#Although it hasn't been confirmed in canon

[nomaejie]

childhood friend AU

[zarla-s]

i need to know more about your feelings of tf2 comic 7 because youre the heavymedic expert

I liked it! Satisfying happy conclusion for (almost) everyone, especially since I was a little worried they were going to kill everyone off, haha. Not a lot of Heavymedic stuff in there but I wasn't expecting much, and really it was about the Administrator and her story, so it makes sense the mercs wouldn't really take top billing for it.

There were a few cute things though! I know "standing next to each other" is like the most graspingest of straws but you know what, it made me smile each time so I don't care.

The big thing of course being Heavy grabbing his boob, which to me reads like him stopping Medic from trying to help the Admin, which I think is sweet in his own way. Medic has his healing instincts!

Medic also puts his hand on his back as they walk away, which I also think is sweet. It looks like he's comforting him.

I really loved the ending sequence where everyone gets together for that dinner party. It's just such a great bookend to how the comics started - initially when their team disbanded, everyone split off and did their own thing. Some of them didn't even keep track of where the others were! A few kept in contact, but mostly all of them just left the others and they didn't seem particularly concerned or interested in each other.

Compare that to them at the end of the comic! Seven years after everything that happened, they're all meeting up together for dinner! Voluntarily! They're introducing their families to each other! They don't have any contracts or jobs forcing them to spend time together. They WANT to have dinner together. SPY TAKES OFF HIS MASK AND IS FINE WITH IT! I just love that so much. They care about and trust each other after everything that's happened, all the years that have gone by. Team as family was CANON AFTER ALL

I think this whole sequence also sheds a nice light on Medic! Medic's been perceived as probably the most uncaring of the group, given that he did sign up with another team for the money and said he wouldn't mind fighting them again (although not too soon after that he ended up saving all their lives against direct orders). A lot of people interpreted that as him not really caring about the others or anything at all, but that's not the case!

Medic kept and raised his baboon baby! He didn't abandon it or use it for parts or anything, he kept and raised it for seven years! Responsibility!

Not only that, Medic hasn't abandoned his friends, signed up with a new team, forgotten them or tossed them aside. He's with them at the dinner! He comes with his baboon baby! He wants to be with them too! He cares about them, genuinely. And of course, the final shot is with him by Heavy's side, both of them just so happy to be there with everyone else.

Love that Medic's smile still looks unhinged too lol. Would I have loved Heavy holding onto Medic's waist? The two of them wearing matching rings? Of course! But them so close to each other and an obvious irrefutable confirmation that Medic loves and cares about his team and wants to be with them is really lovely. Makes me feel fuzzy, haha.

There's speculation too that Medic came with Heavy's family as that person in the back there but who can say for sure. |D

[forsworned]

It’s said canonically that simon riley has trauma around intimacy from torture 😔 If you feel comfortable writing it, can I please ask for a short fic of an Afab reader body worshipping/lovingly pleasuring Simon after they both work through his trauma and he’s getting all soft and emotional and babbling about how good reader is making him feel and how much he loves them and can’t believe someone cares about him this much? I always liked the idea of Simon being portrayed as vulnerable and soft and not this dom sex god a lot of people portray him to be. I really love your work and would love to see your take on this request :)

Soft ft. Simon 'Ghost' Riley

Author's Note: So I do recall someone making a post about this and I have to say I do not agree with everything. Men definitely process trauma, specifically sexual trauma a lot differently than women do. While women experience guilt, men experience anger. And maybe it's not all men who experience it that way, but after reading the comic and making my own assessment, I can say that Simon does have lingering anger. Of course, he is hell-bent on avenging his dead family, but all that pent-up energy could be going toward trying to even the score. He is pretty level-headed and able to compartmentalize. He has support from his comrades as well as undergoes mandatory rigorous mental health assessments because that's military protocol. He needs to be able to perform his duties on the field without putting himself or others at risk. He also most certainly gets mandatory counseling. Although he may be reluctant, his superiors are very much aware of the possible impact that it has on his mental health. So all that to say that Simon is not without help. He is not as "damaged" as people may perceive him to be. He's not a broken individual. As seen in the remastered MW's, albeit reluctant he can clearly put his trust in others. He develops relationships with the people who he works closely with meaning he is capable of change. SIGH. I just wish people would break this down a little more, but I do get what you're saying. His masculinity, trust issues, and the type of secret operations he goes on can lessen the effectiveness of the therapy. He's definitely a very complex character with layers to him, but I just don't think he's as weak as you may think he is. It's also important to note that it hasn't been confirmed that this current Simon went through the same thing. He could have a completely different background. Honestly, Activision is so fucking inconsistent but ANYWAYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I hope you enjoy this. Also if you read this all the way through, I applaud you. But thank you for enjoying my work, I didn't mean to critique you and your request, but I just couldn't let it slide LOL

Warnings: PnV sex, AFAB!Reader, Some Canon Simon Lore, Sexual Content, Mentions of Sexual Trauma

"Si—Simon..."

You sigh out in pleasure with every roll of your hips as you grind down on him. Your clit grazes against his lower abdomen, and his cock stretches you out pliant. Fingers dig into his shoulders, marking half crescents into his pale, scarred skin. But something feels off.

His hands loosen their grip on your hips, and upon opening your eyes you find him his half-lidded gaze distant in a familiar haze. He isn't present.

"Simon." You halt the rutting of your hips, cupping his stubbly cheeks. "Are you alright?"

His onyx hues fixate on you. He is clearly readjusting his withdrawn eyes to refocus on you. You didn't want to say it yet, but you had felt him go a little soft a few seconds prior. "We can stop."

"No, no." His fingers squeeze your middle as he sits up a bit. You shake your head, but he's not letting up. "Why stop?"

You firmly grasp his face and his blonde lashes flutter up at you with a seemingly unreadable expression, but you're no stranger to Simon's detachment. Although he loathes to admit it, it happens. The relearning of being intimate is tumultuous for him.

"Because you're not mentally here, my love."

He frowns. "But I want y'to finish."

You exhale sharply. He doesn't even deny it. "No, Simon. I'd feel disgusted with myself if I finished while you weren't here with me."

He struggles to reply. In all honesty, he doesn't know what to say. It's not exactly a common occurrence, but he's not too keen on having a conversation about it. You never pry though. His therapy sessions are his own, unless, of course, you join him if he so desires.

Couples counseling is mandatory. A rule you established when you first decided to tie the knot. If you had problems that were beyond just a sit-down talk, a professional would have to intervene. And Simon agreed. No fuss, no muss. To preserve the sacredness of your relationship, he'd do anything.

He sighs. "'m sorry, dovie." He caresses your sides, feeling the gooseberries on your skin rise. A small smile adorns his lips and you giggle at his smugness.

"Stop it." You begin to get off of him, but Simon holds you firmly. You feel his dick harden inside of you, now kissing your cervix. A little gasp escapes your chest as you readjust yourself.

"Y'like tha'?" Simon's grinning now. It's his confidence gleaming through the abysmal darkness of his mind. The life in his eyes feels revitalized, and you now feel his vigor—literally.

"Yes, but..."

"'m here, love." He reaffirms, squeezing your waist again. "'m here. Please, 'm achin' for you."

He groans a bit and bucks his hips when he feels you pulsate around him. You return your own moan, leaning forward but his fingers thread through your hair and he brings you into a sloppy, heated kiss. His hips thrust into you slowly and deeply, earning a guttural moan from him.

For a moment as you withdrew from the kiss, your gazes meet and Simon's eyes soften and become glossy with tears that brim over his oculars and spill over the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, baby." You coo, holding him close as you kiss his face. His sadness is silent, yet palpable. You're now babbling sweet, sweet words to him as you pepper him with kisses, and Simon holds you as if you're going to slip away. You gently guide him through the double inhale technique you learned from your therapist, and with the sweetness of your voice, the kindness in your eyes, and the tenderness of your touch, he feels at ease.

"I dunno how y'put up with me."

You grin, kissing the corner of his lip. "It ain't easy."

"Oh?" He flips you over on your back, pressing you firmly against the mattress and you giggle into the nape of his neck. "Wanna say that again, love?"

You thread your fingers through his sandy blonde hair and kiss the tip of his nose. "You're not hard to love, Simon."

His eyes soften once more and he kisses you deeply. Simon has never cherished anyone more in his life. You were always so patient and kind from the jump. You were truly the "greater woman" behind the "great man".

He rests his forehead against yours and closes his eyes as you gently card your fingers in his hair.

"Thank you, lovie."

[dilly-dahlia]

iii. The Matron in Scaleswind

pairing: fem!reader x Laurance

content: tangled au, slow burn, strangers to friends to lovers, angst, the world of mcd but not canon compliant, unrequited feelings for a little bit

summary: Upon finally arriving in Scaleswind, you meet the Lord Laurance has sworn to protect. You feel an odd pull towards her though, and then something strange that hasn't happened in years happens to you.

word count: 6.1k

previous part

masterlist

The Guard at the Window masterlist

Scaleswind was a grand city with towering buildings and beautiful architecture. Your mother used to tell you stories about Irene and where she was from. Scaleswind was one the cities your mother visited the most, the other being O’Khasis. Standing in the same city the goddess was born and raised was a surreal experience you never thought you’d have.

“Aphmau!” Laurance called. You turn your head, coming out of your awestruck stupor as he stepped away from you. “Aphmau!”

A woman with hair as dark as pitch turned her head. Although you were far from her, you watched her gasp and run towards Laurance, her arms opening to embrace him as she came closer.

“Laurance!” she shouted. Her arms wrapped around Laurance in a tight hug when she got close enough to pull him in. She was significantly shorter than him, needing to lift her heels off the ground just a bit to properly reach his shoulders. When she pulled away, she held him by the shoulders. “Where did you go? You ran off after we left that castle. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Aphmau,” he replied. You watched as he took hold of her hands and squeezed them. “You know I can take care of myself.”

Aphmau exhaled. She squeezed Laurance’s hands back, her brows pulled together. “You worried me sick. Nicole found me after you ran off and told Katelyn and I to come here and wait for you.”

“I apologize for making you worry.” Laurance gave Aphmau a soft smile, which she returned. Watching them, you felt as though you were interrupting a moment meant to be private.

Were they together? The way she had been so worried and the way Laurance was looking down at her made you think so, but he hadn’t mentioned being in a relationship in your hours of talking.

You said goodbye to whatever hope of romance you had delusioned yourself into having with him when Aphmau turned to you. She must have seen you shift uncomfortably behind Laurance from her peripheral.

She smiled widely. The stare she had been gazing at Laurance with was gone, replaced by a warm greeting. She let go of Laurance’s hands to give you a soft wave, which you awkwardly returned.

“Oh, right.” Laurance turned to you, holding a hand out as he introduced you. “Aphmau, this is Y/n. I met her yesterday and she tagged along.”

You gave Aphmau a smile and said, “A pleasure to meet you.”

Aphmau returned your smile and bowed her head, bending slightly at the knees in a curtsy. “The pleasure is mine. How did you come across Laurance? He tends to be impossible to find when people are looking for him.” Aphmau side-eyed him.

You chuckled. “Uhm, he more so happened upon me,” you said, but you hesitated to say the rest. Laurance’s reaction to you in your tower had been . . . interesting. How would someone else react?

Aphmau caught on to your hesitation, and she tilted her head. “How?”

You awkwardly scratched the side of your neck. What was the least outing way to say it?

“It’s complicated,” you settled on.

“She lives in a tower,” Laurance said. You deadpanned, glaring at him. “Basically alone, with no real way in or out.”

Aphmau furrowed her brows, her mouth falling agape. “I . . . What? A tower?” You reluctantly nodded. “If there’s no way in then how did Laurance get in? And then how did you two get out?”

“I climbed the side,” he said. You nodded in confirmation. “And then Y/n tried threatening me with a kitchen knife.”

“Well,” you cut in, defensive. You didn’t want her to think you were dangerous. “If you were in my position you would have done the same.”

Aphmau raised a brow, her confusion evident as her gaze flicked between you and Laurance. “Huh?”

Laurance waved her off. “I’ll tell you later. Did you find anything about Irene?”

“Katelyn and I started looking, but the library here is so big and there are so many religious texts. We barely scratched the surface and could only manage to find a few books that might relate to the relic.”

