#so then i came up with the idea to make them an alternate form instead

[rizardofether]

Haven't drawn my main sona in years. Got inspired to give them additional forms, so here they are now!

Default Form: Their default form, and the form they were born in. In this form they can change his size freely. From the smallest animals to the size of planets.

Hunter Form: Their smallest form. Fastest on land, and the best senses. Useful if they need to find something by senses.

Dragonlord Form: Their secondary dragon form. Good for long-distance travel or for physical strength. Stronger than their default form would be at the same size.

Reigner Form: A combination of all their other forms in a humanoid shape. He can use magic the best in this form. Not to mention having opposable thumbs. Useful when interacting with humanoid races. He has small wings on their back in this form, but they are too small to be functional. They can fly with magic just fine though. They also have an extra pair of eyes under their normal eyes they usually keep closed.

[autistichalsin]

Some of my favorite, understated moments with heartbreaking implications for Halsin

1. Halsin threatening to turn into a mouse in the epilogue if the player brags about his achievements- he's so shy and humble that just being acknowledged for LITERALLY BUILDING A COMMUNE HIMSELF makes him want to hide. A mouse is a very symbolic choice here: not only easy to hide, but also easily overlooked and forgotten. The idea of his accomplishments being acknowledged is so terrifying for him that he wants to turn into an animal no one will notice, instead of his usual strong, large, noticeable bear.

2. "Sometimes, I think people look at me and imagine my feelings can't be hurt." This isn't the kind of thing that happens after one or two people act like jerks. This is years and years of cruel treatment, of his emotions being demeaned and mocked because of his size. Of people judging him before even meeting him- and forming an entirely wrong view of him. Halsin is a bighearted, tender, sentimental man, yet because he's big... Well, big people don't have feelings, surely. /s

3. "You and I may struggle to go unnoticed in such environs, Karlach[...] Folk of our stature can be a lure for drunkards seeking a brawl, I have found," combined with, "There is a particular discomfort to besting one you know to be weaker than yourself - even when needs must," from a different scene. People have sought him out and fought him because of his size (which had to have been terrifying, especially the first time), and he feels guilty when he takes out someone he knows is weaker, even if they STARTED it. How many times has the poor guy been traveling and then had to defend himself against someone 1/2 his size, making HIM look like the asshole to onlookers, and reinforcing that whole "people think I can't be hurt" thing?

4. "It was always destined to be so, if we prevailed. But the foreknowledge makes it no less bittersweet..." (About the players' paths diverging post brain battle), combined with "I see... After all my years of living, I know all too well that nothing lasts forever. Yet a parting can sting, nonetheless," if the player breaks up with him in the ending. This poor guy was having the time of his life adventuring with the group (and possibly falling in love there) yet never believed it would truly last (because of his abandonment issues). And then to have it confirmed.... he must have felt so awful in that moment, even if he was being dignified about it.

5. "You came for me... thank you. I feared Orin's accursed smile would be the very last sight I beheld," when Halsin is freed from Orin, combined with, "Orin's blades. I hoped my friends would save me..." If he is killed by Orin instead and Speak With the Dead is used on his corpse. The tone of his voice in the first line, especially added to that bit in the second... he never thought the player was coming to save him. He HOPED they would. Not "believed". Hoped. He thought he was going to die there- just like how he was in the Underdark for THREE YEARS and no one came to save him. And if it's confirmed... Yeah. That. (Sidenote: if you ask his corpse if he has any regrets, he says not telling Thaniel and Oliver goodbye, and not getting to see their land flourish. :( My heart. :( )

6. "I... have not had true confidantes for some time. The Shadow Curse robbed me of almost all my peers, and replaced them with the weight of responsibility. Perhaps that caused me to gild undeserving memories of my youth." Halsin was so miserable and stressed being Archdruid that he romanticized his past as a sex slave, viewing it as a safer, even happier alternative. There were actually times when Halsin thought he might rather be a sex slave than continue to be Archdruid. In a sense, for the 100 years the Shadow Curse was around, Halsin was just as much a prisoner as Thaniel was in the Shadowfell, but Halsin's prison had invisible bars. The Shadow Curse took away his entire support system, and being Archdruid forced him to be the strong one, always, never allowed to be weak or scared, forced him to take control of situations when he hated it, forced him to spend his time sorting out people instead of being in nature. And he was MISERABLE. For 100 years.

7. "You understand me almost perfectly. Only my late mother may have bested you." (Said if you get one question wrong at the love dryad test). He misses his mama. :( Especially when you consider that if you steal Balthazar's "Mother Dearest" and taunt him about it, Halsin disapproves (and is the only one to do so), while returning her gets you approval (which only Halsin approves of). And then the line when you look into a mirror while controlling him, "more like my father, with each passing day..." He really misses them. :(

8. "I am loathe to see anyone behind bars. It reminds me of my time as a guest of the goblins." He is, secretly, still quite traumatized from his time in the goblin pens, but he brushes it off. Just like every OTHER time he is hurt.

9. "I am aware [of having a habit of getting captured]. Perhaps I put too much faith in my skills of negotiation, or want to see good where there is none. It would be easy to resort to nature's fury whenever something stood in my way, yet I cannot help but feel I would be sullying the Oak Father's gifts. Naive perhaps... but I still draw breath." Halsin is aware he gets hurt often because of his desire to see good in people until he has no other choice, but refuses to give up anyway (which is backed up by that letter Gut had on her where she reveals Halsin TRIED to help the goblins, saying he could cure them of their tadpoles, only to be thrown in the cage, with Gut threatening to have his stomach cut open and maggots placed inside it.) Further, even though he is an Archdruid, and one of the most devoted, and explicitly has Silvanus's favor (Halsin says that gaining his favor was the only way he was able to open the portal to the Shadowfell), he still constantly worries about using Silvanus's powers, to the point of wondering if an actual threat to his safety actually merits using his powers. Which... combined with some other stuff, reads like one hell of a problem with self-worth.

10. "At least you were not present. Grim as [the ruined battlefield] is now, it was worse on the day of the battle. A vivid wound upon my memory[...] I was lucky - I lived, when so many did not. It would take me a day and a night to recite the names of all the friends I lost" combined with, "I was [present when the Shadow Curse was unleashed]. Part of my spirit was shorn away from me here, and never left," and, if Last Light falls, "All gone... devoured by the shadows. Oak Father preserve us, it's just like a hundred years ago[...] We are [still standing]. Yet there is a burden to being the survivor... the witness to others' tragedies. It only grows heavier with time." He has so much PTSD and survivor guilt from the Shadow Curse. :( No wonder it's all he can think about- to the point that some of the other companions even get annoyed at him for his obsession.

11. "I never quite realised how burdened I was, until I met you. The threat of the shadow curse, the politics of the grove... I was forgetting who I was, but you lifted the fog. Thank you." Not only does this tie in with the above, with his PTSD from the curse and his utter misery at being Archdruid, but this HEAVILY implies Halsin had depression. Like... that "fog" line hits HARD if you have or have had depression, because that's exactly what it feels like. And the "forgetting who I was" bit too. Not just losing his sense of self to the depression, but to the neverending responsibilities of being Archdruid. I keep repeating myself, but damn, this guy has really and truly spent an entire century being absolutely MISERABLE. :(

12. "Forgive me. I... lost the run of myself. Sometimes, if blood runs hot enough, it's difficult to tame the beast." With that little disgusted groan/sigh, the fury and disgust at himself visible on his face, and the way he rushes to get out the rest of it- he thinks he fucked up so badly that you're about to leave him, maybe forever. And then if you reject him after this? "Ah... I see. Well, of course. Back to camp then." He has the most heartbroken look on his face here, and the way he says "of course" like he just... knew this was coming the instant he accidentally wildshaped. He felt that the first time he let ANY of his imperfections show, the player would leave him. :(

13. "Death is nature's final slumber - it awaits us all. Do not punish yourself over those lost, or give in to despair - not while there are still folk in need of your help." (Said to a Dark Urge if they tell him they're not much of a hero and most people needing them end up dead) Not only is Halsin speaking from experience here, but it's very clear he is STILL doing exactly what he tells Durge not to do, to himself- punishing himself over those who were lost, struggling with devastating survivor guilt.

14. "The grove has cut itself off from the world, to jealously guard its own little pocket of nature. No one shall ever enter or leave again. And I have been evicted from the very place I was charged to safeguard. A telling summary of my time as Archdruid, perhaps..." If the Grove is sealed and you ask him about it later, this is what he says. Interesting that he views being evicted from the place he was in charge of protecting to be a "telling summary." He was forced to take the leadership role there, and yet it was clear he wasn't wanted or respected by a great number of the Druids (exempting Nettie, Rath, and Apikusis). He got a truly thankless job that took damn near EVERYTHING from him emotionally/mentally, causing him to develop depression and causing him to backslide in his previous healing from his trauma from his time as a sex slave, he still gave EVERYTHING to the Grove, and in return...... almost none of his Druids appreciated or even liked him. (I could seriously write at least five metas about how obviously miserable Halsin was at the Grove, despite caring for it deeply).

15. "You could have done anything, gone with anyone... yet you chose me." Said at the epilogue to a solo romanced player who went to the commune with him. There's so many layers of heartbreak here. He is still surprised, six months later, that the player chose him. He even thinks the player will regret it, and will decide they want an adventurer's life after all after seeing everyone else. He doesn't think he is good enough- doesn't think he deserves the player, and yet at the same time he loves them so much that he is heartbroken over the possibility they might agree with him. He thinks that given a chance, there is little chance they would actually choose him again. (He is put at ease quickly when the player promises they picked him for a reason, but even the explanation he gives for why he was so worrie is heartbreaking- that he's so used to a tumultuous life that he thinks something must go wrong. He has been so traumatized so many times over the years that he just has almost no ability to think that true happiness is possible [or deserved] for him.) Something about that is just heartbreaking, even though his ending is one of the happiest of any of the companions.

Someone give this sweet bear man a hug, please :(

[taintedpearls]

can you do vi and a breeding/mommy k!nk??

⋆⭒˚.⋆ vi with a breeding/mommy kink — daily click

nsfw + reg txt under cut , thank you for the request

this girl is genuinely obsessed with the thought of making u a mom herself like.. okay technically she can't but in moments like this she definitely thinks it's possible.

she brought up the idea of a breeding strap awhile back and you completely forget the two of you even had the conversation, but you were more than open to the idea of it, assuming it was to feed into vi's delusions of being able to impregnate you.

now you wished you had agreed much sooner.

both of your legs are pressed against your chest with vi's forearm keeping them down as she pounded into you repeatedly, the dildo stretching you in a way that felt so good.

"how's that feel?" she groans from above you, eyes in a trance and focusing on the point where a white ring was forming at the base on where the two of you were connected, mesmerised by how easily the dildo was sliding in and out of you.

you're unable to give her actual words, instead mumbling out a bunch of gibberish mixed with your moans of pleasure, mouth open and eyes screwed shut as you clawed at your girlfriends back.

"c'mon... words mama..." she encourages, moving her arms that were pinning you down to gently lift up your chin, being met with the sight of your teary eyes and cheeks. she cant help but groan and throw her own head back at the sight of you, rutting into you helplessly and needlessly, slowing her pace down significantly. she swears she can feel the way your gummy walls are clenching around her 'dick'.

"fuck.." vi whimpers, speeding her pace back up and dropping her head into the crook of your neck, trailing soft kisses up to your ear. you move your hand up to play with the pinkettes hair gently, kissing the side of her face.

"f- feels so good vi" you moan out, tugging on her hair ever so slightly and pushing your hips back into her, chasing your release, chasing what the feeling what be like for her to nut in you.

"you gonna cum?" she asks breathily, stopping her kisses for a brief moment before sucking on your sweet spot, biting and nipping at it.

you nod your head a little too quickly, moving your hands back to her back and gripping onto her like your life depended on it.

"you can let go... its okay baby, this is gonna make you-" she pauses to gasp at how the harness is rubbing against her clit perfectly, trying to quickly recover and finish her sentence "this is gonna make you carry my fuckin' kids huh?" she encourages, and that was all it took for the knot inside you to snap, faux cum dribbling into your hole as your own release leaked out.

vi came quickly after you, groaning into your ear and slowing her pace down significantly to now overstimulate you too much, pulling out quickly to catch a sight of what you looked like right now

ethereal.

leaning down so her head was parallel to your pussy, you laid above her, panting and trying to catch your breath, whining at the loss of being filled.

"want me to clean this up for you?"

this is the filthiest thing ive written pls forgive me...

alternate beginning i scrapped:

"you can look now," she tells you while adjusting the harness ever so slightly on her, you've been sprawled out on your bed and staring up at the ceiling for the the five minutes while hearing vi shuffle around in the bathroom for a 'treat'. looking up, your line of vision instantly went to your cocky girlfriend and the dildo that now rested on her hips.

