#Idk when I will be able to post them otherwise so here we go

[norrisainz33]

love story || gr63

☆ summary: a popular author publishes a new book and fans start to realize it might actually be telling a real life love story of her daughter and a certain driver! (very loosely based off striker by ana huang)

☆ pairing: george russell x reader

☆ fc & warnings: rashan mh & none

☆ requested: yesss thank you @sassyqueen-15 🫶🏻 sorry it took literally a million years 🥹

☆ a/n: y/m/n = your moms name and ymauthor = your moms insta!

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ���

ynuser has made a post

liked by ymauthor, georgerussell63, nicoleleano, lilymhe, judebellingham, and 78,924 others

ynuser: with love from new york!! mommas new book came out today!! this one is particularly special to me and ill let you guess why 😉

view all 213 comments

ymauthor: my gorgeous daughter! so glad you’re here celebrating with me 🤍😘

ynuser: 🩷🩷

user1: yayyyyy can’t wait to read it!

user2: that’s low key cryptic… guess why???? what you mean

user4: there’s something fishy with that wording i just know it

user7: maybe she just particularly likes this book!

user2: user7 nahhh the wink says otherwise

georgerussell63: congrats ymauthor!!

user63: omg what are you doing here??

user3: my favorite influencer is in my city?!

user9: literally reading my copy rn and why do i feel like you’re the main character…..

user10: running to read it rn. trust! we will get to the bottom of this.

ynuser has posted to their story

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user9: ok y/n i’m here with my theory. YOU are the main character in your moms book. no freaking doubt. others may forget that you’re a ballerina at heart and that modeling and influencing came second but i didn’t!!! tho where my doubts come in is around WHO the man is……….. will report back when i figure it out

tommyhilfger: one of our favorite tommy girls!

user10: ok preppy goddess alert

ymauthor: love this look that they sent you!

ynuser: me too! i didnt expect them to be so quick to work with me but i guess thats just the impact he has 🥹

ymauthor: not all him! don’t sell yourself short 🤍

georgerussell63: 👀

ynuser: 🤭

yourbff: body is tea

ynuser: ☕️

user12: are you gonna tell us what you meant by that caption the other day or are you gonna leave us to our own devices ?

ynuser has made a post

liked by georgerussell63, yourbff, tommyhilfger, lewishamilton, jackhughes, and 86,234 others

ynuser: come spend the month with me ✨

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user2: so she is a ballerina …. much like the main character in her moms book… noticing things

ymauthor: 🤍🩰

user12: i’m sorry are yall not seeing the lewis hamilton and george russell in the likes right now what is happening

user3: also jack hughes and ruben dias………

user9: ok so what i’m hearing here is that one of these men is the man from the book bc it’s a sports man opposite her

user12: i’m beginning to think your theory has some validity to it user9

user13: wait are any of you f1 girlies??? alexandra is also here if yall know her

user9: which could mean nothing but…

user10: ok but guys which one of them do we think is most likely to have been sentenced to learning ballet as a workout?!

user9: my moneys on george

user12: idk i could see jack but i think that’s bc i just finished icebreaker

yourbff: the prettiest girl in the world 🥹

ynuser: that’s you gorgeous

user9: WAIT IS THAT A MANS HAND IN THE LAST SLIDE

georgerussell63 posted to his story

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alex_albon: ooooo this is the subtlest of subtle soft launches

georgerussell63: i’ve gotten good at it. only been soft launching for like 2 years now

alex_albon: the fact that you have been able to keep your private life private for so long is truly impressive

georgerussell63: hasn’t been easy but it’s been worth it

ynuser: you outdid yourself with these 💐🤍

georgerussell63: only the best for the best girl 🤍

user9: hello mr russell - thank you for feeding the flames of my theory!! to twitter i go

landonorris: are these for you or a certain girly you’ve been keeping from us???

georgerussell63: a certain girl but you’ll be meeting her real soon mate 🤫

user12: oh he’s posting flowers now….

mercedesamgf1: all things are set for vegas for their visit!! p.s beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl

georgerussell63: thank you admin! see you soon 🫶🏻

ynuser posted their story

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yourbff: ugh this looks incredible! i hope you have the best time

ynuser: thank you bb! mom and i are already having a blast 🫶🏻🥹

user9: the scream i just let out. you are in vegas!!!! f1 is in vegas!!!!

georgerussell63: that’s quite the spread! i can’t wait to see you later

ynuser: merc is currently spoiling us!! i’m counting down the minutes till i see you 😘

user12: i think user9 was right after all

mercedesamgf1: hope you enjoy!

ynuser: thank you for everything admin 🫶🏻

user14: fancy fancy

f1gossip has made a post

liked by user1, user2, user3, user4, user5, user6, and 12,463 others

f1gossip: well known author, y/m/n and her daughter y/n y/l/n made an appearance in the vegas paddock today. our very own, george russell, was seen taking the mother daughter duo on a tour of the paddock and introduced them to quite a few people including other drivers like lando norris. this is quite unusual behavior for drivers and celebrities that are purely guests of the team which has caught our attention. he seems to be treating her much differently than a typical guest - could there be something going on between these two?

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user8: the merc admin posted a video of him giving y/n his hat and idk the way he was looking at her did not give casual energy

user24: it did not!!! the was he looked at her was not subtle and totally full of adoration

user6: y’all must be running out of gossip if this is all you got

user44: i was in the paddock and i s2g i saw george kiss her on the cheek after quali

user16: wait yes i saw the same thing

user3: they could just be friends! remember that that is always an option guys!

user19: i love y/m/n and y/n this is a top tier cross over

user9: and when he wins and we get a celebration kiss as confirmation of their relationship … then what?

user12: then i’ll venmo you $63

user9: it’s a bet

user32: y/n getting the princess treatment she deserves

georgerussell63 has made a post

liked by mercedesamgf1, ynuser, alex_albon, ymauthor, landonorris, lewishamilton, and 543,194 others

georgerussell63: winning in vegas!! what a feeling 🏆 massive thank you to the entire team for all of their hard work and dedication this weekend! oh and thank you to my good luck charm who finally made it to a race 🤍😊

view all 743 comments

user74: RUS VEGAS

user82: p1 babyyyyy

ynuser: how lucky i am to have witnessed a george russell masterclass 😍 that’s my man 😩

georgerussell63: i had to put on a show for you 😘

user63: aint no way to be normal abt this

alex_albon: finally!! and uh cool win ig

user9: i just fell to my knees in a walmart parking lot

user9: user12 where is my $63?

user12: sending it now! i will never ever doubt your genius again

mercedesamgf1: congrats george 💪🏻

user88: yesss georgie!!

user9: whoa gf alert! warn a woman first jeez

ynuser has made a post

liked by ymauthor, georgerussell63, mercedesamgf1, yourbff, tommyhilfger, and 88,443 others

ynuser: thanks for reading the story of us ✨

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ymauthor: thanks for letting me tell a version your story 🤍

ynuser: wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to do it 🫶🏻

user9: this is my proudest accomplishment

georgerussell63: i’m quite fond of our story 😘

ynuser: me too georgie 🤍

user19: can vroom vroom man fight?

user65: i have no one to tell abt this

mercedesamgf1: welcome to the family y/n🩵

user22: now THIS is my version of the royal family

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ

a/n: thank you for reading!!! likes and reblogs appreciated.

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ

disclaimer: pictures are not mine and everything i write is fiction

© norrisainz33 || please do not rewrite, translate, or copy any of my works posted here on to any other platform

[iamhereinthebg]

Old doodles and shitposts of the Clock keepers because I miss them everyday

[the-ancient-dragons]

The last Overcomplicated Pantalan tribe; LeafWings!

You know how it goes. I'm just me and Joy and Tui are awesome and amazing.

Details and explanation below.

Otherwise, next week is something new! You'll get to meet one of my fantribes >:)

More overcomplicated dragons.

With the LeafWing, I struggled to decide what approach to take. Should I do something closer to canon or go crazy and do 100% my go-to headcanon?

Because my go-to headcanon is that LeafWings should have four wings. I found it odd that they and SilkWings both come from Pyrrhia, but SilkWings (technically BeetleWings) were the only tribe that evolved four wings? I hesitated to even mention this in my HiveWing post because idk how popular this opinion is, but even the fact that Clearsight's arrival somehow split the BeetheWings into two WILDLY different tribes is astounding, with how long dragons live.

But that's not the point of this post. We're here for LeafWings and buckle up, it's a doozy.

So first of all, the reason I justified a four-winged LeafWing is to help it camouflage as a plant better. I'll eventually provide a sheet of this, but it would have two main defence modes, the first being a single-leaf version where they lie flat on the ground or stand still with their wings drooping, creating the silhouette of a single leaf, or a version where they hang on the end of a branch and hold their wings and tail out.

It isn't just their wings that creates this look. I took the original single sail and split it in two, based on the ribs of a draco lizard, and had them run along the sides of its neck. When spread, they are a part of the single-leaf camouflage and bridge the gap between the head and shoulders. They would also have more similar frills on their front and back legs in case they need to camouflage standing up. They could use this for hunting or hiding...

Continuing with the bug-avian beak mix, I referenced african parrot species and leafcutter ants. The highly altered head is based on horned frogs and leaf geckos, and I obviously based the colouration and patterning on leaf insects (though the lighting kind of hides it on the back of the head, lol). Last but not least, I wanted to preserve and enhance the leaf cell design Joy used for the scattered body scales (at least, I'm 90% sure it's for that purpose, it seems most obvious). So, like any sane human, I found photos of plant cells under microscopes and used the rectangular-ish shapes for the main body scales.

I had so much fun making this series. It seems like a lot of people enjoyed it as much as I did. I learned a lot about external anatomy and mixing different creatures to achieve unified designs.

School is doing its best to murder me (I can't do big pieces) so from now on I'll have to stick to loose sketches I can do in-class or doodle within an hour. But once we learn more about bones and muscles I'll be able to take a crack at analyzing the full bodies of some of the tribes. I'll go in whatever order I see fit.

In the meantime, I've got some Fantribes for you, starting next week! See you then!

[hotpinkstars]

BORDER COLLIE - boothill x reader

- you, boothill, and your daughter spend a nice morning together, allthewhile you and your husband converse about a dog.

- i don't know why i made this i just thought it would be a fun little thing idk lol. i just had to add that little bit of jazz to the end bc like yk... idk anyways i'm trynna set myself on a better posting schedule and i think im starting off strong mmm enjoy

- all fluff, tiny mention of pregnancy at the very end, pre-cyborg boothill, his daughter is still alive here and everything is normal, wc 714

You were looking out the window, out at the vast amount of farmland you and your husband, Boothill, had decided to buy when he brought home the little girl you’re now able to call your daughter.

It was a nice, big place, suitable for animals of all kinds, and very family-friendly. You were currently watching your daughter play around with a baby goat that her father decided to bring out, a smile on all three of your faces. 

She seemed so happy, waddling around the goat, clapping her chubby little hands when the goat gave a soft little lick to her cheek. She had just learned how to walk, and had been able to say a few words for the past few months now. 

You walked out the back door, waving at Boothill before he waved his hand as a gesture to have you over by them. While you were walking over, you could hear your daughter shout “Goat! Goat! Cute goat!” While bobbing up and down with her legs and clapping her hands. It made you laugh a little bit before leaning into your husband's side. He wraps an arm around your shoulders, rubbing your arm up and down while supervising your daughter. 

“Dada!” She squealed, giggling. Boothill ruffled her hair before leaning down to give her a kiss on her forehead, making her giggle even more. “Dada and mama!”

You smiled wider than you thought you ever could have. You were so blessed to have Boothill as a husband, and such a special, precious girl as a daughter. 

