#(maybe when I don't have other Real assignments to do lol)

[penultimatestalematewithdeath]

tell me more about the development/ new clarity of lockwood’s character beyond the charisma & crushing!! like later in the series!! such an interesting train of thought you got there & i Need To Know More

Wait wait hold on let me grab my books because I could write an ESSAY on this!!

(this post turned out really long so i enabled keep reading lol. Tl;dr Lockwood and Lucy both grow a lot when Lucy is gone after THB and that absence fundamentally changes the way that the two interact for the rest of the series.)

kay, we have a distinct shifting in dynamic after the events of THB. Lucy leaving L&Co. and then returning fundamentally altered how they (Lockwood and Lucy) see each other and how they interact. We see Lockwood let Lucy in and be more obvious about his flirting, and we see Lucy start to actually allow herself to think romantic-adjacent thoughts towards Lockwood. Stroud (I think, someone check me on this) mentioned once how it took Lockwood to loose Lucy to really realize how much she meant; this is the moment where that happens. What really embodies this shift are the scene where Lucy leaves the company in THB compared to when Lockwood asks for her help in TCS.

In THB ch. 26 (pg. 372-374 in my version) we get Lucy leaving the team. Lockwood says two very important things here. "I'm surprised to hear that. I thought you and Holly -" is his classic deflection. Reading into it, one sees him knowing what's about to happen, and attempting to diffuse the situation by throwing Lucy's reasoning onto something he thinks he understands. She's leaving because of workplace spats; Holly's relationship with Lucy. Then we get "'Is that it?' Lockwood asked quietly. 'Is that really what this is all about?'" which is where we see him lashing out in a way. He's furious and doesn't know what to do with that emotion. He's been revealing more and more of himself to Lucy through this book, trusting her with his past, and now she's leaving? How dare she? Through this, Lucy doesn't describe what he looks like or what he's doing. She's avoiding him, ignoring him, ignoring any feelings she may have.

Then we get TCS and its only been four months but boy have things changed. Lucy describes his smile in ch. 5 (pg.51) as "warm but somehow hesitant, as if it hadn't been used recently. It was the smile I'd hazily imagined a hundred times; only now it was real, solid, meant just for me." And by god is that a LINE! And there's more quotes I'm not going to put here because this is already so long and then "Lockwood leaned forward, and I noticed a scar on the side of his neck - not large, but white and raised - one I'd never seen before" (pg. 59). And a bunch to read more into and then "I looked over at Lockwood as he sat shoulders-forward, head slightly bowed. He seemed more different than I'd ever seen him: not vulnerable, exactly, but certainly exposed." This whole scene is SO interesting in contrast to the last time we saw Lockwood! He's vulnerable, he clearly misses her, he (likely) is throwing himself Further into danger (see: scar) because she's gone! Its one of the times we see him fully stripped of his ego and charisma (there may be more in THB but I'm only starting my re-read of that now lol). He comes not as a boss, but as a friend, a fellow agent, an equal. Lockwood doesn't give her orders like he does in the earlier books. Things have Changed.

Then we get the first moment she meets the team as a whole again (around pg. 79) and she notices how Lockwood is "making more of an effort than usual" and she questions "For me? No. Penelope Fittes was far more likely." A moment where Lucy almost EXPLICITLY mentions wanting Lockwood to dress up for her? Unheard of before now! This is no longer an unconscious or avoided crush; she's got feelings and she's aware of them at this point.

And don't get me started on the scene with "'What the heck was that?' I said. 'The Shadow?' Lockwood glanced at me from under his bangs. 'Of course the Shadow ....' He shook his head" (pg. 326). I could say SO MUCH about those lines oh my god. The point here, though, is that it's a direct moment where Lockwood is CLEARLY being awkward because they just held hands, his feelings are obvious! He's not perfectly composed and charming! Lucy recognizes this enough to narrate it into the moment! They're awkward about it, and don't verbally communicate it, but they both recognize their own feelings in a way that isn't really seen before TCS!

TCS is also the point where Lockwood becomes Much more open about his past compared to TSS, TWS, and THB. Through Lucy's eyes, he becomes something more than just a charismatic boss who loves the spotlight. She sees his rough edges, his trauma, his flaws. She sees how broken he is, because he is offering the information willingly. We shift from blind admiration and oftentimes annoyance at his inability to open up to a knowing love that we readers love. Yes, Lockwood is still charismatic and Lucy is still crushing on him! But also! He's more human now! And Lucy is not just infatuated in a way she can easily ignore anymore.

Lockwood and Lucy both grow a lot when Lucy is gone after THB and that absence fundamentally changes the way that the two interact for the rest of the series. There's like, a bunch more I want to say and quote but like. This post is already super long so I think I'll leave it there.

[dingodad]

please god i need to know what U think of the whole “jadebloods are all female!” thing because i got into homestuck in 2019 around the time of friendsim and (retching) Lanque so i always assumed they were explicitly intended to be an all-female caste. however, re-reading the comic this year, i couldnt find a mention of it other than virgo and the Space aspect being really feminine, but i think kanayas journey with motherhood is more kanaya-centric than All-Jadebloods centric??

on one hand, it makes sense given that alternia has very real gendered oppression, so what’s better for that than CATHOLICISM?? on the other hand, i always saw kanaya as being transfem coded, because it connects so well with roxy yknow.. homestuck fans love to insist that certain characters just have to be cis women (kanaya, jade, roxy)

(as an aside; was “long hair was butch on alternia” a one off joke? i like speculation about alternia’s fashion opposing earth, lol)

most all of our basis for explicitly gendered interpretation of Alternia comes from act 6 intermission 3, where Aranea tells us that "jade 8loods were also an almost exclusively female caste". so the door has always been open for there to be "some male jadebloods". but it's a mistake to view this as having anything to do with any kind of "biological sex". the whole idea of biological sex among trolls is a smoke screen. the jadebloods' assigned gender at birth is "jadeblood". this is what makes them a feminised caste.

