#I think that'd be a fun side project

[skeletalheartattack]

Valve just published a blog post regarding plans for the first MVM update in twelve years for TF2 (to be released later this year, sometime after August), and it shaping up to be the first MVM update to involve community submissions (excluding Robotic Boogaloo).

[signedaiko]

Hi do you mind if I please request a oneshot where tfp Wheeljack thinks that the human reader is uptight and just no fun, but that's only because she goes adult mode around the kids especially in dangerous situations, but she's actually a total nerd and very chaotic. And he develops a crush on her.

Seasons Changing

Wheeljack X Reader [Prime]

In which Wheeljack finds you're just like every other strict bot, until he gets you alone.

Song - September by Sparky Deathcap

Reader is: Female | Cybertronian | Autobot. Romantic.

Hidden beneath the crumbling red rocks of Jasper, Nevada, a bot that'd spent the last few decades racing across space as the war came to a dwindling and depressing close found himself bunkered in with a conglomerate of Autobots. 

Some he knew well, some he'd never heard of. 

"Wheeljack! Watch where you're stepping!" Once again, you'd turned from your datapad that had your servos practically dented into it from many months of use just to nag at him. 

Another Autobot gone soft; all you did now was read Earth fiction, old Cybertronian articles, and tell him off since he'd landed here. 

"Yeah, yeah, the kids aren't stupid. They can dodge, too." He groaned under his breath before sitting down away from the kids, resulting in a whine from Miko, who'd been trying to teach him to play some rock on her new guitar. 

"Kids shouldn't be dodging anything; they're kids." You corrected him before setting your datapad down in between the two of you to get up. 

Wheeljack glanced down to catch a glimpse of whatever you were reading, finding some pre-war article on quantum engine engineering. He never got how someone so annoying could be interested in cool things. 

Ushering the humans back onto their elevated space so they wouldn't be in danger of moving mechs, you took the chance to apologize to Miko for interrupting her lessons. 

Normally Wheeljack would be out for a mission, but the boss insisted he stay back with you in case you were needed elsewhere. 

Ratchet was also busy working on one of their larger projects: expanding the range of the ground bridge. It meant they needed someone to distract the kids and watch them as much as possible, and so the two of you were left alone. 

Well, as alone as you can be with a bunch of teens and Ratchet. 

"Hey! You and Wheeljack still at base?" Arcee's voice broke in through static, likely interference from the base, lighting up your comms. 

"We are. Need something?" You pressed a servo to the side of your helm to respond, standing up to alert Ratchet you may need to use the groundbridge. 

"We found some locations worth investigating. Our team is splitting into two, but we need you and Wheeljack at the third. Prepare for anything." Your comm beeped, informing you of some coordinates, just as she hung up. Somewhere in the snowy mountains of Northwest Territories, Canada. 

"Looks like we're needed elsewhere, Wheeljack. Let's get going." You turned to wave him over, which resulted in him getting up with a groan. You couldn't think of the last time you saw him do anything but frown. 

With a few digits punched into the machine and Ratchet calculating the rest, the green and purple swirls of the ground bridge ignited into a vortex, which you led the way through. 

Your temperature indicator quickly dropped by the double digits, from 35C to -20C in a matter of a few minutes. As cold as you remembered space being, you'd been subjected to such a warm environment for so long that it took a while to adjust. 

Wheeljack, on the other hand, had only been in Jasper so long and immediately pushed past you into the several feet of snow, nothing but tall pines and thick brush surrounding the two of you. Any trees had their branches thick with ice and snow, making them look as pure white as the rest of the landscape. 

It was so quiet you could hear your own spark pulse. 

"There should be a strong energon signal somewhere around here. We're looking for some kind of mine." Wheeljack had already pulled out the signal detector while you slowly warmed your engines up, hot steam escaping your mouth in an exhale. 

"Yeah, I'm picking up a few right now. Looks like they'd even defend a place as desolate as this." Wheeljack turned the reader off so no one would pick up on its signal either. 

If there was defence, the longer you were out here, the longer they'd have to notice your trace energies. 

"What are we waiting for? Let's break in!" Much to Wheeljack's surprise, you ran ahead of him, sword in hand, as you sliced through branches to clear a path. 

"Whoa! Wait up! What are you doing?" Wheeljack yelled out after you as you charged ahead in the direction of the signals, watching as you broke into a con-made clearing where two Vehicons guarded the entrance to a dugout cave. 

In a moment, you were on top of one with your sword, plunging it into their chassis. 

Wheeljack had no choice but to engage as the other one aimed in your direction, slicing its gun in half, which resulted in the explosion blowing its arm apart. You were already off the Vehicon and running into the cave, which forced him to kick the vehicon he was attacking down and slice its helm off in one swift sweep. 

His mask engaged, covering his mouth as he chased you into the cave, muttering under his breath. Just a moment ago you were as calm as ever, and now you were running ahead of him with no regard for the dangers.

This was when Wheeljack didn't do the buddy system; bots are just too complicated. 

When he caught up to you, you were in the main chasm of the dugout hole, surrounded by stashes of energon, though they varied in colour from mostly green to blue. 

More vehicons, which appeared to be working, turned to the two of you, and before he could react, you were already running at the two closest to you. 

The wrecker had worked with many before, but not many that'd throw themselves into a fight as casually as you did. Even as he bashed two vehicons helms together while making a sword swallowing act out of the third, his optics kept glancing your way. 

If he didn't know any better, he'd say you were a wrecker at some point, too. 

With your combined efforts, you were able to pile the vehicons into a corner and tie them together with some chains, left to the cave on your own. 

"Arcee, we're all wrapped up here. What do we do?" 

It took a couple of minutes before you got a reply, which Wheeljack spent looting the corpses for anything good. 

"Jeez, already? You two comm Ratchet and get as much energon back to base as you can; we'll see you there in a bit." 

Looking to Wheeljack, you pointed to the blue crates of energon, which he offered a thumbs up to. With his mask retracted, you could see his frown was a lot closer to a smile, which was the first of its kind. 

You were able to contact Ratchet, who opened up a ground bridge for the two of you, and Wheeljack got to lugging through crates while you took to collapsing in the cave entrance. 

You wouldn't want humans to find any evidence of this or for the wildlife to interact with the toxic substances in the crates. 

As you two grabbed the last few crates, Wheeljack stopped you before you went back to base for good. 

"Hey, what was up with all of that?" He gestured with his helm back to the pile of vehicons, to which you shrugged. 

"I mean, why act out like that? Aren't you supposed to be Miss-Don't-Do-That or Miss-Wheeljack-Stop-Screwing-Around?" You took a moment to consider what he was referencing before laughing in realization. 

"Oh god, that's right! You've only seen me at base!" He only stared at you with narrow optics, which eventually softened; he'd come to like that laugh. 

"No, Wheeljack, this is me. I just really want the kid to know they're safe. Can you imagine how scared they are, surrounded by a big wad of sentient metal as a small, fragile organism?" 

Thinking about Miko, Raf, and Jack had you worrying again, and you pushed forward to the portal. 

"If you want to know more, you'll have to stop begging to go on missions alone." You disappeared into the swirling lights, leaving Wheeljack on his own in the cave. 

"Yeah, right." The mech mumbled under his breath. He could take this crate of energon, get on his ship, and leave anytime he wanted; no femme was going to change that. 

Yet, he found himself chasing you through the portal, without a second thought.

Author's Note - I tried so hard on this you don't even want to know! I hope its what you were looking for <3

Words - 1,405

[bumblesimagines]

Jordan Li

you didn't even give me a chance to talk to you the next morning.

i haven't been with anyone since.

can we just act like it never happened and carry on like normal?

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers, F!Reader

CW/TW: Typical Gen V warnings (none), uhhhhhh literally no warnings?, jordan being vulenrable, jordan being shit at talking about feelings pls get a therapist bby

After stuffing her notebook and textbook into her backpack, (Y/N) hooked her fingers around the strap and stood up from her seat, slinging the backpack over her shoulder and following her classmates as they shuffled out of the classroom. They piled into the slowly growing crowded hallway, bumping and brushing against each other as everyone made their way to their next class before the late bell could ring. (Y/N) managed to squeeze into a less crowded hallway, releasing a soft huff of air. 

"(Y/N), hey! Wait up!" She glanced back and spotted Jordan stepping out of the crowd with much less difficulty, the students parting as if Jordan were Moses. It was silly, in her opinion, how much others worshipped those in the Top Ten like they were royalty or gods walking the Earth. Half of the supes making up the list still needed help with simple subjects taught in normal human schools. 

"What's up, Li?" (Y/N) arched a brow when the supe caught up with her. "Is it about the project Brink gave me? I'm almost done with it, I swear. It needs a little tweaking but I'll be turning it in tomorrow." 

"No, no, it's not about that." Jordan dismissed, their fingers raking through their hair and brushing back black strands that'd slipped out of the slick-back hairstyle. (Y/N) hummed and looked forward again, checking the time on the clock ticking at the end of the hall and quickening her step. "It's, uhm.. I wanted to talk to you about last Friday? I know you were out of town over the weekend so I thought I'd catch up with you today."

