#they’re still a theater kid at heart

[helpimstuckposting]

I couldn’t get my earlier post out of my head, and then this happened so… I hope you enjoy a little famous!Eddie and dingus!Steve ficlet (ft platonic soulmate Stobin)

Part one | part two | part three

—

Steve and Robin had lived in Indy all of their lives. They shared the same schools, same teachers, same jobs, it would never end. They were platonic soulmates in a way they understood but couldn’t explain to anyone else, and that was okay. It worked for them.

Since they graduated, they’d been ice cream scoopers, movie rental employees, pizza makers, delivery drivers, movie theater security, bartenders, and now - surprisingly - musicians.

They had originally started messing around with song covers during their bartending era. Every Thursday was karaoke night, and they were both too competitive to see it as anything other than a chance to win, both trying to upstage the other. After a while, Steve started writing songs in his free time and Robin wouldn’t let anyone but her sing them. She posted their songs on Tiktok and Instagram just to see what would happen, and eventually they made their way onto Spotify and other streaming services.

A few of their songs went viral enough that they had a steady stream of listeners, and spent their free time putting more and more songs together. Their boss even let them play live at the bar on Wednesdays (and of course they’re still just as passionate about karaoke night).

It was a few months into their Wednesday shows when he showed up. Eddie Munson. It was just another bar in Indy, just a stop on their tour, just a coincidence that he happened to choose Robin and Steve’s bar. Steve noticed him during their set, and he was so glad in that moment that Robin was the lead singer because he was absolutely sure his voice would have cracked. Corroded Coffin was one of Dustin’s favorite bands, the kid wouldn’t shut up about them any time a new album or single was released.

Steve knew they were in Indy on tour, he’d witnessed Dustin’s spiral about not being able to afford a ticket, but he couldn’t believe they stopped in this bar. Dustin was gonna freak.

Once Robin and Steve finished their set, they went back to the bar to resume their actual jobs and Steve was once again stunned when Eddie Munson walked right up to him for a drink. Obviously Steve should have expected that, what else was someone going to do at a bar? But seeing someone he knows from the multiple posters plastered over Dustin’s bedroom wall, right in front of him - in the flesh, was beyond anything he could have predicted. Internally, he was absolutely freaking out.

Externally, he tried to keep his professional mask on. Munson was a regular customer, just a guy buying a drink, Steve could handle it without a meltdown. But man was the guy attractive. His band tee was ripped at the hem, jean vest with all its pins and buttons catching the light, and Steve could see the tendon in his neck pull as he laughed at something his band mate next to him said. Steve wanted to bite it.

He finished a customer’s drink, collected their card, and braced himself as Munson stepped up to the bar, a dimpled smile on his face that made Steve’s heart flutter like a dying butterfly in his chest.

“Nice set, man, your friend’s voice is gorgeous,” he said. “Can I get three rum and cokes?”

Grabbing three glasses from the bar, Steve began on the drinks. “Absolutely,” he said, his smile probably nowhere near Eddie’s level. “Are you here often, or just visiting?” Steve asked, attempting to play it cool, like Eddie was just any other person. This is ridiculous, Steve’s gonna throw up. Keep calm.

Eddie looked him up and down and smirked, “Just visiting for the weekend,” he said. A growing lump in Steve’s throat made him want to scream ‘I know!!! I know why you’re here!!! I know who you are!!! Hi!!!’ but he shoved that down as far as it could go, ready to choke on it if need be.

Steve set the finished drinks on the bar in front of Eddie, the musician handing over his card in exchange. “Open or closed?” He asked.

“Open. So, are those songs originals?” Eddie leaned into the bar, putting his face just a bit closer to Steve’s. He was gonna have a heart attack before the night was over, for sure, if Eddie kept this up.

“Oh, yeah, I uh… I wrote them,” Steve stuttered out. This was insane, he could pinch himself, there was no way this situation was happening. Eddie was gorgeous, dimples firmly in place because he wouldn’t stop smiling or smirking, his curls just begging for Steve to bury his hands in them and bring their faces closer. If Steve hadn’t been on the receiving end of hundreds of Dustin’s rants about Corroded Coffin, he knows he’d still want to drag Eddie out back and see what those lips tasted like, if they felt as much like sunshine as they looked.

Eddie nodded appreciatively and looked Steve up and down once again. “I’d love to hear more some time,” he said as he turned to leave, three glasses balanced in his hands.

“Well there’s karaoke here tomorrow night,” Steve blurted out, all attempts at remaining calm flying out the window because was that Eddie flirting with him? How did we get here? “You could stop by if you’ve got any free time.”

Eddie laughed, amusement flickering in his eyes and suddenly Steve remembered chasing fireflies in Robin’s backyard when they were kids. He started walking backwards towards his friends, “I’ll see what I can do!” he said with a raised voice, flashing one more smile that made that butterfly in Steve’s chest absolutely flip out. He was frozen in place, the shock of the whole situation settling deep in his bones. Honestly, Steve wasn’t sure he was still alive. Did he choke somewhere between the stage and the bar? Did he even make it to work in the first place? What day was it?

“Earth to Dingus!” Robin shouted at the other end of the bar. “A little help here?” she frantically gestured around her to the rising number of patrons.

A pretty decently sized mob was forming around the bar, snapping Steve out of his rock-star-induced-coma. He could freak out later in the privacy of his own home, right now he had work to do. And if his brain short circuited every time Eddie ordered drinks, that was nobody’s business but his own (and Robin’s).

—

Thank you so much for the encouragement !

[anzulvr]

Hii!! Can you do karma with a s/o that's rly quiet but ends up being good with kids??

Karma x Reader whose Good with kids // fluff GN! Reader

This all begins when E class gets themselves into deep trouble. Attempting to train on rooftops while studying for midterms, what they thought was a genius idea doesn't go as planned. Okajima and Kimura jump down and fall on top of an elderly man riding his bike. The old man is hospitalized for a broken foot. He ends up being the caretaker of multiple kids at a daycare he runs, Karasuma goes to talk to the man on behalf of his students-apologizing with flowers and all.

Korosensei orders the entire class to volunteer at the daycare and take the elderly man's place while he rests his leg to teach everyone about helping those who are weaker and those they’ve wronged.

Okay yeah, Korosensei was pissed- Karasuma just spent 20 minutes bargaining and apologizing to the rightfully angered old man and the class was filled with regret, shame and dread for the hard work that was coming. You on the other hand were secretly hyped! You loved taking care of kids, their cute little faces never failed to give you baby fever.

Even though you and Karma werent personally involved in the training scheme you still had to participate as it was a class effort.

The days of volunteering roll around and each day progress is made.

Everyone has a job to do, Some of your classmates are helping the kids study others are in charge of nap time and many are cleaning the space and fixing the building up.

You look over to a group of kids entranced with a theater show Karma, Terasaka and Okuda are putting on for them.

You catch yourself staring at Karma for too long, and bring your focus back towards your job;

You’re in charge of looking after the kids when they’re doing activities, (everything is in rotations for smaller groups)

Your current group is painting and drawing to their hearts content.

You notice one of the kids, Jiro, seems really upset, His eyes are getting watery. You crouch down to his level and ask him what’s wrong.

“My drawing— looks bad, I can’t draw good!” He speaks through the hiccups that slice his sentences up, now the tears are flowing down his cheeks completely.

“Don’t say that… You’re so talented Jiro, I want one of your drawings for myself!”

You ruffle his hair and he starts laughing through his tears, “You’re not lying?”

“Of course not, you’re drawings are my favorite thing ever!”

“Really?! I can draw one for you to take home!”

“The great artist Jiro will make me a drawing? Thank you Jiro you’re the best!”

Jiro rushes back to his seat with a smile on his face ready to start a new drawing as a present for you.

Michi raises her hand, "[Name] look!! I drew you!"

"Awe! I love it thank you Michi, you’re so sweet!"

She nods as she points to the second stick figure on her paper, "Look! I drew Karma because he's your best friend right?"

"Yeah he is-" You're cut off, startled by someone’s voice you turn to look and there he is.

"I'm just your best friend?" He feigns disappointment, you laugh and shove his shoulder gently.

You point at her drawing and back at him as a show of comparison "That looks just like him- you're so attentive to detail Michi!"

"I don't know what that means but thanks!" She skips back to her seat overjoyed with the praise.

Karma turns back to face you,

"Who knew you were this good with kids, it hasn't even been a full week and you're already their favorite- after me, they love me more."

You smile "You wish! Honestly I'm not surprised you're good with them, you have a fun personality, but anyway how'd the play go?"

"It went great, they're Kayanos problem now. I’ve been wanting to come over to you- just couldn’t.”

“I know, I can’t believe we’re on opposite sides of the room!”