"babe... what?" you questioned, letting out a breathy laugh at the situation, memories of the conversation slowly coming back.

"you wanna try it out?"

[determinate-negation]

as one of the foremost psychoanalysis posters on my dash i was wondering if you've heard this account of freud's early career: while treating women for hysteria he found that most of them were assaulted by male family members as children & developed psychological problems as a result (seduction theory?). but his writings on it were unpopular (especially among the wealthy men whose daughters he was treating), so he came up with the oedipus & electra complex as an alternate explanation that let his clients off the hook, instead saying that something just went wrong internally (lundy bancroft called it the beginning of victim-blaming in psychology).

as someone who knows more than i about this field, do you know if there's any accuracy to this story? it seems to imply psychosexual development theory exists to cover up traumatic events, which puts a shaky foundation under any later theories drawing from it, and people often dismiss all of freud & psychoanalysis because of it...

yes its true about the history seduction theory but im not entirely sure if it is as directly correlated to the oedipus complex as it often is thought by critics of freud, and i dont think it invalidates the principles of psychoanalysis as a whole. his correspondence with some other doctors in the 1890s are directly related to seduction theory and you can see that the issue of seduction theory concerned him a lot and he was reluctant to dismiss it but was very influenced by society at the time.

another complicating factor is that much of freuds work was preserved by his daughter anna freud, who was for the most part a conservative force in psychoanalysis both in her own practice and in how she presented his work. a lot of his letters and writings are omitted and edited because of her, including things that show his own ambivalence about certain ideas and how his relationships with other doctors and psychiatrists influenced him to take certain positions.

this article goes into it a bit and you can see the ways that anna freud has influenced our knowledge of freud and a little bit about this period of his studies. i think another thing people really miss when they talk about freud is that so much modern medicine we currently use today came from this time period as well and just as much of the "hard sciences" also came from some things that seem pretty ridiculous and unscientific to us today, and many just outright wrong, but only psychoanalysis is given so much skepticism and criticism.

this is not to defend it, freud was absolutely incorrect in many cases and, contrary to popular views of him, very aware of the limits of his knowledge and the inaccuracies inherent in pioneering any new type of medicine. this especially he emphasizes- that any new science is bound to make errors and be imprecise. freud constantly was reformulating his ideas and made many revisions to psychosexual theory throughout his life, not to mention by all the psychoanalysts who came after him. historically, its not surprising that freud and the other pioneering psychoanalysts, most of them austrian and german jews already occupying an uneasy position, were led to revise some of their more radical discoveries that appeared to threaten turn of the century european society. psychoanalysis was considered extremely shocking and obscene at the time for even venturing to say that sexuality had such a presence in peoples lives, and that people were not moved entirely by reason and rationality (as this was the era of the enlightenment and a lot of optimism about science) so sure its disappointing but not surprising that freud retracted some of his more controversial views. and likely he would not have been as successful if he did not retract them, unfortunately. similarly with some of his writings on bisexuality that seem to point to the idea that there is no natural drive towards heterosexuality and there is no natural form sexuality takes.

the oedipus complex came more from other studies and freuds own self analysis than from seduction theory (to my knowledge at least) freud actually applied the oedipus complex only to young boys initially and has some stuff (that in my opinion holds up fairly well today and is compatible with ideas of construction of sexual and gendered difference we have now) about how young girls only come to the position of seeing the father as a love object after they realize through societal and family norms they are not meant to want the mother and 'unwillingly' (this is how freud and other early psychoanalysts describe it) are forced to identify with the mother and desire the father. freud rejected the idea of a parallel electra complex for women broke with jung over this, among other things.

im very much against this idea of freud as the founder of modern misogyny or the "beginning of victim blaming in psychology." this is a myopic historiography that ignores how radical freuds approach was in comparison with psychology and medical science at the time. most physicians at the time believed that patients hysteric or neurotic symptoms were either signs of a physical organic disease or that they were consciously faking them and in control of them. (why is freud the father of victim blaming and not these doctors?) common treatment would mainly be locking them up to be studied or dubious 19th century surgeries and medical treatments. freud was one of the first to ever propose that hysteric and neurotic patients were not purposefully consciously deciding to do this but unconsciously reacting to something that happened to them, that symptoms represented a patient history that may be unknown or unarticulated to them but could be brought out by associations etc. thus that no symptoms are random or meaningless, all have some psychic significance, and it can be uncovered through analysis. this is the most crucial discovery of psychoanalysis, and although i think it was wrongly applied to seduction theory, he shows it time and again in many of his other clinical studies and interpretation of dreams, and it does not invalidate the whole of psychoanalysis

[annymation]

Kingdom of Wishes- A "Wish" Rewrite AUs

AUs are Alternate Universes, new ways to look at how a story could've gone if a few things were slightly different, it's a fun writing exercise to take your story and change it up a bit to see how the characters would react to these changes.

So I did that with my wish rewrite, and I came up with some pretty fun scenarios.

(Warning: that’s a lie, some scenarios here are not fun at all)

So let's begin:

Asha the Star & Aster the Human

That's exactly what it sounds like, Asha and Aster switch places!

In this scenario, Aster is an orphan whose mother was a musician, that's right, musician, not an artist

His grandfather used to say his mother could sing so beautifully and write songs so engaging that people could see whole stories form in their heads, she inspired people to imagine whole new worlds

That was Aster's dream, to write beautiful melodies, sing a song that could inspire people, see beyond reality

So same things that happened with Asha happen to him, he defies the royals (Who also change in this AU, we have Amaya as a queen regnant, so she's above in power than Magnifico, she being the one who has blue blood while he got married in, and their personalities switch. To me that's the funniest thing, like can you imagine Amaya as the drama queen that get's the whole spotlight and has anger outbursts sometimes like the Red Queen and Maleficent? While Mag is in the background just being calm, mysterious and I guess having a fatherly persona? What a twisted vision)

Anyway so they take Aster's wish, change it up yada yada yada Aster goes to make a wish upon a star and we get Star Asha babeeeyyy

Now design wise, Aster as a human would have brown hair, while Asha, as all wishing stars, would have blonde hair, with this hair style

Loooooong blonde braids that flow in the air constantly like Princess Celestia hair from MLP, and speaking of princess, yeah, she dresses like one too.

Imagine being human Aster here, you wish upon a star and suddenly a beautiful magical princess with gorgeous flowing hair shows up to help you, I would've died

So anyway, Asha has a very energetic and optimistic personality, and much like Aster was in Kow, she's fascinated by earth

When they come up with a plan to inspire the people of Rosas, Asha's idea is to make people draw, express how they feel, make them reflect if they're really happy with this system

Aster of course thinks that's not a good idea at first but she convinces him, so the whole arc of them being found out at the plaza happens yada yada yada let's cut to the good stuff

Instead of giving Aster a magic pencil, Asha enchants his's grandfather's mandolin, so Aster can play beautiful songs that can magically bring anything he imagines to life

So then we get their "At All Cost"... But I actually think Star Asha would sing a different song, she'd sing something like this:

This song just gives me major Kow! Asha vibes, and I'd love if Asha was played by Denee Benton cause I'm a huge fan.

And then the story proceeds as usual and we get to the climax, where instead of singing This Wish Reprise he'd sing something more like this:

Once again, I'm here to say I love Jordan Fisher and I can't imagine anyone better than him to voice Aster.

So yeah he'd have a very dramatic song where instead of using his guitar (That the queen broke) he uses only his voice and the last bit of Asha's magic to defeat the royals, along with everyone's hopes on his side.

Sooo yeah Asha later turns into a human thanks to true love's kiss, her hair turns dark brown, the end!

I like exploring this one because it shows how Asha and Aster are different with her being an artist and him being a musician, human Aster would be very different than the Aster we know though, being absolutely focused on the task at hand of saving his people, so Asha would help him loosen up a bit and have hope things would be better.

Kids AU

Okay so this one is more of a joke, but like... Kingdom of Wishes... But it's Ponyo, only genderbent

Basically I asked myself "What if Asha wished upon Aster when she was a kid?" well, when she was a kid, so was Aster.

So we'd have a story of a little 6 year old becoming friends with her wishing star. While her grandpa Sabino, still alive and very old, tries to hide this star and protect his spunky granddaughter from the king and queen that are after Aster

Of course the royals would have a harder time finding out who could've wished upon a star since they don't know who Asha is as a kid

But on the other hand, Asha and Aster would be a lot more naive and reckless, Aster would tell Asha "Hey! The king and queen are really mean! They change the wishes, wanna defeat them together" and Asha would be like "YEAH!" and off they go put themselves in danger

Don't think Magnifico would go easy on Aster just because he's a toddler, oh no, he'd drain all this child's power as soon as he caught his hands on them, which is why Sabino would be having a panic attack trying to keep them safe.

But what's really cute about this scenario is just imagining kid Aster interacting with the world, using his magic to play with Asha, and of course Sabino being a protective grandpa.

Bad Ending AUs

You guys know me, of course I have a whole section for not one but TWO bad endings lmao I'm so evil.

What If Asha's Cursed Wish Was Granted?

Yup, remember Asha's cursed wish? That would turn her into a obedient princess that would follow Magnifico and Amaya without question? Remember that wish? Yeah what if THAT happened hahah

Anyway, I thinks it's best if I just show you how that'd play out (Warning, the angst is STRONG in this one):

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That's right, now hold still my dear, this will feel just like waking up from a pleasant dream." The king said as he lifted up her "wish" to grant it.

Asha felt herself frozen in fear, she wanted to speak up, but the fear of what could happen to her if she did outweighed her her strength to fight back.

She could only watch as the bubble popped and became a swirl of green magic enveloping all around her. Asha felt herself change, and not only because her clothes began to magically morph into a beautiful dress... She felt herself change from the inside out, starting with her mind.

Her desire to run away was muffled by a new desire to stay still as the king asked her to. But Asha knew she had to fight back because- Why did she have to fight back? This is what she wanted, to fit in and make people happy, now she finally could, thanks to Magnifico- Asha heard a voice that sounded like her's fill up her mind, popping any idea of resistance like bubbles- Why resist at all? It's easier to give up- She couldn't give up, she couldn't lose herself- But she doesn't even know who she is, and everyone tells her she's like a princess anyway, don't they? Her saba used to say so, her friends, even Aster said she's beautiful like a princess-... Why isn't he here?

She felt her eyes welling up with tears, realizing how helpless and alone she was. Asha knew she couldn't hold on to her consciousness for much longer, as the king's magic promised to make all her pain go away, leaving only bliss, her own freewill was fading away. But even then, a little bit of her is still fighting, tightly clinging onto the last semblance of thought she has left... Before it suddenly slips, and everything is gone… She is gone.

... She did feel like she woke up from a dream, the king was right, as he always is.

The magic that was surrounding her disappears, fully absorbed into Asha's very being. She's now fully transformed, wearing a princess gown, her hair braided and pulled up into a bun that resembled a rose.

... A single tear ran down her left eye, but the cheering crowd couldn't see it. All they saw was her smile, a blissful, carefree smile plastered on her face.

...

Aster ran back to the plaza as fast as he could. But once the star arrived there... Asha was gone, and so were the royals. The people were walking around commenting about what just happened... He heard people mumbling about how kind the king and queen were for adopting an orphan girl to be their princess...

All it took was one moment, one moment of distraction, one moment that Aster turned away from her... And he lost her... But they wouldn't give up, never, as long as he's on this earth, he will grant her wish, her true wish, no matter the cost.

The star didn't even think twice, revealing his true form in front of everyone, and flying off to the castle to look for Asha.

He looked through all the windows, all the many rooms of the castle, until he stumbles upon a room on the west wing tower, and in there, sleeping peacefully on a comfortable bed, he saw-

"ASHA!" The star screamed, using his magic to unlock the window, he got in and quickly shook her to wake her up "Come on! We gotta get you outta here!"

The princess rose up from the bed, gracefully stretching her arms as she did so, blinking her now unfocused eyes, that if you look closely you could see a small and faint green light sparkling in the center of her pupils.

She smiled at the star as if they were paying her a visit "Greetings Aster, so wonderful to see you-"

Aster grabbed her by the shoulders and just shook her back and forth "SNAP OUT OF IT! This isn't you! You're stronger than his magic, I know you are! You can fight it! Come on, Asha, look at me!" Aster gently places a hand under her chin to make her look at him in the eyes, he can't see her spark anymore... But he still reaches out to her "You wished upon me because you wanted to SAVE Rosas from them, remember? That's the whole reason I'm here, to help you." they give her a bittersweet smile, even though he's filled with sadness.

