#WASP NEST HAS BEEN HIT

[curiositypolling]

You people know that people who aren't racially white or Caucasian have lighter skin, right?

did I ever say the poll was about race? it literally just says 'what is ur skin color' the comment of 'these results are uh... hm.' was mostly a joke about what the obvious conclusion is, even though that conclusion is wrong for so many reasons from sample size to sample bias to ethnicity not equaling skin color, as well as the fact that it implies tumblr users are shut-ins, regardless of race

but also I was making a joke on tumblr so I probably should have realized I should not do that lol

[revelboo]

OUGH your Waspinator fic is sooooooo everything. I like him a lot- he's not one of my mainstays, but ever since seeing TFA as a kid I've always felt a little protective of him. He needs more nice things

I’m sorry, but not sorry at all. He’s puppy. An ugly, puppy that’s going to chew up everything in the house, but still 🤣

Worker Bee Pt 2

IDW Waspinator x Reader

• It’s the sound of something breaking downstairs that drags you out of sleep, squinting in the dark and trying to decide if the noise has been inside the house or outside. There’s another crash with the sound of breaking glass and an odd scraping. Breath hitching, you lunge for your phone and turn on its light, swinging it and yanking the chord out of the wall and nearly screaming. Because there are glowing purple optics staring back at you. “Waspinator?” How had he gotten into the house? You’d left him out in the barn and locked the door behind you when you went in. But he’s different now, looking like a giant wasp to slip ice into your veins.

• “Lonely.” You’re just staring at him, but not yelling at him to go away. Not hitting him or throwing things. So it’s okay? It must be okay. Small, new friend likes Waspinator. Your nest is soft and it creaks under him when he climbs up with you. He’d mass shifted and transformed to get through the door of your dwelling and to maneuver the narrow hall. And you make a funny noise when something cracks and your nest crashes down with him and you both. Antenna flattening back he waits for the anger, but you just stare at him mouth hanging open. Not hitting him or yelling at all.

• Frozen, you stare at the giant, alien wasp that just broke your bed frame. Because he got lonely. And making a happy, humming noise, he just flops down. On you. Head on your chest knocking the air out of your lungs and you flat back on the bed as he throws an insectile leg across your hips. There’s no going back to sleep with him pinning you, mandibles way too close to your face and he’s making a faint buzzing hum. And you desperately want to shove him away from you, but your heart is racing like a mad thing. Because in this form? You’re suddenly realizing you’re scared to death of wasps. Giant wasps specifically. “Little friend?” He asks, purple optics glowing and too close as his antenna swing forward to brush your hair. Cringing, you just nod, because you can’t argue with him when those sharp mandibles are right there.

• “Yeah, sure. Friends,” you tell him, head turning away from his exploration with his antenna. Not angry with him. Even reaching to pat him so gently on the head with a soft hand. Accepting him. Relaxing against your warmth, he tries to figure out if anyone has ever touched him gently before. Everyone always pushes him away, hurts him, but his little soft friend likes him. No one’s ever liked Waspinator.

• Trapped under him, you stare at the shadowy ceiling as your heart beat slows to normal because he’s not doing anything but making it hard to breathe with his weight sprawled across you. He’s not trying to tear you apart with those awful mandibles, just cuddling against you like a big puppy. A terrifyingly ugly, alien puppy. He’d said he was lonely then asked if you were his friend. Staying on his good side definitely sounds like a plan and besides, that little ‘lonely,’ had sounded so broken.

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[wynnyfryd]

Trailer park Steve AU part 43

part 1 | part 42 | ao3

cw: references to sex, post-coital sad boy feelings but it’s comforting i hope, once again swirling the religious drain

“You look like you just saw God,” Eddie says fondly as he pulls his fingers out.

“Pretty sure I am God,” Steve mumbles, winded and floating, watching the stars in his vision skitter across the ceiling in pretty popping swirls of white. His ass still feels full, phantom ache of Eddie's fingers. They live there now. “Or maybe you are, I don’t know.”

Eddie leans down to plant a firm kiss on his lips, sure and steady, overflowing with affection.

Steve’s heart is gonna pump so hard it bursts.

“Well,” Eddie murmurs into the kiss. “Amen to that.”

Later, after Eddie adds his own mess to Steve's skin, after he kisses him all over and cleans him up and lays them down on their sides, face to face like they were that first night — in the morning; if you still mean it, ask me then — Steve dares to break the silence. Murmurs "hey" so quietly he's not sure Eddie will hear.

"Hmm?" Eddie props his head up on his hand, giving Steve the full attention of those big, dark eyes.

"I, uh, I just wanted to say thanks."

Eddie's brows waggle suggestively.

“Oh, my god.” Steve gives him a weak shove, tapping lightly at his shoulder, and Eddie flops onto his back like he's been struck; groans like he’s dying and then rolls back up with a gentle laugh. “Well,” Steve rolls his eyes like he isn't smiling, too, "for that, too, I guess."

"He guesses.”

"Shut up. I'm trying to be sincere."

Eddie twists an invisible lock; seals his smiling lips shut and throws away the key.

"I just..."

He can do this.

He can. If Eddie hasn't judged him yet, then...

"I like that you. Y'know. You ask me. About stuff." Eddie hums in question, so Steve clarifies: "You pry." Shit. That was rude. "Not that it's prying if I want you to! That's not— that's not even really the word I'm thinking of. Or maybe it is, but, like, not the right conno- commo—"

Jesus.

Why can't his mouth ever just cooperate?

Eddie strokes a soothing hand down his side, letting it settle in the dip of his waist. Silent, steady encouragement. Patient and warm; always so gentle with him.

When Steve speaks again he stares directly at Eddie's chin, lets the words spill out on a muted mumble, like if he says them low and soft and fast enough then maybe god won't hear. "I just mean that you- you actually listen. I know I'm not the most, like, open about talking about my feelings and shit, but most people in my life are— well, I mean, most of them are kids, so that's probably part of it, but…”

He takes a deep breath; feels it rattle behind his ribs. “It’s like I say 'I'm fine' and they hear 'Steve's fine.' Like, 'Oh, Steve? Yeah, he's fine; he's totally fine. He got hit in the head again, but he's fucking fine.'"

There’s salt in his throat.

He swallows around the angry lump swelling there — a wasp nest in his soft tissues and he's swinging blindly with a bat — but he can’t stop now, the confession already pouring from between his trembling lips. "It just makes me wonder, like, am I that good of an actor? Or do they all just hear what the want to hear? You know? Like- like maybe I'm not worth the effort; maybe no one wants to lift the lid to clean the mold growing under it, or..."

He sniffs pitifully, can hardly see for the fresh tears. "I don't know. I don’t know."

“Baby.” Eddie's eyes are heartbreaking; Steve looks away again.

"I just like that you see me,” he confesses to Eddie’s shirt. “You listen. You care."

Eddie’s arms tighten around him; draw him in against his chest. “For as long as you want me to, baby, I swear.”

—

It’s easier, after that. Feels lighter; feels right when he spends his free time at Eddie’s side, laughing and smoking and fucking around; playing passenger princess as he goes to make his deals. Take on Me’s playing on the radio, and Steve looks over and sees him subtly bobbing his head to the beat.

“A-ha!” he says, pointing a Cheeto at him in triumph. “It’s catchy; admit it.”

Eddie rolls his eyes like he isn’t actively drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “Only because it’s designed to be, you little preppy pop prince fucker.”

“Hey!” Steve throws the Cheeto at his hair and laughs, “Fuck you!”

“Careful there, tiger,” Eddie answers with an easy grin, leaning over to squeeze Steve’s leg suggestively. Bearing down on the scratch marks he left there last night. “Might get what you ask for.”

“Oh, yeah?” Steve quips. “Gonna fuck yourself for me?”

It’s bratty. Steve knows it; resists the urge to stick out his tongue.

A muscle ticks in Eddie’s jaw. “Gonna fuckin’ fuck something,” he mutters darkly to the windshield, and Steve laughs and sings along to the next verse.

—

part 44

tag list in separate reblogs under '#trailer park steve au taglist' if you'd like to filter that content. if you want to be added please comment and let me know (must be over 21; please either verify in the comment or have your age visible on your blog)

[silivren-vera]

Sandman Fic Preview

"Wine or Brandy?" Hob called out from the kitchen.