“Can’t believe you’re still alive, clingy.”

“Shut up I caught you glancing at me every few minutes. You should focus more on your performance.”

“Hey my point still stands, if you caught me it means you were looking too!”

“I wanted to see how the story played out.”

“Righttt, rate my acting on a scale from 1 to Karma.”

“I’d give you a 9, just cause the outfit was cute.”

“Not bad, where’d the last point go?”

“You’re acting sucked-” you pressed your lip in an attempt to hide the smile threatening to come out.

He scoffed putting his arm around you, “You should do it with me! Tomorrow were doing sleeping beauty, all you have to do is sleep while I smack Terasaka with a plastic sword.”

“Sounds like fun, but I wanna see Terasaka getting hit— can’t do that with my eyes closed.”

“If you do it I’ll ask someone to film it so you can watch later, and more importantly I get to wake you up with a forehead kiss.”

“Alright then, the video convinced me.”

“You sure it wasn’t the kiss?”

“Maybe a little.”

A child’s shout brings your attention back onto your job “[NAMEE]! Michi spilled paint on me!”

Michi stands up “IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!”

Restful moments with Karma couldn’t last forever but even the noisy ones you appreciated wholeheartedly, now you’d clean up the colorful mess together.

note: sorry for any errors in the writing pls correct me if you catch any <3! sorry this is late still have many rq to go through!

[yzy-dragon]

I absolutely ADORED S2E9 "Three Stories" of Link Click and was a bit surprised to see the discontent here on Tumblr, and I totally understand the reasons why people didn't like it, especially in the context of the pacing of the rest of S2 (which I also have some opinions on but I won't talk about that here), but I also felt the need to just get my heart out why I love it so much. A bit of background, I'm Chinese American but have lived in and visited China numerous times.

Music and theater. As a western classical musician and an amateur Chinese opera singer enthusiast (I saw someone else post about the possible inspo this episode got from Chinese opera), I VIBED with the artistic direction of this episode SO much. The three-part structure was almost like a sonata/symphony (and remember that one scene where Qian Jin was air-conducting in a previous episode!!) or scene changes in a Chinese opera. Nothing needs to be said about the animation style that hasn't been said already, but I like how scenes from the three individual "stories" were interwoven and reused like leitmotifs. Especially that crazy, tortured laughter. Idk if any of the parallels were intentional on the part of the director, but it's what I got from it due to my personal experiences. I know that's a highly subjective takeaway though, which brings me to my next point....

Qian Jin's "tragic" backstory. I know a lot of people were upset that the extent of Qian Jin's tragic backstory was "oh his wife cheated on him", but I think the "basicness" of his struggles was the whole point (by the way, this segment displayed various attitudes towards work, family, marriage, individual pride, and life in mainland China so subtly but so well!). I also don't think sympathy was the main thing we were supposed to feel for him, although of course there is some. The whole "tragicomedy" aspect of Qian Jin's story is that it's not some horrible, terrible, rare thing that happened to him, but a common problem faced by so many hardworking but busy married men trying to provide for their families: infidelity. But Qian Jin sees himself as the main character of an elaborate play that rivals the great dramatic classics (which, funnily enough, often depicted very DRAMATIZED versions of a rather basic series of events). And his viewpoint is validated when....

Qian Jin meets the twins. That segment is still largely from Qian Jin's perspective, because we still don't really know how LTC and LTX even feel about him. But for Qian Jin, it's a stroke of fate and fortune that could only possibly happen in theater. He's very far removed from reality at this point. Reality is that a cop whose job it is to investigate violent crime comes across two kids who are the victims of a violent crime. Again, nothing particularly special or even coincidential. It's comical like that.

The fairy tale section.  Unlike the first two, I think this segment is from Xixi’s perspective, which not only justifies the cartoony artstyle but also makes it heartbreaking, due to her childlike innocence.  Like Qian Jin, she also perceives her reality as something it’s not, but unlike him, she doesn’t have delusions of grandeur of being a tragic protagonist.  It’s just a little fox trying to survive in a forest full of predators and hunters.  

All that tortured laughter. I’ve actually noticed in a lot of Chinese media that they like to use laughter as a way of signifying a person’s complete mental breakdown due to the tragedies they’ve suffered.  It’s a very internal thing that has people on the outside going, “WTF?”  In this episode we have a lot of characters crazily laughing together at the same time and it seems like they’re relating to each other, but in reality they’re all trapped in their own nightmarish hells and motivated by selfish purposes. 

Back to the topic of Qian Jin, even though he (innaccurately) may see himself as the hero of his own story, it's not enough for him. He wants to use Cheng Xiaoshi to change the past. He wants to become the director of the play.

I know a lot of people were disappointed this episode didn't advance the plot, especially in regard to Cheng Xioashi and Lu Guang's storylines, but I was actually prepared for a backstory episode and couldn't have been more satisfied. Again, I have other opinions on the rest of S2 but at least standalone, I think this episode was nearly perfect. And I really wasn't expecting this, but it's really elevated Qian Jin to one of my top characters.

[fluffybun24]

The amazing digital university(that isn’t actually digital)

Pomni Jackjester

19 years old, and had recently transferred to a new school with her 18 year old brother Jax, she’s a quiet and introverted girl but is still very intelligent and kind

Jax Jackjester

18 years old, and had recently transferred to a new school with her 19 year old sister Pomni, he’s a bit of a literal jackass and a sassy jerk but is quite talented and does actually have a brutally honest heart of gold

Ragatha C. Dolly

20 years old, and has been going to the school since she was 19, she’s a very sweet and thoughtful girl who came from a wealthy family yet rarely ever mentions it

Zooble Dardruff

20 years old, and is the one of the students with the most experience of the school, they are capable and will start a fight with a bully, they’re also pretty introverted as well but very smart

(i did my best with!! okay?!)

Kinger D. Diamond

22 years old, comes from a rich family and bloodline and has been going to this school for the longest, takes him a while to process thing and also dissociates from time to time, but is very smart and talkative when it comes to bugs and other insects

Gangle Ribbondancer

19 years old, big theater kid yet very sensitive, she’s very quiet and shy but likes to talk to friends, especially about her favorite cartoons and anime

Caine Ringman

19 years old, and is the extroverted class president! very eager to help yet utterly oblivious sometimes. gets distracted easily but is very proper and intelligent

Welcome everyone, to my new official TADC AU, where basically all the characters exist in the real world and are now in high school/college, and yes, i turned Pomni into a rabbit because her and Jax are related in this AU. the ships this au contains are in the tags

[sewerdad]

I think Wyll is the most fun character to romance the other origin companions as

Karlach- i think they’re the most obvious because of the way their stories sort of dance around each other. Especially with how if you want to save Karlach while as romancing another character her best option is ending up going with Wyll anyways.

Shadowheart- gods favorite princess with everyone’s favorite prince ( I know he’s not actually a prince but he is in my heart ) their banter while walking around us some of my favorite in the game they make me giggle when they talk!! Wyll and Shadowheart both grew up with unsavory people pulling the strings and whispering in their ears and I think they would help each other remember they are not who controlled them. They also both have a deep understanding of rejection. At the end of the day I think they would make each other blush and that makes me blush!!!

Astarion- I’m not explain this one. Have you heard how they talk about each other? They’re smitten!! I think it was love at first sight for Astarion. I don’t care if you disagree argue with a wall.

Lae’zel- Ok this one’s interesting, I like them the best when it’s actually Lae’zel romancing Wyll. It’s established that githyankis value sex over emotion in their relationships because of the way their society is set up which makes me laugh because Wyll’s romance route is literally all emotion and very little sex lmao. This would confuse and frustrate Lae’zel because she feels things for him but she can’t tell that he’s also super into her. Like he’s saying nice thing to her that makes her feel???things???? but he won’t push it any farther so she’s like ok maybe he’s just really nice!! And then they kiss and ok they’re finally getting somewhere ! But oh that’s it?? Then why does she still feel so light and her heads spinning?? By the time she get to the end of Wyll’s route she’s fallen in love but has never even touched the guy and that’s not how that supposed to work? I think the back and forth she would go through would be sweet and funny and the idea of them makes me laugh.

Gale- Ok I lied I actually can’t stomach watching these two theater kids fall in love. They’re both so corny I think I would be vomiting by the end lmaoooo, but hey I’m willing to be convinced ;)

That’s all if you hated this I don’t care!

[buneok]

stardew valley themed emoji asks !!

hello here's an oc ask game with allll stardew themed questions <3 hopefully everyone can see all the emojis lol SORRY IF U CANT MY BAD

(🏙️) how was your farmer's life like before they moved to pelican town?

(🌶️) how do they feel about becoming a farmer?

(☀️) do they adjust to living in the valley easily?