The girl giggled, in any other context it would be an adorable sound... But it just filled Aster with dread, seeing how his words weren't getting through to her at all. But nothing could've prepared Aster to what she said next "... Then where were you when I needed?"

... Those words pierced through him like a dagger, the star was speechless, now just staring at her, filled with sorow

"Indeed, where were you?"

Aster froze upon hearing the king's voice coming from the other side of the room. He turned around to see both Magnifico and Amaya sitting on comfortable chair next to a table with tea, if Aster could smell he would've probably felt the sent earlier.

"You took so long we were starting to wonder if you just flew back to the sky" Amaya said before sipping on her tea cup

Aster tried to escape through the window, but before he could reach it, he was trapped by the king's magic.

Magnifico and Amaya laughed as the star struggled with all his might to free himself from the king's magic, to which the king just jeered "I suppose a princess was of use to us after all, serving as bait to catch you, little prince"

And just like that, Aster is all alone at the villains mercy.

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I tricked yall with a false sense of security starting with two wholesome AUs only to then drop the most heart crushing stuff I've written in a WHILE.

Also thank you @gracebeth3604 for inspiring me to write that scene of Asha losing her conscience as the spell took hold of her, when you helped me write that nightmare sequence in chapter 8... So yall can blame Grace for this /j

Aster Turns Himself Into A Blackhole

What a title huh? Anyway, I've said plenty of times how Aster is very inspired by Rapunzel, so I wondered, what if that "Wither and decay" song from the Tangled series affected Aster the same way that it affected Rapunzel?

I didn't quite explore much Aster's frustration with the fact he couldn't hurt the king and queen the same way they hurt Asha, that's kind of a more internal frustration he doesn't show much, but it proves how human Aster is, to the point that he feels human emotions such as vengeance

But as we say here in Brazil: "Revenge is never complete, it kills the soul and poisons it."

So... Let's see if Aster choose a darker path, after he thought that he lost Asha for good in the climax.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aster was chained to the floor, all he could do was watch in horror the king drop Asha and all their friends off the tower.

... She was gone...

Just like that, Aster couldn't keep her safe, like he promised he would.

Without her, Aster felt his world growing dark, his own light was fading away. There was no hope for him, no hope for Rosas, no hope of granting her wish... So... Aster had nothing... So he had nothing left to lose.

... The star remembered once listening to a song, a song that stars sing when they're at the very end of their long, LOOOOONG lives. After all, everything must come to an end. The lyrics of this song were actually an incantation, a spell of death that allowed a star to snuff their own light away, turning themselves into... Something else... Something a lot more destructive.

The stars always warned him to NEVER sing that melody. And fly away as fast as he could if he ever heard some other star singing it... Aster never knew fully why, all they said was that the song would make him dangerous...

Well then... That was just what Aster wanted to be right now.

Suddenly, Aster felt the touch of the queen's hand, snapping them out of their thoughts. She lifted his scowling face, to give him a snark comment before they began to drain away his power "What's with the grimace, my dear? Is there something you wish to say?"

And so... The star began to sing.

"🎶... Wither and decay...🎶" Aster's voice was haunting, not at all as warm and lively as it always was when he sang... This was different.

Magnifico was previously looking down on his people, but the sound of those lyrics made the king turn around in cold sweat... He knew that spell.

"🎶...End this destiny...🎶" Aster continued to sing, his eyes were closed, and his face began to contort with discomfort. The star felt himself... Change.

The queen just raised an eyebrow and mocked "What's this? Trying to put us to sleep with a lullaby? hahaha *cough cough* haha" She didn't seem to pay much mind to her own coughing

The king minded it a lot though. He could see the roses on Amaya's hair begin to wither rapidly.

Magnifico's voice was trembling as he ran to his wife "A- Amaya-"

"🎶...Break these earthly chains...🎶" Aster opened his eyes... They were completely dark.

The queen's blood ran cold "wh-what ON EARTH-" she feels herself being pulled away from the star by her husband.

"ENOUGH! I ORDER YOU TO STOP!" The king commands, using his magic to cover Aster's mouth with glowing vines similar to the ones holding him down... But the star... Or rather, whatever Aster is becoming, is not weak to forbidden magic.

Aster breaks free from Magnifico's magic, leaving the two royals mortified.

"🎶…And set the spirit free…🎶" Aster didn't even react to the fact he was free, in fact, they didn't seem to notice the world around him at all, lost in their despair, all they could do was sing, floating above the ground. Tears kept running down his now inky black eyes.

Their hair changes from a yellow and lively flame to a dark and slowly shifting shadow. The star dust flowing out of their cape disappears, now his cape hides only dark nothingness under it. The light coming from the brooch bellow his neck now resembles a vortex... A blackhole.

"Magnus... I thought you said this thing was harmless" The queen is clinging to her king, she begins to feel... Strangely lightheaded, like she’s about to pass out.

"I- I didn't think the star would do this- *cough!*" The king feels a pain in his chest, his legs growing weaker. He stumbles forward "We- we must leave NOW"

But Aster had other plans for them, the former star finally moved. In the blink of an eye the king and him were face to face. With one swift motion Aster took the king's staff and threw it away from the edge of the tower.

The royals were shaking in fear, the entity was towering over them, dark inky tears still flooding his expressionless face.

As a last resort, Magnus desperately tries to reason with them "He-hehe now now Aster, let's talk about this, alright? You wouldn't actually want to-"

"🎶Take what has been hurt🎶" The haunting melody continues.

The king and queen kneeled down. They felt weaker by the second, the queen was whimpering and the king was gasping for air. It was becoming hard to breathe, hard to move, hard to think. They were both holding on to each other, even though they could barely hold on to their own lives.

"🎶Grant them no mercy🎶" Aster was looming over the two mortals, staring at them as they withered away. Aster felt himself grow stronger, for he was slowly but surely absorbing their very life essence... The corners of his mouth started to lift up slightly.

The two villains collapsed on the ground, shaking and wincing in pain.

"🎶Bend and break the reigns🎶" He was previously emotionless, but now, seeing them like this, Aster is consumed by a feeling he never thought he could feel before... It was ruthlessness. He was enjoying seeing the life drain away from them, the same way they wanted to drain his life away before... In a way, Aster understands them now.

The power to take was really different from the power to give... But if felt just as good, if not better.

"🎶And set the spirit free... The spirit free~...🎶" Aster finishes the lyrics, looking at the two lifeless bodies below him with twisted glee.

... Asha arrived at the top of the tower, as she never actually died, she managed to save herself and her friends with her magic pencil, and with it, she made her way back to Aster, hopeful that she could save him in an nick of time

"Aster! I'm here! Are you o-" She felt her heart stop, her whole body frozen in place when she saw the corpses of the two royals laying down... Beneath a floating figure that looks like Aster... But she knows that's not him "What... What have you done?" Asha takes a few steps back

He doesn't seem at all surprised to see her alive and well, simply tilting his head to the side as he floats towards her "What I had to. I mean, that's what you wished for, right? To defeat them." The creature spoke calmly, but with a twisted smile spread across their features.

"No-not like THIS!" She was trembling, seeing her own reflection on the dark pools that he now has for eyes "A-Aster please, this isn't funny, turn back to normal, NOW"

"Hmmmmm I don't think I can" They shrug, while drying the tears that were previously falling from his eyes "And even if I could, why should I? When like this, I can actually keep you safe"

"... Keep me safe from what?" She felt tears welling up on the corner of her eyes, Aster couldn't really be gone, right?

He embraced her, but it wasn't the same warm and secure embrace Asha fell in love with... He was holding her tightly, not letting her run away.

"From anyone who tries to keep us apart, of course." The blackhole whispered lovingly, but that gave Asha no comfort, it only cemented her fear, sending chills down her spine "And as long as your wish doesn't come true... As long as aaaaall those people down there aren't free... I'll be able to stay here... Loving you... Forever." They sound more and more deranged with every word.

Asha felt trapped, in the arms of the one she once loved.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I bet ya'll weren't expecting evil Aster... Welp! Evil Aster is a thing now.

This is probably the darkest thing I’ve ever wrote for real, don’t let me do this again yall

@uva124 actually sneaked a little drawing of this Aster in one of her sketches here

So yeah! These were the alternate AUs! Two wholesome ones, and two very heavy with no comfort ones, perfectly balanced as all things should be.

Hope you guys forgive me after this hahaha see you guys next time! Bye!

Thank you for reading!

[deusvervewrites]

I am bored and in the mood to bother you about it. What's the problem with how Overpowered is used? (Not by anon specifically, and keeping in mind I say Warframe lets you be overpowered as an excellent gameplay mechanic.)

There are a few problems with an Overpowered character, but what bothers me more is the people who use the term incorrectly.

Warframe does not let you be Overpowered. Warframe is a Power Fantasy. Both Warframe and Dynasty Warriors and the like feature individual super-badasses mowing down thousands of nameless mooks, but progress isn't made that way. It's made by fighting people on approximately the same level. In DW, that's named enemy units who can fight as well as you can. In Warframe, that's mostly done in big story moments. And no gun you have in Warframe is big enough to stop Praghasa or The Man in the Wall.

Generally, the term Overpowered in fiction is applied to works with some form of power system, for reasons I feel should be obvious, but technically the idea exists in other genres. A phone trivializes being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a slasher villain, which is why the phone signal always goes out. A single Xenomorph can slaughter a small crew of civilians, but Aliens had way more of them because the protagonists were now trained soldiers. (Also there was some social commentary but that's less important to the topic at hand)

But in gameplay terms, Overpowered refers to a strategy or game piece--something that the player can use to interact with gameplay systems, ranging from cards to characters to powers to weapons--that is objectively better than alternatives. It doesn't even have to be by much. Let's say your game has two weapons in it, a sword that deals 2 damage, and a sword that deals 3. Assuming that enemies have more than four health, there is literally no reason to ever use the sword that deals 2 damage because it is objectively worse. Thus, the 3-damage sword is Overpowered because it has forced everyone to use it.

But why would a game developer introduce an objectively better weapon? Power Creep. This is another gameplay and game design term that got thrown at fictional power systems for some reason. Power Creep is when developers make new game pieces that are better than old ones. Any game that goes on long enough will have Power Creep simply because of the number of new game pieces introduced, because human brain like it when number go up, but a good designer knows to limit Power Creep as much as possible. Why? Because Power Creep invalidates previous content, and people don't like it when the devs take their stuff away. Instead, most designers try to progress sideways. New gear and strategies are introduced, but are roughly on-par with what came before.

What does this have to do with fictional power systems? Well, authors often feel as though escalation is the best way to raise narrative tension. Introducing a new bad guy who's like the old bad guy, But Stronger, is an easy way for an author to raise the stakes. The problem with this method is that it's unsustainable. It turns everything into a numbers game. Whoever has the biggest number wins. In essence, every arc is, "Bad Guy arrives and trounces Hero. Hero then gets stronger and has a rematch and wins." You can write a story that way, it's how Dragon Ball works, but after a while, the numbers become meaningless. People have been leveling this complaint at the Dragon Ball franchise for years now, even before Super started and those criticisms really got going.

Authors have gotten around this in a few ways, such as giving the Stronger Bad Guy an exploitable weakness, or giving their major antagonists unique gimmicks instead of higher stats, but that's getting off-topic.

Can you see the difference here? A character's power level is oftentimes very different from how overpowered items and strategies work in games. Goku isn't Overpowered because he's the strongest protagonist, he's Overpowered because he's so strong that none of the other characters ever get to do anything. Both Super and GT tried to fix this, Super by making Vegeta also do things and GT by making Goku a kid. Unfortunately, neither of these are great solutions since Super put a bandaid on the problem and GT did it in a really stupid way that should've been easily fixed if the plot didn't mandate that it wasn't. A better solution was used by Super later on in their Tournament of Power arc because, and I need you to follow me on this one, characters who were not Goku or Vegeta got to participate. Shocking I know.

The flaw in an overpowered character is in poor story structure, poor planning, and underutilizing the cast. Not how strong they actually are. Koro-Sensei from Assassination Classroom is the Unkillable Teacher, but the show is about how E Class rallies and grow as people, plus a lot of social commentary, so the fact that their assassination attempts fail doesn't matter as much.

And that's why I'm so furious that when you look up advice for writing power systems, the only argument they have for putting a limitation on your power system is that "an overpowered character isn't realistic."

I want to write a story about people who can magically make someone's head explode, Janet! I don't give a fuck about realism!

You know who gets it? Of course you do. I'm talking about the author when it comes to power systems. Brandon Sanderson. More specifically, his Second Law of Magic Systems: Limitations Are More Interesting Than Powers.

