#and I dunno. I just want to live in a world where everyone’s treated like that y’know?

[athenaholmesartistsguild]

I love how Kiryu is SO BAD at changing his identity.

Like. This man has had to pretend that he’s not who he is at least TWO TIMES (three if he changes his hair in 8 to go undercover) and his first attempt was naming himself the equivalent to John Smith. Then he tries AGAIN and he changes his name to JORYU.

Kiryu is so beautifully autistic and I love it. He just saw a rule and he followed it.

[wtftarot]

PAC: What are the truths you need to face

Another thanks to @lifeofaie for suggesting this pac. If you've got a pac idea feel free to send it to my inbox!

This one can be a little bit of a call-out, but I mean, it is a reading on what truths you need to face.

as always this reading is for entertainment purposes ONLY and is not a substitute for professional advice in any capacity. Remember use common sense and don't be a dumbass.

Pick either the Sword, the Cat or the Stars and head on to your reading

The Sword

This group is kinda heavy, please be gentle on yourself.

The High Priestess, Four/Cups, The Tower, and the Seven/Wands on the bottom of the deck.

So, y'all kinda already know what truths you need to face. The problem is you're fighting them off. Y'all may be asking spirit or your guides a lot of questions that you already know the answers to. I'm hearing 'where there's smoke there's fire". With the Tower here, there's one truth in particular that you know that if you let yourself look at it head-on, things will have to change. It could even be painful to look at it head-on, (if it is please have some support when you choose to face it) It's like, all the signs are there but you're still iffy on it. This could be a person who you've started to notice the red flags or a situation that you know is bad but you won't let yourself really focus on just how bad. A few of you I'm getting, keep reading romance/ what are they thinking PACs for a person that you know isn't treating you right and maybe ignoring when the readings tell you that. I'm not trying to be harsh or call anyone out. I don't think any of the truths this group is facing are easy, little ones. I'm actually hearing the word "catastrophic". I know how scary it is to face something that you know will hurt. Cause part of it is admitting that it hurt and actually letting yourself feel that hurt instead of pretending it's not there. You are so brave and so so fucking strong and you will get through this. The advice for you is this be gentle on yourself and fucking tough on the situation. This will be hard and you want to give yourself time and space to rest and rebuild your strength. Then kick its fucking ASS. Bad shitty work/living situation? Setting boundaries with a shitty fucking person? Digging yourself out of a mental health pit? All of these are fucking tough as hell but you survived, ya know what that makes you right? Tougher than hell, that's what. Be fuckin cut-throat when it comes to getting things to a better place and then REST, alright? Eat, drink a lot of water, and do things that make you happy. Cause this is fucking hard and you need to take care of yourself. You are smart and capable and you deserve fucking better. Another thing that your guides keep pushing is support, you fuckin need it. I dunno if y'all have been trying to deal with all of this alone or if you haven't told anyone you're struggling but you need to. I'm fuckin serious. Talk out loud to spirit if you have to, just saying things out loud or writing them down can really help you process what's going on in your head. I believe in y'all.

random ass vibes: 10:10, Blue, camping, birds, 90s, cat cartoons,

The Cat

The Emperor Rx, the Star, The World Rx, and the Eight/Cups on the back of the deck

Listen, I don't really do relationship advice but some of y'all need to be told that you can't change him. You can't and no, he won't change for you. And you shouldn't go into a relationship expecting a person to change. That's not for everyone, take it as it resonates. You need to take action towards what you want. Y'all are dreamers and that's awesome. It seems though, they're just staying dreams. I'm a Pisces moon, I'm not judging y'all at all when I say this but y'all really kinda live in a fantasy. Y'all seem to have this tendency to ignore what's in front of you for what it could be. The way it's coming through is that y'all are leaving so fucking much on the table that could EASILY be yours but the fantasy obviously is more than reality could ever be so that's where your mind wants to stay. Thing is, y'all know we don't live in a fantasy and you want to do better in reality. BUT you see the fantasy you have as how things "could" be and when you do act on your dreams and they don't match up to the fantasy, you feel inadequate. Like you're not reaching your potential. So, you get down on yourself and never want to pursue your dreams. I know it's hard to accept that reality can never meet the fantasy we build up in our heads. Reality is messy and in our fantasy we never have to shit or floss or maintain what we have, we just have it. The truth is having to accept that life will never be perfect. There is no perfect relationship, perfect job, or perfect life. No routine is going to magically fix your life. The people you love will always have traits that annoy you a little bit, just like you have traits that annoy them a little bit, but you love each other and know you're both worth mild annoyance. It's time to ground your ideas into reality and let them be imperfect. Let them breathe. Y'all are limiting yourself to the idea of perfection. Your life IS going to be a little fucked up and messy no matter what. Some of y'all ain't even perfectionists, you just don't believe in yourselves and use things not meeting your fantasies as evidence that you can't do it. I'm not getting much in the way of advice for y'all other than to act? If this is your group then I'm betting you've had an idea of what this has all been referring to for you and know what action comes with that. Good luck!

random ass vibes: Gilmore girls? starting tarot reading (hell yeah!) a good nights sleep, 122,

The Stars

Judgment Rx, Four/Pentacles, The Hermit Rx, Two/Swords Rx and the High Priestess on the back of the deck.

So, first thing is: that you can't manifest yourself past the time some things need to take. Some things just take time. Y'all seem to be holding on to this idea that you're not the active force in your own life making things happen? It feels like there's a person or a group of people, or maybe you believe in fate but there's something that y'all are endowing with more power in your life than you. It's like to you it doesn't matter what you want, what decisions you make because it'll work out how this other thing deems it should. Your judgment doesn't matter. Some of y'all even feel like you don't have a say in who YOU are. Y'all may have had or do have really controlling parental figures. But FUCK. That's devastating, y'all. I can't imagine feeling like you're not the driving force in your own life. Listen, I don't believe in fate, destiny, soul-mates, or "meant to bes" and I am not judging y'all if you do but fate isn't engineering every single little thing in your life. It's not all that serious, I promise. You can just do things. It's not all make-or-break-life-altering-weight-of-cosmic-destiny-on-your-sholders. Your life shouldn't be focused on figuring out what your fated path is and sticking to that rigidly. Why? Cause that's not life, babe. That's following a script. The truth for y'all is that you are the driving force in your life and you need to start trying to see yourself that way. And this reading is looking to be short cause it's kinda existential, but you have free will and can choose and act and change things. If there is a "path" it's a vague one and you're making the rest up as you go. You can just step off of it. Anytime. Head in any direction you want. You don't have to be with that person if you don't want to just cause someone said y'all were soul mates. You don't have to choose that career just cause it seems "fated", if you hate it, hate it and leave. YOU make the decisions.

random ass vibes: Russian Doll (tv show), 144, reds and yellows, thumb bone part that looks like a chicken leg lol? Disorientation by Katie Mack

[puttersmile]

Crittertember Day 9: In Your AU

Excuse me as I shamelessly self indulge. Double induldge because I'm claiming this as a Crittertember Entry lmao. Day 9! "In Your AU"

This is a pretty loose AU. Pretty much everything I draw could be considered AU because what even is canon for the Smiling Critters? But I like to call this my "Critter Island" AU. (Or CritterCrossing) Simply because I headcanon that they live in a place called Critter Cove Isle. I basically treat it like a playground of ideas inspired by MLP, Animal Crossing and other stuff I like.

The OC is originally from This Post.

I wrote a short story about Kickin and my OC meeting for the first time. If you want then read below!

Self indulgent shipping stuff: First Meeting

It was a blistering summer day, and Sandy Paw Beach  was packed with critters enjoying the sun, surf, and sand. Kickin Chicken was in his element, surrounded by his usual entourage of fans. His athletic prowess, smooth confidence, and laid-back attitude had made him a local celebrity. Today, he was out there impressing everyone with his latest trick—a complicated, gravity-defying flip off the side of the pier into the ocean. 

“Yo, Kickin, that was sick!” one of the critters cheered, clapping him on the back as he stepped out of the water, flipping his wet feathers in an effortlessly cool way. 

“Ye-hah, you nailed it, dude!” another chimed in, eyes wide with admiration.

Kickin smirked, shaking off the water and casually throwing on his sunglasses. 

“Eh, no biggie,” he said, trying to downplay it. “When I was born my mom thought I was a penguin, y’know?”

His group of fans chuckled, hanging onto his every word. As they headed back toward the pier to grab some ice cream, one of the critters in the group glanced over at the lifeguard tower and scoffed.

“Ugh, there she is again,” an otter critter named Mia muttered, nudging her friend. “The weird lifeguard.”

Kickin raised an eyebrow, his attention pulled to where Mia was looking. At the lifeguard tower sat Jersey Shoals, a cow critter, her gaze steady as she surveyed the beach. She was calm and quiet, the wind playing with her short, ocean-swept hair as she sat atop the tower, her lifeguard vest loose around her shoulders.

“What’s weird about her?” Kickin asked, though his tone was still casual. He wasn’t the type to get caught up in gossip, but something about the way Mia said it piqued his curiosity.

“She’s, like, always so quiet and stares off into space,” Mia replied. “Barely talks to anyone, and when she does, it’s like... I dunno, she just acts kinda... different. People say she’s, like, in her own world or something.”

“Yeah,” another critter chimed in. “I heard she’s…excuse the language, a bit slow?  Probably not all there, y’know?”

Kickin shrugged, not particularly interested in the details. “Whatever,” he said, brushing it off as he strutted toward the ice cream stand. “She’s just doing her job.”

But as they passed the tower, Kickin couldn’t help but glance up at Jersey again. There was something different about her, but not in the way his beach pals had been suggesting. She seemed...focused. Like she was tuned into something deeper than the noise around her. She wasn’t gawking at the athletes and body builders on the beach, wasn't trying to impress anyone. She just... was.

Suddenly, as if on cue, a loud shriek broke through the chatter of the beachgoers. Kickin turned his head in time to see a kid flailing in the water, caught by a rough current. The lifeguard tower’s alarm sounded, but Jersey was already in motion.

Without a second’s hesitation, she leapt from the tower, her movements swift and precise. She sprinted toward the water, cutting through the crowd with ease, while the beachgoers began to panic. Kickin watched, caught off guard by the sudden change in pace.

Jersey hit the water with purpose, diving beneath the waves in a practiced motion. The kid had gone under for a moment, but she found him quickly, pulling him to the surface with a strength that surprised everyone watching. With measured, powerful strokes, she swam back to shore, cradling the terrified kid in her arms.

By the time she reached the beach, the crowd had gathered, buzzing with concern and admiration. Jersey laid the kid gently on the sand, checking him over as he coughed up water. 

“You’re okay, kiddo. Just breathe,” she said softly, her voice calm and steady.

The kid’s parents rushed over, thanking Jersey profusely, but she barely acknowledged the attention. Once the child was safe, she simply nodded and made her way back toward the tower, shaking off the water without a word, completely focused on her duties.

