them and regret what they've both turned into? What if Mc didn't want revenge. Would he aquiesce to mc's wishes or not? Would mc be horrified to see what he had become? The image they once had of him be ruined by this new version.

And past that, how would mc feel about the news of his survival being kept from them?

His body should have been missing, right? Luceris would have know if he had lived in that case, or at least suspected it, and by extention so would Lancelot. I don't know if Helios or Hunter would have know. However, even if they didn't, mc still might think that they both knew and just didn't tell them. Afterall, its not the first time things have been kept from them.

So would mc be able to forgive them, especially one who was close to them. Or would that permanently destroy any trust and friendship they had with them.

- Sorry if this was too much of a ramble. 😂 Just got to thinking a bit to much about what-ifs and all. 💕

This was very interesting, thank you for sharing your thoughts! 🫡

I think when people say they wish for Alistair to be alive, they never consider what being alive could've looked like for him. Nor the fact he could have changed and become someone who is a stranger to MC.

[parkminijiminie]

First of all, welcome back!!! I missed you so much!! Your blog is a gem!!! -and are you gonna be back permanently or are you taking another break? Second of all, I haven’t watched the travel show but I saw a lot of clips and honestly, they just seem like friends. Yeah there is some moments where you’re like wow wtf is going on here but if u look at it from a different lense, it seems like friends enjoying time together because of them were busy with their own lives. I also didn’t expect jungkook’s personality to be like that. Obviously idk him in real life so I can’t really know how he acts in real life but idk he just seems weird? But I don’t think there is anything between them. Most jikookers were excited for this how because it was gonna prove that they are in a relationship but honestly they are just grasping at straws at this point, and so am I guess. All the big fandoms had band members ships like on direction and many kpop fandoms ship two members on the group too like winter and Karina from aespa although she was dating that actor💀 and finally I would just like to say that jk was hanging out with tae more than jimin although I think that jk’s friendship with tar isn’t really anything special except for bros having fun but yeah, seems weird. Sorry my thoughts are all over the place lol.

Hi! I am sort of back. I lurk around and react when I have the need to discuss smth with other people. Otherwise, I just long on and read what other people are saying. I think I will never be active full time because I simply don't have the time, but I love this space a lot, so I'll never really leave either.

To me, JM and JK look so far as people who were once a romantic item but no longer are, but remained in each other's lives just more distantly. The whole show looks to me like them, trying to deepen their bond and friendship again. I think during the time the US episodes were filmed, they were both single and probably spending the most 1:1 time for months, so some of their usual old tendencies resurfaced, like old habits. I am very curious to see the other episodes. I know lots of people are waiting for the show to give answers about the nature of Jikook's relationship, but I don't think we will get them but we could at least maybe see that made them enlist together after barely spending time alone in the beginning of the year.

JK definitely spent a lot more time with Tae in 2023 compared to previous years, but I don't think their relationship is especially deep. They're buddies and share similar interests. They were also free at similar times, but I'm not sure there is any deep emotional connection there. The fact that JK called Tae definitely surprised me, but then we all saw how rudely JK hung up on him. I'm finding it hard to say where JK's head was in the first half of 2023, and I sort of can't really connect to JK of Jan-July 2023 like I did in the past. It seems to me he was very determined to be this cool, successful man at that time. It's also interesting that JM didn't spend time with neither him nor Tae up until July last year. That's also unusual.

Shipping aside, these two episodes really made me appreciate JM even more. I've always known how gracious and sweet he is, but he was such a good sport even when very sick, so appreciative, mature, yet fun and light and emotionally present. My standards when it comes to him are always high, and he somehow always manages to surpass them. I think he would be a great influence on anyone, and he especially well balances JK. It's sort of sad how I am already seeing people using JK's words to attack JM when Jimin was such a supportive friend for JK during this whole trip. I appreciate JK saying he is "obviously grateful" that Jimin came. Maybe he already had told that to JM many times, but it was important for the audience to hear it as well, considering how JM gets hate for "forcing JK to go on the trip" 🙄

[xviistrings]

