#this became a much bigger rant than I thought

[coralinnii]

❋ You said what now? ❋

↳ He accidentally found out your feelings

feat: Ruggie ⭑ Chenya ⭑ Lilia ⭑ Epel

genre: fluff (uhh for the most part), humour,

note: no pronouns used with the reader, no explicit spoilers for book 7 in Lilia’s section, reader is referred as human in Lilia’s section, reader is implied to be a first year in Epel’s section, bad cat-related wording in Chenya’s section

Fun fact: while not obvious in the English translation, if you listen to Chenya’s Japanese voice lines, he likes to say “nya” at the end of his sentences.

Will I keep that fact in mind anytime Chenya pops up? Absolutely.

Also, I just started my college classes again last week (which is why I didn’t post last week). All of my classes are dense with text and quizzes so…I need to study real hard which will most likely eat up my time for writing. Good ol’ inconsistent me~

Although, I’m taking History and we focus a bit on the age of nobility and old kingdoms…so maybe some inspiration for my villain/ess!au series (or maybe not cuz history is weirder than one thinks…)

How it happened

Perhaps a little sneaky, Ruggie is someone reliable, resourceful, and fun to be around. You started to fall for him and even that sneaky side of his became endearing to you.

But bigger, financial priorities occupy the hyena beastman’s mind more than anything else. Unless he can make a madol from it or get a freebie, his interest in anything else is seemingly non-existent. It was rather easy to keep your feelings to yourself when the topic of love rarely, if ever, comes up.

So it came to a surprise to you when the shaggy-haired sophomore mentioned his coworkers at a part-time job he picked up in town.

He started ranting about how a duo at his workplace started an unlikely relationship a few days ago. According to him, the two were from two different worlds and didn’t appear to be either of their types.

“Doesn’t make any sense if you ask me” he mumbled, scratching his fluffy head by the sudden revelation at his job.

You nodded and hummed as he recounted his workday with you, but in all honesty, you didn’t share his confusion over the so-called sudden pairing. By the way Ruggie described the couple, it does sound like their personalities wouldn’t mesh well and would theoretically clash too much for anything to bloom between them.

But attraction follows no simple formula. No one can stop themselves from falling for someone. You yourself were an example.

“Love is never predictable, Ruggie.” you commented without thinking, perhaps too distracted by the cute love story of Ruggie’s coworkers or it could be that you’re drowning in the warm feelings from being so close to your crush that your mouth is running too comfortably on its own. “I mean, I never thought you were my type but I still ended up-“

You shut your mouth before you could finish but looking at the wide-eyed expression on Ruggie’s face, the effort was moot.

“You still ended up?”

…Shoot.

What happens now?

Colour him shocked. Ruggie never entertained the idea that you would like him, out of all people.

He could’ve pretended not to figure it out, or convince himself that it was a misunderstanding. But he knew when he saw your flustered embarrassment and your cute stuttering trying to come up with an excuse, there was no misunderstanding. You like him.

Ruggie has a good amount of ego and he wouldn’t downplay his boyish good looks (odds are it got him out of a few close calls), but in a school of celebrities, royalty, and guys with money coming out the wazoo? He knows when he’s outmatched.

To be honest, his brain froze for a moment at your slip up. He clutched his heart which stuttered out of beat, his ears and tail stood in attention like a meerkat. Jack was worried watching his upperclassman in such a daze while folding laundry, heck it even got Leona raising a brow over the uncharacteristic clocked out look on his shorter dormmate.

But, Ruggie is a workaholic hyena. Always planning his way to work up the ladder to earn some good madol. Even if he likes the idea of making a family of his own, romance wasn’t in his peripheral vision at the moment. Not while he’s working multiple jobs at once. He would honestly feel a little bad because he knows he’ll end up ignoring any poor soul stuck with him.

As bad as it is, he might at first think to pretend he heard nothing about your feelings. He couldn’t bring himself to make you go through that, to be in a relationship where work takes precedence over you.

But then he thought it wouldn’t be so bad…snuggling up to you during one of his rare free time. Maybe you’re the type to surprise him with lunch and he could rest on your lap while you brush his hair. Would you maybe rub his sore muscles after an arduous club training session? Having boyfriend privileges means no one can complain when he slides up to your side, keeping your attention to himself without having to share…

Screw it, he’ll figure something out. He’s a greedy hyena through and through

Shyeheehee! Better be ready for what you’re asking for. Once I’ve set my eyes on something, I’m not lettin’ it get away!

How it happened

This man is a literal magic trick, appearing and disappearing to revel in the shock of his unsuspecting audience. As elusive as he is, the times he does show up brings a shock of joy and excitement to you.

It seems that the purple-haired student has made it a habit to join the Heartslabyul’s unbirthday parties from time to time, enjoying the occasional chaos and keeping you company to your conflicted delight.

You didn’t know why but Chenya made it his mission to fluster you every chance he gets, with cheeky comments and sly touches as he leads you away from incoming mishaps such as a stray splash of paint or a flying slice of cake. You don’t know why but the cat-like menace has taken a shine to teasing you out of the blue. Sometimes he would suddenly whisper nonsensical riddles into your ear, or tap your shoulder to then poke your cheek as you turn. Small silly pranks that should annoy you but your body becomes filled with butterflies when he smiles that charming grin at you.

How maddening, you thought as you fell for another sneaky surprise from the impish beastman. Once again, Chenya appeared right behind you, smiling just over your shoulder which gave you and your friends a fright (for different reasons) to which he took pleasure in, judging from the mischievous grin on his lips.

Your shouting caught the attention of the other Heartslabyul students and recognizing the white jacket and castle emblem, their eyes boiled with competitive rage. An RSA student? On Night Raven territory?!

“Ah, looks like fun time is over. I’ll just show meowself out~” and like a mirage, Chenya’s figure disappeared as the NRC students failed to catch even a strand of his fur. Not even when he took a second longer to fade out just so he could teasingly tickle the tip of your nose with his fluffy striped tail.

The students kept on making a fuss, eager to teach the mischief maker a lesson for trespassing on rival territory. You sighed at the wasteful effort, assuming that Chenya would be smart enough to have left long ago.

“Why must my crush be such a frustrating person?” Angry hollers and Riddle’s commanding cease-and-desist orders overwhelmed your tired voice, and your soft words ended up softly carried off into the wind.

But your words caught the interest of a curious ear before it disappeared.

What happens now?

Curiouser and curiouser. He was not expecting such a confession. Though to be fair, he supposed you didn’t mean for anyone to hear it.

Chenya found joy being in your company. The shock in your bright eyes followed by your cute laugh sends a warm, giddy feeling in his heart that he just could not stop. He had a feeling he knew what these feelings could be but he was content with what he could get in the rare moments he can see you.

But now, when he realized what your cute reactions meant? That sends whole new exciting feelings within him. It’s fuzzy and warm as usual, but now also shocking and thrilling. The sneaky beastman is grinning for more than one reason now.

He won’t immediately confess back. Considering this wonderful predicament where you don’t know he knows of your affections, his playful nature compels him to milk the fun of this situation for all its worth.

If you thought his cheeky antics were bad enough, you haven’t seen his flirty side till now. Playful taps on the shoulders become sneaky grabs by the waist, and just when you think he’s gone, his signature grin would grace your vision as he fades into view, a little too close to your own face. Sometimes when he feels emboldened, Chenya would sweep you off your feet for a spontaneous walk along the sweet breeze.

When you’re finally at your wit’s end, when all his teasing and heart-fluttering gestures fills you to the point of combusting in flustered frustration, that’s when he’ll finally tell you his reciprocated feelings, perhaps while stealing a quick kiss when you least suspect it. All to see that terribly adorable look on your pretty face.

Every adventure requires a first step. I’m excited to see where we’ll go together from meow on~

How it happened

See, you thought he already knew. You swore he did. Why else would he tease you so much with his sweet compliments and flirty jokes? The mysterious senior spoke to you as though you were a naive child crushing on their older peer, which you supposed wasn’t entirely wrong.

The way he treated you with so much care and love that you wondered if he already suspected of your feelings and was being considerate to you. He listens to your rambles as though he has all the time in the world for you, compliments you on your achievements as though he’s genuinely proud of your hard work, and he jokes with you with that boyish charm of his. But the scarlet-eyed fae never pursued further with advances with you, which made you think that perhaps this was just who Lilia was, a strange but friendly man, unwilling to hurt your feelings. Were you grasping at straws and misconstruing his intentions?

With a heavy heart, you tried your best to give up your hopes but maintained a cordial bond with Lilia, not wanting to avoid the jovial fae so suddenly (well, without having to explain why anyways)

But one day, when you were walking with the smiling senior, he started talking about a souvenir shirt that Kalim had given him during their club meeting. It was a shirt patterned erratically with various colours and pictures of tiny bats littered about. It was an eccentric visual of fabric but it strangely fits the equally eccentric man.

“What are your thoughts? Would I not look absolutely adorable in this?” Lilia asked, holding the shirt in front in his uniform with a boyish smile, his fangs peeking out slightly. But you rolled your eyes as you sighed exasperated by this man’s antics.

“Don’t you think that’s unfair for you to ask me?” You looked at him with a pout, somewhat irritated at the mature fae you’re trying to get over. “Of course I’d said you would, considering how much I like you”

For a rare moment, Lilia turned wide-eyed at your words. “Pardon? Do you by chance… harbour feelings for me?”

Turns out, he didn’t know at all

What happens now?

Guess you can still surprise this old man. He had his suspicions but for all he knew that was how the youth were these days. He was fond of your shy expressions whenever he was around and he could hear the quickening of your heartbeat, but he didn’t want to assume. Perhaps you were just more on the skittish side.

In the centuries he lived, he saw love in many forms. In the recent centuries he lived, he got to experience some of those forms of love he’s seen, with the pain and joy that comes with it. To him, it couldn’t ask for more as he lives out the last few centuries he has left.

You however, were still vibrant like a freshly bloomed flower in its prime. Was that why he just couldn’t take his eyes off you? He couldn’t help but watch in admiration as you lived with almost enviable vigour. He felt pulled, entranced to be by your side for even just a moment, just to see that beautiful gleam of life (and love, he realized) in your eyes.

But Lilia felt a beat of guilt in his heart. Your life is so short in comparison to his own. You should be sharing your youth with someone as brilliant as yourself, not pining over an old soul like himself. Humans are fickle creatures but he supposed with such short lives, it’s best to be curious and experience all one can without regrets.

He would be honest with you, sharing his thoughts with you as though warning that your affections were better spent with someone that suited you better. It would be up to you to convince the stubborn fae that he was your choice, that you already decided he suited you just fine. All you’re asking from him is if he shared the same feelings as you did.

“I may have tried to get rid of my feelings before, but I’m choosing not to run away this time,” in your eyes, Lilia sees that same vibrant gleam that mesmerized him, almost breathing a new sense of life into him. “All I ask is if you feel the same way”

And he does. He’s lying to himself if he hasn't thought of a life with you where he could steal surprise kisses throughout the day, where he could bring you to soar through the night skies as he takes you to explore the world with him. He imagines a life of silliness but also a life of blissful content as he gazes at you like a beacon of light in his life, a new reason to live a bit longer.

Lilia feels ensnared by love once more, but the burning warmth in his soul is just too invigorating. He’s looking forward to this new chapter in his life, with you.

I do hope you’ve prepared yourself, my dear. Eternal love with a fae should not be taken lightly. But rest assured, I look forward to our new adventure

How it happened

You were Epel’s close friend and confidant, someone who he can share his achievements and woes with. Being so new to the college, the two of you depend on each other through thick or thin and along the way, you grew to see the lavender-haired freshman as more than just a companion.

He has a bit of a temper and is quick to the jump at times, but he was always there for you and even though he doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with them at times, he respects his seniors and takes their lessons to heart.

When he talks about how much he dislikes his height or his feminine features, you nodded along for his sake but you couldn’t tell him that you were actually in disagreement. You adore his fluffy locks that you occasionally got to touch with his permission and his light blue eyes felt like calming waves of the purest lake. Epel constantly swore to you that he’ll have his growth spurt and will even tower Leona in height, but you like how you could hold him close to you without issue.

You love all that he is, even if he’s not too keen on some parts himself

But you kept this all to yourself. You thought Epel had other priorities on his mind and you were scared that confessing would ruin the friendship you’d built with him. For now, you were content to be by his side for however long you can.

You were dead tired during a particularly harsh Flying class with Coach Vargas and you were barely conscious enough to keep your eyes open. It took everything you had to just nod along to whatever Epel was saying, something about some Savanaclaw students?

“Who they think they are, callin’ me cute like that? I outta rip off their yapper for underestimatin’ me.” You weren’t helping his point when you thought how cute his accent was as he grumbled about his day. You were falling in and out of consciousness but thought you should at least reply back to your friend…anything at all…

“I’m sorry…that happened…even though…I think…you’re really cute…”

You were already out cold to notice your friend frozen in place as you finished your drowsy comment, your head landing on his stiff shoulders.

What happens now?

ALDFIUAHLBWAIGLH

Congratulations, you broke your friend and you don’t even remember it. When you woke up, you couldn’t figure out why Epel was as bright red as his hometown’s apples. Epel couldn’t even bring it up without getting too tongue-tied, his accent sputtering out incomprehensible words.

The blue-eyed freshman was raking his brain for an explanation. You thought he was cute…really cute to be precise, but what does that mean? Did you like him? As in like-like him? Is it normal for non-countryside folk to just say something like that? But most students around here tend to mean it like an insult but you weren’t like them, you would never do that to him. So what did you mean by it??

Left without a choice, Epel thought about who he could ask about this, maybe one of his seniors. But he immediately reconsidered when he realized who his seniors were (Vil and Rook will never let this go and there’s no way Leona would entertain this conversation) and turned to the only adult he can trust, his meemaw.

In his letter, he asked his grandma what it means when someone you cherish calls you cute (not mentioning who) and after a few days of fidgeting and awkward encounters with very confused you, he finally got an answer from her.

“STOP SITTIN’ ON YOUR KEISTER TWIDDLIN’ ‘ER THUMBS! GO AND ASK, DAGNABBIT!”

And that’s how you were confronted by a flustered Epel about your cute comment one random school day. To be fair, you probably didn’t fare any better when you realized you let your thoughts slip out.

You may have confessed your attraction to him but Epel can still be the first to make the first move. Relationships and dating are all new to the petite freshman and honestly he felt a little weak in the knees, all the nerves wracking his body like his first broom ride. But the past few days, he couldn’t stop thinking about being with you, sweeping you off your feet, impressing you the only way he can, to have your eyes solely on him like he does when you’re around. Heck, he thought what it’d be like to grow old with you, holding you like no one else can as you spend day and night by each other’s side. All these thoughts and more is what spur him to take the next step.

I ain’t too great on love and romance, but I’ll work hard to show ya how much ya mean to me. I promise that!

[nerdraging4point0]

Mad Hearts and Temptations // Chapter One //

Wonderland Romance AU. Mad Hatter Noah

by @ladyveronikawrites

Tropes and Tags: Wonderland romance, instalove, too much sex, destiny, fated lovers.

Content warning: 18+ only minors DNI. dark themes, gore themes, gothic themes, PinV, PinA, oral (f!recieveing, m!recieving), voyeurism, exhibitionism, angst.

