#stuff i mentioned in a previous post that should be its own post

[mishy-mashy]

This was on a separate post but I think it should have its own (also because I went off-track when I first wrote this)

Remember when Midoriya was trying to wake up a Quirk as a child, trying to pull the couch toward him or breathe fire?

This was him trying to use his parents' Quirks, in the hope he inherited one of theirs.

Inko could pull small objects. Hisashi could breathe fire.

Anyway this is a [Midoriya has AFO] post and [DFO is real]-

Anyway please listen? If his dad was AFO, and passed on that Quirk to little Midoriya, it makes sense that they all considered him Quirkless.

All For One starts as a blank slate. It has no Quirks available, because none were taken yet. And if no Quirks were stolen, nevermind passing through the user to be bestowed to others, then AFO at the base level is the equivalent of being Quirkless.

Midoriya having AFO would leave him as Quirkless. And he never would've known if he had AFO, because he thinks his dad just breathes fire. AFO's existence is just an urban legend to people back then.

Midoriya wouldn't be able to breathe fire if AFO was his dad, because that was never his Quirk.

Even if he did have a fire-breathing Quirk, AFO holds onto random ones like Naval Laser. It could just be one of those gags.

All For One is a quirk that takes. One For All decides to be given.

Midoriya, rather than take, was instead given Quirks, and sees people's goodness. He isn't selfish at his core. He's too optimistic. This is the opposite of AFO, which takes and gives—Midoriya was on the receiving end of being given, by OFA.

If Midoriya had a natural AFO, it makes sense that he's Quirkless. It also makes sense that he can handle multiple Quirks from OFA; because the nature of AFO is being able to wield multiple Quirks in one body.

AFO looks for Quirks that are easy to use, and straightforward. Midoriya ended up with Quirks that he has to strategize and think with, and even Bruce mentions his brain couldn't do all the processing, which is why he froze up.

Midoriya is past the point of Singularity. Yoichi says this when he first tells Ninth "You are not alone". But Midoriya is completely fine.

He only breaks his bones. He doesn't deform and become something the human body warps to be able to contain the Quirks. He got a good deal, when considering what Shigaraki became once.

He has OFA's Quirk Factor, but that Quirk Factor stores up Quirk Factors within itself. We can deduce that from Bruce saying only Danger Sense's Factor was stolen. It's naturally a stockpiling power similar to AFO that Yoichi had forced on him, and at its very base, Bruce called an "unformed dud".

Now, it's more grown from all the strength and Quirks stockpiled. Even if OFA counts as one Quirk, it still holds multiple Factors inside itself, so it might as well be the same as multiple Factors to the body. When Shinomori explained his life shortened because of multiple Quirks, he shows all the users before him, rather than the more-common "One For All is glowing in my hand" or "One For All is a flame" image to show the crystallization of power. Though it could just be to show the individuals adding to the short-life..

In the void, we see OFA vestiges are inside the vault, according to the door's face. On the other side, like when Yoichi was alive, could be AFO.

Midoriya sees the goodness of people. He said Eri's power was gentle, and always affirms that she saved him when she tries putting herself down. He says Shinso's Quirk is amazing, and he'd make a great hero. When seeing Chisaki while fighting Nagant, he just said he'd talk to him later, and promised to fulfill her promise if he was willing to direct his regret toward Eri. Kudo says he should hate Bakugo, but Midoriya looks at the heart, and believes in that.

AFO only sees the Quirk first. He looked at Ragdoll, decided to take the Quirk and didn't care for what happened to her body afterwards. When he looked at Best Jeanist, he applauded his use of his Quirk to save everyone, but then knocked Jeanist down anyway, saying it required too much work, so he didn't need the Quirk.

Midoriya having AFO and OFA would make him an intersection. He's born with AFO, but because he believed he was Quirkless, had grown up being put down, and knows what it's like to be weak. Born with AFO, but seeing the unequal world, and being given OFA because he wanted to save people and be a hero.

Y'know, this sounds a lot like Yoichi. Believed to be Quirkless because his Quirk required someone else, and therefore was unfinished and "non-existent". Even AFO didn't realize it existed because it was so weak.

Midoriya wanted to save people. He has AFO. He's living what AFO could've done [saving others] and embodying Yoichi's belief ["the power to give and take could have been the kindest in the whole world"].

All For One is blank. AFO only had an Ability he could use because he stole his mother's at birth.

Midoriya didn't. His Quirk should've come when he turned five. And he didn't know about AFO. He doesn't even have holes in his palms

If there's no holes in his palms, either his Quirk Factor is elsewhere, or manifests differently in said hands. In which we consider Inko: she can pull small objects toward her

It's possible for Midoriya to have a combination of AFO and Inko's Abilities. He tried pulling objects, but he never tried pulling people or Quirks.

If Midoriya can take Quirks from a distance, and AFO, like OFA, stores Quirks within a single Factor, then Kudo could be saying to let go of One For All so he can make room for All For One's Factor. Midoriya would have the capacity for it.

[sonicenvy]

Let's have a chat about AO3

Hiya friends and loyal followers! My last post about AO3 blew up yesterday so I figured now would be a good time to continue the conversation about AO3.

As I mentioned in my previous post (and probably in multiple other previous posts):

AO3 is NOT a social media site. AO3 is an ARCHIVE.

So let's delve into that a bit more since people don't seem to be getting that. Fanfiction predates the internet, and was transmitted via the internet way before sites like AO3 and FF dot net. Relatively speaking, I am a fanfiction newcomer, as I first started reading fanfiction in ... 2011? or thereabouts. I say this to say that I obviously don't have as personal of a memory of a time before fanfiction archive sites (my bitty fan experiences were on teaspoon and lcfanfic), but I certainly know plenty of people via fandom online that absolutely do.

For the newest children to fanfiction please check out the following pieces of reading to get started on your fandom history education:

“Fanfiction.” Fanlore Wiki. Accessed June 15, 2023. https://fanlore.org/wiki/Fanfiction. Archived [https://archive.is/yJpOq].

“So I’m on AO3 and I See a Lot of People Who Put ‘I Do Not Own [Insert Fandom Here]’ before Their Story.” sonicenvy.tumblr.com, July 2, 2016. https://sonicenvy.tumblr.com/post/146818589611/mikkeneko-thepioden. Archived [https://archive.is/FRNCy]

ofhouseadama, Emily. “A Brief History of Fandom, for Those on Here Who Somehow Think Tumblr Invented Fandom.” sonicenvy.tumblr.com, May 21, 2014. https://sonicenvy.tumblr.com/post/131935827010/ofhouseadama-a-brief-history-of-fandom-for. Archived [http://archive.today/j2Rfq]

mizstorge, fantastic-nonsense, and fanculturesfancreativity. “The Places Fandom Dwells: A Cautionary Tale.” fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com, June 29, 2017. https://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/post/162395547190/the-places-fandom-dwells-a-cautionary-tale. Archived [https://archive.ph/QK2wI]

As you read through this stuff, three things should become apparent to you:

Fanworks have always existed in tenuous space -- that is, they have always been under threat of removal, or threat of loss, whether this loss was through events like the livejournal strikethrough, the loss of a fandom specific website, destruction of physical copies of the work, or C&D/legal action from original creators of the work.

Fandom has a long and colored history with many of the most defining events of early fandom history being related to threats to the community.

A need was ripe for a place to save and ARCHIVE fanworks and protect them from deletion, legal action, corporate sanitization efforts, site deaths due to the deaths of admins, etc etc.

Out of all of this, comes The Organization For Transformative Works (2007), and their brand new site Archive of Our Own (2008). The stated intention of Archive of Our Own (AO3) (bolding mine):

The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) is a nonprofit organization, established by fans in 2007, to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fanworks and fan culture in its myriad forms. We believe that fanworks are transformative and that transformative works are legitimate. We are proactive and innovative in protecting and defending our work from commercial exploitation and legal challenge. We preserve our fannish economy, values, and creative expression by protecting and nurturing our fellow fans, our work, our commentary, our history, and our identity while providing the broadest possible access to fannish activity for all fans. The Archive of Our Own offers a noncommercial and nonprofit central hosting place for fanworks using open-source archiving software.

Source: Works, Organization for Transformative. “Archive of Our Own Beta.” Archive of Our Own. Accessed June 15, 2023. https://archiveofourown.org/about. Archived [http://archive.today/QYtbM]

You may also want to check out the original LiveJournal Brainstorming sessions for AO3 by astolat as archived here [https://web.archive.org/web/20220627134339/https://astolat.livejournal.com/150556.html] if you need further clarity on this point.

Some neat stuff from astolat's original posts that I find are relevant:

making it easy for people to download stories or even the entire archive for offline reading (thus widely preserving the work in case some disaster does take it down)

code-wise able to support a huge archive of possibly millions of stories.

allowing ANYTHING -- het, slash, RPF, chan, kink, highly adult ...

As we can see both from the mission statement of OTW/AO3 and from astolat herself in the brainstorming sessions, AO3 is an ARCHIVE. It is a project that is meant to preserve and provide access to fanworks. Run for fans, by fans and meant to host any and all kind of content with none of the commercialization or censorship that fans found elsewhere. Before AO3 there were certainly numerous, disconnected, fandom specific archives for fanfiction or other fanworks. Many of these old sites have been archived (see we're getting that word again) via the opendoors project. Some, like teaspoon or lcfanfic still exists and are semi-active.

A common thread is that writers and readers weren't just using the archive site to connect. They were doing more connection through other sites like dreamwidth, livejournal, facebook, their emails and later tumblr or twitter. Archive sites were meant as a supplement to other fan spaces like message boards, blogs and journals.

So, dear friends, you might ask, what is an archive?

An archive is a place where documents, artifacts and records are kept and preserved for future reference, use and access. Archives help us maintain a better understanding of the past and protect objects, writings, documents, records and more in longevity. In the context of fanwork archiving, this means preserving fanworks in longevity/perpetuity so that fans can continue to access them for enjoyment and for historical purposes. Archiving fanwork is vital to preserving and, indeed creating fan culture and identity.

To read more about archives in general, check out this article from the American History Museum of the Smithsonian (https://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/about/what-are-archives) or this one from the US National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/about/info/whats-an-archives.html).

So AO3 is an archive. Why does this matter?

Oh, boy, I am about to get LIS nerdy on y'all. At this point in the post we can all agree that AO3 is and always has been an archive (it's in the name...). When we view and understand the site starting from this premise, a lot of, frankly stupid as fuck arguments that people have about AO3 look even dumber. Understanding AO3 primarily as an archive helps us understand:

The tagging system. Given AO3 is an archive, the tags for content on the site function exactly the same as headings in a library archive. They are designed to store information about the fic (that is, they are intended as metadata) which is then used to find the record of the fic in the archive. This is why it is important to tag what is in your fic, and to use tags properly, using the agreed meanings of particular tags.

The kinds of content that are permitted and excluded under TOS IV. The archive permits fanworks, which include: fanfiction, fanart, podfic, and fan videos. The archive thus excludes things that are not fanwork (records with no content (aka "placeholder fics"), posts asking for writing prompts or submissions, posts looking for fic, commerical promotions of ANY kind, original fiction with no relation to fan content, spam etc). Every library and archive has their own collections policies, and AO3 is not an exception. Collections Policies are generally guided by the mission statement(s) of the archiving party/library. As we saw above in both the official about page and the original brainstorming posts from astolat, AO3 is a library for fanworks, meant to preserve fanworks and is in opposition to advertising and commercialization. Therefore, if the thing you want to add to the library of AO3 is not a fanwork or contains commercialization, it does not qualify to be an object of the archive. Re: the "placeholder fic" post that I didn't know was going to blow up so much: imagine you go to the library to get a book and open it to find that it is empty or you get a DVD and play it only to find that it is the movie theater trailer for the movie. Doesn't that make no sense?

Why there is NO censoring of "adult" or other quote on quote "objectionable content". The archive does not chose to preserve works based on subjective quality or "moral purity" type standards. This is true in libraries and museums as well. We keep and save materials that people find objectionable as archiving and librarianship are and have always been diametrically opposed to censorship. As an archive AO3 follows this. Moreover, you can see in astolat's original post "allowing ANYTHING -- het, slash, RPF, chan, kink, highly adult" as a founding idea.

Why there is no advertising, and why this includes you adding your Ko-fi or paypal or whatever the fuck. Outside of the fact that doing this violates TOS and invalidates OTW lawyer arguments for the legal existence of fanworks under US Fair Use, AO3 as an archive is meant to be a keeper of fan records, not a space for promotions. Archives do keep records (and indeed some archives keep records of advertising) but they, themselves are not using their platform to advertise for anything else.

Why there is no "AO3 algorithm". The kinds of algorithmic feed generators that sites like the t*kt*ok or whatever use are antithetical to the mission of archiving stuff and providing access to it. In an archive you search for content based on terms and headings and self-select. I'm not on the t*kt*k or whatever and I actively block and disable all "suggestion" type things so I don't entirely understand what y'all are looking with this.

Ok, that's great, why are you telling us all of this?

There is a concerning trend of newcomers both young and older to fandom and fanfiction that have not taken off the social media brain filter before coming on board. Some excellent tags I've seen on The Post™ that spawned this one include:

#guys quit bringing the worst elements of capitalism to AO3 (via @watchtowersystem)

#algorithms have rotted people's brains i swear (via @pearly--rose)

#omg stop trying to social mediaify ao3 (via @greyduckgreygoose)

There were also some bangers on my reddit post on this topic as well, but the reddit I posted it on is (rightfully) on blackout at the moment.

I think the sociamediafying of fanfiction that a lot of these people are bringing has a few major negatives:

social mediafied fandom views fanwork soley as consumable content, creating more passive, entitled participants in fandom. For fanwork=content social media brain folks, the fact that fanwork is meant to be an active and engaging thing is lost. Fanwork is a gift from one fan to other fans, it is a point for discussion, a result of people's passion and creativity. It is transformative, out of the box and part of building a niche community. When you start to see it as "content" like a random object on a feed you stop valuing it, analyzing it, and interacting with it in the same way, and are more likely to passively consume what you see as content. Social media has made "content" out of everything, and everything becomes something to scroll past in a few seconds, always looking for more stuff, the newest stuff, etc etc. It's obviously very tied to the experience of social media being used to sell you shit, but that's another conversation I think.

fanwork=content social media brain also allows some of these people to post incredibly demanding comments for "more content" on fancreators works or makes them think it's ok (and indeed creates the same result as what the writer is creating) to feed someone's incomplete fic into an ai to get a "completion".

fanwork=content social media brain also means that when these folks start creating content they feel entitled to views, hits, kudos, etc etc, and feel like it is ok to do things that they see as "gaming" the system to get their fics to be at the top of the pack. They begin to care too much about posting to get their "content" the most views because that's how things work on social media.

fanwork=content social media brain also makes some of these people think that "fic" that is "written" by an ai is acceptable fanwork, because they do not view fanwork as artwork/writing with merit, as much as an entertainment property to be consumed. How the meat gets made becomes irrelevant, because the end result is the only thing that is important.

social mediafying of fandom is something that has helped a lot of advertising and commercialization sneak its way into our spaces, which actively hurts our chances of building good communities.

social mediafying of fandom turns fanwork creation and fandom into popularity contests, which is bad for all fan spaces. The point is that we're being weird together. I've seen new, young authors post on reddit about how they feel so bad about their fic because it doesn't have 1000s of hits or because they feel incapable of writing things (even things they might want to explore) because "no one will read it, and it will not become popular". This makes me very sad.

social mediafying of fanwork also turns right around into .... wait ... you guessed it .... censorship! people are now practising self-censorship that is utterly unnecessary and completely sad to me because they are afraid of getting deleted from anywhere for "objectionable content". This carries over into new users on AO3 doing things like using leet speech for curse words, sexual content and more in the TAGS or the body of their AO3 fics. Stop Don't. You can say fuck, dead, kill, murder, cunt, cock, and whatever the fucking hell you want on AO3. That was the whole goddamn point.

These people are trying to bring fanwork=content social media brain to places like AO3. I'm not entirely sure why.

tldr; AO3 isn't a social media site for talking with your following or posting about ideas that you've had. It isn't a popularity contest. It isn't a place where there will be no inappropriate content. It isn't a place for advertising or commerical promotion. It is an ARCHIVE OF FANWORKS meant to be "allowing ANYTHING -- het, slash, RPF, chan, kink, highly adult."

Anyone of you fans older, wiser, more well versed in fan history, and more articulate than me, please feel free to add to this. Ditto on any of you other funky LIS friends out here on tumblr dot hell.

[tshortik]

My random comic Recs #1

I've been reading more comics lately, so I wanted to share my love for them in the hopes that someone might give this medium a chance!

Note: I am not a fan of superhero comics, because I simply don't like that genre, so don't expect superheroes below. Gonna make these posts every now and then and they will always include 4 recs. 1.) The Many Deaths of Laila Starr

Death got demoted and sent to earth as a mortal! Some boy is going to figure out how to cheat death in the future, and our girl Death really doesn't appreciate that. The entire graphic novel is only 5 issues long, so it's VERY digestible and easy to get through.There is something so light and playful about the art style, and the vibrant colors really sell it.

For people that are completely new to comics as a medium, I imagine that this is actually an A+ book to start with for the reasons I just mentioned. The way paneling and the flow of time is done in here, is a great example as to why comics are so unique as a medium and why they should be looked at as its own art from, separate from movies or books.

2) Mécanique Céleste (Or "Mechanica Calaestium" in the German translation, or "Aster Of Pan" in the English translation)

An absolutely breathtaking French comic. Aster lives in Pan, a post-apocalyptic France where she scavenges for wreckage with her friend Wallis. After their people come under a threat by the Federation of Fortuna, they are given a choice —submit to Fortuna’s rule or beat them in a weird Hunger Games-esque version of Dodge, called “Celestial Mechanics”.

The detailed art pieces in each panel, the careful line work, the lively way the characters move and the stunning watercolors captivated me from the first page. This graphic novel (now 2 volumes) is one of a kind and truly unique!

3) Something Is Killing the Children

Note: Comic contains a lot of gore and violence!

Children are starting to disappear in Archer's Peak. The ones that come back tell impossible stories that no one seems to believe. Only one stranger trusts these tales - a mysterious girl named Erica Slaughter who seems to be able to see these creatures too. And she's here for business.

I loooove Something is Killing the Children. I haven't finished reading the ongoing volumes yet, but I am super fascinated at how well the pacing goes in this story. The rough art style with Erica's freaky large eyes is SO fun, and you start appreciating it even more the longer you read.

4) Mon Ami Pierrot ("Mein Freund Pierrot" in German, "My friend Pierrot" in English)

Another fabulous French comic! Cléa is to marry soon - a young man name of Berthier. Right before the wedding she meets the fascinating magician Pierrot though, who completely changes the course of her life. Entranced by his whimsical nature that makes her feel "free" for the first time in her life, she follows him and leaves her previous life behind. During her stay with Pierrot, questions arise, though. Who is he really? All the while her betrothed sets out to find her again.