“Well, we can’t really bring a goat in th’ house, n’ she seems to enjoy playin’ around with it a bunch…” Boothill said, standing next to you with his arms crossed. “What if we got a dog?”

“Really? A dog?” You looked up at him, and he nodded. “We have horses, goats, sheep, cows, and probably some reptiles living in the bushes. Do we really need more?”

He hummed. “The thing is, dogs can be domestic, hun. I got lucky this lil’ goat is so docile, good enough for her to be able to hang ‘round it without me having to worry ‘bout it taking her face off.”

“True. But we’d need a dog that can handle farmlife, not just any old dog. A boujee dog would not do very well in this type of setting. Keep that in mind.” 

He laughed before shaking his head. “Nah. I was thinkin’ more like a Border Collie or somethin’. I’d rather have one that's gonna make use of all this land.”

Your daughter came up to the both of you, lightly slapping at your legs to get your attention. You picked her up, giving Boothill a signal to go put the goat back in its respective area before meeting the two of you back inside.

A few moments later, when Boothill arrived back inside, you had lunch started, greeting him before he washed his hands and helping your daughter wash hers, too. He explained to her that she’s always to wash her hands before and after touching an ‘outside animal’ (as he calls it, so her itty bitty brain can comprehend it) otherwise she could get sick. He does the same, too. 

You set the table for lunch, putting some leftover salad and chicken on you and Boothills plates from last night. You gave your daughter some chicken too, but cut into very small squares, and strawberries instead of salad. 

The three of you sat down to eat, occasionally conversing about random things. She was too busy picking at her strawberries to notice your conversation, but you both still kept a close eye on her. 

“About the dog idea, are you sure?” You asked, your voice laced with some uncertainty. ‘I feel like we already have so much on our plate. Are you really willing to walk it every morning?”

“Well, o’course I am. I know what havin’ a dog is like, my dads always had one. I grew up around ‘em.” He takes another forkful of salad before going on. “But why’re ya so concerned? What else is stoppin’ ya from sayin’ yes?”

You smiled before laughing to yourself, leaving him temporarily confused. 

“Well, I want to hold off on the dog, because…

…I’m pregnant.”

[fluffyartbl0g]

Redraw of the panels that SHATTERED MY HEART o(；△；)o!!! OG panels + Opinions on the Luffy separation arc under read more

Okay let me just go on a tangent about my feelings about the post-series Luffy separation arc, cause I think it gets way too much hate when it’s such a heartbreaking and well executed deviation from oda’s standard formula!!! I know that we all love monkey d. luffy and he’s LITERALLY the main character of the series, but it was also really nice to get more time to focus on the rest of the crew. But here’s the thing, even when Luffy wasn’t here, he was still here. And I’m not talking about the so called ‘blessings’ or whatever that kept SUSPICIOUSLY popping up around the crew when Luffy disappeared, I’m talking about the consequences that arised from him disappearing. We truly got to see how grand the effect luffy has had on the world around him, and how many lives he was able to touch ; - ; So even though luffy physically wasn’t present (I mean KIND OF but you know what I mean), this was still VERY MUCH a luffy arc imo. 

Oh man but I think Oda wrote luffy’s disappearance so well,,, I was sobbing for like 80 percent of this arc. Like just gradually seeing the crew’s deterioration as time passes by,,, but everyone has such unwavering faith in their captain, he HAS to come back cause Luffy always comes back. But here’s the thing, Luffy didn’t know what was happening to him when he started disappearing. But what he DID know is that he wasn’t sure if he was gonna be able to come back or not. And Luffy hates breaking promises- he’d never make a promise if he didn’t plan to keep it, and he’s not an idiot either, so when he just felt himself disappearing and saw zoro nearby... Instead of saying something like “I’ll be back!” and potentially making his crewmates wait for him forever, he tells zoro to “take care of the crew”... SOBBING AND CRYING T - T. So YES. the crew has unwavering faith in their captain. But. Luffy didnt say that he’d be coming back or anything. So what are they supposed to do really.

And it’s really hard to read at some parts, like it never loses the goofy tone that has been there throughout all of one piece and it’s really sweet to see everyone rely on each other to keep one another afloat, but the slight tension that keeps building up over the months while they keep looking for clues and answers... And how each lead keeps becoming a dead end... When it builds up and Usopp finally voices the thing that’s on everyone’s mind.

Oh man. I started crying so hard. It took 6 month for any one of them to say something. Like this is One piece. Of course Luffy is gonna come back eventually, it would be waay too dark otherwise... But Idk man, even I started to doubt that :((( But luckily. THIS IS ONE PIECE. So right after everyone started,,, well not exactly losing hope or anything (maybe a bit)? but going BATSHIT INSANE FROM THE REALITY THAT THEIR CAPTAIN MIGHT BE GONE FOR GOOD, they finally got a solid actual clue of what might’ve happened to luffy!!! And I’m SO GLADDDD!!!!

Omg and when they tracked down the pray-pray no mi user and finally got some answers out of him. OMG WAIT A MOMENT I REALLY LIKED IS WHEN PRIEST GUY IS LIKE “urerheg without luffy up there as a god the entire world may very well be destroyed cause the sun has been super unstable for centuries blah blah” and then Nami freaking PUMMELED THE GUY AND SHOVED HIM DOWN WITH HER STAFF AND

SOBBING CRYING SOBBING. THEY WOULD POTENTIALLY BLOW UP THE ENTIRE WORLD IF IT MEANT THAT THEIR CAPTAIN WOULDNT HAVE TO BE LONELY ; - ; KILL ME.

URGH I was really hoping that Luffy would return right once they beat him up cause I really really missed my boy, but honestly I think the final method of getting Luffy to return was super clever and absolutely worth the extra 3 weeks of waiting!!! I know that it was foreshadowed across the whole West Blue Saga and everything but I honestly had no clue it would end like that, DONT MAKE FUN OF ME :(((

When the crew finally got their captain back after 8 months of waiting... I mean they’ve been separated before for even longer periods of time, but they always knew that they’d be back together. This time they didn’t know. BUT AREHAHRGE ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING WAS SO WORTHIT WHEN THEY ALL FINALLY REUNITED T - T!!!!!! UWAHHWHAHWUAAGGHA!!! AND SEEING ALL THEIR ALLIES AND FRIENDS THEYVE MADE JUST CHEER AND CRY WHEN THEY HEAR THE NEWS!!!! I WOULD CHUCK ALL THE PANELS HERE IF I COULD BUT ID JUS T REACH THE IMAGE LIMIT BECAUSE ALL OF THEM MADE ME CRY ; - ;!!! Literally just read those 5 chapters in the arc finale cause,,,, man so good T - T

Anyways TLDR: The post-series luffy seperation arc is NOT BAD and you guys are JUST COWARDS AND LIARS!!!!

[scourgeofmyownbrain]

Megatron has been done already, now I, Starscream, get a Multi-Universal Height Chart done! I decided to bite the bullet and do another big one (tho none compare to the behemoths of megatron and optimus.)

Wanna hear something weird? Starscream is the ONLY (and I mean only) transformer I don't like. I have nothing against those who do like him, I can understand why you do. He's your pathetic little meow meow male wife twink man in stilettoes. I get it, I just.. don't like him... personally. Which is odd bc I have at least some level of affection for every other transformer, screamy is my only exception. Idk, anyway, here he is, and uh- enjoy.

Quick Disclaimer, if any of the images look weird, it's because I had to stitch a few separate images together to create a full body shot of the character.

Master Post

Listed Heights and Explanations below the cut.

Beast Wars 2 - ~8 feet (TFWiki, idk either, I'm never watching it)

Earthspark - ~12 feet (No Source, I got this height by first measuring Bumblebee to a barn door, then comparing Bumblebee to Optimus, then Optimus to Megatron, then Megatron to Starscream. This show does not have concrete numbers, so this is the best I can do.)

Unicron Trilogy V2&3/ENG&CYB - ~14 feet (TFWiki, for the uneducated, the Unicron Trilogy has given each of its 3 seasons separate names and 3 separate art styles. These are the designs used in Energon (S2) and Cybertron (S3). The Wiki had Cybertron's numbers but not Energon's, so for my own sanity, I decided the two were the same height.)

Gen 1 - ~16 feet (TFWiki, I love it when I don't have to put in effort)

Prime Wars - ~16 feet (No source, but it's identical to G1 so it's the same height)

Netflix Cybertron Trilogy - ~16 feet (Same thing as before, identical to G1)

Cyberverse - 18 feet (This comes from a screenshot of this video, which has the Cyberverse height chart everyone uses, though the quality of the screenshot is iffy.)

Knight/Capel-Verse - ~18 feet (We have like two scenes of this bitch and he doesn't stand normally next to anyone. I'm used my TFOne heights bc the scaling should be around the same, probably. If they ever give actual numbers I will be very happy.)

One - ~18 feet (Okay, so this movie doesn't have any actual numbers, aside for some bullshit ones from a Walmart Promotional. I've been using the Knightverse Optimus number as a baseline since these were at one point said to be vaguely canon to each other. And the Bumblebee-Optimus scaling is the same. This was so hard to get, we never get a clean level shot of Starscream next to anyone. I was able to guesstimate that he's around Soundwave's and Shockwave's height, but I can't be certain.)

Unicron Trilogy V1/Armada - 19 feet 7 inches (TFWiki, technically this is for the videogame, which is it's own branch of UT canon but I don't care. The designs are identical between the game and show.)

Aligned Cont. WF/FOC/TFP/RID15 - 24 feet 7 inches (Fandom, and even if they don't cite their source, I believe it. Look- every single one of these fuckers are massive when you pay attention to the show. It's a show full of freaks.)

Animated - 25 feet 6 inches (This number actually comes from @phoenix-inanis and the glorious calculations they have done on the TFA Characters. Go check it out, because animated has literally no actual numbers -> https://phoenix-inanis.notion.site/TFA-Height-Chart-f6ad2960ca8c4c5b859ee4958723aaa4?pvs=4)

Bayverse - 31 feet (TFWiki, everyone say thank you mr. bay for making my life easy.)

Not Pictured: Unicron Trilogy Second Pallet(s) - Armada: 19 Feet 7 inches, Energon: ~14 Feet (Only the colours changed, otherwise everything else was the same so it felt dumb to include them), Unicron Trilogy Giant Starscream - Unmeasurable (look you can't make me and it's not even a number in the first place)

Here are the layers separated.

[destinygoldenstar]

'Jax is an NPC'

Hm... ... ...

No.

It's a good theory, don't get me wrong, I see the evidence, I see where you're coming from.

But it's not a theory I agree with. Let me explain.

Caine's line "But if I start losing track of who's a human and who's an NPC who knows what could happen" is very vague as is. This could mean a whole lot of things.

I said this in another post of one of my own theories. I think it's possible that Caine could've killed a human player and his trauma of that was showing.

We know A.I's can shed traumatic emotions. Look at Gummigoo.

Now, yes, Caine couldn't 100% kill a human. Otherwise he would delete the abstractions. And it seems like human players abstract when they die and that's the only way they CAN die.

So therefore Caine having killed a human player should be thrown out as a possibility.

BUT. Hear me out.

Abstractions are shown to be able to glitch several in game objects because of their abstraction. And we actually do NOT see if all the abstractions look exactly the same as Kaufmo's abstraction.

They could very well not.

Going to biblical text, Caine was the first murderer and received a permanent consequence.

Could a permanent consequence be, idk, failing at your programmed job over and over again and be forced to watch these humans abstract and perish forever?

Especially if because of the human player death's abstraction glitch, is WHY the other human players cannot leave the game!

If you look at Pomni's room in one shot, there's a couple of blocks that are stacked from top to bottom 'ABXEL'.

Could it be that the human player Caine killed was named Abel?