Caliborn doesn't have a clue what biological sex is. Aranea will tell you that there are boy cherubs and girl cherubs, but for your own sanity you need to cast this idea out of your mind: cherub sex takes place between good and evil cherubs - which is determined by their blood - and anything else is just roleplay. Caliborn's attitude toward sexing is that the ones he likes are boys - that's all the thought that goes into it. and that's the mindset we need to be aware of when we delve into understanding troll gender. there are some trolls who have breast tissue and some who don't, but they aren't "mammaries" in any sense, so there's no reason to believe they're actually sexual characteristics of any kind; maybe this is what Lord English chose to base his gender schema on, but the idea that this means there must be "male trolls" and "female trolls" is completely imagined for the narrative convenience of the human reader.

when we read that there are "male-dominated" highblood castes and therefore by implication female-populated lowblood castes, it's not by some coincidence of biology: the highblood castes are male-dominated BECAUSE they are highblood castes. each caste has a role to play in Caliborn's Alternia, and just as the highblooded roles are those of patriarchal domination, the lower castes must take on roles of feminised submission; and in the case of the jades in particular, this means breeding duties. the fact that this also comes with the expectation to wear makeup and pretty clothes is just more roleplay.

so tl;dr what i think of "the all jadebloods are female thing" is that it is very obviously true but in a way more 5 dimensional gender studies way than anyone else tends to mean when they say it

my pet "long hair was butch on alternia" headcanon - which is a joke but in the way all headcanons about alternia should be jokes of some kind - actually kind of relates to this lol. bc i figure that if gendered expectations of female trolls includes working in disgusting underground caverns filled with genetic material, it's going to be practical to keep your hair close to your head where it won't get dirty, in much the same way the feminist image of the short-haired woman became popular in the west during and after world war 2, wherein a lot of women had to start wearing their hair close to their heads to avoid scalping themselves in the factory machinery they suddenly had to start working with. hence kanaya dedicated to her assigned feminine role and wearing her hair short vs. porrim rebelling against it for feminist reasons and thus wearing her hair at a length that would be totally impractical for wading through gene pools.

[married-to-google-translater]

Can I ask for Akaza, Douma, Daki and Muzan with a human child that says when they grow up they are going to marry them and calls them Pretty? (Like, nothing creepy, just the child equivalent of playing house oWo)

I do this now with Douma and Muzan

Rest of characters you found here

Douma

Okay, who gave the child to Douma to take care of?

Who would think that would be a good idea?

Someone needs to file a child protection report quickly XD

Well, at least you wouldn't complain.

You think Douma would be a really fun company

Because you really don't know his secret.

Douma would also often play with you and carry you everywhere.

You also get a lot of special treatment with him

Douma, on the other hand, likes how lively you are.

You were energetic and always inventing new things.

He would love to watch it.

Today you decided to play at home…

Or you insisted and Douma couldn't refuse because you're so cute.

Douma would probably just laugh at this.

You were so sweet and naive.

Especially when you show your displeasure when he starts laughing.

You are just so really cute

Muzan

Okay, how you end up with Muzan is a really long story.

So long that we won't begin to tell it here.

The author is writing this at 1:30 am and would like to go to sleep already lol XD

Maybe he was originally supposed to play your father or he is your real father.

Who knows…

However Muzan wouldn't usually play with you.

He would usually assign some upper moon to watch over you.

So these moments would be quite rare.

However, now Muzan decides to play with you.

At least for a moment.

Muzan would not really learn well playing with a child.

He wouldn't have much experience.

Maybe this would be a sneaky way to get you to do chores.

Muzan would stop for a moment when you said he's pretty…

gotta say he'd be a little hurt.

He should be impressive and scary…

Not pretty.

He would stare at you for a long time.

No more playtime for you XD

[katiekatdragon27]

Being an artist is fun cuz I can draw whatever whenever as long as I have a group of people peerpressuring me /j

This all started as a joke talking about THANOS Muffin and sorta escalated/derailed into just sorta assigning OSC characters as a whole to the DSMP characters.

My gc and I had no real idea what we were doing, and this is honestly just for shits and giggles, lol. Everyone was assigned on dynamics and vibes instead of being logical. PLEASE DON'T BULLY ME FOR MY SPELLING, IT WAS SUPER LATE AT NIGHT WHEN I DID THIS.

The culprits: @always-just-down-the-street and @friiskuz (the main two), @mambari, and @glitchtypes

(Also keep in mind that I have never watched a full stream of the DSMP, I only watched certain content creators outside of the server. I barely had any say in this so don't blame me if you don't like iiiiitttt.)

Specifics under the cut:

Firey from BFDI is Tommyinnit. This was decided because of his main characterness, him being one of the most important characters in OSC history, and his mildly chaotic nature.

Leafy from BFDI is Tubbo. This was decided because of Firey being Tommy. Also, because I find the ship between Tubbo and Ranboo cute and this universe's equivalents really funny to pair up.

Taco from II is Wilbur Soot. This was decided because of the betrayal stuff, the violence and manipulation, and because we thought it would be fun.

Top Hat from TNM is Ranboo. This was decided because of vibes, trauma maybe(?), and some other stuff that my friend said. Also, something about hallucinating probably and just being in a general sense of not okayness.

Muffin from THANOS is BadBoyHalo. This was decided because this is litterally BBH. He is literally based on BBH clips from his videos cropped together to make a character. He started this whole thing.

"Blood" Diamond (although their built like Aquamarine) from BFDI (ABCDEFG) is Skeppy. This was decided because Skeppy's skin is literally a diamond. They're a "blood diamond" because of the egg arc, and they are probably a brother instead of sister since that short isn't really canon to anything. They're a blank slate, we can do what we want.

Oodle from AIB is Slimecicle. This was decided because of his omnipotent god powers (immortality) and just being a silly goofy guy in general. We considered Goo for a bit, but Goo's a little too young to have been around since the dawn of the server. Maybe before becoming Oodle he was Goo? Idk.

X from BFB is GerogeNotFound. This was decided because of who we made Dream XD. That's really it (they might have also had some weird romantic stuff happening in the stream before???).

Four from BFB is Dream XD. This was decided because of the revival aspect of Four's power and also their scary and overall powerful nature. The rainbows are because of Infinity being a rainbow in canon.

Call me cringe all you want; I can take the heat. If you want to feed into this hellhole, be my guest. Have a great day bros >:)

[merakiui]

PLEASE WRITE THAT SPY AU PLEASE

I'M SO TEMPTED AAAAAAAAA,, orz but I can't write anything else until I finish tmdg (and the rest of the fics on my list). But just know that if I do write Floyd spy au, it would naturally have to include these very crucial details and scenes:

✧ hand-to-hand combat training with Floyd and you're one of the only other agents (aside from Jade) who can match Floyd's pace and sporadic fighting style. Exchanging blows is fun, even more so if you manage to give Floyd the ass-kicking of a lifetime. He's lying flat on his back and you're standing over him and he's never been more horny in his life before.

✧ reader finding out that Floyd's father is the head of the mafia they've been investigating on the sly. Perhaps it's one of those scenarios where the mafia has taken something from you or you're on the run from Mr. Leech's debt collectors, so there's lots of angst to be had when you find out Floyd is the son of your enemy. The betrayal is so yummy... orz Floyd being a wolf in sheep's clothing all along. Oh, you thought he was an agent allied under the same cause as you? As if. <3 (or the misunderstanding angst!!!! Floyd trying to tell you that he's different and not like his father, but you won't hear any of it.)

✧ things get particularly perilous during a mission and maybe the enemy has you cornered. You think this is the end, but then Floyd's there, killing them in the most brutal, cold-blooded way. And you don't see his usual goofy, carefree grin or hear his nasally laughter. It's just this blank, dead-eyed stare and the ever-so-subtle curl of his lip as he sneers at the one who dared to threaten his Shrimpy's life. He shrugs off the bloodlust afterwards just to give you a silly smile and say, "Aww, did I scare ya, Shrimpy? My bad."

