#and also avoid being the ultimate third wheel

[immadeofdustandshadows]

Barty: you two wanna go to hogsmede with me tomorrow?

Regulus: I can't, I'm going to have a headache tomorrow

Barty: okayyyy...

Evan: you just predicted your headache, reg

Evan: stop lying. You're not Panda, you can't see the future

[mintmoth]

Your oc's are so cool!! It's such a surreal feeling to get back into a fandom and wake up up find that one of my favorite artists is also there. Say, quick question do you plan on making executions for your oc's or do they survive? Well whatever you do I hope you'll have fun with it and as always remember to be well hydrated and take breaks, I hope your doing well mint.

BXDISBSK OH HELLA!! Also thank you 😭😭 I'm glad you're enjoying my silly dr2 art and my oc planning lmao

Honestly I was originally planning on having only 2 ocs specifically because I wanted one to kill the other in order to maintain the same group of survivors in the end lmao. I'm still trying to fully work out the setup and inevitable execution because the plot writing for dr2 is really tight and well progressed imo, so I feel like adding anything would weaken it-

BUT I'm also just having fun and being silly so I know it doesn't have to be perfect it just needs to let me have fun really lmao

I'll add a readmore but I'll ramble about each of them a little if anyone has any interest

First up is the first one I made, Haruka (forgive all of their basic bitch Japanese names, I can't do the fun wordplay to the level I wish) they're the ultimate ballerina, and by extension also nonbinary kind of feminine leaning androgynous but can be masc if needed because they can do any kind of role required of them for a performance

When they're tossed into the dr2 mix they'd probably be found being a third wheel to the dynamic duo that is Akane and Nekomaru, since they're also technically more athletic and would be stretching and practicing every day. I want to sit down sometime and draw them and Akane engaged in a flexibility battle and Kazuichi walking in on them and screeching because they look so creepy

Haruka is planned to be a murderer and I'll definitely get some drawings out once I flesh out my concepts for their execution more

Next up is Nao! She's the ultimate sharpshooter and yes that is a little vague but it's because this includes bows and such on top of typical guns. Hell, she probably even does well with throwing stuff if there's enough focus

With the dr2 cast she'd be mostly a friend to Ibuki and Kazuichi, their eccentricities are endearing to her, plus if either of them just want to ramble about something they're working on she's gonna listen for hours. Honestly they're such a movie night squad to me. Also post game I feel like she's like a girl in the same way I still see Kazuichi a guy, like in the vaguest terms cuz they're both just Themselves and are gonna have fun with it now since they're apart from society. Ibuki isn't included only since I feel like she'd struggle less, but this is the bi/pan gender fuckery trifecta of the group to me

Oh yeah and Haruka kills her. I've got the death already planned out and ideally I wanna do a cg style emulation for it but idk if I can swing it lmao I'm not very good at style emulation tbh

And last but not least is Tōru. I didn't plan on her existing so idk how I'm gonna get rid of her in time for the end hmm. But she's the ultimate tattoo artist and has the most fleshed out backstory of the three but it's embarrassing and I know it LMAO

Basic run down- and stick with me here- she lives with family that work under the Kuzuryu clan, so she's done a lot of sick yakuza tats, partially because of her skill and mostly because this shit is so good that her tattoos have like, an "aura" that influences the viewer a little. So these dudes have extra intimidating tattoo bullshit going on- BUT ANYWAYS so things start and she can recognize Fuyuhiko and Peko and knows what's up with them, but neither of them have officially met her so she's like "oh thank fuck they have no idea that I know who they are I'm gonna avoid these assholes like the PLAGUE"

But of course that won't hold forever but it just makes me laugh like chapter 3 Fuyuhiko trying desperately to be kinder to everyone like "yeah, maybe I'll see if you're good enough to tattoo me some day" and she's choking on her drink because Haha About That-

But yeah hopefully I can rope one of my friends into having their oc knock her off because I think that would be funny like, getting down on one knee please kill my oc tragically

[emilysidhe]

I just finished A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine, the sequel to A Memory Called Empire, and I *loved* them both, but I’m still going to point out a few nit-picks I have with it, in order of petty to significant:

I do love and appreciate Mahit’s prioritizing her need to keep her sense of self as non-Teixcalaanli by refusing to live in the City until she’s certain that her love of its culture won’t consume her. Nevertheless, as a reader I continue to be more stressed out than the text wants me to be about how and when the Stationers’ visa applications are being processed when their sole-ambassador-who-has-no-staff is two months’ space travel away from her office on Teixcalaan. The one line about having her mail forwarded did not help!

A high-tech space empire typified by massive bureaucracy and high education standards that’s made first contact with aliens at least once before *must* have actual, qualified xeno-linguists somewhere in its government or academia. Three Seagrass assigning herself and Mahit to the task of deciphering an unknown alien language basically because she’s bored at her desk job and wants an excuse to see Mahit again is a way bigger deal than the characters or the text ever acknowledge. They are already having a border war with this species and the stakes of figuring out how to talk to them are so high, and Three Seagrass is like, “Well, as a poet, I’m really good at my own language and Mahit must be good at figuring out foreign languages and cultures since she understands ours so well, so that’s basically the same as being an actual linguist right?” No. I understand that taking someone with official qualifications along would have added another original character to an already expanded cast, and undercut Three Seagrass’s already flimsy excuses to drag Mahit into this, and created a third wheel to get in the way of developing Three Seagrass’ and Mahit’s relationship, but if the author wasn’t going to do it, there should have been either a stronger in-universe justification for Three Seagrass and Mahit to have at least no worse chance of success than a real language specialist like the Fleet requested, or a greater acknowledgement of how huge a dereliction of duty deciding to take an unqualified crack at this herself actually was.

Avoiding explicit spoilers, I didn’t like the resolution to the Darj Tarats subplot. Him being present in the final scene felt very contrived and also pointless. I kept wondering why, from a story perspective, he was even there - right up until his final line, which was like, “well, I guess I know why he had to be here for the story now, but I’m not sure this justifies him adding nothing to that whole previous scene.”

Also, why was he there from a character perspective? Like, he tells Dekakel Onchu that he’s going to do something, and then he doesn’t really seem to try to do that, he just - yells at Mahit in front of the Teixcalaanlitzlim like he thinks if he just berates her harshly enough she’ll make the battle go how he wants with - idk, magic I guess? - even though the general he wants her to manipulate is standing right there listening to all this. I get that he’s supposed to be a ruthless and power-abusing man who has spent so long obsessing over one idea for a master plan that he’s lost sight not only of the moral ramifications but also practical questions about whether it would even work the way he envisioned even if his agents obeyed him completely and has nothing left but to take it out on them when they don’t and it doesn’t, but I’m not sure that he’s intended to come off quite as foolish and shortsighted as he ultimately does.

Anyway, despite what it sounds like, I did genuinely love both of these books (somehow it’s easier to list problems than to genuinely enthuse about all the things I loved!), and I’m really looking forward to rereading them in the context of what I now know from having read them and to seeing what else the author writes in this universe.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Leaks about Team Biden

Operation Let's Get Biden To Quit is up & running. This "leak" might also explain Jill's wardrobe 😬😳

"I, for one, didn’t have my money on Biden being controlled by a Gay Mexican Cabal."

Deep State cabal revealed! The Gay Caballero who is pulling Biden's strings by STEVE SAILER

JUL 04, 2024

Deep State theory surmises that our nominal leaders, with all their obvious flaws (such as senility), are actually puppets having their strings pulled by shadowy but nearly omni-competent massively funded institutions, such as the Intelligence Community, that routinely mount brilliant triple bankshot psy-ops to manipulate the public. Similar theories point instead to the World Economic Forum, Bilderberg, the Jews, and the lizard people.

As far as I can recall, however, few, whether conspiracists or realists, had theorized until now that the “Rasputin” of the Biden Administration is a … gay Mexican.

The head Gay Caballero turns out to be Anthony Bernal, the First Lady’s top aide."

From the New York Post by Steven Nelson Published July 4, 2024

President Biden’s inner circle has gotten smaller following his disastrous debate last week — with his wife’s top aide Anthony Bernal emerging as one of the 81-year-old’s key advisers alongside longtime confidante Mike Donilon, four sources close to or inside the White House tell The Post.

Bernal, 51, is a divisive figure for allegedly bullying and sexually harassing [male] colleagues — and his influence was likened by three sources to that held by the mystic Grigori Rasputin over the family and court of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia.

First lady Jill Biden considers Bernal her “work husband” and he’s also close to scandal-plagued first son Hunter, whom Bernal greeted with a hug June 11 after his felony gun conviction.

The “openly gay” Bernal is an alumnus of that finishing school for Inner Party Elites, the University of Texas at El Paso.

“Donilon and Bernal are 100% the most important advisers post-debate,” said one Democratic source close to the administration.

… A White House source told The Post that many of the president’s old guard of longtime aides are believed to be left out of the loop of discussions “about what’s next” — saying Bernal, who frequently vacations with the first family, “seriously” has a Rasputin-like pull over the first family.

Another source said they agreed with the Rasputin analogy — describing Bernal’s influence and immunity from consequences for alleged personal misconduct as perplexing to fellow aides.

“He’s like a tick who has just latched himself on for the last 15 years,” this source said.

“Accurate and on point,” said a third source of the comparison to Rasputin, who was murdered in December 1916 by rivals who believed he was contributing to poor decision-making in the months before the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, in which the royal family was ultimately toppled and killed.

“Everyone has kept their heads down about Bernal and just tries to avoid him at all costs,” the third source said. “But everyone always predicted that this movie would end badly because of how he treats colleagues and always poisons the well for anyone else with the Bidens.

“He will go down with the ship but he’s also the one behind the wheel.”

One veteran Democratic aide went so far as to say “the country would be better off with Trump” than Biden if Bernal was helping run the government.

[cantsayidont]

More hateration holleration. No poster art; I didn't like any of these movies and don't feel like looking at their posters again.

ABOUT HIM & HER (2023): Experimental romantic drama, set in 1989 and "based on a true memory," about an unnamed man (Callan McAuliffe) and an unnamed woman (Cristina Spruell) who are accidentally connected by a phone company mishap. Over a series of subsequent long-distance conversations, they become emotionally entangled and eventually agree to meet, but they're both so afraid that finally seeing each other face-to-face will shatter their delicate intimacy that they spend the entire second half of the film trying to avoid looking at one another, even though they both desperately want to. The characters' interactions are carefully staged throughout (at first, they're just voices, and we don't get a look at either of their faces until they're both in the hotel room), but this initially touching conceit eventually becomes SO contrived that the story's genuine poignancy is undercut by a growing resentment at being jerked around in such a heavy-handed way. This is perhaps the ultimate romantic idiot plot: Despite their insecurity, the characters are both skinny, conventionally attractive, straight white cisgender adults of similar age and class; the only thing keeping them apart is their reluctance to (literally) just open their eyes, and there's no reason to assume that even a failure of nerve on that front would be irreconcilable save for the filmmakers' stubborn commitment to the melancholy bit. (The end credits claim that the lead actors never saw each other or even learned each other's name until the film's premiere.)

