#Crystal kind of solidifies this for me

[crafteeauthor]

Honestly I have to wonder if Charles' immense repression doesn't just come from a place of growing up in Thatcher era England with an abusive father (although that is certainly a lot of it), but also from putting Edwin on a bit of a pedestal?

They're on equal footing in terms of just about everything but there's a hint of a dynamic there (they've got a bit of a prince/knight thing going on) that points towards Charles looking up to Edwin in some capacity. It's a little hard to get (laughably easy to get, really hard to register) a dumb teenage crush on someone who appeared to you in your last hours bathed in soft light like death herself and showed you the sort of kindness you thought only angels could show; it's too deific a mental image if that makes sense? I imagine directing romantic feelings towards such a monumental figure in his life (death) would feel like looking at the sun too long

[kenisle]

the thing abt dead boy detectives compared to other ships (canon or otherwise) that i’ve seen — where it puts two people very devoted to each other in positions where they have to walk through fire for each other over and over again — is that for those other ships there’s often a fair amount of ambiguity afforded by one or both of the characters’ caring or heroic nature, and the fact that they happen to keep risking their lives saving each other is more a result of the narrative constantly putting them in those situations than a statement on that relationship vs others in the story.

take, for example, buck and eddie from 911. the moments we all love — buck digging up the mud with his bare hands when the well collapsed on eddie, or rolling under the fire truck and dragging eddie to safety under sniper fire — do show buck’s devotion to eddie, but because buck is so devoted to all of his loved ones, it’s easy to imagine him doing the same if someone like maddie, hen, chimney, or bobby were in eddie’s place. buck has a big heart; he’d do this kind of thing for many people.

these moments and others like them stick out to me as evidence of buck and eddie’s special bond not because buck wouldn’t do the same for his sister or team, but because there was a deliberate decision by the writers to put buck and eddie specifically into these situations, rather than anyone else buck cares about, and to give these scenes such weight (the way the scenes are shot, scored, and later referenced). the meta narrative plays a big part in how these scenes build the relationship.

dead boy detectives, though? on the stairs out of hell, charles outright states that there is nobody else he would do this for besides edwin. charles is a caring person too, just like buck, except here there’s a hard line drawn in the dirt. charles is saying that no, actually, he wouldn’t venture into hell to rescue crystal, or niko, which not only solidifies his singular devotion to edwin but also hammers home just how dangerous of an endeavor it was to undertake, if edwin is the only person charles — whose whole job in death is saving people — is willing to risk it for.

(also i have a sneaking suspicion that a big part of why charles wouldn’t try to rescue anyone else from hell is because it would involve either separating from edwin to do it alone or putting edwin in danger by bringing him along)

[koukouture]

I will forever think about this now because yeah this applies to an astounding amount of characters in ffxiv whom you could see their friendship with WoL as more of a convenience and how they use WoL as a tool. I think Aymeric is obviously guilty of it (bc of the above image) but I also think to some extent the Crystal Exarch is guilty of this (yeah ik it's not for HIS benefit but he still did kinda use WoL and he would not have taken it well if WoL stopped being a hero)

So many characters that are "friends" with WoL kind of only see them for what they can do. I think to some extent even the Scions are like that. Actually come to think of it, the Scions are the most egregious case of this because WoL is their champion. After we killed Ifrit that solidified WoL as something to be used and thrown at any danger that came at the world.

A lot of characters The Exarch included only know WoL as the hero. For what they can do for everyone else and it makes me insaaaannnneee. Likes yes OBVIOUSLY Exarch/G'raha admires the WoL as a hero and sure he got to know us for a time- but he just thinks that we are the hero from the books. WoL is inspiring; they give people hope and they give people the strength to push on but that's all he knows them for. Listen, I'm still on post Shadowbringers, but so far Exarch has done nothing but sing our praises as hero and yeah I'm sure he has good intentions but it's still a little dehumanizing that to him that's all WoL is. Everyone is free to make their WoL's relationships with the other characters whatever the hell they want ofc, but I kinda read a lot of the characters this way just because it's so easy to water down one person for only cherry picked parts of their whole personality. Celebrities are the best example of this but we also to this to the people around us every single day.

I think Aymeric and WoL's relationship has also sort of been put into question with this moment (for me at least) because now I'm thinking "Oh my god, Aymeric did extend his friendship to WoL for either his own gain or for that of Ishgard's" and it's not a rag on him I love Aymeric but he is a politician. I don't doubt he admires WoL for all they've done for Ishgard, but I also don't think that if Aymeric hadn't pushed us we wouldn't have ended the Dragonsong war. I wouldn't say he manipulated us, but he didn't exactly have any qualms about making us battle on the Steps of Faith for Ishgard- yk, the closed off nation that's pretty hostile to outsiders- despite not knowing us for super long at that point. He thought that we could get it done and was like "Sure. You can fight for my country" and yeah I think Alphinaud's handling of the whole thing was also to blame- but Aymeric being okay with letting an outsider deal with things that should be handled by the Temple Knights is kinda sus to me now lmao. Like you are in charge of Ishgard's military shouldn't YOU have dealt with this???? Okay lol.

Listen, obviously I still love Aymeric and Exarch/G'raha but I think the potential that they only see WoL for their deeds is great and would make for an interesting hurdle to get over in a relationship. Actually, you can literally just slap this onto almost any character you want to ship with your WoL and it will be an interesting point of tension. The possibility that they only love WoL for being the hero and not in spite of it.

Anyways I need to thibk about this more bc I just finished the little Elidibus plot of Shadowbringers which is sort of about how heroes are remembered and how history can easily twisted and/or forgotten so uh yeah. I have lots of thoughts and I am very normal.

[jamneuromain]

Wild Child Chapter. 1

Series Summary:

As the granddaughter of the sole Duke in your country, you know that you were going to marry some douche prince, because it is the only way to solidify the grasp the future king has on the Upper House. On the flight home, you come up with a brilliant plan to defy your upcoming matrimony.

Bringing a random man to your grandfather's place, and say you have a boyfriend already.

"Is there anything else I should know about? Before I meet your family?" Ari cocks his head to the side, watching you adjusting your cerulean Valentino dress when you wave your hand dismissively.

"Just say we're in love and help me get out of marrying this D-bag."

Ari Levinson x You

#i didn't know he is my fiance-douchebag-prince

#when i did, it was too late

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome on board Flight CM80072 from London to Ancetol. This is your Captain speaking. My name is…”

The broadcast started as you stuffed your ears with your earbuds. The screeching static along with the horrible noise whenever the captain chewed the mic in his lips and popped every consonant as if he couldn’t speak otherwise.

You should have brought your earplugs.

Or fly your private plane.

Correction: Fly your family’s private plane.

But you guessed they were still mad at you, which was probably the reason why the bodyguard they sent simply handed you an envelope with an airplane ticket inside.

“Would you like to see the menu?” The stewardess asked you with a kind smile, handing you the thick book of menu, “We have foie gras, smoked salmon, or veal rolls for the main course. Of course, you can also choose the vegan meal. All the ingredients are listed below the dishes.”

“I’ll have the veal roll.” You took a sip of the lemon-flavored soda she gave you earlier, “First course - the shrimp, and dessert would be the … ice cream, with extra berry toppings?”

“Excellent choice, Miss Y/L/N.” The stewardess nodded, taking notes of your demands, the impeccable smile still on her lips, “Any drinks?”

The bodyguard to your back coughed. Very loudly. Very spontaneously. As if he would be dead if someone didn’t hand him a glass of water or ship him off to the chemotherapy very soon.

“Cappu…” you changed your mind as soon as you were “reminded” that you were not allowed to drink alcohol, "Screw it, apple cider please.”

“Miss -” The bodyguard in the full black suit tried to warn you, “His Lordship won’t be pleased.”

“His Lordship,” you sniggered, “desperate measure to demonstrate his control over me, huh? Plus, I don’t think I recall our King has issued any announcement on the succession of the title. So, Lord him all you like. Pathetic man. I’m not respecting someone who participated perhaps even less than a minute in creating me.” You muttered the last few words under your breath.

You could practically imagine what “His Lordship” would do when he hears the report from the bodyguard, word for word.

He might throw some crystal ornaments to the wall, shouting at the top of his lungs, as if that would reinforce his authority.

A man to your right chuckled. Like you, he was just approached by the stewardess regarding his meal choice, now sipping scotch on the rocks. You glared at him. He looks like a man in his 30s. Terribly well dressed. The suit fitted his tailoring right up to his cufflinks. Golden cufflinks, you might add. White shirt without a tie. Long hair with a full-grown beard.

“Sorry, can’t help but overhear.” He raised his hands and folded them on his knees, “I’m Guy. Guy Thomas.”

“Mr. Thomas,” you shared your given name with him, but left out your family name, offering to shake his hand.

“Guy.” He stressed, “You’re from Ancetol?”

You were born in the outskirts of Ancetol, the capital of your home country, Ballenia, one of the few countries that are still ruled by a monarch. Your mother was relieved that you were blessed with a quick birth. But your father wanted nothing more than a boy. A boy that could take the family title and carry the family honor. Probably why he didn’t make an appearance until the second day of your birth. Reluctantly. You might add.

You spent the next couple of years of your life in a small town in Ballenia, growing up with your mother who thought innocently that your father would miraculously love you and accept you both as family.

You stopped believing in “a happy marriage” a long time ago. No. You stopped believing in “marriage”. And the fairy tales. And the lovely stories that told you one day, Prince Charming would come to rescue you riding his big white horse and ask you to be his wife, and some happily ever after bullshit.

No.

The reality was, fairly close to the story of your family, where the “Cinderella”, your mother, was abandoned by the prince, who is your father, and he had a couple of mistresses when Cinderella was only allowed to be presented during formal circumstances.

Ah yes, after all, a divorce would destroy the reputation of His Lordship. Making them look bad if they kick a civilian woman out of the door. The press would go frenzy about it, spreading the news that the “Cinderella” had been divorced by the cold-hearted heir of the Duke.

Luckily, or, unlucky for your father, it was your grandfather who carried the Duke title. Your grandfather who was equally displeased with you, a useless girl. Your grandfather, who passed away quite recently. Three days ago.

Hence, your urgent return. And some pretenses for the reputation of your family.

So, sunglasses it is then. During the funeral. With a white handkerchief. No one will see your dry eyes incapable of producing tears, not for that old bastard anyway. You thought to yourself, eyeing the huge bulk of a man next to you.

Did you forget to mention that the late Duke did the same trick as your father? Marrying a civilian woman and keeping a dozen mistresses in the same mansion they live in?

“You sound local.” You commented on the way he speaks English, “Are you from Ancetol as well?”

“Aww, what gave it away?” The man switched to fluent Ballenian, the language you haven’t heard of for years, and asked you, sounding sincere, “Is it the ‘r’? I always mess up the ‘r’.”

“Your name doesn’t sound local though,” you buckled your seatbelt as the stewardess stepped close to inform you the plane was ready to depart, lowering your eyes to fumble with the metal link, “Guy Thomas. Very American.”

Ari, no, Guy, pushed a little smile on his lips.

Of course, this name sounded American. You would freak out if he told you his true name.

“My mother is American and my father is Ballenian.” Which was 75% true because his mother was half American. The other half Danish.

He went by “Guy Thomas” when he was having fun among people and didn’t want to spoil everything by announcing he was Ari. The fucking prince of Ballenia.