Taglist (click to be added):

@cookiesupplier @badomensls @concreteemo @mysticdoodlez @viofcrows @srorgana1 @in-another-life @broken0mens @itsafullmoon @ladyveronikawrites @somewhere-diamond @celestineveil @meliferafaerie @poisongirl616 @littlefoxkota @darling-millicent-aubrey @th0ughts-pr4yers @silentglassbreak @shilohrosechicken @hayleylatour @sundamariis @lma1986 @thatchickwiththecamera @lilhobgobbler @missduffsblog @asilentsiren @letmeadoreyoux @transparentwitchnightmare @latenightmusiclover

The work below contains fictionalized ideas and stories involving real people but does not directly reflect their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors. Please keep in mind that this is a work of fiction.

My heart pounds as I sprint down the endless corridor, the dizzying checkered tiles seeming to swirl beneath my feet and tilt the walls at odd angles. Doors of all shapes and sizes line the hall - some tall as giants that I can't even reach the knobs of, others no bigger than mouseholes, just large enough to slide my hand through. I rush past them desperately, knowing exactly which one I seek. The same door I always seek, the one that will lead me out of this maddening maze. It's made of dark, worn wood, the brass of its hinges tarnished with age, its yawning keyhole gaping open like a mouth, just waiting to swallow the right key. As I race toward that familiar door, freedom seeming so close I can taste it, her voice echoes through the empty passageway, stopping me dead in my tracks. The voice I know so well, now twisted with bitterness as she calls out, "It was supposed to be you."

It’s been the same dream since I was a kid, ever since my cousin Alice came to stay with us that fateful summer. I never liked my cousin Alice. To be honest, I never really knew her, but after her brief visit with my family, I begged my mom to never invite her again. She was always greedy and whined incessantly about everything. She would snatch my toys without asking and hide them around the house, intentionally breaking things and then blaming me for the damage. I still vividly remember that evening after dinner when we were supposed to play hide and seek outside. 

Alice hid herself so well that night that I eventually gave up looking for her as the sun began to set and the sky faded to a pale blue. I was playing alone on the front lawn when Alice suddenly emerged from the shadows. Her Mary Jane shoes were scuffed and filthy, her dress was stained and disheveled, and her normally tidy blonde curls were matted and caked with some type of dark, viscous fluid. Her fingernails were also covered in what appeared to be red paint. She looked completely deranged and insane. Her eyes were bulging out of her skull as she stared directly at me and uttered in a haunting tone: "It was supposed to be you." Even now, years later, that bizarre encounter is seared into my memory, and Alice's crazed voice still appears in my nightmares.

My cousin had always been troubled, even when we were young. There was a darkness in her that I didn't understand, a swirling chaos behind her eyes that frightened me. As we grew older, her mental state deteriorated. She became unpredictable, prone to violent outbursts and deranged ranting. My family did their best to help her, but it was no use. The day she was finally taken away, restrained and sedated, came almost as a relief. I felt guilty for feeling that way, but I could not deny the lightness in my chest when I knew I wouldn't have to face her manic presence anymore.

That relief was short-lived. Though she was gone from my daily life, her memory continued to torment my dreams. I would find myself wandering endless hallways, hearing her sing-song voice taunting me from the shadows. Her eyes would appear around corners - wild, darting, devoid of reason. No matter how far I ran, she was always there. I would wake with a start, heart pounding, soaked in sweat. Sometimes I awoke screaming.

It's been years now since I left that house, since I got away from the ghost of my cousin. But still she haunts me. In the dead of night she comes creeping back, seeping into my subconscious to wreak havoc in my dreams. I wake gasping for breath, blinking into the darkness. I check the time on my phone - 4am again.

I don't bother with more sleep, tossing the blankets off my body as I stumble my way out of the bed to the bathroom. The light blinds me momentarily before my eyes adjust, taking in my sleepy form in the mirror. My amber locks are braided and resting over my shoulder, with some strands falling out of the tight coils I made the night before. The silver ring in my left nostril catches the light, as does my septum piercing and medusa lip ring, sparkling briefly as I groggily search the messy vanity for my toothpaste.

My fingers fumble over tubes and bottles, knocking a few things aside before finally grasping the minty toothpaste. I pop open the cap and squeeze some onto my toothbrush, the sharp mint helping to wake me up slightly as I begin scrubbing the night's sleep from my mouth. My eyes are still bleary, barely open as I brush and rinse.

As the fog of sleep lifts, I mentally revisit the bizarre dreamscape that moments ago had felt so real and tangible. The stark black and white checkerboard floor spins dizzily beneath me, its sharp diamond tiles swirling together into a dizzying optical illusion. All around me are doors - doors of every shape and size imaginable. Circular portals, square wooden doors, even sideways slanted doors that defy logic and gravity. Most peculiar of all is a breathing door that slowly inhales and exhales, its wooden surface magically undulating in and out of the wall itself. Of course, in the rational light of wakefulness, such an animate door seems patently absurd. But in the illogical realm of dreams, where the mind is unbounded by natural laws, anything is possible.

 I walk down the narrowing hallway, the walls seem to close in around me, making the space tighter and more claustrophobic with each step. Ahead is a door that has become very familiar to me, though I've never entered it. I can't help feeling a sense of belonging when I see the door, like it is a lost part of me I'm destined to reclaim. The door itself is quite elegant, despite the dilapidated state of the hallway around it. It has a shiny brass doorknob and ornate brass hinges that gleam like gold in the dim light. The dark wooden door contrasts with the cracked and weathered plaster walls, standing out like a jewel in a dusty setting.

When I reach my hand out to open it at last, I am filled with longing and excitement to see what awaits on the other side. But each time, just before I turn the knob, a chilling, disembodied voice whispers, "It was supposed to be you," and I am shocked awake from the recurring dream. 

I spit out the foamy residue, watching the minty bubbles swirl down the drain as I turn the faucet off with a squeak. My studio apartment descends into silence, the calm only broken by the ticking of the clock on the wall. While the confined space may seem claustrophobic to some, to me it's cozy - a sanctuary from the chaos of the outside world. After growing up in a sprawling suburban home cluttered with dusty tchotchkes and my parents' eclectic art collection, I find comfort in the simplicity of my minimalist apartment. I don't need much - just a bed, a couch, and a small kitchen. The lack of clutter soothes my mind. I enjoy the openness, how there's no visual noise competing for my attention. The blank walls and empty surfaces allow me to think clearly and focus on what's important.

The stillness of the air is broken only by the faint murmur of my name emanating from an unseen presence. At first I strain to make out the hushed utterance, unsure if it's real or just my imagination playing tricks. But the more I focus, the clearer the gentle tenor becomes, beckoning me from the shadows. Though no physical form manifests, I feel the voice resonate within my core, igniting a warmth and calm I've never known. My pulse quickens at the thought of this disembodied visitor serenading my spirit, his cherubic tones blanketing me in an otherworldly embrace. I dare not move or speak for fear of severing this ethereal connection. I close my eyes, bathing in the velvety notes that seem to stroke my soul, stirring sensations and emotions I can't articulate.

I shake it off. 

Hearing voices was never a good sign. That’s how it all started with Alice, I was not Alice, I would never be like Alice. 

Alice had been sent away years ago, but just a few months back I’d gone home to visit my parents and saw Alice’s sister and father over for a visit. They said something about how Alice was released and after several months back home she told them she no longer felt like they were family and she was going somewhere she belonged. At first, I was confused, Alice had always been close with her family when we were younger. However, it seems that after being sent away, something had changed within her. Her father's eyes seemed dull and defeated while her sister looked on the verge of tears as they explained how Alice had rejected them and renounced their family ties.

After their visit, my mother confided that Alice had stopped taking her psychiatric medications and severed all ties to society, essentially vanishing completely off the grid by her own choice. When I returned home I double bolted my locks, an unsettling fear in my chest that Alice was one day going to come back for me. 

The dull repetition of my daily morning routine is painfully familiar. I mechanically go through the motions of getting ready - carefully applying just enough makeup to look presentable, loosely pulling my hair back into a ponytail, and throwing on whatever clean clothes I can find. I feel like I could get ready with my eyes closed at this point. Once dressed, I grab my oversized work bag and shuffle out the door of my tiny apartment building.

The refreshing spring air hits my face as I begin the brief five block walk to the coffee shop where I work. It's mid April, so the weather is finally warm enough that I don't need a heavy coat, but still cool enough that I'm not breaking a sweat on my short commute. The temperatures are perfect for walking. I breathe in the crisp morning air, taking in the sights and sounds of the city coming to life - birds chirping, early morning commuters hustling by.

The coffee shop is its typical whirlwind of activity in the middle of a hectic Wednesday workday, with customers streaming in and out grabbing their caffeine fix on the way to their next appointment. Behind the counter, I'm immersed in the controlled chaos - filling orders as fast as my hands can move, hearing the hypnotic hiss of steaming milk from the espresso machine competing with the insistent beeps of microwaves. Voices layered upon voices create a steady din that reaches all the way up to the exposed pipework ceilings. It's a symphony I know well after years in the food service industry. 

As I go about my normal routine, filling orders and handing out drinks to the steady stream of patrons, I've become adept at tuning out the more eccentric customers that pass through. But today, as I prepare a lavender tea and call out the order, I find myself momentarily transfixed by the young woman who steps up to claim it. Her long, straight platinum hair cascades down her back like corn silk, with a few strands elegantly pulled up into neat buns on either side of her delicate face. Dressed in white high-waisted skinny jeans and beige heels, she cuts a stylish figure. But it's the antique pocket watch attached to her belt loop that catches my attention. As I hand over her tea, she tilts her head quizzically while consulting the watch, as if carefully calculating the passage of time. After a pause, she looks up, fixing me with an intense gaze.

 "You're late," she says simply, causing me to stammer an apology before she turns abruptly, her long hair trailing behind her like a cape billowing in the wind.

I shuffle through the day, walking through the lobby to clean up the drinks people have rudely left on their tables. Wiping them down as I clean up. I pick up a paper cup about to throw away the half full liquid. But as I turn the paper cup in my hands, I see someone has written under the lid in sharpie the words, ‘Drink Me’. I bring the open mouthpiece to my nose taking a quick sniff. Lavender and Chamomile and something else-something spicy.

As I inhale the floral aroma rising from the mysterious concoction, I pause, transfixed by the cryptic message and alluring scent. Curiosity battles with apprehension as I contemplate the unknown contents. I toss the cup in the trash anyway, wiping down the last of the tables before heading behind the bar again. 

Typically, I thrive on the pace and the social interaction with customers and coworkers alike, but today the commotion is too much. The constant demands have drained my mental energy. I feel the weight of exhaustion seeping into my bones.

As soon as the clock hits the end of my shift, I make a beeline for the door into the blissful quiet of the outside world. Wolfing down a quick lunch, I start the familiar walk home, already dreaming of my cozy bed. By the time I've unlocked my apartment door and stepped inside, I can barely keep my eyes open. I don't even bother changing clothes before I collapse onto the mattress, surrendering instantly to a deep sleep.

[thegatorsgoose]

Mourning Dove notes, batch #1

So since I am a very visual thinker, whenever I post my ideas (that aren't in-the-moment rants, that is) I like to draw something for it. It's the closest thing I can get to transferring something directly from my brain to yours. Unfortunately, I have a lot of thoughts, which means I have a lot of drawings I want to make to help get my points across. And since it's easier to write my ideas down as they come to me anyway, I'll be posting Mourning Dove stuff in batches, drawing + notes = a batch :)

Speaking of the drawing part, this is actually a redraw of fanart I did for Wayne's Haunted Mansion I drew a while ago, so you can actually use the bear as a size reference! He's bigger than Bearwing now, but to be fair the bears not that big. Danny, at 14, is 5”2 at most, probably closer to 5’0. He's still a small king.

I decided to have him be 14 when he becomes a vigilante because 1. That seems like a reasonable amount of time for him to have recovered mentally and physically enough for him to be able to handle unfamiliar environments and have the training necessary to be cautious and know when and how to step in (at least 4 years of training + his powers make him a tiny terror).

2. Yo Danny Phantom he was just 14

This batch is going to be dedicated to why Danny is this au has autism and ADHD, and how that affects him. The why will come from the original fanfic this au is based on, Wayne’s Haunted Mansion by @tathartiel (which you should definitely read if you enjoy dp x dc!). How it affects him will mostly be part of the au. Ok? Ok. I tend to ramble a bit but I tried to make it easy to follow.

First of all, Danny enjoys knitting! He's already sewing, it's only the natural progression for him to find out about knitting, and the family would definitely try to encourage the hobby with less sharp tools. It gives him something to do with his hands, and at the end of the day he has something he made all by himself, something he can be proud of. He loves making stuff for people he cares about, he likes knowing he can do something to keep his loved ones warm, whether by making a blanket, scarf, sweater- you name it. He's definitely not great at first, but he does practice a lot. Whenever he's nervous or fidgety, it's nice to do something with his hands.

One of his favorite parts of knitting is the yarn itself. Specifically the texture and feel of certain yarns. The Waynes are rich so they have no problem supplying him with extremely soft yarns to make the softest sweaters and blankets. And you know how he loves pillows? Well I'd imagine that he’d also love the extremely thick, pillowy yarn. He uses it to make a huge blanket that enhances his pillow nest 10 fold. The day he got a giant roll of thick fluffy yarn he spent all day making a giant fluffy blanket out of it, and the following night shoving it in the birds and bats faces so they can experience the bliss that is the feeling of his new soft, pillowy creation.

Speaking of textures, Danny loves hoodies, especially his Batman hoodie(s). Not only so that he can physically show his appreciation for his family, but that they are warm and soft on the inside, and make him feel secure. His siblings have all gotten him their merch at one point or another, but it wasn't until Jason got him Red Hood merch in the form of a leather jacket did they realize that texture could be a problem. The inside was just not working for Danny, but he was happy to have merch so he tried to ignore it to make Jason happy. It lasted until dinner that night, Danny had a breakdown because the uncomfortable feel of the jacket was agitating him and suddenly the klinks of silverware on plates was to loud, the scrapes and stabs of forks hitting the plates felt like he was physically being hit on the head, and the vibration of the table when someone moved felt like pins and needles going through his arms that were resting on the table. It all became too much for him and he excused himself from the table with a wobbly chirp before promptly disappearing.

It wasn't until later that night, before Jason left, that he reappeared in front of him, tears in his eyes, and handed back the jacket with a guilty chirp. It took Jason some prodding to get Danny to explain why he was handing it back, and then when he finally understood it took a lot more convincing to get Danny to understand it's ok to not like the jacket, no i'm not mad at you, its ok. After he got Danny to calm down he left the manor and informed the rest of the group chat of the new development… and then got Danny another, comfier Red Hood jacket. Bruce, having autism himself (i'm not even sure if that's a headcanon or canon at this point), helps Danny in making sure he knows its ok to feel that way about certain textures and asks what textures he likes and doesn't like, even writes them down so when buying something online or getting something tailored, they can make sure it won't be uncomfortable. His siblings 100% take advantage of this list and start a sort of unspoken competition of who can buy Danny his favorite piece of merch.

Speaking of merch, he has a hoodie of every single Gotham vigilante and wears one almost 24/7. The media was given the vague explanation that Batman saved him from a physically abusive household at 10 (or whatever his age ends up actually being, they don't reveal his existence to the world until he's 12, where by that point he can change back into his human form comfortably. I'm making the assumption he eventually can for the au cus I don’t know everything) so they just assume it's hero worship from that. His siblings however know that it's because he loves them and thinks they're the coolest people ever. Everyone thinks he's adorable anyway. When he first saw Mourning Dove merch he was super excited, until he realized it would be too uncomfortable to wear. Later that week when Bruce gives him a tailor made Dove hoodie, he cried. (Bruce totally won the competition for it, the kids are just a little bitter about it)

Merch was made for him because Gotham does know Mourning Dove exists, mostly from eye witness accounts of the baddies he took down, but also from the literal one blurry video of him that exists. It shows Dove holding onto Batman's cape as Red Robin talks. This was taken on his first official patrol, so he was a little nervous. At first Gotham was mad at Batman for bringing yet another child into the fold, until all the criminals Dove brought in came back terrified. They realized they really should have learned their lesson from the latest Robin, and now just respect their funky shadow child.

