#there's some absent things and they're absent for good reason

[overthegardenwirtt]

funniest things in interview with the vampire:

the fact that we got reverse-queerbaited and there was levitating gay vampire sex in episode 1 and then never again :(

"he ain't white he french!"

lestat showing up to louis' family dinner in the gayest outfit he could wear in 1910, pretending to eat, and hypnotizing paul when he really was trying to make a good impression

florence du lac clocking louis as gay because of his acrylic nails and tinted glasses

"what's wrong with that man?" @ lestat

louis with the "no whites allowed" sign despite lestat being inside the building

"i'm not sure how i feel about that pleated skirt" "it's chiffon it has movement"

grace calling lestat louis' white daddy

louis, lestat, and claudia treating nosferatu like a comedy

louis telling the police they should be ashamed of how they treated "law-abiding, taxpaying citizens" and forgetting that it's illegal to be gay

"we sell...incinerators. to various american cities." "we bring our clients here to demonstrate the product"

louis throwing lestat's coffin out the window

tom anderson not seeing louis and lestat for 17 years but for some reason he has a picture with them in his desk drawer

the fact that rashid was not just a character armand made up but a real employee of theres who was mysteriously absent for a week while seemingly consensually being played by his boss

armand and louis walking up to daniel holding hands like two people who have never held hands before in their life

armand had a threesome with a father and son while watching now, voyager, something louis didn't even know about

armand telling daniel his own armandstat fanfiction, stopping at the scene where they fucked in the theatre box, and daniel wanting more

"are you schizophrenic louis?" "...no"

the insinuation that the real irish playwright samuel barclay beckett was a vampire. not only that, but that his most well-known work, "waiting for godot," was originally written for the theatre des vampires. not only that, but that he is now an unspecified DJ

french man yelling at louis and armand that they should blow each other when they're kissing in the public park

daniel molloy being so unbelievably gay in the 1970s and being immediately into fucking louis in the coffin

daniel molloy having his body comandeered by armand and still offering to suck his dick

daniel molloy trying to escape from armand and immediately running into the wall

armand walking back into the dubai penthouse being the silliest he's ever been, nourished, happy only to find out that his husband and weird gay boy situationship have unionized

armand gaslighting his way out of the situation he gaslit himself into by telling louis he asked him to erase his memories

armand animating the raccoon into the projections during the trial

santiago small dick reveal

lestat still wearing a 150 year old leyendecker robe and playing a wooden piano, but somehow having the money for an ipad, speakers, and wifi

"siri pause"

[actual-changeling]

welcome back to alex's unhinged meta corner, today's topic: the chest touch at the pub. that scene has me in a chokehold for some reason and i still cannot stop thinking about it.

the first thing i wanna talk about is crowley's reaction, since this is the shorter part. he did not expect aziraphale to reach out to him like this and freezes for a second while aziraphale happily chatters away.

they were both walking and the hand on his chest stops him, so he comes to a stop right next to him while he was slightly behind him before that. his gaze also snaps to aziraphale's face, who is very much not looking at him.

they were having a conversation, but the touch essentially shuts crowley up and zira leaves him to get their drinks.

now, my question is why aziraphale does it. sure, it could just be an absent gesture since they're in a crowded place, just that he has never really done so before. i think it was very much planned, like asking crowley to dance and grabbing his hand later on.

a second before he actually reaches out, he also looks back to check whether crowley is where he thinks he is. that is the only time he does that, he was busy looking for a free table and miracles them one when he cannot find one - the look back is deliberate. especially since crowley is practically glued to his side, he has no need for confirmation, he can feel him brushing against him while walking.

the hand motion he does gets me, too. he is busy fidgeting with his hands like normal and has them clasped in front of him. aziraphale lifts them once he gets to "that is precisely the point", yet also already moves it slightly towards crowley, realizes he miscalculated where exactly he/his chest is, looks to check, then looks away again before actually touching him. am i reading too much into it? maybe.

i think it is his version of a little temptation. not only does it make crowley's brain short-circuit for a second, he also gets them their drinks and is now (or so aziraphale hopes) a bit calmer and will take the news aziraphale is about to give him better. the conversation at the cafe did not go entirely as planned, after all.

additionally, something i am not sure if other people have noticed or not is that aziraphale does not just touch crowley, it is a caress. he moves his hand down his chest.

the movement in order:

bar girl unfortunately moves in front of them, but you can clearly see the way his hand takes. to give you a direct comparison of the starting and end point:

a good point of reference is crowley's bolo tie but also the angle of aziraphale's arm while it is still visible.

the best part, in my opinion, is that aziraphale puts his hand right on top of crowley's heart. i think the symbolic importance of that is pretty clear and does not require any more explanation, although it makes me want to throw myself into a river. but that's by the by.

to summarize, aziraphale caresses crowley's heart chest to get him to calm down and not go insane over the news he is about to give him. he is also simply a bastard and knows exactly what he is doing to crowley.

as always, this is me going nuts with analysis, but i'm also curious to hear other people's thoughts on this.

don't tell my therapist about my unhinged meta posts or she will probably be very concerned for my mental wellbeing

[celestialprincesse]

Following up from this idea here!

⋆˙⟡♡

The last twelve months had been surprisingly productive for Simon. He'd been reticent at first, pushed back against the barrage of support provided for him by both the military and those who'd remained close to him outside of mere workplace obligation. That said, it hadn't taken him long to realise how big of a change a civilian lifestyle would be after twelve years of active service. Therapy had been an uphill battle, but Tina, the nice lady he saw twice weekly, who specialised in supporting veterans and those suffering with complex PTSD, was as patient as a saint, and had eventually helped him to open up.

He still, however, struggled to find a new sense of purpose. Life had become quiet, sluggish and static. When Tina had suggested he get a pet, he'd tentatively agreed.

"Hi there! How can I help you today?" Is the sweet voice that shakes him from his thoughts, bringing him back to reality only to realise he now stands at the front of the queue, before the desk of his local adoption centre.

"I'm looking to adopt..." He trails off, somewhat awkward and still a little unsure of whether there's some sort of protocol with these things. "A dog. I'm looking to adopt a dog."

After having quietly filled in the required forms, nervous under the warm gaze of the front desk attendant, he allows himself to be shown to the kennels in which the canine residents of the centre play, sleep and eat. With a nervous, almost shy gaze, Simon takes in the rowdy pack of dogs before him, before crouching to meet the crowd of wet noses coming to check him out.

"Have you got any preferences?" You pipe up from behind him, absently scratching behind the ears of a three legged Bernese Mountain dog, Lucky, who stands loyally at your heels.

"Just - um," Simon murmurs, looking between you, the dog at your feet, and a funny looking beagle, intent on sniffing at the contents of his pockets. "Just some company really. Therapist told me I needed a reason to get out, so..."

Taking his silence as an invitation to speak up, a pensive hum fills the room as you flick though the chart listing the animals currently up for adoption, and what their ideal situation would be. "You said you're quite physically active?" You probe, shooting him a glance.

"Yeah. I run and stuff. Like to try and stay fit."

Another hum of confirmation breaks the quiet as you rule out some of the less mobile options, and, having seen the way he grimaced at a slightly dishevelled Chihuahua, you take the incentive to rule out the smaller lap dogs too. You can't help but to note the way he looks between you and your own little canine friend, a look you've seen countless times on the faces of clients, the look that says that they're interested.

"I'd introduce the two of you, but she's already spoken for I'm afraid." You hum, a wry smile pulling at your lips when you note the expression on his face, surprised at your astute observation. "She's not exactly the most mobile, either."

"Oh, yeah. Right." He stammers back awkwardly, shooting you a bashful smile.

"I do, however, have someone that might take your fancy?"

Taking the laminated sheet from your offered hand, Simon is met with a grainy image of an earnest looking dog, big, marble eyes seemingly staring at him from off of the page.

"He only came in a couple days back. Golden shepherd mix from what we can tell. About four and really good natured. He's at the vet right now, but we could book you in to meet him when he's back?"

"I'd - yeah - That'd be great. Thanks." He nods, a pale blush colouring his cheeks.

Better still, when he leaves the adoption centre with a beginners pet care brochure, flipping through the pages on the walk back home, he's met with a hastily scrawled phone number, and a little smiley face below it.

⋆˙⟡♡

[circeyoru]

Collection of Overlords _ Part 7 = Requested

[Alastor x Soul Owner of All Overlords!Reader]

Part 1 — Part 1.5 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 (here)

Song Used: "They're Only Human" ; in Death Note: The Musical (I've attached a link here, but there's also a video format later on when that part comes)

You hummed a tune while reading through a book and laying on your black cloud platform like a beach chair. Your little moment only cut short when your book was suddenly snatched away. You tilted your head up and saw a pair of silver wings with golden highlights before you saw your book burst into flames in the robber’s hand

“You sure took your time.” You teased as you got up from your comfortable position, opting to sit on your platform. “Trick.”

“Come on! Like you don’t know why!” The being exclaimed enraged with their wings getting puffed up, they took a deep breath and sighed deeply. “Your little Hell made too much of a commotion, Sil. And I told you to call me Noir!”

You shrugged, “That’s not fitting for a character such as yourself, Trick sounds better anyways.”