Kickin’s groupies watched the whole thing in stunned silence. Mia shifted uncomfortably, glancing at the ground as one of the others nudged her in the side. As if to say “Ahem. You were saying?”

“Well... okay, that was pretty cool, I guess,” she muttered, clearly embarrassed by her earlier comment.

Kickin, however, was still staring at Jersey as she walked back to her post. His sunglasses were pushed up, and for the first time that day, he was speechless. That girl who they had called “weird” had just saved a life without a second thought. No showing off, no need for applause. Just action.

Something stirred in him. She was different, all right—but in a way that made him curious. She wasn’t like the others around him, constantly seeking attention or validation. Jersey Shoals had her own rhythm, and that was something Kickin couldn’t help but admire, even if he didn’t understand it yet.

As Jersey reached the base of the tower, she glanced back, her gaze meeting Kickin’s for just a brief second. She didn’t smile, didn’t wave—just a quiet, steady look that lingered for a moment before she turned away and climbed back up to her station.

Kickin blinked, realizing he had been staring. He quickly composed himself, his usual cocky grin returning. “Alright, y’all go ahead,” he said, waving off his friends. “I’ll catch up in a minute.”

As they headed off toward the ice cream stand, Kickin lingered by the edge of the beach, his eyes drifting back toward the lifeguard tower. Maybe she wasn’t weird. Maybe she was just different. And honestly that was something he found intriguing. 

With one last glance at Jersey, he turned and jogged to catch up with his pals, but his mind kept wandering back to the girl on the tower, wondering about what made her tick.

[stackslip]

Always embarrassing to like smth people are saying sucks (and scary in case you watch it and end up agreeing with them) so that's why I'm on anon but I strongly disagree with the people saying Code Geass is fun but not good (paraphrased badly). It IS a fantastic show actually. Here's my very long essay about why you should watch it.

I got my brother interested in rgu by comparing it to Code Geass bc it's his favorite show. You'll be disappointed if you're expecting them to be actually similar, bc they're not really, but they have a similar tone in that it switches rapidly between Serious Plot and Touga Punches a Kangaroo. There's an episode where they have to chase a cat and that's what they do that day. The plot isn't all that similar and the comedy isn't all that similar but it's similarly inconsistent in swapping between the two. And I would argue that it doing this is thematically relevant, bc it's a double life show. Lelouch has his alter ego as Zero and when he's Zero everything feels different to when he's Lelouch. School life is just stupid in comparison, and he's constantly frustrated by it. His school life is pretty much just a humiliating liability, but he can't easily abandon it, so he just has to live with the fact that in between fighting in giant robots he has go to pizza parties (sponsored by Pizza Hut tee em) and whoops! It's Valentine's Day so everyone in the school has to wear heart hats and if a girl knocks off his hat they get to kiss him!!! And he's forced to take that seriously even though he knows how dumb it is and would much rather be commanding robots.

Now look. I do have to warn you. There is a part where he says if he wins the revolution he's gonna make the United States of Japan. That part isn't good. I want you to know I know that part is bad. The politics of this show are Not Always Great. HOWEVER. When I was watching, the main thing that compelled me politically about it was the contrast between Suzaku as the person who wants to Change Things From the Inside vs Lelouch who wants to actually just shoot the people who are oppressing you. Suzaku sucks and the show knows it and I like the show knowing it.

I'm not gonna argue this is a show with generally good politics, but it's not a show that actually cares a whole lot about, like, how a country should be run. The bad guys say fascist shit about like the strong ruling over the weak and the natural order, and they're racist against Japanese people, and the good guys want. I dunno, Freedom. Democracy. United States of Japan. They're bad guys and good guys. That's not what the show is about. The show is about the specific motivations of our important characters. Lelouch talks about wanting Japan to be free or whatever but he makes it very clear from the beginning that the Only thing he Actually cares about is creating a world where his little sister can be happy. And later on you find out what the evil emperor guy is trying to do too (although it's kinda more abstract and weird. Arguably another point of comparison between this and rgu, when it cares more about themes than about telling you What's Actually Happening). I guess I shouldn't act like the political positions of the two sides are irrelevant, but I really don't think it's the focus. Lelouch's politics are My Sister and secondarily I suppose Free Japan if I have time. Suzaku's politics are Free Japan but also you have to be niceys to the government and do what they say bc they're in charge :). The freedom fighters' politics are Free Japan. The Brittanian's politics are We Do What We Want. It's not gonna be a realistic depiction of a good revolution bc the writers didn't know anything about those.

And here I suppose I have to say that I last watched it probably years ago when my politics were worse, so maybe the politics are generally worse than I remember. But my point is you should treat the specific politics stuff like you treat the chess stuff. No one in the writers' room knew how to play chess. They probably didn't bother to watch someone play chess before writing it. When Lelouch says you should move your king first bc "how can a king expect his subjects to lead if he stays back and does nothing" laugh at it and take it as a thematic statement about Lelouch's beliefs. When he says United States of Japan laugh at it and. Well I suppose that one isn't even thematic. You see what I mean though.

Another warning is that there's a specific Very Important plot point that doesn't really make sense and feels really dumb and cheap. That specific thing genuinely does undermine a lot of the show, because it happens kinda suddenly and is very serious and the whole rest of the show is majorly impacted by it and it's very difficult to ignore that that Doesn't Make Sense At All. And you're supposed to be really upset and like. It just doesn't make sense. The second time I watched it it didn't feel as egregious as the first time but the first time I think I almost stopped watching. My advice is to do your best to pretend it makes sense bc I think the results of that thing are actually interesting.

Generally, I think that's the important thing to remember actually. Maybe that's my thesis. Of the essay. Yeah, that sounds smart. Code Geass is a show that doesn't always make total sense, and even when it mostly makes sense it's frequently Really Dumb, so like I can see why people might come away with the impression that it's just a silly nothing show where robots fight and he says United States of Japan. But genuinely I think there's a lot to get from it thematically if you can take it just seriously enough to see what it's trying to do.

There's more I kinda wanna say but I think I need to text my mom back and I can't save asks as drafts. Um um last two points, first, how much you like the show probably depends at least a little on your tolerance for Anime Geniuses knowing everything and pulling bullshit, I don't think Lelouch is as bad in that department as Light Yagami but smth to consider. And second don't watch the movies. The movies suck.

honestly anon i'm genuinely charmed by your sheer passion for this. it feels like it's mirroring me when i defend my fave flawed media including me with fma 03 tbh. like YES it sucks the politics suck but IT IS compelling. that's the kind of shit i enjoy most, ngl. you've made your case convincingly. i think what i really hate is when people claim something is The Most Perfect Thing Ever and then you watch it and it's dogshit in a number of ways that people absolutely refuse to acknowledge and definitely some code geass fans are Like That but also your talking about it kinda echoes how some friends i trust have been talking about it too. i think i'm still gonna go in with low expectations if/when i do watch it, mostly bc that allows me to be pleasantly surprised by something the series DOES do well.

also i grew up on 2000s shounen and seinen. my tolerance for anime bullshit is extremely high as long as i'm into what it's doing thematically or character wise tbh

[hamliet]

am I the only one who thinks death as a redemption distasteful?

I mean, no, you’re definitely not the only one!

Honestly, the trope is oversaturated now. Everyone and their mother wants to have Darth Vader while ignoring the specific context that made Vader’s redemptive sacrifice work. I wrote about when redemptive death works in the linked meta above.

See, I tend to think the problem isn’t the trope itself, but instead treating the trope as an easy way out, or as a moral necessity when really it should serve the character, the plot, and the themes. The genre also matters. But... yeah, how it's used in 99% of stories nowadays is lame and distasteful. It's giving up, not pushing through. It's bad witing.

Like, writing a story where someone fucks up in every aspect, where they are evil, but in the end have one lone thing they love and sacrifice everything for that love—that’s beautiful. And I don’t think it’s a miserable ending either; bittersweet, but it’s hopeful. It talks about the humanity in each of us that can’t be snuffed out no matter how we try. 

I dunno, man, I have loved ones who are so beyond messed up. I want to believe there is hope for them even if it’s an eleventh hour “wait, I love this one person.” Will that redeem them to the world? No. But is it enough to comfort their loved ones? Maybe. It’s not an easy answer. That’s why redemption via death can work masterfully in a story. It can give life and hope. But it’s so often misused that I also get why people hate this trope now and kinda hate it myself lol.

In stories, actions have consequences. They’re symbols, and so are the characters. If you skirt consequences for a character that’s how you get Marty Stus and such. If death is an established reality in your world, then it’s logical some characters may die. Death is a fair consequence, but consequence does NOT mean punishment. It just means that if something happens in a story there should be a reason it happens, not just “for the sads” or “because they were bad and I want to punish readers who see themselves in them.” If a character has done certain things, and the rules of the world make it clear death is likely, that’s not inherently bad writing. 

But for a lot of the oversaturation of "redemptive death," it’s, frankly, cheap. Because it’s not used as a genuine way to end a characters arc with thematic weight or to honor them. It’s done to give the audience a “there there, we made you care so we won’t kill them off as a baddie but we don’t want to take responsibility for making a complex character and actually use them to add meaning to our story.” And that’s been most of the redemptive deaths post Vader, let’s be real. 

But on the other hand, death is a reality people have been grappling with in stories since the beginning of time. I’m serious; the oldest stories in the world are about humans trying to understand how to live in the face of death.  But death is the only thing that humans are all equal in. The only thing. I wrote about that here.

So when you have people who refuse to acknowledge death at all, and act like killing a character including in redemptive death is a moral statement that they deserved to die when it really isn’t—it’s just a different side of the same coin as the cheap “death redemption” people. Both view it as a moral thing or as an easy way of wrapping up their writing instead of letting it fester so that audiences can continue to think on it, to ponder it, to wonder what if.

Not all stories are designed to preach or teach morality, and even fewer good stories are designed to do that. (Which is not the same thing as saying good stories are inherently amoral, either.)

If a character redeems themselves via a sacrifice that costs their life, then their sacrifice needs to matter. It needs to be dealt with, to bring life or criticism, rather than being an easy hand wave away so that the story can just continue like it didn’t matter. I

Redemptive death itself is not the problem. The problem is bad writing of characters and themes and plots that leads to an oversaturation of a trope in a pale attempt to imitate a good story rather than actually write one.

[i-just-wanna-write-fanfic]

YAN ALPHABET MIKE+ALTERS (minus Chester cuss I dunno how to write for him qnq)

part one, MIKE

WARNINGS: YANDERE KINDS OF STUFFS, STALKING, POSSEVINESS, KIDNAPPING, OBBSESIVNESS, MURDER, VIOLENCE, FORCED LOVE, MIKE DOESN'T LOVE ZOEY.

type: obsessive, delusional.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Mike just love, love, LOVES you! he shows his love in many ways! whether it's words of love, physical affection, or acts of service, he will do basically anything to show you much he cares!

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

oh, Mike could never bring himself to KILL someone! maybe just some scary glares or threats will scare them away...

but if that doesn't work... he'll have to resort to more... DRASTIC measures...

