#(except for like maybe fit from what I've heard he might be a bit off the deep end i gotta watch his vod soon lol)

[masonjarart]

Red teams chaos aside I do think its very funny that by the second day ppl are begging others to join general bc they're lonely "friendship doesn't matter on this island" my ass they're gonna make a little Elysium so they all have a place to hang out people are already planning to meet and do tasks together like yeah they'll probably still be killing and messing with each other but they're all friends at the end of the day

[nsharks]

bleeding blue | apocalypse au

part sixteen —other parts

pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley x fem!reader words: 3.2k tags: death. blood. cannibalism mention. zombies of course. AFAB reader. single dad ghost. there will be sex but it isn't here yet. slow burn!!! enemies to lovers. summary: After losing your companions, you run into a skull-masked man and his daughter. They are your last hope for survival.

"I can't believe I woke up early for this."

You loosen your muscles, turning to dead weight in Ghost's arms, before using the awkward position to slip away. 

"No one said you had to be here," Ghost throws over his shoulder before his gaze fleets back to yours. "Good. Again."

Blue groans as you reposition yourself for the basic defense maneuver. You can see why she'd find this boring— Ghost started you off with a move so basic it was almost insulting when he explained it. But you quickly realized his reasoning. Each time you do it, your pulse tampers down less and less while in his arms. He's had to remind you a few times to "Breathe, Twix"— the order so quietly uttered into the shell of your ear that Blue likely didn't even notice. Perhaps you have grown used to taking orders from him, or maybe having Blue close by is helping, because you've been able to ward off the threat of panic so far.

"Fine, I'm out of here," Blue rolls her eyes the second you've finished the move again. "Let me know when you—" she jabs a finger at Ghost, "—decide to make things more interesting." As she leaps off the log she'd been perched upon, she adds: "Oh, and don't get too close, Ghost. She might bite."

"So I've heard."

Heat rises to your cheeks. And then— you're alone with him. You take a swig of water from the canister Blue lent you to ignore the awkward feeling in your chest. "Again?" You wipe your mouth. "Or have I passed your test?"

"Test?" he repeats, the gravel in his voice rolling over the word as his brow lifts in question.

"Well, I haven't... had a repeat of last time, and it's been an hour. I think I've proved that I'm ready for something a little more..."

"More what?" 

More interesting.

"Hand-to-hand, I guess. Something harder."

He rubs his jaw, as if to feign consideration. "Right, then. Let's try another one."

The next one he shows you is still simple, except you fail every other time. Basically, he gets behind you and you have to sidestep to avoid the trap of his arms. Somehow, Ghost's movements are light as a feather even though he's built like a rock. 

But then you get better at it. The next two days pass in much the same manner until you start to react a bit faster. He teaches you a few more basic tactics. How to wriggle your wrist out of someone's hold. How to avoid being grabbed from the front by rolling to the ground. All defense. After hours spent with him, he doesn't even have to remind you to breathe anymore. Chopping wood in the evenings helps, too. You go to bed exhausted and wake up ready to practice before Ghost even touches your shoulder.

On the third day, he gets you up even earlier. You cram your wool-covered toes into boots, confine your hair in a hasty bun, and follow him to the clearing that has become your makeshift training ground. It takes you a moment to register that some things are different: his boots have been replaced by sneakers, and his jeans by loose, black gym shorts. The exposed skin is strange, making your eyes widen. If Blue were awake, she'd certainly comment. 

His calves mirror the strength of the rest of him, and on the left leg, swirling ink catches your eye, reminiscent of the tattoos you discovered when tending to his wound. Skulls and a dagger; perhaps corny, but fitting for him.

"Have you tried it?" His voice cuts through your thoughts.

"Tried what?"

"The bow."

A white cloud forms around your mouth as you nod. "Needed some getting used to, like you said."

Yesterday you had a hard time shooting a chipmunk you wanted for lunch, so you spent the early afternoon firing arrows at oaks until the new bow started to feel like an extension of your limbs again.

"Let me know if I need to adjust the string."

"Will do," you say, almost mumbling.

When you reach the familiar circle of trees, you bounce once on your toes and crack your knuckles. Ghost retrieves something from his pocket. A roll of gauze. It is tossed at you without warning, and your hands fumble to grab it. 

"Wrap up," he commands. "Your hands will thank you for it."

You look up at him, brows raised, but begin covering your palms and knuckles. When you're done, you throw the roll back to him. Ghost stretches his arms above his head and splays his feet into a firm stance, jerking his chin at you in a go-ahead motion. Your brows furrow as you try to understand what the fuck he's doing.

"Go on. Get ready."

"Um. Ready for what?"

"A little hand-to-hand."

Your mouth falls open. "What?"

He shrugs. "That's what you wanted, right? I think you're ready for it."

"That's not what I meant," you almost laugh, shaking your head. "I didn't mean I want to— to fight you. I just meant we don't have to stick to the basics."

"We won't." There is the slightest trace of amusement in his voice, so faint you wonder if it's even there. "You have ten seconds to get ready, Twix."

"I don't even—" you sputter, eyes flying open. If you weren't awake before, you are now. He seems completely serious, his hands in fists and his shoulders squared.

"Five."

"Oh, fuck me," you exhale, balling up your bandaged hands. Did he get you up at this hour so there was no chance of Blue joining? He didn't want her to watch him finally annihilate you? You don't think he would seriously hurt you, not after everything, but that doesn't mean your heart doesn't begin to thump wildly when the seconds are up. Neither of you makes the first move; you are focused on keeping yourself distant, and he is circling you like a predator, flicking his eyes along the length of you. 

"What the fuck is that stance? I could just tap you and you'd fall over." His amusement has faded. "Is that how I showed you to stand when chopping wood?"

You shake your head, teeth gritted, and fix it, spreading your boots against the soil. 

"Better."

Then, he's lunging. You forget everything about your stance and prance to the side like a skittish deer. There is a moment of relief when you successfully dodge him, only for it to abruptly end when he darts around your back and hooks an arm around your neck. Your heart skips over a beat. Holy shit is he fast. 

"Be aware of your surroundings at all times," he chastises against the top of your hair. His hold is not aiming to fully restrain you, so when you claw your nails into his arm, it loosens and you slip away, staggering three strides before facing him with your fists up.

"What's the point of raising your fists if you're not going to hit me?" Ghost circles you again, and you have to shift your feet to keep up with him. "Come on, nurse. Where should you aim?"

"You're too tall." Your chest heaves. "I... I can't reach your face or neck without you blocking."

"Use the height difference to your advantage. Reach places that I can't."

You pause to think about it, studying him.

Ghost almost growls. "Stop hesitating. I could have killed you by now."

A mix of annoyance and determination makes you leap forward, jabbing your knuckles at the part of him where you know his liver would be. He captures you by the elbow before the blow can land, and sends you stumbling to the side, a few wisps of hair cascading over your face.

"Liver. Not bad. I might've let you have it if you moved quicker."

A hiss leaves your lips as you whirl around and punch directly into his core this time. He allows the hit, but your knuckles ram into solid muscle instead of the vulnerable stomach you hoped for, and you recoil with a wave of your hand, cussing under your breath.

"You hurt yourself more than you hurt me."

"Well, should I just kick you in the dick then?" you retort without thinking, flexing your fingers. Luckily, the gauze absorbed most of the damage. 

"That's always an option."

His tone is serious, to the point that you almost give it a try, but then he's closing in on you again, sending you back to the defensive. He doesn't hold back. You run in circles and duck frantically, earning a few hits to your ribs. He doesn't use enough force to send you down to the ground, but enough to knock the wind out of you. Rapid breaths fire through your lungs and beads of sweat percolate your hairline. Ghost, on the other hand, appears unaffected.

"Fight back," he says in a mild voice; almost bored.

You nearly throw your arms up. "I would if you'd give me a fucking chance."

"You said not to coddle you."

"I'm aware. That doesn't mean you have to—"

Your spine suddenly meets something hard. A tree. He's backed you into it without you even realizing. When Ghost takes another swipe, you dip your head down and then use his recovery time to grab onto a branch and hoist yourself up.

You're barely perched upon it when a hand grips your ankle and drags you back down, an audible gasp reverberating in your chest as you land flat on your back with Ghost on top. His hand quickly cradles the back of your skull before it can crack on a hard tree root, while his other hand captures both of your wrists.

"You good?" Although he is the one who has you effectively pinned, his tone seems sincere. He scans your face from your forehead to your parted lips. 

"Just... peachy." 

His brows furrow. "What was your plan once you got up there?"

Labored breathing splinters your voice. "I didn't have much of a plan, really."

He speaks flatly. "I can tell."

"You had me cornered," you point out.

"You should have been—"

"Aware of my surroundings," you finish for him, exhaling deep through your nose. "I know."

Your eyes shift around, from his covered face to where his chest just barely presses into yours. It's all so close. Uncomfortably close. You can feel the steady pace of his heart against your sternum, and make out the faintest flecks of green in his eyes.

An ounce of fear and something else you can't quite discern balls up in your stomach, making you swallow. You've been pinned like this before and nearly had your face eaten. Ghost simply stares at you, as if waiting for you to make a move, but when you tug on your wrists, his grip doesn't relent.

"Could you... could you maybe get off of me?"

He shifts some weight off you, if only by a little. "Relax and think," he murmurs. "What are your options here?" The curve of his lips tightens before he adds, "Besides biting my nose off. I'd like to keep that for now."

With a sigh, your eyes slide up to the awakening sky. Hues of violet and orange stare down at you. "Do I... do I even have any options? You must weigh like a ton." The words are past your lips before you can shut your mouth. 

"You always have options." 

"Doesn't mean any of them will be effective," you say.

His eyes darken, and the green disappears. "Why do you do that?" 

"Um... do what?"

"Doubt yourself. After all that you have survived." He sounds irritated. 

"As if you haven't doubted me?" You can't help it; you scoff. "You told her I wouldn't come back that time I went on my own. I mean, I'm still weak, remember? No amount of chopping wood will make me as strong as you or those men who almost killed us."

"It's not about strength," he replies.

"That's easy for you to say," you wiggle your wrists for emphasis. "You have nothing to be afraid of. You were cut out for this shit from the start."

"I have everything to be afraid of." His eyes narrow, but his voice softens. "And so were you."

"Me?" Your voice slightly elevates, and a lick of anger curls within you. "I should be in grad school right now, or maybe I would've quit nursing and gone into something useless and hate my life, but I was never meant to kill anyone, let alone fight them. I was meant to be young and stupid and make mistakes. Now, if I make a fucking mistake, it will cost me my life." Your nostrils flare as you huff, sending a piece of hair flying up into his face, and you writhe beneath him. "Get off of me, Ghost."

But he doesn't.

Beats of silence linger in the small gap between your bodies.

You should feel embarrassed for saying all those things, but instead, you think about what he said:

Don't hesitate.

The ball inside you is a fiery mix of emotions that you usually try your damn hardest to ignore and break and shove away.

But now you let it spread through your body like a sizzling tide, from the tips of your fingers down to your toes and... to your knee. Before you can change your mind, you slam it upward as hard as you can into the apex of his groin. 

"Fuck," Ghost mutters, the only sign of any pain aside from the brief moment that he closes his eyes.

His hold loosens only by a little, but it's enough for you to slip out from under him and find your way back to your feet, your chest rising and falling.

He clears his throat after a moment and rises.

"Good." The two of you share a stare-off for a few seconds before he shakes his head, saying again: "Good, Twix. More of that."

You rip your gaze away from him, cheeks hot, and say nothing as you snatch the canister and bring it to your lips, but the water does little to cool you down. 