I feel like fanning some flames today.... Why do you hate N_oto (a) I'm rly curious ,':^

i would like to answer this calmly and rationally. i would really like to. but i'm going to be angry (and will use they/them for naoto)

naoto is a shit character no matter what angle you view them from. a major aspect of their story is struggling with being taken seriously in their line of work because they are both a child and female; the gender aspect is especially relevant to naoto, since the child thing is kind of just a problem that solves itself........

naoto's gender is a widely debated topic among fans. some people see them as a trans man because of naoto's desire to be viewed as a man, some see them as a cis woman because that's just the conclusion they come to at the end, some see them as a trans woman because it feels like naoto is forcing themselves to go back in the closet but they can't fight their true feelings, some see them as nonbinary because they don't want to be a woman but they also show discomfort being a man....

yeah i've heard every single argument for every single kind of different gender identity naoto could have and i've concluded that no matter what angle you look at it from, naoto is still a shit character.

this isn't to invalidate anyones headcanons, idc do what you want forever, but naoto WAS meant to be written as a cis girl. but they did such a shit job at writing them as such that believing they're otherwise is so so understandable

naoto is apparently supposed to have internalized misogyny. we never even see a hint of that like we do with everyone else. we see chie be pushy about getting the mc's opinion on yukiko because of her jealousy towards her, we see yukiko being very gloomy when she's busy with the inn, etc i don't wanna list everything it's late rn

naoto's screen time is mostly spent on them just kinda. detectiving around. that's not bad and it's a very proper introduction, it's just that.......... there are scenes where naoto hangs around the entire investigation team, including the girls. if their hatred is so internalized to the point where its affected their outward appearance, is it that much of a stretch to say that they'd also project their hatred outwards?

like. yk. being rude to the girls and not accepting their input on discussions. that would've been an interesting trait to introduce to this supposedly respectable and polite smart detective guy. and later on, when we discover the source of that behaviour, it makes a lot more sense than it just suddenly being thrust on us.

plus, it would give them a flaw for them to overcome via apologizing to the girls and attempting to engage in femininity in a healthy and positive way. it doesn't have to be that long of an arc, i know there was very little time between naoto's dungeon and the namatame stuff, but it really could have been as simple as a scene or two of naoto bonding with the girls, changes to preexisting ones (COUGH COUGH BEAUTY PAGEANT), and then their social link deals with the rest.

like. dude.

i get what they were trying to go for, honestly, but i just wish they handled it better. if a lot of persona 4's jokes weren't outlandishly sexist and at the expense of the girls, maybe i could absolutely get on board with a lovely story about a girl recovering from a life of self hatred and insecurity and learning that she doesn't need to have a stick up her ass all the time, and that she has a whole group of friends that will accept her for who she is beyond gender, beyond age, beyond any other labels and the expectations placed on her because of them. that would be really really nice if we had that.

but we do not. i don't think naoto really feels like part of the friend group most of the time. it's kind of the same problem haru has where she's introduced very late and not given nearly enough time to develop before we get right into the final arc of the story. naoto helps with the investigations, sure, but otherwise naoto doesn't really get to be in too much of the team bonding moments. maybe that's an issue that gets fixed in golden? idk? i only played vanilla

the thing that really pisses me off about naoto is not just that they're underdeveloped; i love a lot of underdeveloped characters and i like exploring their potential. it's that the main element of naoto's story is handled so clumsily that it makes me wonder what the fuck they were trying to say in the first place!!!!

naoto doesn't want to pretend to be a man anymore and they want to be a woman. so here are several scenes of them being visibly uncomfortable when experiencing womanhood. naoto doesn't want to follow any gender norms and just wants to be themselves before a label. so let's have one of the flags for their romance route be a dialogue option saying you'd only like them if they were feminine. what are you doing guys

i'm rewriting naoto in my head all the time . i've seen a billion tboy naotos but i think i can do cis girl naoto justice. and i will do it because without this naoto will just piss me off forever and ever and ever. ugh

[smallblueandloud]

i keep feeling like. there's something parallel between rose and yaz's endings. maybe parallel isn't the right word -- but i keep wanting to draw comparisons, i think because they're two characters who really defined specific doctors and for whom it's basically confirmed the doctor returned their (romantic) feelings