(🌱) what is their farm called?

(🚎) what made them decide to move?

(🥔) which farm layout do they have?

(🎂) when is your farmer’s birthday?

(🌼) what's their favorite thing?

(🤠) does your farmer wear a hat?

(🍂) do they have a favorite season? least favorite?

(☃️) how do they spend their time during winter?

(🌎) how does your farmer's first year in the valley go?

(🐶) do they choose the dog or the cat?

(🐱) do they have any other pets?

(🐎) does your farmer get a horse? what do they name it?

(🐓) do they have a favorite farm animal?

(🍔) does your farmer like to cook? are they good at it?

(🍙) what is their favorite food?

(⭐️) do they go community center or buy the joja membership?

(🏅) if they choose to restore the community center, what bundle do they usually complete first?

(💢) which bundle do they struggle with the most?

(📆) how long does it take them to finish the cc/joja developments?

(🤩) do they ever visit the community center once it's done?

(💵) what are your farmer's thoughts on joja?

(👔) what do they think about morris?

(✨) what is their best skill?

(🧑‍🌾) which professions do they choose? what is their favorite one?

(🌽) what are their favorite crops of each season?

(❤️) what are their loved gifts?

(❌) what are their hated gifts?

(🎁) how do they react when they're given one of their loved gifts?

(🤢) how do they react when they're given one of their hated gifts? what do they do with it?

(🎉) what is your farmer's favorite festival?

(🗣️) who do they socialize with the most during festivals?

(👎) is there a festival they don't particularly like?

(🍰) do they go to every festival every year?

(🫂) is your farmer well liked in town?

(👯) who are the closest people to them?

(🫣) is there a person they’re too shy to talk to, but really want to?

(‼️) is anyone too shy to talk to your farmer?

(😐) anyone they tend to avoid, but are generally still nice to?

(🙄) do they have anyone they openly dislike? why?

(💍) if they get married, who do they marry? why?

(💜) does your farmer and their spouse have any kids? what are their names?

(💚) has your farmer had any other relationships before they got together with their partner?

(🤔) what does their spouse's family/friends think of of your farmer?

(💕) how did they propose?

(🥹) how does your farmer react to their partner's 10 heart event?

(🏠) does your farmer buy a house for pam and penny? do they reveal their identity or stay anonymous?

(🎟️) does your farmer like going to the movie theater?

(🎥) what is their favorite movie?

(🍿) what's their favorite theater snack?

(🎦) do they have a least favorite movie?

(🍻) does your farmer hangout at the saloon? who do they usually go with?

(🎮) are they good at the arcade games in the saloon? which one do they prefer?

(🗡️) does your farmer like adventuring in the mines?

(🌋) do they prefer the mines in pelican town, the skull caverns, or the volcano?

(⚔️) what is their weapon of choice?

(🖐️) any rings they absolutely need to have at all times?

(🟢) does your farmer get a slime hutch? do they use it?

(😦) is your farmer afraid of the monsters?

(🧟‍♂️) which monster do they dislike the most?

(🖤) how does your farmer feel about krobus?

(🧡) what do they think of the dwarf?

(🌟) what is their reaction when they get their first stardrop?

(🐍) do they complete mr. qi's challenge and make it to level 100 of the skull caverns in one day?

(🥛) what's their reaction to drinking the iridium milk?

(💣) what's the lowest they ever gone in the skull caverns?

(🔮) best thing they ever found while in the skull caverns?

(🪄) does your farmer forge their weapon at the volcano?

(🏖️) do they visit the island resort? who do they take with them?

(🏴‍☠️) what do they think of the pirate's cove?

(🦜) does your farmer befriend leo? what do they think of him?

(🥜) what is their first impression of mr. qi's walnut room?

(🫐) do they take the 500 qi crop challenge? do they manage to complete it?

(💎) what's their favorite thing they've bought with the qi gems?

(🐠) does your farmer catch every fish?

(🐙) what fish do they struggle to catch?

(🐟) what do they do with the legendary fish they've caught?

(🦕) do they donate every artifact to the museum?

(🌈) how do they react when they find their first prismatic shard? what do they do with it?

(🦖) do they incubate the dino eggs? how many dinos do they have?

(⚫️) does your farmer have any void chickens?

(💙) do they have any blue chickens?

(🍷) what is your farmer's main way of making money?

[pythoneon]

not to be annoying about VHS christmas carols against but i’m gonna be bc

i can’t stop thinking about something curt said in his interview with james about starkid and how you can see the seams of the production in each performance, and how it adds to the experience, and i think that’s why so many people love starkid. not only is it extremely accessible for people who can’t afford broadway tickets (which are ABSURDLY expensive without a doubt) and exposes people to the joy of performance in a palpable and fun way. its unpolished sometimes, and not every run goes PERFECTLY, but that only elevates the experience.

as a recovering theater kid who’s also a fairly new starkid & tin can bros fan, its imperfections are what drew me in. my first musical i watched (TGWDLM) is AMAZING and still my favorite, but its not perfect, and i wouldn’t have it any other way. imperfections are human, they’re fun stumbles that can be brought up later as something unique that happened at that showing and no other. it shows the seams and doesn’t take you out of it. you hear people improvise lines to make their costar laugh, you see actors try really hard not to break character, you watch someone cry ACTUAL TEARS during a solo, so engrossed that you’re drawn in with them. you become a part of this world for a moment because starkid is nothing but passion and love for their craft, and they show it through ingenuity, creativity, and craftiness.

just like curt said in that same interview, VHS christmas carols is the embodiment of all that. its a small and intimate stage (MY FAVORITES), so the line between actor and viewer is blurred. there’s parts in the digital ticket where you hear clark laugh at a few line readings, which i love so much. it’s simpler than a lot of their other stuff, band wise and set wise, but what they DO have is excellent. the VHS-shaped stage, the play button on the box lids, the CANDLES UGH. they’re all enjoying themselves, putting their entire heart and soul into each performance, and it shows. even the happy songs brought tears to my eyes. seeing that reminded me of how much i loved being in theater and the friends i made doing it.

VHS christmas carols is like a reminder that starkid isn’t just a production company making high quality musicals for us to watch, it’s also a group of dorky friends having the time of their lives on stage.

[castianii]

my Ninjago headcanons!!!!

Kai

• Is TikTok famous. He likes to put his camera in everyone’s face while they do normal everday things then says “ooh this is perfect, everyone will love this!!” and then everyone does love it.

• Spends most of his time trying to annoy his teammates. He finds it funny how easily Nya gets ticked off, so he annoys her most often. ex) going into her room and just singing really loud.

• Thinks Tarayummy is his soulmate. He sits in his room in the dark and just watches her videos. He has a hatred for every man she has ever talked to.

Nya

• Says she hates dressing up/wearing dresses, but at night she secretly puts on pretty ball gowns she hides in boxes in her closet. (I do this)

• Loves art, but she mostly paints. She picked it up after seeing the paintings Jay did after seabound. He taught her a lot of it.

• Anytime she sees a friend or someone she knows out in public she has to talk to them. It’s like when you were little and your mom/dad saw someone at the store and they just had to talk to them forever. She does that.

Zane

• There’s a desk in his room with the most random junk on it. He doesn’t even know where most of it came from. This junk varies from model airplanes to defused pipe bombs.

• He’ll give himself weird accents sometimes. If he’s bored he will just put on a new accent and talk to the others to see their reactions. One time he did a Russian accent that scared Jay so much he peed his pants.

• He could watch those videos of dancing fruit for hours. He just loves brain rot, and that’s okay because it keeps him busy.

Cole

• Religiously watches edits of himself of TikTok. Once he accidentally reposted one and everyone lost their mind.

• Thinks Halo by Beyoncé is the greatest song ever written. It’s the only song he will sing in front of other people and he will put his whole heart and soul into it every time.

• Likes to skateboard, but doesn’t have enough time. He thought it would be a fun hobby to pick up before he was a ninja and actually got really good at it. He isn’t as good now, but he can still do some tricks.

Jay

• This man is so zesty oh my god. Everyone in Ninjago thought he was gay until he got together with Nya. There are still people who think it’s all just an act to cover it up.

• If this guy sees a river he is getting in. It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 or 80 degrees, this man is ready to jump in any river he sees. He tries to get everyone else to join, but they aren’t as stupid (except Cole who obviously has to join him)

•Watches Instagram reels instead of TikTok. He thinks they’re funnier, and Kai thinks that it’s the funniest thing in the world and never shuts up about it.

Lloyd

• A lot of people think this, but I think that he bleach’s his hair. He doesn’t want to look anything like his dad, and he thinks his dark hair makes him look evil.

• Also likes art, but mostly draws. He likes to do art with Nya, but picked it up when he was younger. He used to make his own comic books about the ninja in S1.