You shiver in the bitterness of twilight, your fingers red and numb, wishing for a pair of gloves. The fireflies are coming out, dots of luminescence darting around you. You swing the axe down again, throat raw as you grunt, and then you add the broken logs to the growing stack. Sudden light footsteps announce the end of your alone time. 

"It's me," Blue greets kindly. 

You drop the axe, hands feeling stiff, and turn to face her with a breathless smile. "Hey. What are you doing out here?"

"Checking on you. Ghost went hard on you this morning, huh?" she says with a sigh. "I could hear you guys. You were a bit... loud. Made it hard to sleep."

"Not too hard. I'm… I'm good." 

If she is unconvinced, she doesn't comment on it. Rather, she hugs you. A warm one. You return the embrace before she pulls away.

"I also came because I wanted to invite you to a bonfire."

"Bonfire?"

"Well, with all your..." her eyes flicker to the pile of logs you've conjured over the past hour. "...special workouts, we have a lot of wood now. I told Ghost to make a big fire outside and we can cook dinner over it. It'll be fun, come on. Ghost is making tea, too."

Soon enough, your sore fingers are tingling, holding a warm, ceramic mug of tea. Ghost chucks another bundle of wood into the fire, spitting out smoke and embers, and sits on a tree stump while Blue takes the folding chair. Your hair is down, tucked behind your ears, and a patchwork quilt Blue grabbed from her room lays across your lap. The mug burns pleasantly against your lips when you take a sip, the herbal taste sliding down your throat. Whatever plants he used to make it work together perfectly. It reminds you of the tea your mom used to make when you were sick.

"Do you like it more well-done or is this okay?" Blue asks, meticulously spinning the skewered squirrel meat over the fire.

"That's good, thank you."

Ghost cooks their dinner, and the three of you eat and sip in a comforting silence. You avoid looking at him, opting for the starry sky above your head, where bold stars beam even brighter than the fireflies. It's quite nice. When you're done, you toss the bones into the fire and listen to them splinter.

Blue breaks the silence. "Would you rather be burned alive or be attacked by a bunch of squirrels with rabies?"

You take another sip of tea. "How many squirrels, exactly?"

She taps her chin. "One hundred."

"I think if it were fifty, I could handle them. One hundred, probably not. I'll choose being burned."

She makes a face. "That is a terrible death."

"Most deaths are terrible."

"Fair enough. Ghost?"

For the first time since this morning, you steal a glance. His elbows rest upon his splayed knees, and the orange flames reflect in his eyes as if they were twin black, mirrors. "I could handle the squirrels."

She snorts a laugh. "Even you can't survive rabies, though."

He shrugs. "Takes some time to kill you."

"Let's play a different game," you interject. "Maybe something a little less... morbid tonight."

"Like what?" Blue chimes. 

You shrug indifferently. "What other ones do you know?"

"Not that many. You tell us one, Twix."

"Well, I know one good one. You have to act something out and then we'll guess what it is. But you can't talk."

"Oh, that's easy."

"Try it, then," you nod at her.

She leaps up from the chair, nearly spilling her tea in the process. Without hesitation, she puts on a stoic expression and begins shooting finger guns. Quiet laughter shakes your shoulders.

"Are you, um... Ghost?" you guess, making her throw her arms up.

"How did you guess so quickly?"

"It was a bit obvious."

"Not to me," Ghost murmurs. "Terrible impression, kid."

Across the fire, you glance at him again, and his eyes meet yours, reminding you of the events that took place and the words that you spat. Emotions pulse against your ribs, like a swarm of flickering fireflies, but you fail to catch and examine any of them. 

A tug on your arm ends the shared look. Tea splatters around the rim of your mug as Blue ushers you up. "Your turn now."

"Alright, alright."

You decide not to feel humiliated with both pairs of eyes on you. They've both seen much stranger things than you act out a squirrel, which must be a good impression because Ghost guesses it right away.

A sudden crack of lightning in the distance puts an end to the game before Ghost can have a turn, which you suspect he is pleased about. He puts out the fire just before clouds roll in, blocking out the stars, and a drizzle of rain begins. Back inside, you kick off your boots and sink to the sofa as Blue says goodnight. Once she’s in her room, Ghost pauses in the threshold of the hall and speaks over his shoulder.

"Get some sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow, even if it's raining.”

[https-percy]

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔

Summary: At Castle coming, Princess Tiana’s sister meets the pirate James Hook, and they form a small bond over a spontaneous dance.

Pairing: James Hook/Captain Hook x Female! Tianas sister! reader

a/n: I've been obsessed with this movie and character since it came out, and I'm finally putting something out there for it.

---

The vibrant colors of Auradon Prep’s Castle Coming danced against the grand hall’s polished floors, an attempt at a celebration of unity and hope. But amid the dazzling array of gowns and suits, you stood out—not because of your elegant, sapphire-blue dress, but because of the quiet tension that seemed to follow you like a shadow.

As Princess Tiana’s sister, you were used to the spotlight, but tonight you sought refuge from the endless conversations and polite smiles. You excused yourself from a particularly insistent group of admirers and slipped into a quieter corridor, hoping for a moment of peace.

It was then that you heard it: a soft, melodic whistling, almost haunting, echoing down the hallway. Curious, you followed the sound until you found yourself standing before a tall, dark-haired figure leaning against the wall.

James Hook—pirate, charm incarnate, and one of the most captivating figures to grace Auradon Prep’s grounds, so they say. His attire was strikingly different from the other guests, his leather coat and golden hook a bold statement amidst the evening’s formality.

“Quite the party, isn’t it?” he said, his voice smooth and almost amused as he noticed your approach.

You couldn’t help but smile at his casual demeanor, which was a stark contrast to the rigidity of the event. “Yes, It’s quite overwhelming.”

Hook’s dark eyes twinkled with interest. “And here I thought you’d be relishing in the attention.”

You shrugged, a hint of mischief in your eyes. “Not everyone enjoys being the center of attention. Sometimes it’s nice to escape for a bit.”

He chuckled softly, pushing off the wall and taking a step closer. “I can’t say I’m too fond of these dances myself. Too many rules, too little room for.. adventure.”

There was something intriguing about the way he spoke—like every word was an invitation to a story yet to be told. You found yourself drawn in by his easy charm, a welcome distraction from the evening’s stifling formality.

“I’ve heard stories about you. The mighty Captain Hook,” you said, your tone light. “Some of them are rather... colorful.”

He raised an eyebrow, a roguish grin spreading across his face. “Is that so? And what do these stories say about me?”

“That you’re a scoundrel, a pirate with a heart made of black charcoal—or something along those lines,” you replied, amused by his reaction.

Hook laughed, a genuine sound that seemed to resonate with the very essence of freedom. “Well, if being a scoundrel means finding joy in life’s unpredictable twists, then I suppose I’m guilty as charged.”

You looked at him, your curiosity piqued. “And what about finding joy in dances and non-adventurous events?”

He smirked, his gaze locking with yours. “Not so much. I’d much rather be out on the high seas, chasing after treasure and adventure. But sometimes...it’s nice to make an exception.”

For a moment, you stood there, caught in the spell of his gaze. There was a chemistry between you that seemed..undeniable—a magnetic pull that drew you closer.

“So,” you said, breaking the silence, “what brings you to Castle Coming? if not for all the royal charm?”

Hook’s eyes softened, and he took a step closer. “Maybe I was hoping to meet someone who doesn’t fit the mold. Someone who appreciates a little chaos in the order.”

You tilted your head, studying him. “And have you found what you were looking for?”

His gaze lingered on you, a mixture of admiration and something deeper. “I think I just might have.”

There was an intensity in his eyes that made your heart race. The way he looked at you, with a combination of intrigue and genuine interest, was unlike anything you’d experienced before.

“Maybe,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper, “you should join me for a dance. I think the evening could use a touch of unpredictability.”

Hook smirked, and he offered his hand with a flourish. “Lead the way lass,"

As you took his hand and stepped into the center of the hall, the music swelled around you, and for the first time that evening, you felt truly alive. Hook’s presence was like a breath of fresh air, a reminder that amidst the grandeur and expectation, there was room for spontaneity and connection.

The two of you moved together, the rhythm of the music guiding you in a dance that felt both timeless and exhilarating. With every twirl and step, the distance between you seemed to dissolve, leaving only the electric charge of the moment.

In the midst of the Castle Comings splendor, you found a moment of genuine connection—a pirate and a princess, bound by the magic of the night and the unspoken promise of adventures yet to come.

[bluelancelion]

So, I've been re-watching Stranger Things S1 - S4 and I got things to say just to let them out of my system.

First of all, kudos to the Duffer Brothers for one of the best found family ever created. I love the gang, I love the later addition of Max, Robin and Eddie. The characters are clean.

But here's the thing, let's talk about characters and, more specifically, Steve and Nancy.

So, we pretty much got a weird vibe between Nance and Steve in S4, kinda heavy hinting that Steve is totally not over Nance and they might get back together.

Now here's why this is a bad move.

First of all, I heard somewhere that Stranger Things is supposed to end like a circle, so many things that we've seen in S1 might return by the end of S5 (aka last season).

IF that's true, quoting some fans theories, then:

- Robin is gonna become Nancy's bestie (taking Barb's place)

- Steve and Nancy are gonna get back together (?)

Look.

I know what you're cooking here.

Steve and Nancy started their relationship when they both weren't fully evolved as characters, right? We're gonna pull a "right person, wrong moment" move in S1 that's gonna come back in s5 because after their MASSIVE character development, Steve and Nancy are basically two complete new people.

THAT could've worked IF Johnathan didn't exist.

Cause let's be real here, if Johnathan didn't exist, this trope would've been perfectly fit. BUT-

You guys gave us the whole "Nancy likes Steve but she's not in love with him" and then you pull out Johnny boy and pretend like we don't pick up the fact that Nancy loves him?

Plus, if Murray says so, then it's law.

I don't make the rules here! He's basically jesus, everything he says is right and if that man says Nancy and Johnathan love each other, then they love each other. If he says Hopper and Joyce love each other, then that's true, no questions asked.

"But people change, and Murray could always say that as things are now, Nancy and Steve are perfect for each other."

Yeah, maybe, but then what was the point of giving us such good chemistry between Johnathan and Nancy? They've hit it off since season 1, carrying it all on season 2, had a difficulty overcome TOGETHER in season 3, making their relationship even stronger if you ask me-

Only for it to... to what? In season 4? (I haven't rewatched season 4 yet so I don't remember the details except they wanna go to different colleges, but I'm dead sure they don't break up yet)

But noooo, the Duffer Brothers want to give us a lesson. Every person in our life is important to us and they shape the person we are today. Nancy needed a Johnathan in her life, in that specific moment of her life, not a Steve. But as we get closer to the future, or the present in s5, we might find out that the character that is Nancy Wheeler in that season, in that period of her life, doesn't need a Johnathan anymore, but a Steve.

And I don't say "need" as if boys can be swapped like socks, I mean that maybe Nancy is building her future somewhere where Johnathan doesn't want to be, or maybe Johnathan is growing into a man who's goals are far away from Nancy's.

And this is heartbreaking, cause you know these causes might lead to a break up and it had NOTHING to do with their feelings for each other. Nancy and Johnathan love each other, no matter if they break up or not because what they want in life is different.

Which brings us back to Steve getting back with Nancy.

Look, I'm all in for people finding happiness, but it feels a bit odd to give us such a good couple, make them break up (and thus breaking our hearts, but no matter what, we'll still love them both because life led them to break up, not their feelings)... Only for Nancy to be RANDOMLY back with Steve? Like???