The Ghibli influence both art- and storywise is easy to make out, and I personally really enjoyed that. I particularly love the colors and the facial expressions the characters are drawn with. Everything feels very whimsical and playful and I had a good time going through this chonker of a graphic novel!

No spoilers, but I expected toothrottingly-sweet wholesome stuff, and ended up surprised on several occasions. I think the colours and art style really help give those moments wham, because you don't expect it.

[rinasunny]

The Lavatory scene in Red Eye's final shooting script and the movie

One of my previous posts was about how much the first script draft of Red Eye differed from the final product. The draft discussed in this post is more or less final. This draft has all the changes made after Rachel and Cillian were cast as leads and after the test screenings. But there are still some features which didn't make the cut into the final product. I'm not gonna analyse the whole script here, but shippers' favorite scene - the lavatory scene. Yeah, you can always rely on this scene to bring some juicy stuff.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Okay let's start from the moment Lisa enters the bathroom alone.

Frankly speaking, for now, I prefer the movie version. Especially the line "Okay, get up" instead of "Oh my God..." Wes Craven said in the DVD commentary about this moment:

This was tricky, between making her totally collapse, but not have her totally pathetic. And she very quickly gets herself under control.

Next, there is an interesting description of Rippner:

Also, the message on the mirror was meant to be revealed slightly earlier, but whatever.

I'm not sure about Rippner's lines here, because half of it is barely audible in the film. Also quite ironic that the underlined part is not in the movie at all.

Okay, now really important stuff starts kicking in. Rippner practically spills out the fact that he is ATTRACTED to Lisa right at her face. The script makes it clear, that she now knows this and tries to use his attraction (and his regret) to persuade him to give up on Keefe assassination plan. Funny enough, she almost succeeds until he notices her scar. Personally, I think "You're beautiful..." line (and hair brushing) should have stayed in the final cut. Not only for the sake of the ship, but for the fact that without it Lisa's "You don't have to do this" sounds really naive.

Some of you may argue that this is all relevant for the movie, they just made it more subtle. Well, Movie-Lisa's best guess that Movie-Rippner might be attracted to her is the way Cillian looks at Rachel. On one hand many people point out that they do have chemistry and sexual tension, on the other the movie on its own leaves watchers to wonder whether the characters had any romantic feelings towards each other or not. And I probably stumbled upon a comment on YouTube, which interpreted the "You don't have to do this" line more as "You're so pretty, why do you have to be evil?" (or something along these lines)

Also I think that clarification would make Lisa a more nuanced character (by the fact that she tries to manipulate a villain into giving up on his villainy).

Also, as you may have noticed, the scar was meant to be on her neck, makes sence, given her backstory (He held a knife to my throat). I guess they moved it down just so Rippner wouldn't notice it earlier (though the script also mentions, that Lisa was meant to wear a sweater). I, personally, on the back of my horny mind, think he wasn't looking for scar when he gazed on her breast ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

A little note: Script-Lisa looks away saying "No" while Rachel looks straight into his eyes, but starts trembling instead.

By the way, Rippner wasn't meant to slam and choke her just yet.

I guess he just let her out to wipe out the messege. Here Lisa gives up on conving him.

Only after he finished wiping he starts to choke her. Also, pay CLOSE ATTENTION on what Rippner's lips do here ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). Yep, he almost kisses her.

I guess the changes movie made here were for the sake of pacing.

Another important difference: Rippner fixes both their outlooks to be more presentable. Lisa protests a bit.

I guess the movie crew decided they don't need to fix their look that much.

Also, I prefer the movie's "Peachy" instead of just "Good", though both lines are in the movie lol.

On the final note, I guess "Thanks for the quickie" line makes a bit more sence given we have Rippner's crawling lips there ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

So, these were the differences of the lavatory scene between the script and the movie. Hope you had as much shipping excitement as I did.

P.S: The link to the script. If you're a fan I strongly suggest to download it, it may easily become a lost media, like an earlier draft.

[quinnkasih]

Kitty Cat

chapter 3 - "the internet cafe's loyal customers"

cat!scara x collegestudent!fem!reader

SYNOPSIS

You are just an ordinary college student, having friends, hard projects and surviving on a low budget. Every week, or saturday to be specific, you would come by your favorite cafe in town, Fatui Cat Cafe. It is such a calming and lively place for you after a busy week as a student. In the cafe, there's one cat that despises everyone, except you.

A/N :

i add a little change to the story. Before, it was Teyvat's Cat Cafe. But I changed it into Fatui's Cat Cafe, due to some stuff. Who knows? Maybe you'll know the story if you match it with the harbingers' actual lore..~

MASTERLIST - previous | next

It was dark outside. All shops were closed, some of the are still open. But only a few. The scenery was lonely. Lonely streets were lighted by street lights that light up during the night time.

Next to Fatui Cat Cafe was a dark alleyway, they throw out their garbage and leftovers there.

It was quiet, too quiet. Until there was the sound of a door opening from the dark alleyway.

There was a male coming outside the door. He looked fishy, wearing a cap and is hooded with a black hoodie and is wearing jeans. He has indigo colored hair.

He was busy fixing his attire. When he was about to leave, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey comrade! What are you doing outside at such a late time?" Taunted a guy with ginger colored hair.

"Back off, dont call me that. And dont be so stupid, you know what im outside for" Said the hooded man coldly, not bother turning to look at him.

"Hmm? Let me guess..~"

"It's neither you going to the internet cafe you usually go to or the 24 hour convenient store" Guessed the guy.

"What? Who told you about this?" Asked the hooded man furiously, turning to look the other man.

"Ahaha! Dont act all surprised Scara, everyone literally knows you leave the cafe every night. Signora saw you walking out of the door" Explained the ginger man, giggling.

Scara just glared at Childe harshly, not answering.

"So? What brings you here then?" Asked Scara again, hands crossed against his chest.

"Hm? Whats wrong with me being outside? I mean, you are even outside yourself" Childe answered and scoffed.

Scara just answered with a "ok" and started to leave him.

"H-hey!! Wait for me!!" Childe shouted from afar as he ran towards Scara.

...

They stopped by an internet cafe, it was usually crowded. But since it was midnight, of course it isnt.

"Its up to you whether you want to rent or not. Also, Im not paying your bill." Scara exclaimed, opening the door.

"Huh??! What do you mean?? I thought you are paying me?? How do even have money??!" Childe asked, surprised.

"I stole it from the cashier" Scara confessed, not feeling any guilty of doing it.

"Hey! You stole it?! I'll report you to master Tsaritsa!!" Childe warned.

"Pfft why should I care? Go on and report it to her, I really dont care. And also, you sound stupid calling her master Tsaritsa." Scara mentioned as he payed for the billing, 1 hour.

As Scara was heading towards the computer he always used, Childe kept on complaining.

...

"Hufff, what do you even need to rent a computer anyways?" Childe sighed and stretched in his seat.

Scara did not answered anything. He countinued on to type on the keyboard for something. On his screen, showed a search bar. He was searching his own name, his intend was to know his reputation on the internet.

The loading took awhile, but it had finished anyways. He clicked his own hashtag, #scaracat.

The very first post on the top, which is the most popular and recently post, was a video. He hovered the cursor to the play button and clicked.

The video started, it was a video of a girl crouching to a black purple-ish cat, she is stroking the cat slowly. The place was familiar, it was the Fatui Cat Cafe.

After a moment of watching he finally realised its him, in his cat form.

He was surprised. Since when did he started to be gentle to someone? Why is he so calm and enjoying the girls touch in the video?

At the end of the video, he woke up suddenly and bit the girl's hand that was stroking him and the video was cutted off.

"Oohh, thats the video from yesterday's feeding with customers event" Childe commented as he saw the screen.

He remembered again the warmth and affection he received in his sleep yesterday afternoon. He thought it was just him feeling things. Well, it sure isnt him.

He scrolled down to the comments and checked, it was all positive comments.

The comments were just dry, like "aww cute!! 🥰🥰🥰😍" or "aww🥺🥺". He expected to meet a comment or two like, "man wish that was me" or "hey women move‼️‼️ my turn❗" or basically just simp comments. But who would simp for a cat??

He still expects like a comment like so, he countinued to scroll down the comments.

He the came across a comment, saying "the girl in the video is @/y/nn". He clicked the tagged user and the page loaded.

Childe on the other hand who was watching the same thing as Scara, is very interested in this girl.

@/y/nn is actually just a normal typical girl who does dance videos or vlogged her day with her friends, nothing special.

Her latest video has many views than her usually views on other videos, maybe because she recently got famous due to being one of the persons to calm him.

The video that got most views was a video of her dancing the newest trend, Casey dance. She isnt like most girls that really showed off their curves with the dance, she still kept her image well and kept her curves covered with baggy and oversized clothing despite the slight explicit dance.

(For those of you who dont know the dance, here's the video)

"Mannn, y/n is pretty~" Teased Childe beside Scara.

Scara only kept on looking on the screen with a slight blush on his cheeks. His cat ears which are hidden and blocked by his cap and hood were twitching to rise up, a sign of him being flustered. His tail was also itching to wag a little.

Childe only looked at him with a smug smile plastered on his face.

...

Eventually their rent time for the computer has ended so they left.

Childe insisted on buying some snack or stuff at the 24 hour convenient store with some money he found on the computer desk he was sitting on, Scara agreed.

TAGLIST

@dee-zbignuts @cr4ftingtable @lxry-chxn @cherricoladrink @scrmgf @ember-is-clueless @butterandbeans @lilias-spouse @wisteriaflowersss @sukunasin @nemesis1ofdark @crinklypink @louise-rosita-leroux @thetwinkims @koi-chairowo @grimreapersscythe @eimuros @kaoyamamegami @meowlumi @crazypriestess @g0re-h0und @ssilentblackyt @blurr3db3rry @blvdmrcnry @toriiee @lycheemouse @valiryyz @nejibot @pheebbbs @lovely-scaramouchie

[440mxs-wife]

Written in the Stars

Pairing: Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy x F!Reader. Other Characters: Jim Kirk, Nyota Uhura, Cmdr. Spock, Christine Chapel (mentioned).

Word Count: 8029

Warnings: Soulmates, show-level violence, Away Team member injury, mutual pining, a smidge of angst due to perceived unrequited love, but FLUFFFFF

Summary: When Dr. McCoy got married, he knew she wasn’t his soulmate, but it didn’t matter to him. After the divorce, he figures he’s missed his chance, due to his age and previous marriage. The Reader joins the crew as the new Science Officer aboard the Enterprise, assigned to Cmdr. Spock’s team. She hasn’t met her soulmate yet, but she seems drawn to a particular member of the Enterprise crew. Could these two lost soulmates have found each other at last?

A/N: If you’ve been tagged here, it’s because you’ve interacted one or more times on a McCoy story of mine, or we’re moots. Whether you like or reblog, I am eternally grateful for your support. If anyone else would like to be tagged on any future Karl Urban character postings, please let me know. Thank you, and enjoy the show!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dr. Leonard McCoy joined StarFleet and was assigned to the Enterprise after a few unfortunate events. He left for the five-year mission right after his divorce, having known full well that the woman he married wasn't his soulmate. It didn't matter though, because Leonard didn't believe in that stuff. He was impatient, not interested in living alone anymore, therefore not waiting to find his soulmate. At the time, he'd loved Jocelyn enough to marry her. Only she didn't love him enough to want to stay married to him, or so she'd said.

Of course he had his soulmark, just like everyone he knew had one, with his shaped like a starburst and visible on his wrist. At his age, though, he felt that he should have met his person by now, the one he was destined to be with forever. So after the fiasco with Jocelyn, he'd stopped looking, figuring he'd missed his chance. Which is precisely when his soulmate appeared, and where he least expected it.

The Enterprise was making a scheduled stop at Starbase 42 to pick up supplies and some new crew members. Capt. Kirk had sent over the files, which Dr. McCoy decided to review before the ship reached its destination. Most of them looked pretty routine, a couple of ensigns for Engineering, three for Security. Then there was your file.

According to your bio, you were to be assigned to the Science Department, under Cmdr. Spock. You had been in StarFleet for a bit longer than the average crew member, and had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander (LCmdr.). However, to Dr. McCoy, that only meant you carried a wealth of life experience with you. The only family you had left were your two brothers, each with their own families, and a best friend who became more like your sister.

Leonard glanced at the clock and noticed it was time to head to the transporter room to greet the new additions to the crew. Though the information in your file was fairly standard, Leonard couldn't help but give yours a bit more attention than the others. It was like he was drawn to it, wanting to dive into it and find out all there was to know about you. He arrived at the transporter room and walked in, finding Capt. Kirk and the other officers waiting. "All right, Jim. I'm here, so let's get this show on the road," he grumbled.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As the shimmering light-particles of the transport beam disappeared, you had re-materialized aboard the Enterprise. It was your dream assignment, to be on StarFleet's flagship, and you looked forward to working with Cmdr. Spock. And of course, you were excited to be serving with Capt. James T. Kirk, one of the most decorated and colorful captains in StarFleet. But almost as soon as you appeared on the pad, you felt a pull in another direction, something you hadn't experienced before.

Once everyone had arrived, the captain introduced himself and the other commanding officers. Your companions handed over their orders, then exited the transporter room to be shown to their quarters. You stepped forward and handed your paperwork to Capt. Kirk and introduced yourself in the process.

"At ease, Commander," Kirk smiled. "We're a little less formal and bit more family around here, not that I don't run a tight ship," he explained.

"Of course not, Captain, and thank you. I'm honored to be here," you responded.

"Your credentials are impressive, Commander," Spock commented. "I am looking forward to working with you."

"I'm fortunate to be on your team, Cmdr. Spock. Thank you," you acknowledged before turning your attention to the dark-haired man in the blue medical uniform. He was standing off to the side, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. As you took in his appearance, his furrowed brow seemed to relax and you felt that same pull as when you first arrived.

Your silent observance of the man by the door did not escape Capt. Kirk's notice. He walked over to where the man was standing and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Commander, this is our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Leonard McCoy. Bones, say hello to our newest crew member," Kirk grinned.

You stuck your hand out in greeting. "Pleased to meet you, Dr. McCoy," you remarked.

"Likewise," he replied as he took your hand and shook it. The instant your hand touched Dr. McCoy's hand, a jolt of electricity shot up your arm. It surprised you, but you kept your hand in his. What the hell was that? he thought. Instead, he inquired aloud, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, sure, everything's fine, Dr. McCoy. I'm kind of a little nervous. May I be shown to my quarters, please?" you asked.

"Right this way, Commander," Spock gestured with his arm for you to precede him out the door.

When you reached the doorway, you popped your head back inside and caught Dr. McCoy's attention. "By the way, hope to see you around, Dr. McCoy," you winked and left the transporter room.

"So, that was inter--" Kirk started.

"Jim, no comment necessary," McCoy muttered. Despite his gruff reply, there was the ghost of a smile on his face, thanks to the Enterprise's new science officer. Interesting indeed, he thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Once inside your quarters, you started to unpack your bags. You hung up your uniforms in the closet and arranged your toiletries in the bathroom. The rest of your personal items were placed throughout your room. You were surveying your work when you heard a chime at the door.

Your visitor introduced herself as Nyota Uhura, Communications Officer. While you unpacked, she perched on the end of your bed and you got to know each other. She brought you up to speed on herself and life on the Enterprise.

The topic came around to your personal lives, Uhura mentioned that she and Cmdr. Spock discovered they were soulmates a few years ago. "What about you? Have you met your soulmate yet?" she asked.

"Sadly, no, not yet. But I hope my posting here will put me closer to finding out who it is," you replied, thinking back to your electrifying encounter with Dr. McCoy.

"Oh, really?" Uhura was leaning forward, her curiosity piqued. "Who do you think it is?" she wondered.

"Hmm, not sure, but I've been having this certain feeling, like whoever it may be, he's here onboard this ship. Add that to one of the many reasons I'm glad I'm here," you chuckled.

"Well, we're glad to have you. There's a 'Welcome to the Enterprise' party going on later in the recreation area. It's a chance for us to get to know you all, and for you to mingle with the senior officers," Uhura mentioned.

"Sounds great, I'll be there. Um, about what time?" you inquired.

"I believe the captain said it'll be getting started at 1900 hrs.," Uhura replied, then checked the time. "Oops, I'm supposed to be meeting Spock in a few minutes. See you later at the party?" she asked.

"You bet, I'll probably see if I can take a quick power nap before then. Want to be well-rested before meeting up with everyone so I don't say the wrong thing," you replied nervously.

"I understand that, but don't worry. Everything will be fine, and I already have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends," Uhura remarked as she walked to the door.

"Thank you, and I'll see you later," you called. Once Uhura left, you crawled into your bed and settled in for a nap. You made sure to set an alarm to give yourself time to get ready for the party, then closed your eyes and drifted off to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Back in his quarters, Dr. McCoy was reviewing some information on his PADD when his door chimed. At first, he ignored it, because he rarely had visitors and didn't want to be disturbed. When it chimed again, he rolled his eyes and strode to the door. He opened it, only to find Capt. Kirk on the other side, grinning from ear to ear. "What do you want, Jim? I was in the middle of something important when you interrupted me," he bristled.

"Hey, Bones, good to see you," Kirk replied as he breezed past his friend and plopped into a chair.

"Make yourself at home, Jim, by all means," McCoy stated dryly. "Whatever it is, the answer is no."

"Wanted to drop by and let you know there's a 'Welcome to the Enterprise' party for all the senior officers to mingle with the newbies. Now I know none of them are medical, but it would be nice if you'd put in an appearance. By the way, that new one on Spock's team was pretty cute, wasn't she?" Kirk asked.

"Jim, I haven't got time for this. Besides, what are we, in high school?" McCoy retorted.

Kirk shrugged. "Looks like the two of you shared a moment in the transporter room, that's all," he remarked.

McCoy rolled his eyes at Kirk's observation. "There was no 'moment', it was an introduction. Stop trying to make something out of nothing. Except it didn't feel like 'nothing' when our hands touched, he thought. "Look, I'll try to swing by, if I get a chance. Good enough?"

"That's the spirit, Bones! See you later," Kirk hastily replied, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder before bolting out of the room.

McCoy shook his head, then went back to where he'd left his PADD. He picked it up, intending to read, but instead stared off ahead, deep in thought. What would it hurt to show up for a drink or two? I suppose that would count as 'putting in an appearance', he reasoned with himself.

His mind made up, Leonard changed into a more casual attire of jeans with a hole in the right knee and a navy-blue Henley. He left the top two buttons undone and pushed the sleeves up to his elbows. He slipped on his well-worn dark brown cowboy boots and dabbed on some cologne before heading out the door to the rec area.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You entered the rec area a little after 1900 hrs., when Uhura said the party would be starting. As soon as you walked in, your eyes scanned the area for her or anyone else you recognized. Fortunately, the captain soon spotted you and waved you over to his table.