However Dove doesn't actually come out all that often. He started his vigilante career because he got wrapped up in the supernatural side of Gotham, at first it was just helping the occasional stray ghost find their haunt, but you know how dangerous magic and the supernatural world can get in just the blink of an eye. Think Jujutsu Kaisen, he was able to see Gotham spirits causing and feeding off of citizens misery, and he just can't not help. When the Batfam realizes what he's doing, he's fully committed to helping the spirit of Gotham deal with her curse. They know there's nothing they can do to stop him, so they do the next best thing and give him armor, a mask and a weapon. They also up his training, which they had been doing before because… it's Gotham. So Mourning Dove doesn't actually come out as often as the others, just either when they're down on members, there's an emergency and need his powers, they want to teach him something, or when he just asks.

… Anyway, back on topic. Another way his autism affects him is making him mostly nonverbal/selectively mute. I'm making the assumption that they eventually do get his voice back, but at that point he can adequately communicate without his voice, using chirps and gestures. He knows now that if he needs to talk (talking to a stranger, needing to explain something more complicated, etc) he usually can. Usually. If he's stressed or uncomfortable in any way, he often finds that he can't talk. Thankfully he's been learning sign language for a few years now and can get across simple ideas and feelings just fine in a pinch. And sometimes, he doesn't even feel bad. And yet still, he can't find it in himself to speak. In those cases, if he needs to explain something complicated, he can write it down. He's gotten a lot better! And if he ever trips up, he can always look it up or use autocorrect if it's over text.

Another thing his trama definitely made a lot worse is that he has episodes of hypersensitivity. An analogy I once heard is that most minds are like doors, and most people can choose to shut the door on small pieces of information that are deemed unnecessary. Like the ticking of a clock, or the scratching of pencils around a classroom. But people with adhd can’t choose to closes those doors, and the flood of information can easily overstimulate us. With his super hearing this definitely becomes a problem, and I can only imagine it gets worse when in crowds. I actually already talked about this, with bad textures. Often we can ignore the extra sensory input and go on with our day, but when faced with something that agitates us, it opens the floodgates to make everything agitate us. The sounds of dinner don't usually annoy Danny, but with the extra bad sensory input that he just couldn't ignore, it made it so he couldn't ignore other pieces of input like usual, and it became too much for him. I usually counteract overstimulation by wearing headphones or earbuds, and while I know Danny definitely has noise canceling devices made for the supers with him 24/7 just in case, I think he deals with it, again, by controlling the texture of the cloths he’s wearing and using it to fidget. He counteracts the negative input by surrounding himself with positive input. If he's not in public or that doesnt work, he’ll curl up into himself and rock back and forth, countering the input with a soothing motion and clenching onto his skin like a stress ball. Of course, that's if Cujo, his service dog, isn't there to help him through it.

One thing that carries over into the future is his short attention span. curse you ADHD! He has trouble sitting still and concentrating on a task that doesn't interest him. However he still LOVES space, and often hyperfixates on it. He’ll sit in front of the tv or a tablet and watch documentaries for hours without moving an inch. The first time this happened the batfam where scared something was wrong, maybe he's having an episode and can't move? But when they approached him to see if he was alright he started wildly flapping his arms and letting out excited chirps, till he noticed the look on their face and got out his phone. An hour later he sent them a poorly written, excited and long text about his favorite star in the galaxy to the family group chat. Suffice it to say, space is his special interest. Since then they started using it as a way to get him to sit still or to distract him. Often it helps to play a documentary in the background while he does a task that doesn't interest him so he won't get so bored he up and leaves.

Last but not least, he has trouble understanding social cues. This is absolutely not helped by how sheltered he is in the social department. Danny's part ghost, and ghosts don’t really lie. It's just not a thing they do. They are loud and honest with their intentions, no beating around the bush. Danny just doesn't understand why people aren't straightforward as well. Danny is very honest and says exactly what he means. I always find this ironic when reading the actual story, that the one person in the family (minus Alfred) that's good at communicating can't talk. This is something that becomes an issue with Bruce and his habit of not using his words to talk. I'd like to imagine that, in trying to set a good example for his youngest son yet, he’d realize the importance of communication, and how he communicates.

You could argue that a lot of these traits come from his trauma, and you're absolutely right. It definitely contributes to making some of these traits a lot stronger than before in this au as well. However, I don't want to just make it all a trauma response because then it sort of implies something is… wrong with him. That there's something to fix. And I don't want him to be treated like that. There's nothing wrong with him liking hoodies. There's nothing wrong with him not wanting to talk. There's nothing wrong with him loving space so much. Those are just a part of who he is. Everyone has quirks, and those are his. I don't want the batfamily to obsess with fixing him, or try to make him “normal.” I want them to accommodate his needs like they do for everyone else in the family. I want them to accept him, and his flaws, like a normal person. Not look at him like he's broken. After everything, he deserves a family who accepts him, chirps and all.

Tldr of the last paragraph: making everything a trama thing makes people sad and want to help “fix” him instead of treating him like a normal person. I aint having that in my au so even if he wasn't hurt the way he was, he would still act like this. There's nothing wrong with Danny, he just needs to be accommodated for and treated like a normal person.

Bonus: close up and flat colors (idk if you can even see them but I am way more proud of those eyelashes than I have any right to be)

[blackstarchanx3new]

FSR Rambles 21

Hah. Green seeing through Vio's eyes his past mistakes haha.

"Now, onto the human towns! We'll burn them all! Spread darkness to the horizons!"

True to his word that's what he did.

Vio is uh. Rather sickened by this.

Yeah blame it on altitude sickness Vio.

Riding on Shadow's lack of knowledge of humans was a good play though.

It's been awhile since we touched on Vio masking around Shadow to save his own ass. But dude had to have been going through it during these events. And I feel like if FS had a longer run time and a T rating we could have actually seen the affects of playing evil had on him.

It couldn't have been easy.

I just like the idea he struggled a LOT more than the og manga gives us any hints towards.

Like he said to Green in the previous flashback he had to watch Shadow no doubt MURDER people and stand by and do nothing.

That'd fuck with his head.

Yeah Vio's thoughts became consumed by how little he wanted to die.

I've always had the personal head cannon that he decided to shatter the mirror after the dragon ride SPECIFIFCALLY because he'd reached his limit on how much he could allow Shadow to do and just, stand by and watch.

He'd been complicate in almost killing Red and Blue, which would fuck with somebody enough.

Had to presumably face vaati in cannon (And in FSR actually did)

Like I've brought up a few times: Why would he even BOTHER making a plan with Shadow to free Zelda if he didn't intend to act on it? Literally outside of giving Shadow hope it served no real purpose...

UnLESS that was his plan but he couldn't follow through.

Which is what I personally go with here.

Vio just fully cracked. Being so stressed out he stress vomits oomf.

Poor guy. Still being consumed by the thought he needs to act normal after EVERYTHING he's been through.

Paralyzed with fear regret and self loathing Vio just crumbles to the floor.

His main thought here is that he doesn't HAVE to kill shadow if he can just hold onto the plan he made.

But as we'll see, his resolve is crumbling faster and faster.

Vio placed so much burden on his own shoulders he crumbled. Trying to do this mission entirely by himself utterly destroyed him.

Vio's been COMPLETLY ALONE here. As much as Shadow thought they were buddy buddy Vio could NEVER fully confide in him and has been ALONE since the forest. Perhaps things would be different if he had someone by his side who also knew of his plans. But he hasn't been able to be honest or had an outlet for all his feelings for DAYS now at least. Possibly longer.

I think I've ranted before about how HIS arc was about learning to lean on his team mates and I wanted to feed into that.

Except Vio doesn't really come to that conclusion now but rather decides he just needs to get out of this scenario right the fuck now.

Which is why since I'm trying to build off the manga: he acts VERY RASH.

Because imo that scene where he gets pissed is just, so badly written due to the manga's context and shit but I digress... (I don't like Tingle's inclusion much at all tbh he doesn't add literally anything to the story and instead fucks up Vio's arc. Bla bla I've went on this rant many times.)

It finally just hit him.

He's unable to keep this up.

As he steels his resolve to do what he's about to do.

Vio's monologue here really dips into how I think he'd end up in a LOT of denial.

He's just telling himself lie after lie to justify the situation he ended up in and his new choices he'll make.

And it all culminates to.

And we know the events of the manga haha.

I liked portraying just how desperate Vio was in these circumstances since again: I don't think the manga portrayed it at maximum capacity cause of the A rating and left most of it up to interpretation.

I like adding Vio's thoughts where we otherwise have no real clue what he was thinking at the time. It's a lot of fun. XD

"What's sitting on me"

More like WHO Green. XD

Apparently showing others things takes a bigger toll on Dark compared to just viewing it by himself.

He's very unenthusiastic even when saying "Yay Dark Link" XD

Green just, stares in utter horror soaking in everything he just witnessed through Vio's perspective.

Oh boy someone cracked like an egg.

Funny how your eye glitched there Green.

Dark Link's "Wtf is wrong with YOU?" Face never ceases to make me smile. Dude's so weirded out by Green just breaking here.

Green's self hating outburst is so jarring to Dark he tries to interrupt him.

Though Dark's nervousness could be for a LOT OF reasons:

He could just be genuinely shocked and worried for Green. Which I think is valid since Dark hasn't really seen someone act this way before.

But also, whenever anybody is angry (Vaati and Shadow): They tend to take it out on him physically.

Dark's reactions is straight up like "Fuck did I break him???" X'D

It's funny how much Dark's perspective on making them suffer has changed.

From delighting in Vio's terror to being disturbed at Green's mental breakdown.

Green's rant is pretty self evidently aimed at his own actions. Thinking he couldn't ever relate to what Vio went through, and considering himself worthless garbage which. oomf ouch buddy.

Dark does quite frankly the funniest things he could do by just, aggressively rubbing his face against Green's like a cat.

Mmm. Darkgreen.

Okay but seriously I just love these two's dynamic. XD

Green's practically BEGGING this "evil dude" to reprimand him and tell him he's an awful leader and horrible at everything he's tried to do and he's just NOT getting that energy from Dark at ALL.

Dark's made his thoughts on Green pretty clear, he thinks Green's a good hero even with his mistakes.

Specifically the fourth panel where he's got the star eyes you can really tell the dude has admiration for Green. XD

I just love Dark's face after Green blurts out that he doesn't do enough too.

It's like he had to really think about what he was going to say in response to that.

Usually when Dark thinks someone is wrong he'll call them stupid in some capacity, but here he takes a different route.

Dark's response is really, simple.

A genuine question.

"...When will it be enough Green?"

Dark's standards for what a hero are and what he deems a good hero or person are rather...tilted but he's accurately called out Vaati and Shadow for shit and he's not afraid to be brutally honest.

I think the brutal honesty of this statement is showing just how vacuous and large the shit Green has put on his own shoulders that he nor Dark know the end of what he's truly signed up for.

And that realization makes Green just break further.

Apologizing that he shouldn't even be able to confide in Dark someone who thus far hasn't even really complained about Green's breakdown at all.

Green's dialogue in the last panel is telling about how he's facing a lot of guilt in breaking down in front of Dark because technically: He should be protecting everyone FROM HIM.

He's breaking down in front of someone who's for all intensive purposes their ENEMY and their current biggest issue.

The guy Green has to decide whether or not to KILL.

And Dark's the one giving in his own way comfort to HIM.

This scenario from Green's perspective at least is all sorts of screwed up.

Poor baby's so stressed he reverts to his manga design

Green further goes onto say that telling Dark his insecurities was a mistake.

Which, is a fair thing to say lol. Dude essentially trauma dumped on Dark XDDD

Literally when I was drawing this scene I thought of this meme lmfao.

Which is awful but I have shitposter brain.

Smth I like about panel 3 & 4 is how Dark goes to wipe away Green's tears. Which is something Green did for him earlier.

Dark can and will reflect positivity if it's given to him.

People keep only feeding him negativity but Green showed him unconditional kindness and he gave it back.

I like how they have a positive effect on each other despite everything haha.

Again peeking into Dark's twisted idea of pain and pleasure.

He's just happy to be suffering WITH someone for a change. Misery loves company.

Green kinda asks a kinda dumb question here. But him asking if Dark feels "hurt" isn't a completely weird question...Like. This thing is a monstrous curse wearing your face it isn't far off to try to clarify some stuff. XD

Dark's response is just, kinda sad.

He's always suffering and always in pain.

Green's quick to try and play off his avoidance of an answer to Zelda and SHadow as Dark keeping him in the head space but ahhh...

Green buddy...You're choosing to stay here with Dark. XD

Dark's quick to point that out too lmfao.

I especially love how he immediately gets disapointed Green is saying smth stupid by asking if he "got hit with the same stupid" which just is a hilarious way to word saying something dumb.

I just like that he can flip from cute to intimidating evil guy in a blink of an eye. XDDD

So Dark's monologue here I got stuff to say haha.

Dark immediately isn't a fan of the idea of being by himself, by his continuous emphasis of being LEFT alone, "By MYSELF...ALONE" The idea Green would be abandoning him in some way if he left.

Also him just aggressively gripping green's face like he's trying to hold onto him in some capacity to keep him there. Oomf.

Often times Dark's "Evil villain" mannerisms like grabbing people isn't him being purposely space invading and sinister but his desperate subconscious pleas for SOMEONE to stay close to him. He's not going out of his way to make people uncomfortable.

He's so unintentionally stereotypically evil and I like that about him haha. He knows to an extent he's intimidating but isn't TRYING to be.

I think that's a fun contrast with Shadow who goes out of his way to invade people's space to MAKE them uncomfortable (like Vio in the woods hah)

Back to his dialogue. He points out Green doesn't want to leave either.

Which is true.

"Cause if you leave...you'll have to return to responsibility. Pretending the sorce of your problems is in the hands of some horrible demon that ensnared you... Instead of a product of your own misgivings and foolishness"

This is in reference to the here and now but ALSO when Green was hunted in the pyramid. He got himself into that situation too haha.

Dark referring to himself as a "horrible demon" shows that he's HIGHLY aware of how Green is perceiving him to a degree.

Green in a way wants to believe Dark Link is pure evil. Which would make the choice he has to make whether or not to spare him easier. Like Shadow said. if he was mindless this would be MUCH EASIER. It'd a a no brainer. But he's NOT and that results in a lot of pain over what to do about him.

A lot of Dark's questions have been rhetorical. He KNOWS Green is pretty much USING him right now to avoid responsibility and is KINDA fine with that?

He makes a light hearted (At least in his opinion) jab that Green's being selfish and taking up his time when he "promised" Blue earlier he'd spend time with him. (Which is funny considering time doesn't really exist here) Being visibly embarrassed Green in a round about way WANTS to spend time with him.

On the HORRIFYING realization about what Dark confessed to planning Green PANICS.

Reasonably he knows what Dark considers "Fun" even if he's not being outright malicious.

Also not so fun visual fact: Dark flinches when Green grabs him.

Which is just sad how he's just used to getting the crap kicked out of him that he fully expected Green to hit him.

Okay I'd be totally skimping out on dumb FSR facts if I didn't tell ya "Love like mine" wasn't a song I listened to on repeat while drawing this scene.

Very strong DarkGreen vibes XDDD "I'll make ya scream and I'll make you want it! You can be my ride or die" mmm delicious. Give more more. Finally some good fucking food.