I don't know, it gives me a bittersweet taste.

Now. Let's not forget this is Stranger Things, and stuff might go fucking south like:

- Johnathan dies and Nancy is left grieving. We have a timeskip into the future where Nance and Steve are together again, fighting the grief in the company of each other. Maybe in the past, Steve and Johnathan fought side by side in the Upside Down and it was Steve who failed to save Johnatan. In the meanwhile Steve and Nancy got closer as well, so it's easier to digest their reunion if it's under this perspective.

But seriously? Are we gonna pull that, Duffers?

OR Steve dies (please no) and Nancy's right there to hear his last wish and maybe she kisses him? Like a goodbye forever kiss, they might've worked out if it weren't for Jonathan and how things went in the end, yadda yadda

Honestly, I can think of a bunch of theories about how this could go, but no matter HOW it goes, I still think that making Steve not over Nancy is a tiny bit of an insult to his character development.

After Robin, his character was peak. He was supposed to get with her (which let's admit it, we all low-key rooted for it) but when Robin's actress proposed her idea of making Robin a lesbian, literally everything went from perfect to THE EPITOME OF PERFECTION. King (hair) Steve Harrington, popular once douchebag, now single mom besties with a lesbian? Peak writing. PEAK. WRITING.

You know what could've been even more peak? Making Steve come out as bi and have a little thing with Eddie but y'all were cowards

BACK TO MY POINT. Steve wishes for and deserves a soulmate, never ending love and a family. And, in a way, he has that already through the kids, through Robin, his friends-

I just... I don't think, and I neither see Nancy being that person for Steve. And it sucks cause they could've made a character specifically for Steve to fall in love with (I know, that was supposed to be Robin but since she's not anymore, either give Steve someone new cough Eddie would've been a good match cough OR give us a new female character so he can have his dream love story and we'd all be happy) instead of recycling old characters who had an awesome journey just to end where it all began.

And I get it, this is supposed to be Stranger Things ending, right? To finish where it all started.

And again, the Steve and Nancy of S5 might be exactly who they need in their lives at that moment.

But after EVERYTHING we've seen so far in these 4 season? Nah man. Just... It doesn't work.

I'd be happy to hear your thoughts :)

[hyunjilicious]

dog walkers [hwang hyunjin x reader]

Summary: it wasn't enough that Hyunjin already missed you beyond words, but then he also had to sit down with Felix and reminisce about one of your guys' best dates and make everything worse. (FLUFF) 2.2k + texts

Warnings: none except for hyunjin being absolutely adorable and this being completely self indulgent and not edited ❤️ (also pls ignore the fact that halfway through this I forgot how time zones work, just go with it. Thanks 😖)

"What's my ideal date…" Felix hummed, scrolling through one of the online quizzes his phone recommended. It was the middle of summer, the intolerable heat of Seoul's July forbidding any of the boys from leaving the house. 

"Yeah.." Hyunjin chimed in, his phone instantly falling down onto the couch they were both sitting on. "What is your ideal date? I never heard you talk about it before - about dates in general"

"Probably because I've never been on one," Felix shrugged. "I mean, I have… but just like.. casual dates. I've never actually been on a 'let me take you out' kind of date"

"Casual dates count too!"

"All we did was sit down and talk. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change that memory for the world, but now that I think about it, I kinda wanna go on crazy dates too. Like you and Y/n used to do"

Just the sound of your name brought a smile to Hyunjin's lips. The memories flashed before his eyes at lightning speed, from the first time he saw you, 3 years ago, to the last text you sent him, which had been that morning. "I miss those"

"Which was the best one?"

The enthusiasm in Felix's voice somehow made Hyunjin sad. "Urgh, don't make me do this. I already miss her so much"

"Don't pretend talking about Y/n is not your favorite thing to do"

Again, he couldn't help but smile. "Not when she's on the other side of the globe"

"You're just grumpy today" Felix shook his head. "Do you want me to show you a picture of her? Maybe it'll cheer you up"

"Pff, yeah right" Hyunjin threw an eye roll and pointed his phone in Felix's direction. On the lockscreen there was a picture of you two hugging in front of a blossoming tree. The sun was setting but the gentle and warm artificial light from the fairy lights made it so that both your wide smiles and the flowers around you were perfectly contoured and visible. "I have her as my wallpaper"

"Aww" Felix pouted, grabbing the phone and bringing it closer so he could examine the details a bit more easily. "And it's such a nice picture too."

"Yeah, it is"

"Come on, tell me about your best date. I know you're dying to talk about her"

He wanted to refuse. He knew he should've refused because just the thought of that night filled his heart with so much pain. It was now that he finally understood the true meaning of the word bittersweet. But it was too late, his heart rate already picked up and before he knew it, he was settling better against the cushions on his corner of the couch, feeding off of Felix's radiant and awaiting smile. 

"Ok, but I'd like to start by apologizing to all the other dates we've had, because I feel like an asshole just choosing one-"

"But you know exactly which one it is"

"Yes'' Hyunjin laughed with no hesitation. "Ok, so I don't know if I already told you about this date. I might have, it was the best day ever"

"I don't think so," Felix dreamily shook his head. "I think I'd remember"

"It was right after Y/n got accepted into the programme at work. The day I realized she's leaving. Like she's legit leaving. Like I knew she'd leave, there was no doubt in my mind she'd get accepted, she's the best at what she does, but reality hit me when she showed me the email"

"I remember the email," Felix laughed out loud. "You called me crying, remember?"

"Yeah…"

"One eye crying happy tears, one eye crying sad tears" 

"Leave me alone" Hyunjin exclaimed with a fit of giggles, knowing damn well there was no way to deny it. That whirlwind of emotions was still familiar to him, he was still going through it, one day so proud of you his heart could burst, and the next, so pained by your absence that he could just drop everything and hop on a plane. "I was going through something. That was what made us come up with these ideas for the dates. We always had fun staying indoors and doing absolutely nothing together, but when I realized she'd be leaving for two whole years I kinda freaked."

"Yeah, exactly! Like the other person being there is enough, but if you can do something different, why not do it?"

"Yes. And the first date we had after this was the best day of my life"

"I remember you made a list at one point? The planetarium, you wanted to go hiking, all that stuff-"

"Yeah, well, the first date wasn't so-" Hyunjin trailed off in search of the right word, "Date-y"

"What did you guys do?"

"We decided to walk dogs"

"That's such a Y/n thing, I love it!" Felix laughed, his head thrown back as he clapped his hands. "And no, you haven't told me about this one, I'm pretty sure"

"It means I was saving it for the right moment"

"How many dogs did you walk?"

"Yeah… about that. Y/n posted an ad somewhere, mostly as a joke. We didn't think anyone would actually ask us to walk their dogs, especially because it was on a Saturday. Like during the weekends people actually have time to do this… so we just said ok to every person that contacted us and before we knew it, it was Saturday morning and we had 9 dogs to pick up"

"9!?"

"Yes… I know"

"How did you-"

"Don't ask… please don't ask. They all pooped at least twice and it wasn't just small dogs… every one of them was pulling in different directions and ok, I'm totally used to sticking my hand in Kkami's mouth to take out whatever gross thing he found on the ground and decided to chew, but I wasn't familiar with all these other dogs! Other chihuahuas are fine, but any dog bigger than a beagle? Never doing that again"

"Jesus Christ" Felix was hardly able to contain his laughter, the mental picture being just what he needed. "Only you two could've had this happen"

"It was her idea!"

"I'd be surprised if you didn't jump up and down in excitement when you heard it"

"I might have, but still, I'm not the one who thought 9 was a reasonable number"

"How did you even get to the dog park?"

"We took the car, obviously."

"As if you and Y/n in a car alone with 9 dogs is so much better"

"Hey, we got it done, that's what matters"

"How is this your best date, I don't get it"

"Maybe it was the trauma we went through together. It brought us closer. No, I'm kidding. But it actually was very fun. Once we got to the park, I swear it was like heaven. They were so, so sweet and adorable. And we didn't even have to sweat. All we did was sit down on the grass while they chased each other and played around us. I've never had my face licked so much. We were literally covered in dogs. And at one point-" Hyunjin said with glee and sat up from the couch to exemplify. "- I'd just say turn around and they'd all turn around! Or sit, and they'd all sit. It was like a little dance, they were so happy. It was the best"

"Ok, I take it back. It actually sounds nice" Felix agreed. 

"But then we had to take them all back" Hyunjin sighed, his smile slowly fading off his face as he sat back down. With his legs now gathered to his chest, he continued to speak. "I was starting to get attached. And most of the people that asked us to walk their dogs were older people, you know. And when we brought the dogs back, they were so nice. We obviously didn't want to accept any money, but most of them refused to let us go just like that. One lady gave us flowers from her garden, and I actually painted them. I'd show it to you but I gave the painting to Y/n. And others also gave us pie, and fruits. And like you could tell some of them didn't have much, but they still wanted to share it with us"

A little frown settled on Felix's face as he blinked a few times, "I would've cried" he said sincerely, his eyes not showing even one glint of sarcasm. 

"Oh, we did," Hyunjin nodded with a giggle. "We cried on our way back. Not ugly cried, but we cried"

"It counts"

"Yeah.. and by the time we were done with the dogs, I don't remember what time it was exactly, afternoon anyway, we didn't really know what else to do. We initially planned to go to a restaurant and eat, but we were already full. So we settled for a walk, and we found online this garden in the center of the city - thought it would be nice to go check it out. But when we got there, there was a wedding going on"

"A wedding?"

"Yeah, and the problem was that we didn't realize it was a wedding.. we thought it was just busy so we just strolled in not even bothered by the fact that everyone was dressed in suits and fancy dresses. And so we went towards the back of the garden, where there weren't that many people. It was gorgeous, by the way. You have to see it too, it feels like a different world."

"So you crashed a wedding"

"Well… technically yes, but when we realized what was going on, the bride and groom were very nice about it. They hadn't rented the whole thing so we could've been there for a whole different reason. Like we could've just been there to eat or something but we didn't know. They offered to let us stay if we wanted to dance or something, which was probably just them being polite - we obviously didn't, but we did take some pictures! I mean their photographer took them for us-"

"Your lockscreen!"

"Yes, exactly. And then we left. We stayed there for like 10 minutes maybe? So it wasn't that big of a deal, but we interacted with so many nice people that day. Like, how often does that happen? I don't know, it filled me with joy"

"I can tell, it sounds like a really nice break. Especially since it was the first date like this"

"Yeah… it was very nice. After that we just did a little bit of shopping, went home, cooked together and went to sleep. Like, nothing major happened, but it's still one of the best days of my life. And Y/n was so happy. She didn't stop smiling the whole day. And until then she had been so stressed with work, but that day she was so relaxed, and I got a full day of Y/n just being herself around me, with literally no worries in the world. And I think that's what makes that day so special, because others have technically been more fun, but as time passed and the day she was supposed to leave started approaching, she stopped being so.. I don't know, free. Um… yeah, I don't know what I'm saying-" Hyunjin stopped himself to take a deep breath. "I'm rambling"

"No, I know what you mean," Felix reassured him. "I miss her too."

"What time is it?" Hyunjin asked but was also the one to tap his phone screen to check. When the picture of you two in the garden popped up, both of them smiled. "It's almost 5pm"

"Got any plans?"