Her brows furrowed. "Catch up about what exactly?" She asked, sparing them a glance before turning a sharp corner into a different hall. Her mind shuffled through the events of the past days until she got to Friday, trying to think back on what she did that day that would require a discussion with Jordan Li of all people. Sure, at the end of the day she'd hooked up with them, but that hardly needed a play-by-play chat. 

"Last... Friday?" Jordan blinked at her, their own brows dipping. "You didn't even give me a chance to talk to you the next morning. I mean, I've never seen that side of you, you know? I- I always thought you were like, a nerd or something. You're always so quiet and distant." 

"Riiight," (Y/N) drawled, her eyes squinting slightly at them. "You don't know me, Jordan. Of course, you didn't expect that from me, a complete and utter stranger. We literally only talk when Brink wants to set up a meeting about grades. Besides, there's nothing to talk about. You answered some questions, we had a beer or two, we had sex, and that's it."

"Yeah, but, it's never been like that for me before and I know you've never slept with someone like me."

(Y/N) snorted. "I've slept with plenty of douchebags, Jordan, but yes, you're right. I've never been with someone who can change their body. It was new and fun but there's really nothing to talk about." 

"I haven't been with anyone since."

"It's been two days since Friday."

"You know what I'm trying to say," Jordan groaned rather dramatically, sidestepping into her way and looking surprisingly nervous for the typical stone-faced, scowl-wearing, asshole everyone knew them as. (Y/N) bit the inside of her cheek and conjured up a few excuses as to how she could possibly be late to her next class when it was so close to the last one. "I've never been with someone who wanted to sleep with me like that, alright? No one has ever asked me if I wanted to change midway through before. It's always they want to sleep with a just a dude or just a chick, never both. I... I don't know. It was new to me too." 

"So, we both tried something new that night. Great. I'm happy you got to experience that, and I'm sure you'll now feel comfortable asking your army of booty calls if they want to try it too. Now, can we just act like it never happened and carry on like normal? You can go back to being Brink's assistant and I'll go back to being the nightmare student whose questions and emails you have to answer every day." (Y/N) raised her hand to pat them on the shoulder and stepped around them, wincing when the late bell rang through the hallway. Jordan caught her arm, their jaw clenched and eyes downcast.

"I don't want to act like it never happened," Jordan admitted quietly, a soft tone she'd never heard them use before. "And I don't want things to go back to the way they were either."

[thebroccolination]

THE EX-MORNING Q17: OHM'S BIRTHDAY, TOWEL SWANS, POTENTIAL SAPPHIC HINTS, AND FUUUUUCK KRISTSINGTO LOOK BEAUTIFUL

HI. LET'S FUCKING START HERE SHALL WE:

[image source: official Twitter account]

I cannot get over how good they both look in these two shots. Like, I've spent years seeing how incredible they look at events or photoshoots with all the Celebrity Styling and whatnot, and I've wished they could be styled like that for a series, and I finally got to see my vision realized!!! Singto especially, oh my god. The turtleneck? His hair? The giant cardigan and the sweater paws?

I'm obsessed with these characters already.

I mean, this series is #1 in my soul based on the visuals alone.

I've been waiting so long for KristSingto to come back. :'''')

BUT WAIT.

THERE'S MORE.

[image source: official Twitter account]

The lighting on them here is so incredibly beautiful. Because, like, listen: SOTUS's color grading was a crime against Singto. They made his beautiful skin tone gray in some shots, and look how he glows when you light him right!!! Krist, too! Melanin good! Melanin very, very good!!!

Oh, also. Bed.

[image source: official Twitter account]

No big deal, y'know, whatever. Just another bed scene. With towel swans on the bed. Like they do for couples in hotels. It's fine. I'm fine. This is fine. I'm fine.

Except we already have two confirmed NC scenes from Q11 + Q4 along with one possible scene in Q15, so this is the second possibility, meaning we could have as many as four in the final product???

As my friend said, "They're making up for lost time."

We are the Chosen People, friends.

They're making this series well worth the wait.

POTENTIAL GL SIDE COUPLE???

Oh, did you think the official account was done there?

You thought since they normally only tweet once or sometimes twice per Q that they'd surely stop at three, right?

Nope! We still have one more!

[image source: official Twitter account]

Our maybe sapphic side couple, Kaoki (Jamie) and Nudee (Earn)! I have every crossable appendage crossed that GMMTV's taking their slide into sapphic sublimity seriously and we'll get a solid side couple from JamieEarn as well as a brand new GL khuujin. :')

OHM'S BIRTHDAY

Today was Ohm's birthday! Director Lit surprised him with a cake in the middle of filming a scene! Below, I have seven (7) different angles of this moment from various crew members stitched with two other clips of staff goofing off and Jamie looking typically stunning.

Lit brought the cake in while Krist, Singto, and Ohm were filming a scene, which reminded me....

I've been trying to guess what role Ohm will play in the series since he didn't appear in the pilot teaser that aired at last year's showcase, and my hope is that he's playing either an ex of Tamtawan (Singto) or maybe even Tam's current boyfriend. That'd throw some extra conflict into the story and make it much harder for Pathapi (Krist) and Tam to get back together.

Singto's worked with Ohm before, just like Krist's worked with Aou, and just like Aou is a counterpart to Krist's character, it'd make sense for Ohm to be one to Singto's. Judging by the blocking in the scene above, it feels like Ohm's character is more familiar with Singto's. Sooooo, my guess/hope could be on the right track? It'd be personally amusing to me if Singto and Ohm play former or current lovers considering they played brothers in their other project. Acting! It’s a weird and fun job for everyone.

MARCH 29TH: "THE EX-MORNING" NOVEL DEBUT

As a side note, this Saturday will see the release of the novel version of “The Ex-Morning.” Just keep in mind that the novel writers and the scriptwriters are different people, and they produce different content based on the synopses they're given. But TEM is likely to be even more dramatically different from the novel as usual since, as y'all know, "The Ex-Morning" script went through heavy revisions this past December, so it's very likely we'll see massive sweeping changes in the series when it airs.

I fully intend on making a bingo card based on the novel for the series for funsies.

OTHER MOMENTS

Now for some assorted shots taken from the stories of cast and crew throughout the day!

We had some crew taking outdoor shots.

Today's slate keeping track of all the details for the Q. Super curious how many minutes they have with 74 rolls of film taken so far!

Applause and hydration to all the editing teams on these series. <3

Earn shared her food support and Jamie's story of them. <3

Fun camera stuff for the tech-savvy. :D

Aaand my personal favorite:

Singto creating darkness for himself to nap on the floor under a robe.

In the hotel, the fancy hotel, the lion sleeps in white~

Aaand filming wrapped at 9:17pm! They normally start at nine in the morning, so they've been doing twelve-hour days at least from the start. <3 In one of the Livehouses, Earn teased Singto asking what he keeps asking throughout the day, and from the floor, Singto plaintively answered, "Is it 9pm yet?"

I imagine those full-day filming schedules hit you slightly differently once your body's fully grown, eh?

CONCLUSION

That's what we've got for now, folks! Since they have the book fair on Saturday, I figure they're probably going to have tomorrow and Friday to rest. (Even though Krist used one of his post-PeBaCa concert days to pack merch. I swear that boy can't sit still.)

My guess is they'll continue with Q18 next Monday, but we'll have to wait to find out. \:D/

I'll update with details on the book fair on Saturday under the hashtag #special reporter kiranokira as usual. They don't tend to talk about the series or the novel at these events, it seems, but if anyone speed-reads the novel and shares about it, I'll let y'all know. ;)

Special reporter Kiranokira out!

[grandwretch]

only must i wander, chapter 13

steve's intermission

[on ao3][ch 1][ch 2][ch 3][ch 4][ch 5][ch 6][ch 7][ch 8][ch 9][ch 10][ch 11][ch 12]

1986, january

The lights in the Hawkins High parking lot had long since dimmed, leaving the Bimmer shrouded in shadow. The engine had gone cold with waiting; Family Video had closed hours before and Hawkins offered very little entertainment this late into winter. Hellfire was supposed to be over half an hour ago, but Steve didn't feel like breaking it up to drag Eddie and the kids back into the real world. They deserved whatever fun they could find, after the summer they'd had-- He only wished that Mike and Lucas were with them. He only wished that Will could be. 

 Besides, he had his own selfish reasons for wanting the night to last as long as possible. Robin was with him, chatting about a lot of nothing, and he cherished every moment of it. If someone had told Steve eight months ago that'd he'd miss hearing Robin's voice, he would have called them crazy. And six months ago, he would have never believed that Robin would be anywhere but right next to him. 

Which, to be fair, it wasn't like they had stopped hanging out. They spent almost every free moment in each other's company, and worked together nearly every day. It was impossible for Robin to ignore him, exactly. But she'd been... distant. During hangouts, Robin always kept Eddie or El in between her and Steve, a pattern so obvious and numerous that even Steve had been forced to recognize it. They didn't talk the way they used to at work, never about anything deeper than movies and video games from the arcade next door. 

Steve's best friend was still there, still smiling and laughing and at his side, but he felt like he'd lost her all the same. It was the same when Nancy had started to pull away, every interaction suddenly at arms' length, until she was so far away that Steve got nervous just reaching out to touch. He didn't know what it said about him that his girlfriend and his best friend both pushed him away in under a year, but he was trying not to think about it. 