Anyway page lol.

Dark realizing Green is holding his hand is just kinda cute. Like of course that's what he'd care about lmfao.

Meanwhile Green's full panicking about Dark confessing he was gonna go mentally fuck with Blue later. XDDD

Like dude's on his knees begging Dark not to, even offering to trade places.

I mean, what'd really be the difference after all?

He's gotta bear all the burdens...Doesn't he?

Link's put that pressure on him at least.

It kinda just shows how self punishing Green is at this point. Thinking he fucked up so bad he needs Dark to take it out on him.

Which isn't the POINT of what Dark does. Dark only really haunts them as a means to an end to keep them split and Vaati safe, but also as his own selfish desire to connect with them. Like how he spoke to Vio after Blue ran off.

Green seeking someone to hold him accountable for SOMETHING is just, oomf.

I think it's fun to dive into the idea Green REALLY doesn't know if Dark is faking being kind to him.

I mean, their biggest adversaries lied to them via transforming and using their loved ones MUTLIPLE TIMES. (Vaati shifting into Zelda, using their dad against them, even Vio 'turning' on them, trust would be something VERY HARD TO DO at that point I think.) Deception on the enemy's side isn't unexpected at all.

That he's hinging on the slightest chance Dark IS being genuine with him that he'll listen and not hurt the people he cares about. Whether or not Dark has Free will AT ALL.

He is a curse, it's not far fetched to think he just... CAN'T NOT do what he's designed to do.

Dark for his part is at first, contemplative.

Green's really showing just how AWFUL what he does to people is in a lot of ways. Dark has a certain cognitive disconnect in the sense he struggles to accept in a lot of ways how he truly affects Link.

Though reading Green's mind he distracts himself with "Lol wtf are you doing and what does it prove?" When Green makes the assumption that if he can change Dark's mind than he really is a person who can be reasoned with.

People can be reasoned with, mindless program following curses can not. UwU

Turns out begging is smth Dark's into lmfao so Green's pleading tickled a nerve.

I fucking love Dark's wrong word usage to describe things.

The idea Green WANTS HIM for him to STAY with Green just fills the guy with joy. Even if it's just because Green's being self hating and desperate to save his team mates.

Dark Link likes being wanted.

Green is WANTED by people, and being wanted by GREEN specifically just makes the guy just so happy.

And Dark struggles to really fully describe what he's feeling in the moment because genuine JOY isn't something this guy is getting very often.

Baby is so happy he cries.

Dark's just such a sad dude.

Expressing he's just happy Green cares about him. Mentioning Blue here too but Green is showing compassion for Dark in the sense he doesn't WANT to hurt him.

By HOPING for Dark to be able to be reasoned with, by wanting Dark to be someone he could talk to he IS caring about Dark's safety which isn't smth the dude has gotten from ANYONE ELSE so far.

he even confides he wishes he could stay with Green forever and just be happy with him which is just all sorts of sad.

Ooomf these pages fuck me up man.

Dark LOVES the idea of being with Green. Someone he not only idolizes but the ONLY person so far who has given a single solitary shit about him.

He's so lonely and SO sick of being a conduit for sadness that this sounds infinitely more appealing to him. (Who could blame him lmfao)

Smth to note is how Green is kinda hesitant to fully wrap his arms around Dark Link until it truely sets in for him that Dark truly is just a sad lonely individual who's in a lot of ways a fellow victim as well.

Dark being the one to push Green away, to reject the idea they'd just stay together is pretty telling.

He HAS to "Work"...If he doesn't...

The thought of Vaati dying is just, too distressing for Dark to even fully consider abandoning his mission to do something he'd personally like better.

I just, LOVE the dialogue in panel 3 here.

It's so blatantly ignorant in it's childishness but honest.

It's the kind of thing a child would say about their divorced parents or something lmfao.

Just a simple want without thinking of the greater picture that goes with things and WHY things are the way they are.

Dark Link just can't fathom why the people he loves have to hate each other so much. Why they can't just "get along".

Why he has to work at all.

It's just Dark being bluntly honest about how he feels about this entire situation.

Unlike Green, in the final panel Dark finally steels what little resolve he has and states "I don't wanna do anything either...but I have to"

Both are EXAUSTED and at their wits ends and that's smth I like to this dynamic.

If either were more set in fighting each other they'd both BE fighting. For all intensive purposes THEY SHOULD BE.

But because they're both so exhausted they're actually able to talk about how they feel.

Dark once again compares Zelda to Vaati.

In how his devotion is similar to Link's devotion to Zelda.

Protecting Vaati IS what is most important to him.

And he knows he's doing something wrong on SOME level because he apologizes to Green. His hat curled against him defensively.

Green is once again in panic mode since what little leverage he had is slipping through his grasp as Dark steels himself against Green's attempts at persuading him.

Also Green lmao Dark has big dick back pain disorder watch were you grab him-

But he does make a good point in his frantic pleads.

Protecting Vaati doesn't necessarily mean hurting them...

That was Dark's approach as a mindless curse...but now that he is a person with a sense of morality, a sense of heroics. Will he still abide by that strategy?

Green's frantic ramblings are just funny as hell but also his diplomacy should get a sticker or smth. Dude's fighting for his life rn. XD

Dark starts to crack under Green's onslaught of LOGIC.

Smth I like to add to that is how Dark's hair faded out of being green while he talked about his feelings before but switches BACK to being green as Green talks.

And then he rejects it to think for himself for a second to really ponder Green's words.

My favorite bit of his "STFU" dialogue is just to tell Green to "STOP MAKING SENSE!!!" which is so funny to me.

SO much about Dark's original purpose has been thrown out of whack due to the progression of things. Vaati's demands are rather nonsensical.

He comes to the realization that things HAVE changed and he needs to adapt accordingly.

To some extent: Dark is just COMPELLED to act heroic and he even considers himself failing in the regard that he's been NOT acting heroic lately.

The more Dark becomes sentient. The more he feels the need to act heroic. Which is curious.

Green's diplomacy worked Yippieeeee!

Also Dark's hair continues to be grey here which imo was always just to show these really were his own thoughts and he wasn't just mimicking Green.

Dark's willing to "Try" things Green's way.

Smth I like is his act of making a pinky promise with Green. Smth just so blatantly childish in it's innocence.

But Green's compelled to believe him due to just how dang excited the dude is to give it a try.

Lmfao. Him acknowledging up front he's not sure how well things will go is just extra "Dark trying to be honest" flare. Which I find fun. He's willing to try his best but won't lie and pretend it'll go perfectly. XD

Green framing Dark going to get Blue as "A mission" was simultaneously stupid as fuck but also smart idea. XD

He doesn't know where Blue ran off to...but DARK LINK DOES.

And Since Dark was going to speak to Blue anyway, might as well tell him to bring him home. XDD

On the other hand: Trusting Dark Link is probably a bad idea. XDDD

Green's gambling hard but doesn't have much of a choice.

Green adding on "I'm trusting you" while looking Dark in the eye is just the cherry on top.

MMMGH I wanna continue ranting but we reached the image limit.

[hoshiumi78]

I’m gonna make a little happy “rant” here about Lloyd from Ninjago and just the cartoon in general.

I’ve always liked Lloyd. Ever since I was a kid, he was the one who I favorited over the others. Sure, Kai is awesome, Cole is super inspiring, Nya is an absolute baddie, Jay is funny, Zane is real cool, Pixal is an amazing robot girlfriend and samurai, Skylor is such a cool and strong female character to look up to, and etc. (Dareth, Nelson, Sensei Wu, Garmadon, Morro, Cyrus Borg…)

And yeah, a lot of people “like Lloyd” because he’s the “Green Ninja” or he’s “super cool”, but for me… that’s not it (I mean, a bit of it is, hehe. But not all of it). And as I become older in my teenage years, I’ve honestly been thinking about it a lot. I’ve been thinking about why I like this Lego character so much, and why this is the only “children’s” show I actually fan over where I can watch the show over and over throughout the years, write fanfics for hours on it, and spend my money on the sets and merch…

***Now I should probably say before I start, I’m not some crazy obsessive fan lmao. I just really like this character and show, and I want to shine some light on Lloyd (differently than he already receives, of course lol).***

Lloyd has been through a lot, yet he still came out as stable as he is (at least as much as the cartoon shows to the audience). One thing about Ninjago I like is how they make the characters realistic. I didn’t particularly realize this until I got older and I re-watched it, but all Ninja have a unique story before, during, or after they became Ninja. Though one thing that differs Lloyd from the rest is how young he was when he clearly knew his situation with his father, mother, “Ninja-acknowledgement”, family, etc. And I know what a lot of people are going to say, “But what about Kai and Nya? Cole? Possibly Skylor?” And I know, I agree. Unfortunately, all the ninja had to grow up with something traumatic in their childhood (the only one who didn’t was Jay; though later he had to find out he was adopted, which stinks finding out the way he did. I’m just glad Ed & Edna were as amazing as they were <3). The one thing that all the rest of the ninja have besides Lloyd within these situations, is they all still had *someone*. Kai had Nya, Nya had Kai. Cole still had his father, even under the circumstances. Skylor still had her father and etc with the rest. Lloyd had *no one* as a kid, and it makes me want to give his little baby-self in seasons 1-2 a massive hug.

I remember when I watched seasons 1-7 (especially 1-2) as a middle schooler, I thought little and early-teen Lloyd was so annoying (still do). But now, years later, it makes me really sad to think about his story. He’s the only ninja who had received *no* love from his parents or anyone around him until he met the ninja, and even then he later had to learn what *that* meant and how to have self-love… which he still has trouble doing a lot of the time throughout all the seasons. It makes me want to give him an even bigger hug!

And one thing about Lloyd I truly admire, is even through all of this crap, he *still* cares about his mother and forgives her so easily! The way his mother abandoned him as a child I completely disagree with, and how she just left him saying she was doing it for “him” (even though it *really* was for herself), and yet he STILL treats her kindly and respectfully, which is amazing of him. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t forgive, it’s just how he accepted it like a champ is something that is completely admirable. Especially with how young he really was…. You have to remember Lloyd was only around 10-ish years old around seasons 1-2, yet he was able to accept his mother with opened arms. And sure, he probably was only doing this because he was attention-starved (explains why he wanted to become like his father as a kid), emotionally-starved, and starved for love, yet still as he got older and probably realized this more and more about his mother and their relationship, he still has *always* treated her with respect and kindness. And sure, people within this fandom get mad at how bitty Lloyd acted, yet we also have to remember how he was raised, which really wasn’t being “raised” at all.

Then we go into Garmadon and Lloyd’s relationship, which is a whole other can of worms. Yet unlike Misako, Lloyd’s mother, as a fan I 100% respect Garmadon as a parental figure than I ever will for her. Sure, he’s the biggest and baddest villain throughout the series. And sure, he too abandoned his son; yet unlike Lloyd’s mother, Garmadon made *up* for that time lost, and personally, I give him my upmost respect for that. He gave his son what he was lacking in receiving from his parents, and actually *cared* enough to do that for Lloyd. He showed his son what if felt like to actually be loved by your parent (in his own ways of course), he gave his son attention, and he showed what it was like to have an emotional connection with your child. GARMADON ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT HAD A REASON TO ACT THE WAY HE DID, HE WAS BITTEN BY A SNAKE THAT MESSED HIM UP FOR LIFE, YET UNLIKE MISAKO HE *STILL* TREATED LLOYD MORE AMAZING THAN SHE EVER COULD. Yet instead, throughout the 5 most healthy seasons of Garmadon and Lloyd’s relationship, especially seasons (3-5), SHE DIDN’T EVEN PUT IN THE EFFORT TO MAKE THIS A FAMILY RELATIONSHIP! Instead, she was hanging with Wu, Lloyd’s uncle. And I know for a fact we *all* know something’s going on there, which as a kid I even noticed, and I absolutely hated even then!!! Misako would pop in like everything was fine and dandy every-so-often, and yet Lloyd STILL treated her amazingly!!! That’s why Lloyd is my favorite! No matter what anyone does to him, says to him, or how he is treated, he still cares for them! He still wants them to have a happy ending, and he hasn’t even had his yet. It makes me really happy that he had the opportunity to meet the ninja, because without them as the loving family they are, I don’t think he would *at all* be the same kind-hearted character he is. The real loving people in his life are the team, and even though this is all fake and just a “silly” cartoon as some would call it, I’m GLAD he was given such a loving atmosphere.

Then we go into Seasons 8-16. Lloyd grew up, finally caught up mentally to his body (which I found terrible that he had to go thru that, yet he STILL acted like a champ when there were no expectations to!!!) and this is where I like his character even more. Still, even through all the darkness and pain he had to go through growing up (it gets worse as he gets closer to adult-hood), he still acts amazing! His father now isn’t his real father anymore, his mother is completely gone into oblivion (gone like she always has been, pfft), and he falls in love with someone who manipulates him because she herself is broken! (And yes, I probably should say now that I do ship Llorumi. Some of you may think I’m crazy, which I am lol, but I also have my reasons for supporting it, and I will most likely (someday) make a post like this explaining why I do, but right now we’re focusing on Lloyd. ;)) Yet Lloyd *still* forgives, accepts, and loves!!! After years of thinking about and watching this show, I’ve finally narrowed it down to those three attributes within him that I’ve seen consistently throughout the series. I believe we should all look up to Lloyd for this! Just being able to forgive and love the same people who had hurt and abused him, is truly a wonderful thing a person can achieve!

Plus, Lloyd is also funny, entertaining, and would be an amazing person if he were to be real. Sure, he has his own stuff he stores deep inside of himself, and he probably jokes as much as he does because he’s trying to make everything look okay, but ya know what? That is some amazing writing right there! Being able to make a LEGO “CHILDREN’S” show entertaining for kids to watch, but it also is able to make the older audiences feel recognized and noticed in attributes and personalities within some Lego Ninja? That’s some crazy awesome writing! It truly shows how if the right minds are put together, a show for “kids” can turn out to be fun and *emotional* for us older audiences to watch because we see these characters within ourselves.

So there it is, my rant as to why I do really love Lloyd as a character and not just some “Lego Ninja.” There’s some others, I mean his personality in-show and mine irl match up pretty well, so there’s that lol. I also like how he sits and listens to your problems and gives advice. He honestly is ✨the man✨ But there’s also multiple other things I didn’t even get around to mentioning in here that I like about his character too! There’s so much to unpack it feels within these characters. It’s almost as if this show *isn’t* for kids anymore, and it’s growing along with the viewers, yet still pertains to the “children” mindset.