On your way to meet him, you wandered past a beautiful mahogany pool table with clawfoot legs. It was covered in blue felt and had leather nets under each of the six pockets to catch any one of the fifteen brightly colored orbs. Hmm, wonder who might be up for a game or two later, you thought as you ran your hands along the rails.

There were two open chairs on the captain's left side, one putting you next to him or, the other, Lt. Uhura. You chose to sit next to Uhura, who immediately stood to give you a hug and raved about your outfit. You were wearing jeans with a pastel purple, off-the-shoulder peasant blouse, along with your black suede ankle boots. Around your neck was a teardrop pendant of your birthstone on a delicate silver chain.

You were about halfway through your first margarita, when you heard a deep voice behind you ask, "Is this seat taken?"

Turning around, you were pleasantly surprised to see Dr. McCoy standing behind you, a glass of bourbon in his hand. "Um, n-no, Dr. McCoy," you stammered. Way to go, you berated yourself with a mental facepalm.

"Relax, Commander," McCoy chuckled. "Please call me Leonard."

You gave him your name in return, stating it was better than being called "Commander" all the time. "Especially with so many of us around," you joked.

The captain finally noticed that Dr. McCoy had joined the table and taken the seat next to him. "Bones, you made it after all. Good to see you!" Capt. Kirk exclaimed.

"Why thank you, Jim, I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to notice," McCoy replied.

The doctor's nickname used by the captain did not escape your notice, but you filed it away to ask about later. "So, Leonard, tell me about where you're from," you started.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Your conversation with Dr. McCoy stretched far into the evening, the two of you asking questions to better get to know each other. Eventually, your Q & A transitioned to the pool table for a friendly game of 8-ball. One by one, the others left the recreation area and returned to their quarters. Neither you nor Leonard noticed you were the only ones left until you were deep into your third game of pool, with you lining up your shot.

Standing up after watching the #15 roll into the corner pocket, you looked around at the empty recreation area. "Leonard, what time is it?" you asked.

He checked the time and was surprised at the hour as well as the deserted room. "It's after midnight. Guess time really does fly when you're having fun," he grinned. "Your shot, darlin'," he drawled. You noticed his Southern accent was a bit more pronounced after a few rounds of bourbon.

"Okay, but after I knock in this #12, I'm on the 8-ball," you smirked. You took your time to survey all the angles before settling in to take your shot. With a smooth, fluid stroke, the cue ball connected with the object ball, which went in the side pocket. The 8-ball was of little challenge to you as well, sailing into the exact pocket you intended.

"Well, I guess that's the game, then," McCoy remarked. You gave him a small curtsy before placing your cue stick on the table and returning to finish your drink. "Where'd you learn to play like that?" he wondered.

"Had a pool table in the basement growing up. I used to spend quite a few hours a day, practicing until I was good enough to win against my brothers and all their friends. Then I met my best friend at the Academy, and we took turns, um, how shall I say this? Oh, yeah. Separating the new recruits from their money," you grinned sheepishly.

Leonard threw his head back and laughed. "You are full of surprises. Which leads me to my next question, and feel free to punch me for it if you want, but I have to know. How is someone as lovely and fascinating as you are still single?"

You felt your cheeks grow warm with the compliment. "Well, I won't punch you for asking a question like that. The simple answer is, I haven't found my soulmate yet."

McCoy gave you a sideways glance, one eyebrow raised. "You believe in that? One person, one heart, all that?" he wondered.

"Sure I do, don't you?" you replied. "I mean, a person as handsome and charming as you isn't attached to anyone either. Why is that, if you don't mind me asking?" you quizzed.

"I don't mind you asking, darlin'," he replied, then took a sip of his drink. "I was married once, but it didn't take. At the time, I loved her, and even though she wasn't my soulmate, I didn't care. I was too impatient in my youth and didn't want to be alone the rest of my life, so we got married. When I came onboard here, I was fresh off my divorce. When I met Jim, I told him that my ex got everything, and 'all I got left is my bones'. Probably why he calls me that," he muttered.

"Hmm. And here I thought it was because you were in the medical field. You know, a doctor used to be called a 'sawbones', I figured that's where it came from," you quipped.

"I guess it could go either way, although your explanation is a little less depressing," Leonard conceded.

You reached over and covered his hand with yours, trying to ignore the small spark at the contact. "Your soulmate is still out there, waiting to be found. I'm just sure of it," you remarked.

McCoy gave you a hopeful smile. "You think so? I guess I figured that with my age and jumping the gun and marrying Jocelyn, that I missed my chance," he replied.

"What do you mean, 'with my age', you're hardly an old man, Leonard. Besides, I'm betting that you haven't missed your chance, so keep the faith," you winked. "Come on, Doc, it's late. Walk me to my quarters?" you asked.

McCoy drained the last of the bourbon from his glass and stood up from the table. His grin grew wider as he held out his elbow for you to take. "Shall we, shweethahrt?" he said in his attempt at a Bogart impression.

You laughed as you looped your arm through his, and he tucked it in closed to his side. "Leonard, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," you answered.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And it was. At first it was you and Dr. McCoy, two friends sharing breakfast together on most, if not all, mornings. Sometimes the captain, or Spock and Uhura would be there, which made for lively discussions. But you were most content with the days it was just you and the good doctor enjoying each other's company.

It wasn't just the mornings, you took turns hanging out in each other's quarters, watching old movies or reading together. Other times, it was sharing stories about your lives, your families, even your Academy days. Being with Leonard was a comfort for you, a natural and easy friendship to fall into.

The first time you noticed your thoughts wandering from friendship to more was one night you were cooking dinner in McCoy's quarters. Your room was not equipped with a kitchenette, only a replicator, so Leonard offered to let you in to his to make dinner. He had some last-minute duties in the MedBay, but said he would join you later.

You were putting the finishing touches on your Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli casserole to put into the oven, when Leonard strode through the door. He stood behind you, put his hands on your shoulders and glanced down at the dish. "That looks amazing, sweetheart," he grinned and gave your shoulders a squeeze before heading to the showers.

As you watched him walk away, you couldn't help but notice how domestic the whole scene was, and how comfortable it all felt. Leonard coming home to you after a difficult day in the MedBay, to see you making dinner. Of course, it could also just as easily be the other way around, with him in the kitchen, waiting for you to come home. Then you shook your head to clear those thoughts. Although the two of you had become best friends, that still kept you in the "friend zone", right?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Leonard reached for his towel to dry himself off after his shower. Coming back to his quarters to see you in his kitchen was a comforting sight to see, not to mention how natural it felt. Like it had been that way for years instead of the months since you'd gotten to know each other. Lately, there was many a night he'd lain in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if you were having as much trouble sleeping as he was.

Ever since he met you in the transporter room, Leonard knew there was something different about you, but couldn't put his finger on it. That night the two of you spent in the rec area at Jim's "welcome" party was one of the best he'd had in a long time. Sitting and talking with someone, finding out you had like interests and similar values was refreshing for him. You were sweet, intelligent, and you made him laugh, something his friends thought he needed more of in his life.

Most of his time was spent in the MedBay, caring for others, but there were times when he wanted someone to care for him. You certainly fit the bill for that as well, such as when you stopped by with a coffee for him on one of your breaks. Or when you sneaked into his office to hide scraps of paper with jokes written on them to make him chuckle. And your home cooking was some of the best he'd had since the last time he visited his ma on Earth.

There were dozens of reasons why and multiple occasions when he wished there was more than friendship between you. However, after his experience with marriage to Jocelyn, he was a little hesitant to pursue anything beyond friendship with you. Jim would probably say he was "spooked", whereas Leonard would counter that he was "protecting his heart".

Early on, you'd admitted to him that you believed in soulmates and were still looking for yours. He'd been down the road once where he ignored the concept, if only to avoid being alone for the rest of his life. You deserved that one person, that one heart that Fate had decided truly belonged with you. He'd never want you to settle for a life with him if he wasn't your soulmate. Thus, he continued to keep things with you in the "friend zone".

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A couple of weeks later

"You want me to do what, now?" you asked the Captain.

"I know you heard me, Commander," Kirk replied. "It's a few weeks until Valentine's Day, and I think it would be a great idea to have a celebration. Music, food, drinks....and you dancing with a certain country doctor would certainly be all the entertainment I'd need for a while," he smirked.

You, on the other hand, rolled your eyes at his obvious matchmaking attempts. "Jim, we're just friends. And I resent your insinuation that Dr. McCoy would want anything to do with me beyond that," you retorted.

"Why is that so hard to believe, that Bones would be interested in you as more than a friend?" Jim persisted.

"Because...." you murmured, your gaze dropping to your hands in your lap.

"'Because....' why?" he gently prodded.

You huffed in exasperation. "Because I'm me, and he's....handsome, witty, fascinating, charismatic and could have any woman in the universe he wants. I've seen him at those diplomatic functions, Jim. Women more or less throwing themselves at him, hanging all over him and what does he do? He just smiles at them and turns on the Southern charm. Soulmate or not, what chance do I have," you whispered.

"Wait, he's your soulmate? How do you know? More importantly, why haven't you told him?" Kirk peppered you with questions.

"You're just full of curiosity today, aren't you?" you sassed. "I saw his soulmark on his wrist, and it matches mine here." You tilted your head and pulled your hair back to reveal a matching starburst behind your left ear. "I've been in love with him since that 'welcome' thing you arranged, when we talked and shot rack after rack of 8-ball till after midnight. But I want him to love me for me, not due to some pre-destined, matching tattoo on our bodies."

Kirk stepped out from behind his desk and took the chair next to you. "Listen. I've been friends with the man for a long time. I've seen him at those diplomatic galas, and let me tell you that I haven't seen him look at any of those women the way he looks at you," he explained.

"Now I know you're out of your mind," you snorted. When Kirk tried to protest, you held up your hands. "Stop. Okay? I'll do as you ask, plan your little Valentine's Day party for the crew. It's a nice idea, and I think we're due for some fun around here. Just please quit trying to push me and Dr. McCoy together, huh?" you pleaded.

Kirk reached over and sandwiched your hand in his. "Although I know I'm right, I will honor your wishes and stop forcing the issue with you and Bones. Fair enough?" he asked.

You nodded and stood up from your chair. "Yes, thank you, Jim. I appreciate it. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my quarters, trying to figure out how to put this thing together," you replied. You gave him a weary smile before exiting his Ready Room.

Jim waited until you were out of his office before voicing his thoughts. "I may have agreed to honor your wishes, but that doesn't mean I can't go at it from Bones' point of view," he vowed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The following week, you were busy transforming one of the large, rarely-used conference rooms Jim set aside for you into a sea of red, white and pink. There were pink paper hearts attached to the walls, along with red cutouts shaped like Cupid with his bow. The long conference tables would be used for food and drinks, and were set up along the outside edge of the room.

You were scanning through the food and drink list on your PADD when Leonard walked in. A bright smile graced your face at the sight of your best friend. "Why, hello Len! What brings you here?"

Leonard scanned the room before answering. "So this is the 'secret project' you've been working on for the past week," he replied. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I started in the lab, then I checked your room. Had to ask the ship's computer for your location," he remarked.

"Yeah, sorry, Jim put me in charge of this, so here I am. And it's not a 'secret project', as you called it. We have all these decorations and the tables will be full of drinks and all kinds of foods," you explained. "While we're on the subject, I have something to ask you, Leonard."

"Oh? What's that?" he wondered.

"Well, this is going to be kind of a formal, dressing-up kind of thing. And there'll be music and dancing, so I was wondering....if you'd like to go with me....as my date?" you asked.

Leonard froze. A date? he thought. His heart wanted very much to take you up on your offer to accompany you to the party. He could picture you all dressed up in a formal gown and your hair perfectly styled, a veritable vision of beauty. His next mental picture was of the two of you walking into the party with your arm safely tucked into his side. His brain, however, reminded him that this was a Valentine's Day dance, and you two were not romantic partners, only friends.

You must have heard his brain's internal reminder loud and clear and interpreted his hesitation as a decline of your invitation. "You know what, never mind. It's all right. Forget I asked," you backpedaled. "I'm sure you have much more important things to do than go to a stupid dance with me," you muttered as you gathered your PADD and other supplies.

"Wait a minute, where are you going?" McCoy implored.

"Uh, I forgot I told Cmdr. Spock that I would come into the lab later and see if I can make some more progress on my assignment," you explained. "So, I'm sorry, but I can't meet you for dinner tonight, Dr. McCoy," you added, then hurriedly left the room without a backwards glance.

Leonard stood gazing at the floor, hands on his hips and shaking his head. As he stood in place, he was trying to figure out what just happened and how he knew he had to fix it. Uhura was watching your interaction with Dr. McCoy since he joined you, so she walked over to him. She placed a hand on his arm to get his attention. "Dr. McCoy, are you all right?" she asked.

He looked over to see the concern in Uhura's eyes. "I....I don't know," he rasped. "I think I made a huge mistake with her and I may need your help."

She led him over to one of the chairs, where he filled her in on his conversation with you. Uhura listened intently, waiting for him to finish providing as much information as he was willing to share. When he finished, she was silent as she thought about her response. "I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to say the first thing that comes to your mind." McCoy nodded. "Are you in love with her?"

"Yes," he immediately answered.

"As a friend, or more than a friend?" Uhura asked.

"More," McCoy hastily replied. A startled look crossed his face at the realization. "I'm in love with her," he whispered. "But she said she was still looking for her soulmate, and I don't know what her soulmark looks like or where it is."

"Dr. McCoy," Uhura gently chided. "Do you really need visual confirmation of her soulmark to know that you belong together? From that first night, everyone could see it, based on how the two of you looked at each other, how you interacted. How long did it take you to realize that everyone had left?" she giggled.

McCoy grinned. "We didn't really notice much of anything outside of ourselves until after midnight. She'd just beaten me two games out of three at 8-ball," he chuckled ruefully. "I have to find her and tell her," he declared as he hastily stood up.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. I don't know if now is the best time to tell her," Uhura warned, taking his arm to stop him.

"Wha--why shouldn't I tell her right away how I feel about her?" McCoy asked, confused.

"She may not be in the right frame of mind to hear it right now. Think about, Dr. McCoy. She gathered up her courage to ask you to be her date to the dance. When you hesitated to answer, her brain told her not only was your answer 'no', but that you didn't reciprocate her feelings. That's why she bolted out of here, she was trying to protect herself from embarrassment, from her heart being broken any further. Give her some time, then try and talk with her again," Uhura advised.

"How long should I give her?" McCoy asked.

"Try again after a couple of days, Doctor. She should be ready to talk by then," Uhura replied, gently patting his arm.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You checked your notes again, frustrated that the data was not matching up with the results. Irritated, you pushed away from the table and flopped onto a chair. You closed your eyes as your fingers massaged your temples, trying to stave off the impending headache.

"Are you all right, Lieutenant?" Cmdr. Spock asked. "It is late, and I have observed that your evenings are usually spent with Dr. McCoy. May I ask why you are here instead, working?"

You took a deep breath. "I'm fine, Cmdr. Spock. Just trying to keep my headache at bay, that's all," you replied, managing a weak smile.

"If you are feeling a pain in your head, I am certain Dr. McCoy can relieve it with a hypospray," Spock suggested.

"Not when he's the cause of the headache," you muttered.

A puzzled look crossed Spock's face. "I do not understand. Is there some sort of problem in your relationship with Dr. McCoy?" he inquired.

You took a deep breath before explaining the events of the afternoon, beginning with Capt. Kirk's assignment of the Valentine's dance. Then you told him about asking Leonard to be your date for the dance, and how mortified you were when he declined your request. "The only relationship I have with Dr. McCoy is one of friendship. Though my feelings for him have gone beyond the friend level, I should have known better that his do not, and likely never will."

"To assume that Dr. McCoy does not think of you as more than a friend without his express verbal confirmation is not logical," Spock replied. "You must ask him how he feels about you."

"Since when are the human heart's desires logical? Anyway, I'm sure I've already embarrassed myself enough for one day. Permission to return to my quarters?" you asked.

"Permission granted, Lieutenant. I sincerely hope that your personal difficulties with Dr. McCoy will soon be resolved," Spock offered. "It is also not logical for two people as compatible as the two of you to be separated."

"Thank you, Commander," you remarked. "For your counsel and your understanding." You gave him a small smile, then left the lab.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You had almost reached your quarters when the captain requested you to come to his Ready Room. "On my way, Captain," you replied, tapping your communication badge. In your head you grumbled that you hoped his request had something to do with real work and nothing to do with Dr. McCoy.

In the captain's office, you were briefed on an upcoming Away mission, in which you would play a part. A fairly routine mission, you were tasked with gathering soil and mineral samples that would be catalogued upon returning to the Enterprise.

The area where your team would be working had been declared as deserted. That meant you would not be at risk of encountering any difficulties from any local inhabitants of the planet. All in all, a good mission to help me gain experience as part of an Away Team, you thought as you stepped onto the transporter pad.

You also hoped that going on this mission would also help you sort out your feelings about Leonard and figure out your next move. As much as you didn't want to, you were going to have to distance yourself from him. It'll only be for a couple of days, you reasoned. When I get back, Len and I should probably have a talk about what happened and what it means for us going forward. Decision made, you picked up your PADD and reviewed the parameters of the Away mission.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For the past two days, the MedBay environment was not the most pleasant place to be. Dr. McCoy had been more demanding and grumpier than usual. His staff had no idea that his thoughts revolved around you and how badly he needed to talk to you. He was trying to do as Uhura suggested, by giving you time to yourself. When he could no longer wait to speak to you and confess his feelings, he put Dr. M'Benga in charge and left the MedBay to find you.

He checked your quarters first, but when there was no answer, he figured either you weren't there, or you knew it was him and didn't want to answer. He left and headed down to the conference room, but no one there had seen you for the past couple of days. Finally, he tried the lab, praying to find you there. When he asked Spock where you were, nothing could've prepared him for the answer he received.

"What do you mean, she's on the Away Team?" McCoy demanded.

"I should think my response is fairly self-explanatory, Doctor," Spock replied.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "She's not ready for an Away mission yet, anything could go wrong down there!" he exclaimed.

"On the contrary, the Commander has proven to be more than competent in performing her duties. The captain and I felt that this relatively low-risk mission was the perfect one to introduce her to this aspect of her duties," Spock explained.

"Since when does something deemed 'low-risk' ever turn out that way? You don't understand, Spock, I can't lose her," McCoy implored. "Not before I've had a chance to tell her I love her," he whispered.

A faint smile graced Spock's features. "It appears I was correct in my theory regarding your feelings towards her," he answered. His tone that could almost be considered smug, if not for the fact that he was half-Vulcan. At the confused look on Leonard's face, Spock relayed the conversation the two of you had after he'd found you in the lab working.

"So she cares about me like I care about her," McCoy murmured. "What time are they scheduled to be back? I have to be there right when she gets back so I can tell her how I feel. I've already wasted too much time," he muttered, then jumped up from his chair. Before he could walk out of the lab, Capt. Kirk was at the door.