"Yes, pester Y/n until she gives me attention. But she's usually working at his hour so I don't want to bother her… too much"

"Send her a selfie" Felix suggested, "It'll make her smile"

"No, I look horrendous. All I've done today was sweat"

"Come on, you could send her a picture of your pinky finger and she'll still find something nice to say about it"

"Yeah, she would," Hyunjin giggled, "somehow…"

"Just like you would, about her pinky"

"Hey, she has very nice hands. And I'm not just saying that"

"I know you're not"

Shortly after, the topic of conversation swiftly shifted. They left the couch in search of food, and neither of them refrained from complaining when they realized there was none left and they had to cook. It was a daily occurance, the complaining and the cooking, but today it was different. While Hyunjin did his part, he moved a bit slower, showed less enthusiasm and his usual jokes were at best delayed, but mostly absent. 

While they both knew the reason, they didn't want to address it. Felix knew his friend would come to him and speak up if he needed someone to listen to him, but he also knew that wasn't enough. Maybe that conversation really wasn't the best idea.

The day drained itself pretty slowly, especially because the only person he wanted to interact with was busy and on the other side of the globe. He wasn't in the mood for anything else and thought he'd go insane, so there was only one thing left for him to do. 

[sorencd]

PROLOGUE: LIKE THE MOVIES

─ i want a love like i've seen in the movies.

september 19, 1957 ── 10:46 am

the bookshop, for the majority of the time, was quiet. only the sounds of customers opening the door from time to time was what could be heard. because usually, when people go bookshopping, it's done quietly. a certain pair of cheeky best friends, clad in coats and sweaters that entered the shop about an hour ago was an exception, though. the previously quiet and quaint store was now filled with hushed chattering amongst themselves and the occasional faint laughter.

examining the covers of books was your second-most favorite thing to do, aside from reading and smelling the comforting scent of aged and new books alike. neil would always stare at you incredelously whenever you took a sniff of a good old book's pages. in your defense, they really do genuinely smell good and of you could, you'd bask in the aroma forever.

"this book looks cool."

neil handed you a book with a bright cover, the title 'catcher in the rye' written in bold. you flipped it over a few times to examine it properly, it did pique your interest quite a bit, but not fully.

"what's it about?"

"it says here; 'the comic and touching novel about a raw american adolescent, which has become recognized as a key book of the present decade.' hm, it's all about adolescence, obviously." he ended, flipping the book over to look at the front page again.

"you gonna read it?"

scanning your eyes over various titles on the shelves, you couldn't find a single one that you haven't read, and if you hadn't read it, it didn't really sound too enticing to you. you were about to move to another shelve until one finally spoke to you. pulling it off where it comfortably sat between two other books with a smile, you held it in your hands carefully.

"i just might. have you found a book to read?"

"yeah." you blatantly responded, revealing the book that was in your hands. showing him the title of whatever piece of literature you were able to put your hands on.

"really, 'the cat in the hat?'." neil arched his eyebrow with a smile.

you laughed at his response and at yourself. it was maybe a bit silly, reading a children's book. but you couldn’t find anything else.

"yeah! nothing could go wrong with a dr. seuss book."

"if that's all your brain could comprehend i totally understand you, (y/n)."

shocked with what just came out of neil's mouth, you shoved his arm with faux hurt and a loud laugh. you're sure there are people watching the two of you and are giving you weird glances with how rowdy the both of you are being. you pulled your eyes away from neil to look at the selection of books once more, and another title caught your eye. repeating the same action from earlier, you took it out from where it was sandwiched.

"would you rather read this one? 'how the grinch stole christmas', it's perfect for someone like you. you could play the grinch."

"i will as long as you play max."

the pair of you were in another fit of giggles, teasing each other about ridiculous other things just to get a reaction out of the other. at this rate you're going you'd probably never be able to buy a new book to read before lunch.

"i think i'll just read 'the lord of the flies', no snide remarks neil."

"i wasn't planning on saying anything!"

"yeah ok. you go on outside, i'll be the one to pay for the books."

"it's alright, i'll wait for you."

to anyone who isn't close friends with the both of you, this could be easily misinterpreted as an interaction between a couple. but you assure them that you're just friends. moments like these however, constantly keeps you awake at night questioning if you still see neil as a friend or something more. you hated thinking about it, since you might just be giving meaning to things and you'll wind up hurting yourself in the end. why are feelings so complicated?

the clerk handed you your change and waved you off goodbye. the pair of you scuttled out of thr bookshop and into the slightly-chilled streets.

"where should we go next?" you looked at neil, hoping that he'll suggest you two visit the new cafe a few blocks down. you were a bit hungry despite doing nothing, but you were still hungry. and thank heavens neil knows you like the back of his hand.

"you wanna stop by the new cafe? the food on display always looks amazing whenever i pass by."

"brilliant idea! best decision you've ever made, neil. i must say. truly commendable."

side by side, you started walking on the pavement with your hands in each of your own pockets, respectively. neil was keen on striking up another conversation, judging by the brand new topic he had brought up seemingly out of nowhere. but you weren't complaining, you loved talking to him. that you couldn’t deny. and while the world continues moving on, your journey towards the cafe was a foot.

© sorencd . 2023 ─ do not copy, repost, translate or claim any of my works as your own.

[sir-subpar]

Blitzo

All right! Redesigned/reimagined Blitzo.

So, heres the thing, I don't hate his current design, but I don't love it either.

Under the cut I will talk more

Alright, Blitzo. Biy do I have some thoughts on Blitzo.

I do love the idea of a failed clown turning into an assassin. I love the idea of an assassin from hell slaughtering people that sinners pay him to. I like the idea that this is his way of proving others wrong and trying to redeem himself. Him not wanting to be a failure anymore is a decent idea for a character.

The issues I have:

His treatment towards other characters. I am not opposed to him being an asshole. I like characters who start off terrible but then become good people through consequences and change in Behavior. But blitz's Behavior doesn't actually change for the better in the show. It's more like everyone around him changes to justify everything that he does.

Stalking your employees? Barely addressed.

Setting your best friend on fire? And insulting and guilttripping said friend in a half-assed apology? Apparently good enough.

Stealing from your girlfriend? (I have thoughts on Verosika too, I'll get to her at some point). It brought up in maybe two conversations and never again.

My big issue here isn't so much that Blitz is a bad person as much as the fact that there's no consequences for him except for when the plot demands it. And then said consequences go away an episode later. Especially if we're meant to sympathize with him.

I hate this line. So much. This is one of those times where you can't really redeem a person. Not when they say something like this:

Anyway, back to the design.

Once again, like usual with Viv, there's too much red.

It's kind of easy to lose track of details in his design.

His feet are just really weird to me. Why are they shaped like shoes? His heels are really weird

As mentioned in some of my concept sketches, I feel like if he survived a fire that did *this* to fizz

It should have done more damage to Blitzo. Hence why I made him blind in one eye

I gave him fingers similar to his sister Barbie wire, it just looks better to me. And since they're twins I think it makes sense. Once again, I will do her design as well soon

I do keep his striped horns, as I feel like it makes sense for him to have them with the whole ex clown thing, but since a lot of the other characters aren't clown based they won't get the same stripes on their horns. I know Viv said that hell is like a circus, but it so rarely comes up outside of the jester designs that I decided to omit that in my rewrite

I really want to lean into the idea that he goes through change and improves his behavior bit by bit. With little hints of his soft side towards the beginning, that comes out more clearly as time goes on. Him learning something different from each character

He could learn to take accountability from fizz. Learn professionalism and good business practices from Moxxie. Learn boundaries from his daughter Loona. Etc.

I made him pink as I've heard a few ideas floating around that he might be part succubus or part lust imp and I think that fits him.

And finally... the elephant in the room. Where does Stolas come in?

Look. The way it's portrayed in the show, I don't like it. I liked Stoas better in the pilot. He was just a rich 1% who did what he wanted regardless of who it hurt. I like the idea of that for an antagonist. Blitzo uses him, he uses Blitzo. They both did things for selfish gains.

I also liked the idea that he would send IMP on hit jobs as well. That would have been really interesting to see in the show

I will discuss more about their Dynamic when I do stolas's design. I will give some quick bullet points for now

Blitzo and Stolas don't fall in love.

Stolas constantly holds the grimoire over Blitzo's head to get what he wants. He knows Blitzo's business and livelihood depends on it and he takes full advantage of it.

Blitzo doesn't want to be Shackled to the prince, but doesn't see any other options until Striker appears (again, I will explain that when I get to it).

He resents stolas (and himself) for being trapped in this arrangement

[overly-verbose]

I take back my previous threats of violence as my foolish self had not scampered through your art book in all its glory.

Chapter 8 has the reference that is to be used in general, correct?

No worries, I actually chuckled a bit reading that lmao - I didn't expect a reference for SIkuna being in high enough demand for me to be threatened at watergun-point 😂

(the previous Ask with the 'threats of violence' in question for context purposes;

😂)

I'll probably try to draw something of an actual approximation of a 'reference sheet' with the little differences (I was actually planning to do that for the Ask but uh that'd take much longer than this), but to explain it quickly (well, for me quickly which isn't at all);

Chapter 8 of Visuals has actually moreso to do with a perhaps-hypothetical scenario in which later down the timeline SIkuna gets Somehow separated from Yuji and gains a body of his own

- and that allows him to switch between Normal Form

which is basically how he looked whilst possessing Yuji, except probably quite a bit taller (it's already a bit stifling in comparison to the Big Form so he wouldn't make himself even shorter just to keep to Yuji's height lol), a bit older

(he looks a bit older whilst possessing Yuji anyway but yeah),

with some (usually) black earrings and two slits in his left eyebrow to connect it to the Big Form visually

The version with the earrings and slitted eyebrow can f.e. be seen in Chapter 11 lol, just with pink hair for that last one

And Big Form/True Form

which is about 9~feet / 3~ meters tall (I based it off of that one short manga flashback moment rather than some other seemingly smaller depictions?), has four arms and such + mostly wears the outfit from Chapter 8/14 but would also wear different things just like he would in Normal Form

- and I follow the logic of the clothes Somehow changing to fit whenever he suddenly shrinks or grows rather than having to have specifics outfits, but the four-arms thing still kinda demands a different wardrobe anyway for most cases lol

(+ he does have the stomach mouth in the Big Form, and sometimes he'll prefer to leave it uncovered so another outfit difference then,

like maybe an open robe in place of a shirt, something cropped, or occasionally just forgoing a shirt altogether lol)

I think a better reference for the height comparison between him and other characters in that form is moreso Chapter 11 and 14, but it doesn't matter That much

But like, in terms of outfit it doesn't have to be exactly what I've drawn before lol

- he's more of a comfy/casual guy but I'm 1000% certain that Nobara + perhaps other kids would take him shopping sometimes (she or they can't let this particular Older Familial Figure go unfashionable constantly!) and he'd probably want to occasionally wear something more Wowowo so he'd likely have something other than a dozen sweatshirts (and robes and comfy pants and such) somewhere in his wardrobe too 😂

(some Hello Kitty™ merch is also a must, For The Meme!!!)

And I've mentioned it a few times before but, especially if separate from Yuji unless he'd also agree to painted nails which he just might, he's likely to have painted claws/nails sometimes lol - they're a nice big canvas for Nobara to practice her skills on y'know, and he definitely wouldn't mind

.

In terms of how he looks inside the Domain, it's mostly just Canon-kuna's look lol

The kimono/kosode(? I have yet to understand what the exact difference is but heard it may be the second) is the same, the scarf and blue(?) accents on the sides of the main robe and stuff

with the anime-only addition bow to the back of the sash/idk material belt because yes, and because it's something to fiddle with whenever SIkuna gets ungodly bored lmao (the equivalent of fiddling with a sweatshirt's zipper or hoodie string lol)

I've interpreted whatever Canon-kuna wears on his legs as some sort of simple black pants that run down until a bit after the socks beneath the sandals(?) start or something like that??