(they're not the ONLY ones who fit this description, but i'm in no way qualified to talk about clara or even river, so bear with me)

it just feels. i don't know. rose never leaves on purpose. she is separated from the doctor, forcibly, every single time. the doctor sends her home, or she gets stuck in an alternate universe, or the doctor leaves her in the same alternate universe. every single time, she fights to get back to the doctor. the writers had to create a perfect happy ending for her (half-human version of her doctor who'll age along with her, in the alternate universe where her father is alive) because otherwise she wouldn't stop fighting to get back to the doctor, and the show can't have that. the show needs to move on. we need rose to fade into the past.

i haven't seen all of yaz's episodes, but her arc seems very similar from the limited amount i've seen. she keeps fighting to get back to the doctor. she's in love with the doctor, and the doctor basically confirms returning her feelings, albeit in a very stilted, hesitant, doctor-y way (compare "imagine that happening to someone you--" with "and if i was going to, believe me, it would be with you").

but when yasmin's doctor regenerates... yaz is just expected to. step away, go back to living her life, never see the doctor again. kinda like the abandonment that most companions have ever experienced -- getting dropped off once and then goodbye forever! -- except with more of the onus on her. the show has to move on from rose's era, so she gets dumped on a beach. the show has to move on from yasmin's era, so yaz has to accept that the doctor is going off to die alone. she has to make her peace with that information.

i don't know. i think yaz's ending is trying to go hand-in-hand with graham and ryan's purposeful exit -- it seems like the chibnall era tried really hard to have Not Terrible endings for companions. which is very admirable! but honestly? yasmin's ending feels crueler than most, including rose's. yaz was in love with the doctor. the doctor reciprocated those feelings. they should've gotten their equivalent of s2-era 10rose! she should've gotten a chance to stay with the doctor through their regeneration, the way other love interests have been able to (s/o to river and clara!).

i know this is because of the limitations of the show. bad ratings meant chibnall left after only one regeneration, and new incarnations of the show rarely bring in characters from other eras.

but i'm still very sad for yaz :( like yes, she wasn't just dumped on the curb without warning. but she was still expected to say goodbye to someone she loved, knowing that person was dying, and not say a word of protest. if the previous history of the show is any indication, she's never going to see the doctor again. she doesn't get a half-human version of the doctor to live out her days with, and she's not "allowed" to fight to get back to the doctor, either, due to the way the show's structured (but also the way the doctor talked about them saying goodbye). she has to live the rest of her life knowing that the doctor is out there, perfectly capable of visiting, and the only reason they won't visit is because yaz is from a specific time of their life that they've moved on from.

i know she has the companion support group. and i know she'll move on! she's yaz. she's strong and self-actualized. she'll be okay, eventually. but she has to be okay, you know? she has to learn to live without the doctor. rose never had to do that.

it just makes me sad :(

[ciaossu-imagines]

SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE

okay idk if you had this question before

But considering how Shamal is aka flirts and hits on everything that identifies as female

How would Tsuna and his guardians react to that happening to their female partner?

This actually isn't a question I've ever had before! Thank you so much for sending it in and I hope you'll enjoy the headcanons!

We actually kind of saw how this would go down with Tsuna during the Daily Life Arc, when Shamal made some comments about Kyoko, someone Tsuna had a crush on. He'd react exactly the same throughout his teenage years with anyone he dated. That is, while nervous, panicky, a little upset, not at all sure how to react, Tsuna would definitely step in front of his partner and tell Shamal to leave them alone. I think he'd still largely react the same as an adult, though he's gotten more used to the doctor, knows Shamal is just being Shamal and wouldn't genuinely carry through with any of his flirting. He's still making sure he's right beside his partner though and if they become uncomfortable in any way, he's shutting Shamal down and getting his partner out of the situation in the best way he could.

Now, when it comes to Gokudera, I really do think that Shamal has a real weak spot for Hayato. Hayato is someone precious to Shamal, even if he verbally pretends otherwise. Actions speak a lot louder than words and Shamal is very interested in Hayato's life, worries about him, and does keep tabs on Hayato's life even as the boy grows into a man. He'd never actually do anything to harm Hayato, so in a way, I do think Shamal respects any partner Hayato does actually settle down with enough for Shamal to meet. His flirting wouldn't be as overt and not as physical as it would be with some of the other Guardians partners and it's mostly done to tease his precious student, to see Hayato get worked up. Because he will get worked up, calling Shamal a dirty old man and maybe even getting a little physically violent and definitely angry. His partner is either someone who just would've shut Shamal down anyway or is laid-back enough to realize the flirting was harmless and teasing and would both laugh it off and help Shamal out by defusing Hayato's ever-present temper just a little.

