#The tags ended up being longer than the post

[miukki960]

I'm gonna make this post before I go in the tag and see ANY God or Diew slander, because for me the conflict this episode not only made sense, but was necessary for their relationship to move forward.

The seed was planted long ago when God first found the picture of Diew and Dr. Asshole, and at first God handled it rationally (as expected of our Green Flag King). But the longer the situation went unresolved, the more doubt and insecurity began to creep in until it all came to a head in this episode, because all God needed was honesty and openness from Diew, but Diew has learned from past conditioning to lock those parts of himself away and only show a surface level of his personality and self.

I found that God's argument with Diew, while definitely escalated by emotion and insecurity, was justified at its core. We've learned throughout this story that God's main love language is Quality Time, and that most often is fulfilled by God genuinely enjoying doing anything and everything with the people he loves, so long as they are having a good time. But his conversation with Dr. Asshole put the idea in his mind that Diew has simply been going with the flow and doing whatever God suggested in order to make him feel good, that he hasn't actually enjoyed their time together. And while we as an audience know that's false, the idea is one of God's worst fears and most devastating nightmares.

But he loves Diew and doesn't want to believe it's true, so he gives him multiple chances to prove him wrong. And when Diew continues to reply with lies and deflection, it unfortunately proves him right. Because while the context is a bit off and there is definitely a misunderstanding at play, at the end of the day Diew isn't being honest and isn't trusting God enough to open up and show him the deeper, more emotional parts of himself. So God comes to the only conclusion he can see, that even if Diew is no longer in love with Dr. Asshole, their love was deeper and more meaningful than what he has with God now.

But don't get me wrong! Even though Diew was choosing the wrong dialog options during his argument with God, he was also justified in choosing to keep his secrets and emotions hidden. What God doesn't know is that Diew HAS opened up before, bared his heart and soul to someone he thought he loved and trusted, and what was he rewarded with? Disinterest, deflection, shame. As someone with major anxieties related to human interaction, you only have to burn him once to teach him to never play with fire again. And Dr. Asshole burned him deeply on multiple occasions.

No amount of kindness and sweetness and love from God was gonna convince him to play with fire again. In fact, it was reaffirming. Much like what we have been seeing with Wan towards Beer, I'm sure Diew sees how good and wonderful God is and is absolutely terrified to fuck it up. But just like Wan, his defense became his biggest downfall.

At the end of the day, rather than focusing on what happened, we should instead focus on why it happened and how the characters are going to grow from it. And we can see that how through the characters actions during the last few minutes of the episode. We see Diew, who's defense is to isolate, actively reaching out to God multiple times in multiple ways, ready to explain and open up and heal. And we see God going through the more nasty, volatile parts of his emotions alone, so he doesn't hurt Diew while he's in the wrong headspace, but also doesn't bottle the bad things to explode later.

I think what gets me the most is that in their very last conversation before the end of the episode, Diew was asking for togetherness and God was asking for space, and they were both upset on many levels, but they were still speaking to each other with love in their tone and words.

[skunkes]

[tinybro]

jasico server was chatting about the cupid scene and jason getting nico's memories blasted straight into his brain and how jason being shot with one of cupid's arrows while with nico and this was just never brought up in canon again and now i'm thinking like...what if that's just how cupid's arrows work? not by magically manifesting love for someone out of nothing, but by giving someone the perspective that'd make them fall in love naturally? jason gets a front row seat to nico's memories and instantly understands him intimately and can trust him completely without any doubt or suspicion

so what if jason, after slowly realizing he's totally in love with nico, just thought back to the arrow incident and it made him second-guess everything? because maybe he's only feeling this way because cupid hit him with an arrow with only nico was around and it's no different than any other god messing with his love life

[microwave-core]

Scarvio Headcanons

Guess who’s back on her bullshit

It’s me :)

Nemona, my favorite skrungly dumbass. Sweet thing is trying her best, unable to discern her romantic feelings from her platonic ones for so long. Listen, growing up she only had pokemon on the mind, and once she reached the top she really didn’t have any friends, so she’s still figuring things out. But enough about her being lost in her feelings, because I’ve talked about that enough.

Once she manages to spill her guts and get into an actual relationship, she’s completely lovesick, over the moon. Her entire worldview has changed for the better, as she somehow becomes even peppier than usual. The happiness beaming from her is as radiant as the sun. Her mood is impossible to bring down. She’s just so happy that you’ve given her a chance, that you feel the same way about her that she feels about you.

In general? She’s a mix of eager and nervous. Nemona only recently made real friends, so obviously she’s still learning the ins and outs and weird quirks of relationships, both for platonic and romantic ones. Don’t get me wrong, she’s absolutely ecstatic at the idea of having a girlfriend, and she absolutely loves you with her whole heart and soul, but this is still new, unexplored territory for her. Taking big steps in your relationship makes her heart pound, both from excitement and fear, but she fights against her nervousness with relative ease, viewing it as a mere challenge she must overcome to become the girlfriend of your dreams.

Speaking of friends, Nemona likes to go to them for advice, despite both of them being in the same relationship boat as her, to varying effect. Arven actually gives some pretty sound advice, but that’s mainly because said advice boils down to making and giving you food, and who doesn’t love free food? Penny, on the other hand, essentially just rehashed vagueling romantic things from her favorite manga and anime. Thankfully for you, Arven usually manages to shut her down before any ideas can be planted into Nemona’s head.

Her favorite kind of dates are the ones where you spend time in nature together. Whether you’re going on a picnic or camping or just plain ol’ adventuring, she’s gonna have a great time. Just know that she is going to try and battle every unique looking pokemon you come across. On the bright side, she’ll always give you first dibs when it comes to catching them. It might take a long while for her to catch anything, given her less than stellar throwing arm, but she’ll succeed eventually through raw, sheer determination. 

This mentality can be applied whenever you express interest in catching a pokemon. If you want something, Nemona will get it for you, no questions asked. If you are looking for something super rare? Nemona’s got it. You’re trying to get a shiny? She’s already on it. You want something insane like the rare three-segmented Dudunsparce and you want it to be shiny? Don’t worry, babe, she’s got this. She will disappear for weeks on end and reemerge with the spoils of war in hand.

Please let her geek out, if only for a little bit. Let her rant and rave about the insane battle she had with her rival a few days ago, or about the uber rare pokemon she found earlier in the week. On one hand, she just wants to talk about these things in general, but on the other hand she just wants to know that someone in her life is genuinely interested in what she has to say. It makes her heart flutter in a way that she’s never felt before. The second you give her that kind of attention, she knows that you are the one for her.

Anyways, I always love posts that are like “slander your favs for no reason” so Imma try to do that for each of these ladies, except it isn’t really gonna be slander but I’m gonna call it that anyways because I don’t know what else to call it. For Nemona, I’d say that she’d fall hook, line, and sinker for those old playground rumors, like Mew being under a truck by the S.S. Ann or the Jirachi rock bullshit. If you tell her that they aren’t real, that people just made them up to pull people’s legs, she would be completely crushed.

Penny’s a weird one. Like, just in general, and we love her for that. She is the epitome of what facebook boomers think of the younger generation. She is terminally online and refuses to leave her room unless absolutely necessary. She has committed bank fraud. She is blue hair and pronouns. She is holy fucking bingle. 

Unlike Nemona, who is super eager about taking steps in your relationship, Penny is terrified of them. She’s never been this close to another person in her entire life, so obviously she’s hesitant. Not to say that she doesn’t like being close with you, she loves it and craves to be even closer, but she can’t help but feel a bit afraid of the unknown. That’s all to say, you are going to have to be the one to initiate those steps. Just be careful, even a kiss to the cheek is enough to make her brain do a full system-reboot.

But she wants to take those steps, and wants to show you that she cares about and loves you (although it takes a very long time for her to bust out the L-word). For starters, Penny will actually open up to you about all of her interests. She’s not ashamed of who she is, but she doesn’t tell most people about her interests due to being bullied for them in the past. On top of that, she’ll also introduce you to her Team Star buddies, and they definitely pull the overprotective card on you. Hell, she’d even hack the league again for you if you so much as asked (just don’t tell Clavell she said that).

She also takes your interests into consideration in order to recommend some of her favorite things in return-from manga, to video games, to music. And if you ever tell her about something that you really, really love, she will binge it ASAP. You could mention a game that takes at least a hundred hours to complete and she will somehow finish it within a matter of days, ready to talk about it as soon as the credits roll. She was bullied for the things she loves, so she knows how much it sucks having no one to talk to about them. Not that she’d ever say that out loud, though, because mushy feelings and words don’t come naturally to her.

Kind of an aside, but do you think something like pokemon showdown (online battles) would exist in the pokemon universe? I only mention this because I think Penny would be super into competitive memes. She would totally mention something like homophobic ferrothorn in casual conversation and expect you to understand what she’s talking about. 

Of course, how could I mention Penny in general headcanons without bringing up the theory that she’s Peony’s daughter? How could I pass up an opportunity to, once again, talk about supreme supportive embarrassing dad-of-the-year Peony who’s extremely supportive of his gay daughters? Giving Peonia this treatment wasn’t enough, I seek more carnage.