I.S.S. (2023): Upsettingly grim apocalyptic drama — not really a thriller, though billed as one — about six astronauts aboard the International Space Station, three Americans (Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, and John Gallagher Jr.) and three Russians (Masha Mashkova, Costa Ronin, and Pilou Asbæk), whose respective governments order them to turn on each other as nuclear war breaks out on Earth. Well-acted and generally well-made, but there's little real suspense because an unbearably bleak outcome is always a certainty, making the fates of the individual characters a more or less moot point; the only leavening factor the script can offer is a contrived subplot involving an experimental treatment for radiation poisoning, which is clearly too little, too late in the face of the global nuclear holocaust the characters see unfolding on the surface below. A stressful downer that makes Lars von Trier's nightmarish 2011 end-of-the-world movie MELANCHOLIA seem like a screwball comedy by comparison.

PARALLEL (2024): Unconvincing sci-fi drama, cowritten by stars Aldis and Edwin Hodge (and based on a 2019 Chinese film) about unhappy spouses Vanessa (Danielle Deadwyler) and Alex (Aldis Hodge), who are staying in a remote lake house with Alex's brother Martel (Edwin Hodge) as they struggle to come to grips with the recent death of their young son. The woods surrounding the house are also a nexus of parallel timelines, where alternate versions of the characters seek to supplant one another in what they hope will be better versions of their previous lives. It's nice to see this kind of sci-fi allegory with an all-Black cast, but it doesn't really work dramatically, marred by an over-reliance on exposition and some rather arbitrary rules (which the characters accept far more readily than it seems like they should under the circumstances) that make the plot's rapidly escalating violence hard to swallow. Aldis Hodge comes across well as always, but Deadwyler's part doesn't allow for much emotional nuance, and Edwin Hodge is stuck in an awkward third-wheel role.

PASSAGES (2023): Glum, dishearteningly biphobic French drama about a married man called Tomas (Franz Rogowski) who spurns his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw) for a younger woman called Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and then attempts to retreat to Martin after Agathe becomes pregnant, eventually managing to alienate them both. Why either was ever interested in him in the first place is never very clear, as Tomas is unattractive, solipsistic, and thoroughly unsympathetic (though Martin is no prize himself, leaving Agathe as the most tolerable character basically by default). All of the characters are thinly drawn, and some interesting directorial choices can't make up for the film's conspicuous lack of warmth or its aggravating determination to equate Tomas's bisexuality (a word the script studiously avoids) with his consuming selfishness and inability to commit emotionally.

[emptyshellofanillusionwizard]

7, 9 and 19 for Baqir and Dorian <3

Aaaa this is my first time doing an ask game so I will do my best! Thank you for asking!! :0

7. Your otp has to spend some time apart for whatever reason. How would they bridge that time? How would they react upon seeing each other again? Would anything change?

So they probably spent a lot of time apart during the Inquisition because Baqir had to go out on missions and sometimes Dorian wouldn't come along (especially when it was too rainy or cold!)

During these times there wasn't much opportunity for them to communicate because of the constant travel. Baqir would collect and press herbs and flowers that he found along during missions to give to Dorian. He'd also just like throw himself into fighting and work in order to distract himself. Dorian would immerse himself in his research and go drinking with Sera and Bull to pass the time. They both are very avoidant lol.

Post Inquisition, they have the sending stones to keep in touch but I think they would also write very romantic (and mildly suggestive) letters to each other. I think when reuniting, Baqir would just be really relieved and Dorian would be worried that Baqir's feelings had changed (that whole port in a storm speech) but ultimately they'd just click together without feeling too much of a change.

...They also fuck nasty.

9. What annoys each member of your otp about the other? Do they tell them? Do they compromise/work it out? 

I think what annoys Dorian about Baqir is how secretive he is about himself and his past. Baqir's done a lot of shit as a spy in Tevinter (my hc for clan Lavellan is that they take in a lot of former city elves and half-elves and they like infiltrate Orlesian and Tevinter spheres of nobility and fuck shit up and free elven slaves and servants and initiate uprisings) and Baqir takes a very long time to share with Dorian about these things until absolutely necessary.

Baqir's survival used to hinge on his ability to keep things close to his chest but that isn't at all like a functional way to maintain a healthy relationship.

Ultimately Dorian confronts Baqir about it and they fight but things resolve afterwards with the agreement to be more open about their lives.

Baqir is irritated at first by Dorian's initial dismissiveness of elves in Tevinter but he doesn't really bring it up. Eventually with the discussion of Baqir's secretiveness and when things come up about his history Dorian feels guilty and takes time to educate himself.

19. Is the approval of family and friends important to your otp? If so, how would they try to win over a skeptical in-law? Would they cut people off if they didn't approve of the relationship?

Baqir doesn't care about the approval of his advisors or his clan, but he really cares about what his daughter, Rahat, thinks of Dorian. He goes out of his way to introduce Dorian to his daughter and try to set up time for them to spend time as a group and become acquainted. The good news is Rahat and Dorian get a long swimmingly (both being mages and total nerds) and sometimes Baqir ends up almost third-wheeling lol. His friends (Varric, Bull, Cassandra, Cole) approve but Baqir sort of just took that as given.

Dorian I think tries to convince himself that he doesn't care what his family thinks about their relationship but deep down he still has that internalized homophobia that he tries to work through. His parents don't approve of their relationship at all and even though he and his father reconciled, he limited their communication. Later on when he returns to Tevinter, he flaunts their relationship very proudly (partially with the intent to upset his mother).

Dorian also was super scared that Rahat wouldn't like him (because he remembers being a teenager and cranky as hell) and is incredibly happy when she accepts him and involves him in her hijinks.

[atlas-infernalis]

Mammon, Lord of the Third, The Serpent of Avarice

Forever weighted down by his enormous, serpentine tail and by his pockets stuffed to the brim with treasure, Mammon rules Minauros--the 3rd Layer of the Nine Hells--with absolute selfishness. In his eyes, all power is measured in wealth and rare treasures. As such, he only inks contracts for the purest souls so he might auction them off to the highest bidder so they may have the pleasure of corrupting or consuming said souls themselves. It is not uncommon to see vassals sent across the Outer Planes by Mammon to facilitate such auctions. Likely credible rumors hold that Mammon is even willing to do business with Demons if the price is right, though any such deals--if they do in fact exist--are likely to be obfuscated through the use of ostensibly neutral Yugoloth brokers.

As should be apparent from his willingness to engage in such deals, Mammon's propensity for dishonesty and treachery is almost bottomless. Anything he believes will secure more wealth--and thus more power, he believes--is permissible so long as it serves those end goals. That said, he is not beyond grovelling when faced with threats, especially when reprimanded by Asmodeus. The simpering, sycophantic serpent's entreaties appeal to Asmodeus' pride and entertain him, and such is the manner by which Mammon has escaped outright destruction. That said, it is also entirely possible that Asmodeus has not destroyed Mammon outright because he knows that the constant threat of being reverted back into an even more serpentine--and therefore more helpless--form is more frightening to Mammon than death would be.

While he has so far survived such gambles, they are ultimately pointless and unnecessary risks for the Lord of the Third to be taking given the fact that he almost instantly abandons his interest in any treasure or prize as soon as he has gotten hold of it. His coffers and vaults are tombs of flippant disregard filled with treasures others would covet for lifetimes if they knew they existed. This, however, may be the very thing that protects Mammon from usurpation. His profound wealth does ultimately benefit the Hells because it does get spent on occasion even if for no other reason than to give Mammon a means to flaunt his riches. Additionally, those that would seek to pilfer Mammon's riches are much more likely to encounter and to compete with each other before they actually close in on Mammon himself or his treasuries; such encounters often end in mutual destruction of the involved parties or in prompt interception by Mammon's guards. As for Mammon's domain, the layer of Minauros is largely a marshy, murky wasteland of polluted wetlands and unending rainstorms. Sickly geysers spontaneously erupt throughout the countryside, dousing unwary passersby with caustic and horribly diseased sputum. The only relative respite from the contagion and misery is the capital of Minauros, the aptly named Sinking City. Built upon mountains of the dead that either wash down from the River Styx or that were slain in past wars of conquest to claim the layer, the Sinking City sits upon a precarious foundation in an already precarious environment. Buildings often slump and lean in manners that make their first and uppermost floors inaccessible, and sinkholes and rifts litter the streets. As such, traversing the city on foot is difficult, but doing so by wheeled vehicle is altogether impossible. If one's vehicle is not ensnared by crumbling and disjointed pavement and cobblestones, it will most certainly become mired in necrotic muck or fall prey to a sinkhole. To avoid this, many of the permanent denizens of the plane either fly or climb across scaffolds linking buildings to one another, though such means of egress can be risky for those unaccustomed to or unwelcome in the city.

Even Mammon's palace--though it may be a gilded and opulent spectacle of his wealth--is slowly succumbing to the slop and sludge that dominates the plane. Countless floors of the palace already lie submerged, merely replaced with further construction at higher levels to keep enough livable space. The entire process is, of course, only possible because of the obscene amounts of wealth and influence Mammon has acquired for himself. It also stands as a testament to Mammon's wastefulness and his disinterest in the affairs of his plane and its denizens, as funding these rescue missions for his palace is typically the primary--if not sole--investment in his domain that Mammon ever makes. Fortunately for the other denizens of the plane, the fiendish contractors tasked with such operations know well enough to overcharge their profligate Lord so they can have the means to literally keep the rest of Minauros afloat. Were it not for such countermeasures, Mammon would likely not even have a layer to rule.

[earthstellar]

I love this concept, and I think that if any of the Terrans have a frame type that would be suitable for a tertiary flight capable alt-mode, it would be Hashtag. 

Twitch is already a flier but is not a fixed-wing aircraft, and Nightshade is also flight capable in beast mode (and there’s a lot of potential techno-organic/beast alt-mode stuff we could talk about in regards to them, but I’m saving that for another post). 

But as far as specifically a jet alt-mode goes, Hashtag has the general build for it. 

Just like the Seekers, a lot of her weight is centred in her upper body, specifically across the shoulders, which we see in most flight-capable modes. 

Her shoulders are broad, her chest protrudes a bit which could easily accommodate a cockpit (great edit on the screenshot to illustrate one way this could work!), and she’s tall with a fairly strong build (strength is needed to control lift etc. while in flight, assuming a fixed wing aircraft alt-mode like a jet). 

Especially since their relationship with GHOST is strained at best if not outright negative, I can see her eventually wanting to move away from her GHOST surveillance van alt-mode, or at least adding a third option for herself. 

We could get a very cute episode out of this-- Starscream, Twitch, and Nightshade all offering encouragement and flying tips to help her acclimate to her to her new triple-changer status. 

But due to the differences in flight mechanics, aerodynamics etc. between being an owl, a drone, and a jet, even though Hashtag tries to follow her sibling’s instructions, it’s just not all going to be physically applicable advice. 

Which is where Starscream could really step up! 

He might notice Hashtag getting a little discouraged, maybe struggling with the basics, starting to get frustrated, and he finally decides to get a little more engaged and act as a more formal flight instructor. 

This could also lead to some interesting conversation between the two-- I can easily imagine Hashtag asking Starscream how he first learned to fly, and even though he might back down from elaborating right away, I think he might at least mention Vos or his own training days-- Meeting her halfway, after she was so willing to meet him halfway. 

He’d probably dodge the question at first, though, because he’s very much still hesitant to open up. 

It would be very cute to see him training her with wings extended in root mode first, then once he’s confident Hashtag has the basics down, then they’d switch to their jet alt-modes. 