But there is also the other possibility that somehow, there is an NPC among the circus. So let me explain my thought on that possibility.

I don't think it's possible.

I think Caine would've noticed, especially if he immediately recognized GummiGoo wasn't supposed to be there.

If one of the circus folks were an NPC, their figure would've appeared with the others in the backrooms.

Now, there is the possibility that it was placed somewhere else, that place is huge after all. So take that with a grain of salt.

I'm not completely eliminating the 'Jax is an NPC' theory.

I get the evidence. He's constantly breaking the fourth wall. But I think that more so has to do with what I’m about to say.

He has keys to people's rooms. I get that one. That is definitely sus as hell and I'm not denying it is sus.

He also ‘lacks human physics.’

So does everyone else in the cast. Pomni can stretch her body out like Elastagirl. Ragatha has stuffing instead of blood. Kinger has his own glitchy moments. Gangle has two faces. Zoobles body can fall apart.

I’m just saying. These are not human physics either. So Jax being able to keep in place whenever he wants being only a Jax thing is not too far fetched compared to all these other examples.

But I also think, and this is my opinion, that he's much more compelling as a character as a sociopathic human player that is beyond saving and MENTALLY cannot be humanized again.

What I mean by that is that while he is TECHNICALLY a human player, MENTALLY, he is so detached from his humanity and moral code often associated with humanity that he acts more NPC-like as a side effect.

Jax is not designed to be a morally grey character. He is written to be the least moral of the entire show.

It would be SO EASY to excuse those moral wrongdoings as 'well they were never human to begin with'.

But I think that's the lazy way out, and I think this show is smarter than that.

Because here is the thing, there ARE some really REALLY terrible humans. Evil humans in fact.

WHY they're so terrible varies, but that doesn't make them less terrible.

And yes while some terrible people can get redeemed if they themselves can, this is NOT absolute. There are people that are just plain beyond saving. So beyond saving that they ditch their moral code, a code drilled into the human mind, that they SEEM inhuman to humans who can't relate.

This is a very real psychological thing.

With how many morally grey characters get thrown around as compelling these days, Jax NOT being written that way and instead being written as the morally worst would naturally make people go 'he must not be human'.

In psychology, behavior like that doesn't physically inhumanize them, but it MENTALLY does, they behave in a set of rules so different from the normal that it's corrupt to the normal.

So I think he is a human player like the others. But his MENTALITY is not, so he ACTS NPC-like as a side effect to that mental loss.

Not every human is morally grey and get cozy redemption arcs. There are some truly awful people in the world with no redeemable qualities whatsoever. I like that he represents that. I like that there's a character on this show that acts as that huge wake-up call of 'Yeah some people just plain suck and you shouldn't have to deal with them.'

But while I don't think Jax being an NPC would be the best route to take. That is just my opinion and I am not the one writing the show. If that IS the route they are taking, I am fine with that so long as it is written with proper care. I could definitely be reading this wrong.

[chronologically-challenged]

2, 9, and 13 for the ask game? ^_^

Isat ask game link!!! Thank you for the ask!!!!

2. Least Favorite Character?

Oooh, my spicy take first.

...Mal du pays.

LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN, I adore them in concept!!!!! I think mdp is a good emotional conclusion to the ghost arc and a good way to show Siffrin losing his resolve at the end of act 5. There was an amazing analysis post about mdp and Siffrin's relationship with their own homesickness as well. However. Ngl. I remember none of mdp's lines. Also, the "someone intimidating your loved ones yelling back they hate you" isn't my favorite trope either.

Idk, mdp did nothing for me. I'm much more of a "darkness parts of your mind sound like sweet nothings" sorta person rather than the intensity of mdp. I'm sorry little homesick fella. Love that you had the fucked up version of the death music though.

9. What would your wish at the Favor tree be?

I am. Limiting the range of this question because otherwise I'd be here all day. I am going to assume that we're in a similar circumstance as the party and we're about to go fight the King, and I'm just a little guy hoping for some favor tomorrow, and don't know the favor tree has actual major reality bending power.

In THAT circumstance, I'd probably wish that we all would survive the next day.

13. Favorite Line?

Don't make me choose between my darlings-

Tbh I could pick nearly any line from the Loop fight tbh. When looking for any one particular line, I nearly cried, so there's that. My darling Loop my beloved, I want to give you the world.

But if not for that, tbh both the act 3 and act 4 versions of Odile's quest just stick with me. In general, Odile's quest is just one of the most fascinating in the game, and provides such a depth to the world. But I REALLY like that quest in particular reveals about Siffrin. Particularly act 4, between the family quest and the sus quest, you get a lot of the reason WHY emotionally Siffrin sticks with the loops and doesn't tell their family what's going on.

(Is it any wonder you crave knowledge? Habits?!?) (If it all keeps happening the exact same way every time, you'll never lose anything, will you? You'll HAVE to remember it all, because you're living it!!!) (Forever living in memories you can't let go of!!!) (You're so pathetic.) (Telling the King to let go?) (You can't even do that. Can't let go of it.) (This perfect play.)

Also it's one of the few family quests where Siffrin thinks mean things about them while not in act 5 aslkdja .

(What a privilege, to be able to think your roots don't inform your identity.)

(chef's kiss) love that for you Sif. Go be a little mean in your head. it's unfair, but also the fact it took this long to be mean is impressive tbh. Also good set up for act 5 alskdjsa.

[succubusbri]

SPARKING ZERO || Kale & Caulifla x Saiyan!Reader

KALE & CAULIFLA X SAIYAN!READER FT. KEFLA

Tags: Gender-Neutral!Reader, Post Tournament Of Power, Use Of Potara Earrings or Fusion Dance. No use of Y/N.

Notes: No one ever writes for my two favorite saiyan girls without them inheritently portrayed as sexualized or absolutely annoying. So I consider this to be the first lil fanfic of them idk.

SPARKING ZERO

When Caulifla and Kale had invited you to spar with them today after achieving greater power during the tournament, you expected nothing more for them to show you a new transformation they had unlocked. But you were proved the opposite otherwise. Now standing in your second super saiyan form, your clothes flowed with the wind's breeze just as the two female warriors stood before you, powered in their own respective forms.

"Wanna see somethin' cool? We've been meaning to show ya this for awhile now."

Caulifla's hands reaches in the pocket of her purple harem pants, searching for something in particular that you were uncertain if it had relevance to today's training or not. Your eyes narrowed into slits, observing your fellow saiyan comrades closely.

"Ah, gotcha!" The super saiyan grins with her hand pulling out a set of....potara earrings? You weren't all too familiar with how they worked, only hearing about their existence every so often. And witnessing them in Caulifla's hands as she puts one on her ear, the green ball dangling with the slightest movement.

"Here Kale! Put this on!" The shy and quiet saiyan known as Kale nods her head as she catches the green earring, copying the same movements as Caulifla. The two look at you to see if you were paying attention. Caulifla's face beams with excitement; she wanted to show you her fusion with Kale since the tournament. But with the last set shattering from loosing against Goku, it took quite convincing and a period of time before the two would be able to obtain another pair.

"Don't worry,"Caulifla calls out to you as her and Kale's body pulls towards one another like a magnet."We'll be sure to go easy on you."

—

Your arm shields your eyes as the bright source of light explodes across the area. You await for what happens next, but it was silent as if everything ceased to exist. Nothing happened. With the drop of your arm, confusion seeps onto your features.

Where did they—

"Behind you." A duotoned voice calls out, the combination of Kale and Caulifla's voices playing like music in your ears. Eyes focused on the figure behind you, you take in their features. A smirk captivates the woman's lips as she crosses her muscular arms.

"Like what you see?" She teases, Caulifla's playful side displayed. For a fusion of Kale and Caulifla, this woman takes more of Caulifla in terms of personality. The potara fusion knew you had many questions to ask, hint the curious glint in your eyes.

"The names Kefla."

Kefla. The name rolls of your tongue a few times while muttering it under your breath. Kefla grins, her pose switching into a fighting stance. "C'mon, let's fight. Ask questions as we go along."

[oh-shtars]

RFTS!AU AskBox #4

Me to @signed-sapphire for the legendary number of 50 Questions Galore they sent me:

Heads up though, you might notice there’s certain questions skipped. I’m either not able to answer some of the asks at all OR they’re either some art requests that I haven’t finished and will post in future posts. So I had to skip them for this post unfortunately…. I apologise as such. 😅

Anyways, let’s get speeding through them shall we?

1. How do you plan to show the songs?

It should be question 6 of this post here. :)

……

2. How many songs do you plan to have in RFTS?

4 or more. Depends on what I come up with.

……..

3. What ‘vibe’ would each song have?

Uhhhhhhh, idk tbh. I’m really just going with the flow of what this story brings me. You can’t wait to see what the RFTS!plot has in store? Yeah, me too.

……..

4. Who’s voicing Valentino and the main cast?

For Valentino, I’m not sure. I’m debating whether it should be younger Bambi or Ronno’s VA. But he basically has an actual kid’s voice this time rather than a deep-sounding one. (Because honestly, I found that a bit weird personally). For the the other characters, I don’t really mind the voices they have canonically.

And I think I’ve mentioned this before, but even though Sueño can’t speak, I could hear him singing this in this voice hypothetically.

………..

5. Write or draw any cute interaction between Ashueño!

Mk :3

………

6. I know Asha will have a different outfit by the end, but do you have different designs for anyone else?

Yeah, I do actually. Some characters have a different outfit to better reflect their current context. (Like how Sakina would have work clothes similar to Asha.) But I don’t want to reveal most of them at the moment since I would like to keep them a secret for now.

……

7. Some Gabo doodles, if you don’t mind. I rarely see the short king in any Wish Art.

Fiiiiine.

His design makes a lot more sense if you were me and you knew the context. Take this art with whatever theories you guys can throw at me 😂

……. 10. What made Amaya fall in love with Magnifico? What changed?

Amaya had a family who greatly discouraged her interest in studying magic and potions since it’s against what their family has done for generations. Meanwhile, Magnifico who was adopted as Rosas’ prince, is expected to learn magic but COULDN’T because he struggles to do so since he hasn’t moved on from his trauma.

When these guys were around 16-15 years old, they were mutual best friends. Mag offers Amaya to read from his magic books while he finds comfort in just having a genuine friend who doesn’t remind or push expectations onto him that he hears everyday in the castle. She’s like an escape from the stresses he has in there.

In their future years, Amaya grew to fall in love with someone who promised her the world if she only asked for it. She finds bits of herself in Mag, as both were people with crushed dreams that deserve better. (In their POV anyway.)

Falling in love was not at all what she expected since she used to believe sympathy would only hold her back from exploring the limits of magic. But you know, Amaya’s as much as a tragic character as Magnifico is.

…….

11. Who fell first and who fell harder between those two?

Is it possible to say that RFTS!Magnifico is both?

……..

12. Any fun fact about the Royal Couple? (You can tell who I’m most invested in. lol.)

The only reason Espino, the royal cat, is in the castle is because Amaya wanted him around. Otherwise, if it were up to Mag, that cat is out to the streets. He’s not very fond of animals and he considers them as pests. Though, Espino gets small bonus points from Magnifico just because he keeps the castle clear from mice which he especially hates.

(Good to know you’re enjoying ‘Grand Despair’ while it lasts :)

……

13. This may be weird but…Body Swap! How would Hopes and Dreams react?

Asha would have zero idea how to get star magic under control. Meanwhile, Sueño finds an interesting realisation.

……..

14. What’s your favourite fanart piece of your AU?

I LOVE all of them so much!! They’re all made by very amazing artists!! I’m so happy to see these silly characters I’ve made be brought to life in someone else’s style. 💖💖

Mere words can’t express this joy enough. I hope you all would love the final chapters once they do come out as much as you loved seeing content of them now. X3

……..