Honestly, this probably wouldn't bother Yamamoto too much. Not only is he a pretty laid-back, chill kind of person but he really does accept people for who they are. And that includes Shamal and his many quirks and his habit of needing to flirt and 'pick up' those women he considers attractive. In some way, yeah, it's kind of an ego boost for Yamamoto that his partner is so hot that other men really are desperately trying to flirt with them. Overall though, Yamamoto is someone who would never be in a relationship with someone he didn't absolutely respect and trust, so he knows that his partner would never do anything with Shamal, no matter how much flirting and pick-up lines the other man tried. That being said, if Shamal does cross the line to a point where Yamamoto notices his partner getting uncomfortable (which he definitely will, as Yamamoto is a lot more observant than he lets on), Takeshi will have absolutely no problem just casually telling Shamal to knock it off, in probably the nicest and friendliest way. He's just like 'yeah dude, maybe tone it down a bit, you're making her feel uncomfortable' or Yamamoto manages to completely change the subject, because he really just that kind of person.

Okay, but we kind of get hints that teenage Lambo turns into a bit of a playboy type and I really think that's partially to blame on Shamal being around Lambo during his formative years. Lambo seems to be the one person genuinely interested in learning Shamal's pick-up tricks and he takes some of the doctor's lines and techniques and honestly, those are probably among the things that made Lambo's partner initially fall for him. So Shamal trying to flirt with Lambo's partner? Lambo is genuinely curious to see how his partner will react, what might make them blush, make them upset. He uses it as a bit of a learning experience, though if his partner doesn't seem at all interested in anything Shamal is selling, Lambo is celebrating and rubbing it in the other man's face. It's that 'I have surpassed your skills, you dirty old bastard' moment for Lambo, where Lambo genuinely thinks it's because of Lambo's superior flirting and hitting on people skills that makes his partner like him more than they like Shamal and not the obvious choice of Lambo is who they're in love with and attracted to. That will, of course, create a verbal spar between Lambo and Shamal and Lambo's partner is just going to have to step away from those two idiots for a little bit, though Lambo will want his partner's sympathy and comfort when he loses that verbal sparring match.

Ryohei's starting a fight. There is going to be actual physical blows thrown on Ryohei's side and Shamal tends to beat a hasty retreat when that happens. It only takes once and Shamal really learns not to hit on Ryohei's partner, even jokingly or out of force of habit, when Ryohei is within earshot.

Hey, sorry to break it to you, sorry to anyone who doesn't like this take, but if Shamal is flirting with Hibari's partner, it's pretty much goddamn certain it's because Hibari isn't with them. One, Hibari doesn't actually spend an abundance of time with any romantic partner he does take, just because he is busy and has very clear goals and ideals he's working towards in life and doesn't have a lot of free time. Two, not even Shamal fucks with Hibari. Three, even if Shamal did fuck with Hibari and knew that was Hibari's partner, and even if Hibari overheard anything, Hibari expects ANY partner he takes on to be able to handle their own shit. Any romantic partner of Hibari's needs to be able to stand up for themselves and handle their own problems and that includes the good doctor.

I really honestly don't see Mukuro and Shamal interacting much at all. Even if they do encounter each other, it's largely just in passing, not even conversations. They share Tsuna's family in common but Mukuro doesn't really attend Vongola events, still holds himself apart. Chrome goes in his place instead for the most part and the only time I see Shamal and Mukuro seeing each other is either if the Vongola is in the midst of battle or if Shamal is treating someone in Kokuyo at Reborn's request. So, if Mukuro's partner does get hit on by Shamal, it's when they're not with Mukuro and Mukuro mostly hears about it afterwards. Because the situation isn't a pressing matter, it mostly just amuses Mukuro when his partner tells him about it.