You were confused. This conversation felt like you had been thrown in the deep end and needed to figure out how to make sense of what was going on in order to talk to them. But you felt a strange pull to Aphmau. Something about her presence was . . . Pure. Untainted by any evil or ill intent. It felt as though a string connected the two of you somehow, and standing close to her made that string give a gentle tug.

“Irene, I wish Emmalyn were here. She would be on top of this in a minute,” Aphmau groaned, running a hand through her pin straight hair. She softly huffed before turning her full attention back to you. “Say, do you have anywhere to go?”

“Not really,” you said, your voice soft. It was embarrassing now to admit now that you were actually doing it. You hadn’t realized how humbling it would be to say you knew no one. “I’ve been kind of pinning on the fact that Laurance has been with me. There wasn’t really a plan for . . . after.”

Which you now realized was dumb. Had you really been so excited to get out of your tower that you were only focused on the present and the immediate gratification that followed? Maybe your mother was right and you were too naïve to be in the world on your own.

“Is it alright if she stays with us?” Laurance asked. “It’ll be just for a little bit, right?” Laurance looked to you and you nodded.

“Of course.” Aphmau met your gaze, nodded. “Absolutely, if you want to. Laurance, Katelyn and I are probably gonna stay in Scaleswind for a little bit, but you can absolutely stay with us. I’m sure Nicole wouldn’t mind.”

“Hey, lady.”

Aphmau jumped at the sound of the voice. When she turned to look behind her, she revealed a child, maybe seven or eight, with messy blue hair looking up at her.

“My mom wants you,” the boy said to her. He pointed behind him, where you noticed a red headed woman speaking with a man that had cat ears. “She says someone you might know is in the caravan over there.”

Aphmau furrowed her brows, her gaze flicking up to where the red headed woman stood. She squinted, trying to see better, before letting out a breath. “Okay, I’ll go over. Hey, Dmitri? Do you mind taking Laurance and Y/n here back to the house?”

Dmitri nodded, looking between you and Laurance. He waited until Aphmau bid Laurance goodbye and started walking away to beckon you and Laurance to follow him.

The two of you did, though you hardly looked straight ahead as you walked. Instead, you focused on the buildings around you. All the people bustling around in the far off marketplace and the pairs of friends taking strolls through the city. You faintly smiled. You had never seen this many people before, and being around it gave you a boost of happiness, despite the headache that had accumulated near your temples.

You followed Dmitri into a building across from a church. He led you up staircases and through more rooms than you could count before he stopped in front of a door and turned back.

“Laurance, this room is yours,” he said, pointing to the closed door. “My mom said you like being by yourself, so she gave you the room furthest from everyone.”

Laurance let out an amused breath. “Nicole said that?”

Dmitri nodded, and then he turned to you. “Lady—“

“Y/n,” you interjected, but he kept talking.

“—no one said anything about you coming, so you don’t have a room. Sorry.”

You pressed your lips together. Were children always so blunt? “It’s alright. No one knew I was coming, so I don’t mind,” you said, forcing the corners of your lips up into a kind smile.

“You can rest in my room for now, if you’d like,” Laurance offered. “I need to talk to Aphmau and Katelyn about a few things before I can, so the room will be empty.”

You nodded, appreciative of Laurance’s offer. You weren’t sure if you’d take it, you wanted to explore the town a bit, but your headache was getting worse by the second. What had been a faint throb was now a stabbing pain, and it hurt to blink.

“Thank you,” you softly said, though your voice sounded muffled to your own ears. “I’ll see you later, then?”

Laurance gave you a nod, and turned to leave. As he did, your vision blurred. You placed your hand on the doorknob to steady yourself and turned it, black spots cascading across your line of sight quickly. You weren’t even able to process what was happening before you hit the floor.

—

The warm compress laid across your forehead was the first sense of feeling you got when you gained consciousness. The next thing you felt was the soft blanket beneath your fingertips. Your head didn’t hurt nearly as much anymore. It was just softly throbbing now.

You let out a soft, distressed breath. It felt like something heavy was weighing down on your chest, though you couldn’t imagine what it was. Your eyes slowly fluttered open, the bright light of the room making a sharp pain shoot through your head. When that subsided and you were able to fully open your eyes, you were met with the sight of green vines, wisteria flowers hanging from them, crawling across the ceiling.

What?

When you flexed your hand, trying to get the tense muscles to relax, the vines grew and the flowers bloomed more fully.

No, you thought. The last time this had happened you had been out for three days. Your mother had been trying to wake you with an assortment of her potions and spells. It had been so bad that she had employed the help of her sister, Hyria. After you awoke the three of you were cleaning up the vines around your tower for days, and Hyria was gone after leaving a healing draught for you to drink. That was fifteen years ago—you were eight. You had gotten a headache so bad you could hardly move.

What was triggering that again now?

You huffed out another soft, distressed breath, inspecting the ceiling again. If that’s what the ceiling looked like, then . . .

You turned your head just enough to see the walls, horrified at the sight of flowers and weeds and vines growing out of odd crevices and cracks in the hardwood floors. There was so much foliage that the actual walls were hardly visible beneath it. You could imagine what the floor looked like.

You turned your head to the other side, noticing that Laurance sat in a chair with his head bowed and his eyes closed. When you sat up, grunting softly with the effort, he lifted his head.

He was out of his chair and beside you in a second, placing a hand between your shoulder blades to help you sit up.

“Y/n,” he said. His voice was quiet. You couldn’t tell if that was intentional or if it was still from your headache. “Are you okay? What happened?”

It was hard to catch a good breath. That weight you felt on your chest made you want to keel over and die. “I don’t know,” you breathed, your voice hoarse and tired. Your mouth was dry, and you had to peel your tongue from the roof of your mouth to talk.

“Has that ever happened before?”

You nodded. You swallowed in an attempt to hydrate your mouth before opening your mouth again to speak. Before you could get any words out the room door was pushed open and three people filed in.

Your brows furrowed. Aphmau was first. She was followed by the same red headed woman you had spotted earlier and a tall, young man with glasses. The tall man wore a white coat and carried a clipboard and pen.

“Oh, thank Irene. She’s awake,” Aphmau muttered, running her hands through her hair. She was clearly stressed. Your mother did the same thing when she was.

The tall man was looking around the room in wonder. He must have been a scholar that recently graduated, based on his age. Your mother had told you that the population of Scaleswind included more scholarly minds than any other. She found it annoying anytime she visited because they always wanted to know more. 

Curiosity killed the cat, she would always tell you. Those fools will wind up dead before they find what they’re looking for.

She sometimes used that as the excuse to keep you in the tower.

“Have the plants stopped growing?” the man asked. Laurance nodded.

“For the most part,” he said. “A couple more sprouted when she woke up, so I don’t think they’ll really stop. They aren’t growing as rapidly, though.”

The man nodded, noting something down on his clipboard. He mumbled something to himself, but it was incoherent to you. Then, he turned to you.

“Has this happened before?” he asked. He pulled up the chair Laurance had previously been sitting in and sat beside the bed.

You gave a nod, clearing your throat before saying what you meant to when Laurance asked. “Only once. It happened when I was eight, so fifteen years ago.”

“What triggered it that time?”

You shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it happened the same. I got a terrible headache and when I woke up plants covered my tower.”

You saw the red headed woman’s brows pull together from your peripheral, mouthing your words to herself.

The man voiced his thoughts. “Your tower? What do you mean by that?”

“I-“ The words died on your tongue. Your gaze flicked to Laurance, who gave you a soft nod of encouragement. “It’s where I live,” you said, hoping he wouldn’t question any further.

Your hoping was useless. “Was this tower isolated?”

“Yes.”

“Were you able to see other people?”

“My mother.”

“How often did you see her?”

“Maybe once a month?” It was a guess. You didn’t actually know, but she was gone on a trip more often than she was with you.

“And you saw no one else?”

You didn’t respond, but he asked again more insistently.

“Martin,” the redhead interrupted. You were thankful for that. “Is she okay?”

The man—Martin—breathed out. You could see the desire to ask more questions burning in his eyes, but he didn’t. “Based on what she said—which is not sufficient information, by the way, Lady Nicole—I would guess the isolation she’s experienced was a precursor to a depressive state, which—“

“I’m sorry,” you cut in, your gaze cutting between Laurance and Aphmau and Nicole. “Is there any way this can be more private?”

Martin sighed as Nicole turned to Aphmau and Laurance and ushered them out of the room. You weren’t sure why Nicole was staying, but based on her fine clothes and expensive looking jewelry (as well as the way she carried herself), you assumed she was a leader of some kind.

You watched Laurance and Aphmau slip out of the room, and you watched their silhouettes in the door’s window. You watched Laurance reach for Aphmau’s shoulder, taking a gentle hold of her before beckoning her away from the door.

“As I was saying,” Martin continued, now looking at you, “I assume your isolation led to a depressive state, which depleted your health as a result. The neglect you may have done to your body is evident in passing out, but I can’t explain the flowers.” Martin lifted his pen and tapped the end to his chin, looking around. “Tell me, flowers sprouted last time as well?”

“Plants sprouted, but not flowers,” you said. You didn’t have to dig deep to find the details of your memory. You remembered how sore and torn up your hands wound up like yesterday. “It was mostly thorny vines and brambles last time.”

“Interesting.” Martin jotted something down again, mumbling to himself, “Could it be her mental state that affects it? Are the plants even coming from her?”

“Yes, they are mine,” you said. Martin’s gaze snapped back up to you. “My mother is a witch and passed some of her magic to me, but it’s not normally this powerful. I can usually only heal wilted flowers and perform one or two minor spells.”

“Fascinating,” Martin breathed. “So-“

“Martin, is she going to be okay?” Nicole cut in again.

Martin waved her off and she rolled her eyes. “She should be fine. Just make sure she drinks plenty of water and feeds herself sufficiently. Now-“

“You have another appointment, Martin.”

Martin let out a soft breath, pressing his lips together. His gaze lingered on yours before he turned to Nicole. “Yes, my lady.” He bowed his head and stood up, walking towards the door. “Have a good day. Both of you,” he said before clicking the door shut behind him. Nicole breathed out, crossing her arms and turning to you.

“Sorry about him. He recently graduated top of his class from the University of O’Khasis. He was transferred here to further his education, and his professor chose to put him to work as a doctor,” she explained. “I apologize if he asked any personal questions.”

“It’s alright,” you said. You had seen the look in Martin’s eyes. You imagined yours held the same one when looking out your tower window. “You’re Nicole, right?”

She nodded. “Yes. Nicole von Ronsenburg.” She bowed her head. “Lord of Scaleswind, top graduate of the guard academy, descendant of Irene, and a whole bunch of other titles I can never remember.”

You let out a huff of amusement, and she smiled at you when she lifted her head. “Do you feel okay?” she asked.

You nodded. At some point when Martin was asking questions, the headache had subsided. “I’m alright,” you said. You glanced around. “I’m really sorry about all this. I’ll help clean it up.”

Nicole shook her head. “No, no, it’s okay. Believe it or not this isn’t the craziest thing that’s happened to me.” She flashed you another smile. “Besides, I have hired help that would be glad to clean this themselves. They’re so picky.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” Nicole said. “You need to get rest before you’re too active again. Laurance said he needed to speak to Aphmau, but I’m sure you could find Katelyn somewhere and speak to her.”

You nodded. You didn’t have a clue who Katelyn was, but you weren’t planning on finding her anyway. If you stayed with Laurance long enough, you’d likely meet her.

“Okay. Nicole, I have a question.” There was one more thing you needed to know.

“Yes?” she asked.

“How long was I out?”

Nicole hummed, looking out the window across from the room. “Only a couple hours. I’d say three and a half. Why?”

“Just wondering. Last time I was out for a couple days.”

So it was significantly less time than fifteen years ago.  You wondered what could’ve caused it but drew no conclusion. There was no common event that happened either time, so there was no connection.

None that you knew about, anyway.

“Weird,” Nicole mused. Down the hall, you heard the loud clanking of footsteps drawing near. “Maybe you could find something in our library about it. Scaleswind is-“

“My lady.” Nicole turned her head when the door to your room flew open. A guard stood in the threshold, his hair askew and panic in his eyes. He struggled to catch his breath as he spoke. “They’re back. Those- Those things from earlier are at the gates again.”

Nicole was up in an instant, the chair she sat in scraping against the floor before getting caught on a vine and falling over.

You couldn’t understand the rushed words that spilled from Nicole’s mouth. It was nearly impossible when she walked out of the room and started down the hall, the panicked guard close on her heels. Your brows furrowed in confusion, and you stood from your bed to peek around the corner from the room.