I don't think he wears anything under the upper part of the kimono(?) but maybe there is some sorta ancient Japanese equivalent of a t-shirt I dunno about lol, besides that it's the same with the wide sleeves and everything

The sandals(?) are the same as in Canon, I've seen somewhere that they could have a small false heel (like a cut underneath that doesn't actually raise the heel of the foot idk how to explain it better) but it's an utter detail lol

As aforementioned, the scarf-thing around his neck is the same too, it's definitely an addition SIkuna appreciates heh - it's comfy 👍

(the Inner/Innate Domain examples I've drawn in Chapters 1, 4, 5, most of 10, 1st bonus drawing in 11, a cropped out glimpse in 13 and second drawing of 14 is ok lol - I just forgot about some things earlier/got better at it with time maybe)

.

In terms of physical differences, in or outside the Domain, the biggest one is probably the eyes

His usual/regular look involves the pupil/most inner part of the eye being white, then having a ring of darker red, then much lighter/brighter red

Meanwhile, whenever he's feeling particularly murderous/spooky/overall more OG-kuna-like (f.e. in Part 4 after a bit of 'experimenting' on the Special Grade), the sequence becomes [very light/bright red, much darker red, a bit lighter/brighter red]

(I mostly draw the eyes in a more oval shape, but that's just my stylistic choice lol - I don't mind it being the same but don't mind otherwise ofc

Same with the colours, they don't have to be Exactly those)

Like this;

And the fact that he actually has a whole Four eyes be eyes and usually all open - the secondary eyes are smaller, but are full eyes with colour and stuff rather than the sometimes barely-there look they had with Canon-kuna

(I'm not yet 100% certain if the difference in colouring is seen in-universe, though 🤔 - but for drawings yeah)

Another thing that isn't usually consistent in the manga/anime (from what I can remember) is the way Canon-kuna sometimes has moreso claws Or fingernails - SIkuna basically always has claws (they sharp!)

I'm kinda contemplating including slightly pointed at the tips ears to the list but it's not an 'official' characteristic lol

.

I've... Uh. Gone off on a tangent?? As per usual lmfAO-

But hope you get at least a little useful info from this?? 😂

(I don't mind clarifying questions lmfao (though my apologies if I take some time to respond))

Also, I'm not that much of a stickler for detail just fyi - even if the interpretation were to differ in some way from this rambly excuse for a guide I'd still love and adore any and all art created for my story because hOLY MAC A R O N I- *implodes from pure joy*

(Assuming, of course, that that's what 'for scientific purposes' meant 😂)

[rubykgrant]

Imagine RvB characters with superpowers. But just one each, like in RWBY or My Hero Academia. Could totally see Sarge being an unstoppable force, or Tucker being the center of attention, or Caboose being able to make things not work properly. Church splitting off parts of his psyche as clones. Maine having permanent copies of powers. Wash making a memory fog. Kimball having a speed buff for herself & others. Jax making videos of his memory. Just so many possibilities!

There are a handful of RVB Super Power AUs out there that are all very interesting (the two I'm more familiar with are the "Villain AU" by @smilysstuff , and "We Didn't Even Kiss Until Issue 26" by @cinaed . I've also seen some cool Spider-Man/Spider-Verse concepts from @leonardalphachurch and @donut-entendre ~)

You've got some cool super power ideas for them too! The characters are all so weird, it is easy to take the various talents or certain personality traits and turn them into super abilities, either ones that fit easily with them, or perhaps ones that seem like the "opposite" of what is typical.

If I was going to put them into a Super Hero setting, but maybe try to make it a little different from some of the others I've seen... I might put them in a Batman scenario! Except it doesn't totally follow the same formula... because NONE of these dudes are a billionaire playboy who is also a scientist and expert martial artist. So instead...

"Blood Gulch" is actually the name for a small area of the city (basically, Crime Alley), and through some random (or perhaps connected) events, a lot of people have had an unpleasant experience there... Church woke up with no memory besides his name and a few vague bits of info of his life. Tucker was attacked, and his child was kid-napped. Caboose lost his penny (everybody thinks this is stupid, but you don't understand; it was the GIANT penny!). Donut got nailed with a grenade. Grif got ran-over by a tank (followed by Simmons agreeing to give up some organs to try and save his life at a hospital, but when doctors insisted Grif wouldn't survive the surgery, Simmons followed a very shady tip that somebody from that area could help them both... and so Simmons got a back-alley operation, then woke up a Cyborg. Grif is OK). Sarge got shot in the head. Tex "died" for the first time, and discovered she doesn't STAY dead. A strange villainous voice seems to "haunt" the area, but is only ever heard when Doc is around. Nothing bad happened to Kai, but she got busted for throwing a rave in an old warehouse there once.

Not all of this happened on the same day or anything, but it sure is a COINCIDENCE that all these people hurt somehow in this general area, isn't it!? Anyway, Church meets Tucker after Junior got kidnapped, and despite seeming so unfriendly, he's the only guy that listens to Tucker's weird story (because the group that took Junior didn't seem... human). The cops won't help, and Tucker doesn't want to leave the city unless he has a lead, so... Church takes him to where he's been crashing.

Which turns out to be a HUGE mansion, that has sat abandoned for years. Church may be a hobo, but he's a hobo with standards (also, he seems to know all the combinations for the locks. wonder why). Eventually, they run into Caboose out on the streets, sobbing over his penny. He follows them around all night, and Church finally agrees to let him com back to their mansion. Once inside, Caboose's clumsiness and nonsensical luck allows them to discover SECRET PASSAGEWAYS! There is a whole underground lair below the mansion! With some very interesting (and suspicious) technology. Oh, and it seems to be OCCUPIED as well?

So, while all that was going on, Sarge has been running around Blood Gulch at night, being a weird vigilante about it (he still has his own shotgun, but after it got damaged, the thing doesn't actually fire anymore. instead, he carries it around for the AESTHETIC, and a lot of people in the city start rumors about a guy who has a gun he doesn't shoot for some "metaphorical" reasons, but it really isn't that deep; it broke, he doesn't want to throw it away, he can't afford to get it fixed, and he's too stubborn to just get a new one. on the plus side, various bad guys have gotten the idea that if they don't use guns, the vigilante won't shoot them, so everybody has gotten less lethal in general). Sarge also collects weirdos who have gone through their own odd incidents...

He likes the idea of having a cyborg on his team, and Grif seems to be good at... not dying? That comes in handy. Donut just kinda invited himself and stuck around. Sarge finds an abandoned robot one night, so now they have a robot! His speech functions are stuck on Spanish, but Lopez is very capable at just about any task (he will still complain the whole time). Sarge decides to call their group... The Red Hood Gang! He still wears the red hoodie he had on when he got shot when doing vigilante stuff (plus a mask, and other gear). They move into what they THOUGHT was an old cave system outside the city... and find it has LOTS of interesting tech inside!

When Church's group finds out the Reds are basically living in their basement and hoarding all the cool junk, and the Reds realize these guys have an upstairs with actual bathrooms and a kitchen, they proceed to have a whole war over who gets to keep everything. As they fight and claim certain things for themselves, one of the big computers comes online... and a strange, high-pitched voice who introduces himself as Vic starts giving them info and "advice" on how to find the people that have caused their problems. Begrudgingly, the two groups decide to work together (Church's team calls themselves Blue Birds, since the gear they get is blue, and themed after birds; also, they get a cool vehicle! Sheila is their Batmobile~).

So, now the Reds and Blues are all doing vigilante stuff. They still bicker with each other, but no longer enemies. Other people in the city do not know how to deal with these chaotic weirdos. They eventually meet up with Tex, and Grif's sister figures out what her brother is up to. Doc has a brief time being "kid-napped" by the :evil voice" as O'Malley tries to be a full-on villain like the Joker, but eventually he settles down, accepts that he's really part of Doc, and they other accept Doc is part of their group too. Tucker even gets Junior back, and Caboose finds his GIANT PENNY! Things seem to being well... but THEN-

A corrupt police force doesn't like all these vigilantes exposing their own criminal activity, and hire outside help of a special agent; Washington. He initially tries to very seriously solve some of the problems in the city, and when he gets framed for even BIGGER problems, he just has his own villain-moment, taking it out on the Reds and Blues... but they win him over. New vigilante hero! He moves into the mansion with the rest of them, but one night when they return, the place has a new guest; Carolina, who informs them that this is HER FAMILY'S HOME. She's been away, doing all kinds of cool secret martial arts training around the world (that's right, she's the REAL Batman~), and comes back to to find a whole circus moved in while she was gone?

She also explained that the underground caves were where he father once had a whole secret project going on, with people being part of several experiments that claimed to make them "super heroes", but those running the show had ulterior motives (some of them were selling tech to other groups, thus creating lots of criminals with a huge advantage). Wash had been part of this program, but like the Reds, he never knew about the mansion above ground or the connection to Carolina's family. Tex was part of it too, but she kind of forgot some of it. Church... well, it seems that one the plans of Carolina's father was to try and bring her mother back to life, and one attempt involved a sample from a supernatural pool of energy, which he tested on himself first. The result was Church (this is a bit like all the R'as al Ghul/Jason Todd stuff).

More Batman-tastic shenanigans ensue... meanwhile, over in Metropolis, all the Chorus problems are happening! Instead of a surviving child of Krypton coming to Earth, a ship containing the collective history and technology landed on the planet. In secret, a group has been slowly using the advanced tech for personal gain, and some people are also stealing it for themselves. Two sides of a "war" break out, each being manipulated into fighting because once they're all gone, nothing will stop a certain rich business man from taking everything for himself (Hargrove is basically Lex Luthor. Felix and Locus use lots of Krypton tech, and also have access to the temporary Super Serum that gives them small doses of powers).

Sorry, that was a LOT for a basic "Batman/Superman" AU haha

[peachjagiya]

“His career goals and music style are highly marketable” sounds like a reformed way of saying only certain genres will do well which is what the comp has been pushing since it branched out into the US and what the fandom repeats to justify their clear bias towards being ot2.

Ok I'm not sure on your tone here. I think you're being salty.

There's a lot of assumption in this ask.

You're assuming I am basing my opinion on what the company pushes.

Not to be this guy but I've mentioned before I have 35 years experience in UK radio. Bear in mind UK radio which has it's own set of rules but that's where I'm based, that's where my opinion comes from. And if the company is saying only certain genres will do well, uhhhh... they are right, sadly. The actual problem would be if they said only certain ARTISTS would do well.

From my experience with playlisting very mainstream commercial radio, Jungkook's music is highly marketable for mainstream play. I got Standing Next To You added to my primarily 70s, 80s and 90s radio stations rotation by playing it to the SM who had never heard of Jungkook and only vaguely knew of BTS and he just loved what it sounded like.

Jimin also has a very commercial sound. As does The Astronaut. Namjoon's Still Life absolutely definitely has marketability but I'd say maybe Change Pt 2 doesn't, for example.

Fri[end]s has viability too but Layover might be a touch too experimental and chilled for mainstream play. For Us could be the exception. Think about how many pop songs you hear with that pitched up vocal. It's a very commercial sound. But then it gets very laid back after that and laid back sounds are a hard sell on radio when sometimes you have to keep the energy up (breakfast radio and drive time radio for example.) These aren't fandom opinions. They're just tried and tested principles of commercial airplay.