As much as I absolutely adore Shamal, he's definitely propositioned Chrome and her female partner for a little ménage-a-trois action because the only thing hotter than one pretty girl is two pretty girls. It did make Chrome angry, embarrassed her, but Chrome isn't great about speaking up and standing up for herself. So her reaction is probably largely to just grab her partner's hand and run away from him. She doesn't much care for Shamal and tries to avoid him to the best of her ability anyway.

[eternalglitch]

Right okay so slightly different from my usual programming but after three years of Rise brainrot the turtles have been finally vacated and I must discuss my new blorbos with great fondness at least a little. (Do not worry about my ongoing fic. That is almost my own personal blorbos at this point and I must see them off to a happy ending.)

So I've always had terrible auditory processing skills, to the point where I have made it through one (1) podcast despite my many attempts otherwise and thought this meant I was locked out of the fun dnd content.

And then one of my favorite fanfic authors from a few years back started reblogging Dimension 20's Neverafter art.

Now I had at a problem because if they endorsed this and then I spotted a character that literally seemed to be crafted to fit my interests, I had to at least poke my head into the show. So I sat down and watched episode one.

That was about two weeks ago. Almost immediately I dragged more friends into watch parties to catch up to the campaign and have gotten a SOLID chunk of my close friends into it already. This campaign is something else, the way it just grabs you in a way that I thought would never happen for me for a dnd campaign.

So (and some Neverafter spoilers ahead) Neverafter is a story about fairytale characters fighting against their "destiny" or "roles." As the world changes and their tales progressively darken, they start learning about the concept of authors, and how bad things happen to them just because an impartial outside force finds it the most interesting. The horror of being the wrong version of the story, of knowing your story should have been happy and is not. Or knowing that your story is destined to be tragic and you have no say in the matter.

And honestly every single character is compelling in their own way!

Pinocchio is the one that lured me into the story. A puppet that was given life and, after completing the traditional narrative to his story, breaks his promise to the fairy and lies to save his father's life. His lie transforms him back into a puppet, where he becomes entangled into lying more and more and more and backed into a corner by a cruel warlock patron that is essentially holding his father hostage. He's snapped his own nose off because although his own rules (his nose growing) are still in place, the world has changed. His back is against the wall and this is a scared child trying to save his dad. (He's also hilarious and swears like he just learned what the word fuck is.)

Sleeping Beauty is a victim to her story being events that happen TO her but at no point does she get allowed any initiative. When she wakes up to find no prince waiting for her, she has to learn that maybe waiting for her happily ever after isn't what would make her happy and she has to take matters back into her own hands.

Puss in Boots (Pib) is seemingly (there's more to it) a normal cat that happens to have also tricked an entire kingdom before fleeing and abandoning the kingdom to a dark fate. He lies for fun and is a great partner in crime to Pinocchio.

Red Riding Hood is a child that killed her own family when the big bad wolf gave her lycanthropy before begging her to kill him. She's a girl that is seeking parental love and guidance, and she views herself as a monster unworthy of the very love she seeks.

The Frog Prince is what I consider the dark horse favorite; Gerard got his happily ever after and his standard story happened, but after marrying his true love and time passed, he started to turn back into a frog. As his wife and him argued and started seeing each other's perspectives less and less, he became more and more froglike. Now that she's gone missing after heading off to war, Gerard has to face his own cowardice and come to terms with what really was the thing that drove a wedge in between them. (I love him. So much. He's extremely flawed and such a three-dimensional character.)

Mother Timothy Goose is a man that lost his child to an evil goose called the Gander, and is currently being hunted down by the same creature. He accidentally entered a contractual three wishes deal with it, his own wish being to find a way to save his dead son. This has granted him a magical book that has much deeper abilities than merely bringing his own son back from the dead, and he's one of the people that can help right the wrongs going on in the land of Neverafter even as he is hunted by the Gander as it tries to make him use his final wish.

So, yeah. I recommend trying it if you like horror and fairytales. It's fun. (I am not normal about it.)

[anneapocalypse]

So. About Minfilia.

This one really got to me.

I don't think I've cried over a character death in this game like this since Haurchefant--both of whom, incidentally, I knew going in were going to die at some point, because I'd encountered spoilers well before I ever imagined I would play this game. (Having Ariane fall for both of them in turn was not the plan, it just happened along the way and felt right for her character, and the extra tragedy it ended up adding was a side effect but one that's become lode-bearing for her story in a lot of ways.)

