#(not that that applies to Snow White but just in general)

[universe-of-peoples]

My initial thoughts on Snow White (2025)

Spoilers below the cut!

I liked the more fleshed-out story! Though lmao I did not see the Robin Hood-esque band of rebels coming. Kinda fun though

I’m sad that Snow’s dad really was dead, though I get that thematically they had to do it in order to have her rise up and take charge herself. But also I don’t like that Snow White just decided to take the Evil Queen’s word for it?? Like she thought the Evil Queen was lying when she said that the king was dead, but then the Queen came and told Snow “I killed him MYSELF” and she all of the sudden believed her? It felt a little unearned

I REALLY LOVE all the bright colors in the beginning! Partially because I’m a huge fan of ACTUAL COLOR in movies instead of muted tones in everything. The other part is that I love what it was doing thematically! The bright colors represented the prosperity of the kingdom and the hope for a future. When the Evil Queen forced the kingdom into submission, the color was drained from the kingdom and all that was left was muted tones (which visually I don’t like, but thematically I do like). Snow was in brighter colors for most of the movie even when her people weren’t because she was the hope. She was their hope for a better future and she was the one fighting for it.

That said, I’m a little sad that they didn’t return to the bright colors at the end. The all-white scene was stunning, don’t get me wrong, but thematically I think it would have hit harder if they had followed through with the theming of the bright colors. The idea was that the bright colors represented hope and prosperity, so when they got it back, the color should have also returned, right?

Additionally, though I get what they were going for with the color symbolism, it had an unintentional side effect of making Snow White seem like a cartoon character among the other human characters. The “live action” is still half animation due to the CGI, and Snow did sort of act as an in-between between the CGI characters (animals and dwarves) and the human characters. It was just that whenever Snow was interacting with the humans, she seemed to stand out against them, juxtapose their realism with her bright yellow and blue Snow White dress. If I had a screenshot I would put that shot where Snow and the female rebel were standing side-by-side, because it was REALLY weird visually. They’re both live-action human actors, but one still looks like a cartoon character. Idk if I’m necessarily criticizing it, it just made the movie a little bit visually confusing at times.

They never confirmed what age Snow was in this movie and it bothered me. She CAN’T be 13 like in the original animated movie; instead they made her kind of ageless? Which WOULD work, except that her love interest seems like a fully grown adult man (at least partially because his actor is an adult man), so it would make me feel better if they at least confirmed that they are supposed to be either both adults or both teenagers. Maybe they have confirmed it outside of the film (I haven’t looked), but my point is that they didn’t make it clear IN THE FILM and it affected my viewing OF THE FILM.

Songs were kind of mid ngl. I felt like Waiting on a Wish and Good Things Grow had good moments within them, but didn’t carry that momentum all the way through the song like other Disney Live Action songs have. Princess Problems was frustrating because I felt like he wasn’t listening to her. Maybe that was the intention, because he later learned that he was wrong for only looking out for himself, but he LITERALLY saw her working as a servant earlier in the movie, and saw that she was trapped in the palace, and still thought “psh. Prissy princess and her Princess Problems”

I LOVED the Evil Queen’s stained glass crown. It was probably supposed to be gems and not glass in-universe but I don’t care, it was breathtaking. I loved how they kept her and Snow’s original outfit concepts while also updating them (though I wish they had updated Snow’s skirt a little more. The top half was fine, but the bottom half was mid for me. Why didn’t they at least keep the overskirt??)

On the note of Snow’s dress, I feel like just using a different material for the skirt would have made everything so much better, from making her look less like a cartoon character to making her fit in visually with the rest of the cast. Everyone else was in more or less the same types of fabrics, so keeping it consistent with the fabric of her skirt would have made the whole thing less visually confusing. To clarify, I’m not against the idea of cartoon characters, or of having a “live-action” film where the characters looked like they walked out of a cartoon; my problem with this movie is that they try to do BOTH looking-like-a-cartoon and realistically-live-action, and it was visually confusing. You can do one or the other, but not both.

Final thoughts: I’m against the live-action trend as a whole, especially with how it has taken so much time, money, and talent away from original projects, but I did find this movie to at least be entertaining. I think it was a good film; not a great film, but a good film. I think they would have done better if they had been more consistent and intentional with their visual theming.

[lxzy-bxby]

Like No Other

Babytrapping implied ♡ Unprotected p-in-v implied ♡ Tracking of menstrual cycle

~ ♡ ~ Caleb knows you like no other. Not only you—anything related to you. "That?" He chuckles, pointing to a photo in your yearbook. "That's Jake, honey. Your old classmate, remember? The one who got you roses on Valentine's back in freshman year. Three white, two red." At this point he could gaslight you to anything, and you would believe.

Your favourite color when you was eight? Yellow, because it reminded you of sunflowers—your favourite flowers back then, by the way. You used to be allergic to dust until you got in high school. Your favourite Disney princess was Snow White. When you was fourteen, you wanted to become a teacher. Who reminded you of all that? Right. Caleb. Every time Caleb takes your oldest to pediatrician, nurses stare at him like Second Coming is happening right in front of their eyes. Because in their perception of world there's no way in hell a father who knows his children as well as Caleb does actually exists. "He's allergic to peanuts, so no, not any medical allergies. Yeah, we got the whole family vaccinated last month. Were no side effects, right. He was running a fever, like 99,85. I gave him Tylenol, 7.5ml. Yeah, I know. Been there before." As he walks out of doctor's office, child in one hand, phone in other, "no worries, honey, we're headin' out" rolling off his tongue, every woman in the room is ready to worship him in more ways than one. Caleb couldn't care less. You've never seen a bill ever since you two got married. Nor took a mop in your hands. If you're home late from work, kids are in bed, their teeth brushed, bedsheets changed, yesterday's pajamas are probably in laundry basket���which is always empty by the time you want to get to washing. Your dinner is on the table, in your favourite plate, hot and fresh, but definitely not reheated in microwave. Just prepared on time. Because Caleb knows you like no other. You leave office at 7:30 post meridiem. Hop in the bus at 7:36. By the doorway at 7:49. 7:51—and you unlock the door, finally finding your keys that seem to always get lost in your bag. "There you are," He murmurs with a wide smile, getting up from the couch after spending thirty minutes just waiting for you mindlessly, not moving a muscle. "No, don't bother. I'll hang it for you. Go wash your hands." Before you can even step in the bathroom, your coat is already on the coat rack and Caleb is already by the table, pouring you freshly-squeezed homemade apple juice. "How was work? Ain't plannin' on taking furlough just yet? Just thought, we could go for a spin, yanno. I could tell you about eveeery cloud. Maybe we can find some that are heart-shaped to prove that love is indeed in the air." He grins, chin resting on his palm as he sits across you at the table. "Ah, don't you worry about kids, honey. They all tucked in. I dropped by their PTM today. Everyone doin' good. What to expect with a mother like that, right?" Caleb smiles at you with heart-shaped pupils. "Nah, no any missions in the near future. I'm all yours, honey. All yours." As soon as your plate is empty, to the dishwasher it goes. He quickly wipes the table so he has more time in the morning with you that he doesn't have to waste on cleaning, then nuzzles your shoulder. "I'll join you in bed soon." You nod, your tiredness suddenly disappearing with his subtle promise, quickly moving upstairs. And Caleb moves to the guest bathroom. Master one is your space, your haven, than he ought to provide. Definitely doesn't want to ruin the vibe of your perfectly arranged beautiful skincare bottles with his. Hops in the shower. Makes sure he's shaved perfectly smooth so any remains of stubble won't scratch you. Cuts and cleans his nails. Sprays deodorant and a generous amount of cologne. Brushes his teeth. Applies chapstick. Moisturizes his hands. Finally gets upstairs. Then fucks you into oblivion. Wets a towel. Cleans your thighs. Stomach. Chest. Forehead. Anything that's sweaty or sticky.

Puts a fresh cotton pair of underwear on you. Throws bed sheets to the laundry basket. Manages to change the bedding with just one hand while holding you with another. Takes a quick shower to make sure he looks presentable and smells nice for you come next morning. Turns A/C on. Draws blinds shut. Then finally gets to his side of the bed. Next morning greets you with a terrible cramp. Groaning you already feel the annoyance at staining the sheets, but surprisingly you did not.

Then you feel a pad at the gusset of your panties. As embarrassing as it is, you’re thankful.

“Morning, honey. Did your period come?” Caleb’s face, looking too good for someone awake at this ungodly hour, appears in the doorway.

Him tracking your period always felt kinda overboard.

“Painkillers, heating pad, chocolates. Anything else?”

…Actually not overboard at all.

Preparing a fruit bowl for you in the kitchen downstairs, Caleb carelessly hummed a song you two danced to at your wedding.

Just two more weeks until ovulation.

If he’s lucky, it’s gonna be his happy month.

Prenatals are gonna come in mail just in time.

Then he’ll finally get you all to himself. God bless maternity leaves.

He knows you wouldn’t mind.

He’ll make sure you won’t mind.

Because, after all, he’s the one who knows you like no other.

Even better than you know yourself.