15. Are you telling your story via writing or art of word dump?

I’m planning to share it in chapters like how Anny and everyone else has been doing. Plus some more sketches I would keep making of them obviously.

………

17. Draw Ashueño dressed as another Disney couple!

Hehehehehe guess whooo~ 🙃

………

19. Young!Sueño!

Which one? 🙃

Awww, good times back then when the little guy is still figuring out the forms he likes….

…… 20. Young!Royal Couple!

Mini Magnifico would rather drown himself or drink snake venom than call Oliver his dad- ………

22. Give some more lore on Asha’s father. Are you keeping him as close to the source material as possible? Will we see him in flashbacks or something?

You’ll definitely get to see Tomás at certain points in the story. Either in the short prologue, mentions and flashbacks. He’s generally a friendly guy but at the same time, is also assertive to defend what he thinks is wrong. But even though his life was cut short, Tomás ended up inspiring more people than he thinks. Especially his old friend, Sabino, who hasn’t given another wish or attended any more wish ceremonies after his death.

I don’t think we really knew much about Asha’s father at all in the canon movie, but I’ll pretty much be close to what is depicted there already with some more detail on how he made an influence in the lives of those he loves.

………

23. Give Sueño a stuffed toy for him to cuddle with. He deserves it <3

He adores it so much 💖💖

……….

24. More lore about the Astral Realm!

Not all Wishing Stars have the strong desire to venture down into the human realm someday and that’s completely fine. They can still guide their wishmaker from above. But for those who do want to, they need to answer one important question first:

“Why do you grant wishes?”

Since they would be going down to earth by themselves ALONE with none of their elders to guide them this time, their answer to this question serves as their anchor in case they get lost or distracted. Answers do vary and some may be the same among stars, but that’s fine. As long as they’re sincere with all their core on their answer. Some examples may be: “I like to see them reach their very best and reap their deserved rewards.” Or “I like watching them journey and discover themselves.”

……….

25. SNEAK PEAKS!!

This scene is one of my dotpoints I came up with but I’m not so sure anymore if that would still fit in and whether I should scrap it. Regardless, I thought this would be a nice little thing to show you all. Proof that I’m indeed working on it 😅

(Actually, this sounds so cute to draw. Feel welcome to try and do so if you want to, my fellow artists ^^)

…… 26. How does Magnifico’s magic work?

I made a whole post on this :3

………

27. Where did Amaya learn potions?

She’s self-taught mostly. But I also did mention that Mag generously lets her borrow what is meant to be his books of magic soooo, he played a role on that as well.

……

29. What’s Amaya’s opinion on the other Wish AU Mags?

I’m not exactly sure how different her opinions would be on each of them since I think we all decided to have our fun with Magnifico just being a shameless show-off and fun evil villain. I’ll try though.

Amaya would think KOW!Mag reminds her a lot of her own husband, also short-tempered and a disgustingly sweet romantic at times. She’s kind of a play-hard-to-get girl though 😂. One thing she does notice is that what WRTS!, Wish Granted! And KOW!Mag have in common is how loud they are with their ceremonies. Is that a universal Magnifico thing? Eh. There sure is a lot of interesting knowledge to learn from these universes. Hmmm.

TKoRaT!Maggy has that same pained look that falls on RFTS!Mag whenever he’s sulking by himself and needs time alone. Usually it’s because of his old village trauma. It’s an intriguing but ever so familiar cycle she recognises well.

Meanwhile. TFS!Mag is……different, she would say. Not exactly good different. I kinda imagine her eyeing this guy like a cat. This Mag just gives off a very different vibe of non-ruthlessness(?) that she’s not used to.

……..

30. Same for Mag, but vice versa.

RFTS!Mag gets very very very familiar vibes with KOW! And Wish Granted!Amaya. He finds it slightly amusing since it feels like his wife just became a part of some triplets. (He jokingly asked RFTS!Amaya if she had any sisters she never told him. The woman wasn’t amused. She doesn’t really like being reminded of her family.) I’m sorry TKoRaT! And TFS!Amaya, but you’ve made the decision to adopt Asha as your daughter and so he thinks lower of you now. Although…the TKoRaT!couple might just get to redeem themselves for that since they sound interesting enough. They’re going to have the ditch the girl though at some point.

WRTS!Amaya just feels off. He doesn’t know what exactly though? Is he losing his mind or something? Ugh, I think he could use devouring another Wish Bubble just in case…

……..

31. You know what, for Asha and Sueño too!

Oh boy, here we go. 😂

Asha will NOT be able to handle Wish Granted!Star’s energy. It’s so different from the silent but still lively conversations she has with her Starboy. Star just can’t bring himself to stop talking, can he? 😅 Asha thinks WRTS!Aster and TKoRaT!Star are adorable. Cielo may be a bit much at times with his light teasing and flirting, but she’s aware he means well.

I could see Asha’s non-hesitant empathy, patience and genuine concern to Haedus would be a huge comfort for the poor guy. (Trust me, she’s done this plenty before.) She’s a bit surprised to see Naos and Nembus but I think they’d get along just fine. She’s pretty good with playing with kids from her experience with a mischievous Valentino. And lastly, KOW!Aster is a total sweetheart that she jokingly comments could rival Sueño’s. (That comment caught Sueño’s attention quickly lmao.)

MEANWHILE:

Sueño is more hesitant and unwilling at first to approach humans by his own accord. He’ll still keep a short distance buuuut… if they’re just another version of Asha, it can’t be that horrible, right?

KOW!Asha’s drawings are a familiar sight for him and he’s impressed that she could bring her own drawings to life. Same goes for WRTS!Asha with her magic wand. Maybe they’re friendly… Maybe they could both do that together :D He’s neutral with Wish Granted! And Aled’s Asha for now until he gets to know them better.

Sueño recognises that same shyness and timid nature in TKoRaT!Asha. (It’s weird how she does the same thing RFTS!Asha does of turning their head away and hiding behind their hair when he innocently just looks her way.)

And then there’s…….HER. TFS!Asha. Cielo talks about her a lot….😬. But you know, that girl scares him.

Unfortunately, Sueño is staying a relatively farther distance away from the last two Ashas I mentioned. Why? Idk, probably the fact that they’re the daughter of Mag and Amaya-

……….

32. *Gives Sueño an iPad with Duolingo on it* Here my child. Learn Spanish.

I have a feeling you did this so he could finally find out what his name, ‘Sueño’ translates into. Lol, nope. Not yet he’s not.

He still appreciates the gesture though, but the guy got distracted by the other cool features and apps this weird magical mirror-tablet thing(?) had and completely forgot all about the Owl app.

……

33. Will Asha ever attempt to learn Celestial? Maybe with a candle? Like Morse Code? Idk.

Idk. Speaking Celestial is really just stars exchanging screechy sound waves to each other telepathically like words, while their glowing sequences indicates the mood and tone of what they’re saying. Maybe if Asha comes to learn how to harness light magic on her own, she’ll be able to at least convey emotions such as happiness in it by controlling the brightness and duration of each flash.

…….

35. How are you planning out your story?

I usually think of what main message I’m trying to get across first and build the story around it. After some character and world-building stuff (that I keep adding to because procrastination), I put the key scenes I could think of in bullet-point format and then just think up some in-between scenes that could occur between those points.

Usually though, the most usual process is that a random concept/idea pops into my head and then I immediately type it down so I won’t forget it. It’s basically my thing now to organise the giant mess of reminders into comprehensive plot lines.

I’m not writing the story at this point. The story is choosing to expose itself to me XD

Another main thing I do is listen to my Spotify playlist of this AU, read the Wish Artbook, or rewatch a movie that has inspired the RFTS! plot in some way.

……..

36. Are there any kisses in your story?

Hmmmmm….. *glances at Ashueño and Amnifico*

Oh well, since you’ve asked me, I gueeeeess I’m unfortunately now going to have to remove all the kisses I had included since y’all are so desperate to know….. (/jk)

……..

38. Will the Royal Couple have villain transformations?

………..

39. What’s your take on the ‘eating wishes’ thing?

As I’ve mentioned in my last post on how the magic system works in the RFTS!AU, Magnifico eats wish essence to reverse the costly effects of using Curse Magic. To put it simply, he uses them to make him more mentally stable.

.,,,,,,,,

40. What Easter Eggs are you planning to put in your story?

Awwwww, where’s the fun in that? Find them yourselves >:)))

And who knows? Maybe certain fellow creators in the Wish Rewrite Fandom will make a reference in some of the chapters. Keep an eye out 😉

……..

42. What exactly does Asha’s job entail?

Being a king’s apprentice is a way to gain experience and learn how to use magic by the king himself, so you could use the attained knowledge as to however you want. Share the talent with Rosas or Go out into the world.

However, when Magnifico’s reign started, he forbade magic usage other than he and his wife with the claim that it’s for the greater good and safety for Rosas. (He kinda had a point since criminal activity and accidents did decrease in number after that rule.)

Since Mag doesn’t really need an apprentice, Asha is more of an assistant now, following in her dad’s footsteps before her. She’s tasked to do help with whatever Mag might need around his study such as keep the fire going or organise his papers. But Mag doesn’t really like having her around a lot, (since she asks a lot of questions about his wish-keeping system) so he purposefully tells her to go carry out outside tasks such as go into the garden and help the gardeners or something.

……..

43. Did Magnifico make Sueño’s bonds?

If I told you, would that make you more blood-thirsty enough to gather pitchforks and torches for his head? Because if you are, please don’t. I still need this guy to stir up conflict in my story :((

(You can have him all you want though once I’m done with him. Lmao.)

………

44. How was Rosas founded?

Nearly a century ago, the kingdom was first built. I’ve read in the Art book that Rosas was apparently named to reference ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

Like, ok….?

Anyways, I found that roses are meant to represent love, rebirth and beauty. So I decided to add more onto that than just have it as another reference. The kingdom’s founders wanted Rosas to be a place where people who are wary and feel outcasted by their homes can find and start a new beginning. To ‘Rebirth’ and have a second chance to find the ‘beauty and love’ in their lives again,

Blue and white were made the royal colours because the blue was meant to stand for trust and reliability and white for new beginnings. Symbolising the past kings and queens’ responsibility to have their talents in sorcery be used to serve the people who come here. Thus, Rosas’ citizens all are in a variety of different cultures.

……..

45. Over how many days does your story take?

I’m thinking within one month. It’s a race-against-time sort of thing where Asha needs to find out how to confront the Royal Couple before they do something horrible on Rosas’ celebration of its 100th anniversary, which is literally just a month away.

…….

46. What was your favourite part of Wish? Are you translating that to your AU?

I really really loved how Mag’s magic looked and how he went all evil-ish green as a tribute to past Disney villains. If we ignore the awkward transition he had from sympathetic to just plain psychotic, it’s a cool magic display. I kinda wished they went more full out on the final battle because it just felt so underwhelming asf.

I’m keeping the magical final battle but with more magical funsies. :D

…….

47. Least favourite part?

I’m frustrated how bland and empty the character interactions and emotional beats are since those kinds of moments are usually my favourite when it comes to movies.

Magnifico’s tragic loss of his village? “Pfft- What tragedy? We don’t need that in the movie’s 2nd half.”

Asha’s dead father? “Eh. We only needed him for a few mins and he’s non-existent from that point on.”

Valentino claims to be Asha’s helpful animal sidekick. “Did I mention I have a deep voice? Oh, and my butt’s a funny thing too. Did I already mention that my voice is loud and soooo deep??”

Simon’s betrayal? “Oh wow, that was a shock…. Anyways, wanna start a rebellion?”

OMG, Sakina’s wish is back!! “What was the wish about? Idk who cares.”