You didn’t know what had happened—you weren’t sure you wanted to know what happened if it evoked that kind of reaction from Nicole. Instead, you took a deep breath before uncovering yourself and standing from the bed, looking around at the room.

You didn’t care what Nicole said about cleaners being glad to help, you would contribute. It would be rude to be such an inconvenience and leave your mess for someone else.

—

The cleaners weren’t nearly as strict or bossy as Nicole had made them out to be. You helped them peel the vines and flowers from the ceiling and tear up the roots that had made a home in the floorboards. Once they were taken from their places, the plants immediately shriveled up. You found it odd. That didn’t happen last time. What was different now?

At some point, your head had started aching again and you found it difficult to catch a full breath. It only happened for a moment, but it was long enough for the two kind ladies cleaning the room to force you back onto the bed. Your eyes squeezed shut and you softly groaned, waiting to faint again but it never came.

The headache subsided before you even realized it. One moment you were struggling to breathe your head hurt so bad, and the next you were up and about like nothing had happened.

Despite your protests and statements of feeling better, however, you were still pushed to sit at the edge of the bed until the room was cleared of wilted plants and frail flower petals. One of the ladies even went as far as to push you to lie down and cover you with blankets.

You got up when she left, tucking the blankets back where they were meant to be before giving the cleaned room a once over. It was simple—a comfortable bed beneath the window and a cushioned chair by the bookshelf. There was a solid oak desk against the wall opposite the bookshelf, on it a pad of paper and pens and a lamp.

You decided to step out. Even though Laurance had offered you the room, you felt bad for hogging it. Especially after making it a temporary greenhouse.

As you stepped into the hallway, you ran into the man himself. His blue eyes were downcast, and you were glancing out the hallway windows so you almost didn’t see him. When you did, you held out your arm and placed your hand on his shoulder to prevent him from running into you.

“Sorry,” you instinctively said. Laurance lifted his gaze to meet yours. He looked . . . regretful, almost.

No. Regretful wasn’t the word, but he was definitely deep in thought.

“It’s alright,” he said. Your hand dropped from his shoulder. “Don’t apologize. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

You smiled at him. “Well, neither was I.” He chuckled. “What happened earlier?”

“When earlier? When you passed out?”

You shook your head. “No, I mean when I woke up. You and Aphmau left and then a few minutes later Nicole sprinted out of the room. She looked worried.”

Laurance hummed. “Aphmau and I needed to . . . discuss a few things. Nothing important.” Although he said that, his tone indicated that their conversation may have meant the world to him. “And earlier, when Nicole ran out, it was because a small group of shadow souls were at the gates.”

Your brows furrowed. “Shadow souls? What are those?”

“Right. You aren’t . . .” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Shadow souls are the extremely weakened form of shadow knights, undead beings from the Nether.”

You hummed. You had read about the Nether realm before, and your mother had told you about the brief time she spent there to gather materials for her spells. It didn’t seem like a pleasant place, and you wished you never found yourself in its nightmarish depths.

“Shadow souls aren’t typically very strong or a big problem, but . . .” Laurance hesitated. His lips pressed together briefly before he blew out a breath. “Sometimes, when they possess a body or encounter an angered shadow knight, they become more powerful than even the strongest mages we have.”

Your eyes widened. Laurance beckoned you to follow him, and you did. “And they’re from the Nether?” Laurance nodded. “How did they get into our realm, then? The only portal to the Nether is—“

“With the Southern Wolf Tribe,” Laurance finished. You were back in the room you had just cleaned, and you settled on the bed beside Laurance. “I know. In the past fifteen years, however, the Southern Wolf Tribe has fallen into disarray and a few rogue shadow knights managed to escape and open small portals. I also think . . .”

He trailed off again, your brows pulling together. “You think what?”

“Fifteen years ago,” he began after a breath, “the High Priest of O’Khasis began a war between Scaleswind and Phoenix Drop.”

“Yes, I remember.” You pulled the end of your long braid into your lap, fidgeting with the tresses. “My mother came home in a rush to ensure my safety. She boarded up the window and slept in the same bed as me for nearly a month.”

Laurance’s expression saddened. “I’m very sorry.”

You shook your head. “It’s okay. She was just protecting me. I was a child at the time.”

“That’s not . . .” Laurance trailed off again, deciding not to prompt any sort of debate with your upbringing. He cast his gaze downward, fidgeting with his thumbs. “That’s beside the point. The High Priest Zane actually kidnapped Nicole for his own purposes and prompted the war. Once Scaleswind surrendered, Aphmau, myself, and a few others followed Zane into the forest. He had . . . He’d brainwashed a close friend of ours and used him as a pawn to help open the Irene dimension.”

Your brows furrowed. The Irene dimension? The place was a myth. Unheard of by most. But if it was a figment of someone’s imagination, then how was it that Laurance had been there?

“I think opening the Irene dimension ripped the realm barriers between our world and various others,” he finished explaining. His eyes turned up to meet yours. “That’s probably what let a couple shadow souls and shadow knights slip out of the Nether.”

You nodded in understanding. Now you were trying to piece together the Irene dimension. “And the Irene dimension itself? It’s real?”

Laurance nodded. “Yes. We were there for fifteen minutes.”

“And that was . . .” Fifteen years ago. Laurance and Aphmau and whoever else had been with them jumped through time. “Wait, you think the Irene dimension opening fifteen years ago ripped the realm barrier?” you asked after a moment in thought. That would have been the same time you passed out and grew plants the first time. You remembered because when you woke up the board had been taken down from the window and the first question you’d asked your mother was if the war had passed.

It had to be a coincidence. Those two events couldn’t have been related, especially since now there was nothing to do with Irene and powerful otherworldly magic to trigger your most recent episode.

Laurance nodded.

“That’s when I fainted for the first time,” you said.

Laurance’s brows furrowed. You could see the gears in his head turning, his irises seemed darker as he thought. “Did you happen to feel anything earlier this year?”

You thought back. “Yes. In early spring I felt nauseous for a few days.”

“Early spring . . .” he repeated to himself. “And earlier today. You passed out again, but a couple hours after that did you feel anything again?”

You nodded. “I had a terrible headache not too long ago. I didn’t faint, though.”

You watched the lightbulb go off. “Aphmau used her . . . What all do you know about Lady Irene?”

You shrugged. “Not much. Just that she lived long ago and was kind and benevolent, hence her title. My mother never really taught me anything. I know basic information about her, but that’s all.”

“You may be connected to her,” Laurance mused. Your eyes widened, and you physically recoiled from shock.

“What?”

“It’s just- Okay, that was sudden. I only mean that any time you’ve felt odd, something happened that was related to Irene.”

You raised a brow, tilting your head and waiting for him to explain. He was talking like you had been with him for years and knew everything he did.

“Fifteen years ago, you passed out the first time. At the same time, the Irene dimension was opened with an unstable method. My comrades and I returned in early spring, when you felt nauseous. While we were in the Irene dimension, Aphmau absorbed Irene’s relic. She used those powers twice today, so . . .”

You were even more confused. The more Laurance talked the more you were convinced he was messing with you.

Aphmau absorbed a relic? Not just that, but Irene’s relic? Which was in the Irene dimension. The same Irene dimension that doesn’t exist.

You shook your head. “No. That can’t be real.”

“My theory is just a theory, but I promise that everything I’ve said about my comrades is true,” he said. He met your gaze, a glint of sincerity shining in his eyes. “That’s why we’re here. We need to find out more about Irene and her life.”

“How do you expect me to believe that you went to a realm that has no evidence of existence?” you asked, crossing your arms. “That is absurd.”

“I don’t know how I can prove it to you,” Laurance said, “but I promise I’m telling the truth. And I do think you are somehow related to Irene. It can’t be a coincidence that you fall ill when something having to do with her happens.”

You let out a breath. You knew he was firm in whatever he believed. You could tell that much from the way he told you stories of Irene with wonder in his eyes. Knowing that made you assume he’d be adamant about his theory.

“If I were related to Irene or had other abilities my mother would have told me,” you plainly stated. “She would have helped me hone that magic.”

“Your mother has also kept you locked away your entire life,” Laurance countered. He gave you a blank stare. “I’m sorry to say, but I don’t think that’s a valid defense to say you aren’t somehow related to the goddess.”

You scoffed, tearing your gaze away from his and rolling your eyes. “Okay. Even if I were to be related to Irene—which I am most definitely not—how do you propose finding out information? I can’t stay out of my tower forever. I have to go back eventually.”

“Well, my friends and I are looking for information on Lady Irene,” he said. He held his hand out and gestured to the air, as if doing so would create an image in your mind of what to do. “You could stay with us until you need to go back to your tower.”

You considered his offer, realizing how much thought you hadn’t put into this whole situation. You hadn’t planned how long you’d be away—you weren’t even sure when your mother would be back at the tower. You didn’t have anywhere else to go now that you had left your tower except with Laurance, who had gotten you into this in the first place.

“I’ll think about it,” you said, standing up and wiping your hands against your skirt. “I’ll leave you alone for now, though. You seem drained.”

Giving Laurance a proper look, his eyes were dark and seemed droopy. You weren’t sure what had happened, but it was clear to you that he needed rest.

He gave you a nod. “Thank you. I’ll see you later, Y/n.”

You gave him a soft smile before stepping out of the room. Down the hall, after you clicked his door shut, you spotted Aphmau turning the corner, probably to go down the stairs that were over there.

You followed. You needed to ask her some questions.

—

“So you can just . . . Do that by will?” Aphmau asked, admiring the wilted rose you had brought back.

You nodded, handing her the flower. “I can only really heal plants on my own, though. Sometimes my mother will gather something from my hair to heal herself, but I think that’s mostly her.”

As if to demonstrate, you pulled your long braid over your shoulder and caressed the strands. You weren’t sure how to begin harnessing whatever magic your hair held, but you had tried everything under the sun. Not a thing worked for you. The only thing you knew was that it softly illuminated every name you healed plants.

Aphmau took the rose from your hand by the stem carefully, holding it up to the light as she inspected it. Her mouth was agape in awe, and you swore there was a soft sparkle in her eye.

“Laurance thinks I’m related to Irene,” you whispered after a moment. Aphmau snapped her head towards you. “I told him I wasn’t.”

Aphmau hummed in consideration, continuing to inspect the flower. There was still some of your power radiating from it, and Aphmau was likely taking in the feeling. Not to mention that you felt that same pull to her as you did earlier.

“I doubt it, but this does feel . . . familiar,” she admitted, meeting your gaze again. Her eyes were the color of warm honey, and there was a sense of comfort in them. You could practically see the gears in her mind turning as she thought. “Hey, we were planning on leaving for Phoenix Drop tomorrow morning if you want to come with us. I know a wonderful scholar there that can probably help us figure this out.”

You weren’t positive who the we she referred to was, but you could assume it included Laurance and whatever other companion she had brought with her. You thought about her offer. You had seen countless maps of the world before, and the village of Phoenix Drop was a long way from the city of Scaleswind. It was nearly a two day boat ride. The time would have been cut nearly in half if you travelled by land, but the Ru’aun region was separated by a sacred forest that was nearly impossible to get through if you didn’t know your way. Hell, it was difficult even if you did. You doubted they would be taking the shorter route.

Still, you agreed. You still had nowhere to go and you would rather stick around something familiar until you decided to return to your tower—the familiarity being Laurance. You weren’t sure how long you’d be gone. Would you even consider going back?

Of course you did. You needed to. Your mother would send a region wide manhunt for you if you didn’t go back eventually. But it wouldn’t hurt to at least spend your time away with an acquaintance, right?

“I’ll go with you guys,” you said, giving Aphmau a small smile.

She returned it, though hers was much brighter than yours. She handed you the rose back before standing up. “Great! I’ll make sure to tell Nicole so she can get enough supplies for us ready. It’s going to be a long trip, but I hope you don’t mind?”

You shook your head. “Not at all.”

You exchanged a few more words with Aphmau before she walked off, leaving you on the sidewalk bench by yourself. You watched her until she turned the corner and your gaze couldn’t follow her anymore, and then you softly sighed.

The air in Scaleswind was fresh. It also felt clean, though you were used to the slightly stuffy air of your tower, so maybe the air would feel clean everywhere. The city was beautiful, with its towering buildings and flowering plants. If this single place alone held so much beauty and wonder, then what did the rest of the region have?