Especially not tonight. Nights like this, alone and happy, were a balm to his soul that was very rarely afforded to him now. He was hardly going to waste it by worrying about something he could easily worry about tomorrow. Robin seemed way less concerned about the change. She was currently slumped in the passenger seat, Converse propped up on the dash-- Steve had stopped bothering to tell her off for it months ago. 

"We're going to be late for curfew, dingus!" she said, toes tapping impatiently. 

"I promised Hop I would take El home from Hellfire night," Steve explained for the thousandth time. 

"Okay?" Robin asked, eyes wide. "What, exactly, does that have to do with me?"

"They're our friends! El and Max like seeing you. And, uh--" Steve winced. "And Eddie." 

Robin rolled her eyes, the way she always did when Steve mentioned Eddie around her recently. "Yes. Eddie will be happy to see me the normal friend amount," she agreed, stressing every syllable. Then she frowned, nails flashing in the dark as she flicked her fingers at him. "Don't pull this shit with me today, Harrington." 

"What shit?" Steve spluttered. "There's no--"

"There is absolutely no way that Eddie Munson has a crush on me," Robin said, for what must have been the thousandth time that month. Steve was beginning to regret telling Robin about his little theory, but Robin had been coming at him with theories of her own, and he'd-- Well, he'd panicked. He was man enough to admit that. "I came out to him. You were there. He was ecstatic." 

"Of course he was! He's a good dude, and he'd want you to be happy. He's just--"

"Blatant projection!" Robin crowed, sitting up and jabbing a finger in Steve's direction. 

There was maybe one of those syllables that Steve understood, and it stopped him in his tracks. "What?"

Robin's finger kept jabbing at him as she spoke, the movements like punctuation. "You have a crush on Eddie, and you want him to be happy, so you're imagining him up an equally futile crush to obsess over." Jab, jab, jab. "That's the reason you keep bringing it up. And, like, genuinely I don't mind because it's not like you're pressuring me to give him a chance, but it's getting kind of sad, Steve." 

"I don't have a crush on Eddie," Steve said, ignoring the ice that had flooded his veins the moment she'd said the words out loud. "I... I like girls, Robin." 

"You can like both," Robin said, as if that was something Steve didn't know-- Obviously you could like both, but that didn't mean that Steve did. "And you definitely like guys, considering you laid in my bed and talked about your weird throne jerk off session fantasy for like twenty minutes, no matter how many times I asked you to stop." 

God, that fucking throne. Steve was squirming in his seat just thinking about it; That fantasy had haunted every waking moment for months after he'd had the wet dream that inspired it. The idea of Eddie, sprawled over his pilfered theatre throne, the same smug nonchalance coiled in his muscles that Steve had seen during dozens of D&D sessions. But now his cock was out, a ringed hand wrapped around it, stroking teasingly. Not teasing himself, but Steve, who waited for him on his knees, mouth open and tongue waiting for that first drop of precum-- 

"You're thinking about it right now, aren't you?" Robin said, breaking through the fantasy. 

"It's not-- That's not liking guys," Steve said, rubbing at the heat suddenly rushing up his neck. "I just have this bad habit, alright? I make dude friends and then I get weird and jealous over it. Sure, the sex stuff is weird, but it's not like I'm having the same fantasies about my girlfriends." 

"You don't think about sex with your girlfriends?" Robin asked, disbelieving.

"I mean I think about it, sure," Steve said, because he was only human. "But it's not-- It's not like that. It's normal."  

"So all these girls you sleep with," Robin asked, "You never... fantasize about them?" 

"No!" Steve protested. "It's not--- I don't go around imagining them doing sexy stuff without their permission." He'd probably had a fantasy about a girl at one point, right? Before he'd started to have sex, almost definitely. But never about any of the girls he knew. The idea of fantasizing about Nancy in particular was insane. They had normal, respectful sex because that was the kind of thing you did with girls like Nancy. That was what Nancy deserved. And if Steve had even thought about anything else, she probably would have been able to smell it on him or something, and it would have been... 

Awful. The concept itself was awful. 

"Steve, guys do that stuff all the time. It's... normal," she said, slowly.  "I know you know it's normal, because I've heard guys you used to be friends with talk about sex with their girlfriends." 

"Those guys are assholes; Everyone knows that," Steve said, brushing it off. He hadn't needed anyone to tell him that. He'd tried to shut down most of the locker room talk on the basketball team, but his old teammates hadn't cared that their girlfriends were his friends, too. In fact, many of them hadn't believed that Steve didn't want to think about their girlfriends naked. They'd get jealous when he as much as talked to them, and then spend half an hour telling him all about what they'd pressured her into the night before. 

Like he said, they were assholes. 

"They're assholes because they're sharing things their girlfriends wouldn't want them to, not because they like sex," Robin said. She was trying to keep her voice kind, but even Steve could hear the confusion in her voice. It made him want to open the car door and sprint into the night. He had fucked something up along the way, and he didn't even know what it was. "You know it's okay to, like, want it, right?" 

"I like sex!" Steve protested. "Of course I like sex, who doesn't? I just don't like to think about girls that way. It makes me feel gross, and I usually just end up thinking about Tommy or Eddie anyway, so--"

"Wait, Tommy?" Robin interrupted, drawing back with disgust. "Tommy Hagan?" 

Steve ignored her. "It'll probably be over once I can find a girl I like enough to, you know, sleep with more than once." He hadn't thought about Tommy all that much when he'd been with Nancy, after all. Not that he was even talking to Tommy at that point. Robin didn't ask, though-- She didn't say anything at all. She just sat there for a moment, blinking at him as if he'd started speaking another language. 

"What?" he asked, eventually. 

"You..." Robin pulled a face, baring her teeth in a display of emotion that Steve had no hope of deciphering. Eventually, she continued, "I'm sorry I'm even asking this, but you liked having sex with Nancy, right?" 

"Jesus, Robin," Steve hissed. "Yes, okay? I like sex." 

"Yeah, but... With Nancy, specifically." 

Steve wanted to say yes. Of course he did, because who didn't like getting off? Who didn't like being close to someone you loved, someone who loved you? Who didn't like pleasure and comfort and intimacy? But. Well. He wanted to say yes, but Steve could still remember the months before they broke up. The heat of the summer fading back into the chill memories of fall, and him scrambling for every ounce of Nancy's swiftly evaporating affection. Sex had become a chore and a tool, something Steve pulled out when Nancy grew too distant for him to feel her warmth. It was the only time she would let him hold her, near the end of it all, and Steve had been greedy for what little closeness she allowed. What did it matter if he enjoyed it? He needed it, needed to be treasured by someone, and that was all that mattered. Otherwise, Nancy would slip through his fingers, along with everyone else that cared about him in this fucking town. 

Not that it had fixed anything. Not that it had saved anything. 

He had taken too long to answer; Understanding had begun to dawn on Robin's face. Horrible, pitying understanding. Steve squirmed under her gaze, far more uncomfortable with the emotional aspect of it than the sexual. He could tell her anything she wanted to know about his sex life with Nancy, but the feral, animalistic need of it was a bridge too far.

"That doesn't mean anything," he rushed to clarify. "Nancy and I... It's complicated. Our whole relationship was a mess."

"Alright. Forget about sex, then," Robin said, sounding very much like she wasn't going to forget about it all. "What about before you guys started fighting all the time? How did being with her make you feel?"

"What are you, my therapist?" Steve said, well-aware of the pout spreading across his face. 

"We had a three hour conversation about my lesbian awakening the other day," Robin said, rolling her eyes. "Humor me." 

"I mean... She was different than the girls I dated before, definitely. Before then, it was kinda like a chore, you know?" It was an oversimplification, and definitely not something a younger Steve had been aware of, but it was the only way he knew to describe the way he'd gone through every relationship like a script. "Something I knew I had to do. People kept bringing it up, my dad, guys on the team, the girls themselves... I'm not always great at knowing what people want from me, so when I figured this one out, I was like... Well, why not?" 

"But not Nancy?" Robin prodded. 

"No. No!" Steve insisted; He was still protective of his relationship with Nancy in a way he would never be with anyone else, protective over the first decision he'd ever made entirely for himself. "I chose Nancy. I saw her in our Chemistry class, and she smiled at me, and I thought... There's a girl I would be proud to be loved by. Not the kind I was supposed to fall for, maybe, but the kind I wanted to be with." 

Robin hesitated, then asked, gently, "Because you liked her or because other people liked her?" 

Irritation flashed through Steve's veins. "Ask a different question." 

"No, seriously, Steve--"

"I loved Nancy," Steve said, voice harsh. Robin was supposed to be on his side; Why was she, of all people, so hell-bent on picking apart his relationship with Nancy? And what did it even matter? Was it really that important to her that his entire life had been a lie? What was she trying to achieve here? "She was the one who didn't love me, remember? She dumped me for Byers, or otherwise we would still be together. She's... she's perfect, how could I not love her?" 

Robin's hands flew in the air, flapping with frustration. "That's exactly what I'm not talking about! That's still expectation, Steve." 

"No, it's--" 

"What did you love about her?" she demanded. 

"What?" Steve gaped. 

"Why did you love her?" Robin repeated, her voice firm. "I want to know." 

Steve blinked rapidly, trying to push past the anger and order his thoughts. He'd never really had to think about it, before. No one doubted his love for Nancy, outside of his asshole best friends. What was there to misunderstand? She was Nancy Wheeler; It was impossible not to love her. 