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

he wouldn't let you out of his sight once he has you right where he wants you! (with him ofc <3)

he would never mock you! he loves you too much to do that...

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

nope.

well, except for cuddles, unless he notices that you're uncombable, in that case, he'll get off of you.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

he'll answer any question you ask him! he doesn't have anything to hide!

well, he is a bit scared to tell you about his... well... disorder, but he's sure you'll treat him the same nonetheless!!

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

sad and hurt.

what did he do wrong?

why are you trying to leave him?

please don't leave him...

he needs you so badly...

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

nope!

he takes this very seriously.

he hates it when you try to leave him.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

smothering and/or isolation.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

he hopes for you two to someday get married, and spend the rest of your lives together!

maybe even have kids! unless you don't want them, of course!

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

he very easily gets jealous. he sees you as the best thing in the world, something he can't live with! so when someone tries to talk to you, or even worse, touch you, or flirt with you, he becomes very jealous!

he usually becomes clingy when he's jealous.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

he's very lovey-dovey, and he constantly seeks out your love and attention.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

he couldn't for a while. he really couldn't. whenever he did, he felt like throwing up.

but he would leave you "love letters", whether they were actual letters, or weird messages on your mirror or walls, that you'd have to clean up, taking a shower after to get rid of the weird feeling you just couldn't shake off.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

nope! he's just more lovey-dovey and annoying around you. maybe a bit more touchy too.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

smothering or isolation.

he much more prefers smothering

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

bye-bye, freedom and privacy!

you need to be with him at ALL times.

and he usually finds out any secrets you're hiding from him pretty quickly.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

very patient! he will wait however long he needs to for you to get something right! he might get a bit agitated if you take too long, but he knows you'll get it sooner or later!

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

death: he would never be able to move on. he would constantly grieve, and cry. in the beginning, he didn't want to believe you ACTUALLY DIED. he kept on shaking you, just hoping you were just playing around with him or sleeping!

leaves: not happening.

escapes: he's on you 24/7, so idk how u did that lol- anyways- he would be looking for you most of the time, so stay on your toes.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

only slightly.

but that doesn't mean he's letting you go.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

everything about you was and is so perfect... he needed you... he couldn't be lonely any longer, he just needed you...

might have been mal seeping through the cracks.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

he feels horrible...

if it was because of him, he'll give you some space, but if it was because of someone else, he won't kill them, but they'll be missing for quite a while...

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

his DID, and general innocence about the world.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

his emotions.

he is quite emotional around you, so you could probably manipulate him emotionally to get him off your case long enough to let you escape/manipulate him to set you free. but that won't last too long.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

no.

never.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

he loves you so much... he practically worships you.

your birthday for him is like the coming of Jesus, and any day spent with you is the best day ever!

everything about you is perfect, the pace at which you breathe, how you walk, your voice, everything!

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

a week or two.

once he can be close to you without needing to hurl due to too many butterflies, he's taking you away to live with him!!! <3

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

N O .

[mdhwrites]

Thought you might want to know, but all of Season 2A was written without knowledge of the shortening. Dana Terrace says this at the 16 minute mark of the April 28th Post Hoot.

Thank you! It's neat to know and kind of the assumption I'd had for a long time. In production and being written should be two different phases for a show after all. For the Amphibia outline I did earlier today, it'd mean losing an episode which.... *sigh* But yeah, I've effectively always treated it mostly like S2A was unaffected by the shortening and there are some plotlines I'm sympathetic about with that... But not by much.

Again, I've gone harder into this in the past but S2B had to mostly be the way it was for the sake of S3, full or shortened, unless S3 was DRASTICALLY different than what we got. Hunter needed to be an ally enough to go with them all into the portal so Sport in a Storm, Hollow Mind and Labyrinth Runners would have still happened. You do need to explore Belos and prepare for King's Tide with him so Hollow Mind bare minimum still needs to exist but also for Luz's angst arc, Elsewhere Elsewhen needs to exist. King being a titan needs to be confirmed so Edge of the World needs to exist. We also need to make King the most patient, kind, wisest person to exist so Titan, Where Art Thou needs to happen. And Clouds on the Horizon leads directly into the finale so while a lot of the A plot of that episode is pretty wasteful and lacks payoffs, you definitely still need to include it for where everyone is for the finale unless you alter the finale a lot. And Falls and Follies is a good recap of position and sets the stakes for Raine but... It'd pretty questionable too.

This makes the only episodes who's main plots could really be altered to a drastic degree be:

Reaching Out: Amity's relationship with her father barely pays off and frankly it'd have been almost just as jarring to have King do his conversation during Clouds on the Horizon even without this episode. Otherwise, it shoots the worldbuilding in the head and harms Lumity for the sake of double daddy issues. You also have the confirmation for Eda that The Day of Unity is bad news but no one who lives at The Owl House does anything with that. So let's of setup for effectively no payoff.

Them's the Breaks: I hate that I cannot justify this episode because it is EASILY the most of S2B but... It damages Raine's character, only really shows a potential reason why Eda gave up on the covens but the only story part is the last two minutes. You could have done ANYTHING else, like I dunno, an episode actually about Darius and Hunter/the rebel coven heads, and ended it with the Raine reveal.

That is two episodes. The fact that there are two episodes even is... OOPH, especially when Reaching Out at least has arguments but Them's the Breaks is just Dana gushing about the fanfic she wants to write for her own series. The fact that there are only two, with maybe being able to cut one of Hunter's episodes for his arc, is not good. Not unless the Day of Unity wasn't supposed to be the S2 finale.

And if it wasn't... What the fuck was the original plan?

This is a lot of why I talk about not wanting three seasons. It wanted WAY MORE. I think Dana assumed it'd be so popular and big as to have five or more. There are PLENTY of issues with that conceptually (again, S3 could never have been great) but it is the vibe the story gives. It is too redundant and too slow to be otherwise. TOH's biggest argument against being claimed as having a lot of filler is mostly in that a lot of episodes get a LITTLE done in way or another but it takes very few leaps. When it could do that, actually have a big payoff and move along, it cuts it off at the knees for the sake of 'realism'. This happened with Willow... and also fucking happened with ALADOR. IN SEASON 2B. WHY!? Why would you make a plot point specifically say more work and time will be needed when you DON'T HAVE TIME!?

Even S3 has this. In a season with THREE. EPISODES. Luz has THREE finishes to her arc. In Thanks to Them, she gets reassured by quite literally everyone that she did nothing wrong and should feel confident about her choices before she confidently prepares to head into the demon realm! Then... In show it's like five, ten minutes tops when Luz is self hating and self martyring herself again until the end of the episode has her confidently state that she wants to be understood! And with her friends and new palisman by her side, she will face the Collector!

Only to start the next episode with a dream sequence where she believes everyone fucking hates her, doesn't understand her and that she deserves to be hated. This only gets resolved when the FUCKING GOD of the show tells her she's A-Okay and she has nothing to fear. She's just too gosh darn good in order to have any reason to every doubt herself!

I'm not going to even ask why this happened. I can actually tell you mostly why because Luz is the only character besides Hunter with any character payoffs left to do. So if you want each episode to have a big character moment, Hunter can only replace one of those. They still tried to have Willow do one anyways by dredging up something that hadn't been a thing for TWO. SEASONS. But Luz was still given three different endings.

No, the bigger question to me just fucking HOW!? this sort of thing happens. This has fuck all to do with the shortening after all. Wasted time at this point, moments that mean literally and do nothing, are their choice. They are still the writers who decided to waste all this time despite claiming how much they wanted more time.

It makes it look like any potential S3 would have just been... Well, more of this. More repetition that dilutes its themes and doesn't really go anywhere. After all, if they couldn't fill three hours with actual story and pushing forward the narrative and themes... Why should we assume eight hours would have been suddenly so much better?

I didn't mean to go so hard on this. Sigh. But yeah, there's a lot of reasons why the shortening is not the excuse that people think it is. Why it honestly feels so much like a blessing to the show because people just have this go to statement to try and shut people or shut their own brains up from any issues they might have, even if those issues are self contained to a single episode.

TOH was never perfect and has flaws that run incredibly deep and start early on. No excuse will ever change those facts.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[lanterns-and-daydreams]

Random post. Because I currently have no one to talk to. You can scroll. It's just me ranting about the most mundane things and talking to myself :)

Okay, now I dunno what to say. I'm not texting anyone cause I'm not gonna bother anyone in my DMs with this

MY FAVOURITE THING EVER IS SO MANY THINGS

That's so vague HAHAHAHA

I like cats SO much. OH MY GOD-

Like, if you do not like cats, I do not trust you.

Theres a cat near where I live, but she won't let me pet her babies :(

I used to call kittens 'cat babies'. I still do. It sounds cuter. But like, cats are so cute, if I get one, I'm gonna love it forever and give it lots of kisses and hugs and treats and everything it could ever want and a little cat bed and a tiny blanket and a scratchy thingy, idk what it's called, and dedicate most of my life to it and love it so so sosososososososoooooo much and they're so cute and lovable and huggable and kissable and if my future partner doesn't like cats I'm kicking them out cause I want a cat, and I'm gonna love it so much and show it off to everyone cause it's mine and I love it and I also reallllyyyyyyyy love flowers

Like, flowers are so cool. How could you NOT like flowers???? And i can name so many flowers and I told my best friend about soooooo many flowers like lotuses and sunflowers and peonies and lobelias and Cordelias and bleeding hearts and foxgloves and poppies and and and-

Anyway

OH MY GOD CAKEEEEEEEEE

I love cake SO much. Red velvet is my FAVOURITE. Maybe thats why i have memory issues. Oh oh! Did you know that if you consume too much sugar, it gives you memory issues

And diabetes

Reminds me of the time I used to sometimes eat sugar because why not? And ice. I liked chewing on ice. And I used to read so much as a baby. And zooooooooooom everywhere. I used to have a cycle and it was pink and white and so cute and I used to take it everywhere

Sometimes I feel like rapunzel. Cause ivory tower, yk? Like, my dad never let's me leave the house after 10 and says I'm not allowed to exit the apartment floor n stuff, and I used to make up little songs about leaving and seeing the world n stuff, I don't so that anymore though. I gave up on that dream. But I still wanna leave yk?

Anyway

SPIDERS

SPIDERS ARE SOSOSOSO CUTE. LIKE ONE TIME I SAW A SPIDER ON MY MED KIT (I CAN WRAP BANDAGES DID YA KNOW THAT???) AND I LOOKED IN ITS TINY EYES AND WE HAD A STARING CONTEST AND THEN IT JUMPED AWAY AND I SAID BYE BYE

And the one time I was sitting on a sofa and looked at the arm of the sofa and saw a tiny spider there and we maintained eye contact for like 4 seconds before it jumped off the arm and onto the floor and lay there unmoving and I laughed while crying. Reminded me of the time when I tried to climb a tree in muree that was on a mountain and nearly fell off both the tree and mountain.