Asha’s friendship with Star doesn’t even feel that special to me?? GUYS, I felt more chemistry between Rapunzel and Pascal. COME ON, BUILD IT UP. DON’T JUST SAY ‘Awww, you and I are thinking the same thing~’ AND EXPECT ME TO BUY THAT.

……….

48. What’s your favourite aspect of the TFS!AU?

Idk why, but I like how there’s a unique twist in your AU on how Wishing Stars don’t have the best reputation to humans. It’s a nice subversion that makes it stand out a little more. :)) Because usually, the idea of wishing on stars is always seen as a positive thing but that’s not the case in this story. It’s intriguing to watch characters slowly realise that not everything is what it seems.

That, and the hilarious dynamic you’ve got going on between Cielo and Asha and how deep in denial they both are, even though it’s clear as day to the other TFS!cast. 😂

(Wouldn’t it be funny if TFS!Mag and Amaya also noticed? They may be going down a dark path but they’re not blind, girl.)

……..

50. What’s a boring fact about you?

Uhhhhhh…. I like organising stuff by colour for fun...? Like, I used to pour out a box of legos and sort through them as a kind of pastime. I still organise coloured pencils in rainbow order if I could too. 😅 ………

@annymation @uva124 @your-ne1ghbor @ficsinhistory @rascalentertainments @gracebethartacc @spectator-zee

It’s a long read, but I think you guys would enjoy going through it regardless. I hope so anyways.

Btw, thx for all the fun questions Bo! 💖 Might post some more regarding your other doodle requests that I’ve put to the side for now if you don’t mind. :))

[tokyopewpew]

Solas and the Nature of Spirits

aka how this idiot might be able to think the idiot way he does

Sorry not trying to woobify Solas but it’s gonna sound like that to many I’m sure. 

He’s just such an interesting squeaky toy to chew on! So much is recontextualized after Veilguard! IDK i could be totally wrong but its been interesting to see people totally villainize him or be so unsympathetic. So warning: this is going to be long and kind of a follow up on my long tags post about Solas and Cole. Let’s go!

What I want to establish isn’t that Solas is faultless or not intended to be seen as antagonistic. I don’t think he is a villain, he’s a tragic hero at best or ya know. What he’s always said he is: a trickster. I don’t want to completely absolve him of all the terrible shit he’s done, but I think his explicitly poetically tragic character foundation always made it easy to swallow that those are his choices. Of course he did that, it’s the most narratively tragic option. So when I see criticisms of him being a villain or saying he should have done something different, simply said no is like ok… Yes in real life. But we’re in the fiction world where that is not his Character Type, that is not his Archetype. Which leads me into what I was yapping about on my previous post.

The nature of Spirits: I’ve seen talk of Solas’ abuse, his trauma, and I’ve seen an interesting take that by being thousands of years old he should have worked through all that shit already and not be such a petty bitch. Which idk, some of us are petty bitches by nature, trauma or otherwise. But anyways: I want to talk about the trauma of person-hood and Cole’s quest in Inquisition.

So Cole’s quest being reflected on in VG post reveal that the Evanuris were Spirits. Juicy. Delicious. But something I think that happens in these games is that people chase companion Approval regardless of RP. Alas it's hard to fight the dopamine of brrr make the number go higher, make the pretty elfman like me more. BUT the Cole quest is like the one line of questioning where you catch Solas in a weird half lie about court intrigue. (i promise this will make sense).

Solas: I had forgotten how I missed court intrigue.

Inquisitor: You miss court intrigue? When were you at court?

[Solas slightly disapproves]

Solas: Oh! Well... Never... directly, of course! 

As pointed out by many others: this is the one instance where asking him more questions earns you disapproval vs approval. So choosing to make Cole human, to me, is the more interesting choice because it earns you disapproval. I’m still going to analyze both options don’t worry though. 

To have Cole become more of a spirit is in line with Solas’ core beliefs. Clearly. He believes spirit’s natures shouldn’t be corrupted, they have singular, core traits that they must be adhered to and physical beings should not abuse them. Cool and true statements I would hope we all agree with. 

Some other users have already tread this ground. But by affirming Cole’s nature as a spirit, Solas sees the Inquisitor be respectful to Cole’s nature and upon reflection in Veilguard: see his own past redefined. It can be healing for him to see an Inquisitor show the empathy and grace he wasn’t. Which is fantastic, lovely, intimate and I think goes a long way to him seeing the differences in the modern world vs the ancient one. He can see that people here do care for spirits and they can be welcome and exist as they are! 

But what I think is juicier is earning that disapproval by siding with Varric and letting Cole be more human. Knowing what we know now, it’s so easy to see that Solas doesn’t want to see his same path be repeated. (Which, another side note that you can earn approval from Solas allowing HIM to kill the mages in his personal quest, but he disapproves of Cole not letting go and let god with the templar? He wants Cole to be calm and forget his pain, become detached, as he is unable to be anymore.) It’s a fantastic echo/mirror/theme repeated. And now we’re really able to get to the evidence that supports my thesis. 

Cole turning more human has him more tethered to the world. He feels more feelings, he can’t make people forget him, if he wants to offer comfort and compassion he has to do that with words and his presence, not magic. if he turns more into a spirit, he speaks with less emotion and is more detached from the people around him. He is compassionate, of course, as is his nature, but that is all he is and he does not understand deeper complexities of emotions. HE might be compassion, but he isn't seen or understood as a compassionate person ya know? As a spirit, he takes a very easy straightforward approach to helping people (make them forget) rather than the messier, more complicated, way a person does.

So using this as a reflection on Solas and the Evanuris: bro has never been able to get over the trauma of becoming a person. He does not know how to exist with the complexities beyond being just Wisdom. He is trying to run Spirit Software on physical hardware. And like, sure, you technically can, but he’s ignoring all the background processes that are contradicting and fucking up his systems. 

I imagine as a spirit of Wisdom, his goal was just to accrue information, vibe, and give opinions if asked. By who? IDK other spirits? Early people? Probs not the titans and dwarves. Probs a pretty chill existence other than the war thing going on, that he generally is able to ignore until good ol’ Mythal comes calling. 

Now she… is a lot. But I’ll extend the same grace to her as I do Solas which is to say, no one has done the shit they have done before, no one has transcended their nature. I think the Evanuris, as fucked as they are, have similar trauma over their creation. And the road to hell is paved with good intentions and I think they all believe they have good intentions. 

If Mythal is a spirit of benevolence, and she managed to convince herself that taking a physical form to protect her people is the right thing to do, ok. She is clearly able to justify that taking a physical form will help in the long run. Just because she’s a spirit of that emotion doesn’t mean she’s right. BUT, add onto that a new slew of emotions and complexities to the concept of benevolence (not just retribution, but selfish desires being masked as being for the greater good), I can see the Evanuris being in denial and assuming that they are continuing to operate as detached and unbiased as when they were spirits (they were not). 

Which is why I think Solas was convinced by Mythal. Surely she was operating with the best intentions, for him and for other spirits and not just her and the other’s agendas. And his subsequent horror and regret over taking a physical form sets up his whole Lucy with the football situation of believing, hoping, Mythal is still the pure being of good he knew her to be. 

Surely her benevolence is not conditional? Wouldn't that go against her nature, her purpose?

I think that’s why he gets so fucked up when the Evanuris go against their word. And I think he feels shitty and guilty in new horrible ways he didn’t when he was a spirit. He was able to stay detached, like Cole could be, and dispense “objective" wisdom without clouded feelings of guilt. He didn’t have to worry about other feelings or the outcomes, because spirits are simple creatures and really so long as he’s asked a question and someone appreciates the answer that’s all he needs. Becoming a person and subsequently seeing the consequences to the advice you consider correct, and either a) being ignored by the people who asked for your advice (Mythal) or b) see it followed through and having to live with the consequences (yuck, he never had to do that before and it sucks now). 

Like the memory of the citadel attack where Fellasan is horrified that he could send those spirits to their death so callously. Solas makes an argument like a detached wisdom spirit would. Our objective was to retrieve the relic, what’s the best way to do that? Create a distraction that is big enough to make your enemy think this is your actual goal for an agent to retrieve the item. In order to do that, you need it to be convincing so go whole hog. So long as a spirit doesn’t go against its nature, there is no technical foul. It isn't sociopathic thinking but it’s a brutally clean line of logic. It’s similar to the Nadas Durthalan, you have to ask the right question. Fellasan didn’t ask how to get out with the least bloodshed: he asked for the relic.

So Solas has a fucked up way of just trying to keep operating like a wisdom spirit and not feel anything else. He keeps trying to answer the questions asked of him. He keeps trying to believe in Mythal’s core nature, and in doing so he puts blinders on and hobbles himself horribly trying to ignore all his other emotional complexities. Guilt, regret, his desperation for contact and comfort, things he didn’t need before. He can’t go through the ego death of accepting he is forever changed, let alone that Mythal is. And god forbid he, a spirit of wisdom, was wrong. Operated illogically, blinded by emotion.  

Which interestingly, given the final scene, I’m still unsure of how much his service of her is his own denial or genuine magical compulsion. She was clearly able to defy his nuggets of wisdom but I’m not sure how much was him trying to console himself that she is Benevolence, she has to mean well, it is her nature, and how much is being bound to her service. But either way, I see his dogged pursuit of tearing down the Veil as him continuing to follow her orders or answer the question/task asked of him. 

Mythal wanted to protect her people. The elves of today are not really her people. She wants vengeance for her murder. Solas is either magically compelled to follow her orders or is again, so bent out of shape to exist as he once was, he’ll restore her people as they once were by tearing down the Veil. He can convince himself that her desire for that is Good at its core, the same way he can convince himself This is the Only Way because its the way he sees how to do it and he is Wisdom so it must be the right choice. 

It’s a very poetically tragic, stupid, logical fallacy way of thinking but that is a classic tragedy. 

I also love the idea of him experiencing the Horrors of the humanoid body. Does he enjoy eating? Does he enjoy taste but hate that he now Has to eat? Based on what foods we find in the lighthouse I’d guess yes. This dude hates that he has to eat, piss, and shit, and gets tummy aches now. He wants to go back to simpler times. 

But yeah, those are my thoughts mostly! I think brother Egg has been trying to keep as one track as possible, to the detriment of the world around him lmao. 

[octosan]

kfdgkfdkf okay I'll stop posting about it soon and then I'll go back to

Idk what do I even do on this blog, translyrics? game updates? hundreds of half-finished stuff in here... Maybe I'll post about Baldur's Gate or something. I definitely don't want this to be my first post forever because I'm already getting depressed writing it

Damn they really went on Reddit and said everything was fine and exactly according to plan huh. really just told us that this version of the game was what they wanted and was fine and they're not touching that story again but oooo there's so much left to tell! now that we've destroyed all of the plot threads of previous games there's so much story left to tell!

I don't even know what to say about all the times they said stuff that clearly was not in the game or the intention of the game.

an entire narrative of how heroic the crows are and how they're the only ones looking out for antiva, depicting caterina as a loving grandmother, a narrative where when someone points out how bad the crows are for antivan politics we are expected to understand that this person is the villain for saying these things, a sucking ABSENCE of any recognition that the crows as an organization have been cruel slave masters who abuse and mold their child acquisitions into assassins and kill the ones who fail, lore that was accurate even in the supplementary materials that teased this game, but no "it's very clear that the crows we meet are just idealists and the average antivan crow is more like illario, sorry, did that exchange not make it into the game...?"