Total mood killer.

“Are you here for business or pleasure?” You joked, “Or visiting your family?”

“Mostly business.” Ari fabricated a lie out of nowhere, “I work as a manager of my family business.” Technically that’s not a lie. He even slipped in some details for credibility.

Family business, the kingdom.

Manager, well sort of, since his dad owned the country.

“And I’m back in Ballenia to secure a deal.”

You lacked interest in business and all that, waving your hand as if dismissal, but allowing the stewardess to come and take away the food and drink in front of you, “hard to do business nowadays, especially when the Minister of Foreign Trade is a jackass.”

“You speak as if you know him.”

“Please, he’s been in that position for fifteen years.” You rolled your eyes.

The minister tried to get you to marry his hideous, lazy, pig-like son who knows nothing more than eating, smoking, and partying. Promising your father to “sweeten the deal” by favoring the company your mother owned but your father controlled.

Your father really would have said yes if it weren’t for the deal years ago, promising you to another man already. A man more powerful than the minister or his son will ever be.

“Of course, he is a jackass. If not now, then somewhere in his 15 years of gripping the foreign trade.” But you were not telling a total stranger about you being promised around like a Ming-Dynasty Vase. “Just look at the new announcement he made with the U.S. What deal did he make? None! Claiming that ‘further efforts are needed’. Further my ass. The Ambassador from the States could barely keep the smile on his face for Christ’s sake.”

Ari took a mental note to look into this “jackass” Minister.

“What about you?” He asked, “Visiting your family? Plan on staying here long?”

You pursed your lips on hearing the question.

Visit your family? How about dead family?

You were here to attend your grandfather, the late Duke’s funeral.

Staying long?

You wouldn’t curse yourself like that.

The longer you stay, the more probable your father and your mother will talk you into marriage.

You loved your mother, but for Christ’s sake, “I hope not.”

Ari didn’t respond to your reply. He simply hummed, making you confused about whether he agreed with you or not.

The plane did not wait for a minute more before departing into the air. A short while of gravity shift brought you 30,000 feet up in the sky. You pulled down the blind as the annoying sunlight burned your eyes, getting up for a bit more leg room and heading to the bathroom.

In the blink of an eye, a violent turbulence threw you off your own feet.

The soft ring of the safety belt sign turned the orange light on, while you slowly came to your senses that you weren’t embraced by the ground, but rather a firm body wrapping around you. One arm on your back, holding your upper body, another hung – rather awkwardly – in the air. You were sitting on his thick thighs sideways. Your ankle hurting. You were pretty much sure you twisted it with your damn heels.

“Miss Y/L/N!” The bodyguard hurried towards you, completely disregarding the tremble of the plane, rushing to your side. “Miss, I need you to try and stand up.” He held out an arm, leaning towards you to help you up.

Seeing him trying to assess how hurt your ankle was, you were very touched that he was concerned and reacted quickly. Maybe a small pay rise for him if you get back to your home?

Your bodyguard sighs, shaking his head with a disapproving look, “If this is your way of trying to escape the deal, his lordship won’t be pleased.”

Oh yes, the deal. The deal that simply packed you like a FedEx item and threw you to the palace door. The deal that promised you to the prince, right after you were born. The deal that you were told by your parents to honor for as long as you can remember. The deal lurking in the corner and bit you in the ass whenever you had done something to displease your father, reminding you over and over again that the only reason that you were alive was the fucking deal.

Apparently, your father had left out a most important piece of detail when instructing this bodyguard to “guard” you from running away.

You hardly ever do as you’re told.

“I think my ankle is broken.” You said dryly, pointing at your feet, not even trying to pretend that you can convince no one with your bland facial expression, “Can’t get up.”

Ari bit his lips so that he wouldn’t laugh.

You were sure as hell an interesting soul.

If he had any doubt or concerns regarding marrying you, a complete stranger in a matter of weeks, he now had none.

He thought you were the kind of girl who was a black sheep in the family, a wild child, with tattoos on your eyeballs or something. But you were nothing like his imagination.

Wild? Sure.

Black sheep? Compared to your father, the to-be-Duke, who seemed more like what the term was describing.

Ari raised his eyebrows, “Although I wouldn’t oppose you sitting on my thighs,” he nodded towards the stewardess who lurked behind the thin veil of curtain, “I’m afraid she would be unable to do her job properly if this continues.”

You clenched your jaw. Ignoring the extended hand from your bodyguard, you stood up, feeling instantly a sharp pain stinging your bones.

Bathroom was long forgotten, not that you have a chance to reach there on your own, you slumped down the seat and made sure you pushed the seat back until you could almost lie down like on a gurney. Lifting the hurting ankle on your other ankle, you closed your eyes.

Fuck his lordship.

The pain throbbing on your ankle. Your body dipped in both the coolness of the AC and the heat from your spine and the back of your head.

The few hours on the plane became more and more unbearable.

The veal roll didn’t lift your spirit in any way when it was brought to you.

The meat itself was fine. Only that it tasted like wax to you. You let out a long exhale as you outstretched your leg to ease the stress. Finishing the meal barely, you pushed the plate away, not even looking at the cider that you were thrilled to piss your father off with, and asked the stewardess for some paper. Empty sheets for writing.

She was clearly dumb-founded by your request, but hurried to carry your idea out.

You thanked her when she brought you some sheets, torn from some notepad as there were jigsaw razor edges on the side of the paper.

If the pain and the fact that every second you were closer to Ballenia was bothering you, you only needed something more bothering to take your mind off.

Ari narrowed his eyes when he cast a glimpse that you pulled out a pen from your bag from the overhead compartment and started writing on the empty sheets of paper.

Call him nosey but he wanted to know what you were writing.

Too inconvenient for him, your letters scribbled too small for his eyes to see. Occasional glimpses couldn’t help him read your writing. Nor that the content on your phone was clear enough for him to read either.

He did know that should be a text of some kind.

What text though? That was the real question.

…not some kind of text that could curse the royal family of the Ballenia, right?

Ari was almost amused by his own thoughts, before a shiver ran down his body and stuck an idea in his mind that this was totally and perfectly possible.

…you wouldn’t, would you?

Hard to tell. You weren’t exactly obeying the orders to marry him. Delaying it a couple of times in the past three years. And now, hearing that you had just called a minister “asshole” … or was it “butt ass” (?), anyway, something about ass, behind his back, and that you could mull a long face over your own bodyguard? Ari couldn’t figure out your temper and your actions all of a sudden.

The adjectives, that your father and his father used when they were talking about you, didn’t even come close to you.

“Kind” “Warm” “Considerate” “Perfect Princess”.

“Exceptional”. Maybe this was the right word.

Definitely different and strong-minded.

He could almost imagine the changes you would bring to his family and the kingdom.

He could discuss politics with you. You had your own thoughts and ideas, which was a good sign. Talk about foreign policies. Speaking of, he should really have someone fetch your dissertation from your university to understand where lies your interests. He’d allow gossip on the table too, if that’s what you like.

Ari hated gossip.

And there he was, imagining the future with you, before you were willing to marry him.

“If you want the book, I can lend it to you.” Your voice snapped him out of his fantasies. You had stopped scribing and rubbing your knuckles with your other hand. Pursing your lips together, you had, obviously, found out that he had his eyes glued to you.

“I’m sorry?”

“The History and Nature of International Relations.” You shrugged, twirling your wrist and your shoulder for writing too long, “I gotta warn you though, it’s pretty boring.”

Ari knew the correct answer to his question, but he asked either way, ��You are studying it?”

“No. Yes. Hmpf,” You pouted at your change of words, “I did. I was. I was studying International Relations.” Something blipped in your mind, “Did you know this book?”

Ari smiled, “Took a course in International Relations years ago. I’m surprised they are still using it as an example of a textbook – where did you study?”

“NYU.” That’s a plain fat lie. You had a friend studying at NYU, but you were not planning on giving all your personal information away to a complete stranger, “You?”

Ari cocked his eyebrows. You were studying in Cambridge. He read that from your file.

“University of Ancetol.” Because studying there demonstrated the confidence of the Royal family in their country’s educational system. From there, the lies weaved themselves from his lips, “Got an undergrad degree and started to take over the family business. I visited New York last year,” along with his father, the King, but they travelled as quietly as they could, initiating a state visit without disturbing the press, “I miss school, now that I’m thinking of it.” Ari sighed deeply, “Wanted to get a grad degree but work’s too busy.”

“A manager in your family business?” You teased him light-heartedly, “Surely you can spare the time and study for a grad degree.”

Ari chose to evade this question. Reaching for his suit pocket, he fished out a business card with his name (Guy Thomas) and phone number on it, handing it to you, “Grad school doesn’t exactly tolerate me flying all over the world for … my family business.” He pushed his soft brown hair behind his ears, his eyes sparkling with a hint of joy that he had successfully fooled you, “Jewelry, my specialty. Diamonds, pearls, gemstones … call me if you need anything.”

“Oh, and she got her Master’s degree two months ago.” Ari casually dropped this to his parents in the middle of having dinner, he almost felt proud of his future wife, “Majoring in Political Science and International Relations. With a merit… no, distinction. The top 10% of her class.”

“We want a princess, not a college professor.” His father looked rather disappointed, “We were promised a princess.”

Ari didn’t understand.

If it were to be a marriage without love, he’d rather his spouse would be clever than bimbos who need help spelling “distinction”. Clever would mean he has a handful to deal with, yes, but what’s the fun in talking with someone who only cares about mani-pedi and the latest fashion magazines when he would be running the country?

Why wouldn’t they want someone smart as his wife?

“Your father is right, Ari,” his mother, Queen Olivia, reminded him with a softer tone, “we don’t need someone academically outstanding. We only want her to care for your home, you, and your future children.” She then turned to Ari’s father, King Victor, with blame framing her tone, “Told you should’ve just kept her with us when she was born. I knew Y/L/Ns were incompetent in raising our son’s future wife.”

Ari nearly spat out his food, “HOUSEWIFE?” Earning the “Shhh” from the Queen, he ignored the palace rules and the rules of being a prince altogether, “You want a HOUSEWIFE as the future queen?”

“For the moment.” Olivia waved her hand as if all this was not important, “Only temporal. After you get acquainted with the Upper House, you could divorce her and we’ll find you a proper wife.”

Taglist: @irishhappiness @patzammit

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[monster-slxt]

The story with the skinny dipping in a stream fully made me think of some kind of slime or water elemental that's hiding out in the water, just waiting for a victim.

Going skinny dipping with some friends, and you suddenly feel something touching you, but you can't see it bc the monster is completely invisible in the water.

At first, you ignore it. It was probably just a bug or a leaf, but then the touch happens again, more firmly, more consistently, until you can't deny that something is touching you, and you don't know what.

It starts to grope you, fuck you, and, if you don't want your friends to know what's going on, you have to keep quiet. Maybe even hiding your full body in the water so that your friends can't see the way your body is reacting, although that just gives the monster more access to your body.