Dream mentally shook himself, stepping away from the bookcase.  The feeling of unease wasn't lifting, but neither was it growing. He would ignore it for the moment. "Brandy," he said. 

"It's been a week, has it?" Hob's voice travelled closer. He set down two cognac glasses, and a very old bottle of brandy with no label. His phone buzzed from the coffee table, lighting up with a picture of Dorito the cat. Hob glanced at it, but returned his attention to Dream almost immediately.  "It's been Finals for me. Want to talk about it, or drown it?"

Dream huffed. "I believe there should be a third option which would allow for drowning the problem itself."

Hob laughed. "Yes," he agreed, settling down in one of the armchairs. He motioned from Dream to take the other one. With a quick dust off, he started to work the wax seal off. "Made this one, oh back in '48. No, '51, I was in Edenborough for '48..."

The uneasy feeling was cresting, spreading to his extremities. A shivering buzzing, akin to misfiring nerves was radiating from his core, deep in the Dreaming and in his corporation. "My apologies, Hob Gadling," he interrupted, half rising. "I am — There is something --" His ears were buzzing now, cicadas in August, wasps in their nests. "My realm —" he stuttered, body shaking. He reached out for the chair, the table in front of him, legs unable to hold him upright anymore. 

"Dream!"  Hob caught him before his knees could hit the floor. "Dream, you're fading at the edges! What's --"

[caktusjuice-draws]

you have no clue how happy i am to see someone finally sees the underlying . romantic side of whatever . pokey wants with paul. like a month ago the phantom of the opera paralells hit me and ive kinda been unable to see it since .

Listen to me. We gotta ... we gotta think about the IMPLICATIONS HERE. Some of the things Pokey chooses to say to Paul/make Paul say... Yeah you don't just say those things to someone you aren't trying to put your alien brainwash good into ... as more than a eldritch wasp trying to infiltrate a bees nest friends

And listen cause my husband is big brain. Cause he pointed out...

"You have defied us thrice Paul" No ... no that isn't right, it was five times. The people on the street. Mr. Davidson. Beanies. Sam. Sam and Charlotte. THAT'S FIVE TIMES RIGHT? Unless we are talking about... failed attempts at conquering universes. If THAT has happened three times before...

Paul doesn't like musicals. You would think Pokey would hate him but what if Paul's defiance three universes over has caused Pokey to have an obsession, similar to Tinky and Ted. Pokey wants him cause he is unobtainable. Paul is, in the words of Max Jagerman, forbidden fruit.

The sweetest thing for Pokey would be to finally get Paul to sing.

IT IS ENTIRELY ONE SIDED AND I AM OKAY WITH THAT.

AND THANKS FOR THE POTO IMAGERY CAUSE IMMA HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT NOW

[delucadarlingwriting]

Vampire Divorce Court - The Real Monster is the Friends Who Divorced Us Along the Way

[drags self in] I did it...

Life has been a bit all over the place. I've had this one written for a while, but I've been letting it marinate because I wasn't super happy with how I had it. I did make a few little revisions tonight and I like it more now, but I do still find there's just....there's SOMETHING here that I want to wiggle around into a better configuration.

Maybe I'm just craving a Farah/Adam scene and have yet to really write one. Making a note to self to add one in soon.

Summary: Farah doesn't know what to make of Barbie, but sometimes the best way to see inside a wasp's nest is to hit it with a baseball bat at Mach Fuckthousand.

First | Previous | Part 9 | Next

word count: 2,221

***

Book 1, Wayhaven, Marty’s Outdoor Store and Bike Rental

Wayhaven is completely, ridiculously boring. Alaska wasn’t exactly much better, but the lack of humans meant Farah didn’t have to think so hard about pretending to be human. Wayhaven has enough humans around that Farah’s always got to be thinking about which behaviors are too strange for humans to shrug off. It’s totally exhausting.

At least the store they’re in now isn’t super busy. The owner is around, he’d poked his head out when they came walking in, only to tell Kira to knock on his office door when they want to check out. Then he’d disappeared inside said office, followed by the sounds of a TV coming through the door. Other than that though, it’s just Farah, Kira, and Barbie in the whole store.

Apparently, this store is meant specifically for doing stuff outside, liking hiking and fishing and stuff. Farah still can’t get over how much stuff there is on Earth. It seems like humans are always buying things. She goes to a display of sunglasses, spinning it around until she finds a pair of dark aviator style sunglasses. Her reflection is grinning back at her in the opaque lenses.

“Are you going to get anything?” Kira asks, appearing beside her. Farah looks around at the various displays of clothes. Mostly a lot of boring shades of orange, brown, and gray, unflattering fits, and that awful plastic fabric that makes the worst sound imaginable when it touches itself. Farah wrinkles her nose.

“Nah, I think I’m good,” she says. Kira presses her lips together, but Farah can feel the humor radiating off her.

Even if Wayhaven isn’t Farah’s favorite place, Kira’s definitely worth sticking around a while longer for. She’s even called Farah her friend a few times.

“I feel very much the same,” Barbie says from a few feet away as she picks through a shoe display the same way one might pick through a bush for scorpions. She holds up a pair of chunky brown boots and sighs. “None of these are very…in line with my style.”

“It’s not really about style though, is it?” Kira walks over to help Barbie, Farah hanging back to casually continue browsing the sunglasses. She meant what she said about not buying anything though. If she did buy sunglasses, she’d have no excuse to steal Adam’s, which would really kill one of her favorite sources of fun. Looking at the sunglasses does give her the excuse of not helping with Barbie’s current dilemma though.

While the past few days have been absolutely mindnumbingly boring with basically nothing to do other than hunch over the same old files and pictures again, Farah hadn’t really jumped at the opportunity to accompany Kira to help Barbie find clothes for their upcoming hike through Wayhaven’s vast woodland. Normally she loves a side quest on boring missions, especially with someone fun like Kira. The addition of Barbie definitely put a damper on the prospect though.

Apparently, Barbie hadn’t bothered bringing anything other than two pairs of heels, several tight dresses, and a few suit jackets for this trip. Not that Farah has anything against her sticking to her personal fashion style. None of Unit Bravo (save Adam) really has anything that would be particularly outdoorsy either, but none of them would be thrilled to run around outside in one of Barbie’s usual outfits. Seeing Adam’s expression as Barbie explained they’d have to wait for her to find new clothes before the outing she’d demanded to go on was really freaking priceless. She laughs to herself even now just thinking about it.

Though Barbie has provided Farah with a bit of unintentional entertainment, Farah doesn’t really know what to make of her either. Farah had opinions on Barbie before they met, based on what she’s been told about her. The woman herself hasn’t done too much to disprove what anyone has said about her. Adam finds Barbie irritating and egotistical, but apparently his opinion on her has been exactly that since before she left Mason. Nat likes Barbie, but sort of diplomatically avoids actually saying much about her. Mason doesn’t talk about her at all. He doesn’t really like when anyone else does either.

“These should be suitable,” Barbie says, twisting her heel around to look down at the clunky brown boot wrapped around her foot. Her nose is wrinkled, because it’s a truly ugly shoe. She then looks up and around. “I suppose clothes will need to be next.”

“Sure you don’t want to do some shopping too?” Kira asks Farah playfully. Farah grins.

“Nah, I couldn’t step on your fun,” Farah says with a laugh. Kira gives a shake of her head, then goes off to link arms with Barbie, leading her over to the pants. Farah follows, because she’s supposed to, but also because if she has to babysit their special little human, she may as well get a better read on Mason’s ex.

She knows how everyone else feels about Barbie, but Barbie…well, she’s a bit of a tangled mess. Or…Less of a mess and more like a beehive, zipping around looking for a bear to sting. It’s hard to get past all the buzzing to figure out what’s going on past it.

What she did to Mason was pretty awful. There’s a lot that can get under his skin, but very little that inspires actual hurt. He doesn’t care about most people enough for that. So what is it about Barbie that let her wiggle in so close to his heart? And why would she break it?

There’s a low buzz from behind, and Kira says, “Oh, this is Tina.”

“Duty calls?” Farah asks, turning. Kira, phone in hand, gives a tired sigh and smiles, then jerks her thumb behind her.

“I’ll just be over there to take this,” she says. Then haltingly, she adds, “Maybe help Babs? She seems to be struggling.”