"Good, you're both here. The Away Team is returning to the ship ahead of schedule. It appears that they ran into some problems on the planet's surface. Something about a run-in with a band of native inhabitants," Kirk explained. "Possible weapons discharges and there may be injuries," he reluctantly revealed.

"StarFleet's report stated that the area in which the Away Team would be working was declared as deserted," Spock pointed out. "There should have been no reason for any discharge of weapons."

"You see?? This is exactly what I was talking about, Spock!" McCoy exclaimed, his arms waving in the air. "How could you send her down there, Jim? She's not ready for something like this," McCoy snapped.

"I chose the team based on their skills and how it matched the intel we were given. Do you really believe I like putting people I care about in harm's way??" Kirk retorted sharply. "I have a job to do, but so do the two of you. And right now, the Away Team is depending on you to carry out those duties to the best of your ability. The personal stuff can be sorted out later, all right?" Kirk barked. "For now, let's just get everyone home and safe."

Spock and McCoy nodded and each of them went their separate ways to begin assisting in the missions aftermath. Kirk was on his way back to the bridge, while Spock was gathering his equipment. "Captain?" McCoy called out before Kirk had fully exited the lab.

"What is it, Bones?" Kirk asked wearily.

McCoy walked over to join his captain at the door. "I'll be in the MedBay, standing by for any casualties," he replied, then started down the hall.

"Thank you, Doctor. And Bones?" Kirk added, causing McCoy to turn and catch Kirk's gaze. "She'll be all right. Besides, you probably owe her a dance, right?" he smirked.

"Among other things, Jim," McCoy admitted before finally resuming his path to the MedBay.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When McCoy returned to the MedBay, it was a flurry of activity. The casualties had already arrived, only three of whom were being worked on by multiple teams. Head Nurse Christine Chapel met him near the entrance to give him a PADD with a rundown of the injuries. He had just started scanning the list when he heard, "DOCTOR!! Dr. McCoy, we need you over here!!"

McCoy all but sprinted to BioBed #3 and was shocked at the sight before him. You were the injured party, with a stab wound to your left shoulder that had seemed to stop bleeding. There was a moderate head laceration near your hairline, but its bleeding also looked to be under control. However, it was the 6-inch gash across your stomach that was of utmost concern, because it was still steadily leaking blood.

"Oh darlin'," McCoy whispered as he pushed your hair back from your face and tucked it behind your ear.

"Hey, Dr. McCoy," you rasped, which sent you into a minor coughing fit.

"Shh, take it easy, sugar. We're going to take good care of you, get you all patched up good as new," he soothed.

"Len....'m sorry....about earlier," you wheezed but were thrown into another coughing session. "Ow, it hurts," you whimpered.

"Hold on, sweetheart, I'll get ya something to take away the hurt," McCoy promised. One of the nurses promptly handed him the hypospray containing the pain med. Leonard gently rolled your head to the side for better access to your neck. He pushed your hair out of the way and pressed the hypospray to your skin and delivered the pain medication.

When McCoy withdrew the instrument, he was startled when he saw your soulmark behind your left ear, a starburst that matched the mark on his wrist. It was you. You were his soulmate, the one he should've waited for and he was the one you were waiting for. As he stood next to you, he felt the bond between you grow, as it sent a wave of warmth through his body.

You somehow found his hand and took it in yours, giving it a gentle squeeze before dropping it. The movement and seeing your hand hang limply at your side was enough to snap Leonard back into action and tend to your injuries. "All right, let's get this bleeding stopped so we can close up this gash and clean up these other wounds," McCoy ordered, getting back to the task at hand.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For some reason, you couldn't move your right hand due to some sort of weight on top of it. You were having a hard time opening your eyes as well, though you did manage to crack them open halfway. There was an IV in your left arm and as for your right side, you smiled when you saw a familiar crop of dark hair. Leonard was hunched over the edge of your bed, his head resting on his elbows and covering your hand. You could only imagine how tired he must be after the events of the past few hours.

The Away mission was your first since you came aboard the Enterprise, and not exactly the low-risk scenario as mentioned in the file. The briefing said the area had been declared uninhabited, but the natives you encountered proved otherwise. Some of their weapons were rudimentary by StarFleet's standards, while others looked confiscated from other unsuspecting visitors.

You were the first to be attacked, by a stab to your left shoulder and blow to the head, then all hell broke loose. The wound in your midsection was caused when you stepped in to defend a fellow crew member. You were relieved when you saw the familiar surroundings of the MedBay, and even more relaxed when Leonard's face appeared. However, you'd have given anything to take away the pain and worry you saw in his eyes as he hovered above you, assessing your injuries.

Gingerly, you felt around on the bed for the call button, not wanting to disturb the doctor sleeping at your side. Your slight movement caused him to lift his head and for his eyes to immediately zero in on yours. A sleepy yet relieved smile graced his face as he slowly reached up with his right hand to cup your cheek. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," you whispered back. "How long have I been out?"

"About twelve hours," he answered. "You had me worried there, sweetheart," he murmured. "I thought I wasn't going to get the chance to tell you something very important."

"I'm here now, though. What is it you wanted to tell me?" you asked. You shuffled around in your bed, trying to raise yourself to a more upright position. Leonard saw what you were doing and helped to rearrange the pillows and angle of the bed to where you wanted it.

Leonard returned in his chair and pointed it so that he was gazing directly at you. He brought your hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it. "Ever since Jim handed me your file, I knew there was something special about you. I felt it when we shook hands in that transporter room, and I think you felt it too," he replied.

You nodded. "Felt like electricity shooting up my arm," you smiled.

"Exactly. The more I got to know you through the time we spent together, the more I believed in the idea of a soulmate. I only dared to hope you were mine. I saw the mark behind your ear, so now I know you that are the one I belong with in this life. Even without that, darlin', I fell for you anyway. Your kindness, generosity, your gentle spirit and so many more reasons are why I love you," Leonard remarked.

You could've been knocked back unconscious with a feather. Of all things you thought would happen when you woke up, a love confession from Leonard wasn't anywhere near the list. Although it made you happy to hear that he loved you in return, there was also a part of you that was having doubts.

Leonard mentioned that he'd seen your soulmark, and that he'd fallen for you anyway. Jim knew about the matching marks, and how you wanted Leonard to love you for who you were, not some cosmic tattoo. You'd put your heart on the line once when you asked him to the dance, and it didn't end well. Did you dare take that kind of chance again?

"Sweetheart, please say something," he implored hoarsely.

"Guess this means you owe me a dance?" you replied with a watery smile, as you decided to take the leap. "Len, of course I love you, and not because of some mark put on us by Fate. You are the one I've been searching for, and you're well worth waiting for."

That was all the confirmation Leonard needed, and more. He stood up from his chair and walked around to the left side of your bed. You scooted over a bit to leave room for him to sit on the edge of your mattress. Leonard placed a hand on either side of your face and tilted your head up to meet his gaze. As his left thumb gently caressed your cheek, you latched your hands to his wrists, with your finger tracing over his soulmark.

Leonard leaned his head towards you, tenderly brushing his lips over yours at first, then returning with more passion. His soft yet insistent lips moved with determination, expressing the depth of his emotions for you. When he nipped at your bottom lip, you gasped in surprise, creating the perfect opening for him to slip his tongue in to explore your mouth. Your sweet sound of pleasure that escaped seemed only to spur him on.

The kiss broke before the alarms could be set off on the BioBed for your elevated heart rate or any other escalated vital signs. Leonard leaned back slightly to give himself and you a chance to catch your breaths. He gingerly brushed the hair back from your face and tucked it behind your ear. "So beautiful," he whispered.

"And all yours," you whispered back. Your hand drifted up for your fingers to run through his dark locks, your nails scratching his scalp. The gesture earned you a deep sigh from him and he closed his eyes in contentment. "Have been for a while now, you know," you added. "I love you, Leonard McCoy."

Leonard opened his eyes and smiled softly. "And I'm all yours, my body and soul belongs to you. I love you too, sweetheart," he remarked as he touched his forehead to yours.

The two of you stayed like that, holding each other, until the sound of a throat being cleared broke the silence. Leonard turned his head slightly then rolled his eyes at seeing Capt. Kirk and Cmdr. Spock. The captain wore a look of smug satisfaction at seeing his two friends finally getting together. On the other hand, Spock's face held a look of concern about your recovery from your injuries.

"Guess you can't outrun Fate, can you, Bones?" Kirk crowed. "Seriously, though. I'm happy for you two," he winked.

Spock turned to you. "It would seem that you have received sufficient confirmation of Dr. McCoy's feelings towards you, correct?" he asked.

"Complete confirmation, Spock," you answered. "Did you come to gloat too, or was there something else you needed?" you inquired.

"Vulcans do not gloat. I am merely checking up on the health of one of my team members. It is fortunate that Dr. McCoy was able to successfully treat your injuries and put you on the road to recovery," Spock observed.

"Fortunate indeed," you concurred. Off to the side, you spied Uhura making her way to your bedside under what looked like quite a head of steam.

"I leave you two alone for five minutes, and you're down here causing trouble. Hi there honey, Dr. McCoy," Uhura greeted you and Leonard. Her words to you and Leonard were in direct contrast to those she aimed at Kirk and Spock. "All right, these two need their rest, so off you go. Bye sweetie," she winked. After your friends exited the MedBay, you and Dr. McCoy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Never want to be on her bad side," Leonard quipped. "Alone at last," he murmured, brushing the back of his knuckles on your cheek.

"Just the two of us now," you replied. You shuffled over further in your bed to make room for Leonard. He settled in next to you, curling his arm around you and guiding your head to rest on his shoulder. You slung your arm around his midsection and snuggled into his warm embrace. "Sweet dreams, Len. I love you," you mumbled.

"Goodnight, my love," he whispered, kissing your temple and closing his eyes.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tags: @marvelouslytrekking @spacedancer1701 @anna-phora @hailbop1701 @writercole @lassie-bird @huffle-pissed @phoenixisred @wayward-dreamer @erindiggory @strangesgirl @dumpsterhippie @genevablog26 @lokis-deares @medicatemedrmccoy​

[jazzyblusnowflake]

Can you make more Nuzi art please? I really like it- will there ever be nsfw Nuzi?

oh ill try my best :'''D

im happy alot of people like my work, but sadly like i mentioned before i am a teacher and unless its summer my life is usually really busy TvT

as for nsfw, im debating it tbh, usually my nsfw stuff goes on my nsfw twitter, but as of now- i dont have much intentions of making anything too mindlessly intimate with them other then the regular non-nsfw robot body nakedness yall normally see lol.

there really should be a 3d model released for the fans tbh 😒

but if i DO make anything nsfw- just like my previous nsfw works, id still post thumbnails of them here.

i do realize a lot of people say they like my version of nsfw where they don't rely on HUMAN body parts to do the nasty lmao- but the thing with that is i have my own headcanons that i really wanna draw out at some point- so its like: yes they can do that but actually also no- they can do other stuff too XD no spoilers for now but ill get to it eventually :p

[beesmygod]

old hunters DLC also highlights some themes of colonial violence and exploitation too, imo. what’s been done to the fishing village and kos ties the beast thing up with this idea that like, the impulse to Conquer and Dominate another leads directly to the Curse. It’s not enough to understand the old ones and the blood and all that, they needed to control it, to take it for themselves, and exploit it however they can. And now there’s wolfmans everywhere.

And this is in the core gameplay loop itself, we extract all the vials and blood echos and blood gems that we can in order to become strong enough to conquer more and more powerful prey. When we’re hit, we hit back harder and take back the life that was taken for us. Sure it’s ostensibly to Break the Curse and seek Paleblood and all that, but we know why we’re really doing it. Because it’s sick as hell, and feels awesome to best these monsters. The old hunters knew that too, and it turns them into giant horse creatures unable to do anything besides violence. That thirst for violence and power makes hunters turn into beasts, now only functioning as a cog in a perpetual violence machine. They lose their humanity not through repeated death like in Dark Souls, but through taking life. It turns the characters into monsters, and the players into wiki editors and lore theorists (aka monsters) bc we also can’t let go of the feeling Bloodborne gives us.

Tl;dr: Bloodborne is like if Spec Ops had any subtlety or desire to leave itself up to interpretation (probably helped by the fact that very little of what I’m talking about is likely intentional and I’m just insane)

OKAY im back from my appointment and finished my little treat. anon ("anon" @chicknparm who should get credit for these good thoughts) i could not agree more. i mentioned this in a previous post but finding a strand of commentary about the evils of colonialism made me worried i was becoming dangerously online, but it's a relief to see someone else mention this idea. i think you are absolutely right that one of the overt messages in bloodborne is that spilling blood for your own benefit leads to ruin. its actually kind of shocking how, in spite of the combat being the draw to these games, the message of most fromsoft games is a message of anti-violence. like, how many times do we end up fighting something that, in hindsight, needed to be put out of its misery. oh. shit. thinking about it, our player character is explicitly an outsider. the role of hunter of hunter is filled by outsiders...

also lol you are so right about the wiki based insanity but i think that's the consequences of insight poisoning. literally every once in a while while trying to edit this stupid bloodborne doc i think to myself "oooeergg too many eyes" and take a break for a few days

anyway, turning this back around to the colonialism theme, hear us out ok: watching/reading the sekiro lore videos/posts by shetani of shetani's lair helped introduce a lot of esoteric buddhist and shinto concepts that were totally novel and unknown to be as a baka gaijin. now these ideas are impossible not to see in all of from's other works.

i did a few days of research on "shinshi" (mostly a lot of stuff that turned out to not be relevant, but interesting) after becoming aware of them and found they shared a lot of qualities with the augurs (or "phantasms", invertebrates that act as intermediaries to the great ones) of bloodborne. realizing this, i thought about the great ones not in the context of a christian god, as the MODERN yharnam does, but as kami. kami are numerous, everywhere, hidden, and are thought of as actively controlling or influencing the terrestrial world. the re-translation reveals that the "great pthumeru chalice" had some nuance lost in translation: "祀る - Means to enshrine or worship, but has connotations of doing it to appease spirits so they may reach nirvana or Buddhahood and avoid becoming evil"; this is simply translated to "deify" which is technically correct but the original feels like it's much more pointed about finally revealing to the player that the "gods" as we've been lead to believe them to be are not what they seem.

the healing church, a product of georgian to victorian era western beliefs, razed pthumeru, loran, isz, and the fishing village (and probably yahar'gul too) in the quest to become like their newly discovered gods. the framework by which they related to pthumerian culture was completely wrong and misunderstood the nature of "gods" as all knowing or all powerful and, thus, something aspirational. the reality was more that they are just another type of creature in the world with different limitations than a human. and they're still mortal.

[oscconfessions]

Sigh... I'm gonna add my two cents about the Balloon arospec drama(I'm AroAce BTW) and by my two cents I mean I'll mention it two times and just talk about something else related. I'll also be providing some knowledge about AroAceness and all that.

For those of you who don't know,

Aro: Aromantic - Little to no romantic attraction.

Ace: Asexual - Little to no sexual attraction.

Aro+Ace are spectrums and aren't just "every Aro person doesn't feel any kind of romantic attraction" or "every Ace person can't feel sexual attraction." I feel as tbough people forget that all the time so I wanted to remind you lot haha.

I'm noticed this kind of drama a few times, where people argue about a character on where they are on the AroAce spectrum. It's difficult for me to put what I think into words here, but if a character(either canon AroAce or not) doesn't have a canon placement on the spectrum then whatever, go wild.

To help with my previous statement, I'll use SakiK from... SaikiK. People generally agree he's AroAce, yet people argue about where he is on that spectrum(mainly the Aromantic part). Since it's not ever stated where he is on that spectrum(or even if he is AroAce but SHHHSHSHHSH 🤫🤫), everyone has their own interpretation of it.

I believe it should be the same for Balloon, unless Balloon comes on screen and says "I am *insert very specific thing here* " as he points to a picture of the Aro spectrum then its to to you. Obviously, don't make him a sex crazed fiend or constantly searching for love, you eejit, but it should be up to interpretation.

A little off-topic here, sorry, but I wanted to bring up umbrella terms in both the Aro and Ace spectrums(I'm included ace because eh why not! This is for my people who HC Balloon as Aro AND Ace 🙏🙏)

Here are some terms under both the aro and ace spectrums. I feel as though you guys and many, MANY others tend to forget that there are umberlla terms for AroAce. I'll define them below:

Ace umbrella:

Aceflux: someone whose sexual orientation fluctuates but generally stays on the asexual spectrum

Greysexual: only experience sexual attraction some of the time, and sometimes not at all.

Demisexual: An individual who does not experience sexual attraction until after a close emotional bond has been formed.

Aro umbrella:

Aroflux: someone whose romantic orientation fluctuates but generally stays on the aromantic spectrum

Greyromantic: Some may feel a strong emotional connection with others but do not desire romantic relationships, while others may feel a weak romantic attraction to some people but not all.

Demiromantic: An individual who does not experience romantic attraction until after a close emotional bond has been formed.

Now, there are MANY more, feel free to add in the replies or the reblogs (o: !

Also, my apologies that this post was very long! Also also, my personal opinion on Balloons arospec thing? Idfk, lmao. TBH, this was kinda an excuse to just talk about stuff I like and am interested in so... 👍I've seen the tweet where one of the people who worked on II said yes, Balloon is meant to be Aro, but I couldn't tell you if they went into specifics about it. Sorry for constantly saying AroAce instead of just aro for Balloon, I felt like it was still important to include all my asexuals out there and educate others about it.

(BTW! Any inaccurate info, PLEASE, PLEASE correct in the replies)

Anyway!

TL;DR:

If a character who is just stated to be AroAce(not demi, grey, flux ETC) and never has their place on the spectrum explained whatsoever, it's okay to have a little fun experimenting with it IYKWIM. As I've stated, we all have our own interpretation of the AroAce character and there's no point arguing about it and getting mad because that's fucking stupid, unless they start actively getting rid of the AroAce rep then burn them to the stakes! /j

I know how wild you mother fuckers can be, so don't shank me please. If you disagree, take a deep breath and remain calm because getting all pissy about this isn't gonna do shit. Try to go about it calmly and reasonably. <3

I'd love to see others' opinions on this, remember to be respectful! 🩵

.

[reel-fear]

Wow, so umm... This looks bad, not only is it inaccurate due to using the wrong ink demon design [unless this is confirmation BATIM Ink Demon has been outright retconned... Which would make me pissed enough to make a new post just about THAT] but from an art standpoint this is just... Confusing and poorly done.

I wouldn't care if this was fanart, of course you should support young, indie artists... But for a Graphic Novel making sure your cover doesn't look like something Butch Hartman shat out in an afternoon is kind of important. Remember they're going to be asking us to give money to them to read this. The artist likely won't see any of that money and neither do the authors most of the time, not to mention this art screams of the artist being underpaid and overworked.