I love the idea of them in root mode together, wings out, Starscream initially holding her hands to balance her as she uses her boosters-- Like watching an uncle teach their niece how to balance on a bicycle without training wheels. 

It would take him some time to adjust to a teacher-type role and it might take him some effort to hold back and remember that this is a child he’s teaching, but I think ultimately, he’d get used to it. :) 

Hashtag: “How did you learn how to do this?! I’m scared I’m going to drop out of the sky!” 

Starscream: “You won’t fall. Our wings are wide enough to maintain our lift at this altitude and speed.” 

(They see a radio tower up ahead. They’re approaching it at reasonable speed, and they’re coming up on it quickly.)

Hashtag: “How do I turn!?!?!” 

Starscream: “Don’t panic. Lead with your shoulders; Even subtle movements translate into flight commands. Lean right, towards me.”

Hashtag: (looking behind her) “Oh-- Haha! We did it!” 

Starscream: “Of course we did. Do you know why we chose right and not left?”

Hashtag: “Uh, because if I messed up, you might maybe... Catch me?”

Starscream: “Ha! No. Trying to avoid contact in flight as much as possible is a good general rule. It can be distracting at best.”

Hashtag: “Then why? Tell meeeeeee!” 

Starscream: “Look ahead of you. You always need to gauge what is further beyond any target of focus; Remember that when we are flying at full speed, our manoeuvrability is decreased and we will close any distance more quickly than you may think-- Including any distance between ourselves and any obstructions or other aircraft. The forest provided potential obstructions on the left, but the right was clear, and therefore the better option at our current speed.” 

Hashtag: “Uh...” 

Starscream: “Always look a little beyond whatever you’re focusing on, to make sure you don’t run into anything. The faster you go, the harder it is to turn as we just did. Always keep your optics open for clear airspace. When flying, even if something seems far away, it usually isn’t.”

Hashtag: “Oh, okay! That makes a lot of sense! Like driving really fast, but then having to swerve around other cars at an intersection with a red light because it’s too hard to stop.” 

Starscream: (tries very hard not to roll his optics and is mostly successful) “If you say so.” 

Hashtag: “Or it’s like those rear-view mirror warnings. ‘Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear!’ Same thing, just in the sky!” 

Starscream: “I have no idea what you’re on about.” 

Hashtag: “You’ve never driven anywhere, huh?” 

Starscream: “Absolutely not! I am Starscream of Vos--” 

Hashtag: “What’s Vos?” 

And that question hits him right in the spark. 

Maybe they continue to fly in silence for a moment, before Hashtag realises she must have hit a nerve, somehow. 

Hashtag: “Hey, uh, sorry...” 

Starscream: “No need to apologise. You couldn’t possibly know.” 

Hashtag: “If you ever want to talk, I’d like to find out. Y’know, if you feel like it.”

Starscream: “...How about this. If you ever out-manoeuvre me in the air, I will tell you everything there is to know about Vos.” 

Hashtag: “Challenge accepted! I’ll just have to get really, really good at flying!” 

Starscream: “And you will. After all, I am your instructor! Megatron’s second in command---” 

Hashtag: “No. You’re not anyone’s second in command, not anymore. You’re Starscream, and you’re the best Starscream there is!” 

Starscream: “...Thank you, Hashtag. Although I must point out that all Cybertronian designations are unique.” 

Hashtag: “No problem. Thanks for teaching me to fly! How about you teach me some tricks, too?” 

Starscream: “Not yet. Your left thruster is flickering-- Concentrate!” 

Hashtag: “Oh!!! On it!” 

This concept has the potential to be so sweet and cute. :’) <3 

@Dolukai_ on twitter had an idea for an es episode and involved the Terrans being triple changers or at least Hashtag who would decide to choose a jet to hang out with the other seekers.

And then me who wanted to make that but didn’t want to draw. So…

Starscream and his lil seeker daughter

[f1]

Perez fends off Verstappen to win action-packed Saudi Arabian GP as Alonso bags another podium

Sergio Perez converted pole position into victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as team mate Max Verstappen recovered from P15 to make it successive one-two finishes for Red Bull, while Fernando Alonso put his Aston Martin on the podium again with a fine drive. Perez overcame an attack from Alonso at the start, a nervy Safety Car period and Verstappen’s charge from the midfield to make up for the potential win he lost at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit a year ago – kick-starting his championship hopes in the process. Verstappen progressed to P2 in rapid time but ultimately had to accept defeat to Perez, with the reigning world champion managing additional driveshaft concerns late in the race after the same component failed during qualifying. Alonso took the lead into Turn 1 but a subsequent time penalty for lining up outside his grid box, coupled with the relentless pace of the Red Bulls, meant he had to settle for third, which nonetheless marked another handsome return. Mercedes and Ferrari also had no answers for Red Bull’s pace as they distantly followed in two-by-two formation, George Russell getting the better of team mate Lewis Hamilton, and Carlos Sainz leading Charles Leclerc home. 1 Sergio Perez PER Red Bull Racing 1:21:14.894 0 2 Max Verstappen VER Red Bull Racing +5.355s 0 3 Fernando Alonso ALO Aston Martin +20.728s 0 4 George Russell RUS Mercedes +25.866s 0 5 Lewis Hamilton HAM Mercedes +31.065s 0 Leclerc was also tasked with a race day recovery after his pre-race grid penalty, but seventh represented a much smaller reward than Verstappen’s second-place finish, and the Monegasque could not contain his frustration over the radio. Alpine enjoyed a much stronger second round as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly collected points in P8 and P9 respectively, while Haas’s Kevin Magnussen and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda went wheel-to-wheel over the final point – the Dane coming out on top with a late move. Nico Hulkenberg took 12th in the sister Haas, as the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu beat rookie drivers Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri), Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Logan Sargeant (Williams) to P13. McLaren endured another tough day at the office after early front wing changes for Piastri, who clashed with Gasly at the start, and Lando Norris, who hit the debris, consigned them to evenings towards the back of the pack. Alonso took the lead when the lights went out, but Sunday night belonged to Perez Piastri ultimately crossed the line in P15 after clearing Sargeant on the final lap, something Norris narrowly avoided repeating as he settled for 17th, with Valtteri Bottas the last of the finishers amid apparent technical trouble in his Alfa Romeo. Alex Albon and Lance Stroll were the two retirements from the race; Albon encountering terminal brake problems aboard his Williams and Stroll being told to stop his Aston Martin in the early stages, taking him out of the front-running battle. Attention now turns to the third round of the 2023 F1 season in Australia, with Verstappen holding the championship lead over Perez by a point thanks to him clocking the fastest lap of the race in the dying moments. More to follow... via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Bella and Beauford (your version of Beau) are twins, similar features (brown eyes), similar chip on their shoulder, similar flowery language, and Ed can't read either of their minds and both smell like grade A beefcakes. Both move to Forks. What kind of mess do you think will go down? 030 Does Eddie boi get the harem he's never wanted? How much can we destroy the B&B team self esteem? Find out on today's episode of the What if Muffin chronicles~! - Sw

Beauford is a reoccurring guest star on this blog.

Think Bella directly plastered onto a boy: absurdly pretty, still clumsy, still terribly introverted and awful socially, and smells like heroin to one Edward Cullen.

With that, onto your question

The Rules

To set some ground rules that are set in the post, I'm presuming both, somehow, are Edward's singer. Now, given that it's Bella and Beauford (fraternal twins), I'd say this is highly unlikely. Singers are rare, and Charlie and Renee don't notably smell like high quality heroin to Edward. More likely, Bella would be the singer, and Beauford would just smell generally nice (but not murder all of Biology nice).

It's also unlikely they'd have the same exact gift, or a gift that expresses itself in the same manner, blocking Edward out of their minds.

But the rules are set, both are Edward's singer, and both have Bella's absurdly powerful gift.

They're for all intents and purposes the same fucking person that somehow got stuffed in two different gendered bodies. The real genesis of this AU: Renee was abducted by aliens while pregnant and her unborn child experimented on. Beauford is, in fact, Bella's identical twin. Beauford is actually Bella's male clone grown in the womb.

After Bella and Beauford reach sexual maturity they'll be beamed back up into space and put into a zoo on Traflamador. (Except not because that would derail this post... The test pilot on Traflamador blew up their planet before Bella and Beauford could phone home. It's not important.)

Bella, Beauford, and the Time Before Forks

Bella and Beauford are probably frightfully codependent for a few reasons that go by the name of Renee. Renee's still out to lunch parenting, and it falls to Bella and Beauford to take care of adult responsibilities from a very young age.

Bella and Beauford come home from school to an empty house, are the ones to go grocery shopping, pay the bills, pay the taxes, do the laundry, pretty much anything that has "adult responsibility" stamped on it.

As a result, they don't really have time to make friends with kids out of school, and they quickly realize that they're the only ones they can depend on in their lives. More, they're the only ones who get each other on any level.

They're both social outcasts, both not what their mother wanted, both have to deal with their mother, and if they ever get in trouble then it's their sibling that they're going to call. Because no one else will ever be there.

I imagine both Bella and Beauford cling to each other tightly with both hands.

Which, of course, makes things weird.

There's getting along with your twin sibling then there's... only getting along with your twin sibling.

Bella and Beauford have lunch together, by themselves, every day in Phoenix. They partner together on everything and are very displeased if they're forced into a group project with anyone else. They participate in all the same activities and if one isn't allowed to do it then the other quits (yes, Beauford tried to get into ballet class, when Renee put her foot down Bella quit right then and there). They wear each other's clothes, if they can't, then those clothes never get worn (Bella never wears the few dresses in her closet). They actually remember their made up secret twin language and lapse into it accidentally from time to time. They're anxious when they're not in the same classes and meet up after every single class to walk down the hallways together. Rather than have any friends, most of their free time is spent at home reading the same books in the same room. They don't even talk about how amazing Heathcliff is, because they know the other knows.

I imagine they channel such the twins from The Shining. Absurdly good looking, beautiful, kids but good god what is wrong with them?

The Decision to Move

When Phil enters the picture seriously, he's not just a new boyfriend, Bella and Beauford sit down to discuss their options. Neither is quite sure how they feel about Phil.

He's awfully young, but he seems to be good for Renee, and is actually capable of paying his taxes (unlike Renee). He can probably be depended upon not to run off and to make sure Renee is taken care of.

However what about Bella and Beau?

With Bella and Beau going to school, they can't travel across the country every few weeks following Phil. Now, in theory, Renee could abandon them to follow Phil. This wouldn't make much of a difference in their daily lives (might, in fact, make things easier in a way as then Beau/Bella can just handle all the cooking rather than Renee even attempting to). However, Renee would never want to admit she's been leaving her kids to their own devices for years, and would feel horribly guilty to leave them behind.

As it is, they've already told Renee she can go on and travel with Phil and she refused, stating she had to be there for her kids.

There's also that Phil keeps trying to bond with Beau especially. As if he thinks it will be easier to bond with the teenage stepson vs. the stepdaughter. That hasn't been going well, Beau would like to avoid that if at all possible.

On the other hand... Forks, wet, cold, and being the children of the police chief's runaway bride.

Ultimately, the pair come to the same decision Bella came to in canon. They want their mother to be happy, feel desperately like third wheels, and if making Renee happy necessitates going to Forks then to Forks they shall go.