MY FRIEND JUST TEXTED ME TEHEHEHEHEHE

Shes bullying me with uwus. I'm not gonna open her chat >:(

My best friend is actually sososososo cool and I love her sm. I've known her for 3 years and she can actually make me laugh genuinely. Props to her. That's hard to do. And shes sososososo pretty and bossy makes me giggle and I feel so happy, she reminds me of Sunflowers. I tell her so many stories like the time I ate something I shouldn't have and almost got lost in the woods at the dead of night behind the farmhouse we were visiting. And she's a doctor and she's sososososo cool

AND SHE KNOWS MY FAVOURITE SONG AND COLOR AND FOOD AND SHE LIKES MY DESSERT

You say you love me. You say I'm your friend. WHAT'S MY FAVOURITE SONG, YOU WEENIE.

Weenie

Hehe

I gave her a watch and she wore it. I almost cried

I saw a bird yesterday. My best friend hates crows. So I always chase them off for her.

I miss the humming birds near our house. They were pretty. I'm sleepy. And I'm also thinking. Well, not really. Thinking is wierd. Because when you start thinking you start thinking about everything. Like, how do we know the big bang happened when none of us were alive when it happened and how do we know an alternate reality doesn't exist, because maybe it exists, and maybe aliens exist too, because who are we to conclude that aliens don't exist? Because we are literally smaller than specks as compared to this entire universe and mermaids could exist too, because we've py explored 5% of the entirety of the oceans and yeye

You ever think about how 'crises' sounds like 'cry sis'? Because I do, because I cry. Now im thinking about Lobelias and how to murder my English teacher. I want to experiment on her. What will happen if I inject glitter into her veins? Or glue? Or glitter glue? Maybe give her tiny heart attacks by injecting small doses of air into her veins. Would that work?

Maybe i can cook up her remains and shit and give it to the other people I hate

Assign me a Taylor Swift song

I like The Prophecy from TTPD. I relate

Im so selfish it's funny

I like bows. Especially blood red ones. Did you know my favourite color is blood red?

This talk post is longer than most fics you've read hehehehe

I still don't know what a loubtine is. How do you spell it? Louboutine? Lobetine? WHAT IS IT

Louboutine.

Idk I give up.

Alina thinks I'm cute. I am so not. I am evil. Safa (my best friend) agrees with Alina (the music girl) and I have to defend myself everytime. I am not cute. I am evil. I ONCE STOLE BACK MY ERASER FROM A GIRL WHO STOLE MY PINK ERASER IS THAT NOT EVIL ENOUGH FOR YOU????

I STOLE A FLOWER TOO. AND CANDY. AND NOODLES FROM MY BROTHER.

Safa's younger sister once gave me a flower and a sketchbook. I drew stuff in it. I want to draw Edinburgh. Paint it, I mean. This post is very messy.

Cosmo Sheldrake by Come Along is stuck in my head rn

And chase altantic songs.

Idk the name of that one song that goes in a way I can't describe

I just noticed I wrote the cosmo Sheldrake song wrong

But im not gonna go back to fix it cause this is a messy post and I like it

I meant Come Along by Cosmo Sheldrake

Cool song.

Reminds me of the fae.

Now im thinking about Cassian. Why not? He's my blorbo. He's also my favourite. And his cousin Zinnia is sososososo pretty and theyre as close as siblings. I'm gonna draw them when I get an iPad (even tho I'm a Samsung girlie but I need procreate)

I just remembered my cult. It was called the Cat Cult. I was the leader. It was all just cats except me and one of my friends. We plotted to take over the world. I wonder how that fat orange cat is doing now

Fuck math, do meth.

Sometimes I wonder if there's someone out there who's gonna listen to me yap for hours on end and love it. A girl can only dream.

Ngl I'd rock an enemies to lovers trope. That or I'd completely flop. No in between. Cause I'd call him the weirdest names that he wouldn't even understand like 'frostingless cupcake' or 'dry ass oatmeal' or a weenie.

Weenie

Hehe

Did i say that before?

I have brown eyes.

I wanna be pretty so bad

Am i pretty? Kind of

Im not gonna call myself ugly. I'm not ugly >:(

Calling people darling or love is so fun

How are you darling?

I am good

I am a good babie

I gave chicken to a cat today

And saw a birb

And a tree

And a cloud

And i ate icecream

I am sleppy

Goodnight, ma belle

This is not even a rant

It's just me rambling

[fountainpenguin]

"Now, shoulders back- and stand up tall! And do not walk, but try to float!" (x)

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New 130 Reasons Why I’m Fairy Trash update today!

Fairly OddParents || One-Shot - “I Just Live Here”

Read on FFN || Read on AO3

Find more Lavender Train story arc HERE

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It's spring break for the Spellementary School kids. Poof, Finley, and Foop visit their extended family for the holidays- Poof with Granddad Dusty ("Big Daddy") and all his Fairywinkle cousins, Foop with his grandmother, and Finley with...

... Well. I guess H.P.'s just putting him to work. That's Pixie life for ya.

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

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By the way... FFN keeps saying that it won't send me more emails because apparently my email is rejecting them and no matter how many fixes I attempt, it's not sticking.

If you would like to leave a review, I'd prefer you leave it on AO3 because I'm confident I'll get an email that I can respond to, but you can still leave reviews on the FFN story if you wish!

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125. I Just Live Here (Immediate sequel to "Scarred")

Wednesday May 6th, 2005

Year of Sky, Spring of the Silent Owls

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Poof Fairywinkle-Cosma

Chingaling-chime!

"Now approaching Starglint Town. Please prepare to disembark in the next five minutes. If you've enjoyed your local public transportation system, consider supporting returning candidate Mortikor Fern as Pink Robe in the next Fairy Council election. Thank you for flying with Rainbow Transit Services and have a magical day."

I've heard that message (with different drop-off points subbed in) so many times in the past four hours, I kind of wanna barf. And even if I did, I could probably recite it several times myself on the way to the nearest clinic. I'll be glad when this bus ride is over. I feel like it's been four weeks since I left the Spellementary dorms.

There's a good reason as to why it's taken so long. Starglint Town lies at the edge of the Fairy World Outskirts, basically kissing the border with Anti-Fairy World… separated from it only by Emper: a scraggly little town on the floating island that's just come into view up ahead. Emper isn't much to look like. There's a park with cool statues from the old days, plus a cute grocery store where they hand out free sugar cookies to kids. My dad takes me to get one every time we visit Mama Cosma, but there isn't much else that's interesting. Starglint Town is where all the action is, from libraries to community centers to toy stores and pizza shops.

Granddad Dusty's property is smack between the two. Everyone in Emper calls him Big Daddy and they treat him with so much respect, I always wonder if my family are under some kind of secret government protection just because our counterparts rule Anti-Fairy World. I mean, it doesn't sound too far-fetched when you think about it for a while. I know a lot of people dislike the Anti-Fairywinkles, but I hope most of them realize that if we knocked them out of power, it wouldn't be the end of that kind of leadership in Anti-Fairy World. Someone else would just rise up to take over, and they could be even worse than Anti-Cosmo is now.

I don't even think Anti-Cosmo is that bad, but if I say that, people will freak out at me and shower me in questions about whether or not I remember getting kidnapped as a newborn. I don't, but… that doesn't mean I want to hear about it over and over again. I wish more people would respect my boundaries and ask me first before they talk about it… Not just dump the whole kidnapping thing on my head any time I want to have a polite and reasonable conversation about Fairy World history, geography, or politics.

Maybe instead of screaming about how H.P. and Anti-Cosmo are evil fiends who went off the deep end and can never be forgiven because they kidnapped a baby and tried to springboard off my magic to rule the universe, we could, I dunno… ask ourselves why the current state of the universe isn't working for them? There's gotta be some reason they feel like they're doing the right thing for their people by pushing back against the Fairies. They're still people, right?

Or if you want to look at this from another angle, why do Anti-Fairy World and Pixie World even have corrupt leaders in the first place? Do people support them? If they don't, then why don't their people support Fairy World? Are we the crueler of two evils in their eyes? We should change that. We should figure out how to fix it.

And if Pixies and Anti-Fairies do support their leaders, maybe we should ask ourselves why. Are they being brainwashed by hateful propaganda? My school's always teaching us that Anti-Fairies are behind all that's bad in the universe, so we're using propaganda too.

Do Pixies and Anti-Fairies support their leaders because they care about their people, use their taxes wisely, and keep everyone fed, sheltered, and clothed? That sounds okay to me. Next topic: Why aren't Anti-Cosmo and Foop's dad in jail for all those other times they tried to take over Fairy World? If the answer to that is "their worlds will fall apart if they don't stay in power, plunging the universe into chaos," then maybe they're actually great leaders and aren't so bad after all.

Just a thought. Politics are probably more complicated than I think they are, but that's just me.

I've never worried about repeat kidnapping when I'm at home with my parents, apart from maybe one time that Timmy's Dad snuck into his room and stole our fishbowl for Mr. Crocker. At school, I feel safe in the hands of the faculty and their magical wards. Yeah, Mr. Crocker might be my teacher now and he really is as wacky and distractible as Timmy always said he was, but he's not allowed within twenty feet of our dorms.

My classmates don't always respect our cohort's RA, but I'm pretty sure Gary would mess Crocker the freak up if he ever tried peering through our windows. Gary and Crocker are both witches, but Gary's 1.56% genie with minor reality-bending powers to prove it, while Crocker's about thirteen generations down from his magical ancestor with nothing to show for it but the ability to float. I know who I'd bet money on in that fight.

Foop and I tried sneaking out one time when it was late and we wanted fruit snacks from the vending machine, and that's how I found out that Gary can just snap his fingers and summon clones of himself. I don't leave my room after curfew anymore.

[Cnt'd on FFN / AO3 - Links at top]

[lizard-shifter-noms]

Wayward Waters Chapter 9

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Hello everyone! Chapter 9!

time to explore more of the world!

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

have fun reading!

and as always Reblogs are appreciated! (Also ASK’s are open so feel free to bother me!)

AO3 Link for those that prefer the layout there;

AO3 Wayward waters

——————————————————————————

After surely not enough hours of sleep I was woken up again, 

by Jamie once again having no regard for the stability of my spine and literally walking over me.

“Yo! Wake up! We managed to toast bread! If you're fast it might even not be soggy!”

With that they jumped off and walked out,  leaving the door open as I grumbled miserably into the pillow.

Maan i felt miserable, and not in the way that my body got battered around, instead just, plain miserable.

Instead of getting up I just continued to lay there, I didn't need to eat anyway and I didn't want to get potentially soggy bread again anyway.

After not getting up and instead moping miserably for what had to be at least an hour of just laying there and doing nothing, Akeem walked in through the door I hadn't even bothered to close after Jamie left.

“Are you alright? 

Jamie told me you were already awake but not doing anything”

I just turned my head away and grumbled into the pillow, not even words just sounds at this point.

I heard the wooden floor creak as Akeem walked next to me.

