#also good is Angie being incredibly stubborn

[languajix]

Ello!

I would love to respond to your answer of my ask but I don’t know anything about who your characters are or what they look like… would be able to explain a bit? It’s fine if not!

Hello! Absolutely! Thank you for asking. I'm so excited you want to respond to that :D

I don't make art myself, but a friend of mine drew a doodle of Uncle Mike and his nibbles (nephews) here! I also have a general tag for the art people have made which includes a little more of the kids.

---

My characters sitting out by the fire are:

Mike - a 27-year-old 2k3 Michelangelo. His mask goes over his head rather than across his eyes, and at the camp he is currently wearing blue beads in his mask, his mask tails are dyed red, and he is wearing purple nail polish. He has lost his left arm up past the elbow.

He's goofy and determined to be the fun uncle. Chatty, likes pop culture references. Pretty much always grinning. He doesn't like being the responsible one, but if he's the only adult in the room, he will be. Currently trying to set a good example for his nephews.

For actual refs for your mental theatre, here's a pic of him at 15, next to a (future) pic of him at 45 (...kind of, it's complicated.). He's a little more than 1/3 of the way to the future pic.

Then there are his nephews (his brother Don is sort of an adoptive parent to them.) They are the Rise turtles, only a couple of weeks mutated. Mike calls them his 'nibbles' affectionately because they are his 'nephews/niblings' and tiny, 'the perfect size for a little nibble'.

El (Raphael) - Roughly mentally two. Not ready to talk yet, but knows some baby sign - "Yes," "No," "Drink," "Eat," "I love you," and signs they've picked for each of his brothers, to start. Can identify colors and follow simple instructions. The only sounds he currently makes are turtle noises and a little huffing sort of laugh. A total and utter sweetheart. (But he can and will throw an incredible tantrum in the right situation.)

Lee (Leonardo) - One-ish, still very small. Very mobile, likes to crawl/climb on everything, chirps a lot. Likes stimulation! Noise, motion, interaction.

Dee (Donatello) - One-ish, same size as Lee. Does not like to be touched without a lot of warning. Doesn't like loud noises, weird smells, wrong textures... Will let you know if he's not happy by hissing, or worse, biting, and stubborn enough not to let go for a long time. Tends to stare at stuff pretty intently when he's curious or focused on learning.

Angie (Michelangelo) - Tiny baby. Spends most of his time sleeping, staring up at things, occasionally patting someone to comfort them... he likes watching the fire.

---

For thoroughness's sake, the kids and Mike first meet in this fic here, but I do not expect you to read any of that! The info up top should be more than enough. Please let me know if you have questions, though :D

[spaceorphanssecondbreakfastclub]

SO's Bookclub : The Ghosts of Now

Title: The Ghosts of Now Author: Joan Lowery Nixon Genre: YA Mystery

Goodreads Summary: It's Friday night and Angie Dupree is alone in the house when the phone rings. "Your brother is dead," whispers a voice. At the hospital, Angie finds Jeremy in a coma from which he may never recover. Angie is on her own trying to piece together the events of that horrifying night. Her family is new to town. What could Jeremy possibly have discovered that led him so deeply into danger? Angie won't rest until she finds out. But she doesn't know someone is ready to do anything to stop her...

Review: These books are like crack. I can see why I ate them up as a young teen.

A few things to note before I dig in - Something I haven't mentioned, but each book has its own font attached to it - the title and chapter headers are very different from each other. It's not until the 90s reprints do the covers become homogenized. But the original fonts (definitely created in the time periods they were published) are retained. I think it's a cool detail - since it adds to the flavor of the book. Also - I've been seeking out the original covers of these books, they are all these 70s/80s pulp fiction kind of style. The one for this particular book is extra creepy. The girl on the cover is hauntingly disturbing.

Back to the actual review... I don't know if JLN got a new editor, or if she suddenly just became a better writer, but this book's writing is vastly better than the previous ones. (The previous book was decent - but there were still some awkward passages.) There isn't as much erroneous details, and the dialogue, which had been somewhat cringey in the previous books, is much better.

I'd kind of wonder if she used a ghost writer if it weren't for the fact that her usual tropes are very much in tact - some even exaggerated due to the specific story she's telling.

So - Angie is a California girl with her dad in the oil business - and they've moved out to Texas. It's funny - when I was younger, I never really noticed all of these books being set in Texas - but this one takes it to really stereotypical levels to emphasize the point that Angie is an outsider. The whole crux of the plot is that a small town kind of bands together to protect their own at the sacrifice of a young kid who just kinda happened to be caught up in the wrong type of thing.

And, actually, it's not bad. There are some definite creepy parts to the novel (when they're checking out the abandoned house, the tension is deliciously good). And the whole premise that this town has secrets leaves you feeling very uncomfortable in a very believable way (says a person who felt like an outsider coming into small town life).

While the story isn't bad, some of the characterization still is. The main character, Angie, does some things that just make you feel incredibly uncomfortable with second hand embarrassment. She crosses a lot of lines, and while she's right to call certain things out, the way she does it is so awkward that it's really hard to read. She's also very irritatingly stubborn in her approach - and while you can give her a pass for being a teen in the 80s, sometimes it's frustrating watching her not take an easier path to achieve her ultimate goal in who put her brother in the coma.

The other characters, too, aren't really that interesting. Angie has a boyfriend, like, right off the bat when she moves in, but he's a little bland, and really lacking any motivation as to why they connect. She makes a few friends - but they're so inconsequential to the story they might as well not be there. And everyone else is suspicious and terrible - which makes the book kind of go in the direction you most expect it to.

There's also a family drama element going on, too. The dad is a workaholic asshole, who seems to think mental health is not something to concern one's self with. While Angie's mom is slowly becoming an alcoholic because she hates that she's forced to move around so much due to her husband's job. The whole point is the theme of 'ghosts' and that they're not a family, just ghosts of who they should be -- and Angie's brother ending up in a coma kind of wakes them all up from it. I've never been one for family dramas in general, but questionable mental health comments aside, it's not that bad.

I should also mention that the book holds up relatively well, except for when it is blatantly 80s. At one point, Angie exclaims that she much prefers disco over country-western, which really gave me a laugh.

I'll also say that the ending just... isn't worth the tension the rest of the book brings. It feels somewhat anticlimactic and almost silly. It's kind of like JLN had to take it down because it was a teen book or something.

Overall, it is one of the better novels I've read so far, though.

Rating: 3 stars

[thelastspeecher]

Help - A Superhero/villain AU ficlet

A couple days ago, I made a post about the development of Stan and Angie’s relationship in this AU, and came up with a moment in which they have their first breakthrough.  Naturally, I had to write said moment.  Enjoy.

              Stan increased the velocity of the windshield wipers and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel.

              “Singin’ the driving song…radio’s broke, and I don’t have the dough to fix it…” he hummed to himself.  As the Stanleymobile cruised past a bench, Stan saw a flash of bright color out of the corner of his eye.  He looked back.  The color had been a bright yellow raincoat, worn by a lone woman sitting on the bench.

              Wait.  She looks familiar.  Stan looped around the block again, this time paying attention to the person waiting for the bus.  Angie?  He pulled up in front of the bench and rolled down the window.

              “Angie!” he called.  Angie looked up at him.  “What the hell are you doing?”

              “Waitin’ fer the bus,” Angie replied.

              “In the rain?  Without an umbrella?”

              “Forgot it at home.”

              “Why are you waiting for the bus in the first place?” Stan asked, turning off the car.  “You have a truck.”

              “I share a truck with Lute,” Angie corrected.  “He dropped me off this mornin’ at my day job, but got called into work, so he can’t pick me up.”  She huffed irritably.  “Not that ya need to know that.”

              “Actually, maybe I shoulda known that,” Stan said.

              “Why?”

              “That way I coulda been here sooner to give you a ride.”  Stan unlocked the doors.  “Hop in.  I’ll take you home.”

              “No.”

              “Why not?”

              “I don’t need yer help.”

              “I watched that video Lute gave me.  Your immune system is weaker when you’re pregnant.”

              “So?”

              “You’re gonna get sick if you sit out in the rain and the cold,” Stan said. Angie scowled.  “You wanna be stubborn when it only hurts feelings, be my guest.  But don’t be stubborn if it’s gonna physically hurt you or the babies.”  Angie’s scowl deepened, but she got up from the bench and approached the car.

              “Fine,” she muttered darkly, getting into the passenger seat.  Stan frowned at her.

              “You look like a drowned rat.”

              “Gee, thanks.”  Angie grabbed a fistful of her soaked hair and began to wring it out.  “Hope ya don’t mind gettin’ water on the upholstery.”

              “Eh.  Worse things have gotten on the seats in this old girl.”  Stan turned on the car again.  He pulled away from the bus stop.  “Angie, you have my number.  Why didn’t you call me when you knew you didn’t have a ride home?”

              “It weren’t related to the pregnancy nor the babies,” Angie said. Stan sighed.

              “Yeah, but still.  You needed help.”

              “I was fine.”

              “You’re pregnant with twins, and you were sitting on a bench in the rain for who knows how long,” Stan snapped.  “You weren’t fine.”

              “Okay, maybe I could’ve used some assistance,” Angie said.  “But why would I ask you fer it?  We’re archenemies!  You wouldn’t have helped me before all this happened.”

              “No, I wouldn’t have,” Stan agreed.  “But we’re not archenemies anymore.  You can ask me for help.”

              “…What the heck are we, then?” Angie mumbled after a moment.

              “Fuck if I know,” Stan said.  Angie let out a small chuckle.  A few moments passed in silence.  Stan glanced over at Angie.  She was shivering intensely.  “Cold?”

              “Always.”

              “Really?” Stan asked.  He increased his body temperature; not enough to actively burst into flames, but enough to warm up the car.  Angie nodded.

              “I’m small and used to warmth.”  She peered at the controls for the A/C.  “Yer car has dif’rent buttons than Lute’s truck.”