~ ♡ ~

[chaotic-minds-think-alike]

Finally finishing all these guys we’ve got charts and headcanons! (Long post)

(Height)

(Wingspan)

(Body length & basic shapes I used) (it might be odd but ignore any detail on the back, the shapes are for general body shape)

Headcanons:

Seawings: - Colors range from red and purple to yellow - Aquatic is based off areas of bioluminescence rather than singular scales (because no one wants to draw all of those) - Although they average small compared to the other tribes, gigantism is more common - Wing bioluminescence gene is always present but for some doesn't show, thus aquatic doesn't utilize the wings

Rainwings: - Can change the texture of their scales alongside color - Weakest bite due to their fangs, probably why they're vegetarian - Mimic interesting behaviors - Have forked tongues

Mudwings: - Colors range from olive green to purple-ish red - Very resilient - Able to breathe fire regardless of body temperature, the heat of the flame depends on body temp - Their horns constantly grow and sometimes have to be cut due to dangerous growing patterns - Love gnawing on things, tough foods like jerky is popular - The horn covers of fallen siblings are harvested and turned into instruments to remember them by

Leafwings: - Colors range from gold to teal (and pink to olive green during cold seasons) - Can appear to have false eyes - Bug-like just like the other Pantalan residents (because they're just some weird outlier like what is going on here) - Leafspeak doesn't actually allow them to hear voices from plants but rather increase the sensitivity of their antennae which pick up on the changes in plants - In colder seasons, regions that have deciduous trees influence leafwings in that their scales change into warm tones similar to fallen leaves for camouflage but this also negatively impacts one's leafspeak ability; this doesn't apply to evergreen leafwings however

Hivewings: - Colors range from hot pink to olive green - Can appear to have false eyes - Have elbowed antennae just like their "cousins", Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants) - Tend to disregard personal space/get close out of habit, being close means better temp regulation and better communication - All hivewings have stingers, wrist stingers, and a venomous bite but it largely depends on preference of which they choose and like muscles, they can be exercised to become deadly weapons - They're not capable of "emitting a horrible stench"

Icewings: - Colors range from white to pale indigo - Melanism is still very rare but more likely in icewings - Can be iridescent in any color, especially visible in lighter scaled individuals - The scales on their face is very fine and is flushed with blood which darkens the area and allows them to see in the snow by absorbing light, otherwise the glare from the sun reflecting off would be a hinderance - Their wings are thin and thus have visible veins most of the time - Idk how to describe their scales other than its kinda like basalt formations - From the side they appear large but are actually thin and flexible - They can freeze to death if they've gone without cold for a long time and then reintroduced too quickly - In hybridization, they have dominant genes, partially because the animus gene - The extra mane of horns can appear randomly on the body in singular spikes, they also make a clink sound when they collide as if they're made of ice, making a pretty scary rattle when disturbed

Nightwings: - Colors range from orange to purple - Albinism is still very rare but more likely in nightwings - Dwarfism is more common - Teardrop scales are always present, highlighted when the dragon has powers regardless of type - Pitbull ready to bite kids - They CAN hang upside down as the books suggest but not for long - By taking dust baths, they dull their scales to reflect less light and blend in better in the dark - Have white fire but cant breathe for long due to how hot it is (this is mainly to add onto the mysterious factor of em and I always liked the idea) - Due to eye sensitivity, they hate sudden bright lights and will close their eyes as they breathe fire

Silkwings: - Can have black or dark accents but never as a whole body color unless they've hybridized - Wing shapes vary widely - Can appear to have false eyes - Flamesilk is rarer than one might think - Very flexible and have strong tails used as a sort of 5th limb in climbing - Albino or melanistic dragons still keep their iridescence - Silk is emitted through a spinneret on the chin rather than the wrists - Prefer to travel in pairs (instinct)

Sandwings: - Colors range from red to olive green - Dark patters often mimic a snake's - Horse-like in complexion - Alongside their snake-like appearance, they have pit organs - Tend to move like birds - Poor eyesight but good hearing - Their horns angle upwards sort of like a bull

Skywings: - Colors range from red to yellow (and green because skywings are meant to be your typical fire breathing dragon which is most often depicted to be red but can also be green) - Tend to move like birds - Weaker than they appear - Green skywings are incapable of being or having flamescales - Their horns constantly grow and have to be filed down - A flamescale cant melt rock or metal by touch alone, only via fire is it possible - It's not that they don't want flamescales that they kill them, it's more of a mercy killing because of how lonely their life can be

[paceprompting]

cinnamon buns

written for ‘christmas’ | wc: 736 # | steddie | rated: t | cw: no archive warnings apply | tags: post season four, pre-relationship, fluff, steve has a crush on eddie, and vice versa, christmas together

@steddieholidaydrabbles

Wayne always managed to get Christmas off. Every year.

Eddie didn’t know what exactly he promised in return to manage it, but ever since little eight-year-old Eddie Munson shuffled into the trailer to live with his uncle, every Christmas had been theirs.

Wayne always woke up first, setting out the presents collected throughout the year and hidden under his bed—and Eddie hadn’t peeked since that first year—nursing his first cup of coffee while in his pajamas until Eddie emerged.

When he was still little, he’d bum-rush the tree and tear open the presents, but soon the little traditions emerged.

Playing Rudolph and Year Without a Santa Claus on VCR tapes that survived years of rewatches, but no interdimensional portals.

Cinnamon buns from tins for breakfast, always burnt around the edges and covered in icing—but they split the best one from the middle.

And the last present was always, always Wayne’s. It took several years for Eddie’s wrapping skills to actually look like the box he was wrapping, but Wayne never said a word.

It was one of those Christmases that Eddie got his first set of dice.

Government hush money bought a decent house for them, with real insulation and top-of-the-line boiler. Just in time for Christmas. Wayne actually had a real hiding place for the presents this time, and no matter how hard Eddie had looked, he’d have to wait until next year to find it.

They could get real lights, too. Not just the couple of strings that wouldn’t overload the trailer’s generator.

They also had to, since those lights were carted off to some Area 51 with the rest of the things the government wanted to pretend had never happened until maybe they could use it to their own benefit.

One other thing had changed this Christmas, too.

There were three of them this year.

Eddie heard the crunch of tires on asphalt from the kitchen. He was supposed to be setting up the ham to go in the oven—which he’d never done in his life, yet he’d volunteered—and he’d only gotten as far as preheating the oven.

So, he headed straight for the front door, sans any sort of jacket or shoes.

Eddie had hated the cold most of his life.

When you lived in a metal box with shitty heating on a good day, the cold months meant shivering through showers, mainlining coffee just to be warm for a couple minutes and layering blankets because sweating was better than losing a toe.

But there was something about Steve Harrington in the cold.

Or, more specifically, in the snow.

He eased out of the driver’s side of the Beemer, running a hand through his hair. His shoulders filled out the blue denim of his jacket, which matched his jeans—which stretched over his pert butt.

Not that Eddie was looking. For too long.

Maybe Eddie liked the cold a little bit more now.

But the whole reason Steve had bent over in the first place was to bring out a few things from his backseat. He held them behind his back as he straightened, and Eddie pouted as he trudged through the snow onto the porch.

His cheeks were pink when joined Eddie by the front door, ducking his head as he offered a hello.

“Hey, Eds,” he said.

Eddie leaned over to try and peer at what Steve had behind his back, eyes widening when Steve brought out a Tupperware that looked like it had several stacks of cookies, warm enough to steam up the inside.

“For me?” he asked, raising his brows.

Steve let him take the cookies with no comment.

“No, I thought it’d be rude not to bring something.” He shrugged, and it took Eddie a moment to realize that his other arm was still bent behind him. Eddie stared pointedly, and Steve smiled before revealing a more Christmas-y gift—in red and green plaid wrapping paper and white ribbon. “This is, though.”

Eddie immediately swapped cookies for the present, holding it close with a wide grin.

Steve cocked his head, sliding his hands (probably cold) into his pockets. “You’re not going to open it?”

He propped his present on his hip and reached forward to grab onto Steve’s wrist. With probably wild eyes, Eddie met Steve’s gaze, waited until Steve leaned forward just a bit and said, with every bit of seriousness, “We haven’t had the cinnamon buns, yet.”

[putellasawfc]

gingerbread competition!

leah williamson x reader

-

christmas music sounded from the bluetooth speaker that had been set up across the room, the familiar jingle of all i want for christmas is you by mariah carey filling the apartment you shared with your girlfriend of four years with a contagious level of christmas joy. the days had finally began to get chillier, the nights getting darker earlier and that’s all it took for you to get into the christmas spirit, which is why you had a variety of seasonal based activities ready for leah and yourself to partake in during the three day weekend you both had.

originally, you had really planned for tonight to be the night that you unpacked all the christmas decorations that you had stored in the loft and begin decorating your house. but after a long day of filming for different youtube videos and tiktok’s with the other arsenal girls, neither of you could be bothered with lugging down the boxes and bin bags that were filled to the brim with tinsel, baubles, stockings and lights. so instead, you went with the second best option. decorating a gingerbread house instead!

leah had been very scrooge about it at first, whining and wittering on about how there’s no point because it never stays up, even calling the whole thing a scam at one point but you had just tutted, claiming she just didn’t know how to build them properly.

“i do know how to build them! they’re just all flimsy, stay up for about five seconds and that’s it!” she defended herself, her brows furrowed in frustration as you stifled a laugh at how much offence she had taken to your previous statement.

“alright, alright. i believe you.” you teased, continuing to empty the gingerbread house kits you had picked up the day before. “i bet i can make mine look better than yours though.”

you knew the leah williamson could never back down from a challenge, her competitive streak was too high.

she scoffed, leaning forward with her elbows on the wooden table. “yeah right. sorry baby, but you have no chance.”

“well i actually have full confidence in my gingerbread house decorating abilities, so.” you said, dragging out the ‘o’ as you spread the different icings and sprinkles amongst the table, between the two of you. “why don’t we put a bet on it?”

“what kind of bet?” she eyed you, and you thought about it for a moment.

“whoever wins gets to choose an ugly christmas sweater that the loser has to wear to the next event we go to?” you suggested, that being the first thing that came to mind.

the blonde thought about it for a second, her gaze falling to the items on the table before she pursed her lips and slowly nodded, her blue eyes finding you again as she held out a hand in your direction.

“you have a deal.”

you grinned, wrapping your hand around her own and giving her a firm handshake. “may the best woman win.”

now, here you were almost twenty minutes later trying your best to apply the white icing onto the roof of your house that had miraculously managed to stay up for longer than fourty-five seconds, after you had generously coated the sides in too much icing. you would never admit it out loud, but leah was definitely right about the whole thing being flimsy. you had almost given up at one point in frustration after the house caved in on itself a sixth time.