At least they'll have each other, and in the end, that's all that really matters.

Arriving in Forks

Bella and Beau arrive in Forks and receive the same reception they would otherwise. But more so. Holy god, the high school population says, it's the Cullens 2.0.

Eerily pale, beautiful, siblings, who are both sensitive intellectuals (and are also weirdly incestuous acting). All the guys want to date Bella and all the girls want to date Beau (some vice versa but they're not admitting that in a public high school in 2005).

The guys (Mike, Tylor, Eric, etc.) aren't all that thrilled by Beau's presence, he's major competition and day one is attracting all the attention. However, they see him as a way to get an in with Bella, he can set them up on a date and put in a good word. If they become his best friend, they have an excuse to go to his house, where Bella will be.

The girls (even Lauren who was initially very pissed off about Bella's sudden popularity) are much the same. Bella's overrated, but good god, that beautiful brother of hers. If they become Bella's best friend, they can have sleep overs, and might be able to see Beau without a shirt on. No matter Bella's stuffy personality, that hot brother is worth it.

Lunch that first day, as a result, is even more awful than it was in canon. Bella and Beauford, while generally oblivious about themselves, are very observant when it becomes to the behavior of others regarding their sibling.

They have an emergency meeting in the truck after school and come to the same conclusion: Bella/Beau, this entire school of hicks wants in your pants. Dump them all.

Both Bella and Beauford end the day supremely annoyed but reconfirm their commitment to this Forks plan. Beau predicts than in six months they'll be losers again and they'll go back to having lunch by themselves.

But what about the Cullens?

Edward, The Cullens, and Biology

As in canon, both Beauford and Bella notice the entrance of the alien procession into the cafeteria and ask "what the fuck?"

Nobody's thrilled about answering, because no one wants to lose Bella/Beauford to the Cullens of all people (the girls sigh with relief as, at least for them, all the lady Cullens seem to be dating one of the other guys. Beau is safe. The possibility of Edward/Beau is one they dare not contemplate in those five seconds.)

Still, Jessica reluctantly gives the run down. These are the Cullens, they moved in two years ago, are absurdly wealthy, beautiful, and supposedly not actually related. They're all dating each other. No, seriously, they are. Except the hot ginger, Edward, but don't bother because he's an ass.

Both Bella and Beauford think Jessica doth protest too much about Edward and internally give the Cullens the same bisexual Bella ranking: Rosalie, Edward (after a bit of thought), and then the rest of them.

Edward, for his own part, notes that he can't seem to hear either's thoughts. Weird. He concludes that the pair are highly overrated and he can't believe the school's so agog over the pair of them. Stupid teenagers.

Then Biology happens.

The pair open the door and good god, Edward Cullen is a demon. Luckily for them, they have each other. There may be an open seat next to Edward Cullen but Bella and Beauford go "NOPE". You see, teacher, we always sit together. No, really, we ALWAYS sit together.

The teacher is weirded out but it's so weird he actually has nothing to say to that. There's only one immediately open seat anyway, and two new students, so they're clearly in trouble with seating arrangements anyway. So he says, "Um, sure, go sit with Angela I guess." Angela is now in an overcrowded table with both Bella and Beauford, her original partner gleefully goes to sit with hottie Edward (then is in dismay sitting with Edward because this guy looks terrifying today). The twins, throughout Biology, are staring down Edward Cullen.

Edward, of course, has smelled the scent of the gods and is going through his personal hell on earth. He devises his many schemes of how he's going to murder Biology before he can get to the pair of them (Angela, for the record, gets smashed into a wall for the honor of being in Edward's way). Then, he doesn't know which he'd start on, he can't tell which scent comes from which. He tells himself he'll toss a coin, heads the boy goes first, then tails the girl.

Still, thinking of Carlisle's sad, disapproving, face as Edward massacres a room filled with children allows Edward to hold on through Biology. He'll murder them after school. Then of course he's able to clear his head and flees to Alaska.

In the meantime, thanks to being hyperaware of their sibling, and now having someone to talk to and confirm their suspicions with: Edward Cullen is Ted Bundy. This guy is creepy, dangerous, and in that moment it looked as if he was going to kill one or both of them. Bella/Beauford would be alright, though disappointed, if they were murdered then left in a dumpster. But their sibling die and meet that same awful fate? Not ever allowed to happen.

Bella and Beau have the world's most tense drive home and tense night taking turns taking guard and sleeping in the same room. Every time one questions if they're, maybe, just maybe, a little paranoid about this, the other confirms that "NOPE, THAT DUDE WAS SCARY".

They can't tell Charlie, he wouldn't believe them and they have no evidence, but when Edward tries to climb through their window maybe one of them will get in a good hit with the baseball bat (they won't, they're both debilitatingly clumsy).

The next day, to their confusion and relief, Edward Cullen isn't at school. He's not there the day after that either, or the day after that...

Beau and Bella start to relax, if only a little bit.

Edward, Alaska, and the Prodigal Son Returns

Edward in Alaska calms down and goes through the same thought process he did in canon. He keeps picturing the twins' faces, his obsession beginning to blossom, and convinces himself that he can't let these unremarkable humans get in the way of his life and his family.

After a week of brooding, much to Carlisle's horror, Edward returns to Forks and goes straight back to school. Specifically, he wants to do damage control with the twins and see just how much they actually noticed.

This goes worse than in canon.

First, Edward has to approach their shared table with Angela like a loser. There, Bella and Beau clearly don't want to talk at him, at all, and both clearly vividly remember exactly what happened last Biology class.

Edward barely gets a word in before he has to go to his seat. When he notices Bella, Beau, and Angela get their lab done as quickly as him (thanks to Bella and Beau), he tries again.

Bella and Beau both ask to go to the bathroom. (Yes, teacher, at the same time. Don't question this.) They don't come back. Edward, after ten minutes, also goes to the bathroom. He finds the pair in their giant, red, truck in the parking lot, deep in conversation (trying to figure out what the fuck is up with Edward Cullen).

He approaches them again, being as charming as possible. This has the opposite effect. Directed towards only them, Beau/Bella would probably let this slide. Directed towards Beloved Sibling, their "DANGER, WILL ROBINSON" sirens are blaring in their head. Beau floors it, and the pair tear out of the parking lot as fast as the truck will take them, they're telling Charlie they're taking a sick day. What will they do next Biology class? FUCK IF THEY KNOW.

Edward, standing in the parking lot with his mouth open, feels very very embarrassed and ashamed. He is a man eating demon and these two are perfectly aware of it. The rest of the Cullens find him there not long after, they find this both sad and hilarious.

Bella and Beau Get Hit by a Van

Well, this would all be well and good. Edward tells himself that if the pair are so determined to avoid him then he'll just avoid them. Problem solved. More, the pair don't seem to be chatterboxes, there's no weird rumors spreading about Edward Cullen or his siblings. At least, no more than usual.

Instead, it seems that everyone's trying to ask the twins to the dance, and are very confused when the twins say that they're going with each other. Sibling policy. You see. (They don't see, nobody sees, this is weird.)

Then it happens. Bella nearly gets hit by a van, Edward saves her, with Beau as a full not-concussed witness. FUCK. Bella and Beau travel to the hospital, Edward driving along behind them, and then after Carlisle checks Bella out they have their awkward talk.

Bella wants to insist that Edward was clearly the one who saved her, with his strange superhuman strength, but thanks to twin telepathy (which either is actual telepathy or is just reading twin body language, who even knows) knows that Beau wants her to shut up. They say nothing, the truth isn't important.

Instead, Beau states that he was the one who pulled Bella out of the way, Bella's just confused. Edward stares at Beau like he's an alien. Beau just smiles, thanks Edward for his concern, then throws Edward out of the room.

Bella and Beau madly discuss that Edward's clearly not human. More, while he saved her life today and that was very noble of him, neither has truly forgotten how he was in that first day of Biology. More, did you see him now? He clearly wanted, desperately for Bella to not remember what happened. He crushed that van like a pretzel, what if they told him that they saw him? What would happen to them? Beau doesn't want to take chances, not even for the truth, and in retrospect Bella doesn't either. Now is not the time to look gifted horses in the mouth.

Given Bella's injured, Beau's on full guard duty that night.

Meanwhile, the Cullens have their vote. It's even more dramatic, because instead of just one innocent, injured, witness, there's two witnesses and one was completely uninjured. Carlisle is utterly appalled that Rosalie genuinely suggests murdering them both so she doesn't have to move. He's more appalled when Edward reveals that he believes the twins may believe that Edward... wishes them harm for having witnessed his heroics.

Because the irony being that the twins are right, the family is voting on this very issue right now. And what does that say about all of them?

Thankfully for Beau and Bella, the vote goes very similarly to canon. Jasper's not convinced until Alice has her vision.

And she drops the bomb. Edward's in love with Bella, Beau will be Edward's best friend and Bella Alice's, and both Bella and her brother will be turned and join the coven.

(Now, what Alice doesn't tell Edward is that, actually, Edward's in love with them both. It's safer to say that Edward's in love with the woman, as that's what Edward will far more readily accept. Throwing Beau into that mix would just make things very messy, if Alice wants her best friend and Edward's happy ending then she has to be smart about this.)

The family has a similar reaction. Carlisle gives his, "Well, alright then" and the family doesn't move. Edward, in despair and self-hatred, heads to the Swan house to see sleeping Bella for himself.

And lo and behold, Beau has been waiting for him. Beau tries to smash Edward's face in with a bat. Unfortunately, a) Edward's a vampire, b) Beau misses.

Beau and Edward end up talking, man to man, while Bella is sleeping. Edward decides that, yes, oh woe, he is in love with Beauford's sister and confesses as much (while also confessing that he might, you know, actually be dangerous). Beau suggests that Edward stay far away from his sister.

No, there's nothing Beau can do to stop Edward. Yes, he is just a pathetic human even more pathetic than most, but he promises that he will make Edward and his family's life hell on Earth if Edward ever thinks of assaulting his sister.

Edward protests he would never, Beau points out that Edward just climbed through his injured sister's window in the dead of night. Edward... tries and fails to explain away that one.

He actually does succeed in that he explains that Bella was in danger from... his siblings. Edward had come to protect Bella, to make sure none came to harm her. It's not necessarily his siblings' fault, it's complicated but... Well, Edward was trying to be somewhat noble.

Then something strange happens. Edward finds himself fascinated by this Beauford Swan. Such courage in the world's weakest, no most delicate, body. Look at those eyelashes, his big dark eyes, his perfectly shaped features. This boy is beautiful, as beautiful as his sister, and just as courageous as she is. And look at him now, nobly facing down a demon he knows he cannot win against for the sake of his sister.

How virtuous.

Edward tells himself that what he's feeling is kinship and admiration for Beauford Swan. Bella could not have a worthier brother. Edward leaves with the promise that he'll respect Beau's wishes (Beau doesn't believe that for a second).

The next morning, Beau tells Bella that Edward's the world's biggest creep and that the Twin Watch is not stopping anytime soon. They're going to need to make a big purchase of coffee.

Edward and His Torment

As in canon, Edward decides he should nobly stay out of Bella's life. He'll see if either twin really does talk (they don't) and then he'll ignore them until they disappear. They will forget him.