Trick was similar to you. Actually, he was your opposite. You being the true ruler of Hell makes them the true ruler of Heaven. Of course, unlike how you keep your identity in the shadows, theirs was more well known. Trick was the God that everyone made a big deal around

If one were to see you two together, they’s say the two of you were night and day, good and evil, yin and yang. Not in terms of element, but in appearance as well

While Trick has a pair of lovely giant wings, you had none and would use a black cloud platform to ‘fly’ in some sense. While Trick has hair above the shoulder, you had hair below it. Trick’s eyes remain opened while yours are closed. Trick dons a causal and chill look while you had a more formal and elegant look

Still, whatever you two may appear, those weren’t important as the personalities you two had. If Trick’s name wasn’t an obvious indicator, they are not the holy entity the humans and angels painted them to be

Like you, Trick is absent from a direct presence in your respective realms. However, they love playing around with ‘divine interventions’ or ‘sacred messages’ from the God of this world. Truly, no one was aware of a balance. Even there’s Heaven and Hell, and God is in Heaven overseeing ‘his children’, what of hell?

Yes. You are the ‘God’ of Hell. Though either of you like that title. Since Trick was the one more in the open, you love teasing them about it every time you meet. To you, it’s truly entertaining to see them groan and whine over it

“So~ How was the sleep? Good?” Trick leaned over as their wings flapped from time to time to keep them hovering in the air. 

“Like Hell it was, you put me out of commission for no reason and with no warning! I have souls to watch over unlike your lazy holiness.” You snapped with your eyebrows furrowed.

Trick raised his hands in ressurender, “Hey, I was out of commission as well! It’s not a one-side thing.”

Your eyes squeezed even tighter as if you’re glaring at the jerk of a partner. “You started it!”

The two of you were Supreme Beings of your realm and entities as holy and cursed element. You can’t have one without the other. While it’s true that you were weak to holy powers, Trick was weak to cursed powers. You two were each other’s weakness no matter the situation

And the two of you aren’t as immortal as people would think. The two of you can be killed and healed by each other. Killing involves falling into a deep sleep when one side dies and healing involves transfering the other’s wounds onto themselves to heal more naturally as wounds can only be done by the opposite element

If one asks how to describe the two of you. You both were inseparable, can’t have one without the other. The concept of yin and yang comes to play

You are yin, in darkness there’s kindness. You are the unknown, you are negativity, you are darkness. You collect and control the souls marked for Hell without letting them go so long as they worth something to you. Even when you do it wasn’t for mercy and you’ll cage them into a torture unlike any other

Though, you were kind. You offer advice to those that deserve it and give opportunities for people to change. Why else would you let a soul be redeemed and let it leave Hell to go to Heaven? Why else would you allow Alastor to remind at the hotel even after your presence is back? Why else would you give Husk that little hope at a better future?

Trick was yang, in light there’s evil. They are the known, they are positivity, they are light. Trick judges and provides the souls marked for Heaven without letting them feel any negativity and only joy and happiness. Giving those worthy souls that lived life accordingly to enter a paradise fitting of Winners

Though, they were wicked and twisted. They enjoy a good trickery here and there, opting to let their high ranking angels deal with everything rather than rule as the ‘God’ they were named. They cared for none but their own interest and entertainment. If anything, Trick doesn’t see souls to be worth anything. To them, souls were nothing but actors on a stage to perform a good show for beings that was you and them to enjoy watching

“Fine, fine. I won’t do that again, unless you want a little rest.” Trick smirked as he looked your way. “So how’s your collection?”

“Hm… There will be some changes with what I have now. It’s a work in progress.” You told as you thought it over, “How’s your Emily?”

Trick’s smile widened, “Oh, miserable. But admirable. The sweet thing. She found out about the exterminations and sided with that Hell Princess during court! I told you she’s worth paying attention to.”

You hummed, “That’s what you said about Lucifer and he ended up falling to Hell. I wonder if Emily will be casted out as well.” You sensed the dark aura around your dear long-time friend spike and you turned your head over, “Don’t worry, I know not to accept her into Hell. She’s your prized one. Even if she’s casted out, I’ll push her back into Heaven.”

Trick huffed, clenching and unclenching his fists, “Good. Cause I will so remove those stupid higher angels if they did that to the only worthy angel in Heaven.” He looked over to you as well, “Don’t worry, it’s the same for your collections, I won’t let them into Heaven unless you want them do.”

Your smile widened, “Oh, I’ll never let them go~ But thanks for that safety net.”

You both picked your focus. While yours was on a hand-picked group, Trick focused on that one. Your little soul owning had one amazing benefit that none knew. It was the protection against angelic weapons

Back then when Alastor was hit by Adam’s attack in the chest, the slash should have eaten away at his body and soul. The angelic weapons or steel was created to aim directly at the soul of a being, that’s why it could kill both demons and angels. There was nothing angelic to it, merely a combine of yours and Trick’s power to create something that kills the soul

Now, your protection that to limit the effect of the wound till they can reach you for healing. But the best part was that your Overlords have no soul within their bodies so they wouldn’t be killed! Even if their head was chopped off by an angelic spear, it will just take time to grow back

You’ll never tell them that benefit nor do you plan to let them know about it. That’s why you made your appearance at the hotel. It was the sole reason of healing Alastor on your own terms. You thought of leaving soon later but you just couldn’t leave the poor deer when he was that desperate for your presence

The thing you can’t understand was why Trick only picks the one being to care for. Emily was what their supposed to be honestly. If someone met Trick and it was revealed that they were the God, no one would believe it. There was so much chaos and twisted nature in them that it was impossible that they were God

Yet you as the one by their time since the beginning of time knew the change was because of time. Time changed their view on the world and humans. So many time, they were disappointed that they just gave up and decided to laugh at all the misery. Maybe, you and Trick could switch places

But Trick will never agree because they never liked what you have set up in Hell already, plus there wouldn’t be an ‘Emily’ there. It was proposed once, and Trick shot it down without a thought. So to cure their boredom, there are meet-ups like this

Of course, the two of you end up going to Earth to see what the humans were up to while marking souls on whether they go to Heaven or Hell when they die

Trick smirked and flapped his wings to fly over, and gestures to the humans minding their own business in the city, ♫ Look at how they crawl around, upon the ground, like little ants ♫

♫ Yes, but how they fascinate, ♫ You floated over with your smokey platform, slapping away his hand to touch a mortal, ♫ Confusing fate, With what is merely chance ♫

♫ Isn’t it a laugh? ♫ Trick nudged you.

You pushed him away, ♫ Isn’t it a shame? ♫

♫ Thinking there is someone in Heaven to blame ♫ Trick pointed at themselves. 

You rolled your eyes, ♫ Yes, but even while blaming fate for the lives that they lead. They hope for the lives that they need ♫

Trick snapped their fingers, both of them appearing in a cemetery with a heavy mood in the air. They carried a white umbrella while you carried a black one, staying at the back of the group that was grieving while a coffin was lowered, ♫ Living every day ‘til the day they die. Never getting answers ♫

♫ Yet still asking why ♫ You snapped your fingers and appeared on the roof of a building that oversaw a group of religious individuals praying, ♫ Going through the motions as if there will be a reward ♫

♫ While we stay, ♫ Trick made a bored and disgusted face at the scene, grabbing your hand so the two of you fall, ♫ Eternally bored! ♫

♫ They’re only human. They don’t see ♫ The two of you sang, Trick with their signature smirk and you with a bored look. ♫ Who they are is who they’ll always be. Only human, after all ♫

Trick brought you to a scene in front of a murder scene, ♫ So they push and they shove ♫

You showed Trick a scene with a romantic couple on a date, ♫ With this thing they call love ♫

♫ ‘Til they fall! ♫ You both watched as soldiers fall and their souls going to where they were picked to.

♫ Isn’t it a farce? ♫ Trick shrugged while the scene changed to that of a hospital room with a weak man on the bed.

♫ Isn’t it a waste? ♫ You eyed the crying humans around the man, listening as the monitor beep softer and longer with each pause. 

♫ Struggling to Face what can never be faced ♫ Trick leaned against the wall with crossed arms. 

♫ Yes, but maybe Death can release something more than we share ♫ You blinked at the man as he tried his best to hold the closest family member of his.

♫ I really don’t know ♫ Trick came over, their wing slapped at the man over the face and the lifeline fell flat, ♫ and don’t care ♫

You shook your head while the room bursted in tears and doctors and nurses rushed in, Trick was as indifferent as already with his grin on his face, ♫ They’re only Human. Standing still. Doomed to live pushing boulders uphill. Only Human, after all ♫

With a snap of Trick’s finger, the two of you arrived at a temple with a number of offerings, Trick picked up one and threw it to you then took one for themselves, ♫ So they give and we take ♫

You caught it with one hand and eyed it, then to the elderly women that was bowing to statue, ♫ Hoping someone will help break their fall ♫

Trick brought you to a gang meeting of sorts, the topic seemingly deciding on someone’s death, ♫ They will pray, curse, live, die. Never knowing their Truth is another Man’s Lie ♫

♫ Eat, sleep, love, hate ♫ You changed the scene to one where a group of friends were enjoying themselves in a forest, ♫ Like a Leaf blowing in the Wind ♫

Trick switched to a scene where students are forced to pick a career for the future, gesturing to all the troubled humans for you. ♫ Watch them all vacillate! ♫ 

The both of you sang, ♫ They’re only human. They can’t see ♫

♫ All the fun they could give you and me ♫ Trick laughed darkly while you smiled at his amusement.

♫ Only human, after all ♫ You both continued as you two picked out a wave of souls destined for Hell without another thought while Trick only picked a small group of them.

♫ So they give and we take ♫ You had your palms opened at the vast souls that would be doomed for Hell under your thoughtless choosing.

Trick nodded approvingly over your future collection, a twisted smile forming, ♫ ‘Til their silly hearts break ♫ 

♫ Looking down from above. I’m intrigued by their love ♫ An equally dark smile appeared on your face as you took Trick’s offered hand for a short sway. 