“maybe we should’ve decorated cupcakes instead.” you mumbled, licking off some of the icing that had smudged on your thumb.

“i hate to say i told you so .. but.” the lioness captain huffed, “i definitely told you so.”

“when have you ever not enjoyed saying that?” you shot back, taking a quick glance towards her own house that had yet to be built, the woman deciding it would be better to decorate the pieces first and then stick them together after.

“i have my moments.”

you shook your head in amusement, finally satisfied with the amount of white, red and green icing that coated the house to mimic snow and tinsel. you moved to pick up a small bag of sprinkles that had already been opened by leah earlier, looking into the bag with furrowed brows.

“could’ve saved some for me babe.” you frowned, not even a quarter of the bag was full anymore.

“oops, my bad.” her tone was anything but apologetic, an amused smirk sat on her face and you elbowed her gently.

“you sabotaged me? that’s a yellow card!”

“i didn’t sabotage you! i just had to make my house look good, you wouldn’t understand.” she sent a playful look of concern to your creation and you gasped in mock offence.

“you’re so mean! my little house looks great.” you pouted, “would’ve looked even better if someone hadn’t used all sprinkles but … it’s okay i can still win without them.”

she scoffed at that, before the two of you fell into a comfortable silence, aside from the speaker that was still blasting out more christmas tunes as the night went on. you made do with the sprinkles you had left, carefully sticking them to the icing around your house, focusing on the outside of your roof to make it look like colourful christmas lights had been put up. you moved onto picking up different sweets, dotting them around the house wherever you thought looks best, just adding the finishing touches when a groan to the left of you caught your attention.

you raised a brow and looked over, not being able to help the smile that rose when you saw how much leah was struggling with putting the pieces together. she’d managed to get two to stick together, but then the other side would fall down, and then when she’d attempted to stick that side back together, another side would fall down, tangling her in a never ending cycle that was clearly annoying her with the way her brows touched and her jaw tensed.

“looks like your little sabotage was for nothing.” you chirped, revelling in the way it only made her more frustrated.

“shut up.”

you laughed, finally finishing the house before pushing it away slowly, relieved the whole ordeal was finally over. “ahhh, now i get to sit back and watch you struggle.”

“i’m breaking up with you.” she muttered under her breath, intense gaze not moving from her house.

“you’re not allowed.” you swiftly replied, leaning in closer to get a better look at the mess she was making. “maybe if you ask nicely, i could give you a hand.”

she didn’t reply at first, still attempting to finish the task herself, but when almost three minutes went by and she wasn’t getting any closer to completing it, she stomped her foot like a toddler throwing a tantrum and turned to you in annoyance.

“fine. help me.”

“uh, what was that?” you questioned, cupping your ear with your hand.

she rolled her eyes, throwing her head back in exasperation at your immaturity.

“please will you help me build my house?” she asked again, “before i throw it at a wall.”

you grinned, throwing an arm over your girlfriends shoulder and pulling her into your side, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek before nodding. “i’d love to.”

it took a little bit of work, the pair of you bickering back and forth when leah had accused you of putting too much pressure on it and you accusing her of letting go too soon, but eventually, the both of you pulled your hands away cautiously, giving it a few seconds just to make sure before you gave eachother a double high five, pleased that it had finally stayed put.

pushing it back slowly as you had done to yours previously, you both sat back and admired your efforts on both houses.

“think it’s gonna be a pretty close one love.” leah said, pulling up her phone ready to snap a picture for her instagram story, where you had planned to put up a poll to see who’d win.

“hmm, maybe.” you hummed in agreement, “but i think my gumdrops on the roof might just help me win.”

she rolled her eyes once again, but this time with less irritation now that the hard part was done with. “yeah, yeah. if you say so.”

the defender took a quick snap, moving her phone to show you her screen when not even second later did leah’s house fall apart, one of the pieces even landing on the floor with a soft thud.

“you’re having a laugh.”

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I need advice for writing a character with oculocutaneous albinism who’s a platonic love interest without descriptions of her coming off as fetishising albinism. Her name is Glass and she’s blind and an investigative journalist and will be a reoccurring character in the series. The MC is gay and he describes her very affectionately in the narrative. When she’s introduced he fondly points out (to the reader) a lot of traits about her including things related to her albinism like “slightly wavy snow white hair in a fashionable bob and striking dark blue eyes that gently danced back and forth. One eye was pointing slightly inwards as she tilted her head and smirked at him.” I got the “dancing eyes” idea from a short film made by someone with albinism and nystagmus. I’m going to try and describe other traits about her more, especially about her personality to counter this.

I also have a question that might be too specific? I’m planning on giving her a little brother with ocular albinism, OA. If someone has a daughter with OCA are they more likely to have a son with OA or are the two kinds of albinism genetically unrelated? I wanted to include him to have more then one blind character in the story. Thanks for your time. :) -Anon Blue.

Hey! We don't currently have mods with Albinism, so I'll try my best. I recommend our #albinism representation tag for resources made by people with it.

If you don't put most of the attention of how she looks to her hair or skin color, I think it should be fine. It's okay to mention it - I mean, that's just how she is, would be kinda weird to fully ignore it - but don't make other characters or the narrator gush over her paleness or eye color every time she comes up. Change it up and praise her fashion sense (like you did with her hairstyle), the shape of her nose, how bushy her eyebrows are, or how her gums show when she's smiling instead. Her appearance shouldn't be reduced to just "girl with albinism" - give her other visual traits.

For other descriptors, I would avoid making her "angelic" or "ethereal" because of her disability. Remember to not make it mystic or magical; there's a whole "Magical Albino" trope out here that you should try to avoid.

You mentioning nystagmus and strabismus is great. Those are often forgotten or ignored in characters with albinism because they're not seen as "pretty". I've seen some people describe their nystagmus as "dancing eyes" before too, I think it's a very cool of conveying it.

In general, a good way to avoid fetishization is to include the "boring/mundane" things. When you show the medical parts of albinism like the esotropia, avoiding the sun, having her use a white cane or a guide animal, or using Braille, the representation will be more informed overall and not just an "aesthetic" - which a lot of characters with albinism unfortunately end up being. There's a big difference between a blind journalist guided by a German shepherd who happens to not have melanin and needs a Big Hat, and an evil sniper with bright red eyes and mysterious powers.

In case that Glass is Black, I'd recommend looking at the #albinism tag at @writingwithcolor - it's always good to make sure your descriptions don't come off as unintentionally colorist if you go into her skin color. Things like describing her as more frail or delicate (when compared to other Black characters) would be in poor taste, so look out for that intersectionality if it applies.

The brother with ocular albinism part; those two types are completely unrelated, and it would be incredibly rare (not impossible) for that to happen as far as I know. For reference, almost all OCA (1-7) and OA (1-2) types are caused by completely different genes. The only exception could be OA1 and OA3; we don't currently know what causes the third one, and there's a theory that it's just a different presentation of the first. But I'm not aware of anything like that for oculocutaneous albinism, so if Glass has OCA1 (as I'm assuming from the description), her brother would have OCA1 as well (as opposed to OCA3 or any other subtype) if anything.

One interesting thing that you could do to have him have OA that I never see in fiction is to have him be adopted. I know multiple families who had a child with a certain disability and decided to adopt a second (or third, or fourth...) one with it. I think it could be very cool and would make sense with him being the younger one. Here is an interview/vlog from a real-life family with six adopted blind kids, if you want an example of that.

Wanting to include multiple blind characters is a great idea - if adoption doesn't work for your story, he could have the same type of albinism as Glass or have a non-genetic cause of blindness, like CVI, Retinopathy of Prematurity, glaucoma, or a whole lot of other things.

A story about a blind investigative journalist sounds awesome. Good luck with your writing.

mod Sasza

[sugareimon]

Hot take!

Light being a symbol for ✨GOOD✨ and Dark being a symbol for 💥e v i l💥 is lame, actually.

I say this as a white Kingdom Hearts fan and fantasy lover in general; light and dark ≠ morality. Day and night ≠ morality. White and black ≠ morality.

(My reasoning is beneath the cut.)

Anyway, in rebellion I’ve decided to list what I actually associate to white and black on the level of just vibes.

The color white (🤍) feels like beautiful lies; psychological horror, deception, daytime, cold, bright, immortality, “unnatural” goodness, innocence, artificiality, etc.

The color black (🖤) feels like organic truths; cosmic horror, honesty, nighttime, warm, dark, mortality, “natural” goodness, awareness, ancientness, etc.

White is snow; beautiful and delicate but unloving, cold like bleached bone. You enjoy it as a child, but when you grow, you realize that frost can kill. To chase the color white is to chase an impossible ideal, to try to catch a shimmering promise…. but promises aren’t always kept.

Black is soil; rich and full of life but overlooked, warm like the kiss of sleep. It’s decay and death and rot, but it’s also life and birth and love. It is everything, it is always, it is inescapable. To make peace with the color black is to find true happiness. It’s to make peace with the cosmos.

How to apply to a character design? Me, I use darkness for inescapable and lightness for unobtainable.

So, if a character is fighting to escape something and they’re failing, that’s a good darkness thing. If a character is fighting to achieve something and they’re failing, that’s a good time for lightness. For example; my beloved boy Margo here (excuse the sketch);

He had dark skintone, dark hair, and dark eyes, because his main conflict is about the inescapable. A keen eye will notice that his clothes are light and he has a streak of light hair— the villain which he serves is obsessed with the unobtainable, so he’s really “light”.

Morality is a human construct that we invented, while light and darkness have existed since the beginning of existence itself. White and black are just colors, not good and evil.

To equate these things in your art is to attribute morality to amoral colors, which is dangerous in a world full of fear. Even if you don’t do it on purpose, you might open yourself up you criticism for those who see colorist interpretations of your work.