If anyone can blow up a mountain, who cares? But if your characters can only use their special moves when certain conditions are met, then suddenly the fight becomes a race to meet your conditions first. And that has tension! Drama! You know, that thing stories are supposed to have!

[starryredpandawrites]

*Rubs hands together evily in anticipation for possible angst*

What if. . . Audrey was the one taken by the Keepers instead of Bendy?

Basically, the cutscene where the Keeper gets Audrey and she wakes up in the train, but instead they drag her off either kicking and screaming/fighting back or unconscious while Bendy is stuck fighting another horde off. I'd imagine Bendy would freak, thinking they'd torture and butcher her like they did him. Or just not being fond of Wilson getting his creepy wrinkled hands on her.

Another thought, what about Alice taking her like in the manors bathroom? Bendy being helpless due to the coils surrounding Alice's hideout, possibly trying to sneak in with his toon form, hoping he doesn't come across her gutted carcass strapped to a table like oh-so many Boris clones.

Man would he be pissed with Wilson's attempt to kill and use her to make a tool for Gent to overthrow him. Probably wouldn't take Audrey's legs getting ripped off too well either.

Yanno, depends on how far they take her.

Adding a cut because this is a little spoilery for where I plan on taking the story

I think that if they found and tried to take her while he's fighting the horde, he most likely wouldn't have gotten captured again. One of the reasons the Keepers were able to take him down was because he got so carried away ripping them to shreds he accidentally wandered into an area where the giant rainbow coil things could be activated (I forgot their actual name) and I'm sure y'all can imagine what happened after that. He could've just led them into the next room and disappeared, then came back for Audrey later, but he was having too much fun.

If he heard Audrey screaming or sensed that she had been knocked out, he would go charging back to find her. I don't think the Keepers would be able to take her that far before he would catch up. Queue him ripping the wannabe kidnapping Keepers to shreds, grabbing Audrey, and fleeing with her. Don't ask me why he didn't do that in the first place, maybe he figured it was too dangerous/risky but realized after the Keepers got her anyway he should have just done that from the start? IDK

If he was too late and they got away with her, he would do some major damage to the Pit and every area outside the signal dampeners (idk if that's their real name but that's what I'm calling them now) radius until he eventually stumbles into a dead zone and would likely get captured again. Now both of the siblinks are captured and Audrey would have no idea and possibly think Bendy gave up on her and is ignoring her.

Oof, the angst possibilities there are huge and hurt my heart, so let's go back to the happy-ish version where he gets her back.

I say happy-ish because I see two possible courses of action that Bendy could take after saving Audrey from the Keepers.

He takes her back to his lair and basically imprisons her there. He cares about her too much to risk losing her again, sort of giving up on his goal of defeating Wilson and taking back control of the cycle in favor of hoarding her all to himself. She is obviously unhappy with this and keeps trying to sneak out but he's gotten way too good at finding her for her to really get that far. They spend their time watching cartoons, fighting/arguing over Audrey's agency and poor past choices, and playing together when Bendy is in his toon form (It's really hard for Audrey to stay mad at him in that form). This also would have happened if he hadn't been captured and was able to return to Audrey's hiding place after dealing with the Keeper horde like he was in the fic. Eventually, Wilson would force their hand by sending Keepers all throughout the studio/ink world to look for Audrey and idk what would happen after that. Endgame type stuff probably. Kind-of a fun alternate ending to think about.

He panics so much at the thought of losing her again that once he does get her back he devours her/takes her soul like he does at the end of the game and they become big ink monster right in the Gent building. When Audrey wakes up she feels super unhappy and betrayed and wants to yell at him but they get attacked by more Keepers almost instantly after the transformation is complete. So, Audrey willingly lets the Ink Demon handle the fighting while she sort-of mopes in a corner of their mind. I imagine with their combined power, the dampeners hardly do more than give them a headache so after they destroy the Keepers, Bendy would get started on just absolutely obliterating the Gent building. Audrey would let him until they get to the prison cells, where she holds him back from killing Henry and Sammy and just frees them instead (Bendy also has more empathy for Henry after hearing his side of things during Audrey's conversation with him, so it's not as hard to convince him as you might think). She would probably steer him clear of Big Steve too, but everything else is free game. Together, they go on a massive destructive rampage, and without Memory Joey's little speech to inspire her, I don't think Audrey could stop it even if she wanted to. Honestly, she would probably start relishing in the destruction almost as much as the Ink Demon seeing as she has some pretty good reasons to hate the place after getting kidnapped by Wilson. Speaking of Wilson, they would super duper murder him dead. Like, super dead. Possibly Betty too but I would hope Audrey would have the self-control to spare her. Story would probably end with Henry, Allison and maybe some others like Memory Joey teaming up to take them down. I think they could probably talk Audrey down and convince her to look into the End reel to restart the cycle. This would be a major betrayal in Bendy's eyes and permanently damage their relationship, so maybe we could see this as a sort-of bad alternate ending for the fic.

If you're still here after that major case of word vomit, congratulations! Let's talk about Alice/Malice Angel

Warning of MAJOR incoming spoilers, skip to the next paragraph if you want to avoid those:

I actually do plan on keeping Malice kidnapping Audrey in the story. When Bendy sees her get kidnapped (he's free at this point) he gets so panicked he DOES come after her again, this time in his toon form. Shenanigans ensue, such as Audrey thinking to herself while chained to her chair, "Well, at least Bendy's safe." and then looking up and seeing him in his very adorable and very vulnerable, toon form right above where the murderous Malice Angel is monologuing at her.

I won't spoil more than that but hopefully you get the gist.

And yes, Bendy is going to be super pissed at Wilson no matter what he does, but especially for stealing Audrey away (going off the idea that Wilson successfully kidnaps her while Bendy is fighting off Keepers). I would hope he would be fast enough in intervening against Shipsahoy Dudley to prevent her from getting her legs ripped off this time but who knows what could happen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you made it this far, congratulationsX2!! Have a gold star ⭐ I appreciate you so much for reading my silly little thoughts and hope you have a fantastic day 🖤🤍🖤

[letters-to-rosie]

I'm still reading Afropessimism so it's time for me to make my media studies degree do some exercise with my favorite boy

and someday I will write that proper Silco essay on why his politics make me sad lol but for now I will just say I stopped trusting that man when the word nation came out of his mouth

the whole idea of a nation state (as opposed to other governmental/social arrangements that precede it) is that the political entity of the state is something individuals who are citizens of the state are supposed to identify with. the nation state is supposed to represent them and protect them in some manner. typically, this is established by means of trampling on someone else who lives within state borders but doesn't (at the time of the state's formation) fit into the community of the state. (for more, there's this really good interview with Mahmood Mamdani where he articulates this and connects it to the current situation in Palestine)

for Mamdani, the idea of the nation state crystalizes with Spain's reconquista, which created an Iberian state that trampled over Jewish and Muslim people. from there, the idea that people's homelands might not take the form of states becomes foreclosed as the model of the nation state expands and subsumes every other political formation out there

and this (told y'all I was gonna put that degree to work) is what happens in the show. Silco, working on his nationalist project, envisions a future in which the people of his homeland have a political entity to represent them. but in the course of establishing it, he tramples over resistance to his very sketchy means of accomplishing this goal

what I want to think about more is how not to close out potential alternatives. I think the character who presents the best place to start with that from is Ekko (my boy). Ekko and the Firelights' political motives beyond 1) stop the expansion of shimmer 2) care for addicts and 3) beat up cops is left pretty unclear. I think the reason he sometimes get looked over is this lack of clarity, a lack of coherence, and that gives the feeling of not being able to judge him. while Silco's methods are bad, his narrative arc makes sense. his solution also makes sense. but is making sense the end-all-be-all of liberatory possibility? especially when one is up against violence that is senseless itself and in its gratuity?

here's where Afropessimism is so interesting to me. the theory is about anti-blackness and argues that humanity is able to define itself against blackness as a metaphorical ruler (I have some historical examples that are interesting, but then we'd be here all day; if you're really interested go dive into Matthew Perry and Japan). because this antagonism is pre-logical, it doesn't make sense. it challenges the very idea that suffering and redress for that suffering can be made sense of. the solution to it isn't in sight. but the challenge is to sit with that. it is to know that the answer doesn't have to be right in front of you for the fight to still be worth it.

a big part of why I don't vibe with the whole concept of nation states is that I've always been like "why am I supposed to identify with the country that enslaved a bunch of my ancestors? like what good does that do me?" and I frankly have decided that it does me no good to do that. as a descendant of enslaved people, I also have no nation to go back to and join. what do I wanna do instead? don't know. the longer and longer I live, the idea that I have to feels like an unfair imposition. I've read multiple commentaries that read the Firelights as anarchists. anarchists get asked that same question a lot.

what do we do with a form of redress that doesn't make narrative sense? what kind of restoration could be meaningfully taken out of the situation in the show? in a way, it's interesting, because the show has source material that's very public. we know, ultimately, no matter what questions characters like Ekko pose the idea of Zaun as a nation, that's what happens anyway. it's like a psychic wall of impossibility prevents anything else. it has to become a nation because in a world of nations there is no other choice. so I don't fault Silco for thinking it would be a good idea. I wish he had more of an imagination, though.

[emeraldspiral]

Headcanon:

Since Zib can't be the true "Number 1 Zim" because he isn't a Zim at all but a Dib, that makes Number 2 the actual Number 1 Zim. Following this idea, I theorize that where Zib is the only Dib to have defeated his Zim, Number 2 is the only Zim to have defeated his Dib and conquered earth.

This gives them a unique connection because they're the only versions of each other who can relate to one another's complicated feelings of regret and longing for the past. Zib couldn't handle destroying the only person who understood him and gave him a purpose, only for no one to care, so he merged with Zim's PAK as the only way to be with him again. Number 2 went through the same thing, destroying his Dib for the Empire only to learn the Tallest never cared about his mission. But since there was no way for him to get his Dib back, he coped by joined Zib willingly to get revenge on the Irken Empire, and was the only one to know the truth about "Number 1".

If you're wondering how Number 2 can be unique as the only successful Zim when there's another Zim who won in an earlier comic, well...

At the end of that comic, Zim claimed that defeating himself in the future somehow undid the past, although Dib pointed out that made no sense. But in the Zimvoid, following another train of non-logic, Zim erased every alternate version of himself by feeding them packing peanuts to merge their timelines, which both Dib and Zib point out makes no sense. But since the latter ended up working out due to Rule of Funny, I'm inclined to think the former did as well. Except it actually does hold up to logical scrutiny when you think about it, just not for the reasons Zim thinks.

Earlier in the Future Zim comic, Zim tried to find out from his future self which of his evil plans was successful, but the only thing he finds out is that it wasn't the one where he covered the earth's atmosphere in cheeto dust. Later, at the start of the Virooz arc, we see Zim attempting this very plan despite being told it wouldn't work. So either Zim was so enamored with the idea he blocked out all memory of being told it would fail, as he usually does whenever someone tells him something he doesn't want to hear, or he deliberately attempted a plan he was told wouldn't work just to spite his future self. Either way, meeting his future self altered the course of Zim's destiny because meeting him caused him to make different choices, thereby rewriting the future and erasing Future Zim's timeline. So Future Zim no longer exists by the time of the Zimvoid adventure. Then the timeline branched at some point, creating a new Zim variant who instead of conquering the earth and then putting on a fake beard and high heels somehow grew taller naturally and could throw Vibrating Irken Death Blades with 99.4% accuracy.

I've theorized before that because timelines are always splitting Zib can never truly be erased. After the Zimvoid adventure, ETF came out and created a new timeline that split off from the first comic, creating a universe where the events of the Zimvoid haven't happened yet and therefore Zim hasn't gone back in time to feed everyone packing peanuts to erase them, thereby restoring Zib's existence. I think the nature of the multiverse pretty much guarantees that there will always be a version of Dib who wins and a version of Zim who wins. Zib always comes into existence and creates the Zimvoid while Victorious Zims take many different forms, Future Zim and Number 2 just being two of the infinitely possible examples.

[multifunctionalnitroglycerin]

RWBY Fanfic Idea

Long time no see, huh? Hope you are all doing well.

So, it's been a while since I watched RWBY Vol9 and we got those epilogue bits and pieces, and I'd like to propose an idea, that for me might have made the show a tad more interesting (Nothing wrong with it essentially, I am just dying for some time travel angst. But that's what fanfics are for).

Because our main heroines find themselves in a journey of self discovery in what seems to be an alternate sub-dimension within the world of Remnant. And then they return to the exact point in time and space where they were supposed to be, missing for a few hours or days pretty much.

So what if, and I say what if, that wasn't the case? What if time flowed differently in the Ever After?

Well then, we have three delicious angst and drama filled scenarios.