So I'll say to start that given what the writers had to work with going into Shadowbringers, I think Minfilia's story ends about as well as it could have. The variant flow of time in the First, and specifically the fact that a century has passed there since she arrived, is vital to Shadowbringers' story. Minfilia was never meant to be an immortal being, nor did she want to be. And while there's probably an interesting AU in her becoming mortal again and returning home (and I could see myself writing something like that), that's a very involved concept that wouldn't have worked well with the story Shadowbringers was telling. So, her fate was sealed when she departed for the First. Furthermore the way she goes out is really thematically in line with the Scions as a whole, from Louisoix to Moenbryda to Papalymo: one person giving their life to contain an existential threat--not even to destroy it completely, but to slow the tide so that others can carry on the fight. And Minfilia even takes it a step further, managing to stick around in some form long enough for the other Scions to make it to the First. The Warrior of Light even gets to see her one last time, so her promise to return to them when her work was done--it wasn't an empty one. We get to say goodbye.

I'm okay with this. It's a decent end to her story, given where we started from this expansion.

That doesn't make me especially okay with how we got here, though.

I am still a sprout here, having just started playing last year and being mid-Shadowbringers for the first time now. I was not around when ARR was new, and cannot speak to the fan reception of Minfilia at the time. I have heard through my grapevine, however, that she was not well-liked. Whether because she was a non-combat character, a quest-giver in an annoying location, a woman who told people to do stuff while wearing a mildly revealing outfit (and I do mean mildly)... Idk what the dealbreaker was. That's just what I've heard. Having heard that, though, it makes the choice to write her out at the end of ARR feel... motivated, in a way that maybe it otherwise wouldn't.

There is nothing meaningfully wrong with Minfilia's character in ARR that couldn't be said about any of the core Scions.

Wahhh I don't want to return to the Waking Sands for the 80th time? Fair, but that's a game design issue getting taken out on a character who happens to be connected to it. Call it the Preston Garvey Problem. Her outfit is silly? It's hardly meaningfully sillier than other NPC outfit designs, or Final Fantasy fashion generally. Go tell it to the catgirls in the 2b tights by the aetheryte. She doesn't even fight? Honestly kind of refreshing to me to see non-combat characters play a major role in the story, because fighting isn't the only thing that drives stories! (Hey, didn't Tataru have a whole subplot about that?)

She's underdeveloped? Name me a character who gets great character development in ARR. (There is a correct answer to this question. It's Cid Garlond. 😛) But the Scions? A handful of them feel like very well-rounded characters now because they've had whole expansions that explored them as people and deepened their relationship to the setting and story in meaningful ways--Lyse, Alphinaud, Alisaie, Urianger, Y'shtola, Thancred. But none of them are well-rounded in ARR. ARR is not about character development. It's basically a very long tutorial level that gets you acquainted with the world, its major conflicts, and the major players in those conflicts. The character-driven storytelling really starts with Heavensward. If we truncated all the Scions' stories at the end of ARR, I don't think the others are any deeper than Minfilia.

I liked Minfilia right off because she was kind and caring, and she had an obvious talent for bringing people together, probably in a similar way to Louisoix himself. Hence her becoming the Antecedent and continuing to do diplomatic work across three nations. Did she make mistakes? Yeah, absolutely. Lest anyone is tempted to single her out in the Crystal Braves disaster, though, I will point to what I said in my post about how the Scions failed Alphinaud: every adult in the room should have seen the red flags about that, and not one of them did, including Urianger who is extremely protective of the twins, and Thancred who is extremely protective of Minfilia. And yes, she was in charge, and she does bear a greater share of the responsibility. But whatever you think of that plot point, whether it's leaning a little too heavily on Rule of Stupid or whether believable for a group of idealistic apocalypse survivors with martyr complexes, it's written as something that all the Scions failed to foresee. And for the others, especially for Alphinaud, that mistake and subsequent disaster is used as an opportunity for character growth. Alphinaud has to confront his own arrogance, which drives his character growth as he continues to play a major role in every expansion. Yda/Lyse and Papalymo get themselves involved with the Ala Mhigan resistance, providing the setup for Stormblood and a tremendous amount of character development for Lyse. Y'shtola in desperation turns to darker and more dangerous forms of magic, setting us up for her transformation into a black mage in Shadowbringers where will continue to see her turn to dangerous magics at desperate times. Thancred's wilderness survival journey precedes us getting to see a darker and lonelier side of him. And so forth.