              “Don’t bother messing with it.  It’s broken.  But you should start warming up pretty soon.”

              “Why?”

              “I can do more than burst into flames.”  Stan eyed Angie.  “Just like I’m sure you can do more than fly and make it windy out.”

              “Of course I can!” Angie protested.  “Where do ya think my codename comes from?”

              “Sirocco?  Wasn’t it your mom’s?”

              “Yes.  But I weren’t referrin’ to that.  I meant the one I share with Lute.  Twister Twins.”  Stan’s eyes widened.

              “Wait, can you actually make tornadoes?”

              “When Lute and I work together, we can make any kind of meteorological natural disaster, really,” Angie said proudly.  She grinned.  “We got our nickname when we were tots, playin’ with our powers.  Accidentally made a bunch of lil twisters ‘fore Harper ‘n Ma shut it down.”

              “Who’s Harper?”

              “My older brother.”

              “You have an older brother?” Stan asked.  Angie fell silent.  “Oh. Are we done sharing things now?”

              “Yes.”

              “You don’t even wanna tell me about my kids’ uncle?”

              “No.”

              “Why?  Is he a villain, too?”

              “My whole fam’ly is, Stan.  That’s the point!” Angie burst out.  “Why didn’t I call ya?  ‘Cause yer literally the person who could throw me and everyone I care about into jail.  Heck, a few months ago, the only ride you would’ve given me was a ride to the police station!  I can’t ask a hero fer help when it can endanger myself and my friends ‘n fam’ly.”

              “But you’re not actively breaking the law right now.  You’re not putting on your mask.”

              “I’ve been doin’ some paperwork fer my crew, since I can’t join ‘em in the field,” Angie said.  “What if- what if I ask fer yer help, and ya show up and see evidence of law-breakin’?”

              “I can turn a blind eye.”

              “I highly doubt yer ‘heroic moral compass’ would allow that,” Angie scoffed, making air quotes around the phrase “heroic moral compass”.

              “Heroic moral compass,” Stan snorted.  “I’ve done worse than pretend I didn’t see the woman carrying my kids commit a crime.”

              “…Really?”

              “Yeah.”  Stan glanced at Angie.  “I never told you?”  Angie shook her head.  “I got kicked outta my home when I was seventeen.  While I was busy trying to survive, I fell in with some bad crowds, got banned from a couple states, committed some felonies.  Your basic bottoming out.”

              “How are ya a hero, then?”

              “Ford got hold of me and convinced me to turn my life around.  Stop being a criminal, do something with my life, and make our mom proud.  She’s a retired hero, y’know.”

              “I didn’t know that.”

              “Well, I’m not surprised.  We don’t know a lot about each other, for people about to have two kids.”  A minute passed.

              “…I have four older brothers,” Angie said quietly.  “Harper, Basstian, Fiddleford, and Lute.”  Stan opened his mouth.  “Yes, Lute’s my twin.  But he’s also two minutes older ‘n me, and he don’t let me forget it.”

              “Ford’s fifteen minutes older than me.  I know what you mean.”

              “I- I have an older sister, too.  Violynn.”  Angie looked out the window.

              “You done?”

              “Fer now.”

              “Fair enough.”  Stan took a deep breath.  “Look, Angie-”

              “Next time, I’ll call you,” Angie interrupted.

              “I thought you were done.”

              “Talkin’ ‘bout my fam’ly, yes.  But not- not done talkin’ to you.”  Angie rubbed her thumb against the window, tracing the rain streaking the glass. “I’ll- I’ll call ya, if I need help.”

              “I’ll be there.”

              “You better,” Angie said softly.  Stan pulled up in front of her house.

              “Your stop, madam,” Stan said.  Angie rolled her eyes, but didn’t hide her small smile.

              “Yer a bit of a dork, ain’t ya?”

              “Only if I don’t come across as suave.”

              “Heh.”  Angie opened the door.  She paused. “Y’know, Stanley, it’s an awful shame ya didn’t continue down the road of villainy.  We would’ve been great partners.”  She winked at him, and with that, exited the car.  Stan watched her walk inside, then drove away.  He glanced in the rearview mirror at the unassuming house of two supervillains.  

              Great partners, huh?

[carcinogenic-glow]

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts :3 if i may share another... Karkat and his love of romance movies. Thoughts? (I find it sweet. Adorable. And just... Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy this angy child could write paragraphs of romances (troll quadrants also included) because he loves romance movies so much. Specifically romcoms?)

god yes ok yeah this one i have so much to say

so kind of back to what I said in the prev ask abt his anger/hemo-anonymity facade, i feel like the movies are the "best way" for him to let himself feel any kind of other emotion without feeling weak/lesser than about it.

dont get me wrong, i absolutely love that he loves those movies so much (13 y/o me literally bought most of the ones in karkat: be a fanboy hnfjshab) but it is 100% one of my favourite parts of his character. like, yeah hussie could have put it in there for a joke, but even if he did, he ended up giving this kid who was too stubborn to simply surrender to the violent society we see him live in, have such a spot (to the point where he is shown to publicly cry/info dump about these topics to any/all of his friends) that we see as effeminate? ((there are other lines in the comic that could be interpreted as gender roles being flipped on alternia etc but i dont think thats the case))

however!! i have seen/like the take that karkat and quadrants mirror dave and his struggle w heteronomativity/masculinity which i absolutely support as a huge davekat nut, but i do also just think its a good take to incorporate w his movie thing anyway. we never see him diss his movies the same way june does as they get older on the ship and realize how shitty con air is, but we also know that while kk was incredibly knowledged in the quadrant system, even as far as the intricacies of knowing proper ways to vacillate between quadrants, along w never getting confirmation by any of the other characters at any point about knowing what quadrant he and dave are in (ie when looking at this as a mirror to daves struggles, kk leaving the strict confines of the quadrant system as a queer allegory in another society), i think it works really well but is more subtle than daves own arc about over coming old forgotten societal things that shaped them

anyway! i think narratively the romcoms add many facets to his character, and also add for some good jokes. all the kids in all the sessions are shown to have a niche thing they eventually come to terms w and while we dont see that in-depth we do see that at least w the quadrants he doesnt feel the need to define himself to them by the time the two og sessions meet up

ok last thought is i j like in fanfic/humanstuck when people make him just Some Guy™️who loves to read romance books in his free time and will be the opposite of ashamed when people call him out on it :')

[captainjimothycarter]

steggy + 17 :) thamks !!!

this is just...so bad and it makes no sense

--

“That was incredibly stupid of you,” Peggy sighed out of her nose, all the while glaring down at the blonde curled up (to the best of his ability) inside of the wheelchair. “Not only was it incredibly stupid - what-what if you had gotten hurt, Steve? Worst than that! What if you had bled out and died in my arms?! What if-”

She only stopped her rambling, well-deserved rebuke when a car pulled up and Sam swiftly walked around to help load the scrawny bastard inside of the car. 

“I don’t think he’s listening to you,” Sam pointed out as they managed to buckle the guy inside. “Steve’s out like a light. The hell did they give him?”

“Enough pain meds to shut him up,” Peggy grumbled, walking around so she could sit in the passenger seat. Her arms folded across her chest as Sam got back behind the wheel and he started to slowly ease them back into traffic.

“You know...when you called to tell me Steve was stabbed outside of your bar, I wasn’t worried.” Peggy shot him a look and Sam’s shoulders shrugged. “Look, I was it’s just...Steve gets into these fights every day. Every other day. A stabbing? I thought it was just...well, it wasn’t real. That you or he were pulling my leg. I’m glad to see he’s okay. The doc say anything useful?”

“Plenty useful, I just don’t know if Steve heard any of it.” She sighed and rubbed a hand over her temples. Sam didn’t miss the show she glanced back to the slumped over blonde. “I was so worried when he started to...bleed out. I didn’t think. I used the damn trashcan lid he had and beat the guy senseless, stole his wallet, and took Steve to the hospital.”

Sam almost stopped the car for that one, making Peggy flinch. Her hand reached back to steady Steve and at least their driver had the decency to look apologetic. “I’m sorry - you stole the guy who stabbed Steve’s wallet?”

“Yes, and?” She raised her brow at him. “It was foolish and I wasn’t thinking, but I wanted some information on him to give to the police. I was more thinking of getting Steve to the hospital. Thankfully the doctors said it was a shallow wound and just required a few stitches and a hell of a lot of pain medication. He wasn’t even complaining of being in pain, just...just apologizing over and over again.”

“And the ranting earlier?”

“Me letting steam out since I have no idiot to punch.”

Sam sighed just as loud as she did, drumming his fingers onto the wheel. “Do I need to say it?”

“Say what?!”

“Carter, you ain’t stupid.” His eyes set on hers as they pulled into the parking spot outside of her apartment. “Steve might’ve been stabbed, but it was to protect you. Or the building. Or who knows, a three-legged kitten. Who’s to say why those idiots were fighting him. Either way, the kid likes you. He apologized because he knew it upset you. Don’t...don’t let this go and upset you even worst, okay? Steve is a brat sometimes, unmistakeably stubborn, but when he likes someone or is even friends with them, then he has a fierce protection streak.

That being said…” Sam shrugged and let a small smile fall on his lips. “He does like you.”

Christ, as if she didn’t know. Or worst, as if she didn’t like him enough as it was. 

She knew Steve was stubborn. No matter how many times she turned Steve away from her bar, not because he was annoying patrons or playing White Knight, but just so he could go get some sleep or take care of himself, he always found a reason to stay. They’d met at her bar months ago, when he stumbled in from the rain, claimed in some stumbling over the manner of his own words that he liked her bar. He’d found excuses to come back, despite he’d said he couldn’t drink. He stayed to protect innocent college girls from creepers, to make sure no one lingered around the bar to hurt her. To fill in for waitresses, chefs, even help her clean at night.

And by the end of the night, when they needed to go home, he always hesitated to say something. Once or twice, Peggy found herself so close to just grabbing him and kissing him. Instead, he’d stumbled out something about a good night before running away.