Case 1

It works pretty much like Narnia did. I don't rly care much for Salem I must admit, but let's say our heroines get stuck there for a few years. A decade or so. They learn to adapt to the Ever After and its ever-changing tumultuous nature, they make a life for themselves (Perhaps as 4 guardians, each for a season, or a point in the horizon) and become more a family than they ever were. Because all they have from their world is each other. And they learn to function as a unit, never far from one another, always knowing, always caring, always pushing each other to new heights, becoming better and more in sync. And they form this deep intrinsic knowledge of each other, with each duo (and I mean all duos, not just the partner pairs) having its own quirks and habits. So yes, they are a team, yes they are partners or teammates, or girlfriends, but at the same time they are something more, something you cannot exactly put in words.

And somehow, someday they find a way out. The tree finally accepts them or idk what. And when they return to Remnant, they end up in Vacuo, when they left and...they are kids again. They are 18 and 20, instead of 30 and 32. Their bodies feel wrong. Too awkward, too small (R:Ugh, do I have to be the shortest one AGAIN?) cause they aren't theirs anymore. And Yang might find herself tracing across a scar that Blake doesn't have anymore, Weiss' eyes lingering on the missing chunk of an ear that magically is whole again, and rejoicing at looking in Ruby's eyes. Both her eyes. And Ruby can see her teammates, her family, whole again without any scars to show for what they went through, but for those engraved in their souls.

But for the people outside this neat little arrangement, RWBY fell to their deaths, and miraculously returned a few days after, but they came back wrong. There is something stiff and worn in he edge of their expressions, like they have seen too much, like they know too much, and have lost what little innocence they had left. There is danger glinting in their eyes, steely and cold, and downright unsettling. They are different, there is no denying it. They seem more mature, as people and as huntresses, knowing things only experienced huntsmen faced with impossible odds would.There is this aura following them too, one that screams danger and demands respect.

Weiss seems more authoritative than ever before, comfortable in her own skin and creativity, not measuring her worth by her achievements. Ruby is still her optimistic self but she is more confident and sure of herself, like something within her has settled, and finally found its place, nothing like the lost girl hanging by a thread before the fall. Yang's temperament has evened out. No longer fueled by anger and hurt, but by an unbreakable resolve to persevere and will to protect what matters the most to her. And that's not the past that is long gone, not the old grudges that have no worth left in them, but her team, her family. And where Yang has learned to let go, Blake has learned to hold on, to chase for what she wants, to grasp it with both hands and not let go. To face her fears, the trials and tribulations of growing and changing alongside someone, trusting they will stay, and not run away from the monster. And she has learned to face overcome her own shortcomings, and stay. Even when things get rough .

And then there are their interactions with each other, as if they cannot bear to breathe when one of them is not near, eyes frantically searching for their mirror, for the reassurance that it's all okay. The impossible training regimes and semblance evolution. They complete each other as if the four are one, and anything less than that would be incomplete. The constant whispers, and wary glances, the countless inside jokes, and meaningful smiles, only they can interpret. The silent communication, the wordless gestures of comfort, gestures too intimate to be discounted at first glance. But they are oblivious to the raised eyebrows, and the questions hanging from the edges of people's lips. What matters is that they are back and they are together.

They are back, and they look the same, but they are not the same people they were before, and while everyone sees it, no one really dares to say anything. Because there are nightmares. And more often than not, a scream will echo in the desolate camp in the dead of night, followed by a gun shot, or the sound of sth tearing, and the four will huddle together, comforting each other with soft words and sweet nothings that make no sense.

They are the same and yet different, and Winter knows it, because there are times Weiss seems impossibly older in her eyes, so much so that she feels like the little sister instead. Qrow sees Summer in Ruby's steely gaze and rueful smile, and Tai's unbreakable resolve in Yang's smirk. (The sharpness at the edge of it reminds him of Raven a few years back, when the girls were still young, and his sister was the biggest Grim-slaying force this side of Mistral, but he doesn't want think about it.) And when Blake meets her parents again, they think she looks worn and tired, her soul too old for the body it's occupying, but she will always be their little girl, and she has come back and she loves them, melting into their embrace as if she was ten years old once more...

Case 2

They are stuck in the Ever After for 10 or 15 years again. Only this time when they find a way out, they don't change back. And then suddenly in Vacuo, a few days after Atlas falls, while Winter, Qrow Oscar, Nora, Ren and the rest mourn all those they have lost, four strange women appear. (The outfits will have obviously changed, unless somehow they wanted to wear the same thing for 10 or 15 years).

The strangers are huddled together, and check each other for injuries first and foremost before even thinking of facing the other people. And when they do, their breaths hitch and they all collectively freeze. Because the strange travelers, those peculiar women dressed in unfamiliar fabrics, covered in a million and one little scars, look like team RWBY.

But they cannot be, they could never be, for Winter lost her sister three days ago, and the white clad woman looking at her with Weiss' eyes, tear-filled and wide, (so much so that the small vertical scar over the left one wrinkles), could never possibly be the little sister she lost.

Winter spares a glance to the rest of the strangers, never lowering her sword, eyes burning with the chill of a wintry fire, and feels more than hears the spring maiden - Raven Branwen, (the woman who had abandoned her family and then had flown in Vacuo as soon as she felt her bond with Yang snap), whisper a half broken "Summer", her first tightening over Omen's hilt, as she took in a sharp breath - the most unsettled Winter had ever seen her.

The strange woman with silver eyes, clad in red and black instead of white, her face so familiar and yet so different, gives her a small rueful, remorseful smile,

"Not quite." she responds and Winter recognizes that tone, different though it was from mere days before.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow." The golden one smiles and winks, and there's something lingering in her amethyst hued eyes, something like nostalgia 'long time no see' and 'I missed you'. She is impossibly tall, taller than the last time Winter saw her, and somehow broader and more muscular. She reminds her of Elm a bit if the other Ace Op was built like a bear and shone like the Sun. A strong hand was settled comfortably over the shoulders of the woman's black and indigo clad faunus partner, bringing her close.

Winter's head reels, and her gaze hops from one to the other, her mind trying to make peace with what her soul already knew. Blake Belladonna's golden gaze (because it could be no one else, standing tall and resilient, long black hair swaying in the hot desert wind, studded cat ears stiff and alert, long graceful fingers wrapped along the hilt of her obsidian colored blade) stays on her. It is sharp and inquisitive, curious, heavy with experience and knowledge, and it weighs on her shoulders, as she remains still with her sword extended, examining the unlikely band of not so strangers.

They were women now. Full grown, and different, nothing like the kids that fell into the void what felt like an eternity ago.

Qrow's half choked "Firecracker?" and Raven's disbelieving curses barely reach her ears as she hones in on the white-haired woman again, letting her gaze linger on the scar on her collarbone and the shoulder length white hair fashioned in a low ponytail not unlike the one she sported herself. Her eyes, blue like the summer sky, and so much brighter than her own were still wide, as if drinking the sight of her, as if she hadn't seen her three days before, Winter's visage being the last thing she saw before falling to the void.

"Winter?" it's barely more than a whisper, and Winter doesn't know how to feel because it sounds so much like her sister and so much like Willow (I hc that of the sisters Weiss is more similar to Willow appearance wise.) that she lowers her sword and collapses on the ground half sobbing her sister's name (I think it would make a great parallel to when she fell and Winter called it out so brokenly... top tier voice acting)

They'll probably call Robyn to verify their story and when they do there will be a loooot of tears and confusion and hurt and pain and anger and DRAMA, so much drama, I think I could right a book abt the Schnee family drama and trauma if that ever happened.

Things will be hard from then and on, because Winter's little sister is now older than her, and she can spy the crows feet starting to appear at the edges of her eyes, and the laugh lines around her mouth, her skin tanner than Winter could ever imagine it would be. She carries herself like a leader, like she never had to step from someone's shadow, much less Winter's own. She looks like she finally knows her worth and has another three people being there for her unconditionally when she needs it. I won't even start on Whitley who lost another decade from his sister's life without either their input, just when he had started bonding with her again, or Willow. Man, I think that Willow seeing Weiss as a thirty something grown woman (that looks so much like her before Jacques, before her own life started going downhill) would warrant a relapse. A big one.

Qrow is probably going to get himself hammered after all this and Raven will join him. Like imagine them looking at a Ruby that is now as old - if not older - than Summer was when she died. A Ruby that looks almost exactly like Summer, but has grown into herself as a huntress and a team leader, that has learned to bear the burden and share it when it gets too much. A Ruby Qrow can no longer call squirt - she is almost as tall as him now, and built with the lean hard muscle of someone that sprints for a living - and Raven cannot underestimate. A Ruby that reminds her so much of Summer, but is so different from her old leader, that has found her own brand of strength and settled into it in ways neither she nor Summer could.

And then there is Yang. Yang that has Raven's face, but Tai's golden complexion and has grown into his strong broad built (I imagine her more like a strongwoman than a calisthenics type of muscular). Yang that does finger-guns at Qrow like she is sixteen, and looks at Raven with little anger in her amethyst hued eyes. Yang that looks so much tired when the chaos settles down, and embraces her team clinging desperately to them, whispering "we are home, we made it", when things get too much for them. That has taken to mothering Nora and the rest of the kids, because they are kids. What for them was 3 days for RWBY was 15 years. And they haven't been kids in a long time. She still has her playful side don't worry, the puns are being served with a Yang.

And last but not least Blake. Blake that has found her home with the others, that has learned to trust and be trusted, that doesn't hide who she is for anyone's benefit. A brilliant tactician, a creative bright mind, a spirit writhed in shadows. Lean, tall, positively feline, a stealthy predator at its best, she has fallen into her role with the others easily enough, and it's plain for all to see that she offers her quiet support, with soft words that cut at the edges and tender embraces with the undertone of protection and support. Blake who ran away from home at 12 (I think) only to come back at 18, and then disappear again at 20. And just the amount of pain the Belladonnas must have experienced losing her for a second time, and then having her appear again, only she has aged another 15 years since they last saw her. They probably feel like their daughter's life is slipping by them, and they'll never rly have enough time with her. Their little girl comes back an independent teenager and then a grown woman, with a bit of Ghira's imposing build and all of Kali's feminine guile. A cat Faunus that moves like a panther, sharp liquid gold eyes honing in every minute detail. A woman whose heart sings of pain and loss, and perseverance and love, a stranger with their blood in her veins they could not be prouder of.

Yeah, that family pain hits hard in this one. And lastly,

Case 3

The gang does stay in the Ever After for a few days indeed, but out in Remnant it has been years. Salem is over with idk how, and yeah our friends go to the blacksmith and everything but when they return to Remnant, everything is different. The world has moved forward and changed without them.

Menagerie is a kingdom now apparently, and has its own huntsmen academy. Ghira and Kali have thrown themselves into making this work, overcome as they were with the second and final loss of their only child. So imagine when they get a call or see Blake for the first time in more than a decade. But their little girl looks exactly the same as she did when she fell, and they are...old. Ghira's beard and hair has been going gray and he's lost some muscle mass, and Kali's proud stature is diminished, and the ever present smile on her lips has barely made an appearance in years. So I suppose it will be painful as heck for them to accept that Blake is back. They;ll never let her go when they do though...So angst, yeah.

Tai will have shut down. He has no one left apart from Qrow. And well I d like to give it a twist here and say that when Raven feels her bond with Yang snap, and realizes that well her daughter is not coming back, she does a bit of a reevaluation of her priorities and either completely loses herself, trying to keep that strength facade, or gets her shit together, cause her brother and ex need her, and STRQ kinda reunites. No Ozpin though, that would be too far. And then Ruby and Yang appear, as old as the day they left, and well... I think Qrow would get drunk, Tai would melt into a mess, and Raven would deny it all. Seeing Ruby and Yang reacting to their family being so old will be interesting. As well as Yang's relationship with Raven given the revelations that yes, her selfish, coward, asshole of a mother actually has a heart in there somewhere.

The Schnees will be again the most angsty I think. I say Willow managed to pull herself from the bottom of the bottle for Winter and Whitley,and took back the SDC and is now on the way to retirement. Winter is the new General, and even has a family of her own perhaps and Whitley is practically next in line for the company. And then Weiss appears. And its a shock. Because Whitley is now older than her. Taller, though still with the dancer's built he sported since he was a kid. Only he has activated his aura and semblance now and has a goatee. And a partner. And a kid on the way.

Winter on the other hand is head of the Atlas military has introduced a bunch of new policies with Robyn and they both work toward stabilizing Atlas and making sure to avoid the whole Ironwood thing. Or well ironwood 2 at this point. And Winter loves Robyn( It's mutual). They are all but married at this point, having spent too many nights with Winter drowning in her own guilt, paralyzed by feelings too big for her heart to contain. Too many desperate moments when things are tight, with Winter gripping Robyn's hand like a lifeline saying that she isn't turning to another Ironwood and that she is doing what she can with whatever supplies she has, visibly relaxing and melting in relief when it flashes green. With Robyn whispering sweet nothings to her ear and Winter encouraging her when things seemed dire, with them reminding each other to take it slow and relax for it to be any different.