Now, Penny would definitely have it better than Peonia, considering she lives in a different region and all, but that doesn’t stop Peony. He sends her small gifts all the time, many of which are handmade. In particular, he loves to send little pride flag patches, which she often shares with her friends. He also tries to send her supportive messages to tell her that he loves and accepts all of her no matter what, but they’re always made in MS Paint with a mouse and he has to ask Peonia to help him save the image and send it to her, and it's always either far too small or far too big, nowhere in between.

Slander time, Penny would absolutely own a titty mouse pad of one of her favorite anime characters. She is incredibly embarrassed about owning it, and dreads the day someone finds it, but she still uses it, and goes to great lengths to hide the thing whenever anyone comes over.

Katy is kinda hard for me to write for because it’s in an instance of oh I know someone with that name and it’s hard for me to think of her without thinking about that person with whom I am related to, but you didn’t ask about that.

This woman? She’s the sweetest thing to ever grace Paldea. This lady is so sickeningly sweet at all times, only wanting the best for those around her. She couldn’t even hurt a Cutiefly because she’s simply too kind. Make no mistake, she could absolutely clock the shit out of someone, but she simply chooses not to. Thankfully, she only believes in uplifting others.

Obviously, baking is her passion. She’s spent years perfecting her craft down to a science, enough to make complex techniques look simple. More than anything, she wants to share the joys of baking with you. It’s like giving you a piece of her to hold onto forever. Don’t be surprised if she ends up making you her go-to taste tester, always asking your opinion on whatever new concoction she’s whipped up. All she asks is that you’re honest, not wanting you to lie just to protect her feelings.

Speaking of her craft, she understands how difficult it can be to get into or master a craft or hobby, about how easy it is to put yourself down the second you make a mistake. She’s been there, she gets it, hence why she doesn’t hold back with her praise and criticism. She believes it’s important to acknowledge how much you’ve improved while also keeping in mind how you can strive to be better. 

Despite how sweet and kind she is, Katy does have a mischievous streak. Pulling light-hearted pranks is one of her favorite pastimes. It's small things like signing your email up to some random newsletter or asking “what’s that” while pointing over your shoulder, only to be met by one of her creepy-crawly or bear-shaped pokemon. You could argue that these things don’t really classify as pranks, but she loves doing them nonetheless. Even though they are completely harmless, she always has sweets to give the prankee after the fact, just in case her actions somehow came off poorly.

But let’s skip to the bottom line, you can’t date Katy if you hate bug pokemon. And it’s not because she won’t tolerate your opinion, no, it’s because her little-and big-bugs are around constantly. If your fear was bad enough, you’d likely end up having a heart attack just by being around her for an extended period of time. If you are afraid of them but are determined to be with her, then she’ll do everything in her power to help overcome your fears. Exposure therapy can work wonders if you’re willing to put the effort in, and she’ll reward you with her love and baked goods for being so brave, especially because you’d be doing it for her.

She’s one of the most uplifting, cheerful yet calm partners you could have. She’ll always be in your corner, helping you along the way of whatever journey you are on, but she won’t be overbearing. She’s a very passive person by nature and struggles with confrontation, but she has your back no matter what happens, prepared to catch you and help you back onto your feet whenever you may fall down.

Slander posting time, Katy really got into the “everything is cake” thing. Like, it kind of became a problem, to the point that she spent hours making a single realistic-looking pastry. Normally, she’s not too hard on herself when it comes to baking, as small mistakes are unavoidable and are nothing worth losing sleep over. That is, until she was working on a hyper-realistic Tarountula, where she acted like her life was on the line should a single one be made.

Iono can be super energetic, upbeat, and slightly unhinged at times, and lowkey, chill, and… still kinda unhinged at others. She’s an online personality, so, of course, there’s a persona she has to put up, but with someone like you, she can be her regular self.

For starters, this girl is fuckin’ tired. Putting up her hyper-active streaming persona whenever she’s around others while also having to deal with internet weirdos wears her out. Of course, she’s grateful for her job and the opportunities that come along with it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not stressful at times. She can handle it, though, even if she does end up whining and borderline begging you to cuddle her when you get home at the end of the day, if only for a bit.

When it comes to your relationship, she desperately wants to show you off. You’re her darling, loving girlfriend, who is both incredibly hot and talented. It’s only natural that she would want to show off how great your relationship is. But, at the same time, she’s very secretive with it. For one, she knows how certain people can get when the people they follow get into relationships, and two, she wants to keep her personal life out of the public eye.

Her hair is a nightmare to care for. Not just because there’s a ton of it, but because she has to constantly make sure it’s dyed properly. Personally, I believe her hair is naturally pink, meaning every few weeks she has to get the turquoise parts touched up. Of course, that doesn’t even mention how long it takes to style. All she asks of you (a lie) is to brush her hair, careful to work out the tangles with delicate strokes. She’s always willing to return the favor, tending to your hair based on your instructions.

Whenever you go out, she has no choice but to put on a disguise. On a date, she doesn’t want to be noticed by the general public. Not only would it bring attention to you both, it would also force her to put up her streaming face, which would kinda destroy the purpose of you guys going out in the first place. What’s the point of spending quality time with each other, one-on-one, if she has to be fake to appease those around you?

On the actual dates, she’s super lowkey, even more than usual. It’s not often that she gets to be herself out in public, so she cherishes all the time dearly, even if she has to hide her face in doing so. You get to hold hands, go out to eat, and walk around the streets of Levincia while window shopping, chatting and laughing the whole time. She forgets how much she loves it, living a mundane life, even if just for a few hours. It makes her think about what life will be like in the future. She doesn’t want to live in the public eye, streaming forever, so these small moments are like a glimpse into the future for her.

But Iono can absolutely be a menace, as well, both on and off stream. Like, you could just be on your quiet little date in the city and she’ll randomly ask if you want to go harass Larry. She does it all the time for her streams because the people love him, but she also just does it for fun on her own time. Besides, who doesn’t want to end their date by badgering epic divorce man as he eats 50 rice balls in one sitting?

As for slander, well, there’s many things I could mention here, if I’m being honest, but let’s just stick with the simplest one. She’s done a youtuber apology before in response to some dumb controversy she got involved in, complete with the sigh at the beginning followed by “I never wanted to make this video” and all.

Tulip’s elegant and a bit head strong, and is also incredibly charismatic and business savvy. Beauty is her forte, and she finds it in all things, regardless of what other people think, which she thinks is a mindset everyone could benefit from having.

She’s a bit more difficult than others, in a sense, mainly because of how busy her life is. Typically, she’s talking to business personnel about her next line of cosmetics, either in person or over the phone. As a result, making time for you can be difficult. Sometimes, the most you’ll see of her in a day is her, on the phone, whispering a quick “love you” and planting a kiss on the top of your head before turning her attention back to whoever’s on the other end of the line.

But every now and then, she’ll clear her entire schedule and spend the entire day with you, and she’s pampering to a fault. No matter what you end up doing all day, at some point she’ll sit you down and do your makeup and style your hair all pretty while chatting away. Her work is flawless, obviously, although it does take quite some time to finish. She’ll let you do hers in return, finding whatever choices you make to be beautiful. After all, you picked out the colors and styles specifically for her, so of course she’ll love it.

If you end up going out, she’d love to go to a nice restaurant. It’s a great way to show off how lovely you both look, dolled up, ready for a wild night on the town. Eventually, though, she'll get recognized, leading to you both being tailed by the paparazzi. She puts on her best smile, asking you to play along, but soon enough you’ll both bail. The night ends with you running through back alley streets, laughing and giggling with one another until you eventually find your way back home.

Quiet dates are what she prefers, though, as it’s nice to just relax and unwind with someone you love. She adores meditation and yoga, and would love to guide you through some sessions. She’s learned a lot from Dendra, after all, and needs to put that knowledge to good use. That being said, she’s a very flexible person, mainly because she’s been doing yoga for so long, so don’t feel bad if you have trouble keeping up with her.

While Tulip’s whole business is about cosmetics, she puts a ton of value on self-love. To her, makeup is purely an art form which uses the human body as its canvas. Every face, every body, has beauty to it. If you can’t realize how wonderful you are in your most natural state, then slathering makeup on, what you perceive to be, flaws won’t change your overall self-image. Makeup is a hobby, and it looks best when you use it to accentuate what beauty you already possess. It’s the reason she absolutely loathes self-deprecation. If she ever catches you saying something bad about yourself, whether it’s meant to be comedic or not, she’ll take your face in her hands, squishing your cheeks a bit, while stating otherwise. Like, if you said you weren’t really that pretty or attractive, she’ll go off on a rant about how beautiful you are, both in and out. If she thinks something seriously up with you, that something is really weighing on your mind, she’ll clear her schedule as soon as possible and spend hours spoiling you, making sure you know how much she truly loves you and you alone.

Tulip is also super into self-care. If she’s not posting about makeup or fashion, she’s promoting all kinds of things to her followers. She posts about her morning routine and makes instructional videos for yoga poses and stretches. Sometimes, she’ll drag you out of bed in the morning to join in on her regular routine, mainly her skin care routine as well as meditation. It’s important to take care of your mind and body, and she won’t let you forget that.