Just to come back the next day. 

“Don’t I know it,” Peggy sighed. “Frankly, I like him too. I just…” She shrugged slightly. “I should just ask him out already. Put an end to this dancing around. I don’t know what’s stopping me. My own reserve? Worry for...dragging him into the bar life? Fuck, he got stabbed because of me!”

There came the crashing guilt, the guilt and pain she’s put off for hours. That she was too focused on holding Steve’s hand, ignoring her own anxiety over the whole manner. Her fist slammed down onto her thigh and she found Sam’s arms tightly around her.

Damn this bastard and his ability to read her. Damn him for giving good hugs.

“I know, I know,” he purred, rubbing up and down Peggy’s arm as she cried into his shoulder. “Well, now you can ask him out once he’s not hyped up on some pain meds. Come on, I’ll help you get him inside.”

Sam was a good man, a good friend. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. 

“Are you sure you don’t mind taking care of the bar for a few days?” Peggy asked him after Steve was tucked into her bed, a glass of water nearby. 

“I don’t mind. I could do with the experience,” Sam mused, leaning into the doorway. “I promise I won’t let Clint drink all the beer.”

“Or Bucky,” she pointed out.

Sam’s lips broke out into a grin, pulling her up for another hug. “Take care of the kid, alright? Stubborn bastard.”

--

Sam was right. She’d danced around Steve for far too long and why? She wasn’t oblivious to her feelings for him. She liked him. Christ, in the right circumstances, she loved him. She loved to watch his eyes light up when they got to discussing art or even politics. She loved how opinionated he could be. How fierce he was in his opinions. How righteous he was. How he fought for the little people.

She loved how caring he was, paying more than enough food to give out to the homeless people nearby despite she did that out of her own pocket. She loved how he took care of old people and helped them with their groceries. 

Christ, she was in love with Steve and denied it the entire time. 

Maybe...maybe she denied it because she didn’t want him in this life. She sunk her whole savings into this bar, ran away from home, took the first job as a waitress in this bar, and kept it up and going until the owner signed it over. Now it was one of the best gay bars in town. It was friendly and open and while it was classified as a bar, she knew Clint and Angie next door ran the bakery and cafe to stay open just as late for those who didn’t like the bar scene.

She loved how Steve tried to be in both places at once to help.

Christ, she loved him.

It was Steve’s soft grunting that made her look up from pouring over the police files and the doctor’s notes. She turned around from the counter and frowned at the scrawny thing, in one of Sam’s borrowed shirts, hobbling to her. His face was flushed, with freckles standing out. He was covered in sweat and smelled like the hospital as he reached her.

She was stunned as he kissed her lips and Peggy sunk into it. 

Until it struck her. He was high on pain meds and possibly wouldn’t remember this.

“Steven?” She breathed, gently eased him off of her. “Are you okay? Why are you out of bed? Did you-”

“I love you,” Steve interrupted her. His face turned to the color of a tomato at this point. “I love you, Peggy. I-I heard you and Sam talking in the car. I love you and I”m sorry for everything. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before. I’m sorry that I didn’t just come inside when you told me. I-”

He was silenced by her kissing, kept to a bare minimum given the fact he was still holding onto his side.

“How out of it on meds are you?” She asked, touching his face.

“I ain’t. I told you, I got a high pain tolerance, especially to drugs. They took the edge off is all.” His face was covered in sweat and he looked green as if to prove a point as he shrugged. “Pegs…”

“No,” she breathed, shaking her head. “Let’s get you cleaned up first, then we can talk.”

It took some maneuvering to get Steve back to bed and using a cool washcloth to clean the sweat off of his body. She inspected the sound to be sure no stitches were torn and breathed a sigh of relief when they weren’t. She retreated to the kitchen, just to bring back leftovers heated up for him to slowly eat.

“You worried me,” she told him, sitting on edge of the bed. “Worried isn’t even the word I can use right now. You...christ, Steven, I was terrified! I thought I was going to faint when you started to bleed out! I was so terrified that he-he had killed you! What made you do that?!”

“I heard him and his buddies threatening to kill you because you’re…” He stopped and swallowed the bite of fried rice. “Because you ran the gay bar. Let’s just put it that way. I didn’t think, that’s the problem and I think everyone in my life will agree I ain’t never had a thought in my life. I just...saw red. I know you can protect yourself but all I could do was...protect you.”

At least Steve looked almost ashamed but that’s not what Peggy wanted. She didn’t want him to be ashamed or guilty. She wanted him to just understand how close she came to losing him and how terrified that made him feel. 

“Steven…” She saw the way his shoulders squared in what he thought was a lecture to come, she was lectured out. “Look at me, darling, by no means am I...happy about this. I don’t need saving, but I am thankful for what you did. Beyond means that I can express. I am also so glad that you’re alive and okay and…” She took the empty containers and set them to the side, crawling up his frame so she could lay on his good side.

“And,” she continued. “And...I want...to go further...about us. We don’t have to talk about it now because we’re both utterly exhausted, but I’d...like to discuss it in the future.”

“Oh good,” Steve breathed, his cheeks flushing a bright pink. He tucked himself into her side, too tired to continue this topic of how wrong and right he was. “Because I like spending time with you.”

[i-just-love-spop]

Of babysitting and (potential) kitchen fires [Chapter two]

Chapter one

Summary: Bow is a great dad and also extremely tired, Catra is officially never getting used to teleporting (and in massive denial about why the cat connected to her feelings is nesting), and Glimmer and Bow have a lot of cuddling to make up for.

[Shameless post season five Adora and Catra both want kids but haven’t talked about it yet-fic that was supposed to be a one shot but isn’t anymore. Starring: the best friend squad, two Glow/Glimbow children, Melog, cuddling, a bit of angst and, of course, the best friend squad teasing each other.]

Disclaimer: This was originally posted on my Ao3, EleenaDume, which I would love to source, but tumblr is driving me insane and apparently one of the reasons why my posts might not show up in the tags could be external links, so I’m trying it again without the link. If you want to check if I’m really the same person, I’ve added this account to my list of other accounts on my Ao3-profile.

Angie was finally asleep, her tiny head of curly brown hair cuddled against her father‘s chest.

Bow was beyond exhausted, but he was happy.

She looked so cute when she was asleep.

...Admittedly, that wasn’t saying much because she was also very cute when she was awake. But he liked seeing her sleeping so peacefully.

His kids were incredible.

He would have been happy just hugging his wife and daughters until the end of time.

Speaking of his wife, he really, really hoped she would be back soon. She’d already been pretty tired before the meeting, and that had started hours ago.

Neither of them had been sleeping much these past weeks, but even though he did his best helping the Queen of Brightmoon with her royal duties, there were things she had to do that he couldn’t – Bow wasn’t a sorcerer, exactly, and Glimmer loved connecting with the people of her kingdom by teaching them magic –, and others that he could have helped her with, but that she didn’t let him do because she was stubborn.

She drove him insane sometimes... but on the other hand, he loved how determined and strong-willed she was, just as much as he loved how giddy with excitement she still got about the simplest of things, even after all this time.

Glimmer was amazing. Sure, she had her flaws – but really, who didn’t. There was nothing Bow would have changed about the woman he loved, even if he could have. And there was nothing better in the galaxy than for your wife to also be your best friend, Bow was certain of that.

He was still contemplating whether or not he should put Angie into her crib because even though he had just spend over an hour trying to get his daughter to sleep, there was a part of him that longed to keep her in his arms just a little longer...

He almost jumped when the entire remaining best friend squad suddenly popped up on the bed behind him completely out of nowhere.

Most of the time, he was used to it and wasn’t startled anymore – Glimmer had been teleporting everywhere from a very early age on, her randomly popping up out of literally nowhere wasn’t exactly new to him –, but he had been so lost in the moment that they had really, really startled him.

“You know, we could have just walked, Sparkles,” Catra groaned.

She had gotten used to a lot of the weirdness since she’d first befriended them, and even learned to enjoy a lot of the weirdness – Melog was amazing and had helped her heal a lot, and the food here was amazing, and she still didn’t know what the heck the waterfall in the room she shared with Adora was for if it wasn’t for showering, but it looked nice, so she wasn’t complaining – but the teleporting was the one thing she would probably never get used to.

It made her dizzy and kind of sick, and she was always completely disoriented after it, even when she knew where they were going and had been there before.

...alright, maybe Adora hugging her and rubbing her back to make her feel better afterwards did make it somewhat bearable, but that was the only thing she liked about it, and it wasn’t like she needed any excuses to touch her wife these days.

She still leaned into the movement, Adora lovingly drawing circles on her back until her queasiness subsided.

“...sorry, I just couldn’t wait to get to bed. It’s been a really long day, and now I just want to get some sleep.“

Glimmer smiled at her sympathetically, then just collapsed backwards onto the mattress.

“Angie is actually asleep for once, so go ahead and sleep, yeah? I can go get her later tonight if she wakes up. You look exhausted.”

Bow sat down next to his wife, gently running his fingers through her hair, still holding their daughter in this other arm.

Glimmer smiled softly, her eyes already halfway closed, then look his hand in hers, squeezing it lovingly.

“You’re incredible, but you need sleep just as much as I do. Luckily for us, Catradora offered to take care of Angie for tonight, so you can just hand her over, and then we can peacefully cuddle for the next five to seven hours, what do you say?”

Catra and Adora both still blushed furiously whenever someone called them that. Scorpia had used it once after seeing them together several years ago, and somehow it had stuck.

“I told you to stop calling us that,” Catra grumbled, head still cradled into Adora’s neck.

Glimmer just grinned.

“Never happening. You two are basically attached by the hip at this point.”

“I think someone is asking for some more of the PDA that annoys her so much the next time we go on a double date,” Adora said, winking, a smug grin spreading all over her face.

“Oh stars I love you so much.”