They don't, but they do discuss him. See, after much pondering, the twins realize that Edward truly is a Grade A hottie. More, he's so mysterious and inhuman. In retrospect, his saving Bella's life goes a long way, and for all that he's been... menacing, he's never truly threatened them and does seem intent on protecting Bella. More, he seems to be keeping his promise: he's staying out of Bella's life and he hasn't been back to the house since (he has, but they haven't caught him, Edward waits until they both crash until he can sneak in and stare at them both).

And he's never lied about being dangerous. Their glares soften into pondering glances, wondering just what the truth of this Edward Cullen and his family really is, and wonder what it'd be like to let him into their small, insular, world that no one before has ever managed to breach in the way he has.

Bella doesn't believe he's truly interested in her, despite Beau's insistence, and wonders if he's interested in Beau. Beau, for his own part, doesn't believe Edward's interested in him and insists that he's clearly very interested in Bella.

Reluctantly, the pair conclude that Edward is something likely very dangerous, against Edward's will, but benign. Whatever it was they sensed from Edward that first day, it was not something in his control.

Helping this is Edward enabling the mysterious mystery by breaking. He can't stay away from the twins. He tells them that he's tired of staying away from them, that they shouldn't be friends, that he doesn't want to be friends (but wants to be something hint, hint, wink, wink). Except he's convinced he and Beauford are friends, dual protectors of the angel Bella Swan. If he stares a little too much at Beau's perfect figure then that's because he's the perfect, male, version of his perfect sister.

Anyway, the twins go to Long Beach with the others and the twins are now just too curious. Edward's giving them nothing and they must know. Bella flirts with Jake for information, Beau is appalled that this works, and they hear the cold ones story. That night, they both have the prophetic Slayer dream: Edward is a vampire.

Bella tells Beauford that she knows three things. One is that she's in love with Edward. Beau's not sure how to take that for a second but, being Bella's twin and on the same weird wavelength, he gets it. He's in love with Edward too.

Neither finds it strange that they both confess to being in love with the same demon and that they see no conflict of interest in this.

The pair go to Port Angeles to help Jessica and Angela pick up dresses. (Angela and Jessica aren't sure why a man is coming, but they've learned not to question this twin thing). Bella and Beau ultimately decided not to go to the dance, too risky giving the deluge of invitations they received, and instead they'll be headed to Seattle that weekend. They claim this is not a date, Angela and Jessica just stare.

Due to Beau being with Bella, though the pair get hopelessly lost looking for the book store, Bella doesn't get followed by rapists. Edward shows up anyway, as Alice saw the possibility, and takes the pair of them to romantic Italian dinner. It's weird.

He then drives them home and Bella blurts it out. Edward's a vampire, she and Beau know. Edward has his miniature meltdown and realizes that these pair of siblings forgive him this. Beau, beautiful man that he is, is giving Edward his beloved sister and Bella is giving not only herself but her wonderful brother's hand in friendship.

Edward invites them both, that's right, them both, to the meadow. Neither thinks this is strange. And when they get there. Boom, it's over, any chance to question this is gone. Both Bella and Beau are seduced by Edward's sparkling chest and his quotes about lions.

He rests his head on Bella's chest but puts his right hand on Beau's. They sit like that. For hours.

The Cullens (Again)

Well, this went from weird to fucking weirder. It was weird enough when Edward became obsessed with this rando teenage girl. Now, it turns out that Edward's a horn dog panting after bisexual twins, clearly intending to romance them both at the same time.

Carlisle dearly tries to have an intervention. He sends Esme to do it, as in canon, this doesn't work (Esme is perfectly fine with Edward's twincest fetish and thinks it's wonderful).

Alice tells a dubious Jasper that Edward and Beau are just friends. Jasper doesn't believe her, but he's not sure what to even say.

Emmett is desperately holding in Edward sandwich jokes. Desperately.

When Beau and Bella are invited to the house (together of course), the entire family has no idea what to say to them. At all. They don't know how to process this. Rosalie is actually there this time, because somebody needs to warn these two about what Edward really wants, but then they're too weird.

It's all just too weird.

And... the rest of canon happens.

The baseball game occurs, James dies, Victoria's not sure which Swan she should target and so she targets them both anyway. They're in the same damn place so it makes 0 difference.

Bella and Beau joint hallucinate Hallucination Edward, somehow, and get even weirdly more codependent in their zombie fugue state. This tanks their popularity as now there's no denying the incest. Bella and Beau don't care.

Bella and Beau reach out to get Jake to build them the motorcycles. Jake doesn't necessarily want Beau around, the dude's weird and getting in the way of Bella time, but alright. Bella and Jake's friendship doesn't take off because Bella's codependent on Beau.

They do learn about the wolves though thanks to Jake's crush on Bella. Jake never realizes that he's coming in third place not only to Edward Cullen but to Beauford Swan. He thinks he has a chance. That poor boy.

Bella and Beau jump off the cliff together, convinced they weren't committing suicide.

Alice returns, gets Bella and Beau to go to Volterra, because Edward has to see that they're both alive. There's a joyful reunion, Aro is really weirded out by this whole damn thing and has a five second pause after touching Marcus' hand. "Well." he says afterwards, "You and your brother are close. I see."

They get to go home, Aro insists they turn. Eclipse happens. Edward proposes marriage to Bella. Neither Beau nor Bella are thrilled (mostly about the marriage and also about the question of how the twin enters this equation) but ultimately Bella accepts. Bella and Edward marry publicly.

Beau is invited for the honeymoon. Edward, Bella, nor Beau question this. Everyone else does. A lot. On Isle Esme, the three confirm their commitment to each other: they have a secret marriage. Edward and Beau are both convinced they're not in a relationship. Bella and Beau are convinced they're not incestuous.

Sex is had by... someone. Unclear who.

Bella gets pregnant, this seems to confirm Edward must be the father but... Bella and Beau are both very strange, almost alien, and very gifted. There is some red in their hair. Questions the Cullens dare not speak aloud are thought, Edward doesn't seem to notice.

TL;DR Basically, the books still happen but Edward is cuckolded and enables twincest.

...

I did not see this one coming guys. I swear. I did not.

[yostresswritinggirl]

Hi there. Can I request a poly relationship with Albedo, Xiao and Scaramouche ? A mix of fluff n a pinch of smut is this possible ?

First of all, what the fuck gave you this wacky idea? I thought at first, wow, this is so random, how did they think this. But then upon making the banner- IT'S ALL MY HUSBANDS IN ONE FICNWOFHLSNDLKSBSOANA

I'll do my best but oh gawd, I'm just so baffled right now HAHAHHA- brain juice GONE

Three Shorties Convention

Poly Relationship with Scaramouche, Albedo and Xiao... (event masterlist)

HOW?!

Three individuals from three different nations somehow collated to love a single human, that of which is you. With how wide your range is for such individuals, we can greatly assume that you are an adventurer travelling the world.

You first met Scaramouche who was undercover, on the way to Mondstadt/Liyue through boat. As he was in the down low, he made sure to act friendly to avoid suspicion. When he heard you were on the same path, he thought of using you as an alibi.

The next person you came across was Xiao when you were passing by the Inn. You heard of the Adepti residing in the area and wanted to ask for blessings as your journey would be much more confusing and dangerous. You lit up incense and a small prayer before leaving.

The last person you met was Albedo. Mond was your last destination before you laid low again until your next long expedition, and you were looking for Alice who you met long ago during your expeditions. You last heard about Mond from her and wanted to talk to her about your adventures but ended up empty.

What made them stay/intrigued? For Scaramouche, he saw you messing with the meteors and your theories, your disarrayed thoughts and ideas somehow made sense when he looks past the lines. And you ended up being the reason he found the large piece of meteor in that... island thingy.

For Xiao, it was the incense I mentioned earlier. It was something you got as a souvenir from a commission in Inazuma, and the scent it gave off brought him to Teyvat Nirvana, the voices silent and his body soothed. His curiousity got the best of him as he tracked your path.

And finally, you first piqued Albedo's interest when you mentioned your affiliation with Alice, and when he listened to your stories (you forced him to listen since Alice was not there) it remindee him greatly of his master.

All of them were attached so badly that on your way to the wilderness one day, the three of them ended up confronting you in some kind of JJBA way with you in the middle. Their Visions and weapons were raised in worry until you identified how you knew them all.

And when they found out of each other's interests towards you, they grew more wary but turned to you: who was busy picking up a mint flower to truly understand what's going on.

"I like all of you!" Somehow all three of them were smart enough to realize that you hold at least a drop of endearment for each of them.

It was supposed to be a silent competition, that then ended up to an ambiguous relationship through coexistence. The problem here is: all four of you barely understood the grounds of a proper relationship, and delved deeper into this polyamory without a second thought.

Equal Thirds

Oh geezus, this is the most confusing setup you've been through. Having to juggle between three continents, three men, three different occasions. They were so petty to the point that your schedule must be split EQUALLY or else the other two would ambush the place you would be in.

Albedo is the busiest and lax when it comes to your "relationship schedule." As a person of Alchemy, he takes days buried deep into his research and he is more than thankful for the existence of a schedule, as he struggles with the maintenance of human relations a concrete time and day for when he is needed balances this. Albedo requests your presence during the period after his major experiments where he wishes to unwind and empty his brain of the equations and machinations. His type of love deals with comfort and distraction.

Xiao has the most free time in your relationship in terms of work, but he is also the one tied down strictly to his code of conduct. His time with you comes from your visits to Liyue and he will always be by your side whether you're in the outskirts or within the mortal realm. His type of love, ironically, is filled with longing touches and whispers of adoration for your strength and light that silences the voices in his head.

Scaramouche is the neediest boy in this bunch, the most mortal of them and the farthest from your reach. Your relationship is a secret to everyone especially the Fatui, but he makes sure that every agent in Liyue and Mond does not lay a hand on you or else he's breaking that same limb. Your time with him comes when HE comes over no matter where you are or what you do. His 'love' is filled with materialism and feisty aura, revelling in strenght and power dynamics.

When you're in charge of the schedule is the rare times that all three of you are together, because you plan your expeditions well in par with their seemingly conflicting schedules. Soon enough you four would be a whole team of travellers going around Teyvat to indulge whatever curiousities you lay upon.

"Circus Festival in Fontaine? Sign me and my three boys the fuck up. No complains, I know you're free."

Camping and travelling with them is sooo convenient too because they're all incredibly strong in constitution and battle. You only need to hang back and watch as they bring you a fireworks of elements, which are thankfully not very harmful against each other.

You're NEVER hurt or even TOUCHED when they're with you, they always have keen eyes for danger and always stick close to you to make sure you are safe. But on a RARE occasion that you DO get hurt, they have a formation: Albedo is tasked in retrieving you, Scaramouche is the backup in clearing a safe area for possible first aid, and Xiao lets all hell break loose once you three are gone.

They help out as much as they can whenever you all go out to camp but ultimately it ends up being some kind of adventuring class for the three of them since you're the master in this field.

Cute stuff: You never keep watch because they always want to cuddle, so one would be up and the other two would be cuddling you on both sides, and the rounds would switch between them while you have your beauty nap.

Albedo is pretty chill with the other two, but Scaramouche and Xiao seem to have a tension between them due to his Harbinger status. Xiao is wary and protective of Albedo because of the knowledge of his background coming from Morax. And all three of you deal with Scara's chattiness.