Light wouldn’t be beautiful without shadow. Life has no meaning without death. We need balance to find true peace— like yin & yang, a very ancient concept (that I’m not qualified to properly explain).

To try and cut away everything you don’t like is to fight a losing battle. Nature was here before us and will exist after we’re gone. You’ll be unhappy if you chase satisfaction through perfection, because perfection is a beautiful lie.

(If you want to learn more, this is part of the Woven Dream— my personal worldbuilding project! I’ll make a blog for it soon!)

I put a lot of effort into articulating this concept— and I think it’s really cool— so I’ll summon my most yappable moots from their respective habitats! It’s a discussion I want to have & want to share; @abiamantha @avestars @imfckngfantastic @metalfortunecookie1216 @vamppuppyboy @lucst-r @wolfthedrolf @kitkatk1ra @angry-oil-slick11 @jiabae

[fallenangelicss]

Voices In The Air

PAIRING | Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood)

WORD COUNT | 1158

SUMMARY | After being picked up off the streets, thrown in a sack and tossed through a portal, Jack is a little worse for wear as he emerges in Santa's workshop. The soothing voice of an unknown spirit seems to catch his attention and make the situation a little bit better. Well, until his guard dragon attacks.

RATING | General Audiences

WARNING/TAG(S) | No Archive Warnings Apply

A/N | Soooo this is my first HTTYD and Rise of the Guardians fic so I hope you all like it. I'm planning on doing maybe two different series with this pairing, maybe a third one if I'm really feeling into it so lots to come from me I hope. I'll also probs write more one-shots like this in the future as I used to love this ship so much. Also, if you'd like to support me then you should consider downloading the Kinder World app with this link. My referral code is WV9K4X but if you need a new referral code then feel free to reach out!

EVENTS | @aug-kissed | Hand Kiss

“Can we hurry this up please?” Jack heard a voice murmur from the other side of the sack he had just been shoved in and thrown through who knows what. He did however know that whatever he crossed through had made him feel sick to the stomach. A note to self, if Bunny’s ever around, check your surroundings. Finding the opening of the bag once the nauseating feeling in his stomach settled down a bit, Jack began to claw his way out, hearing the same voice as before said as he did so, “Toothless and I need to get back to the Hidden World before-”

“You and your dragon will be able to leave soon. But for now, quiet,” A much deeper voice spoke up, cutting off the other midsentence which Jack thought was a real shame since he found the voice rather soothing. He wouldn’t mind if the deeper voice with a Russian accent was the one to quiet down and the voice from before started speaking, making this whole scenario a bit more bearable. Maybe he had a face to match the voice, Jack thought, some haste being pumped into getting out of the bad. “Hey, there he is. Jack Frost!”

“Wow… you’ve got to be kidding me,” Crawling out from the bag, Jack came face to face with Santa Claus, Sandy and some hummingbird creature. This is not what he had been hoping to come across after being kidnapped off the streets by the Easter Bunny. Come to think of it, where was that little rodent? Jack didn’t have much time to ponder as he was yanked from the ground by two Yeti’s and flung into the air. With a strangled breath, Jack quickly called, “Hey, hey, put me down.”

“I hope the Yeti’s treated you well,” Santa said with a large grin, partly covered by his white mustchase and beard. By simply placing his hands on his hips, Santa looked like a force to be reconned with and if Jack was anyone else, he might’ve just started shaking in his non-existent boots. But he was Jack Frost. The embodiment of snow, fun, and everything good in the world. Some ancient and overgrown Guardian wouldn’t change the fact that he had a reputation to uphold.

“Oh, yeah,” Jack began, picking up his stick and swinging it over his shoulder. Stepping forward, he physically relaxed his body as he began to look around Santa’s workshop, taking in every single detail from the inside, many of which he had missed when spying from out outside. The forced smile that had stretched across Jack’s face quickly dropped when his eyes landed back on Santa, “I love being shoved in a sack and tossed through a magic portal.”

“Oh, good. That was my idea,” Morphing his face into even more of a deadpan at Santa’s words, Jack couldn’t believe what was leaving the man's mouth. Was he dumb or did he intentionally ignore the sarcasm that was radiating off of him? Turning to the people next to him, Santa began to introduce them one by one, something Jack didn’t need nor ask for.  “You know Bunny, obviously. And the Toothfairy. And Sandman. Sandy? Sandy…? Wake up! And of course, you know-”

“I doubt he knows me, Santa,” There it was again, that voice. Jack’s head whipped around to where it had come from to find a boy just like himself perched on one of the many ledges that Santa’s workshop had to offer. His gear all seemed to be made out of leather or old metals that didn’t seem like anything from this century. That wasn’t the only thing Jack noticed about him either. Wrapped around his being was a large beast with black scales and piercing green eyes. “He might know what I represent though.”

“I definitely know something,” Jack said before his mind could catch up with what he was saying. A gust of wind burst into the room, smacking the windows open as it lifted Jack, allowing him to guide up to where the man sat. There was a small voice in the back of Jack’s mind telling him to be careful with that dragon present but like with most things, it went ignored in favour of something better. “Hey, I’m Jack. Jack Frost. And you must be?”

“What is he doing?” Bunny questioned, not even trying to keep his voice a whisper as he almost laughed at Jack’s attempts to talk to the unnamed man. He didn’t understand what was so funny, not when it was clearly a dig at him as he tried to talk to the unknown man. 

Looking past Jack, the man called out to Santa before getting up and getting ready to walk past, “See? No idea who I am.”

“Like I said,” Jack quickly got in front of the man, stopping him in his tracks. The dragon that Jack had been ignoring up until now let out a low growl, a warning that more was to come if Jack didn’t watch himself. One of the man’s brows raised at Jack’s hindrance, waving a hand back at the dragon to calm him down. “I know some things. Like how you’re one of the handsomest spirits I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“Do you even know who you’re talking to mate?” Bunny called out, making Jack groan a little as he turned back to face the overgrown kangaroo. Shrugging a shoulder at him, Bunny took that as the go-ahead to keep talking. “That’s Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, former Chief of Berk and the Spirit of Dragons.”

“He’s hot,” Jack says not too sure of himself now that everyone was staring at him as if he had made a mistake. When he turned to look back at Hiccup, he saw a light blush spread across the man's cheeks, his eyes adverted so as to not look Jack directly in the face. Just the sight of the flustered man put a bit more confidence in Jack as he reached a hand forward, taking ahold of Hiccup’s and lifting it. He continued to ignore the growing growl from the dragon behind Hiccup as he brought his hand up to his lips, placing a soft kiss there. “Like I said, I’m Jack. It’s nice to meet you Chief of Berk, Spirt of Dragons.”

Jack didn’t even get to see Hiccup react as he was being pounced on, a mass of black obstructing his vision as he was shoved to the floor with a massive weight on top of him. The air was immediately knocked out of him as he lay there for a second, staring up to meet some blasting green eyes staring down at him with fury. Almost as if he was charging up, Jack could see something purple glowing from his throat. “Toothless, no!”

“Definitely not Toothless,” Jack screeched as he was picked up by some wind and swept away.

“Now you’ve done it, mate.”

[cepheusgalaxy]

Types of book titles:

Bought to you by: me trying to figure out a title for my wips and analysing a few existing ones to give me ideas

1. The character name

Easy and efficient. Percy Jackson. Dracula. Septimus Heap. Coraline. Naruto. You get it. Titles like "Name + and + something"/"Name + name" also apply, like Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

2. Important element to the story

Pretty practical too, gives an idea of what you are talking about. The Locked Tomb (i think? I haven't read it). Star Wars. Etc.

3. Cool title for your character

This one is rlly cool I think. Similar to #1 but here we are giving our main character a sick title that may or may not be included in the story itself. The Death's Heir. The Lord of the Rings (i think. I haven't read lord of the rings). The Red Queen. And so on. Also alludes to your premise and is pretty catchy.

4. Euphemism or metaphor

Similar to #2 but if telling what your story is all about doesn't sound very good directly so we make an euphemism. Let's say your premise is "we killing the evil queen". That doesn't sound very good as a title perhaps so let's euphemism it. "Fall of the Crown" sounds better, BUT if we want we can push it a little more. "The Last Jewel" may be a bit exagerated but if you can title drop that somewhere in your story its good. Making your euphemism reference something that is already in the book also works better for your euphemism.

Examples are like, Red White and Royal Blue (euphemism for the US and the UK and a prince—by referencing the royal and the flag colors—which about sums it up) and Court of Thorns and Roses (metaphor for the whole fae thing and all the conflicts + references the whole nature and spring thing which are reocurring elements)

5. Literally the plot

Around the world in 80 days. Journey to the center of earth. You know the kind. Flourish a bit if you need to, these also work pretty well if you can pull them off.

6. "The song/chronicles/requiem/adventures/tale of (whatever)"

These are generally reserved for fantasy, I think? Either way they are pretty cool. The Song of Achilles. The Kane Chronicles. The Chronicles of Narnia. A Song of Ice and Fire. They aren't very illustrative but they just sound cool.

Examples from here on Tumblr stories:

#1: Kai and Kyriel (the protagonist and the antagonist) or Alex & Friends (you get it)

#2: Starcross (the spaceship the main characters are the crew of) or The Safehouse (the shelter the story takes place in!)

#3: The Ghost of Seattle (the guy is called "the ghost" coz he is sneaky and misterious and the story is in seattle so)

#4: (ok idk any)

#5: Aros Against Fate (the main characters are aromantic and the themes of the story revolve around carving your own path despiste what has been decided for you, be it by the gods or by your parents)

#6: The Paladin Series (the main villain is called Paladin and yea you get it)

Examples from anime too since we're at it:

#1: Naruto (you know him)

#2: Magi (a very rare type of magician with a bit of mistery ab their origin that surrounds the shows)

#3: Tokyo Revengers

#4: Pandora Hearts (i guess?)