Winter has made up with May, and the Happy Huntresses are her own little family, a home away from home. They have probably adopted a bunch of kids probs from Mantle and raise them all together. And then Weiss appears. And it's one of the little ones that notices and asks, tugging at the coat Miss Winter is wearing, asking her why the girl in blue looks so much like her. And then angst I suppose. It would be interesting exploring their dynamic a bit more, especially if we go with the route that Winter helped raise Weiss quite a bit before she left for the military, and how that sisterly/motherly relationship changes- if it does at all - now that her sister is back from the dead. Seeing Winter grapple with her guilt, or her anger years after and all that jazz.

Well, that's the post folks! Let me know what you think! If anyone takes these ideas and actually writes a fic pls @ me so that I can read whatever wonderful things y'all come up with!

Till the next one! Take care and stay hydrated!

[bigwishes]

New Profession

This is my half of a trade with @idesofrevolution​

Make sure to keep an eye out for when he drops my transformation story. ------------------------------------------------

It had been probably the longest work week you’d had in months, the holiday season meant lots to get done and lots of over time without the bonus pay. You’d heard talk about a new bar that had opened up down town and thought you should go check it out. As much as you wanted to stay in and rest there was a nagging in your head, telling you that you had to go out and it had to be tonight.

You texted a few friends trying to organise a group thing but everyone was busy. You had no choice but to go alone.

-- It was about 10pm when you finally made it to the bar, you’d checked the set line up and seen mostly indie folk bands performing until about 10:30 so you thought it’d be a good idea to skip that snooze fest and show up a bit before the alternative rock bands came on.

Inside was your fairly standard bar, nothing too out of the ordinary although you weren’t sure what you were expecting, it felt like you were still waiting for something, something different about this place but you just couldn’t put your finger on it. You weren’t entirely sure were to put yourself the sea of indie folk fans were moving out and a horde of alternate rock fans were pouring in. It was like a mismatched zoo of hipsters and stoners colliding. You clung to the bar anchoring yourself in the room and ordered a drink.

The bartender attempted to do a cool glass slide over to you but put too much force behind the swing, you watched as the glass shot into you hand and whilst you caught it the momentum was too much for the liquor inside. The dark liquor ran up the side of the glass like a mini tsunami and flew right into your lap. You weren’t sure what you were mad at more, the fact that it looks like you’ve now pissed your jeans or the fact that you paid $22 for a drink you didn’t even get a sip of.

“aw fuck man” you yelled out looking at your wet crotch and the puddle on the barstool. “yo man, I, Im so sorry” the bar tender sheepishly responded  “What the fuck am I gonna do?” “Hey listen, go use the staff bathroom round the back, clean up. There should be a pair of pants in the lost and found” The bartender took you round the back of the shelves and up to a slim metal door. Inside was a nice looking bathroom, well kept wooden aesthetic. This place definitely looks after its staff you thought to yourself. In the corner of the room was a small plastic box with lost and found taped to the front. You began digging through the clothes for something in your size and found a pair of shiny purple pants with a studded belt attached. Sure those pants were definitely....a statement and they smelt like they hadn’t been washed in a few weeks but it was better than going back out there looking like you couldn’t find a bathroom.

You took your wet jeans off and slipped into the other pair of pants. They felt grimy, like someone had spent the day sweating in them and then simply dried them out instead of washing them. You clicked the belt up and felt a chill run up your spine. You watched the muscles and sinew pulse under your skin. You legs and ass filled out the pants whilst your arms tightened into lengths of lean muscle tissue. A slight burning sensation was felt on your chest. Opening your shirt you saw small tattoos begin to form.

In shock you undid the belt and watched as your body reverted to normal. standing there in your underwear for a moment a devilish thought crossed your mind. The perfect chance to cut loose was right here, you could pretend to be someone else, act however you wanted and then go back to normal when it was all over. You did the belt up once again and smiled as you watched the changes unfold.

Leaving the bathroom you heard the bands begin to play and you wanted to get out in the crowd to see what you’d get away with. Hitting on as many guys as possible, dancing on tables, hell even a bar fight were just a few things that crossed your mind. But walking down the hallway you realised how hot it was in this bar, it must be from the amount of people packed inside. Your shirt started to cling to you...surely no one would miss it if you looked this good...and do you need to find body spray?, Nah, no one will notice in the crowd and who would care with you looking like this. You watched maybe the first 2 line ups on stage before you blacked out.

-------

You woke up the morning after in your bed. You felt groggy and hungover. Rubbing your head against your pillow your nose happened to drift past you pits and the stink of stale sweat and weed was so strong it made you screw up your face. You laughed realising you were still wearing the pants. As you took them off you expected your body to revert back instantly but it stayed the same, maybe the longer you wear em the longer you stay like this you thought. How long had you worn them for anyway? you picked up your phone to see it was 3pm.

“ha ha, fuuuuuck, what a night” you slurred out in a ratchet sentence

Your voice was grating, liked youd spent the past 12 hours you’d been blacked out for screaming. Maybe you did? as you tried to remember the past night you think at some point you found your way on stage screaming into a mic but you couldn’t be sure, but what you were sure of is after all that partying and sweating those pants must need a wash. You picked them up and took a sniff but to your surprise they smelt perfectly clean, in fact they smelt brand ned. The oily feeling of sweat in the fabric had gone and the smell of sweat and weed had been exchanged for the smell of fresh detergent....which is more than what can be said about you. Your skin felt oily from sweat being reabsorbed and your hair and pits smelt like you'd been smoking weed for a week.

You phone suddenly vibrated in your hand as you got a text. Boss: 3 people have gone home with food poisoning, I need you here in 20 minutes to cover the after work rush.

An unknown anger built up inside of you, you gritted your teeth and started muttering to yourself about corporate greed and cogs in a machine. Then you remembered, this body meant no real consequences right?

You snapped a pic of yourself and sent a reply.

“fuck you bossman, I ain’t doing shit for you, pay me my fuckin over time or I’m gonna smash your car windows in you fucking cunt”

You threw your phone on your bed and lit a joint left on your bedside table. With it gritted between your teeth you started pacing back and forth in your room venting out what felt like amazing lyrics that came to your head. “aaaaWWW FUCK MAN THIS SHIT WOULD SOUND SO GOOD”

You through on an old pair of jeans and dirty tee shirt and left the house knowing exactly where you had to go to vent this rage.

--------

It had been about 2 months since you quit your job and every day since then had been the same, wake up about 3-4pm have a lazy breakfast and then head to your bar to hang with a couple guys in the green room writing music. It felt like you’d know those guys for years. You’d perform every night for peanuts. The band was...okay-ish but in your eyes you were the best fucking singer and guitar player in the world, people just didn’t get your group’s sound or message you told yourself. Anyone that did say you sounded shit to your face ended up with a ring punch in the jaw. It was the same, wake up, rehearse, perform, drink enough vodka and smoke enough weed to kill an elephant then black out and wake up in bed.

You stopped expecting to change back, hell you couldn’t even remember what you used to look like merely 2 months ago, but with all the ass that was sitting on your dick from groupie guys obsessed with your cocky douchebag personality you didn’t care anymore, you wouldn’t want to go back even if you could.

[toji-sweetheart]

🩷🌷 hello, I haven't really written anything new it feels like besides kinktober and I'm really itching to write still so here are some prompts under the cut along with the characters I'm really into writing as of right now! so if anyone wants to send a prompt (some are smut + fluff and maybe angst!) please do!

these prompts are taken from my sideblog! there are some dark content prompts as well!

characters: Katsuki + Levi + Eren + Toji + Shiu + Suguru + Enji + John Price + Kyle Garrick + Simon 'Ghost' Riley - also number seventeen you can just send the sentence you want!

person A being passed around a friend group

multiple yandere loving person A

werewolves sharing person A in the pack

person A’s professors find other ways to help her grades

person A and all her step brothers

person A x her step brother and his best friends

person A x her step dad and his best friends

person A x her bosses

person A on house arrest x her security guards ( a lot of ways this can be twisted — different species, different circumstances, etc. princess x her bodyguards)

person A is a scientist studying alien life forms — they take turns using her so she can “study better”

person A is traded to a dark king in return for her kingdoms safety (whatever reason you want), only to be shared between him and his royal court (including brothers & best friends)

person A is a highly fertile woman in a dystopian world, shared amongst lords in hopes to reproduce

person A x the men sent to kill her

“This is for stress relief only,” Character A grits out as they drive into Character B again, hands pinning their hips to the mattress and revelling in the way Character B whimpers at the roughness they’re exhibiting. “No other reason.”

Character A and Character B are embroiled in a heated argument when Character A spits out, “How about instead of using that pretty mouth of yours to argue with me over something you’re clearly fucking wrong about, you put it to better use?” (or, alternatively: “You sounded so much better when you were moaning my name last night, so how about we get back to that instead so I don’t have to hear you barking at me about something you’re clearly wrong about?”)

Character B calling Character A a term of endearment while they’re messing around and Character A freezes, heart thudding loudly in their chest. “What the hell did you just call me?” they ask, and Character B proceeds to call them that again, saccharine sweet, with a shit-eating grin gracing their lips.

❛ no one can know about this. ❜ ❛ i'm sorry. you know i didn't mean it like that. ❜ ❛ you still love me, don't you? ❜ ❛ promise me not to do this again. ❜ ❛ you hit me! ❜ ❛ but you said you loved me … ❜ ❛ i didn't tell anyone, i swear! ❜ ❛ you promised me you'd stop this. ❜ ❛ you know what's going to happen if you try to pull this stunt again. ❜ ❛ don't you dare leave me! ❜ ❛ you aren't scared of me, are you? ❜ ❛ stop it! please, just let me go! ❜ ❛ is there something you forgot to tell me? ❜ ❛ but i do know better than you. i thought that much was obvious. ❜ ❛ so you leave me no other choice. ❜ ❛ i'm doing this because i care! ❜ ❛ why did you do that to me? ❜ ❛ will you just shut up about it already? i told you i'm sorry. ❜ ❛ you're really testing my patience today. ❜ ❛ i only did this for you! ❜ ❛ this is all your fault! if you'd just listened to me, it wouldn't have come to this. ❜ ❛ please don't be mad. ❜ ❛ i'm worried about you. ❜ ❛ you have no idea what you're talking about! ❜ ❛ i'm sorry, i don't know what came over me. ❜ ❛ stop being so dramatic. ❜ ❛ god, you're making this way too easy for me. ❜ ❛ did you just disagree with me? ❜ ❛ do i need to remind you who you belong to? ❜ ❛ nobody else will ever love you the way i do. ❜ ❛ who do you think they would really believe? you or me? ❜ ❛ what the hell is wrong with you? ❜ ❛ you remember what i told you would happen if you leave, don't you? ❜ ❛ you are nothing without me! ❜ ❛ you still haven't learned your lesson yet, hmm? ❜ ❛ it's obvious you're not trying hard enough. ❜ ❛ so you're saying this is my fault? ❜ ❛ you're only making this worse for yourself. ❜ ❛ go on, keep telling yourself that i'm the bad guy when deep down you know this is all because of you. ❜ ❛ don't you understand yet? i'm only doing this because i love you. ❜

“I hate that you spend so much time with them, that’s all.” “Oh? And is that you’re new friend?” “Stop overreacting, there’s no reason why I would leave you for them”

[cina-full-moon-xanadium]

I've had this in my notes for a while now with no progress so I may as well post it. Build's legend rider gimmick was a really cool one of combining a pre-existing bottle that matched the Rider's theming with a new bottle that was VERY specific to the Rider's theming, but unfortunately they never did any Heisei 1s aside from Den-O and Decade and didn't even do Ichigo, which I especially found a shame for the show that was specifically getting back to Kamen Rider's roots... I feel if any show deserved an Ichigo legend rider item, it was Build

So! I decided to try and come up with a lot of them, but you can tell i ran into some stumbling blocks

Ichigo is an absolute no-brainer. A bike bottle exists which makes sense to use for The Kamen Rider, and then no grasshopper bottle exists so that's freed up for Ichigo too. The two most basic themes of the franchise for the first Rider, that's perfect to me

No Kuwagata bottle exists, but I figured with Kuuga being both the first Heisei Rider and mega popular I could probably make an exception and make up two bottles for him; like what W and Ex-Aid got. I went for Trychaser as the inorganic bottle as nothing else came to mind, but he DOES use it a lot (more than any other heisei main rider!) and it creates a nice mirror with Ichigo

Using Light from Agito was a sudden flash of inspiration for me. It's obviously a different 'light' that Agito is about than a lightbulb but it's cute and funny and that works for me when it comes to fullbottles. Humanity as the organic is the best i could come up with

Ryuki is the first thing I don't know what to do with. The obvious thing would be to use Dragon but it feels wrong to use the bottle of a main form, even if other existing legend rider combos use alternate forms. Grabbing Cross-Z's stuff is different than grabbing Gorillamond to me...