I can't even find the words for how they talked about Solas and the way they retconned him and his agents and everything he cared about in the previous games. I was giving so much grace towards how Solas was done in this game. I liked every scene with him in it, "Mythal" stuff aside I think Weekes did an excellent job with his dialogue. I was perfectly happy telling myself that even if the game didn't touch on it, his agents might have been around trying to help people offscreen like he mentioned of his spirit allies. But no he cut them all loose because hedfkgdfkg suddenly remembered how much leadership sucks and he doesn't care about people. what was all that about "you're not ready for leadership and you have to sometimes make hard choices as a leader" when he was talking to rook then? dog you literally just bounced from all of your leadership responsibilities offscreen apparently

like epler said stuff that outright contradicted the actual game that they just made let alone the lore of previous games!

I can't dskfskdfkads I can't even imagine the gall of going on there and ignoring so many of the actual criticisms from fans who are going through the stages of grief, fans who were trying to do their damage control for them pointing out the game's hellish development cycle and how stacked the odds were against the devs, and how veilguard is only as good as it is because they fought so hard to get SOMETHING of substance into it.

to then say that this game is exactly what they wanted and they were happy with it. to say that they meant for the factions (and by extension Rivain itself) to be shafted. to imply that the "de-centralization of" morality and political conflict in this series (kudos to the fan that had that much tact because I don't think they would have answered it otherwise) was "what worked for the story" instead of being an absolute hindrance to it. Claiming that people "put their prejudices aside to fight the gods" when in fact that was never something they showcased in the game. to say that the only thing they fought for was meaningless crap like the Hall of Valor and the haunting sidequests. To say that you aren't able to have conversations with your companions because of tech limitations.

Tech limitations??

To make more false promises that the next game, who knows? maybe THAT game will have more interesting geo-political conflict now that the old storylines are gone. Maybe we'll see more of Tevinter in THAT game now that the more meaningful issues like slavery, classism, racism, the war with the Qunari, and abuse of blood magic are on their way out. Maybe THAT game will have more meaningful and unique romances in it. Maybe THAT game will include your more meaningful choices from the previous three games, now that their relevancy to the story and the fandom has been rendered at an all time low. Maybe THAT game will have returning characters from previous games, now that we've already introduced the likelihood that most of them are dead from old age and the Blight. Maybe THAT game will have interesting personal stories.

I saw nothing about how terrible the roleplaying in this game was either, though I'm sure they would once again go "maybe the NEXT game you'll be allowed to say an unkind thing sometimes." god that comment he made of like "maybe in the NEXT game you'll be allowed to be rivals with your companions, but it just didn't work for this story which is all about putting aside your differences to fight the elven gods :)"

I don't even know how to express all of it coherently.

it's not just that Veilguard wasn't good. it was not good. It had stuff that I liked, though. I ended the game trying to give it a bit of grace, especially because I can't even stomach playing a second run anymore so what do I know about what all is in this game? A lot of the lore reveals and developments (if not necessarily the ending) I felt like could have worked in a game that had time and good writing to accommodate it. The companions were good conceptually and had things that could have worked if given time to develop them into the trappings of previous lore. I told myself its biggest flaw was to not give a proper reckoning and development to these things built up by the previous games, not their inclusion at all.

even when there's stuff I didn't like about the visuals, like how completely non-mystical they made the Fade look in this game and how the elven empire is just fantasy sci-fi now, that wasn't a huge deal to me because every dragon age game has cycled through different aesthetics and at this point you can pick and choose from the designs if you really want, like I've seen lovely fanart that gives Solas and other post-DA2 elven characters the nose ridges of that game for example. The artstyle didn't bother me that much.

But reading all of that from the AMA, I'm just.

Somewhere along the process the writers stopped caring about the things that longtime fans have loved and cared about and looked forward to for years. They stopped caring about it so much that they destroyed all of it to make something else. and then they turned around and told us all of that was intentional and exactly what they wanted to do. and then they tried to keep us on the hook anyway by saying that the next game might at least go into some of it. And it's very painful to know that this is how things are for a series I've loved and always come back to since I was a kid.

More power to the people who like Veilguard and like what the devs have said about it and the next game. But when DA5 comes out, I will not be buying it. I can't believe DA4 is the first game I've ever bought where I actually regret spending so much money on it in the first place, and I got the cheapest version of it.

[sonknuxadow]

okay big wall of some of my shadow generations thoughts . spoiler warning obviously

i will start by just saying that this game is soo good like in general. ive said before that i was initially very skeptical of this whole thing but very quickly changed my mind upon seeing the first trailer and im SO glad that it did turn out to be good. this feels like one of the first times in a really long time that theyve put actual care into shadows involvement in a story instead of just throwing him in something for five seconds because they know hes popular. the game IS a bit short but i was expecting that and its somewhat reasonable considering its technically only half the game. but what we did get was great. we are so back .

i love the gameplay i talked earlier about how i like that they put more effort into making shadow play differently from sonic by incorporating his chaos powers into his gameplay, but the doom powers are really cool also and were such a fun addition. ive always wished they would do more with shadow being part black arms but didnt expect it to ever come up again so everything about this is kinda surreal to me

i love love love the optional dialogue i went out of my way to make sure i didnt miss any of it and theres so many cute ones and i have to stop myself from mentioning specific ones on this post because if i do ill be going on forever

also the music was good Obviously thats a given with sonic games. but special shoutouts to the menu music i thought it was a cute detail that sonics side had a remix of it doesnt matter while shadows was a remix of throw it all away. and that all hail shadow remix for the final boss goes sooo hard i was honestly expecting them to use i am all of me but this is cool too

as far as criticisms and nitpicks go. uhhhhh . this isnt that big a deal but i do find it the tiniest bit disappointing that they didnt really leave anything a surprise in terms of the gameplay, if im remembering right they showed pretty much everything in the trailers except for the final boss but im sure everyone knew who that was going to be it was jut the specific form he took that was the surprise. but like i said its not that big a deal especially considering they didnt show much of the story in the trailers so it balances out in a way . also i didnt know what the best place to put this in would be but i just wanted to say i got so excited when i got to the final stage because radical highway is one of my favorite sonic levels . peace and love on planet earth

i also think chaos island was a weird choice for a stage because all the others are from games shadow is a main character in but he isnt in frontiers at all? maybe they didnt wanna repeat games and were running out of ideas so they just threw a frontiers stage in since it wouldnt have any representation otherwise. i dont know.

there is only one real "this sucks" thing for me and its rouge's voice acting. its soo terrible ive never liked her current voice but she sounded particularly bad here to the point where it was distracting..... when it comes to other voice actors who are one of my less liked voices for their character im at least able to say that theyre doing a good job or have improved a lot over the years even if theyre not my first pick. but i swear to god rouge has gotten worse

anyway . good game . the ending made me tear up a little. thumbs up emoji . will probably play sonics side at some point too but idk if ill do it today

[consistentlyamess]

We'll see about that - Chapter 1⎮Open with me, oh, we could be honest

[4.4K-ish]

pairing(s): steve harrington x fem!reader

summary: You just wanted a fresh start but you might get more than you bargained for when the sleepy town of Hawkins lives up to its reputation.

warnings: takes place after season 4, 18+ , MDNI, slight age gap (reader is like 2 yrs older than Steve), canon typical violence, mentions of a lonely childhood, mentions of difficult relationship with parents, underage drinking, swearing, eventual smut, abusive relationship, brief stancy storyline, strangers to friend to lovers, pining, slowburn

A/N: I HAVE VERY LITTLE IDEA ABOUT WHAT I'M DOING AND I'M TERRIFIED. but I did get about 10 more likes than I expected, and I've been thinking about this story for so long, that so far it's kind of flowing out of me. so here's chapter 1!!! I probably won't be able to keep this pace up, just a heads up. *hides under a rock immediately after posting* just please bear with me while I figure out what I'm doing here, I guess. idk if it's a warning or not but english is not my first language and it's not beta-d. so. it is what it is . 'tough girl' is a very conscius nod to mizz @loveshotzz who had me on. the. floor. with AIRWIY

💜💜💜 TY for reading!!!! 💜💜💜

Fic Masterlist

Previous Chapter I Next Chapter Coming Soon

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You woke up with a pounding headache. Sometimes they still came. Mostly like this, in the morning, out of nowhere and it takes about two or three aspirins for them to go away.

This is the first hiccup. The last time you had a headache like this, it was about finals time back in Bloomington. You just wanted to get out, you wanted it to be over, barely slept, barely ate, so the headaches were no surprise really. Then after graduation, when you were leaving one cursed town for another, you thought you left the headaches behind as well. Which very obviously was not the case. But they passed pretty easily compared to the previous ones.

The week passed in a blur mostly. You hung out at Family Video quite a lot and when you weren’t there it was mostly just getting used to the town. The first couple of days you find a diner where you can have coffee in the morning. The second morning you run into Steve. 

‘Hey, stranger, how are you doing?’ He says with a boyish smile. 

‘Just getting my morning coffee, trying to show this lovely town that I’m just like them, you know, coffee, pancakes, the works.’ 

‘Good thinking, you would be truly terrifying otherwise.’

‘You think?’

‘Oh, absolutely! 5”6 woman with a killer smile and - and I quote - decent cooking skills? Dangerous.’ He’s flirting with you but you pretend to be oblivious.

‘Well, wait ‘till you see my reward sticker collection. The lack of teachers shows, stacked up some pretty great stars and flowers and whatnot. Those kids won’t know what hit ‘em.’

Fine, maybe not that oblivious.

‘Wow, bringing out the big guns early, huh? How does one earn those stickers? Would some A-grade guacamole do the job at a dinner party?’ 

‘We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.’ 

‘Guess so.’ You reach the coffee shop and he’s opening the door for you with a sly smile. Oh, boy. 

As you get to the counter, you see that a tiny brunette is already balancing some coffees and pastries there. 

‘... and I’ll also take like four of the cheese sandwiches.’  ‘Coming right up! Hey, give those pastries back, I’ll get you a bigger bag.’ 

‘Thanks, Al.’ 

You don’t miss the way Steve stiffens a little beside you.

‘Having a party Wheeler?’ He says. 

‘Oh, god, you scared me.’ The tiny woman said, clutching at her chest. Her big eyes and tiny pointy nose made her look very cute.

‘You know exactly that’s for those assholes in the office.’ She says with a frown. 

‘I know, you looked very cute though.’ She smiles shyly at that, looking down at her feet. Oh, boy, indeed. 

‘Hi, we haven’t met before-’ you reach out trying to cut the tension.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, I was so occupied with those goddamn sandwiches.’ She shakes her head and takes your hand immediately. ‘I’m Nancy, Nancy Wheeler. You must be the new girl. Robin told me all about you. Went on a tirade actually. You’re starting in Hawkins Elementary, right?’ 

‘News travel a little unsettlingly fast here.’ You let out a nervous laugh. ‘But yes, that would be me.’ 

She glances up at Steve, who suddenly finds something very interesting on the menu above the counter. He runs a hand up his neck and squints at the menu. Subtle, Steven, really. Seamless. 

‘So, she told you about the dinner on Saturday as well?’ 

‘A little more actually, she invited me.’ She frowned again and it made you laugh again.

‘Good! That’s exactly what I was about to do.’

‘Great! She told me she was gonna bring a pie but I’m betting my left arm she’s gonna burn it, so we’ll bring a back-up.’ 

‘We?’ 

‘Jesus, what a fun bunch we are. My boyfriend, Jonathan, is coming too. But only if it’s okay with you! He's staying for a while, finally. A little socialization we’ll do good for him.’ 

OH. BOY. So many alarm bells go off in your brain you can’t even count them. 

‘Next!’ Al shouts out. 

‘Sorry, one sec.’ You excuse yourself and you count your lucky stars that it immediately snapped you out of it. You’re not sure you could’ve contained your face.

‘Hi, Al! Can I get a black coffee to go please?’ 

‘If you ask this nicely, you can have anything, sweetheart. Comin’ right up! Anything else for you? The muffins are fresh.’ 