Like they Had to get something on someone's desk and their boss said 'good enough'. A concept Joey Drew Studios is very familiar with considering the allegations of poor working environments that Kindly Beast. Not to mention Mike Mood admitting in a Reddit AMA that they did in fact rush projects like Showdown Bandit. [Which they sold at full price]

He also says they can in fact say no or yes to designs involving their IP. Either Mike or Meatly had to say yes to this cover, according to his own damn words.

And do you really think this company in particular would care enough about its fanbase to not sell them garbage? They have done exactly that on several occasions. It's not like they care particularly about art either, considering their previous use of AI Art. There was no apology or even posts addressing it... Instead, they just rushed out an archives update to their game to get people to stop talking about it... Even forgetting an entire character in it. Again

This company is [or at least SHOULD BE] on thin ice when it comes to being suspected of misleading their fans or rushing out crappy products to them.

So with all that context in mind, I'm gonna talk about why this cover sucks ass.

The light sources are all over the place? Why does it look like someone put maces or knight armor on his shoulders but it's just flesh?? It looks both gross and weird [not in a good way either]

To explain more I'm going on a rant below but sadly this seems to have been confirmed to not just be a rough pass but the final cover and man... I am not excited about this graphic novel just at all. This felt like it really drained any possibility of it turning out good for me and I already had expectations low.

Okay first point, the light sources?? And there is no consistency here with the shadows or lighting, it looks like there's a hundred light sources all at once but none of them are even consistent!

the arrows here represent all the different light sources I can make out and yet the the shadow clearly implies there's only one. I understand wanting to use highlights to give the character a more clear shape but then just give him one or two lights behind him or in front of him? No matter how u follow the light sources, the highlights make no sense and the shadows make even less sense.

Why are the shoulders like that? Like on the legs it's a little understandable, at least those are clearly very heavily affected by perspective, for me I think they are so exaggerated it makes it look like one of the legs is either huge or one is small but that's maybe subjective.

However, the shoulders are unjustifiable, what happened there, what did they do??

I could pick on so much more honestly, how the color choices of piss yellow with no other colors being used, and the harsh pitch black being used for every part of his body is weird. How it looks straight out of Butch Hartman's recent crappy art. But to put bluntly bad start! Also what the HELL is going on with this background??

Seems once again the Bendy team is fine with sending out stuff thinking it's "Good Enough" for Bendy fans and honestly the people trying to tell me to "Be Grateful" for this are just proving that no matter how many times you betray your audience some of em will defend you!

Which is sad tbh. If anything we should be putting MORE pressure on the Bendy team to do better. Cause we deserve better than this, honestly we do. There are amazing artists in the bendy community who could do so much better for a cover. They've employed their fan artists before... Wouldn't it be great to do that for such a lore important book? The book that gives us the identity of one of the main characters in BATIM? The character you spend the entirety of Chapter 4 fighting to save? Not to mention will give several major characters their human designs?

But I guess this is... Good enough...

[starryficsfinishwen]

✧!。◟[NSFW] ʟᴇ ᴘᴇᴛɪᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴇʀᴏɴ ʀᴏᴜɢᴇ — Von Negut x reader [PGR]

[ doubles as Halloween and 100 150 followers special! ]

“Bonjour, petite fille... Pourquoi marches-tu dans la forêt toute seule?”

a.n. - why does Tumblr have no option to react to comments LOL I'd like to thank the ones who reacted to the previous post and motivated me to make this one happen! I'M SORRY AGAIN FOR BEING SO LATE. I have finals in one-two weeks but hi I'm here LOL I also haven't edited this yet, I still have stuff to write notes and study but YOLO This was also planned to be the 100 followers special but yall. it grew to 150 already LMAO Im so thankful, thank u!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pairing - Wolf!Von Negut x f!human

words - 7,522

warnings - MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. NSFW THEMES: virginity loss, corruption kink. blood and murder is involved. dubcon. mentions of murder. cunnilingus. porn with plot LOL

special mention - banners belong to @/saradika!

Your mother warned you not to stray from the path.

In your little town, the one you've grown up in, dense green foliage covers the borders. During springtime, flowers and pollen would fill your noses, and the sun is kind to let your laundry dry faster. In summertime, the trees give off cool air for you to sleep in late into the morning. Orange leaves that fall to the ground become the children's plaything, when autumn drenches your little town in cinnamon brown and orange hues. However, in the winter...

“Another victim!” cried out an elderly man as he wrapped the dead body in a thin sheet of cloth, “dear God!”

Townsfolk would gather around the center of the town square, as a dead body mauled to death would appear once a week during winter. Blood and broken bones paint the cobblestone, signaling the beginning of yet another cold winter.

You bring your red cape closer to your neck, the winter air shivering you to the bones. You look away at the horrendous sight of the dead body by the fountain, to which you've known the victim was once your playmate during your childhood years.

“It's those damned wolves!” one of your neighbors proclaimed, unsheathing his sword from his scabbard, “we must hunt them down while it's daylight!”

A murmur erupted amongst the crowd. Wolves— wild creatures that were the king of the woods. However, they are feral in nature, and they are unkind; they murder everything they see and soak them in blood. Once, they only hunted farm animals that the townsfolk had been taking care of (you remember the sheep your father once took care of; its wool ready to be sheared the next summer, yet it never came because its little body was never to be found, apart from the large, animal-like footprints left behind from its pen). Until one day, a human body would appear. And that was the day they all realized that the wolves were now hungry for human blood.

“It is daylight,” called out another neighbor, “we must hunt them down now!”

A ripple of cheers throughout the crowd. Men raised their weapons and lit their fire, holding it up into the air. Lingering through the crowd, countless cries mingled with the somber fury of men. You wish to run away from this sight, were it not for the hand that held you tight.

“They are idiots,” your mother, who lived half of her life in this small town, muttered. “Why should they risk their lives for something trivial like this?”

You wanted to retort, that a human life had died unwillingly to death, but you only grasped the handle of your bucket tighter. This, indeed, only interfered in your daily chore of fetching well water.

“I see your father in the crowd,” she sighs, the creases in your forehead somehow making her look older, “make sure he won't join them in this madness, will you, child?”

You nodded timidly. Although you wish to support the cause, your own kin's blood is far more important than anyone else's. As you prepare to wiggle out of your mother's grasp, the townsfolk suddenly fall silent; ominous, yet full footsteps from the cathedral, not too far from the towns square, echoed loudly.

A man draped in a long, black liturgical vestment, a bible in hand and a large cross hung across his neck. Behind the priest, a regal young nun with blonde hair and green eyes followed closely. Their presence alone made the whole town quiet down, parting to let the priest closer to the mangled body.

You've seen them so many times, yet their wonders still surprise you— the priest opens his old bible, the edges of the book fraying out. He holds onto the cross, steadying it just above the body, muttering a psalm with his eyes closed. The nun would pull out a small glass container, pouring the holy water onto the corpse, and it was set aflame— the townsfolk shrieked in surprise, yet the priest and his nun only stood without any reaction.

They have, after all, been the ones to clean up the messes of murder.

“Do not act so rashly, my brethren,” the priest spoke quietly as he gave the bible to the nun, “the creatures of darkness should not be sought; lest they return us the favor of more bloodshed.”

The people around the square quieted down. Slowly, some returned back to what they were originally doing, even your father who reluctantly went back inside the comforts of your home, until all that was left in the square was the priest, the nun, the ashes of the corpse, and the man who cried out for a hunt. The priest muttered to the man, one that you couldn't hear, but it must have infuriated him as he drew out his weapon and trudged north of the square.

You hear several of your neighbors starting to whisper again— something about being unfortunate, something about being the next victim.

“Well, that's the end of it,” your mother sighed, nudging you in the direction of the well, south, “your chores can't wait forever, dearie.”

Right. You forgot you weren't some omniscient god. You quickly picked up your buckets and walked south. But your eyes still lingered at the ashes that were picked up by the nun in her hand, unable to look away at the immense sadness reflected on her somber green irises.

You trudge forward.

Being a nun in your small town didn't seem bad. However, your mind often wanders to a future where you were in love with someone, bearing his children and living a long, loving life, despite not having a potential husband yet, that is— something that a nun cannot have, due to their devotional marriage to the Almighty.

These thoughts linger in your head, as you hum a worship song along the way, your two empty buckets clanking with your every step. It wasn't a long walk anyways, the well was now closer.

The noises in the bushes say otherwise.

The hairs on your neck prickle— you were aware rabbits occupied the area, their little paw prints digging into the snow during winter, but such noises were incapable of being made by such gentle, little creatures. You quickly pick up your pace, tugging your cape closer.

The bushes kept ruffling until you reached the well. When you look back, you only find your footsteps in the path, and the bushes were bushes. Breathing a sigh of relief, you do your business, tying your bucket and into the well.

“Aren't those buckets too heavy to carry, miss?”

If you think about it, they are— but not as heavy as your body, jumping to the sudden voice talking to you.

“W-what?” You put your hand to your chest, trying to steady your erratic heartbeat, “who's there?”

A leather shoe steps out of the shadows, before the voice reveals itself. He wore a white dress shirt with a large v-shaped cleavage dipping to his abdomen, his suit slung between his shoulders and flowing to the back, tucked neatly with clean black slacks. His eyes are a hazy shade of grey, dark hair slicked back. You've known all the faces in your little town, but with a face chiseled by the gods themselves...

He's not from this town.

“Apologies,” his lips started to move, face contorted with genuine worry, “I did not mean to scare you. The buckets you carry awfully look heavy, and I wish to help.”

Why was such a man here? You quickly stood to your feet, shaking your hands, “This has been a chore I've been doing since I was a child. You, sir, make me worry; why are you here? Are you lost?”

The man's stares linger, on the cape you wore, chuckling at your words, as if dismissing your warning. “I am not lost, little lamb. I happen to stumble across this area.”

Little lamb, it seemed to fit you as a nickname. All the other kids used to call you weak way back. But now it's different: the lady in red. But you shook your head, trying to forget the awful memory, “Do you wish to find shelter, then? I can ask the good ladies to provide you lodgings until you are ready to leave. You are not safe here, so may as well seek refuge.”

“Why?”

You ponder. Does this man not know about the rumor that circulates to the nearby towns?

Looking deep into his eyes, you mutter, “there is a wolf around the area. I suggest you leave before the day ends.”

In the middle of the darkness, sunlight peeks through the shade of the leaves. They highlighted the contours of his face. For a moment, you nearly miss the unreadable glint in his gray eyes and seemingly sharp teeth. But as you blink, his expression is nothing but confusion, as if he looked like a lost child.

“A wolf?” He hums, “ah, so the rumors were true. That sounds quite...saddening.”

“So you have heard,” nearly forgetting your task, you quickly carry your buckets once more, looking away from the charming man, “since you are well aware of the dangers here, then you should leave, good sir.”

“I'd rather you stay alive than to be an unknown victim in our town.” you added, before trudging through the path you came from.

A shame to leave him hanging, but you value your safety and mental health (even as you walk, you hear the incoming sermon of your mother). Out of the blue, the heavy weight in one of your arms disappears.

“Then that means I should at least help you with this, hm?”

You see him clear— pale skin, white teeth, sparkling eyes— in pure daylight, as he carries one bucket effortlessly.

“At least you and I can be safe from the wolf now, isn't that right, little lamb?”

Heat rushes to your cheeks, hearing those words from the stranger. Shaking your head, supporting the weight of the only bucket you had in hand now, sighing.

“If you are not from this town, then let me introduce you to some ladies in town to let you rest. I feel bad when I let others do all my tasks.”

He laughs— heartily, it makes your tummy jump, you thought you heard heaven— “your kindness baffles me, little lamb.”

“I am only repaying what you have given to me,” You admit, smiling at him genuinely, “you are the one who is kindly carrying my bucket.”

“It is not heavy,” He mirrors your smile, and you nearly miss the sharp teeth, before it somehow turns back to human ones, “I see that you were the one struggling.”

You laughed before looking elsewhere, “I should probably give you something else, then.”

“Please, this is not a favor,” He stops before placing the bucket on the ground, “consider it as...a welcoming gift.”

He flashes you one last smile, before gesturing to the front. Confused, you turned to the direction he pointed— townsfolk going about their day, the children that were playing, and the fountain that seemed good as new, as if nothing happened earlier.

Turning to thank the stranger, you realize that he had long disappeared. Only the bucket that he helped carry remained.

Despite his sudden departure, a part of you had clung into some hope that he was safe. Maybe not in your town, but somewhere. Amongst the trees were other residents who grew tired of the fear that circulated within your little town, hoping that some were kind enough to let him in.

Fortunately though, the murder stopped. Usually, another body would have popped up in the town square, but instead, a yet-to-be lighted pine tree was erected near the fountain.

On another note, garlands of garlic and a symbol you couldn't recognize was carved onto the wooden posts standing by the entrance.

“It's to scare the wolf,” your father said after another work day, drinking from a bottle of ale that your mother prepared, “the priest commissioned us.”

The bucket of water seemed a bit heavy, several days after the kind stranger helped you. A greedy part of you wishes to see his ethereal face, but the rational one is too wary.

“He won't come back.” You said to yourself, disappointment tugging at the back of your throat, “He probably left town at this point.”

The rustling of the bushes behind you nearly scared the soul out of you. You think it's the wind, but the rustling only grew louder.

Raising one bucket to your chest, you prepare yourself to lunge at the upcoming threat in case it would jump out of its hiding spot. When that time came, you closed your eyes instead—

And a strangled, poor mewl of a cat was heard instead.

Opening one eye, you peeked to see a small kitten, perhaps smaller than the bread you consume every morning. Baby eyes peer at you, one more choked cry spewing out of its lips. Your heart crumbles at the poor creature, putting the bucket down so you could cradle it in your blemished hands, tucking it in the safety of your cape.

Too busy comforting the creature, you never noticed the looming shadow behind you.

“What a poor cat.”

You nearly threw the small creature in your hand. Looking back, your heart rattles as you lock eyes with the stranger from before. A part of you sighs in relief, partly to see that he was well and the other being relieved he was back, while the rest of your body shakes from his sudden arrival.

“Dear sir!” you breathed, fingers finding comfort by patting the kitten's soft head, “Please do not scare me like that. I do not know if I have a bad heart, yet.”

The pretty stranger laughs (at this point, you ask yourself if it was normal to have an upset stomach just from hearing his melodious laughter). Kneeling next to you, he stretches his hand out to the kitten in your hand, slender fingers caressing the area in between its eyes and its forehead.

“What a gentle, yet fragile creature.” He whispers, as if the words were only shared in between the both of you, “Pray tell, how did you find him?”

Ah, so he likes cats as well.

“He was mewling when I found him. I saw no signs of the mother.”

His eyebrows were stitched together, a subtle frown on his lips. Was this regret written on his features?

Fishing out something from his pockets, you trail his movements carefully as he pulls out a piece of meat, enough to fill the kitten's little stomach.

“I figured this would come in handy,” he chuckled, feeding the piece to the cat, “He needs it more than I do.”

You missed his words, instead, you were intently looking at his actions. “He is a he...?”

“Ah, so you have never known what gender cats bear?”

Timidly, you shook your head. “If the cat bears litter, only then will I know that they are a female.”

Golden eyes shine mischievously in the dark. Chuckling once more, he caresses the cheek of the kitten, to which the latter rubs against his fingers. He reached out, a strand of your hair in between his fingers, bringing them to his lips.

“How innocent you are, little lamb,” he whispers, “did your mother not tell you to talk to strangers?”

“She has, but if you were a demon, wouldn't you have killed me right now?”

His smile made your stomach churn, heartbeat skipping lightly in joy, “Quite perceptive, I like you.”

You giggle, “My mother tells me that, too.”

You bring the kitten to your eye level, a pout on your lips, noticing that you were going to be reprimanded should you bring an innocent feline in your raucous home.

“Little lamb, what's wrong?”

“I am afraid that I cannot bring this little one home. My family will be angry at me.”

The stranger sighed. Gently taking the warm cat from your hands, he smiles at you.

“I shall take care of him for you, then.” He spoke, “Only...”

Curiosity outweighs the warning signs flashing in your mind. You quietly asked, “Only...?”

“Will you come and visit me here, when you tend to your bucket? You shall see this creature whenever you like.”

Your heart leaps out of your chest as joy overwhelms you. No longer worrying about the poor kitten, you bowed to the stranger, thankful for his kindness.

“I still cannot believe how naïve you are, Little lamb.” You heard him mutter, but you paid no mind.

When you came back to the village, you failed to notice gray eyes following your every move.

You did your chores diligently. After all, you were a keeper of your word.

Almost everyday, you were rendezvous with the stranger, eager to care and see the growth of the kitten you found. At some point, you no longer questioned the history of the strange man; how could you, when it already felt like you were raising a family with him?

“Like a good mother,” he complimented once, “you take good care of things.”

Heat would rush to your cheeks, tummy fluttering with what you believed were an ache, were a bunch of butterflies taking home there, alongside your thundering heartbeat. (You would slap yourself, too, confusing the stranger and your family.)

Did you like the stranger? You never realized that the thought was buried in the back of your head, then. But all the same, gray eyes you came to remember would visit you, even in your wildest dreams.

On one particular day, while you were getting ready to fetch some water and meet with your stranger, your mother stopped you.

“Dear child, I'd like you to not do that for today.”

“But,” you paused, hands gripping the buckets, “is there something wrong?”

“I'd like you to take a day off, have your brothers do that chore,” she reached out to hold your shoulders, smiling, “spend a day with your dear mother, hm?”

But how could you inform the stranger you were with these past few months, when you were going out with your mother?

In the end, you couldn't get away; instead, she dressed you in your best ones, face coated with makeup you despised, and before the day ended, you found yourself sitting in front of a man you've never met before, a ring on his finger.

“[Y/N],” his honeyed words were nothing compared to the man in the forest, but the ring on his finger looked awfully more expensive than your life, glimmering and glinting as he announced, “we shall be wed soon, my bride.”

And your fate, though unfortunate, was sealed.

--

“You weren't here yesterday.”

You flinched from the tone of your friend, the stranger, as you picked up the fast growing kitten in your arms.

Even the cat noticed your distraught, licking your thumb. “I'm sorry...my mother did not make me leave the house.”

It wasn't a lie; after all, you hadn't left the house until you were being dragged to the saloon, your husband-to-be waiting for you.

“I really wanted to talk to you,” you added, twiddling with the kitten's tail, “but my mother...”

His gray eyes were...bleak. Looking at you with noticeable exhaustion, the man could only sigh. “I thought you broke your promise. You already know what would happen...”

You wonder how to break the news to the man. Aware that your attraction to him was more than what friends would feel, your heart crumbles at the thought of telling the truth.

“Dear sir...”

When he looks up, there was a small smile on his lips. “Little lamb, there is something that I must show you.”

Gently pulling you by the hand, you clutch your cape as the winter air seeps into your skin, trying to catch up at the speed of the man. By the time he slows down, you nearly forget you're human, legs surrendering from the exhaustion.

Thankfully, the man caught you first.