Farah’s expression falls. “Oh, uh. Yeah.”

Kira swipes a finger across her phone to answer, then hurries away as she says, “Tina? Everything okay?”

Technically, Kira isn’t in charge of Farah. She doesn’t have to help Barbie. There’s not exactly anything else to do though, and listening in on another report from the police station sounds even more dull than watching Barbie move hangers on the same rack again.

As she approaches, Barbie pulls out a tan button up and hums.

“The green one you just had is better,” Farah says, causing Barbie to yelp and drop the shirt. She lays a hand over her heart, which is beating almost as fast as it should now.

“Good Lord, don’t sneak up on me,” Barbie chastises before bending down to retrieve the shirt.

“What, you didn’t hear me?” Farah laughs. Humans not hearing, sure. But Barbie’s just about as much a vampire as any of Unit Bravo.

“Clearly not,” Barbie grumbles, returning to her slow, slow, slow shopping process.

“Is it because you don’t drink blood?” Farah asks. The metal hanger Barbie’s sliding makes a gut curdling skreeeeech.

“…Probably,” Barbie replies, a twitch forming near one of her eyes. Farah tilts her head.

“So why don’t you then?” Farah asks. Barbie pauses. “You know. Why don’t you drink—”

“Has no one told you to mind your own business before?” Barbie hisses. Farah grins.

“Sure. I’m terrible at it though. I heard you are too,” Farah says with a chuckle. “Though, that was before your grand transformation.”

“Grand is a word for it.” Barbie shudders. Farah frowns.

“Surely being a vampire isn’t that bad,” Farah says. “Do you just refuse to drink because you want being a vampire to be a terrible as possible, to justify what you did to Mason?”

The buzzing of Barbie’s emotions turns into a low roar, crackling with electricity that leaves a tang in Farah’s mouth.

Barbie slams the hanger in her hand back onto the rack, turns to Farah, and draws herself up to her full height. She is tall, but it’s still not terribly intimidating considering she looks like a stiff wind would crack her into a hundred pieces. Not to mention she has to pause to push her fake glasses up her nose.

“Stop talking about Mason,” Barbie demands. “Stop asking about me being like this. I don’t have a problem with you yet, but you are on your way to creating a problem.”

This feels like vindication, at least a little bit. Barbie’s been so detached about everything, especially about Mason, or least seemingly so. Now she’s being sort of honest. She cares somewhere in there.

“You definitely do have a problem with me,” Farah points out. Barbie frowns, ready to argue. “I mean, I’m a monster too, aren’t I?”

That comment has stuck with Farah since they first met, and though she’s tried to move past it, it just won’t dislodge no matter what. So many people see Farah that way, and her team, without even getting to know them. Just because of what she is. It doesn’t feel any better coming from another vampire.

Barbie flinches back, then growls.

“Yes, yes you are,” Barbie says. “A monster. Just like Murphy. Just like Adam.”

Something snaps in Farah at that. “Just like you.”

“Exactly!” Barbie yells.

The already quiet store goes absolutely silent. Even Kira, who was in the middle of a sentence on the phone, cuts herself off.

Barbie’s chest is heaving. There’s an odd, crazed look in her eyes. She slaps a hand over her mouth and turns away, but not before Farah catches sight of her fangs. Either Farah really managed to piss her off, or she has absolutely zero control over them. Either seems pretty likely.

A long, slender hand lands on Farah’s shoulder, giving a light squeeze.

Nat says, “I think that’s enough.”

“Yes, it is. I apologize,” Barbie says, the words muffled against her hand. She takes in a shaky breath. “I’ll be over there.”

She goes off, high heels clicking off beat. Farah watches, frowning still as she shakes Nat’s hand off. Nat sighs.

“Farah, please don’t antagonize Barbie about this,” she pleads.

“She isn’t even trying to cope with it,” Farah says. She shakes her head, then looks up to Nat. “Was this how she was about vampirism when she and Mason were married? Like, before?”

Nat shakes her head, sadness clinging to her like raindrops. “No, it isn’t. She used to be fascinated by vampires, along with any other supernatural beings.”

“Makes sense,” Farah says with a sigh. “I doubt she’d have been so tight with you guys otherwise.”

Nat makes a soft noise of agreement. “I didn’t…She’s changed a lot, since then. If I’d known the state she’s in, I might not have suggested we ask her for help."

“Should she go back to France then?” Farah asks. A brief feeling of concern floods her, taking Farah off guard. Maybe she shouldn’t be surprised. Sure, Barbie’s cold and mean and hurt her friend, but…she’s clearly really going through it. Being here doesn’t seem to be helping. Nat turns and Farah follows her gaze, all the way to where Kira is standing with Barbie, a hand rubbing her back gently as they talk. She could listen in if she wanted, but Farah focuses instead on Nat.

“They’ve bonded quite well,” Nat says with a small, tight smile. “Barbie’s hard to dislodge from the people she cares for. I doubt she’d go back even if we told her to.”

“It can’t be that hard,” Farah says pointedly. Nat shakes her head, but doesn’t fight her on it. Farah’s not really keen on arguing anymore either. “Well, at least I can say I don’t blame Barbie there. Kira’s pretty great.”

“Yes, Kira’s wonderful,” Nat agrees readily.

“Do you think that’ll be a problem for her fiancee?” Farah asks. Nat scoffs and waves a hand delicately as if to shoo the very notion away.

“I highly doubt Kira has eyes for Barbie,” Nat says, a little too quickly. Farah grins, but suddenly Nat is refusing to look at her.

“Right, because she’s got them for someone else,” Farah says. Nat doesn’t respond. Fair enough. Farah gives her a break, if only because that whole thing is probably going to get really messy. Well, it would, if they weren’t leaving Wayhaven as soon as they track down Murphy.

A pang of sadness has Farah blinking hard; she doesn’t actually want to leave. As boring as this town can be, Farah has gotten used to the dynamic Kira brings to the team. She likes seeing their detective every day. Kira even likes some of the same TV shows Farah does, and it’s WAY better watching stuff with someone else than by herself. Plus, she’s funny and tough and great to hang around. It’s going to really suck not seeing her anymore.

“I’m gonna miss her,” Farah admits. Nat puts an arm around her and draws her in close.

“It will certainly be hard to say goodbye,” Nat says, sounding melancholic. “It’s for the best though. She deserves to live a normal life. Once she’s safe, it’s best if we leave her to it.”

Farah leans against her, wondering how many times Nat has told herself that in the hopes of believing it eventually.

[brionysea]

jinx for character opinion bingo :D

JINX MY BELOVED MY CRAZY GIRL

DOUBLE bingo!

s1 of arcane was a genuine masterpiece and a solid 50-75% of it (at least for me <3) is because of how WELL WRITTEN jinx's character was. the seeds of her more twisted traits in powder, the shift away from that softness we saw when she was younger as she grows into jinx, her complex relationships with vi and silco and her own identity driving the conflict on a personal level AND a political level, the way the writers make you care more about whether the sisters will be a family again than whether there's going to be a war or whatever. there's so so so so much good and jinx is right in the middle of all of it and I'm obsessed with her. I think she should have killed more people. I think she should have been covered in blood and laughing hysterically because she was having so much fun finally being better than everyone at something

powder wanting to prove herself to vi but ending up killing their entire family, jinx wanting to prove herself to silco so she ends up with caitlyn and the council on her case, the sense of fate around the hextech gemstone ALWAYS coming back to jinx like FOUR times as if magic is ALIVE and MAD at piltover for banishing it and then using it for their own gain (magic's favourite is jinx aka powder, as in gunpowder, as in the spark that ignites a revolution). as if jinx is piltover's karma. as if she IS a jinx but one meant for PILTOVER and that's why she needed to lose so much so that they could finally get what was coming to them. as if both cities are approaching this inevitable end point where jinx has changed too much to still be powder like vi wants her to be and the undercity has changed too much to still be under piltover's boot like they want it to be and the stronger of the two will never accept that without a major push so jinx has to use the sisters conflict to kick-start the zaun/piltover conflict (or vice versa???) because she feels like she can never be independent or keep anything for herself as long as things keep going the way they used to be when vi treated her like a child (because she was but she's not anymore and she can take responsibility for her own actions) just like the undercity can never keep anything for itself because the social order and the lack of independence from piltover necessitates that they stay down in the dirt where they belong so that piltover can hoard all the wealth and safety and security and opportunity and progress to itself. it's. GOD the characters and themes and relationships and politics and how they're all woven together and how every road seems to lead back to jinx it's SO GOOD I'm OBSESSED with her