Trick suggested while taking you into their arms. ♫ So let’s play! ♫

You nodded along, ♫ Let’s play! ♫

Trick chuckled while dipping you down, “Hmm, let’s enjoy ourselves with these foolish souls.”

Since the beginning of time, there were two beings. A being that symbolizes light and a being that symbolizes dark. They were two sides of the same coin and co-exist together contary to what humans would theorize or write in their little works of art

“So I’ll assume you want me to put Heaven’s little business on hold? Not that they can do much with a redeemed soul in their ranks.” Trick smirked at you, their wings flapping at their little jab at their realm’s higher ranked angels. “So Hell gets some peace for the moment.”

Your smiled back, eyes peeking open to that revealed a cosmos from within, “Yes, that is much appreciated. There’s gonna be some interesting change in my collection.”

“Love it when your eyes does that.” Trick’s wings opened up to show the view of a night sky.

“Yours is not too bad. Quite the sight.”

“Only a sight for the two of us though. None is more worthy of it.”

“I’ll agree.”

Everything happening on these two beings’ whims and wants, nothing’s done with clear purpose, and anything’s fair game. As divine and just as the humans painted them to be, they are nothing like the holy one that cares for all’s interest from above. As cruel and evil as the humans painted you to be, you are anything but the cold and heartless tormentor of prisoners of Hell

Note: New character!! I'll get to the request that were about this concept in a bit. First! The character design for Trick and you will be out in a moment~

Now then~ You guys feeling op yet?

Oh yeah!! I'm more interested with the song format too!! First time trying this, what you guys think???

Circe Y. 

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist: (those that don't specify to being in all the works' taglist will automatically be assumed to be in whichever series they comment on)

@aconfusedwonderland @crowleysthings @donustellaron @mistpurpl3 @lucifers-silhouette @fluffy-koalala @plutobots @ray-rook @thealienartist @serenity-songbird @galaxydreamer468 @raynerrold @wen01203@hikari-michiko @colecreo @myromanempiree @xsamkuro @yourdoorisunlocked @clavelina @jono723 @cursedcattalastor @an-idyllic-novelist @flamiohotman2024 @rea-grace @myromanempiree @veroneverleft @lousypotatoes @crazysuityouth @jellyedkazoo @wat4r @kiraisastay @thealienartist @chefysawesomeideas @wtvbabes @patronizingbitch @koshi-kazu @craftyperfectiontragedy @scr4luv @chrollobb @mysterypotatoink @callmefe

[delusionalbitchinthehouse]

Here I am with summoning headcanons for the first ghouls told through Chain (my beloved). I'm pretty happy about this one, actually !

"Why d'you wear it ?"

Chain blinks slowly, lazily turning their head to look at Phantom, sprawled on the worn rug next to them.

The new kid is cute, they decide, a bit of a lightweight, so they stopped smoking a while ago. His cheeks are flushed purple, big stary eyes glazed over, a sweet little smile never leaving his lips.

Chain almost forgets they were asked a question, until Phantom tugs a bit more insistantly on the heavy chain looped around their waist. They hum.

"'s a lucky charm, stickbug."

Phantom tilts his head with a confused noise, wiggling closer until he can rest his head on Chain's chest. The water ghoul runs fingers adorned with bone tattoos on the skin of the young quint's arm, raising goosebumps in their wake.

"Y'know I was the first water ghoul summoned after the mess Nihil's ghouls were, right ?"

Phantom nods, tail swaying lightly.

"Well," Chain hums, "back then, summonings were messy. And now, with how much damage Nihil's ghouls had done, the Clergy was afraid. Everytime they summoned a ghoul, they found new reasons to be afraid."

Phantom shifts, reaching up to follow the glowing stripes under Chain's jaw with the tip of his fingers.

"Like what ?"

Chain sighs, thinking back to their very first pack.

"Most of them were ancient, powerful ghouls. 'Mega was the first...I mean, you've seen him. He's big. Sure, Earth and Air are taller, but there's that thing 'bout 'Mega, y'know ? Some kind of...aura or shit. Maybe it's the quintessence, dunno. Anyway, he spooked them real good, and Alpha didn't make it better."

Phantom wrinkles his nose.

"Uh oh. Alpha's spookier than Omega."

Chain can't help snorting at that.

"He's got a shit temper and an ego the size of a planet. Fought Omega the second he slid of the altar. Got messy real quick - that's were he got the scars on his cheek and on his stomach, and 'Mega has matching ones on his thigh, burn marks on his ribs too."

With a little gasp, Phantom pushes himself up on his elbows.

"Really ? But they're....really close."

Phantom's surprise is understandable. Omega and Alpha are pratically joined at the hips now, evolving around each other with an ease speaking of intimacy. Chain hums.

"Well, yeah. Suprisingly, once Omega made Alpha eat shit, it didn't take long for them to get along. I guess they just had a rocky start."

"Understatement."

That sets Chain off, somehow, and it takes a long while before they can speak again without being interrupted by their own giggles.

"And after that, Air and Earth were summoned. You've seen them. Fucking trees, the both of them. Looming above everyone. Air traumatized the poor summoners by screeching so loudly he made some eardrums burst. And Earth, well. Spat out blood and guts everywhere - not his fault they summoned him right after a successful hunt."

Rolling on top of them, Phantom pushes his forehead against Chain's, pawing at their shoulders absent-mindedly.

"And you ?"

Closing their eyes, they can still picture it perfectly. The dim candle-lit room, the smell of incens and fear, the anxious whispers, the rough stone of the altar under their naked skin. And that familiar clinking sound.

"Well, I was the last of Primo's original ghouls to be summoned. And by that point, the Clergy was rightfully pissing their pants. So, the second I crawled out of the pit, they threatened to chain me if I showed any sign of agression. I guess they didn't expect for me to find their shiny chain really cool."

Phantom blinks at them in disblief.

"You...thought the chain looked cool."

Shrugging, Chain ruffles the quint's hair with a huff.

"Y'sound awfully judgmental. Yes, I thought it looked cool. Hopped off the altar, took it from them, sniffed it a few time and decided it was mine. Been wearing it ever since - and got my name out of it."

They stare at each other for a second before dissolving in another fit of giggles. It feels good, Chain decides, spending time with the newer ghouls, telling them stories of before they were summoned and watching their incredulous reaction.

"You," Phantom pants in between chuckles, "are the least serious ghoul I've ever met."

"Part of my charm."

Phantom laughs again, and Chain doesn't realize they're purring until the quint joins in.

[macgyvermedical]

Schizophrenia

Hi all, I know I've been a little absent as of late. The reason for that, as you may know if you've been reading my personal posts, is that I got diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Because this blog is ostensibly about medical things, I figured I would come back to that by talking a little bit about schizospec illnesses. What they are, what they're not, and what you need to know if you're writing a character with something on the schizophrenia spectrum.

Schizophrenia is a change in perception and thought that manifests in 3 main ways. The first way is what everyone tends to think of, which is hallucinations and delusions. These are called positive symptoms.

To have hallucinations means you experience things in the world that other people don't. For example, hearing voices (which can be external, as though the person is actually hearing them, or internal, where the voices are coming from inside the person's head, but the person can't control them) is a common hallucination for people with schizospec illnesses. Hallucinations can also be seeing, smelling, or feeling things that others can't.

Delusions are fixed false beliefs. Such as, believing that someone is out to hurt you or that someone is trying to send you a secret message via television, or that other people can read your thoughts, or that you're someone who is particularly important (a head of state, Jesus, or a superhero, for instance). Even when these beliefs are confronted with facts, the person still holds the belief, often able to explain away the facts as not applying to their situation. Some people can know that a delusion is false (or that people would think they were crazy if they said it out loud) and still believe that it's true at the same time.

The next type of symptoms are what are called negative symptoms. This is where it is difficult to think of things, speak coherently, socialize, or express emotions. The person might have what is called a "flat" affect, or where they don't display emotion on their face naturally. They may also experience something called catatonia, where they are conscious but unable to respond to the outside world. Someone who is experiencing catatonia is often hallucinating severely at the same time.

The last type of symptoms are called cognitive. These are symptoms that make critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving difficult. This might be that they're constantly distracted by hallucinations, but it can also just be that the person has trouble making good decisions for themself.

Now, just like autism is a spectrum, schizophrenia is a spectrum as well. In addition to traditional schizophrenia, there are milder forms (often called schizotypal personality disorders), and a combination of schizophrenia and a mood disorder (depression or bipolar disorder most commonly) called schizoaffective disorder.

The "severity" is also different for different people. Some people are able to lead nearly normal lives with the occasional hallucination or be able to work through delusions with skills gained from counseling, even if they don't take medication. Some are well controlled on medication and as long as they take it, they can keep a job and have a nearly normal family and social life. Some may be moderately well controlled on medication, and be able to work part time, but symptoms and/or side effects from the medication make it difficult to work full time or have a normal social life.

Still others may be unable to work due to symptoms or side effects from medication, or the amount of time and effort it takes to manage symptoms or side effects makes having time for a job or social life difficult. Still others may need to live in assisted living or a group home, where someone else is managing food and medications for them, because of the amount of time, effort, and skill necessary to manage the schizophrenia is so great.

Schizophrenia is usually treated with a combination of counseling and medication, just like a lot of mental illnesses. A person with schizophrenia may also need the occasional inpatient stay to more emergently change medications if they get a flair up and are suddenly unable to take care of themselves (or may be a danger to themselves or others) due to severe symptoms.