“I am sorry,” he said, as if he hadn't run so fast, “I forgot you aren't entirely athletic.”

You smiled at him, looking down to find the little kitten was snugly fit in his breast pocket, mewling contently.

“You can put me down now, dear sir,” you blushed, coughing, “I can walk on my own.”

“Nonsense,” he mirrors your smile, “let me carry you until we reach our destination.”

“Is it very far, then?”

Carrying you like a bride, he shook his head, a small smile on his lips, “We're quite close.”

The warmth and comfort as he carries you effortlessly, the smell of fresh pine and creeks— you could get drunk in this smell forever. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, trying to sneak your way in smelling more (it's too late; the stranger already knew.)

“You may open your eyes now, little lamb.”

You do. And you were not mistaken—

A field full of roses. Dressed in snow, it was the first time you've seen such a magnificent color, like blood, bleeding onto the white. When the stranger puts you down, your legs find themselves running to the field, eager to witness such beauty amongst the winter land.

“How...” words died in your throat, “How did you find something like this?”

Wordlessly, the stranger sits beside you as you fiddle with the flowers, fingers playing with your red cape, “I've told you; I'm a wanderer.”

Sometimes, you thought about your luck that was down the drain. But when you think about the stranger, the cat, and this beautiful scenery, a stray idea came to you, that made you look at the ashen-eyed man— what if you were to run away with him right now?

He looked back at you, piercing eyes glimmering as he slowly leaned to you, aware of how your breath was fanning his lips.

“Little lamb,” his words were your Achilles' heel, the sound of his voice dipping enough to make your heartbeat louder, “Pull away, should you not like what I will do next.”

What does he do next? Gently, softly, he presses his sweet lips to your inexperienced ones. Shortly, sweetly, with his eyes closed, it made yours flutter before surrendering to the feeling of the kiss.

You should pull away. You should have. You had a groom waiting for you at a church, the wedding a few days away. But was it a sin to kiss a man, a stranger you had fallen in love with, to wrap your arms around him, innocently and carelessly but passionately, as the kiss deepens? His heartbeat and yours in sync, your lips exploring whatever was there waiting for the unknown, his hands on your waist, holding your cape, breathing into each other's warmth— was it really a sin?

The stranger pulls away, somehow aware of the lack of oxygen, with a little whine from your lips, you almost made yourself want to hide away forever. But he only laughs, fingers caressing the apple of your cheek, a butterfly kiss on the tip of your nose. It was the first of your many kisses— and it made your stomach flutter wildly, your legs trembling from want.

“How cute,” the stranger chuckles, “And I thought you were innocent, little lamb.”

“I-It's my first time!” you mutter, looking away from his teasing expression, “I've never kissed anyone before...”

He leans closer, lips touching your cheeks, your jaw, feeling him smile as he inhales. “...do you regret, then?”

Do you? Your nails absentmindedly caress the nape of his neck, trying to look around but him. “No...”

“Good, because I want to kiss you more,” he admits, light kisses on your jaw, “God, it's all I want to do with you.”

His body presses more on you, and you only succumb to it— his warmth, his touch, his kisses. You wanted more, every part of you aching and aching until your body was screaming—

“Let's run away together.”

Your breathing chokes on your throat. Looking at him, his expression is serious and unwavering, your heart beating and breaking at the same time.

He moves and you're kissing him again. You forgot it's your first time, you forgot that he was a stranger— the pretty stranger was the water and you were drowning endlessly in him.

The kitten in his breast pocket mewled. It made you pull away. And reality, although painful, began to catch up with you.

“Little lamb?”

His gray eyes were looking at you with worry. Breathing unstable, you try not to let the tears prickling your eyes escape.

“Dear sir, I'm...sorry.”

“Why...?”

You try to drink all your regrets, pushing away the only warmth in this long, cold winter.

“I can't be with you.”

You don't remember what happened after.

You remember walking back, the warmth being overridden by the cold winter, your red cape dragging through the snow. You remember thinking that your mother would be mad at you, for not returning before sundown, that you should be preparing to meet with your betrothed. But to break your heart and the stranger— should you still call him that?— was far too much for your mind, that you had no emotion left whatsoever, to face what was waiting for you at the village.

Your footsteps are heavy. But at least, the light of the village was already bright. Wait, bright? Trudging through the thick snow a little faster, you hear incoherent cries and screams. By the time you reached the source, you felt someone grab ahold of your arm, causing you to yelp out loud.

“Where have you been?” Your mother's voice causes you to panic, poison dripping from her words, “You nearly made me have a heart attack!”

Your mother holds you by the chin, forcing you to look at the crowd by the square, seeing faces of horror amongst familiar faces. “Should you have shown yourself,” your mother sneered, “You would have been the talk of the town.”

With an opening from the crowd, you finally understood what your mother meant: the priest and his nun, an erected torch in the middle, and that horrid scene you thought you were done watching.

Another dead body. This time, their head was cut off.

---

How were you to know what happened next? Your mother forbade you to leave the house, fearing the wolf would hunt for another. Even all the other activities, including the meet-up with your betrothed, were canceled. You spent the rest of your days waiting, and waiting, unaware that you were supposed to meet with the stranger and fetch water from the well.

The stranger...the stranger you had fallen in love with, the stranger you thought you could run away with.

You sleep through your pain.

Until the days were slowly counting down to the wedding.

“[Y/N], dear,” one day, your father called you downstairs, “Will you please come and meet me here?”

When you did, you were greeted with a big basket, red cloth peeking in between the cover and its mouth. You noticed your mother and father were the only ones waiting for you in the living room, holding the basket together. You wanted to ask.

“It has always been our tradition to bury the flowers we grew before a member of the family were to be wed,” your father spoke, “Aa a tradition to honor our forefathers, we would like for you to do the same.”

“Your wedding day will be tomorrow,” your mother said, “and the priest already allowed us to leave the village, as long as you return before sunset.”

Ah, the wedding. How many weeks have you been holed up in your room, that you've forgotten?

“Not only that, your grandmother lives near the place we do the tradition. We'd like you to extend our invitations to her.” Your father added.

Your heart skipped a beat. It meant you were going to pass by the well, to meet your stranger. But your heart quickly sank— forgetting you've rejected him. There was a high chance he had left. Quietly and compliantly, you picked up the red cape you'd been wearing during your rendezvous and carried the basket that your parents had prepared.

“I'll be back before sundown, then.”

“We love you.” You don't miss those words, before the door closed on you.

The smell of pine trees on your cape still lingers on your cape.

With the first snow falling, your walk to your grandmother's cottage is far and long. But you don't mind, as the scent on your cape kept you company.

The basket is heavy in your hand, but you don't mind. It reminds you of the cat you found that day, and you wonder if it was now as heavy as the basket you carried. How was he? Is he safe? The stranger, will he not be mad after what you said?

It made you sigh from sadness. At the well, he was never there.

“Little lamb,” he would have called you like that, “what a kind little girl you are.”

His voice lingered, probably something that made you remember things. You remember the smell of pine trees on his fingers, the gentleness of his hands as he held the cat— onto yours. The way they easily slotted in between the gaps in your fingers, while you both lay underneath the kind sun, creating angels out of snow.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

The way he spoke of your nickname, his touches and teases. It was taunting, it was teasing, but it was all you had. His warmth close to your freezing one, tender arms wrapped among yours.

“Little lamb, little lamb,” the lilt of his tone, the way it tickled your neck, the way it traveled to your tummy, “A pliant, little girl of mine.”

Your memories morph into something else— an image of you, in between his hips, your dress dangerously lifted up your stomach. His hands were holding you by the waist, your arms on his shoulders. In your memory, you hear yourself in a tone you would have recognized as something so indecent, something so intimate. Calling the stranger with gray eyes and slicked-back dark hair in a name that you don't recognize, but somehow knew.

“Von Negut,” how vulgar, the name of someone you never recognized, “more, please.”

Do you remember something like this? When your mouth was on the stranger's lips, the way you grinded on his thigh, sultry moans you never knew that you could make—

You tripped on the snow, causing you to wake up from the memory you had. Catching on your breath, trying to grasp reality, you immediately notice that you toppled over your basket. But thankfully, the flowers in it were still intact. Shaking away the sudden fall, you try to move your body, but down there...you disregard it, as the cold was already disturbing you enough. You prepare to advance forward.

But to your surprise— grandmother's cottage was already in front of you.

---

For as long as you remember, your grandmother was the one who gifted you the red cape.

“It's to protect you from the wolves,” she said, “and you look prettier in red.”

You hoped it was true. Especially with all the murders.

“Grandma,” you called out as you knocked on the door, “It's me, [Y'N].”

A few more knocks should have made her open the door. But on your fifth knock, your grandmother had not made a sound inside. Quietly, you opened the door with a secret that your grandmother taught you when you were younger.

By the time the door opened, you were met with silence and darkness. “Grandma?”

Walking through the wooden floor, your step creaking, you look around to see if your grandmother is asleep. Eventually, you found yourself in her living room, where someone was sitting on a chair facing the windows.

“Grandma?” You called out once more.

“Hello, dear little red hood.” A nickname she fondly called you.

“Hello, grandma. I'm sorry I took so long, that I wasn't able to visit you.”

You quickly placed your basket on the nearest table, rushing to meet your grandmother, but she raised her hand midway, causing you to stop.

“...as much as I want you to pay your respects, dear, I would refrain you from doing so. Grandma...is not feeling well.”

You only noticed the gruffness of her voice. Bowing your head (with a little disappointment), feeling bad for her, wishing you brought medicine as well.

“What brings you here, child?”

“I wished to see you,” you began, “...and I wanted to tell you...to come and visit the town tomorrow. I will be wed by noon.”

A pin-drop silence enveloped the room before your grandmother cackled.

“Marriage, huh?”

You sigh wistfully, the stranger you met crossing your mind, “I...yes.”

“Who is the lucky man?”

“I have never met him before. But my mother said he is the son of one of the best hunters in the region.”

“Does not sound very convincing, tch.” You noticed the anger from her tone, but still, you did not mind.

“Pray tell, dear,” she began once more, “Along the way, did you want this marriage?”

The stranger. The kitten. Your heart and mind. They were all finding someone else. “No...I, I cannot say...”

“Did you not really dream of anyone else, hm?”

Did you? You suddenly remember the lewd thought you had earlier, of the name you called, which made your cheeks flush red, and down there...

“Tell me, little lamb, did you not think of me?”

You froze. No one else called you that nickname. Looking up, the person sitting on the chair finally revealed himself.

The stranger, with sharp teeth and blood in his mouth.

“S-Sir?”

“I wondered when you were going to show up, little lamb.”

With every step he took to you, you would move backward, until you bumped onto the table. Without wasting any time, your stranger pressed himself to you, caging you in between his arms, making you scream.

“Did you miss me?”

“Y-You're the wolf?”

“And here I thought you were glad to see me,” tenderly, like before, his fingers grade your jaw and lips, hungry gray eyes looking on your lips, before staring at your eyes. His fingers found themselves taking a strand of your hair to his lips.

“Marriage, it's a shame.” He chuckled, pressing a kiss to your hair, “I mean, he'd be lucky to have my little lamb as his wife.”

You're shaking in his arms, afraid and somehow aware of his size now that his jacket is out of the way, muscles and skin showing and touching yours. Down there, your legs tremble, and you try not to cry from being intimidated by this bloody man.

“But no marriage would happen tomorrow anyway.”

“Wh-what?”

Pulling out from his pockets, the sunlight glints at the gold band on his fingers, bloodied and gone.

“D-Did you-”

“-kill the man? I would be ruthless; of course not. I merely bullied him to give me the wedding band.”

Like your moment at the rose field, the stranger nuzzled his nose to your cheeks, making you sniffle your cries. “I've been waiting for you for a long, long time now, little lamb.”

Pulling away, pity and sadness were reflected in his eyes, a small frown on his pretty lips. Taking your hand, slipping in the bloody ring on yours, he began to speak.

“Do you know what I had to go through?”

Timidly through your tears, you shook your head. “N-No...”

“Wolves feed on human blood. Without it, we would die.”

He gently kissed your fingers, before whispering, “It was hell; trying to kill just to survive.”

A part of you somehow pitied this man. But he ruthlessly and mercilessly murdered every man in your little town. You looked at him as he continued to kiss your fingers.

“There is a solution to this problem, though.”

As if finding eureka, your stranger's eyes glimmered brighter than the ring you had in hand.

“I had to find my mate.”

His fingers were brushing away the tears streaming on your cheeks, kissing them away, “...and she happens to be you.”

He kissed you. Lips stained with blood, that you could taste in between breaths. But unlike his nature, he was kind, he was still so gentle.

“My little lamb,” he whispered in between kisses, “Be with me, or...”

His lips were now kissing the area underneath your ear, before threatening, “...I will murder everyone in that village.”

“No!”

With all your strength, you push him off, knocking the table and the basket in the process. But your attempts were futile; he grabbed your cape, causing you to fall onto the scattered flowers on the floor. Screaming and crying through the fear, you helplessly tried to shake out of his hard grasp on your arms above your head. But he already had you pinned in between his body.

“Ah, ah, little lamb,” He teases, “I'd rather you not do that.”

He leans down to you, lips capturing yours. You are helpless in his grasp, with nowhere left to run. His kiss was fiery, passionate. You were afraid, but the way that you molded perfectly onto him, the heat pooling at your legs, his weight above you; you could only pull away for energy, before being kissed once more.

“Von Negut,” you unconsciously cried out, mouth clamping for being carelessly moaning out loud when his leg brushed you down there.

He froze. Looking up, you swore his fangs were showing.

“So you remember,” he grinned, “I am glad I didn't have to introduce myself again, [Y/N].”

He knew who you were, like how you knew who he was before. The memory from earlier resurfaced, and you could only whine from the way he was kissing and teasing you with his lips.

“Let me touch you, little lamb,” he murmured, which you unconsciously opened to him, “let me show you that you are mine.”

His knees found themselves slotted in between your slightly exposed bottoms, your skirt now on your stomach. You try to wiggle out of his grasp, but with Von Negut tearing apart your blouse with one hand, you are more exposed.

“Beautiful,” he inhaled through your bra, burying himself there, “Mine.”

It really was too much: the heat, the wetness pooling down there, and his lips latched on your chest as he stripped you bare. Weakly, you cried out to stop, tears now endlessly crying as your voice turned into helpless moans.

With his free hand, he slipped it in between your thighs, prying your legs open. Neverminding the undergarments as he effortlessly tore them once more, his fingers were toying with your drenched thighs, purposely avoiding your neglected clit.

“Fuck, already wet?” Von Negut chuckled, “What a naughty little slut you are, little lamb.”

Embarrassment flooded you endlessly. His fingers finally decided to play with your wet folds, every sound echoing throughout the room. But just when you thought it was over, Von Negut hovered over to your exposed cunt, mouth drooling as he looked at you: disheveled and confused, amongst the fallen flowers on your back.

“This is mine too, hmm.” Licking one long stripe, you moaned his name out loud, fingers threading his now unkempt hair.

“V-Von Negut, n-no, it's too dirty there...”

“But doesn't it feel nice, hm?” He digs into your pussy, kitten licks on your clit as he played with your sopping wet hole. “You must be lying; you taste heavenly.”

Von Negut felt like he was in heaven at this point. Watching you writhe as he expertly and sloppily ate you out, forgetting the aching tent in his pants. Right now, what you wanted, was to prepare you for something big.

But with you moaning his name without any filter, then God, he was ready to cum right there and then.

“Mmh, look at this, such a virgin little hole, too,” He eases two fingers in, and fuck, it was already tight, with you crying from the pain.

“N-no more, p-please...”

“Little lamb- ah, please stop moving, mmh-” He tries to slip in one more finger, but you wouldn't stop moving. With two fingers, he curled it just right, as you arched your back with a moan.

“Von Negut, no more...!”

“You're coming now, aren't you, little lamb,” he laughed, watching as you bit your teeth, watching in the next few moments before you would come undone.

“W-what's happening?”

You wouldn't know, but Von Negut does. “Cum for me, little lamb.”

Per his instructions, your pussy clamps on his fingers, liquid coming out endlessly as you came violently, coating his hand. Von Negut laughs at your misfortune, but you-

“So, goddamn beautiful, little lamb,” he cooed, trying to call you back to reality from your first orgasm, “we're still not done...”

When he pulled his fingers out, your hole was still clenching around nothing, only igniting the thirst he had for you. Watching as you weakly turned on your stomach, crawling away, Von Negut takes his time, unbuckling his belt, revealing his massive, leaking cock.

Grabbing you by the hips, he drags you closer, cock rubbing in between your ass, making you whimper. “If I put this big thing inside of you, I'm going to make you my woman, hm?”

You turned behind him, watching it in between you, rubbing it against the good parts, “W-wait, will that even f-fit me?”

“You're my good little lamb,” he cooed, tip rubbing your overstimulated clit, “I'm going to tear through your hymen, you won't be a virgin anymore. You're going to be my little lamb, my little cocksleeve.”

His words spurred you on, hole clenching once more around nothing, “N-No, please-!”

“You'll take it like a good fucking girl.”

Without hesitation, he plunged the tip into your tight ring of muscle, your voice crying out from the pain as he sank into you, some blood gushing out, with cream forming from where he fucked you. He was supposed to let you adjust, to let you get used to his girth. But fuck, you just can't be still- your cunt asking him to fuck you more, to suck his dick deeper onto you. With a loud moan, Von Negut bottoms out, the tip hitting your g-spot.

“V-Von Negut-!”

You came violently once more, fluids coming out of your newly-claimed hole, tears and shaking as proof of your defeat. Von Negut should be smiling, then- after all, he was finally yours, as much as you were his.

“Little lamb?”

But you weren't listening. Instead, you subconsciously grind on his dick more, whining impatiently. “Nngh, p-please.”

“Fucked out already, hm? Fuck, and I thought you were so innocent”

Effortlessly turning you to face him without getting you off his cock, Von Negut finally sees your beautiful tear-strained face, helpless as he fucks you properly this time.

Was it always this blissful? Every noise and sound that Von Negut could coax right out of you was perfect. That his mate, the fated red hood, the panacea of all his problems, was finally his to take? Fucking you deeper and harder now, he presses a hand on where the bulge from fucking you was seen.

“Little lamb, [Y/N],” he called out, noticing that he was ready to come, even if he was seeing the expression on your face, “I'm so close...”

“P-please,” you lulled, brain fogging from the pain and pleasure, “V-Von Ne-Negut,”

The clench of your pussy, the way you called his name, and the way his cock was pistoning in and inside of your used pussy— fuck, that was all it took for Von Negut to moan your name and fill your insides, painting your walls white, overflowing, even before he hadn't pulled out yet.

With a sigh, he comes back to Earth, watching as you ride out the last of your orgasm. Pulling out, as messy as it was, with his cum dripping out of you, he tries to succumb to the urge to fucking it back inside. Von Negut carries you in his arms, carrying you to the spare bed he had prepared. You must have been exhausted, seeing that you couldn't open your eyes as he carried you.