s2 jinx literally isn't jinx past MAYBE act 1. she randomly turns into a quippy mcu character with heroic qualities and all her explosive flaws washed off like give them BACK that's why I LIKED HER!!!! I DIDN'T COME TO THE WOMEN'S WRONGS SHOW TO WATCH JINX MAKE NORMAL PERSON DECISIONS. jinx isn't the only one who suffered (vi is so bad oh my god she's barely a character in s2 much less the SAME character it's actually INSULTING to the audience's intelligence) but the rest of that disaster of a season isn't canon to me. like at all. season 1's plot was built around character choices that made it all feel incredibly natural and believable because there's no other decision they WOULD make other than the ones they ultimately did, and if season 2 was allowed to do that too then jinx would have burned piltover to the fucking ground and I would have had the time of my life. but nothing that should have happened happened so I am staying in my corner with s1 and I'm ignoring all of you. this is the polarising opinion that's akin to hitting a wasp's nest with a baseball bat btw

send me a character! (ask game)

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - CIRCUIT BEES & MASK HORNETS (LETHAL COMPANY)

[Image IDs: A 3D render of a swarm of Circuit Bees generating an intense static charge around their nest, followed by another 3D render of a swarm of Mask Hornets /End IDs.]

Ah, the surprise hit of last year, Lethal Company! I've put quite a few hours into this co-op survival horror, and part of what keeps this game that's relatively simple in concept fresh enough to keep coming back is the many entities within. Today, we'll be having a look at a couple of them, including one that's been there since I first started playing, the Circuit Bees, as well as one that's only been added just a few updates ago, the Mask Hornets!

Starting off with the Circuit Bees, their appearance is generally undefined, with a very low-poly model and a muddy texture, but they generally seem to be wider than a typical honey bee, their size resembling that of a carpenter or bumble bee or maybe even a blow fly, the red eyes adding a bit to the blow fly comparison, they're missing one pair of legs and noticable antennae, and their wings appear to look a lot like those of a dragonfly, with dense venation, although having an orange color that resembles that of tarantula hawk wasps.

[Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, Muhammad Mahdi Karim, ResearchGate, and Wikimedia Commons, Niklas299 | Image IDs: A photo of a metallic green and brown blow fly, Chrysomya megacephala, with red eyes on the end of a leaf, followed by a black and white diagram of a dragonfly's wings, followed then by a photo of an almost blueish black tarantula hawk wasp with orange and black wings, Pepsis grossa, on a leafy green plant /End IDs.]

So overall their appearance is very different from that of a honey bee, however, in Sigurd's log it states "The circuit bee, also known as red bee, is a eusocial flying insect of the genus Apis, a descendant of the honey bee.", meaning that the Circuit Bee is directly related to the IRL modern day honey bee (Despite having their scientific name listed as Crabro-coruscus). Clearly, some extreme evolution has taken place!

This evolution is clearly shown in their nesting and defense behavior, their nests going from connected but separate slabs of wax in the branches of trees to exclusively grounded nests, not connected to anything and having a round structure akin to that of a yellowjacket nest, large honeycomb cells covering the outer surface.

[Image Source: wildalongtheway | Image IDs: A photo of an abandoned wild honey bee hive in a tree, followed by a 3D render of a circuit bee hive]

As for their defense behaviors, they're far more aggressive than even the most aggressive eusocial wasps in the real world, but are easy to calm down. Once their hive is picked up, they will not stop until they manage to return to their hive and all players are out of their radius, and until they're no longer enraged they will attack everything in their path, chasing the nearest employee or roaming the area if everyone is outside of their radius. It doesn't seem like they'll truly attack other entities other than the employees, but the log further states "They have BEEn known to leave BEEhind fields of bodies of small rodents, insects and even some larger mammals, and in rare cases they can start fires."

But how can they start fires? Well, that's where the their main method of defense comes in. They're capable of creating friction in the air and generating a static charge! "Red bees produce friction with the air. They also produce friction by rubbing their two pairs of wings against each other or by rubbing against one another while in the hive.". Obviously, this is not a real defense method used by any real world insect, but mayhaps this is an adaptation caused by the presence of more extremely aggressive lifeforms on the moons visited by the employees. Perhaps it's also inspired by honey bees' real world ability to generate heat through vibration of the wing muscles.

Their diet is uncertain, but it can be assumed they maintain a similar diet to real honey bees or possibly even vulture bees.

Onto Mask Hornets, there unfortunately isn't a log that can be read from for further information specifically about them, but we can still have a look at their appearance and behavior!

They have identically shaped and colored heads and wings to the Circuit Bees, but bodies that make them look that much more like dragonflies given how thin and long they are, much thinner than real world hornets. Their leg count is also unclear from the images I can find, but I believe they have two pairs of legs, much like the circuit bees.

They also have very similar behavior defensively, although they don't have the ability to generate electricity and instead will sting the employees much like real wasps, and they're also only found inside the facility rather than outside. They will not stop after they become enraged, as they only appear after their nest is destroyed, and therefore cannot return to their nest. What does their nest look like? Uhm... Well...

[Image ID: A 3D render of the Butler from Lethal Company holding a broom and a knife /End IDs.]

Their nest is this guy! Described as looking like a deflated balloon and smelling like rotten flesh, this is the Butler. Whether it has a mind of its own or it's puppeted by the Mask Hornets is unclear, but it does appear to at least mimic human behavior, walking around and sweeping the area until an employee is alone with it, at which point it starts to give chase with a knife. The origin of its clothes, broom, and knife are unknown. Upon being killed, it pops like a balloon and the Mask Hornets emerge.

Generally, both of these insects are strange, as is the point of them, being from the game they're from, and I do love these weird little dudes, but they're not necessarily accurate. Zeekers, at the very least, did put some good thought into the Circuit Bees though.

-

Overall (Circuit Bees): 5.5/10

Overall (Mask Hornets): 4/10

-

Leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies, tags, or askbox!

Next week's wasp has not been chosen yet!

[revelboo]

Thank you for the Ugly Puppy (Waspinator) content!

me, about a grown-ass man who is also a giant robot bug: noooooo he's just a little guy!

Giant, scary wasp much bigger than you are just cowering if you come after him with a rolled up newspaper. Would probably act like he’s dying if you whacked him with it, too

Worker Bee Pt 3

IDW Waspinator x Reader

• Somehow you fell back asleep. You also nearly have a heart attack waking up to those sharp mandibles inches from your face, big purple optics wide open staring at you. Buzzing out a cheerful ‘small friend’ at you. Nope, not okay at all. “Has anyone ever explained personal space to you?” Gingerly reaching to try and push him off you, which is as effective as trying to push a truck sideways, he just tips his head.

• “No.” Your little hands are warm on his head and he leans into the touch. Until you groan and just cover your face with your hands. Whatever else you’re saying muffled, before you let your arms drop and just stare at the ceiling. Not time to get up yet, he decides, laying his head back down on your soft chest. And you make a strangled sound.

• “Nope, you gotta move.” Pushing at him more insistently until he makes an unhappy buzzing hiss and lifts up enough that you can squirm out of bed. And he immediately slumps in the warm spot you just left, wings fluttering. Skin pricking as how cold it is away from the heat of Waspinator sinks in, dread spills through you. Frowning, you head through the house. A table in the hall is broken, but it’s your front door that stops you short. Your door that’s torn out of the frame, wood splintered at the edges as snow lazily drifts inside the kitchen. “Are you kidding me?”

• His little friend’s nest is soft as he burrows under the blankets, only to lift his head when they’re yanked away. And oh, angry. You’re angry with Waspinator. Cringing down as you stare at him, an arm lifting to point down the hall. “There is snow in my kitchen and a big gaping hole where my door should be, Waspinator.” He hadn’t been able to figure out the tiny handle, but the door had come loose easily enough when he’d pulled. But like before, you don’t hit him. Don’t do anything but point. Upset, but not hurting him.