Let’s see, slander for Tulip. Normally, she’s a very calm and composed individual, but she’s not perfect. That is to say, there exists a video of her just completely blowing up at someone Christian Bale style. She prefers to ignore its existence.

Rika’s honestly not my type, but I get the appeal, even if she does look like gijinka Perry the Platypus. She’s got that cool edge about her, even when she is wearing her grandma glasses.

She loves to flirt with you. The flustered expression she can force onto your face never fails to make her heart pound in her chest. The way your eyes widen, the way you try to hide your face from her, the way you stammer through your words… all moments she cherishes. She’s not above kabedoning (or whatever the word is) you just to see you squirm. She wants to steal your heart, and will go to any lengths she has to to make you hers.

That being said, I sincerely see Rika as a failwife. She may look sleek and suave on the surface, but behind closed doors? She’s a disaster. She lays in bed at night. tormented by your cute face, as she’s forced to overthink every little interaction she’s ever had with you. It’s like, she’ll think about some interaction you’ve had, thinking she completely embarrassed herself in front of you, that she completely screwed up her chances with you, when in reality you don’t even remember it. Not even the gentle embrace of Clodsire can save her.

Whenever she’s working as the league’s receptionist, she’s thinking about you. It’s not her fault that browsing through your social medias is far more interesting than forwarding emails. Of course, she makes sure to keep them in a separate tab to switch off of them second anyone walks into the room. Just because all of her co-workers, as well as her boss, know that she slacks off doesn’t mean they need to catch her in the act. Battling is a different story, though, as her focus has no room to wander off there.

She’s kinda like a second mom to Poppy. The tot’s far too young to work an actual job, obviously, but she spends a good deal of her day at the league in the off chance that a challenger comes by. Most of the time, she’s sat around, doodling her team and parents and co-workers with crayons on printer paper. Rika spends quite a bit of time watching over her, making sure she’s not getting into too much trouble while praising her artistic talents. Rika makes sure she gets lunch and always sets her down for her afternoon nap and brings her home at the end of the day and whatnot.

That’s all to say, Rika inadvertently built up an attachment to the kid. She never thought she would want to be a mom, and she isn’t even sure if she really wants children of her own, considering being a babysitter isn’t nearly the same thing as being an actual parent, but taking care of Poppy always gets her thinking. For now, at least, she’s content being an aunt. If she ever saw you caring for Poppy, her heart might just explode. You’d simply be too cute, and it would also make her realize that she might have a thing for milfs.

She has a secret love for shitty romcoms. Once you’ve been together for awhile, she’ll invite you over for the night and put one on under the guise that you can make fun of how stupid and predictable it will be, but if you pay attention to her while watching, you’ll notice that the enjoyment she’s getting out of it is far from ironic. No matter how much you may poke or prod or tease, she will never admit it. She just wants you to think she’s cool, is that so much to ask for?

As for her slander, she doesn’t really understand memes. Like, you know the joke about parents always pulling the same face when you show them a meme? That’s Rika, she makes that face almost every time you try to show her something funny. It’s not like she isn’t online, or anything, she just doesn’t understand them.

Geeta, my favorite chairwoman with a voluminous shell of hair. No one knows how she cares for that behemoth, just like how no one knows how a good chunk of the wider pokemon community fail to understand her purpose in the games, but I digress.

As I believe I’ve said before, Geeta is a workaholic. Most of the time she’s tending to her league related duties, which results in little time spent together. When she eventually arrives home, tired but generally satisfied after a long day of work, she kisses you softly as a way to say “hello”, squeezing a bit of quality time in, before shutting herself away in her at-home office to continue working. Unfortunately, it falls to you to tear her away from her work when she’s clearly run herself ragged.

Thankfully, vacations happen pretty often, as she frequently travels to represent the Paldean league. It’s still work, but it gives her a great opportunity to spend time with you. Exploring new regions makes her feel like a kid, like she’s experiencing her journey across Paldea with her Glimmet in tow all over again. It reminds of her simpler days, causing a small, nostalgic smile to find its way onto her face. She encourages you to continue poking around on your own when she has to return to doing work.

Mentioned this in the past as well, but Geeta spoils you endlessly. Gift giving is one of her love languages. She can’t help but think of you when seeing adorable clothes and objects in shop windows and online stores, knowing the delightfully surprised expression you’d make when presented with the sudden gift, even though you should expect these things from her after being with each other for so long. It’s not like she’s struggling financially or anything, so why shouldn’t she?

Also, she loves spa dates. It lets her spend time with, spoil you, and relieve her incredible stress all at once. It’s the perfect date in her mind. Of course, she loves fancy dates, at high end restaurants and stuffy galas held by the league. She enjoys luxurious goods, the expensive, fine wine and food, and she also loves to see you dressed to the nines. But they don’t hold a flame to the love she has for relaxing with you at the end of a long day.

She’s very particular with her things. Like, everything within her office, both at the league and at home, is perfectly organized. The top of the expensive-looking wood is essentially pristine, all her fountain pens and other small knick knacks are kept in holders, and the drawers are full, although not overly so, of neatly filed papers organized alphabetically. She knows where everything is at all times, and can get irritated if someone moves them around. And yes, she has framed photos of you on her desk in both offices.

That being said, certain parts of her home, mostly closets, are messy and borderline overflowing. The closet that her clothes are in is neatly kept to prevent the finely pressed, sleeveless work shirts and blazers from getting wrinkled, but no other closet is safe. They are just full of random objects she doesn’t know what to do with. Normally, she prefers not to acknowledge their existence, simply smiling if you ever brought them up, but if you were to go through and organize them for her, she would marry you on the spot.

She just… she thinks about you a lot. Whenever there’s a slow moment in the day, she’s thinking of you. When she’s moving from point A to point B or transitioning between tasks, she’s thinking of you. When the work place spirals into hectic chaos, she’s thinking of you, because, Arceus help her, if she didn’t think of anything else, she would completely snap and maybe kill someone. Even when still hard at work, thinking about you and what you might be doing at work or home makes her feel at  ease, helping her grapple with her ever-mounting stress.

Geeta slander, okay. Do you know how Mark Zuckerberg owns, like, 30 pairs of the same shirt that, despite looking incredibly simple, are all uber expensive? That’s Geeta, except it’s for her blazers. She has several pairs of them to ensure she always has a clean, ironed one available, which at least makes sense since they have to be dry-cleaned and all, but goddamn she’s put down a small fortune on the things.

Mela, as you would expect, is stubborn and hot-headed. Her reputation as a foul-mouthed delinquent sends most people packing, but if you manage to wiggle your way past her defenses, you’ll end up with an endlessly loyal friend (or girlfriend, in this case) who would move mountains for you.

This girl is incredibly possessive. If you ask her why, she’ll tell you that it’s to ensure that no one tried to mess with you, stopping others from making fun of or coming onto you before they even got the chance. Which is true and all, but she also just doesn’t like the idea of people getting too cozy with you. Simply put, she gets jealous easily. Not that she would ever admit it, as she’d sooner burn through every excuse under the sun before doing so.

She tends to come off rather, uh, strong, to say the least. No matter what she’s doing, she will look intimidating, even with her doofy walk. The day she asked you out, she marched up to you, face as menacing as ever, and just spouted out “go on a date with me!”, leaving no room for opposition (not that you would have said no, of course). It’s not her fault, really, she just has a bad case of resting bitch face. Speaking of your first date, it was kinda awkward, but in an endearing way. More likely than not, you didn’t really know who Mela was outside of her being a member of the team causing chaos for the school, as well as the fact that she was very, very intimidating. Naturally, you were pretty nervous during the date, afraid that saying the wrong thing would result in you being yelled at. Little did you know, Mela was also incredibly nervous, because you were just so pretty and kind and she really didn’t want to blow her chances with you.

Honestly, she doesn’t really have a ton of strong interests. There are things she likes to do, sure, but not enough to call them hobbies. And even then, a lot of them are activities that her friends really love, meaning she only bothers with them when hanging out. She likes these things enough, but most of her enjoyment comes from being with her friends and not the actual thing in question. Whatever you are passionate about, she’ll jump into. As long as you’re having fun, she’s happy.

It isn’t until after Team Star’s downfall that she begins to express her interest in art. She’s always liked drawing and painting and what not, but she never had the opportunity to get into it, mainly because her skills are rudimentary at best. Her only real experience with drawing in recent memory includes poorly doodling in the margins of spiral notebooks and worksheets, which prevented her skills from improving all that much. 

It takes her awhile to break out of her shell and show people her work, as she’s afraid that they would point and laugh at her. Even though she could easily rip someone a new one if they so much as looked at her funny, she’s still afraid of falling into the cycle of bullying she was subjected to before. But she pushes past that fear, knowing that feedback from those that care will only help her improve. She shares more art with you than anyone else, so please be gentle with her. She works so hard on each piece, and is desperate to eat your praise up.

She’s a cuddle bug, one hundred percent. Do not mention that fact, though, because doing so would cause her to explode. She is supposed to be rough and tough, the deep cutting wit of her team that can force even the most self-confident individuals to run away crying. If people knew that she was a little spoon, that she liked to be snuggled as close as possible against her girlfriend behind closed doors, her reputation would be tarnished forever. She doesn’t even want her friends to find out, because she knows they would hold it over her head and tease her forever. And by friends, I mean all of them except for Eri, who would try to stop the others from teasing, an effort that would fail miserably.