“Do you not feel well? Did you get seasick after all?”

I shook my head, still burying my face in the pillow.

“No, i just feel miserable, i don't wanna do anything today”

Apparently Akeem didn't care about that as I was picked up by the scruff and set back onto the bed in a sitting position.

“Things still have to be done even if you don't want to, imagine where we would be if we never did anything we didn't want to?

Now what's the reason you feel so down?”

“...dunno, i just feel miserable, maybe i need to get better sleep”

Akeem just stared at me, and for the first time since I set foot on the ship actually blinked.

“I do not think that is it, i remember when Yamet was new on the ship he also had a bout of ‘being miserable’ as it turned out he was simply homesick”

Homesick? The very fact I could get that was astounding,  but I wasn't really Missing Kamerasca itself.

“I- uh, I guess? Maybe? But to be honest i never really cared about Kamerasca aside from the fact i was living there”

“Ah it is not the place you miss but the people living there”

That would make more sense.

“Uh, well, yes? I miss my friends, and even some of the Guards from the castle, and i worry because i don't know if they're okay or not”

I had no way of knowing anything right now, 

not if they were okay or even still alive after the storm.

"I am sure that they're alright, they must worry about you just as much as you worry about them"

Fair point, and moping wouldn't help anyone so might as well get up.

"You're right, and laying on the bed all day won't do anything, is there any toast left?"

Akeem nodded and strangely enough actually blinked for once.

"There is, but it is cold by now"

Well that was still better than soggy 

"Fine by me, let's go before Imugi makes everything soggy again"

Akeem had already walked out the door, only stopping for a second. 

"I doubt she can squeeze her head into the kitchen, not that she hasn't tried"

Oh so this time they actually ate in the kitchen, why they didn't do that sooner was beyond me though. 

I followed Akeem to the kitchen and he handed me a piece of cold toast that I ate in a few bites.

Meanwhile I noticed that the windows had a bunch of scratches around it, a new one being added as Imugi’s beak nibbled on the wood.

More of her didn't fit anyway.

Akeem grabbed the intruding beak and shoved it out so he could close the window. 

"We ought to get a better window lock in here, 

Imugi will chew on the wood if she doesn't get a treat,  But we can't give her one as we don't to reward that sort of behaviour but she keeps doing it”

Looking at the beak marks in the wood I did have to agree with him, though a Sea monster like Imugi probably liked the smell.

“Good luck, or try putting something in here she doesn't like”

Maybe if she saw something she wasn't fond of she'd stop chewing on the ship.

“The only thing i know that she does not like is Dolphins,  and we are not putting that in the kitchen”

Fair, also the bread really was starting to get stale,  no wonder they tried to toast it.

“Mhm, that would take up like half the kitchen anyway,  how far till we reach the Island you mentioned?”

Akeem motioned for me to follow him to the deck, which I did, still munching on the stale Toast.

Not like I hadn't eaten worse as a bastard street rat.

Up on the deck I could see that the sail was bunched up at the top and that a very old looking anchor was tossed over the side of the boat.

We were still in the middle of the ocean though, why did we stop?

Confusedly I turned to Akeem who had gotten some sort of ladder and rope from who knew where.

“We are stopping here for a few hours so Imugi can properly rest, there even is some seagrass for her to sleep in this reef”

Oh, right, in the hurry to get Home as fast as possible Imugi probably hadn't gotten all that much sleep.

Poor thing, and now I felt guilty.

Akeem tossed me a towel as well as Shorts that seemed to be made out of a weird silk like substance.

“Wh-”

“Those are specifically made for swimming, since Imugi has to rest you might as well enjoy the ocean for once”

Ah, that made sense, probably?

Before I could say anything else Akeem had tossed the Rope which appeared to have a weight at one end overboard and jumped after it.

Considering he was stone he didn't resurface,  but he also didn't have lungs so he couldn't drown.

Oh so the rope was that he could climb out later, smart.

Taking a look at the swimming shorts again, I decided to join Akeem.

Not like we could go anywhere with Imugi sleeping.

Going inside the ship again for a short moment I changed into the shorts Akeem had given me, they mostly fit at least even if they had to be tightly bound together at the waist with a string.

Putting my clothes in the empty box next to the door I walked over the deck again and looked over the railing.

Huh, the water didn't seem that deep here, and there were corals and fish.

A Reef then, and judging by the looks of it a big one.

Suddenly I was glad that this ship wasn't all that big,  and had a serpent maneuvering it.

With the way the rocks were positioned everywhere they could very well cut open a boat.

Being so absorbed in watching the reef under the boat that I didn't notice a figure sneaking up behind me.

Well I didn't notice until my arm got grabbed by a clawed foot.

“What's up you wuss!? Scared of the water?”

Came the cheerful voice from a blue clad maniac right into my left ear.

“Jamie! You don't have to be so loud! I'm not deaf, though,   keep yelling and I might be, also I'm not scared of the water! 

I wanted to see if i could spot Akeem or something cool”

“The water itself is cool enough already, also aren't those Ronan’s?”

They pointed at the swim shorts Akeem had given me.

Oh so those belonged to Ronan, hopefully he didn't mind.

“Akeem gave them to me, also considering you never seem to get out of that Blue sweater you're not gonna swim at all”

They shrugged.

“My legs are so fucking inefficient at treading water that i really should just stay on the boat unless i want to sink after five minutes.

Really though, with how thin my legs are i need to move them so fast to not go under it sucks”

Huh, hadn't considered that, of course thin, almost stilt like legs with thin toes would not help with swimming.

“So I guess you're just gonna have an eye on the ship then? Nice of you.

“You gonna swim or not? Also, don't you ever take that Bracelet off?”

The bracelet? Well, Since I had gotten it the only time I took it off was when I met Oakley.

“Not really, just like you and that blue sweater, also I am going to swim! I just didn't want to jump into a jellyfish or whatever!”

With that i swung myself over the railing and landed with a splash in the water below.

Fuck! As a human the salt stung terribly in my eyes,  which made me realize that I did not have that Problem as Ardua.

Strange, well that demanded to be tested!

Twisting the gem it was barely a second later that instead of a two legged man a big and green beast emerged.

Carefully opening one eye under water it really didn't sting anymore!

Though everything was still blurred by the water.

How weird! But also useful! 

And as Ardua swimming was faster too, the broad paws apparently not only good for digging in dirt.

Now that my life wasn't in danger or anything else needed to be done swimming through the reef was actually fun!

There were lots of fish and coral!

And swimming on the opposite side of the Boat was where Imugi had made a temporary nest out of seagrass.

It looked like actual grass just under water, it was moving slowly with the gentle waves, well at least the parts Imugi wasn't using as Mattress.

Imugi herself was sleeping on the seagrass so I left her alone and instead went to see if I could find Akeem.

Considering he was stone he had to be walking on the ocean floor.

That sounded kinda awesome actually.

Getting a deep breath of air I dived down again, seeing something blue and yellow dart past me.

Turning my head I saw it was Imik, who had ditched his shirt and revealed that his entire torso was dotted with blue scales that had yellow spots in some parts.

On his back there was also a thin and short fin which fit with his webbed hands and feet.

I briefly wondered what type of Merling he was, 

considering he had no fishtail it definitely wasn't merman.

Needing fresh air I resurfaced, Imik following right behind.

“Hey! Nice to see you swimming! Why'd you change back to the green form? Just because it's got bigger lungs?”

Bigger lungs? Hadn't thought about that but he was correct.

“Well i found out saltwater doesn't sting my eyes like this, 

also less risk of having some fish bite me while i'm fuzzy”

Imik laughed at that.

“Fair! Hey, I think I spotted a shipwreck that got washed up in a cave!”

A shipwreck? Well that sounded interesting!

“Really? Where? I've never seen one!”

“I'll show you! I think i'll need your help anyway cuz i want to explore it!

And if something goes wrong you could probably just smash it!”

Ah, there was the unhinged in his case.

“Uh, sure, where is it? I'll follow you, but i'm not a fast swimmer”

Imik nodded and then darted forward a few meters,  waiting for me to catch up.

That pattern repeated until he led me to a deeper part of the reef with weird rock formations.

They looked like natural long columns had fallen over to create some sort of irregular net pattern over sandy grooves.

Kinda pretty still, especially with the coral.

“Okay see that one groove that's bigger and deeper than the others? 

The ship is in the cave to the side of it!

Oh and don't forget to check the time while you dive! 

You don't have gills!”

With that he dived down, leaving me to follow.

Taking a deep breath I dived down after him,  seeing the cave he mentioned and swimming inside.

Luckily the cave entrance was very large,  which it had to be considering an entire ship fit through.

The floor was sandy and the small gaps in the stone roof let plenty of light in, almost like the pattern leaves made on a sunny day.

Huh, pretty.

Swimming around a bit I caught sight of Imik waving at me and pointing at the side of the old looking wooden ship, making a punching motion.

He really did want me to hit the thing huh?

Considering he was a treasure diver it was no surprise he wanted an easy way in.

Not knowing if that even worked underwater I swam to the sandy bottom right next to it and tried to get a good stance.

Considering it was sand it was rather ineffective but I managed to punch a good sized hole in the wall anyway.

Then I had a better idea and started ripping entire boards away so I could get a look inside too.

There were crates, and the ship had another hole on the bottom where some sand covered stone was visible.

No wonder that thing sank!

Getting low on air I motioned to Imik that I was heading out,  who in turn nodded and swam into the wreck.

No doubt he'd examine the crates for any treasure.

On the way out I saw a piece of wood stick out of the sand, looking like the corner of a crate.

Eh, I still had enough air for that.

Making a slight detour I hooked a claw into the crate and pulled it out of the sand.

Well, half of it, the crate was already broken and then spilled its contents.

The crate had contained a variety of shiny gold coins and some jewelry with gems, though not much, and-

My brain stopped for a second,  not comprehending what I saw for a moment.

What the hell?

There in the sand was another Bracelet,  though this one possessed Blue gems instead of green ones.

It was currently human sized so hooking it onto a claw didn't work,  and I didn't dare shift as I was currently holding my breath.

So taking it into my mouth was probably the only way to take it with me right now, even though it would give me a mouthful of sand as well.

Grimacing, I swam closer and opened my mouth above it, 

taking the Bracelet, and a ton of sand as expected, into my mouth.

Tilting my head down I let as much of the sand trickle out as possible.

Despite that there still was some stuck in my teeth as I swam out of the cave and back to the surface.

Breaching the water I swam closer to the ship,  the Bracelet still in my mouth as the Ardua lacked opposable thumbs.

Nearing the ship, and the ladder they had put out to get back up,  I tried to put the bracelet on one of the steps of the ladder.

That proved to be stupidly difficult as doing that with my mouth was challenging, not to mention the ladder swayed with the waves.

“Need help kitty cat?”

I glanced up to see Jamie perch on the railing next to the ladder.

I gave them a deadpan stare before nodding.

They ignored gravity and instead used their claws to walk on the side of the ship,  stretching one bird-like leg out and then walking on top of my snout.