Rap like AgustD and Hope would usually probably end up on a genre show or in a "spice" playlist (which is like very limited play over a month to add a bit of interest) which is by definition a niche.

(Side note: and I think any of them would be happy to accept these truths if it means they're making music they love that feels authentic?!)

And almost every single by BTS has marketability. It's not an illegal word or a stick to beat anyone with. It's not a criticism. It's not an indicator of selling out or whatever stupid shit people want to throw at Jungkook. It just happens he loves to make pop music which is called popular music for a REASON.

You're also assuming I'm active in fandom and have a single clue what anyone says - Nah. It's just me on tumblr with a small circle of follows, occasionally seeing the odd tweet and sending my wife stupid BTS memes on Instagram.

You're also assuming I recognise OT2 as a thing. I don't even know what that means, if I'm honest. I'm Tae-biased OT7. I certainly don't recognise any two members as being better musicians or more valuable than others and my personal musical preference actually favours Hope, Yoongi and Tae so...

A side effect of doing this for many years is that I have to be realistic in how I listen to music and recognise where it will fit. It's not about who I like more.

If you were being nice and I just misunderstood, send me another ask and tell me off. :D

Boo anon/Thanks anon, depending on your intent. But have a heart regardless 💜

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

You're enough

Hello, ladies, gentlemen, everyone in between and everyone beyond, behold my first ever A/B/O fic! Non explicit because that's wildly intimidating for me right now, and slightly angsty because it wouldn't be written by me if it wasn't.

There may be some inaccuracies in the anatomy/worldbuilding, but we are going to pretend they are not there and enjoy the show regardless!

Have fun and let me know (kindly, I cry easily) how I did!

It had been well over a year since Wei Wuxian was summoned into Mo Xuanyu's body, and he'd never once gone into heat.

Wei Wuxian had been an alpha in his previous life, and he'd had his fair share of heats as a teenager. He'd had to deal with all the uncomfortable symptoms, the mood swings and the emptiness of not having had a mate to share a bond with - at least until he was thrown into the Burial Mounds and the living conditions there strained his body to the point that his secondary sexual functions all but shut themselves down.

So, the moment he found himself back alive, this time in the body of an omega, Wei Wuxian figured that he would be getting heats again, although a lot different from those he was used to. The fact that he was now married to Lan Wangji made it all the better - he would have someone to spend his heats with and maybe even become pregnant and give Lan Wangji the little Lans he's been teasing him about every time they have sex.

Except... That never happened. Of course, he and Lan Wangji avid by their every day regardless, and Wei Wuxian had been more than happy to help Lan Wangji through his ruts, as well - he figured that might trigger his own heat, and even if not, it would still be fun and very satisfying. And it was, but Wei Wuxian had been only a bit disappointed when his body didn't respond in any of the ways he had expected it to.

They even visited a fertility doctor - the best fertility doctor, in fact, a lady known across the entire jianghu for her skills in pinpointing and fixing any issues that plagued alphas, betas and omegas in their procreative endeavors. She reminded Wei Wuxian of Wen Qing a lot, so meticulous as she examined him, but she found nothing wrong with him. In fact, she seemed quite shocked to hear of Wei Wuxian's issues, because his cultivation fed off yin energy, and so his body should have been teeming with fertility.

She suggested he perhaps had some mental blockages that kept his body from following its regular heat cycles - anxiety, stress, or feeling unsafe and on edge could be suppressing his mating instincts. But there was nothing like that that Wei Wuxian could think of, after all he had never felt safer and happier than he did with Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian petted one of the pregnant bunnies, leaning against a reading Lan Wangji one spring afternoon. "What if it never happens? Not just the heat, but what if I never..."

"It does not matter. As long as you are alive and healthy, we can always adopt more children."

Wei Wuxian snorted a little laugh. "More? We only have A-Yuan."

"The other juniors as well. They often call us mom and dad."

"That's just them joking. And some of them do have parents, Lan Zhan."

"There are never enough parents. It takes a village, I've heard."

Wei Wuxian giggles a bit then sighs, fondly this time, and cuddles further into Lan Wangji's side. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"Mn. I want you to be happy. If you are, I am too."

"Even if I won't give you those little Lans you work so hard for?"

Lan Wangji closed his book and swiftly placed Wei Wuxian on his lap. He didn't even have time to yelp by the time he found himself in his husband's arms.

"I could never want anything more than for you to be alive, by my side. You're more than enough for me."

Wei Wuxian pulled his husband into a kiss, eyelids fluttering over his misty eyes.

"And anyway," Lan Wangji continued as he broke their kiss, slightly breathless, "...we can always keep trying."

Wei Wuxian broke into a fit of giggles as he and his husband rolled into the grass, just the same they did their first time.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals - You're A Mean One, Mr Grinch

Jumping ahead by two years now into 2020 (figured I wouldn't have much to say about Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, sue me), to when VoicePlay released their cover of You're A Mean One, Mr Grinch. This wasn't actually released in December, but in fact the 27th of November! (eh, close enough).

You might have heard at some point in your life that the original singer of You're A Mean One Mr Grinch was also the voice of Tony The Tiger, the Frosties Cereal mascot. Well that man was Thurl Ravenscroft, a name you should be at least somewhat familiar with if you know Geoff's solo content (see my post (linked here) on Headless Horseman for a little more info). And so who better to sing lead vocals on this than the modern-day Thurl Ravenscroft himself, Geoff Castellucci? Geoff was also in charge of both the song arrangement and the video for this! Good for him! And of course this features the lovely Adriana Arellano, in her second ever VP collaboration since the Frozen 2 Medley in December 2019.

There's a strong chance I may hit image limit for this one - so much to screenshot and talk about! But let's get started and see how I go!

Let's start off by acknowledging the obvious: The VoicePlay 'Who's'! I.e. the guys plus Adriana done up like residents of Whoville, just like in the movie! (Or movies, I suppose, since there are 3 film iterations of the Grinch movie now)

I've seen/heard a range of opinions on the "Whoville Look" from reactors. Some were like "aww how cute/cool! Just like the movie!" Whereas some think it's just a bit strange (myself included, lol rip). But regardless, it's very professionally done, and shoutout to Makeup and Creative Arts (which I believe includes Rick Underwood?) for it!

Also I'll leave my thoughts on clothing for later screenshots, but I happened to be looking at their footwear here, and it's a little amusing to me that I commented on Eli wearing black sneakers with thick white soles in Mission Jingle Bells (just like in Creep and In The Air Tonight), because guess what shoes he's wearing here!

(Also is it just me or does Geoff wear boots a lot? I'm gonna have to start paying more attention to his footwear in videos, lol)

"Hey Grinch, you're a triple-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich... with arsenic sauce!!"

Not a visual thing but I couldn't help but call attention to the fact that J's line here is in fact lifted almost fully verbatim from the last line of the original version, from a verse that's not included in VoicePlay's cover (though they include all the rest of it, more than the live action movie does).

Okay I probably could grab some additional amusing screenshots from this opening banter bit, but eh, there's plenty of other stuff in this video to talk about anyway.

Okay, outfit talk time!

Layne: Not sure what the deal is with the pink and black shirt is but I don't totally hate it, and the white suit jacket is nice (and becomes especially fitting later in the video). And of course I have to mention the little carrot pin on the lapel! Carrot Lord for life! 🥕

Eli: I like the jumper! (Or "sweater" if you will). I kinda want it ngl, except I'm much more of a jacket person, and I wouldn't be able to wear it in December anyway - too hot!

Adriana: Am I only just now noticing that her top thing shows her midriff? Maybe. The makeup is cute (makes the 'Whoville' makeup stuff look a bit less weird), and the knee-high boots with the jeans are a Look ngl.

J None: Aqua/turquoise jumper (or sweater) with blue jeans and black boots. What can I say? Next!

Geoff: This dude loves wearing scarves, apparently! Wore one in Baby Its Cold Outside, in the Frozen 2 Medley, and also in his cover of White Christmas, which I'll be eventually be getting to! Also a green scarf over an orange shirt? This is colourful for him! 😁 (Oh and obligatory tick for both smartwatch and wristbands!)

(Also the fact that they didn't include the Welcome Christmas bit in the MP3 track or make it its own mini track is a crime ngl)

The big green man (creature...thing...) is here! Time for the actual song to begin!

Also Geoff looks so confused here pfft

From confused to scared? You good there Geoff? 😂

"Well you were flat! And... stinky!"

We have no clue who The Grinch is, just that he was "provided by Makeup And Creative Arts", and he's a hired actor or something? Whoever he is, he did so good in this video - utterly hilarious, absolutely nailed it!

That's a bit more like it!

Also Geoff wearing something red! Another rarity! (And like most times, he looks fantastic)

I love the grin that Geoff has for most of this video, makes me so happy 💜

That cake was real, apparently - there's a credit for it in the description, says it was provided by "Quarantine Dessert Company" (so a fairly young business then, given this video was made in 2020)

Apologies for the blur shot but I wanted to point out how The Grinch taps Adriana on the shoulder, and then very quickly his hands come up from the bottom of the frame and grab the cake, so quickly in fact that there's a few frames, like this one, where both The Grinch and his hands are in the shot at the same time! How? Is it editing trickery? Nope! It's actually just one of the VoicePlay guys (can't remember who - it might've even been Kathy) wearing "Grinch gloves" to do the stealing (the benefits of me now being a VP Patron! Access to BTS knowledge!)

Eli Eyebrow Raise! It's been a while <3

Also he's definitely worn that hat in a fair few videos - Top 10 Disney Villains, Frozen 2 Medley, Rich Man/Girl, just off the top of my head (new photo compilation idea - recent-ish appearances of Eli's bucket hat turned fedora /j )

ELI! Why would you smell it?? 🤣

When Mortius reacted to this video, he made a comparison between this scene and the "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" scene (from Arrested Development??) that became a meme, and yeah that's pretty much it! What did you expect?

Aw, shoutout to Layne <3

(Also nope not doing a screenshot for the "termites in your smile" line, I don't care that they're fake!)

Pfft, Grinch looks so happy with himself!

Also give the rubiks cube to me! I'll solve it in like 2-3 minutes! Hell, I often solve a 5x5 Rubiks Cube for fun and relaxation while watching YouTube, and I can sometimes get it solved in under 7 minutes!

"More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, and they whistled and shouted and called them by name!" "..."

This bit is of course not from the original Grinch song, but actually part of the poem A Visit From St Nicholas, aka The Night Before Christmas. Given this was Geoff's arrangement, I have to assume this was Geoff's addition (and let's be honest, it's on brand, lol)

(Also I love how Eli and Adriana are looking to the left, in the Grinch's actual direction, but J and Layne are still looking ahead, and Geoff is looking to the right 😂)

Ayyyy

"Oh, erm, *ahem*, On Max!"

(Also if I had a nickel for everytime VoicePlay did a song from an animated movie where Geoff was on lead and Layne dressed up as the movie protagonist's dog, I'd have two nickels? Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice)

"You need a baaaathhh! Yeah!"

Oh these idiots, god I love them 😂💜

"Your heart's a dead tomato, splashed with moldy purple spots" (yes, also lyrics from the original version)

(AND if I had a nickel for everytime Voiceplay released a video in 2020 where Layne pretended to be a silly chef/waiter, complete with silly French accent, I'd again have two nickels)

If you know my posts, you should know that I love when Geoff gets to belt out a line in a video, and well, I definitely do! 😁

Yes! Sing it!

Grinchy has had ENOUGH! 😝

(Also I only just realized when planning out the post in my head earlier today that Geoff is the only onethat The Grinch doesn't really mess with (despite him being the lead singer of the song!)