(or maybe the water is completely clear, leaving no room for you to hide yourself from your friends as they watch you get violated by something they can't see)

Maybe it makes you cum (perhaps multiple times). Maybe it prefers playing with its victims and edges you and doesn't let you cum at all. Maybe it ends up laying eggs inside you, and you'll have to come back to the stream later to birth them (with the risk of getting violated again)

God I love slime🥰 let me twist that egg idea just a little bit-

It was supposed to just be a fun day hiking in the moutians. We had decided to take a break and cool off in the little lake we found. No one was around, it was so isolated and deep in the woods that we all decided to skinny dip just long enough to cool off before starting back to the car. The beautiful, crystal clear moutian water was too tempting to resist

I ended up going a bit deeper out than anyone else, so far there was no chance of touching the bottom. That's when I first felt it, something strangely solid brush against my leg. I didn't see any fish, but I brushed it off as best I could and kept swimming. But when it happened again and again, each time moving up my leg I decided it was time to swim back.

The slime that was playing with me didn't like that, of course, and solidified around my legs to keep me pinned in place. I really started to panic then, and just as I was about to shout for help it slipped inside me. The crystal clear water gave a perfect view of my cunt gaping around nothing as the slime forced more and more of itself into me. The feeling was completely alien as it explored my body both inside and out. By now it had engulfed my whole torso. It was all I could do not to bring attention to myself as it rubbed against every sensitive part of me.

Eventually the slime seemed to find what it was looking for, slowly oozing itself through my cervix to settle in my womb. The fluid nature of the slime made the process easy and painless, and by the time it was done there was a barely noticeable bump on my stomach. The rest of the slime disappeared back into the water, and I quickly swam back to my friends to head back home, hyper aware of the weight in my stomach the whole time.

Days turned into weeks after the hike and the whole time my stomach slowly expanded. The once small bump looked more like a full term pregnancy after a month. The slime inside me was active, always moving and shifting inside of me. After two month I was absolutely massive, and it was then I got an overwhelming need to return to the lake that started this all.

It wasn't easy. The hike was difficult before I was swollen up like this, and the slime seemed to get more and more active the closer I got to the lake, writhing inside me like it knew it was time to return to the water.

When I get there I barely have time to get my bottoms off and sit in the shallows before the need to push overtakes me, and the first slime happily leaves me for the water. It seems I was full of a bunch of little slimes rather than one huge one. The process takes a few hours, even aided by the slime moving on their own back to the water.

I'm exhausted by the time it's all done, but I have to get back home. It's a long hike and I don't want to be in the woods overnight. I change into the fresh clothes in my pack and slowly start on the long journey home. Little do I know, so relieved to not be hugely pregnant anymore, that my stomach still has one little bump like I was left when I first found the lake.

[sapphire-scarletta-wol]

Redid my pony Raha cus I want to and I have expanded my ff14 x MLP au lore way too much for me to stop

Compared to my last post about pony graha I majorly changed his crystal exarch persona more. Now he much much taller cus alicorn growth and his horn turned completely crystal in the shape of the crystal tower itself.

He still hid his wings underneath his robe and once his identity was revealed they made him a custom robe for his wings to freely move. Though he can show his wings after that he could not use it much as 200+ plus years of disuse made his wings severely malnourished and weak,hence the long thin and ragged shape. He has frazzled feathers on it too. Very sad to think when one of his favorite pasttimes is flying high above the clouds.

He has also clipped his feathers on his cheeks,chest,hooves and tail to help solidify his disguise and initial plan,without those too flying has been made more difficult even so.

He can only fly a few feet off the ground unless others help him higher by giving him more air.

ARR pony graha retains being the shortest male pegasus of his kind while also having the smallest wingspan for said kind.

Totally did not contribute to why as a younging he strived so hard to be noticed by his peers and to try especially hard to impress the wol