“I'm guessing whatever you got is bigger than your human mouth and you can't shift?”

Instead of nodding, which I couldn't do as Jamie was literally standing on my head and I didn't want to throw them off, I gave an affirmative huff.

They nodded and used their claws to grip tightly to my snout, leaning over the side and fishing for the bracelet.

First off, Ouch those claws hurt, secondly i could feel them find the Bracelet and yank it out, immediately jumping back on the boat.

“Hey this looks like yours!, well almost it's more blue”

I twisted the gem and climbed up the ladder, seeing Jamie inspect the outer side of the bracelet.

“I think it might be something similar, no idea what it was doing in the shipwreck though, also you shouldn't wear it”

They tossed it to me and I barely managed to catch it.

“Why?

Also if Imik found the ship he's gonna want all the treasure out of it”

I looked at the bracelet and compared it to the one I had,  they looked pretty much the same aside from some scratches and the different gems.

“Oakley told me that people can only wear this if some weird gene got passed down, apparently everybody else just dies”

“Well that's stupid, I want to be tall too!”

They hopped from the railing on my shoulders, making me feel the sharp claws again but this time also the full weight of them.

They were pretty light at least.

“I believe that, but i don't think you should test it, i have no idea How you would die, it might curse you or some shit”

They looked pretty disappointed and jumped to the ground.

“Well you better put it somewhere safe then,  I'm sure we got an empty lockable box for you somewhere.

Hey what do you think would happen if Akeem wore it? 

He's stone, he doesn't have Genes!”

That was certainly a thought.

“Not willing to risk that, he seems the only one with common sense here, but i gladly take the box”

Jamie seemed disappointed but still showed me one of the lockable boxes on the deck, though this one was literally just a hatch in the wall with a small hollow space behind it.

It didn't stand out at all, perfect!

Stowing the new bracelet away I turned to the ladder once more,  hearing someone climb up.

Judging by the yellow mess it was Imik,  and he was carrying a bunch of gold coins.

“Look what i found! We can repair the kitchen window Imugi chewed on now! And there's more! Akeem is putting everything in bags right now!”

Oh so they did find the gold, nice.

“Want me to help? I can carry a lot more at once than you do”

Imik looked up from where he was shoving treasure into a chute I had previously overlooked.

“Sure! That's gonna be one fast treasure hunt!

Oh and you'll get some of it too! For helping!”

With that he Jumped back in,  and not wanting to lose sight and not find the cave anymore, 

I jumped over the railing after him, turning back into the Ardua form.

Imik was pretty fast at swimming but I managed to see where he dived into the cave again, and after taking a deep breath went after him again.

Akeem was indeed walking along the bottom of the sea, just like one would on land,  and was neatly tying up some bags and crates into nets with rope.

When he saw me he waved and used even more rope to tie a big sling, attaching every bag he could before holding out the sling to me.

Oh smart! Without thumbs I couldn't hold it, and I needed my limbs to swim anyway so that I could just carry the rope with my teeth.

Gently gripping the rope he held out, and trying not to bite it,  I turned around and swam out of the weird cave again.

Pretty heavy though, they must have found lots of good stuff in there.

Resurfacing I quickly realized they did not have their crane anymore, how would all this stuff get on the ship?

Imik breached the water shortly after me, apparently coming to the same realization.

“Ah fuck, were missing equipment, well if we do manage to get the gold up there we can use it to get a new crane at least”

Great, but how to get it on the deck now?

Suddenly Even more rope was tossed straight onto my head.

Jamie, of course.

“Yo fuckers! If you tie it to that we can use the winch of the second anchor to tow it up here!”

Well, that could work.

I tried to keep steady as Imik tied a variety of complicated looking knots to secure everything before climbing up the ladder and helping Jamie with the winch.

Not sure if i could let go now or not i just stayed as i was, hearing both of them work to use the winch.

After not too long there was a tug and the weirdly packaged treasure was heaved out and halfway onto the deck.

Swimming back to the ladder I changed back to the more human form so I could climb it before immediately switching back to the Ardua form as soon as I was on the deck.

I walked over to where they struggled to heave the mishmash of rope and treasure onto the boat and leaned over the railing.

Grabbing the tied together chaos I dragged it completely onto the deck, hearing at least two of the crew cheer at that.

“HEAVE HO KITTY CAT! HAHA”

At least one was Jamie.

Shaking the water out of my fur like a dog,  and drenching all of them again, I shifted back.

After shifting i immediately got a stick thrown at my head and turning around it was Jamie,  who due to me shaking the water out had gotten wet after all.

“Dumbass!”

“Sorry, forgot”

They let out an annoyed chirp and walked up the mast,  wringing the blue sweater out as they went.

Imik had meanwhile detangled the winch from the crate mess and tied another rope to it instead.

Oh right, Akeem was still underwater and due to being a statue couldn't swim upwards.

“Should I shift again and drag him up?”

“Nah, not sure if the Boat likes that, but you can help pull since Ronan is distracted, well he shouldn't anyway with the injuries”

Fair, so I grabbed part of the rope and helped Imik to drag Akeem up from the ocean floor.

It wasn't that bad until Akeem was actually heaved out of the water and still had some meters to go to get him on the deck.

Apparently him being out of the water made him heavier?

Whatever, letting go now would undo all the work we had to get him up, not to mention embarrassing.

Powering through it he was on the deck pretty fast and I could literally watch as the water just flowed off him till he was mostly dry.

Living statues were weird.

“Thank you for your help, without the crane getting me out is quite difficult”

Before I could respond a big blue head with a bony beak bonked into the railing, making whistling and chirping sounds.

Ronan immediately appeared from who knew where and hugged Imugi.

“Imugi! Hey there! Have a nice nap?”

The Sea Serpent click-whistled in response and gummed on his hair.

Despite being gently gnawed on Ronan immediately went to coddle her as she clicked happily.

“Hey what's in those crates? 

Did you go diving after Jamie knocked me out?”

Jamie knocked him out? Was that a good idea? He was still injured.

Then again he had been walking around and doing stuff when he shouldn't, so maybe it wasn't that bad? 

Aside from the possible brain damage.

Though according to Jamie he didn't have a brain to damage anyway.

Also Imugi was careful with him,  only gumming on his head instead of his bandaged limbs so at least she wouldn't open any of the strange electric burn marks.

Imik immediately interjected the inane nonsense though.

“If Imugi is fit again maybe we should go back on route? 

The treasure is nice and all and we're gonna have to use most of it to get a new crane but we really should aim for the harbor now!”

Imugi stopped gumming on Ronan’s head and made a clicking sound at Imik before diving into the water again.

The two of them walked to the front of the ship,  probably to toss the towing gear to Imugi again,  leaving me on deck with a living statue trying to sort the rope and crate chaos and a bird legged maniac that sat up in their nest and apparently had no desire to help.

Well to be fair they seemed to basically never use their hands and i doubted untying rope could be done with those stick thin bird legs.

There was a tug on the boat that confirmed that Imugi was back to towing the boat.

Not really knowing what to do now I went over to Akeem and started helping to untie the ropes from the mess of crates,  and earning, what was probably? An affirming look.

It was hard to tell considering his eyes were made out of some orange gemstone but he seemed to appreciate it and started instructing me on what to do.

After not too long Imik came back and helped until everything was untied, and promptly started to drag the crates to the door at the back of the ship.

Oh right, he was stowing the treasure he found there.

Helping to move the heavier crates the day went by fast until the sky, and ocean, was painted a purple and magenta shade by the setting sun.

Apparently time went faster if you had something to do, huh.

Suddenly I got a piece of stale bread tossed at me,  just barely managing to catch it before it fell on the floor.

The one that had thrown it was Jamie, who seemed to have lost all respect for gravity and was standing sidewards on the mast.

“Good catch!”

Jamie Immediately got whacked by Imik.

“Don't throw food like that! Especially on a boat!”

I did have to agree with Imik on that, it seemed rather wasteful, especially if i hadn't caught it.

While I bit into the stale bread the two started squabbling again,  with one of Jamie's bird claws straight up gripping Imiks face.

Apparently that happened a lot so I ignored it and sat next to Ronan on the stairs to the top part of the deck.

“How many times does that happen?” Ronan shrugged, and then winced as his skin moved the bandages.

“No idea, stopped counting, but they never do it for real and like this Jamie doesn't go after me for dumb stuff at least”

“Fair, but you really do dumb stuff sometimes”

Ronan grinned sheepishly and tugged at his own ear.

“I know, but sometimes i get excited about new stuff and then forget the stuff around me”

Well that sounded familiar.

“I know someone with a similar issue,  he keeps spacing out and not paying attention to things that don't interest him, his name is Robin and he's my best friend”

Fuck how i missed all of them, i couldn't wait to get to the Harbor and then home.

“Your best friend? What's he like? Oh and does he have any tips on how to deal with the scatter brainedness?” “i don't think so, as for what he's like, well first off he's ginger” That earned a laugh from Ronan.

“As for what he's like, hmm, well he's the first person to not just see some street bastard halfbreed.

My mother died eight years ago and since then he was the first to be nice to me, for no reason too.

Our meeting was, uhh, Chaotic and he would have had every reason to hate me and fear me but after a bit he didn't.

He loves plants and the Cat that walks around the garden. 

He randomly helps the people near us out even if he doesn't get anything for it.

He loves to make flower crowns for people, 

He even tries to match the colors of them too.

Also he's easily excitable and can hyperfocus on things he likes”

“Sounds like a good guy, maybe if we visit your place, Kamerasca was it? One day we could throw a big party and let everyone meet!”

A big Party to introduce everyone to each other, huh.

“Sure, why not? You gotta keep an eye out for Nea then,  she can, and will, throw someone out a window, 

I'm also pretty sure she already did that at least once.

But i think that would be fun, i don't think Rikaad would mind, 

and Arthur won't either as long as he doesn't have to go on a Boat”

Ronan smiled widely,  showing off his fangs that were a little smaller than mine.

“Sounds like a plan then! 

Wait, who are Rikaad and Arthur? More friends?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, they are Rikaad kinda owns the place we live at and Arthur had really bad Motion sickness”

“Ouh motion sickness sucks, I got it once, Imugi grabbed me by my shirt and dragged me at high speed through the water,  making lots of curves all the while! 

I nearly puked!”

Just hearing that was horrifying.

“Yeah that sounds like something that would make you throw up, why did she do that anyway?”

“Oh yeah! So Imugi used to be really tiny and that was basically the first time she realized she could actually drag me! 

I guess she was excited, haha!”

Oh right Jamie had mentioned that Imugi used to fit in a mug.

Ronan kept on rambling though, apparently I had struck an interest.

“Imugi did all sorts of wild things around that time! 

And also kept bringing me raw fish so i'm pretty used to that now,  Yamet actually combined it with rice and sauce. It's very good.

Oh! One time Imugi fell off the boat and managed to get back on deck on her own for the first time! She was really happy about that! 