#5: I reincarnated as a slime/with a smartphone/as the seventh prince (all those isekai tbh)

#6: The Adventures of Sinbad

#???: DanDaDan

(anime in general goes by a few different rules actually nevermind)

And that's. That's it I guess?

[omg-snakes]

I just wanted to check - there are albino corns, right? I know there are Snows and Blizzard morphs. Snake Discovery did a corn snake hatching vid recently and seemed to think there were no albino corn snakes, so I was a little confused. (They also didn't know the difference between Tessera, Motley, and Stripe though so I think they are just generally uninformed)

Hey friend!

I think the source of confusion here is that the term "albino" is a colloquialism developed for humans that doesn't totally work for reptiles.

The root Latin word, albus, just means "white." The term albino was originally coined by Portuguese and Spanish colonizers (boooo!) to refer to the children of Black slaves who were born without melanin. It then went on to describe any animal without pigment, particularly the black pigment melanin, which resulted in white hair, pink skin, and pink or very light blue eyes.

As science marched on and we gained a better understanding of how genetics and pigment work, we came to realize that there are multiple pigments at play in most animals. Even humans, whose main pigment is melanin, have two different kinds of melanin which result in the rich diversity of skin tones across the human species! Albinism works as a descriptor for humans because we only have melanin, but it falls apart fast when we start applying it to other forms of life.

So in corn snakes there are three main pigments: melanin (black), erythrin (red), and xanthin (yellow).

An amelanistic, or Amel, corn snake is by definition an "albino" with no melanin and red eyes. But they look like this:

That doesn't exactly look white...

If we're looking for white snakes to call albino, a Snow corn snake has amelanism and anerythrism in combination, but they still have yellow xanthin pigment. A Blizzard, on the other hand, is a combination of amelanism and a slightly different mutation called Charcoal that removes both erythrin and xanthin. By the original intent of the word, a Blizzard would probably be an "albino" but a Snow might not fit the bill. Or might, depending on who's deciding, since they technically lack melanin!

To bring up another example of pigment mutations, leucism is the absence of all pigment, not just melanin. This mutation is most commonly found in birds and reptiles. Leucism and albinism look similar, and the mutations do similar things from a "looking at animals on the outside" perspective, but they're genetically distinct from each other!

It falls into semantics and discourse, so I think the easiest way to go about it is to think of albinism as a blanket term to describe a range of genetic color morphs found in mammals, but not a scientific description of what's actually happening. We could probably skip using it to describe reptiles because even when it's technically applicable, it's not the whole story.

I'll end this by saying that YouTubers in general are entertainers, not educators, and I don't think I'd take anything any of them say seriously unless they're providing references. Snakes are a huge and diverse group of lifeforms, and even if one were to know every detail there is to know about one species, that knowledge may only tenuously apply to even a similar-looking species.

This is exactly why exotics veterinarians are expensive and why you should treat them very kindly and with a great deal of respect.

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing 14 December 2024 - 15 March 2025

Here’s the roundup for December 14th, 2024 - March 15th, 2025!

Remember to give your content creators some love! Be sure to join in on the events at the bottom! And remember to send in any new works you see or make this next week!

~Mod Hel

Fanfiction/Ideas/Snippets:

@cuteciboulette

At the root of wars https://archiveofourown.org/works/63541102

Gen, Original Heero Yuy, Doctor J (Gundam Wing), Heero Yuy

General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Pre-Episode Zero (Gundam Wing), In Universe, Light Angst, Personal Favorite, English

At the root of wars, according to History, is often one person. One death, one assassination. The loss of someone one wishes to avenge.

@girl-among-mts

Quixotic (Ch.17) https://archiveofourown.org/works/10381596/chapters/22927506

F/M, M/M, Multi, Relena Peacecraft/Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner, Duo Maxwell/Hilde Schbeiker, Zechs Merquise/Lucrezia Noin, Chang Wufei/Sally Po, Treize Khushrenada/Lady Une

Relena Peacecraft, Heero Yuy, Various Characters

Teen And Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Post-Canon, Post-Endless Waltz, Preventers (Gundam Wing), Angst, Mutual Pining, Duty, Politics, Sexual Content, UST, Romance, more strange things falling from space, Operation Meteor, Family, military, PTSD, Relena says "I'm sorry" a lot and Heero wishes she wouldn't, Preventers are basically the Secret Service and the CIA, The Barton Foundation, Not Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop Compliant, English

AC 202. Post EW. The Preventers are an elite force, designed to protect high-ranking government officials and ensure the Alliance's survival. Heero Yuy is the best among them, even though his position now is officially 'Bodyguard,' which he prefers. When a supposedly simple operation, to infiltrate a new-age cult within the capitol, heralds the arrival of a prophetic shooting star, Heero discovers that the Bartons invested in more than just the creation of the Gundams. Just what is a Perfect Soldier?

@janaverse

Ordinary https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/770170647619010560/ordinary-there-was-of-course-zero-chance-heero

Duo/Heero

There was, of course, zero chance Heero would be out.

Fallout https://www.tumblr.com/janaverse/774870707767214080/fallout-duo-deserved-the-best-version-of-him-and

Duo/Heero

Duo deserved the best version of him and Heero was not that person – not by a longshot.

Conflict https://www.tumblr.com/janaverse/775154561898921984/conflict-it-was-not-worth-arguing-with-duo-over

Duo & Heero

It was not worth arguing with Duo over who walked into that warehouse first.

Allusive https://www.tumblr.com/janaverse/776232274550194176/allusive-the-accommodation-was-met-with

Duo & Heero

The accommodation was met with exasperation and Heero insisted he was merely doing his job.

@ms-miserable-misery

Vocal Chords https://www.tumblr.com/ms-miserable-misery/774287239605878784/febuwhump-day-1-vocal-chords

Febuwhump Day 1, Duo Maxwell

@relenaforpresident

Mars Winter https://www.tumblr.com/relenaforpresident/773502926961491968/mars-winter

F/M, Relena Peacecraft/Heero Yuy

Heero Yuy, Relena Peacecraft, Chang Wufei, Duo Maxwell, Sally Po, Lady Une, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner

Teen And Up Audiences, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, POV Heero Yuy, POV Relena Peacecraft, Heero Yuy is Bad at Feelings, Preventers (Gundam Wing), Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop, Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Gundam Wing References, Newtypes (Gundam Wing), ZERO System (Gundam Wing), Romance, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, English

A.C. 197/M.C. 022 (alternating timelines). Frozen Teardrop meets Snow White and the Huntsman vibes: "This was going to be the time and place when he would finally put an end to all of it. It had to be."

@tzigane

The Tinkerer Gets a Companion https://archiveofourown.org/works/62339944

M/M, Treize Khushrenada & Chang Wufei

Mature, No Archive Warnings Apply, Cute, Animal Transformation, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, maybe victorian with magic is closer, wetwiring, Steampunk, top hat vibes, pets as an excuse to build dollhouses, being professionally nosy, Cameos, Teen Wolf, Empire, English

He had come with a cage.

Wufei was, to be perfectly honest, offended. It was a cage that came with a pile of blankets and very little else. He supposed he ought to be grateful it didn't come with its own tray of litter. He wondered if it originally had and someone had changed their mind.

The man to whom he had been given seemed to find the situation perfectly acceptable, and had cleared a wide wooden table to sit it on. "You'll need... something bigger than this," he said while he fussed open the lock.

The lock.

The Tinkerer Solves a Case https://archiveofourown.org/works/62340175

M/M, Treize Khushrenada & Chang Wufei

Treize Khushrenada, Chang Wufei, Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Dorothy Catalonia, Zechs Merquise, Relena Peacecraft

Mature, No Archive Warnings Apply, Tell me Duo doesn't make a great ferret, Steampunk, Animal Transformation, It's an evil empire lets be real, Clockwork - Freeform, wetwire, Cameos, teen wolf cameos - Freeform, off stage murder, light gore, English

Relena squeezed his hands in return and then let them go, moving to seat herself on the wide settee. "My brother was, unfortunately, quite unwell. The cost of victory was too high for all of us."

"He was a different person before the chip," Treize promised her. "He was warm and thoughtful and very sad about your father."

Heero jumped up into her lap and curled up, which gave her something to do with her hands, or perhaps just provided her with comfort. Treize realized that Wufei was still curled against his own chest in a moment of oh. "I barely remember him. He was always away when I was young, and then he returned as himself, of course." She politely did not mention his own Chip.

@vegalume

Navigating https://archiveofourown.org/works/61937659

Gen, M/M, Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy

Relena Peacecraft, Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Quatre Raberba Winner, Lucrezia Noin, Milliardo Peacecraft

General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Holidays, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Matchmaking, GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2024, English

Relena just wants her boys to be happy and she knows just how to do it.