Catra kissed her wife lovingly, and this time Adora was neither pulling back nor complaining, so either she had decided that the glitter was worth it or the taste was gone. Not that it mattered. Catra was just happy about getting to kiss her again.

“Are you actually going to babysit or are you just going to stay on our bed making out all night? Because if it’s the latter I’d much prefer it if you could just take this back to your own room,” Glimmer commented, giggling wearily as she snuggled into her blanket.

“Yeah, sorry, you’re right, we- we’ll take her and let you two sleep,”

Adora said, once again speaking way too fast.

She gestured at Catra to take the baby, then picked up the crib.

Her wife was sure normal people didn’t just carry around cribs like that, but the child needed to sleep somewhere and it would definitely not be the pillow nest that Melog had built.

Catra kept on telling herself this was just because they missed having a family and wanted one, but at the same time, she knew that wasn’t it.

Of course Melog wanted to have a family, she knew that much from the talks they’d had with each other over the years... but she also knew that Melog knew it was pretty much impossible they ever would.

Which meant Melog nesting actually mirrored something else. Which definitely, definitely meant Catra had been spending too much time with Arrow.

She banned the thought all the way to the back of her head, still not exactly ready to face what she wanted because of all the potential grave mistakes and the memories that came along with it.

...Bow handing her the baby wasn’t exactly helping her forget, though.

He touched his daughter’s face tenderly one more time.

For now, Angie was doing a surprisingly good job at sleeping through their talking. Maybe Catra and Adora would have an easy night with her.

“You’re going to spend the night in your aunts’ room, alright? Your sister loves them, and I’m sure you’ll love them, too. You three haven’t exactly spent a lot of time alone with them yet, but you seem comfortable enough around them to sleep on their room tonight, alright? Mommy and I love you so much, and we‘ll miss you. I hate letting you out of my eyesight, especially now that you’re still so small, but your aunts are great and I would trust them with my life, so there’s no one else in the entire universe that I’d rather leave you with. And if anything goes wrong, mommy and I will be right here, okay?“ He messed up her curls a little when he stroked her head. “See you in the morning, baby girl.”

Glimmer was full on sobbing, damn it, she was too tired to be crying but Bow being so emotional over their kid made her heart melt into a puddle.

Adora had tears in her eyes as well.

Catra was too mesmerized by her niece snuggling into her chest to care about anything else.

“We’ll take good care of her, don’t worry.”

He nodded.

“I know you will. And... thank you.”

Adora smiled.

“Anytime.”

“I can’t believe Adora just kidnapped our bassinet,” Bow chuckled as the door closed behind their two best friends.

“Really? I absolutely can. I mean, this is Adora we’re talking about,” Glimmer commented, giggling.

The lights were off now, a calming dark surrounding them – not that it ever got entirely dark in here with the curtains not fully closed and the light of the moons and the stars shining through the window.

The stars... the thought never failed to amaze Glimmer. The thought that they were the first people on Etheria to see the stars in a thousand years was just... incredible.

“You... might have a point.”

He laughed as he sat down on the bed beside her, the soft mattress immediately giving in under his weight.

“Feels weird, doesn’t it? It’s only been a few weeks, but sleeping without her in the room already feels... off, somehow. It’s so quiet all of a sudden.”

“Yeah.” He laid down beside her, facing her, and took her hands in his. “I miss her.”

“No kidding. Did you have to make me cry?” She cuddled close to him. “I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” He smiled at her. “And now I believe we have a couple of weeks worth of sleep and cuddles to make up for.”

“Yeah. And maybe some... other stuff tomorrow, once I’ve slept properly.”

She gave him a quick kiss and smiled at him, clearly moments away from drifting into sleep.

He smiled.

“We’ll do whatever you want, love,“ he whispered, lovingly stroking her hair. “Now let’s get some sleep.”

“Can I be the little spoon tonight?”

“Of course, my Queen.”

He kissed her forehead and pulled her close as she turned her back to him, gently covering both of them with the soft blanket. Glimmer snuggled against him, her head resting against his neck.

She’d always been the most comfortable when she was close to him, although it had taken a while for her to entirely grasp what it was she was feeling.

And just like that, they fell asleep in each other’s arms, and finally got a decent night of sleep for the first time in weeks.

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Trials of Emi

Pairing: A little Minho. A sprinkle of Frypan. Gally x Emi(OC)

Summary: Emi, her twin brother Thomas, and a small group of gladers had been rescued and taken to a safe haven. Or so it seemed. It doesn't take long for Thomas to realize something is wrong. What happens next is a true trial for all of them but Emi's trials began the moment she was ripped away from a dying Gally. Watching someone you love die right before your eyes truly takes a toll.

Finally meeting the right arm could have been the end but betrayal leads to even more chaos and loss. A new mission to rescue those taken from them leads them to a city. The last city. After Emi finally comes to terms with everything that's happened something unfolds that changes everything again. She will have to not only deal with helping her brother take down WCKD and save their friend but also deal with all the new problems in her head and her heart.

Rating: As of right now it’s at most PG13. Some strong language that’s about it but it could change.

(This is the 2nd part/book to my other story "The Maze trials: A Gally Fanfiction". This will cover the events of the scorch trails and the death cure.)

Chapter Two

The next day I kept my distance from everyone. I knew I looked awful. I hadn't slept for the rest of the night after all the boys woke me up. I could feel the bags under my eyes and all the guys from my group that kept looking at me with worry clear on their faces was telling me I did indeed look half exhausted and half dead.

At this point I didn't care. I sat silently a seat or two down from the rest of the group. I just wanted to be left alone. Thomas and Newt kept watching me though. At least Thomas seemed to be done with his tangent on the bodies he saw last night. He wouldn't shut up about it this morning.

He had apparently snuck out while we were all still asleep. He said when he got back in the room he could see me thrashing in my sleep. It was only a minute or two later I started shouting loud enough to wake up all the boys.

"Hi" a girl said softly as she came to sit next to me.

I gave her a small smile and nod. She seemed unsure for a moment before continuing to talk.

"I'm Angie" she said with a bright smile as she extended her hand to me.

I took it with my small smile still in place. I shook her hand lightly then let go. She was looking at me curiously.

"And you are?" She asked raising a brow at me.

I felt a body scoot closer to me on the other side. A hand extended in front of me towards the girl. It was Newt. A smile wide on his face.

"I'm Newt and this is Emi. Good luck getting her to talk though. She hasn't said a word since we got out of the maze." He told the girl as she shook his hand.

She looked at me. Her eyes seemed to soften and fill with understanding.

"I can only imagine what happened to you in there. My group had our share of horrendous experiences." She said with a now sad smile.

I gave a small nod hoping she would go away now. I obviously wasn't wanting a conversation.

"I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. Us ladies need to stick together. Too many boys around." She chuckled softly.

Newt scoffed like he was insulted.

"I kinda like all the boys around." He said cheekily winking at her.

This made me smile. A real genuine smile. I nudged Newt away with my elbow making him laugh. Angie looked back at me with a questioning brow raised.

"Is he-" she paused leaning closer to me.

"Gay?" She asked in a whisper.

I smiled and chuckled softly as I nodded. Her smile widened as she leaned back to peak at Newt. I turned my head to see him sitting fairly close to Thomas. Thomas didn't seem to mind his close proximity. I watched as Newt laughed at something that was said. He leaned forward placing his hand on top of Thomas' thigh. Thomas showed no signs of feeling uncomfortable from his touch. It actually seemed like Thomas moved his legs even closer to Newt. I smiled at the small action none of the other boys noticed. Angie chuckled behind me making me turn back to her.

"Well that is something. Listen Emi, if you decide you want or need to talk about whatever happened to you. I'm always free to help out another lady." She said smiling.

She patted my arm then stood up and walked back over to her table where several other girls were sitting. I turned back to Newt and Thomas. I hadn't realized the two had even gotten that close yet. I knew Newt liked him but I never got the chance to ask Thomas about how he felt.

Later that day we were back in the cafeteria eating dinner. This time I was sitting between Newt and Fry. Thomas was on the other side of Newt. Minho and Winston were on the other side of the table. Janson walked into the room holding a clipboard. Everyone seemed to quiet down quickly at the sight of him.

"You know the drill. When I call your name please join me." Janson said then raised the clipboard.

"Barry, Walt, Edgar, Samantha" Janson started to call slowly.

His voice was drowned out by Thomas who had gotten our groups attention. We all leaned closer to hear him.

"I want to know what's threw that door." Thomas said sternly as he stared at the door in front of us

Newt groaned softly.

"We've been over this. You said they were covered up so you don't know what you saw. It could have been anything under there." Newt said trying to get threw to Thomas.

I already knew he was wasting his breath. I could she the stubbornness and determination etched on Thomas' face as he continued to stare at the door.

"I'm telling you what I saw. They were bodies. Aris said they bring in a new batch every night." Thomas stated.

"Who the hell is Aris?" Minho asked him.

Thomas turned his head and nodded towards a small boy sitting at a table alone. He was the boy the other group told us had been here the longest.

"Well, I'm sold." Minho said sarcastically.

"And last but not least, David. Thank you for your attention. Enjoy the rest of your evening." Janson said loudly.

He lead the group of kids out of the room threw the usual guarded door.

"We don't  know anything for certain. We should just keep our heads down and try not to draw any attention to ourselves. Alright?" Newt said making all the sense in the world.

I nodded silently agreeing with him. Thomas, on the other hand, slammed his hands on the table then shot to his feet.

"What is he doing?" Newt asked stiffening as Thomas walked swiftly to the door.

"I think he's drawing attention to himself." Fry stated simply.

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face. These boys truly knew their come backs. Thomas was grabbed by the guard and stopped in his tracks. I couldn't hear what they were saying but by the look on the guard's face this wasn't going to be good. Thomas was shoved back again as he tried to walk past. He turned back towards the table then paused. Oh no. This is gonna be bad. He whipped back around throwing himself at the guard in a feeble attempt to get past him. This made all of us jump to our feet. I was the first to reach Thomas grabbing his arm and pulling him back from the guard. Newt grabbed his other arm holding him back.