And endwalker pony graha gained height and bigger wings,still slowly growing more taller thanks to his alicorn status.

~~~

In the first there would not be any alicorns (most if not all had already passed or banished after the flood) and a lot of ponies there would not even know that the concept of a pony having both wings and a horn can exist.

The rest are just for fun doodles.

Oh and I wanted to add this little tidbit I noticed

Yeah so how could I not make the crystarium and crystal empire one and the same for this pony au?

[jowrites]

Red string of Fate - Lee Heeseung Drabble

Heeseung examined the ring in his hand. How the small diamond laid so perfectly in its place between the beautiful silver, surrounded by smaller crystals. He knew he chose a perfect ring. She always told him when she got married she wanted a blue sapphire ring so he made sure to keep that in mind and wait for the wedding. This engagement ring was enough to solidify his loyalty and dedication to her.

He quickly placed the ring in his pocket and grabbed his string before walking down the hallway where he saw her sitting there in her nook reading. The sunlight was perfectly illuminating her as if she was glowing from its essence. She was too grossed into her book and didn’t even notice him come up and sit across from her. He cleared his throat and she snapped out of her imaginary world and looked up at him, smiling at him and placing her bookmark in her book and closing it. One thing he always loved was how attentive she was and how she always gave him her absolute attention. He always made sure to be just as detailed and give her just the amount of attention she deserves.

“So, I was reading up on something the other day and I’d like to share it with you,” He began to say, suddenly nervous with her eyes on him.

“What is it? I’m all ears,” She said, placing her book down and getting more comfortable in her chair by the window.

“You’ve heard of the red string of fate, right?” He asked.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty known belief,” she nodded. “Plus, I watch a lot of kdramas about it. What about it?”

“Well, I was really reading up on it the other day and how people are connected by these red strings, by their fingers or sometimes even chests like their hearts,” He explained and she nodded, listening. “Sometimes though, the string can get cut causing the people to fall out of love or stray from each other…”

He noticed the tears starting to form in her eyes and panic overcame him as he quickly leaned down on his knees in front of her. He grabbed her face gently in his hands as she began to let out quiet cries, her eyes opening and closing trying to blink away the tears.

“Is this your way of breaking up with me?” she asked, a small sob leaving her lips.

“No, no, baby,” He quickly denied. “Not at all. I’m just telling you something I found interesting, please don’t cry. Oh, my baby!”

He pulled her down to his neck, holding her close and giving her head a gentle kiss.

“I would never, so please don't think that. I’m sorry that’s where your mind went,” He said. 

She pulled away and nodded, her tears were now calming and she sniffled and gave him a small smile.

“Can I continue?” He asked and she nodded. “Okay, close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

She did as she was told, her lips trembling a little but obeying. Both her hands were slightly shaking and he grabbed his red string and began to wrap it around her ring finger.

“Now, when someone’s love is so strong, deep down the string has always been there connected to their loved one like fate,” he began to say. “And when their love blossoms into more, it gets deeper and deeper to where they take the next steps in life, together.”

Heeseung took out the ring and quickly placed it through the thread, letting it fall down between the middle of where he was holding it. He quickly did his best to tie the string around his finger so the two of them were connected through the thread with the ring dangling in the middle. 

“Do you know what that next step is in life? The one they take together?” He asked and she frowned a bit, shaking her head completely unaware of what he was getting at. “Open your eyes.”

She did as she was told, her eyes adjusting and staring at Heeseung in front of her. His gentle eyes and kind smile, filled with so much love and adoration towards her. It took her a while to realize, but as she looked at the thread she saw it. And her heart skipped a million beats and she gasped and covered her mouth. He knelt down in front of her again, his hand still in place to not disturb the placement of the ring. 

“We’ve been tied by this red string of fate forever. You are my best friend, my companion, my love, my whole world…you are my fate. I love you and will forever love you until the end of time, even in our next lives I will always find you because you are destined for me until the age of time. Please, do me the honor of being my wife?” He asked, holding the ring now as offering. 

Tears filled her eyes again and she nodded. Of course she would say yes. Heeseung was very confident, he knew how strong their love was and how much she loved him. He loved her just as much. He gently placed the ring on her finger, the string still tied between them and he didn’t care. She leaned down and captured his face in her hands and lips on his. She couldn’t describe her happiness.

“You scared me,” she said when she pulled away.

“It didn’t even cross my mind that’s where your mind would have gone, I wouldn’t have explained it that way if I knew. You always keep me on my toes,” He teased and she giggled in his arms.

“I love you, I love you!” She kissed his lips again, then again. “Heeseung, the ring is so pretty!”

She began to admire the jewel on her finger now, as he removed the strings and let them admire it together.

“You’ll get your blue sapphire too, just wait until we say ‘I do’” He said, kissing the top of her head. 

She jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and giggling in happiness.

“This is so exciting! That was the perfect proposal!” She exclaimed.

“Yeah? You liked that?” He asked.

“Heeseung, that was so thoughtful and intimate, it was perfect,” She said. “Oh my God! I have to tell my parents! AHHH! We’re getting married!”

“Yes, baby. And we’ll always be connected through our string of fate, for forever, and ever.”

[tinytiger]

The Hobbit - A Kili X F!Reader Fanfic

Masterlist

But Daddy, I Love Him!

In the Woodland Palace, Y/n clashes with her father, Thranduil, over her arranged marriage and her love for Kili. Despite the tension, Y/n reconciles with the Company and strengthens her bond with Kili through shared moments and a gifted talisman, solidifying their connection amidst challenges.

Tw- familial conflict, arranged marriage

The Woodland Palace stood as a marvel of elven craftsmanship, a testament to the elegance and beauty of the woodland realm. Tall spires adorned with intricate carvings reached skyward, their graceful arcs reflecting the dappled sunlight that filtered through the canopy of ancient trees overhead. Elaborate bridges spanned sparkling streams, leading to arched doorways framed by living vines and blossoming flowers. The air was filled with the sweet scent of blooming flora, and the gentle murmur of waterfalls provided a soothing backdrop to the serene atmosphere.

Inside the palace, the grand hall was adorned with shimmering tapestries depicting scenes from elven lore, while delicate crystal chandeliers cast a soft glow over the polished marble floors. Elaborate mosaics adorned the walls, their intricate patterns capturing the ethereal beauty of the forest that surrounded them.

In this majestic setting, Y/n found herself in a heated argument with Thranduil, her father, as they stood before the imposing throne that overlooked the grand hall. His expression was stern, his eyes filled with a mixture of concern and determination as he addressed his daughter.

"Y/n, you will stay," Thranduil demanded, his voice cold and authoritative. "You will follow the plan your mother and I had for you. You will marry Erland and secure our lineage with children."

Y/n's eyes widened in disbelief, her heart pounding with defiance and desperation. "I won't do it, Father!" she exclaimed, her voice quivering with emotion. "I don't love Erland. He is a pompous arsehole and i dont love him i love-” She looked behind her to were the path that the dwarves had followed led, 

“Kili.” She declared looking up at Thorin.

Thranduil's expression darkened, his disgust evident as he looked upon his daughter. "You would throw away your duty, your birthright, for a dwarf?" he sneered, his voice dripping with contempt.

Y/n's anger flared, her eyes flashing with defiance as she met her father's gaze. "Kili is not just a dwarf, Father. He is brave, kind, and honorable. He loves me for who I am, not for some political alliance."

The air between them crackled with tension, the weight of their disagreement casting a shadow over the opulent surroundings. Thranduil's face was a mask of disappointment and disapproval, his hopes for Y/n's future crumbling before his eyes.

"Enough!" he thundered, his voice resonating through the hall. "You will obey me, Y/n. You will forget this foolish infatuation with the dwarf and do what is best for our people."

Y/n's frustration flared at his protective stance, her own determination rising to meet his. "Father, I am not a child anymore," she retorted, her voice echoing through the hall. "I have a right to be with the company, my friends. I've made my decision."

Thranduil's expression softened, his eyes pleading with her as he spoke. "I cannot bear the thought of losing you again, Y/n. Please, stay with me. Let us celebrate your return together."

Y/n looked to Thorin for support, hoping he would speak on her behalf. But he remained silent, his gaze unreadable as he watched the exchange unfold.

Frustrated and hurt by Thorin's silence, Y/n's resolve hardened. Without another word, she turned and stormed away, her footsteps echoing loudly on the marble floor as she made her way towards the palace exit.

Legolas, sensing the tension and the pain behind Y/n's anger, followed closely behind her, his own heart heavy with the weight of their complicated family dynamics. As they left the grand hall behind, the echoes of their argument lingered, a poignant reminder of the challenges and obstacles that lay ahead for them all.

In the grandeur of the Woodland Palace, the tension between Y/n and Thranduil reached a boiling point, their voices echoing through the ornate halls as they clashed over her future.

Y/n stood her ground, her resolve unwavering despite her father's anger. "I cannot and will not marry Erland," she declared, her voice firm with conviction. "I choose love, Father, and I choose Kili."

With those final words, Y/n turned away from her father, her heart heavy with the pain of their disagreement. Thranduil watched her go, his expression a mixture of anger, sorrow, and disbelief as he grappled with the reality of his daughter's choices.

The echoes of their heated argument lingered in the air, a stark reminder of the rift that had grown between them, casting a shadow over the future and leaving both father and daughter to face the consequences of their deeply held beliefs and desires

In the sanctuary of her room within the Woodland Palace, Y/n stood dressed in an elegant elven gown, its fabric shimmering like moonlight on water. The intricate embroidery of silver threads traced delicate patterns across the gown, reflecting the elegance and grace of her elven heritage. Her eyes were distant, filled with a mixture of sadness and contemplation as she stared out of the ornate window, the beauty of the woodland realm stretching out before her, yet failing to soothe the turmoil within her heart.

The weight of her argument with Thranduil, the uncertainty of her future, and the complexities of her relationships with both her father and the company weighed heavily on her mind. Lost in thought, she was unaware of Legolas' silent entrance into her room, his concern evident as he approached her cautiously.

"Y/n," Legolas' voice was gentle, his concern evident as he sought to comfort his sister. "I know this is difficult, but you must go to the company. Mend the relationships you believe are broken."

Y/n turned to face him, her eyes filled with a mixture of gratitude and determination. "Thank you, Legolas," she whispered, her voice filled with resolve as she prepared to face the challenges ahead.

With a nod of encouragement from Legolas, Y/n made her way to the prison cells, her footsteps echoing softly in the dimly lit corridors. As she approached, she heard the muffled voices of the company, their conversation serious and tense.

Stepping into the cell, Y/n's presence drew surprised glances from the company, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and relief at her unexpected arrival. With a playful smile, Y/n broke the tension, making a light-hearted joke that elicited a few chuckles and smiles from the weary group.

Realizing the gravity of her previous actions, Y/n took a moment to apologize to the company, her sincerity evident as she sought to make amends. "I'm truly sorry for the pain and confusion I've caused," she said, her voice soft yet firm. "I want to make things right."

She then approached Thorin, her eyes meeting his as she made a heartfelt promise. "I will get you out of here, Thorin," Y/n vowed, her determination unwavering as she looked upon the dwarf she had come to care for deeply.

Thorin's eyes softened, a hint of a smile playing on his lips as he regarded Y/n. "You look so much like your mother. As stubborn as well. Yet her beauty seem to pass on to you." he murmured, his voice filled with warmth and affection despite the circumstances. He looked to were Kili’s cell was. “I believe that he loves you to you know, the way he looks at you. It’s obvious. Go get him, tiger.” 

Embracing the moment, Y/n then sought out Kili, her heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and hope as she approached him. 

Kili leaned against the cold stone wall, his eyes locked on Y/n as she approached him with a confident stride. The dim light of the cell cast soft shadows on her face, highlighting the delicate features that made her even more captivating in his eyes.

"You know," Kili began, a playful smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, "when I first saw you in that elven dress, I thought you might decide to stay and become one with the elves. You do look rather enchanting in it."

Y/n chuckled, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she met Kili's gaze. "Oh, is that so?" she teased, her voice dripping with feigned innocence. "Maybe I was considering it, but then I remembered how much I'd miss your charming company."

Kili's laughter echoed in the cell, his heart lightening at the playful banter. "Ah, so it's my irresistible charm that keeps you coming back for more," he quipped, his eyes dancing with amusement.

Y/n rolled her eyes playfully, her lips curving into a flirtatious smile. "Well, that and your dashing good looks," she replied, her voice soft and teasing as she moved closer to him.

Kili's breath caught in his throat as Y/n's proximity sent a pleasant shiver down his spine. "Is that so?" he whispered, the air between them charged with electricity. "I must say, your taste in company isn't too bad either."

Kili reached into his pocket, retrieving a small, intricately carved stone. Its surface shimmered with a subtle iridescence, reflecting the dim light of the cell in soft glimmers. The stone was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, its delicate engravings telling a story of dwarven lore and tradition.