Minfilia throws herself on Hydaelyn's mercy, and gets tempered. I mean, carried unto her bosom, granting her a strength long sought. Because of course we're meant to take it as a given that she was weak before. She was the leader of an international organization who did diplomatic work across three nations, but she couldn't throw fireballs or hit people good with a stick, so. She loses her very will for a while there, until Hydaelyn mercifully decides she's strong enough to give it back to her.

And now, no one talks about the work she did as the Antecedent, or with the Path of the Twelve before that. It's all about her noble sacrifice, how she gave up her whole life to save the First. And she was noble, and generous, and a hero. But she was a person before that, and she could have been more. She could have been a character with a real arc, who got to struggle and learn from her mistakes and grow with us, as the others have.

Minfilia didn't get that. She got to be a sacrificial vessel for the salvation of others, over and over again until there was none of her left. And we never have to reckon with her feeling scared or uncertain or angry about this, because she is always the willing sacrifice, always noble and generous and a hero. Shadowbringers spends far more time on Thancred's feelings about Minfilia than on Minfilia's feelings about her own fate. And I do like Thancred, so please don't read this as me hating on him; I even liked getting more of their history onscreen, at first. But at a certain point I just wanted to shake him and say, You are not the only one who loved her! And your feelings about her are not the only thing that matters here!

I love characters who are deeply and deliberately kind, especially when they have a history that gives them plenty of reasons to be otherwise. I love characters with a passion and drive to make their world better, even when that comes at great cost. It's why I love Julie Farkas, and Vanessa Kimball. But I also like to see how they reckon with the cost, how they struggle with the burden of that kindness. I love it when Kimball loses her temper, when she isn't patient and virtuous all the time. We do finally get some of that with Ryne. But not for the original Minfilia. She goes gently into that good night with gentle words and a gentle smile. And yes, after a hundred years, she has earned a rest.

But having loved her gentle soul from the beginning, I am mourning what she could have been, if she had ever been allowed to be anything else.

[karenandhenwillson]

Some thoughts about Eddie

It's fine to headcanon a character as gay. It's just as fine to headcanon a character as straight and even create fan art portraying him that way. Yes, even during Pride Month. (Especially if that character is according to current canon actually straight.)

Personally, I've always headcanon Eddie as demisexual. Because it's so very clear that he had a lot of chemistry with Shannon and enjoyed it. While he outright stated that he really has no interest in dating for the sake of dating. He had to be pressured into it by his aunt in s6 and by Bobby in s4. Otherwise, he was pretty happy not dating at all.

And then there is of course the fact that he is in a way chasing what he had with Shannon. Who I believe that he loved at one point, even if we never saw them being happy with each other. You can love someone and still be horrible for each other, be horrible in a relationship with each other. Be that because of outside forces (Eddie's parents) or just because you might not be the right people for each other. But he loved her and dreamed of creating a good and strong family with her at least. The way he tried to pull her into his and Chris' life again eventually, just before she slapped him in the face with the false pregnancy suspicion and then the demand for a divorce, speaks of that dream, at least for me.

I think Eddie had the love and intimacy with Shannon everyone tells him he should find again. And everyone (his aunt, Bobby) tells him how easy it should be to go out and just click with someone, just be attracted to someone. But it's not for him. Because he needs a connection that he had with Shannon but has never found with anyone else since. And only then will the attraction part come.

But he's never been able to experience that with anyone else. He only knows that dating is a chore and that, honestly, he is pretty happy alone but no one will believe him about that. At least no one he talked to about that topic or who pressured him to discuss that topic, aka Pepa and Bobby. I like to believe that if he ever talked with Hen or Buck about it either would ask him something like "But do you need to find a relationship?" and maybe then the puzzle pieces would finally find the right place in Eddie's head. (I'd like to beg Hen to ask him that un-propmeted. Because with the way she looked when Eddie declared dating a chore? Makes me think she knows.)