Regarding slander, I’d say that Mela owns a ton of those “how to draw anime” books. She was super into them when she was younger, resulting in a lot of embarrassing old drawings. She hates them, but looks back at them sometimes to see how far her artistic abilities have come.

Eri, my beloved. She is peak gentle giant, strong and powerful and an absolute sweetheart by nature. She is your ride or die, willing to do anything she has to in order to keep you safe and happy.

This girl absolutely adores you. She gets drawn in by your natural strength and beauty, leading to her sheepishly introducing herself. Just like Mela, you’d find yourself intimidated by her presence at first, but when you actually get to know her you come to realize how sweet and kind she is. As soon as you’re friends, she would be willing to drop everything for you, and that sentiment only grows stronger when you get together. If you ever need anything, all you need do is ask, and she’ll take care of it, no questions asked.

I kinda implied it with the above, but Eri is actually kinda shy. She really doesn’t like being looked at, finding the stares of others to be intimidating. It was Atticus that came up with the idea of wearing a mask, which helped her feel way more comfortable being around others, despite it drawing in more attention. To be fair though, even if she didn’t wear it, people would still stare due to how tall and muscular she is. Over the years, she’s gotten better, more sociable, but talking to you early into your friendship as well as officially asking you out brought that side of her out again.

She’s a big ol’ teddy bear. She has the physique of a Greek god, and she uses all of those defined muscles to give the most mind-blowing hugs imaginable. With her arms around you, holding you closer than humanly possible, it’s impossible to feel cold or unsafe. She prefers to hold you closely, but has no issue with you sprawling out on top of her or trying to be the big spoon. She just wants to devolve into a tangle of limbs with you, regardless of what position you find yourselves in.

Of course, Eri is super into working out and staying fit. She lifts, she runs, she pumps iron, she does it all, and she loves it. Is she a gym rat? Not quite, but she’s been mistaken for one before. She wouldn’t ask you to join her outright, but she clearly wants you to join in. She’s a bit afraid to ask you directly in the fear that you’ll feel pressured to say yes. If you tag along, to her excitement, she will tone her regular routine down for your sake, not wanting you to feel too sore in the morning.

Also, she’s the type of person to wake up at the crack of dawn. She likes to start the morning off with a brisk jog. It’s her way of waking up instead of caffeine. You can’t stop her from untangling you from her arms upon waking up, no matter how much you may beg and plead for her to stay in bed with for just a little bit longer. She simply cannot be swayed.

She loves horror in concept, but absolutely hates it in practice. She can get pretty excited when sitting down to watch something like a horror movie, but as soon as anything scary happens, she’s out. Not literally, she will sit through the entire thing, but she has to grab a nearby pillow to hide behind when anything remotely scary happens to do so. If you are with her, she will cower behind  you instead, essentially setting you down on her lap  to more easily hide behind your shoulder..

Eri absolutely loves cute things. As evidenced by her princess-esque outfit and use of heal balls. That being said, Eri also thinks everything is cute. There’s the obvious, typical cute things she loves, like stuffed animals and frills and anything draped in pink or purple, but she also believes that her team of pokemon are cute, which, need I remind you, contains a beast that evolves by getting so furious that it fucking dies. Everything is cute in her world, and she will use everything in her power to keep that cuteness safe. The strong must protect the sweet and whatnot.

Slander? Well, I’d say that Eri accidentally breaks things regularly due to how strong she is, but everytime it happens she cries about it. She just feels so bad about it, even if everyone around her tells her that it’s fine because it was an accident.

Miriam is such a mess, but she’s trying her best. She’s kinda like Rika, in the sense that she has a failwife-esque energy about her. She melts under your attention, but that doesn’t stop her from blabbing about you to anyone who will listen.

Poor Miriam is tired and disappointed with her place in life, and it shows sometimes. All she wanted to be was a teacher, but she got shafted into the position of school nurse. Given, it was more or less her fault, considering that she was the one that failed the test. Truth be told, she didn’t study as much as she probably should have for the exam, but that doesn’t dull the sting of failure. She puts on the face of a school nurse during work hours regardless of her dissatisfaction, although doing so can get a bit awkward when faced with the academy’s older students.

That being said, when she finds her spark and decides to attempt the test again, she’s all into studying. If you were to help her out during this time, bringing her food and tea and encouraging her to take breaks to clear her mind, it would be much appreciated. Sure, she always tells others to take care of themselves, but that doesn’t mean that she’s good at it herself. Plus, your encouragement helps her keep going when she wants to throw in the towel. When she eventually passes the test, she’s gonna take you out on the best damn date the world has ever seen as thanks.

Regardless of where she’s at in life, she will come home and collapse on the couch, waiting for you to join her so she can blab about her day. When she’s working as a nurse, she’s bored and dissatisfied, wishing for more out of her work day. When she’s studying to become a teacher, she’s tired and mentally done with things, knowing that she will eventually have to go back to studying till her brain is fried even though she just got home from work. Comfort her please, she’s desperate.

Let it be known that she can fall fast, and she can absolutely fall hard. It doesn’t take much for her to take interest in someone, for her to flirt with you on a casual basis, but when she begins to form a crush, it’s the end for her. She’s tripping over herself whenever you’re around, and blushing up a storm whenever you’re on her mind. Everyone around her knows she has a crush the instant it forms, you included. She can see that her feelings are obvious, so she makes no real attempt to hide them from you. However, she won’t act on them, because she wants you to make the first move.

Once you do start dating, she talks about you constantly. Should anything come up that reminds her of you, even if just by the slightest bit, she’ll bring it up. Some of her coworkers find it endearing, and others can’t stand it (cough Raifort cough). Not that she notices, though, because she’s too busy talking about you to take their reactions into consideration. She’s also the type of person to refer to you as her wife even when you’re just dating.

She’s another cheerleader, but is more out there than the likes of Katy. She doesn’t just want you to know that she’s supporting you, she wants everyone around to know she’s got your back, because have you seen her wife? She’s absolutely killing it, look at how cool she is. Miriam is just incredibly supportive and wants to repay you for all the support you’ve given her, ready to hype you up as much as possible at a moment's notice. Of course, she’ll also force you to sit back and take care of yourself if she thinks you're in desperate need of a break.

Slander? Well, when she’s drunk, she turns into a basic bitch. She’ll move until she’s sitting right next to you, almost tripping several times in the process, so she can lean in close. She’ll run her fingers up and down your arm, her touch incredibly clumsy and sluggish, saying things like “you are SO funny” while laughing and kicking her feet after you say literally anything.

Dendra is also kind of a mess, but for a different reason. Because she’s a huge fitness nut and, essentially, a PE teacher, she often gets injured, making her more of a physical mess than a mental one.

She’s super energetic, always pumped up and ready for action. She could be coming back from a workout, exhausted as hell, but will instantly perk up and go in for round two if someone asked her to join them. It’s like she has an infinite fount of energy, because how else could she always be so active? She doesn’t sleep more than the average person or anything, neither does she bother with caffeine. 

Unlike Eri, I would absolutely call Dendra a gym rat. She’s all about the grind. Working out is her favorite hobby, her happy place. On top of that, she’s extremely welcoming to anyone trying to get into fitness, wanting to help them find what works best for them. Also unlike Eri, she’s much more open about wanting you to join her workout sessions, to the point that she’s willing to beg.

You can always tell when she’s gotten injured by the way she greets you after work. Normally, she’ll rush through your home to find wherever you are, nearly tackling you into a hug. It’s been a long day and she missed you. But when she’s been injured, she sheepishly walks through the door, careful to avoid walking into the room you are in fully to try and hide the bandages from your line of sight. 

In general, she’s just a really bad liar, and she lowers her head, like a child waiting to be scolded, when found out. She doesn’t like hiding things, especially from you, but she doesn’t want you to worry, either. Injury happens all the time in her line of work, making it something she’s grown accustomed to as well as expect. As such, she doesn’t want you worrying about each and every one of her scabs and bruises, even if she does like the way you dote on her.

She really likes to show her love for you. It’s not that she thinks you don’t know how much she cares for you, she just likes asserting it. Obviously, she does this through spending time with you, and being affectionate with you, and saying “I love you”, but she also likes to give you little gifts here and there. This obviously isn’t a problem, much less weird for a girlfriend to do. Rather, the issue is that food is included in that, and she’s an awful chef. She knows this, and tries to improve, but it’s still not great. Eat with caution.

Loves to talk about you to her friends. She doesn’t talk about you constantly, but it’s not uncommon for you to be brought up in conversation with the likes of Tulip and Miriam. Usually, it’s just in passing, but sometimes it’s about how she wants to do more for you, show her love in different ways. Tulip suggests getting dressed up and going out somewhere nice, but that isn’t really her style, and Miriam tries to help her improve her cooking skills, but the lessons never really go anywhere. Still, she values their support and advice, regardless of their effectiveness.