• “Fix,” he declares, moving out of your ruined bed and down the hall, insectile legs scraping the walls on both sides as you follow him. Hands trembling in anger. Trying to figure out how to get rid of your new, clingy bestie. Without provoking him, because he’s still big and scary strong. You tense when he folds in on himself and transforms to that other, slightly less unsettling form and watch him pick up the door and just prop it up in the frame. There’s a gap around it and it’s just leaning there, but he turns back to you. “Waspinator fixed.” And he sounds so stupidly proud of himself. Like he thinks he actually did a good job as your shoulders slump.

Previous

Next

[koipalm]

Ares doesn’t know what to do.

The war has been escalating, and this time not even himself and Athena can handle the damage. What started as a political assassination garnered too much attention, first from the mortals, and then from the gods as the prayers gained strength. He didn’t start this war, but he honestly wished he had- then, maybe, he’d be able to control the damage. But he couldn’t stop the generals from praying to his uncle for safe voyages, and he didn’t know that their opponents would pray to Athena, and then the civilians fled to Demeter and Hestia, and the dissidents called on Apollo, so, really: it’s all a clusterfuck. To put it lightly.

And to make it worse, they’re blaming him for this. Again. Which, fuck, fine, he gets it, he’s the god of war, but Athena doesn’t get this treatment, nor does she get to be ostracized for it, not to mention that this time, it wasn’t even his fucking fault! The mortals didn’t even pray to him first!

So, really, all of this means that Ares needs a break. Desperately. And not just a “I need to go lay down because this is exhausting,” a break like he needs help. The prayers barely ebb, instead they’re getting stronger, and now the nymphs are reporting that Hecate has joined. And Ares can’t fight her. Won’t. He can’t fight her, because it won’t be worth it. He’s seen her magic first hand before. Then, he didn’t have to fight her before she was taken down. But he’s the only one on his side right now. He’d ask Hermes or Zagreus for help, but they’re both too busy with the death count in the Underworld to lend any real aid.

Contact with Artemis has also been rough. She’ll try to get to him when he can, but she’s too occupied hunting the monsters released by the carnage to join him on the front lines. The only chance he has left is to contact his Uncle’s realm; specifically, Lady Nyx. He’s seen Thanatos collecting souls, but his sisters more than him have been glutting themselves on the fields of carnage. Hermes relayed that his letter has been delivered by now, but he can’t promise a response. On some level, Ares was expecting this. But by Hades, if he really has to fight Hecate, he can’t promise he won’t freeze. Or just run, for that matter.

For a moment, he contemplates if an Olympian god can die like his cousin Zagreus. Perhaps hanging out in his uncle’s realm for a few years will save him the assured tragedy.

But— no. He has a position to uphold. If, in doing so, he falls to Hecate then— that will have to be how it is. Perhaps, hopefully, maybe, Hermes will realize and save him like last time. Maybe he won’t. But he refuses to turn his back on those that called for him.

Despite what it might cost.

-

Hypnos hits the ground. Hard.

His arms smack the ground before he does, a short delay before the fall, but the shock travels up his body so hard he’s sure he won’t need his shoulders after this. For a moment he lays there, panting into the ground face-down, but he brings his arms underneath him to push himself up. He doesn’t get far before the shake in his limbs makes him catch himself before his chin can hit the ground. He makes a sound, he thinks, something high in his throat, but the ringing in his ears makes it hard to hear it. He’s panting harder now, but his breaths come out in hiccups randomly, like his body doesn’t understand that he’s not still falling. It hurts like a bitch, but the tears beading in his eyes have no real say on what his body can or can’t do, so he keeps trying. The progress is jerky, and he’s stopped panting in favor of making terrible, choked up noises in his throat. The rasp makes his voice sound like a wasp nest, but a part of him is glad that he at least doesn’t have a sore throat yet. Small mercies.

Once he hits his zenith, Hypnos sighs and rocks back onto his calves, choking down the inhale when his bleeding palms reach the ground behind him to support his weight. He wastes time like that, looking up and just choking through his breath. It feels like his forehead is bleeding. It probably is. Whatever. Head wounds always bleed a lot. What might need something, Hypnos thinks, trying not to even entertain the thought of moving, is the open wound in his torso.

Granted, it’s not that large of a wound comparatively, but it’s deep and what originally made it had gotten wrenched out earlier, so he’s not that happy with the state of it. Usually he’ll just go home and bandage his wound, or drink some nectar and pass out while he’s waiting for the bleeding to slow, but when Hypnos lifts a shaky hand to assess the damage, his fingers skate across the slick skin to find a well of blood. It bubbles up when he presses on it, which in hindsight is probably not the best idea. Finally his fingers hit the ragged edges of the wound, which should probably hurt more than it does but he might be in shock. So.

So, in reality, he’s fine! Chthonic gods heal quickly enough, it’ll all be over in a few days. In the meantime, he’ll just— just have to catch up on work! Not that it’s really a bad thing, of course, his job is important, and it’s not that he dislikes it, it’s just that— everyone else gets to talk to other people. They get to move around, and do other things, something other than just stand there as a particularly garish decoration.

Well, maybe not everyone. Achilles does just that, but then again, Hypnos thinks it’s rather a good idea that he doesn’t move around the house as much. He doesn’t need another mortal on his hands, he’s busy enough with the ones already alive. Plus, Achilles is allowed to move around, it’s just that he doesn’t want to. He’s like a tall lamp that occasionally will utter a phrase or so. The point is, Achilles is definitely fucked up, and Hypnos can prove it— he’s seen him in the Nightmares mortals cook up, and it sure isn’t all sheep and sparkling waters. He doesn’t need that guy to walk around and possibly get provoked, Hypnos doesn’t want to have to deal with that and have to put him down for good! Let him stay in his lonely little corner. He just wishes that guy were further away from his station, he’s kind of an eyesore. Again. Not that Hypnos has room to talk, but still. He likes to entertain the idea that at least as a god he’s more valuable than that little squirt.

Speaking of that little squirt, Hypnos teleports into the house with a puff of smoke, letting the remnants of the Lethe disappear as he peeks out behind the pillar he’s hiding behind. He can hear Achilles’ quiet murmurs to Zagreus in the Hall behind, and Hades is behind his desk communing with his paperwork as always. Hypnos can’t see Persephone, but she’s probably somewhere around. Maybe with his mother again. Whatever.

He settles back in at his position, carefully summoning his pen and list. No one bats an eye, and even the shades just form into line without a word. Nothing to see here.

Hypnos hunches over his torso, curling his legs under him. Once he gets a break, he’ll stitch it up, or fuck it, maybe just cauterize it. For now, he lets it bleed into his cape. The inside’s dark for a reason. His head throbs, but at least it’s similar enough to fatigue to brush it off.

God, he’s tired.

-

He isn’t sure how much time has passed. Hypnos is still there, mindlessly floating and checking boxes on his list. His wound is still bleeding sluggishly, but he hasn’t been able to get a break yet. At some point Hades noticed his presence and ordered him to submit his next report, which! Wow, who fucking knew, it wasn’t ready! So he’s behind. Again. Wha-hoo!

Which is to say, he’s looking for a break.

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

Lance/hunk/shiro for character opinion bingo :3?

Hi!! Thanks for asking!!!!