Your Pet Names for them! Scaramouche: Darling; Xiao: Sweetie; Albedo: Beloved. If you go beyond that, they start to see favoritism so you picked them carefully.

Their Pet Names for you! Scaramouche: My Dear; Xiao: Beloved; Albedo: Sunshine.

Soon enough, their soft rivalries turned into friendly coexistence and they would start to at least see each other in a better light besides acquaintances. While nothing physical or lovey-dovey would happen between them as they only ever see you in that way, they develop respect and slight trust. Competition long gone as it dissolves into compassion in protecting you and giving you the loving you deserve.

@albaedhoe @struggljng @heisenwurst @moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @kookieyachi @struggljng @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @lilydewi22

Softcore under the cut! No looking, my children

In this relationship, individual and multiple participating intercourse is normal, and they happen when all parties involved are ever comfortable. With the fact that you'll change continents in mind soon after, the boys have their little rituals with you.

The most prominent of all would be Scaramouche's signature hickey on your neck. He sucks it hard enough to make it stay for WEEKS, so that when the other boys move to kiss you on your neck, they see the apparent mark and groan to themselves in defeat. It was your sensitive and ticklish spot, and he makes sure he owns it.

For Albedo, he almost always (probably in a kink way) do it with you on a surface that's NOT the bed. Table, chair, sofa, his lap, it seems that the bed is a sacred place for rest. And he usually ends up doing it when he is about to finish his work, hence the convenience of such furnitures. You were conditioned to the point that if you even just innocently lean on a furniture, your mind and body immediately snaps back to those moments, making you back off with a flushed face.

Xiao is the most innocent and yeet friskiest of them all. He loves to litter you with kisses all over your body, no bites and no scratches, just innocent flutters of his lips that makes you tingle. But such moments of lovemaking... seem to always happen on the Inn's balcony. Most of the time it's when the door leading there is closed for the night, but you were sure there were occasions that someone at least knew or saw what was happening, but you two were too drowned in pleasure to notice.

Whenever all four of you were to participate, safe words are always emphasized. Because you're suffocating right after between their bodies with all holes filled to the brim with them. Usually the formation goes as: Albedo behind you, Xiao in front and Scaramouche in your mouth. They may switch up when you still have the stamina but that's their default order, and yes, you orgasm multiple times and are overstimulated a lot. To the point that you're getting used to it.

It's a golden rule to always shower before and after your session, and they would be very caring and gentle during aftercare. With this arrangement, you always have a large bed rented or in your arsenal for a huge cuddle session at night.

[miraculouscontent]

I know that you said that it was an one shot, but I really love the idea of marinette stay in Paris with Luka and kagami and avoid all the NY drama! If you can, can you share more of it? Even if just a few little ideas it would be great! (I love your ideas!)

(the one-shot this anon is referring to)

Aw, thank you so much!

And sure, after some thought, I did really want to write a little more with them!

—————

While throwing away their now juice-less cups, Marinette made the realization of how different things seemed with Luka and Kagami. She had already experienced hanging out with both of them separately, but she'd never imagined having both of them with her at once. It wasn't as if she'd always dismissed or despised the idea, but the only time they'd interacted as a group had been with Adrien around, which had probably soured the whole thing and thus involuntarily caused her to never think about it.

With her friends, everything was typically high-energy. Juleka and Mylene weren't very involved in creating such an atmosphere, but Marinette herself, Rose, Alya, and kept things energized. It wasn't a bad thing in general, but it made Marinette wonder if maybe surrounding herself with people who only encouraged her excitable habits wasn't a good thing.

Meanwhile, Luka and Kagami were completely different, both from her and her friends. Neither were particularly loud - though both could be when they wanted to - and they weren't really the kind to tease or mess with her either. Luka wasn't quiet in the way Juleka was, just seeming to absorb the world around him, whereas Kagami only spoke when she felt that there was something of value to say. Marinette had worried briefly that she might've been too different from the both of them, or that she'd overwhelm them due to speaking up the most, but instead, there was a sense of balance. Luka smiled or chuckled reassuringly whenever she caught herself rambling, whereas Kagami would cut in with her own views that were often direct but nevertheless good in their intentions. Perhaps her personality rubbed off on them in a way she couldn't fully understand?

Still, it was nice.

As the three were deciding what to do next, Marinette's phone suddenly went off. Marinette looked at her purse and pulled out her phone, half-expecting a text from one of her classmates about her missing the bus, but it was actually a notification about where Andre the ice cream man was.

Kagami glanced over after noticing the look on Marinette's face. "You want to get ice cream?"

Marinette frowned, Kagami's voice reminding her of the day the two of them had gone for ice cream with Adrien. She still remembered talking to Andre, hoping beyond hope that maybe the man wouldn't make them pick between the three different flavors. His words still stung a little, not because of Adrien, but because of what the words meant.

"Too many flavors mixed together may throw off the delicate balance."

It implied that one of them would always be the third wheel if they were together, no matter what, and it was a hollow feeling that she'd only recently started to accept.

"Marinette?"

Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder, she looked over and noted Luka offering her a concerned expression. It grounded her, serving as a reminders that things were different now and that Adrien wasn't there which, in a strange way, brought her an immense sense of comfort.

"I'm fine," she assured. Turning her attention back to her phone, she deleted the notification and then made sure that she wouldn't be getting another one. "Ice cream sounds good, if you want it too, but... I think I've got a better idea than Andre's."

Luka and Kagami exchanged curious glances.

—————

"Here's to Neapolitan ice cream!" Marinette declared dramatically, raising her spoon up with flair before shoving it and the ice cream on it right into her mouth.

Luka snorted in amusement while Kagami gave an acknowledging nod, probably remembering the exact phrase from Andre that Marinette had recalled earlier.

They'd picked up the carton of ice cream on the way to Marinette's place, with Marinette insisting on paying in order to spoil them, and while they seemed confused on the specifics of her insistence, they gave in soon enough. Marinette could understand why she'd be the expected person to be comforted, but giving to others made her happy on its own and she felt they deserved it. After all, Luka had tried his hardest to catch up to the bus and Kagami was still dealing with Adrien wanting to leave for New York despite her being in Paris.

They'd ultimately decided on splitting the entire carton between the three of them, with each of them getting a majority of the one of the flavors and then the rest of that flavor going to the other two. Marinette had gone with chocolate, Kagami had gone with vanilla, and Luka had gone with strawberry. It might've seemed like a weird choice to go with since they'd just had orange juice, but it hadn't been much and it wasn't exactly a "treat."

Marinette may have considered suggesting ice skating instead if her first thought of it wasn't her slipping and bringing Luka and Kagami down to the ice with her. Ice cream was the safer alternative to "cold fun."

"Luka," she called thoughtfully, taking another bite before asking, "you're not feeling sore or anything, are you?"

He met her gaze, smiling at the concern but waving his hand dismissively. "I'm alright, Marinette. I'm used to biking around for hours because of my job, so it wasn't a big deal."

Kagami halted, spoon halfway in her mouth while her brows rose noticeably. She finished the scoop, then turned to look at Luka. "You have a job?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I deliver pizza." He grinned, clearly amused by her reaction. "Are you surprised?"

Kagami's expression didn't shift, but Marinette had known her long enough to see that she was embarrassed. "Oh, no. It's... I don't have one."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Luka shrugged. "I just have the time to do it."

"Mm." Kagami looked back at her ice cream, poking at the surface with her spoon. "I suppose it would be too difficult with my fencing lessons."

Marinette giggled sheepishly, happy to join in on the conversation. "I probably wouldn't be able to either. There's all my fashion work with my website, and then there's the unexpected babysitting, the bakery, and I'm also the class representative." She hurriedly added an, "I know it doesn't sound like much, but I'm bad at planning," when she felt that it seemed like such little things. She was Ladybug and the new guardian too, of course, but she couldn't be blurting that out, so she could only hope that it didn't seem like she was whining over nothing.

She averted her gaze, scooping up a self-conscious bite of her ice cream and shoving it into her mouth. She was partway through savoring it when she realized that neither Luka nor Kagami had responded to her. Daring a look back, she saw them staring at her with varying gazes.

Kagami seemed stunned, commenting, "That is... well, much, actually," referring to what Marinette had just tried to brush off.

Was it? Marinette had never really thought about it. In fact, she distinctly remembered back in the day where people might've thought she was just scatterbrained and didn't really do anything. Back when she was hesitant to be class representative and claimed that she was busy, Alya had asked her with a hint of snark what she was busy with, like she expected her to have a free schedule.

Even beyond her role of Ladybug at the time, she still had random babysitting to do and still frequently worked on her fashion projects. Thinking back, it stung just a little.

As Marinette glanced at Luka, she at first felt that the amount of sympathy he was directing at her was excessive, but then she remembered how she had cried in front of him to the point where he'd dropped his bike and guitar in order to comfort her. She blushed, both in shame and from the memory of him holding her so closely.

"Ah—well—it's okay!" she said hurriedly, "Anyway, forget about me! This day is about... um, this ice cream, and ice cream doesn't have problems that you should worry about!"

She nearly gave herself brainfreeze from how quickly she scooped up and ate the next bite, but figured it'd be worth it if they dropped the subject.

It wasn't worth it.

"You should be more careful," Kagami commented critically, an edge to her voice that Marinette knew wasn't meant to be anger at her. "You're my friend, so don't overwork yourself."

Marinette grinned nervously, still trying to lighten the mood. "A-are you saying it'd be alright to overwork myself if I wasn't your friend?"

Kagami's gaze didn't waver, and Marinette slowly tried to sink into her seat.

Luka set his spoon down on the bowl, then chimed in, "I don't know anything about fashion, Marinette, but if you ever need any help with anything—"

Kagami clicked her own spoon against her bowl to interrupt him, as if she felt personally slighted that he'd gotten to say it first. "We're here for you."

Luka nodded to confirm.

"Oh." Marinette blushed deeper, touched by the gesture from both of them. She thought about trying to reassure them again, but their gazes were firm and showed no room for argument, so she settled for a soft, "Thanks."

They resumed eating their ice cream from there, the topic officially concluded. Though the atmosphere felt noticeably different, Marinette was surprised to realize that it wasn't exactly in a bad way. She feared that she'd ruined the mood, but instead felt like she was supported, with Kagami and Luka looking satisfied with their choice in offering help to her.

It was like she was Ladybug, and they were the partners standing at her side, each with their own form of support. It made her smile, allowing her to happily eat away at her ice cream without thinking about anything stressful.

The idea of going to New York was suddenly very unappetizing in comparison to having ice cream with Luka and Kagami.

—————

All things considered, Ladybug wasn't concerned about telling Chat Noir that her plans had changed and she wasn't going anywhere after all. She imagined that Chat would be overjoyed and wouldn't even ask questions about it, just happy to have her back. She found his affection eyeroll-worthy, but he was still her teammate, so she just steeled herself up for whatever ramble he was about to give her.

However, as she waited near the top of the Eiffel Tower, sitting on the guardrail and looking around for Chat Noir, she realized that she couldn't even see him. Checking the time on her yoyo, she confirmed that it was indeed time for their usual patrol, but Chat Noir was completely absent. Even though it was nighttime, which made the black cat's suit blend in with the sky, he still had the blond hair and light skin that should've made him noticeable.