You were excited, to be frank. Spending time away from your tower made you less nervous about traveling around with what was practically a group of strangers. They seemed to be nice strangers, though, and Laurance had already helped you tremendously.

You smiled as you stood from the bench. You breathed in the fresh air and started walking back to Nicole’s house, your dance shoes clicking a seemingly happy tune against the stone beneath your feet.

guys i have genuinely so much fun writing this story it has such a whimsy to it and i love it i wish i could write it more often

hoping i can get part four out later this week though!! stay tuned

TAGGING: @eyeballsaladzz @heartsforleon @ny0000mw00m @ll4dybug @kokoloco00 @wasting-away-on-the-internet @waffles-andgh0sts @mellozhi @garrothswiferealnotfake if you’d like to be on the taglist, comment, DM or send in an ask to let me know!

next part >>

[sparkshock]

Age order of the Nublar Six

Okay. So like, I know people have their headcanons and shit, but I want to know if there is any ACTUAL confirmed age order besides what we already know. Like, I know Darius is the youngest, followed by Brooklynn, then Ben & Sammy, and finally Yaz & Kenji. But I scoured the interwebs and I couldn’t find anything confirming who was the oldest. I’ve seen some people say Yaz, some people say Kenji. Is there a definite answer or are we going based on headcanon?

If that’s the case, lemme cook here. This is all based on my own observations with my own headcanons sprinkled in. Feel free to disagree or call me out if canon contradicts anything.

Yaz: Oldest.

Born April 13, 2000.

10th grade/Sophomore in high school.

She drives the van in S1, indicating that she also has her learner's permit. Unlike Kenji, she seems to have a better grasp on driving, which means she's likely been doing it longer.

I headcanon that Yaz is from Seattle, Washington. The legal age to get a learner's permit in Washington is 15, which checks out.

She's always felt like the oldest to me, just based on how she acts. Obviously her maturity doesn't directly correlate with her age, but I think there is usually some overlap with that.

Kenji: Second oldest.

Born October 19th, 2000.

10th grade/Sophomore in high school. He is technically supposed to be a freshman due to cut-off dates, but his dad paid to have him move up a grade to be around people who would “be a better influence” on him.

He mentions that his dad locked the penthouse because he failed algebra, which is typically a course taken in freshman year, and Kenji doesn’t seem like the type of guy to take advanced classes.

I headcanon that Kenji is from Miami, Florida (based purely on the fact that my beta-reader said "he looks like a creature from Miami"). The legal age to get a learner's permit in Miami is 15.

Kenji has his learner's permit, but isn't comfortable behind the wheel, indicating that he hasn't been driving for very long.

(he kind of acts like a freshman. no shade but some of y'all are annoying as fuck. love kenji tho <3)

Sammy: Upper middle.

Born March 29, 2001.

9th grade/Freshman in high school.

She gives big sister vibes, so I feel like she would be next up.

Ben: Lower middle.

Born August 26, 2001.

9th grade/Freshman in high school.

He would be one of the youngest in his grade due to cutoff dates.

It just feels right to me.

Brooklynn: Second Youngest.

Born May 17, 2002.

8th grade.

She is taught by 100% online tudors so it’s hard to determine where she falls on the education scale, but I would assume she learns at an accelerated rate.

Darius: Youngest.

Born January 4th, 2003.

8th grade.

I think he turned 13 pretty early on.

He’s one year ahead in school, so although he SHOULD be in 7th grade, he’s actually in 8th grade. This could have happened for numerous reasons, but I'm just gonna say he was smart and skipped a grade because the school recommended it.

Obviously, a lot of this is just shit I made up, so feel free to disagree. Or, if you like any of these headcanons and want to use them in your own work, go right ahead! No need to credit me. This is how I’m gonna do it in my fic lol. But I’d love to hear other people’s opinions/analyses!

[rowie264]

Why Timebomb shouldn't exist in s2 (part 2 - Jinx)

Part 1 - Ekko Part 3 - Relationship

I already had a post saying that s2 Jinx is an OOC. The fact that creators decided to almost fully remove/magically solve her mental issues completely ruins her character and her arc in s1.

But we don't really care about character images, right? All that matters is that they should be together. No care about their disclosure (Ekko), no care about global reshaping of the character (Jinx), no care about complexity and nuances of their relationship, no care about everything - just confirm their couple as canon and make them kiss.

In section about Jinx, I'd like remind you what she was like in s1 (it's important):

saw hallucinations and heard voices of dead people;

killed enforcers without a hint of remorse or empathy;

killed firelights without a hint of remorse or empathy;

enjoyed the battle/killing ppl, getting so excited that she almost injured Vi;

killed a crow;

didn't think about Ekko at all except for the moment of their clash (neither before nor after - 0 thoughts about him - and in s2 too by the way);

almost killed Ekko by detonating a bomb.

So it's funny to hear Jinx to say "there is no good version of me," because s2 Jinx is literally a good version of herself, because suddenly all "bad" things that her character had in s1 are practically gone!

Which, by the way, fits perfectly with my vision of how to write romance with a character like Jinx. As for me, there are two options: 1) where another character will accept her for who she is. Such a character should be like herself or worse i believe. 2) where Jinx loses her character traits. This is exactly Ekko option shown in the show. And i'm not even talking about her mental issues, but about her apathy, cruelty and desire to destroy. These are traits that need to be "fixed" so that Ekko can build a relationship with her.

Ekko can't go with the first option, because then he will become an OOC, since he is a good guy. Although it will not be as critical with him as with Jinx, because, I repeat, his identity hasn't been so well disclosed, so there is room for maneuver. For example, through hardening Ekko by burning the Tree by enforcers and directing Jinx's cruelty only towards Piltover. That wouldn't change her character much, and it would belogical that Ekko will be okay with killing, because enforcers will become his main enemies.

There may be some other options that I don't see because I don't ship these two, but even if there are, it would take a huge amount of screen time to implement them correctly due to the data that was established in s1.

[lucariowrites]

Okay TailsTube. You have my fucking attention now.

https://x.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/1905273732375171221

Professor Tori is great. I like her, but that's secondary to everything. I heard them talking about the Great Civilizations. I'm about to nerd the hell out and be extremely hopeful.

The Ancients from Sonic Frontiers are now also known as "the First Great Civilization." On its own, this doesn't mean much, but will become important in a bit.

And the Gaians from Sonic Unleashed are now also known as "the Second Great Civilization." Still not the most important thing on its own, but there's a pattern emerging already.

Whoever is at the lore team is now trying to put together all these ancient civilizations we've thrown into Sonic's universe as the different "Great Civilizations." The first time we ever hear about these things is aaaaall the way back in Sonic Battle with best robot, Emerl, either being created by and/or causing the destruction of "the Fourth Great Civilization."

It should be noted that "four great civilizations" does have a parallel to a dubiously historical concept in the real world, but that's mainly to draw on inspiration as the two don't really line up between the game and real worlds.

That being said, who are the third and fourth in this case? The TailsTube does not mention them due to Orbot's insistence on being annoying, but we're basically out of ancient civilizations at this point save for two:

The Babylonians from Riders

The Echidnas

Thanks to some clarification on the Sonic Channel website, we know that the Babylonians arrived on Earth some time before the Echidnas almost went completely extinct. It does not give us an exact time, but the events are posited as being before then on the official timeline. While not outright confirmed, it's a reasonable assumption that the Babylonians would be "the Third Great Civilization" as well.

So who's the Fourth? We don't know yet, but there's three potential answers:

It's the Echidnas

This is the easiest answer and honestly fits pretty nicely into everything, though it does leave open the whole point that the Gizoid (Emerl) was made by the Echidnas which we'll get back to.

2. It's something we don't know yet

Sonic Team could very easily make a new ancient civilization for us to explore in the next game, and honestly I'd be down with that. Because in Sonic Battle, 4000 years ago does set it behind the Echidna Extinction Event comfortably by roughly 1000 years although that's mostly just an estimate. There very well could be a separate civilization going on at exactly the same time that Sonic Team could pull from thin air.

3. It's the Nocturnus

Okay, now hear me out. Chronicles was not written by Sonic Team; it was written by Bioware. But the guys at that specific team really liked Sonic in all of its incarnations and were probably the first to actually try to bring together multiple game histories explicitly into one story. The Fourth Great Civilization was made to be the Nocturnus, a rival clan the Knuckles Clan. They had weapons that were far ahead of their time (including the Gizoid) and that power is what drove Pachacamac to raid the Master Emerald shrine and ultimately cause his downfall. Something that gets played with a lot in the game, but that's for another time.

The problem is that Chronicles hasn't been canon for a very long time. Although it has other errors from what I've heard, what isn't erroneous from the Encylospeedia is that Chronicles is a non-canon adventure. However, with Sonic Team bringing back the concept of the Four Great Civilizations, they have the opportunity to do the funniest thing in the world and reintroduce that game as canon.

All in all, very exciting stuff lore wise and I'm usually not this pumped about it. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and my enthusiasm.

[halfetirosie]

♡ An Edmond-Post for the struggling fanfic writers ♡

(NOTE: This post will be LONG. I tried to be thorough and include evidence.)

I feel an AGGRESSIVE MORAL OBLIGATION to make this post because of the writing homies that want to write Edmond into their fics, but feel like they don't know enough about him.

My recent Character-Ask post for Edmond might help you guys a little, but I think you could use more information.

The NU: Carnival Lore Spreadsheet (Google Sheets)

This isn't an Edmond-exclusive resource, but still helpful.

If you don't spend any time on the subreddit, you may not have seen this, but this is a fan-made lore spreadsheet contains information the game's world and each of the characters. It hasn't been updated for a little over 3 months, so it's a bit outdated, but it is teeming with practical information that can help familiarize you with characters' backgrounds and such.

(Quick note for Edmond's "Power" category-- although he is unfamiliar with actually using magic, in Frozen Echoes/Tranquil Cloud Edmond intimacy rooms, we discover that Edmond has recently started to practice magic (particularly Light/healing magic).)

2. The current Edmond Era (the most recent Ed Dynamic)

Many people seem to be intimidated by the prospect of writing Edmond because he's a "tsundere." However, to borrow the words from my Character Ask post, "that’s only out of habit (and shyness), rather an actual reflection of his desires." In other words, Ed's inner workings probably look something like this:

It also is noteworthy that, when Eiden initiates sexual activity, Edmond willingly goes along with him. By that I mean, he might scold Eiden a lot and say something to the effect of, "You are a pervert!" but he doesn't actually tell Eiden to stop what he's doing when they're starting out. And while it doesn't happen as often in recent rooms, the habitual "Stop♡" and "No♡" Edmond might say are very clearly insincere, considering his tone of voice (as well as his physical reactions).

And during the rare occasions where Ed does tell Eiden something like "Stop," Eiden will stop; but then Ed will look disappointed, so Eiden will ask him if he wants to continue, and Edmond will say yes. Here's an example of this type of exchange from Sweet Aroma R2:

There have also been times when [we can infer], at the beginning of H-activities, Eiden doesn't have as clear of a read on Edmond's opinion; in which case, he will verbally search for confirmation on whether he can do more. The most accessible example of this is Ed's SR R3:

Here is another example, from Tranquil Cloud R5:

While Eiden is still the one that initiates sexy activity (14/16 of the Ed H scenes), Edmond willingly goes along immediately. That is the crux of the typical Edmond dynamic: Edmond also has strong desires, but is usually too embarrassed to admit them, so he needs an understanding partner that will guide him along until he feels secure enough [and/or horny enough] to admit his wants.

Edmond is in a bit of a transition period right now. He's starting to be much more active in his H-activities with Eiden. He also might "blame" Eiden for his own desires, but he's beginning to own up to his feelings, too. From Tranquil Cloud R2:

3. Edmond Anatomy & Kinks

One word: SENSITIVE. Edmond is HELLA SENSITIVE.

(I'd argue he's even more sensitive than Olivine, but idk if you could consider that a definitive fact or not.)