Like both of her friends, Dendra is big on taking care of yourself. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep your body happy and healthy, but it’s all worth it, because it will only result in you feeling better, and when you’re feeling better, it’s easier to uplift others. She greatly encourages you to start some kind of daily routine if you don’t already have one, and she will hold you to it.

In terms of slander, I’d say that she’s the type of person to easily forget dates. She’s got your birthday on lock, but that’s it. Expect her to show up to anniversaries and Valentines dates late with a bouquet of flowers she purchased on her way over.

Raifort, last but not least, is cryptic. I wouldn’t call her gothic, but she really reminds me of that one post about a goth being like “my love I crochet an anatomically correct heart for you” and her girlfriend responding with “aw thanks do u wanna go to target with me?” and I will not elaborate.

She’s got this veil of mystery about her, but that’s not intentional. She isn’t trying to make herself seem mysterious and cool, she just doesn’t like it when  people are all up in her business. Yes, she’s looking for the Treasures of Ruin. Yes, she knows that they’re dangerous and could cause incredible amounts of chaos to fall upon the region at large. No, she won’t tell you why she wants them. If she wanted you to know, she would’ve told you already.

She will blab to you constantly about history and legendaries. When she’s not teaching or planning lessons, she’s reading up about these kinds of things, trying to absorb as much information as possible. According to her, most people aren’t cultured enough to understand the incredible importance and allure of historical records, meaning you are one of the few people who will seriously listen to her sudden info dumps.

Along with that, she furiously rants about how much she hates present day events being, well, present. For instance, she’ll complain about the understanding and utilization of the terastallization phenomenon because it happened in recent history. To her, the present just isn’t all that interesting, especially when compared to the vast richness of the past, making her lose interest in otherwise exciting events.

As much as I hate this word, she has a ton of unintentional rizz. If we’re being honest, your relationship only came to be because you decided she was the one for you after she talked about history for an hour straight in your general direction. She put in no effort into catching your attention, but she managed to do that anyways. She agrees to give dating a shot because you seemed to value the past, as evidenced by you listening to her spiel, and that’s reason enough for her to give you the time of day. 

She isn’t a morning person, not in the slightest, which is obviously a conflict of interest due her being a school teacher. Her job requires her to get up and be at work in the early morning hours, resulting in her needing a lot of caffeine in order to stay awake, much less function properly. Because she’s so tired, she puts little effort into getting ready, hence why her hair is always messily tied up. She does, however, use care when putting on her favorite accessories.

Honestly? She’s a lowkey boomer at times. The internet is a wonderful invention that allows people to quickly gather information they otherwise might not have access to, and she recognizes that, but that doesn’t make her like it. She complains about kids these days relying on it too much to write their papers rather than going to the library and reading books, and about how they are always on their phones during class. She’s not anti-technology or anything, but that won’t stop her from saying shit like “it’s cause you’re always on that damn phone” when someone around, teacher or student, faces a problem.

It’s for that reason that she doesn’t text or call you all that often. She’d much rather come talk to you in person than use her phone if possible. If she can’t find you, she’ll text to ask where you are or when you’ll be available instead of just texting you what she wants to say. Her excitement for historical developments simply cannot be conveyed through modern technology.

Okay, slander (even though the above could already be considered slander whoopsie). Despite her hatred for the modern time period, she’s secretly a collector of Rae Dunn pottery. You know, the type of shit that’s, like, a coffee cup that says the word “coffee” on it in the most basic font imaginable? She loves that shit so much, and has spent an unreasonable amount of money to achieve her collection. No, she doesn’t have a problem, stop trying to insulate otherwise.

[camels-pen]

warning: eating disorders/food issues

-

"Something wrong with it?"

Usopp startled and snapped his head to the side. His nose jabbed Sanji's eye and they both hissed. Usopp jerked away to rub the tip of his nose.

"Fuck, I forgot about that," Sanji grumbled. There was a contrasting, fond smile on his face as rubbed his eye. "Anyway, the food?"

"What about it?"

"What's wrong with it?"

Usopp turned his gaze back to his plate. Plenty of pork chops piled high- at Luffy's request for a meat-filled dinner- and mashed potatoes with green beans on the side. His mouth salivated again just staring at it.

"Nothing," he said. "Just taking my time."

He could feel Sanji's unimpressed stare. "You've been 'taking your time' through the whole dinner. Everyone's already finished and left. The moss ball even finished the dishes, and we both know how he likes to dawdle."

Despite himself, Usopp giggled quietly. When it was his turn to do dishes, Zoro always took his time, waiting for Sanji to get frustrated with his speed and leave him to finish it alone. It was the perfect strategy to steal booze when Sanji wasn't looking, but it seemed Usopp had unknowingly thwarted his first sake stealing attempt after their reunion.

As if reading his mind, Sanji said, "I let him steal that alcohol, you know. I'm not that stupid." He huffed, voice sounding like he was pouting as he added, "It's the only damn way I can keep an eye on his shitty drinking habits. He'd constantly drink us dry otherwise, that damn mossheaded bastard."

Usopp giggled again and made the mistake of glancing up at him. Sanji was staring across the room at the kitchen, probably the place he'd put all the good booze. He'd confided in Usopp, once, that he had two hiding places for drinking alcohol: one, more obvious place, by the fridge for the cheap stuff, and another, hidden somewhere he wouldn't say, for all the more expensive and high quality stuff. He'd confidently crowed, on more than one occasion, that despite the cheap stuff always going missing, he'd never lost a drop of anything else. He always looked so smug saying that, and well, Usopp now knew why.

But then his eye- the left one now, and despite looking right at it, the change had still caught him off guard more than once- turned to Usopp and Usopp clammed up. Sanji stared at him, his eyebrow- this one curled on the opposite side, closer to his nose bridge than his ear- raised high on his forehead. "If you're well enough to laugh at Zoro, it can't be that bad."

Usopp gulped. Looked away. "I'm not sick," he said quietly. "The food looks great, Sanji, really. Eating is just..." He trailed off. Neither of them spoke for a long moment, only the sounds of their distant crewmates enjoying the sight of their descent to the ocean's floor filling the galley.

Sanji's arm slowly, hesitantly, laid on the back of his chair- Sanji didn't used to hesitate, but, he supposed, things had changed. He settled himself in the chair next to Usopp, rather than continue to lean over him, and said softly, "Eating is just...?"

Usopp stared at the grain on the table, studying the lines and deviations with an intense and sudden fascination.

"Usopp."

"It's hard," he mumbled.

Another silence, this one less expecting and more confused. Awkward.

"You ate fine at breakfast...?" Sanji said, voice lilting up at the end, almost in question.

Usopp snorted. 'Ate fine' was a kinder way of putting it. Usopp had demolished breakfast, nearly rivaling Luffy with how much and how quickly he ate. The usual sense of desperation had dimmed slightly, now that he was with his crew, but it was still there, dictating his eating habits. He would've felt more ashamed if he hadn't seen Luffy, Franky, and Brook eating in the exact same disgusting manner. Instead, he felt right at home.

He had wondered, privately, if something similar had happened to them. Had tossed around the idea of asking them about it. Then he would think back to how they used to eat, before. How it was exactly the same. How they had all basically cried that they'd so dearly missed Sanji's cooking. He couldn't blame them, he nearly sobbed over Sanji's pancakes- and then did sob over his hashbrowns.

"The island got hungry at dawn," he started. Stopped. Stared at the little vase of daisies at the centre of the table that Robin had gathered from her garden- now shared with Usopp. "It would close up. Then open. After, everything was... safe. For a little while."

He gulped again, cringing at his dry throat. He stared at the glass of water, a little wet stain under it. Luffy had bumped his glass earlier when he stole a few chops off of Usopp's pile.

Usopp didn't reach for it.

"You know, I was expecting grand stories of your heroics when you finally talked about where you were." Usopp shrunk in his seat. "No- no, come on I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to make a joke."

"You should leave the jokes to the experts." Usopp's lip quirked. "Even Brook's better than you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sanji scowled. "Brook wouldn't know a good joke if it kicked him upside the head."

Usopp giggled again, relaxing. "Admit it, you missed his skull jokes."

Sanji huffed. "...Maybe a little."

In the background, they could hear Zoro talking about taking a swim followed by a familiar thud and Nami yelling at him. They both giggled this time, leaning into each other.

"God, I missed everyone. I missed-" Sanji cut himself off and Usopp turned to look at him. There was a wobble to his lips and his visible eye stared intently at him. Usopp would almost say Sanji looked longing- yearning, even- if he didn't know better.

"I know," he said. "I missed everyone too." Sanji's eyes pinched a little at the corners, but Usopp didn't know why. He didn't linger on it long though, what with Sanji's smile as he pressed his temple to Usopp's for a moment. Usopp's heart would've beat wildly two years ago, but now all he felt was warm and content.

Sanji hummed in agreement and pulled away. Patting his pockets, likely for a cigarette. Usopp pulled the one tucked behind his ear, admiring the feel of soft blond hair a moment too long before handing it to him. Sanji chuckled and accepted it with a quiet thanks.

He lit it and sat back in his chair, relaxing with the first inhale. "Back to the important stuff." Usopp would argue all of that was important stuff. "You only felt safe to eat breakfast?"