"Uh, well, she's smart. She's brave. She's obviously going to do something amazing with her life, everyone knows that," Steve said, a nervous laugh weaving through his word. "She's beautiful, and--" 

Robin interrupted, a frown on her face. "That's not love, Steve." 

"Don't tell me what--" 

"That's admiration! Everyone thinks she's smart and brave," she said, exasperation evident. She reached out and grabbed his shoulder, fingers digging into the meat of his muscle. "What did you love Steve? What made you happy to be with her?" 

Part of him wanted to push her away and step outside the car. Maybe light up a cigarette until the kids were finally done so he had something to do with his hands. But another part of him, the one that made all the good decisions, made him stop and think. If he really wanted Robin to stop, he needed to tell the truth-- If he only knew what that was more than three seconds before it came out of his mouth. 

The times he was happiest with Nancy were few and far between, if he was being honest. The thing he liked most about being with her was that there wasn't huge highs and lows, just a low, comfortable hum of happiness. He could remember the sparks of joy, though, the times when he was so happy that he thought he would explode just from the brush of her skin or the curve of her smile. There were times when she looked at him with pride, when he was so grateful to be in her arms-- Times when he was able to help, and he finally felt like he was doing something right for once. 

He could have said that he loved her because she found things to love in him, or that her arms were always open when he needed them, or that he truly felt like his place in the world was by her side, but-- None of that was true. Nancy hadn't wanted him there, most of the time, and he had never felt smaller than when she had made that clear. She was always the one pulling away first, always had the slightest hint of pity in her eyes when she'd said she loved him. He had loved the man he'd become for her, though. Loved that, for just a year, he felt like someone with a future.

"She made me feel less like a failure," he confessed. 

Robin's free hand found his, looping their fingers together. "Do you feel that way about Eddie?" she asked.

"Huh?" 

"Does Eddie make you feel less like a failure?" Robin repeated.

Steve snorted. "If anything, Eddie makes me feel more like one. He's amazing, and I have no idea how he does it. But he also..." Steve sighed, his head falling back against the car seat. Robin had been there through almost every moment of Steve's long recovery, and had seen every second of Eddie doing everything he could to make it easier. He didn't have to explain to her how Eddie had already seen him at his lowest and carried him through it. "He make it feel like it doesn't matter. Like I can fuck up a thousand times and it'll be okay, because he's got my back. You make me feel that way, too. Stable. Strong. Friends are supposed to do that, right?" 

Robin paused, chewing on her bottom lip. Teeth tugged at the chapped skin there, and Steve watched until he felt like his skeleton might actually bully its way out of his skin out of sheer nerves. Eventually, Robin asked, "Nancy was with us, too, at the mall. Did she make you feel stronger?" 

Wincing, Steve said, "That was horrible, and you know it. You were there."  

"Yeah, you guys fought," she said, shrugging. "But so did you and Eddie, remember?" 

"It's not the same." Eddie had only ever fought with Steve out of worry, if not for Steve himself then for the kids. Nancy had been worried, too, sure, but there had been something meaner about her lack of trust in him, a suspicion that was inherently based on the fact it was Steve standing in front of her. Besides, Eddie had never wanted to be the one calling the shots, only to try and make Steve see things from another point of view. Nancy had only ever made Steve feel as if her point of view was the only one that mattered. 

"Go on," Robin said, shaking Steve's shoulder gently. "The kiddos aren't out yet and we've already missed my curfew, so you might as well tell me all the things you like about Eddie Munson. He makes you feel stronger and..." 

"I don't like Eddie," Steve mumbled, squeezing his eyes closed. If he looked at her right now, she would never give up on making him admit whatever theory she'd cooked up in that brain of hers. 

"Why do you like him as a friend, then?" 

That was... reasonable. He could do that. There was nothing gay about thinking about why you liked your friends, right? He could think about it, order his thoughts about Eddie the way he had with Nancy, and it wouldn't have to mean anything. 

"I-- I like..." 

He liked the way Eddie was protective of him, even though Steve was stronger than him, and how safe that made Steve feel. He liked that Eddie always explained things to him, never brushing him off with the excuse that it would take too long. He liked that Eddie touched him just as gently now as he did when Steve could barely stand. He liked that El could be a normal kid around Eddie, that Eddie never once acted like El was anything but another Wesen kid. He liked that Eddie and Robin argued about music every day until they both got legitimately mad at each other, but Eddie never stopped inviting Robin to their hangouts. He liked that Eddie wasn't scared of Hopper, but wasn't rude to him, either. He liked that Eddie was nice to his uncle, that he loved his dad, even after everything. He liked that Eddie let Steve lean on him when he was tired. He liked that Eddie fed stray cats at his part-time job, even though old Mr. Thatcher kept threatening to fire him when he saw the little tin cans littered in the alley. He liked that Eddie never wore matching socks and always gave a different reason why. He liked that Eddie asked him to come to Hellfire every week even though Steve kept saying no. He liked that Eddie asked him to watch a movie every week even though Steve always said yes, even though Eddie could just show up and Steve would drop everything. He liked the way Eddie touched him. He liked the way Eddie said his name. He liked the way Eddie sang the recipes to himself when they cooked, he liked the way Eddie danced through hallways, he liked the way Eddie lounged on furniture like the world belonged to him. 

"God," Steve said, the word falling out of his mouth like a sob. "I like him so fucking much."

His stomach lurched at the thought. 

Because if he liked Eddie, really liked Eddie, what did that mean about all the other thoughts he'd been having? This morning, when they'd woken up curled into Steve's bed together, Steve had been overcome with the fantasy of Eddie's hand in his hair while they licked into each other's mouths. He'd dismissed it as an idle fantasy, another symptom of jealousy and obsession, but had he... wanted that? Really? If Eddie kissed him-- If Eddie kissed him--

Steve flushed hot then cold all over, thinking about all the things he'd imagined Eddie doing to him. Even worse were the things that he'd imagined doing to Eddie. He'd wanted it the whole time, and while Steve could manage that, could barely accept that about himself-- The realisation that he wanted Eddie to love him throughout all of it made his stomach churn. 

It was easier to think about Eddie, because he was Steve's friend, the one Steve was closest to loving, but there had been.... others. Tommy, mostly. Steve couldn't let himself think about what that meant about his relationship with Tommy. There had been so many others, though. Almost as many as the girls he'd let kiss him and giggle to their friends later. How had he not figured it out sooner? How had he been so fucking clueless?

"Are you okay?" Robin asked, softly. Her hands were still on him, gripping him, keeping him anchored to the ground so he didn't spiral away into anxiety. He wished they weren't in his stupid car, so he could wrap her in a hug and hide from the entire world at least for a little while. 

"You're really good at this," he said, because Steve thought if he talked about it, he might freak out. He couldn't say it out loud, couldn't admit that she was right, so instead he continued, "You should make it a career." 

"Fixing the sexual hangups of the people of Hawkins?" Robin snorted. "I would be dead before I made it halfway." 

Steve would volunteer to help, but he didn't think being... what he was would make him any better at talking about it. His conversations with Dustin had more than proven he wasn't all that helpful, anyway. He thought about those little talks with a wince, now; He had probably given so much bad advice to Dustin, if he was-- if he was really-- Steve swallowed, throat suddenly dry. 

"Maybe start with Dustin," he croaked. "You can undo all the damage I've done when he comes to me for advice." 

"The kid is going to have to find his own lesbian soulmate, because I'm not doing this again anytime soon," Robin said, but she was still smiling when he peeked at her.

"Between El and Max, they might be able to figure something out." He matched her grin, a little shaky, and shrugged.

Robin nodded, drawing no attention to the slow circles she had started rubbing on his back. "And if they can't, they can always drag Lucas into it." 

"That little shit has no idea how good he has it," Steve said, and it was a joke but he meant it, because if he had this-- If Tommy and Carol had shown him an ounce of compassion and care, then maybe it wouldn't have taken so long to pull his head out of his ass. Maybe he would have been a good person, could have helped Nancy when she needed it, could have faced this Grimm thing without a fucking ton of guilt and anger and grief in his chest. But then, maybe he wouldn't have loved Nancy. Maybe he wouldn't have met Dustin, or been friends with Robin and Eddie. Maybe he needed to lose them, to have this. 

He could still be a little jealous, though, right? 

"Don't worry, Steve," Robin said, brifhtly, "He's still going to be a major asshole."

Steve laughed, a little giddy. Robin joined him, and they made each other giggle until Steve saw the school doors fly open. El and Max sprinted out, Max's hair flaring in Steve's headlights. The laughter was quickly replaced by the muffled noise of the girls shouting their names; Younger voices filling the space as they raced across the parking lot.  

And there was Eddie right behind them, a smile on his face as he watched the girls run. Something bloomed in Steve's chest, bright and beautiful in the dark. 

"Oh, there's your man," Robin said, her hands falling from Steve's arm. "You gonna spend the next half hour pretending not to flirt?" 

"Probably," he said, grinning over at her. "You got a problem with that?" 

"My curfew, Steven!" 