"Control your friend!" The guard shouted at us.

Janson came running into the room stepping between us and the guard.

"What's happening here?" Janson asked angrily.

He turned from the guard to Thomas, back to the guard, then finally back to Thomas.

"Thomas, I thought we could trust each other. You know we're all on the same team here." Janson said in a mixture of disbelief and disappointment.

Thomas stepped closer to Janson.

"Are we?" He asked narrowing his eyes at the man.

Janson sighed then turned to the guard.

"Get them to their bunks." He ordered then walked away.

The guards grabbed us and pushed us forward. They had us moving quickly until we were outside our room. They opened the door shoving us all inside roughly then slammed and locked the door behind us.

"What the hell was that?" Minho asked harshly as all the boys rounded on Thomas.

"You didn't really think they were just going to let you threw?" Newt asked in bewilderment.

Thomas chuckled dryly

"No, of course I didn't." Thomas paused.

He reached to his back pocket then pulled out an unmistakable key card. You have got to be kidding me. All the boys and myself groaned in annoyance.

"I'm gonna find out what's on the other side of that door." Thomas said sternly with the key card firmly in his hand.

Newt sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked incredibly disapproving of Thomas' actions.

"Newt, their hiding something. These people are not who they say they are." He said trying to get Newt to understand.

"No, Thomas, you don't know that. The only thing that we do know is that they helped rescue us from W.C.K.D. They gave us new clothes, they gave us food, they gave us a proper bed. Some of us haven't had that in a long time." Newt explained sternly.

Thomas started to retort but Newt put his hand up silencing him.

"Some of us a lot longer than others." He added.

A sudden loud bang made me jump. Turning around I saw the metal air shaft cover lying in the middle of the room. The next second a head popped out from under one of the bunks.

"Hey Thomas" Aris said non chalantly.

"What the hell?" Fry asked no one in particular.

"You got it didn't you?" Aris asked Thomas ignoring everyone else.

Thomas showed him the key.

"Yea, yea, let's go" he said as he moved to follow Aris who had disappeared again.

Thomas paused turning back to the group as he knelt on the ground.

"Alright, maybe you guys are right. Maybe I'm just being paranoid but I gotta find out for sure. Just cover for me. I'll be back as soon as I can." Then he slipped under the bed and disappeared.

"What just happened?" Winston asked aloud.

"No. Bloody. Idea." Newt said threw clenched teeth.

I made my way over to my bed as the boys settled into their own. All but Newt. He was pacing the middle of the floor looking terribly distraught. I watched him for a few minutes before sighing and laying down. As soon as I closed my eyes I felt someone sit on the edge of my bed. I opened my eyes to see Newt.

"What do you think?" He asked me quietly.

I just shrugged.

"Come on Emi. Please talk to me I need you. Am I overreacting? Should I be more trusting of Thomas?" He asked in a whisper watching my face for any sign of an answer.

I didn't want to answer. I was perfectly fine living my life with my last words spoken being to Gally. I knew that Newt needed me. I knew he needed an answer. I sat up and cleared my throat. Newt suddenly looked hopeful.

"Not overreacting but do trust him more." My voice sounded weird even to my own ears.

Newt smiled wide then pulled me into a hug.

—

[arcxnumvitae]

Advent Calendar

Day Five part 2 Electric Boogaloo: A Male Character (of someone else’s)

Lucien von Arx

If you looked up “character development” in the dictionary then I’m pretty sure you’d find a picture of none other than @shxtteredillusions​‘s very own Lucien. Like wow, what a shift. And I don’t mean this in any bad way of course because Lucien pre-chilling out was a total asshole. Very fun to watch because you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth! But also, like, my first impression of him was watching him interact with another’s muse and being like “wow, what a shockingly rude and crass thing for a person to say.”  And then I had the pleasure of interacting with him too and it continued to be “wow, what a shockingly rude and crass thing to say, how fun!”

I can’t particularly speak for Angie, since I am not her, but I know personally I wasn’t ever really like....expecting any changes in Lucien? I mean, to begin with the only muse I had that interacted with him was Katarina and that was because her job was to kill him, and also she hated him, so I wasn’t expecting much through there. And his other relationships at the time were also very much-Lucien esque relationships as in “only in it for the s.ex” (sorry, still no clue Tumblr’s nuking policy about that stuff so censored  we go). And Lucien himself was an incredibly stubborn person who was more or less indoctrinated at a young age and spent centuries living out that creed. So Like. Yeah I figured he was going to keep on keeping on how he was, which sucks too because angst-meister Angie was planning on a pretty depressing end for the big guy too. Not to mention the deal with not wanting or going to see his family got me good too and made me want to see a reconciliation so badly, it absolutely tore my heart up the knowledge that the dad he had looked up to so much passed during the time Lucien was gone and the two never got to properly make up after Lucien’s departure. I could also launch easily from this into Angie’s wolf packs and Angie’s lore building in general but my gosh this post is already going to be a doozy. Basically, amazingly creative interweaving of elements one may not have ever associated on their own (ie. Greek myths and vampire/werewolf lore) and done so enticingly and the storyline for them is so engaging it’s just mwah. And as I type this I realize I also didn’t get any into Kirei’s worldbuilding and! Shoot! Kirei’s is also just as good, they’re all so detailed and their own institutions they make are so fun, as evidenced by my kids being hunters in her Bastion clearly I had to get a piece of that action this paragraph is so long!

But back to Lucien, the point and purpose of this post. Him and Katarina started getting along more? And getting closer? And he stopped being such a rude little prick too? (Love you, Lucien, but you truly were atrocious). They started dating? And then, he meets Emil, the two instantly get along, and through that he gets introduced to Crowe and Aspis and over time they’re....friends? Lucien’s joining in on shenanigans, laughing and joking, and in general having friends and living past that doggone mission of his. Who would have thought? Great though! Love that big guy.

And of course, even past all of that what a fun muse! He switches so well between German Shepherd ready to bite the head off of anyone who pisses him off or messes with his girlfriend/friends and the guy happily joking around with said friends. I can’t say enough how just pure, unadulterated fun it is when Emil gets going on one of his little things and Lucien so seamlessly joins right in. If you told me a couple of years ago that Lucien would make a good comedic duo with Emil I would...well, be surprised. And even the not so funny bits! Like when Emil straight up hurt his feelings and the two went through a whole little thing, that was such an indicator of how far Lucien had come because the thought of Emil not being his friend was enough to make him upset and!!! do you see what I mean!!! The Lucien of the past wouldn’t have cared a whit!!!!! But here!!!!!!! The angst alone from that fueled me for like a week straight.

And of course, how so many facets of him and Katarina ended up being the most surprisingly perfect match despite how they met and how it really felt like he was just going to keep aggravating her until she finally defeated him. I’ve got to say personally it was also great on my end seeing that cute side of Katarina come out more as the two slowly began to get along better with each other

Just like Kirei with Kesil, there’s just something about how Angie writes Lucien that’s just * chef kiss * I slurp it right up. I can’t get enough of him. I need to pull him into shenanigans more too, on that thought, I could use more of the big guy.

[wayweaver-m]

hmmmmmm   i’m   late   to   the   party   but   actor   au   in   the   works   ...

   her   name   is   angeline   !!    she   usually   goes   by   nicknames     (     angie   /   angel   /   etc   .    she   also   does   respond   to   aqua   !     )     &&    comes   from   greece   ,    though   she   has   lived   in   japan   most   of   her   life   after   being   taken   in   by   eraqus’   actor   .

   though   there   was   a   good   chance   she   could   get   an   in   simply   being   connected   to   eraqus’   actor   ,    she   was    very   stubborn    about   getting   the   role   herself   ,    by   her   own   merits   .    if   she   didn’t   get   the   role   ,    that   was   that   !!    it   was   later   revealed   in   an   interview   that   she   was   taken   in   by   him   as   a   child   .

   she’s   had   a   few   minor   roles   before   kingdom   hearts   ,    but   kh   was   her   big   break   .    she   couldn’t   be   happier   about   it   !

   absolutely    loves    aqua   .    she’s   so   incredibly   happy   with   her   role   &&   feels   such   a   strong   love   for   her   character   .    there   are   several   clips   of   her   reactions   to   certain   events   in   the   script   .    

   she   gets   along   famously   with   the   cast   ;    they’re   like   a   second   family   to   her  !!

   she’s   ...    very   much   a   mom   friend   .    whether   that’s   aqua’s   influence   or   she’s   always   been   that   way   ,    nobody   knows   .    she   looks   out   for   all   of   her   fellow   cast   members   ,    both   on   set    &&    in   public   /   in   interviews   ,    etc   .

   she   is   very   adamant   about   doing   her   own   stunts   .    Very   Adamant   .

   she’s   multilingual   !!    tends   towards   japanese   ,    however   ,    as   it   feels   more   natural   after   having   lived   in   japan   for   so   long   .

   she’s   decently   active   on   social   media    &&    absolutely   loves   interacting   with   fans   .

[commentaryvorg]

Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 3.6

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time, the student council was being antisocial, so we spent the day hanging out with Maki as the only correct option and learned just how icky her jobs can get, Kaito repeatedly broke his own principles about apologising and made himself feel bad for no reason, Maki was annoyed by Kaito’s inability to be Kaito, and training was interrupted by Tenko continuing to be good as she tried and failed to stop Angie preparing the ritual but maybe started to get through to Himiko.

*ding-dong!* *ding-dong!*

Shuichi:  “The intercom? This early in the morning? I wonder who it could be.”

It’s Maki. Apparently she no longer feels like she has to pretend to be Kaito for Shuichi to want to answer the door for her. Progress!

Shuichi:  “…I *did* just wake up. The announcement was just a minute ago.”

Maki:  “You wake up to *that*?”

Shuichi is so clearly not a morning person and I find this deeply relatable.

Kaito:  “I heard from Maki Roll. It seems like Angie’s gonna do the ritual.”