✧ missions with Floyd as your partner never go to plan, which means you're both often called into Azul's office so he can scold the two of you (although most of his ire is usually directed at Floyd) for "fucking up the mission." And Floyd has such a smart mouth on him, so it drives Azul insane (even though Azul knows what he's getting into when he assigns these missions to Floyd; it's mainly why he has a partner. You're there to keep him in check). T_T

"But we got the stuff you wanted, Azul."

"Yes, but I specifically said it was to be entirely covert."

"But we got the stuff."

"But you weren't covert."

"So what? We got the stuff. Who gives a damn about—" and you're already dragging Floyd out before he can continue bickering with Azul.

✧ Floyd who always gets you into the most dangerous situations during missions and he's always the one who saves you from said situations. Danger just follows him wherever he goes, but he also has a penchant for inciting it.

✧ his code name is "Bind the Heart," but Floyd thinks that's so lame and so he just uses his real name even though Azul's choked him out for it every time. So now he settles for BTH as a shortening and if anyone asks what it means he says, with full seriousness, "Bacon Tomato Hamburger." LOL

✧ Floyd who is so down bad for you that he's always flirting with you in his own weird, Floyd way, and each time you shut him down with a stern, "Never gonna happen," because you're dedicated to your job (and love is a distraction in this line of work). But Floyd's not one to give up and he keeps trying because according to him, "Never might be today and tomorrow, but Shrimpy doesn't know what'll happen in the future..." (He's right; the two of you end up fucking months later because Azul booked a hotel room for you to share on one of your missions and it did have more than one bed, but why sleep separately when you can sleep together?)

✧ despite how closely you and Floyd work together and how chatty he can be when he's in the mood, neither of you know much about the other's personal life. Cue Floyd wanting to know more about you and you getting suspicious each time. And he always answers your questions with, "Because. Can't I ask about Shrimpy's life if I'm plannin' on bein' in it long-term?" He will be the death of you........ orz

✧ Floyd gets himself badly injured on a mission, so he's stuck on bed rest until he heals up. Which means you're transferred to Agent Shock the Heart in the meantime, and Floyd does not like the idea of you and Jade cozying up during missions. >:( he's in Jade's ear the entire time the both of you are on the mission (he dragged himself out of bed and to HQ's tech room just to steal the microphone from the agent who was in communication with Jade) and he's saying stuff like, "Jade, you lay a finger on Shrimpy and I'll break all of yours..." and Jade just has to be annoying, so he's like, "We get married in June. I do hope you'll be my best man."

✧ a classic confession in the midst of an argument. Maybe the mission got too risky and you have to leave behind your team; you and Floyd get into an argument about it and essentially it ends with him yelling, "Cuz I ain't ready to lose ya!" And you look at him with so much confusion because what is he talking about? And Floyd's so angry he's even tearing up and from there it's a soft admission of feelings: "Cuz I like ya... A lot. A whole fuckin' lot. And I'd rather those other guys take the fall than let you get hurt for 'em." AAAAAAAAAAA OTL

[petefromarma]

okay wrt that other ask asking abt bottom pete

i also find it interesting that despite a lot of people suddenly preferring bottom pete, there's still a lot of recent bottom patrick fics coming out.... but ig not everyone reads or writes fic so idk. actually thinking abt it, im not even sure why it's become so popular?? /gen

another iteration that comes to mind is petekey, like especially on tiktok 😭

and also i want to ask abt the tags bc what is your interpretation of patrick as a bottom then...

ok thats all thank u for letting me ramble and like i read your blog like the morning paper everyday 💜

aw anon you're so sweet thank you 🥺❤️ thank you for the ask and it means a lot that you like MY ramblings lol

so in terms of the preferred dynamics of the pairing changing, i think this shift probably happened sometime in the last five years; imo it was sort of a slow crawl and then the emergence of smfs sped things up because fob gained a lot of new fans and also attracted old fans who were still around but maybe not creating anything during the gap between mania and smfs, whether it was art or fic. primarily i think it has to do with the fandom's general perception of pete and patrick having changed since the 2013-2019 era

the fact that they've grown and changed as people over the last decade (and when speaking about fob in its entirety, the last two decades) has in part something to do with this; fandoms are inherently predisposed to tropes, imo, which can often lead to characters (this term i think is appropriate since we are talking about fiction written about real people and to a lesser degree the people as they actually exist themselves) being shoehorned into fitting the confines of a specific archetype based on surface level aspects of their personality or physical attributes. patrick and pete for a significant amount of the band's history were perceived as sort of a wallflower and bad boy combo; this wasn't entirely incorrect, and imo most fic authors wrote them with a degree of nuance rather than purely relying on archetype, but you could usually find some form of that interpretation of their characters in most fic or fandom discussion relating to their personalities and relationship with each other. because of this and the fact that it was common in the 2000s/2010s to work within a context of assigning arbitrary personality traits to sex positions, such as 'bottoms are shy/tops are outgoing' (and with bottom always referring to sub bottom and top always referring to dom top), this lead to total bottom patrick cultural victory etc (obviously i agree with the outcome here but i don't completely agree with the journey it took to get there lol)

in part patrick and pete both had a hand in this perception of themselves; patrick mostly during the 2010s and pete mostly during the 2000s. like i said i think these are both actual aspects of their personalities rather than what some people claim, especially in regards to patrick (that the sweater paws era was all an act), but the choice to exacerbate this image of themselves was definitely for PR purposes. imo they both still kind of do this but in different ways; the intent is the same but the form is different. i don't mean to be cynical and i do think they are happy and settled and that their expressions of self are mostly genuine but they are still celebrities and i think they're both relieved to be considered by a majority of fans, who are largely unwilling to talk about their (p2's) flaws, as 'soft' and non-threatening

ig the dark haired top/light haired bottom thing could have also played a part in the popularity of bottom patrick but i don't really think that's the case here because of. the inherent way that they are lol. i feel like some people would argue that the popularity of patrick as specifically a sub bottom during 2013-2019 can in part be attributed to his whiteness and the conflation of whiteness with femininity and bottoming as an inherently feminine and therefore submissive act, which i think probably has merit enough to be acknowledged in any discussion of an interracial ship especially irt to m/m and f/f, but i don't think it's particularly relevant to peterick because i do not buy that patrick has an especially domineering presence that is being subverted in order to incorrectly portray him as submissive, which is something that does happen in a number of ships where one character is white and the other character is black or brown. i think there ARE domineering parts of patrick's personality, and that he craves control, especially wrt his art and his creative process, but we also know that he often gives in to pete's suggestions and that pete's instincts are usually correct whereas patrick's are usually wrong. this doesn't scream hypercompetent in control dom top to me and it doesn't scream service top either