[kairiscorner]

definitely not me self-projecting (pt 1)

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

hobie helps you blow off some steam (hobie brown x angry reader)

word count: 1,063

in a blind fit of rage, you slammed your door shut and kicked your shoes off your feet angrily. you hated when your family got like this, teasing you when you were already evidently on the brink of exploding out of sheer anger and frustration. you wished you had a sign that read 'fuck off or see what happens', and if only you could show them just how terrifying you can be when angered. you hated how violent you could be when like this, and as much as you wanted to keep in all the rage you were experiencing right then and there, everything just... came tumbling down.

too many shitty things happening at once while annoyances filled your ears and made their way into your mind was so overwhelming, and the only way you could overcome that overwhelming feeling was to shout at it, get angry it--but you didn't wanna hurt anybody, it never made you feel any better. as you lay down on the bed, trying to breathe, ignoring your parents' unsolicited opinion on your behavior when they don't even know what's going on with you, you heard a voice by your open window. "i have a feeling you wanna rip some heads off some idiots right now." hobie brown, of course it'd be him, who else would scale your apartment's walls at the middle of the night and slink over to your window just to talk?

you turned to your side, feeling your anger mellowing a little from hobie's presence. "i don't wanna talk right now." you muttered, already cursing at yourself in your mind for not being able to sound polite. but fuck, how does one manage to stay polite when they're already resisting the urge to rip shelves off their bedroom walls and throw their bed upside down in a fit of rage?

"can i at least come in, then?" hobie asked you as you nodded, and though it was hard to tell, hobie got the message and entered the minute you let him come in. he sat close to you on the bed as he took in a deep breath, from this distance, he could hear the muffled voices of your parents. hobie chuckled as he listened in. "wow, they're acting like they know everything. it's funny, they're even pretending like they never wanted to act out as teenagers, as if... i don't know, mindless obedience is fun." he said as you peered at him from the corner of your eye, wordlessly.

hobie looked back at you with a smile, one that offered comfort as opposed to condescension–one that was real, a real smile that had no undertones of patronization. "sorry, did i overstep a boundary?" he asked you in a soft, concerned voice. you shook your head and hobie nodded. "alright. well... i won't ask you what happened, since that'd be the last thing you need right now. but i'll do anything you need me to for you to feel better, and i mean anything." he said as he took a pillow from your bed and placed it next to your head.

hobie wordlessly sat with you in the silence, not saying a word and instead offering his presence as comfort for you, he knew that if you wanted to talk about it, you would–he wouldn't ever force it out of you. soon, when you began to speak lightly to hobie about how you've been feeling lately, all hobie did was listen. he'd sit and look at you and... listen.

"well, that isn't your fault now, is it?" hobie asked in a rhetorical manner. "whatever you feel, y'feel it. if you keep it inside of you, it'll just... burst. don't ever feel like a monster for feeling enraged, it's not just one thing that angered you, i think, it's... it's a lot of things, isn't it?" he asked you as he moved closer to you, brushing the hairs away from your face as you gazed up at him. "screw what everyone else says, i like to joke around and tease some grumps i know, but even i know that teasing someone when they're pissed is the wrong move to make. i won't say your behavior was justified, but you just... you can't help it, okay? you need an outlet, and that's why i'm here." he said as he got up and walked over to the window with a big grin.

hobie put on his mask as he sat on your windowsill and teetered on it. "whaddya say we make like a tree and swing out into the night?" he offered you as he extended his hand out to you. you chuckled as you slowly got up and took his hand, with hobie gently pulling you towards his chest as you said, "hobie, trees don't swi–" but you were cut off by your yelping as he swung deep and jumped up high, feeling the cold wind pass you by and sweep your hair away from your face.

into the night, you two went around the city, seeing the beauty hidden in the deep recesses of the evening; taking in the moonlight and the twinkling of the stars as you both made the night yours. you were starting to cool down now, forgetting most of what angered and stressed you out, and feeling like you didn't need to get violent or yell at anyone anymore.

"i hope you're feeling better, i want nothing more than for you to just... feel happy, be happy, y'know." hobie said as he got you a soda from a vending machine he hijacked. you smiled and thanked him as he clinked soda cans with you, thinking if maybe you slept away that anger you felt while you were in your bed. but no, this was no dream–and you couldn't be any more delighted at that.

it's because of hobie that you feel like all things will pass, eventually, you just have to find the right outlet to let go of the bad and negative feelings and thoughts. you weren't bad, you weren't evil for being angry, you were just that–angry, and that was okay. and through hobie, you were now angry no longer, more in love, you were, but like hell you were gonna tell him that, better wait for next time, you thought to yourself as you gulped down the fizzy drink.

tags !! @k4tsu3 @fiannee @luvstarrstruck @toneystank-3000 @ii01vq @maxoloqy @popeheywardssecretgf @arachnoia @solecitoszn @hearts4hobie

[floralhellscapedatv]

i am probably forgetting/overlooking heinous amounts of obscure lore with this but hear me out...

[Spoilers Ahead]

theoretically it should be possible for at least half the Veilguard to be some flavor of immortal by the end of the game. behold, my list:

Emmrich - Fairly obvious example if you choose the Lich route. We are not talking about the choice itself here, this post ain't about that, this is a "if, then" bullet point.

Harding - There's actual dialogue/party banter that speculates on whether or not Harding is immortal after merging with the Titan Shade. Can't really say if it's true or not, but it could be! Call it a non-zero chance.

Lucanis - This is my first real Hear Me Out example, but listen. Listen. As far as we know spirits/demons don't die natural deaths. So what's the deal with abominations? We don't have a lot of examples and Lucanis and Spite are particularly unique what with the whole Lucanis not being a mage thing, but... I'm going to call this another non-zero chance. We just don't know what the biological effects of Spite are on Lucanis. We do know that spirits can inhabit corpses, so there's some more morbid speculation to be done there but I won't be doing it here. Anyway I think it would be really funny if Mr. "Why Would You Want To Be Immortal?"/"Everything Dies" was little a immortal, as a treat. (For me, the treat is for me, Lucanis would hate it.)

Rook - Specifically for elf Rooks, sorry other Rooks. Listen, it's a major lore fact/plot point that elves in DA used to be immortal. The Veil cutting off their connection to the Fade also cut them off from their immortality, this is one of the reasons Solas feels he owes it to them to tear it down. And then Mr. Dread Wolf Immortal Elven God himself does a tiny bit of blood magic specifically to link himself to Rook so he can do dream projections in their head. After which Rook proceeds to spend months living in the Fade itself, plus running around the Crossroads shedding blood everywhere doing a bunch of fighting. What I'm saying is there are multiple reasons to assume that an elf Rook could be considered as re-connected to the Fade, so theoretically it's possible they have elven immortality and just don't know it. Maybe Solas didn't realize that'd be a potential side-effect, maybe he didn't consider it relevant to mention with everything else going on, maybe he thinks it's funnier to let them find out on their own, or maybe he just straight up forgot to tell them, who knows! All I know is that this sounds like a perfectly plausible consequence of Solas' questionable choices to me.

Based on that last point i do think there are (admittedly much weaker) cases to be made for Bellara and Davrin to also possibly have re-linked to the Fade and unlocked elven immortality, but I think an elf Rook being confirmed to have been linked via blood magic to an immortal elven "god" is more compelling evidence.

do i think all of this is canon? no, probably not. do i think there's enough wiggle room to come up with fun scenarios, headcanons, and AUs? yes, that's what i'm here for.

[ask-postcrash-curly]

Hey cap!!! Sorry for vanishing on you for a minute there 🤕 anywayyyysssssssss

No idea what's going on over here 'sides from like some stomach problems. Not the coolest but better than nothing —

.... ?

Man, I really hope they don't resort to giving me that stuff — I think I'd end up kicking the bucket way sooner ☹️

Oh!!! Also!!! I can do those emojis now!! Pretty cool, huh? 😼 It's not way too hard, I just like - visualize them when I think. Man, if I could project the tiktok emotes, that'd be so sick, dude

No idea how long it's been, but I'm really hoping we get picked up soon

{ 🌺🔥 }

Daisuke, hey! All good, all good.

Ah, yeah, I know how that is. Hey, tell Anya to wean you off the oxycodone when it runs out, okay? Withdrawal isn't fun.

...Oh, fuck. They found the mouthwash, didn't they? Shit.

Wait— Hey! Yeah! How are you doing that?? I could never figure it out!

I hope so too. Hate thinking of you lot still stranded. I'm sorry, Daisuke.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

heya! as someone who dabbles in speculative biology (mostly specbio-ifying existing species in media) but doesn't linger too long on whether something's actually POSSIBLE as long as it makes the thing i'm working on feel more alive, i was curious what a more experienced eye would think of a specific trait I gave one of my species.

so, the actual source material doesnt matter here because the specbio holds up on its own, but ive got these guys who are like... human-mimicking bipedal carnivorous goats. Makes a bit more sense if i went into detail but thats not what this is about-

Point is, because goats have no upper teeth, and this is a predatory species, i opted to have "fangs" built into the upper lip- whether its calcified lip or some other kind of spike, i'm not entirely set on, but would that... work? building the meat-tearing sharp canine teeth as structures connected to the lip rather than the upper jaw? Or is there some part of mouth anatomy that'd make that ineffective at tearing (i know that it wouldnt be a stable surface to attach something that has to not move much, but surely there's a way to anchor the "fangs" in place without over-limiting lip movement...?)