Maki:  “Maki Roll…? Don’t give me such a weird nickname.”

The Maki Roll-ening! It begins!

Kaito deciding to give Maki this nickname is yet another instance of him trying to help her. He knows that her problem is that she’s struggling to see herself as a normal person and not a heartless killer, so he’s been constantly making a point to treat her like he would any normal person this whole time (recall: acting like he doesn’t already know she’s incredibly physically fit). What’s another way to help do that even more? Give her a cute, silly nickname that no-one would ever dream of calling some terrifying assassin by!

It’s also lovely that even though Kaito’s been mentally crippled by his phobia these past couple of days, he apparently still managed to spend some of his time last night thinking about ways he could continue to help Maki further. Very typical of him to take his mind off his own problems by thinking about how he can help his friends with theirs instead.

Maki:  “We need a backup plan in case the straightforward approach fails. Who better than Kaito for a… less than straightforward approach?”

Who better than Kaito? I don’t know, how about literally anyone? I do not understand how Maki could think that in any conceivable universe an approach involving Kaito would not be “the straightforward approach”. Straightforward is the only way Kaito knows how to do things. This line is weird enough to me that I even checked it in Japanese to see if this was a mistranslation, but no, she says basically the same thing there, too.

Still, I assume this is supposed to be a result of how Maki mentioned last night that she was going to try to think of other ways to convince Angie. Apparently the other way she came up with was “get Kaito to be stubborn at them”. It’s pretty adorable that she figures Kaito would be able to make a difference like that (after all, him being stubborn at her made a difference, didn’t it?), despite how much she’s been complaining about how useless he supposedly is.

Shuichi:  “But, Kaito… are you feeling okay?”

Kaito:  “Heh, we don’t have time to be worrying about me.”

That is such a Kaito thing to say. Even when he’s dying, we still won’t have time to be worrying about him. Worrying about Kaito is the absolute lowest priority of all, according to Kaito.

Shuichi:  (Not gonna last? Kaito… are you…) “Scared?”

I like the way Shuichi says the word “scared” without voicing the rest of the question, like the sudden realisation that Kaito might actually be scared of something is surprising enough to him that he just blurted it out. Clearly Kaito is the kind of person who’s never scared of anything, not even this killing game, right?

Shuichi:  “Ah, it’s just that I remember that you don’t like talking about ghosts and stuff…”

I don’t know why he says “remember” here like this has happened before the resurrection ritual came up. It kind of implies they’ve been having offscreen conversations we haven’t seen in which Kaito would always pointedly change the topic whenever ghosts came up. (Which, hey, maybe could have happened during some of their free time hangouts?) As it is, the only clue prior to this chapter that Kaito would have a problem with this is that his report card lists “the occult” in his Dislikes.

Kaito:  “D-D-Don’t be stupid! Th-There’s no way!”

Shuichi:  “Ah. So I was right.”

Pfft, I like how even though Kaito denied it, Shuichi immediately takes that as confirmation that he’s right, because of the way Kaito denied it.

Maki:  “Wait… You mean the reason you didn’t come to training is because you were scared?”

I feel like Maki’s annoyed here – like she could accept Kaito skipping training and compromising his stubbornness if he really was sick, but that she’s less okay with it if his reason was what seems at least to her like a much more trivial, pathetic excuse.

Kaito:  “I-It’s not that I’m scared… That’s just how my body is. I’m fine when it comes to cramped areas, space, and zero gravity, but… ghost stories… Since I was a kid, whenever I hear them… I start to feel sick…”

See, Kaito is really not the kind of person who would get scared over something without a rational reason to do so. And when he is rationally afraid of something, he’d try as hard as he could to hide it and not let it get to him, like he’s doing with the fact that he’s in a killing game. There’s no rational reason for him to be afraid of ghosts, especially because he has a scientific enough mind to not believe they exist at all. Plus, even if the resurrection ritual is going to work, there’s still no reason to be afraid of that, because it’ll just mean Rantaro will be there again, which if anything is a good thing. So the only explanation for Kaito’s fear really is that it’s just some massively irrational phobia, and the fact that it’s completely irrational makes him unable to properly deal with it in the same way he can deal with his rational fears.

I can totally believe that you could induce this kind of thing in someone using a Flashback Light – some kind of automatic trigger of extreme anxiety and nausea in response to a certain stimulus, like a Pavlovian thing. Kaito is right to say that this is just how his body is (or, more accurately, how his brain is), and the feeling scared is just as much a part of that as the feeling sick.

Kaito:  “So… let’s hurry and stop Angie, so we can put an end to all this spooky stuff! If things get any scarier, I’ll seriously die from a heart attack!”

…Not doing a very good job of keeping up the pretense that you’re not scared, Kaito.

Maki:  “Unbelievable… You always act like you’re not afraid of anything.”

Which is exactly why the fact that this is actually able to get to him proves it’s a completely irrational phobia and not under his control. It’s not something to think less of him for.

Kaito:  “C’mon, bro! C’mon, Maki Roll! Hurry up!”

Maki:  “Seriously… don’t call me Maki Roll.”

Don’t you know how stubborn Kaito is, Maki? He is not going to stop calling you that, no matter how many times you tell him to.

Maki:  “I can’t believe someone your age would hide in bed because they’re afraid of ghosts…”

Kaito:  “W-Well, y’know… This is… uh, just how my body is. Can’t do anything about it…”

Kaito clearly feels like he’s making an excuse when he says this and that it doesn’t justify it at all. But it’s not an excuse – this really is just how his brain is. That’s nothing for him to be ashamed of. It’s just massively fucking inconvenient for him, especially right now.

Also, I like the way Maki specifies someone “his age”. Almost like she’s had experience with comforting younger kids who were afraid of ghosts. Aww.

Maki:  “I’ve been told that I’m scarier than any ghost.”

Kaito:  “Huh? I’m not scared of you at all. Didn’t I tell you? You’re just a weak coward. And you just started your training.”

He really isn’t even remotely scared of her! He’s too busy seeing her as a person who’s suffering and in need of help to see her as someone to be scared of.

Him calling her a “weak coward” here is something, though. She is still weak in the sense that he meant it in the first place, although she’s been getting stronger. But the fact that she’s been getting stronger and facing her issues means that she is no longer a coward like he called her when he was encouraging her to start training. So Kaito calling her that here is proooobably him trying to compensate for the fact that he feels like he’s being a coward re: the whole ghost thing by telling himself that well, he’s not the only one, right?

(As I keep stressing, he is really not being as much of a coward as he thinks with regards to his phobia. At the very least, he isn’t being one right now since he’s finally making an effort to deal with the problem.)

Maki:  “… You, of all people, don’t get to call me weak.”

But apparently Maki doesn’t get it and just sees this as Kaito being weak. Still, even though Maki very clearly doesn’t look up to Kaito or think he’s particularly strong, especially right now, that’s not going to stop her from caring about him or continuing to benefit from his company and support.

Also I want to take a moment to appreciate that this line came with a voice clip of Maki saying, “The idiot’s at it again.” I think that’s the first time we’ve heard that one, and it’s one of my favourites. I love that Maki complaining about Kaito’s idiocy is a common enough thing that there’s a voice clip for it.

Kiyo:  “Oh? Well if it isn’t Kaito. Are you feeling better already?”

Kaito:  “Y-Yeah, somehow… Sorry though, we don’t have much time to talk right now.”

Kaito seems especially in a hurry to not talk, as if he’s worried that if he talks for too long then it’ll become obvious that he wasn’t strictly sick and he’s not really “better” now. Or maybe it’s just that it’s Kiyo and he knows Kiyo is likely to go off on one about seances, which would definitely not help.

Kiyo:  “Well, don’t push yourself. Things feel amiss without your boisterous voice.”

Can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that even freaking Kiyo misses Kaito’s presence in a certain way? Kaito really does make an impact on everyone.

Kaito:  “Yeah, sure. My bad for making you worry.”

It’s so like Kaito to feel bad for making people worry, but it’s even more painfully unnecessary of him to apologise for it when it’s Kiyo. Kiyo is like the least actually worried about Kaito out of anyone, especially since he’s already murdered someone last night and his plans for the day are to commit a second murder and then get away with it in the class trial and get everybody else killed.

Tenko:  “Good morning, Maki!”

Maki:  “…Good morning.”

Kaito:  “Hey, are you ignoring Shuichi?”

Interesting how Kaito doesn’t complain that Tenko’s also ignoring him. Another little sign that Kaito’s way of thinking is nowhere near as self-centred as he sometimes makes it seem.

Shuichi:  “Because the ritual is Monokuma’s motive, we shouldn’t just *let* it happen.”

Kaito:  “Th-That’s exactly right! It’s not because I’m scared or anything, okay!?”

Kaito, you are kind of terrible at this.

Angie is apparently inside her locked lab but refusing to open it, which makes Shuichi worry that something’s wrong and they need to get inside.

Kaito:  “But y’know, even if we wanted to check, it’s locked, so we can’t do—”

It’s not like Kaito to give up on something so easily just because it appears impossible at first glance… so it seems like someone’s afraid of finding a resurrected person inside the room and is looking for an excuse to nope out of this situation.

Kokichi:  “Not to brag, but I am the Ultimate Supreme Leader, y’know.”

Maki:  “Lock picking seems more suited to petty thieves.”

Kokichi:  “Aaaaaack! That cuts real deep, Maki!”

Why, because it’s true? She’s got him figured out. He really does only commit the pettiest of crimes.

Anyway, Angie is super dead inside the art lab, and everyone gathers from the body discovery announcement.

Tsumugi:  “It’s possible the culprit who killed Angie wasn’t one of us, but—”

Tsumugi begins to propose this, and then gets cut off by the Monokubs showing up and doing their bit. Hold this thought.

Maki:  “Trust me, you don’t want to be used to this… No one should get used to this…”

Kokichi:  “Nee-heehee… That’s nice and all, but it seems pretty insincere coming from an assassin.”