Faiz the obvious thing to do would be to use Smaphone but that's kind of already a Faiz homage as a whole with its combo being Smaphowolf. So I decided to go for the deeper pull and use Shark because that was apparently his original design concept so I combined that with a flip phone. You could probably use Wolf instead of Shark here come to think of it

Blade and Hibiki again I have no idea what to do. There's absolutely nothing relating to them in the existing bottles that I can think of

Kabuto is another no-brainer bc there's literally a Kabutomushi bottle. Inorganic was a bit of a struggle but in the end i figured ZECT wasn't a bad choice

Kiva was the first one I came up with bc again Bat existing makes it a no-brainer. Violin as the inorganic makes the most sense to me

I'm not going anywhere with this I just thought it was fun to come up with and I don't wanna keep it up in my notes tabs for another few months. Still bugging me I can't think of anything for Ryuki, Blade and Hibiki though...

[aloneinthehellfire]

Chapter 12: Riding To Freedom

Season One | Season Two | Season Three | Season Four

Raining Hellfire: Season Four

Word Count: 3333 words (the way i laughed when i saw the word count)

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, wounds, blood, vecna's curse

[A/N: i'm not making this steve or eddie thing any easier, i'll admit.]

Riding To Freedom

“Y/n?”

You awake with a groan, moving to rest your hand on your stomach before someone else carefully moves it away.

Blinking your eyes open, you settle on messy hair, layered to frame big brown doe-like eyes. The familiar glint of silver shone on the hand that held yours and you take a breath, frowning.

“Eddie?”

“Hey.” He smiles, dimples denting his cheeks, eyes searching yours. “You, uh... we almost lost you there.”

It’s not until you try and move that it all rushes back to you.

“Oh. Yeah.” You wince but Eddie places his hand on your back, helping you sit up. Your stomach was covered in white and black material, a flash of red painted on but that could just be blood. “How long was I…”

“Couple of minutes.” Eddie says, trying to keep his smile but you notice it keeps faltering. “We, um… we heard from Dustin. In the walls or some shit.”

“Yeah, it’s like an echo of our world can be heard here. Happened when Will was missing too.” You clear your throat, looking around and noticing the other three were crouched by Dustin’s bed, staring at nothing. “Not to sound paranoid but… are they good?”

“Oh, them?” Eddie glances over, “They’re waiting for some weird glowing lights to appear.”

You raise an eyebrow and he chuckles.

“You mean that didn’t make you any less paranoid?” He jokes and you smile at him. There’s a sweet moment between you both before he coughs, a deep set frown on his face.

“Hey, you okay?” You ask, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I had no idea.” He mutters and you shake your head.

“What-”

“All of this.” Eddie gestures around the room but you knew he was talking about the alternate world in general. “That you’ve been dealing with this shit since I met you. It’s… it’s fucking terrifying if I’m being honest.”

“We’re getting out of here.” You comfort, tilting your head so his eyes move to yours. “We just need to find another gate.”

“Right.” He nods, thin lipped. “As easy as that.”

...seeing this?

You whip your head around once the voice called out, panic attacking your chest as you tense up. Eddie quickly places both hands on your shoulders, turning you back.

“Don’t worry, don’t- I heard it too.” He reassures and you sigh, looking to the others just as a soft glow of light illuminated in front of them. Eddie’s eyes widen. “Whoa.”

Not moving… unplug it. Stand by.

Nancy’s hand retracts from where she had been waving her fingers through the sparkles and you watch as the light fades.

You look to Eddie and he immediately acts, straightening to help you stand and move over to where the others are.

Robin shuffles over once she sees you, leaving you situated between her and Eddie. Her hand finds yours and gently squeezes, a smile woven into her face as you sigh.

...Try it now…

“Okay.” Nancy says, looking as if she was buffering. “Um…”

She drifts her head towards you and shrugs, not knowing what to do. Instead, you move forward slightly, trying to remember where the light was before and you tentatively reach your hand out, ignoring the small cuts and scratches covering the skin.

You draw a line down, your finger tingling at the sensation, and it appears to work. Dustin’s laughter echoes around you and you continue, drawing line after line until you formed a single word.

‘Hi’.

You wait in silence until his voice came back, cheery.

That worked!

“Yes!” Steve yells out as you all celebrate, looking to eachother with bright smiles.

“Hi!” Eddie repeats, joy overflowing and you laugh as he side hugs you.

“Okay, what now?” You ask, you and Nancy sharing a look.

She points to the space and you nod, watching as she begins spelling out another word, broken by the restraint of the light. ‘Stu-ck’.

Stuck

You clearly hear Erica’s voice now and you smile.

Can’t… back… Watergate?

“What the hell’s Watergate?” Steve frowns and you hide a smirk.

“Cause it’s in water and it’s a gate.” Robin explains half-heartedly, raising her eyebrows at you.

“Oh.” Steve says and Eddie tilts his head.

“That’s cute.” Eddie comments, smiling in confusion as you look to him with a small frown. “What?”

“Watergate?” You look around at the blank stares, Nancy too busy concentrating to help you. “Okay, never mind.”

Nancy frowns. “Uh, okay… it’s…”

‘Guar-ded’. Your breath hitches and you look at Steve, his own eyes already on yours with a feared look on his face.

Both of you bore scars now, Steve more so. Guilt hit you like a brick when you remembered how you left him on his own. And, as you look down, you realise the yellow jumper was still wrapped around you, slightly lower as if someone had pulled it down to access your wound.

We think…have a theory… help with that.

“Genius child.” Robin mutters and you nod along. Dustin really was a genius.

We...Watergate isn’t….only gate… another… murder site…

“Anyone have any idea what he’s talking about?” Nancy asks and everyone shakes their head.

“A gate opens every time Vecna murders someone?” You mumble to yourself and they all look at you. “Uh… or not. I don’t know. Okay, just-”

You lean forward and draw a quick question mark into the light.

Seriously? How many… do I… right… the money… beforeyouguysjusttrustme?

You raise your eyebrows at his outburst, quickly drawing back your finger and holding it as if it had been bad.

“Jesus Christ, this kid’s gotta get his ego in check.” Steve sighs.

“It’s his tone, right?” Eddie leans forward, looking at him.

“I know.” Steve nods, pointing at you. “This one’s fault.”

“Hey, I am not responsible for that monster.” You raise your hands in offence.

“Her fault.” Steve mouths at Eddie and you punch his shoulder, making him gasp.

“Okay.” Nancy interjects, “I think Y/n was right the first time.”

“Ah, see?” You nod at Steve and Eddie, raising your chin, “If Dustin got anything from me, it was brains.”

Steve rolls his eyes with a smirk while Eddie tilts his head, nodding at the thought.

“So… So how far is your trailer?” Nancy asks the boy next to her.

“Seven miles.” Eddie immediately responds and the others lean back in recoil at how quickly he knew that. “Uh… I had to… come up here a few times. A lot, actually.”

Heads turn to look at you and you feel the blush creeping onto your cheeks.

Robin winces in embarrassment for you, placing a hand on your shoulder and looking over at Nancy. “Nancy? Uh, I know your house here is, like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but… haven’t you always had bikes?”

“The kids.” You nod at Nancy when she thinks it through. “Plus two more bikes at mine.”

“Three, actually.” Eddie says casually and you look back at him, his cheeks suddenly burning red instead. “You know, cause… okay, let’s go get these bikes.”

He stands up, clapping his hands together and after a moment you all join him, a plan set in your minds.

The ride was as you expected it to be; painful.

Every muscle in your body ached as you powered through, pedalling to keep up with the others. The last thing you’d want is to keep anyone behind.

The street was way too familiar for your liking, a darker version of the road you had biked down in ‘83.

You weren’t expecting a speed chase with the party when you woke up. It was killing your legs and seemingly almost killing children when you all biked though a small playground, Dustin yelling at them to move.

“Lucas!” You breathed as the boy appeared next to you and you all came to a quick halt. This all would have been avoided if I just had a damn car, you thought, clutching your side.

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think we lost them.”

“Oh, don’t say that, Dustin, you’re gonna jinx-” Your warning was interrupted with the sounds of tires screeching towards you. “Move!”

“Go, go, go, go, go!”

“Shit!” You yelled as a van drove towards you all.

With the vans closing in and Dustin screaming, you barely noticed El draw her focus onto the van in front of you. Before you knew it, the van suddenly flipped into the air and landing just behind you to block the others. The impact caused your bike to wobble but you remained upright, pushing on further.

You half expected El and the boys to show up beside you, yelling about men from the lab. You wondered if you’d ever see El again.

There’s a shiver of goosebumps along your skin and you look around, noticing everyone else look uneasy too. Out in the distance, you could see the Creel House through the trees, looking even more haunting than you thought possible.

A chill down your spine and you tense slightly, allowing your bike to carry you without your help. Glancing behind you, you notice a flickering street lamp, a demobat perched just on top, watching.

Fear struck your nerves. Vecna knew.

By the time you made it to Eddie’s, your legs were screaming for rest. The sky was storming red and you all dumped your bikes. You stand, bent over with your hands on your knees as you tried to catch a breath. The scratches on your chest were stinging from the cold air, the bandages bleeding through.

“That’s gotta be a Guinness World Record.” Robin pants, walking backwards towards the trailer, “Most miles travelled inter-dimensionally.”

Next to you, Steve jumps off his bike, stretching before walking over to help you.

“Just inhaled a bunch of that crap.” He says, coughing. You offer a sympathetic smile, walking with him. “It’s stuck in my throat.”

“Wait until you smell Demogorgon breath.” You comment and he raises an eyebrow, letting out another cough as you step into the trailer.

It was strange. You hadn’t been in Eddie’s home for 2 years now, and yet you could have easily made yourself at home if it were the real place. You’d walk straight over to where Wayne kept the mugs, tracing your fingers over the small doodles Eddie had drawn on the counter surface. Then, you would delicately pick up the trail of DnD campaign papers he had scattered all over the place, joining him in his room and fiddling with his guitar pick collection. You really had loved it here.

And, as you look to him now, you knew Eddie was reminiscing the same things.

Despite the vines and general black muck spread over the place, that wasn’t really the big difference between the Upside Down’s version of Eddie’s trailer to Hawkins’ own.

No, it would have to be the gaping red slit in the ceiling, humming to life as it shone crimson into the dark night.

“This is where Chrissy died.” Eddie says and, when you look to him, he bore a look you’ve worn many times. “Like, right where she died.”

You brush your hand against his and he relaxes his shoulders, eyes still fixated on the gate above you.

“I think there’s something in there.” Robin shares and when you look closely, you can see something moving against the membrane.

“What the hell is that?” Eddie mumbles as you all stare up, something long and thin cutting through the slime.

It suddenly pierces through, pieces of the gate splattering on the ground and you all jump back, Eddie’s hand immediately grabbing hold of yours as everyone yelps.

Steve is the first to move forward, everyone else shuffling along with him to see what was waiting for you on the other side.

As you stood directly below, your heart burst with happiness.

Dustin stared back at you, laughing a joyful melody. Behind him were Erica and Lucas, their smiles just as bright as they rejoiced finding you all.

And Max stood in view, her eyes lighting up once she found yours, sending you a small wave.

“Hi there.” Dustin laughed and you all replied with quick ‘hello’s’.

Looking to eachother, you all felt the hope that radiated from eachother. Robin looks at you, squeezing your shoulder before her eyes caught sight of something else. She simply raises her eyebrows, smile never faltering. It’s not until you share a look with Eddie that you remembered you were still holding his hand.

“Sorry.” You both mumbled, dropping the contact and clearing your throats.

“Holy shit, this is trippy.” Robin comments.

“Bada-bada-boom!” Dustin yells and you laugh.

“God, I wish this was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.” You sigh happily, brain trying to understand how the gravity was working here.

“There’s been weirder stuff?” Eddie questions and Steve hums in response.

“Oh yeah.” He nods, “Like, we got kidnapped by Russians last year.”

“And they had this whole ass lab beneath the mall.�� Robin adds and you snort.

“Don’t forget about the monster we had fought that was made out of human flesh.” You say and they both let out sounds of remembrance.

Eddie’s eyes widen. “What?”