And then kept going on and off for like two hours,  but at least we didn't need the crane to get her on anymore!

Then there also was the one time she got something stuck in her gills, I think it was a fishhook? 

It was definitely bent metal though, so I had to reach in and get it out!

I'll tell you fish gills are already weird but because Imugi was already so big and the hook so deep I had to fit my entire arm down her throat!

Heh, so i guess the reason i had no fear when looking at your teeth was because i had to stick my arm into a sea serpent already!

Wait! I forgot! Fuck! Why didn't you say anything?”

Much to my chagrin I knew exactly what he was talking about.

I did tell him i would let him look at the pouch firsthand after all,  he was probably going to cash in on that sooner rather than later.

“Yeah I was kinda hoping you would so I kept quiet about it”

He looked at me with a deadpan stare.

“Well, we still have time till we reach the harbor, and I'm still curious!”

My eyes nervously darted to where Jamie and Imik were still wrangling with each other, how they had not drawn blood was a miracle.

Ronan seemed to catch on for once luckily.

“Oh yeah, don't want to freak Jamie out,  normally someone ends up losing an eye or finger”

Well that was horrifying.

“Well then, uhm, let's wait till they sleep,  minus Akeem because he never sleeps anyway”

I sighed and ate the last piece of stale bread.

“Well, i did say i would, and id rather Jamie doesn't take out my eye so waiting till its night is fine by me”

I also didn't want to freak them out, again, seeing as i had no idea if anyone told them it was fine considering the chaos at the time.

So we talked about nonsense till Akeem dragged both Iik and Jamie inside for sleep.

“Wait, doesn't Jamie sleep in the nest thing normally?” Ronan waved it off.

“Nah not all the time, and if Akeem drags them Inside they actually sleep inside, though that might be due to laziness”

Ah yeah, made sense, so now that everyone was gone I was surely expected to shift into the Ardua form again.

NEXT / PREVIOUS / OVERSIGHT

[beaniibunzz]

Drawing Wally AUs (and their Kais)!!!

🥐: hiiiii :D

🥐: I’m gonna start up a little series where I draw some Wally AUs and their corresponding Kais! 🥐: also I’m gonna write out some of the lore I made to go along with the AUs!!

🥐: some AUs will have more lore than others (it really depends how deep I fell into the rabbit hole)

🥐: I thought it would be fun and get me drawing more so yeah :D

🥐: enough intro let’s get into it!!!

AU #1 - Actor Au by @frillsand!

🥐: the Actor AU is one of my favorite AUs actually!! I got super duper hyperfixated on it and made a bunch of lore for it (🌶️ can confirm), and now I have a bunch of mini comics for it (I will post them if anyone wants them!)

🥐: now onto the Kai of this AU!!! :D

🥐: it doesn’t really translate well, since my art style is already super cartoony, but Kai’s supposed to be a living cartoon in this AU!

🥐: so just think that, compared to the others, Kai looks a lot toonier.

🥐: I dunno if anything other than puppets are living in the actor au cannon, but I thought it would be really fun if I made Kai a living cartoon because

a.) girl is halfway there already in cannon

and

b.) her father-

🥐: instead of the multi famous singer she is in cannon, Kai’s talents haven’t really left Unington. Since Kai’s family studio is pretty influential and their equipment isn’t really built for singing, they cut a deal with Playfellow Studios so Kai could use their recording equipment, and bada bing bada boom, Kai’s there!

🥐: Kai’s mild anxiety has been turned up ten notches, since she’s in unfamiliar territory with no friends/support system to fall back on. So, Kai’s mentality is, “don’t rock the boat, suck everything up, and maybe they’ll like you more!”

🥐: Kai is also super sheltered to the mistreatment people like her would face in the ‘real world’, as Unington really doesn’t care if you were human, puppet, or anything in between. As long as you aren’t a huge jerk, Unington will welcome you with open arms. Combine this with Kai’s mentality, Kai isn’t really good at standing up for herself, and often allows herself to get treated like dirt. Her first day, she allowed herself to get treated like an intern, and ran around doing errands for everyone. In her words, she’s “just happy to help!”

🥐: little does she know she’s gonna gain a verrry powerful friend (you already know it’s wally-)

🥐: and that’s where I’ll end it for now! This post is already pretty long, so I think that’ll be all! Thanks for reading! If you want more lore, I’d be happy to drop it! Bye bye now :D

🥐: ps if anyone has an idea for the series name please give it to me I suck with names

🥐: also feel free to request AUs!!

🥐: okay bye fr now :]

[joy-returns-in-the-morning]

I read a lot of Captain America fanfiction last year. People have written some pretty amazing stuff! But also. I disagreed with Steve's characterization like 90% of the time. 🙈😅😂 With those kind of statistics, am I the one who's wrong??

I don't know but I'm tired of holding it in. I need to complain about this or I'll lose my mind. This is just my own personal opinion of course etc etc.

Anyway here is a list of things that annoy me in Captain America fanfiction

- When Steve is Soo depressed that all he does is mope around crying about Bucky and never does a single useful thing. Look I understand that he's kind of in a rough place, with everybody he ever knew being dead and all and I get that even the best of us can get depressed and there's nothing wrong with exploring this. But I dunno. I kinda just want to read a fic where he's well-adjusted for once.

- There is this trope where after CATWS Steve and/or Bucky go around killing endless mooks in HYDRA bases. I understand it's necessary for them to have something to do but. I just have serious questions about the legality of the situation. If you go to a foreign country and you kill a citizen of that country, that's still murder and, I think, illegal, even if that citizen is a terrorist or a neo-nazi or something. You can't just do that, right? Bucky can get away with it maybe, being in a gray zone of legal existence himself, but not Steve. And either way.... YES they are HYDRA and they are EVIL but nonetheless, they are still human, in the end? How is HYDRA recruiting all these people anyways? That's probably a thing they should be worried about, rather than just blowing up bases, idk.

- That particular genre of Bucky Recovery fic where they spend the whole time doing absolutely nothing but Help Bucky Recover. Like they just sit there in Steve's apartment or wherever. But look we all lived through the pandemic, staying in the same room doing nothing all day is not going to do wonders for anybody's mental health. How can they stand it? Go touch some grass.

- Similarly, when Steve has no life outside Bucky. I guess I'm not really a big fan of codependent relationships in general. But like, okay sure Bucky is your world your home your everything your silly rabbit that's great but personally I think it's sort of a shallow world if all you care about is one person. Take a look around you! The world is full of so many other things worth fighting for. Help Bucky, sure, but that shouldn't be the only thing going on in Steve's life. Get some hobbies man. Talk to your neighbours. Use your clout to make positive political change. Idk. He's Captain America why does he act like he has literally nothing better to do than sit around watching Bucky like he's a freshly painted wall.

- When Steve refuses to accept that Bucky doesn't remember him and hangs around Bucky like a rejected puppy. First of all, I think Steve is intelligent enough to accept that Bucky's not going to be the same after everything. And secondly, I think that he respects people autonomy enough to not force himself into Bucky's life. Give him a little credit, come on.

- When they take in Bucky after CATWS and put him in a blank white room he can't leave, all to help him "recover" and everyone is totally okay with that. Like guys do you not realize how you are treating him? Surely there must be a better way to rehabilitate him. Steve, at the very least, should be advocating for something better. Yeah I get that the Winter Soldier's soooo dangerous but so is the Hulk and they let Bruce walk around just fine. 🙄 They should at least realize what they are doing is kind of messed up

- It's not that I don't think Tony is allowed to be angry that Bucky killed his parents. It's just that, personally, I think his relationship with his parents is a little complicated, and so his reaction too, will be complicated and also likely different depending on the circumstances. People probably feel that because canonically he flew into a rage that's what will always happen, but that doesn't have to be the case!

- when they are in Wakanda and it's treated like some kind of extended vacation home. This isn't a hotel, it's a completely other county with its own issues and cultures and that should be addressed. Similarly, it's cute when Bucky and Shuri become friends but honestly I think she has waaaay too many other things to do that he barely tops her priorities. Like he's not That important. He's just some white dude.

- When Bucky EXPLICITLY asks not to be called Bucky but Steve keeps doing it.

- When Steve is portrayed as this incompetent idiot who always rushes into things without thinking and Bucky's the only brain cell of the operation. I just think that Captain America should be at least a little bit cool, you know. He should be the kind of person you can't help but admire. He should do something good and true every now and then. He's a superhero! I want to see him do something heroic! In some stories he's just so lame it drives me up the wall.

[hamliet]

very random ask, but if you have any thoughts, I'm curious to know: I remember for the AOT final chap you made some comments comparing Eren's "tantrum" to incels- how it can come from a real place of hurt, which doesn't make the impact any less harmful. I was curious if you've ever stumbled on incel content (not like Andrew Tate, just dudes with a webcam). Do you ever feel a desire to engage with them? Try to somehow help them even when you're so angry? I can't help but want to, even if futile.

For Eren, I more made the comparison to toxic Reddit dudebros, some of whom are like that, but not all.

No, I don't really seek it out because it would just enrage me, and there are better things to do with my time and with anger lol. I don't think it would be particularly helpful for me.

That said, I think that they're human beings who are feeling exceedingly alienated and lonely, desperate and scared, and project that blame onto someone else (women). And, they are entitled about it and instead of taking responsibility and doing what they can, they give up and complain because it's easier than actually trying to better themselves and the hellscape we live in. Even if it is futile. And part of it is surely the anger about privilege being called out and the entitlement that comes with that, but part of it is also genuine loneliness and confusion.

I dunno. I've seen other people engage, and engage positively too (like ContraPoints on YouTube, for example). And that's great, because someone has to to not write those people off as subhuman, because that only breeds further radicalization. People can't change without relationship, and they can't change without hope. I can intellectually empathize with where they're coming from, but I'm not sure I would personally be able to make any sort of connection without ending up dropkicking them into a wall lol.

Like, Idk, you only have to log on to reddit to see a lot of widespread misogyny incel-talking points there, like the zillions of fake paternity fraud posts or how men don't understand nor participate in empathizing with what it's like to be the pregnant person in a relationship (you do not in fact have equal say, nor do 99% of them even understand the most basic pregnancy facts like how it's calculated--hint it isn't date of conception) or who leave their partners when they get sick. (The latter one is personal for me, too; I had a boyfriend who withdrew and "couldn't deal with it" when I was told I might have lymphoma; I did not end up having it, but either way, that was basically the end right there.)

I do think incels and other radicalized groups of people can change. I know they can, because I grew up in a fundie cult and left. And that won't happen if the entire world just cuts them off, but that also doesn't mean anyone is obligated to reach out, if that makes sense. But for me, this particular group incenses me because of particular triggers and experiences I have. I'm more likely to reach out to the fundamentalist religious types because I can, well, understand a bit more.