Anyways, I’ve already spent two hours of my life writing this, so I’ll stop haha. But if you made it this far, feel free to comment and tell me your thoughts. I’d love to know. :)

P.S. HoW iS LlOyD, a PlAsTiC LiTtLe LeGo So GoOd LoOkInG <3333

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

Could you make Alice and Tobias headcanons if you haven't already?

alice and tobias head canons

of course <3! ok this one might be despressing cause i feel like, while tobias loved her, he was also kinda toxic which made her leave. all of this is mostly speculation cause we don't really know either of them. hope you like them!

tobias obviously made her little puzzle gifts

his rich ass bought her everything she wanted (but she never took it for granted. sometimes she would tell him that he didn't need to buy all of these things for her but he insisted).

tobias loved eating candy so alice would go out and buy him some often.

tobias obviously knew alice was still alive (he somehow knows everything), but he still visited her 'grave' because he loves her so much and likes reminders of her

one of the reasons why alice left was because of how much time he spent working and how little time he spent with her (unless this was all part of a bigger plan)

they used to dance in the living room or in their rooms to classical music while laughing

alice has known tobias her entire life. they were sort of childhood friends

alice is the one that convinced tobias to adopt toby.

she absolutely despised the laughlins and tobias found her hatred for them adorable

the reason alice used to own so much jewelry was because tobias used to buy her some really often (like once a week)

both of alice's pregnancies were really hard on her. she wanted a boy and that's why they adopted toby.

speaking of alice's pregnancies, she used to have the weirdest cravings ever and tobias used to wonder if something was wrong with her.

tobias loved to receive cuddles from his wife.

alice had a love/hate relationship with his games and riddles. she also didn't like how manipulative he could be.

she used to bring him coffee to his office every single morning without fault unless he was out of the country or she was somehow not able to do it

they used to love to travel. they loved to visit those old abandoned mansions/castles (not haunted but just castles that used to be owned by rich influential people but are still being taken care of) (i love it too)

alice loved antique things, so tobias made sure to buy her some every once in a while

alice actually designed most of the house. not the actual layout, but the furniture and stuff.

they both loved to journal so they'd do it together at night

they used to have arguments about how little time he spent with her and how he was literally married to his work. as they neared her departure, the fights became more common.

tobias didn't like tying his own tie so he'd make alice do it

he loved her smile more than anything. he'd do anything to see it.

alice loved collecting vinyls. sometimes she'd gush about them and tobias used to love to hear her rant

speaking of ranting, she would do it all the time about anything. whenever anything happened she would tell tobias. he was the #1 person she'd go to talk to and alice was the same to tobias

ok this only applies if alice was present at the beginning of nash's life, but alice hated the way he spoke about how nash would be the heir apparent (at first i think he thought his oldest would be the heir apparent and not the second child) and how much pressure he was already putting on him. this was one of the reasons she left (unless, like i said, tobias and her planned it cause of the way tobias said in tbh when jamie asked what alice would think about smth (i don't remember what) and he responded with you'll see)

he used to love kissing her cheek and forehead. she loved it to.

alice sometimes debated leaving (long before she actually did) because, although she loved him, he also hurt her.

tobias would give her massages at the end of a long day.

alice would buy him colognes all the time. he'd make her guess which one he was wearing in the mornings.

their first kiss was really awkward (like teeth clashing, noses bumping against each other, etc). they laughed about it often until she left.

this post made me fall in love with them and their story which we literally know nothing about. not proof read (as always)!

[t-lostinworlds]

hi lovely t!! congrats on ur lovely lil celly <3 how about “Wanna, like– I mean, if you’re not busy… We could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don’t have a lot of time?” with stevie? i think you’d make it super cute! lots of love 🫶🏼

A/N: hi bby!! and thank u 🥺💗 i'm sorry this took a lil longer but i hope you like it @stevestummy !!!

steve harrington x fem!reader | wc: 1.3k | dustin's a menace & dorky/shy steve has a crush <3 | prompt in bold!

"This is borderline stalking."

"It's not stalking."

"Uh, borderline, it is," Dustin continued. "No normal or sane person goes to the same café two times a day, six times a week just to get a glimpse of some girl—"

"She's not some girl!"

"Oh shit, I'm sorry," Dustin gasped exaggeratedly, hand on his chest. "The girl you pathetically have an obvious crush on since this café opened—which would make that three weeks of stalking, by the way—and who you've been daydreaming to be your wife and the mother of your kids even though you haven't had a conversation apart from you telling her your same boring coffee order because you can't even ask her number let alone ask her out!"

"My coffee order is not boring," Steve grumbled, cheeks hot because Dustin's rant was still filled with truth…unfortunately.

All because of you.

You who made his heart race and his legs feel like jelly the first time you locked eyes. You who made his brain a jumbled mess, any coherent words lodged in his throat that he was only able to stutter out the first coffee order that came to mind—on more than one occasion that made you believe it was his usual—or else he would've made an even bigger fool of himself by simply staring at you.

Now, Steve wasn't a believer in love at first sight, but this sure did feel close enough.

"What happened to your game King Steve?"

He groaned, head thumping against the steering wheel. "Jesus, man, I get it—"

"Do you really think she's dumb enough to buy your excuses that you're just showing your friends the new café by bringing a different person, mostly kids not your age, every single time you come here?" Dustin babbled on. "You're so obvious about it already! So just ask her out!"

"What do you think I'm doing here!"

"Stalking!" Dustin argued which earned him a glare. "What? You're in your car, waiting for her to clock in because you want her to be the one to take your order instead of sitting inside like a normal person because you don't want to make it obvious that you are waiting for her only as if parking your car in front of the establishment for the past ten minutes without getting out isn't a giant red flag!"

Steve blinked. "What did I ever do to you?"

Dustin took a few deep breaths before smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just hungry, man, I haven't eaten lunch and I can smell their croissants every time the door opens."

Steve sighed, checking his watch.

"Come on. She should be here any minute now."

He internally cringed.

Maybe it did seem like he was stalking you when he even knew when you usually clocked in at certain times of the week.

In his defense, he'd been here plenty of times and it took some trial and error. Once he figured out roughly what your schedule was, it simply became a routine. He didn't go out of his way to steal your timetable and memorized it like some serial killer.

"Yeah, that's not creepy," Dustin grimaced. "Not creepy at all."

"I'll buy you anything you want if you don't embarrass me once we're inside," Steve gritted as he got out of the car. "If not, you're paying for yourself."

Dustin grinned toothily. "Deal."

•••

Steve's fingers were tapping on the wooden countertop as his eyes flickered between the menu and the 'employees only' door.

Your co-worker was behind the counter but didn't make an effort to go over to where they sat on the stools, much to Dustin's dismay. It was almost as if she knew that Steve wanted it to be you who'd take his order. 

His face warmed at the thought.

One that was definitely proven right when she shot him a knowing wink as she disappeared into the back and announced the end of her shift, his palms sweating as he watched the closed door in anticipation

Steve's heart jumped out of his chest and landed on the palm of your hand when you walked in.

Your eyes immediately found his, your irises twinkling and oh so fucking beautiful, smile sweet and warm that turned his brain to mush and all he could think about was: pretty pretty pretty.

Steve struggled to pick his jaw off the floor as he tried to return your grin without looking too much like a lovesick fool.

He knew he failed miserably at that.

Painfully and so downright obvious when he gawked at you, adoration filling his bones at the way you listened attentively to Dustin as he listed all the pastries he wanted to try like they were free—well, Steve supposed since he offered to pay for it all, it kind of was.

"Hey, Steve," you greeted cheerily, beaming. "The usual?"

"H-Hi! and yeah–yes…please," he said, smiling timidly, cheeks flushed, heart skipping when you giggled. It took Dustin kicking his foot to stop him from staring at you for a couple of minutes more. Gathering his sanity, his courage, his breath, his everything, he cleared his throat, "So, uh, do you wanna—uhm…burger? Maybe fries? Milkshakes too!"

"Steve, we don't serve those here," you chuckled, a twinkle of amusement in your eyes, tone teasing. "I thought you knew that already? Being a regular and all."

"No, no, no, it's uh, I meant—" Steve took a deep breath, and he swore he was having a fever because of how hot his body felt. "Wanna, like—I mean, if you’re not busy…We could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don’t have a lot of time?"

"Well, I think I've had enough of coffee," you said, face scrunching in the most adorable of ways as you waved around you, the smell of freshly roasted beans strong in the air. "And it's way past lunch already."

Steve's heart fell into his stomach.

"Oh."

This was it. You were letting him down gently. You probably realized just how fucking creepy he'd been acting coming here all the time and—

"How about dinner this Friday night?"

"Yes!" he squeaked, his face burning red. He saw Dustin bury his face in his hands, muttering about how painful this was to watch. Steve ignored him as he turned back to you. "I mean, yeah, I'm free Friday…any time—for you, yeah."

"Cool," you giggled, and Steve swore if he'd hear that angelic sound one more time, he was going to ask you to marry him. You scribbled something on your notepad, your smile shy yet bright as you ripped the paper and handed it to him. "Here's my number. You can pick me up at seven."

"O-Okay," he choked out, cheeks hot and hurting as his grin grew wider. "I will."

Then, you leaned over the counter and kissed his cheek and Steve swore his heart stopped beating, brown eyes wide, jaw hanging, awestruck and dazed as you took his breath away. 

"It's a date," you whispered, fingers resting under his chin to close his mouth, winking before you made your way toward the door. He tried to fight off his frown when he immediately missed your touch, craving more. "I'll be back. I promised Dustin over here to get him one of the freshly baked croissants in the oven."

"Thanks, Y/N!" Dustin chuckled, waving excitedly.

"Fucking slap me," Steve breathed out once you were out of earshot, flinching when a palm hit the back of his head. He glared at his friend. "It was rhetorical!"

"I can't believe that worked," Dustin groaned. "That was so fucking bad."

Steve rolled his eyes, grinning smugly as he waved the paper you gave him. "I still got her number, didn't I?

"Technically, she gave it to you, idiot. You didn't do shit but ask for burgers and fries in a place that serves coffee and pastries. You've got nothing to be smug about."

Steve couldn't even find himself to be embarrassed about it. He was too high on life, his cheek still tingling from where your lips had touched his skin, your sweet scent still lingering in the air that nothing could ever bring him back down.

"I'm still getting the girl."

"Yeah, with your serial killer stalker strategy"

"Shut up."

⤷ t's february frolicking celebration

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[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda Under Cut

Safu

I am adding my vote because the yaoi may be canon in this one but Safu is still Shion's best friend and the way ppl leave her out of stuff sucks ass. Her character development was the ONE thing the anime had over the novels and manga but even the anime only fans won't look at her. She literally said "I want your sperm" out loud with her mouth in a train station to ask her best friend to date her. Weird girl extraordinaire who became bee jesus people need to stop sleeping on her for the guys.

She has a crush on Shion and makes it quite known She also asked for Shion's semen once

Neurodivergent queen! She autismed her way through puberty so hard, she thought her feelings for the protagonist Shion were purely sexual, until she spent time away from him to grow as a person

Annabeth Chase

I feel like fandom is kinda split on her with percabeth shippers loving her but any m/m shipper I've seen does not like her, really. She is my bae tho <3

Percabeth antis grind my gears so much because they never hate Percy, nono, even though he's arguably done more questionable stuff than Annabeth. Not everyone who hates her is doing so because of a mlm ship— the Perachel stans claim that Annabeth is a misogynist. However, basically everyone that isn't trying to ship her boyfriend with Rachel is trying to ship him with Jason, Nico, or her old friend Luke. They make her out to be this horrible abusive girlboss(derogatory) that she's simply... not. She doesn't insult Percy for having ADHD just because she's highly intelligent. She doesn't physically abuse him, and doesn't lay a finger on him outside of training. She's really devoted to him in a non-anti-feminist way. They just hate her for 'getting in the way' of Nico's convoluted attraction to Percy, or Jason's close friendship with him, or Luke's rivalry with him. But those relationships all flourish the way they were intended by the author: non-romantically. It's not Annabeth's fault for being intelligent or capable or jokingly snide or determined or any of those non-stereotypically-feminine qualities. She's just out here existing and people hate her for not being a man. Sorry for the rant.

She's canonically in a relationship with Percy Jackson for most of the books they're in, but he often gets paired in canon with other male characters, such as Nico di Angelo or Jason Grace. In fan fiction (especially yaoi focused ones) she's characterized as being a stuck up know it all, but she gets into plenty of shenanigans in canon and can be pretty goofy and sweet!

I think I may have accidently used fanart for Annabeth's picture, if you have official art of her, send it in!

[dagwolf]

 In any event, here's a tasty interview excerpt:

Speaking of doing a lot of different records and working with a lot of amazing songwriters, I own a ton of the records that you've done over the years. One, in particular, I'd like to ask you about is Paul Simon's Graceland. I obsessed over that thing when I was young. Do you have any recollections of working on it?

Oh, I have plenty of recollections of working on that one. I don't know if you heard the stories, but it was not a pleasant deal for us. I mean he [Simon] quite literally — and in no way do I exaggerate when I say — he stole the songs from us.

...

The interviewer's softball question leads to an extended rant that rolls on for over 1500 words. There's no clear way to verify Berlin's claims. But it's interesting to consider his characterization of Los Lobos' “collaboration” with Simon at a moment when the latter artist is being trumpeted as the latest hipster influence, like David Byrne and Gang of Four before him. It must be a heady moment for Simon. New York's much respected Brooklyn Academy of Music is feting him with a sold out month-long residency celebrating his post-Garfunkel career — a tribute fest that finds everyone from Byrne to Ladysmith Black Mambazo singing his songs, a residency whose final week — starting April 23rd — includes one of the top 10 ever most unlikely co-bills: Grizzly Bear, Gillian Welch, Josh Groban, and Olu Dara.

WTF, indeed.

After the jump, Steve Berlin's entire diatribe on Los Lobos' “collaboration” with Simon, including a rare dis of legendary former Warner Bros chief Lenny Waronker.

...

Really…

Yeah. And you know, going into it, I had an enormous amount of respect for the guy. The early records were amazing, I loved his solo records, and I truly thought he was one of the greatest gifts to American music that there was.

At the time, we were high on the musical food chain. Paul had just come off One Trick Pony and was kind of floundering. People forget, before Graceland, he was viewed as a colossal failure. He was low. So when we were approached to do it, I was a way bigger fan than anybody else in the band. We got approached by Lenny Waronker and Mo Ostin who ran our record company [Warner Bros.], and this is the way these guys would talk – “It would mean a lot to the family if you guys would do this for us.” And we thought, “Ok well, it's for the family, so we'll do it.” It sounds so unbelievably naïve and ridiculous that that would be enough of a reason to go to the studio with him.

We go into the studio, and he had quite literally nothing. I mean, he had no ideas, no concepts, and said, “Well, let's just jam.” We said, “We don't really do that.” When we jam, we'll switch instruments. Dave will play drums, I'll play something. We don't really jam. Especially in that era. Louie will be the first to tell you this – he was made to play drums. They forced him to play drums. He's not really a drummer by trade. He's never practiced a moment in his life. Not once in his life did he sit down at the drums because of his love for drumming. The other three guys made him play drums in the early days, so he sort of became drummer by default. He hates playing the instrument, I think. Again, you should ask him, but I don't ever ever, ever get the sense that he was one of those dyed-in-the-wool, John Bonham, let's-play-drums-for-three-days-straight kind of guys. So consequently, as the core band was comprised then, we never jammed – never ever. Not by accident, not even at soundcheck. We would always just play a song.

So Paul was like, “Let's just jam,” and we're like, “Oh jeez. Well alright, let's see what we can do.” And it was not good because Louie wasn't comfortable. None of us were comfortable, it wasn't just Louie. It was like this very alien environment to us. Paul was a very strange guy. Paul's engineer was even stranger than Paul, and he just seemed to have no clue – no focus, no design, no real nothing. He had just done a few of the African songs that hadn't become songs yet. Those were literally jams. Or what the world came to know and I don't think really got exposed enough, is that those are actually songs by a lot of those artists that he just approved of. So that's kind of what he was doing. It was very patrician, material sort of viewpoint. Like, because I'm gonna put my stamp on it, they're now my songs. But that's literally how he approached this stuff.

I remember he played me the one he did by John Hart, and I know John Hart, the last song on the record. He goes, “Yeah, I did this in Louisiana with this zy decko guy.” And he kept saying it over and over. And I remember having to tell him, “Paul, it's pronounced zydeco. It's not zy decko, it's zydeco.” I mean that's how incredibly dilettante he was about this stuff. The guy was clueless.

Wow. You're kidding me?