Lance-

Everyone but me is wrong about them<3- Source: trust me bro. But ok seriously, everyone is going to have their own opinions and interpretations and they are more or less valid. I get that! And i also get that people are just having fun! I really do! I am not trying to be fun police! But also there is so much in the fandom that is Just......plain wrong whether it's coming from Lance stans or Lance haters or Keith stans who ship kl, i don't even know where to begin with. And even if i did know, if i started listing all of them we'll be here all day. Ok i think my biggest gripe is this insistence that if kl (or any Keith ship really) had became canon it could have saved vld, cause just no. No it won't. The writers hate their characters of colour and the Love Keith, if kl had became canon Lance would have just been reduced to being Keith's eye candy. Neither would making him Black paladin. Just look at what happened to Shiro and Kuron

They got done dirty by the fans- Kl shippers insisting that their fanon 'fixed' Lance and said fanon is Lance having every nuance or complexity removed with only things remaining is either his insecurities and him having a crush on Keith my beloathed. Please i need most fans (especially Keith stans) away from him, doesn't matter what their feelings about Lance are, all of them somehow come up with worse fanon

They got done dirty by the creators- Everyone and their mother has talked about this in great detail but still. Just. A farmer?!?! A FARMER?!?!?!!? Also apparently him moving to Altea even though he spent so much time missing Earth like?!??! I would have accepted that if it's because he is Allura's Prince Consort or a diplomat or something but this is just bullshit

Wasted Potential- Lance could have had such a great arc about being support and humility and finding his own place with his own strength but noOooOoo it's instead about how he'll only ever be second choice to fucking Keith

I am constantly going insane rotating him in my brain like a fork in a microwave- this fucker has been in my brain for 7 goddamn years and he is neither planning to leave nor planning to pay rent

Popular ships for this character suck- i actually like most of his ships except klance, the blight that it is (i enjoy it too occasionally but it's so everywhere it's getting on my nerves, free my boy i am tired of Keith)

Overrated- I love him. He is my most favorite character ever, but people need to shut up about him forever <333, especially because that fanon guy is not my son

Constantly listening to songs and mentally holding them up like paint swatches- i have. So. Many animatic ideas around Lance. So many of them

I WANT TO STUDY THEM LIKE COCKROACH- He's my little labrat and i am an unethical scientist about to have fun experimenting. He's just so intriguing, i think what's intriguing to me about is how much messy, contradictory and human he is as a character

FREE SPACE- Maybe i am bit biased here but in my opinion vld should have had three main focal points. Shiro, as he has connection with galra empire and the horrors they were committing in the present and the universe that needs to be rescued, saved and healed. Allura, as she has connection with the lions and their legend as well as the past of the galran empire and what was destroyed in their wake and seeks justice, healing, and remembrance. And finally, Lance, as he's connected to every member of the new team, no matter how uncertain and one sided those bonds were, to Earth and his family who never even knew about those dangers and are unprepared, what's at stake and the future that needs to be defended and protected.

What's wrong with him (affectionate)- He's so goddamn annoying<33333

Not Enough ScreenTime- Or atleast he definitely he needed more focus

My opinions would be received by most fans as akin to hitting a wasps nest with baseball bat- other than my dislike for kl? I think allurance was fine, yes the relationship needed better writing. But so did every relationship in this goddamn show buddy, as a matter al is one of the only ones that actually had some development for both the characters.

Also Lance should have stayed the blue paladin "He deserved to be someone's first choice" HE WAS ALREADY SOMEONE'S FIRST CHOICE!!! HE WAS BLUE'S FIRST CHOICE!!!! BLUE WAITED FOR HIM FOR 10,000 YEARS!!! SHE CHOSE HIM OVER THE BEST PILOTS, THE BEST ENGINEERS, THE BEST SCIENTIST AND SO MANY OTHERS!!!!! *rattling and gnawing on my cage bars*

BITING AND KILLING AND MAIMING THEM AND DEATH AND VIOLENCE- I am definitely Normal™ about him. Yup. Just don't look at my blog

Hunk-

i have answered him here!

Shiro-

They got done dirty by the fans- I do not get this opinion that Shiro staying dead would have fixed the narrative. Like Shiro had been dead since s2 and only came back at the end of s6 to be a side character. Him staying alive was not the reason behind the quality of the show decreasing. Also the entire "who should be the Black Paladin" debate is pointless the answer will always be the guy who fought Zarkon in the Astral Plane for it.

They got done dirty by the creators- Literally so fucking dirty, Shiro really goes from one of the most interesting character with compelling backstory integral to the plot, to a side character who may as well just not be there. The absolute bs of it all

Wasted Potential- Shiro had So Much going for him as a character, but alas

They work better as a part of a dynamic- Shiro and Black Lion parallel mirrored dynamic my beloved they'll never make me hate you <333. Cause seriously it's the most Lion-Paladin bond in the whole show, their shared similar trauma and that too from same people!!! How can you not???

The popular ships for this character suck- maybe this is just me being a Keith hater, but Shiro's dynamic with literally every other character was far more compelling then his dynamic with Keith. Like with Allura? Shared trauma from same people and also shared responsibility. With Pidge? Trying to find the same people they love. With Hunk? Two characters who struggle with their neurodivergency and need stability. With Lance? Character foils. In all these cases Shiro is in an equal position and feels like a character. With Keith however, platonic or romantic, the entire relationship is about how Keith feels about Shiro, and how sad Keith gets when Shiro gets hurt/missing etc etc, and just a completely one sided mess that is less about them equals and more about putting Keith on pedestal, which is just utterly boring nothing burger to me

I want to study them like a cockroach- Tell me your secrets boy <33

Not enough screen time- Yeah </3

My opinions would be received by most fans as akin to hitting a wasps nest with baseball bat- Like i said i find his dynamic with Keith at best boring and at worst detrimental to his character in canon in Doylist perspective way. Which sucks cause like it's fan favorite relationship in both canon and fanon and is also almost everywhere.

Also i know twinganes (Kuron and Shiro being bros) is really popular but i personally cant see them get along. Especially at first. Shiro canonically doesn't like Kuron and refers to him as an evil clone, which understandable, Shiro did spend months dead in astral plane while Kuron (unknowingly) took over his life and then goes on to nearly kill his friends. But it is also so unfair to Kuron who is not only dead but also no one is mourning him AND his body is being used by Shiro. So if Kuron were to survive all That™ i doubt he'll have high opinions about Shiro as well (hence my post s8 au)

And even if all that didn't happen i still think they'll have problems. Like at best they will be civil and friendly but also deeply uncomfortable around each other (Kuron cuz clone trauma and Shiro cuz Haggar trauma). At worst it's just this-

I like them but i don't think about him much- confession i personally found Kuron to be much more compelling as a character. Shiro is a good character! I get why people like him!!! But also if i had to choose between the two it would be Kuron without a doubt. Shiro just doesn't hit the brainrot levels of likability to me

[alaskashigh]

i’m currently driving around in a toddler car so whens the best time to write silly headcanons then now? (Or I get silly ideas when i'm outside doing dumb things so here's some funny things while I have the motivation.) Illinois has definitely driven around his cities in one of those pink toddler cars. He went through a fast food driveway and got a buncha laughs by employees and customers, but was later kicked out by the manager. Bummer. California once went full blown Karen on a In-N-Out manager (damn these managers wildin) because he was exhausted. He was too embarrassed to go back so he ended up going to a new In-N-Out entirely. Florida and Lousiana once taped a bluetooth speaker onto Connecticut's back without him knowing. Everytime he would walk the two would play the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song. It drove Connecticut crazy for a few hours. One time Arkansas and his kids were outside trying to get rid of a wasps nest, his kids decided to be idiots and hit the thing down with a bat. Wasps were everywhere, kids were screaming and fleeing the scene, it was chaos. Arkansas made a mental note to never let his kids deal with something like that ever again. New York and California like to hangout in stores or outside a bunch, and so there was this one time they decided to run around Walmart at 12 in the morning. They ended up knocking an entire aisle over and got kicked out.

Washington and Oregon have a vlog channel. One of their videos is trying different Starbucks drinks and rating them. Every drink was rated poorly, but they secretly enjoyed the drinks. (A couple weeks later they caught each other going to Starbucks. It was very awkward.) Virginia once took Massachusetts to a sweet tea festival as a joke. He almost lost his shit and destroyed the place. (Luckily Virginia dragged him out with minimal damage done to the festival) My motivation has been shit because I always push myself too much when it comes to writing fics and headcanons, so my bad that I haven't gotten to asks or posted in a bit. I actually started a few of the headcanon asks and things a few days ago, I just haven't posted them since I don't want anything to be like half-assed. I'm workin on it I swear lol

[robbno]

I poisoned myself...

This morning at my workplace, I felt the symptoms of a cold brewing in my throat.

I was fine when I woke up. So this was quite a turn, if I may say so.

Eventually it got so bad and I was worried I was a walking virus hazard. So I called the day of and manage to get home before it got worse.

I was surprised to admit that I was feeling a little better when I enter my home. Just a little feverish cold.

I still got to rest up a bit when it hit me... and I went to get a certain "product" and read it's warning label.