Usopp shook his head. Then tilted it side to side. "No- well, sort of. It was never really safe, but..." He rolled the words around his mouth, feeling out the right ones while discarding others. "It was... easier. To eat a lot in the morning. Gather food later in the day. Then sleep when I got hungry closer to sunset."

Sanji blew out a puff of smoke. "You didn't have anyone to watch your back while you were eating?"

"I did." Usopp nodded, a sense of pride filling him as he puffed out his chest. "Heracles'n was a great friend and teacher! We took turns watching out for each other and, well, he's the reason I survived that island in the first place." He flexed one of his biceps. "He also helped me get a whole lot stronger!"

Sanji pursed his lips around his cigarette. "But you didn't eat dinner. Or lunch." Today nor in nearly two years, though Sanji likely meant the latter.

Usopp deflated, arm settling back down in his lap. "We couldn't stop moving until sunset. By then it was better to sleep and eat heap loads in the morning rather than risk dinner and not getting enough rest." He sighed. "Heracles'n was always telling me to eat more berries and fruit throughout the day, but..."

Sanji stared at him. "You had this-island-is-too-scary-so-I-can't-eat-anything-itis?"

Usopp scowled. "I'd like to see you keep up an appetite when you're constantly running and hiding from giant-"

Sanji used his arm to tug Usopp closer, so their sides were pressed together. He pressed his nose to Usopp's hair. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"What for?" Usopp whispered back.

Sanji didn't answer, his breaths warming Usopp's head. The galley had grown silent when he finally spoke, the others having found quieter activities or retired to their rooms.

"If I was stronger then- or quicker-"

"Sanji," Usopp said. "There's no way you would've been able to beat Kuma, back then."

Sanji shook his head. "I know, but maybe we could've been sent somewhere together."

There was a bittersweet, choking feeling in the back of Usopp's throat. A burning in his eyes. "You wouldn't have liked it there," he said, laying his head on Sanji's shoulder. "You would've hated it, actually."

"But I would've been with you."

Usopp laughed, the sound wet and brittle. "I wouldn't wish that island on anyone, Sanji, but least of all you. I'm not worth-"

A hand cupped his face, cutting him off as he was turned to face Sanji. His nose was bent, pressing against Sanji's cheek. "You worth a lot, Usopp. You're worth it to-" Sanji's cheeks dusted pink all of a sudden and he looked away. "You're worth a lot. And it would've been nice if I could have watched your back. Made sure you were eating well."

At a loss for words, Usopp turned back to the table, staring at his plate. The mashed potatoes were surely cold and hard by now and he was fairly certain a thick pork chop wouldn't stay down.

The green beans, maybe. Those could work.

He picked one up. His stomach rumbled. He lifted it to his mouth.

His hands shook.

He gulped again. Stared at his hand intensely.

Sanji's hand covered his own. A sudden, terrible spike of anxiety overwhelmed him and he held his breath, hoping Sanji wasn't going to just force him to eat it. He hated wasting food after all and it was already in Usopp's hand and Usopp himself just needed to quit cowering and just eat it already-

Sanji pulled his hand away from his mouth. The tension left Usopp in a rush. Shame took up where anxiety had left, but he forced himself to meet Sanji's eye. He knew what came next.

Before Sanji could say anything, Usopp blurted, "There was food. On the island. Not just fruits and berries and whatever game we could hunt. Pre-cooked food, I mean." Sanji's brow furrowed, but Usopp continued on. "There were these plants- and rivers- that had cake and burgers and ramen and- well, you get the idea. And the closer you got to the centre of the island, the more tasty the food got." He gulped. Coughed a little. Sanji reached for his glass, but Usopp grabbed his wrist in a tight hold. If he didn't get it all out now, he never would.

"I didn't meet Heracles'n immediately. I was on my own at first and- and I didn't completely trust him at first either." He laughed, the sound as self-deprecating as it felt. "The centre of the island, that's where its mouth is."

Sanji's eyebrow furrowed further. "So when you said the island 'got hungry'..."

Usopp nodded. "It was a trap to lure in prey." Quietly, he added, "Like me."

Sanji gasped, his eyes darting down, and wow, Usopp really should've re-thought the whole 'show off his new muscles by going shirtless' plan. He pulled away from Sanji, and pulled up the waist of his pants. "Staring at my stretch marks isn't going to change anything, y'know."

Sheepishly, Sanji said, "Sorry- sorry, I should know better." He held out his arms, with a sad little pout. "Come back?"

Usopp held out for a few moments, glaring at him, but he sighed and eventually gave in. "I hate you," he mumbled into Sanji's shoulder. Sanji patted his back in response.

The two of them sat there in silence once more. Usopp savoured the contact between them, like he had always dreamed of on Boin.

"You had to train yourself to avoid delicious looking foods, then," Sanji said quietly. Usopp nodded. "That makes sense. But then, breakfast?"

A new wave of shame, far heavier than the last. He dug his forehead into Sanji's shoulder. "I don't want to talk about it."

He didn't know how to explain how he had become some kind of wild animal during meals and he didn't want to explain. Heracles'n was already one person too many and earlier, the entire crew had seen him. His heart beat hard and fast in his chest at the reminder, a belated rush of fear to make up for his single minded focus at breakfast.

"Then I won't ask," Sanji said. "You should tell Chopper though-"

Usopp grimaced. "Eventually, but..."

Sanji sighed, pressing his cheek to Usopp's hair. "Okay, but can I make you something? Just a snack or tea or...?"

Usopp huffed. "Sanji-"

"I know, I know! But letting you go to bed hungry is..."

"Hard," Usopp finished for him, pulling away. "I know."

He wasn't going anywhere before Sanji fed him, of that he was sure, but it made Usopp's stomach queasy just thinking about all the snacks Sanji used to make before they were separated.

Some of it must have shown on his face too, since Sanji was already holding up his hands and starting to look even more concerned. "It doesn't have to be anything special. I could just peel a tangerine for you or slice up some apples or juice some pears- I mean oranges! Why would anyone juice pears- oh, hm, I should check that sometime; remind me to write it down. Oh and maybe I could steep a really bitter tea, so you don't have to worry about drinking too much because I know you hate bitter things-"

And Usopp couldn't help himself. He laughed.

Sanji deflated, his brow furrowed in confusion, or maybe it was concern. Usopp didn't know, he was too busy laughing at the absurdity of Sanji being so anxious and speaking every rambling thought. It was adorable and Usopp couldn't help but reach up and squish Sanji's cheeks.

"I lo-" Sanji's eye widened and suddenly, Usopp didn't feel brave enough. "Lost my notebook. We'll have to use one of yours."

"O-Oh, yeah, sure." Sanji nodded, voice slightly muffled by his squished cheeks. He stared at Usopp, his eye asking another question.

Usopp looked away, his eyes landing on the fruit bowl on the bar counter. There were apples, bananas, and pears. He pulled his hands away. "...Nami will be mad at you." he said quietly, weakly.

Sanji sighed, a shaky, relieved little thing. He wrapped his arms around Usopp's middle, crushing him to his chest. "I think she'll forgive me," he said.

Boldly, Usopp added, "What if you made coffee?" The only coffee in the pantry was a fancy jar brought along from a Revolutionary base near a village that prided themselves on their harvest.

Sanji chuckled. "Robin would forgive me too."

Usopp hummed. "You seem awfully confident."

"I am," he said, pulling away completely, his chair squeaking against the floorboards as he stood. Sanji held out a hand, a smile on his lips. "If you don't believe me, let me show you."

And right here, Usopp could've chosen to laugh it off. Said something about not wanting to face Nami's wrath, much less Robin's. Fled the galley completely with an excuse or three and sleep in his workshop while ignoring any and all feelings of guilt. It would've been easy.

But he'd already accepted it. Acknowledged the inevitable consequences instead of turning down those anxious suggestions. How could he do anything else, in the face of such genuine care and concern? To leave now would just hurt them both and the last thing Usopp wanted to do was hurt Sanji.

And, well, he trusted Sanji, to do what he couldn't. Planned to trust him with his heart, at some point.

Trusting him with his stomach, in comparison, was as easy as breathing.

So, Usopp placed a steady hand in Sanji's own, a small, teasing smile on his face, and said, "Lead the way."

[puppygirlgirldick]

for the purposes of reading porn, i am now considering myself a trans girl who somehow has a cervix and a womb. if people can't be arsed to write smut without referencing wombs and cervixes and making specific note of somebody having both a vagina and an asshole or write shit like "all three holes" then i am just gonna get high enough to forget that i ain't got that kinda equipment.

[wispscribbles]

So far, I have written 7000 words for “No Rest for the Wicked” chapter 14, and it’s only a little over halfway into the plot I’ve planned. It would appear that I underestimated the amount of story in my story

[johnslittlespoon]

Last Line Tag

thank u @c-goldthorn and @onyxsboxes for the tags!! gonna do two from separate sections for two tags :-)

John used to sit like this all the time as a kid after getting reprimanded, letting the night air soothe flushed cheeks and red–hot tear streaks, watching the birds fly overhead, crossing his fingers on both hands and wishing under his breath for his own set of wings.