• Wants to be a theater kid so bad, but he has to focus on his ninja work. He’s made everyone watch Hamilton at least 5 times (so far).

I have other headcanons about a lot of other characters, and more about these guys if you’re interested.

[doriandrifting]

This shit with Kit Connor is bringing me back to the Love, Simon days, and I just gotta rant. Like first off, yeah the movie has some problems that didn’t really exist in the books, but so many people downplay the significance of that movie hitting the theaters. I’ll say, for myself, I was 18 and had just come out to my closest friends as bi a year before. It was genuinely the first romcom happy queer movie I had ever seen. I went home and cried my eyes out. And then I got online, and all I saw was people shitting all over it—calling the author of the book series, Becky Albertalli, a fetishist and saying the movie was “for the straights” because “all the actors were straight”.

Becky Albertalli was forced to come out as bisexual to defend herself. And then, what do you know? Like half the cast came out as queer in some compacity in the next few years following its release. It’s almost like they were literally barely out of their teenage years and were still figuring themselves out, or not ready to open up yet. Hell—Nick Robinson’s brother, who’s not that much younger than him, only came out to Nick as the movie was filming. Also one of the actors even stated that most of the production crew openly identified as queer, and the director was an openly gay man. But apparently that means fuck all, and these young actors should have their personal lives ripped into and either be called queerbaiters or be forced to out themselves.

For all the shit talking people did of Love, Simon to prop themselves up as some saviors to the purity of queer media, all they did was recreate the plot. A bunch of fucking Martins outing Simon. And of course it’s all happening again with the Heartstopper cast. They’re even younger too, which really breaks my heart. Coming out is never easy, but the fact that people are demanding it on a global stage from a bunch of teenagers? A bunch of teenagers on a show that stars Charlie, a kid who was forcibly outed? Talk about consuming media with zero critical thoughts.

And I know that these people never learn their lesson. I can only imagine the reaction from the general audience of Stranger Things next season with Mike and Will. The hate for Will’s character started immediately following the season, and Noah had to navigate all these questions about queerbaiting when the show isn’t even over. And I can only imagine what it’s going to be like for the actors following season five. Which, again, is ridiculous, because they don’t owe anyone an explanation.

Anyway, Simon said it best, “I'm supposed to be the one that decides when and how and who knows, and how I get to say it. That's supposed to be my thing, but you took it away from me.”

[countryrebel1995]

I didn't want to have to make this post, I've seen enough shipping drama on Tumblr over the years that I usually steer clear of it, but there’s been so much Nooshy bashing in the tags lately that I feel compelled to weigh in on it.

Why do people like Nooshy? Well, to put it simply, even though she’s never the center of attention in "Sing 2", Nooshy manages to be a girl with layers, and there's a lot to appreciate about her. When we're first introduced to her, she's a street performer so she can make the money that she needs to survive, but she’s also genuinely passionate about her craft - she loves to dance - and she enjoys getting a chance to share that passion with someone else whenever they come along.

While she can be snarky and prickly and slow to trust strangers, she’s also very nice once you get to know her. After a young turtle kid almost screws up her performance, she's still very playful and accommodating towards him. When she’s brought backstage to the Crystal theater, she compliments some dude's hat just to make him feel good about himself. While she initially agrees to help Johnny because he offers to pay her, she starts to stick up for him and genuinely support him, because the way Klaus treats him isn't right. She decides to help the Moon Theater troupe put on their big show, even though she's only known these people for about a week and their plan will surely be very dangerous, because the way Jimmy Crystal treats them isn't right either and she wants to help them stick it to the man. After Johnny tells her that he and his family used to be a gang of notorious criminals, Nooshy never judges them for their shady past, and is actually quite happy to see how close he and his father are now (especially since it's implied that she might not even have parents herself). And during "A Sky Full Of Stars", she encourages Johnny to never give up and follow his heart, because he's her friend and she wants to see him succeed.

Nooshy is snarky and mischievous, but underneath it all, she's actually a very kind girl, and very loyal towards the people who earn her respect. And by the end of "Sing 2", she gets her happy ending when she not only gets a new paying career doing what she loves, but also finds a place where she belongs among the Moon Theater troupe.

The reason why I just went off on that rather long tangent, dissecting her character, is to drive home the point that Nooshy has done nothing in the canon films to warrant the way people talk about her sometimes.

I've seen people insult everything about her and her fans for shipping reasons, because they see her as a threat to their preferred ships (even though she and Johnny are not even canonically a couple by the end of "Sing 2"). And there's a real double standard when it comes to this too, because no other character who's been shipped with Johnny over the years gets this kind of treatment. Meena doesn't, Ash doesn't, Ryan doesn't (even though the claim that Nooshy haters sometimes make - that people only like her as one half of a ship - could just as easily be said about him).

And this is really nothing new. Characters getting trash-talked over shipping wars is a tale as old as time when it comes to fandoms, and people are entitled to their opinions. The reason why I made this post is because lately, the Nooshy bashing is starting to cross a line.

Over the last few months, I've been seeing a growing number of comments complaining about people including Nooshy in their fanart. I've also been seeing a growing number of posts outright insulting people who like Nooshy or like to ship her with Johnny, saying that they're stupid and shallow and should just go away because they’re a blight on the fandom.

How about no.

In a fandom, people are allowed to like whatever character they like, or ship whatever couple they like, so long as they're not hurting anyone. If you hate Nooshy so much that you can't stand seeing any fanart of her or fanfics of her, because you don't want to be reminded that she exists, then I'm sorry but you're either just going to have to deal with that or stop engaging with the parts of the fandom where people want to appreciate her. Because quite frankly, your hatred for this character is no one else’s problem except your own and people are not going to stop liking her just for your benefit.

[tittyfixation]

Zoro's heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. 

Sitting on the bench outside of the movie theater, he waited for Luffy to come for their date. His hands gripped his phone while staring at the time, his fingers tapping on the back of his phone. The wind brushed his shoulders and he brought his arms closer to his sides. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, either from anxiousness or excitement. Him and Luffy were friends ever since they were kids and Zoro has been in love with him since he was a teenager, he shouldn’t be this nervous.

It was just Luffy. He had no reason to be nervous. But Luffy wasn’t just any other guy, as he just internally acknowledged. But it was hard to think clearly when it came to Luffy. Not only was he so damn pretty with his big brown eyes and curly black hair, and his light brown skin, he had such a sunny smile that could brighten the darkest of rooms. No matter how much he would pretend to hate it, he loved when Luffy would jump on him to hug him. Luffy was such a heavy constant in his life that he couldn’t imagine not having him. 

“Calm down,” Zoro said to himself, closing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly and his phone vibrated in his hand at a text from Sanji.

Ace and Luffy just got here, Luffy’s heading your way. You got this Mosshead, Zoro read from ‘Curly Cook’ and snorted at the gif of a rice ball shooting a thumbs up. 

“Zoro!” Luffy called out, running over to him and jumping to hug him while sitting, leading to Luffy landing in Zoro’s lap. Letting out a laugh, Zoro hugged back and Luffy shifted so he was sitting right beside him on the bench. “Sorry, I know Zoro doesn’t like it when I sit on his lap in public.”

“You’re fine, Luffy,” Zoro waved him off with a small smile and he realized something when it was just him that showed up “your brother and the cook gettin’ something to eat before their movie?”

“You know how Sanji is, he never likes eating out, especially if he’s with Ace,” Luffy teased lightheartedly with a giggle and Zoro’s heart skipped a beat, “their movie starts in…40 minutes? They’re getting smoothies.”

“Ah,” Zoro said and he smirked as he thought about how Sanji is with Ace. “We’ve got 20 minutes before our movie, but we can still get tickets and snacks.”

The two of them got up from their bench and seeing an empty line, Zoro went up to the booth to ask for two tickets to “The Ghost Princess”. Admittedly, Zoro only read these comics for the sake of being able to understand this series that Luffy liked. If Luffy could listen to Zoro talk about sword history, Zoro could show him that same courtesy. He listened to Luffy talk about all the intricacies of this story and how this movie technically wasn’t canon. 

“I’m so excited Zoro! I’m so glad we’re getting to do this,” Luffy almost squealed while they stood in the snack line and without thinking, he locked his fingers with Zoro’s. Or maybe he was thinking, with the way Luffy tightened his grip. Zoro sputtered and his face burned at the forward contact, tightened his grip on Luffy’s hand. 

Zoro could only hope he could make it through this movie without dying of a heart attack.

[aphmeow2300]

Imagine being a devoted Theater kid by heart and decide; “Hey, I have a new hyperfixation, and I love musicals. Why not combine them both?”

INTRODUCING

WDO: A Mysteriful Musical!