And what fandom likes to claim as Eddie being bad at relationships is just him not knowing what should be expected there of him. He is not invested in the relationships we have seen him in and he probably just assumes that's how it is when go about dating first instead of building a friendship first as it probably happened with Shannon. (Because, let's be honest, we all assume at first that our own experience is the same as everyone else's experience and even if we learned to know better it remains our default all too often.) He doesn't know it's supposed to be different, that it's not supposed to feel like a chore to spend time with the woman you are trying to date.

Lately, I've even come to wish Eddie would outright come out as aro/ace. A little bit out of spite. But mostly because we really have barely any representation of aro/ace characters and I think it would fit Eddie's journey of the past six years so, so well.

This is my personal headcanon and wish for Eddie in s8. And it's just as valid as hoping he'll stay straight or headcanoning him as gay.

[just-a-carrot]

[Spoilers for pretty much everything up to the finale. Also I'm talking about Arc 3 here just so you understand.]

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Now I'm thinking about the logistics of having a Switch in Wonderland. I know it sort of adapts to people's subconscious needs (hence the existence of Cecil), but I was always under the impression that it ended only on the subconscious and would still fit somewhat in the ramifications of your one wish. Is there only one wish you can make? I mean, as kids they could wish for whatever they wanted any time they wanted, but obviously Wonderland was much different back then. And with how much emphasis is placed on the wish, I'd think it was the only you got. But anyways, back to my main point. I'm assuming that either the Switch had to have spawned spontaneously after Orlam and Iggy got together or that Orlam, coming into Wonderland with a newfound affection for Iggy, had it (as well as other Iggy bait) tossed in with his usual castle and guards. But... is it just a normal Switch? Like does it have all the same games normal Switches do? And how do the online capabilities work? I mean, there was a TV in Gidget's mansion in Arc 5, so it's not too farfetched for there to be some kind of Wonderlandian equivalent to the internet as well, but there's no way it could connect to the real world internet, right? Otherwise it would all get fucked up. I guess the most probable answer is that it has all the real life games Iggy could want, and maybe it magically keeps up to date with the current switch games in the real world, which would probably take years to come out considering the time speed difference between Wonderland in real life. But now is the most fun question: Are there Wonderland exclusive games? Tailored specifically to your needs? Perhaps Iggy can't get enough of the Kirby games he already has, and just wishes up a new one. Or a Balthier Bunanza dating sim (Orlam would be so jealous. Well, probably not, actually, but I find it funny.). Honestly, that's what this has all been leading to. I want to know if it's possible for Iggy to just wish for new games to appear on his magical Wonderdo Switch. I wanna do that. This ask has been brought to you by my unyielding curiosity and obsession with this game.

this is getting into so much I've never thought about before FJDJDJFJ

hmmm

I feel like a lot of wonderland just formed and evolved based on their inherent wants and needs in addition to their actual wishes. like the fact that when they were kids, they had ice cream and cookies and snacks being given to them, while as adults there's an inn with alcohol lol. even things like how the forest grew and warped around bucks. how the castle and nobles formed for orlam. how the village changed around gidget. none of these things were directly related to their wishes but kind happened in tandem with them based on their current psyches. (also why in arc 5 everything gets even more twisted because their inner thoughts have become so warped and wonderland responded to this)

so I do think a lot of the things they have in wonderland do just kinda come into being in some way or another. perhaps in ways that seem like serendipitous coincidences to the ppl in question

LOL having said that no I don't think there's Internet down there and definitely nothing that would connect to the outside world 🤣 the idea about the games though is super interesting. my initial thoughts are that the games would be formed from their impressions and memories of the real games. but they wouldn't be exact (there would be strange differences perhaps) especially if it's a game they've never played before (in this case, I think a game would be created that fits what that person thinks the game would be like) but I think that those playing the games wouldn't notice the oddities because they're so entrenched in wonderland that it feels normal

I love the idea of random new games just being created I think that would be hilarious 🤣 FJDJDJD BALTHIER DATING SIM I'M SOBBING Iggy finds this on the shelf and is like omg I never thought they would make a game like this??? but otherwise doesn't find it odd even when the game somehow perfectly caters to his every fantasy fjfjfjdjd I love this idea LOL