♡

John gets it, really– if the roles were swapped and he had full access to Gale in the dark on a couch, he’s fairly certain he’d make what Ken and Curt are up to look like a formal handshake.

tagging @air-exec, @hauntingcontradiction, @alienoresimagines, @counting0nit, @eternallytired17, whoever else wants to! <3

[icewindandboringhorror]

Apparently I can meet my goal of roughly 400,000 words in 6 months if I just somehow write at least 2,200 words a day ghbjh... Almost 2,500 today... huzzah...

[fiepige]

Hobie Brown variant OC:

I finally decided to make Symbiote!Hobie (nicknamed SH by Hobie, which over time turned into Sage) his own thing, cause I've made so many changes to him that I've decided he's just gonna be another version of Hobie from another dimension.

I basically came up with him when thinking about what it would take for Hobie to truly bond with a symbiote and this is what I came up with.

While he's technically Hobie too I'm gonna refer to him as Sage in this post to avoid confusion <3

Gonna start with his appearance and then move on to his origins and how he got involved with the Spider-Society:

Disclaimer: I cannot draw so I haven't even attempted at drawing his face cause I know I'd never be able to draw him in a way I'd like- So I did the next best thing:

(He has a normal face I just tried to find a way for me to draw him without drawing his face lol)

Pictured above is Sage and his symbiote K.A.T (and their symbiote form- yeah it's the same as Venom!Hobie cause I like the design lol)

He looks like Hobie but younger- he's around 11 when he's bitten by the spider and fused with K.A.T - he's around 12 when he gets introduced to the Spider-Society

He's got short hair as it was completely shaved off when he got caught by Oscorp - more about this under his origins - he wants to let it grow out after meeting Hobie and being inspired by his approach to his looks (he really looks up to Hobie but don't tell anyone I said that!)

His left iris is white as a result of the symbiote DNA being fused to him. He can make it match his right eye if he concentrates but only really bothers to do so if he feels it draws too much attention

After meeting Hobie he helps Sage get a few piercings of his own

He usually wears a hoodie and/or a mask to hide his face - he's super paranoid and does his best to hide himself from others

Never goes anywhere without his noice cancelling earmuffs - he's got enhanced senses due to his spider powers but they can be a bit of a nuisance since he's also sensitive to loud noises due to his symbiote...

He also usually wears sunglasses to shield himself from sensory overload as he was subjected to it a lot as part of the experiments he was put through at Oscorp - and thus getting his senses overstimulated can result in panic attacks, so he does what he can to avoid it + it hides his eyes as well

K.A.T (Killing Authority-opposing Targets) is Sage's symbiote

It usually stays hidden unless they're alone or around people they trust/already knows about its presence.

If it does show itself it'll usually stay on Sage's shoulder or sit in his lap, it's still tethered to him so it can't go that far without him - not that it really wants to anyways

The reason K.A.T takes this form is that Sage is a cat person and it used it as a method to make him like it more when they first "met" + petting it helped Sage calm down and still does

K.A.T is still made of the same goo as regular symbiotes so it does not feel like petting a cat at all- Sage doesn't mind but most other people get suprised when they first touch it

If it likes someone it'll rub itself against their legs and mimic purring noises - if it dislikes someone it'll hiss and arch its back at them

K.A.T is a more animalistic symbiote and mainly communicates with Sage by letting him feel its emotions instead of speaking to him

To avoid making the post even longer than it's already gonna be I'll link to this post where I go into more detail about the design of thier Symbiote form instead of describing it here too ^^'.

This was originally supposed to be a short summary but I've realised I'm incapable of making short posts when it comes to stuff like this:

Origin:

Sage is a younger version of Hobie Brown. (11 years old when bitten by the spider and fused with his symbiote)

Sage and K.A.T "met" at one of Oscorp's labs

He was living as a homeless kid (having escaped an abusive household a few months prior)

He was bitten by a radioactive spider while looking for a place to spend the night.

He got very sick from the bite and was easily captured by Oscorp goons looking for new test subjects in the streets

Despite his young age Sage is a more ruthless Hobie variant, in part due to his upbringing and due to his symbiote (and the trauma they both go through at the hands of Oscorp)

K.A.T was a new kind of experimental symbiote that was set to be terminated due to it killing all its previous hosts - Sage was their last attempt at fusing it with someone

They decide to fuse it with Sage as he was deemed indisposable due to him seeming more dead than alive - suffering from the venom of spider bite at the time - and thus it wouldn't be a problem if the symbiote killed him too

Since the spider bite was still changing his DNA as he got fused with K.A.T some of its DNA got fused with him as well as a "side effect" during the process

Due to this it's incredibly hard (if not impossible) to seperate the symbiote from Sage without severely hurting them both

His body develops organic web shooters when it fuses with K.A.T - the webs are black and can be shot from either of his 4 arms when in his symbiote form (they can also be shot regularly while in his human form)

Sage develops enhanced senses and a taste for human flesh after being fused with K.A.T - he also has enhanced senses from the spider bite - making it easy to overstimulate his senses and overwhelm him before he learns to get it more under control

Since Sage's gotten powers from both the spider bite and the symbiote they quickly become the subjects for many inhumane and painful experiments as the scientists futilely try to figure out how to replicate the symbiote (as they're unaware of the spider bite, thinking the symbiote alone is behind Sage's new powers)

The main scientist behind the experiments is this dimension's version of Peter Parker!

Sage eventually manages to escape the lab during one of their many tests- killing as many guards and scientists on his way out as possible - and eating some of them as well

As a result of their treatment at the lab + his past with his abusive foster family, both Sage and K.A.T have developed a deep distrust to other people - at this point they both consider the other their only friend

Sage goes back to living as a homeless kid, avoiding people as best as he can, but he's also got an insatiable taste for human flesh as well!

He will usually target anyone associated with Oscorp when he's hungry (if none are available cops are the next best thing- his dimension is just as corrupt as -138 Hobie's dimension)

He doesn't feel bad about killing but will still try not to harm civilians (emphasis on try- sometimes the hunger gets the best of him)

Due to his senses being extra sensitive + his paranoia from his experiences at the lab and his foster homes, he tries to avoid crowded and noisy places - This all leads to him being more active at night while he usually tries to lay low and hide during the day.

He lived like this for months until a certain event changed that:

First encounter with the Spider-Society

Sage's dimension is blacklisted meaning people from the Spider-Society aren't allowed to go there (cause a spider-person who's embracing their symbiote instead of resisting it is deemed unsafe by Miguel and thus best to be avoided)

Sage does still get introduced to the spider-society albeit through a rather unconventional way:

- One day a portal opens up and pulls Sage through it, sending him to another dimension as an anomaly

Having no idea about what's going on, and being scared and confused about the whole situation, he does his best to lay low and avoid other people.

Because of this he spends a lot of time in the other dimension before the society discovers signs of an anormaly - glitched objects like seen when Kingpen uses the collider in itsv, or the museum that the Vulture appears in in atsv

Sage eventually has his first run in with other spider people when his hunger gets the best of him and he becomes more careless as he turns into his symbiote form to go look for prey

Here he encounters Gwen and Peter B as they're looking for the anomaly causing things to glitch out in the dimension

Not knowing he's a spider person and an actual child, Peter and Gwen attack him as they always do with anomalies - it also doesn't help that Sage doesn't exactly look friendly when in his symbiote form.

He fights back cause these masked people attacked him for no reason so they must be bad guys and of course he's gonna defend himself - it also doesn't help that he's starving and thus not thinking clearly at this point.

Unfortunately for him, these guys have high frequency equipment to deal with symbiotes and thus they manage to subdue him, but not before he manages to fight back, revealing his organic webbing which tips Gwen and Peter off to him having spider powers as well

He's subdued and forced into an electric cage (which brings back a lot of unpleasant memories from his time at Oscorp) and sent to the Spider-Society afterwards

When he arrives at the Society he quickly gets overstimulated and has a panic attack and lashes out in a desperate attempt at escaping his electric cage - also seeing the face of the scientist who tortured him for months everywhere certainly didn't help

Gwen then uses a high-frequency device made to combat symbiotes to force him to revert back to his human form

She immediately recognises him as a young version of -138 Hobie

Her and Peter both panic cause 1. They realise they basically beat up a kid and locked him up. 2. That kid has a symbiote! 3. That kid is a younger version of another spider-person they both know (and who they both know has a very long and strained history with symbiotes!)

Miguel gets involved and a discussion begins about whether they should try and seperate Hobie (Sage) and his symbiote

- The other spiders mean well by this but Sage and K.A.T both panic at the thought of being separated - at this point they really view the other as their only friend as it's been them against the world ever since they fused

Sage, still panicking, tries to protest but they won't listen as they view him as a kid who doesn't know what's best for him

Sage is taken to the room with all the villains while they discuss what to do with him

Here Margo sees Sage and K.A.T comforting each other, K.A.T manifesting physically in Sage's lap, being hugged tightly by Sage as he promises it he'll never let anyone separate them

Seeing this, Margo takes pity on them and 'accidentally' sends them home before the other spiders get a chance to try and remove K.A.T from Sage.