Ah bless <3

"Alright get off me... Too long!... This is embarassing."

(Grinch honey I would happily swap places with you in a heartbeat! Embrace the embrace!)

Okay, I just managed to scrape in underneath the maximum image limit for a post, with no need to "economize", thank goodness! More fun posts to come! Until next time!

[mechanical-creature]

Putting a headphone jack in a Fairphone 4

TLDR with this procedure you sacrifice the lower loudspeaker, but the upper one will still behave as normal. Calls and other audio seem to work just fine. There is some interference from internals that gets picked up by amplified speakers, I'm sure there's a way to filter it, this is mainly a proof of concept. This is not really a guide and I do not guarantee anything at all.

I really liked my Fairphone 4 except that it didn't have a 3.5mm jack like normal phones used to have. And my car has never heard of Bluetooth. So I started joking about drilling a hole in it.

I found this green TRS jack on a USB DAC and found it would fit inside. I took this photo with a DSi camera. Originally I thought I might be able to fit both the jack and the speaker, and I had this elaborate plan to make a cut in the mainboard and move the vibrating motor elsewhere,

but decided against it because I had no idea what losing that one contact would do. I did a test and found no major issues with removing the bottom loudspeaker. If I needed the phone to be loud, I'd hook something else up anyway. I bought a second loudspeaker and horrendously dissected it.

I used a knife. If you do this you should absolutely use a dremel tool and not a knife. Unless you don't have a dremel tool

The plan is, remove the speaker part. You do not have to completely de-laminate the two layers of plastic. Just this section of the bottom layer. The top layer has pretty colors and conductive tape and contacts for mysterious purposes. Maybe antenna.

Next, you must drill the hole. We're not quite sure what the case is made of, but it probably involves aluminum. I had a drill press and clamps, but I went to my friend's house. He doesn't have clamps or many drill bits, but he knows metal. The jack barrel was like 5.1mm in outer diameter, and after lamenting that all our bits were in imperial, we settled on a 7/32". We removed all components from the chassis including mainboard and screen before drilling.

Here, we went for a hole that was centered on the middle hole of the speaker grill. However, if you do this, you will need to also remove some more metal, because the jack will need to be kind of submerged in the floor. We also had to sand down one side of the jack paper thin to make it sit flat against the back of the screen module. In hindsight, I should have marked where the jack wanted to sit before drilling. This would have us drill at the edge of the case, but it would be closed off by the phone's back cover anyway so it wouldn't matter. Just plan out your hole instead of eyeballing it.

Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures of the fit after we were done. Probably for the best, so no one has to see the metal carnage.

Once it was in place, it was time to wire it. The speaker module presses a flat flex cable up against these two contacts on the board.

I originally managed to solder to the flat cable, but then made a mistake and tore the pads, so I ended up soldering directly to those spring pins on the mainboard. I used magnet wire for everything. I just connected both the L and R pins of the jack to this one speaker output because I didn't feel like probing out the top speaker connector and running wire up there just yet. Ideally I would have a switched jack that interrupts the top speaker, but that's for later. I might salvage something from an Apple device, their jacks tend to be compact.

Hot glued the thing in place, and this is the end result. It works just great with passive headphones. I'll upload a demo video when I get the chance, I've already used my 1 video. I wish I had taken better pictures, but it wasn't very convenient.

The caveats in the beginning apply. It's also way too loud because it's meant to drive a speaker, and it's balanced for that too. I might be able to put a resistor divider on there to reduce the output volume and let a louder signal drown out the interference a bit better?

I have no idea if this is a thing people do, putting audio jacks in their phones. But I would think that replacing the speaker like this would work on a lot of different phones. Maybe worth trying?

[breadsandwiches]

Wanted to share my tdp playlists bc i honestly like how they turned out! 💃

Some of these were recommended by dragonprinceofficial! (a, c, v, s)

(Very in depth and thought provoking comments about my fave songs under the cut >>>)

AARAVOS

Time, Stars, Universe Pretty ethereal star god vibes

Play with Fire Whatever his beef with the Sunfire peeps, im enjoying it and am glad he is too. slay queen (literally)

Dishonored 2 Main Theme creepy ominous spider-spinning-its-web vibes ok?

Inside the Cage Listen to sexy mental breakdown song.

In the Palace ~ Agitato Creepy fucked up butterfly beast. For context watch HxH, its fun!!! 😀 (< dead inside) Also soundtrack for Aaravos losing his mind in prison and making his puppets dance till their feet bleed! 😍

Adore Adore The story can change at the roll of a dice babeyy 😎 no fr the lyrics are fire

Throne Wrath and violence on planat earth

Nosk Spider-pulling-in-its-prey vibes. Callum wyd 👁👁

Dark Matter The drama.. the vibes.. "bring me your soul bring me your ~HATE~" *insert elmo fire gif*

Black Train/End Credits ~piano~ Also death etc. etc. idek. damn should this be on viren or claudia's playlist instead? 🤔

CLAUDIA

Restless Year I always imagine her dancing or playing the bass to this. Also this song was literally written about her /lie

W.I.T.C.H. We all know this would be on her playlist in a modern au.

My Zero It's fine, she's just gradually losing grip of her family and also herself, she's losing her beginnings 😀👍 ok

Selfless "You're mucking off, but I will live for you, my selfless love". Screaming crying throwing up etc.

Fireflies Nothing to say here except that it's perfect.

A Victory of Love Objectively a bop. Songs that make me Ascend™

Galaxies Honestly im just rlly invested in the modern au where she's a bassist in a cool band and this is one of the songs theyd be playing. but also the lyrics kinda fit

Spanish Sahara She can have a little vengeance as a treat. Also trauma <3

Young and Tragic sad :( baby magefam feels :((

VIREN

The Unquiet Grave he's a corpse 👍

Werewolf Heart Thinking about Harrow, thinking about Lissa maybe. also those wolves and screams?? sir... 🧍‍♂️ Also sexy bass. what more do you want.

Mohammed Most sexy guitar ive ever heard ever im not joking. leave me alone

LA PAURA DEL BUIO lyrics fit pretty well. also this playlist has a criminal lack of angry rock songs

Fight Like Gods Lyrics and such

Way down We Go idk how to describe it without saying the word sexy again :/

The Sun Pretty 😳

Sleep Oughg (< relates a bit too much)

Ashes to Ashes idk man, its just pretty. like Viren <3 <3 <3

Into Dust damn ok tdpo

SOREN

Beautiful Day idk this just has Soren all over to me. the early sunrise wake up feeling, the hopeful optimism idk man

Uptown Funk Originally wasn't putting this in but it is Sooo S1-2 Soren. Also this

Back Against The Wall A+ rec from tdpo

Ode To The Mets I am so normal about this song so normal i listen to it a regular amount haha *insert one of those feral stick figures with blood all over*

Run Magefam feels 💃

Edge of Darkness Next on Songs that make me Ascend™. "I've got love in my heart for an army apart" :(

Fill Your Heart This is one of my fave songs ever its so joyful i love it and I love Soren

Obstacles This song is already Not Ok on its own, but combined with the Soren-Claudia feels it's an atrocity 👍 Songs for floating away on a river never to return

What's Up Ya boy might not always be the brightest but he's definitely the more emotionally intelligent one also i love him so much hhskvhvhhvhvhbv

[prowerprojects]

I'm sure Rouge could, as with other characters. But it comes back to which ones and why? It is her style or required for her line of work? Does she draw the line with specific ones or isn't as skilled with one gadget compared to another?

It's a matter of what the gameplay calls for. (If Tails Adventure and Sky Patrol are anything to go by, a Tails focus game is likely not going to play the same as those who follow Sonic's main gamestyle. If flight the main aspect, the game will focus on that. If gadgets are, it will be on that. Both? A compromise would have to made, but I'm sure they could get it to work.) If you ever heard of "Rachet and Clank", it probably gives a better visual of what I mean for this hypothetical. Spyro too, though more flying than gadgets.

I would say Rouge mainly has experience and stamina over the youngsters; but coming down to what they use their flight capabilities for; Tails being air support and Charmy stated to be a tracker. Plus Charmy does use his stinger and Cream uses Cheese as a projectile. (The fox likely can't beat Rouge toe-to-toe, but I'm sure he'd cause enough trouble for her to not consider him easy pickings next time.) In fairness, we don't really get much time with Prime Tails. {Not the first time a Tails has used a RC device either} It mainly Nine and the other counterparts instead; who live in rather hostile places.

I checked to be sure, and yeah, there is one flight level: The first Speedy boss. There are places to land [in case you get hit], but the stamina bar is completely removed here, as the goal is to get to the top while avoiding Speedy.

Honestly, it's a concept that's not used enough. I can totally buy him coming from the grocery or tool shop, using his tails to carry as much bags and supplies as possible. (Although not techinally the fur, when Nine takes off with the shard; the one Sonic just got absorbed into, you can see it wrapped in his organic tails. So yeah, I say it stands a good chance of coming back.)

You are correct. (Hmm, well, Amy was already shown to throw hammers in Origins.{Which funnily enough again, was shown in X before. The episode Sonic finally comes back from Chris' world.} I say it has a fair shot of sticking. A little less certain with Tails, but I think it could work in Frontiers. Part of me feels that a tweaked version of the Avatar's Wispon gameplay from Forces would fit him well. We'll see what the DLC does for both.)

Hmm, I can buy Tails being interested in history. Especially if it helps him better understand of what's going on at the moment or could be applied later. (Also, I think he just likes learning new things. That being said, it doesn't mean he'll be an expert of something overnight. Hence why he consulted Professor Pickles during Unleashed.)

I feel like the Rouge conversation got a bit away from the point I was originally trying to make, haha =_=' (it's ok but I'm just gonna drop it here)

I heard of Ratchet and Clank but have never played it myself. I looked up some gameplay footage and it looks pretty cool! (Longing for a Tails solo game intensifies)

I know, I know, drones are just so... lame :( I'm still holding out hope that we'll get to see more flashbacks with Prime Tails, I really like him from what little we've seen of him even though he's written so differently from probably any version of Tails I've seen before (except for maybe in some fics haha)

Yep! I've noticed that thing with Nine! (Part of my headcanon is that Tails's ability to control his Tails like that helps him fly (a little bit); I don't have a clear idea of the details, but the basic one is that he's able to position the fur of his tails in such a way that it makes slightly easier for them to function as helicopter blades. At this point it's instinctual for him, but if you're not Tails you might have a bit of trouble figuring out how to do it)

Yeah, I guess we'll see.

Man you mentioned the wispons and it made me think – we haven't seen Tails actually inventing anything for a while, huh? Unless something completely slipped my mind, the last time he had a new invention was Unleashed (the Miles Electric), and it's also the last time we've seen him with a new vehicle (Tornado-1. Geez. The Sonic Boom tv show made fun of his inability to come up with names and I kinda see where they were coming from here lmao). Mannnn. We can talk forever about the loss of his fighting abilities, but he hasn't exactly been shining in other areas either.

Yeah, it definitely doesn't seem... ooc for him to be into history, it just doesn't seem as connected to his usual interests. (But I guess history is inescapable in any field of work) Though Tails also has his own interest in chaos emeralds. (And you know if Eggman keeps summoning ancient evils (and Shadow) it's nice to at least have a general idea of what's going on. Or at least who to ask haha)

[perpetual-fool]

-

Rewriting 'value'

My problem is that I've been conditioned to feel that whatever I think is good is evil. Everything I value is wrong. And if it's not wrong then it's neutral, but I'm wrong for not figuring it out sooner.