"I've been meaning to show you this," Kili said, his voice gentle as he held out the stone for Y/n to see. "It is a talisman, a powerful spell lies upon it. If any but a dwarf reads the runes on the stone, they will be forever cursed, or not. Depending on whether you believe that kind of thing. It's just a token - a rune-stone. My mother gave it to me so I'd remember my promise."

Y/n's eyes widened in admiration as she took the stone in her hands, tracing the intricate carvings with her fingertips. The stone felt cool and smooth against her skin, its weight comforting in her grasp.

"It's beautiful, Kili," Y/n whispered, her voice filled with awe and appreciation. "The craftsmanship is truly remarkable."

Kili smiled, his eyes warm as he watched Y/n admire the stone. 

Y/n's heart swelled with emotion, her connection to Kili deepening as she held the stone in her hands. "Thank you for sharing this with me," she said, her voice filled with gratitude. "It means a lot to me."

As they shared this intimate moment, the stone serving as a tangible link to their shared history and shared dreams, Y/n and Kili felt their bond strengthen, anchoring them amidst the chaos and uncertainty that surrounded them.

[billpottsismygf]

Episode 7 (The Very Long Stairway)! I didn't put it in my last review, but I had a strong feeling we were going to get a flashback to the start of Edwin and Charles' relationship in this one. I had wondered if it would start with it, Good Omens style, so when it didn't happen immediately I thought maybe I was wrong. I was vindicated, however! And I love the use of the Night Nurse's already established powers as a framing device for it. I got so into what was happening, though, that I forgot that was how it started and was surprised when the camera panned to her watching everything.

So, oh my god, Edwin sat and talked with Charles as he died!!!! Edwin is so incredibly kind to him and it's heartbreaking that he knew this boy was going to die in front of him, and decided to make sure he had the most calming death possible. And Charles instantly decided to stay with him. I think it's very telling that he latches onto Edwin so quickly. Charles is someone who values kindness and helping people - he literally just died because he saved another boy from being bullied - so when he understands what Edwin did for him, he knows this is a person to hang onto.

I had wondered for a while if Charles had been the one to rescue Edwin from hell, given that they met 30 years ago, the same time he got out of hell. Turns out that no, Edwin had already just got out of hell by himself, but this was still a really satisfying flashback. Speaking of their relationship, we also finally got the love confession. I really didn't want Edwin to say anything, but it went about as well as it possibly could have. Still, gah, reeling from the secondhand embarrassment and the fact that this is not the time, Edwin! I was about to be so annoyed if the thing 'worse than a demon' had caught them because they spent so long dawdling on the staircase.

The scenes in hell themselves were really effective. Loved the page ripping punishment, very Sisyphean, and in fact the entire scene that followed with Simon was so touching I had to watch the whole thing again immediately. He was a stupid boy who didn't know what he was doing, and their reconciliation reminded me a bit of Pat forgiving the boy who shot him in Ghosts. Anyway, it seems that everyone has a crush on Edwin apart from the one boy he wants. Still, Edwin and Simon reconciling and Edwin telling him that 'if you punish yourself enough, everywhere becomes hell' but that being queer doesn't have to be a punishment, was incredibly moving. Again, Edwin has empathy for him and shows him kindness.

Relatedly, I also loved the scene with Despair. The moment she came on screen, even with her face obscured, I realised who she was. She barely features in Sandman, far less than Death anyway, but I recognised her instantly. Obviously I'm intrigued about the whole 'I'll call you if ever I need you' thing, but for the purposes of this episode I really love how that scene solidified the importance of Edwin having compassion. Edwin can be very bitchy (which I love him for), and he had every right to be mean to the boy who sent him to hell, but he chose kindness instead.

Conversely, Crystal got to choose violence and I love that for her. It was very satisfying seeing her literally get to bury David. It's fitting, as well, that David once overpowered her mind and now she's using her mind to overpower him. It is, of course, 'bad for the tree' if he stays there long, so I wonder if we'll see repercussions from that further down the line.

What else? Oh, the opening scene! The Cat King is such an interesting figure. He's creepy in the way he pursues Edwin, but it feels like they're on slightly more level ground now. He's a wild card character who's not exactly a villain, but will always act in his own interests. I'll be interested to see where his character goes from here, especially now it's been established that he's less powerful than Esther. His line about how strong and great Edwin is and who does Esther think she is trying to beat him, while obviously a problem in terms of giving her ideas, was also interesting in its own right. He clearly knows a fair bit about Edwin and genuinely thinks highly of him. Until this point we've only really seen him interacting with Edwin, where he taunts him the whole time, so this has made me all the more intrigued and invested in him.

Small things:

Edwin explaining to Charles that he doesn't fall through the floor because of the vague and weird ghost rules once again gave me strong Ghosts vibes.

I continue to love Mick, so really hoping he'll be okay after his confrontation with Esther.

Maxine in hell was interesting! I thought we'd learn more about her after her death, but it was a very fleeting appearance.

I thought Jenny might actually learn about ghosts and demons and psychics (oh my), but it seems not, alas.

Simon got a blue light after Edwin left, so does that mean Death came to him? Can people in hell get closure from unfinished business and move on? Or is it something Edwin specifically is good at doing for people?

Monty's still around and doing Esther's bidding! Someone turn him back into a human, please! Maybe Crystal?

I loved Niko getting to save the day (for now) through the power of reading comprehension!

[telomeke-bbs]

OUR SKYY 2 x BAD BUDDY x A TALE OF THOUSAND STARS – A REVIEW AND PARTIAL ANALYSIS

Yes, I'm well aware that it's been more than two weeks since the Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars 4-ep closer for OS2 aired, and I'm far behind the bandwagon in posting this.

Thing is, I've had to take some time to gather my garbled thoughts on how I feel about the mini-series, and I have many. Also, the longer I dawdle, the more others have posted similar musings, and I then have to edit down my own write-up to avoid repeating stuff that others more knowledgeable and eloquent than I have already made public.

This is like my fourth or fifth re-write, and I've already chucked so much aside. But now the ideas jangling in my head seem a bit more coherent, and maybe it's time to solidify them in the written word.

I think part of the block I was facing had to do with the fact that I was expecting the Bad Buddy portions of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS to be doing more than they did, and when they didn't I was left a little directionless. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the episodes though; I most certainly did. How great was it to see Pat and Pran back in action again? 😍 Even though their dynamic and storyline weren't as deeply resonating as what we saw in the original Bad Buddy, they still managed to charm me no end.

While I certainly wanted more information regarding Pat and Pran's relationship (and we did get to see a tiny bit), what I'd really been hoping for was more of the intellectual gamery that had been so carefully interwoven into the original BBS, that was densely layered with metaphor, allegory and messaging. It was also rich with linguistic wordplay and cultural content, and I was on the lookout for more of the same in OS2 the moment Pat and Pran appeared. But these were mostly missing, even though they delivered callbacks and charisma in spades.

It was only upon re-watching that a number of realizations crystallized for me, chief of which was the fact that I'd been looking for things in the wrong place. The subtextual (and even metatextual) cleverness I was expecting actually was there, but it had been woven more into the ATOTS portions instead. And while I like the original ATOTS, it didn't inspire in me the same kind of obsessive love that Bad Buddy had done, so I have never gone in for a re-watch or examined it in greater detail, and thus wasn't paying as much attention to the ATOTS portions of OS2.

More fool me. No wonder my first watch of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS missed what it did, because I kind of sped through Phupha and Tian's story, when the mini-series was leaning more on ATOTS than BBS to telegraph its messaging.

I really shouldn't have been surprised. We know that the creators of Bad Buddy (Director Aof mostly, but Ohm and Nanon were in on it too) viewed BBS as having told all that needed to be told of PatPran’s story, and this was signified by the apartment door closing on the happy couple’s continued rough-housing at the end of Ep.12.

(above) BBS Ep.12 [4/4] 18.22 and 18.23 – the door closes on Pat and Pran's story (dunno who was swinging it shut though – Nong Nao maybe? 😂)

And this is why OS2 x BBS didn’t show us events post-Ep.12, but chose instead to position the mini-series during the timeskip between Episodes 11 and 12.

So when BBS became the success it did, pressure must have mounted on all sides but especially from the higher-ups to squeeze out a sequel somehow, because it would undoubtedly be a money-spinner. But what more is there to spin out when you, the maker, are convinced that not only is the whole yarn already spun and done, the tapestry you wove from it is pretty much complete as well?

I will go so far as to say I think OS2 x BBS x ATOTS was Director Aof’s escape hatch – instead of trying to spin out more from nothing, he shone a spotlight on a previously unseen section of his opus (letting management and fans know we would be getting Pat and Pran back, but then showing us their timeskip rather than events beyond Ep.12). And a short while later he segued artfully into a related piece, wrangling PatPran into a crossover with ATOTS that would have its message revolve a lot more around PhuTian’s story instead. I'm sure we find out more about Phupha and Tian's relationship too, but I'm not going to go into it in any detail because I'm not as au fait with their backstory as I feel I am with Pat and Pran's; I'm pretty sure though that their story in OS2 was the primary vessel for deeper messaging.

And I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one to pick up on Director Aof making ATOTS do the heavier lifting – see @wen-kexing-apologist’s write-ups linked here and here.

To my mind, Director Aof's bait-and-switch (kind of a hallmark with him) was also signaled at the end of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [4/4], when Pran had to hike up to Pha Pun Dao just as Tian had done in the original ATOTS.

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [4/4] 10.28

Pran found it as much of a physical ordeal as Tian did, and the parallel with Tian's trajectory is unmistakable (while also being oddly illogical, since Pran should still be pretty fit as an ex-rugby player while Tian is a heart transplant recipient 🤷‍♂️).

But in service of the narrative, when an exhausted Pran finally reaches his destination – it’s the waiting Phupha who faints, not Pran-as-Tian. (In the original ATOTS, it was Tian who fainted at the end of the long hike up to PPD and Phupha was the one who caught him.)

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [4/4] 11.28

For me, this signals that a switch-up has happened, and Phupha's story has somehow taken up continuity from Pran's (and we do see him learning from their similar experiences when they talk in the forest in Ep.3). More than just a callback to ATOTS, it also represents the moment when the red thread of the narrative, the coursing of the prana or qi, symbolically transfers from PatPran's storyline to PhuTian's.

So, summarizing the structure of this four-ep mini-series:

Ep.1 was basically a set-up to get PatPran up to the mountains, padded out with lots of gleeful fanservice moments for BBS fans (not that I'm complaining! 💖);

Ep.2 was devoted to setting out the main subject matter at hand and establishing the framework within which it would be discussed (PhuTian’s relationship, juxtaposed against PatPran’s);

Ep.3 – the jungle jaunt – introduced external conflict as the tool by which the subject could be dissected under scrutiny; and

Ep.4 was of course the resolution, drawing matters to their natural conclusion.

And with regard to Bad Buddy, what we see in OS2’s BBS portions is really a kind of compromise. It’s not a sequel to BBS by a longshot, but mostly a flourish of fanservice instead (hence the generous gifting of callbacks and re-creations of iconic moments from BBS, especially in Ep.1 of the four-parter – some scenes, like the one starting at Ep.1 [1I4] 8.31, consisted almost entirely of callbacks).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 8.47

This is not to say we don't see anything at all with regard to growth though. By situating PatPran's storyline during the timeskip between the original BBS Episodes 11 and 12, we were effectively allowed a glimpse into the state and development of their relationship sometime after the heady hormonal rush of their honeymoon period in Ep.11, and before its relative maturity in Ep.12, and there were some choice moments on display.

OS2 called this out at Ep.2 [2/4] 10.29, when Pat asked "Since we’re here in the North, should we make it our honeymoon trip?", which Pran then dismisses with a reminder of their task at hand (getting PhuTian's permission for his play).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [2/4] 10.51

The honeymoon reference was a callback to BBS Ep.11, in which Pat was wanting to live indefinitely in a sort-of forever honeymoon by the sea (that even he knew was only illusory). Pran's dismissal of Pat's suggestion in OS2 was a reminder that their honeymoon period was over, and it was time for them to be dealing with the growing pains that every couple faces on their journey to a stable pairing.

What wasn't addressed in the original BBS is that PatPran's natural propensity to draw each other into conflict could not have been healthy for their longer-term relationship post-honeymoon, unless they found a way to corral the constant infighting and invent a set of gentlemen's rules that would prevent damage to their bond.

(above) BBS Ep.5 [1I4] 3.19

And I think this is part of what OS2 was trying to show us (however briefly): Pat and Pran moving toward finding a balance between loving each other and punching each other up (emotionally), despite conflict and rivalry paradoxically being the age-old rockbed of their relationship.

The following are some of the relationship dynamics that they explored in OS2:

Transitioning from an individual mindset to a couple-based one (which was highlighted by Pran's solo expedition to the mountains, before Pat managed to catch up);

Adapting to each other's personal styles (Pran's is spikier, and Pat's more embracing);