Relationships with other spider-people

Some time later Sage has an encounter with Hobie who found out about the whole mess - despite Miguel ordering Gwen and Peter not to tell him

While Hobie isn't exactly a fan of symbiotes he first and foremost sees Sage as a traumatised homeless kid in need of safety and stability

Hobie offers Sage to stay at his boat whenever he wants (as long as he promises not to eat anyone while he's there), he also gives him one of his bootleg watches so he can come and go as he pleases (and explains that he can also use it to get home to his own dimension if he's ever unwillingly sent to another dimension again)

Sage declines at first but over time he slowly opens up to Hobie and begins to trust him

(He also secretly looks up to Hobie once he trusts him, cause who doesn't? He's an older version of himself who's got a place to call his home, one that he opens up to strangers in need such as himself, he uses his powers for good and not just to survive. He's not afraid to be who he is and draw attention to himself - something Sage has been too afraid to do ever since his time at Oscorp. He's got friends and people he trusts. - all things that Sage wants too but doesn't believe he'll ever have) Also he'll never admit that he looks up to Hobie but he can tell anyways

Hobie's the one that gives Sage his nickname, it started as SH but over time it turned into Sage instead, though he doen't mind being called Hobie as well, it's just easier to go by Sage when both he and Hobie are present.

He still doesn't trust people, especially not the Spider-Society after their first meeting, which made it very awkward when Gwen showed up to visit Hobie while Sage was there - luckily Hobie managed to interfere before they beat each other up too much...

(He trusts Margo a bit as well since she 'saved' him from the Spider-Society - also it's nice to be around someone who doesn't smell like food since she's an avatar and not made of flesh and blood)

He currently lives at Hobie's boat, switching between it and his own dimension as he pleases

Hobie did his best to hide it but he was rather freaked out by K.A.T's presence in the beginning, he did his best to supress it cause he genuinely wants to help Sage

Hobie mentors him in how to use his Spider Powers and tries to give him a moral compass to at least prevent him from eating civilians when he gets too hungry - He usually targets cops or people working for Oscorp but the hungrier he gets the less picky he is

Another reason Hobie took him in is because he knows ostracising someone won't make them a better person and while Hobie doesn't believe in deciding what's best for others he still knows life will be a bit easier for Sage if he doesn't just kill whoever he wants whenever he wants - impulse control is important when you have a cannibalistic symbiote in your body.

- Hobie still dislikes symbiotes but he respects Sage's choice to keep his and does his best to help him control some of the more violent urges that come with a symbiote.

Hobie introduces Sage to his punk ideologies and slowly introduces him to the punk community

Hobie also introduces him to some of his friends but it's a slow process due to Sage having a hard time trusting people - especially spider-people after his Spider-Society encounter

Some of the spider-people also have a hard time opening up to him because of his symbiote

But Hobie's good at making a safe space for Sage to feel like he can slowly start to open up to others

For the first time in years Sage feels like he has someone (besides K.A.T) he can trust and over time he starts to view Hobie as his older brother

And that's that folks! (at least for now)

To the one person who actually bothered to read all of this - know that I'm infinitely grateful that you took your time to read about my boy <3

- I initially tried to keep this short but I gave up cause Sage has been living rent free in my head for weeks and it feels so nice to finally flesh him out and write about him!

You know I couldn't resist making my first oc angsty - but at least he ends up doing better than where he started.

Hopefully you guys like him too! If you have any questions please let me know, I could talk about him forever <3

[katabay]

an Athos sketch from twitter :) I almost never post anything to twitter before I post it here, but it was also 2am when I did that, and 2am is not the hour for thinking. anyway! Athos!!! I Love Him.

society6 | twitter (cohost) | ko-fi | deviantart

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 3: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

The winning option of yesterday's poll was that the adventurer should throw a coin into the mysterious well ….

"After nearly ten minutes rummaging through the disorganization at the bottom of his backpack, he finally approaches the well once again, meager coin pouch in hand. He meticulously balances a little golden coin on the tip of his thumb, positioning it just so for an elegant coin flip… With a flick of his hand, the coin wobbles off, anticlimactically dropping into the darkness.. He pouts, leaning in to listen for a plonk as the coin hits the water but… nothing…. silence.. A few minutes pass and he shrugs, moving to pick up his bag and just continue his journey elsewhere, when suddenly a faint noise echoes from the well.. an almost cartoonish plopping sound, like wet feet slapping against stone..? The pitter patter grows closer and closer…then stops abruptly. The adventurer cautiously slinks over to the well, only to find.. a creature of some sort, clinging to the walls, staring up at him blankly. - What should he do next?"

[transfemzedaph]

mezelean king joel but when hes younger and not yet king and he spends his days exploring in the woods and painting and drawing all the beautiful nature

one day he sees a wolf off in the distance as hes walking and he watches it - it didnt see him

he sees this same wolf a few more times and each time he studies it more, trying to remember every detail so he can be able to draw it

hes out in the forest in a small clearing, one of the sunnier places in the whole woods, drawing this wolf over and over, frustrated with how he can never quite get it right, he thinks its the eyes, every time he draws the eyes, they look wrong

hes so focused on the drawings that he doesnt notice that same wolf coming up behind him until he feels the warm breath on his neck

he drops the sketchbook and scrambles away but the wolf doesnt follow him, it just looks at the current drawing - unfinished - and sits

joel stares for a few moments at this weird behaviour from the wolf before retriving the sketchbook and drawing the wolf again, it ends up perfect this time - joel did always draw better with the subject in front of him - and the wolf plods over to see the final thing

from then on joel spends a lot more time in the forest, bringing food along with him, and some snacks to maybe give to the wolf

the wolf isnt there every day but joel doesnt mind, he feels safe in the forest now, he doesnt think anyone will hurt him

----

its months later when he encounters a man in the woods, he is tall and broad and for some reason, wearing sunglasses

joel gives the man a friendly smile before continuing on his way

joel ends up seeing the man quite often in the forest and he always offers a smile or a friendly wave, one day he decides to actually speak to the man

from then on joel has a new friend, ren he says his name is, he feels familiar to joel but he cant quite place him

joel notices the wolf is never there when he is spending the day with ren, sharing food and talking for hours, ren always steers clear of certain topics though - where he came from, where he lives, his family - joel doesnt push it though

the wolf is still as friendly as ever although it seems more tired and injured than it always used to be

months after getting to know ren, joel stumbles -literally- across him, his sunglasses are broken on the floor next to him and his shirt is in tatters and he is covered in wounds, his breathing is shallow and joel wishes the wolf was here to help

he carries him back to mezelea, thankfully he wasnt too far into the woods but its still hard going

its a little over a day before ren wakes and the healers inform him immediately, he rushes over to see him and winces at the sight of the bandages around him

joel reaches for rens hand as he sits beside him, telling him how worried he was and ren, turns his head to face him, opening his eyes slowly

joel freezes in the middle of his sentance at the sight, those eyes, he knew those eyes, he had spent countless hours agonising over how to draw those eyes

ren who was up until this point still only half awake realises what he just did and curses and frantically tries to explain himself

joel stands to leave and ren reaches out, hissing in pain at the movement and joel cant help but turn back to fret over him

joel tells him to leave it for now, that theyd talk about it when he was better

joel visits ren every day until he is better but its awkward and they mostly sit in silence before joel finds a reason to excuse himself

in the end ren comes to joels room as soon as he is allowed to leave, joel lets him in and ren sits on the bed, awkwardly looking anywhere but in joels eyes

joel walks over and sits down next to him, gently nudging him with his shoulder as he did so

and then ren just spills it all, how he had always spent most of his time as a wolf because it seemed easier than losing people again but then he saw joel and he drew him and treated him like a real friend so he wanted to try again, to be with people again but he didnt think itd get this far, he didnt think hed end up falling in love with him and then he didnt know what to do, because he saw how sad he was when the wolf wasnt around but he didnt really want to be the wolf as much anymore

joel stays silent until the end of the explamation but then- you fell in love with me? and ren who didnt realise he had said that gets all muddled up and doesnt know what to say but joel just kisses him anyway

[uhohbestie]

i havent finished tamn (chpt 30), but I have a little theory about immunity. I'm assuming the virus is usually fatal via fever, as in the fever kills the victim and then resurrects them. while gri and q survived the fever but are still infected, thus the "immunity". i just love sentient zombie stories! sorry for redundancy if you answered something similar to this in the past

That's the gist of it, yeah! Calling themselves "immune" is a bit of a falsehood on both Quackity and Grian's part (though not an intentionally misleading one- Grian picked up calling it 'immune' from Quackity, and Quackity calls it that because he's a very "if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it's a duck" kind of person). They're both still very much infected, though, which means they carry and operate with all the symptoms of the virus (just skipped the "dying horrifically" part).

That being said, we figure that there are a few people out there with True Immunity (i.e. no adverse reactions/symptoms to a bite) but sadly, in the context of TAMN............ neitehr Big Q or Gri are one of those people - 🔒

[popstart]

Me getting crucified and burnt at the stake after saying i kinda prefer the way some characters are in dramarama

[byanyan]

being friends with byan is so weird bc they say they want you to have the balls to be bluntly honest with them, but then the very moment you're honest about something they don't like, they're peacing out, all "lmao ok friendship ended byeeeee"