Clue… less about what he was doing. He knew what he wanted to do, but it was not in any way like, “Here's my idea. Here's this great vision I have for this record, come with me.”

About two hours into it, the guys are like, “You gotta call Lenny right now. You gotta get us out of this. We can't do this. This is a joke. This is a waste of time.” And this was like two hours into the session that they wanted me to call Lenny. What am I going to tell Lenny? It was a favor to him. What am I going to say, “Paul's a fucking idiot?”

Somehow or other, we got through the day with nothing. I mean, literally, nothing. We would do stuff like try an idea out and run it around for 45 minutes, and Paul would go “Eh… I don't like it. Let's do something else.” And it was so frustrating. Even when we'd catch a glimpse of something that might turn into something, he would just lose interest. A kitten-and-the-string kinda thing.

So that's day one. We leave there and it's like, “Ok, we're done. We're never coming back.” I called Lenny and said it really wasn't very good. We really didn't get anything you could call a song or even close to a song. I don't think Paul likes us very much. And frankly, I don't think we like him very much. Can we just say, 'Thanks for the memories' and split?” And he was like, “Man, you gotta hang in there. Paul really does respect you. It's just the way he is. I'll talk to him.” And we were like, “Oh man, please Lenny. It's not working.” Meanwhile, we're not getting paid for this. There was no discussion like we're gonna cash in or anything like that. It was very labor-of-love.

Really…?

Yeah. Don't ask me why. God knows it would have made it a lot easier to be there.

And Lenny put you guys together thinking it would be a good match?

Well, “It would be good for the family.” That was it. So we go back in the second day wondering why we're there. It was ridiculous. I think David starts playing “The Myth of the Fingerprints,” or whatever he ended up calling it. That was one of our songs. That year, that was a song we started working on By Light of the Moon. So that was like an existing Lobos sketch of an idea that we had already started doing. I don't think there were any recordings of it, but we had messed around with it. We knew we were gonna do it. It was gonna turn into a song. Paul goes, “Hey, what's that?” We start playing what we have of it, and it is exactly what you hear on the record. So we're like, “Oh, ok. We'll share this song.”

Good way to get out of the studio, though…

Yeah. But it was very clear to us, at the moment, we're thinking he's doing one of our songs. It would be like if he did “Will the Wolf Survive?” Literally. A few months later, the record comes out and says “Words and Music by Paul Simon.” We were like, “What the fuck is this?”

We tried calling him, and we can't find him. Weeks go by and our managers can't find him. We finally track him down and ask him about our song, and he goes, “Sue me. See what happens.”

What?! Come on…

That's what he said. He said, “You don't like it? Sue me. You'll see what happens.” We were floored. We had no idea. The record comes out, and he's a big hit. Retroactively, he had to give songwriting credit to all the African guys he stole from that were working on it and everyone seemed to forget. But that's the kind of person he is. He's the world's biggest prick, basically.

So we go back to Lenny and say, “Hey listen, you stuck us in the studio with this fucking idiot for two days. We tried to get out of it, you made us stay in there, and then he steals our song?! What the hell?!” And Lenny's always a politician. He made us forget about it long enough that it went away. But to this day, I do not believe we have gotten paid for it. We certainly didn't get songwriting credit for it. And it remains an enormous bone that sticks in our craw. Had he even given us a millionth of what the song and the record became, I think we would have been – if nothing else – much richer, but much happier about the whole thing.

Have you guys seen him since then?

No. Never run into him. I'll tell you, if the guys ever did run into him, I wouldn't want to be him, that's for sure.

That's an amazing story. I can't believe I never heard it before.

We had every right and reason to sue him, and Lenny goes, “It's bad for the family.” When we told the story in that era, when this was going down, we were doing interviews and telling the truth. And Lenny goes, “Hey guys, I really need you to stop talking about it. It's bad for the family.”

Amazing. Talk about bad for the family.

I know. Again, it's just so incredible how naïve we were back then. You can't even imagine that era of music when you'd actually listen to your record company president who told you to shut up because “it's bad for the family.” Now, I'd tell him to go fuck himself.

[bisexualcoltseavers]

Paper Doll

TW: Domestic violence, child abuse, referenced alcoholism and strangulation.

The best part of having a window seat on a long flight, Colt thinks, is the direct view of the night sky. Twinkling stars rarely make an appearance in Los Angeles, but thousands of feet off the ground, they shine brightly. It’s one of the very few things he misses about his childhood in Florida. Home was often terrifying and chaotic, but sometimes, Mom and Dad would take him to Everglades National Park where they’d stay until dark, swallowed by stars and a calming quietness. Dad would be sober, Mom would be happy, and he would bask in the attention so rarely offered to him. They could be a happy family, if only for a few hours.

Then he and Mom fled to Los Angeles to be closer to her family. Dad, left in another drunken stupor, was served divorce papers in Florida. The illusion of a happy family had long since shattered, and there was Colt, sad, aching, anxious energy always itching just under his skin.

Always talking too much, always in the way, and for God’s sake, Colt, stay still!

Colt shakes his head and rolls his shoulders. Thinking about his childhood sends him down rabbit holes that take hours to claw out from. The stars are still oddly soothing, somewhat decent company while the plane’s other inhabitants sleep. He blinks blearily, eyes gritty with exhaustion, but sleep won’t come easily tonight. His mind races in circles, each scenario more disastrous than the last, and it takes every ounce of willpower he possesses not to jiggle his legs.

The worry is impossible to turn off. His stomach aches, and he leans his head against the window. He hasn’t felt so anxious since his fall and the horrible recovery that followed. But this feels worse.

Ken is in danger, and he’s on a flight to London for some film he doesn’t even care about anymore.

It’s intuition. Patrick reminds Colt far too much of his father, and Dad always became more dangerous when he sensed that Mom was about to leave. Ken doesn’t talk about Patrick often, and Colt follows his lead. But he does know a few things: Patrick can go on hours-long rants about the smallest perceived slights. He’s possessive. And worst of all? He isn’t afraid to use his fists.

Ken hides it as best he can with coverup, but years of growing up with his father taught Colt what to look for. To an untrained eye, the bruises would be invisible. The grimaces that just barely flash across his face would stay hidden, the hisses of pain barely audible. But Colt knows.

Ken isn’t as invisible as he believes. There are so many people who love him, who see him. Patrick has never even scratched the surface.

Unbidden, memories of his last meeting with Ken flicker before his eyes. He remembers how soft Ken’s lips felt on his, how they’d whispered a quiet I love you, how he’d declared that he was leaving Patrick in part to be with Colt. Colt’s heart had nearly exploded with elation, but any shred of happiness had been rapidly replaced with terror. Colt isn’t afraid of Patrick, but he’s terrified of what Patrick could do to Ken.

Don’t worry about me. I can handle him. I’m gonna pack my stuff before he can even guess what’s happening and dump him in a public place.

Ken had thought it all through. He can be impulsive, but he’d clearly planned all of this out without thinking of his own safety, and the thought terrifies Colt. If Ken is concerned about his own safety, he’d done a fantastic job of hiding it.

Colt shudders against the sudden chill that creeps down his spine. Growing up with an abusive father taught him early to trust his intuition.

And right now, his intuition is screaming at him.

Everything is about to go wrong, and he shouldn’t have left.

***

Colt gingerly lowers himself onto the bed with a groan. He wouldn’t want to work in any other field, but he can’t deny that stunt work takes a bigger toll on him than it used to. If he overdoes it too many days in a row, he spends at least a week paying for it. He’s been in London for a few weeks, and now that his part is done, he can go home.

He knows the drill by now, though. He’d given himself a couple of extra days to do absolutely nothing but relax in bed.

He sighs in relief when the heating pad eases the tension in his aching muscles. He grabs his phone to check his messages. True to his word, Ken has texted him every day so far, keeping him updated on his situation at home. The last text came through hours ago, and Colt’s heart unclenched. Ken’s bags were almost packed. He was almost free.

So far so good! 😊 Love you!

Colt looks at the timestamp and frowns when he double checks the timestamp. It’s 3 PM in Los Angeles. Ken not texting him for hours is strange. Maybe he’s just hyperfocused? He has a lot of stuff, and he gets sidetracked easily…

Everything okay?

He swallows, throat suddenly tight. The text goes through, and he waits for a few minutes for the familiar gray ellipses to make their appearance, but they never come. He’s probably just packing. Colt opens TikTok, but he can’t focus. The minutes pass by agonizingly slowly. The ticking clock is loud in his ears, almost mocking. Colt scowls and barely manages to smother the urge to throw the clock across his room. It wouldn’t do anything but cost him money.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

He’s watched the same video four times and hasn’t absorbed any of it. He scrolls mindlessly, periodically checking his text thread with Ken again. Radio silence is unusual. He scrolls upward. Maybe Ken had a shoot today and Colt forgot, or maybe he’s out with Barb.

The messages offer no clues. He buries his face in the pillow, begging his racing mind to slow down. He can’t even go for a run without his back aching, so now he’s stuck in a lonely hotel room with no company other than his thoughts.

***

There’s an annoying buzzing sound. Colt scowls and shoves the pillow over his ears, but the noise only gets louder. Colt huffs and sits up.

“What the fuck?” He mutters. He spots his phone on the pillow. It’s lit up, a name that Colt can’t see on the pillow. Who the hell is calling him at 4 AM? He leans closer, breath hitching in his throat as soon as he spots the name.

Barb Hanlder

It’s not that he and Barbara aren’t friends. They are! She’s funny and charming, and Colt enjoys her company. It’s just that they’re both don’t call me unless you’re my partner or it’s an emergency people. The phone continues to buzz, and Colt stares at it, his heart clenching with panic. Something is wrong. The buzzing stops and almost immediately starts up again, and Colt swallows.

He shouldn’t have left. He should have stayed home, stayed with Ken and made sure he was safe. Why didn’t he do it?

He feels floaty. Detached from his body. He watches as he picks up the phone and hears himself ask, “Did that motherfucker kill him?”

Barb chokes on a sob. “Colt, Colt, thank God you picked up, it’s so bad I – Wait. No. No. He didn’t kill him. He – “ Barb sniffles and takes a few shaky breaths. “He tried, though.”

Colt closes his eyes. He knew it. “What did he do?”

And so Colt listens as Barb tells him the story, how she and Gloria came to Ken’s apartment to find him barely conscious on the floor. How he’d been choking for air, how he’d gone limp as soon as Barb walked through the door.

When she describes the bruises on his neck, he swallows bile. He puts Barb on speaker and starts frantically gathering his things, ignoring the sharp pain that runs up his spine. He yanks his suitcase from its home on the closet floor and unceremoniously shoves his clothes into it. He should have stayed. He should have stayed and helped Ken pack his things. Patrick never dared to fuck with Ken whenever Colt was around. Colt takes great pleasure in knowing that the other man is terrified of him. All Colt has to do is flex, and the bravado instantly disappears. If he’d been there, this wouldn’t have happened. Ken would be safe. He needs to see the other man with his own eyes, see the rise and fall of his chest, needs to see his big, blue eyes open and wide with life. “I’m getting on the first flight outta here. I’m coming home.” The words is he okay almost fall from his lips, but he stops himself just in time. What kind of question is that?

“How is he?”

Barb hesitates. “Physically? So far he’s okay. It doesn’t look like there’s any internal damage. He’s awake. Ummm. He can’t really talk. His vocal cords took heavy damage, but his voice should be back in a few weeks.”

Ken’s voice. It’s one of the things Colt loves the most about him. It’s deep and soothing, and when he sings, Colt always stops to listen. His voice is smooth; it never cracks. And his singing voice is one of the very few things he’s confident about. A violent attack stole that from him. Colt grips the edge of his suitcase so tightly that it creaks under his hands. That evil bastard has stolen everything from him.

I’m gonna beat the shit out of him.

“Colt? Are you still there?”

Colt takes a few deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth, just the way the therapist he saw after his injury taught him. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “Yeah, sorry. I’m here. You said he’s awake?”

“He’s awake, yes. Gloria and Ryan are in there with him right now. We’re not leaving him alone. He hasn’t really interacted much. He’s in shock, I think. The doctors ran a million tests when he woke up, and then he just…I dunno. He’s staring into space a lot. He doesn’t even seem to realize that we’re here. You’re coming home?”

Even over the phone, Barb’s voice is thick with unshed tears. How long has she been holding it together for? “I’m coming home, yeah. How are you holding up?”

“Oh.” Barb sniffles, and Colt pictures her wiping her eyes. “I don’t know yet. Ask me later. I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet.”

“Fair enough.”

Colt zips his suitcase, not even bothering to give the room his usual final check. Stuff be damned. Clothes and shoes can always be replaced. He and Barb hang up, and the next thing Colt knows, he’s at the airport.

How did he even get here? No matter. Even at 6 AM on a Monday, the line is long, and he groans. Why is this taking so fucking long?

His phone vibrates and he fishes it out of his pocket. God, he’s ready to snap. The irritation ebbs as soon as it appears when he sees who the message is from.

Ken: So Barb told you what happened

It’s not a question. Even over text, he sounds dejected. Resigned. Colt wants to call him, he’s so desperate to hear Ken for himself, but then he remembers the vocal cord damage and sighs. She told me. How are you?????

For five minutes, Colt watches Ken start typing, stop, then start again. His hands start to shake when the next text comes through.

I’m really fucking scared.

Ken isn’t embarrassed to admit when he’s afraid of something. He’ll readily admit to being afraid of bugs, heights, and horror movies. He’s only ever refused to admit fear a few times, and each of those had a common denominator.

Patrick.

It’s the final nail in the coffin. Colt tastes salty tears, but he makes no effort to stop crying. He wants nothing more than to see Ken, to hold him close and to ease his terror, but he can’t. The next available flight is over twenty hours long with two connections. Colt jumps at the chance. If it’s the best they can do, then so be it.

Don’t worry, he texts back. I’m coming.

[sofiiel]

Cryptid!Eddie x Reader | PART SEVEN

⇠ Part 1 | Part 6 | Next ⇢

Warnings: angst and fluff. not proof read.

Eddie shrank back, curled into a ball on the floor, wringing his tail. His eyes watching Dustin as he finished his rant.

You hugged your notebook to your chest. Giving him your notes on Eddie’s dreams, would be terrifying.

Dustin finally calmed. “You’re contacting Wayne tomorrow.” he said.

“But-”

Dustin’s eyes narrowed into a glare, “Tomorrow.”

Eddie fell silent, chewing on his lip. Wanting to give him a break, you venture to paint yourself as a target. Holding up your notebook.

However, your voice failed you as your throat dried up, “I’ve got notes on Eddie’s dream memories.” the sentence came forth horribly pitched.

Lucas burst into laughter, "what was that noise?" He asked.

"He's scary, ok, like an overzealous gym teacher." you peeped.

"Yeah, well, he gets it from Eddie." said Lucas.

You pointed over your shoulder, "This Eddie?" your brows raised high, "Human puppy monster?"

Eddie blushed as he stammered, "What?"

"Guys! Seriously!" Dustin called out, snapping. Once all eyes fell back onto him, he held out his hand. Without a word, you handed over your notes.

"Eddie's dreams have a high chance of being memories he's locked away. They may be what happened to him all this time he's been gone." Watching Dustin calm down as he focused on your writings seemed to calm the room and stood still your nerves enough to speak.

"____ says here that they must feel real?" Dustin asked Eddie.

Carefully rubbing the back of his neck, Eddie shrugged, "I don't know. I guess they do? I don't remember much about them when I wake up." He said.

Eddie stole a glance at you.

"But you remember enough, ____ wrote down that you don't like being alone afterward," Dustin said.