The medications usually used to treat schizophrenia are first and second-generation antipsychotics. First generation antipsychotics came out in the 1950s and were the mainstay of treatment for a long time. These are often very good at treating positive symptoms, but cause tiredness and if taken at high doses for a long time a movement disorder called tardive diskinesia.

Second generation antipsychotics came out in the 1990's through today, and tend to cause a lot less sedation (my experience is they actually gave me energy) but often cause weight gain and metabolic syndromes like diabetes (though taking them concurrently with metformin tends to reduce this risk).

It's kind of a pick your poison situation.

Also, antipsychotics (especially second generation ones) tend not to completely take away symptoms. They instead make them easier to manage. Usually it is through a combination of therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp) and a medication or two that symptoms are well managed.

Social support is often necessary too. This can be help with finding housing and health insurance, but it can also be facilitated social events, group therapy, or support groups. Since a lot of people with schizophrenia have trouble making friends in the wild, these can be very helpful in building social and emotional skills safely.

I hope this gave you a good overview of what schizophrenia spectrum illnesses are like. If you have any questions feel free to send them my way!

[guppybibi]

Ditzy Princess

𖦹 pairing: Iwaizumi Hajime x fem!reader

𖦹 word count: 2019

𖦹 content: mild cursing, childhood friends to lovers (eventually..) , denial, she fell first but he fell harder, reader is oikawa’s little sister, reader’s brain is a lil empty, but she's a strong woman nonetheless!!

𖦹notes: i have so many wips..but hajime my Filipino king AUGHH (im gaslighting myself shh)

✧. ┊    Part 1

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Being Oikawa Tooru’s little sister meant that you were equally as insufferable as him, debatably even more than him according to Iwaizumi. Iwa wouldn't go as far to say he disliked you, despite you being 2 years younger than Oikawa, the three of you still grew up together and developed a pretty strong bond. Oikawa had his moments, being the seemingly arrogant and egotistical person he is. Iwa was aware Tooru had some issues with his self esteem and was helping him in his own way. But in your case, nothing was backing you up. You really were just a crybaby diva, wailing as her big brother comes to save her. It really didn't start off so bad, after all you were a child who needed guidance and protection. He expected you to just grow out of it, news flash—you didn't.

Now that you're in your first year in Seijoh, he couldn't avoid you at all no matter how hard he tried. Being a headache must be in the genes, I guess. But you weren't worth putting up with, so he just started distancing himself away from you. Sure, sometimes you would barge into the gym, interrupting their practice to go to your doting brother. Which pissed him off, obviously. Though it was hard to tell since he always had a scowl on his face no matter the situation. Oh and by sometimes, he means every single day–unless you were absent or something.

Unfortunately for him, Oikawa wasn’t present today due to getting a nasty cold. Normally he’d make fun of Oikawa, along with the rest of the Seijoh four but he remembers that you’re present and that he would be your temporary savior while your brother is gone. It didn’t help that today in particular was a pretty stressful one, and as if the Gods above cursed him, a bunch of assholes picked on you for being the ‘uglier’ sibling. A bunch of envious little liars.

Naturally, it was your first instinct to go to annoy him. Your muffled cries could already be heard before you've even entered the gym, which made Hajime groan in annoyance as he muttered a random curse under his breath. And as if on cue, the metal door of the gym slides open; unveiling a very much messed up you.

Your mascara all smudged across your pretty face, fat tears staining it. Your subtly pink lips all wobbly as you make your way to Iwaizumi, knowing your brother wasn't here. At this point, this was basically a daily routine for the team, they didn't complain though. You coming in here and taking their captain and or ace meant they had an opportunity to take a break.

“ ‘Zumi! T-they were being so mean to me again, I didn't do anything wrong!” You cry out as you approach the ace with a pout on your face. ‘Pathetic..’ He thinks to himself, you were more than capable enough to defend yourself. (Verbally, at least. Physically is a different story.) “It's not my fault I don't look exactly like Oikawa! And I can't do anything about it, why pick on me for it?!” You continue, wiping away a tear from your glossy eyes.

Hajime couldn't even say anything in response, this wasn't the first time you came to him after someone bullied you for whatever reason. It was a sad thing to happen to you, but did you really have to go to him or your big brother every single time? What if they're not there for you? What will you do then? Still his good conscience couldn't just leave you sobbing like that, your doting brother wouldn't be happy about it.

Placing a rough calloused hand on your trembling shoulder, as an attempt to comfort you he starts speaking. “And what did you say to them after?” He asks, it was a completely normal question, you knew that. But you were used to just..constant coddling, no other questions asked–just instantly tending to you. “I..Nothing? I mean, maybe what they're saying is true..it still hurts though..” You reply, earning a nod from your older brother's friend. You had a point there, but you should still stick up for yourself! You had to learn, plus he didn't want to keep playing as your knight in shining armor when the two of you are pushing your thirties.

“Did you want to say something back to them?” He questions, raising a brow. You could be doing this for shits and giggles for all he knows, maybe this was a plan you and Oikawa had or something. “Well um, kind of?..” Even that answer somehow made sense, coming from a ditz like you–he didn't really expect much. “So can you or can you not defend yourself?” He asked yet again with a gruff voice, watching intently as he saw you shake your head. Okay, cool. You aren't doing this just to piss him off, that's a start.

“I could teach you, if you want to.” You blink once, twice. “Teach me how to..fight for myself?” You never considered it, you were just used to your big brother being there for you. No matter how serious or stupid it was, he’d be there in a flash. He nodded, crossing his arms as you thought about it. Your brother wouldn't always be here, today was proof of it. The same goes for Hajime, who knows where he's going after high school?

“I..think that’ll be nice actually.” And those were the words that started your tutoring sessions. You were incredibly nervous the first few times, like the personification of an earthquake. You did soon manage to get the hang of it, being able to defend yourself against your bullies unless it was really necessary for your brother and or him to step in.

To be honest, Oikawa was pretty opposed to the idea at first. Saying to his best friend that teaching her all of this ‘nonsense’ wasn't needed since he’ll always be there for her anyway. (What Oikawa didn't know is that Iwa was doing future him a favor, I mean–he didn't know he was going to Argentina!)

And so ‘Operation: Teach Y/N How to Defend Herself’ was successful. It had been like years ago at this point, barely remembered by you two like some distant memory. You didn't piss him off that much anymore, though he did have little to no contact with you; only getting updates through Oikawa.

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When he went to Irvine, California for personal matters he was aware of you being there as well since you went to visit and stayed at your grandparents. The chances of you two meeting were slim but fate had to play its part too! Now the both of you were sitting side by side, having a cup of ice cream as you catched up on your lives.

He told you about the meeting he just had with Takashi, some stuff about sports science and his personal life and whatnot. While you told him about life here in the States, being taken care of by your overbearing grandparents and stuff. You were a lot more mature than what Hajime had remembered, still a scatterbrain though. Though something comes up, leaving Hajime at some random bench while he taps away on his phone after you exchanged him your number. Saving it and putting in ‘Puny Princess’, it was stupid–he knew it was as he chuckled to himself.

No matter how fully grown you are, you’ll always be that spoiled little brat who seeks her dear knight in shining armor's protection.

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He was flying back to Japan soon, and he wanted nothing more but to cancel his flight and stay here–with you. Highschooler Iwaizumi would be laughing his ass off right now, any chance to get away from you was a blessing. He’d get on that plane like he's being chased by the police. He thought about it a lot, was it because you were less of a pain in the ass? Nope, that couldn't be the case because you still were. Sure, you didn't exactly need Prince Charming anymore which made you considerably much more bearable but it felt like there was something more to it. Why won’t life just tell him instead of forcing him to dig through a bunch of dirt in his mind?

Maybe he simply got used to being around you, to be fair–he’s been with you through thick and thin after all. Yup, that's what it was. No need to manually crank the gears in his brain anymore, this was totally it. Would he admit he had a teensy weensy little crush on you when you two were kids? God no, and that doesn't matter! I mean, that was like a decade ago–he doubts that mattered right now in any shape or form.

Well the first stage of grief was denial, he’ll work his way up. You, on the other hand, have fully accepted this stupid happy crush you got on Iwaizumi. Even your big brother knew about it, well you were pretty much an open book. Hey, your brother’s words–not mine. The way your cherubic cheeks would heat up when Hajime helped you up when you got yourself stuck in the mud, it was painstakingly obvious that you had liked him ever since.

You and your big brother had a heart to heart talk about back in middle school actually, it sits there playing constantly at the back of your mind.

It was midnight and Oikawa had come home late, you noticed he had been practicing overtime these days which worried you quite a bit but you knew Hajime was there to keep him grounded. So that's how the two of you ended up at 1AM, your brother silently eating his late cold dinner while you accompanied him.

“Did ‘Zumi practice late with you..?” You questioned, breaking the growing silence in the room. In response, he nodded and let out a dry chuckle. “Mhm, you haven't spoken a word since I got home and when you decide to speak it's about Iwa-chan? Do you not care about your dear big brother anymore?” He asks, dramatically feigning hurt as he places a hand on his chest.

He didn't miss how your lips went and formed a thin line, trying your best not to crack a smile. “Cmon, don't lie to your big brother–you like Iwa, don't you?” He teases, trying to get it out of you like he's sipping the very last drop out of the milk carton. “Maybe just a little..” You mumble, finding it just a little bit embarrassing that out of all the fish in the never ending sea, you manage to have feelings for your brother's best friend. “Hm..well I guess if you were to pick someone to marry I’d honestly prefer Iwa y’know?” You almost choke on your own spit upon hearing his words, blushing furiously. “E-eh?! Marry?! It's too early for that!” You exclaim, while your brother starts laughing like a hyena.