Brought to you by: Aphmeow2300 and a person I would have to keep anonymous because I’m not quite sure if they’re comfortable.

This project has been in the works for I think 2 weeks now. Might as well show everyone! This is a project for fun, I hope this idea will spring into a reality someday.

DISCLAIMER: THIS PROJECT IS STILL IN THE WORKS! IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO PITCH IN WITH IDEAS PLEASE COME BY IN THE COMMENTS AND SUGGEST! THIS PROJECT IS GONNA TAKE A HELL OF A WHILE. SINCE I HAVE SCHOOL ALL THE HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED AND CREDITED!

- WDO: A Mysteriful Musical will have a Discord server! But for now I’m starting at the blueprint section of this project.

- If you would like to pitch in and help, DM me on Discord! aphmeow2300 (You can help with songs, instrumentals, events, scripts, etc!)

——

# REDO INFO

- This musical will be built like Heathers, it will have dialogue in between songs.

- Most songs are gonna be shortened to 2 Minutes while the most Plot Driven ones can has to 3-4 depending on which songs work.

Total Song count: 63

Reprise song count: 1

Duet Count: 23

Multicharacter songs count: 13

Solos count: 27

- DLCS will end off as a special edition but is apart of the lore still!

- Some ships will be canon here!

- Instead of removing the gunshot gabs entirely, in the prologue will be solos of all the characters and their personality summed up.

—

SONG LIST (Lyrics and All!)

# EMOJI KEY:

☑️ = Full Lyrics of song is Done

🎶 = Multi-character Duet Song (Trio songs count, Songs with Duets but with another person as the background vocals doesn't count)

🎵 = Duet Song

🎼 = Solo

CHARACTER KEY:

Yuma = YK

Shinigami = S

Yakou = YF

Desuhiko = D

Vivia = V

Halara = H

Fubuki = F

Makoto = M

Yomi = YH

Kurumi = K

SONGS IN ORDER:

# Chapter 0

**Opening song: A Death God by your side:** ☑️ 🎼

**Who are you?:** ☑️ 🎵 S,YK

*MYSTERY LABYRINTH*

**Let me show you the way!:** 🎼S, YK

**Deep Fried Puzzle** 🎵 S, YK

--

**Taking a step into Kanai Ward:** 🎼 YF

# PROLOGUE

**Ways of a Detective:** 🎶 ALL NDA

**Money Runs the World:**🎼 H

**Matchboy:**🎼 D

**1 Heart, 2 Heart, 3 hearts, 4:**🎼 F

**A Story to Tell:**🎼 V

# CHAPTER 1:

**An Expensive Task:** 🎵 H, YK

**Devils Authority:** 🎶 H, YK, S, OTHERS.

*MYSTERY LABYRINTH*

**A Lucky Gamble:**🎼 H

**A nail in the Coffin:** 🎶 H, YK, S

# CHAPTER 2

**The Informants always right!:** 🎵 K,YK (S in the background vocals)

**Recruiting the Flirt:** 🎵 D, YK

**Let's get Girly!:** 🎵 D, YK

**A Shameful Disguise:**🎼 YK

**Undercover:** 🎶 D, YK, S, K, OTHERS

*MYSTERY LABYRINTH*

**A star upon the Spotlight:**🎼 D

**Theatrical Suicide:** 🎶 D,YK, S

# CHAPTER 3

**Masked:**🎼 M

**Resistance:** 🎶 YK, S, OTHERS

**Accidental Troublemaker:**🎼 YK

**Focus:** 🎵 YK, F

*MYSTERY LABYRINTH*

**An Adventurers Rare Encounter!:**🎼 F

**Drowning Yourselves in Insults:** 🎵 S, F, YK AS SUPPORT

**Ticking Time Bomb:** 🎶 S, F, YK

# INTERMISSION

**Tugging at my Heart Strings:** 🎵 YK, D

**Amnesiac’s Love Crisis:**🎼 YK

**Hidden Key to my Heart:** 🎵 D, YK

**Strike of Jealousy:** 🎼 D

**Eclipse Interlude** 🎵 YK, D

**The Flame You Lit Inside Me:** 🎵 YF, V

# CHAPTER 4:

**Illegally Steering:** 🎵 M, YK

**Red Head’s Revenge:** 🎶 YH, M, YK

**Worthless Trainee:** 🎼YK

**Saved by the Bell:** 🎶 YK, D, YF

**Companion-Bot:**🎶 YK, D, F

**A Detective's Lie:** 🎼 YF

**A tearful Farewell:** 🎶 ALL NDA

**Threatening Projection:** 🎵 V, YK

*MYSTERY LABYRINTH*

**In Defense:**🎼 V

**Breaking Point:**🎼 YK

**A Chief’s Duty:** 🎶 Y, V, YK, S (VIVIA DOESNT SING, HE FIGHTS YUMA WITH A VIOLIN SOLO WHILE YAKOU ACTUALLY SINGS TO YUMA)

**Dear Vivia:** 🎵 YF, V

**Fountain Full of Guilt:**🎼 YK

**Leniency:** 🎵 S, YF

# Chapter 5

**Is This All a Joke?:** 🎼 YK

**Breaking Point Reprise:**🎼 YK

**Thank You:** 🎵 YK, YF

**Our Final Dance:** 🎵 YK, S

*MYSTERY LABYRINTH*

**Homunculi's Lullaby:**🎼 YK (MAKOTO AS BACKGROUND VOCALS)

**Let's play Charades:** 🎵 M, YK

**Identity Thief:**🎼YK

**Take a chance:**🎼 S (Yuma as background duet)

**Lets play charades Reprise:** 🎵 M, YK

**Dewdrop Downfall** 🎵 M, YK

**It’s been fun:** 🎵 M, YK, S

**Seal the Deal:** 🎵 S, YK

# Epilogue

**Forgotten solution:**🎼 YK

**It's Time to say Goodbye:** 🎶 ALL NDA + KURUMI

**A Peaceful Death:**🎼 S

—

INSTRUMENTALS AND NEW THEMES

# Main themes

A Merciful God - Shinigami’s Theme

Amnesiac’s Burned Memory - Yuma’s theme

A Detective’s Spotlight - Desuhiko’s theme

A Detective's Call - Yakou’s Theme

Dissociation - Vivia’s Theme

Timeless Melody - Fubuki’s Theme (Sounds like a music box and intro and outro can include reversing and replaying the music box)

Cats got my tongue - Halara’s theme

A mysterious Masquarade - Makoto’s theme

Despising Detectives - Yomi’s theme

Secrets Unveiled - Kurumi’s theme

Reminisce - Number One’s theme

~~

Duets and general Instrumentals

A Nightowl’s soft Lullaby - Played when Vivia and Yakou are together

Shinigami Solo Theme: A farewell to your Mentor (Specifically played in chapter 5)

Twimare’s Tango - Vivia and Halara’s duet theme (Harp and Violin)

Intro game Music Reprise & Remix

A mysterious masquarade - Chapter 3 BEGINNING

Feeling rather blue - Chapter 4

A mysterious masquarade reprise - Chapter 5

Amnesiac’s Final Decision - Chapter 5 (played while Yumas dialogue to choose)

Windy Nostalgia - Kuruma's Theme

A Haunting recall - instrumental when N1 has deja vu about Shinigami

Rain rain goodbye, may we meet again someday - Ending Kokobolt theme

_____

Honestly everything’s all over the place, and I want this to be a really well made project. Though schools in the way. Thank you for your time for me to introduce this very underworked project!~

[timecanonlytell-blog]

Head cannons

But it’s only characters i know a lot about

Kabu

He hates being touched by people he doesn’t care about, if he cares about someone it’s ok.

When he was a kid people would talk over him, he hated it. He still hates it, but now he can do something about it.

I wanna say he’s bi and trans i think. Goes under the pronouns of he/him he came out as trans when he was 18-20 a couple years after surgery he moved to where he is now.

If he finds a lost or distrusted ( that’s how he met allister ) he’ll try his best to calm them down and help them .

One year the other gym leader gave him a ‘ best dad ever ‘ shirt that’s the first time they had ever seen him cry like ever.

Man’s knows what your thinking and before you can do anything stupid he’ll tell you to stop it

Bede

Like kabu he also hates touch, and they hates it even if you know him, in-fact he’s only ok with it if your dating them or have known him for many many years.

I wanna say Demisexual/gay and his also trans and goes under the pronouns of he/they.

He was horrible with dancing until opal taught him how to( he still stumbles a lot in it though )

I like to think he got his stuck up personality because he was in foster care, when he was 7-9 ( then rose picked him up ) because none of the homes wanted him because he was ‘ to traumatized for they’re likening’ so in a way of coping they start to act like that, he also came out as trans when he was 11 ( rose may be a bad man but he supported bede).