Eddie cleared his throat, "I ugh..." With a sigh, he simply nodded, "I don't, no. I can't remember what exactly happens in them, but I can remember how the dreams felt. Like complete shit." He confessed.

Robin cast her gaze on Lucas and Dustin, who both seemed to be sharing her thoughts.

Unsure of what thoughs thoughts were, you did know one thing, that look in their eyes was not a good sign.

"Why are you three looking like that?" You questioned carefully.

"That sounds a lot like Vecna's handy work." Robin whispered.

"Vecna is dead." Lucas spoke quickly. "Will and El killed him, we all saw it."

You dug up everything you could remember of the information Eddie and the others told you before. The madness of it made your head hurt.

"Why would he want me though?" Eddie asked. "If Vecna's seen me, he knows I'm useless. More than useless. I've got a bare minimum of control over this new fucked up body of mine." Eddie spat, his eyes narrowing.

"I think it's safe to say he's fucked me over all he can. There's nothing left he can do." he murmured.

"You're better than you were. Listen, you're not allowed to do that in this house." You spoke flatly.

"Do what?" Eddie asked.

"Turn your claws on yourself. I mean mental claws to, for the record."

Eddie fell silent, one of said claws started to twirl in his hair, while the carpet became fascinating to him.

You release a sigh and shake your head. "maybe I shouldn't have snapped at him like that." you thought. Just something about him turning on himself, made your stomach twist.

Dustin looked between the two of you and covered his face as he whispered "oh my god."

It left you confused, but he said nothing further.

"It does sound like him. Regardless of usefulness, Eddie, you might be the only demo he has left. If Vecna is out there, he's starting from square one all over again." Dustin explained.

Robin chuckled lightly, "Square 001."

"Meaning, he's not being picky." Dustin sighed.

"But Eddie's not the only one." you chimed in. You and Eddie looked at each other. "There's another one out there, bigger and honestly badder than Eddie. I know, we've both seen it."

"It handed me my ass out there, while we were fighting over whose dinner ____ was going to be." Eddie muttered.

"You tried to eat-" Dustin shook his head, "never mind, not important for now." He said.

"You fought this thing? Did it look half human like you or?"

Eddie shook his head, "No, it was more monster than I am. Its face was gone but," Eddie loved his hands about the top of his head, "it sort of had hair."

"What color?" Robin asked, looking between the two of you.

You frowned slightly, "I don't know, I didn't pay attention, I was trying not to become fast food."

"It was dark and my mind is always a little hazy when it takes over." Eddie said.

Robin, Dustin, and Lucas released long breaths of air as they seemed to deflate.

"Well, now what? We can't leave that thing out there." asked Lucas.

"Eddie meets up with Wayne, first," Dustin said, shooting Eddie a pointed glance.

"I didn't want to scare the old man!" Eddie barked.

"You couldn't be scary if you tried, plus it's Wayne, he's gonna know your face no matter what happens to it!" Dustin snapped right back.

"From there, we're going to look for it, It might be big, but we're used to demogorgons, right?" Dustin added.

"Speak for yourself. Eddie's my first cryptid encounter, regardless of what the news has said about my dad and our family." You muttered.

Dustin pointed at you, "Oh, you're Madman's kid!" he gasped as a smile formed across his face. "He was FBI or something, right? You'll be fine."

"He was, is the main part of that statement," Eddie said. "____ shouldn't go." the words tagged on quickly.

Dustin rubbed his temples, "this is going to be interesting."

Eddie sat curled underneath his worn blanket, focused on the steam rising from his mug of cocoa.

You'd finished paperwork and logs for the shop, stealing looks at him all the while. He'd hardly moved and you'd heated his cocoa at least three times already.

"Look, I'm sorry if I step out of line earlier. I didn't mean to tell you off." You said.

"I'm not mad why are you apologizing?" Eddie answered robotically.

"Because I'm trying to figure out why you're over there catatonically watching your drink get cold?" your statement came in the form of a question but it brought Eddie out of his daze.

He reached out and took the mug in his hands as best he could, lifting it to his lips.

Before he could take a sip, quiet words fluttered out of them, "What if I do scare him?"

You set down your pen and fold up your work book. "Your uncle, you mean?"

"Yeah. I mean, half of this town always thought I was bad news, but never Uncle Wayne. Looking like this...I wouldn't blame him. You know, the guy's got an old hunting rifle. He could blast me to kingdom come if he wanted to." Eddie rambled.

Exhaling, you abandoned your seat and replaced yourself at Eddie's side.

"From what I've heard from just about everyone so far? That's highly unlikely." You said.

Eddie took a sip of his cocoa, loudly, as if it could break the nonexistent silence.

"Families like that, the good kind, anyway. If a whole town wasn't fond of you, and he was still there. Your odds are good. It's a lie that you don't see the horror when you care about someone." You said, and for a moment Eddie looked up at you with concern.

"But the thing is, you care about them, so you don't care about the horror. Whatever form it takes, That person is your person. So you love the horror too." you looked at Eddie and shrugged.

"It's part of the package deal." you added.

"Yeah?" Eddie asked.

"I mean, look at your friends for example. The guys jumped you in a hug, towering lanky beast that you are." You laughed lightly.

Eddie cracked a smile and you could feel your body finally relax.

"Now imagine, this man's known you since you were just a blob causing some poor woman's body all sorts of grief."

Eddie laughed softly at your words and finally looked up at you.

"Thanks." He said.

"Anytime."

"But...you're going to be there, right?" he asked quickly.

"I work here, Eddie." you answered.

He glared at you in mild irritation, "Don't be a shit, you know what I mean."

Eddie was serious, but you still managed to laugh, "I do, but that face was worth it."

"I'll sit down with the two of you. He knows me now, it shouldn't be too awkward." You added.

Eddie nodded with satisfaction and continued to sip his cocoa, leaning against you, he made your head his pillow.

"What are you doing?" You asked him, your throat feeling as if it wanted to close up when his tail coiled around your legs.

His answer came naturally, "You're a good pillow."

While his answer was relatively calm, you could feel his heart race from where your shoulder was tucked at his chest.

Toad slipped gracefully through the cracked window, pleased to see, for once, all seemed calm. Peace was rare with the arrival of the new overgrown kitty.

"Maybe his nerves are still on edge." You told yourself. Your body relaxed, and you caved, "Fine, but only for a little while." you said.

"Ten minutes?" Eddie asked, curling up more.

"Five."

"Nine?"

"Three."

"Five it is." Eddie said, closing his eyes and drinking down the rest of his mug. Toad hopped up to join along in the cozy circle and snuggled on top of Eddie's lap.

You hadn't planned on falling asleep but woke up to being dragged across your living room floor.

"What's going on!" you choked, disoriented and alarmed to find-

"Why're we up here? Why are we on the ceiling?" you asked quickly.

It was an odd first question, but it was the first question to make its way out of your thoughts. Right past, "Why are you carrying me by the collar like a cub" or "Are you still you?"

Your pulse quickened, Eddie hadn't answered you, it may have been the fact that your shirt was in his mouth, or it could have been something worse.

"Please don't be having an episode." you thought, shutting your eyes.

light howling came from near the window. Toad stood with her back hunched, wide eyes fixed to the fluttering curtain while the window slowly lifted.

"You're kidding." you thought watching the large clawed hand slip through, followed by a void face and lightly matted patches of hair.

"it's not the same one," you whispered.

It was smaller than Eddie and tiny compared to the creature you'd faced in the cornfields. More than anything, it's movements were far more timid.

It heard you, looking around it pointed what would have been a nose towards the air, and it's face flared open.

You bit your tongue to stop a scream. Toad hissed and backed away.

"Those things eat cats." you thought, "run Toad!" you shouted.

The new monster snapped it's head up and roared from its face.

Eddie released a gurgled growl and dropped with you in tow. No longer handing from his mouth but caught in his arm. Tucked under his wing as he and the other creature snapped, growled, and bellowed at each other in warning.

"What's it doing here?" You muttered, "Are these things looking for you specifically?" you asked Eddie, not expecting a reply.

Holding out your hands you call for Toad and she is quick to rush back, leaping to safety.

"What do you want?" you tried talking to the new monster.

"If Eddie's still got some self left, maybe these things do too?" You questioned yourself.

Briefly, it turned its head to look at you.

Eddie took several steps back, guiding you away from the monster but backing the two of you toward the bathroom door.

The new monster made no effort to pursue. The way its body curled and back in tucked was one of a scared dog.

"Is it...afraid of you?" you asked, holding on to Eddie's arm.

Eddie opened his mouth wide and out bloomed the flower mouth. It made you cringe, but the shriek he emitted made your ears feel like bleeding.

Toad dug her claws into your arms as she hid her face in your shirt. The new monster leaped away and scampered towards the window. It paused there, hesitant to leave.

Eddie's chest puffed as he drew in a deep breath, gearing up for another warning. It was all the other monster needed, it left the way it came in.

The three of you remained frozen in place, waiting and watching for the monster to return.

The toothed flower retreated back between Eddie's lips and he let out an annoyed huff, his tail snaking around you he looked down, nudging the side of your head with his nose.

"I'm good." You said quickly, "Wait..."

Peering up into milky white eyes, it was more than clear Eddie had given way to the creature inside.

"But why is he not- I'm not being hunted?" You questioned.

Eddie took another look at the window, one last glance to make sure it was safe and before you knew it, you were being hauled around again. "this still shouldn't be possible." you muttered.

This time towards the sofa, plopped onto the cushion and encircled by Eddie's large body. His arm draping his wing across you as cover.

"This how baby birds feel?" You pondered halfway crushed under his body weight as you two barely fit on the sofa this way. Toad was silent in her squished misery.

"Eddie, it's safe now. snap out of it and let me up." You called to him calmly. Though you were ignored, Eddie was still looking at the window and his tail waved about uneasily.

"If it was out there it'd probably would have come back already." you tried to reason.

Eddie lowered his head, and curled around you tighter.

"no, no, no don't go to sleep yet!" you gasped.

"let me up!"

Your protest fell on deaf ears, Eddie became heavier and his breathing fell steady.

"Eddie wake up!" you called and were met with a soft snore.

"Great." you groaned.

A/n: sorry this is short, but I've left this hanging for so long. I'd rather kick out something short for now than nothing 🤦🏾‍♀️

Taglist:

@bibieddiesgf @eddiesgirlforever @ilovetaquitosmmmm @cherrycolas-things @fan-girl-97 @obsessivelycraftygothfandomwitch

⇠ Part 1 | Part 6 | Next ⇢

[marineflamez]

Your interpretation of Spamton is really interesting, do you have any specific thoughts about each section of his life??? ( like addison, big shot, puppet)

warning, this is a huge autism rant LOL

addison era: i havent headcanoned much about his addison self tbh... the most ive got is hes transmasc and is very bird-like with feathers.....also cat-like too. i think the addisons in general act like that. another headcanon i have is that the addisons are naturally social creatures! they stick together and get depressed when alone, which is sad to think about considering the CircumstancesTM

big shot era: i think spamton during this era was at his highest career wise, and his lowest mental health wise (aside from his current mental health state). my headcanon is hed have a super inflated ego and lash out at people, but only to hide the deep rooted insecurity from knowing he only became successful from a phone. i imagine hed also feel paranoid and constantly anxious at the thought of losing it all, which ended up happening. the social nature of being an addison prolly also contributed to his decline since the addisons left him. so hed stick by the phone not only for advice, knowledge, etc... but for some type of social contact, albeit incomprehensible.

if you wanna see my headcanon for his character In ActionTM, i made a video on his big shot era here: https://youtu.be/OWeStag3dJk

puppet era: this is the most confusing one for me. i still to this day do not know how he became a puppet, if the addisons are puppets, when he became a puppet, etc... its such a confusing thing to wrap my head around. im a big fan of the acid theory and that it kinda melted him away ! however, i dont think it made him shorter bc he states he was always small in the qna, i believe... another theory that could be plausible is the force behind the phone slowly turned him into a puppet as like a "you get success, but only if i get to control you" type curse. idk! its a confusing timeline. regardless, i love his current form the most, aside from sneo. i think hes ageless, but still has the energy and features of a late 40-early 50 year old dude. i draw him with a receding hairline and damage to his puppet body. still transmasc also!

a huge thing i adore about his character is how unapologetically evil he is. he doesnt hide it, he admits hes evil and/or uses you for evil (in snowgrave). and the thing that fucks me up the most is, he had that thornring planned REGARDLESS OF THE ROUTE which is so scary. like if you beat his ass, hes like "whoa there dude! at least buy my ring! fuck you!" and runs off. that and the fact he kept trying to get that neo body. he is so desperate that he has multiple plans to get that body for god knows what.

also the trans allegories for him!!!!!!! love it!!!! like him really hating his puppet body and wanting to be bigger.... or like when u put the emptydisk in the mannequin with the dress, only for it to not wanna go in. like yeah it could be a interpreted as him wanting to go into sneo and not the mannequin, but given his connection to mettaton, who has some heavy trans allegories, i think it has more meaning than just "this isnt sneo!!!!" .,,, also the fact he gets such intense euphoria from being sneo. godddd i love trans spamton allegories!!!!!

spamton neo: my second favorite (almost first favorite) form of spamton. incomprehensible armor, but still killin it with those heeled boots!!!!! girlboss honestly

post sneo fight, i always found it interesting how his ark ends in a less hopeful, and more existentially dreadful manner. it almost feels unnecessarily cruel, but i think that the sad ending to his story is essential to get that hopeless "your choices dont matter" theme across. it also just shows how his hubris fucked him over in the end no matter what he did. ALSO HE DID NOT DIE!!!! people keep saying he died. he didnt. he literally has dialogue if u fill your inventory where hes like "bro???" so like. i think he just kinda gave up and turned into an item on his own accord, like jevil.

however, my favorite iteration of sneo is snowgrave. it really shows how genuinely fucking evil spamton is. he literally tries to stop you from being evil so HE can be evil, its so fucking awesome KJDJGSNKJSDNG

but like. fuck man, the dialogue is crazy good??? just peaking into his actual thoughts and insecurities and absolute self hate... muah. and getting that info from him self projecting onto kris? MUAH!!!!! i think its such a perfect battle for sneo because of how he tries to evade responsibility and hatred toward himself, or at least tries to make it sting less, by self projecting it onto kris. he hates kris, yeah, but its mostly just hatred toward himself, what hes become, and how far hes fallen from grace. and him trying to claw his way back to being successful- no BEYOND successful- and into world domination, is fucking harrowing. he is a fucking force of nature in the form of a YTP puppet.

i adore everything about the buildup to snowgrave sneo, the environmental storytelling, everything!!! it was only recently that i realized the scribbly lines around the mansion were his glitched advertisements.

also another thing that fucks me up: he killed his ex friend by proxy. absolute insane behavior its so. ohhmygod. i also love the connections to noelle and her being an angel. an angel sent to help him reach heaven... godddddd i love this shit

another thing i find so fascinating: his glitched speak in his sneo form is not as incomprehensible? its so eerie. hes like... he can better communicate his thoughts better and more coherently, which is genuinely so freaky because youre just so used to his nonsensical bullshit so its like. whoa. he was There Mentally all along, he just couldnt say it because of how fucked up and glitchy he was.

yes, i do believe he is like Completely There Mentally throughout the entire game. hes crazy as fuck, but he hasnt lost grasp on reality like jevil has. spamton has multiple plans concocted to get what he wants. hes smart! he knows what hes doing, and thats fucking Horrifying.

im tired of people saying he isnt evil or that hes just misunderstood. like yeah his circumstances are so unbelievably sad, but hes not some precious little creature who deserves to be protected... he is evil!!!!! he is evil and uses people to kill, or straight up tries to kill you himself! whether it be for freedom or his own demented plans of world domination!!!! and he outright says hes evil!!! he knows hes evil and doesnt give a shit, fuck, or damn!!!!

ok autism rant over :3 sorry if you read all that and were confused the entire time, spamton is my babygirl

[winns-stuff]

LO RANT:

Okay this is the anticipated rant you’ve all been waiting for cause I’m just over it really, yes I’d like to see how this shit ends but am I going to entertain it more? Yes and no. I’m sorry but my favorite characters (LO’s most wanted) are still in the comic and at this point I feel like they’re being held hostage and I want them freed immediately they don’t deserve to be locked up in this social experiment that is the relationship of Persephone and Hades.