His words were very much true though, he trusted Iwa–so much so that if he had the chance to pick the person you’ll marry, he'd choose Hajime with no hesitation.

You roll around in your soft bed, unable to sleep as Iwaizumi’s face keeps flashing in your mind like a broken record. Wanting nothing more than to scream into your pillow, but your grandparents sleeping soundly in the other room prevented you from doing so. You wondered if you would ever go back to Japan, it seemed like your brother wouldn't after hearing him recently renounce his citizenship but it's not like you were going to follow in his footsteps. You've never felt this homesick before, stupid Iwaizumi–it's his fault for coming here unannounced. You thought your delicate heart moved on from this childish crush of yours after not seeing him in a couple of years, looks like it bounced back after meeting up with him again though..

Well, at least you had some form of communication with him after you gave him your number. That was temporarily enough for you.

[y-rhywbeth2]

In your post about Durge's sudden normality you mentioned implied SA in the tags; would you mind elaborating on that? I don't remember seeing any implications like that, but I know I missed a lot of details in my first run. (Obviously if you would mind feel free to ignore this.)

Naturally this is going under a cut for discussion of rape, sexual exploitation and incest:

Some of it is mostly me reading into things and frowning, but Bhaal being able to violate Durge sexually and the intent of sexual exploitation (regardless of Durge's will) is canon and it does lend credence to the idea.

Durge is obligated to breed, and Bhaal can and will force them to; the original version of the feral ending in the dialogue files involves him forcing them into a state of sexual hyperarousal and forcing them to mate with a gnoll, in the same way he can force the urge to slay on them. Bhaal's intention there is to see if he can breed more monstrous Bhaalspawn. Some of the dialogue options are just Durge screaming in horror.

Durge has no memory of the actual rape; Bhaal forces them to spend the entire time thinking about him: "Your memory of last night's act is absent. In the moment of mounting, your mind emptied itself, and you could think only of Bhaal."

And knowing that, when I saw "I love you father. I'm a good [child], a good, good [child]" in the released version I had to go sit down for a bit.

We know that Durge is expected to have kids - it's a mortal sin that they haven't. It's also vague whether they tried or not pre-amnesia; they're described as "failing" not refusing, it could've gone either way. Durge may already have been exploited. Even if they don't disappoint Bhaal in game, this "duty" remains. It's not just the Tribunal making shit up; Sceleritas is your direct liaison to Bhaal, and he makes this clear to them as Bhaal's Chosen too.

We know that if Durge won't kill then Bhaal will force them to, and we know that he can force them to have sex too. It's entirely possible that Durge's only say in this is to either fuck partners they chose or have them chosen for them (as we all know, Bhaal has zero respect for his kids' bodily autonomy or desires past his use for them, and Bhaal wants more babies.)

At the very least, it doesn't seem to be a major part of Bhaal's plan for Durge yet, so Durge may have dodged this specific form of abuse for now.

Bhaal has also done this to Sarevok, it seems, who would probably have killed himself back in BG1+2 if he could see what would happen to him in his future.

Knowing that Bhaal has no issues inflicting sexual arousal on his own kids, those scriptures you find that explicitly refer to the pleasure he bestows on his followers when they kill as "erotic" unfortunately have little reason not to be applied to Bhaalspawn. It would also explain the necrophilia if Durge has been conditioned to see killing/corpses as sexual.

Not quite the same thing, but the thing where people think Durge fucked the Netherbrain is actually from a remark by Bhaal in the journal update, where he makes a crack that "That slimy thing in the Moonrise called you its fallen star. It was very reverent [...] apparently [you're] good at playing with tentacles."

That's not inherently sexual, but knowing that Bhaal is willing to sexually exploit Durge and that the fandom had already interpreted it as sexual, I did kind of stare at it in horror for a bit.

[alotofpockets]

Replaced | Part 2 | Natasha Romanoff

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Stark!Reader, and Tony Stark x Daughter!Reader

Story warnings: heart disease/failure, loss of a parent, absent father.

Story summary: Your father, Tony Stark, has been rather absent in the recent years of your life. What will happen when you show up at the Avengers Compound after you lose your mom?

Masterlist | Marvel masterlist | Words: 1.8K

Part 1 | Part 2

While you were sound asleep in Natasha’s arms, Peter looked very conflicted in the common room. “What’s troubling you, kid?” Your dad continued the nickname like what you said never happened. “You never told me you had a daughter.” Tony shrugs, “I barely see her, I didn’t see the point of mentioning it.” Peter gets up and heads towards his room as well. “Come on, kid, not you too.” He looks back in disbelief, “I know exactly what it’s like to lose a parent, and the fact that you’re acting like it’s nothing to your own child, while you should be the one comforting her, does not sit right with me.” 

When you wake up you realize you fell asleep on Natasha, you look up and she's already looking at you. “Good morning, how did you sleep?” You sit up, “I slept good, but I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you, I’m sorry.” Natasha smiles, “No worries, you’re all good. I do have to go for a bit, I have a short meeting. If you want you can have some breakfast in the kitchen, grab whatever you want.” You thank her before she gets up. “I’ll meet you after?” You nod with a small smile. 

In the kitchen, Wanda was already busy making pancakes, “Hey, y/n, would you like some?” You sit down at the counter, "Yeah, I would love some pancakes, they smell amazing Wanda." Wanda puts a plate with two perfect pancakes down in front of you. "Let me know if you want more when you're done, I'm making them for everyone, so I'll be cooking for a bit." You take the first bite, "They're amazing Wanda, thank you! Where did you learn to cook like this?" Wanda gives you a faraway smile. "When I was younger, every moment my mom spent in the kitchen, I was right by her side. She was always so happy in the kitchen, I wanted that too. She taught me everything she knew. Her recipe books were one of the few things that were left after the bombing. I keep them very close to my heart, and make her recipes as often as I can, to remember her and my family." You hadn't realized that Wanda's youth had gone that way. "Oh, I’m sorry, Wanda. I didn’t know. I’m glad your mom can live on through her recipes and the memories you’ve made together.” - “Don’t worry, I enjoy talking about them. It keeps the memories alive, you know?” You nod and continue your breakfast. 

When you were done with your first pancake, Peter walked in. He nervously walks towards you, “Hey, y/n, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I had no clue Tony had a daughter, I never meant to take your place or you know, be a part of the reason your connection with your dad isn’t good.” You pat the empty chair beside you, silently asking him to sit with you. “You have nothing to apologize for, Peter. None of this is your fault, I promise. Plus my connection with my dad hasn’t been good long before he met you, so please don’t feel guilty. I don’t blame you in any way.” That seems to relieve some of the tension the boy was feeling. Wanda placed a plate in front of Peter, without saying a word, careful to not interrupt the two of you. You and Peter quietly eat the rest of your breakfast, until your dad walks in. Both of you look up at him, “Ah, Peter, y/n, I see that you two are getting along well.” You roll your eyes and excuse yourself from the table.

You walk outside and follow one of the paths, not knowing where it will lead you. Eventually, you make it to the waterfront and decide to sit down. You’re just staring out onto the water, deep in thought, when you hear someone walk towards you. Looking over your shoulder you see Wanda approaching. “Hi, Wanda, how did you find me so easily?” Wanda points to the ground next to you, “May I?” You nod and she sits down next to you. “I can read minds, is how. I try not to listen to people's thoughts because it’s generally not appreciated, but sometimes a person's thoughts are too loud for me to ignore. So, I just wanted to check in on you.” You talk with Wanda for a while until her phone buzzes, “Hey, it’s Nat, she’s looking for you. Are you okay with me sharing where we are?” You nod your head, “Yeah, we were planning to meet up after her meeting.” The three of you spend the rest of the morning at the water, getting to know each other better. 

A couple days later you’re at the funeral that you arranged. Most of the team was there for support, as well as a few relatives and even some regulars from the bookstore. It was by far the hardest thing you had ever done. After every person that attended shook your hand and said their condolences, Natasha walks up to you. “Hey, you look like you need a hug.” Without saying a word you fall into her arms. She wraps her arms tightly around you and lets you cry into her chest. Her hand rubs soothing circles on your back, trying to bring you as much comfort as she possibly could. Once it feels like you have no tears left, you loosen your grip on Natasha. “Thank you, I needed that.” Natasha moves to your side and keeps an arm around your shoulder. “Any time.” You look out the doors of the room. “Did he come?” - “Yeah, he stood at the back, but left before the condolences. I think he wasn’t sure if you and your family members wanted him there.” You nod, not sure why you cared to know.

The next week you opened back up the bookstore. You were looking through your notes with a frown on your face when Natasha walked in with two coffee’s. She hands you one of the cups and takes a sip of the other, “How are you holding up?” You sigh deeply. “Okay, I guess. It feels so strange without her.” Natasha nods along as you tell her how you’re feeling. “And what about the notebook, what were you looking at?” You grab the notebook and flip through a few pages, “The funeral costs were most of my savings, and since we’ve- eh- the store has been closed all week, I didn’t get any income from it. So, I was trying to come up with ideas on how to earn more money here. So far everything I’ve written down is only going to cost me more money.” Natasha looks through your notes to see what kind of ideas you had come up with. “Do you want to brainstorm some ideas together?” You like the idea and start firing ideas at each other. It must have been an hour later when Natasha came up with the following. “What if we did something with the Avengers? Like maybe we can organize events to read books to kids or something, or we can have the team make book suggestions. That will surely attract more people to the store, right?” - “That sounds like a great idea! But do you really think the team is willing to help?” Natasha takes your hand in hers and gives it a soft squeeze, “I’m sure they will. I think it would be good for us too, we’re always looking for opportunities to connect with the community more. This would be perfect.”