LOVE ur work btw, the species stuff you do is super cool. Absolutely delightful. Love digging thru this blog

for a good goat skull reference, I found this rotating 3d model on calacademy:

and here's a screenshot showing the front of the mouth:

(image description: goat skull from a side view. the lower jaw has teeth up at the front of the mouth, but the upper jaw only has the molar teeth at the back and no front teeth. end description)

Many ungulates are built this way because they just use their lips and lower front teeth to tug and rip plant matter and then their tongue helps drag it back to their molars.

but let's see another ungulate that actually has some teeth on the front of their upper jaw: (image source)

(image description: photo of an alpaca skull and a llama skull next to each other. unlike the goat, they have sharp fangs near the front of their upper jaws. end description)

now, llamas and alpacas are closer relatives of camels than goats, but there are also some deer species with fangs, so it's not entirely out of the question that perhaps some fictional goat creature would also develop fangs if they were useful. Typically, ungulates with fangs have them for the purpose of competition with mating rivals, which is why they're on the males.

So you could just give your carnivorous goats some fangs, since sharp front teeth are very useful for anything that eats meat. But really, if they have a strong enough neck and jaw, they only need to be able to bite into the flesh and then give it a good hard pull to rip it off in chunks they can swallow whole.

It's also worth noting that the upper jaw bone on goats and other ungulates is quite long, so if you curve it down just a bit at the end, they could have a bit of a bony protrusion at the very front of their mouth, just enough to help stabilize a good solid chomp.

and if they're bipedal and have hands, they could also use tools, so perhaps they rely on biting more as a hunting method and then use some sort of sharp object to cut the meat, in which case they only need to have enough of a bite force to hold their prey by the neck and give it a good hard shake or something.

I do love the idea of carnivorous goat people, it's fun. good luck with your project!

[buggbuzz]

Hey, I hope this doesn't bother you but I'd like to make an enasone but I'm not sure how, would you mind giving me some tips?

Like, how do I choose the emotions on each side?

(If you see this same ask on other blogs it's because I like to have a variety of opinions to see which one I like the most/makes the most sense/helps me the most)

not sure how much help i'll be, but sure, why not!

honestly abstract/interpretive/absurdist art (or whatever you'd call it) like this is really outside of my comfort zone, so i'm surprised i got anywhere with it. the only reason i made an attempt at all was because i made a joke about how i should use markiplier's voice (since im a die-hard mark fan of like 10 years or something) as the male voice for my enasona

and then i thought about it more and i was like "shit, that'd be pretty fun though." and i ended up just toying with a design for fun with no plans of committing to an actual project.

as for the design itself, i just kind of went with my intuition? i really liked dbbq ena's design, so i took a lot of inspiration from it, as you can tell. then i just tacked on more colors that felt like me and messed with the limbs and hair until they felt right.

since the design was meant to be a persona, i started thinking about what traits best represented me in this context. well, one of my most overt traits is my confidence, and what is markiplier if not confident? so that was one half down already. so then i thought, what significant trait do i have that compliments confidence? and i ended up landing on "neuroticism." they're very different, but not necessarily contradictory, and together can summarize a lot of my outward personality pretty succinctly (not completely, of course. despite what conclusions people might draw about me, i'm not actually just crazy and arrogant💀)

only problem was, i wasn't sure what voice would do my own brand of neuroticism justice! mark worked for my confident side, since a lot of my style of confidence was directly inspired by him anyways (again, i've been watching him constantly since i was ten.) but my neuroticism? kind of unique. i was considering entrapta, but her coocoo dialogue is a lot closer to "fanatic" than "i'm going to crush. everything. into a tiny tin foil ball and then eat it." and eventually i realized that, hey, i have a very expressive voice that i'm pretty proud of, and look at that, i have dozens of voice messages i sent my friends of me tweaking over my research project being riddled with mistakes by other people! so i figured what better voice to use for the neurotic side than my own voice crashing out? and that was what gave birth to the final project!

i guess this was more of just me giving you my behind the scenes story instead of tips, but hey, that's what my process was! i hope this helps you with your design :)

[skylinesnsunshines]

jude bellingham reading: personality

hi everyone! this is my first non-kpop reading!! i am so nervous but excited bc ive been wanting to expand my horizons for a while. i have another footballer lined up for a reading but feel free to request others if you are curious. please remember this is just for fun and i am just a girl w cards <3 ok thank you! hope u enjoy

personal readings

DISCLAIMER: this is all speculative and for entertainment purposes only, so take it with a grain of salt :)

(italicised is the card on the bottom of the tarot deck which is meant to represent the subconscious/blind spot of the situation + rx means reversed)

9 of pentacles, 9 of cups, 3 of cups, 9 of wands | athlete | house seven: profound relationships, intimacy, and romantic partnerships | snake

firstly i just wanna say wow with three 9 cards. from a numerology perspective with multiple 9 cards, individuals with this energy achieve success early on in their lives as 9 signifies completion, so although jude has many admirers, he unfortunately has people waiting for his downfall due to envy. this energy tells me that jude is a very lucky and well-rounded individual, i sense a feeling of nonchalant-ness as his talent and work ethic come so natural to him. the 9 of pentacles tell me that jude is someone who thoroughly enjoys the fruits of his labour, he could be someone who loves indulging in luxury wether that'd be food, travel, experiences, etc. i also get the feeling that he loves spoiling those around him. he could be someone who loves presenting himself as someone diplomatic, tactful and well-mannered. with the 9 of cups, i see jude as someone who is emotionally fulfilled and can be idealistic. this card indicates someone positive, optimistic, content and fulfilled, however i do feel that jude could be someone who wears rose coloured glasses and has a sense of naivety. i just pick up on very youthful energy with jude, sheltered to an extent as well. i envision him as someone who sees the good in people and prefers to focus on the positives than the negatives. now i literally laughed when i pulled the 3 of cups, as that tells me that jude could have a tendency to be very dependent in his relationship, whether that would be familial, friendship or even romantic. i sense that he is someone who is easily influenced when in groups and is more of a "go with the flow" type of person. he might struggle with doing stuff himself or trusting his intuition, as I feel he relies heavily on the opinions and perspectives of those around him to encourage him. this card also tells me that jude's a social butterfly, he could be the type to enjoy going out to parties, socialising and meeting new people. there's this energy of lightheartedness as I feel that he's a really compassionate and collaborative individual, he gives me the type to love doing group projects hahaha. he's someone who's very in tune with others' needs and can read a room very well. i think one of his biggest fears could be coming across as rude or insincere to others, which could be due to his upbringing. gives me the energy that he can be quite the hedonistic individual and approach life with a "glass half full" mindset. the 9 of wands as the hidden energy could indicate that jude is someone who is still unsure about himself. it makes sense since he's only 20, but I think sometimes when he thinks about his life/position too much he can get easily overwhelmed. it's obvious that he has lots of pressure, but I feel that most of the pressure is self-inflicted. he could also be overly cautious or paranoid, so any decision he makes he will always have multiple backup plans and avoid taking risks (he's a dream for his pr team lmao). i also get a feeling of restlessness with this card, and that this is the side of himself when he is vulnerable and that he rarely shows. i get the feeling that he is still figuring himself out and enjoying the lighthearted aspects of life currently. as he gets older I feel he will obviously mature, and understand himself more. but right now, he just seems very lighthearted and youthful (just like most boys his age rn) and that the "real deep stuff" will come to his realisation later in life.

the athlete card for the athlete!! what a surprise LMAO. this card describes an individual who is dedicated to transcending physical limits and develops personal willpower and strength of spirit. another thing I picked up is that jude could love feeling like the "people's champion" and he feels a large sense of fulfilment if he knows he has inspired people or influenced them. i also pick up on the energy that he loves working towards something physical, in this case, it could be towards his physical body as he feels satisfaction with tangible things. i see that he enjoys the competitiveness of his job, as well as "performing", but the feeling of him enjoying being people's role model is what motivates him more. again, the 7th house card which reiterates the 3 of cups points earlier, he really prioritises harmony and puts a lot of his worth in his connections with others. he could also be a libra rising cause he does give me that vibe. although this card does indicate romance and its importance, with jude currently I feel like he is prioritising his business partnerships with others and ways to elevate himself in that realm. the snake card tells me that jude is a charismatic and creative individual, he could have an untapped creative side. he could also be someone who jumps from one project or another, like start and stop multiple projects cause he has a lot of ideas.

so that's it for the reading! let me know if you have any feedback, questions or requests! my askbox is always open for a chat as well <3 sending you love and light always :) hope you enjoyed!

[papsiguesss]

So, the End of the Affair...

In short: I'M UPSET

I am so pissed at how dirty they do Cushing's character in this. Henry was such a good sweet cinnamon roll boy but NOOOOO of course the film makes the guy who's a homewrecker, breaks his partner's boundaries, nags her about the way she shows her affection to him and is just an all around douche. WHAT?! And the gaslighting was REAL there. It's interesting because I fully believe that the things Maurice said about Henry... BOY THAT'S HOW HE WAS ACTING!!! PROJECTION MUCH? HENRY WAS PURE GOOD BOY! NO! NONE OF THAT SHIT!