A side problem. We have a hided wasps nest by our front door that I've been treated with "Raid spray". I used it before I left this morning

The container said "for indoor use" and I thought it would be okay to use on my front porch. I didn't think of the little element called "wind"

This gas is mostly harmless to humans unless you snort the stuff. But it has symptoms that can get confused with a cold if used wrong.

I poisoned myself!! I had to wash my clothes and rest. I wasted a sick day on being a bloody idiot!

[rowanb3rries]

tmagp episode 20 thoughts. no or not a lot of context but still read at your own peril

to be clear these are just things that are popping into my head as i listen, not a particularly well-thought-out analysis

index of these posts

2:30 instantly i'm hit with the difference between this and when gwen tried to confide in sam and alice fff

3:55 "you know that case i got yesterday?" yeah man that was last week for me and i'm still kinda fucked up about it

4:15 celia Wants To Hear This. i want to know what she's up to so bad lmao

5:20 "that's why i've been trying so hard to protect you" vs "because i'm scared, martin"

7:15 sam's "what" here

7:30 : ) tell me more about these catastrophic world endingly bad things celia

8:15 there is a wasp's nest in my attic

10:30 OH VERY INTERESTING

11:20 "i wanted to be seen", is what they mean. much to think about

14:50 lots of new names in this one

17:30 man. this PERSON

18:55 "small inheritance" but you don't need to worry about money which tells me something else about you than i think you meant to tell me

20:40 this is another one that has me reading ahead in the transcript

20:55 "keeping canvases still" ah, i see

22:25 this one i feel like is much more 'classic' in its mechanism. the fear is what they're after

25:55 OOF

prev | next

i have a kofi if you like this and want to help me keep doing it

[organizationhimself]

i want to talk about a phenomenon i keep seeing with regard to shipping that i find super annoying. it's not, strictly speaking, a problem, but i do think it's gotten to this point where it's actively undermining a lot of character analysis and attempts to reconcile narrative theming.

the thing i'm talking about is when every available scrap of characterization MUST support, let's say, the relationship between minor character Blorble and main character Scrunklia. you and i can freely disagree about whether Scrunklia's tragic past is perfectly aligned with Blorble's bitter misanthropy, we're going to see that kind of thing very differently and that's not what i mean. i'm talking about when Blorble is casually late to a team meeting with the rest of the cast and Scrunklia is peeved, and the character analysis gleefully decides that, because Scrunklia's hair is slightly mussed (which gets pointed out later and made a big deal of and leads to her opening up to a different character about her stress levels), this means she and Blorble must have made out before the meeting.

...like. what? it can't be that this character is visibly stressed out about the unfolding plot of the story, which is actively bringing up uncomfortable memories for her that she is working through with a VARIETY of characters on the cast, and the text demonstrates other examples of her expressing her dissatisfaction with Blorble's ability to respect other people's time? that's maybe not the most romantic interpretation but it's going to be more honest to their characters than a variation that specifically hunts for ANYTHING that positively, and only positively associates Scrunklia's every expressed feeling, opinion, and belief with Blorble (and vice versa), regardless of the cost to her emotional depth and arc.

this extrapolation can warp to the point that the analysis triumphantly declares that not only is Blunklia endgame, but it is supported by the overarching narrative themes of the entire work, up to and including the wedding at the end between Scrunklia and Meowmoe where she looks sadly in the direction of the graveyard where her parents are buried, and where she and Blorble had a conversation once, so that actually means she's thinking regretfully of Blorble while she says her vows.

do you see what i mean? and i could even agree with this interpretation at points. i might think that, while Meowmoe is an excellent friend to her, they don't actually know how to handle Scrunklia's ups and downs as effectively as Blorble. i might agree that thematically, it makes sense for Scrunklia to have a relationship with Blorble that is, if not directly romantic, very intensely platonic and he is one of the emotional support beams in her life. but...that doesn't mean everything this character is and was and will be should be DIRECTLY related to this other character and no one else! there are other characters in the story. sometimes it is about them. sometimes it is about only the one character and THEIR past, and THEIR feelings, and it does them a disservice to deliberately twist that to have the most tenuous possible connection with this particular beau. not only that, it weakens the overall understanding and fandom interpretation of that character.

obviously my examples above are fake and don't have any direct correlation to actual characters (that...i'm aware of??) so don't read into that, because i have an actual example, and here's where i know i'm going to be hitting a wasp's nest dead on.

everybody buckled in? ok.

let's talk about soriku.

i want to preface this by saying i have shipped soriku since 2002. i spent my teenage years in lethal combat with the sokais for an embarrassingly long time, so i'm not here to cast stones, i know my sins. and i don't expect this argument that has been raging back and forth for nearly a quarter of a century to ever actually die down.

my issue i'm taking with it is that a lot of the soriku analysis i see these days does what i'm talking about above, and deliberately undermines sora and riku's individual relationships to other characters (whether they're interpreted as romantically charged or not) as well as their own individual characterizations, in order to fit them into this mold where riku is the caretaker of sora and the Most Importantest Specialest brightest light in the whole entire world, and actually kingdom hearts has been about his relationship to sora the entire time and nothing else.

like...do you think for even a minute that riku would appreciate being told he is actually some sort of bright light that eclipses kairi? that eclipses sora? his entire character arc is about finding a way to accept his darkness and grow in spite of and around it. other characters in the series shout in dismay that no one has ever been able to use light and darkness together like he has. why take all that nuance away, why boil all that down, in order to justify him being sora's direct leader and guide to all things and sole confidante? didn't we establish in kh2 already that their relationship has changed? that riku has always wanted to be more like sora, in the same ways that sora has grown up envying riku for his strength and talent, and riku had to grow and set aside his pride in order to not just expect sora to follow him, but to follow sora sometimes? i can't stress enough that this interpretation of riku is actively deconstructing his entire, fascinating character growth back to its foundations to try to reestablish him as sora's fearless leader and the actual bearer of the light with nary a shred of darkness in his heart. the chosen one, magnanimously letting his exalted eyes rest on the ordinary, unremarkable delivery boy.

and this is coming from a really specific place. because kairi is presented as sora's guiding light in so many ways (and i have a different essay about how this is important to them but also a glaring disservice to her), so...if we're going to cleave to the school of thought above and EVERYTHING sora ever does, says, and thinks must naturally draw his eyes back to riku no matter what, then of course any reference to kairi as being remarkable to sora in some way that riku does not share or exceed must be stamped out of relevance or twisted to serve riku instead. (this doesn't necessarily mean that sora can't have a relationship to kairi that's in some ways important, but all the MOST important and emotionally charged bits can only ever belong to riku.)

this includes, of course, the bane of my existence: the meteor shower.

the argument i've seen for why the meteor shower memory must be a real memory is that namine can't just make memories up, she can only alter existing memories. this...is obviously not true? multiple characters talk about how she can just create whatever she wants and rewrite reality to be whatever she needs; marluxia and larxene are explicitly relying on this fact and directly demand it of her in ways that namine never objects to on the basis that she can't do that, and it's demonstrated in the canon. there was never a real little girl on the islands who was friends with sora and riku and kairi and left suddenly. there was never a friend who used to draw pictures of them on the beach while they played.

because namine didn't WANT to replace someone in sora's life, she only ever wanted her own place there (and knew she could never actually have it). if she wanted to, she could have just made it so that she was kairi all along; that kairi was not alone when she arrived during said meteor shower, or else sora suddenly recalls that it wasn't kairi he met with in the caves in traverse town, but a friend who'd left the islands long ago. it wasn't kairi he saved. it wasn't even kairi he parted from at the end of kh1.

the thing is it seems to take namine much less time to create false memories. when she finally starts working with sora's real ones, she indicates to him that it will take some time (and there were other complications but if she needed him to literally go into cryostasis, we're not talking a week or two). it's never suggested that she alters his real memories in the canon; she describes it as taking apart the links in the chain and attaching the new links. the ones she MADE.

but ok, for the sake of argument, let's grant this limitation even though it's not supported by the text. and let's ignore namine's character, too, and say she'd actually do this to sora on purpose because it doesn't actually matter to her to have her own role in her little fantasy of sora being eager to protect her. why doesn't she just replace kairi, from the start? theoretically this would be easier than going through the effort of coming up with her own storyline to explain who she is and where she went.