Shut up, Kokichi, that’s exactly why she can be sure about that – because she’s used to it herself but she hates that fact and wishes she never had to get used to it. She’s finally starting to express sentiments along the lines of having never wanted this for herself.

Kaito:  “Alright, bro. I’m counting on you as my sidekick. Let’s end this nightmare together.”

Look at Kaito being ready to do the hero-and-sidekick-team thing to support Shuichi through this again!

Shuichi:  “Yeah… but, are you feeling okay, Kaito?”

Kaito:  “We seriously don’t have time to be talking about this…”

For once, it is actually reasonable for Kaito to be pushing his own wellbeing aside in order to focus on something else. For once.

Kaito:  “No way we’re gonna die here… I’m definitely gonna find the culprit.”

…“I’m”, Kaito? Not “We’re”? Someone might already be starting to feel that his own contribution hasn’t been much and trying to overcompensate for that.

Tsumugi:  “The culprit… Is it really… someone among us that killed Angie?”

Kokichi:  “I get how you feel, Tsumugi, but do you have to repeat that tired old line every time?”

Tsumugi:  “Oh, no, that’s not it… I mean, could this have been the work of the transfer student?”

So here’s the thing. The fact that she got cut off the first time she tried to bring it up, and then made a point of bringing it up again after the conversation had moved on for several minutes, even though it’s an outlandish enough theory that most people would drop it after missing their chance the first time, seems off to me. More pointedly, she specifically chooses to bring it up again just as Kaito has started to encourage Shuichi like he did in the previous case. And most pointedly, it’s Tsumugi.

She knows the killer isn’t a spirit at all, and she’s not pretending she thinks it is simply for fun. She’s doing it with the deliberate goal of rendering Kaito incapable of helping. She would know about his phobia – she’s the one who wrote it into him, after all. And what on earth would have been the point of writing him with such a completely extraneous phobia that has absolutely no connection to anything else about his character? For that matter, what on earth was the point of theming this specific chapter and this specific floor of the school around something which also has no connection to anything else about this story but just so happens to be the thing which triggers Kaito’s phobia?

Because Kaito was too powerful and the writers wanted to nerf him, apparently.

Obviously, in this case, it’s very definitely an in-universe writing thing. The main reason I can be so sure, aside from the part where Tsumugi clearly triggered it on purpose, is because the way it’s implemented is really lazy and unsubtle. The fact that Kaito has this phobia is the most lazily-written, least interesting part of his character – because there’s no reason for him to be scared of ghosts; he just is. Like some writer who didn’t understand how to write characters just wanted to give him an obligatory Character Flaw to prove he’s not as tough as he seems. Kaito actually has a whole plethora of other weaknesses and issues that show he’s not as strong as he tries to be, all of which draw organically from the parts of his character that are, in other situations, his greatest strengths. Tsumugi just wrote in his phobia to give herself this switch that would always be there for her to trigger if she wanted to to put him out of commission for a while: something that completely tanks Kaito’s mental strength in a way that he can’t overcome with his usual stubbornness, and that will always affect him no matter how he might have otherwise developed since his creation in ways she wouldn’t be able to predict or control.

And the fact that this instance of it is so blatantly unsubtle is also part of why I’m pretty sure that the instance of “nerfing” Kaito I talked about in chapter 2, in which Kaito being written with a past of having looked up to Ryoma makes him incapable of seeing Ryoma as someone in need of his help until it’s too late, is not an in-universe writing thing. Based on their job in this chapter, the in-universe writers are evidently not that clever or subtle at all.

The other thing that’s a clear sign of this being lazy in-universe writing rather than very subtly clever out-universe writing is that the reason for nerfing Kaito in this chapter doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Last chapter, Ryoma probably would have survived if Kaito had been at his full potential, but this time it’s only going to mean that Kaito can’t be there for Shuichi during the investigation, which turns out to not really make a difference. I guess the point is that this was for the sake of Shuichi’s character arc as the weak Ultimate Detective who has to grow strong, and they want to increase the pressure on him by forcing him to go without his figure of support for a case. (I’ve already mentioned that it seems the in-universe writers always meant for Kaito to be Shuichi’s mentor, what with having written him to have had several sidekicks in his past.) Apparently they underestimated Shuichi’s strength – or the ability of Kaito’s influence to still give someone strength even when he’s not literally with them – way too much if they thought that would make a difference.

So – Kaito’s phobia is the one thing about his character that’s badly written, but I’m still okay with that, because the point of it is that it’s in-universely badly written. I can appreciate that that’s a neat thing the out-universe writers are going for that ties in with the overall plot twist in a way you wouldn’t pick up on unless you already know the full story and read between the lines. In that sense, it is still well-written.

Also bear in mind that while the fact that he has the phobia is in-universe lazy writing, the way Kaito deals with it, which is only a product of out-universe writing, has been written perfectly well up until now. All of it has been in line with the way we’re going to continue to see Kaito dealing with his other weaknesses in future chapters: he tries as hard as he can not to let anyone see it, he prioritises making sure it won’t inconvenience his sidekicks over looking after himself, and he blames himself for it even though it’s not his fault. I have absolutely no problem with any of that.

Tsumugi:  “Maybe the ritual succeeded and the resurrected person killed her—”

Kaito:  “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!”

…This, however, I honestly think is an example of out-universe bad writing. Obviously hearing this from Tsumugi here would set off Kaito’s phobia in a worse way than anything before it has. But even so, Kaito would be doing everything in his power to not let people see how much it’s affecting him. For the past two days, the only difference was that he’s been looking pale and sickly, and even that was something that only the people who cared about him enough to be paying close attention to him noticed at first. He was clearly weaker for some reason, but there was never any obvious sign that he was scared, because he was determined, and able, to hide that. This is not in character for him.

(Also, that face he makes. You know the one. What artist thought it was okay to draw that.)

Kaito:  “S-Saying messed up stuff like that… Hrn… rrrrnnnngggghhh!”

Shuichi:  “Kaito, are you okay?”

Kaito:  “S-Sure… Sorry, Shuichi… I need to get some fresh air…”

This is a more appropriate reaction for Kaito to have – groaning under the massive wave of anxiety and nausea that must have just assaulted him and needing to get away from the situation, but still trying to make it out to be as minor a problem as possible and not let on just how much it’s affecting him. (And apologising when it’s not his fault, yet again.)

(There could be an argument made that he was deliberately playing up his earlier reaction to give himself an excuse to leave because his real problem is that his physical illness is starting to get to him and he wants to deal with that away from everyone else. But I don’t think that fits right now when they’re about to start an investigation and he was just moments ago determined to support Shuichi through it. Supporting Shuichi is Kaito’s highest priority – there’s no way he’d ever turn away from doing that unless he really absolutely couldn’t.)

Kaito:  “I’ll leave this to you and Maki. Do a good job, you guys.”

At least he knows Shuichi’s still not alone and trusts that he and Maki can handle this together. And that Maki will be willing to help, even though she’s been rather unco-operative the previous times.

(Also, he didn’t call her Maki Roll. I guess it hasn’t quite become habit yet, and he’s shaken up enough that he forgot he’d decided to do that.)

Maki:  “‘Do a good job’… That coward has a lot of nerve bossing us around.”

Shuichi:  “Ah, maybe that wasn’t the best way to phrase it, but he just wants to encourage—”

Shuichi’s right! Kaito wasn’t trying to be condescending; he was trying to show that he believes they can do a good job. I love how Shuichi’s taken to standing up for Kaito whenever Maki gets annoyed at him. Kaito always means well, even if it sometimes doesn’t quite come across that way.

Maki:  “You’ve clearly settled right into your sidekick role.”

Shuichi:  “…”

Shuichi’s expression during his silence suggests that he’s… still a little hesitant about that? Which makes me sad. Being Kaito’s sidekick is a good thing, Shuichi! Kaito only makes people his sidekicks when he has unwavering faith in their potential, after all.

Maki:  “I don’t need him to give me orders. With so few people left… I can’t afford to sit out anymore.”

I do think this is true, though – that even if Kaito hadn’t told her to before he left, she’d still want to help, because she’s already changed enough into someone who wants to help and is no longer so convinced that people wouldn’t want her to. (Which is still thanks to Kaito, of course!)

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[Next post]

[incursionofthedamnedrpg]

Paige Rowen Accepted! You know what to do, C!

Name: C :)

Age: 19

Timezone: GMT

State an account where we can message you: here is all good

How active you’re going to be: (1-10) same as always! 7/10.

How did you find out about this roleplay?:Currently with y’all

Why do you want to play this character?:She’s gonna be angsty and I love some angst.

Anything else you would like to tell us? (Changes, suggestions…etc)

IC:

Preferred Ships:

Sample para:

2+ paragraphs.

5+ sentences in each paragraph.

Recommended to be IC for higher chance of being accepted.

Template must be filled out, please make your character 16+ (we do not accept young ages), and be sure to run a faceclaim by the main first!

Name: Paige Rowen Birthday: November 24th 1992 (25) Species: Human (Untriggered Werewolf) Lookalike: Dakota Johnson Availability: Taken

Personality

Since she was a young child Paige as always been the type to remain calm unless she’s pushed, she has a delicate and often fragile look to her while also being incredibly strong willed and stubborn. She isn’t always the life of the party but she’ll never say no to a little fun every now and then, as anything that distracts her from everything she has going on, is good in her books. Paige can also be dangerously curious, which is either incredibly bad for her or incredibly good depending where her curiosity is aimed.

Past

Paige’s parents were both eighteen when they found out they would be bringing a child into the world and while that was strange for some, the two of them had met when they were sixteen, they’d been in love for years and when they officially got together-however unplanned-they were happy to welcome a child into the world.Her mom Angie worked in a cafe and her dad Theo had been working towards joining the law enforcement world and had managed to get in a few months before Paige was born.