anyway. i think patrick's change in fashion and aesthetics played a not insignificant part in this shift in dynamics; pete's self expression has always been relatively androgynous, but that isn't inherently connected to his gender or his personality. i don't think he's ever done or said anything to imply that he's anything other than a cis man who sometimes likes to wear skirts. which, i mean, there's a not insignificant discussion to be had about his relationship with gender as a biracial black man but this answer is already too long and i don't want to get into that now lol. so patrick grows a beard, pete bleaches his hair and grows it out, oh they're masc and femme now, patrick is a bear (despite being straight?), masc = top and femme = bottom, etc. some people will argue that this has always been the case (patrick being masc and pete being femme) but i'm going to be honest, i think pete and patrick both leaned toward androgyny in self expression until around futct and even then i don't consider patrick's street wear as being super butch or whatever

people also like to discuss patrick's weight as a factor in the perception of him as either a top or a bottom but i've seen too many claims that there's an epidemic of fat men being portrayed as sub bottoms simply because they're fat and i have literally no idea where this came from and i really don't want to lend any legitimacy to that argument because i think it's ridiculous so i'm not going to get into it. but just know i think it's silly and cope

so i think partially the change in dynamics has come from the manner in which they present themselves within the public sphere; patrick reads now as more masculine and outgoing and pete reads as more shy and feminine

i do think that the interpretation of them as characters by people who prefer bottom pete and write fic is more nuanced than people who don't write fic and are just kind of going with the flow (same with people who were around in 2013-2019 when bottom patrick was more popular); i still don't agree with the majority of their analysis but considering they're creating actual art there's generally more critical thought involved than just following a fandom trend imo

fob is also not really a fic based fandom, honestly; fanart tends to get more interaction and fandoms that skew younger don't seem to write fic as much. this is kind of a sidebar but i am actually genuinely worried about the use of chatgpt and what it means for the writing and critical reasoning skills of young people in the west (i don't know if this is as big of a problem in nonwestern countries) and imo the manner in which it's wormed its way into all aspects of academic and creative life, whether professional or amateur, is frightening. but anyway i think a lot of the authors who write or prefer bottom patrick have been around a lot longer (just, like, in life, but also in the fandom lol) and since the younger fans aren't really interested in writing fic, it makes sense that there's still an even split on ao3 despite bottom pete seeming to be more popular with the greater fandom

anyway like i said in that other ask i do think there are situations in which pete would bottom; like, he is not topping andy hurley, lol, and probably not travie, but i just don't see him bottoming as realistic, long term, or as a constant, in his relationship with patrick. the time at which pete came into patrick's life means he was both an authority figure and peer to him; he guided patrick professionally and, at times, personally. pete viewed him as his responsibility, and he was protective of patrick in a way that he wasn't with joe (i've spoken about this before, and while i do think that maybe this has to do with pete maturing somewhat from twenty to twenty-two/twenty-three, there is a world of difference between what pete allowed his friends to do to joe and the way pete spoke of patrick with reverence and protected him, to the point that patrick's release the bats skit was him drinking garlic butter). and while i don't know if i would say the same currently lol i think pete was once a highly competent and successful businessman; he deeply understood the culture of the 2000s/early 2010s and for all the stress and heartache it brought him, i think there were aspects of fame and that feeling of being on top of the world that he very much enjoyed. i think he likes control, but in contrast to patrick, he's far more competent and adept at gaining and keeping himself in a position that affords him that control

has their relationship evolved to the point that they're on more equal footing? yeah i think so, but i also think that your dynamic when you meet someone is going to remain, in part, a constant, even as your relationship evolves and changes. so there's that, for me, that push-and-pull power dynamic where pete is almost always the one who comes out on top (lol), and while i understand the appeal in subverting this wrt peterick, in an abstract sense, i just don't see the evidence in their relationship that that would realistically happen or that pete would want it to happen

moving on to patrick, the reason i said his stroke game is mid is because obviously he does top he's straight but i don't think he's particularly good at it; he fumbles through a lot of life (that doesn't involve his art) and i think this translates to his sexual expression. more realistically, i could see him as a dom bottom because of how bossy he is; this i think would be something pete would enjoy because he does desire submission somewhat but it doesn't involve penetration, which i believe he considers a degrading act, at least to some degree. tbh i don't really think pete's dick game is bomb or whatever lol but i think he's better than patrick. and i know this is a matter of contention because of the specific way in which patrick's misogyny manifests and how defensive he was about not being gay, but i think he's too autistic to really give a shit about bottoming; maybe he could even be convinced to take the strap because he would just get to lie there and not do anything like the way elisa cooks all his food for him. i think this could actually also be argued with pete potentially but it would be more difficult to bring him around to it lol

i have more to say but i think i should cut myself off now 😭 i do want to say though re the thing about petekey; i was actually just telling a friend how petekey is similar to bottom pete because they're both so popular and yet the amount of fanworks doesn't seem to match their supposed popularity

[lemotmo]

This ask is all of us 😫 but also when you do put it in real job terms it's so embarrassing for him. Yikes.

Q. How did we get here? Seriously how did it get to this point? What the hell happened? I genuinely don't understand how he managed to start all of this. 🤣😭

A. I'm tired of talking about the cameo videos so I'm going to talk about them without talking about them, lol. I can't really figure out a good way to break it down so I'm going to use myself (as Lou in this scenario), my job (obviously 911 in this scenario), and my coworkers (the 911 cast) to try and break it down in a real world sense. I will use the character name that correlates instead of my actual coworkers names. So bear with me.

Let's say the firm I work for has a client and that client has a product (911) that they have made some modifications too (newly bi character). As a result my company needs to figure out a way to sell those modifications to the public. My company has a senior staff team (Bobby, Chimney, Hen, Buck and Eddie). My company also has a junior staff team (Ravi, Karen and Albert), I (Lou) am part of the junior staff team. Once in a while our boss (Tim) will assign a junior staff member to collaborate with, or help a member of the senior staff with working up a product launch or rebrand. In this case my boss has assigned me to work with Buck on this rebranding. Now normally Buck works with Eddie on his campaigns so Eddie is still a part of the team, I'm just basically Buck's assistant on this particular campaign. The pitch we come up with works pretty well and the client is happy with the overall result. I had nothing special to do with the success of the rebrand but I was a part of it. But a few of my coworkers liked the work I did and told me they would like to see more of my stuff. I'm not used to that particular kind of attention so I enjoy it for a bit. It's fun. No harm no foul. But at some point I decide that those coworkers are correct and I deserve a bigger role within my company. The problem is there are no openings on the senior staff. So I need my boss to believe that he should just create a position for me. So I get those coworkers to tell my boss that they want to see more of my work and he needs to give me a promotion that doesn't exist. My boss (again,Tim) tells them that there aren't any open positions that need to be filled, but thanks them for their enthusiasm for my work. But now I want that job that isn't really available so I tell those same coworkers to go above my boss's head and demand his boss create a position for me. His boss says the same thing, she did a great job but we don't need anyone. So that group of coworkers decide that they need to get Eddie moved to a different department so I can have his job. The problem with that is Eddie is very well liked by the staff as a whole. Our clients (the audience) like Eddie. They especially like his work with Buck. Buck is also not interested in working with anyone other than Eddie. So the idea doesn't go over well with most people. Besides the fact they all like Eddie there are other members of the junior staff (Karen and Ravi) who have been with the company longer and would be more deserving of a promotion, if one became available, than I am. But my friends and I disagree so my friends set out to try and turn the office against Eddie. They start bad mouthing him to our other clients. They spread rumors about him through the office. Some of them even start suggesting that maybe he and Buck are sleeping together and that's why Buck refuses to accept the idea of working with someone else. Things get so bad that the office splinters into two camps. The much larger pro Eddie camp, which includes Buck and the majority of our clients, and the much smaller pro me, (Lou) camp that is just louder and nastier. Forcing our boss to step in and condemn the smaller pro me camps behavior. Which now puts my boss, and his boss, in the position of deciding whether or not to keep me until my contract is up, so we can complete the original product plan, or go ahead and dismiss me from the company all together before completing the task, and just altering the original plan.