I have to conclude that others are mistaken for being upset with me. And I have a little bit to work with. Whenever I've proposed an improvement that someone has fought me over, if they at least agree to do the thing a little bit, they end up agreeing with me. Far as I can tell, when I've thought something could be better, I was right literally every time. But I need a reason why people would do that. Why would people want to keep things bad?

Hmm. Did they know it was better when they objected? No, else they would not have changed their minds. So they passed judgment without any consideration. Why would someone judge thoughtlessly? Because they think it doesn't matter? Why would they think it doesn't matter?

Autism? I'm going off an anecdote, a guy was linked to an 'autism test', the first question was "do you prefer working alone or in a group?" and the guy was ranting about how the question doesn't make any sense because it depends on the circumstances. And he's right, but apparently neurotypical people don't think like that. And the last model of autism that I heard about which sounded reasonable was that an autistic brain has stronger connections. That for instance, flat affect is a result of blocking out emotions entirely, because they are overwhelming. So maybe others' concern is equivalent to my 'not giving a shit'? That would the explain the paradox "caring enough to do the thing, but doing it wrong". Like, they can understand that they'll need a pencil, but they aren't capable of realizing that it also has to write until they put it to paper and nothing is legible.

I really really do not like "unfathomable stupidity" as an explanation. Then again, that's exactly what I've been blaming myself for, so maybe it's fair. And the phenomenon is happening regardless. Can there be another explanation? Aside from a variation of 'they are not real'. It's honest, because they're screwing themselves over. Is there another way to be paradoxically wrong that isn't 'stupidity'? Well, that is how I define 'stupid', not making connections they should have. To rephrase, is there any explanation possible other than 'the pencil also has to work' being too big a leap for their brain to make? I've considered they might be making a different connection, but that doesn't excuse this one. Not hypothetical, is there any other explanation for someone saying 'I want all the benefits, but not the drawbacks' and not realizing the problem with that? They're thinking it through as much as anyone does, they're honestly not making the connection, even if they were dishonest they're still not making the connection. This feels equivalent of a child telling a lie like "I am wearing my shoes", not realizing you can look down and see their bare feet. And oh god, that fits. Except children know they're lying and adults tell you you're insane for not believing their blatant contradiction. No, I can't think of any alternative.

Fine. I'm some kind of genius and the vast majority of people don't have enough brain capacity to understand an 'if' statement. They absolutely never explain anything because the explanations do not exist, and they do not have the intelligence to recognize 'truth' or 'good'.

That's not much better than 'brain in a vat'.

But the paradox? If they can't comprehend "if hungry, then eat" then how are they alive? And I think "comprehend" is the significant part. Like it must be that their body is compelled to insert food into the digestive system. Similarly, the logic gates in their brain must exist. But 'awareness' is a different process. And going by anecdotes of experiments with people who've had their corpus callosum severed, the conscious part doesn't actually control anything, it just makes up a story about what's happening. But that's still running on the same brain, how is that different? I suppose the paradox goes away if I imagine no one has ever told them anything, and they've never said anything. So like, not realizing that you need to adjust the heat on the stove when you keep burning food is dumb. But it's not of the same magnitude as arguing that the food isn't burnt. So the stupid is compounding, probably. And the problem would mainly be connecting words to ideas. Yeah, that question is resolved. The apparent paradox is faulty interpretation making people look much, much worse than they are.

Why the confidence? There is absolutely fucking nothing I can do, maybe short of torture, to convince someone they've misunderstood. Why? In my own experience, uncertainty comes from something not fitting my model. So presumably that's not happening for them. But the not-fitting is present. Are they so stupid that their model does not extend beyond themselves? Say, best example I have was from my brief time on a Minecraft server. Everyone was working on a big project, most of them were using mods to fly, I wasn't. They had figured out an optimal way to do this thing, but it depended on flying. They could not fathom why I couldn't run while my character was swimming. So, people have their idea, they have the behavior based on that idea, but the result of that behavior is out of scope? Is that why they argue about their intent when I tell them their behavior was harmful? That genuinely would explain a lot of debates about politics or economics and such. Like, we should be able to have objectively true and tested answers for what effect a certain type of policy has. And if we didn't, there's nothing to discuss until we do. But people waste time arguing like "That's bad!", "Nu-uh, it's good actually". That would actually explain a lot of things. I suppose being a workable solution and opposed to nothing, I should believe that.

Why is it so hard to believe? Not really in question. This is as natural to me as breathing, and to say most people can't understand consequences is like saying most people can't understand the concept of addition. It's much easier to think everyone is fucking with me somehow. I admit the evidence doesn't support the idea, that other people should be smart. This is comparable to my thoughts on the Fermi paradox. Essentially, "if space is so big, where are the aliens?" But we're the only life we know of, and you can't draw a trend from a single point, so that's dumb. And I am that single point here. Debatably there's one more point. The only person I've found somewhat relatable is the late Richard Feynman, who was actually socially accepted as some kind of genius. For instance, there's a clip where he's addressing suggestions to known physics problems that people write in about. He makes an analogy to safecracking, "'Maybe the answer is 1-2-10' they say. But maybe you've already tried 1-2-10, maybe you know for a fact that the answer is five digits long". (approximately) I make analogies like that quite frequently when I'm trying to explain or clarify something. And it's always a waste of time, and I've heard absolutely no one else ever do that. And maybe it's a clue that he though of himself as ordinary, "I was an ordinary person, who studied hard". Though maybe he was lying.

It might help if it was defined. I don't see a line between what people can do and what they can't. Like, they can understand that cleaning a water bottle is hard and decide they don't want to do that. But they can't understand that 'a bottle you never clean' means a disposable one. How is that different? Maybe they're lying and never understood any of it. Maybe "I don't like cleaning" was the only honest thing they said. But how would they know to clean in the first place? I don't have anything to work with from this angle. How was Feynman different? Like, supposedly it was widely accepted that quantum physics could only be understood in terms of esoteric equations, until he invented the Feynman diagram. Why is it that not just anyone could decide to represent the equation as a picture? They're capable of understanding it afterwards, so they're not just too stupid for it. Are they not considering the alternatives, or not seeing them at all? Since the objection is never valid, it must be they don't see it. There was another Feynman story where others were attempting to think of an alternative, so it must be they cannot create alternatives. What would make that impossible? The process working would be something like "I want to move this rock. Oh no! the rock is too heavy to pick up. Can I make it less heavy? Can I increase my lifting capacity? Can I move it without lifting it?" So, I'm considering different ways of interacting with the system? To be unable to do that, there would have to be no system at all. Like, for someone to not understand that you could push the rock without picking it up, the whole procedure would have to be a magic ritual. And 'understanding' after would be just seeing the result "Wow, they didn't pick up the rock, yet somehow the rock is moved!" "He fixes radios by thinking!" I really wish that didn't fit. Yeah, "system awareness", that's what it is.

Redo, why the confidence? They're certain they know what the ritual is, and they think my responses are wrong for not matching the ritual.

Why are others wrong to be upset with me? They're upset with me for the part of the ritual they think I'm playing. But I was never participating in the ritual. I could not, even if I wanted to.

How am I not just evil? Better phrased, how is my existence not innately harmful to others? It's not guaranteed that I'll trigger the bad rituals, though I'd probably still be harmful in aggregate. It's virtually guaranteed that I'll be misused. If other people try to direct me with rituals they are not going to get what they want. But I could be used for good. I could be useful.

Does their being wrong mean I'm not evil? The harm is still happening even if the crime isn't. Like if someone feels their life is in danger because a large dog exists, that person is experiencing extreme distress. Taking that apart, there is the dog, the person, and the idea. Obviously the idea has the most significant impact, and I recognize that it doesn't make sense to consider the dog as possibly culpable but not the person. The latter, I think is just conditioning that the 'victim' can never be at fault. The former, it doesn't feel like it matters. They hate me, so I'm evil. Even if they're wrong about why they hate me, they still hate me. What grounds would I possibly have to say that someone's values are wrong? In itself, there are none. But someone could be wrong about what they think their values are, and wrong about what is it they think they're judging. Like maybe you think you hate vegetables because your mother was a terrible cook. Or, to be wrong about your values you have to be stupid, like deciding you hate something you've never tried. It's hard for me to believe that could happen, but I've seen it. So to be wrong, they've invented a conclusion based on no evidence, or they've experienced the thing in a misleading way. The dog then, either they have the wrong idea from a bad experience, or they're just making it up. That doesn't quite match though. Like, I've seen video of someone who was legitimately delusional, she was yelling at the mailman because she thought they were stalking her. And that doesn't seem like the same kind of situation as someone berating a dog owner with "your dog is DANGEROUS and he's gonna KILL someone!" I don't think that's someone who's genuinely afraid. So they're not stupid, they're lying. Although that becomes a recursive issue, why are they hating the dog to begin with? Maybe they're just aesthetically disgusted by dogs. In which case, they're not wrong. So am I evil? maybe.

Is it wrong to be ugly? So if someone hates me for being too tall, or too fat, or too symmetrical, does that make me evil? Though that's not-quite refuted by the idea that whatever your body type, there's probably someone who finds you attractive. It's at least a possibility. So if one person finds me disgusting, and another finds me hot, what does that make me? I don't think I could say that either of them are correct. Obviously each just has their preference, so then the idea that I 'am' ugly is false objectivity? Meaning someone is framing their opinion as fact. Probably "I don't like that" as "you made me feel bad". And every variation of that consolidated into "I am a piece of shit". I suppose that brings me back to where I was.

Am I 'doing' your feelings? The process is 'I do something, you observe it, you interpret it, you feel some kind of way about your interpretation'. The elements which could be at fault are the 'doing' and 'interpretation'. I would think I'm asking, did the 'doing' have the most influence on the outcome? But that isn't the accusation. It's not my fault, it's what I did. I didn't do something to make you upset, I made you upset, directly, bypassing causality. Obviously that's wrong. Reinterpreting, for others lacking system awareness, outcomes magically arise from circumstances. All they know is that I said a thing and then they were upset. The 'magic' explanation is that I'm stupid and/or evil.

Replacement? Others' interpretation is faulty, and they're not aware that interpretation is happening. I'm not stupid for being unable to make sense of things, things actually don't make sense. This is due to the aforementioned faulty thinking and neglect of the relationships within the system, because they are not aware there is a system. And I am not evil for people being upset with me, because 'evil' is a process that bypasses causality, and does not exist. I have no innate 'badness'.

Am I not still doing bad? Kinda. It's mostly other people being wrong about things. So while they may be unhappy about it, it was their doing. Though that doesn't make me feel any better. I don't want people to hurt themselves on me. And I want to resolve things. I want to connect. I feel like that's my fundamental sin. I suppose that's almost 'magical' thinking. I want to connect and then bad things happen. But in between those, I attempt to communicate, my communication is misinterpreted, and then either they get upset or they 'attack' my psyche. They respond in an invalid way, and the only way to make it valid is to believe that my existence is innately wrong. That's not my fault.

Alright, I am now merely sad. I'm sure I'll have to keep coming back to this for awhile, until I break the habit.

How do I do good? Even if I'm right, I'm going to be hated every step of the way. And any change I do manage will merely become 'normal', as though it had always been that way. Nothing anyone cares about. Hmm. I had a conversation to confirm, I asked "would you be happier if you never found out your knives were bad?". And I got an emphatic "no" to that. Maybe I'm both right and good? That's throwing me for a loop. And I am very, very tired. I want to keep working but I need rest. I'm gonna try to play video games or something while my brain figures out what to do with this.

To be continued.