If there's an area that can be considered a relatively common erogenous zone, it's most likely an erogenous zone on Edmond. Here's the one's that have been canonically confirmed or STRONGLY suggested:

Mouth - Edmond's mouth is very sensitive. When he kisses for the first time in Sweet Aroma, Eiden coaxes him into admitting which specific parts of his mouth are most sensitive; roof of his mouth, tongue, sides. Edmond likes kissing a LOT, and has initiated kisses himself at least 3 times (Elite Instructor R5, Flaming Secret R5, Tranquil Cloud R5)

Ears - Ed has a strong reaction in Tranquil Cloud R2 (Eiden blowing on his ear helps send him over the edge to finally cum)

Neck - Eiden kisses his neck and Ed has a verbal reaction in Tranquil Cloud R5

Nipples - Best example is in Sweet Aroma R2 (he can cum from nipple-play alone); also featured in Spring Chaos R2 and Elite Instructor R2

Hands - Many rooms include Suggestive Hand-Holding™ but White Lover R2 includes significant hand-play

Stomach/Waist - White Lover R2 includes Eiden caressing Ed's stomach, and in Tranquil Cloud R2 Ed has a strong reaction to Eiden tightening his hold on his waist

Ass - In Elite Instructor R2 Edmond gets spanked and he is VERY into it

Penis - *obvious answer is obvious*

Anus - Has cum from anal-play alone multiple times (including fingering and rimming). It isn't explicitly stated, but I'm pretty sure Edmond's anus is more sensitive than his penis

Additional canon sexual preferences:

A Little Pain - As is famously known, Edmond enjoys a little pain during sex

Praise & Dirty Talk - Gets very embarrassed by it (and will usually scold Eiden) but he has strong positive reactions to it

Roleplay + Dom/Sub Undertones - We see it in SR R5; once Ed is convinced to try it out he gets extremely aroused and feels more comfortable engaging in *mild* dirty-talk himself. It's also sorta-kinda in Elite Instructor R2, but only a little bit on Eiden's part (calling Ed "sensei")

Kissing - I mentioned it before, but I must emphasize it again; EDMOND LOVES KISSING

Overstimulation - Most Ed intimacy rooms include some element of this

Semi-Public Sexy Stuff? - Depending on if you count sex-in-a-carriage, this happens in 7-8/16 intimacy rooms. Idk if this is necessarily Ed's personal kink, but Ed isn't exactly opposed to it as long as Eiden is being careful. He does appear to get excited when Edmond says something like "don't be too loud, or someone will come and see you like this!" From Elite Instructor R2:

Light Bondage - Only seen is Elite Instructor R2, but he seems to like it:

4. Some Ao3 reading recommendation that you can use for Edmond-specific inspiration/references

As a passionate Edmond-Lover, here are some works of fanfic that I think do a particularly good job of writing Ed-relationships. Obviously (by the nature of fanfic) many of them take a lot of liberties, but when I was reading these stories, I didn't need to suspend my disbelief at all. The way Edmond acts in these stories feels very in-character to me.

(NOTE: All of these recommendations are NSFW where Edmond bottoms. Be sure to read their tags!)

Literally everything luster_candy has written (6 works at the time I'm posting this) - just be aware all of it is Eiden/Edmond.

Reprieve, Release by kkuro (~11k words) - Eiden/Edmond, one of the best (if not the best) BDSM-heavy Ed fics. Only note is, because this was written in 2022, Ed acts a bit more stiff/repressed in the beginning than he would now. In-character for Early Era Edmond tho.

A Helpful Hand by dracula (orphan_account) (~4.3k words) - Olivine/Edmond, Olivine tops (a rarity) and Ed is cursed with a V. Don't worry, Olivine-Lovers, he isn't a hella OOC sadist or ultra-masculine dom. XD Just very sweet and very horny, and Edmond is ruthlessly subjected to his brand of horny nonsense.

Do You Know Where the Wild Things Go by no birdstofly (~8k words) - Yakumo/Edmond, idk if it's OOC for Yakumo but it's in-character for Current Era slightly-more-honest Edmond.

The Knight's Discipline by RiyeRose (~3k words) - Restricted to Ao3 members, Kuya/Edmond. I subscribe to the belief that Ed would put up with Kuya if he were horny enough, which is why I don't consider this OOC. I think this fic has the perfect amount of BDSM that Ed would realistically enjoy.

Fanfic where Edmond tops is honestly very hard to come across. That's understandable, because for Edmond to top, there would have to be extremely special circumstances, and it would have to be written carefully in order to not seem too OOC. The best example of an Top-Emond fic I've been able to find is this:

Hidden Guidance by Okami01 (~1.9k words) - Edmond/Olivine, Edmond shyly admits he wants to try topping Olivine, and Oli is obviously down for it. (Let's be honest here; out of everyone, if Edmond were ever to top anyone, it would 100% be Olivine)

♡I hope people found this helpful!!!♡

I know reading this giant post was like reading an essay, but hopefully it was worth the time and effort I put into it!

If anyone has extra inquires, or if other Edmond-Lovers want to chime in with extra information I might've missed, feel free to put them in the comments!

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

I have thoughts on Hitsugaya's Secret Story from 'BLEACH: Rebirth of Souls'

So, you may have seen my recent reactions to Hitsugaya Secret Story from BLEACH: Rebirth of Souls. I finally decided to sit down and get my thoughts out about it, because I have some surprisingly strong ones. I'll be going through the cutscenes and giving my thoughts and a few more reactions, and maybe a bit of analysis for what I think it means for both Hitsugaya and Hinamori. Prepare yourself for some fangirling and some overly nerdy rambling.

Before I dive in, two things. First if you don't know what moment I'm talking about, you can look up 'Bleach rebirth of souls toshiro secret story' and should be able to find a playthrough. They're usually about 30 minutes long.

I've only been able to find the English dub versions, but would be very curious to see if there were any translation difference between the two. For instance, in the English version, Hitsugaya says in the beginning 'Long ago, when I was a kid, the only ones that would ever talk to me were Grandma and Mom, who I lived with." Now this wording could be taken a few ways, but I have admit, I took it to mean he lived with Momo, but Kubo recently confirmed in his Klub Outside Q&As that Hitsugaya and Hinamori were neighbours. I'd be curious to see if the Japanese version says the same thing or something different. Anyway, nit-picking aside, I recommend watching a playthrough or, of course, going to play the secret story yourself if you have the game.

And finally, you may be wondering the same thing I did after watching the cutscenes: how canon is this game? Well, it seems Kubo assisted with writing, but I don't have an official source that says this. If anyone does have a source, I would love to see it. If Kubo's truly that involved (and I'd honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was) then I think we can consider most if not all aspects of the story and characters here canon.

Anyway, on to the thoughts, reactions, and a bit of analysis!

The past

Canon-bending info aside, this section had me tearing up. Although it's mostly retreading old ground -- acting more as a clipshow for the chapter about Hitsugaya's past -- we got some interesting tidbits of info.

The ones that stuck out to me were the reveal that Hitsugaya stayed behind with his Granny to protect her. This was implied in the original chapter, with how Granny responded to him saying he was going to enroll in the Shinigami Academy. To have him outright state it, however, brought a tear to my eye. It implies that a part of him always wanted to go off and be where Hinamori was, but he chose to remain with his Granny to keep her safe ;w; All the while, he didn't realise he'd fallen into a tragic irony: because he had no control over his powers, he ended up affecting her health and being a danger to her during his sleep. The only way to protect her was to leave her behind...

Another interesting piece of dialogue is Hitsugaya mentioning this: "She probably knew that was the last time we'd ever meet, but Grandma still gave her blessing when I left." This implies Hitsugaya hasn't seen his Granny since he went to the Academy. We know for a fact, thanks to one of the databooks, that he visits his Granny. However, that's as a Captain. In the game, he seems to be recalling these memories while he's a Third Seat, which implies he hasn't seen his Granny since he left for the Academy, and that's...really sad if that's truly the case. We know he graduated in a year, and then quickly became a seated officer in Tenth Division. It could be that he was kept so busy with his work, or it could be that he was afraid of harming her with his powers. Regardless, it would make sense that later on when he's Captain and has the ability to reign in his powers and can make more time to see her.

Hitsugaya as a Third Seat

Here we get a few moments of Hitsugaya as a Third seat. The first is not long after he was promoted to the rank and battles Hollows in Karakura Town alongside Rangiku and two other Tenth Divison Officers who whisper about him.

So, first up, was I the only who laughed when he called Rangiku 'ma'am'?! I never thought he would ever be so formal with her. I thought right from the get-go these two would have an annoying sibling dynamic going on.

And the officers gossiping about him, I found this fascinating. We've never really gotten a glimpse into how other Shinigami saw him or interacting with him while he was climbing the ranks. I can definitely see some Shinigami brushing him off due to his young age, only to be surprised by his abilities. Still, it's sad to think even after graduating and becoming a seated member,he not only had to continue to prove himself worhy of being there, but also found it difficult to connect with those aroudn him despite having more in common with them than the residents of the Junrinan.

We also see here a glimpse of the message this story is getting at: Hitsugaya needing to trust in others and learn to relax and not be so strung up on becoming stronger. Rangiku, in response to Hitsugaya saying he needs to improve and become stronger in battle, says 'Know what they say about the about the strgonest Soul Reapers dying first?' Hitsugaya understands, but she elaborates anyway, saying that he can try his best, but also needs to learn how to relax. He gives a non-committal answer and goes off into thought, clearly thinking he can't afford to relax for even a second.

Also, yes, I lost it when Rangiku said 'I have your back'. My BROTP name for these two came to life!!

The second moment we get is him training until Rangiku comes along and asks to practice with him. it's implied he trains alone, and might be shy about training with others. The same officers from his mission in Karakura Town witnessed the two sparring, and after it's done, they're amazed by what they saw and ask for Hitsugaya to train them. Hitsugaya goes on to reflect how Rangiku and Isshin helped him fit in with the Tenth Division.

Again, the theme of his story is being emphasized here: Hitsugaya thinks he needs to do things on his own, including becoming stronger. It also shows, however, that even though he was among beings just like him, he felt a sense of isolation even when he became a seated officer. I wonder if perhaps this in part due to his prodical status combined with his age. You have to imagine with someone as skilled and talents as him, it's a different kind of loneliness even among people a lot like you. You can do things other Shinigami are still training to do, and there's no one like you. Aizen, I think, went through a similar struggle, but we saw how that turned out.

Where it differed for Hitsugaya is that his fellows officers began to accept him thanks to Rangiku's efforts to help him socialize and gets other division members to see him in a different light.

And then there's the Isshin part. We get to see the aftermath of Isshin going missing, and we get to see Hitsugaya already acting like the Captain he's going to become -- telling Rangiku to not think about the 'what ifs' like if she had follows Isshin to Karakura Town, for instance -- and the one of my headcanons got confirmed O_O I've always had the headcanon that Hitsugaya and Rangiku will focus on work if it means they want to try to forget about something that's deeply affected them. I'm currently writing of this very thing in my fic An Unwavering Light, and to have Hitsugaya say this in the game just made me:

The Fireworks

We get a reenactment of the Hitsugaya's birthday chapter.

All I have to say here is: Rangiku, you're not saying 'Aren't winter fireworks just so romantic?' to Hitsugaya with Hinamori just standing right there and expecting me to to take no other way!

Okay, I'm sure she meant it in a different sense, but let me dream of wing-woman Rangiku!

And again, Hitsugaya affirms he wants to become stronger for the people most important to him. We've gone from wanting to protect Granny to protecting more people. He's gradually expanding his circle of people important to him, even if he doesn't fully realize it.

After Aizen's Defeat

The way I nearly screamed when he asked Rangiku how Hinamori was doing, then when he punched the wall and yelled Aizen's name in anger and said he wasn't strong enough:

It's far less dramatic than what I wrote in my fic, but I couldn't believe how some elements of what I was writing were there.

Anyway, back to the scene! Here we get a brief interaction with Hitsugaya and Rangiku, who gives an update about Hinamori. After he tells Rangiku to get some rest and she leaves, he reflects on Aizen, causing him to yell and punch a wall. He reaffirms aloud that he needs to train harder to become stronger.

A piece of dialogue from this moment made me do a double take. When Hitsugaya is reflecting on Aizen, he says this: 'We...Momo and I...We didn't realize you were fooling us. We thought we were close...Hmph. What a total joke." Now, who's the 'we' in 'we thought we were close' here? Is he referring to Aizen or Hinamori? if it's Aizen, then that's interesting. In the manga, it's shown Hitsugaya trust Aizen enough to look out for Hinamori, but we've never really seen the two be on super friendly terms. Hitsugaya doesn't seem to respect him the same he does, say, Unohana. I believe he refers to Unohana by her title, but he doesn't do the same for most of the other captains, including Aizen. If he's referring to Hinamori...T_T Given this him at a low point, it would be tragic if he thinks his bond with her wasn't close anymore. I'd be curious to see what you all think.