Learning about give and take, and looking for win-win outcomes rather than keeping score (in OS2, this was illustrated by how their earlier duels – like who gets the auditorium, who gets the HighTem sponsorship – were framed as zero-sum win-lose situations, where a win for one would mean a loss for the other; it was also given a nod in Pran's talk with Phupha at Ep.3 [4/4] 1.19 regarding his insecurities about who gives more in a relationship).

There are possibly others, but these are just the ones I could suss out with my one haphazard re-watch, and I'm not ready to go looking for them. 🤷‍♂️

Now I was originally going to go into these in detail, but I realize it's not what interests me the most about OS2 x BBS x ATOTS, nor do I think OS2 adequately dealt with these (and/or other) relationship issues between PatPran during the mini-series itself (as in, we aren't shown enough of Pat and Pran working together on detangling the knots in their bond for any suggested resolution at the end of the fourth episode to feel logical and satisfying).

It seems almost as though OS2 x BBS x ATOTS was expecting us to believe that PatPran's Ep.3 trial by forest (which they also went through mostly apart from each other) was enough to be some magically purifying crucible, imparting wisdom via its sufferance.

(above left) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.3 [1I4] 15.16 – Tian, Pran and Kampung lost in the forest; (above right) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.3 [1I4] 17.46 – Pat and Phupha on their wilderness search

We do know that PatPran's journey to arrive at a steady-state couplehood will continue unseen beyond OS2 and that they eventually end up on rock-solid footing, with a set of mutually-agreed ground rules for engagement that is acknowledged and respected, because it's obviously what they have in place by the time we see them in BBS Ep.12 (so much so that their relationship could withstand the difficulties of a long-distance commitment after Pran moves to Singapore).

(above) BBS Ep.12 [3I4] 8.15

I'm willing to accept this because I think OS2 x BBS x ATOTS was not meant to be a PatPran vehicle in the main, and so I will take whatever crumbs are on offer and view their forest ordeal as more metaphor than real-time depiction of their actual process to ground their relationship in greater maturity. (If you'd like to look at PatPran's learning track more in detail however, I can point you to the ever-incisive @miscellar's breakdowns linked here, here and here. 🤩👍)

But what I find really interesting about OS2 x BBS x ATOTS is when PhuTian's storyline gets drawn into the mix – and it happens much earlier than you would think on first watch.

One part of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS that stood out for me was all the discourse around the Engineering play, because quite frankly it felt incongruously spotlighted. First of all, why Snow White? And why an entire scene of Pran demonstrating the art of theater to Pat backstage? I now believe Director Aof was doing this to call attention to some underlying significance.

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4] 9.15

Tumblr user @ranchthoughts has very astutely pointed out that the story of Snow White has many parallels with the original ATOTS (e.g., the gallant woodsman; the fragile, privileged damsel who falls in a swoon; the journey through the forest; the misappropriated heart that doubles as proof of good faith – see these links here, here and here for more 🤩👍).

(above) An illustration of the seven dwarfs finding Snow White by Franz Jüttner, from Sneewittchen (1905)

So by bringing up Snow White, Director Aof was already slyly alluding to PhuTian in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4].

Although it is not a strict retelling of the fairytale, I think that OS2 x BBS x ATOTS also contains elements of Snow White:

Another character (Phupha) swoons into unconsciousness (like Snow White did after biting the poisoned apple);

There is also a journey through the wilderness (mirroring Snow White's abandonment in the woods and finding her way to the dwarf house);

A cast of supporting characters parallels the seven dwarfs (Kampung is one, and this is perhaps why they dressed him in oversized windbreakers, playing with his proportions to make him seem more dwarf-like; this is also possibly why Pat jokingly mentions Korn playing one of the dwarfs in the Engineering play at Ep.1 [1I4] 13.26 – Drake may have been originally envisioned as part of the cast, in character as Rang, up in the mountains);

The magic mirror, that always tells the truth, is actually PatPran, in whom PhuTian see their own relationship problems reflected, and whose truths help them to better their own dynamic (see Phupha's comments at Ep.4 [3I4] 0.53 and 1.05 – "It has to be you two who play the parts" and "No one gets us better than these two" as well as PhuTian's more light-hearted callbacks to PatPran's cheekier moments, e.g., at Ep.4 [2/4] 1.25 and 1.59).

But it's really Pat and Pran's interaction backstage at Ep.1 [2/4] 8.54 that both illuminates and foreshadows some bigger themes to come in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS (when Pran demonstrates how a simple bench can transform onstage, depending on how you frame it for the audience via the narrative).

(above left) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4] 10.12 – Pran shows Pat how a bench can be a dining table; (above right) BBS Ep.3 [3I4] 9.01 – Pat shows Pran how roleplay can spark a creative bus stop design

On the surface level it's a parallel and callback to PatPran's roleplay at BBS Ep.3 [3I4] 8.38 (although flipping the roles with Pran turning educator doesn't quite gel, given that Pat was fully aware of how to use the power of imagination at the bus-stop).

It's also a tip of the hat to theater legend Peter Brook who famously said "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged", which invokes the same kind of metamorphic magic that turns Pran's bench into a mirror, a dwarf dining table and a glass coffin. (Peter Brook also passed away just a few months before the Our Skyy 2 trailer aired, which lends a poignancy and weight to this moment.)

(above left) Theater legend Peter Brook; (above right) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4] 11.03 – PatPran roleplay Snow White and the glass coffin

The bench as glass coffin is also a metaphor for the constraints that PatPran must face living their relationship in a glass closet – open to view yet limited on all sides by expectations (remembering that they've officially broken up but still have to interact in public on school matters).

And of course it's unmissable that both Snow White's glass coffin and PatPran's relationship are a metaphor for queer lives in the closet. (PatPran leaning in for a kiss on that bench only to be interrupted by a uniformed security guard, is also a tongue-in-cheek reminder about how higher authorities can and do impinge on the freedom of queer people to love freely.)

However, in the context of BL and of Our Skyy 2 as a BL anthology, OS2 x BBS x ATOTS is also a metatextual comment on the telling of queer love stories in the media. The entire four-parter can be seen as a metaphor (or more correctly, an allegory) regarding the commodification of LGBTQ+ love by the BL industry itself, if you will, as well as some of the issues this stirs up.

In OS2 we have:

PatPran turning PhuTian's love story into a drama for public consumption;

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [3I4] 7.00

The emphasis placed on consent for that story to be used (in the words of Ajahn Pichai at Ep.1 [2/4] 12.15, 12.31 and 12.38, and PhuTian's exchange at Ep.2 [1I4] 16.30) and the comment that partial consent is not enough (from Pran at Ep.2 [1I4] 10.18 and 20.22);

(top) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.1 [2/4] 12.38; (middle) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [1I4] 16.32; (bottom) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [1I4] 20.22

Phupha's objection to being portrayed as a one-dimensional love interest, reduced to only his romanticized and/or sexualized self (Ep.2 [1I4] 18.35), instead of being seen as a fully-realized human being in his own right (Ep.2 [1I4] 18.25);

(top) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [1I4] 18.35; (bottom) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.2 [1I4] 18.25

Pran detecting Phupha's self-doubt and commenting at Ep.3 [4/4] 0.58: "Why do I feel like you’re just insecure and not sure if you’re good enough to tell anyone that story?";

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.3 [4/4] 0.58

Phupha finally giving permission for PatPran to dramatize his and Tian's story, with the proviso that Tian and he be played by PatPran themselves (Ep.4 [3I4] 0.48).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [3I4] 0.48

The parallels with the BL industry are striking. (I'm sticking with BL as the established industry here, but you could perhaps apply the same points to the nascent GL as well.) No disrespect to allies, but Director Aof is pointedly saying the following:

Queer love stories are constantly being dramatized in Thai media (by cishet-dominated parties and largely for cishet consumption) – but this is often done without the LGBTQ+ community having much say, let alone any consent, in the matter;

The commodification of queer love (especially in the BL industry) has resulted in most productions forefronting the romantic and/or sexual aspects of the narrative (understandable, because these are romance-driven), but this also has the unfortunate result of reducing the queer characters to pretty vessels for love stories, deified and/or fetishized, and with limited room for more to be said about other aspects of their queer lives;

Perhaps because of discrimination, people might still be carrying the idea in their heads that queer stories are somehow less valid than the cishet ones that dominate media (remembering how SOTUS had to break the mold for BL, and InkPa for GL) – and the call sometimes even comes from inside the house, when queer people feel that their stories may somehow be unsuitable for mainstream channels (as echoed by Phupha's insecurity, called out by Pran at Ep.3 [4/4] 0.58).

Not only are queer stories that exist beyond the romantic/sexual dimension worthy of being told in a more expansive arena (Pran's Architecture play, and its reception), the LGBTQ+ community should be mindful when control of how these stories are told and who gets to tell them is not in its hands (echoed by "neutral" Ajahn Pichai's reminder about consent, and Phupha's insistence on having a trusted couple incarnate his and Tian's story).

But remembering Director Aof's leanings toward LGBTQ+ activism in his work, it's also possible to read the drama in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS as an allegory itself for real-life situations, beyond this BL anthology's metatextual comment on the BL industry. I think that this is the ultimate message with PhuTian's story being the finale for Our Skyy 2 (landing not coincidentally during Pride Month and all).

With the metaphors in Pran's theater class backstage and the BL allegory as a launchpad, OS2 x BBS x ATOTS (and Ep.4 especially) is also allegory for queer life in a broader context:

In wider society, the narrative for queer lives has for so long been dominated by the cishet majority and dictated by it (just as the queer romances in BL have had to respond to cishet impulses).

So many queer people have to live their lives with varying degrees of (in)visibility, subject to unseen but still suffocating constraints (Snow White's glass coffin, standing in for the proverbial closet).

Queer lives often take on a performative public face and people have to pretend to be less than their whole truth (Pran's bench, actually so much more than meets the eye).

Queer individuals' self-worth and self-acceptance are influenced by the views of those outside the community, whether coming from family or larger society (Phupha's insecurity, called out by Pran at Ep.3 [4/4] 0.58).

Remembering how Heart in Director Aof's recent (and also mega-important) work Moonlight Chicken was sequestered away by his parents because he was different (i.e., he was a Heart who did not fit what they perceived as "normal"), there is also a parallel in OS2 with Tian whose heart is one step removed from what is considered the norm by wider society (being a transplant from Torfun in ATOTS).

(above) Moonlight Chicken Ep.5 [4/4] 12.23 – Heart weeps in silence at his isolation

Tian's heart often causes him pain, and he is often enfeebled or constrained by it, but even so he loves with his heart just as hard as the next guy (maybe even more, seen not just in his relationship with Phupha but also in his compassion for his students and especially the lost Kampung).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.3 [3I4] 2.57

We are shown that Tian is not willing to be held back by his difference, and expects to live his life to the fullest. It's just that he needs to live his life a little differently, and indeed he thrives when he is given the right circumstances (controlled exertion, and the right sustenance/medication) and freedom to do so. And all this is of course a metaphor for queer people, whose hearts also love differently from the cishet majority's, and who are simply asking for the freedom and space to live their best lives.

So in a sense – just as PatPran were a magic mirror to PhuTian – OS2 x BBS x ATOTS is also Snow White's magic mirror held up to its audience, reflecting truths about queer life back to all who are watching.

But as is typical of Director Aof's work, Our Skyy 2 also suffuses its message with hope, so it's not all hard truths, raw and unvarnished. The series draws to a close on an uplifting note, and as an allegory it hails on behalf of the queer community the hope of a positive future that is presented as not only attainable, but also deserved.

Homophobia is not shown to exist in this universe (as was the case with BBS and also ATOTS). So when Phupha meets up with Tian in Bangkok, they're surrounded by a supportive network of family, friends and allies who were working together to make Phupha's attendance at Tian's birthday celebration a reality.

(top) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [4/4] 3.06 – Tian's birthday celebration with his parents, best friend Tul and surprise guest Phupha; (bottom) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [4/4] 4.32 – Tian's parents give Phupha their blessing to marry Tian

Tian's parents also giving joyful, proud and formal blessing to their union, as well as Tul and Yod's cheerful assistance, all signal the aspirational message that a better, more accepting world is possible for the LGBTQ+ community.

And of course that super-romantic wedding proposal caps it all off:

(top) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [4/4] 8.46 – Phupha kisses Tian's hand after placing the engagement ring on his finger; (bottom) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [4/4] 12.16 – Phupha and Tian's post-engagement kiss by the pool

But it's not just trumpeting support for marriage equality, the cause célèbre that BL series have been championing over the past few years. Noting that Thailand is expected to legalize LGBTQ+ marriage in the coming weeks or months, queer people in the country are now daring to look to the future with much more hope in their hearts. 💖

With this as the context, Phupha and Tian's engagement in the present, with matrimonial union set for the future, can also be seen as symbolizing the hope of even better days to come – when members of the queer community will finally be afforded equal rights in all respects. And I think this has given Our Skyy 2's last episode a rainbow flourish truly worthy of Pride Month 2023. 😍