Theater kid

He’s nickname for people he cares about is idiot. Yes he shows affection through mean names

Listens to music that’s like the music sleeping at last makes

Probably have a squishmallow collection

Leon

I think that he’s a demi-boy ( trans ) he/they and he’s gay ( yes he has dated rahain )

Has a arua that can calm down any Pokémon or human

He stress draws, and he’s gotten good at drawing because he’s always stressed

Loves to put his head on peoples thighs if they’re ok with is, like it’s just a built in pillow for people

Other that kabu he happens to be one of the shortest mf’s you’ll ever find ( this is a joke )

Breedable

Probably also has a squishmallow collection

Bimbo

He’s gotten lost in a IKEA before, it was a challenge to find him

Play with his hair, he loves it

Leon has a undercut

Rahain

He’s pansexual ( i mean he already flirts with everyone he thinks is hot ) he goes by he/him

He’s a funny drunk, (yes that means blackmail )

Also likes to lay on peoples thighs( mostly Leon’s when he can get away with it )

The breeder

Has stolen Leon’s squishmallows before and will again

Peirs

He’s online friends with emmet

Hes reciprosexual and goes by he/him ( props to the people who know what that is )

He has so many chains in his closet he can and will strangle people with them, like an e-girl

Collects only the ‘scary’ squishmallows

He likes to fall asleep on his partners chest because he can hear they’re heart beat

Steals his partners clothes if they’re a size bigger than him because they’re comfortable unlike his

He has really pale skin right, but it wouldn’t burn he like, reflects all the like off him before it hits his skin

Hops

He’s gay ( has dated bede they ended it on goodish terms) and goes by he/him

He learned how to braid and put hair in a bun for leon, he still will and does Leon’s hair for him

Also has squishmallow but only because bede gave them to him as a birthday present

He can’t sleep alone for the life of him so his Pokémon all cuddle with him in his bed

Learned how to draw when he was younger so he could be like Leon ( not knowing leon did it only when he was stressed)

Marnie

Doesn’t really smile but when she does it’s only for family and loved ones

She’s bi. And goes by they/she

Is an absolute freezer and steals like all the blankets they can

She blacks out ( doesn’t know why still ) and it can cause her to faint

Has salt packets in they’re pockets don’t ask why ( black outs

Has a stuffy collection and a squishmallow collection

Ingo

He has adhd

I think that he’s gay and demisexual and his pronouns are he/him ( trans )

I can imagine ingo with one of those giant beer mugs so there’s that

He listens to peirs music because of emmet

He does little hand movements well talking

Has a overwhelming obsession on history more so, the Hisuian Sneasels

Has plushies of his Pokémon

Has dislexia has asked emmet to read stuff to him before

Emmet

He’s bi as F*** he’s pronouns are he/they ( trans )

They have adhd ( joliks being he’s main opposition’s)

He listens to peirs music, they’re online friends

He’s very touchy might come with being a joltik breeder thou Idk

Likes to sleep on his livers chest so he can here they’re heart beat, so he knows they haven’t disappeared to.

Has plushies of they’re pokemom

Emmets theme song is material girl by Madonna

Milo

I think that he’s pansexual ( mostly men ) and he’s a he/him

Has a mommy/breeding/pregnancy kink

Has adhd

Can talk on and on about wooloos and other grass type Pokémon for hours

He likes to pick up people well hugging them it’s just easier for him

He taught the wooloos how to Sence that someone’s going to have a panic attack

Has a squishmallow collection and plushies collection of his Pokémon

Hau

He is a demi-boy he/they and is pansexual ( he has dating gladion before )

Also has a squishmallow collection

He has a second bed set up at all times so gladion can sleep over

Can and will cuddle with his Pokémon

Gets nightmare easily

Does not like horror movies at all

He infact reads fanfics

Has his ears pierced

He knows how to draw

Gladion

He listens to peirs music

He is trans and gay and goes by he/him

Has gone to almost all peirs consorts

He gets panic attacks

He got bullied as a kid and now will beat the a** of anyone who’s bullying someone

He pierced hau’s ears for him

Has a squishmallow collection

Null is counting as his emotions support.. Pokémon? Idk

He knows how to draw

Has a strong fear of losing people close to him

Lillie

She’s bi/poly ( not sexual ) goes by she/her

Is dating mallow and lana

Collection squishmallows

Knows how to draw

Has a strong fear of people dear to her

She has tramau from a Pokémon attack, she can still touch them, she’s just slightly scared

Mallow

Lesbian/ poly ( not sexual ) they go by they/she )

Is dating Lillie and lana

Also collection squishmallows

Is a really good chef

Has a herb garden

Lana

They are neptunic/poly and go by they/them ( props to the people that know that )

Is dating mallow and Lillie

Is a really fast swimmer

Has adhd

Will and does collect little things from the shore and bottom of the sea, to give to they’re girlfriends

Professor kukui

Is a straight ally i mean his wife is bi so

Has adhd

Also has tramau from people leaving him

Has a fear of people leaving him

Has a breeding kink

Guzma

He is gay ( thought he liked kukui for a like just a hallway crush thou) and goes by he/they

Has adhd

Will collect little thinks he finds on the ground he gives to people he likes

If he finds another bug type trainer he will pick them up and leave with them

Likes cuddles

Likes to lay on his lovers chest so he can feel they’re heart beat

Allister

They are omnisexual and go by they/they ( non-binary )

Has a aura that attaches ghost types

Likes to write little stories

Has a squishmallow collection

Likes to draw

Does prank people with they’re Pokémon

Cuddles

Has really bad anxiety

Also has a peanut allergy ( they can use that to get away from annoying men)

Has adhd

He can tell who a person is based on they’re voice

Bea

They’re lesbian and go by they/she

She looks up to kabu a lot

Will ignore people she doesn’t like

Will fight anyone that hurts Allister

Has dislexia the only one to know about is it Allister

Gets migraines if they try to read to hard

N

I think they’re non-binary they/them don’t really mind if someone messes it up but if it’s on purpose they’ll kick you so hard you meet arceus, they’re also asexual

Has this arua around them that can calm down any Pokémon

Has adhd

Does little hand movements well they talk

Has ticks

They jump up and down and or shake they hands up and down when happy

Warden ingo

Still has adhd ( doesn’t know it )

He/him and pansexual ( it changed now you gotta have options)

He has a breeding kink

He has a over opposition on sneasels

Has dislexia still it’s just worse now

If he hates you he will forever hate you and ignore you

Has short term memory lose

I’ll add more later

[jujumin-translates]

Event | Act 3.5 Event - NEW ERA GARDEN | Chapter 6

*Contains spoilers for Act 12 - eternal moment*

Yukio: I don’t think Okita Souji has that unworldly of a feel about him. I think he rather clung to life and struggled until the end.

Reni: I want to enchant the beautiful and fleeting life of Okita Souji.

Yukio: Well, I want to see you do a more human and clumsy Souji, Reni!

Kasumi: …Are we seeing those two fighting more than usual? I hope they’ll be okay.

Yuzo: I think they’re both gettin’ so heated because they both wanna make somethin’ good. We should probably just leave ‘em be…

Reni: I don’t agree with what you’re saying at all, I just can’t picture it.

Reni: If you insist on that idea so much, do it yourself.

Yukio: --...

Yukio: Even if I were to do it, it wouldn’t be an Okita Souji that blooms in the way that only you can, Reni.

Reni: …

*Clapping*

Syu: Alright, let’s take a break.

Reni: --.

Yukio: Right, sorry. I’m going to get something to drink.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Reni: …

Syu: It’s really like back then.

Reni: No kidding. I’ve never been this mad at my age.

Syu: That’s a good thing.

Syu: (I still couldn’t help but butt in.)

Syu: (--I remember dragging them along back then too.)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

I never really liked Yukio Tachibana ever since I first joined the group, and even after Reiji left, I still had a hard time changing my mind about him.

It was because of Reiji’s invitation that I joined MANKAI Company in the first place.

Should I continue to stay in the theater company even without him?

Reiji wasn’t in contact with me much then, probably feeling awkward about leaving the troupe so suddenly.

The estrangement from my close and true friend was all due to Yukio Tachibana.

My frustration grew quickly, building up until I felt like I could explode, so I tried to avoid having any relationship with Yukio as much as I possibly could.

But then on the first day of Winter Troupe’s performance--.

I ignored all of Yukio’s direction and performed the role in a completely spur-of-the-moment way.

It was 100% out of rebellion against Yukio. It was childish on my part, I didn’t even think about the other members on stage.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

After the performance, Yukio, looking calm as ever, came to me while I was changing out of my costume.