(also, I was so pissed with that they focus on Maurice's reaction to Sarah dying instead of idk, the guy who she's been married to and who clearly loves her very deeply. Seriously when he begged her to stay with him that was HEARTBREAKING!)

Now, as for which Lee character I would pair him with... that part's under the cut! Spoilers for the short film Cross Roads (1955). (TW for suicide)

So, I would pair Henry with Harry Cooper (coincidental name similarities loll!) from Cross Roads! They are both younger black and white Hammer Husbands, and both have stories related to toxic relationships. (Fun fact, these two films came out in the same year!)

Now, the thing with Harry is that he turns out to be a ghost. He died in a car crash with his sister, who he was trying to bring to the hospital after a suicide attempt caused by her agent who she had a relationship with.

I'm imagining Harry's ghost is drawn to Henry because of all the negative feelings he's experiencing after all the relationship drama.

Harry offers revenge, like he has done for his sister, but Henry, being a good boi, refuses. Instead, he just requests company. And so they find solace in each other. Perhaps Henry could even save Harry from his ghostly state by truly loving him or some sappy deus ex machina like that! XDDDDDDD

I thought Henry needed someone to be angy about his situation on his behalf, because judging from his character he would mostly just be sad about it all, instead of realising just how much BULLSHIT that whole drama was because he's just a pure boyo and he would never blame others for his own unhappiness. But Harry would SURE. AS. HELL. be pissed about what happened. Anti-toxic relationship ghost for the win and for the kiss!

Also, to convince you of how cute they'd be together, have a quick edit @inkstainsxxonxxparchment made. :3

So that'd be my Lee pick! I kinda wanna draw them together now at some point haha

And JUSTICE. FOR. HENRY.

Also, side note, was it just me or was Henry giving aspec vibes? I think I hc him as demi :D

[connorsnothereeither]

Hi! this is a mainly DnD based question that sorta runs into Fable-

So I'm currently running an entirely underwater campaign! The species I've included is basically every aquatic DnD species (some with a few twists) along with some homebrewed underwater dragonborn, etc-

However, I'm having trouble with choosing a clothing type to put on the sea elves? My version has them more telchin-ish- aka, maybe funky colored human base with longer legs, a tail, and I've given them webbed, frog-like feet and fins in a variety of places.

Logically, they honestly really wouldn't wear clothes- but I'm not doing that because that'd make certain scenes very hard to draw-

so what do you generally imagine the telchin wearing? normal clothes, edited versions of those, etc? Right now I have the two sea elves my party interact with on a regular basis in sort of tank-top-esque wear and edited shorts of a kind.

:]

Ooooh okay that’s a really fun question my worldbuilding gears are turning lmao-

I have a post somewhere here on my blog about Telchin clothing and specifically my development of Ulysses design and the cultural influences, which basically boils down to “Telchins at the start of war = Ancient Greek clothes (chitons, togas, cloaks, etc). Telchins during the projects = WW2 fashion (pants, jumpsuits, jackets, etc)”

If you wanted my thoughts on how I would maybe clothe them in a broader sense/outside the context of Fable, I have some ideas! ✨

I think tank tops and shorts definitely fit the vibe. More-modern style clothing just underwater is always a super fun route to take, even for the visual of just clothing underwater being funky and something that’s a little different and new!

Typically in my mind, when it comes to clothing in world building it usually boils down to resources and purpose.

Resources is more the boring side of things. What kinds of materials do they have access to, how do they manufacture the clothing, blah blah blah. Not really something you need to worry about in fantasy worlds cause usually the answer is “cause magic” and “because it’s cool so I said so” which is the more fun kind of fantasy imo, and getting too bogged down in the granular details as a DM/storyteller just ain’t very productive.

Purpose on the other hand is where you can really have fun with underwater clothing! Is it designed to be functional, or stylistic? If its purpose is to be functional, maybe their clothing develops like swimsuits, almost? Like you said: shorts, crop tops, swim-shirts, etc! Something that covers enough or the body while still not being too cumbersome in the water, prioritizing movement when swimming! Or maybe you want to take that to the extreme; maybe their clothing developed like wetsuits! Skintight, smooth, shiny, and insulating! Designed to move with them, just a layer of covering for their bodies to make them more hydrodynamic! Or, if the purpose of the clothing is to be attractive and fashionable and flashy, maybe they do go in a more Greco-Roman route! Maybe it’s all about togas and dresses and cloaks and veils! Layers of long, flowing fabrics which shimmer and billow out in the water and draw attention to the person wearing them! These huge billowing clothes which make a statement, rather than help with movement or anything!

And it doesn’t have to be one or the other, either. You can mix and match both! Maybe the skintight wetsuit-like clothes are designed with patterns that ripple and shift as the wearer moves and they become beautiful and hypnotic! Maybe the large billowing cloaks are useful when avoiding predators underwater, making the wearer seem bigger, scarier and more imposing to any underwater monsters! The telchin’s clothing in my eyes follows a direct path almost: the fashionable pre-war clothing in billowing fabrics which allow freedom of movement and expression, that slowly transition into cleaner, more tailored clothing as they need to conserve fabric, and avoid being grabbed by drowned, losing that expression in the process. There’s so much room to play around with elements of either or both when it comes to it!

I know this was very rambling but I hope it was somewhat helpful!! Your campaign sounds really cool, an underwater campaign is such an interesting concept!! I hope you have fun running it!

[detective-inspector-her]

Can you talk more about Skulduggery and Valkyrie’s dynamic in the swap AU? How do they feel about each other over time and how does that impact Valkyrie’s relationship with other people?

Okay, bear with me here because I'm trying a different 'development style' when thinking up this AU, so it's more disorganised.

Skulduggery

Skulduggery joined Mevolent for the chaos, first and foremost. He didn't care about Mevolent's long-term goals because he was angry at the world and how life was going for him. He was close to joining the good guys, but Nefarian killed his child [the same kid, I choose to believe that Skulduggery's wife wasn't fussy about her side like the other partners of his] and he essentially went insane.

He became Vile because he was even angrier, and he wanted to kill Nefarian using the same magic that killed him if slightly altered to fit his needs. I'm not going into the powers that he learns outside of canon to avoid spoiling for if I end up writing this.

He doesn't take the armour off for hundreds of years but the good guys win and he takes it off and pretends that he was hiding from Mevolent after betraying him. He refuses to sign a Truce as he hadn't been a danger to them for centuries and also China didn't have to so he doesn't either.

He's a detective at the Sanctuary, meets Gordon, meets Vies, purposefully pushes Vies into acid to kill him and even organises chats with Baron to make fun of him. He has an unnerving habit of spying on Nefarian but he's just biding his time and scaring the guy with that.

Vile makes a few appearances to keep up the illusion that they're different people but otherwise nothing happens there.

Valkyrie

Valkyrie starts off the same as always. She's twelve, her uncle dies and she inherits his house. She ends up falling asleep in Gordon's mansion and wakes up to Skulduggery rooting through Gordon's study. She beats him over the head with a poker and he leaves after telling that hitting people is rude.

She meets him again later because Vindick Leather knocks on her door and attacks her, owing a favour to Nefarian. Nefarian steps in and stops him from killing her because that'd get him in trouble. She yaps about how it's the second break-in, and Nefarian curses before heading to Gordon's study and finding a bone that Valkyrie knocked loose. He drags her to China where they meet Skulduggery face-to-face.

He claims to have never met Valkyrie in his life and Nefarian and him pretend to be pleasant very poorly. Valkyrie gets this at full blast and can't decide who's the good guy as they both break into her house. China makes a comment that makes her realise Skulduggery is the Bad Guy and she leaves with Nefarian.

Nefarian reluctantly explains that he killed Skulduggery during the war and then Vindick predictably betrays Nefarian. The same as canon happens but Skulduggery pulls her out of the canal because he's curious about her finally knowing magic [she didn't know until she saw Skulduggery in the library] and also because she's Gordon's niece.

Relationship

The two of them end up in the same spot more often than not because Valkyrie is a scout and Skulduggery is a detective, or Arbiter more accurately.

They start off as enemies because of sides and develop into a frenemies relationship after Dark Days. Skulduggery saves Valkyrie's life numerous times before that because no one is really watching her in the first three books.

Valkyrie finds out the full story about Gordon's murder in KoTw and goes off on her own for a while, shifting their relationship again. Valkyrie sees him as a firm enemy because her uncle would still be alive if he hadn't gotten Gordon involved like he did.

During the war, Skulduggery spies on her. Nefarian is in Dimension X and the Dead Men aren't Valkyrie's friends, but she's still a traction in Nefarian's absence so she's a target. He doesn't see her as an enemy but as a project of sorts. He wants to know how long she'll stay alive and how much he can get her to trust him before ripping the carpet out from under her.

After the war, he helps with Abyssinia and they're both trying to kill each other. Valkyrie is a detective working under China at this point while Skulduggery was stripped of his Arbiter job for obvious reasons.

What I'm getting at is that the change at the drop of a hat because they get along but they're on opposite sides so it doesn't work for them.

[fandomfluffandfuck]

You can absolutely totally ignore this because I know it isn't your usual subject matter but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on Steve and Bucky interacting with Peter? Not in a shipping sense of course they have a like 90 year age gap and Peter's still very much a baby but oh my god they'd be so silly interacting?

Like you can't tell me Bucky wouldn't be like fuck now I have to deal with TWO assholes who don't look after themselves first.