‘Oh, I wouldn’t miss that! Please, throw one in!’ You smile sweetly and he smiles back. On another day, in another café you might have suggested something very different this guy could do with his fresh muffin but you needed this town to like you. If anything happens or if you run out of gas in the middle of the road, you need to have friends. People looking out for each other. Looking out for you. That’s what these small towns are all about, right? 

‘Jesus, keep it in your pants Al.’ Steve mutters to himself and both you and Nancy raise an eyebrow.

‘Okay, I totally forgot, I have an appointment with the…’ Shit. You’re blanking. ‘... the, uh, the school counselor!’ You say a little more loudly, you’re so proud of yourself. ‘So, I’m off.’ You slap a two dollar bill on the counter and start moving toward your exit.

‘Who? Miss Kelly? Isn’t she on vacation, still?’ Nancy asks. ‘I haven’t seen her in like a week.’ 

‘Well, I have an appointment with someone, maybe it’s not the school counselor. I didn’t, uhm, write it down. But I’ll see you guys on Saturday, right?’ You wave your goodbye and your lungs feel less tight right away as you get out of the diner, leaving a little dumbfounded Nancy and Steve behind you. Whatever you walked in the middle of, you want no part of it. No matter how boyish his smile or homely brown his eyes are.

***

Staying away proves to be way more difficult than you thought though. Robin is way too nice to say no to, and more importantly, you really like her. It also doesn't take long until you meet the other members of the party. You met Jonathan one time at the library you visited. He was with Nancy, looking for something they didn’t elaborate on. A very endearing stoner Argyle, a gloomy kid, who visited his not-a-girlfriend friend in the hospital every week, Lucas, his quippy and lovebly snappy sister Erica, a kid with the smartest mouth on him you’ve ever seen, Dustin, Will, who’s very soft spoken is really fast to become one of  you favorites, not just because he’s really into art, Nancy’s broody brother Mike and of course the shy and sweet El. Or Jane. You’re not sure and nobody else seems to be either. But, hey, who were you to complain about weird nicknames? But all of that came with a lot of Steve on the side and keeping the flirting to the minimum was a real challenge. Especially ‘cause you liked it. He knew what he was doing and he was good at it. But it was impossible to miss how he softened when he saw Nancy, how something akin to hope flickered in his eyes.

It was also impossible to miss that they were hiding something. At one time Mike referred to the mall fire with air quotes and Robin immediately kicked him in the shin. Whenever Will touched his neck, everyone became tense. El kept looking around and spacing out sometimes, until Mike brought her back with a gentle tug on her hand. You’re not stupid, you pick up on these things. But you don’t ask too many questions. They’ll tell you if they want to. Or not. That’s also fine with you. Everyone has secrets and it’s not a surprise that a town like this may harbor more than one. 

The second hiccup does come at the dinner though. You were nervous all day. And of course cooking and cleaning all day. You made lasagne and your favourite salad with grenadine seeds and walnuts, and some chocolate chip cookies, just to be safe. You bought wine and soda, a bunch of scented candles, you cautiously put up fairy lights, the first thing that made the place look more cozy, more yours. Your chest tightened at the thought a little. This is okay, this is your place. This is what people do when they have a place. You were just renting, of course, but the owners made it pretty clear that they’re not planning on coming back anytime soon, so they gave you the all clear on any makeover your heart desired. You didn’t know what your heart desired. Not yet anyway. You were so focused on just getting a place, any place, you would’ve taken a room in an attic without lighting. You’re a little startled by the doorbell as you get lost in your thoughts while tossing the salad. 

‘Shit’ you mutter to yourself. You haven’t changed, your hair is a mess, you’re a little sweaty from all the work you’ve done and of course the table is not set yet. Great going, Peach. One hell of a first impression. Well, it wasn’t a first impression, not really, but still. The doorbell goes off again. 

‘Coming!’ As you tear the door open it presents a bickering Robin and Steve. 

‘... I took my eyes off of it for one second, Steve-’ 

‘Yeah, well the recipe clearly stated that you have to watch it very closely! Constantly!’

‘Oh, my go- Peach!’ Robin rasps as she notices you standing there. She basically throws herself in your arms. ‘I burned the pie.’ She says in a sad voice that reminds you so much of a kid who was caught with her hand in the cookie jar. ‘I failed you, I’m so sorry!’  ‘Oh, honey, it’s okay! I made some chocolate chip cookies, Nancy is bringing some pie as well, we’re all good sweets, don’t you worry!’ You tell her, hugging her tightly and laying a kiss on the top of her head for good measure. ‘And next time just call me, my pies are the talk of every Thanksgiving. I can give you some tips and tricks.’ 

‘You’re an angel.’ Robin sighs. Above her shoulder you lock eyes with Steve for a minute. He watches the two of you with the most doughy eyes and smile you’ve seen on him so far. He waves a little and huffs out a quiet ‘hi’. You take one of your hands from the girls back and wave back to him. He keeps watching and you can’t take it. You pull Robin away, grabbing her shoulders. 

‘Alright, early birds get the worm’ you clap your hands ‘which means, you guys get to help me with the finishing touches, while I go take a shower and change, because I may smell like an onion but I have so much flour and butter on me that if you put me in the oven for 20 minutes on 350º I might come back as a pie as well.’ 

You make them laugh with that and the little laugh that comes out of Steve makes you want to run away into the woods and scream, it's so sweet. For the love of GOD, girl, get it the fuck together. This time Robin’s prodding finger in your ribs is what snaps you out of your state. 

‘You're the boss! We’re at your service, m’lady!’ she bows theatrically.  ‘Band kid?’ 

‘Trumpet’ Steve says with a shit eating grin. Robin seems a little uncomfortable at that. 

‘Figures. Band kids are always the best.’ You wink at Robin. ‘Stamina and nimble fingers. Exactly what you need in the kitchen.’ Wow, you’re staggeringly bad at this not flirting thing. 

‘Well, damn. If you were recruiting I’d never even look at a swimming pool or a basketball.’ Steve counters with the beginnings of that same shit eating grin. 

‘Jock?’ You ask, turning to Robin.

‘But a reformed one at that. Did some penance for his sins.’

‘By driving 12 year olds around town?’  ‘And by bringing wine and some beer to your dinner party, smartass.’ As he says it, he starts moving around you, already having rid himself of his coat and shoes. He leans close and almost whispers the last word in your ear. It makes the muscles in your neck flex. ‘So, where do you need us?’ Robin’s eyes ping-pong between the two of you so you turn around.  ‘Right. Plates are in the cabinet above the sink, cutlery in that drawer, glasses are already on the counter and you have some napkins on the table already. I’ll turn myself into a human again and be right back! Don’t break anything, please, I barely have enough stuff as it is.’ 

Your turn to make your way to the bathroom but you still catch the sound of Robin’s swat that probably lands on Steve’s arm. They hiss something at each other, but you try not to eavesdrop more. Not my circus, not my monkeys, not my circus, not my monkeys, not my circus, not my monkeys. 

By the time you make your way back, Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle are all there. The letter with suspiciously narrow eyes and mellow smile. You make a mental note to ask him about that sometime. As you make your way to the table, still drying your hair with a towel, Nancy gasps. 

‘Oh, my god, I love your dress!’ 

‘Thank you!’ You answer as you reflexively look down at yourself, before hugging her. ‘It was my mom’s in the sixties. Real flower child shit, I love it.’ The dress is almost floor length, it has a warm, orange-ish shade thanks to the thousands of tiny flowers, but it also has a dark, almost black undertone. It hugs your hips and has small buttons running up all the way on the front, top three still hanging loose, revealing some of the lace underneath. 

‘Hell yeah, brochacha, I dig your style.’  You giggle at Argyle’s antiques as you hug the two boys shortly as a greeting. 

‘Hey, do you have a corkscrew somewhere in here?’ Steve calls from the kitchen without turning around. ‘Uhm, that’s a good question actually. Let me check!’ You make your way to the kitchen, and plop the towel on the counter temporarily.  ‘I- oh’ Steve says the moment he turns around and sees you. You’re suddenly very aware of those top three buttons. You should’ve buttoned them. ‘Wow, you, uh, you look really nice.’ He says, running a hand up and down his neck once. So, it is a nervous tick.  You hope to any higher power if they're there, that you don’t blush.  ‘Thanks.’ The smile you can’t hide. You know it’s there, he knows it’s there. Well, fuck. ‘So, have you checked the bottom drawer? I think that’s usually the bastard drawer.’ ‘Bastard drawer?’ He asks with furrowed brows but still not taking his eyes off of the tiny flowers.  ‘My mom used to call it that. It’s the drawer you just kind of throw shit in, shit you don’t know where else to put. It's kind of rude, now that I think about it.’ You grimace to yourself as you zero in on it.

He watches you as you move toward said drawer. He likes the way the dress sways with each step you take. It’s a slow, almost magical movement of fabric in his eyes. A mix between a witch and some sort of fairy. He likes that you’re still barefoot, you look at home, even though you’ve only been here for a little more than a week. He likes the way you tuck your wet hair behind your ear as you crouch down. He likes your wet hair too, if he’s being honest with himself. 

‘Uh-huh! The bastard drawer never disappoints.’  ‘Way to go flower child!’ Argyle chimes from somewhere in the living room. Steve shakes his head at that. But you can tell, he’s hiding a smile.  ‘Thanks dude!’ You shout back as Steve moves towards you. You think he’s going to help you up, but then Robin storms in.  ‘Hey, Peach- oh, come on, I’ll help you up.’ Something flashes in Steve’s eyes as he leans back on the counter.  ‘Do you need help with anything else?’  ‘You can help me bring in the drinks if you’re up for it. The lasagne need another 10 minutes but we can have some drinks until then.’  ‘Really? Me too?’  You snort. ‘I’m not your mom, babes, of course you can.’ 

The evening goes well after that. You get to chatting, you talk about uni, very briefly but you mention that you had a failed relationship as well, you gush about your favourite teacher and ask them about the children of Hawkins. They tell you about the town, about how they met, how they became closer when tragedy after tragedy struck. Robin mentions clumsily that Nancy and Steve used to be a thing, which in turn makes the whole table uncomfortable. Except for Argyle, who, god bless his heart, chimes in with a ‘This lasagne is schmashing dude’. Which eases the conversation again.  ‘It is really good, Peach.’ Steve emphasizes, tongue darting out to lick the corner of his lips. ‘When did you learn all of this?’ 

‘Well, growing up it was just my mom and me. We didn’t have a perfect relationship but she loved cooking. That was really the only thing we did together. Then she had to work more, so I had to do it on my own more and then when I was uni, it was comforting to do things we used to do together.’ You shrug a little almost as a sign that you don’t know what else to say. You do that a lot, Steve notes to himself. As well as the fact that your cheeks and chest get a little pink after two glasses of wine. Just some notes. You don’t know if it’s the wine or the fact that you haven't felt this calm, since what feels like a lifetime, but this sudden openness catches you off guard. But Robin jumps to the rescue again. 

‘Oh, my god, that is so sweet!’ She squeals and she grabs your hand. ‘By the way, I never asked you about how that kind of date went?’ 

Now she is the one with the deer caught in the headlight eyes. 

‘Duuuuude, you had a date? That’s awesome! How did it go?’ Argyle joins your inquiry.  ‘Oh, it was… well, we- uhm’ she gets caught off by the ring of the phone which she seems very grateful for. You? Less so.  ‘Who is- sorry, I’ll go get it.’ As you get closer to the phone, on the other side of the wall, your stomach starts to knot. No one is supposed to know this number. Maybe the school. Please, god, let it be the school. As you reach for the phone, you know it’s not the school. You’re so sure it makes you nauseous. Panic crawls up your throat, your hands are shaking but you know you can’t not answer. Normal people are not afraid to answer phone calls. 