After this scene, we get more battles, including one where Hitsugaya yells at some Hollows attacking him that he doesn't have the time to be held by them while he's trying to get stronger. Then, when a Menos Grande shows up, he's glad for the challenge, implying he sees his combat with Hollow as a chance for him to gain more strength. Rangiku approaches him after taking it down and notes he was pushing himself beyond his limits. Hitsugaya admits she's right, but also admits that he needs to become stronger. Rangiku tries to get him to take his mind off it by suggesting they go visit Hinamori.

The way he reacted to Rangiku suggested visiting Hinamori...

Oh my God he really wanted to see her! I honestly didn't see that coming. Yes, I thought a part of him would want to desperately see her, but that more than that he'd want to get stronger first before facing her. To think he'd want to see her first, even when he feels he needs to get stronger...

The last moment we get here is with Toshiro and Rangiku on their way to Fourth Division, but they bump into Izuru and Renji. Izuru unintentionally convincing Hitsugaya to not visit Hinamori when he says he needs to smile for her and not show how stricken or tired he is currently. He agrees, and tells them that they need to give their all in any future battles and that he's counting on them. When he and Rangiku are alone, Hitsugaya questions why Rangiku is so chipper, and she says she's proud of the person he's become, having seen him grow in how he connects and opens up with others. Hitsugaya brushes her off, saying he merely did it because he has a rank to uphold, and then, to himself, that this rank means he needs to be strong enough to protect those important to him.

For me this scene came back to instances where Toshiro visited Momo but had nothing to say. We of course have the manga and anime showing him visiting Hinamori while she was unconscious and we see how deeply it affects him. In the Honey Dish Rhapsody, we et a brief moment where Rukia mentioned Hitsugaya always looked grief-stricken when going to visit a still unconscious Hinamori. Similar to the anime version, he chooses to walk away when he can't think of anything to say to Hinamori, and in the case of the game scene, he walks away because he doesn't want her to see him so stricken.

And here again we Hitsugaya opening his circle that little bit more. He probably doesn't consider Renji and Izuru friends, but he cars about them enough to put their minds at ease. He was able to express himself more freely than he previously has, something Rangiku notices and is proud of him for.

THE MOMENT

The moment of all moments. The big one. The scene I always wanted to see. The reconciliation of Hitsugaya and Hinamori. WHERE DO I EVEN START?

I'm doing a more detailed summary because I'll have a lot to say about this section:

Almost a month after Aizen's defeat, Hitsugaya is training and still believes he's no strong enough. He laments about what happened, believing he failed in contributing to the battle and reaffirms his desire to protect the person who matters most to him.

Shinji comes in, having looked for Hitsugaya and Rangiku (who's watching all of this from afar, trying to stay hidden). After a brief comical moment, Hitsugaya and Shinji discuss the Visoreds and Shinji's return to the Soul Society.

Shinji cuts the conversation off though, and as for Hinamori to come out of hiding.

Hitsugaya and Hinaori become speechless when seeing each other.

Annoyed, Shinji prods Hitsugaya (aka, a kick to his shin) to speak up, but the latter is too flustered to come up with anything. Hinamori laughs at Hitsugaya reaction, which breaks the ice and gets Hitsugaya to apologize for letting her get hurt.

Hinamori is quick to forgive him, and goes on to say that she should be apologizing to him as she feels she was holding him back. Hitsugaya dismisses this, saying she has nothing to apologize for.

Hitsugaya ask Rangiku to come out of hiding, and while she and Hinamori chat, Hitsugaya thanks Shinji for giving him to opportunity to make amends with Hinamori. Shinji says it's nothinghe only did it because he was looking out for Fifth Division, but Hitsugaya is thankful he says he'll bring sweets over for them to eat together next time.

Hitsugaya thinks that he nearly forgot he isn't alone anymore, that he's always had friends who are by his side. Smiling, he reflects aloud that being obsessed with acting like a captain keeps him going around in circles. However, Rangiku assures him isn't going around in circles, and Hitsugaya a little moved by this.

He asks Shinji about his captaincy, and Shinji says he's isn't as 'stuffy and serious' and Hitsugaya back then or now. He offers to help Hitsugaya learn how to chill out, teasing that he has no idea how to do that. Hitsugaya says it'd be a big help if he did.

Hitsugaya silently reflects on Aizen's betrayal and letting Hinamori get hurt. He was shaken by both events and feared being betrayed by someone close to him again, causing him to shut his heart off to the world. He thought he could protect everything by himself, but he has come to realize believing in others isn't a weakness and that having them by his side is what will make him grow stronger. He reaffirms aloud he won't lose his way again.

He concludes the scene by quoting what he said about fireworks from his birthday chapter and saying that the bonds one forms never go away, no matter how distant they become or what's happened, they keeping on shining forever.

I'll get my reactions out of the way first:

'It's hard to admit, but I really didn't contribute anything to that battle...'

'I can't even protect the person who matters most to me.'

SHE MATTERS THE MOST!!!

Hitsugaya not remembering Shinji's name had me cackling, laughing way too hard for something so dumb:

Then Hitsugaya and Hinamori seeing each other:

I was like this throughout most of their exchange:

With a few moments of this in-between:

Now on to my thoughts. First I want bring up another bit of canon-bending that came up here, and it's going make me sound way too nerdy: in the game it's been almost a month since Aizen's defeat, but in Death Save the Strawberry, Hinamori was still recovering at this stage. In fact, it took her nearly five months to make a full psychological recovery and leave Fourth Division. We also see a scene from Death Save the Strawberry play out in Shinji's Secret Story, where Hinamori gets a text from Renji saying Rukia has a plan to help restore Ichigo's powers.

This is what makes me question if this game or canon or if the time periods are getting retconned. Personally, Death Save the Strawberry's seems more realistic to me. She's gone through so much in such a short period of time, from having the person she admired most betray her, thinking everyone is moving on without her, and likely thinking she wasn't strong enough to be on the battlefield. Plus, we get the beautiful interaction between her and Shinji, who reaffirms everyone's waiting for her and that he wants to her continue being the lieutenant of Fifth Division. I don't know, I just feel like it would take more than a month before Hitsugaya and Hinamori saw each other again, but again, I'm making a nerdy nit-pick.

Anyway, this scene all but confirms these two were on talking terms before the Thousand Year Blood War arc began. A few fans wondered, based on Hinamori's reaction during chapter 658, if these two were speaking to each other. I mentioned in my analysis post that I thought they had reconciled based on the snippets from the 13 Blades databook. Now though, if this game really is canon, we can confirm they absolutely were!

On to the interaction itself. I have to admit, I was shocked at how short and simple it was. Here I was, with my dramatics thinking they'd go somewhere quiet and have this long, emotional debrief about what happened and Hinamori would forgive Hitsugaya but say there was nothing to forgive, then Hitsugaya would ultimately realize he needs Hinamori in his life far more than he needs to keep her and others who are important to him at a distance.

What I got was basically:

'Hinamori, I'm sorry'.

'It's okay, Shiro-chan, I'm sorry too.'

'You don't need to be sorry'.

It perplexed me at first, and I even felt an odd sense of discouragement for the way I've been writing 'An Unwavering Light', a fanfic all about the reconciliation of Hitsugaya and Hinamori. Here I was thinking it would be this angsty, emotional period in their lives, but it got resolved so quickly and had more direct involvement from Rangiku and Shinji.

But the more I thought on this scene, the more it started to make some sense to me. Of course it can be that simple. It's THEM!

These two have known each other for decades, and it shows that even something as horrific as what they've been through can't tear them apart. They were uncertain when they saw each other, you can see it in the hesitation when neither speaks and they look away from each other. Hinamori even hesitates to make her presence known after Shinji tells her to come out.

Just when you think this is going to devolve into some angst-riddled moment, Shinji brought out a side Hitsugaya that Hinamori as always known -- a flustered side that's been with him since childhood, that she has even teased him about on a few occasions. Seeing him act like that makes her laugh, relaxes her enough that she speaks to him. It showed no matter what, even if she doesn't know where they stand or where to start, she knows him. She knows and accepts and loves him, whether you think that's platonically or romantically.

At hearing her laughter, all Hitsugaya can say is her name, but it's in such a way that made me do the fangirling reaction as per above. There's relief at seeing her being able to laugh, but there's also, I think, a little disbelief. It's like he's seeing her for the first time again. She can still laugh around him, she came with Shinji to see him. She's right there, wanting to see him. He's not even caught up on the fact she's laughing at him, he's just amazed that she's laughing and smiling at him. When was the last time he saw her do either of those things, let along at or with him?

It's this, I think, that gives him the courage to finally apologize. And of course he thinks he's responsible for her getting hurt, but Hinamori knows this isn't really the case. They were both victims of Aizen, tricked into doing things neither of them would otherwise do to each other. I think we as a fandom knew Hinamori would be quick to forgive Hitsugaya and say there was nothing to really forgive.

What I didn't see coming was Hinamori thinking she was holding Hitsugaya back. I would love to know where this thinking came from. Had it been something she'd been contemplating during her recovery? Had Rangiku let something slip during a visit and Hinamori thought on it too much and came to the conclusion that he was going through mental anguish because of her?

And Hitsugaya is quick to dismiss this and say she has nothign to apologise for. Because no, she never has. Hinamori herself has never held him back. Hitsugaya's obession with wanting to be stronger, with feeling he isn't good enough and needs to do things alone is what has held him back. He's still growing, still learning, it's understandable. What Hinamori doesn't realize is she's probably the number one person who is getting him to become stronger. She went to the Academy, and he wanted to go with her. He gained the abilities of Shinigami quicker than most, and he chose t use these abilities to protect her and eventually others he grew close to, as we've seen time and again in other BLEACH media. We even got a freakin' song about it for godsake!

His lack of strength is his own perception, but others like Rangiku can see he isn't weak and has become stronger as the years went on. He wasn't going around in circles, just getting stuck in a mindset that made him think he wasn't good enough when he always was. But he had to work his way through it, and a big part of doing that was finally seeing Hinamori.

It was through the effort of Hinamori, Shinji and Rangiku that he learned to let go of his fear of being close to others and of being betrayed again. It's something I'm 100% certain Hinamori herself went through, but this is Hitsugaya's story and I hope we get to see a secret story for Hinamori too.

My only small gripe about the scene is...I don't know if it'd be in character for Hitsugaya to offer to eat sweets with Shinji the next time they meet. Seems like something he wouldn't do, but maybe he really is just so thankful that this is his way of expressing his gratitude??

Also, Hitsuhina fandom...HOW ARE WE FEELINGS ABOUT WING-MAN SHINJI AND WING-WOMAN RANGIKU GETTING CONFIRMED!!

Maybe I'm being over-dramatic (I totally am), but what else can you call this?! Rangiku brought up the fireworks were romantic and was there for the final scene, and Shinji practically brought the two of them together to talk. He knows what's up, and he's not about to let them lose what they have and what it can potentially become in the future. It's like @alexiethymia said: he's likely learned from his past experiences with Aizen that communication is key, and that despite how long-lived Shinigami are, their bonds and time together are precious. He doesn't want to see his lieutenant lose a friend she's known since childhood. He wants to see her get better, to move forward into the future without doubt or fear about the people she's close to. He's looking out for her, as the proud pseudo father/uncle figure he will become to her!

I think the same can be said for Rangiku, who lost her childhood friend and love and doesn't know why he did the things he did. She doesn't want to see these two go through a similar fate.

All in all, it was a simple and sweet moment for all involved. For me personally, it didn't go down how I thought it would, and it's honestly made me reevaluate how I'm writing 'An Unwavering Light'. I plan keep the drama there, but maybe I can ditch a few of the moments I was planning to lighten the story up. I still like how it happened though, and I was an emotional wreck afterwards, so I think it did it's job XD

TL;DR

The whole story of Hitsugaya's Secret Story is to show the evolution of Hitsugaya's character. He's gone from a child who was emotionally closed off, isolated and ostracized, believing he needed to reliable/become stronger without anyone's help, to a teen who is opening up and becoming more expressive, is seeing the value in relying on others, and realizing he's always had friends by his side who will help him becoming stronger. It's a beautiful thing to see after all these years as a fan, and we've seen evidence of this growth throughout the manga.

For Hitsugaya and Hinamori's bond, it shows they were talking before the Thousand Year Blood War, and that their bond is too strong to be broken by something as big as what happened during the confrontation with Aizen. They went through so much, but ultimately, their reconciliation was simple and sweet, knowing who they each are and knowing they're better off by each others' sides than they are apart.