“I hope the prophecy was right, then.”

Your mother once told you not to stray from the path.

But you were far from the path that was laid out to you. Somewhere amongst the dense trees of spring and summer, or the fallen leaves in autumn, and the cold in winter, you settled on a cottage far from the village. There, you could clean, cook, or sleep whenever you wanted,

It could be lonely, but it's not all the time. At least, when you're a ghost.

If you ever find a man in the woods asking to help, decline the offer. Unless you want to be a victim of his whims.

“Little lamb,” he'd call you that, “I hope your mother told you not to stray the path.”

please like and share!! likes, shares, reblogs are appreciated!!

>> starlillies <<

[theambitiouswoman]

hey there. i'm just 19 years old and been trying to find my way around things. i've been feeling really terrible lately. my situation's a bit messy.

i have a habit of comparing myself to my peers a lot. not to mention i have some addictions i must get rid of, like spending my time daydreaming a lot, which really affects my schedule. my mother would compare me to my peers when i was really little, and i think it grew on me, and now i'm starting to realize it as i grow up that it's stuck to me.

i couldn't do well with the university exam, so i'm taking a gap year to retake it next year. i feel like a failure sometimes. there were so many things i could have done as a high-schooler, but i just wasted my time. i succeeded in some stuff, yes, but i don't feel like i'm ready to be an adult yet. i feel like i should be knowledgable more, i feel like i know less than i should, and it's killing me inside.

i'm sorry if it's just ranting, but that's about my situation. your account is full of useful information and encouragement, do you have any previous posts/suggestions that you could give me? thank you in advance. i hope you have a nice day.

Hi angel,

At 19, it's normal to feel uncertain and overwhelmed. Remember, you're still figuring things out, and it's okay to take your time. 19 was one of my favorite ages, for no particular reason other than it was fun and I felt like an adult. I certainly had nothing together. My parents would have loved a lot of things for me at that age. Married to the boyfriend I had at the time because it was a huge sin to them based on their religious views, which in retrospect would have been a huge mistake.

Comparing yourself to others is common, but try to focus on your own journey. We normally compare ourselves because we don't have a set plan for our lives with clear goals and intentions. I am sure your mom means well, and its normal for parents to have the same expectations for all of their kids, even though they are literally different people. But everyone has their own path, and what matters most is your progress, not how you measure up to others. You cant let yourself feel bad for meeting anyone else's expectations.

I always tell people to not compare someone else's highlights to your life because life has its ups and downs, and you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. We all have different lives, different qualities. Maybe what took someone else x amount of time and effort to accomplish, is something that is a strength to you and you can accomplish it in half the time, when you are ready.

All you can do for yourself is really focus on you, learn, prepare. Train your brain into processing things faster so you can evolve faster as a person in your brain.

If you know you have some negative habits you want to work on, like daydreaming, you can start taking action and maybe setting small goals to manage your time better. Focus on the things you want to improve about yourself instead of feeling bad about yourself for it. You already know the problem. Maybe working on these issues opens your mind and your live to different opportunities. We have to learn to overcome obstacles, not just physical but mental. This creates a ripple effect not only with our thought process, but our physical actions and in turn attract different realities and opportunities.

You are an individual. You are unique and special. Comparing yourself or living up to someone else's standards for YOUR LIFE when they don't have your strengths or brain, or potential is doing a huge disservice to you. We cant abandon our strengths, we need to discover them. When we abandon them, we are basically abandoning ourself and who we could be for the sake of someone else.

Taking a gap year to retake the university exam is a smart choice. It doesn't mean you're a failure; it's a chance to improve. It is actually great that you recognize that you want to be better. Most people take a gap year anyway. Who says you can't? Why would it make a negative impact on your future? That is simply NOT TRUE <3

[crazytogether4l]

"Will they?" "Won't They?" Don't Worry My Loves, They Will ;)

Scroll down to see an analysis of who the heck the duffers could be calling a "will they" "won't they" couple. The first section is basically just context with some of my thoughts so feel free to read that as well! <3

On November 5th, a day before Stranger Things Day, the official Stranger Things twitter posted a thread of tweets replacing Steve's iconic 'boobies' quote (I have no idea how else to describe it lol) with various fandom inside jokes and comments like that. Here is the order/content of the tweets!

Okay so, the ships/people mentioned in the previous tweets were Steve Harrington, Lumax (WE LOVE LUMAX, Lucas + Max), Erica, Will Byers, The Byers, JOPPER (WE LOOOVVVVEEEEE, Joyce + Hopper), Murray, Dustin (DUSTYBUUUUNNN), AN ANONYMOUS COUPLE WHICH I WILL TALK ABOUT, and then El.

I find it very interesting that they put the mystery couple directly before el, it's kind of like establishing Els independence for the upcoming season!

Now, what in the world is a "Will they" "Wont they" couple, and who could the duffers be describing?

So this is my understanding of the basic characteristics of a "will they" "wont they" couple;

Romantic chemistry shared by both people

Relationship is threatened by all of the following;

Uncertainty

External obstacles

Internal strife

Romantic tension that remains unbroken or unresolved

Now let's compare this list to different st couples the duffers could be referring to, I'll try and remember all of them but there are a lot so lmk if I miss any! To check the criteria I will name a couple or ship, say their status and go through the criteria as it relates to each! Each couple must meet all the requirements of a "will they" "won't they" ship to be considered as such.

Which ships will I be counting? I mean, the criteria are automatically biased based on my perception of the show, so I'm trying to use solid canon evidence that the couple either is romantically involved or at least one person in the ship is romantically interested in the other. Both characters also have to be a part of the main teams of s4 like either the California (mike will el Johnathan argyle), Hawkins (Dustin steve robin Lucas max nancy erica), or Russia crew (joyce hopper neil murray). (I'm excluding Eddie because he's... well... not a contender anymore). For example, Milkvan would count as a valid ship to consider because , they are dating, but a ship like Dustin and Lucas wouldn't count (only for what I'm trying to do here, ofc I think every ship is valid as long as its respectful, everyone has their own headcanons and I support all of your perceptions of the show ofc <3) because there is no canonical evidence to support this being a possible romantic pairing in the show. Anyway, let's get started, if you have any questions on how I determined if a ship could be considered or not please feel free to message me, I love talking to all of you! Oh also I should clarify as well that I'm only counting ships that have both parties alive (with the exception of max who we aren't sure is alive or not)

Couples I'm choosing not to include (but still meet criteria to be considered): Duzie, dustin and max, robin and vickie (because vickie isn't a part of the main groups and I don't think that their relationship has built up long enough to be considered a wtwtc, however, if you disagree id love to talk about it!)

Color code: True False Is a wtwtc is not a wtwtc

COUPLE Jancy (Johnathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler)

STATUS Dating; They have been dating since season 2 when they got together after an interrogation from Murray. In season 4 they struggled with maintaining the relationship due to the long distance, but when they reunited this was mostly resolved, still some stuff was left up in the air with stancy and all.

CRITERIA (1) Yes there is romantic chemistry (2.1) No, there is no uncertainty with the validity of their relationship. While they may be struggling to figure out how to maintain their relationship, there is no uncertainty about whether or not they are in a romantic relationship. (2.2) Yes, there were external obstacles such as stancy but those obstacles have been resolved and are no longer affecting the couple. For example, will going missing and steve and nancys relationship count, but both of those obstacles have been resolved (2.3) No, there was no notable internal conflict besides shared trauma and anxiety about approaching their feelings for each other. (3) While there is romantic tension between them, the tension was resolved by them getting together and becoming a couple officially

While there is romantic chemistry, the ship did not fulfill all requirements to be considered a "will they" "wont they" couple

COUPLE Stancy (Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler)

STATUS Ex's; In season one, Nancy and Steve were in a relationship. They broke up after Nancy called their love bull shit at a high school party. There is some romantic tension again in s4, though it doesn't really go anywhere, at least directly.

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is romantic tension. Especially in season 4, there are numerous moments of sexual tension. (2.1) Yes, there is uncertainty with the validity of the relationship. However Steve wants to have his "six little nuggets" with Nancy, but we as an audience can visually see how that future doesn't excite her. Steve still loves nancy but nancy does not love steve, no matter how much she hopes she does. (2.2) Yes, there is an external obstacle, Nancy and Johnathan are a couple so that is an obstacle that would get between them from being together. (2.3) No, there are not a ton of moments of internal conflict. Steve potentially likes Nancy again and Nancy doesn't feel the same IMO but even considering that, there is no internal conflict that is a barrier between a platonic or a romantic relationship. (3) No, there is no unresolved sexual tension, as they have already been in a relationship

Jancy does not qualify as a will they won't they couple, they have already been in a relationship, and the romantic tension was already broken so there's nothing new romantically to build up that hasn't already been done.

COUPLE Lumax (Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield)

STATUS Ex's, Romantic interests, kinda unclear lol; Max and Lucas got together at the end of season 2, when they kissed at the Snowball. They were dating throughout season 3, however, in the beginning of season 4, we see max isolating herself from the party, and therefore we as an audience understand that Lucas and Max were not together romantically anymore. It wasn't until we see them at billys grave and we also see Max and Lucas together at the Creel house (Lucas asking Max on a movie date) when we finally see them express romantic interest in each other again Not super related but this is a parallel to Jopper with Enzos and the fact that they couldn't go on their date because of multiple obstacles (like Joyce standing hop up to figure out why her magnets weren't working, and hop going to Russia causing everyone to think he was not alive anymore)

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is romantic tension between Lucas and Max (2.1) While there is uncertainty with what Lumax's future will look like, there is no uncertainty with whether the romantic feelings they have are requited or if they have the potential to be in a romantic relationship because they already have been in a romantic relationship. (2.2) Yes, there is one big external obstacle which is max literally being in a coma lmaooo (2.3) Yes, there are internal obstacles Lucas and Max struggle with regarding their romantic feelings towards each other, especially Max. Max isolates herself after she experiences the trauma of witnessing what happened to billy and she experiences symptoms of vecna's curse, basically she's being vecna'd and that causes her to suffer mentally and therefore she isolates herself from the party, especially Lucas. (3) While there is unbroken romantic tension that came up in s4, Max and Lucas already dated so there is no new romantic tension that could be potentially broken here. "will they" or "won't they" couples are typically built up over numerous seasons, so the previous romantic history between them would disqualify them from being considered a "will they" "won't they" couple.

Lumax can not be considered a "will they" "won't they" couple because they do not fulfill all of the criteria to be considered a wtwtc, and even if they did I don't think that lumax would be the wtwtc they were talking about because they were already mentioned in Stranger Writers' thread as an official ship

COUPLE Mileven (Mike Wheeler and El Hopper)

We already know that Mileven is not a "will they" "wont they" couple because they are already in a romantic relationship, but I'm going to pretend like I don't already know that because its good practice for me to be able to be more open to other perspectives of the show and also I think its important in general to analyze the dynamics of their relationship anyway :)

STATUS Dating; (I am a passionate byler shipper so I will try and be as factual as I possibly can) Mike and El kissed towards the end of season one but didn't get together again until the end of season two when they finally went to the snowball together. El dumped his ass in season 3, Mike said "I love her and I can't lose her again" in a heated fight with the group, and they got back together at the end of the season when El said she loved him too and kissed him. In season 4 we see them struggle with managing the distance as well as discovering their own identities. Mike has trouble saying 'I love you' to el (he is discovering his sexuality simultaneously... regarding his feelings for will), and El is not receiving the type of love she wants and needs from mike. At the end of the season, we see mike and will stand together and El stands alone, which foreshadows an independent El for season 5.

CRITERIA (1) This is something that is super controversial in the fandom, and as a byler supporter I personally don't think that there is any romantic tension between mike and eleven, but I will try and look at it from multiple perspectives.

As a byler supporter, what I see is a longing for romantic feelings, especially from mike. Mike wants to fit in and his role models are nancy and his parents, both of which have been in toxic relationships and fake love (stancy) and that is all mike knows about romantic feelings. In season one people continue to accuse mike of having romantic feelings for el. When Mike first meets el, he treats her kind of how he would treat any other peer, like showing her his toys and being nice and letting her sleep in his basement. The romantic implications of that don't even cross his mind until Lucas and Dustin point them out. There is a huge difference between the was Lucas and Dustin interact with el, and the way mike does. Lucas and Dustin think, oh this is a girl, omg a girl in mikes basement. But mike is focused on finding will, and El could lead him closer to finding him. Mike claims that he has always loved el, but he literally tried to get her to go back to where she came from in their first few moments together. Like we don't see Mike actually push for El to stay until she recognizes will in that photo. Lucas, dustin, even his older sister Nancy all ask him if he likes el romantically. I think this gets in his head a lot, which causes him to kiss her at the end of the season. In season two at the end of the season we see mike sulking at the snow ball. I think mainly this kind of had to do with the fact that will was out dancing with a girl and he felt jealous feelings but didn't understand why or what that meant. That is my perception because of the headcanons I have of byler but if I'm looking at it from a mileven perspective then it was because he assumed she wasn't coming. Personally, I don't think this is why because he knew she was back in town and she was okay and there must have been some communication about whether or not eleven was actually going to the snow ball but either way she showed up and we see his face change. Then right after we see El walk in and I think he uses the shame from his jealousy to motivate him to do romantic things with el, but that could just be my opinion because thats what I believe in my head lol. For el, she only really starts expressing romantic interest in mike after she starts watching soap operas. Mike kissed her in s1, and when she sees couples kissing on the tv in s2, she has a realization that maybe that was something couples do so that means that she likes mike... right? Or does she have this thought because she doesn't have any other exposure to what romance actually looks like? Its an interesting question to dive into, and I'll go in more detail in a future post if anyone would be interested in that. I think something that is very telling is the mileven breakup in s3. This scene has been analyzed over and over again, but in general, the way she says "i dump your ass" so easily and then laughs about it on the bus with max is very telling. Like idk about you but if I was supposedly in love with someone it wouldn't be that easy to just dump them and then giggle about it a few minutes later. In s4 we see el being very inauthentic, like for example she looks at the note on the flowers that says "from mike" and then puts on a fake smile. And over the season we kind of see this fake smile start to break down until she stops talking to mike altogether at the end of the season. At the end of the season El knows that Mike can't give her the love she needs. The fact that he says I love you, which is what El wanted to hear, but she still gives mike the silent treatment after his confession and we don't see them talk for the rest of the season? Like I love you is what she thought she needed but it didn't fix anything because she knew they were just empty words said in the heat of the moment, just like how he said "I love her" in the heat of the moment in season 3. There is soooooo much to talk about, especially in season 4 and season 3, so let me know if you want more of this because I have a lot to say but I should get back to the topic of this post <3

(2.1) No, there is no current uncertainty regarding the validity of their relationship. As an audience, no matter if there is a deeper meaning or not, we know that el has said I love you to mike and mike has said I love you to el. No matter if those words are true or not, we as an audience are expected to believe this as canon and therefore their romantic feelings for each other are not uncertain after Mike said I love you to el. (2.2) Yes there have been external obstacles, however, at the end of season 4 these are all resolved to our knowledge. El is back in hawkins with mike. The only other obstacle I can think of is will, but neither el nor mike are aware of his feelings for mike, so I would save this for a potential season 5 obstacle. (2.3) Yes, there are internal obstacles. Mike is having a hard time saying I love you to el because of internal hardships regarding his sexuality, and el is not receiving the love that she wants or deserves from mike. This is the opposite of a will they won't they couple, this is incompatibility and its obvious. (3) No, there is no unresolved tension. Mike and el have both said I love you, kissed, and had a relationship, there is no tension that needs resolving anymore, if anything their relationship is getting boring at this point IMO (no hate to milevens at all you all are totally allowed to love your ship <3)

No, Mileven is not a "will they" "wont they" couple because they have already broken the tension that is needed to be considered one and they are already in a relationship

COUPLE Jopper (Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper)

STATUS Dating; I think Jopper has always been a will they wont they couple. There has been romantic tension with them since the beginning. Joyce has always been comfortable just walking over to hopper, speaking her mind. We see them start to form an emotional bond over season one. Then throughout the seasons, they get closer which leads up to hopper asking Joyce out on a date and they plan to go to Enzo’s but the plan changes when hopper disappears to Russia at the end of season 3. Season 4 they reunite in Russia and release all the sexual tension by making out in the warehouse thing. It’s a lot more beautiful than that but I have a migraine and can’t think of a poetic way to write that lol.

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is soooo much sexual and romantic tension between joyce and hopper!!! Literally in every single season, especially season 3 and the end of season 4! Theres no other explanation needed :) (2.1) No, there is no uncertenty with whether Joyce and Hopper like each other romantically or not. We know that both of them like each other and they both have expressed romantic interest in each other. (2.2) I mean besides bob in season 2, and basically the entire world ending, there arent too many outside obstacles currently at the end of s4. Hopper was like kinda gone in another continent for most of the last season though so that counts. (2.3) Yes, there are internal struggles. Hopper struggles with grief and for most of season one and two joyce was emotionally unavailable due to the trauma of losing her son and people telling her she was crazy. Both of these characters love each other, but they are both so scared of losing the ones they love that they love, they cant bare to give all of their love to each other just to have It ripped from them all over again.

This is off topic but this inspired me to talk about loss throughout the show, which is centered around loss. Thats what its all about. The first ten minutes show a a family, a friendgroup, even a whole town that is greatly affected by the loss of a boy. Especially in season 4, I think that the major theme throughout the show was the fear of loss, especially around the idea of love whether it be platonic love or something more. Max distanced herself from the group, partially because she was afraid of causing even more pain and loss than she felt she already had. El was so scared of losing mike, like we can see her desperately trying to be worthy of his love. She wrote to him like every day, she lied to seem cooler than she was, she faked smiles to make sure everything was perfect. Mike is probably the one most affected by the fear of loss in my opinion. His best friend went missing and he thought he was dead, then el went missing, then will almost died again in season 2, then el almost died in season 4, like the amount of times mike has had to deal with the idea of his friends leaving him is very sad. I think a lot of this stems from his childhood. Will is also scared of losing others, especially his sister and brother and mike

(3) No, the tension was broken when they kissed in season 4 lmao. Also when they kept talking about their date. This was a hard couple to debate on, especially since they were a will they wont they couple in the past, but I think because they already broke that tension, and its canon that they have romantic feelings for each other and they have done romantic things together, there is no uncertainty if they like each other more than platonically. I think that jopper is like the original "will they" "wont they" couple, and then that romantic tension was broken and now they're just a slow burn romance! Ugh I love them so much I could talk about them for hours :) If anyone wants to talk about them id love to!

This was a difficult one to determine but since there is no uncertainty with whether their romantic attraction is requited, and the romantic attraction has been acted on, I do not think that they can be considered a "will they" "wont they" because like, they already DID if that makes sense!