‌ P.S. Not to take away from the importance of Director Aof's vision, but this is a Bad Buddy blog after all, so I will close this write-up with a bit of a rewind back to PatPran. We didn't get to see a whole lot of information regarding their relationship growth in the four episodes of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS, but there is an Easter Egg hiding within the layers near the end. One of the issues that Pat and Pran had to deal with as a new-ish couple was how to move away from scorekeeping in their constant, competitive jostling. Their first few contests that we saw in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS were win-lose ones ("if you get it, it means that I won't", e.g., the use of the auditorium and the HighTem sponsorship), and that kind of dynamic would only have been corrosive for their couplehood in the longer term. What we see in OS2 x BBS x ATOTS is that in the end they somehow arrive at a win-win instead (just as their Ep.6 Beachside Bet in Bad Buddy sidestepped a black-and-white win-lose outcome and gave them both the winner's prize of being in love). I don't have proof that it's intentional, but Director Aof and his team are certainly clever enough to have planned it to be so. For if ATOTS really is a version of Snow White, both of them got to stage their plays (and share in the sponsorship) since Pran's play (ATOTS) is also Pat's play (Snow White). OS2 x BBS x ATOTS winks at this with Pat – an Engine boy – playing Snow White/Tian, and by showing Wai and Korn in cahoots backstage (why should Engineering student Korn be helping with the Archi play anyway?). 😍

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [3I4] 6.55 And then PatPran are of course forced to kiss onstage (celebrating their union in more ways than one).

(above) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS Ep.4 [3I4] 7.13 Another sly little wink from OS2, they're lovers pretending to be enemies pretending to be lovers, which in a way is also emblematic of OS2 x BBS x ATOTS's deeper message, told matryoshka-style with layers of allegorical meaning. 💖

‌

[that-g3-artist]

Super powers au??? 0.0

Do tell…

Another outline! This one is just a vague idea for the boys having super powers, that I haven't written cause it's pretty close to several other super power AUs i've seen lmao

I'll just paste the whole outline under a cut, it's not very long

time

Main power: time travel

basically save scumming--can go back in time to reset things

CAN go forward, but it's a lot harder and a lot more unpredictable so he usually doesn't

had a lot of trouble controlling it when he was younger, accidentally launched himself 7 years into the future and had trouble getting back

got caught in a 3-day time loop when he was physically 11

now prefers to only go back a few minutes at a time if he absolutely needs to

a LOT older than he looks

secondary power: fierce deity

basically Super Rage

glowing eyes, face markings, super strength, energy beams, basically unstoppable

has a very hard time controlling it, only brings it out as a last resort

terrified he could one day hurt the boys

warriors

main power: persuasion

similar to charmspeak from heroes of olympus

can control people with his voice

doesn't need a trigger phrase, but it needs intention

much easier to get someone to do something they already want to do--can't really make someone jump in front of a bus

very tempting to use it for selfish reasons, tries his hardest not to, especially on civilians

will absolutely use it to get other boys to sleep tho

twilight

main power: shapeshifting

can turn into a wolf (duh)

pretty much same as in canon, just no shadow crystal

secondary power: shadow travel

similar to midna's teleporting

doesn't have very good control of it yet, can sometimes end up in places he didn't mean to go

sky

main power: flight

no wings, flies kind of like superman

loves flying high, can't do it often cause they're hiding

can build up a LOT of speed if he has enough space

secondary power: prophetic dreams

doesn't have control, dreams come when they come

has a hard time understanding what he's seeing until they actually come to pass

they often scare him

legend

main power: shapeshifting

different from twilight's, can't change his whole form, but can shift his appearance

has a "default" face he goes for, but no one knows for sure if that's his real one

sort of good at mimicking people, but it's better if it's just someone made up

control can slip with strong emotions--most often manifests in his hair changing color

ALWAYS trying out new crazy hair colors at home

wild

main power: super regeneration

he's basically deadpool

he has no idea if he can actually die, nothing's stuck yet

SUPER reckless as a result--drives the others insane

insane pain tolerance mainly because he's just used to everything ("it's just a flesh wound!")

hyrule

main power: healing

basically his life spell, can be used on others or himself

can be very exhausting for him to overuse

very nervous about people exploiting him for his power

secondary power: thunder

hasn't quite figured it out yet

keeps accidentally shocking people

has potential to use all his canon spells

will be seriously powerful once he gets enough control

four

main power: splitting

can split himself into four people

not just duplication--they're all pieces of himself

VERY disorienting for him, especially when he's younger

has a lot of trouble controlling it, splits with strong emotions

wind

main power: wind powers!

potential to be VERY powerful

can summon anything from a breeze to a hurricane

as a kid, tho, he mainly uses it for pranks

winds respond to his emotions, don't piss him off

secondary power: ghosts

doesn't manifest until he's in his teens

doesn't really understand what it is at first, just little wisps

eventually they solidify into actual ghosts

I've also had ideas for a while of them being stuck in some shady government facility to exploit their powers, but then this amazing fic came out so idk if i want to do that anymore

(send me one of my WIPs and i'll tell you about it!)

[dipperscavern]

Who up pondering they orb rn? Dipper, that's who!

It's me, chonky, and I hereby request your finest 🔮 reading, please and thank you. Also, sorry for the oncoming wall of text.

As my self-proclaimed title suggests, I am chonky. I'd say I'm probably mid-sized actually but that's only really because I lost some weight when covid happened and the depression rolled in. Anyway, I think I'm 5'5/5'6 but I actually don't know so that's just an estimate based on how tall I am compared to my mom who's 5'11.

I'm biracial but my father's irish-italian genes colonized me so hard, my only afro-centric features I inherited from my mom is my nose, lips, and curly hair, textured around the 3a-3c mark depending on how agreeable my hair is.

I also used to speak spanish when I was way younger because I grew up around my mom's family and she's half puerto rican on her dad's side. Unfortunately, that got whitewashed too when me and my parents moved and I know longer know the language.

I'm from New Jersey but was primarily raised in the New England area of America. I'm (almost) 19 and unlike Jared, I did learn how to read and I enjoy it very much.

I love music of all kinds except country and k-pop is on really thin ice. I'm self-diagnosed autistic and incredibly socially awkward. I make a lot of race jokes but in the "white people can't season their damn food" way instead of the "racist remarks and racial slurs I can't reclaim" way. I'm here, I'm queer, and I really, really need a beer because these damn politicians are going to turn me into an alcoholic, I swear.

I'm a switch but I prefer to dom. Or at least I would. Unfortunately, I get no bitches for I have no rizz. I also have questionable taste in men and women because best believe, you put me in a room alone with Cersei Lannister, her brother (or her lover), Aegon Targaryen II, Aemond Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, or Criston Cole, all them bitches walking out pregnant and I will not apologize for that.

I think that's it. Sorry for the yapfest. All that not talking to people irl manifests into being a blabbermouth online.

-chonky anon

who up pondering they orb rn (me), ANYWAYS, come, dear chonky, and let my crystal friend tell us which man will you love until your timely end 🔮

hm… i see… who is that? no, seriously, who the hell in my orb rn?? OH A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE— excuse my french, that’s your brother jared. *i outstretch my hand, and a nearby unseen hamster gladly walks on it. i flip it, using its back to rub my eyes clean. you watch in horror as i finish my business, setting the hamster down, and returning my gaze to my crystal ball*

ah, that’s more like it. yes yes… i gaze upon (the first) king in the north, robb stark. the thing that solidified that for me was the race jokes 😭 he’d think you’re sooooo funny, and you remind him a lot of theon (whether or not that hurts his heart after theons betrayal, we’ll never know). and your attitude about politicians is exactly how robb feels 24/7. he’s a great battle strategist, but politics make his head hurt, and he’d love being able to complain with you. the part about being socially awkward and preferring not to speak with people much would tickle robb’s fancy at times, because he feels like he gets you allll to himself. and don’t even worry about the rizz!! robb is a-okay being the charming one, and relishes in being able to tease you all he likes <3

[snootlestheangel]

COD AU Ideas

Yup, just a big list of AU ideas I've had rattlin' around in the ole brain. I may not ever get around to doing something with most of these. Some might be very thought out and others a simple sentence of a concept. These are all my concepts, so have the expectation that these will eventually become my fics.

I'm unsure right now if any of these will turn into actual works, cause goodness knows I already have too much on my plate right now, BUT for the most part, what I put here is/will be what to expect if I actually do something with them. In other words, these will serve as "fic descriptions" but just for fics that may never come to be.

The first one I didn't include a "fic" description just cause it's such a niche AU and I really want to inspire others to write their own stuff for it. So please let me know if you want my idea for the work!

Anyways, here's some brain rot!

Prison Break AU

SoapGhost AU where they're both in prison and plan an escape together. Based simply on the idea of "We escaped prison together, and oops we fell in love along the way". SO MUCH angst potential, so much comedy potential, so much potential!!!!

I'll definitely do something with it one day, but we don't have any of these bad boys (that I'm aware of) so please ask me/tag me if you want to write a Prison Break/Prison AU of our boys!!! Like, a Prison AU is a phenomenal idea why have I not heard of anything like this existing already???

Cryptid Hunters AU

AU in which Task Force 141 is actually an entire section of the modern military dedicated to controlling/monitoring the cryptid/monster populations of the world. Sometimes this means killing really rare/dangerous ones. Would contain PriceNik (subject to change into including Graves), SoapGhost, GazAlex.

It's the 141 boys just hunting cryptids with the help of Shadow Company (the North American version), Kate Laswell, and a few others. *honestly not my favorite AU, most likely to be forgotten about*

Cryptid Hunters AU but a bit to the left

Same concept as before but Ghost is a cryptid himself. Ghost still acts like a normal dude, and is a part of the 141 because they're actually super helpful for him, as a powerful cryptid-most-likely-ancient-deity. Helpful because they remove competition/keep most cryptids under check. But not helpful cause they stress him out, they want to find The Ghost and put "it" down cause it's apparently super dangerous.

He's a modern cryptid, meaning stories about his cryptid-self are recent (last like 20 years), which makes him that much more terrifying. He's actually one of the most notorious English cryptids; known for his abilities to phase in and out of shadows, creating pillars of solidified black sand, changing his size from massive to incredibly small, and causing incredibly vivid hallucinations of deceased loved ones. He earned the name Ghost cause of those hallucinations and how he often appears like the ghost of a person long deceased. Cue SoapGhost happening and lots of angst potential with that. Also so much comedy cause they're all like "Damn Ghost was spotted again" and he has to act surprised by what they find when they investigate the area. Soap openly defending the entity of Ghost by saying that he's "never killed anyone! 'Sides we should study him and learn about him! He's probably the only one of his kind, ya know!" Ghost falling in love with the strange little human that looks in awe at the massive structures Ghost makes with his crystalized black sand. Ghost intentionally making them more intricate as time goes on, letting himself get spotted in his full "demonic" form cause the excitement and borderline insane curiosity on Soap's face is always worth it. Now this?? This is good shit that I really want to write now

Soap is a Healer AU

Can't think of a good concise thing to call this AU so lemme explain! Soap who is part of a small percentage of people that possess unique abilities. Their designed to "heal souls" so to speak. People with lots of baggage in their lives often seek out the comfort of these "healers" because they can genuinely help them "heal" from all of this. Part of this means helping them move on from the loss of loved ones, like friends and family, or even pets. This means they can see ghosts of people that someone is still attached to. It's not the ghosts being attached to the people, it's the living not wanting to/struggling to move on. Healers can interact with a person's ghost(s) and vice versa, which is often how they help people move on.

Make it SoapGhost though where "Healers" shouldn't be in the military. There's been too many that have gone insane themselves from all the pain and misery they see/feel/experience on a daily basis. Even if they never see a battlefield, they're constantly surrounded by those who have and it's a miserable experience. Healers in these positions often take their own lives because "they couldn't save everyone" and it eventually became incredibly difficult for a Healer to get to where Soap is. But Soap's identity as a Healer is known by like maybe 3 people, Price not included. And he's not got the true "Healer" personality: he's not quite as empathetic and self-sacrificing as people like his mum, so he's doing just fine where he is.

Then he meets Ghost and suddenly all that changes. He suddenly meets someone he knows he needs to "heal" because damn. He sees the Riley family: Ghost's mum, Tommy and Beth, Joseph, and even Roach. Soap slowly winning Ghost over with the help of the Riley family. Soap slowly helping Ghost move on, helping to convince Ghost that Roach is gone, it's okay to love someone else, Ghost realizing Soap is "Healer" and getting upset that he's just "using" Ghost or whatever the fuck, Soap having to convince him that he fell in love with him, not that he's trying to heal him because it's what Soap is, but because he loves him. Soap saying he fell in love when he realized how many years had passed since the Riley family's passing, how unusual it is for people to have such strong "ghosts" after more than 5 years, saying he fell in love because it means Ghost is such a deeply caring, loving person. He fell in love because often times the "ghosts" in a person's life just continue on like nothing happened, and seeing the way they love Simon, seeing the way little Joseph just adores his uncle, everything about Simon Riley made Soap fall in love.