It was a struggle but they made it work and welcomed their little girl into the world with no hesitation or sadness, her mom stopped working to take care of her and her dad continued to work as an officer. Her dad of course had always been a mysterious figure, born in New Orleans and ran when he was young with no explanation as to why. He’d lived on the streets until he’d been taken in and raised, given an education where he met Angie and told her about the werewolf gene and his parents being a part of the Cresent Wolf Pack and he ran because he’d triggered his curse and he was afraid. It was as simple as that, he’d wished to escape and he did but now he was more than aware that his daughter would one day have to deal with triggering the curse and he hated the thought of what that would do to her. So he fought to protect not only her but the people of New York.

Paige was two when her mom received the call about her dad being gone, killed by a bullet though the truth of the matter was much different than what she’d been told, Theo had been shot but he’d survived the injury and had been forced to leave by a group of individuals that had threatened not only Angie but Paige too.So Angie was left believing her partner dead and her daughter would grow up without a father that’s when New Orleans made sense, not because it was safer but because if the inevitable happened before Angie had time to tell her daughter about what she was at least she was close to the pack her father had once been a part of.

It was barely needed however, Paige grew up as a calm individual and while she had a more mischievous side to her, she was far from reckless enough to go triggering the curse before her mom had time to tell her everything about her father. She was eighteen, her mom worked at a bar and she was in and out of school helping out her mom when she needed it and of course remaining blissfully unaware of the links she had in the city.

Like any relation to the Cresent Wolf line, she had the birthmark though somehow until she’d turned nineteen she’d managed to avoid people seeing it and of course when they did most only did as much as stare before Paige headed back to the home she and her mom shared and pretend like the city didn’t have it’s eyes on her.

Finishing school and deciding against college because she was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life, left her feeling lost she briefly worked in a few restaurants around the city before simply helping out her mom at the bar when she’d finally turned twenty one and attempted to keep her weird birthmark covered up around the locals..even if the locals had always seemed so strange or at least a portion of them did.

She was twenty two when her mom had finally decided to tell her about why they were here and more about her dads death, most of which left her with more questions than answers. If werewolves exist, what else does? Do I have to trigger the curse? What happens if I trigger it?..

Every question under the book but Paige stayed silent, even when her mom had attempted to contact her grandparents who were somehow unable to be found. It was like the world came crashing down and it felt like that for a while, years almost until the worst thing happened.

Her dad decided to show up on their doorstep, alive and after everything his death had put her and her mother through she rejected him and packed a bag because she wanted answers and she wasn’t gonna stay in New Orleans with a parent who cared and another who was a stranger. So she hit the road, staying in small motels along the way until Mystic Falls came along.

Present

Mystic Falls seemed like the perfect place to settle and get answers, she found herself here last November and with the money she’d saved up she’d bought herself a small loft while working in a local restaurant to continue the upkeep. She hopes the town will help her figure things out, if not…well she’s positive she’s just gonna remain lost.It also doesn’t help that her dad keeps trying to get in contact and she’s trying to avoid him at all costs.

Connections

Cresent Wolf Pack;

Her grandparents and father were all a part of the pack, she wasn’t aware of them let alone what she could become if triggered until she’d turned twenty two and when her dad showed up, she’d barely taken a step to learn more about the pack that she had the same birthmark as.

Mason Duval;

A friend she made when they’d met in New Orleans; he’d turned up there and had been a friendly face and someone easy to get along with. So she’s thankful to know he’s in Mystic Falls

Julien Kenley;

Works as a waitress at Casa Nostra, but is unsure of why the boss gave her the job considering she doesn’t exactly look like everyone else that works there.

Harley Dawson;

When Paige first arrived, Harley was the one to show her around since Mystic Falls wasn’t all that familiar to her and they hit it off. Paige likes to think they’re at least decent friends now, which she’s always grateful for.

[septimusheapheadcanons]

Hey, this is a question for whenever you feel like it and have the time, but I'm curious what you think of each of the Heap's canon SO and why or why not you ship them?

this is gonna be me gushing a lot, but also kinda salty so be warned

Simon: Lucy. I love Lucy!!! She’s one of my faves. She’s so… atypical for a character in a book series, especially as one of the main “star crossed lovers”. She’s loving, strong, persistent, steadfast, strong-willed. But she’s also loud, nosy, overweight, stubborn, in-your-face, angry, and, most importantly to me, ugly. Lucy is not typically beautiful or soft or feminine, but she’s still the main love interest!! And even though she’s not typically feminine, she still likes things like pretty ribbons and silky cloaks and cute boys, which are traditionally feminine. She’s allowed to be complex, and have this strong dichotomy with both her personality and her role in the story. And!! She grows!! In my reread something I noticed and really appreciate is the arc that Lucy goes through. It’s easy to see how she saves Simon, but she matures so much on her journey. She comes to appreciate what she has, but also trying to do better for herself. She learns to (somewhat) keep a cap on her temper when she needs to, she becomes kinder to strangers, she tries really, really hard to be a good person. And it’s so good!! She makes friends, weathers hardships, lives on her own, helps pull herself and Simon up by their bootstraps. G O D  I love her so much!! And her and Simon together??? Incredible!! She is so important in his arc, and y’all know how much I love him. They’re both so… weird. They’re kind of outcasts, they have their issues, and they never once falter on their love for each other!! Never once does Lucy think of abandoning Simon despite everything. Never once does Simon see Lucy as anything other than an angel. When he thought she left him, he wasn’t even angry with her!! He was angry with himself for not being better for her!! I love crying about them!! And like, with Lucy being kind of ugly, this becomes so much more important!! When Lucy comes out in her god-awful wedding dress, everyone’s like “oh wow, that’s kind of ugly.” But Simon!! Thinks she looks incredible and loves it because she made it herself!! Could your OTP ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sam: Marwick. G o d  I love Wolf Boy. I love him!! I always knew I liked him but my love for him has skyrocketed during my reread!! He’s… so incredible, and I’m a little mentally tired after that Lucy analysis so I won’t go into why I love him so much right now (maybe another time if y’all wanna know). And Samwick!! OK, so I only have 2 problems with Samwick, and neither makes me not ship them. The first is the whole thing about Keepers not getting married, which I wanna do a separate post about sometime soon, so I’ll leave it there. The second is the age gap. But, like Septyrah, it??? Doesn’t seem to really exist in the world??? Like, Sam is 7 years older than Marwick, but I’m pretty sure canon ages mean Absolutely Nothing to Angie Sage. And they’re both adults in Sandrider, so I’m cool with it, but I still think it’s kind of odd. Angie, why are you like this. B U T!!! They’re so cute!! Talk about a #battlecouple. They’re so nature-y and wild and intense, and they travel the world together?? Talk about #goals. Sam almost dying is like, my favorite part of Sandrider!! And the way Marwick is so sweet and trying to be calm and helpful?? 10/10

Edd: no canon S/O. (I ship him with Moira Mole for no real in-text reason, but as they both have like, no canon personalities or S/Os I’m allowed to!!)

Erik: no canon S/O. OK, so I headcanon Erik as a HUGE flirt who dates/hooks up with a lot of girls. BUT!! I also headcanon that when he meets the girl who will eventually be his wife, he’s stunned!! He’s still a smooth charmer, but he loves this girl like a little puppy, and he’s so intent on taking it seriously. He knows after like, 2 weeks that he wants to marry her, but they date for a while and he’s so happy!! He has no trouble transitioning from player to ready-to-wed. At first he has a bit of trouble not flirting with everyone on instinct before he realizes His Girlfriend also does that and they laugh and use flirting to get what they want, and never ever once worry about the other not being faithful. Then they have like 6 kids (first 2 are a set of twin girls). And it’s good!!

JoJo: Marissa. S i g h. I… have so many mixed feelings about Marissa and Jorissa. On the one hand, it’s so interesting, because they’re so fucked up. But also…?? Their canon state makes me so M A D!! I’m sure I’ve ranted about it somewhere if you look in the “Starchaser,” “JoJo Heap,” or “Marissa Lane” tags. So I can like, vibe with it I guess, but I would have to do a lot of work before I was okay with them canonly ending up together. Like, a multi-chapter Jorissa fic is something I eventually wanna do, working on how I want to make them work. But I love JoJo and Marissa does NOT treat him well!! So… IDK. It’s real complicated.

Nicko: Snorri. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The original childhood OTP, my dudes. I was so sad (and angry) in Fyre when Snorri left and they broke up. Like, nooooo!!!! My heart was broken!! So when they got back together pre-Pathfinder, I nearly lost my mind. They’re both adventurous, a little snarky boat people!! And Snorri jumped into the past for him and his fam?? And he stayed in the past with her just so she wouldn’t be lost alone!! And the way they’re both changed after the House of Foryx. They went through so much together!! I love them!! And I love Snorri!! She’s really cute. The scene where she meets Jenna and Wolf Boy, and she just keeps laughing about the ever-growing number of Heap brothers?? She’s so deadset on establishing herself as her own person, but it’s not until she goes on her own journey that she realizes she was still just following in her father’s footsteps. And she does get her own journey, and also learns to appreciate her mom!! And she can see ghosts?????? I love her!!!!!!!!!!

Jenna: Beetle. Sheesh, okay, this is where it gets a little messy, but until Sage puts in writing that these two broke up and makes S/e//p/J//e/n// canon, I won’t accept it!! Even then I won’t, but still. A N Y W A Y, Beetle is such a great character. I did a bit of an analysis on his inferiority complex compared to Sep here, but besides that he’s?? Such a huge loser nerd and I love him. He loves so completely, he strives to do what’s right, he’s so genuinely interested in things!! And his crush on Jenna is one of the cutest parts of the series, 10/10. And how do I even describe Jeetle. Two cinnamon rolls who love to have fun and help people fall in love and proceed to spread joy and love and sometimes salt throughout the kingdom. They’d fight anyone for the other. I love them.

Septimus: no canon S/O. OK, so Starchaser kinda implies that he and Driffa are gonna date, but even Angie has said no way that’s gonna last lmao. #Let SepDateSyrah2k17.