I'd like to thank @ryusxnka for bringing my attention to this in the first place. I was aware of the Rebirth of Souls game but not that there were secret stories for some of the characters. Here's hoping Hinamori gets one!

And if you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my crazy ramblings! I would love to read your takes on these scenes too! :D

[nabi-unveiled]

Nabi Notices (Mar 26, 2025)

Yesterday was incredibly busy so this was delayed a day, but that's ok. I'm sure it will happen from time to time. This week has prompted me to think a lot about head canons. Particularly, the different reasons people make them and what makes it fun (or not fun) for people.

For me, I create most of my head canons when my brain gets stuck. I use them to fill in narrative gaps, close out narrative threads, make sense of things, or explain things that I noticed but were never discussed (like tattoos). It's not so much about "fun" for me (although I do have a LOT of fun making them), it's because I can't get my brain to move forward otherwise. I also make them when I just wanted more to the story (like Fadel/Style wedding head canon). When the writing is really strong, the characters are well-developed, and I felt like I got strong resolution - then I don't make them. I have very few head canons for some of my favorite shows - they gave me everything I needed on their own. That said - I'll read any fanfiction people want to offer even on those 😂.

The Things I Noticed This Week:

Fabulous Fit

I was predicting Pai from Flirt Milk would take the "fit" win this week (as he almost always delivers one outfit I love), but then Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist gave me another character this week to watch for style. I particularly enjoyed this sweater:

I love a good cardigan/sweater. It's why I enjoyed Phu's wardrobe so much in The Boy Next World. The hearts are upside down, but I'm going to say that's because Sant hasn't figured out what his heart wants yet. I was also pretty sure it was the same sweater Phu wore (in a different color scheme), and @dribs-and-drabbles confirmed it was. I think I like this yellow version best.

Fascinating Find

I went on a lot of deep dives this week, but many of them weren't prompted by a particular show. They were prompted by @iguessitsjustme. Thanks to one of their comments, I got to learn A LOT about spoon theory.

And now I'm busy assessing all of my characters with that in mind. Obviously Da-on from Secret Relationships was tired and stressed. He could not have had that many spoons. I've decided that explains a lot of his puzzling actions. It's officially added to my head canon now.

Fantastic Frame

Perfect 10 Liners isn't a show that comes to mind when I think "amazing visuals". They don't really play around a lot with light and most of the framing is very straightforward. There's nothing "amazing" about this frame, but this is the visual that is stuck in my head this week.

It was the furthest apart Faifa and Wine had ever been on this rooftop. Wine hitting his knees as he couldn't find Faifa, and Faifa who was distressed himself and could've stayed hidden choosing to expose himself. I can make up a reason for Faifa being in the light here, but it's not a clear visual story. But for some reason, I REALLY liked it. There was distance, but it was momentary and dealt with by BOTH people taking action. So yeah, probably more due to the narrative than the frame itself. But this is my favorite visual of the week.

Fun Fluorish

I had almost given up on My Golden Blood during Episode 1. I wasn't sure I'd even put it on as a background watch. But I'm glad I did, because my man Tong threw GARLIC BREAD at a vampire. 🤣

It was an excellent touch of comedy in a show that needs comedy to make it work. I still don't know that I'll always watch it. I'm not vibing yet, but I haven't counted it out.

Favorite Fragment

My favorite dialogue this week came from the finale of Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo.

It was a close contest with some of the dialogue in When Live Gives You Tangerines. However, this line just felt like something I'd say in a variety of situations. It's really similar in some ways to the quote on my blog header. I've already used this line once this week as a joke response to my daughter and once in a post. I'm going to have to be careful not to overuse this screenshot.

My Queue for the Coming Week:

Well, true to form I didn't stick to my list last week. I went off the rails and watched a bunch of other stuff 😅, because I wanted comfort shows this past week. So here's the "I probably will watch it" list for this week. The bolded one(s) are the only one(s) I KNOW for certain I will watch.

Perfect 10 Liners (Ep 23)

Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist (Ep 2)

Top Form

Love for Love's Sake (Ep 1)

Make Up With Mud (Ep 4)

When Life Gives You Tangerines (Ep 2)

Anything else is up to whim and fancy.

[everythingblackblack]

Do you think Shinichi wanted to be the one who almost kissed KID? I'm imagining him having his body back and flirting with KID as revenge for his friend and trying to figure out how much of his reactions are acting as part of the disguise. I want him to find out that KID/Kuroba Kaito hasn't had his first kiss yet and decide that he will be the one to give it to him. I feel like most people assume Kaito is the more relationship experienced one but considering ShinRan's development post-canon that will probably be Shinichi, he didn't have to worry about consent issues or DNA or potentially getting a loved one framed as an accomplice - which Kaito has to consider in and out of disguises.

Lmao, Kaito must be so bitter, imagine your rival got the girl and you've been in the friendzone for 37 years. That's hard. (Yes, I'm counting Robot Kaito's confession. Since Aoko and her entire class basically think it was him, it counts for me).

_________________ The first thing that came to my mind when you said that was this scenario:

"Let me see if I understand you, Kudo." Haibara looks at him trying not to show her disapproval for the tremendous stupidity she just heard from him. "The first thing you want to do now that you got your body back is go kissing with KID."

She wouldn't judge him for that, she just thinks the reason he uses to justify himself is… so dumb.

"I'm doing it because he almost kissed Hattori, and you know, I have to protect my best friend's dignity."

"You sound like a person desperate for the attention of the one you love."

"I don't love him, and I'm not desperate!"

"But you want to kiss him, and you just confirmed that you've been thinking about this for a while." Haibara looks at him unimpressed. She's judging him.

"I'm doing it for Hattori, he's my brother from another mother and all that…!"

"You say that, but all you think about is kissing KID."

"Don't say it like that! I don't-!"

"Like I said, so desperate." ___________

I had thought of a conversation between the two of them, talking about their first kiss:

Shinichi: My first kiss was with a random guy, he mistook me for Ran, I hated it.

KID: What bad luck for that, I thought you were going to tell me that you had your first kiss with Miss Mouri at 13 or something.

Shinichi: I wasn't so lucky, what about you? Have you had your first kiss yet?

KID: Do you doubt that?

Shinichi: I'm just saying that it's hard to be sure with you, you're too ambiguous, I can't say that I'd be surprised if it's not the case, but I can also imagine it.

KID: To be honest… it depends.

Shinichi: Your answer is "It depends"? See? So ambiguous. "Depends" on what anyway?

KID: It depends on what you consider a kiss.

KID: What is a kiss to you?

Shinichi: I'm sure I'm missing a lot of things in the middle of this question, but if I had to answer, isn't it supposed to be just lip contact?

KID: And if there's no consent would you still call it a kiss?

Shinichi: Did you steal a kiss from someone?

KID: Not exactly.

Shinichi: You're so lazy about it! Just tell me what happened!

KID: Well, I once did cpr on a person I liked. Although at the time I still didn't like him, and I definitely didn't think about kissing him, otherwise "Damn, I have to do something or she'll choke!"

Shinichi: Well, that's not a kiss.

KID: But you said a kiss was lip contact, our lips touched, it would be a kiss right?

Shinichi: Why does even a kiss have to be complicated with you?

KID: I'd like to know too.

Shinichi: I guess we can just leave it at "it depends." __________________

In movie 10, there is a scene where Conan falls into the water, then wakes up in Agasa's car and Hattori tells him that "Hakuba" pulled him out of the water. It is later revealed that "Hakuba" was actually KID.

I've been thinking ever since I saw it "Did KID perform CPR on Shinichi?" since he spent two hours unconscious, since there is nothing to confirm or deny it, I assume that it did happen.

I just like the idea of ​​Shinichi being Kaito's first kiss, although yes, I would prefer it to be Shinichi, but I wanted to share this thought.

[anemicjellyfish]

Stolas and Sensory Issues

So a lot of us see traits of autism in Stolas. I've been thinking about how his wardrobe might be an indicator of it.

Of course, this is screenshot of his latest outfit that I'm using! 😍

The latest addition to his wardrobe has a similarity to previous items: an opening for the feathers on his chest.

While I've loved the jokes about his shirt needing a "boob window," I'm thinking that this is confirming a sensory issue for Stolas in regards to his feathers.

The beloved and/or dreaded royal romper has a similar feature.

Even in LooLoo Land, Stolas' LooLoo shirt has his chest feathers poking out.

Something that some (but certainly not all) autistic individuals struggle with is Sensory Processing Disorder. Since I'm not an expert in this, I'll keep to a minimum discussing the actual aspects of it and reference WebMD.

Sensory processing disorder is a condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses.

Sensory processing disorder may affect one sense, like hearing, touch, or taste. Or it may affect multiple senses.

I'm thinking that clothing pressing down on his feathers may be a triggering sensory input. Similar to the way a shirt tag may be rough to the point where it is a constant irritation. Or a sweater made with infuriatingly scratchy synthetic fabric.

We've already seen Stolas' apprehension toward scrambled eggs in Sinsmas. I've been told by a few people that eggs are a common texture that they dislike.

I don't think it's too far of a leap for Stolas, who is frequently clad in a bathrobe, to have sensory dislikes of both food and restrictive clothing.

But something else in Sinsmas really hammered this home. Stella!

We finally see Stella in anything other than her typical, full-length dress that covers most of her body.

And she has similar, although not as lengthy, chest feathers!

Stella hasn't displayed the same autistic traits that Stolas has. She clearly has no trouble engaging in social situations and doesn't seem to perform any stimming behaviors. The restriction of clothing on her feathers may not trigger any sensory issues if she doesn't have the same sensitivities that Stolas has in regards to her feathers.

We can't see Andrealphus' feathers just yet, but he doesn't seem to be bothered by restrictive clothing at all.

Despite a fluffy bathrobe of his own during the "Spa Day," Andrealphus wears what appears to be a tight, long-sleeved shirt while lounging indoors in his earlier scene in Sinsmas.

(Yes, I'm still using this screenshot, it's too good to put away forever.)

I personally am unsure if the show will ever address if Stolas is intended to be autistic. On one hand, it would be nice for it to be confirmed & canon. But I also think Helluva Boss does an excellent job at the concept of "show, don't tell." They've given us more than enough evidence to come to the conclusion ourselves.

[syndrossi]

i thought i’d break the ice with this^ how’d you like it?

so i have this ongoing headcanon that the universe where the boys came back as girl twins that their friendships with aegon and aemond switch. (again, it’s a headcanon, so let me know if i get any characterizations wrong) and this could be when they’re older like 12-13

naturally, the green boys might’ve been told by otto to try to be very nice with the girls, one of them might end up marrying one of them

of course neither likes that idea until they actually meet the girls bc well, they’re so cool and very pretty

lets get to the girls, you already confirmed that Jon (or Daenerys/Dany, Visenya, etc, choices choices) would definitely have kept up the sword practice in secret and now that they’re with Daemon, she’d ask for sword lessons and Daemon would comply.

Rhaegar (or Rhaella, Rhaelle, Rhaenys [although i doubt this one bc there’s a current living Rhaenys atm so]) ooooo what about Rhaegella (too weird? too twilight 4?) would also keep up with the sword practice with Jon

thing is, Jon is more likely to openly challenge one of the green boys in combat than Rhaegar is, who would think it smart to keep the skill hidden, while Jon can be more impulsive, especially since she/he is older and spent more time with the sword and not really caring about hiding that

still, there COULD have been a conversation between the twins where J might’ve convinced R to just let her do her thing and R figured, “hey, if they think i’m the weaker twin, they’ll underestimate me and i can use it to my advantage”

THIS MEANS that Jon might be caught using a sword and teased, leading her/him to challenge Aemond (who’s better and more interested swords and fighting). obviously Jon wins, and Aemond might’ve been mad at losing to a girl, especially with Aegon’s teasing but then he talks to J and the two make a truce, and maybe J starts helping him out with training

meanwhile, Aegon might take a liking to both of them, but since Aemond has been more focused on J, Aegon seeks out R, who is very pretty and not weird like Helaena (his thoughts), she’s charming and tells intriguing tales and seems very interested in him talking about his horses and whatnot (R is very good at pretending, she’d run circles around this guy)

of course, things could progress as they’re doing now. Aegon might find a warrior f!Jon cool and interesting. he may not like fighting, but he may like watching her fight. (Aegon’s Aegon) And Aemond may gravitate toward R bc she’s very sweet and charming and unlike his sister, she accepts hugs and cheek kisses. and we already know Aemond has mother issues so him going to R, who’s used to being a caretaker could be plausible just as much.

i mean i just like the twist, but let me know if i got anything wrong or right, you know your characters better.

thank you for answering!