Every free moment of the next few weeks you spent together with Natasha. It started out as planning your idea, but soon you realized that you were not only working on the idea anymore. After planning Natasha stayed over and you watched movies, more than once she stayed the night and you cuddled up after falling asleep during unfinished movies. You don’t remember exactly when it happened, but you knew that somewhere along the line you had crossed the line of simply being friends. When you weren’t working you were either at Natasha’s or she was at your place. On days that Natasha was free, she would join you at the store and prepare things for the first Avenger reading event.

Then the first ever Avenger reading event was finally there. The whole store was full of children and their families, eager to meet the Avengers. You introduced today's readers to the audience, “Please welcome Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Spider-man!” The event went amazing, you had no idea how it was going to turn out this morning, but this many people was definitely not something you had expected. The team sat and interacted with the kids as their friends were reading a book. They walked around the store with kids and helped them pick out books. Almost all of the families left the store with at least one book. “Thank you all so much! This was incredible, I am so grateful for all of you.” You told the team as they were heading out. Natasha stayed to help you clean up, the rest offered too, but Natasha assured them that it was fine. 

When you had cleaned everything up you sat down on one of the couches. Natasha walked up to you with two drinks in her hand, “We should celebrate, today was a big success.” You lean into her as she sits down next to you. “Yeah, we should. What did you have in mind?” Natasha shrugs, “I don’t mind, as long as it’s with you.” You lift your head and look in her eyes. Her eyes move down to your lips, you smile as a warm feeling forms in your chest. You reach up your hand to place a loose strand of hair behind her ear and let your hand linger. Natasha leans into your hand and then forwards until your lips meet. You kiss her slowly, her hands move to your waist pulling you closer. She deepens the kiss and gently pulls you on top of her lap. When you part you smile at her, “So this is what you call celebrating?” - “Hm, only with you.”The next steps for the bookstore made you excited for the future. You were adding two new sections to the store. One called ‘Assembled by Avengers’, a section with recommended books by each of the Avengers. The other was dedicated to your mom’s favorite books. Besides the new sections, more reading events were planned, you expanded it to multiple age groups.

Another thing that excited you for the future was the woman that was currently sound asleep next to you. You turn to your side and scoot closer to Natasha. After placing a soft kiss to her forehead, you cuddle up to her and close your eyes as well.

---

Tagging the people that asked for a part two, thank you for wanting to read more!

@romanoffsgal @my-skeleton-hats @natasharomanoffswife17 @justyourwritter69 @brooke7x @pandafuriosa60 @winter107th @cherlenovix @demonicangel69 @natasha-1million

[nordickies]

what are ur opinions on dennor, romantic and platonic?? :0 (ik u characterize them as brothers, so pls feel free to only answer for their platonic relationship if thats what ure comfortable with!)

To me, Denmark and Norway could check all buddy comedy tropes; I love them. Denmark's wild schemes test Norway's patience every single time and put them on some kind of adventure. Norway has learned to say "Denmark, no," almost instinctively to everything, but if nothing else, he keeps an eye to ensure Den doesn't get into too much trouble. And whenever Norway helps him with a problem, Denmark thanks him with eternal gratitude - until he inevitably bothers Norway again.

They, of course, have a long shared history, and their opinion of each other has changed multiple times during the time they have known each other. However, this shared history has also caused an imbalance between them. Denmark relies more on Norway and views him highly; Norway is the best friend he can trust his life with. Meanwhile, Norway doesn't share the same enthusiastic view, rather keeping his distance when he can and not giving in to all of his friends' crazy proposals. Den tends to view Norway as a fundamental part of his life, someone who always has his back no matter what. He can sometimes be in his little bubble, forgetting and losing his thoughts, so Norway follows and cleans up after him - as he has always done. It annoys Norway at times but he knows Denmark doesn't do these things out of maliciousness, so he has learned to live with it.

As much as Norway has had to put up with Denmark, he doesn't hold a grudge about it, even if he could. I think they have gone over their past struggles multiple times and somewhat gotten over them. In a weird way, perhaps out of all the Nordics, their relationship is the most good-faith one nowadays. But still, while Denmark views Norway as the closest person to him, Norway doesn't really get that association. Norway probably feels he has more in common with Sweden (but he wouldn't admit that). Also, I don't think Denmark and Norway would have nearly as big of a competition between themselves as they both do with Sweden; more than anything, they both combine forces to bother and tease Swe.

I think the canon really nailed the relationship between them. In the end, Norway loves and cares about Denmark - he has just learned to set up his boundaries and not let Den run over him. Norway knows how much he means to the guy, so he can't be too mean or dismissive. Norway will help Denmark out when he asks, but Nor also remembers to scold Denmark to keep him in his place. Denmark knows he didn't treat Norway the best in the past, so he doesn't mind (Norway specifically) mocking him. Den has never seen Norway as that threatening but will forever envy Norway's general luck regarding pretty much everything in life, which is a joke between them.

They both like visiting each other's places, but for entirely different reasons, and thus, they most likely spend a decent amount of time together. I could see Denmark and Norway still sharing an emotional bond that's special to them. They can talk about their worries rather openly and offer advice. Den knows Norway tends to suppress his emotions and not talk about them, so he tries to sneakily get him to open up. If he feels absent, Den will desperately try to amuse Norway and give him a positive outlook on life, with varying success. Perhaps that's their strength, and Norway can't help but find Denmark delightful. He tries, and Nor appreciates it.

To me, their relationship is platonic, and their past unions were based on brotherhood. I don't dislike the idea of romance between them, but something about the "chaotic buddy duo" takes the win for me. Their friendship itself provides lots of drama as is; breaking up various times but inevitably getting back together in the end, just out of their care and loyalty for each other. They're just unlikely best friends, stuck with each other, and they wouldn't have it any other way!

[babybluesays]

List of headcannons because I feel like it

Chosen is generally a hungry person

In AvA II and III, Chosen really decided to just go munch on almost everything. Settings buttons, whole ass fonts and texts like he's PacMan or smth... so I like to think that this stems from Cho just liking to eat in general

Like, if he gets stressed he gets hungry. You give him comfort food on a bad day, he'd feel a lot better. He likes eating that much. Though I can imagine him having to restrain himself due to the very active lifestyle he lives (and a possible intense fasting and workout regime to sustain his body the best it can so he can fite)

2. The Hollowheads are crybabys

Some more than others, but I like to think that every generation of Hollowheads is in some way or another a crybaby. Vic and Cho have, like, a LOT worth crying over. Stress, anxiety, depression, nostalgia even... but you'll never see them crying in front of anyone. They're hunkering down someplace private, popping out the fine glasses, fixing theyselves a martini or a shot and drinking the night away (#justiceforchoandviclivers)

Meanwhile your two little shits, Dark and Sec are more so on the spoiled side of crying. Dark just seems like the type who would cry easily as a preteen and throw a whole fit over a lot of things. He likely carried this with him into adulthood, though I can picture Cho helping him practice to keep it under wraps.

Second is just very emotional in general, and he's also been somewhat sheltered so he tends to have bigger reactions to new things. He seems like the type who would cry if you put him in enough pressure. Full on sink to the floor, sob in his hands and scream at everyone to get out the room and then just lay down and cry silently. Kinda like the Box episode

3. The Hollowheads and Noogai were a family in the past.. for a little while

This is sort of morphing into an AU, but for the damnest reason I'm so fixated on this... the idea of Dark and Cho locating Noogai's new PC and returning to him after realizing living in the Outernet sucks with no food or shelter. Victim being this gentle but wise ghost who haunts Alan's devices and fulfills his role as Dark and Cho's oldest brother. Dark and Cho would actually have a healthy, non-destructive relationship with each other AND Alan, and they were actually a family

Then Second is drawn, TCO's return, and suddenly Chosen feels more drawn to the baby than he does to his scrawny little brother. As years go by and Second learns to walk and talk and play and learn about life, Dark is now a preteen and grows more bitter to Chosen, feeling as though he's been betrayed an abandoned. Granted, Chosen rarely hung out with him like they used to. Essentially, Noogai was the caring but severely absent father, Chosen was the stressed older sibling trying not to crack for everyone's sake, Dark was the enigmatic, bitter middle child, and Second growing up in the ever increasing hostile environment, with Victim being the peacekeeper and keeping them all glued together.

Dark, psychotic as he is, developed the ViraBlade in the hopes of erasing Second for good. Cho didn't like that, they fite, Vic is powerless, and let's just say a few wrong swings leads to an almost fatal injury onto Second's little body. Pissed beyond belief, Noogai kicks the two out and then they're forced to band together to survive however they can in the Outernet. And after evaluating that they're only good for fighting, they decide there's no other option...

Meanwhile, the impact on Second's body awakened the first spurs of his power within him. And Noogai decides to heal him and use him for animation practice instead, to slowly rebuild and reshape him from the traumatic injury. He just didn't know Second would come alive again... wow that sure dragged on...

4. Chosen is emotionally bound to Second

Since Second is basically the reincarnation of Chosen, I like to think they're more connected than even Noogai realizes. Chosen loves the little guy more than you'd know, and would honestly do anything for him. I'd like to imagine that throughout season 3 of AvA, Chosen's gonna be catching a lot of bullets for his little bro

He probably also does it out of regret of failing to do the same for Dark, and now his trauma is being projected into his actions. He is very overprotective of Second but he tries his hardest to keep himself on the ground, and understands that Second is old enough to keep himself safe. If only he knew, though...