The biggest hugest gripe I have with this whole thing is that.. I just don’t get the point of anything leading up to this. What was the point in the whole “Hwades!!! I want indepwendence, I want mwy own life and I want a nwormal relationship!!” speech that Persephone gave us after the Kronos battle? What was the point of after days of Persephone continually trying to remind Hades of her boundaries every single day while being constantly ignored and put on the back burner just so Hades can continue implanting all of his wishes and dreams onto her without even discussing any of it. There was no point in trying to develop that plot line if there wasn’t going to be a plot anyways, it was just incredibly annoying.

This just raises another thing I absolutely despise about their relationship, and I feel like I’m a broken record because I keep saying the same thing over and over again but their relationship is so incredibly stupid. Like I feel like Rachel is just adding “romantic” things in the comic while ignoring the actual context. Persephone has just been crowned Queen of the Underworld which should’ve been a much bigger deal to everyone involved because we don’t know if she’s capable and we don’t even know if she wanted to be queen. Before this she was just the goddess everyone knew and now she’s queen of a whole realm, she’s not a dumb village girl and she has the power to control things now. This should’ve been a much bigger point in the story, why even introduce the fact that she’s queen now when obviously it seems like she doesn’t even care about the title. Why is her first thought getting an apartment? Why is she more worried about shopping than her literal royal duty?? Why is she more concerned with sex rather than being the ruler of the Underworld? That’s like if you fought this intense battle and won just to be made president of the country all in one day, you’re going to feel some changes and there’s gonna be pressure but we don’t even get that from Persephone because she’s too worried about the little things with Hades that they’ve already been doing.

This brings me to my next point, the whole romance thing is so incredibly lackluster and underwhelming and you wanna know why? Because there’s absolutely zero stakes and tension between them. Oh wow, Hades and Persephone got engaged? That’s totally not surprising at all and I’m completely shocked. With the way they treat each other it feels like they were engaged since they’re first meeting. Ever since the start they were familiar with each other despite being total strangers and meeting under disturbing circumstances, they had obvious feelings for each other and displayed it for everyone to see with help from other characters moving them towards each other for that sole reason, when they became “friends” they were still very flirty and physical and having the comfortability that you would have with your partner of 8 years. You see what I’m getting at? In no point in time was there ever a question if their relationship was ever going to develop or become anything more than flirting and fluff and that’s just so incredibly boring to me. Especially with their dynamic, they both can do no wrong in each other’s eyes and they will continue to place the other on a pedestal. Their relationship is highly disturbing and I hate how it’s marked as healthy, just because you’ve never mistreated your partner physically doesn’t mean that your relationship is healthy. This is a prime example of unhealthy and obsessive relationships.

Another thing I absolutely hate about all of this is how absolutely fucking hypocritical all of this shit is especially with Hades being involved. That was the biggest mistake of the century, why the hell would Hades be defending Persephone from Demeter’s emotional abuse when he does the same exact shit? It’s fucking ridiculous. If this was realistic he’d most likely side with her mainly because he doesn’t see anything wrong about stuff like this cause he does it all the time. This is like an abusive parent trying to argue with another abusive parent about how abusing kids is wrong while continuing to be an abusive piece of shit, you see how the shit doesn’t work? I’d rather see Hestia or even Artemis defend Persephone since let’s be real this whole situation is essentially about them and their group so why would Hades even be there to begin with. The way that Demeter being emotionally abusive towards Persephone is disgusting and terrible (which is completely understandable) but all the times Hades personally humiliated and created such a hostile environment for Thanatos that he literally SHAKES and STUTTERS when he’s in the presence of Hades especially when he’s mad is excused is absolutely horrendous. Honestly with how out of the blue this whole thing is I feel like this is only the first instance of this stuff happening while with Thanatos we’re shown dozens on dozens of chapters where he gets severely mistreated emotionally by Hades and it’s basically a daily thing for him. You have no room to say Demeter is a terrible parent and not bring Hades down with her because there should be no excuse of why Thanatos is absolutely terrified of Hades and how Hades knowing this fact uses it to continuously intimidate and degrade him.

The double standards of this whole thing is incredibly telling as well. Hera literally pressured Persephone into having an extravagant coronation even when Persephone obviously wanted to have a small get together and yet she got pushed down and ignored by Hera and she acted like Persephone was being ridiculous because of her response. I don’t understand why everyone is okay with Hera putting Persephone’s ideas down and not actually respecting her voice or even her title as queen of the Underworld yet when Demeter does the same thing she’s in the wrong for it. I’m not understanding why we aren’t calling out Hera for it as well since they did the exact same thing just framed in different scenes. This is just more reason for me to believe that Rachel really just doesn’t like Demeter and that there’s no actual reason why Persephone and Demeter have a bad relationship because when it comes down to it no one treats her good at all not even Hades. Everyone is a manipulative parent to her and no one gives her the respect that she deserves yet the comic truly wants us to believe that everything is completely fine when the main cast mistreats her yet when it’s Demeter it’s a capital offense.

All I’m saying with this rant is I’m tired of people putting down Demeter for her actions towards Persephone yet instantaneously supporting similar actions made by other characters. It feels like it’s just Lore Olympus vs Demeter at this point because of how extremely immature and underwhelming this whole thing is. Everyone walks all over Persephone and they force her to do things she doesn’t want to, it’s a theme and common scene in this comic I’m tired of everyone acting like only Demeter has ever done it and if I’m being honest with you before this chapter came out Demeter really was the only person who treated Persephone like she was competent, she never babied her or made her feel less than and she valued her well being and happiness. Everyone in her “support” group including Hades denies her access to her full potential by doing and handling everything for her and they obviously don’t think she’s capable of pretty much anything, the way they treat her is really pathetic and it really makes it seem like Persephone has no dignity especially with her peers. Very hard to watch.

[ystk-archive]

Forgive me in advance for the weird question, but given that Nakata's career seems to be winding down, what, in the end, do you feel his legacy was/has been/will be? And perfume's legacy/impact, if any? Do you know anything about how/if perfume had a role "gakkyoku-ha" idol phenomenon (e.g. the rise of other genre-dols like bis, babymetal, maison book girl, sora tob sakana, etc.)?

Perfume definitely helped usher in the genre-dol trend of the 2010s -- down to being the template for Babymetal (also from Amuse). Though I want to emphasize that Perfume aren't underground idols, which usually have a lot of overlap with gakkyoku-ha...I think. I'm not a big J-idol otaku, lol.

Legacy/impact questions are very complicated to answer even though they're things I've thought about a lot over the past four years, and it gets more confusing when you're talking about Perfume and Nakata as separate entities because there's some overlap there... Like his legacy -- and Perfume's by proxy -- in Japanese pop culture is predominantly going to be a Valentine's Day song and sometimes Polyrhythm. I think it'd be disingenuous to claim he hasn't inspired any younger musicians in Japan (though I often think they didn't study him hard enough), but it's equally misleading to act like he was some sort of boon to the music industry; looking at the way things are now, I believe ultimately his impact on J-pop was quite weak. He was an early adopter of the "bedroom producer" format (though he never made music in his room that I'm aware of lol) and it's likely that amateur laptop-based producers in Japan are more aware of him for that, but his do-it-yourself approach and aesthetic hallmarks are definitely not followed through in mainstream acts. If anything, pop music in Japan has become more inward-facing over the last ten years; Nakata started out looking elsewhere.

On a global level -- because we still have to separate the self-imposed petri dish that Japan tends to be from the rest of the world (namely the monolithic west, though on the flipside they ignore practically everything that happens in Japan that doesn't fit into neat and tidy fictitious genres like "city pop" and "Shibuya-kei" or that isn't anime/videogaming; this is a separate rant lmao) -- I do get the impression that his music may have helped precipitate what became "hyperpop" and that his influence on the style Sophie developed is the biggest measurable impact he's had, because Sophie wound up becoming a much more known artist in the world of electronic music. In terms of Perfume I've wondered if they had a bigger effect on the maturation of K-pop than I give them credit for, as K-pop took its early cues from J-pop; K-pop fans tend to namedrop them as their token Japanese music at any rate, so I'm not hallucinating the similarities in appeal.

I could probably talk myself in circles about this all day so I'm curious what other people think on this topic. Definitely not weird questions, they're actually the most thoughtful ones I've gotten in a long time, thank you.

[lazyauthor9000]

HELLOOO JAIII <33 HOPE YOUR HAVING A GREAT DAY/NIGHT WHEREEVER YOU ARE 💗 SINCE REQUESTS ARE OPEN (and CJ's @tempons) last request gave me an idea!!

how about a GN!readee who's April's sister? what would the rise boys (platonic) relationship be with them?

- jay !! 🫀

A/N: THIS IS SUCH A CUTE IDEA RAHHH!! I hope you have a swell day as well wherever you are!! 🧡

Pairing: Rise!Turtles x GN!Sibling!Reader

Genre: Platonic, lots of Fluff

Type: Headcanon

Warnings: Turtle brothers being turtles

Reader: Gender-neutral

| April's sister and the Rise boys |

Raphael:

Your relationship with Raph is really good to say the least

You liked watching him train, you thought he looked really cool and so you looked up to him

You couldn't participate in training because of the dangers of it, so you'd secretly reference the snapping turtle at home

You and Raph like to show off your stuffed toys

It makes Raph glad he isn't the only one who finds comfort in these small pillow animals

You climb on his back every now and then because of how tall he is

He freaks out because he doesn't want his spikes to hurt you

You reassure him and after a while, he got used to it and just lets you do it whenever

He tries not to crush you when he hugs you

You told him that head pats were just fine since it didn't require him to use much strength

He was still afraid but after a while, showing affection like this was acceptable to him

He was like your big brother now, taking care of you just like he does to his brothers

He invites you over with April to watch Lou Jitsu since he wants you to be an even bigger fan than all of them

(And so they can decide which movie is better)

Leonardo:

The both of you got along well

TOO well

The two of you were just as chaotic to say the least

Pulling pranks, throwing jokes here and there just to annoy everyone

Leo was just glad he can share this energy with someone else

The both of you would have movie marathons almost everyday when you could

Lou Jitsu and Jupiter Jim movies were a must

If you recommended a movie, he would watch it and give you his feedback on how awesome it was

It's rare, but he lets you take some of his most valuable comic books so you can read them in your free time to catch up so he can rant all about it to you

The both of you were inseparable

It sometimes even made April rant about how Leo was taking you away from her, and that you might even replace her with him someday

Leo would boast about it and would even ask if you can watch him skateboard just so he can show off how cool he is

Leo's notifications at 4 AM would wake you up and you wouldn't be able to fall back asleep

You'd both end up sending each other memes or videos that you thought were funny

He'd eventually start calling you "Little sis" just to annoy April, and it worked!

Donatello:

He's too smart

His brain is far too complicated to get along with

But of course, you found your way around and actually became good friends with the boy

When you couldn't get something on your homework, you'd ask him for help

He doesn't mind of course, he actually enjoys his time spent with you even if he never shows it

Since he does not like what he calls "Togetherness", he usually pats you on the head with his hook he created to say "Good job" when you got something correct

You'd sometimes sneak into his lab to watch him make his new inventions

He doesn't seem to mind as long as you don't interrupt him

He'd sometimes even go on a rant on how he makes them

He's actually really glad someone appreciates his work seeing as you never judged or looked bored with how much he talked about his inventions

Even if you don't get what he's saying most of the time, you're really trying

He actually appreciates your help with taking care of Sheldon when he can't

You're like the little assistant he never knew he needed

Michelangelo:

This guy absolutely adores you

Mikey loves giving surprise hugs every time you're over

He invites you over almost everyday to draw or paint with you

And even if you didn't draw, he'd teach you or tell you whatever you create is art

He likes cooking with you since it's his hobby

Running around and having fun in the kitchen is definitely something he enjoys when spending time with you

He of course cleans up the mess afterwards with your help

He absolutely loves teaching you how to cook so you can make it for yourself later on

When you get permission to stay over, he'd make a pillow fort with you and grab his tablet to watch Stock Boy's new scary videos

You'd both go into the arcade room to beat each other's scores

He'd go easy on you, but that was only sometimes since he's just too nice

He is the therapist of the family, so if you need to talk, he's there

You'll receive Dr. Feelings, or Dr. Positive depending on the situation

Seeing Dr. Delicate touch was rare, he doesn't want to scare you away with the truth

He likes to draw you stickers and make you pins, so please do put them on your phone case or backpack so it's visible to the eye

He really likes sharing his creations with you <3

| A/N: I'll need to look this over later, my brain is sizzled with no more brain cells. Please point out any mistakes I made cause I'm sure there's some |

[starcanwrecked-confessions]

Ok, you don't have to post this if you feel like it's too much, but I just needed to get this rant out about Robert Manion (not censoring so people who have it filtered can avoid it).

When I joined the fandom in 2019 ne was basically the fandom's darling, every fifth post in the tag was about him or his characters and it was hard to find a tgwdlm song ranking that didn't have SSN in the top 3. I wasn't a huge fan of him, mostly because I'm ace and didn't find him attractive, but I'm not going to lie and pretend like I always hated him. I thought he seemed like a nice enough guy, as did most other people in the fandom. I didn't have twitter at the time, so I didn't see any of the stuff he did there, but I did hear some of it on here which made me not like him as much, but for the most part I ignored it.

It's his actions around the sexual harassment incident that still makes my blood boil when I think about it. To me his apology post came off less as a sincere apology from someone who recognised how shitty he was and more like he was trying to make himself seem like such a good person for acknowledging that he was wrong. It came at such a shitty time for fans too, since everyone who clicked on his insta stories would have been expecting something about NMT 2 but instead got hit with something so heavy and potentially triggering. It was probably the worst day I've ever had in the fandom, as the fallout was intense and the few days before SK officially addressed the issue were actually stressful.

I know we don't know everything that happened behind the scenes, nor are we entitled to, but it definitely seems like Rob did not take being kicked out of Starkid permanently after NMT2 well. He had a whole year between his post and when he went on Tik Tok live to talk about his side of the story, but chose to do it only during the duration of the Starkid Returns kickstarter, when it became clear he wasn't going to be invited back. I know he made some pretty serious claims against SK, and I wouldn't normally dismiss something like that, but the fact that he also tried to play off his harassment as a joke that others made into a bigger deal than it was makes me so mad. Also, some of the stuff he said, like claiming that Dylan gets too many solos and calling them cringey for being in their 30s and still singing some of their older songs, just came off as pure pettiness and spite, and like he wanted to discourage the few fans he still had from giving to the campaign, especially since he stopped when it ended.

Honestly there isn't really a big point to this, I just felt like I needed to get my frustration off my chest. I was watching tgwdlm with friends yesterday and it was so hard for me to get through SSN remembering all of this. I just hope that he stays gone and doesn't try to pull anymore shit during the next kickstarter. Also, I hope all the fans who were seriously hurt by what happened are doing better now.

~~~