Ladybug got up and paced around the area a few times, constantly peeking down at the city as she wondered if maybe she just wasn't looking in the right spot. When she still saw nothing, she concluded that Chat Noir must just be running late and she'd simply have to wait a little longer. Things happened, after all, she knew that better than anyone, so she began idling on her yoyo, searching for something to keep her occupied while she waited.

They were a team. While their identities had to remain a secret, Chat Noir had always hated it and prioritized openness in their relationship, so he would've told her if something had come up. He was also active in going on patrols, always seeming eager to join her for their runs across the rooftops, and given that he didn't even know that she'd still be in Paris, patrols were even more crucial.

He never showed up.

[yerbamansa]

on revenge ranch, hitting milestones, and writing to process personal shit

trying to port a twitter thread over here, please hold for awkwardness.

Our Flag Means Death got me back into writing fanfic after a few years of not writing at all, and I just hit what feels like a milestone there and wanted to reflect on it. 🧵

I just hit over 100k words across 15 entries in a series, Revenge Ranch, a modern AU loosely centered on Jim and Oluwande but with POV stories from other characters too. It's definitely a case of "I write for myself," but thrillingly also connection with others. 2/

I'm not comfortable writing smut and plot isn't my strong suit, so it's not like I'm "popular," but writing as a means of processing feelings that the show and also life brought up has been its own reward. 3/

Specifically, of course, the show dredged up an awful lot of stuff about queerness and gender for me, which was a path I'd been on for a few years already, but clearly had (have) a long ways to go. So I wrote about people trying to find their place in the world. 4/

I wrote in a modern AU because, frankly, historical stuff was both too complicated and too icky in the details to be fun for me. Surely worthwhile themes to explore, but not for me. I just wanted people to get to be OK. Because maybe we get to be OK. 5/

The first story I wrote in the series was an attempt to explore how Jim and Oluwande ended up together, and I went with the latter's POV. Just thought we needed more fics of the pair, and figured it'd be a one-off. 6/

(so i went a little nuts in canva last week...)

Of course, once I wrote it, more story came to mind, and I had to switch to Jim's POV. Which was scarier. Harder shit to work through, plus actual personal (gender) feelings. But it cracked something open. 8/

And people commented/liked? There was discussion? Again, not in VAST numbers (which, honestly, that would be a lot to deal with, and I am an anxious soul), but the interactions I had and connections I made gave me a weird glimmer of hope. 10/

It's fucked up, honestly. I have long called myself "fandom-phobic" because it's just...a lot. Either you're hot shit or you're no one, and everyone's judging themselves and, uncomfortably often, each other. Cliquey. So a little niche felt right. 11/

Also, I am VERY MUCH in therapy, and my poor therapist has had to patiently listen to me rant about a TV show and fanfic for six months now while actually being supportive so uhh. Huzzah for queer therapists. Anyway. 12/

My intention was to avoid focusing on Ed/Stede just because there was so much of it already, but I couldn't tell the story without it. Plus, I just...really get Stede, in the sense that it took me a long time to figure things out, and wanting to escape. /13

At this point I decided the pattern was Oluwande➡️Jim➡️another character, so it was back to Oluwande, now more settled in, both at the Revenge Ranch and with Jim. And third-wheeling Ed and Stede's reunion. I wanted to explore his interests, though. 15/

Once you've been jolted out of monotony and things seem safe, what then? What makes you tick? Who do you want to BE? OK, also Izzy is in this one. 17/

Looking at one relationship through the lens of another person is kind of a fun challenge, especially when the third party is building a relationship with each half of the couple. So naturally, Jim and Ed gotta bond. 18/

ugh, i just realized i forgot to add alt text to earlier images. sorry.

Anyway, Jim/Ed's friendship was maybe the most fun to write, and probably the thing I think about/wish for most often myself. (I exist on the internet…) 20/

There's so much I can't put in these stories. I aim for sensitivity and some thread of honesty, but ultimately it's a personal exploration. Which may be careless on some level. I'm bad at asking for help, especially without something to trade. 21/

Anyhoo, next we have a tiny lil' Wee John story, which pairs him with Frenchie but leaves it open-ended. As a POV character, he didn't speak to me too much, but I love him. 22/

It's all exercise, trying to find someone else's voice. Some are so loud I hear them through everyone else. Some fade into the background and I need to work to pull them out. Maybe some aren't for me at all. 23/

The next Oluwande story was maybe the hardest of the batch to write. I had an idea where I wanted him to go, but couldn't take it there yet. But he has a role and a voice and things to do. He's observant. He's kind. 24/

...and his relationship with Jim is so damn important. That they're growing together in ways that lets both of them change and fuck up and hurt and learn. Which is what happens to Jim. /26

I honestly thought this would be a fun little fuckery story and then is really, really wasn't. I love Jim and I hate making them hurt but THE SHOW DID THAT OKAY. I'm just writing the fallout. /28

So they "faked" Ed's death to get rid of Izzy. It probably doesn't work, but also I don't feel like writing it /harder/. Ed deserves a moment of reflection. He's pretty prominent in a lot of the other stories, so the one-off is short. /29

Feeling yourself out takes a goddamn lifetime, y'know?

Next, Oluwande comes home from EMT training (growth! change!) and just has a long conversation with Jim in the car. Because I love writing them together. /31

(ok i'm getting self-conscious about the length and self-indulgence of this thread, but you can always bail, folks! might as well finish this!)

With a little feel-good out of the way, it's on to more pain. I'm sorry. /33

We've gone 10 stories with Jim getting away from the vengeance life and feeling maybe good about themself for possibly the first time ever. So of course a little bit of the past has to come back and test them again. /34

Grief is hard, and closure isn't always (often) really possible. I was fighting both the "make everything better" and "make everything worse" inclinations. Also why not let Stede's kids show up now? /36

Time for yet another POV character! How about...Lucius? I am a big fan of major life events happening outside the story. I'm more interested in regular life. Anyway, let's meet Lucius's mom and his BFF, eh? /37

tfw it's fine but it's not fine with your parents, y'know? I did say I'm still working a lot of shit out, didn't I. But also Lucius is such a good dude to have in your life. He deserves the world. /39

THREE TO GO. OKAY. I had the idea to do a two-parter in which Oluwande does the EMT thing during a big storm while Jim is back at the ranch. /40

First part has the first M rating of any fic in the series. I tried. I am awkward as fuck but wanted to give them more clear intimacy. GOD, I feel fucking stunted sometimes. There's that "working shit out through fic" thing again. /41

Because of the nature of the main story, I felt compelled to do more actual research than I'd done before, at least enough to get a rough sketch of relevant details. I watched a lot of storm videos, too. And bad shit is encountered. /42

I wanted Jim's story to be more...light and fun. And it kind of is, but weird feelings snuck in there. Just, surprisingly, not theirs. /44

Which brings us to No. 15. I wanted to write a Halloween story, and I wanted to find Roach's perspective. I have so many notes trying to suss out what everyone else did for Halloween, bur Roach doesn't give a fuck. /45

Roach has his own shit going on. Lots of it he didn't want to share, and writing around that--both what he shares as thoughts and what he actually says to other characters--was tricky. Sooo many notes. /46

But in all of these, there's a little piece of myself. There's stuff I'm trying to do that's different or trying to be consistent or whatever. Because it's project, and it's given me something to focus on. /48

I don't know where the story's going from here. I want to work on some other stuff, plus I need to, like, find an actual job that pays money and doesn't make me completely miserable. So maybe I can find my own path, too. /49

Anyway. There's a whole pile of feelings and fic links from an unemployed 40-year-old weirdo. If you wanna connect, I'm open. I'm mostly enjoying the corner of the fandom I can engage with and am so inspired by other creators. Full of gratitude. ❤️ /end

[sexyglances]

How Hyejin and Dusik Provide Gifts of Care and How They Receive Gifts of Care

Thinking about how Hyejin and Dusik approached receiving healing gifts from each other, and once again, I am struck that despite Dusik being introduced and presented the one with all the right answers and perfectly open and friendly with most people, he is slowly being shown as the one that is actually much more closed off than Hyejin is. He is comfortable only giving to other people, but has so much trouble receiving anything in return. Whereas while Hyejin has some hesitancy as well, she genuinely does both much more easily than she is given credit for. The medicine they gave each other is a great example of this, both in how they receive the gifts and how they give the gifts.

Notice how Hyejin receives the Acanthopanax - she accepts the gift, tries to invite Dusik into her home as she received it, but he refuses (because he feels like an awkward third wheel, even though she was not trying to make him feel that way), and then afterward she immediately looks up the how to use it and brews herself a cup of tea, drinking it through its bitterness. She did this despite not knowing how much effort he put into preparing that for her, only knowing that he had it "to spare."

Contrast that with Dusik, who is actually both wounded and sick in a way that requires immediate attention (as opposed to Hyejin's long-term ailment), and yet when Hyejin showed up with first aid, he did not want to accept it or let her in, preferring to suffer alone and untended. She had to insist on 'invading' his home, stating, "it's sad when you're sick alone. Everyone knows that, why don't you," before he acquiesced. She had to directly spotlight his isolation before he allowed her in.

And then even after she went inside, he was begrudging about accepting her help. It was only after her insistence that was backed up with the incontrovertible facts that he had both a temperature and a wound that he finally accepted what she was giving him. And then still, he had to undergo an arduous evolution of attitude from a crumudgeonly reluctance of accepting her care to truly embracing it. He did this first with the antiseptic that he objected to because it stings, but then after she administered it and he got over the initial pain, he watched her with an enchanted look on his face as she was blowing on it to make it dry. This was her care in action and he was mesmerized by it. Mesmerized by how it felt to be taken care of. Taken care of without her expecting anything in return. There was nothing transactional about her doing this for him.

And, it should be pointed out, this is indicative of most of her care acts, even with other people. As in, she doesn't require emotional or monetary compensation before she does something, relying instead on her morals to guide her. She does this when standing up for the mother of her neighbor at the beginning of the series against price gouging, and again with the neighborhood lady when Hyejin wouldn't let the police officer victim blame her for the voice phishing scam. When she does ask for money, it's used as a deflection tactic to disguise how caring she is being, like with Gamri's and Juri's dental procedures she gives a deep discount on. The money was a secondary motivation to helping them. Dusik also uses money or a tit-for-tat transaction in his acts of service and care, though he tends to ask for compensation up front rather than as a deflection tactic afterward. His acts of service often come with a premeditated defense mechanism attached. Though interestingly, the Acanthopanax he gave Hyejin didn't come with a price, and instead he pretended as if it was a trivial gift of spare product, negating his actual effort involved and using a pretense of nonchalance instead.

The way Hyejin approaches providing care and also Dusik's reluctance to accepting said care is illustrated again with the food Hyejin insisted he eat to get over his cold. As is typical with Hyejin's other initial responses to a problem, she wanted to avoid the path that required more effort in a skill that she was less than confident in (in this case, cooking), so initially, she wasn't going to make anything and tried to get delivery food instead. But since the easier route of getting delivery food could not provide an adequate solution for what he needed in the moment, she made the decision to put the effort forth and try and make the porridge herself. This is how she approaches so many interpersonal challenges in her life. She may want to find an easy way out at first, but she always comes around relatively quickly and puts the work in where it's needed.