‘Hello?’ You call but nobody answers. You swallow with a big gulp. ‘Hello?’ You try again, this time squeezing your eyes shut and balling your hand into a fist. And that’s when you hear it. Breathing on the other side. You panic and slap the phone back on the wall. 

‘Is everything okay?’ Steve asks and you hear the slide of a chair on the floor, and you start moving further into the kitchen.  ‘I- Y-eah’ you call with a crack in your voice. You take a deep breath, trying to stady yourself. ‘Just ah, a wrong number. I’ll go heat up the pie!’ You try to think about the cold metal of the Colt on your night stand. It’s okay, you’re safe here, you can protect yourself, you made sure. 

You’re already leaning against the stove when he finally catches up to you. 

‘Do you need help?’  ‘No, no, I got it’ you call back over your shoulder, without turning around. You crouch down in front of the oven and open it. The heat comes rushing out but it’s still not enough to warn you. You grab onto the sheet with reckless abandon and promptly burn yourself. 

‘Ouw- Fuck-’ ‘Shit, are you okay?!’ Steve comes rushing towards you as you hear the muffled sound of the others fussing in the living room.  ‘Shit, come on, come here.’ Now he helps you up, one hand holding your wrist, the other settling on the small of your back as he guides you to the sink. ‘We have to put some cold water on it, so it doesn’t blister.’ 

You can only nod. The panic of the phone call is still at the back of your throat but now the burn of your palm feels a lot more urgent, so you will your body and your mind to work together and prioritize here. As the cold water hits the burn, you hiss and Steve apologizes. 

‘No, please, it’s what you’re supposed to do.’  ‘So much for the pie tips and tricks, tough girl.’ He smiles at you a little mockingly.  ‘I never said anything about kitchen accidents. You got nothing on me Mugsy.’ ‘Alright-’ Before he can really get going, Robin clears her throat loudly in the kitchen door, standing with crossed arms.  ‘You guys okay in here?’  ‘Yeah!’ You say, pulling your hand away from Steve as gently as you can. ‘Yeah, just burned my hand. Nothing life threatening. But I will need someone else to put the pie in the oven for me after all.’  ‘I got-’ ‘I can do it.’  ‘Really, Robin? So, I’ll have to take care of two burns?’ Steve says, turning around with his hands on his hips.  ‘Oh, calm your tits mom, I can put a pie in the oven on my own you-’ ‘Both of you can shut up, I’ll put it in.’ Nancy says as she pops in and comes directly towards you and looks at your hand with a concerned look. ‘Are you okay?’  ‘Guys, it’s just a sheet that was a little too hot. I’ll live.’  Nancy nods but you know that she can see that you’re still shaking. She moves to the oven and Steve takes the opening to make his way back towards you.  ‘Do you have some ice? You should put some ice on it for the night.’  ‘Hey, Steven!’ Robin calls out a little too loudly and a little too sharply. And you make a mental note to send her a gift basket because now that the panic and the pain are subsiding, you really don’t want to feel his breath on your cheeks and his fingers moving your wrist so carefully, like you’re made of glass. ‘Would you be a darling and help me open a bottle of wine.’  ‘You’re a big girl, you can open a bottle of wine on your own.’ He quips back.  ‘Oh, now I can do things on my own?’  ‘It’s a bottle of wine not a piping hot oven, Buckley, there is a difference.’  They continue arguing but you can’t make it out anymore under the sound of running water and Nancy and your laughter.  ‘They are literal children.’  ‘It’s cute, really. I always wanted siblings.’ You confide in her. How can you not? Her blue eyes have this shade to them. A shade that sees right through you. A shade that tells you there’s no use in lying. Or hiding for that matter.  ‘Are you sure, you’re okay?’ She asks, quiet, sincere.  ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine. Had much worse.’ You smile at her and she doesn’t push. You’re thankful. 

You almost can’t believe it but the rest of the dinner goes by without any more accidents. You guys come close when Robin wants to cut into the pie but Steve takes the knife out of her hand.  Everyone wanted to help clean up but you swatted them away, insisting that you were the host and it was fine. You pack a box of leftovers for Argyle and he’s out the door. Nancy and Jonathan are the next, thanking you and even Jonathan shooting you a smile that tells you, he really did enjoy himself. By the time you close the door behind Steve and Robin, you almost forgot about the phone call. Almost.  Not even a minute passes when there’s a knock at your door again. You huff out a laugh. ‘I told you, dude, that’s all the cookies I have, there’s- oh, Steve.’ You’re stopped in your tracks. ‘I- did you leave something here?’  ‘Yeah, I,uh, can you check if my wallet is on the counter, for me?’ ‘Sure, come in, I’ll be just a sec.’ You check but there’s no wallet. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t find it! Are you sure it’s not in the car, or-’ When you arrive back he’s leaning over the small dresser next to the door.

‘Oh, shoot! You know what?’ He says, feigning a realization. ‘It was in my back pocket. So forgetful sometimes. Night, tough girl!’ You’re a little confused but that doesn’t keep you from quipping back.  ‘That nickname’s gonna stick, isn’t it?’ ‘Depends. Maybe I’ll think of something better.’ He says with a wink and turns on his heels.

After locking the door you glance down to the dresser. There’s a note on the block of Post-its you have there. 

I’m very used to spending nights on my own in an empty house. If something spooky happens again or you need some ‘tips and tricks’ just give me a call. 

There’s nobody there to see but you still feel like you have to hide your smile by trying to bite into your lower lip as you study his number.

Fucking hell. You really should’ve finished those goddamn buttons. 

[doberbutts]

not the prev anon but re: "Israel has a right to exist" not being a Zionist statement and saying otherwise us antisemitic. - that's a bad faith reading because we're not talking about Israelis, we're talking about the state of Israel. The settler colonial state Israel doesn't have a right to exist. That doesn't mean that people have to leave, it just means that Palestinians need to have a say in how to use their land again and expelled families need to be able to return to where their homes once were. That in itself is not an antisemitic point of view unless you conflate the state of Israel with Jewish people, against the wishes of antizionist Jews everywhere.

I wish I could say it was a bad faith reading but I have unfortunately literally seen people uncritically posting that Israel as a state should be dissolved and as part of it all Israelis should be sent back where they came from because they're all settlers and not a single one of them can consider themselves indigenous to the land. I'm not making that up. I'm not reading ill intent into anything. It's not a strawman. I've genuinely seen people saying this.

That's ethnic cleansing too. And anyone protesting this gets called a Zionist and a colonizer and a settler- often by Americans who are not indigenous and are living stolen land themselves. Though, recently, I even saw an indigenous person saying exactly this, and like... did you see the asks I was sent immediately after saying "I don't like that people are saying go back where you came from" because that anon absolutely did directly state that they are of the opinion that as part of the dissolution of the Israeli state and land back, Israelis should be expelled from the area en mass whether they want to leave or not.

So there are, absolutely, people conflating the two. And people are calling for genocide to answer for genocide.

Also, as said before, it becomes very difficult to say who the land "belongs to" (idk this might be the Native in me but land does not belong to anyone, how self-centered to think that the Earth can be divided into pieces by humans who have been here only a short time compared to its whole lifespan, but w/e that's a point for a different day) when both Arabic Israelis and Arabic Palestinians are indigenous to the land. Do they not get a say? They also trace their roots to that area. They are indigenous too- so how can giving "their land" to the other indigenous group be considered "land back"?

It's not like in the US, where most of the colonial efforts are being driven by people who never originated here in the first place. It's way more complicated than that.

Do I think "the state of Israel" has the right to exist? Personally I think that the entire area needs a serious policy re-write and constitution put in place to equalize rights between Israelis and Palestinians and ensure that it stays equal, a ceasefire needs to happen, the genocide of the Palestinians needs to stop, and a peaceful solution with both Israelis and Palestinians living together in harmony needs to be reached. People need to be able to move back into their homes, people need to be able to be free of displacement and constant fear, and without relying on segregation because we all know how "separate but equal" turns out. Would that dissolve the state of Israel? I mean, as it currently stands, probably by definition yes.

Do I think "Israel" itself has the right to exist? The word "Israel" has existed since about 13th century BC. The word "Palestine" has existed since about 5th century BC. Those are the earliest known mentions of these names and not even within those borders (Israel's document was found in Egypt, Palestine's in Greece) so who knows how long the area itself was calling itself one thing or the other or who the scholars of the time talked to to get that name in the first place. The exact borders of these have shifted since then and exactly who controls those borders have largely traded hands back and forth for literal millennia, which is why I'm saying it's way more complicated than that and that both of these people have a claim to the land that stretches back thousands of years. I think it's a little haughty of me to say that something that's existed for the past roughly 3000 years doesn't have the right to exist.

[ezra-editss]

"Dean doesn't reciprocate" MY ASS

I'm just kinda gonna write down my thoughts about this. I'm in season 7 now, I know what happens in the very last episode, but nothing else so I don't read any posts about the show here yet :) (just so yk and don't accidentally spoiler me) Oh and I do this mostly out of memory and some notes that I took, so this might be a little chaotic :,)

Okay, so the whole season 6 fight was crazy to me. The way Cas was watching while Dean kept on defending him. And he knew how much Dean trusted him. ("The worst part was Dean. He was trying so hard to be loyal, with every instinct telling him otherwise.") It hurt him, but the whole time he was, again, protecting Dean. And yes, he hurt Dean, but I think it was as bad for Cas to hurt Dean, as for Dean to be hurt.

Then, Dean apologizing for the others? They (thought they) were wrong and Dean had kept on trusting Cas, so why was it him who apologized? Because he knew it meant more to Cas when he did it? Idk.

Cas wasn't able to lie when he looked in Dean's eyes.. come on? Also, the fact Dean wasn't actually mad when he found out was really interesting. He was just extremely sad. Yes, his trust got broken and maybe he was just tired of it all, but it didn't seem like that to me, I felt like he usually got madder.

I love how they always share those sad looks when they go apart after the fights btw, such a best buddys thing to do.

It was really hard for both of them. We can see that Dean can't sleep that night and that Cas comes back to talk to him alone, because it only matters to him that Dean understands.

Oh and the "I'm doing this for you, Dean." I don't even need to explain his motives, because he reveals them himself.

Then the scene from my edit. (at the top) (it's kinda laggy, bc it's slow-motion, but anyways) They both have teary eyes a lot, but this is different. Dean turns aways because he knows he's gonna cry and Cas disappears before he really starts crying, but they are both fuckin crying about this. They're both just sad and want this to end. Even when Dean said he's gonna stop him and so on, it was way less threatening than usually. And Cas kept coming back when Dean was in danger.

But Dean still cared as well. In the first episode of season 7, when Cas asks for help, he pretends he doesn't care about him anymore for a bit, but you can clearly see that he still does. You at least can see it when he thinks Cas is dead. He's devastated.

It's kinda funny how Bobby's there but Cas very obviously only cares to make it up to Dean. Like he always says "they're my friends" but in reality he means Dean.

AND THEN.. Cas tries to protect everyone else again and sends them away but DEAN STAYS. I think he knew that there wouldn't be anything he could do, but it didn't matter.

Cas dies again. (give my man a break, please) Dean keeps the god damn coat? I think he might've done it, because he was hoping that Cas would come back again. Anyways, scene was devastating.

In the judge/court episode about Dean's guilt, I immediately hoped Dean didn't feel guilty about Cas too, but was pretty sure he did. My worries were confirmed in episode 5.

So yeah, I suppose that's the part where I am, I guess I have to wait 'till Cas comes back now :,)

I don't think anyone read all this, but I hope I didn't make any grammar mistakes, bc English isn't my first language, so I sometimes get stuff mixed up (I definitely made the tenses confusing). Anyways, rant end.