“...Was that the way you wanted to bloom in your own way, Syu-san?”

When he asked that, I nodded in response, annoyed.

“I see… that’s fine then.”

Yukio spoke quietly, but I felt like he could see through my lie.

I wasn’t really considering the performance.

I just wanted to take out my frustration on Yukio.

I think I did the worst thing I could’ve possibly done as an actor.

It was the biggest disgrace in my entire acting career.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

After that, the rest of Winter Troupe and the other troupe’s members worried about me as I calmed down. And the next day, I returned to the original plan and continued to perform as usual.

I thought to myself about how I had become such a half-assed actor.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Then, after the finale, Yukio stopped me in the dressing room again.

While I was thinking that he might blame me for the first day’s performance or kick me out of the troupe, Yukio said something that surprised me.

“I want you to be the lead of the next Winter Troupe performance.”

“Hah?”

“I got the idea after seeing your performance on opening day. It didn’t fit this play, but it gave me a look into a new side of you, Syu-san.”

“You’re always so detached from the world and cynical, it seems like the always manly Syu-san has been hiding a darker side all this time… I was excited to think that you might be able to bloom on stage in this way as well. Maybe I got too caught up in stereotypes. I want to try this new side of you out for the next play.”

Yukio’s eyes were sparkling as he told me that…

Even though I didn’t like the guy, I couldn’t help but be stunned.

He calmly sees through any situation and follows his heart as a director and as a man of theater rather than his personal feelings.

He’s a far cry from me, the guy who nearly ruined an entire performance because of his own feelings.

As a man of theater myself, I had to admit that it had me grinding my teeth in frustration.

I thought he was exactly like I wanted to be, the man who I hated as a person, but respected as a man of theater.

So I couldn’t quit yet.

I made a strong vow that day… that I wouldn’t quit this theater company until I had taken everything I possibly could from this man.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Reni: …Cheers.

Syu: Yukio and Hiro are also going out for drinks today.

Reni: Seems like they’re taking turns inviting each other out during rehearsals. Another thing I don’t get.

Syu: It was interesting that he happened to have invited Yuzo for a drink first.

Reni: Well, I don’t think they’ll have too many meetings like that.

Syu: Yuzo, me, Hiro, and now Zen. Have you went yet, Reiji?

Reni: We’ve been preparing together since before rehearsals started, so there’s nothing for us to talk about now.

Syu: I think you two should have a long talk and really get into it about the image of Okita Souji.

Reni: …What does he think about the way you’re playing Hijikata Toshizou?

Syu: Well…

Syu: I also talked to Yukio about it the other night over drinks here.

*Flashback start*

Yukio: He’s a different type of leader compared to the straightforward Kondou Isami, he’s a leader who will try and achieve his ideals by any means, a leader who’s willing to take on both the good and the bad…

Yukio: I think that kind of role fits you well, Syu-san.

Yukio: Even back in those days, you thought about the stage more than your own feelings, and put yourself first as an actor and a man of theater, didn’t you, Syu-san?

Yukio: I think a lot of you overlaps with the kind of person Hijikata is…

Syu: (…That’s something I learned from you, though.’

*Flashback end*

Reni: Willing to take on both the good and the bad… I see.

Syu: …By the way, I secretly told the first-gen Winter Troupe about that time.

Reni: …I thought we said that was confidential.

Syu: C’mon, all of GOD-za knows about it, don’t they?

Reni: …

Reni: For various reasons during “Traces of a Dream,” I couldn’t tell them beforehand.

Syu: Because of Yukio’s indiscriminate scouting, most of the first-gen members had no intention of making a living in theater.

Syu: They’re all not involved in theater anymore, but they were all happy.

Syu: Even if it’s not through theater, even if we’re no longer on stage together, it’ll never change. We’re still all friends who once stood on the same stage.

Syu: Relationships like that aren’t meant to just be broken. …I’ve come to believe that after seein’ the guys in the newborn troupes.

Reni: …

Syu: …In exchange for what we lost, we also gained something. And so did you, right?

Reni: …Yeah.

Reni: …However, there are moments when I unexpectedly think back to something I once lost.

Syu: The Souji you have in mind is Yukio, isn’t it?

Reni: …

Reni: A desire that can never be fulfilled, an idolization.

Reni: I couldn’t help but think of that and try to pursue it during rehearsal.

Reni: I thought that… we swore we’d stop chasing after what we lost.

Syu: Talk to Yukio before the performance. He’s the one who remembers the old days.

Syu: That’s why I have to let him say it this time.

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[kaseyskat]

hi hello everyone so this episode gave me really, REALLY big normal feels and a good amount of hermie feelings too and i've channeled that in the best way i know how: a 2k-long conversation about feelings. enjoy the oakworthies <3~

~

The King of Hell is enthusiastically speaking with Taylor (and Link by proxy: and Scary is hanging around them, as though she stands a chance at surprise murdering the literal king of hell) when Normal sneaks away from the group. 

Hermie shouldn’t care. In fact, there’s still a nagging voice in the back of his head, one that whispers about how Normal, the first person who had seen him in a way nobody ever has before, the one who had been kind and reassuring and truly the heart of the group like Hermie had told him so long ago, only wanted a perfect version of Hermie. It was embarrassing, and humiliating, especially when he’d been quietly lurking in the entire group as they bickered and argued, left to the background once again. 

And yet… 

…he remembers the way that Normal had looked after the encounter, the defeated look in his eyes, the slump to his shoulders after the broad declaration that he could finally like himself. It was so painfully relatable, Hermie only lingers with the rest of the group – with a father who does not reconize him, and people who are only his friends by proxy – for a few more seconds before he slinks off with a resigned sigh after his self-declared will they, won’t they partner. 

It would seem like having an uninterested father is common ground. Normal doesn’t look nearly as enthused about the encounter as Hermie would’ve thought for him; instead, he drops to the ground once he’s a reasonable distance away, slumping with his face in his hands. He does a pretty good job of holding his emotions back in ways that even Hermie himself is impressed by, but in the moment, he just looks sad. 

Hermie’s own feelings, he thinks, can wait in the face of this. 

When he approaches, Normal jerks like he’s reacting to the sound of footprints alone, wiping at his eyes as though that would do anything; they’re red enough as proof of what, exactly, he had slunk off on his own to do. Pathetic, the voice in Hermie’s head sneers, but he bats it away because all he can see is…

…himself. 

“Oh, hey Hermie,” Normal mutters when he finally glances up, and his voice too his glum, stripped of its characteristic chipper and dull around the edges. “I… sorry. I don’t think I apologized to you yet.” 

“I’m not really mad at you, you know,” Hermie says lightly, schooling himself into his more familiar, more flirtatious persona– his own real feelings can wait. “I just had to be all dramatic, you know how us theater kids are.” 

He thought it would make Normal laugh; or at the very least, make him nod along in agreement. Instead, Normal just shakes his head, and then buries it a little further into his arms, wound tightly around his knees in a way that just makes him look small. “No, it’s okay,” he says, his voice warbling. “I think I really screwed up this time… I mean, Scary’s no closer to admitting her mistakes or forgiving us, Link is still so angry, Taylor is literally in pieces… and clearly, my moment of pride really hurt you, and I just…”

Hermie frowns, and he takes a seat, scooting close to Normal. “What… was it like?” he voices, his voice smaller than he had intended. 

“What, the Pride level?” Normal asks, and when Hermie only makes a small noise of affirmation, he continues.” Well, it was… intense. It was like all the feelings I’ve been keeping inside were just… out, and free, because I had no shame in feeling them. It was like… I guess, it was like being on stage? Except the stage was just, the average world, and the role I was playing was just myself, and people just liked it? And it was exhilarating, because I knew what I wanted, who I was, in a way that I could never have predicted, and I just…” 

He shudders, here, his face all buried in his hands again so that Hermie cannot see his expression. “That must be why I was able to be so… confident,” he says, quietly, almost shamefully. “About… us. About this.” 

Something inside of Hermie goes ice-cold. 

“In my head, I had everything I wanted,” Normal continues. “Real friends. A social life. People who just… loved me, no questions asked. And I also had you, and I won’t lie, that wasn’t something I realized I wanted so badly until it was in front of me, until you were in front of me and I just knew that beyond anything, beyond the popularity and the friendships and loving myself, there was something else I wanted. Something real. Something more realistic. And I really, really never meant for that to hurt you, Hermie, I swear! I thought… I really thought…” 

“You’re a little stupid sometimes, you know that?” Hermie interrupts; it spills from his lips unbidden, uncontrolled, and even Normal himself blinks owllishly at the tone of his voice, peering up from where he had been all closed off and buried. “I think you were the one who told me that being someone likeable, someone worthy, wasn’t important in the long run, as long as you were unapologetically yourself. Even when you didn’t know what that meant yet.” 