"namine's only doing it that way so sora doesn't realize his memories are being replaced." would sora not recognize that such an important memory of riku was being replaced? if namine decided instead to replace his memory of kairi washing up on the beach with herself, do you think sora wouldn't find something wrong with that? why would he so easily and cavalierly assume that this again, allegedly so significant and unique event that happened with one of his two best friends in the entire world, just...actually happened between him and this person he only vaguely remembers? doesn't that mean he barely remembers it even before namine gets very deep into his memory, and he doesn't really think of it as significant at all?

furthermore--if we're treating this as "actually it was riku who said he'd protect sora," then why does sora remember this from the wrong perspective? the replica remembers too, but every memory he has is fake, namine has unrestricted access to him, and she can demonstrably rewrite his memories at whim. sora is the one namine is trying to convince! why would she alter the memory to not just directly replace someone in sora's memory (like she has never done with any other memory of his), but replace him in his own memory? if the memory was real and riku was really the one there, what sora should be remembering is namine swearing to protect HIM!

and that's not even the worst of it, because namine has deliberately made these memories to create doubt. she wants sora to question why riku remembers something different. she is doing this to try to save him. but this is being twisted and reimagined so that she's selfishly replacing riku in a memory that actually exists and is precious to sora, so that riku can forever be the person sora's eyes land on. this undermines her character in service to a ship she's not even a part of.

and it undermines sora's character too! both for the reasons above and because his perspective is never actually considered in this interpretation. why would famously adventurous and enthusiastic sora, who expresses interest in going to other worlds, and who doesn't grasp most of physics or consequences until they're actually happening to him, be worried about a meteor hitting the islands in the first place, over being totally gobsmacked at the spectacle?

wouldn't it be more in character for riku to think of that?

when terra meets him on the beach in bbs, riku expresses that he wants to become stronger to protect what matters. this suggests he's been ruminating it for a while, in his serious way, and actually recognizes that there are things out there that need to be protected against (a fact sora doesn't really seem to consider until he actually leaves his island). and we know that even then riku was looking up to sora and didn't feel like he can just follow his heart the way sora does. so why would he go out on a limb, years before the beach scene on kh2 or his conversation at yen sid's with kairi, and say something so...sora-like?

wouldn't it be more in character for endlessly silly, overly confident sora to believe in his entire five-year-old heart that he can totally hit that whole-ass meteor back with his flimsy wooden sword if he really believes?

namine clearly thought so.

clearly kairi is restored to all the places she occupies in sora's memories in the end, and sora never talks about the meteor shower memory again, so just in case it's not already clear because this idea is so widespread, i am asserting that it is a headcanon that isn't directly supported by the text. but that isn't even really my concern; i have plenty of headcanons that aren't even a little bit supported by the text that i totally accept and love. if this one were designed in a way that supported, instead of tore down, the characters of sora, riku, namine, and kairi for that matter, then i would think it was a cute headcanon and probably be all for it, and this post wouldn't exist.

the issue i'm taking with it is that this notion is taking the idea of riku-as-protector and sora-as-emotionally-vulnerable-let's-just-come-out-and-say-UKE-like-it's-2005, and working backwards from that conclusion to establish what happened in canon, instead of extrapolating from canon to build out the characters as they appear there. it's my opinion that doing this actually only hurts the characters, their impact on the narrative, and the ship.

anyway, like i said. not strictly a problem, fandom gonna fandom. it just annoys me, because i'm seeing this in so many ships, so often, and i don't think people even realize they're doing it sometimes.

here's a radical thought: not every romance needs to be star-crossed and "my one true only love i would die for ahead of anyone else, who i could still be happy with if every single other person in my life were dead." sometimes relationships are intense and burn out quick and fast; sometimes they are slow and subtle and last forever; sometimes they are any combination of the above and include permutations i haven't even touched on, romantic or not; sometimes your best friend becomes your rival becomes something more that you don't know how to define, or maybe you do, but all you know for certain is that he will be at your side holding your hand as you reach out to sacrifice your own heart to save the world, never once asking you to turn your back on everyone else you love for his own sake.

so yeah. for the record i still ship soriku (among other things!) and always have. but i also recognize that sora has many other important people and relationships in his life, many of which have absolutely nothing to do with riku, and part of the reason i ship it as hard as i do is because of how much riku has grown and learned to recognize that too.

finally, if so much of the fandom feels the need to alter and reinterpret sora's other significant relationships to be about riku (to remove the "threat"), that's admitting that there isn't enough evidence already in the canon to support soriku as a ship.

and i'm sorry, but i just don't think that's true.

[ivegennedmylastloss]

hidey hodey neighborinoes i know i may or may not have disappeared for like half a fucking year but brain does what brain do. since i am now willing to admit that i likely will not find the motivation to write a full length fic like i would want, i wanted to post the “outline” (re: complete gibberish only past me could understand). at some point i’ll try to compile all the tidbits i had sprinkled across drafts and docs and try to clean it up a little but, well, im not even sure what i meant in some spots. hopefully ill pull the writers block out of my ass one day but until then, take this word vomit:

(for clarifications sake, r= red/ranboo, g= green/charlie, b= blue/sneeg, h= hetch, sfm= showfall media)

retelling of ep three from hetch’s pov. mask broke sfm doesn’t know. reset after stab still aware of what he’s doing but can’t control himself. hopeful ending with planning to save the trio and get them out?

the closet sfm is onto hetch so he has to do damage control ran receiving no instructions. things settle scenes been dragging he panics and basically controls r to kill ethan

maybe broadcasted to a different universe. problem w family and friends recognize

maybe broadcasted to rich assholes like in the purge/gladiator type deal?

the face of the hacker wasn’t actually supposed to do things but did anyways

follow up w/ rgb saving him g and b reluctant. r insist they won’t let anyone else die because of them. idk burn the mall maybe torch it like a fuckin wasp nest

employees stop at the door mannequins little nightmares two.

all four struggling down the road maybe r passing out carried by g or b

hot wire a car

traumatize gas station clerk

fire department from fire alarm

hetch flag down car 2 options:

car sped off but called police for them

offered ride to hospital

hetch the sidewalk isn’t wide enough fourth wheel type deal mostly unscathed compared to rgb but smol bean has anxiety and left over programming. weak little noodle arms can’t help shit. b sending hella death glares

b wouldn’t want to help hetch

r electrocuted from attempted mask removal

through the power of friendship and laws of physics or electrical plasma whatever it isn’t fatal hoorah

hetch stunned doesn’t help gb fuckin pissed at him

paramedics confused about what happened to these very dedicated cosplayers that are found half dead barely hours after the live finale

r wakes and is terrified thinking they’re at the box and start screaming for gb. hetch freezes g n b have to be held back by police

hospital r coma from noggin surgery (medically induced for healing cause wtf) g and b want to kick hetch’s ass only stop cause of r

prob not ccs maybe r foster kid hinted maybe

b needs to get to punch someone. american healthcare so probably a doctor or a nurse

hetch medically released first<irrelevant travel distance. hetch watching charlie and sneeg have friends and family going in and out but r has no on so hetch goes

others not allowed in camp out in waiting room. ran wakes up and freaks. competent doc allows them in and r calms down. good doc fights for them to be able to stay in the room psych health. special accommodations are made no tv in room gets a double room for more beds/couches <<needs special room post brain surgery op icu maybe nurse/doc maneuverability <<< maybe one allowed in at a time

^the nice doctor thrown in for pity maybe philza if crossover? detective techno? or both detectives that almost beat the shit outta the responding cops for fucking up the most important case they’d ever get

sfm sends an employee pretending to be ranboos mom. the others are scared but also she is acting like a mom that lost her kid so maybe it’s okay??<< others not allowed in the room since family only? nope ran wakes up freaks cause that bitch ain’t momboo (dead question mark? orphan? don’t tell techno)

employee tries to strangle r no loose ends: doc pulls her off; trio breaks in hetch proves himself?; r is a bamf and defends themself (hitting? reverse uno they strangle her? rips out iv and stabs her?< needle to weak would have to be in eye)

r scared to sleep from cabin electrocution and execution hold hand 👉👈?

carousel saved NO FIRE IF CAROUSEL perhaps a group meet for victims ranboo and hetch reluctant to enter cause they think they’re their murderers. eef spots r and runs to hug him others follow positive to r wary to hetch b says hetch is the one responsible for saving all of them bada bing bada boom happy ending