As for Dusik, his acceptance of help was also indicative of his character. He complained almost the whole time while she made him nourishment, grumbled about how she was clanking and clattering about, ruining the perfect order of everything in its place in his kitchen (this mirrors her disruption in his life and psyche via her arrival in Gongjin as well). But what she provided--a filling bowl of porridge--is exactly what he needed, and he fell asleep amongst her chaos, finding it more comforting and less discordant than he realized. The porridge she made ended up tasting sour and bad, but he ate every bit while smiling, filled with bemusement over its nonconformity to what he was expecting. If he had imagined what comfort would taste like, that wouldn't be it. Yet after he had it, he found a new type of comfort in it. Narratively, this shows how Hyejin brings something completely new and invigorating into Dusik's life.

The porridge may not have been easy to get down and there may be a bit of messiness involved around Hyejin's arrival with the leftover disorder and dishes she left behind, but just because she doesn't fit in effortlessly and perfectly, doesn't mean she isn't welcome. The "medicine" Hyejin offers by being in Dusik's life is not something he welcomes easily into his life, but everything she offers is exactly what he needs to heal and grow, both in the porridge moment and in his life in general. Ultimately, what she provided was soothing to him, even if he did not expect it at first taste. After all, he absolutely felt better after he ate it.

And then he received another reward from inviting her in and sharing his vulnerability with her: he got to enjoy the sweetness from the tangerines she left the next morning, savoring them more than he expected as well. She brings unexpected joy and sweetness into his life, when he didn't even know he wanted it as much as he did.

[lala-lovesie]

The Elric boys burn down their home, to run away from what they had done, to cement their decision, to destroy anything to come back to, to get rid of the reminder they used to have. Their home had been destroyed in their hearts when their mother died, it was only right that the home went too. And yet, for all that they do to destroy their home physically, they never do manage to erase the concept of home from their hearts, and it's all because of Winry. Risembool holds very little apart from memories for them if Winry weren't there. But she takes up the mantle of being their home without a thought, it's not even a decision. And this of course manifests physically in her flashing the light for the boys, making herself their home and announcing it to them at the same time. And here is the tragedy of the overall arc of FMA03 - by cutting themselves off from their physical home, they set in motion a series of events that leads to them being cut off from the home that they never wanted to lose.

I always think of FMA03 and COS in terms of classic tragedy. It's very Greek, almost. These characters create their own downfall - they are torn from their world, which separates the boys first from each other, and then from Winry, and with their connection to alchemy. Fate and larger machinations are working against them, but the characters themselves are instrumental to the creation, development, and ultimate tragic ending. He is involved in a scheme that's much larger than he is, and which has orchestrated his actions to a large extent, but he also contributed to the creation of the network which is controlling him by his creation of a homunculi. He is both puppet and unwitting puppet master, which he realizes at Lab 5 when the homunculi reveal themselves with clear horror.

Ed is defined at the beginning of this story by the strength of his convictions, by the knowledge that their quest is noble, because in his mind they're venturing to restore Al to his body, and if he manages to get any limbs back he'll call it icing on top. He knows he's going to fix the mistake he made that wrenched his brother away from his body. He pushes himself through surgery and recovery in a third of the time it should have taken him, they spend all their time studying and researching and searching, and trying to help people where they can, and it all comes to be revealed that none of his actions were truly his own, that he had been manipulated and strung along this path by invisible hands. His conviction and drive is exactly what led him to that point. He knows that they are doing the right thing, until he finds out what has happened to Liore as a result. He knows they're doing the right thing, until they're being used by the homunculi. Ed's strength only served to prove his weakness. His initial desire to simplify everything into right and wrong, black and white thinking leads to him having to learn the lesson, over and over again, that you can cause irreparable harm with the best of intentions. It's the fucking fatal flaw at the core of everything. He learned this lesson vividly and painfully when their human transfiguration failed, and yet he continues to make the same mistakes. It's oh so human, and watching him come to the place of realization that there are no easy answers is a work of art. He comes to the conclusion near the end that though the homunculi are more human than he thought, which makes his having to dig up his mother's grave and kill sloth even more heartbreaking. He no longer believes that killing is something that can be avoided, a stark difference from him telling Slicer he could not kill them. And though he has grown past the point of childish certainty about the world by the end of the show, Fortuna had already spun his wheel and there was no other way forward for him at that point but to sacrifice himself for Al, like he had always been ready to do, and I think at times secretly hoped for. I think part of him craved the absolution that would come with sacrificing himself, the punishment that he feels he deserves, and the fact that there is nothing inside of him that can watch Al die if there's anything on earth he can do about it. This results in him ending in the same exact same place he started in - human transfiguration. And thus he is torn from his world, from his home, from his brother, from everything he knows, and gets dropped with his deadbeat dad into Nazi Germany.

FMAB is a more straight ahead version of the classic hero's journey - there is a villain who is creating the core plot, though he is not responsible directly for Ed and Al's actions, it's heavily implied (and I think perhaps once stated outright by Ed) that if Hoenheim hadn't left them, they wouldn't have had to try and bring their mother back. There is no implication of Ed or Al in the larger scheme that is happening, and Father's plans and plots ultimately have little to nothing to do with the boys themselves, they're just the heroes who get drawn in and ultimately stop him. And there's nothing wrong with a hero's journey tale, and it's not in anyway inherently worse or better than the more complex Grecian style tragedy. But I definitely prefer the latter, and I feel like it's a rarer story to find in modern works.

[bloodstainsontengensfloor]

JJK Woman Appreciation Post II! ⚠️ Spoilers (duh)⚠️

Shoko Ieiri:

I’m torn between simping for her and begging her to adopt me.

Shoko Ieiri, the ultimate third wheel. She was in the same year as Gojo and Geto, and the three of them became fast friends. Of course, though, Gojo and Geto became even faster friends. The three of them are legit parallels to Nobara/Fushiguro/Itadori in terms of their friendship. She and Utahime also have a good friendship as seen in one of my favorite manga panels. Shoko is extremely special because she can used Reversed Cursed Techniue which allows her to heal people, and based on Volume 0, may be able to REGROW MISSING LIMBS?!

She’s extremely valuable to the story because of this ability and during the Shibuya Incident Arc, Principal Yaga expresses this importance. She is situated away from everything because if the enemy knew where she was, they would kill her first.

Shoko prefers alcohol over sweets, and stopped smoking for five years before starting again during the Shibuya Incident Arc. Because... yea I’d do the same. She is pretty serious and focuses on getting the job done. She is pretty laid back and chill, and presents a blasé attitude. In high school, she always avoided conflict and after seeing Geto after he, you know k!lled a bunch of people, she mocks him almost. I hope we get to see more of her and her character and that maybe the whole thing of her avoiding conflict gets overcomes. Her and Utahime will be the only adult mentors left in the series really, and I want to see how she would react in that role.

Utahime Lori:

Yes I do personally Headcanon these two as girlfriends. I honestly love Utahime because of the fact that she’s like the mother hen of a bunch of juvenile children who project their issues on other people.

When first introduced, she’s pretty calm and reserved. She stops the rival school from their battle of petty insults and gets easily irritated... when Gojo came. She has good intuition and when Gojo asks her to investigate the spy at Kyoto, she reminds him that she could be the spy before being insulted for being ‘weak’. We don’t know her cursed technique but obviously it must be pretty strong if she is the opposing teacher to Gojo. And speaking of the annoying idea of weak and strong in the Jujutsu world, Utahime also has a scar on her face. We don’t know where she got it from but she has it.

Momo talks about how a scar on a woman is a disadvantage for a female Jujutsu Sorcerer. I personally think that her lectur might have been influenced by seeing her teacher be put at a disadvantage due to this. We still don’t know too much about her, sadly, but she shows herself to be an entertaining character. Her attempt an a inspirational speech at the begining of the sister school exchange event displays her to be rather awkward when it comes to being comforting. However, it’s been established that the Kyoto school is like a family and that probably wouldn’t be possible without Utahime. Her caring nature is on display when she notices Miwa passed out in a dangerous zone.

Same thing with Shoko, I’m torn between simping and begging for adoption. Gosh I want Utahime and Shoko to be my moms dkekekek.

The fact that she loves Karaoke and wants Shoko to quit smoking 😭😳💙

Mei Mei

First thing first: her relationship with her brother will always make me uncomfortable-

Mei Mei is a grade one sorcerer who is on the side of money. Mood. I honestly don’t know her character that well, but she is really chill and has good inuition. She notices Maki’s strength and quickly realizes that Fake!Geto is.. well fake.

Okay but her cursed technique?? Allowing herself to control or share senses with animals, specifically crows is so cool and so convienet. Like during the Kyoto event, her skill was very useful and same thing during the Shibuya Incident Arc.

Although I don’t remember much about her character, I do know that she is very chill and laid back, but can be caring in her own special way. Well, by caring I mean complimenting Itadori on his skill, which is something that she didn’t have to do but did.

This reminded me that I need to reread the manga, and not just Gojo’s past arc because I miss Riko Amanai and I’m working on a nice post about Star Plasma Vessel Sus stuff, but Mei Mei is also just like... hot 😳.

Yuki Tsukumo:

She’s so cool, but so suspicious. A lot of people have pointed out that she was insturmental in Geto’s decline by introducing the idea of a world without jujutsu to him. Her Aethstic is cool with the motorcycle and the “what kind of woman is your type” question. I love how she is really cheerful but at the same time badass, two traits I feel like aren’t more commonly coexistent within female characters.

In the last or second to last chapter, she exposed herself to be rather... funny? Like funny in the fact that she’s kind of clueless half the time? Like the facial expressions she makes and how when things goes more downhill than she thought they would, she started to freak out a little.

I do think she is really interesting in the fact that she actively researches way to make the world a better place and protect people from curses in the best way possible. But... she’s still so suspicious.

Fun fact: her surname has the Kanji for 99... she got 99 problems-

Riko Amanai:

Missing you 😭

She’s probably one of my favorite characters. She was just a teenager who was lonely and for some reason kept on surviving while others didn’t. She was okay with giving up herself to... basically be the vessel, the puppet, to a powerful entity who’s been alive for over a 1000 years. It’s really bittersweet because the way I saw it, she was okay with being the vessel because of the fact that she believed that because she was the vessel, she had to be lonely in her life leading up to the Merge.

Riko has no cursed technique but was responsible for the Jujutsu world as Master Tengen’s vessel. She was spunky, cheerful, and... confused. Riko thought she had everything figured out but after forming close connections with Geto and Gojo and realizing how important Kuro was to her, she realized that she wanted to make more memories and not lose everything.

I’ll talk more about her in my Star Plasma Vessel post 😉.

Tsumiki Fushiguro:

Omg another one of my favorites because I love characters who are low key plot tools.

Tsumiki is Megumi’s older step sister who took on a very maternal role in his life. Megumi is very protective over her while at the same time very annoyed at what he believed was the hypocrisy of ‘good people’. Tsumiki is shown to be kind, caring, and well... just your normal teenage girl. She threw milk at Megumi after scolding him for getting into another fight. She just wants to see her little bro get the best life he could possibly get.

Tsumiki only did the test of courage because she ‘was worried’ and I feel like that just says so much about her character. And now? Well now she’s a vessel for some unknown vengeful spirit. And... do all vessels just get their hair pulled back??

And That’s all for now folks! Thanks for reading!

I didn’t edit this at all oh well, some times the first draft is all we have the energy to do-