Undercover AU

This one's a GazAlex AU actually!

Literally what it sounds like. The two have to work together as an undercover duo, often times pretending to be a couple, as they help track down a big bad. Lot of flustered Alex caused by Gaz simply ~existing~. So many cliche tropes in this bad boy. The "there was only one bed", the "make out in an alley to avoid getting caught", the "pretending to be married".

Just a lot of Gaz being the coolest, most badass mf-er to exist and Alex trying desperately to keep things "professional" between them and failing miserably. Gaz being confident and using it to make Alex even more flustered cause "heh, he's kinda cute when he's all red and embarrassed". Gaz knowing full well the crisis he's giving Alex like 90% of the time, but not pushing Alex out of his comfort zone cause it's clear Alex likes him but doesn't want to compromise anything about their mission.

So much silly goofy potential with this, but also like some genuine good shit. Also Laswell and Price being older, "wiser" gays just laughing at the two dancing around each other.

Definitely going to be a fic once I finish one of my current WIPs. This either means posting all the YouTuber AU drabbles I have in my drafts or the last 4 chapters of my Left4Dead AU. Probably the latter...

Anyways, feel free to ask questions about these AUs! I'd love to get an excuse to share more of my brain rot!

[bones-barlow]

I Made Battery Acid Spaghetti (Don't Make Battery Acid Spaghetti)

A thing to know about me is that I have a very strong, very regrettable weakness for awful hybrid junk food. Icee-flavored Oreos, Sour Patch Kids ice cream, Cheetos macaroni and cheese, the list goes on. Combine this with a slight contrarian streak, and perhaps it was inevitable that I would eventually try "Battery Acid Spaghetti".

You've probably seen the post. Sour rainbow gummy candy, peeled into long thin strings and submerged in cheap energy drink to create a vile little concoction, invariably followed by a crowd of people saying "don't do this". Ever since the original post broke containment and started to circulate on Reddit, there was always a little voice in the back of my head telling me to try it. However, the mere mixture of gummy candy and energy drink was never enough to push me over the edge.

No, the real kicker was when the post re-circulated through r/CuratedTumblr last week, and one user commented:

Now THIS got my mind working. I don't like Mountain Dew, but the grocery store where I do my shopping carries a variety of energy drinks in a variety of flavors, including a brand called "Ghost". Ghost in particular has several flavors that taste like types of candy: Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, and, most relevant to this post, Warheads. Unable to resist the siren song of garbage food-adjacent-substances that are bad for me, I made a few purchases and concocted the infamous little brew. For science, you understand.

After peeling some Airheads Xtremes into strips and pouring a Sour-Green-Apple-Warheads-Flavored-Energy-Drink over the top, the thing I immediately noticed was that the drink did, in fact, slightly solidify. Through some chemical reaction, a thin white film formed on top of the 'broth' almost immediately, and it was solid enough to fish out bits of it with a fork. There was no going back from here. I wasn't going to back down or let my hard-earned money go to waste. Chow time.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect in terms of flavor. Airheads Xtremes and Warheads are both sour, of course, but there's sweetness to both, and Ghost mimics their candy flavors nigh perfectly. The combination should probably be similar, right? Well, yes and no. The candy itself retained most of its sweetness, the sour crystals having washed off and dissolved into the Ghost. The drink was where most of the sourness went. These were expected. What wasn't expected was a third flavor: bitterness. The sourness of the candy and the drink was diluted through the sugarfree liquid and made something that was honestly kind of unpleasant to taste. What was more, once most of the candy had been finished, the liquid left had acquired a noticeable tint:

The Ghost wasn't quite colorless, but there was only a slight amount of coloration to it. With the candy having soaked in it for a bit, it had turned a sickly, cloudy shade of yellow. This did not help the flavor, and I only drank about half of what was in this picture and ended up pouring the rest of it down the drain, along with the remainder of the can of Ghost (totaling about half of the drink). From creation to completion, it took about 20 minutes.

Even this wasn't the end. The whole thing left a distinct stickiness in my mouth, and even after rinsing and gargling with warm water and eating some actual real food, it still isn't quite gone. This, when combined with my generally low tolerance for caffeine, has left me in an unpleasant and headachey funk.

So, what can I say I learned from this experience? Well, I may have set my expectations a bit too high. The perils of hyping oneself up, I suppose. I was not in terrible pain, my teeth didn't rot out of my head, and I certainly don't think I'd be able to use this stuff to mimic an actual battery. Nevertheless, I have come to the following conclusion:

Don't do this.

[polliwoggers]

The design on that lore-dump is absolutely on-point, by the way. Cool and easily readable. :3 The deterioration of Dark and Heart Matters got me wondering about where Kirby fits into things...I'm assuming he's ah. Y'know. Not natural. :) (And for that matter, how's this affect Meta-Knight...?)

Thank you so much!! I did my best to keep it interesting and easy to read, so I'm super happy it came across that way! :D -- and, I'm glad you asked! i hope you don't mind me rambling for a minute here; i'm always very eager to jump at opportunities to talk about kirby lore lol. under the cut because it got kind of long.

I'll start with Meta knight because he's easier. Essentially, he is the very last of the original line of Puffballs within the primary dimension most kirby games take place in. He does not have enough Heart matter to be able to safely donate any to potential offspring -- if you yourself only have, say, an atom's worth of the stuff, you can't really donate half of it without blowing yourself up in the process. Splitting atoms and all that.

Dark Meta Knight is in a similar boat; as dimensional boundaries solidified over time, some early puffballs got caught in different dimensions and founded their own parallel lineages, of which DMK is now the final product of his own.

Galacta knight is a holdover from a previous generation of puffballs many centuries ago, and has a comparatively higher concentration of Heart matter in his body than either MK or DMK do. He is the only one who I could confidently say would be able to create an offspring without dying in the process, but that'd require freeing himself of the crystal first, which seems very unlikely.

GK is also, like, mega insane from being sealed away for an eternity outside of time, so I don't know that he'd be a great candidate for mentoring a young one, assuming the thought even crosses his mind. Regardless, GK, MK, and DMK are the only remaining true-blue puffballs out there in the galaxy.

I left it purposely vague in the post what I meant about Kirby's unnatural-ness, so that people could feel free to fill in that void with whatever origin story they prefer, whether that be an elder god's dying bid at happiness or a precocious experiment of Nightmare's gone rogue. In cases like these, the "unnatural-ness" just refers to how he doesn't have a lineage stretching back to the dawn of time like MK and the other knights, and is instead the product of something newer.

…buuuut, when it comes to what I personally like to think about Kirby's origins, that "unnatural-ness" has another aspect to it. I like to think of Kirby not as a continuation or reincarnation of Void, but moreso as a sibling to it. That is, if Void's creation of all matter is meant to represent the Big Bang, then Kirby is just that: another Big Bang, possessing infinite energy and potential. It happened spontaneously once, why shouldn't it spontaneously happen again?

The reason why this origin is extra "unnatural" is that, with infinite energy, it might be more accurate to say Kirby is made of Chaos than he is Heart matter. I have another lorepost about how Chaos works here (on the last slide), but suffice it to say that it's basically the "stem cells" of matter, and can twist itself into any matter type its wielder likes -- Dream, Dark, Heart, or Soul.

For Kirby, that has always meant embodying Heart matter, giving him the appearance and powerset of a natural puffball with a high Heart matter concentration. No outsider -- nor even Kirby himself -- would be able to recognize him as anything other than a particularly powerful puffball. Except Meta knight.

Being, effectively, the last of his kind, Meta's experience with other puffballs is quite limited; but he knows enough to suspect Kirby is more than meets the eye. There are little idiosyncrasies that just don't add up.

Kirby's demeanor, his abilities, the fact he doesn't visibly age, that he hasn't begun growing wings or horns after having been alive how long, now? -- his complete disinterest and irreverence toward puffball history, the fact he doesn't have parents, and his willingness to give everybody -- even Dark matter -- a chance. These things would be unthinkable to a "true" puffball. Everyone on the outside looking in assumes the friendly, bouncy Kirby is the "normal" one, and that Meta knight is the overly-stoic oddball, but it is very much the other way around.

When first encountering him, Meta also assumed that Kirby was just a "regular" but powerful puffball child that had somehow slipped through the cracks. However, over the years (and after Kirby's repeated victories against enemies that even MK couldn't ever hope to deal with), these small peculiarities became more and more apparent to MK, sometimes even verging on straight-up uncanny. Nowadays -- and especially after the fight with Void Termina -- Meta knight doesn't know what to think anymore.

Of course, that doesn't stop MK from respecting Kirby as a long-time friend and rival! Even as Meta slowly realized Kirby might be more than even Kirby himself thinks he is, they grew closer as friends and allies. Also, with how friendly and kind he is, Kirby's just hard to hate. They respect each other a lot, even if Kirby's "unnatural-ness" sometimes triggers an uncanny valley response in "true" puffballs.

[complete-gay-chaos]

hi I'm normal about the new niigo event cards

spoilers for the newest event on JP. eng translation is "saying goodbye to my masked self" but it sounds like one of those awkward eng translations. I just saw the cards and went a little bit nuts because there is so. much. symbolism and callback to other events and cards.

the first very obvious connection is with the cards from the imprisoned marionette event. it's nightcord's first event and it's where we really get it set up that mafuyu's sitaution with her mom is a problem.

mafuyu feels like a marionette, the strings controlling her being her mother and the pressure she feels at school and home, and the mask being hiding her emotions and pretending to handle it.

so yknow with this event's card- the cut strings, the scissors, the broken mask. she's breaking her mom's control, she is "saying goodbye to her masked self". I find it interesting that it looks like not all the strings are cut- it may just be a stylistic choice by the illustrator though.

going further into reading too deeply into things the cards for the rest of niigo are also pretty straightforward with the string thing too. but I find it interesting that in mizuki's card, all the strings are hanging loose, in ena's card she's pulling against the strings, and in kanade's card, the strings all appear to still be tight and she's huddled up in the middle.

I think it maybe represents their different relationships to control. mizuki has always been about being yourself and not being controlled, and has lightly encouraged that in mafuyu or with their personality, at least kept the door open for mafuyu- they never really push.

Ena pushes back against control a lot- she outright lies to mafuyu's mom in "Someday, this wish will transcend the morning sky" so mafuyu can stay at her house. So I think it makes sense that she's directly pulling on the "strings of control".

Kanade never really directly challenges mafuyu's mother until "Immiscible discord". She prefers to focus just on mafuyu, and is kind of tunnel-vision about songwriting and helping mafuyu, so she's not touching the strings at all and is instead focused on the crystal/heart/apple.

(ok I wrote these next slides for a friend discord server so these are a bit more discombobulated)

so apples and heart-shaped apples are pretty significant at points in niigo's story. they appear most prominently in the "Mirage of lights" event when mafuyu get sick and recalls a similar time from her childhood. the memory of eating apple cut up for her by her mom (and later, kanade) is tied to a warm feeling- and it being tied to a feeling, at all, is pretty significant for mafuyu. and the heart shape I think makes it pretty clear- apples are tied to mafuyu's feelings, or her "heart". then there's also a brief reference in the lyrics of samsa and the art for the song as well which I feel like further solidifies it.

yes I know my handwriting is unreadable 😭 I'm going to add image descriptions.

Ok so also the hearts are made out of crystals or have a crystalline look to them and that along with the poses and lighting they're in reminds me of the cards from "Someday, from the depths of despair". Given the fact that the event is about reminiscing on how they all met and the connection and friendship they now share with each other, and the lyrics to Tricologe, specifically "a little chipped pink opal/a lost lolite/a topaz covered in dust/and a lonely ametrine" (although idk how official that translation is) I think the gemstones symbolize themselves, and the memories and feelings they have for each other aka friendship.

I also think it's interesting that for mafuyu's card in that event she doesn't have a fully formed crystal like mizuki and ena do because she still struggles with finding a sense of self and experiencing/identifying her feelings.

But yeah so the crystals/hearts/apples in this event's card symbolize mafuyu, her feelings, their friendship with her, that whole package. So think the rest of the girl's cards are showing them reaching out to mafuyu and supporting them in the ways that they know.

Anyway that's just what I think, it might be inaccurate I don't speak japanese or live in japan so I don't have direct access to things in the JP sekai server or the non-translated meanings of song lyrics, event dialogues, etc. I'm just excited about my blorbos. Mafuyu's story brings me to tears every time she has a focus event istg her story is dear to me and this is the ultimate culmination of all the growth I get super sappy over.

This is event is obviously a very big step that's been built up to since nightcord's first event/main story and I love how the imagery in the cards ties back to repeating themes, other events, and the beginning of it all. It's really the icing on the cake.