5. Victim and Second are identical in appearance

While Second may be the Chosen One's "Return", I don't think it means his entire appearance has to revolve around that . I actually like to think that he has a frightening resemblance to Victim. If you pulled down their hair, and gave them the same clothes.. he'd look exactly like him. Only littler.

Because realistically, Second is living the life that Victim could've had the chance to live. And there are a lot of parallels in his life compared to Victim's. Second's gang is rainbow colored, Victim's is black and white. Second is a creator, Victim comes off as a distruptor. Second's environment is warm and bright and welcoming, Victim's whole facility is so bland and lacks color, it's almost unfriendly.

[batneko]

bowuigi rock star x roadie AU.

The Mario bros are still plumbers by trade, but they're friends with the guy who manages the nearby concert venue and often get roped in to help out during big shows. They're both stronger than they look, and have plenty of experience at repairs even aside from plumbing. And Luigi has always been good with machines so he takes to the new equipment with ease. Though Mario is better with people and makes friends faster, Luigi is the one that everyone comes to rely on when things go wrong.

At a concert a few years ago Mario got into an actual physical fight with the star, but since the guy was already well-known as an asshole Mario's friend pretended to "fire" him and then brought him back to help out again next week, no big deal. Just can't work the next Bowser concert, that's all.

Bowser got famous when he was only eighteen, which means he never really had to grow up. He's spent the last ten years getting his way and experiencing no consequences (as long as he punched down). However now that his son is old enough to talk about how he feels and what he wants, Bowser is starting to realize he's been absent at best and a phenomenally bad example, and wants to start being better. Too bad he has no idea how.

His star is also starting to fade, and he feels conflicted about that. He's had enough hits now that as long as he manages his portfolio well and does enough stupid celebrity appearances to keep himself in the public eye, he'll never have to work again. But he likes performing, he likes rock, he doesn't want to be the "cameo appearance by" guy. He's not even thirty yet, dammit!

So he's doing this show at a slightly-smaller venue he hadn't ever intended to return to (some little guy with a mustache tried to step to him last time), and trying to figure out how much he can cut down on touring and still be able to afford the nanny and all the stuff he likes, and some intern just told him "my grandma loves you!" and then one of the subwoofers explodes and the replacement won't work for some reason and the concert is in twenty goddamn minutes and Bowser is going to lose it.

But out of nowhere another little guy with a mustache (not the same one as before? that one got fired, right? this one's cuter anyway) turns up and fixes the replacement and gets everything back on track so efficiently that Bowser is on stage ready to go with ten minutes to spare.

Come to think of it, that same little guy had been the one organizing the roadies to unload all the equipment earlier. And Bowser's pretty sure he was running the sound check. Does he do everything around here?

In the middle of his concert as Bowser is about to start a rather raunchy song, he suddenly says, "This one goes out to the guy who fixed my subwoofer and saved the show. Come to my dressing room after and I'll thank you properly." There's laughter from the audience (plausibly-deniable bisexuality has been a part of rock music for as long as there's been rock music) and Bowser adds, "I'm not joking," and then starts the song.

After the concert, Luigi comes to his dressing room.

True to his word, Bowser is all set to get down to business, but it turns out there was some work that needed running by him and everyone figured Luigi had earned some goodwill so they made him go. He didn't even watch the concert, he was too busy working behind the scenes.

Of course this only comes out after Luigi was halfway seduced to go ahead and let an asshole rock star blow him, but Bowser is so embarrassed at the misunderstanding that he throws him out into the hallway, breathless and disheveled. A lot of people see him and a few people caught Bowser's dedication, so by the end of the night everyone assumes it happened anyway.

And that was just the Friday show. There's one more to get through tomorrow.

[veliseraptor]

Top five spiciest untamed opinions!

man, I've been in my own little corner of fandom for long enough that I feel like I struggle a little to parse what is spicy of my opinions and what isn't, but here's a go at it

The Untamed is a show with complex, morally grey characters that's telling a slightly different but not inherently inferior story. Maybe I'm just a bit defensive about this, and I have with time come to appreciate a lot of things about the novel over the way they play out in the show, but The Untamed was the first version of the story that I fell in love with and I think at least some of the criticisms of it overstate the degree to which it morally simplifies the story. I think, whether because of requirements of censorship or other reasons, that the moral messiness of the story is subtler, I don't think it's absent, and while Jin Guangyao in particular falls victim to a pretty intense villain edit the narrative still has plenty of sympathy for him (even if the audience, all too often, does not). I think it's telling a slightly different story (as others have discussed), but I think it's a strong adaptation that still works with the underlying themes of the text.

However, that being said, The lessening of Wei Wuxian's culpability, as in the introduction of the second flautist, weakens his character. I feel like the character of Wei Wuxian as we see him in The Untamed still has the recognizable flaws of the character from the novel - I think the degree to which they're sometimes claimed to be toned down is overstated, which I think I've written some about before. He's still at least a little arrogant, causes problems, has a definite temper, and doesn't always respect other peoples' choices, among other things. But what The Untamed does do is remove some of his culpability, or at least temper it - both for Jin Zixuan's death and the massacre at Nightless City, which are two moments that contribute to a strong tragic arc in the first life, which makes for a more powerful (imo) arc in the second life. Removing, or at least lessening, Wei Wuxian's culpability for Jin Zixuan's death and Jiang Yanli's death makes him more a victim of circumstance than of his own human flaws, and at least for me, a character who is doomed by their own flaws is a far more compelling one than one who just happens to fall victim to outside forces. It makes him, I would argue, more passive and less of an active force, and I think the culpability for those two deaths - and the loss of control that causes it - makes for a more powerful narrative than that of a man who is victimized by someone else's actions.

Jin Guangyao was a good Chief Cultivator. I see people talk about him as though he was corrupt and evil and just plotting all the time, but the Bad Things™ he does mostly happen before his tenure as Chief Cultivator and, even taking those into account, have a limited impact on the world at large (with the exception of Nie Mingjue's death, but even that I would argue has more personal repercussions than broader political ones). As far as his responsibility for the cultivation world at large, we have no evidence prior to his downfall that he is negatively perceived by people, except for the fact of his birth/origins.

this is more MDZS-related than Untamed specific, but: MXTX deserves praise for writing "problematic" and messy queer sex, but it's just not hot. I don't have a whole lot to add on this one, but one of my least favorite parts of some corners of The Untamed fandom are people who are thoroughgoing MXTX antis who are quick to cry about the ~problematic~ aspects of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's sex life (which, honestly, I think are overstated a lot of the time, as is the weirdness of the sex scenes); however, in my opinion, the sex scenes as they stand just aren't very sexy, and I don't think that's intentional (as it arguably is in SVSSS). The sex scenes may be a shortcoming in the text, perhaps, but not the one certain people think it is.

this is again a stronger argument in the novel but I think it's present in the show as well: Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian are "there but for the grace of god" foils, but not in the sense of Jin Guangyao being "Wei Wuxian if he made bad moral choices" but in the sense of "who Wei Wuxian could've been if his circumstances were different." I've definitely written about this before and how much it drives me nuts the way people treat narrative foils in this story in general as Goofus and Gallant style duos, but this is a specific one. I think Jin Guangyao is an example of a story that runs alongside Wei Wuxian's, but ends in a different place, and I think the story isn't saying that he ends in that place because of something inherently worse about Jin Guangyao, but because of the way his circumstances happen to diverge from Wei Wuxian's in specific key ways. In some ways his ending is even a near beat-for-beat rewrite of Wei Wuxian's death, and Wei Wuxian receives the grace of a second life not because of any inherent merit, but actually because of his bad reputation. I think this goes for Xue Yang, too, actually.

I absolutely know I'm forgetting things and there are probably things back in my bitchy opinions tag that I could dig out, but here's at least a few that came to mind.

[ckret2]

Hi, found you through your Hazbin fic "You've Got A Face for Radio" and just. I've already left a comment on the ao3 about the fic in particular, but I also wanted reach out to another aro ace person, because while I do think I am on the ace spectrum, I am still kind of figuring things out. I've talked to a few people about not experiencing attraction, at least in the form most people do, and what they say almost always boils down to "you'll know it when you feel it" and "maybe you've felt it but repressed it subconsciously", which, I know they mean well but, it's not what I think is the case. I'm just. Kind of stuck on the enjoying NSFW stuff if it's fictional characters bit. What even classifies as sexual attraction anyway? Who defines it when it can vary from person to person?

Anyway, I hope I'm not being a bother, it's just that your fic gave me a lot to think. I'd have sent a dm since this might become a discussion (if you're willing) but I'm not sure what the Internet etiquette is here.

"You'll know it when you feel it" "maybe you've repressed it" lmaooo if that isn't THE MOST COMMON line questioning aces/aros get. Have you got "maybe you haven't met the right person" yet? There probably isn't an ace/aro in the world who's explored their identity without some (hopefully) well-meaning but oblivious allo saying one of those things.

When they DO mean well, it comes from a place of not being able to imagine being ace/aro; it seems more likely to most allos that the attraction is hiding rather than absent entirely. You can rest assured that anybody who says that is expressing something about their own understanding of sexuality, rather than anything about their understanding of your sexuality.

Honestly and sincerely, the "enjoying NSFW stuff if it's fictional characters" bit is what personally delayed me from identifying as ace for, like, a decade longer than it had to. "Well hey, I love thinking about sex if it's some kind of alien or robot, that doesn't seem very ace; so I must not be ace, maybe I just haven't yet met a normal real-life person who's interesting enough for me." But that kind of thinking comes from not understanding what being ace is!