I could see Aemond warming much more to Jon-as-a-girl. The things that provoke seething jealousy in Resonant (it hasn't happened yet, but it's brewing) for Aemond in Jon don't really apply if he's part of a twin sister duo.

Jon-as-a-boy: is the best at swords ever, has a loving father who is badass and has a dragon, is likely to inherit Runestone and SOME Valyrian steel blade, and gets to have that close bond with Rhaegar. While Aemond is stuck with Viserys for a father and Aegon for a brother. Jon is everything he wants to have/be, and he doesn't even have the proper Valyrian look.

Jon-as-a-girl isn't someone to be jealous of, OTOH. Girl!Jon doesn't inherit anything, and Aemond's not going to be jealous of a sisterly relationship. Jon's non-Valyrian coloring he probably finds striking instead if he's a girl, and her skill with a blade intriguing rather than ego-threatening. I could see Aemond liking either Jon or Rhaegar for a match. Canonically, he was far more attracted to Helaena than Aegon was, and Rhaegar is certainly the more sensitive/introspective type. But Jon is also very charismatic and Alys Rivers was pretty spunky.

Aegon, meanwhile, is probably a little scared of girl!Jon, who is relentless about calling him on his bullshit. Whereas boy!Jon's propensity for shenanigans is something he admires. So his view of girl!Jon could be "scary but hot." (I wouldn't put it past Aegon to figure out whoever Aemond likes better and pursue that twin, just to fuck with him.)

[fancobs]

Why I&'m not happy with the Inanimate Insanity finale we got and how I& would fix it

So even before the finale, I& had my& theories on how it was all going to end. To me& it was obvious that there was a thematic throughline in the narrative that was going to lead to a simple yet powerful conclusion.

If you were to analyze the themes present in II, you will consistently find complex characters, ones that hurt others in the past, yet have found ways to change themselves and improve, regardless of whether they're forgiven or not. Balloon, Taco, Knife, Nickel... even MePhone4.

When it started becoming clear that Cobs was going to be a central character in the story, to me& it was obvious that he would go through a similar arc. Let me& explain.

The way I& think it could have gone is, Suitcase and Knife escape from that cell with the help of Bow possessing Apple, but don't run away from the ship entirely. They can't - their job isn't over yet.

One thing about Suitcase is that she values honesty a lot. Cobs wasn’t selfless when he told them the truth about their existence - it is quite obvious it was a tactic to get them on his side - but it was still the truth. And Suitcase can also tell that the story isn't quite complete yet, because there is still a question that hasn't been answered.

So, with the help of Toilet and Bow, Knife and Suitcase hunt Cobs down in the ship and pin him down. That X model that Toilet can control perhaps comes in handy, too. But despite what Knife wants to do, Suitcase stops him and confronts Cobs with words. All she asks is: Why are you doing this?

Of course, Cobs initially tries to pull some bullshit about how he's doing it for the progress, or for money, or even for the sake of the sake of the contestants themselves, but before he can even finish his sentence, Suitcase shuts the excuses down and repeats the question again: No REALLY. Why?

"The Future Is So Yesterday" is playing muffled quietly in the background so that in the brief moment of stunned silence, you hear the lyrics "So Cobs, is your whole persona intended / To keep those suspicions extended / So all your schemes become blended / And your work cannot be contended?", hinting towards how he's cornered in this moment, and to highlight how he's merely playing a persona.

So this is when we get a MePhone4-style flashback moment into Cobs's memories, in a moment when he gets hit with all the realizations and cannot evade the doubts anymore.

So, if you've been paying close attention, you'll notice that Cobs himself doesn't have a very positive relationship with his parents. He says so himself in "Theft and Battery" when he shows off the garage in which he invented his first computer. It is not hard to see how perhaps the pressure from family and a bit of gifted kid syndrome made him think that he has to monetize his hobbies, and eventually led to him tying his company's financial success to his personal self worth.

This is important to the analysis - it's not just greed that pushes him to attack the aliens, the stakes are much higher from his perspective because if the company fails, everything he's ever worked on for his whole life is destroyed.

And so, he's pushed by external factors to do horrible things. At first with good intentions (progress and innovation), although at some point it's undeniable that sunk cost fallacy would sink in.

All of this would get visualized through little scenes of his past, depicting this slow descent. But then we would get a scene of another thing he canonically admitted to doing - watching the show, and finding comfort in it.

You see, there's gotta be something that caught his attention and made him this deeply obsessed with the show. And would it really be a stretch to say that, especially with how it's basically confirmed that MePhone4 was basing some of the characters on the things he saw in Cobs, that perhaps he sees those parallels to himself and that changes him?

Remember Marshmallow's grief over how the competition pushes you to be your worst self? To play a persona that isn't really you?

He's not completely ready to change just yet, he has too much to lose, but it undoubtedly saws the seeds for it in his mind. He has other feelings to work through, perhaps the bitterness that he feels at seeing how MePhone4 feels more like a real person than he ever was. He feels inferior, almost like he's failing at his one and only purpose in life. And we know for a fact that Cobs is a complete and total perfectionist - of course these standards he has apply to himself too.

That is why he decides to take the matters in his own hands for the show, and the things that we see and get reminded of in the flashback.

But now, we return back to the present. Cobs is pinned down, disarmed, surrounded by the very contestants that helped his own revelations, and for the first time, someone is actually asking about the real him. He's helpless - Knife has taken the blade in his pocket away, and he can't escape. He cannot dodge the question, and at this point, he realizes that there's not really a way out for him.

Why did he do this? He confesses quietly: "Because it's all I've ever known." And here we have another comparison point - where MePhone4 said this with a pleading desperation, Cobs says it with determination. It's all he's ever known, that's why he did it and that's why it's all he'll ever do. Hurt others like his parents hurt him, and like he hurt himself. To him, that's just a fact of life, and one he prides himself in.

And here is where the main point of this essay and rewrite is - I& want to see Cobs change, get the same character arc as the others have gotten. I& want Suitcase and the others to go and firce him to apologize to MePhone4. He doesn't need to forgive him - in fact, it'd be more fitting if he didn’t - but I& want to see Cobs give his company away to 3GS or MePad, to resign from his past of cruelty, and to have at least someone (perhaps even Suitcase, who has always seen the best in people such as Balloon) support him in this journey.

I& hope you can see from the examples I&'ve provided throughout this essay how this is a much more natural and logical conclusion to this story. I& was extremely disappointed to see that the ending painted Cobs in such a one dimensional light - especially since, unlike the contestants that were intentionally created to be flat and simple, Cobs is supposed to be an actual real person, and it just does not make sense that the theme of self improvement and forgiveness seen so thoroughly throughout the show wouldn't apply to him.

The only thing I&'m not sure how to include in this ending is the Box and MeLife lore. Those parts of the finale were genuinely fascinating and enjoyable, and I& would love to hear other people's suggestions on how we could still have the lore revealed while also giving Cobs a more thoughtful and well rounded ending.

[drdt-headcanons]

I've headcanonned Whit as aromantic since I first watched DRDT back in 2021 (before he was confirmed as bi). Being realistic, it makes most sense for Whit to be bisexual and biromantic, but I could read the line "I like both guys and girls" as skewed as possible and think "he never specified romantic or sexual, so he could still be aromantic bisexual". I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I acknowledge the canonicity of Whit's bisexuality, but he could still technically be aromantic and bisexual.

Nevertheless, I understand the appeal of Whit feeling romantic attraction and craving a romantic relationship. It makes the reason for his bad luck in dating more of a thing related to his rejection of deep connection, commitment, and feeling "bad" feelings rather than his sexuality. However, I can also find the potential of Whit's aromanticism to be appealing.

Like, despite knowing how relationships between other people work well enough to make a career out of it, he avoids self-reflection so much he hasn't realized he's actually aromantic, and that's why he never feels fulfilled in/has had any luck in romantic relationships. (Although I suppose he can feel that AND everything from the paragraph above).

Also, I like the idea of one-sided CharWhit where Charles quickly falls for Whit because he has been the nicest person in his sheltered life, and Whit notices, but he tries to ignore it so he doesn't fuck up his relationship with Charles like all his other romantic relationships. Of course, it was Whit's denial of any difficult emotions that ruined his relationships, not the romance itself, so things start feeling awkward anyway. Plus, I think it would be interesting to see the dynamic between two people where one person's romantic feelings have been rejected, but they're still friends (totally not projecting on Charles here shhhh).

To conclude: aro bi Whit :)

:)

[euryleli]

I don't think anyone from the byers-hopper family is going to die!

I would love to hear more about your theories regarding this subject if you really think there's an actual chance of characters like Will and El (or even Jonathan) dying in st5 - because from where I stand, I just... can't see it happening!

It doesn't make sense to me for a number of reasons!

First there's Will: a closeted gay teen from the 80s living his WORST life in smalltown, Indiana. Will, a boy who has been bullied his entire life not only by his peers but also by his own fucking father - all in the name of this inherent otherness he carries that's been associated with his queerness since episode 1 from s1!! The boy that's always described as kind, honest and sensitive - the little kid who changed the world of every single one of his loved ones with his absence. William Byers, the boy who went to hell, spent a week there and then came back all wrong, slowly losing his identity because he was fucking possessed by this otherworldly creature - who was burned out of him, mind you AND the after effects of his frolicking in the upside down for seven days straight and late possession by freaky monster #1 led to a connection that haunts him TO THIS DAY!

THEN (because it can't get better) we have stranger things season 3 and 4 where will byers gets beaten time and time again by forced conformity, internalized homophobia and, of course, the usual supernatural Horrors that we're all acquainted with (and that have a canonical narrative connection to all the issues previously mentioned but wtv)!

Ur telling me that this boy who hasn't known A SINGLE DAY OF PEACE in his LIFE (because Will had it bad before the upside down), who's the only confirmed gay character (as of now) AND the one who doesn't believe he can or even deserves love?? Is going to die??? This boy is not gonna have his happy ending? Will Byers, the starting point of this whole story is gonna be used as a pawn to... what? Further develop a straight relationship that actively hinders the arc of the female main character (El)? His death is gonna "complete" his arc and we'll deal with another case of the "Bury Your Gays" trope? Mike's character is gonna be buried alongside Will then because if his ending is one of conformity then all his actions throughout the series make no god-damned sense - basically he's just an asshole and an awful fucking friend? What the actual fuck??

So... Will dies, saves everyone but leaves Joyce and Jonathan completely heartbroken? Even when their love for Will is what kick-started the whole show? The show started with us rooting for them to find Will and they did!

But oh... wait... he died lol

It doesn't make sense, narratively speaking.

"What about El, then?" you ask!

Look, I'm slightly scared for her too but I genuinely think they're not gonna kill her off and the main reason is Hopper. What's the point of having Hopper grieve Sarah, his first daughter who tragically dies at a young age from cancer, just to make him start coping with her loss, bonding with El - actively viewing her as his family - to then take that family from him A SECOND TIME?? WHAT'S THE POINT OF THAT?

Aside from El's arc and her development as a young girl who was robbed of her childhood and sense of self for so long finally coming into her own person (not Hopper, not Mike, just El), killing her off is an efficient way to ruin not one but TWO of the most beloved characters in stranger things.

Having either Will, El or both of them dying in the finale would be a tragedy and yes, stranger things has it's moments where everything goes wrong and people die (and stay dead) but...

It's not supposed to be a tragedy.

That's not the kind of show we're watching.

Hell, you can say that they're going to kill the other family members then! But I don't see them killing Joyce or even Jonathan (although I can admit I'm not fully confident on that last one) because - again - it defeats the whole purpose of the show and Hopper came back from the dead already, the duffer brothers are not gonna kill him AGAIN (El grieving her father a second time is just as bad as Hopper grieving Sarah, then El)

The Byers are the heart of the show and sure... stranger things s3 and s4 kind of lost the plot on that front, but we're definitely getting back with willel and their final arcs in s5 (their family, now with Hopper and El, will be heavily featured in their development)

So, yeah...

Stranger Things is, fortunately, not a tragedy - and considering the love I have for all the characters (especially the Byers-Hopper) I can't say I'm upset about it.