Arts/Crafts/Photo Manips:

@cromwell300

https://www.tumblr.com/cromwell300/770134975371755520/leo-mobile-suit-gundam-gundamwing-mobilesuit

Leo Mobile Suit, fanart

@duointherain

https://www.tumblr.com/duointherain/771701635166633984/feanaro07-happy-new-year-the-gift-is-the-image

Duo trying to get Leïla to smile., fanart

@feanaro07

https://www.tumblr.com/feanaro07/771665311408832512/happy-holidays-to-vegalume-for-the-gw-holiday

Heero/Duo, fanart

@guttersblessing

https://www.tumblr.com/guttersblessing/774433458127798272

Duo Maxwell, fanart

@gwquatre4

https://www.tumblr.com/gwquatre4/775772066923315200/%E3%82%AB%E3%83%88%E3%83%89%E3%83%AD%E4%B8%AD%E5%BF%83%E3%81%AB%E9%9B%91%E5%A4%9A%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%AB%E4%B8%8A%E3%81%92%E3%81%A6%E3%81%93%E3%81%86%E3%81%A8%E6%80%9D%E3%81%84%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99

Quatre/Dorothy, fanart

@heeroduoessentials

https://www.tumblr.com/heeroduoessentials/774489634513256448/1-x-2-just-cant-get-enough-of-these-two

Heero/Duo, fanart

@iftadwascool

https://www.tumblr.com/iftadwascool/772234565135843328

Heero, Relena, Treize, photomanipulation

https://www.tumblr.com/iftadwascool/777304652744212480/heero-i-am-going-to-kill-you-relena-jokes-on

Heero, Relena, photomanipulation

@jukeboxhound

https://www.tumblr.com/jukeboxhound/773979225886687232/dying-at-this-fanart-i-found-in-old-college-notes

Duo Maxwell, fanart

@keiko1183

https://www.tumblr.com/keiko1183/771573117223092224/happy-new-year

Quatre/Trowa, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/keiko1183/775414490807320576

Quatre/Trowa, fanart

@lemontrash

https://www.tumblr.com/lemontrash/774040488634417152/doodling-tonighta-tiny-wu-with-some-orchid

WuFei Chang, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/lemontrash/774040670839160832/more-scribbling-from-this-evening-i-cant-even

Toga 5

https://www.tumblr.com/lemontrash/777291970199568384

5 plants

@phantomdive022

https://www.tumblr.com/phantomdive022/770124513033814016/dont-look-at-him-or-hell-become

“Don't look at him, or he'll become conceited.”, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/phantomdive022/770691155907231744/just-some-simple-sketch-cuz-my-eyes-hurt-right

Trowa Barton, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/phantomdive022/770690758551453696/ill-make-a-man-out-of-you

WuFei Chang, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/phantomdive022/770731485438296064/some-of-my-silly-sketch-relena-today-is

Relena Darlian, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/phantomdive022/770960311252582400/many-people-say-that-they-cant-read-thai-and-i

Duo Maxwell, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/phantomdive022/772326851927490560/trowa-barton-my-favorite-boy-this-is-a-mini

Trowa Barton, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/phantomdive022/775440245664743424/i-was-lazy-so-i-didnt-color-it-the-last

Relena Darlian, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/phantomdive022/775441829540888576/gundam-wing-boys-x-aot

Quatre, Trowa, Duo, fanart

@sailorfutaba

https://www.tumblr.com/sailorfutaba/772508787421708288/for-thisweekingundamwings-holiday-exchange

Duo/Heero, fanart

@sapp0w0

https://www.tumblr.com/sapp0w0/744767029020704768/someone-didnt-get-their-daily-duo-hair

Duo, Heero, haircar, fanart

@the-ephemeral-bhg

https://www.tumblr.com/the-ephemeral-bhg/764863881866805248/priorities

Heero Yuy, photomanipulation

Photosets/Gifsets/Screenshots/Manga Pages:

@ashocombler

https://www.tumblr.com/ashocombler/773720432385851392/toonami-gundam-wing-series-completed

photoset

@crimehat

https://www.tumblr.com/crimehat/770526583488380928/we-cannot-linger-on-that-stunted-view-like-rabid

WuFei, Meilan, Glory of Losers, manga page

@gundam-wing-crossovers

https://www.tumblr.com/gundam-wing-crossovers/772239984007708672/from-gundam-news-on-facebook

photoset

@le-creuset

https://www.tumblr.com/le-creuset-71/774117206709665792

Noin, Zechs, Glory of Losers, manga page

https://www.tumblr.com/le-creuset-71/774546896670932992

Noin, Zechs, Glory of Losers, manga page

https://www.tumblr.com/le-creuset-71/775306664447541248/hi-there-if-youre-still-open-for-manga-coloring

Quatre, Trowa, Glory of Losers, manga page

@ringnis

https://www.tumblr.com/ringnis/773420859579875328/if-youre-not-printed-fanfics-and-fanart-off-of

(sad to say I never did this... didn’t really know “fandom” existed then), photoset

Head Canons/Meta:

@chimeratech

https://www.tumblr.com/chimeratech/774134723027058688/hello-gundam-wing-nation-how-are-we-feeling-about

meme scale

@doctorcanon

https://www.tumblr.com/doctorcanon/776952272373563392/i-do-love-the-fact-that-the-only-thing-keeping

Quatre Raberba Winner

https://www.tumblr.com/doctorcanon/776951653088772096/trowas-all-excited-to-find-quatre-again-and

(too true)

@lemontrash

https://www.tumblr.com/lemontrash/771926609946198016/something-something-wufei-has-the-energy-that-if

WuFei energy

Fandom Discourse:

Fandom Trumps Hate Auctions

https://seaofolives.tumblr.com/post/776177359008268289/heres-a-list-of-gundam-wing-fandomtrumpshate

A list.

https://www.tumblr.com/seaofolives/772901541802819584/go-to-fandomtrumpshate-go-about-fth

@a-river-of-stars

https://www.tumblr.com/a-river-of-stars/772161432450170880/i-would-have-liked-the-gundam-wing-30th

Yes

@crimehat

https://www.tumblr.com/crimehat/770963355465859072/sometimes-i-remember-frozen-teardrop-exists-and

Mood

@gundamzine

https://www.tumblr.com/gundamzine/773995850050469888/do-you-know-of-any-active-gundam-wing-discords-i

Discords

@kayura-sanada

https://www.tumblr.com/kayura-sanada/772517974489858048/hey-there-so-sorry-to-hear-about-sunhawk-but-a

Places to find things.

https://www.tumblr.com/kayura-sanada/772483091623215104/gundam-wings-sunhawk

List of SunHawk Duo/Heero fics

@sissytobitch10seconds

https://www.tumblr.com/sissytobitch10seconds/773781784980750336/i-dont-know-whats-going-on-in-this-show-and-at

(lol mood)

@tinyozlion

https://www.tumblr.com/tinyozlion/774587654247514112/something-very-cool-has-happened-vis-a-vis

Ohh?

Calendar Events:

@gwlemonyshenanigans

Lemony Shenanigans 2025 https://www.tumblr.com/gwlemonyshenanigans/777215383169122304/sign-up-for-lemony-shenanigans-2025

Sign-ups

@thisweekingundamevents

Events Calendar https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/730188053636841472/updated-events-calendar

If you are hosting an event currently, or are planning on one, hit us up with links and dates! We’ll add them to the Calendar and reblog your notices to get the word out!

GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2024

Master List: https://www.tumblr.com/thisweekingundamevents/772665988074356736/gw-holiday-gift-exchange-2024-gift-master-list

[fantasyinvader]

Someone liked an old post of mine and I feel like I could elaborate on it some more.

Byleth is the Ashen Demon, named because of him killing without emotion on the battlefield. Ashen associates Byleth with a greyish color, likewise we see Byleth associated with silver and, in Japanese, chrome. Byleth is the lead of the Silver Snow route and their first personal class in Hopes is called Silverheart with Byleth equipped with a Silver Sword (that I’m assuming Jeralt pawned for booze money afterwards), while in Japan it’s called Chromeheart. Still a metallic grey.

Byleth is a color between Black and White initially. They wear black armor, and in a contrast to Edelgard wear their dagger in open view rather than hidden behind her back (foreshadowing). But Byleth grows during White Clouds, becoming more emotional, and when Sothis fuses with them and they gain the Enlightened One/Nirvana class, a white cloak is thrown over them while their hair color lightens as well. They also still have pink on them, Red + White. Red is a color associated with Edelgard, but the player can recruit her would-be generals away from her.

If Byleth chooses to support Rhea, known as the White One in Japanese, this leads to Silver Snow, Verdant Wind, and Azure Moon. The endings of these routes where Byleth led the Church forces has a white framing around it. Alternatively, Byleth can end up supporting Edelgard, leader of the Black Eagle House and the Black Eagle Strike Force. Doing this goes against Byleth’s arc, and as a result Sothis ends up unfusing with them. Byleth loses their Enlightened One status, their hair returning to it’s original color and taking the white cloak with it. The ending for this route is framed in black.

The thing is, the translation did something that makes this even worse. It changed Edelgard’s initial description of herself to saying she believes her and Byleth has similar personalities before his character development starts. Edelgard calls herself distant and arrogant, implying Byleth is also like this, but considering we learn Byleth kills without emotion and how that is presented as a problem, it doesn’t look good on Edelgard either. Later on in Flower, Edelgard repeats this and insists Byleth is just like her. It’s applying negative traits to Byleth at the beginning, and reinforcing them later on when the player has rejected Byleth’s character growth. But it’s also saying that Edelgard was like Byleth at the beginning, calling the emotions she shows into question which would align with the idea that the Edelgard we are introduced to is the mask and the Flame Emperor is her true self.

Edelgard is effectively saying that Byleth is the same as the freaky mask. That inhuman visage is Edelgard’s true self, mirroring Byleth’s unnerving lack of emotions early on. Edelgard is just a character who wears a mask of humanity in an attempt to go undetected or manipulate others. Meanwhile, there’s all sorts of evidence that Byleth’s true personality, their true beliefs, run counter to Edelgard’s. They like helping others, and Hopes even makes out that they like learning about history with their responses to gifts. Edelgard likes debating history but really shows no care for it when presented with information that goes against what her father told her, whereas Byleth’s interest is learning it.

[davekat-sucks]

tbh idk why people are moving to rednote, especially if you’re lgbtq or a woman, china has spoke very negative to lgbtq folks and women, lgbtq is illegal in china i think and women need to be covered up there and aren’t allowed to show skin or else they could beaten and killed so not really surprised saying they could suspend you just for being gay, trans, a woman, or for showing skin, i’m just gonna use a vpn to use tiktok, i’m not moving to anything owned by china, no it’s not because china steals your data and sells it to the dark web because every social media does that so tumblr has probably already sold my data, it’s because of how strict china is with censoring everything, even if it’s not bad

I mean, this is the same China that censored LGBT moments in Disney films and removed a black actor from a poster in Star Wars and Black Panther. Are people's memories that short attention span or what? Like we had people bitching about Disney and Pixar getting rid of the trans episode and storyline for a series yet to be released. Will they suddenly praise Disney again for something as asinine like Snow White being more feminist then? It's fucking stupid how this generation likes to flip flop between loving and hating. The only reason people like China is because of the hate towards America and their idealized version of communism. But they don't realize how it actually works or the limitations it would apply to them, would make them lose their shit.