This is where we are.

This got insanely long, and maybe really confusing, I'm so sorry, but this is a real world version of what Lou basically did. And when you apply this tactic to a real life job scenario the level of absurdity is mind blowing. But, anon, this is how we got here. Essentially he started believing his own hype and opened a Pandora box he now cannot control and cannot close. So now we wait.

Thank you Nonny for dropping this in my inbox!

Now this was a great idea. If you put this in terms of jobs most people in fandom can understand and relate to, this kind of behaviour becomes even more unhinged.

Thank you for the time and effort to type this out Ali.

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[daistea]

thrun is not the submissive one. He might bottom here and there, but that's a position, not a role. I also don't like this shit because I see it with basically every character I like. They're a bit feminine. Okay, sure. But then every edge on them is sanded off until they're disgusting smooth. It's like this gross contradiction of excess fragility. It skeeves me the hell out because it takes a lot of the cool traits and feminizes them totally and basically says "Hey! Being feminine isn't cool or complex or edgy. It's soft." Like. Hey. Hey. That is so fucked? Do you not realize that?

Feminization literally so often takes away what is so interesting and meaningful to a character for the sake of shipping and I've been dealing with it since L fucking Lawliet. And I'm tired. I don't care. Make the guy the bottom if you want. But when people get rid of traits and characterization and change the guy to do it, it's like... ???? I don't know.

Maybe just do it because you want to instead of making it some gender thing? It's weird when people go "femme = bottom". You are remaking gender roles! At that point, I dunno, why are we not writing straight sex?

And honestly, I have lots of thoughts about sexuality and dominance and I think there are so many interesting ways to play it out other than physical strength, which, by the way, if you're going off of that, it's Mithrun!

There's coercion. There's mental dominance. There are so many interesting ways to be dominated beyond pure strength that it seems silly that conquest would come down to only that. You've got this guy, knife-sharp, which is to say smart, and incredibly blunt. He's ruthless, relentless, single-minded. And you're making him the fucking submissive? Like. Okay. Sure. Maybe sometimes. But I also think he's impatient, actually. I think you push him too much when he wants and he decides it's his turn now, and God help you.

There are so many interesting ways to explore the dynamic and the feelings and him as a person. He's a stubborn menace. And it's so neat to make the dom a brat, too! Ugh. The bicker. The banter.

I agree with all u said, here’s a Yeah

I know a lot of it is just societal. We’re trained to assign roles, and when we do that our brains go okay here are the traits associated with those roles :)

I feel like a lot of modern fandom should’ve moved on from that by now, though?? And with dunmeshi especially, you’ve got bearded manly-looking men who cook and garden and sympathize/care for everyone he meets— traditionally feminine traits. You’ve got dwarf women who are stronger than the main character— Namari. Youve got a whole race of characters who look and dress generally feminine, but the main elf is ruthless, he disregards others’ feelings and lives, he’s blunt, he kills people and he does it in a skirt LOL

(I know it’s not technically a skirt but the concept remains ✌️)

Mithrun’s traits are traditionally associated with masculinity. (Women are like that too, though, and actually I want to see more women written like that!) Anyway, despite that, he still gestures in a feminine way sometimes. He’s like if a man and a woman had a baby. Mithrun isn’t necessarily defined by specific roles, which is a consequence of his backstory. That’s how he’s written. He has the capacity to both submit and to dominate— which uh, most real people do, I think. To an extent. I don’t mean sexually, I mean in a relationship. Most emotionally developed people sometimes submit, sometimes grow more dominant, depending on the situation. But what do I know? The world constantly surprises and corrects me.

If ya wanna make Mithrun the bottom in physical moments, go for it. But just because that is considered a traditionally feminine role does not mean he has to be feminine. His characterization/personality does not have to morph and change to fit what sex position you want him in.

Anyway sorry for the rambling, what I’m trying to say is that dungeon meshi has nuanced characters. And I feel like assigning gender roles + the traditional traits of those roles to these characters erases the many dimensions they were written with.

On a physical note, I believe it also subconsciously stems from who’s smaller— another societal norm. I like a good size difference, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think size necessarily equals role. Just bc Mithrun is shorter and can be easily manhandled does not mean he’s an uwu sub softboy who needs coddling. (I think for him, specifically, it also plays into how his disabilities are subconsciously viewed. But that’s a whole other can of worms to snack on.)

If you insist on giving roles, I think it’s actually more fun to give the little guy the more dominant role!

And I do understand why some people gravitate towards dom/sub top/bottom roles. There’s nothing wrong with that. All I would like to see is some brain power behind the characterization and portrayal.

There’s a lot I can but will not say about shipping in fandom. I adore shipping, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just very funny about Mithrun.

In the end, creativity is about fulfillment and joy and expression! If you wanna use these characters to portray your fantasy/tastes then go ahead. But if you want to portray them in canon-accurate ways, with real relationship dynamics, then all I recommend is to not put as much importance/significance into roles. Look at the characters on their own. Canon is your reference, not fanon.

eepy

[dunmesh]

falin/marcille for the ship ask game 😌

yessss the one and only dunmeshi ship 🥹 loved them since ever theyre the only ones i truly care abt besides chil and his wife ig lol. i was always a sucker for the childhood best friends to lovers trope so they won me over easily. with that said... i feel like i haven't paid enough attention to their relationship in canon? idk how to explain it but it's really easy to kinda assign farcille certain tropes or label them in certain ways and then not think much deeper abt them. i think the first time i started to really Get it was when i thought a lil more abt marcille blaming laios for falin leaving and infantalizing her during their reunion. sure, we know she has a problem with understanding how much falin has grown, but what if there's a part of her that simply refuses to direct her anger towards falin because she can't believe falin would ever choose to hurt her like this? she's the first real friend marcille ever made besides her dad, so it's understandable why she put her on a pedestal. and if falin knows about her father- which i bet she does after over a decade of friendship- then it becomes even more painful. because she's supposed to understand, right? how marcille doesn't want to be left alone? how fucked up it is to leave in a hurry, without any regard to marcille's feelings, without a word, without even the knowledge that falin is alive and well? i mean, do you think falin even thought about sticking a note on her desk before rushing out the window? so then, how many days had passed until falin sent her a letter? how agonizing it was for marcille to wait for some sign that her best friend is still out there? so of course it can't be falin's choice. it's that brother of hers that made her do this, made marcille go through this terrifying experience.