Because the criteria for being ace is actually a lot lower than most people think. It's not "never thinks people are attractive," or "disgusted by sexual situations," or even "never wants to have sex." Those can be part of the experience of asexuality but they aren't necessary. (Some aces think people are attractive, just not sexually attractive! Some aces want to have sex, they just aren't sexually attracted to the people they're having it with, they're interested in the act rather than the partner! It's a spectrum!)

The litmus test I personally use for "sexual attraction," and that's worked for a lot of people I know, is this:

Have you ever looked at somebody, thought they were hot, and automatically thought to yourself that you'd LOVE to have sex with them if the opportunity ever arose? Maybe not even realistically wanted that to happen, but just felt that as a gut feeling? Just thought yeah, it'd be hot to sleep with them with the same instinctive immediate reaction that you might, say, see something delicious and think "ohhh that looks so good I wanna eat that" or see a really cool trailer and think "I SO wanna see that movie"?

That's sexual attraction. You, personally, automatically feel like you wanna have sex with somebody—possibly even a stranger!—possibly even if you know you wouldn't actually really choose to do it IRL for whatever reason—just because they're sexy.

If you haven't experienced that specific feeling before, you're almost definitely some flavor of ace.

(And even if you HAVE experienced that feeling before you might still be ace—possibly some flavor of gray-ace or demi-ace. Some people do experience that feeling, but so so very rarely that they feel like their overall experience of sexual attraction is more ace than allo. Some people experience that feeling but ONLY toward somebody they have a deep emotional connection to, whereas allos can experience that feeling toward strangers. Some people experience that feeling but if actually faced with the OPTION to have that sex they're turned off. All of these are ways to be ace. So the litmus test isn't the be-all end-all; but if that feeling has NEVER happened to you, that's probably ace.)

Based on this ask and on the comment you left me on Ao3, I'm guessing your form of engagement with sexuality is like what I wrote about in the fic: reading about characters having wild nasty sex is great, could read smut and/or smutty comics all day, maybe you fantasize about your blorbos screwing, maybe you've gotten off to these fantasies or to smut... but: all your fantasies are about somebody else having sex. Probably somebody else who isn't even real.

Are you ever in those fantasies? How do you feel about "character x reader" fics, does being y/n turn you on or does it squick you out to imagine [character] flirting with YOU? Do you ever think "wow I'D like to fuck [character]" or is it only "I wanna see [character] fuck (but I don't wanna be there myself)"? If "you" ever ARE in these fantasies, is it actually YOU, REALLY YOU, or are you just imagining the fantasy from the perspective of another character who isn't you? Do you ever have a sexual interest in the actors/voice actors, or does your sexual interest in them vanish when you aren't viewing them as their (fictional) character?

I can't tell you whether you're ace; but I can tell you that "I'm ONLY interested in FICTIONAL characters doing EACH OTHER, and I would lose interest if they were real people" is not a normal/common allosexual experience.

And if you're into micro labels, there are a couple under the asexual umbrella that describes that exact experience. The current term is aegosexual. (Older term autochorissexual; that was the current term when I learned it so I still tend to use it lmao.) It's for people whose primary experience of sexuality is fantasies that they themselves aren't part of. It's not mentioned on the page I've linked, but a LOT of aegosexuals have reported that they're specifically most into fantasies about cartoon/drawn characters and other fictional characters—the more "real" they are, the less appealing they are.

(And there's the related term "aegoromantic"—I'm focusing on sexuality here since that's mainly what the ask focused on, and also because historically I've seen less people struggle with "I don't want romance, I just enjoy reading love stories; I must be aro" compared to "I don't want sex, I just enjoy reading smut; I must be ace.")

Learning the term autochorissexual/aegosexual and why it made sense to fit under the ace umbrella is what got me over the hurdle of "oh, hey, I guess I am ace"—if you think it describes your experience, I hope it can help you too. If not, it at least shows just how varied the ace experience can be.

(I'm answering this publicly because I've seen SO MANY PEOPLE grappling with "I like FAKE sex; does that mean I can't be ace?"—many of whom have contacted me because of that fic, shocked to see someone else describe their own experiences and call it a flavor of ace—so I'm hoping this might help other questioning aces/aros! But you're also welcome to DM me!)

[cc1010fox]

Episode 8 Wolffe, while shuffling into the room with a cam: Sorry. The guys want another episode while they're aw--Is that a tubie? Fox, wide-eyed like he's been caught: ...No? Wolffe, zooming in on the tubie and smiling at the collective, "Awww!" resonating in his ears: Is that your tubie? Fox: You really think I did anything with a natborn woman? Wolffe: ...Then whose--? Thorn, after walking in: Whose tubie is that? Fox: Faryn's... Thorn: Isn't that one of your bodyguards? Fox: Yeah. He broke him out of the Temple for the day, but some dirtbag earned himself a march to the prison. I offered to do it myself, but Faryn insisted he wouldn't let having his son for the day interfere with his job. Thorn, smiling: I think he just wanted his son to bond with his boss~. Cody, through the speaker: Is this part of the episode? Rex, also through the speaker: Shhh! Fox, after clearing his throat: Thorn, nau'ika, you know I love you, right? Wolffe: Here it comes! The absent Cody, Rex, and Bly: Shhh! Thorn: Uh oh...That's a bad sign... Fox: No, I...just wanted to tell you that. It has nothing to do with anything. I just want you to know I love you. With everything that makes me me, I love you. Honestly, that love comes from the best parts of me...which says a lot about how I feel about you... Thorn, with a hand over his heart: ...Fox... Rex: Wolffe, pan the camera down. Wolffe, doing as told: Like that? Rex, clearly more interested in the tubie: Look at the little--Hi, little guy! Cody, look at his-- Bly: Guys, the episode! Fox, shifting the tubie to his other hip when he gets a little fussy: No matter what happens to me, or between us, never forget that, ok? Thorn, touching Fox's cheek, then promptly taking the tubie away from him to pat him on the back to try to calm him down: Fox, I-- Wolffe: Hey, Thorn, I can take the tubie. Thorn, after handing the tubie to Wolffe: Fox, I...love you so much...The fact that this decision is hard for you scares me... Cody: For kriff--Wolffe, why'd you have to give the tubie the camera? All I can see is the inside of his mouth! Wolffe: He wanted it! Look at how happy he is! Rex: Awww! It doesn't have any detachable parts, right? Bly: WHAT'S HAPPENING BETWEEN FOX AND THORN!? Thorn: Are you really having that hard of a time with it? Fox: ...I wish I wasn't, nau'ika...You deserve better than this... Thorn, resting a hand on Fox's cheek, not that anyone but Wolffe can see: Stop that...I get to decide what I deserve, ok? I deserve this honesty from you...and I think I deserve something else too... Fox: Something else? Bly: DID I JUST HEAR THAT!? Cody: WOLFFE, AIM THE CAMERA AT THEM! Rex: DON'T YOU DARE TAKE IT AWAY FROM OUR NEPHEW! Wolffe: ...I'm trying so hard to keep my emotions in check so I don't scare the tubie. Thorn: Yes...Give me a few days. You'll see what I mean. Fox: Now I'm scared... Thorn: Don't be. This is a good thing. I promise. Wolffe, after waiting about three minutes: Wait...Is that it? Fox: I mean...I don't really have any reason to-- Wolffe: THAT'S STILL A CLIFFHANGER! Fox, after taking the tubie from Wolffe since the outburst made him cry: Get out. Thorn: How could you, Wolffe? Rex: You're the worst ba'vodu. Cody: Out of line, Wolffe. Bly: But...what's going to happen to Fox and-- Wolffe: Wh--I--M-my camera... Fox: You owe him your camera. Wolffe: ...Fine...

Episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

[ozmatippetarius]

okay, I've got some thoughts about how Kou fits into and will react to the current timeline, and they're pretty contrary to the current groupthink

First, I think people are really underestimating the importance of Kou's mom being alive in this timeline. That's the big thing he's going to struggle to give up that might lead him to be in contention with the rest of the group. At the Red House, having his mom come back was his biggest and final wish.

In the initial timeline Kou had come to terms with the fact that there was no way she could be brought back to life, but now he's been placed into a timeline where she never died. And this is a true reality, not an illusion or fraud like we saw in the Picture Perfect arc or the Red House. That's emphasized even in such details as the fact that she is shown to be not a good cook, in contrast to the ideal presented in the Red House. And the memories that Kou is haunted by, and intentionally ignoring, aren't related to Mitsuba at all - they're memories of lonely three-person meals with his siblings while his parents were absent.

meanwhile, re: Mitsuba, I think it's important to note that Kou has never actually wished that Sousuke hadn't died. All his regrets about Sousuke relate to a lack of closure. He wishes they'd been friends before he died, he wishes they'd had the chance to develop those final pictures, he wishes that Sousuke had passed on normally instead of getting fucked up by Tsukasa, he wishes there was something he could have done to help. Even in the Red House, Sousuke is dead. He's sitting on an altar with incense burning, wearing exactly the outfit from the altar in his mom's house. Kou didn't wish for him to be alive, he wished for him to be at peace.

Meanwhile, right before this arc we had an emotional exchange reinforcing that Kou would miss No.3tsuba, a character established to be distinct from Sousuke whose existence also unfortunately necessitates his death, if he were gone.

All this is to say, to the extent that Mitsuba actually influences Kou's decisions in this arc, I think it's actually more likely that he is part of the reason Kou chooses to return to the original timeline than the reason he wants to stay in this one.

(Of course, Kou doesn't know that No.3tsuba got got by Natsuhiko right before the timeline reset, RIP.)