[ammoknightsofficial]

Where’d you come up with the surnames ?

"Winters" as a surname for Kyle and his Family is derived from several Trains of Thought: >Vibes. The names just slotted together nicely - it has a good mouthfeel, looks like a real name, and just seemed overall fitting. >Symbolism. Winter, the season, is very Cold, Dark, and Crushing. It's Isolating, it's a Metaphorical Death, it traps you in the house, robbing you of things to do safely or comfortably. Winter as a season is oft met with despair by Queer (and Neurodivergent) Folk, as it bodes the coming of necessary Family Gatherings where one has to hide themselves for the sake of safety, but still pretend to be happy. It's the season of Facades. It's the season most dominated by Snow - blankets of overbearing whiteness that can kill easily, without thought. Put simply, the Season of Winter is the Forced Performance of Suburbia. >Thematic Polarity. "Winters" and "Blackburn" are, as names, opposites. To Freeze and to Burn to Charring. It's heightened by knowing Kendrix's real name, Degaligv, literally just means "Wildfire". >Irony. Kyle's a man with feelings that run extremely intensely. One of his main character traits is that he cares, a lot. He may try to come across like he's cold and tough, but he's got emotions that burn like an inferno and probably eat him alive.

"Blackburn" as Kendrix's Anglicized surname, and "Ganvgi" as his Tsalagi "surname" have similar roots: >Vibes. "Kendrix Blackburn" is just a cool fuckin' name, dude, I don't know what else to say. "Degaligv Ganvgi" is also a cool fuckin' name. >Symbolism. This one's complicated. "Blackburn" is derived from a Pseudo-Surname in his Tribe, given to the Exiled - "Ganvgi", meaning Blackburnian Warbler. It's Symbolic, in Tsalagi, of the flight taken from home, as the Blackburnian Warbler is the name of a bird. This surname was never applied to Kendrix formally, as he wasn't Exiled from his Tribe - he fled it in panic, knowing his harboring of Panopticon, a very runty Khezu he managed to snag in the aftermath of his Canyne getting Whelp'd, was against the rules, and it'd get taken away from him and promptly culled for the safety of the community. Panopticon's the first think Kendrix could ever bring himself to truly care about, so the idea of losing him was soul-rendingly unthinkable. He chose him over his home. In English, to Kendrix, it symbolizes the bridges he's burned. If you asked the members of his tribe about him, they wouldn't give him this surname. He gave it to himself. >Thematic Polarity. See the previous Thematic Polarity listing. >Irony. I've mentioned this before, but Kendrix has an extremely, extremely hard time caring about literally anything, ever. He is intensely unemotional. One of his main character traits is that he's just astoundingly apathetic about most things, all the time, forever. Deeply placid individual, unlike his generally fire-themed namesake. There's a reason he found it so easy to just up and abandon his entire home, family, community, all of it, just for the sake of a Khezu that - again - came out of the corpse of his childhood dog. Kendrix giving a shit about anything is instantly remarkable and highly unusual. He mainly only cares about his "Little Monsters" and his Research. Kyle was recently added to that list, which is very new but interesting for him, at least.

[fantasygerard2000]

Reworking Wish

I know this was already said, but the main gripe people have towards Wish is that the potential was there, it just didn't put on the right amount of effort. A criticism that took me long to agree with after sifting through Starboy simping, Magnifico sandals smooching and parasocial hatred towards the house of mouse.

So, after rewatching Wish for like the tenth time or something, I dunno I lost count, I decided to write down some things in the film that needed improvement. This is going to be taking the film as it is and giving it that little push it needed, more time in the oven to bake.

Also, a side tangent I wanna bring up before we move on. I don't like to use the word "fix" especially since it's associated with some people taking a work and reworking it to suit THEIR tastes and preferences, often without permission and out of spite.

Okay, let's proceed.

The film starts with the shot of the book opening and a narrator explaining the story. A classic Disney staple. The narrator "reads" us the creation of Rosas by Magnifico. However, the opening narration emphasizes too much on Magnifico. I get the intent that this is a form of propaganda he made to get parents to tell stories to their kids about him, but this comes with a caveat regarding his backstory that I will explain later.

So, either you have a different person narrating the opening scene like how in the classic Disney movies do instead of Asha. Or have Asha narrating to Sabino told through hand drawn illustrations she drew about how he and his family came to the kingdom of Rosas, visually through hand drawn animation.

Have the rest of the scene play out but major difference here. Instead of Asha applying to become Magnifico's apprentice, she was recommended the job by Amaya. An issue of show-don't-tell is present as Amaya explains how kind and generous Asha is, but is never shown. Have Asha welcome the tourists but the child is too scared to leave the boat, so Asha sing to them about how wonderful the kingdom is to make the child feel better while also helping the townsfolk on the way in her unique way, reminiscent of Mulan during Honor to Us All. Have Amaya watch Asha guide the tourists on a balcony through a window like the Evil Queen if you like to add a nod to Snow White as well subverting the trope to show that she's a good queen.

A detail I like in the film is that instead of having a servant inform Asha that she's ready for the interview, Amaya herself came to the kitchen to inform her herself.

As for the apprenticeship thing, I like to spice things up by having Tomas, Asha's father once worked for Magnifico who he considers a close friend before retiring once Sakina was pregnant with Asha. Amaya, being more close to her people than Magnifico, knew that Asha is Tomas' daughter and seeing how she's takes after him, recommended her husband to have Asha work as an apprentice.

So, Asha, nervous about becoming an apprentice to her father's former boss/friend/like-a-brother cuz why not make an evil uncle figure. The scene plays the same but little emphasis on Tomas. As well as a "he betrayed me" rant from Magnifico later on.

The At All Costs sequence remains the same and the argument afterwards also kept intact. Additional dialogue has Asha mentioning how her father would have told Magnifico the same but he quickly dismisses her.

The argument scene be tweaked with Sabino still hopeful about his wish being granted next year, making the news that Magnifico will never grant his more hurtful for Asha.

The filmmakers' intent for the animals is that they know much about the universe than humans but considering they can't talk, humans just think they're dumb. I'm a Star plays out the same but additional dialogue is given before the song plays, with the animals explaining to Asha that Star can't speak to answer her questions but they can in song form.

The scenes afterwards remains up to This is the Thanks I Get!? I like to add in minor details earlier like Magnifico checking his reflection during the interview as he "listens" to Asha, subtly showing his narcissism and his ties to mirrors.

Also in the interview scene, he mentions about his old home being destroyed by greedy thieves. This was the caveat I mentioned earlier and how his backstory despite being offhandedly mentioned a few times made him too sympathetic for the simps to defend his nonexistent lack of honor. Either we cut out the "tragic" his backstory and simply have him studying magic and the masses praise him so much that he has enough influence to make his own kingdom.

Once Asha returns Sabino's wish to him, have the unused scene above be kept. An issue with the film is that despite Sabino being the main drive for the plot, he barely appears in it enough for viewers to care. So the scene where he can finally be able to play his lute serves as this.

Magnifico arriving at the cottage to arrest Asha plays the same. Additional dialogue has Magnifico informing Asha and the viewer someone close to her who knows of Star ratted her out. After escaping Magnifico, have him burn the cottage if you like more villainy.

The scene after play out the same with some minor tweaks. The teens have a secret hideout, a cave with the entrance be under a tree, a nod the dwarfs and the lost boys. Asha doesn't know the hideout initially but Dahlia has left a clue for her in a form of a hardened cookie, a nod to Esmerelda leaving Quasimodo a clue to find where the Romani are hiding from Frollo. Amaya discovers the hideout by following Asha.

Instead of just books, Star uses the furniture the lift the teens up to the pulleys. Another scene has Amaya and Dahlia destroy the book in hopes of no one using it again. A major change is to have the book inform the reader that the more the person uses dark magic, the corrupt they become instead of committing once they commit to eternity, which I understand sounds like a lazy excuse to not redeem Magnifico.

Have most of the guards go after Asha who thought they were being led by Magnifico but was actually Simon. Have the animals attack the guards and Simon like in Tarzan and Beauty and the Beast.

When Magnifico blasts Amaya, she gets knocked out and drops her crown. To show his people he was the real traitor and make the crowd and remaining guards turn on him before he quickly overpowers them.

Have the climax be given additional dialogue and show Magnifico treating the wishes badly once he had Star.

Give a few moments to the scene where Asha remembers the "we are stars" message. Have her look at the her and her father's wishing tree and a moment of reflection before she starts singing.

After Magnifico's defeat, have the scene play out the same but with additional dialogue from Amaya towards Magnifico. Additional dialogue from Sakina reveal Asha her wish.

Once she takes after Magnifico's place as ruler, Amaya wears a more colorful dress, particularly a red colored tone down version of her original dress, showing she's a more competent ruler than Magnifico as well being tied to the rose, the symbol of Rosas.

After the brief timeskip, Asha wears a different dress than her previous one that gets sparkly once Star made her a fairy godmother, justifying the Cinderella reference without too being on the nose.

As for other stuff like the songs, they're fine. Just need a few lines change to sound less awkward.

The animation is fine too, though a lower frame rate like in the clip below would've suffice. And yeah, people will accused Disney for copying Spider-verse, but honestly I don't care since they'll accuse Disney of anything bad, even if they included the stuff they wanted.

And that's all what I can think of to "improve" Wish.