but it was falin's choice. she did this of her own accord, even if only because she had to prioritize her own brother at that moment. and when falin died in the first chapter, leaving marcille behind again- she hurt her worse than ever, and marcille refused to accept it again. but at some point she had to- she had to realize it was falin's choice to leave her like this, and she had to accept how much pain that caused her. she had to, in order to also accept that because of this, she found joy and meaning in things and people she otherwise would've never thought could become so dear to her. and it's a step in the direction, i think, of separating falin from her own idealized viewpoint. she's her everything, the person marcille always dreamed of having by her side and maybe didn't even believe she could actually find after losing her dad. but she's also just meat and skin and bones, and a soul that may never come back. she's not bound to her. but she'll always be a part of her, from the memory of rearranging her bones to the taste of her flesh in her mouth. in short, i think farcille would be pretty similar to marcille's parents in the way it would take a few more years until they can fully understand and appreciate one another. falin needs to grow on her own, marcille too. and they will have to discover each other again, learn and accept these versions of themselves they don't know as well as they used to. loving again and again. anyways yeah i love them

[stuffedsand]

T3 cover thoughts,,, and psuedo guesses

Haruka : considering both of his songs were from the android girl album I feel like he's gonna get a third. Of which the only other song I know the lyrics to is relationship scramble.

I think it could work ("right now I want instant love", could be the whole any attention is good, negative inclusive, so long as it's attention) (bro idk)

Yuno : honestly not a clue haha, tho I think Rabbit Hole would work (+it's a popular prediction for her, I haven't listened to it but it could be a good choice?)

Fuuta : .....he got Salamander this trial I don't know what they're gonna give him anymore....I don't even know what the deal is with mosaik role,,,,,

Maybe Chimera? I've only listened to it once but it has the Vibes tm. I think it fits? I'm not very good at lyrical analysis but it'd be fun idk

(or volt tackle haha)

Muu : Theory of Negativity because idk it vibes. Similar to otome dissection kinda idk

Alternatively, Cinderella just cuz it....vibes like her I don't have a better explanation sorry

Shidou : I reeeally want to say cosmic rendezvous,,,, but it doesnt fit with his other covers. I hope dearly for cosmic rendezvous but let be realistic haha

My prediction. Ghost Rule or 118. Ghost Rule would be fun !!!! 118 would be, to me, if someone died in t3, cuz the lyrics can be twisted abit. It'd be so fun. Also "no law to pardon my crime" and "ethics are a delusion, but I'm still guilty when the morning comes" vibe the same. Also his va can do it I believe in him

The cover would also SLAP cuz from what I can tell shidous covers have a more...frantic? Energy to them and that works for a lot of the GHOST album songs. Anyways Ghost Rule milgram cover?? Please??

Mahiru : I had more but I forgot so here's the ones I remembered

U (unlikely, it's a English song... But hey it'd be fun) / Poison Apple (I'd say poison apple works for kazui but... There are funnier picks for him so)

I think her voice fits for these songs idk they just...vibe. really well. I believe in her va

Most fitting from what Ive seen is Zombies or Psuedo-Hope Syndrome which would work vocally and thematically I think! Idk tho haha mahirus is really vibe based

Kazui : ok wishful thinking : Ghost Rule. Fits with the liar theme. But I already gave it to shidou and it doesn't fit his other two covers (sad melancholy) so he gets the song I initially chose for shidou! Cosmic Rendezvous. A win for old man yaoi truthers (JOKE)

No seriously. The lyrics could be read as non romantic, and it continues his cover theme of Regret. It'd be fun, thematically relevant, fir the other covers, AND it'd hurt me. Perfect. If he does get cosmic rendezvous I will cry

Alternatively; we the hostages (?) Idk this pick was also solely vibes. I really want cosmic rendezvous though but that's cuz I want someone to say fuck

Amane : Angel Hair. I don't have a particular reason? Also this would be more in line with Positive Parade which was the trial one song.... And she got animal which I never would've expected so? Who knows. This is a fun list for vibes. Oh I think then all her songs would be Mannequin songs too

Mikoto : uhhhh (Not) a Devil. Cuz I'm not creative and it'd be funny. Uhh otherwise I'm not too sure.

Honourable mention that I think both Mikoto and Kotoko could get Addiction? By vibes alone lol cuz I can't read the captions...

Kotoko : imma be real I forgot. To kin assign her a song. But after having a short look at Anti - Beat I think she could get Dilemma? I think it works for kotoko. Idk

Tell me what songs you guys predict for any given character next trial I like seeing people's readings on what fits the character or the covers!!! Particularly kotoko, yuno and mikoto as much as I like their characters I don't have much of a read on them...

Also tell me what your favourite covers are!!!! I personally like both of shidous, kazui's, mahirus and fuuta's, and I really liked the monopoisoner one! (Haven't listened to reversible campaign enough to form opinion), as well as Harukas two breaths walking cover (haven't listened enough to the android girl one whoops)

[cosmowes]

the motivator

if you're having trouble getting motivated these r all tricks i swap between to get to work. no big intro. fatigue has been fatiguing lately, so sorry about the sporadic post schedule- it's hard to keep up with this and school lol, especially seeing as there's only a few weeks to exams

reminder, by the way; there's a difference between "unmotivated" and "tired"!! if your body is telling you "hey lets not" then maybe listen to that <3 i keep learning that the hard way, haha

the action

set a timer for 10-15 minutes; enough time to get started, and tell yourself you'll only work that long. usually by the time the timer goes off i'm already in a flow.

similarly; do the same thing but with a tangible amount of work (eg "5 math problems" "1 paragraph of my essay" "one chapter of my book")

set out a treat for yourself (like a candy you like or something you'd like to do) for after you're done

this is more preemptive but set screentime limits! my password is one i use on literally nothing else and i always forget it, it's a hassle to look for it in my notes so i use my phone less and it makes me do other stuff

or, hide distractors from yourself. you fidget too much? remove that. on your phone? put it in a drawer. out of sight, out of mind

pomodoro timers never worked for me, but i get why they might :)

the words

remember the last time you put off this kind of work and how you felt afterwards. stressed, nervous, unpreprepared...

or, remember how you felt last time you finished a hard assignment. relieved, proud...

even if you mess up now, it's a failsafe. this is practice for the real deal. and if you don't practice now, then you can't get to the actual part.

practice how you play! if you treat school like this, then other things will be harder. self motivation is such a crucial skill.

if you're stressing over it now, why not just get it done with? that way you can stop being so worried about it

whatever you want right now (tiktok, video games, tv shows) will be there in the exact same quantity and value when you're done. but, if you put off work for long enough, the value diminishes- late penalties if it's accepted at all! always pick the urgent.

plus, imagine how nice school will be when you can relax with nothing extra to work on... (honestly? it's kind of boring, i do it)

[mxltifxnd0m]

I'M LATE BUT I WANTED TO DO THE CHARACTER ASK GAME WITH YOUUUU !!

i'm gonna ask a shit ton sorry not too sorry because i just love when you talk about things and i'm selfish and in love with you!!!!