COUPLE BYLERRR! (Mike Wheeler and Will Byers)

STATUS Best friends, potential love intrests, gay as hell; Its currently canon that Will is in love with Mike (confirmed by noah schnapp), however it is not yet canon if mike is romantically interested in will (even though it couldn't be more obvious). There is sooooooooo much romantic tension between the two, not to mention the COUNTLESS parallels between them and other couples from the show. Not only just from stranger things, but actual canon gay couples from OTHER SHOWS! Like the duffers put a lot of thought into their parallels. Its truly beautiful, like they are the best slow burn gay romance in all of tv history. Its undeniable.

CRITERIA (1) YES OH MY GOD! There is soooooo much romantic chemistry between the two! Like especially from mike.

BEST FRIENDS DONT LOOK AT EACH OTHER LIKE THAT! tHEY JUST DONT! THEY ARE BLUSHING LIKE NO BODIES BUISSNESS AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT EACH OTHERS LIPS AND THIS INTIMATE MOMENT IS BROKEN SUDDENLY, JUST LIKE SO MANY INTIMATE MOMENTS IN THE SHOW!

Like, come on... theres just so much evidence that they are in love, not to mention all of the "intimate moments" and parallels to other couples. I could go on and on! (2.1) Yesssss there is uncertainty and loooaadddssss of it! The beautiful thing about byler is its up to interpretation. Neither of them just comes out and says out front they are in love, will uses el as a cover for his own feelings, and mike just is scared to be vulnerable about how he feels because of external and internal homophobia. Both of their romantic feelings for each other are shown not only through just words and physical communication, but also through symbols, set, lighting, music, etc. Their story is left up to interpretation because that's just accurate to the time. We are unsure if both of them love each other canonically, but we can feel it, that's the beauty of the show. We know that will is in love with mike. Thats canon. But mike, mike's story is so accurate to the struggle of growing up as a gay kid, and many adults who have grown up in the 80s have said that they identify themselves with mike and wills story! Like as a queer person who grew up with similar feelings to mike and will, its just beautiful to watch their love story unfold despite all of the obstacles they face. (2.2) EXTERNAL OBSTACLES! SO. MANY. EXTERNAL. OBSTACLES. I mean, this is a gay love story about two gay boys in the 1980's, a time when homophobia was experiencing a spike due to the HIV crisis and hate crimes and everything of that sort. And not to mention that mike is in a relationship with wills sister, so even if mike broke up with el, will getting together with his sisters ex boyfriend is kind of a betrayal to her so there's a sense of guilt or shame that's added on top of the feelings he is already having. And for mike, he has to navigate the fact that he cant say I love you to his girlfriend because he already loves will. Also he doesn't know will loves him so he assumes that he has no shot with him anyway. Not to mention all of the supernatural struggles that come with their feelings for each other. Like in season three and two, a lot of the times mike and will have an intimate moment he then feels vecna. Also the fact that will is literally being brainwashed by vecna for like half the season. Also the bullying in seasons one and two when the boys, especially will, have been called homophobic slurs their whole life. This causes shame and guilt for who they are, which makes them hesitant to acknowledge their feelings for each other.

(2.3) INTERNAL OBSTICLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! SOOOOO MANY! First of all internalized homophobia, which mike sufferers from a lot! Its shown throughout the show in so many ways. First of all, mikes relationship with el is kind of an avoidance tactic for mike, as well as a safety tactic. He uses his relationship with el to convince himself that he is in fact straight and he does everything he can to be perceived as straight, even by himself. For will, there is so much shame that has been thrown at him his whole life. Not only from his father but his peers. He has been bullied his entire life and so has mike, they have experienced homophobia their whole lives, which has caused them to believe that they themselves are the problem. And there's a whole other struggle that especially affects mike, which is heteronormativity. The minute he showed el any kindness at all, everyone started asking him if he liked el and were calling her his bf and stuff like that. Hes lived in this headspace that in order to be seen as 'normal', he has to be straight. Like he thinks that getting a girlfriend and giving up on the 'childish' things he enjoyed as a kid like dnd is all a part of growing up. There's just so many internal struggles with both of them, especially in regard to their romantic feelings for each other. (3) No, the romantic tension has not been broken yet! There is sooooo much tension and so many scenes where they seem like they are about to kiss or about to confess their feelings, but they are interrupted by a person, a noise, etc. They are so in love I love them so muchhhh! Like for example the bedroom scene when they're like "I didn't say that" and mike is like "you didn't have to". Like that scene is a direct parallel to another gay ship that KISS after they exchange their little "cool", "cool". But for byler that tension is interrupted by the van arriving, like there are so many examples of this throughout the show! I could go on and on about byler so let me know if you want me to discuss this more :)

Yes, Byler is a "will they" "wont they" couple! While many of the st couples have fit under the "will they" "wont they" umbrella at some point in the show, the unknown romantic aspect of their relationships have all been resolved except for byler! And even if jopper counted as a "will they" "'wont they" couple, the st twt still mentioned them in the thread before they mentioned the will they wont they couple, so it wouldn't make sense for jopper to be referred to twice in the same way.

So to kind of summarize all of those words, byler is the only "will they" "wont they" couple in present-day stranger things canon, which therefore is EVEN MORE evidence that byler will be end game. Especially because the way the line is used in the first place, like steve saying that Vickie obviously likes women, and then that being true in the end, it shows how byler is also true and it will happen! I hope all of this made sense! Sorry this is pretty delayed after the thread came out, I've been so busy and also trying to add to this post as much as I could over the past few weeks haha. If you have any fun things to add or stuff you want to discuss please do! I always love talking to you all. As always, much love to everyone <3

[silverypebbles]

WQAU Jayfeather and Jay's Wing

As I mentioned in my Hollyclaw post, Jayfeather is going through some weird time travel possession stuff during po3/oots and I thought that Jayfeather's time torture deserved its own post.

So Jaypaw is first sent back in time into Jay's Wing's body during Outcast instead of Long Shadows, and instead of Jaypaw walking into the tunnels in the present and out of the tunnels in the past, Rock basically triggers a stroke in Jaypaw's mind, leaving him malliable enough to mentally transport temporarily into the body of Jay's Wing, who was in the tunnels at the time. Jaypaw does not consent to this by the way.

Jay's Wing is not Jayfeather's previous incarnation, he's just some poor dude that Rock picked out of convinience. Jaypaw possessing Jay's Wing's body essentially tears both of their minds apart and patchworks them back together, with parts of the other cat's brain thrown in for good measure.

Instead of The Ancients leaving solely due to prey shortage, Furled Bracken (who is now the equivalent to a Stone Teller) has a vision of the sun disappearing from the sky a few days after Jay's Wing emerges from the tunnels. The Ancients immediately decide to cast stone about what the fuck they should do and Jay's wing ends up as the deciding vote. He chooses to leave after realizing that these cats are the ancestors of The Tribe of Rushing Water.

Also this wasn't just one clean trip, Jaypaw was there for about a week total, but every day or so was being dragged back to Thunderclan for brief spurts of consciousness before Rock gave him another stroke, desperately trying to keep Jaypaw back with The Ancients.

So when Jaypaw returns from this experience, it's easy to say he's been completely rewired. Leafpool tells him that he's been unconscious for a whole quarter moon and Jaypaw tells her everything.

Leafpool freaks out a bit and that's why she was so quick to drive Sol out later in the book.

Every aspect of Jaypaw's mind has bits missing, bits out of place, bits that were never there to begin with. Jaypaw is increasingly frustrated that everything about himself has been tainted and replaced, he doesn't know what parts were Jay's Wing and which parts are him, and to make things worse the whole clan notices immediately that Jaypaw is not the cat he was before his stroke and they start walking on eggshells around him.

Jaypaw takes weeks to physically recover enough to leave the camp (regaining awareness, relearning movement and balance, figuring out how to understand what anyone is saying ever, etc.) but he's never going to recover mentally from his brief time as Jay's Wing.

But wait! There's more! During Omen of the Stars, when Jayfeather is with The Tribe (this is the first time we've travelled back to them since The New Prophey in the WQAU), Rock comes to him for the first time in years and tells him that "he's sorry to do this again", and triggers another stroke, sending Jayfeather back into Jay's Wing's body. Instead of being frequently pulled back to the present, he stays continuously in Jay's Wing's body for days, and he begins to think that he's trapped forever.

So with the thought that "oh I guess I'm never seeing my friends and family again" Jay's Wing allows himself to fall for Half Moon, while also helping The Ancients sort out their inner conflict about leaving the mountains (also he's not the one to teach them everything about their own culture that's dumb as shit in canon).

Jay's Wing sees the spirit of Rock in the cave and Rock tells him that his time is up with The Ancients, Jay's Wing is furious, ripping into Rock for splicing his mind when he was just a child and for destroying every part of himself that he thought he knew.

Rock apologizes again and tells Jay's Wing that the reason his stay has been continuous this time is because his body as Jayfeather is too weak to drag his mind back, if Jay's Wing stays here, Jayfeather will die. Rock says that Jay's Wing cannot be sustained if Jayfeather dies and he wishes he didn't have to put Jayfeather though everything that's happened to him.

Jay's Wing pleads for just a few minutes to say goodbye, and Rock melts into the shadows to let Jay's Wing make his peace. He tells Half Moon that his destiny lies somewhere else, and if he got the choice, he would choose to bring her with him. Half Moon becomes the Stoneteller and Jayfeather returns to his body, still in The Tribe's cave.

Although he only has one stroke this time, his mind is totally spliced with Jay's Wing. He can't walk and has to be carried home the whole way, and when he returns to Shadowclan, he asks Blackstar for permission to retire once he trains an apprentice to replace him (Flameflower/Flametail of course drowned before Jayfeather came to Shadowclan and Littlecloud probably couldn't handle the whole clan by himself), and Blackstar agrees, promising him an apprentice from the next litter born (that cat ends up being Ryeheart/Grassheart).

That's all I have to say about Jayfeather's time travel stuff for now, he's got other stuff going on unrelated to this, but this is just covering the Jay's Wing stuff.

Anyways ty for reading and if you have any requests or questions relating to the WQAU just send an ask ^^

[mirror-to-the-past]

More (Apparently) KH3:Remind and Melody of Memory Stuff

Spiritually pounding on the windows of the Square Enix building- what do you MEAN I find out via YouTube that there's story cutscenes locked behind those egregious Data fights?? (That I'll personally beat... someday...)

(I also just went ahead and watched all the cutscenes for Melody of Memory, because I didn't want to play through a $60 rhythm game, sorryyy)

But first, Re:Mind and its sneaky, sneaky cutscenes...

Everything with Yozora has me Bonkers. I can't believe they've done this. Echoing Sora's first line in the series "I've been having these weird thoughts lately" through his own side of the story, him saying that he doesn't look like how he appears, the 'why do you know that name,' the "save Sora" while immediately drawing a gun on the man in question?? I'm just... *screaming noises* They're bringing everything together with the fiction versus reality stuff they have going on, and guys, I get SO excited when some games go meta. I'm squealing like a little girl; I'm ecstatic. Despite Sora being in (what I now know as Quadratum) and the background of the Yozora fight reflecting that, I can't help but wonder if it was another internal fight due to the arena switching to Sora's Heart Station for a second, akin to Roxas' fight in KH2.

And the music was so pretty... Yozora has a gorgeous theme. The prettier the battle theme, the more insane the KH fight, I say.

Also Riku was dreaming of Sora for a year. Lmao. He just... didn't say anything about it, while everyone was busting their asses. I'll be honest, literally the only way I could take that is that he dismissed his dreams as irrelevant- ah yes, dreaming of Sora? Nothing crazy to see here. Oh, Riku.

Also more importantly than Riku's angst deal- KAIRI WAS LAUNCHED INTO SPACE WHEN SHE WAS A PRESCHOOLER TO ACT AS A KEYBLADE WIELDER HOMING DEVICE, JESUS CHRIST. Kairi 🤝 Megamind 🤝 potentially Superman (I'm not a comics guy):

Getting launched out of their home planets into space in order to escape the destruction of their worlds, given vague and confusing scenarios and instructions to adapt to once they find a new planet, but they really just wanna chill and be loved and keep people safe.

And she's gonna train with Aqua! :D Another professional at getting launched into other worlds (realms). I hope she bonds with Ventus, as I've recently been made aware of their similarities in disposition, and how they are treated by others (hearts of pure light, designated by their groups as "the one who should stay home/be protected", wavering self confidence in their own abilities and self worth). Additionally, the hilarious potential scenarios of Kairi being like "yeah, and my favorite color's actually-" and Ventus interrupts with "Purple. I know," because the man essentially vicariously lived Sora's childhood. I'm super stoked for future Kairi screentime! Loved when she saw Xehanort in her memories and was like 'I don't care if you're a memory, data, manifestation of my heart or any other thing- I hate you, get out of my life forever. Hugs and kisses, die.' Like, 10/10, girl. Fair. Kairi's a volcano wrapped in a sweet package ready to snap at someone.

Riku's like "Y'know Ansem, I'm gonna miss you... 🥺"

And Sora's like "Xemnas, stooop all the violence. How can you take advantage of people with hearts? You should feel your feelings. You're valid, bestie. ☺️"

Kairi's no bleeding heart for baddies, she just wants everyone to get off her damn case, lol!

Also LOL at the fairy godmother of all people being the one to ship Riku off to Quadratum after Sora. My Cinderiku jokes (as well as my previous KH3 post's blurb about Riku determinedly walking into the ocean to find Sora) may not be completely unwarranted, now. Like, Miss 'specialty in dreams?' Miss "If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here. And here I am." Not even to mention "a dream is a wish your heart makes," a very relevant lyric for this set of circumstances, if I do say so myself. I guess that's just gonna be another song I love and sing to myself that now makes me think of KH. 🤷 There's worse things I suppose, for example, like Buddy Holly being stuck in my head for three days straight and making me feel like I'm trapped listening to my uncle's records (thanks, Good Omens).

I ended up re-watching "Cinderella" for the first time in a while because of that part of Re:Mind and MoM. The KH association of the part with Fairy Godmother's appearance is now semi-heartwrenching, given the context of her appearance in "Cinderella," as well:

You have the vocalizing chorus throughout the opening of the scene acting as a callback to Cinderella's "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" song as well as reflecting her inner thoughts, and she has a dialogue with it while she sobs alone in the garden:

Chorus: Whatever you wish for, you keep...

Cinderella: "Oh, no... no, it isn't true."

Chorus: Have faith in your dreams and someday... your rainbow will come smiling through!

Cinderella: "It's just no use. No use at all."

Chorus: No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing...

Cinderella: "I can't believe! Not anymore..."

Chorus: The dream that you wish... *lyric trails off, unfinished*

Cinderella: "There's nothing left to believe in... nothing..."

[Fairy Godmother materializes next to her]

FG: "Nothing my dear? Oh, now you don't really mean that."

Cinderella: "Oh, but I do-"

FG: "Nonsense, child! If you lost all your faith, I couldn't be here, and here I am!"

[the violin and cello come in to finish the last part of the lyric] "...will come true."

Beautiful scene, really. The chorus assisting the animation is delightful... I watched Bambi and Lady and the Tramp (Bella Notte <3) a lot growing up because I loved that old-timey choral work. So dreamy...

Additional funny/sweet bit: I like how Mickey was freaking out to the point of being pinned down over Riku being unceremoniously dropped into Quadratum via Fairy Godmother's spontaneity and enabling.

'You sent my son to the big city ALONE?! He could get mugged, he could get lost, he could get hate-crimed, he could-'

*jump cut to Riku, and he's trying to gauge the value of Earth Money by spying on hot dog stands. He sheds his first known tear of the series by trying to figure out public transit routes*

Anyway, in the words of Cid:

"But what happens next?!"

[itzpris15634]

S O

Exams are coming up. Instead of studying, I wrote some silly thoughts I’ve had about my LPS humanizations. Because that’s more fun!

Disclaimer, these are just my personal perceptions of them- feel free to disagree on anything.

Oh, and. Since a couple of these mention their appearances, here’s a link to the post i made with their designs: https://www.tumblr.com/itzpris15634/735150326041247744/first-time-posting-on-this-account-here-we

Ready? Let’s go!

-First, let’s mention their sexualities. Sunil is pansexual, Zoe is bisexual, Pepper is also bisexual (with a preference for women), Penny is asexual and heteromantic, Vinnie is also bi (with a preference for men), Minka is aroace, and Russell is demisexual.

-All their colored hair is all natural. They just live in a world where human hair colors varies a whole lot more.

-Musical instruments? Ooh, yes! The ones that are most into music are Sunil, Penny, and Zoe. Zoe sings (pff, duh-) Sunil can play guitar- both electric and acoustic, but he prefers electric since it sounds cooler. Penny is learning piano. As for the others? Vinnie did drumming back in high school (he and Sunil would even play together sometimes) but he doesn’t as much now. Minka likes the smaller, portable instruments- idk how to describe it, lol. The stuff like triangles, maracas, tambourines… Meanwhile Pepper and Russell just aren’t into playing music that much, but will cheer the others on.

-Russell’s canines are a little sharper and longer than normal. The others like to joke that he’s a vampire because of it.

-Penny has a collection of stuffed animals. Her favorite is a blue-purple panda (which is literally just the actual panda Penny Ling from the show lol-)

-Minka has a fascination for bugs. Going out and observing them, collecting them, studying them- girly just finds bugs interesting.

-Contrasting with Sunil- he has a big big fear of bugs. And Pepper loves to exploit that fear. Most of the time its just playful scares involving plastic bug toys. Or pretending a bug is on his neck or something. While to her, his reactions are funny, he doesn’t think the same.

-In terms of money, Zoe is the most well off among everyone. Her parents are super rich and have spoiled her throughout life. So she does the same to her friends. She’ll just buy them extravagant, expensive gifts out of nowhere. Of course, everyone is friends with her beyond that, but it’s a neat little bonus.

-Pepper is super particular about smell. She owns several different perfumes, colognes, deodorants, sanitizers… Which one she picks depends on her mood for the day.

-Oh hey, more Pepper. When she gets nervous, she’ll sweat. A lot. Kinda adds onto the previous headcanon listing; she’ll use all this stuff to hide the odor. Sometimes she’ll go overboard though, and mix up different clashing scents together. so it becomes kinda strong and overwhelming.

-Vinnie can be super indecisive. Say for example, going to a restaurant. If he’s already been there many times before and already knows his favorite, then perfect! He’ll just go with that. But when it comes to new places… oh boy. He’ll take frickin’ forever to decide. So he’ll usually tag someone along to pick for him in cases like that (usually Sunil). He’ll probably end up liking it anyway.

-Minka wears crocs, right? And you can put lil jibbitz on crocs, right? Well, each jibbit on her crocs represents each of her friends- a banana for herself, a book for russell, a sparkly magic wand for Sunil, the same flower Pepper wears on her suspenders, a bow for Penny, a microphone for Zoe, and the same gecko foot print on Vinnie’s jacket.

Aaaaaand that’s about all I’ve got for now! Should I do more? Maybe even with more characters. Blythe? The other (humanized) pets? Do tell.