What's needed to reach out to people in any sort of extremist place is seeing them as human beings, honestly. You'd be surprised at how far that simple idea--treating someone like a person more than just their stupid, toxic, evil beliefs--goes. Which does mean reaching out to them with more than just "I want to change your mind" because that treats people like a project and people don't tend to like that lol. But reaching out and wanting to hear their stories and listen, not for a "gotcha" moment but out of "hey, you're a person" is fair. And not everyone can reach out to everyone, and that's also fair. But also be aware of groupthink and how it functions for your own sanity and safety, too.

[neon-pink-leitner]

Ask Game: A, B, E, K, L, N, O, P, R, V, Z.

Anon, send me "Z" in its own ask. I got a plan for that one and I've already written enough here. This needs its own post.

A - Ships that you currently like a lot.

V/Johnny is probably one of my main ships right now. Same with Johnny/Kerry but one that I love and don't talk about much is Cletus Kasady/Carnage Symbiote.

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

V and Takamura, at first, I just did not get it at all and while its not a main ship for me, I see why ya'll ship them.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Oh god. Okay so ummm...I wrote a crack fic that ships Thanos from the MCU with Knull the God of Symbiotes. Its fucking great, its terrible, I want to burn it, I should frame it, you can read it here

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

I got two here. First being Johnny Silverhand. We get glimpses of his past self being a total fucking asshole and we know from others that he wasn't always a good person but we get to watch this slow change with V's help as he grows into a person that you could sit in the same room with. At the end even willing to give his life for V's which I feel like is something that past Johnny would not have done at all. My second one would be Eddie Brock. He went from being one of Mavel's top villains with a grudge to kill Spider-Man to somewhat healing his wounds and ends up, no joke, not kidding, being a fucking God who wants to save the world from Knull. Its really stunning to see.

L- Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your fave

I'm very middle of the road with River Ward. His personality is a little, I don't know, I can't really find the word. But his quest? One of the most interesting in gaming and I said it once and I'll say it again, DO NOT run his quest at the farm if you are not sober, you won't have a good time. Also Mickey Jones from Doctor Who didn't deserve to be led on so much by Rose. He might have been a bit annoying, but The Doctor and Rose didn't treat him like they should have

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)

Really the only thing I wish that was a different is I feel like fic writers don't get the credit we deserve. I understand why visual art gets the attention it does and it should! Drawing of any type if hard as fuck! I don't see this as much in the Cyberpunk fandom because everyone is really happy to get any type of content but I saw this in the Marvel fandom where most often drawings would get praised way more than fics. Honestly on that topic, the Cyberpunk fandom is one of the chilliest fandoms I've ever been in. If I had to pick a second one I'd say I wish people would post more about their OCs!(I say this while pointing at a mirror) I love love seeing ya'lls lil guys! I always wanna see more!(Again, still pointing at the mirror)

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Oof, okay, here we go, loading up my liked songs on Spotify and hitting random. Here were go

Sparks Fly • Taylor Swift (spotify.com)

Had to think of this one but I feel Kerry and V would fit this. I've read alot of MaleV/Kerry stuff where they are both hopeless romantic mushy types and this just feels like something they would dance to in the living room when it was just them. Judy/V also popped into my head but I'm not sure why.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom

AU in which Johnny is a devil hunter in Devil May Cry. He's got the vibe for it, the gun, and the guitar. In fact he's modded his guitar in such a way that he can use it as a weapon (think Nevan from Devil May Cry). I could see Samurai being both a rock band and a band of devil hunters as well. Not sure where V could fit in. Maybe they got, I dunno, bit by a demon and know they got fucked up powers?

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

We really don't get to see enough of V and Misty and that's a damn shame. I would have loved maybe a little side quest thing with the two of them, more so than just Jackie's funeral. I also love Jackie's and V's friendship. I know some people ship them but I just see them as friends. Its really driven home that you can't trust anyone in Night City and here's Jackie willing to take V under his wing after they lost everything. A real choom, good guy, truly.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

In Cyberpunk 2077? Despite her not being one of faves, Judy. Much like her I also a friend to suicide. It was that quest that prevented me from playing the game for two years because I didn't know how I would handle it. Only to find that when I played, and V comforts Judy, It felt like comforting myself. I understood her feelings of loss and guilt. Its a type of feeling you only get when someone close to you takes their own life and its hard to put into words. Recently my grandparents sold my childhood home, my forest and my safeplace. Seeing Judy explore the flooded remains of her childhood home made me cry after this. I understand now. The longing for a place you'll never go back to and even if you do, it won't be the same. The feeling of watching memories play out before your eyes. Its not something you really get over and it changes you.

[bibiana112]

i just Know youve already gotten a few abt Aoi so..... for the comfort chara asks, 6, 10, and 15 with Mizuki or Akane? (or both if u want!!) :0

Dw you got the right impression! Mizuki and Akane qualify also this will have ZE spoilers that I'm not tagging so be careful

★ Comfort character ask game

✤ Akane ✤

6. the moment of theirs that made me the saddest

I am this close to impersonating a fellow zero escape friend and only replying to this with a row of fire emojis aj

10. my favorite moment with them in canon

Oh my god Akane has so many good ones how could you make me choose hmmm I love the gun scene like a lot a lot she has so many scenes of her acting that are so funny to me and so many little interactions with so much weight too I obviously want to say the reveal scene of her narrating but honestly it's such a game defining moment that in my heart it's not so much a favorite moment for the character but just generally in fiction of all time ds dual screen playing into the experience my beloved this shit's peak fiction and absolutely everything hinges on this moment like fr it's so good it's insane But okay I'll actually surprise everyone with this and talk about ztd positively actually and claim C-Team ending as my favorite moment for her because it just encapsulates her character perfectly, what she's capable of why she does it how she thinks of herself for it how she still despite everything holds her memories with Junpei very dear in what's kind of a selfish way the imagery of the blood red moon all as she is at her wits end realizing just how much she was playing right into some other Zero's hand like these are all great conceptually! I can only imagine a world where the execution of and context for these ideas didn't fall flat as hell on it's face also shout out for the voice actors carrying the few good moments of this game btw

15. what i dont like about the way canon portrayed them

Aside from how ztd generally just treats everyone in terms of framing and where the story goes and especially seems to erase details we had very well estabilished on her from her mind and characterization y'know forgetting she's not an only child not being afraid of fire being okay with nurses etc etc Then there's not much I dislike really, like, as much as it pains me to see her turn out so callous and utilitarian and ruining people's lives for the 'greater good' it's still such a good development for her regardless in a way you don't often see and I'm thankful for it. Like honestly it's important to me to keep this in mind for her characterization even when I'm writing fics where almost nothing bad happens after she saves herself in 999, those traits never manage to take such a strong hold on her while still being there, so, I deny canon but I accept her as she is <3 lmao okay I guess there is one thing I disagree and it's just that I like to think she wouldn't be as okay with murder as she supposedly is? I don't think she'd never do it herself, fucking far from it, I just think she wouldn't own up to it? Try to remove herself from it however she can I dunno or maybe even just doing it on auto pilot just absolutely seething without a word or saying stuff that's more calculated still, like the fire extinguisher bit is so funny but I do wish she sounded less hysterical about it? It doesn't quite fit her, it feels like I'm watching some random dating sim with a secret route where the girl goes crazy, also she sounds so silly with the chainsaw lol

★ Mizuki ★

6. the moment of theirs that made me the saddest

The ways she defines a family in the carousel scene and how her relationship with her parents never fit that and how she wishes it did work our with them and then all of that with the context of how Shoko and Renju talk about her on the bar is just... you two barely even wanted it to work huh

10. my favorite moment with them in canon

Mizuki end my beloved...... 🥺😭

15. what i dont like about the way canon portrayed them

I don't like how she's friends with Ota specifically lmao okay not necessarily by which I mean I think it's weird that the fact all her friends being adults is something we're meant to practically ignore? It's not an inherently negative thing but it's mostly addressed as jokes at best but it's weird about what that means for her development wise or what it means for the characters she is friends with like they give her this presumed competence that is brushed off as her being 'so mature for her age' and so ahead of the other kids so we might as well treat her like we're peers but that. That has ramifications and implications and that's one of the things I relate to her own! So I know what I'm talking about it just feels shallow when it feels like it'd have some more relevance especially from Date's pov when it comes to assuming that same competence about combat and putting her in harm's way I guess it comes down to the more silly tone of AI but it's also a me thing to look at this and see missed potential because I know the nuance in those relationships and what it can do to a kids perception of self very well

[maryelizagreg]

Ive got to get out of my head and move on girlie, to better days, self worth, sunshine, happiness. It’s not all easy and rainbows per say… but…. I dunno. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy to like, mmm… be depressed and then not do anything about it. You think things wont work to help but it will you just have to do those hard things at first, then with time it’ll become easier again.

As to Jose, I’m sorry, and i really wasn’t trying to hurt you. If you need me to spell out why, i can for you anytime. I’m Not one to try to burn bridges, or create animosity, i really don’t want to hurt people, and prefer things are amicable between us, i don’t know how to end things on a good note, or put it succinctly into words why, but i can explain at length, if you had the time one day and wanted to listen.

I’m trying to find, a flow state between… where i do things and i enjoy doing them, and they align with, something. I don’t know, what exactly but, I’m trying to be happy… and to not hate myself… to say good things to myself.. treat myself better than, i have… thus far. I’m learning how to still.

To forgive myself, too.

And i forgive you… if there’s anything you feel like you did wrong or feel guilty about, don’t. Get hung up. Forgive you, have compassion and grace for yourself. I do…

No one is perfect…

I dont know whats next for me, i feel like I’ve lived too much already. It’s hard to fathom but i will… be living more, a whole new life, a new chapter.

It’s a little bit of a stab in the dark but i am trying to do what’s right for me at this time,

888 lions gate

I used to feel like creativity is everything to me, but now I’m not so certain. I just want to be safe… and quietly make my art alone, taking as much time as i want, and making it however i want- free from all judgement, even my own.

I had pride in my work, i was good at what i did. Why that stopped being good enough for me, there is no logical reason.

I stretched myself thin, and come back again. And mold and mend, until a new shape fits the new shoes, with new laces

And i make another step forward and try again… and it won’t be perfect, but I’ll die trying. That’s, my solace. In knowing this,

And knowing i tried my best to live my truth, to express it freely, and to know when to let something go, even if you don’t want to.

This is a very hard thing to do, and then to be strong enough to carry yourself forward afterwards. To continue to be kind, and compassionate, and soft.

In a world so dim, be so bright, and so loving, never running out of it.

That is the love of god within us,… this is what i believe in… this is my choice. There is lots of options, this is what i choose.

I love you and i hope things work out for us, but right now, they just don’t seem to be- not because i don’t love you. It’s that i love you too much.

Xoxo, stay in touch. No burned bridges here. Thanks much, much love, to everyone

Big hearts big love amen love everybody. The end

I hope for your and my own happiness, and i don’t judge, it. I accept what judgement comes to me, but won’t judge myself, or hate myself for the place i am in right now. Or for being, imperfect.

You can’t please everyone, but we are all loved in the eyes of god.

And in the end if nothing comes of any of it, at least i know i tried