5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 21 with sammy ???

bonus answer any of those questions you want about isaac !! (idk if i ever said this but i had a huge crush on him as a kid when my sister was obsessed with teen world would explain the whole entire plot of it in detail to me every night before bed LMAO)

character ask game !: [send something in my inbox and ill answer honestly]

ARGHH I LOVE YOU MARI SO MUCH (be as selfish as you want hehe) <33

(im going to answer for both of them bc i love both so much and OMG??? you're so real for crushing on isaac bc SAME i love stiles as well but isaac 😩😩 why are we literally the same/made for each other??)

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

sammy: ooh summer child by conan gray or a little death by the neighborhood isaac: daddy issues by the neighborhood or j's lullaby (darlin' i'd wait for you) by delaney bailey

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

sammy: errr i would say my passion to learn about obscure topics or the amount of sass we have isaac: the way we both care a lot of about our friends/ our loyalty to the people who we love

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

sammy: ooh i think to a certain extent i could but sam feels like the type to leave dishes in the sink and id probably get irritated at him for it LOL isaac: i feel like he'd be a good roommate but would have a habit of not taking his shoes off in the apartment

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

sammy: i have plenty in my head but i have one where he actually had a birthmark at the base of his spine that foreshadowed his first death at the end of season 2 but disappeared after he was brought back :) isaac: that he still kept in contact with the pack after he left to france at the end of season 3B 🙃 (i have so many thoughts and feelings about isaac not coming back for the rest of the show because we were ROBBED)

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

sammy: ooh the emojis that remind me of him is probably these ones: 🧩🩸🍁☕️🎻 also i don't think sam would use emojis while texting he might just use emoticons or if hes gonna use emojis, he uses them like a millennial 💀 (i feel like we forget that sam is in fact a millennial LOL) isaac: the emojis that remind me of isaac: 🐺🐚💐🌕🌀 but i don't think isaac would use emojis either but if he had to it would be this specific combo 😐😑😐 (idk why it feels like isaac to me lmaoo)

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

sammy: if we're talking like a modern stanford era sam, then like downtown boy or dark academia for mr. law boy loll isaac: ooh isaac was hard to pin down but i have to say like downtown boy or maybe even soft boy (im thinking grandpa sweaters)

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

sammy: mmm my fav thing to do when im writing for sam is probably writing his mannerisms that i've noticed when watching the show or describing how absolutely gorgeous he is @_@ then my least favorite thing as of late is writing dialogue for him like idk why but he's been sounding ooc to me when i write him T_T isaac: my fav thing to do when writing for isaac is exploring his personality more in depth, i haven't written a lot for him just yet but i still want to explore his character (because the writers didn't) so idc if he seems ooc in the potential fics i write LOL i don't really anything that isn't my least favorite thing to write since i haven't written for him that much, but that'll change soon! (i just have to get out of my sammy brain rot just the tiniest bit)

ARGHH THANKS FOR SENDING THIS IN MARI I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT AND FOR LETTING ME YAP ABOUT MY LOVES (other than you ofc <33)

[nukenai]

Since everyone's having the stupid pride discourse again ("don't bring your partner who i am assuming is cishet to pride!" or whatever) I'm seeing my favorite tweet ever again which is this:

And I remember last year people started being like "Wow, I guess everyone is making fun of people with anxiety now! Guess it's cool to make fun of neurodivergence!"

No. That is not what people are doing. The above tweet, and similar attitudes, is referring to people who spend all day online having inflammatory opinions about bullshit like "who is allowed to attend a pride parade" or "are asexual people Queer Enough, as decided by Me, The Arbiter of Gay?", acting like they are authorities on anything, and being really aggressive to strangers. But then. If they have to make a fucking phone call or confront someone in person, they completely clam up because they're just insecure freaks with no real convictions.

THAT is what this is making fun of. No one is saying that it's cool to be like LMFAO YOU HAVE ANXIETY YOU FUCKING IDIOT. It's "Lmfao, you really spend all day yelling at strangers on twitter and acting like a bully, when IRL you would never ACTUALLY say anything to the supposed "cishet boyfriend", or your bi friend in a "het" relationship, or an asexual person who is minding their own goddamn business." Because yeah actually, that's hilarious and pathetic if you act like that!

Also these people making big posts and tweets like "here's my really insane opinion about why no one who "looks cis" should ever attend a pride parade" are pretty much always under 25 which. lol. shut up baby.

Anyways happy pride month i'm asexual and like maybe aromantic I don't fucking know. No one is interested in me and all the (vague gestures) I would come with so it does not matter to me right now. But if labels matter to you, that's awesome! Please realize labels are not assigned to you by other people, you do not NEED them, but it's awesome if they make you feel awesome and it can be so helpful to find one that matches you.

If you're like, idk a bi woman with a cishet husband or whatever, and someone has a problem with that, you're allowed to kick them right in the fucking mouth. It's legal!

[pfffsfic]

does anyone know if a pair name for Sarah and Rob has already been invented? I looked around for one, but couldn't find it. I know they've never met onscreen, but then again Rob's second most popular ship is also with a guy he's never met onscreen lol

(the story is still going to stay Sarah x Rob romance free, don't worry!)

my thoughts: Sarob (nah), Sararob (basic but fine), Robrah (I don't like the way this one looks), maybe it could be a pun like Robckyroad or something? Wreckyroad? If we don't use either of their names it could be something like nemestalks, or glitchycream, or nemecice, or iceclops? do any of these sound good at all? I like iceclops personally but that's also an adventure time character.

Let me sell you on the pairing, folks who haven't or can't read my fic, below the cut:

Both have lives that largely revolve around the same guy, even if they approach him with opposite viewpoints. In other words, they share a common pastime.

Both have a level of narrative awareness other characters lack. Rob knows his universe is fictional, Sarah lives life like her universe is fictional.

Their personalities are practically opposites; Sarah is cheerful, passionate, and creative (and obsessive), Rob is angsty, often dejected, and destructive (and obsessive). Both of them show happiness when playing out the theatrical aspects of their self-imposed (or Gumball-imposed) "roles".

Likewise, both of them are, to an extent, playing roles Gumball assigned them in relatively similar scenes. He suggested Sarah be the creepy obsessive one when trying to find a sitcom role for her, and he suggested Rob be his nemesis when trying to find a place in the story for him.

Rob is conflicted about being forced into a role while Sarah seems to thrive and make the most of her role.

Both of them have heavy cases of chuunibyou sometimes, let's be real.