“Not to mention that was all one day.” You frown and tilt your head, glancing at Steve who was sharing the same look. The look of ‘how the hell is this our life?’.

“Noted.” Eddie breathes out.

“Okay.” Max’s voice calls out and you look back up, watching as the others disperse. “We think we have a plan, just hold on.”

She disappears too and you let out a sigh, waiting.

“So…” You start and they all look at you, “How has everyone’s day been?”

They all let out small chuckles and Nancy clears her throat.

“Well I had a great night swim.” She says and you smile, the humour masking the terrors of your night.

“Fought off some bats.” Robin points out and Nancy nods.

“Steve had an Ozzy moment.” Eddie nudges your shoulder and you furrow your brows. He allowed you to think it through until you let out a small gasp.

“You bit a bat’s head off?” You gawk at Steve who looks at you, exasperated.

“How the hell did you-” He glances between you and Eddie, shaking his head. “Never mind.”

“What about you?” Robin asks and you look confused. “What did you get up to while we were, uh, bat-fighting?”

“Uh…” You purse your lips, unsure of what to share. “I woke up in the middle of the woods. Ended up at the graveyard. FoughtaDemogorgon. And then I found you guys-”

“WHAT?!” They all exclaimed, eyes wide with concern written across their faces.

Steve’s eyes fell onto the slices below your neck, it all piecing together in his mind.

Saved by the thump of something heavy above you, everyone looked up to see Eddie’s mattress had been dragged out and placed directly under the gate. You froze as you looked at the mattress.

“Those stains are, uh…” Eddie begins, side-glancing at everyone as you stayed silent. “I dunno what those stains are.”

“Mmm.” Robin nods slowly, squinting as Nancy shivers beside her. “I bet Y/n has memory loss too.”

Beetroot red. That is what you assumed the colour of your face had turned since everyone was now staring at you. You sent a glare to Robin who was stifling a laugh.

“Anyway.” You clear your throat. “Dustin? What’s the plan here?”

“Just a second.” He replies, coming into view with a rope made up of various sheets tied together. “Not quite sure how these physics are gonna work. But, uh… here goes nothing.”

He launches the rope through the gate and Steve pulls you back just in time, it barely missing your head.

“Thanks.” You say before your eyes widen.

The rope was somehow floating between worlds, Dustin hands still firm on his end of the material.

“And if my theory is correct…” Dustin lets go and sure enough, it stays. “Abracadabra. All right, pull on it! See if it holds!”

Since Robin was closest, she grabbed hold and tugged as hard as she could. It didn’t budge.

“This is the craziest shit I’ve ever seen in my life.” Erica says, sharing a high-five with Dustin, “And I’ve seen some crazy shit.”

“Just casually defying gravity.” You mutter and Eddie smirks.

“Does it beat human flesh monster?” He questions, leaning towards you and you pretend to think about it.

“It’s definitely top three.” You decide and he grins.

“Okay, come on. Let’s get out of here.” Steve suddenly says and when you look over, he’s avoiding your eyes and looking at Robin instead.

“Guess I’m the guinea pig.” She shrugs. She reaches up and starts to pull herself up the rope.

When she slips slightly, you step forward and help her, hand on the back of her thigh.

“Whew.” Robin glances back at you with a cheeky grin. “Take me to dinner first.”

“Is that a request?” You return a smile and she continues her ascent, reaching the gate.

Once she pushes herself through, she seems to flip and immediately falls, landing on her back with a yelp. Thankfully, the mattress broke the landing and you stare up at her with a wince.

“You good?” You ask and she lets out a breathy laugh.

“That was fun.” She replies and Dustin helps her up from the landing pad.

“Who’s next?” Nancy asks, looking at everyone and you settle your eyes on Eddie.

He sends you a frown and you simply move your head towards the rope.

“All right, guess I’ll go.” He says and you move back to let him climb out of the gate.

He crashes onto the matt and you hold your breath until he bounces back up, nodding. “That… was fun. Shit.”

Steve chuckles at the display before glancing between you and Nancy, something unreadable on his face.

“See you on the other side.” He settles on Nancy stepping back and you do the same.

“On the other side.” She repeats to herself before looking to you. “Are you sure-”

“Go.” You laugh, shoving her lightly.

She grabs onto the rope and Steve shuffles around to join you, lowering his head.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Your smile falters as the grandfather clock echoes in your mind. Something was wrong.

“Hey, uh, are you okay to…” He waves his hand towards the gate and you smile, nodding.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” You sigh, “Besides I only got bitten by one bat, really. You got the family discount.”

Steve laughs, running a hand through his hair. “I’d rather it be me than you.”

You start to fiddle with your clothes, unsure how to answer until your hands brush over familiar material. “Oh.”

Steve frowns and looks to where you’re staring, eyebrows raising. “Is that my jumper?”

“Yeah.” You let out a breathy laugh, untying it and holding it out in front of you. You wince once you see just how red the yellow jumper had gotten. “Uh…”

You look at Steve who was trying to stifle a laugh.

He catches your eye and holds up his hands. “Sorry, I just- I wasn’t expecting the new colour.”

“Hey, you said to keep it safe, you said nothing about returning it in the same condition you left it.” You laugh despite everything and Steve chuckles.

“That’s true. I should really be more specific about my instructions next time.”

You go to respond before your eyes catch Nancy still stood at the bottom of the rope and you frown. “Nance? You can go, seriously, we’re big kids now.”

She doesn’t respond and Steve walks over. “Seriously, we-”

His face drops and he immediately grabs onto her shoulders, shaking.

“Hey! Hey! Stay with me. Nancy!”

You stumble back, your chest tightening and the jumper in your hand falls to the ground. You didn’t need to see her face to know what was happening.

Vecna had found another victim.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Chapter 13: Maybe We Are Crazy ->

[A/N: i really don't think y'all are ready for the next chapter...]

taglist: @gnnnne / @beepisbeep / @paintballkid711 / @eddiesbirdie / @livasaurasrex / @darktimelegends / @jackierose902109 / @mvrylee / @chervbs / @eternallyvenus / @nervouscatsuit / @f1nn-wolfhard / @hereiamhereigo / @ladybug0095 / @fangirling-4-ever / @astrolockley / @mothmanatemycat / @sheisjoeschateau / @champagnejoker / @umidktbh / @fallinginlovewithqueue / @ilovetaylorswift132006 / @live-the-fangirl-life /

[y-rhywbeth2]

I think it would've been funny if instead of being a dragonborn by default, the Dark Urge was literally an actual white dragon.

For shenanigans.

[Disclaimer that this idea is ridiculous and I don't care.]

The bhaalspawn plot twist is largely obvious to players of BG1+2 and those who've already completed the game. Who'd see the twist that you've forgotten that you're dragon in disguise coming? If you play another origin they'd make a good excuse to add a brainstealer dragon boss battle. Alternatively, if you take the ceremorphosis ending, you play as one.

Plus white dragons instinctually lean towards being brutal, vengeful little bastards in a manner Bhaal would probably approve of and due to their slow development would be very easy to corrupt from a young age… but my motivation is still mostly for shenanigans.

Living most of their life in a city, I imagine they're used to being in humanoid form. They had a sibling rivalry with Abazigail, as the only other dragon they know ("White dragons are weaker and inferior to Blues." - "I'm sorry, I'm too stupid to remember something, can you remind me? Of the two of us, who's a dead failure who disappointed Father?").

They got shanked by Orin in humanoid form and just woke up with brain trauma and assumed they were whatever humanoid they appear to be. Sure they have some ancestral draconic memory and speak draconic, but that's just a sign of having a dragon ancestor. It's not that weird! It might also seem strange when they start growling at the Githyanki dragon steeds, but going by some dialogue Durge growls at people anyway so it won't even stand out that much. At least the "human flesh smells tasty" thing makes sense now?

Lacking any memories of past enemies to plot against, dragon Durge simply adds their new friends' enemies to their list of grudges.

Those of us who play by looting everything in sight and refusing to share it with the party members have a valid reason; dragon hoard. Yes I do need to break my back carrying all of the money, enchanted weapons and six thousand books I'll never read; no, we're not selling any of it, fuck off.

We get to act 3 and the party gets the Bhaalspawn reveal possibly followed up by "also I'm a dragon." ("what the Actual Fuck.") Gale has already formed a hypothesis about Durge's true species, but we should also get to play Sharks Are Smooth over it. You get the standard -30 disapproval from Gale, but if Astarion is there he'll also want to play and you get 30 approval from him and Gale's disapproval doubles to -60.

Lae'zel as our resident horse dragon girl would rather travel with a red, but perhaps a mere white dragon will do for a steed in the meantime. It's training for her future, you understand.

I want to pick up Mizora with teeth and shake her like a dog with a chewtoy when she invades my camp to torment Wyll and refuses to leave. Maybe throw her around like an orca with a seal…

Romanced Wyll, Shadowheart or Gale introducing them to their parent/s (+Tara, in Gale's case) would be fun to watch.

Duke Ravenguard has hopefully learnt his lesson about not jumping to conclusions and hearing Wyll out and showing some tolerance for what appears to be an evil alliance, but a chromatic dragon sired by the god of murder who's also a reformed serial killer might be putting some tension on that... Maybe leave some details out.

The Hallowleaves are remembering the tolerance their Selûnite faith espouses and that they too are a loving couple involving one person who is technically a monster but I feel like Arnell is still on some level internally going; whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck.

I think Ms Dekarios will be mostly unphased. She's a wizard herself and Gale's been bringing weird shit into her life since he was born. Her son came home with a dragon for a fiancé/e. Sure. Must be Tuesday.

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

tig characters/couples as taylor swift songs - grayson and midnight rain

so i want to start a new series where i associate different ts songs to tig characters cause i've seen some people do it, and i love both ts and tig. hope you guys like it!

my friend @catapparently thought about this and i agreed with her. she had some great ideas for this post.

i think midnight rain is such a grayson song (it's also an alisanash song. i'll make a post about them too).

lyrics:

let's start simple with "he was sunshine, i was midnight rain"

this applies to avery and him. i feel like emily turned him into midnight rain after everything she did to him. although i'm not an averygrayson shipper, i feel like, in an alternate universe where emily didn't exist, they would've worked out. he wouldn't feel the need to protect people as intensely, and, might even be a bit more adventurous (which i feel is what avery needs). gray is midnight rain bc of his inability to currently be in a relationship after emily. he unintentionally ruins any chance he has at love for fear that it might destroy everything and that the people he loves might leave him.

"he wanted a bride i was making my own name, chasing that fame"

this one is bit less accurate but the idea remains the same. instead of grayson actually investing time in trying to form a romantic relationship with someone, he focuses more on his work and stuff, inevitably making a name for himself after he was disinherited. he wasn't necessarily chasing that fame, though. i'm sure there are tons of people who wanted to date him, but he let them go.

"my town was a wasteland, full of cages, full of fences, pageant queens and big pretenders, but for some it was paradise"

'my town' is both grayson's mind and hawthorne house. the cages and fences are all the reminders of emily. for example, all of the references to emily during the games tobias set up or when thea dressed avery up as emily. i'm also quite certain that some places in hawthorne house remind him of emily.

'pageant queens and big pretenders' refers to all of the pretending he constantly has to do (his brothers too). they're all forced to pretend to be perfect all the time (especially grayson) to sustain this image people have of them in their head. they put on these fake masks and pretend everything away. also, people with a lot of influence or fame have to pretend in order to please the public and not get canceled. the events and galas he goes to are filled with these people pretending and lying all the time.

to some people pretending is easy, but to others it isn't (and they hate it). i think both of these apply to grayson. he hates pretending, but it becomes easy for him over time.

"jumping off things in the ocean"

this one applies more to jamie, but because he's constantly reminded of emily, he's constantly reminded of the night she died. this one is also a bit less accurate, but still.

"so i peered through a window, a deep portal, time travel, all the love we unravel, and the life i gave away"

this line is him looking back at his love with emily. i think it's safe to assume that he was quite different before emily came along. the life he gave away basically refers to his life pre-emily.

"i guess sometimes we all get some kind of haunted, and i never think of him, except on midnights like this"

over time, he starts to heal from the wounds emily inflicted on him, but, obviously, he'll sometimes be reminded of her. he'll always be haunted by her.

and lastly "he wanted it comfortable, i wanted that pain"

ok, so, obviously grayson doesn't want to be in pain, but he unintentionally causes himself it. he broke his heart by letting avery go. part of the reason why grayson let avery go was because of his brother, but i also think he let her go because emily still haunted him too much. avery wanted a love that was stable and comfortable, and he couldn't give her that because of his trauma.

anyways that's it for this post. hope you guys liked it! if you have any requests, please send them to me. i absolutely love receiving them.