It is brutally honest for him; he kinda tries to avoid these kinds of talks, because Normal is startlingly good at turning it right back around. This time, though, he just sniffs, rubbing at his red, red eyes, still sullen, still sad. 

Normal Oak, Hermie decides, does not look nearly as attractive when he’s sad. 

“It still feels so wrong,” Normal whispers. “How am I supposed to fix the world when I can’t even fix myself, or my friendships?” 

“Well, you could start by not being so hard on yourself for everything,” Hermie says– light-hearted, because despite the way he digs deep into the character he’s playing, the loving friend of Normal’s that can give him the advice he needs to continue, the one favor he owes Normal… he doesn’t actually really know much of what he’s talking about. 

“Yeah…” Normal seems to consider this, slowly coming out of his shell as he finally sits more upright, pulling his head out of his arms and blinking owlishly at Hermie once again. “I am still sorry, though.” 

“Ugh, please stop apologizing, you’re starting to make me feel bad,” Hermie complains. 

He expects that Normal will argue; or that he will list all the reasons why he’s actually in the right for being so apologetic, as he usually does. The strange glint in Normal’s eyes should’ve given away his actions, but Hermie finds himself drawn to it instead, staring at the way that Normal leans forwards without even a second to think about the implications. 

And then, Normal is kissing him. 

It’s not a good kiss. Hermie’s never actually had his first kiss – not a real one, anyways – but he’s had plenty of stage kisses and he knows right away that this is not a good kiss. Normal’s braces are in the way, and he doesn’t quite know what he’s doing, but Hermie blinks surprisingly and instinctively kisses him right back. For a first kiss, a real first kiss, it could definitely be worse, he concludes; at least Normal is enthusiastic. 

Hermie’s cheeks are burning, even the side that’s all burnt up already, as Normal pulls away, eyes alluring and half-lidded. 

For a moment, there’s silence. Normal touches his own lips in surprise, like he didn’t know he was going to do that, and Hermie snorts, the laughter teased right out of him. “That was awful,” he wheezes. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Normal immediately responds, and he jumps backwards, his cheeks a bright red– bright enough that they bring out his freckles in a very strange, endearing kind of way. “I don’t know what I was thinking, I just wanted to show you it was real, that I meant what I did in my haze, but that was… so impulsive of me, fuck, I’m sorry–” 

“Relax, I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Hermie drawls, and as Normal’s gaze darts back up to Hermie’s, he plasters his best seductive gaze onto his face, curling his lips just right. “You were trying to let me know you like me, right? For… me?” It comes out far more vulnerable and needy than he intends, and he instantly regrets the words, but his demeanor doesn’t shift in the slightest, composure kept perfectly. 

“Of course!” Normal says instantly, immediately. “That was kinda the thing I was so sorry about like, of course I like you! I just never felt like… well, it all came out so wrong, that’s all. I don’t think I liked myself enough to even let myself consider the thought of liking someone else, but… of course it’s you. You mean so much to me, and I just…” 

This time, Hermie takes the initiative, and he leans forwards, only hesitating to reach out and guide Normal forwards. It’s okay if he doesn’t know how to kiss; Hermie can show him. 

(Not that Hermie really has that much experience, but it’s definitely more than whatever Normal has, which means Hermie has the advantage and he’ll take it, thank you very much). 

Normal squeaks as Hermie kisses him, but he’s enthusiastic, letting Hermie tilt his head and lean into the kiss this time. It’s still bad, in the way that Normal’s breath stinks and he absolutely has no idea what he’s doing, but Hermie, despite himself, finds it endearing. 

Damn him. He’s always found Normal’s… unique charm to be endearing. It was never an act, was it? 

…maybe that’s why he’d been so jealous of a hell version of himself. 

This time, when he pulls away for air, he stays close, pressing his forehead gently against Normal’s as Normal too inhales, his cheeks still bright red. “No more flirting with hell versions of me, got it?” he teases, and Normal somehow flushes harder, looking like he wants to crawl into his jersey and never return. 

“I really did think it was the real you, by the way,” he says, quietly and almost shamefully just like before. “And I was so excited, because… I knew, I knew you’d be there for me no matter what. And that really does mean the world to me; I think you mean the world to me. Is that too forward?” 

“You have a big heart,” Hermie informs him, and he snorts, tugging Normal into his chest; Normal goes willingly, arms wrapping around him in the barest form of a hug. “Never change.” 

He doesn’t know how long they sit there. Normal, at least, seems comfortable in Hermie’s arms, and he’s warm, and strangely soft, and even though really, Hermie has no idea what he’s doing, at least this feels right. His jealousy feels like a thing from the past, because really he knows – just like he knew from the beginning, the way that his feelings had been hurt but in a way that just felt like some cosmic deity using them for laughs and comedy instead of anything real – that Normal doesn’t have the spoons to actually do something mean spirited, not even towards his friends. 

Even if they did have to go to the eighth level of hell because of him. 

God, Normal was just so cute. 

“Hey, lovebirds!” Scary’s voice used to be welcoming – a reminder about his role, even though Hermie had been loathe to listen and had only dragged himself through it by reminding himself about his character – but now she just sounds bored and mildly annoyed, even though she’s done nothing in the time they’ve been down here. Pathetic. “We’re getting a move on, you can stop being such weirdos now.” 

“Guess it’s time to go,” Normal whispers, his voice shaky and thin. “At least we can do this together?” 

It’s what he’s been preaching this entire time, to no avail. Well, Hermie thinks, the one benefit of the group forgetting about my existence is that I can wholeheartedly support Normal without him getting any backlash for it. That’s something, right? 

“Together,” he agrees out loud, and then he helps Normal to his feet, and they turn to face the world hand in hand; together. 

[starry-skies-116]

There’s several differences between my Jack and canon Miko that I feel like highlighting just so people don’t mistake them for ‘the same personality:’

They’re both reckless idiots, but while Miko puts herself and others in danger to get in on the action and try to prove herself, Jack does so because he feels personally responsible for the wellbeing of other people- especially those he cares about. It’s basically a situation of acting on an inferiority complex vs a hero complex.

Jack makes way more absurd and borderline idiotic decisions than Miko: jumping off of speeding motorcycles, licking spilled chemical samples off the floor to try and identify its properties without a scanner, trying to ingest laundry detergent to build immunity, digging through the trash for spare parts, throwing himself into danger multiple times just to try and do the jobs of the other Autobots- he puts himself in harm’s way a LOT.

You know that ‘exaggerated swagger of a black teen’ meme? Yeah- that’s season 1 Jack in a nutshell. Bro’s an unchecked theater kid on top of being a mad scientist- if Ratchet thought Miko was bad, this Jack would be enough to give him an aneurysm.

“Oh, you look like you’re having fun! What are you doing?” “eating laundry detergent” *panicking “NOW WHY IN THE NAME OF PRIMUS WOULD YOU EVEN-”

He’d definitely insult Miko’s hair, too. Like- he’d take one look at the pigtail and rat-tail combo coupled with the razor-cut scene bangs and instantly think: “That is the most ghetto sh█t I’ve ever seen in my entire life.” He’d be acting like he didn’t try to cut his hair with a cosplay sword on his own back when he was twelve.

Their definitions of punk are very different, too. Wild outfits, speed metal, loud music and American pop culture are primarily what Miko thinks of punk culture. Jack holds a philosophy similar to Hobie- that being punk is doing whatever you like to do and doing right by what you believe, even if it irritates other people. He takes the sentence ‘freedom is the right of all sentient beings’ and makes it a creed that he lives by.

He applies this trait to the other Autobots as well- he doesn’t ‘other’ them into separate categories and solely think of them as war machines. He recognizes their capabilities and their strength, sure- but he also recognizes how much pain they’ve been through, all the mistakes they’ve made, and still chooses to see them as people worthy of being loved. That’s one of the main reasons why the Autobots develop such strong emotional connections with him.

The death of Jack’s father absolutely destroyed him to the point where he doesn’t really value his life anymore. Like- at all. He’s so willing to throw away his own livelihood, compress himself into a box and try to cover every single one of his insecurities and shortcomings entirely on his own just so he can feel secure about the fact that people don’t have to worry about him anymore.

The worst part is- by the time Season 3 rolls around, Jack is so critical of his own flaws and mistakes that he genuinely believes that every bad thing that has ever happened to the Autobots is his fault and that it would be better if he never existed.

This one’s a no-brainer: Miko’s terrified of spiders- Jack thinks they’re cute.

If he was present during the ‘band practice’ scene, once Miko starts shredding on the guitar he’d start singing all of his favorite Celestial Odyssey OST’s to his little heart’s content. No doubt about it.