As much as I like this movie, I do understand why most people don't to the point of "fixing" it. However, fixing it isn't to add a love interest or a villain couple, it's to figure out what works and doesn't. Which is why as much as I have my own version of Star that is very loosely based after the Starboy concept, I didn't added them in it because it'd be unnecessary and distracting.

Wish's flaws are the intentions that were there and obvious, but the way they were executed was lacking. Hence why some of the "improvements" are what the filmmakers intended but given a tweak. Even stuff I added like Tomas being Magnifico's former best friend and apprentice are things the can be better if executed properly or not.

My general thoughts on the rewrite fandom is that some do have the right idea but just have the wrong priorities.

And as much as I wrote down changes to Wish that could may have and have not improved it, I don't want to be praised for it because they general attitude of "this is better than X" has left a sour mark on my thoughts towards the vocal minority in animation fandom or any fandoms.

[beabnormal24]

lando yuki anon… you have converted me with luki cozy bfs i fear….

Oh, oh, that is amazing to hear.

Just to let you know I have started to write a little something so I might share it (I don’t know when I’ll finish it I am drowning in uni exams sorry)

Also, the general theme is about bakus: people able to walk into others’ nightmares to get rid of their seeds and bring them back to serene dreams. Basically, Lando has a nightmare seed and he calls Yuki in the middle of winter break to ask for help.

(I asked someone to please verify this Japanese legend so if you read this, thank you! I was too embarrassed to ask without anon…)

{temporary title: I was I was a song, your favourite one}

He will probably never get quite used to the fanciest aspects of this life, especially not when his salary is still at least half of the biggest part of the grid’s.

But still, he can feel his mouth fall slack open the moment he gets through the crystalline doors. He has never been in a Hilton, allegedly, but he has seen the silly stuff they force Oscar and Lando to do and this may be worth the price of ridiculing themselves just from what Yuki can see in the lobby.

His phone buzzes in his hand, Lando’s room number appearing on the screen, and Yuki has to jostle it with his makeshift pouch of sticks and salvia that he’s pretty sure someone would immediately pry away from his hands and toss in the closest bin if they were to look inside.

Fancy hotels are not exactly the most welcome places for magic, which is terribly ironic with how full of darkened auras they tend to be. Traumas carried out by people, and there’s enough of them passing to fill an entire vat of seeds, shell-persona and corpses that barely look human thinking they can get rid of their nightmares just through a change in scenery.

Skepticism is a man’s greatest weakness, Yuki has noticed.

He is pretty sure they would only benefit of a freeing ritual or two, but as long as narrowed eyes will keep turning in his direction whenever he barely mentions knowing magic in a slightly more curated lobby, then he sure as hell won’t help them in any way.

It’s just- principle of mutual respect, really.

But that doesn’t apply to Lando, of course, since his choice is just one out of necessity. To be fair, many things do not apply to Lando, as ridiculous as it may sound.

Still, Yuki has come all the way here for a job and if there’s something he has learned in almost five years of this is that he knows how to do it. Regardless of the circumstances.

“What’s this?” Lando asks, a mute greeting in the downturned corners of his lips and the line forming between his eyebrows.

The door fully opens the moment Yuki’s shoes walk past the threshold, but before he knows it, it’s already snapping closed behind his shoulder, hinges squeaking in protest where Lando carelessly pushed it shut rather than letting it lock automatically the way fancy hotel doors do.

“Hello to you, too.” Yuki snorts, protecting the pouch against his chest before it can get taken away from Lando’s prying hands. “It’s stuff I need to make the walking more…” he looks at Lando’s curious eyes, too close for comfort where Yuki’s back is plastered against the door. At least he’s short enough to no bang his head against the peephole. “Uh, more smooth, yes.”

Lando tilts his head, a confused puppy waiting for his treat. There’s a light blush on his cheekbones that makes him look almost angelic. Yuki remembers seeing pictures of him in Val d’Isere a few days ago on his private Instagram, so it might just be a combination of the cold and the sun reflecting on white snow hitting his face and staying there for comfort.

Yuki’s own snowboarding-tan didn’t even last three days, what a shame.

“It smells.” Lando says, finally releasing him as he steps back and Yuki can take in a fuller sight of him.

And the verdict is that Lando looks a bit worse than Yuki would’ve expected. The midnight-blue of his aura is still mild, almost like a barely visible borderline around his body that he probably wouldn’t have even noticed if Lando hadn’t been wearing a white hoodie.

The seed shouldn’t be older than a week, at the very least, but still the purplish lines blooming under Lando’s eyes, the dampened mess of his curls flopping over his forehead and the clearly overgrown ridiculous goatee on his chin seem to be screaming otherwise.

“It’s just sticks and salvia,” Yuki sighs, tugging on the linen hems just a bit to show the contents. “Salvia? Ever heard of it? Used with butter to make very good fucking tortellini?”

Lando still scrunches his nose in disgust, sniffing at the sachet one more time before looking down at Yuki. “I don’t have to eat that, right?”

Yuki is half tempted to make him actually believe it, see the expression of utter disgust cross Lando’s face, the pout on his lips. But incredibly, he’s feeling kind.

“No, I just have to lay it close to you when you fall asleep.”

“How am I meant to do that if it smells this bad?” Lando says, flopping down on the right end of the couch in the middle of the room which, apparently, is gigantic enough to in fact accomodate a whole couch.

He gestures for Yuki to do the same, which he does almost immediately, toying his shoes off to feel the carpeted floor under his socked feet before making himself comfortable on Lando’s side, not too dissimilar from what they usually do on too boring Thursday nights in too far away hotel rooms.

The familiarity is almost comforting, Yuki realises, not without losing a strayed heartbeat. It’s such a ridiculous reaction, really, but not one he is unused to, what with his chest being too fragile or his mind being too empty. Forced to be like that, more like.

“We’ll spray cologne on it,” Yuki shrugs, raising his feet to poke his toes into the side of Lando’s thighs. Lando sighs like it’s a physical burden, but pinches Yuki’s exposed ankle in retaliation like an old habit Yuki didn’t know they shared. “Or light up some candles. Cinnamon?”

Lando twists his mouth again, baring his top teeth. “Maybe just vanilla.” He concedes, “And did you just say I have to fall asleep?”

“Yes?” Yuki says, raking his gaze over Lando’s hoodie, his jeans, his trainers’ soles painfully pressing against the edge of the small coffee table, almost tearing apart a poor pamphlet about nearby attractions. Surely, not the most comfortable outfit, especially when in his own hotel room. “Mate, have you ever done this?”

“Yes?” Lando says immediately, and then quieter. “Like- once, when I was four.”

Yuki stares at him for a second too long, trying to look for the moment Lando’s face will break and he will start recounting every single time he has had to go through this, dropping the pretense of false ignorance.

Fifteen seconds pass, carefully counted with a voice inside his head that sounds suspiciously like his mother’s, and Lando keeps his mouth shut and his slightly red rimmed eyes focused on Yuki’s face, uncertain.

Yuki concludes that he must be telling the truth. Which is… rather impressive, if he were to say so himself. Also something he won’t be letting Lando be aware of any time soon.

“Alright,” Yuki shakes his head. Reset, reload. “And what was it about?”

“A Teletubbies’ episode.” Lando says, lips so close to each other that they kiss every letter out of his mouth. “Those things were freaking terrifying, I’m telling you.”

“You are serious.” Yuki breathes out. A sentence, not a question, but Lando still nods like he’s giving him the most solemn answer. “Okay, I can’t judge. But I mean, of course you have to fall asleep if the problem is in your dreams, no?”

“Oh…”

“How did you imagine it going?”

Lando makes a strange gesture, his hand sloshing around in mid air as if testing the consistency of an invisible glass of wine, his other hand sprinkles invisible salt in the middle of the invisible circle. “Something like a rite and some like- latin stuff, abracadabra, and puff- bad guy in my head explodes?”

Yuki stares at him, blinking unimpressed. He should’ve expected something like that from Lando who, apparently, only knows three topics in his vaste past-twenty years of life: cars, golf and videogames.

Yuki just hopes that, at least occasionally, his very poor Venn’s diagram of skills also includes survival ones.

“Mate, this is not Harry Potter.” Yuki sighs.

“They don’t do that stuff in Harry Potter.”

“Still,” Yuki shakes his head. “You know what else they don’t do in Harry Potter? Sleep, and that is basically what all of this is about, so…”

A flash of something passes over Lando’s face, something very close to regret from what little Yuki can catch of it. But it’s gone as soon as it appears, like a too fast blink of an eye. It doesn’t hurt any less, though.

“Well, I am not tired at all.” Lando says, slapping his own thighs before getting up from the couch.

“Not even after flying all the way here?”

“Nope, not at all.” Lando shrugs, clicking his tongue under he roof of his mouth. “Come on, let’s go out, let’s do something. Some ludic activities.”

Yuki tries to make a sound of protest as Lando grasps at his wrists, hauling him up like a sack of potatoes. He had just started getting comfortable in the morbid embrace of the sofa, legs numbing and ants running up his feet where his toes fell asleep.

“Why? We can just do it now, I swear it’ll take me an hour at most.” Like Yuki had planned to, get rid of this late advised nuisance and go back to his pitiful wallowing as he stares outside his window or has to hide himself under two layered coats as he goes to fill up his mandatory sim hours.

Uh, that sounds lonely even in his own head. Good.

“No, come on.” Lando insists, not even meeting Yuki’s eyes as he goes to take back his shoes from the front door to slide them to him. It’s not a great plan, of course, the carpet stopping his motives like a good mocker, and the shoes just stop after a short slide before completely turning over under the friction. “I’ll treat you to lunch now, and then we can think about doing the stuff and all.”

“Okay,” Yuki relents. There’s no need to try so much anyway, Lando is as hot headed as he can be, after all, as all twenty and counting of them can be. It’s a war lost from the start. “Wait, what do you mean think?”

Lando just tosses the shoe to his chest, and there’s nothing Yuki can ask more of with the air all knocked out of his lungs.