"but Sarah has a crush on Gumball and Darwin!" yeah, and I know, it's hard to get around. but people ship Gumball, who has a girlfriend, with other characters as well, and clearly Sarah isn't totally opposed to the idea of someone else with Gumball judging by the Carrie/Gumball and Darwin/Gumball scenes in The Shippening. And if that doesn't convince you? hey, let sararob be a friendship. that's what I've been doing!

[hurricane105]

🎃 trick or treat! 🎃 😁

A treat for you! Y'all are going to drain my wip pile lol.

This is a character study of Cefie, Link's mom in my BOTW longfic (that still needs a ton of work). Andran is Link's father/her husband.

"Maybe he just needs more activity," Andran suggested. He wasn't on leave nearly as much as Cefie wished. "A chance to run around with other kids. I'm doing a week-long training detail to Zora's Domain - he could come with me, see the sights."

Her first impulse was to say no. Link was only six, and still woke up sometimes with nightmares, crawling into bed with her until morning. And if he wasn't with her, she couldn't protect him.

Andran read the hesitation on her face. "I was his age when I became a page. Lots of military kids do mini tours like this one."

Worry curdled in her stomach. She trusted Andran to keep Link safe, but the visceral need to keep him close was instinctive, as strong as a rubber band. But on the other hand, she couldn't keep him next to her forever. And maybe it would be good for him, being around adults who weren't his parents. She took a deep breath. "All right."

**

"We're home!"

Relief washed over her. Cefie turned from her easel, as though she hadn't been checking out the window every few seconds. "Welcome back!" Link walked in, sunburn on his nose, Andran behind him. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah! I got to play with a real sword, and eat sushi, and sleep on a cot in a tent! I wanna be a knight when I grow up!"

"I'm glad you had a good time."

"And I joined the Big Bad Bazz Brigade! I'm second in command. Bazz is the captain, but he only ever gives fun assignments like "dive into the lake," and "race to the top of that mountain."

"Is Bazz an adult?"

"No, he's a kid like me. Well, he's a Zora though. Did you know they live for a really long time? Bazz said he's thirty-five! But he won't be an adult until he's fifty. We had a duel with swords, and I beat Bazz and Rivan and Gaddison. Rivan got a scrape and Princess Mipha healed it for him."

"Princess Mipha sounds very nice."

"She is. She's got a new baby brother Sidon. He's only this big! He can't swim yet, but Princess Mipha said he'll probably start learning next year. Why don't I have a baby brother?"

Andran set down their packs with a grimace. "Because you don't. Do you want to tell your Hateno friends about Zora's Domain?"

"Oh yeah!" Link ran out the door, still talking a mile a minute.

Andran sank into a chair, suddenly looking old and gray. Cefie studied him worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"A lot of things happened." Andran ran a hand over his face. "News arrived from the castle. The queen prophesied the return of Calamity Ganon."

"The myth?"

"Apparently it's real."

"Will you have to fight it?"

"Probably. But we don't know when it will arrive - just sometime in the next few decades, probably." His gaze rose to look at her. "It gets worse."

She wondered how it could possibly get worse.

"Every time Calamity Ganon rises, there's always a princess with the sealing power and a hero with a sword."

Cefie nodded. She knew the stories. She had even sketched out her artistic representations of fights from eons past, although she hadn't finished painting them.

Andran's gaze was as serious as she had ever seen it. He looked very tired. "I think Link is the hero."

"Our Link?"

He nodded silently.

"But he's just a child!" He was still so young!

"All the heroes were children once."

Cefie took a deep breath. "What makes you think he's the hero of this age?"

"I went up to collect the kids from where they were playing. When I got there, they were all standing around a pile of hinox guts. Turns out a hinox had wandered into the clearing. Link took a sword and fought it. And won."

She could feel the blood drain from her face. She should never have let him go somewhere he might be hurt. "But he's never used a sword before!"

"Exactly."

"Why didn't they run away?"

"It didn't occur to Link. He saw a danger and decided to take care of it."

"How on earth did he defeat a hinox?"

"The kids all said the same thing - he just moved really fast, and when he stopped, the hinox was dead."

"Did he know what he did? Does he now?"

"He knows he fought a hinox, and that it's a little unusual for one person to defeat it. I don't think he realizes how strange it is that a kid could do what he did. I don't know of any knight who could take one down solo."

"Is there any way to confirm that he is the hero?"

"That's another thing. Since the queen prophesied the return of the Calamity, they're requiring all current military and all new recruits go to the forest to try pulling the sword."

[bonezhead]

platonic wammy boy headcanons

amazing art by @valfeathers ! go check out his account cuz he only posts death note ( loser lol imagine ) ( i got permission from him to use this piece ) i decided to post some of my own headcanons cuz my ego is large and i like seeing myself on the wammy's house/boys tags warning: i don't have a specific problem with any of the characters/ships on the wammy boys tag and i completely understand comfort ships. i am in no way trying to force my headcanons onto you and i respect your opinion! i swear i'm just trying to write some platonic stuff cuz i don't see it on the tags a lot. i don't want to get into any fights and disagreements over these and i understand that this might be out of character but i still find it fun to imagine a situation where these three can be brothers in peace cuz they're my comfort characters <3 however, i appreciate mentions of any critiques or plotholes in my headcanons as long as it's civil and respectful in addition if you want to add onto these headcanons or tell me your headcanons my messages are open and i'd appreciate it a lot! i love these guys and i really wanna read more of them :) 1- probably the most common headcanon but i think that whilst successors have their own rooms matt normally sneaks out and has sleepovers/study sessions in mello's dorm cuz he's an extroverted weirdo and gets lonely in his room sometimes likewise, mello and matt sneak out of wammy's house to go to concerts and festivals nearby, the longest they've probably escaped for is a week, maybe a week and a half and they wake up on their assigned street bench with roger towering over them 2- i see a lot of tropes in media where if someone doesn't like the food they just feed it to their dog when the parents/cooks aren't looking. (idk if this happens in real life BUT) i think mello and matt would find random food in the wammy canteen like plain crisps or desserts or cereals or bread, stuff that's not too overwhelming for near. cuz mello is afraid of being nice or something he would always be so dramatic about it he'd be like "someone stepped on my foot while i was getting your coco pops, you owe me your life now". 2.5- near would get those small pieces of side bread and a jacket potato for lunch & which was probably his autism-safe-food for 99% of the time in wammy's house, but sometimes he'd get something extremely cursed like plain pasta and cheese. and that's how he cheated the wammy's house nutritional system. 3- punishments in wammy's house would vary from detention to cleaning dishes or scraping litter. they would also have to do room service, for example near probably corrected a teacher's method and had to clean out mello's room. matt and mello would take advantage of lunch helper duties to sneak out chocolate, chips and other stuff. if they felt like it they'd pick up some stuff for near as well. those are the only ones i can remember off the top of my head, but i will make a part two eventually about the successor program and how each wammy boy got into it, the benefits and how long it lasts, thank you so much for reading this much if you got here!