I personally prefer Peter and Bucky over Peter and Tony.. and idk I feel like Peter and Steve would just get each other. Aside from when Peter does something Steve totally would have done but Steve has to be the adult and tell him he shouldn't do it again. :p

Bucky and Steve would be really good parental figures I think.. or even actual parents.

Anyway we have like 2 seconds of them all interacting in civil war but hope in further marvel projects Bucky and Peter actually form some kind of relationship, I think it would be sweet.

I'm not sure I have a ton of thoughts--mostly agreement to what you said--but I will say I LOVE the idea of them together and getting to enjoy each other's company rather than being on opposing sides in Civil War and the limited shots of them together in Endgame and such as you said. Particularly, though, I wish we got much more Steve and Peter, not to ignore Bucky, but I just think they're so similar. It would be trouble, them together.

I'm also thinking a little about Chris and Tom's interactions, and I think they would have fun together on set, too, like--

gif credit to @/mamalazzer

Yeah.

Regardless of the actors, Steve and Peter would get into so much shit. They would undoubtedly double Bucky's average number of heart attacks per week if they were around each other and super-heroing, lmao.

Plus, I do wish pretty often that we got Steve as Peter's mentor rather than Tony. I just think it'd have been neat. Tom Holland's Peter Parker, as he stands now, in canon, isn't really a neighborhood Spiderman anymore. He's the next Iron Man. If he had been metored by Steve--and by extension by Bucky because those fuckers are attached at the hip--I feel like he would've stayed much more neighbourly and would've filled an entirely different role.

Also, if we're going on about what could've been, imagine if Aunt May in the MCU was that grey-haired, take-no-shit lady that she was in the comics? Then, we could've had Steve and Bucky and May interactions where she loves those old men in young guys bodies 💀💀 That'd just be good for everyone

And, just for fun, here's some of my favorite Steve and Peter posts that I could round up:

Queens & Brooklyn

Fatalistic humor

More humor

The acts

Peter's questions

Modern slang

What if Steve was Peter's mentor?

So, I will echo you--I think it'd be sweet!

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.196 thoughts

[Lucky Number Seven]

(Contents: speculation - power system/lore)

"I'll talk about Unbreakable vs. Unbreakable next week," I said, "surely it'll wrap up then," I said...I say it every few weeks, but I really need to stop trying to predict what's going to happen next...ah, am I Untrust?

Funny thing about this week's chapter: last week, I had the thought completely unprompted:

"Huh. y'know, even with their Rules, there isn't any good reason that the Negators are superhumans most of the time. Like just because Andy can't die, that's no reason he should be able to control the flow of his blood. Shen and Feng's martial prowess and inhuman strength are completely unrelated to their Rules, same with Billy's trick shots. I wonder if maybe their non-Negator abilities are somehow tied to their souls"

And I considered bringing it up last week, but it didn't really seem super relevant to what was going on, so I omitted that section cus I didn't want to get super sidetracked, especially with something that was just a wild shot in the dark

AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE I'M JUST TAKING CREDIT FOR A PREDICTION I NEVER MADE!!! TOZUKA, YOU'RE MAKING ME LOOK LIKE A JACKASS FROM ALL DIRECTIONS!!!

Anyway...this is such a sick development!!! It's a subtle change, but the difference between using one's will to activate their abilities and using one's soul carries such a significant implication for how the power system will develop going forward

For one, the ability to manipulate, shape and project the soul changes the meta drastically since it adds a completely new wrinkle to how battles are fought, basically adding a new tool to everyone's kit in addition to things like Artifacts and teaming up with UMAs while also adding a potential new weakness to every encounter

I get the impression that souls are meant to be immortal since people get reincarnated between loops, but Ruin said that anyone he kills as a Regulator is removed from the loop, implying he can completely kill souls. But is this a unique trait to him, or is it something that anyone can do if they're able to target souls and he's just familiar with the technique?

Then there's the fact that Fuuko was able to impart Unluck without any tools, simply using her raw soul to go straight to meteoric levels. What can everyone else do to augment or circumvent their Rules? Could Chikara project his vision through his soul to lock down enemies from multiple angles without needing to worry about his eyes drying out? Or could he see a target's soul and prevent them from using their powers entirely?

Can Rip damage souls directly and keep them from recovering? Can Billy learn how to copy Rules better by witnessing them directly? Can Shen get a better read on his opponent by seeing their soul's intentions? Can Haruka harden her soul into armor OR harden her body since it's technically external to her soul? Can Sean make his soul Unseen or project parts of his soul to turn others invisible at a distance?

It'd be pretty boring if everyone just started generically making soul chains and soul guns, but if everyone is able to level up their Rules in unique ways, that'd be a great way to further develop the power system beyond what we've seen so far! I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we found out that Juiz has been using her soul to read peoples' visions of justice this whole time, and we'll probably see that in more detail when Julia gains Unjustice

As fun as it is to develop the power system, though, the real question for this chapter is who were those souls with Fuuko? I think it's fair to say that most if not all of us have concluded already that they're the previous holders of Unluck, who have presumably followed Fuuko to watch over her, but that raises a bunch of questions in and of itself

We know that Juiz and Victor never had families, so their continued existence between loops changed nothing (side note: this is a good indicator that Ruin has in fact been present since Loop 1 since he claims to have been created by God directly, which just further goes to show how hard he sucks as a villain), and that Juiz's eventual death led to her soul being incarnated as the child of a childless couple. From this, we can conclude that because Fuuko did not die in L100, her parents didn't have children in L101 as her soul was not present to be born. If these other six Unlucks have been staying with Fuuko this entire time, then that means that none of them were born in L101, as the chain of succession for Unluck could not be reset. How sad! Their ultimate fate was to not be able to live the lives they wanted even in the final "perfect" world! I guess that's still true of any given Negator prior to the current lineup, though, but still, that's tragic in and of itself, isn't it??

Secondly, though, what do they mean they chose Fuuko? All this time, I thought God picked the Negators based on what would cause the biggest tragedy for them: the world's greatest doctor inflicts irreparable wounds, the world's greatest psychic can only tell lies, the world champion ends his career by killing his opponent, a child drops his only living family from a cliff, a husband's only memory of his wife is her death...you can't tell me that these are because of the previous Negators!!! The Gods making those choices makes sense because they're both sadists, but the Negators themselves??? No, there's something more going on here

The Isshin family makes sense, at least, since their ability doesn't carry tragedy in and of itself, though it's possible that they're just maximizing its effectiveness by keeping it exclusive to smiths. I suppose the previous Untrust going for Latla also makes sense in that regard since giving it to someone with inaccurate predictions wouldn't change the trustworthiness of their conclusions. Unrepair is best used in the hands of someone with an understanding of anatomy, Unstoppable is best used by someone with good reaction time, Unchange is best used by someone with a strong desire for consistency, etc.

I think what it might be is that the previous users are also trying to find who can best make use of their powers in the interest of defeating God in the long term, it's just that God still decides when the power is transferred. I don't know what the previous Unlucks saw in Fuuko, but I highly doubt they said "that girl sure loves her parents; wonder how good she'll get with Unluck if we kill them." No, they probably heard her say or saw her do something that implied an interpretation of luck that they saw potential in, and didn't anticipate just how much destruction that she'd be able to cause

Bear in mind, there's no indication that Juiz ever executed any of the previous Unlucks, nor was she particularly worried about who would get it next after Fuuko. This implies that Fuuko's potential for Unluck is uniquely dangerous; the ability isn't a threat, she is, and whatever it is that made her that way is what made the Unlucks choose her

This brings us to the matter of the loop itself: why do the same people get the same abilities every time? My original thought was that either A) God designed the system that way for consistency so the looper would be able to make decisions based on experience, or B) once someone became a Vessel, the Rule was inextricably tied to their soul, so it would be drawn to them specifically if they were available when the ability next transferred. There may still be some truth to these ideas, but with the understanding that the previous Vessels have at least some say in the line of succession, it seems likely that upon reset, the first user gets it back and then deliberately passes it on to their chosen successor upon their death because they know it'll eventually lead where they want it to

This in turn further suggests that memories are carried in the soul. We've seen this multiple times, with Julia remembering Juiz's life and Sean/others choosing to be born earlier/later, but for the Vessels to consistently choose the same successors, it gives the impression that once they revert to being souls they remember everything and know what they need to do next. I wonder if they communicate with each other at all to coordinate their reincarnations and selections?

If nothing else, we can conclude that Remember probably accesses the memories present within the soul rather than psychometrically reading their past or storing the memories itself like other Artifacts do. I wonder if Remember's reverse ability actually erases memories or just suppresses them? I'm inclined to the latter, since one could feasibly use the obverse in a later loop and get erased memories back as well, and Victor's memories weren't actually erased. That said, Victor may be a fringe case since losing his memories completely could be a form of ego death, and therefore would be negated by Undead. Victor's not a very good sample for understanding the mechanics of Remember, is the point

I won't guess how long it will be before Tozuka revisits this concept and explains it in more detail, since again, I'm always wrong in these things, but I'm very excited for when he does! I've seen a lot of people concerned about the implications that the Vessels are responsible for the tragedies, and I would like that misunderstanding cleared up ASAP

Until next time, let's enjoy life!